Technology Review has a story about a cool project: scientists using a computer to simulate a brain, right down to the individual neuron. Known as the Blue Brain project, the effort is aimed at reverse-engineering a brain -- currently, a sort of generic mammalian brain, and ultimately a human one. A successful model could allow researchers to perform in silico testing of drug dosing and effects, among other virtual experiments. GTO would like to know whether the simulated brain could be used on days when human brains refuse to work, and if so, where do we sign up? In completely unrelated but still brain-focused news, MedGadget has a post on the winning image from the Olympus life science imaging contest. Researchers from Harvard developed a technique to show neurons and how they connect -- the resulting picture is well worth a look.
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