Brain back-up venture 'will kill users'
Brain back-up start-up 'will be the death of users'
A start-up that claims it will one day allow people to back-up their brains admits it will come at the ultimate price: death.
Nectome has said it will one day be capable of scanning the human brain and preserving it, perhaps running a deceased person's mind as a computer simulation.
However, its current process requires a fresh brain.
The product is "100% fatal", the team behind it told MIT Technology Review.
The company is backed by Y Combinator, an organisation that picks a group of new companies each year to fund and mentor in the hope they receive major funding further down the line.
According to the company's website, Nectome claims it will one day be possible to survey the brain's connectome - the neural connections within the brain - to such a detailed degree that it will be able to reconstruct a person's memories even after they have died.
"Imagine a world where you can successfully map and pinpoint a specific memory within your brain," the site reads.
"Today’s leading neuroscience research suggests that it is possible by preserving your connectome."
Grant money
Nectome will be part of Y Combinator's demo days next week - an event where start-ups pitch their new companies to an audience of investors and journalists.
Brain back-up start-up 'will be the death of users'
A start-up that claims it will one day allow people to back-up their brains admits it will come at the ultimate price: death.
Nectome has said it will one day be capable of scanning the human brain and preserving it, perhaps running a deceased person's mind as a computer simulation.
However, its current process requires a fresh brain.
The product is "100% fatal", the team behind it told MIT Technology Review.
The company is backed by Y Combinator, an organisation that picks a group of new companies each year to fund and mentor in the hope they receive major funding further down the line.
According to the company's website, Nectome claims it will one day be possible to survey the brain's connectome - the neural connections within the brain - to such a detailed degree that it will be able to reconstruct a person's memories even after they have died.
"Imagine a world where you can successfully map and pinpoint a specific memory within your brain," the site reads.
"Today’s leading neuroscience research suggests that it is possible by preserving your connectome."
Grant money
Nectome will be part of Y Combinator's demo days next week - an event where start-ups pitch their new companies to an audience of investors and journalists.
