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posted by martyb on Wednesday June 17 2020, @03:40AM   Printer-friendly
from the an-environment-where-a-'shrink'-takes-on-a-different-connotation dept.

Artificial synapses and living cells communicate using brain chemicals:

The researchers first designed their artificial synapse in 2017. It worked a bit like a transistor, involving three terminals surrounded by a salty water electrolyte. In this way, the terminals act like neurons, sending electrical signals across the water (the synapse) to each other.

For the new study, the team has taken things a step further by creating a biohybrid artificial synapse. This time, the device is made up of two soft polymer electrodes, again separated by an electrolyte solution. But the key difference is that living cells were then placed on top of one of the electrodes, which were able to communicate with the other electrode across the synapse.

When these living cells released their neurotransmitters, they reacted with the electrode below them. That induces the electrode to produce ions, which then travel through the electrolyte to the other electrode, changing its conductive state.

Stanford New Release.

Journal Reference:
Keene, S.T., Lubrano, C., Kazemzadeh, S. et al. A biohybrid synapse with neurotransmitter-mediated plasticity Nature Materials (DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2020.05.008)

Just in time to augment the brain functions that social media has rotted away.


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 17 2020, @04:04AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 17 2020, @04:04AM (#1009019)

    Immortality coming soon to Amazon Cloud near you. (Make sure to pay extra for the "no ads" version)