EU Human Brain Project expands

The Human Brain Project (HBP), one of the biggest EU-funded research initiatives, has taken in 32 organizations from 13 countries, it was announced Thursday.

According to a statement issued by the European Union, the new partners from Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Britain, represented a 40 percent increase in the number of partners in the HBP consortium.

The 32 organizations with 22 research projects will carry out specific research tasks of collecting data, developing theoretical frameworks and doing technical development work for the six future information and communication technology platforms of the HBP.

The HBP, which was launched last year, is aimed at creating the world's largest experimental facility for ground-breaking research into the structure and functions of the human brain; the causes, diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases; and the development of new computing technologies such as low energy, brain-like computing systems.

This research has the potential to improve dramatically the quality of life for millions of Europeans and to boost Europe's role in this key scientific field.

The HBP budget of 1 billion euros (about 1.39 billion U.S. dollars) is to be funded by the EU, member states and other sources.

"Digital tools enable us to make huge progress in understanding the brain, but also to learn from it: from better treatment of brain diseases, to building the next generation of supercomputers. This is the challenge for our time and an investment in the future," said Neelie Kroes, vice president of the European Commission.

"I am delighted that we are putting our heads together with more partners -- the more brain cells working in this area the better," added Kroes.

The HBP is part of the Future and Emerging Technologies Flagships, which encourages visionary research with the potential to make breakthroughs and major benefits for European society and industry. Endi