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"Gas on the Brain," by Clive Davidson. New Scientist, 3 October 1998, pages 37-39.
Neural computers are coming of age. They have medical and financial applications, and they're likely to take command of the Space Shuttle when it docks with the International Space Station. These computers are modeling what goes on in your head--neural networks are composed of interconnected, purely electronic neurons called nodes. However, due to feasibility constraints, these networks pale in comparison to the fast, productive human nervous system.
To increase the complexity of these networks, researchers in Skovde, Sweden are trying to exploit synaptic chemistry, developing what they call "gas nets." As in the brain, information in this network can be passed from node to node not only by a direct connection, but also by a chemical-- in this case nitric oxide. Many researchers consider this incorporation of brain chemistry a significant step in the field of artifical neural networks.
--- Ben Stein
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