An EU-backed project to attempt to simulation how the brain functions using a complex network of computers has launched in Switzerland.
If successful, the $1.6 billion project could represent a breakthrough in both computer and biological science.
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The so-called Human Brain Project is "an attempt to build completely new computer science technology that will enable us to collect all the information we have built up about the brain over the years" according to Henry Markram, Director of the HBP.
But the project has also received criticism from other scientists, who argue its massive cost is diverting funds from other worthy projects.