The world's first living processor
For the first time, researchers can conduct experiments on biological neurons using an online remote platform. Swiss biotech startup FinalSpark has launched the Neuroplatform project, which utilizes 16 human brain like organs to develop the world's first living processor, also known as a bio processor.
This study belongs to the category of wet component computing, which combines hardware, software, and biology. The term 'wet piece' comes from 'wet software', which refers to the software within a living organism, namely the instructions contained in DNA. Similar to wet computing, organoid intelligence is a field focused on using 3D cultures of human brain cells for biological computing.
FinalSpark's remote bio computing platform relies on hardware to maintain in vivo balance, monitor environmental parameters, and conduct electrophysiological experiments. Users can interact with hardware using a graphical user interface (GUI) or through Python scripts.
Upon careful observation of the hardware, FinalSpark's Neuroplatform system utilizes four multi electrode arrays (MEAs) to capture real-time measurements of cell activity. It also includes electrodes that stimulate and record electrical activity between each other. The closed-loop microfluidic system provides neuronal culture medium to maintain the life of organoids on the MEA. The platform also utilizes the cameras of each MEA to capture static images or video recordings. Finally, Neuroplatform uses a cage like system controlled by ultraviolet radiation to release molecules with specific wavelengths of light. When the molecular cages contain neuroactive molecules, these cages will rupture.
The electrodes in the FinalSpark neural platform and the transistors in traditional processors are both fundamental components for processing electrical signal transmission. In the processor, transistors are turned on and off to create binary data, while electrodes in the MEA system record and stimulate electrical activity in biological substances.
The MEA system can measure and record real-time cell activity, similar to how a processor processes real-time data. Both systems collect and process data, and may take action based on the data.
The closed-loop microfluidic system used to maintain organoids is somewhat similar to the cooling system in traditional processors. Both systems are essential for maintaining optimal operating conditions for their respective computing hosts.
A sharp contrast between digital processors and biological processors is their sustainability and potential to reduce power consumption. Although a single LLM (such as GPT-3) requires 10 GWh (equivalent to 6000 times the annual consumption of European citizens), the human brain operates with approximately 86 billion neurons, consuming only 20 W of power. This indicates that if one day biological processors are feasible, they can serve as a sustainable alternative to ANN.
Access to Neuroplatform is free for research purposes. This allows participants to conduct real-time experiments on biological networks and replicate the results in their own laboratories. FinalSpark's infrastructure currently only allows seven research groups to use the platform simultaneously, but the company is expanding its hardware to accommodate more users. The scalability of systems with hundreds or thousands of users is still unclear.
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