BOFFINS AT THE University of Reading have devleoped a way of driving a robot using living tissue.

As a robot control system, it's pretty fragile. Never mind viruses, this robot can be taken out by a microbe. So the controller is made up of a small pot full of antibiotics and nutrients. Added to that base are 300,000 rat neurons. In this pinkish broth, connections are made.

As the disembodied neurons communicate with each other, their electrical impulses form the basis of a brain, or controller (as we say in electronics) that could drive a robot.

A rat brained robot? What’s that going to do? Run along the skirting board, leaving greasy skuff marks on the paintwork? Chew through cables and set the house on fire?
What on earth do we need a rat brained robot for?

The researchers argue that by harnessing these impulses, they can discover how the brain works. These insights gained could help us treat conditions like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

Oh yeah. They all say that don’t they? Surely there’s a hidden agenda. Should we think about getting up a torch bearing mob and burning down the labs?

No, hang on, says Kevin Warwick, Reading's head of cybernetics, who runs the project with neuroscientists Mark Hammond and Ben Whalley. "We're trying to understand what goes on inside this brain material that could have direct implications for human health," he said.

But early study exercises seem to be about mobilising this monster. In early experiments, researchers connected the culture to a wheeled robot. Their work involved learning how the robot could learn to steer itself, using these primitive impulses. The researchers now intend to plot how neural connections are created for extended journeys.

You see where they're going? Imagine the power they will have if they can build an army of robo-rats.

Meanwhile, at Georgia Tech in the US, they've had the same idea. Steve Potter, of the Georgia Institute of technology, says its all about retraining malfunctioning neuronal circuits, with a view to treating Alzheimer's. Which is great.

But what else could you do with these brains?