Host: Marc Pelletier Guest: Dr. Carla Shatz, Department Chair and Nathan Marsh Pusey Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School

Imagine if there was a computer with a multi-core CPU that could self-assemble? And rather than a 64 bit bandwidth, it was 10,000 bit and had access to several terabytes of ram? And more incredibly, all of this could fit into a TWiT beenie? Perhaps, drawing a comparison between the human brain and a computer is a little unfair since silicone based processors cannot yet self-assemble ; )

In this episode, Dr. Shatz generously shares her expertise with us. She describes how the human brain establishes connections between well over a hundred billion nerve cells with great precision; how this wiring happens during development. Shatz has made great contributions to our understanding of this process and her work will undoubtedly lead to major therapeutics in areas of neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases, spinal cord injury, and much more. Dr. Shatz is leading the field at one of the most important frontiers of science today.

More from the Shatz Lab: Research Images Movies

For more details, visit Marc Pelletier's blog at http://futuresinbiotech.blogspot.com/.

Thanks to Cachefly for providing the bandwidth for this podcast.

And also thanks to the Band Gunther from Cyclone Records for the permission to use their song Wrecking Ball as a theme for this episode of FiB!