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Mattia Gazzola

Researchers design new open-source technology for interfacing with living neurons

January 23, 2024

Neurons intricately communicate and respond to stimuli within a vast network, orchestrating essential functions from basic bodily processes to complex thoughts. Traditional neuroscience methods, relying on in vivo electrophysiology (within a living organism), often have difficulty addressing the complexity of the brain as a whole. An alternative approach involves extracting cells from the organism and conducting studies on a culture dish instead (in vitro), providing researchers with enhanced control and precision in measuring neural processes.


January 23, 2024


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Microelectronics give researchers a remote control for biological robots

January 20, 2023

First, they walked. Then, they saw the light. Now, miniature biological robots have gained a new trick: remote control.

The hybrid “eBiobots” are the first to combine soft materials, living muscle and microelectronics, said researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University and collaborating institutions. They described their centimeter-scale biological machines in the journal Science Robotics.


January 20, 2023


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An NSF Expedition in Computing: Mind in vitro - Computing with Living Neurons

April 22, 2022

The National Science Foundation awarded a 7-year, $15 million project to a multi-university team led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The resulting ground- breaking and path-finding research, entitled “Mind in vitro - Computing with Living Neurons,” will imagine computers and robots that are human designed, but living.


April 22, 2022


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New IGB Theme Develops Engineered Living Systems with Novel Functionalities

May 11, 2020

For years, artificial systems - such as robots and machines - have been used for industrial applications, making a tremendous impact on society. However, steady progress made by scientists could see the replacement of artificial systems with “Multi-Cellular Engineered Living Systems” (M-CELS) composed of living cells and extracellular matrices organized to perform novel functions absent in natural systems. 


May 11, 2020


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