What happens if you can construct a person on a computer? What
is it that really makes a man? Neurologists are in the process
of reverse-engineering a biologically accurate brain down to the
molecular level using a supercomputer. Headed by Henry Markram,
the Blue Brain Project is programming elements of the
supercomputer to model individual neurons, building to the
various brain regions and intends to model the complete human
brain within ten years. This is particularly tricky and
computation-intensive due to all the interconnections and
feedback loops within a human brain. Computationally modelling
an entire human brain raises interesting questions about thought
and personhood. But what awesome things happen when you can
construct an entire biologically accurate body on a computer?
Prof. Shiva Ayyadurai came up with a computational model
aggregator – CytoSolve – while he was finishing up his PhD in
biology at MIT. CytoSolve can combine computational models of
biological functions from multiple sources – for,