This is your captain squeaking

We’re always pleased to hear about new types of computer, and especially pleased to hear of a useful purpose for rats.
So good news from the New Scientist this week – rat brain cells in a Petri dish have flown a virtual F-22 fighter jet, and could crew airplanes and test for epilepsy.
Thomas DeMarse, from the University of Florida, explains that cells grew interconnections and have become a ‘live computation device’. They took in information from the virtual flight and used it to correct the flight path. Within 18 months, rat brains will be able to accomplish simple tasks – such as writing Backbytes.
DeMarse’s former supervisor comments that a brain in a dish that is a real pilot is a long way off, although we wonder if the budget airlines might be looking with interest at the probable salary demands of a rat brain cell pilot...