Unique Artificial Neurons Trigger Neural Activity in Living Cells

• A team at Northwestern University has developed printable artificial neurons capable of triggering real neural activity in living tissue, according to a study published in Nature Nanotechnology. The finding matters because lab-built hardware isn’t just simulating brain signaling but producing responses indistinguishable enough from biological signals that actual neurons react to them. Led by professor…

A team at Northwestern University has developed printable artificial neurons capable of triggering real neural activity in living tissue, according to a study published in Nature Nanotechnology. The finding matters because lab-built hardware isn’t just simulating brain signaling but producing responses indistinguishable enough from biological signals that actual neurons react to them. Led by professor Mark C. Hersam and research associate professor Vinod K. Sangwan at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, the research used electronic inks made from nanoscale flakes of molybdenum disulfide and graphene, deposited onto flexible polymer substrates through a method called aerosol jet 3D printing. What set this apart from previous artificial neuron designs was a manufacturing quirk