Big physics has been showered in riches since the World War II era, yet today finds itself in a bit of a crisis as traditional funding priorities are increasingly questioned. While projects like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have enjoyed funding closer to $10 billion, projects in the life sciences which would offer tangible benefit to more people have struggled for survival. A man we will be hearing a bit more about in the future, Henry Markram, has just sold the European Union a brain in a box for €1 billion ($1.4 billion). When his ticket comes due in 10 years, there is one thing that can be counted on — someone is going to have some explaining to do.
In a major announcement this week, Europe has funded two new projects, promising over $3 billion in total. One study will be focused on new applications for graphene, while the other, now being described as the Human Brain Project (HBP), seeks nothing less than a simulation of the human brain.
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