Backyard Brains’ DIY neuroscience kits make waves on CNN

Ann Arbor's Backyard Brains is making waves with its Spiker Box, an affordable neuroscience kit. Founder Greg Gage's interview and article appear on CNN. Excerpt: "…While most everyone is fascinated by the brain, very few get the chance to peer into the world of neurons. Because, until now, there wasn’t a way for amateurs to get involved. In neuroscience, for example, equipment to read out the brain activity can cost over $10,000. But this is beginning to change. With the DIY revolution, people can now have similar high-tech gear in their own homes and garages for under $100. When I was a grad student studying neuroscience my labmate, Tim Marzullo, proposed an interesting idea: Can we record from the brain for less than 100 dollars, just using everyday electronics? We set off on a self-imposed engineering challenge to see if we could replicate our expensive lab equipment with something affordable by consumers. We ended up with the SpikerBox: a small kit (which you can build yourself, if you like) that can listen to the living brain cells from insects." More here.