Scientists create tiny devices that work like the human brain

A major computing breakthrough has allowed researchers to develop ultra-low power devices capable of operating at the same voltage level as a brain. Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst figured out a way to use biological, electricity conducting filaments to make an electronic memory device known as a memristor. Using protein nanowires developed from the bacterium Geobacter, the scientists realised they could create a device as power-efficient as a human brain synapse. Details of the new technology were published in the journal Nature Communications. "People probably didn't even dare to hope that we could create a device that is as power-efficient as the biological counterparts in a brain, but now we have realistic evidence of ultra-low power computing capabilities," said computer engineering researcher and co-author Jun Yao.