Improved simulation of neurons

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http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-03-hi...urons.html -  The Allen Institute's virtual neurons accurately reproduce the biophysical activity of their real counterparts. Modeling the activity of dendrites - treelike extensions of neurons through which they integrate input from other neurons - was especially realistic. "Combining the data, tools and knowledge from the world's two largest neuroscience-oriented enterprises demonstrates the synergy that can be achieved by an Open Science policy, freely sharing all available data and metadata", said Christoph Koch, President and Chief Scientific Officer of the Allen Institute for Brain Science. "Understanding the brain, here the nonlinear processing in cortical dendrites, is too difficult a task to accomplish in any other way."

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. . . the high accuracy and predictive power of the models and the discoveries they have already led to, including insight into the unexpected role of calcium.

Good to see that maybe they're replicating some of the actual, "floating" chemistry of a real brain rather than just mimicking the functional relationships or operating template. Ignoring the roles and effects of hormones and other circulating agencies certainly wouldn't lead to a future, virtual copy of Obama's brain outputting the same behavior and decisions as the original.