Friday, November 14, 2008

Creationists declare war over the brain


"YOU cannot overestimate," thundered psychiatrist Jeffrey Schwartz, "how threatened the scientific establishment is by the fact that it now looks like the materialist paradigm is genuinely breaking down. You're gonna hear a lot in the next calendar year about... how Darwin's explanation of how human intelligence arose is the only scientific way of doing it... I'm asking us as a world community to go out there and tell the scientific establishment, enough is enough! Materialism needs to start fading away and non-materialist causation needs to be understood as part of natural reality."


His enthusiasm was met with much applause from the audience gathered at the UN's east Manhattan conference hall on 11 September for an international symposium called Beyond the Mind-Body Problem: New Paradigms in the Science of Consciousness. Earlier Mario Beauregard, a researcher in neuroscience at the University of Montreal, Canada, and co-author of The Spiritual Brain: A neuroscientist's case for the existence of the soul, told the audience that the "battle" between "maverick" scientists like himself and those who "believe the mind is what the brain does" is a "cultural war".




http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026793.000-creationists-declare-war-over-the-brain.html?full=true

New Scientist has raised a flag on a new area of discussion in the ID debate.  The article is filled with names and ideas that could be followed up on.  The discussion might even spread concepts on consciousness.



Tags: , ,



Powered by Qumana


Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Blue Brain has a competitor

 Researchers have recently constructed a new computer model of the cortex of the human brain. This model is similar in principle to the more well known Blue Brain computer model, but it simulates a much larger area of the brain. It actually less detailed at the neuron level when compared to Blue Brain. The BluTags: , e Brain project has already simulated a section of the rat’s brain that is named the neocortex. The Blue Brain computer simulation has successfully modeled approximately 10,000 neurons including near 30 million synapses
This other computer simulation, however, has successfully modeled about a trillion neurons and almost a quadrillion synapses. This specific computer model is able to model the entire thalamo-cortical system of a mammillian brain. Apparently, the researchers have made of simulation of this brain region because is is involved in creating concious awareness.
his computer simulation of the human brain will allow scientists to carry out a variety of different experiments that are not currently possible to do. It will enable researchers to gain a much better insight into the workings of the brain. Things that are normally very hard to do on brain wetware may easily be done on the computer model. Researchers will have much more leeway in carrying out different experiments on this virtual brain. The computer model will allow scientists to carry out experiments that are impossible from a physical or ethical standpoint.
This computer model will enable the simulation of almost any type of brain disorder. This is a very exciting possiblity that could help a tremendous amount of people. Researchers intend to investigate disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other psychiatric disorders. The scientists also intend to investigate the effects of pharmaceutical drugs on this computer brain model. This may lead to faster FDA approval for brain drugs.
The researchers also want to learn more about consciousness and how it is constructed. I have serious doubts as to whether the computer model will actually be able to model consciousness. However, this new computer model will likely give scientists a much greater understanding of how the human brain functions. Overall, the research is extremely interesting and it has quite a few potential benefits in advancing our knowledge of the brain.


Powered by Qumana