Artificial Neurons Bridge Bio-Electronic Gap

The bacteria Geobacter sulfurreducens came from humble beginnings; it was first isolated from dirt in a ditch in Norman, Oklahoma. But now, the surprisingly remarkable microbes are the key to the first ever artificial neurons that can directly interact with living cells.

G. sulfurreducens communicate with each other through tiny, protein-based wires that researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have harvested and used to make artificial neurons that can, for the first time, process…