Scientists create world's first bioprocessor made with human brain tissue

The world's first biprocessor has been created using human brain tissue, according to Swiss startup FinalSpark that recently published their results.

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The company has claimed the bioprocessor is connected to an online platform that enables remote access to 16 human brain organoids. The startup says its neuroplatform is a first-of-its-link and can deliver access to biological neurons in vitro.

Notably, the company claims its new bioprocessor requires 1 million times less power than a traditional processor, and if the startup's claims are proven to be true, these bioprocessors could revolutionize heavy usage processing situations where power is a problem. An example of this would be training large language models, the underpinning technology powering AI.

The team behind the new creation says its bioprocessor uses architecture called "wetware" which is a combination of hardware, software and biology. More specifically, it incorporates four multi-electrode arrays to house the organoids, which are all 3D cell masses made out of brain tissue. Additionally, the bioprocessor has a total of 16 organoids.

"Wetware computing and organoid intelligence is an emerging research field at the intersection of electrophysiology and artificial intelligence. The core concept involves using living neurons to perform computations, similar to how Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are used today. However, unlike ANNs, where updating digital tensors (weights) can instantly modify network responses, entirely new methods must be developed for neural networks using biological neurons," reads the paper

At the moment, it remains unclear what kind of performance this new bioprocessor will offer, or even if its design is scalable and can be brought to market. So far, only nine institutions have been given access to new first-of-its-kind remote neuroplatform.