Cortical Labs, an exciting new bio tech startup based in Melbourne, Australia, just released their first product, the CL1. This amazing biological computer combines human neurons with a silicon chip! Released on March 2, the CL1 is being heralded as “the world’s first code deployable biological computer,” with an anticipated retail price of approximately $35,000. This cutting-edge participatory sensing device is expected to come to market in late 2025. It will transform disease modeling and drug discovery initiatives.
The CL1 is capable of maintaining human neurons alive for six months. Significantly, it does all this in just a few watts of power. With this capacity, researchers have the ability to investigate and create treatments for highly complex neurological conditions with new levels of precision. Since its inception, Cortical Labs has envisioned the CL1 as a leap towards understanding and treating devastating brain diseases.
Technical Specifications and Functionality
According to Cortical Labs’ website, their CL1 includes an advanced perfusion circuit. This relatively unexplored component plays a crucial part of what’s known as the neurons’ neural life support system. This system includes filtration for waste products, temperature control, and gas mixing, ensuring that the neurons thrive in a controlled environment.
Brett Kagan, the chief scientific officer of Cortical Labs, underscored CL1’s potential for drug testing. He stated, “The large majority of drugs for neurological and psychiatric diseases that enter clinical trial testing fail because there’s so much more nuance when it comes to the brain – you can actually see that nuance when you test with these tools.” This unique capability leaves the CL1 with the potential to be a true game-changer in pharmaceutical research.
As a bonus, the device can model human neuronal behavior closely. Such knowledge would allow the development of smarter cocktail therapies, sparking a new era of precision pharmacology. Our researchers are pioneering new, better treatments for some of the world’s most complex and devastating neurological disorders. They achieve this by offering better predictions of human neural responses.
Future Implications and Ethical Considerations
Besides its cost, the introduction of the CL1 has opened a can of worms in terms of what this may mean in medical research. Others raise concerns over the ethics of using biological components as elements of computing. According to experts such as Silvia Velasco, what is truly important here is the importance of this historic innovation. At the moment, in my opinion, this is a baseless fear.” She added, “I think it would be a missed opportunity to not [be] able to use a system that has the promise to cure devastating brain diseases.”
Cortical Labs is absolutely committed to progressing this potential, and doing so with an acute awareness of the need for responsible innovation. The company plans to provide in-depth information about the elusive CL1 on their website as it becomes available. This allows for greater transparency about its applications and research grants.
