A group of international researchers are set to create a supercomputer to simulate the human brain
Understanding the human brain is one of the greatest challenges facing 21st century science.
A new scientific endeavor hopes to unravel some of these mysteries by creating a highly detailed simulation of the human brain. Essentially, researchers will use a supercomputer to build a working replica of our minds.
With $1.6 billion in funding and more than 200 researchers, the Human Brain Project is the largest, most ambitious cooperative experiment of its kind. Serious hardware is necessary for a project of this kind — to pack the simulation into a single computer would require a system 1,000 times more powerful than today’s supercomputers.
The aim of the Human Brain Project is to reveal more about how the human brain works to aid in neurological technological development. It’s also hoped the project could lead to advances in battling neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease.
The project will officially begin later this year. It will take Europe 10 years to map all of the 100 billion neurons connected by 100,000 billion synapses that make up a human brain.
Source: Human Brain Project