A clump of rat neurons in a Petri dish might not have the glamorous image that we usually associate with airline pilots, but thanks to research at the University of Florida, it might soon be able to do their job just as effectively. Biomedical engineer Thomas DeMarse has “created a living 'brain' of cultured rat cells that now controls an F-22 fighter jet flight simulator” (Discovery Channel, USA, 22 October).

DeMarse seeded a grid of 60 electrodes with 25,000 rat neurons, which were allowed to grow and form a neural network. This network was connected to a flight simulator, and the electrodes were used both to record the activity of individual neurons and to provide 'feedback' on their performance in the form of electrical stimuli. According to DeMarse, “over time, these stimulations modify the network's response such that the neurons slowly (over the course of 15 minutes) learn to control the aircraft” (Discovery Channel).

Although it sounds like the stuff of science fiction, it is believed that this technology will one day have real practical applications. Mandayam Srinivasan from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said, “there are certainly things that biological systems can accomplish that we haven't been able to do with electronics”. For example, “animals have no problem recognising different textures or telling the difference between two different pieces of furniture, whereas computers find this very difficult” (New Scientist, UK, 25 October).

DeMarse admits, “we're just starting out. But using this model will help us understand the crucial bit of information between inputs and the stuff that comes out. And you can imagine the more you learn about that, the more you can harness the computation of these neurons into a wide range of applications” (Discovery Channel).