Watch an artificial neuron control a Venus flytrap

A team of Swedish researchers has successfully used a printed artificial neuron to control the movement of a Venus flytrap plant, forecasting that it could aid the development of futuristic medical devices and brain-machine interfaces. Existing silicon-based circuits and devices, such as those used in current computers, are difficult to integrate with biological systems due to their complexity, poor biocompatibility and low energy efficiency. By contrast, the artificial neuron is based on organic electrochemical transistors, which more closely resemble electrical signalling systems found in biology. "The human brain is one of the most advanced computers ever made," says Simone Fabiano, an associate professor at Linköping University in Sweden and senior author on the study. "It has a massive amount of memory and is excellent at processing information and making decisions while consuming very little energy. On the contrary, man-made supercomputers are bulky and consume a lot of energy."