Philosophers have long mused about the concept of a “brain in a jar”, but thus far, it’s remained the preserve of science fiction rather than reality. However, after reading some scientific papers, [Justin] wanted to attempt the feat himself, so set out to grow some human neurons on an electrode array.
The project builds on [Justin]’s earlier work, using his DC sputtering rig to coat a glass microscope slide with electrodes. The first layer is silver for high conductivity, with an added gold layer for biocompatibility. The screw cap from a Falcon tube is then epoxied on to act as a reservoir for culture media for the neurons. Finally, an air filter is added to allow the biological mixture to breathe.
This was [Justin]’s first attempt at culturing neurons, and there were plenty of hurdles along the way. The custom culture assemblies had issues with the epoxy bonds leaking or failing entirely, leading to only one slide making it through the sterilization process. Additionally, the neurons were accidentally added in too high a quantity. While some growth was observed under the microscope, [Justin] was unable to detect any real signal from the system.
Despite a poor final result, plenty was learned along the way. [Justin] has already put plans into place to fix some of the pitfalls of the original experiment, and we look forward to seeing future updates from the project. Video after the break.
So where does one acquire healthy neurons for such an experiment? I’m pretty sure one cannot just pop onto Amazon or the Walmart eStore and buy them, regardless if it’s the economy size or the fun size.
He says it in the video.
I think it was Abbey .. someone
+1
Abbey …. Abbey …. NORMAL! It was abbey normal
This is so ambitious, kind of love it. Failure must be expected with such a bold project, but hopefully it doesn’t discourage. Failure is only a step along the way, and the almost mad daring required for an experiment like this demands that you keep pushing on and learning from it.
Captain here. Something similar was done about 2 decades ago, with rat neurons. The rat-brain-in-a-dish was connected to a flight simulator, and learned to fly an F-22 fighter jet.
https://research.ufl.edu/publications/explore/v10n1/extract2.html
*flies away*
:o)
he talks extensive about this in the video.
The fact that we are close that one of us can do this in his shed is freaking amazing .
This is something I really want to try out soon.
ok now let’s recreate that with a 2019 Prius on public road
Yeah, already done, look up “cellf ” project on YouTube, interfacing the external brain to a modular synthesizer.
Don’t be so cellfish!
B^)