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Our higher education institutions have enthusiastically welcomed President Obama’s announcement of $100 allocation towards the initiative to map human brain. These funds will benefit both public sector and private scientists.

Called the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) project, these funds will help researchers and scientists identify and cure various neurological disorders such as traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s and epilepsy.

According to our President, the BRAIN initiative will help scientists and researchers unlock the intrinsic mystery and give them a dynamic insight into the workings of the brain. This in turn will help them understand how the brain remembers, learn and think which in turn could lead to transformative changes and development.

Some of the organizations that will be involved in this project that will start next year include the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Development of newer technologies and their application will certainly be accelerated and this in turn will help researchers gain an insight on the intrinsic workings of complex neural circuits and individual brain cells. They will be able to study interactions between the two that happen at the speed of thought says a White House statement.

The statement further says that exploring brain uses, processes and records will become much easier as new doors for exploration will be opened up by these technologies. This will give them access to vast information and will also help them identify complex links between brain behaviour and function.

According to Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities president Peter McPherson, this initiative will open up opportunities for a variety of innovations and discoveries that will save a lot of lives.

This announcement is extraordinary in two different ways the first being in terms of its potential and the actual project and the second being our president’s willingness to support major inventions in innovative research especially during a period when every field is facing huge budget cuts.

He went on to talk about reasons why our president felt the strong need to support such research initiatives. According to President Obama, we can develop a vibrant economy in keeping with the needs of our people only by ensuring sustained growth in the field of research even if we face an austere budgetary situation.

Recently, in his State of the Union address, he said that it is important for our country to invest in ideas. He pointed out that at least $140 is returned to our economy with each dollar investment in mapping human genome.

At that time, he also pointed out that we must encourage investment in innovation and science as they are very important job-creating opportunities. He also said that since the Space Race period when we reached the height of innovation now is the time to reach that peak again.

According to Lawrence Berkeley National Lab director, Paul Alivisatos, this is a hugely promising project and will open up opportunities to develop new tools which in turn will enable us to advance in the field of neuroscience and offer us greater insight into neurological diseases.