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Asked by to Ian on 16 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
Question: Why do you like Brains
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Ian Simpson answered on 16 Jun 2014:
The human brain is almost unimaginably complicated. It is responsible for everything we do and every thought we have, yet we know next to nothing about how it works. For me, understanding the brain is one of the last great challenges of modern science.
How is the brain encoded in our genes ? I want to know how it forms, how it works and what happens when something goes wrong with it. When we talk about the brain it’s hard to imagine how you could possibly form memories, understand and process information (cognition), form emotions and have personalities. These “abstract” things are possible because of the physical structure of the brain and the biological activities of the thousands of genes that are active in it. I find that amazing.
The time is also right for brain science. We are living in a period where the technology (experimental and computational) and global commitment to understanding the brain and it’s diseases is at an all time high. Initiatives such as the Human Brain Project (Europe, €1.2 billion) and the Brain Initiative (USA, $3 billion) over the next decade have the potential to revolutionise our understanding of this incredible structure that for me defines what it is to be human.
Comments
lawrencium commented on :
What inspires you to be a Scientist?
Ian commented on :
I think there’s a basic human desire to understand the world around us. Teasing apart the way in which the molecules that make up living organisms form these amazingly complex and clever structures is fascinating. The human brain is pretty much the top of that tree for me. To live in a period of history where a lot of the secrets of life on Earth are being revealed is very exciting. It has ultimately been enabled by the incredible advancement of technology (especially in computing) in recent decades. My ultimate inspiration to be a scientist in the first place was reading about some of the classic genetics experiments as a teenager.
jomachine1 commented on :
I love brains do you?
Ian commented on :
To study YES, to eat NO. 😉
crossbow309 commented on :
how do you make a black hole
jomachine1 commented on :
nice i think if i got the chance i would try the brane of some sort of insect