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Why Neuroscience Needs Hackers

Brain researchers are overwhelmed with data. Hackers can help
ByDanielGoodwin | Aug18,2015

Therewasatimewhenneuroscientists
couldonlydreamofhavingsuchaproblem.
Nowthefantasyhascometrue,andtheyare
strugglingtosolveit.Brilliantnew
exploratorydevicesareoverwhelmingthe
fieldwithanavalancheofrawdataabout
thenervoussystem'sinnerworkings.The
troubleisthatevenstartingtomakesense
ofthisbonanzaofinformationhasbecomea
superhumanchallenge.
Justabouteverybranchofscienceisfacing
asimilardisruption.Aslaboratorybench
researchmigratesintothedigitalrealm,

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WesleyBedrosian

programmingisbecominganindispensablepartoftheprocess.Atthesametime,
previouslydependablesourcesoffinancialsupportaredryingup.Theresulthasbeen
apainfulscarcityofjobsandgrantswhich,inturn,isimpellingfartoomanygifted
researcherstofocusontheirnarrowareasofspecializationratherthaninvestingtime
andenergyintoacquiringnew,computerageskills.Infieldswheredatagrowthis
especiallyoutofcontrol,suchasneuroscience,thedemandforcomputerexpertiseis
growingasquicklyastheinformationitself.
Scienceurgentlyneedshackershackersintheoriginal,TechModelRailroadClubof
theMassachusettsInstituteofTechnologysenseoftheword.Theirengineeringand
designskillswillbeuseful,butwhatismostdesirableisthetruehacker's
resourcefulness,curiosityandappetiteforfreshchallenges.Particularlyinafieldlike
neuroscience,helperscouldbeinvaluableinexploringthedauntingwildernessof
newlyrevealedneuralnetworks.
Afewpioneersareleadingtheway.OneisH.SebastianSeung,aprofessoratthe
NeuroscienceInstituteandinthedepartmentofcomputerscienceatPrinceton
University.Afewyearsagoheandhiscollaboratorssetouttomaptheretina'sneural
connections.Astheycollectedanoverwhelmingmassofelectronmicroscopydata,the
questionwashowtheywouldevermanagetointerpretitall.Seung'sfamiliaritywith
stateoftheartcomputingtoldhimthatnoartificialintelligencealgorithmin
existencecouldpossiblyhandlethetaskalone.

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SEE ALSO:

Health:ResearchersSeekCancerCluesfromPetDogs|Sustainability:HowModern

Most Popular

AgricultureCanSavetheGorillasofVirunga|Tech:AreWeontheCuspofWarin

WhenGrasshoppersGo
Biblical:SerotoninCauses
LocuststoSwarm

Space?|TheSciences:TheMysteryoftheCat'sInnerEyelid

Thesolutionthenalmostunheardofinlabsciencewastoenlistthousandsof
humanvolunteersalongsideastateoftheartAIandharnesstheircollective
brainpower.OnDecember10,2012,Seungandhisteamlaunchedtheonlinegame

TheMilkyWay'sMissing
Mass:PartiallyFound

EyeWire,inwhichplayersscorepointsbyhelpingtoimproveaneuralmap.Abouta
yearandahalflaterthegame'screatorspublishedtheirfirstdiscoveriesinNature,
togetherwithanotesharingcovetedcoauthorcreditwiththe2,183playerswhohad
reachedthegame'stopranksandmadethepaperpossible.(ScientificAmericanis

TheWorldReallyCouldGo
Nuclear

partofSpringerNature.)
Hackersarefindingtheirownroutesintoneuroscience.Inlate2013Brooklyn,N.Y.
baseddesignersJoelMurphyandConorRussomannointroducedOpenBCI,anopen
sourcebraincomputerinterfacebasicallyahomebrewedelectroencephalographic

HowBigIsScience?

device.KitsandplansareavailablefromtheirWebsiteforjustafractionofastandard
EEG'scost,andbyallaccountsitworksjustaswellasthebigbudgetmodels.Their
twomonthlongKickstartercampaignsoldnearly1,000unitsandcaughttheattention

VolkswagenUsesSoftware
toFoolEPAPollutionTests

ofacademicresearchlabs.It'sjustanotherexampleofhowtraditionalbarriersare
crumblingbetweeninstitutionalscienceandindividualswithnewideas.Infact,some
labshavebegunpostingresearchchallengeswithcashprizesoncrowdsourcingsites
suchasKaggleandInnoCentive.Thesedaysifaresearchentitychoosesnottoexplore
suchcollaborativeapproaches,itisindangerofbeingleftbehind.

Solve Innovation Challenges

Thesoftwaredesigncommunityhasdemonstratedoverthepast20yearsthatmassive
onlinecollaborationscanworkwonders.Todaythephysicalsciencesareonly
beginningtodiscoverthatpotential.Establishedscientistswoulddowelltorecognize
thattruehackersaremotivatedbychallengeandhonestprideinseeingwhattheycan
do.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

DanielGoodwinisadoctoralresearcherintheSyntheticNeurobiologyGroupatthe
MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology.Thispiecewaswrittenwhilehewasaresearch
scientistattheSimonsCenterforDataAnalysisinNewYorkCity.
Thisarticlewasoriginallypublishedwiththetitle"NeuroscienceNeedsHackers."

PortableRoofDamageDetection

Deadline: Nov 10 2015

Reward: $75,000 USD
The Seeker desires a technology that can detect seen
and unseen anomalies, such as hail damage, on
asphalt shingle roofs. The technology
TheSUDEPInstituteChallenge:Preventing
EpilepsySeizures
Deadline: Oct 13 2015
Reward: $30,000 USD
Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the
leading cause of death in young adults who have
epilepsy and poorly controlled seizur
More Challenges

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