Brain Cells Playing Ping Pong

Scientists have created a worthy gaming opponent in a lab. An Australian-led team of researchers placed 800,000 live human and mouse brain cells into a dish, connected them to electrodes and a simulation of the classic game Pong. The scientists then watched as the biological conglomerate quickly taught itself the game and improved its play the more it practiced. DishBrain proves that neurons in a dish can learn and display basic signs of intelligence. The team details the new setup, dubbed synthetic biological intelligence, or SBI, in a study published Wednesday in the journal Neuron.They are working on getting them drunk next.