A synapse is an intracellular junction that allows for the propagation of binary electrical information between neurons.Like transistors, synapses have threshold voltages that need to reached before the information can be sent. In a sense, synapses = transistors. A single neuron in the brain may have on the order of several hundred to tens of thousands of synapses. Considering there are about 100 billion neurons in the human brain, the number of synapses add up to a daunting number. Here's where I got the info: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1188961/pdf/jpn00078-0049a.pdfhttp://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/facts.html
The brain is estimated to have about 60 Trillion synapses (bio-electrical connections between neurons). Neuroscientists have suggested that to simulate a human brain you would need a computer with at least that many neurons. It seems that ~43 of these chips would do the trick!
I'm not sure why this is even a topic brought up. One of the first topics covered in med school is biochemistry which has a firm grounding in organic chemistry. You cannot walk before you crawl... In the big scheme of things organic chemistry is not the most difficult of courses. It does however require a style of learning which incorporates general chemistry concepts with new concepts. It is true that most doctors do not do research. However, it is necessary for them to know concepts such as how a drug interacts with its target on a protein, how the liver can modify toxins into carcinogens, or how very energetically different cis versus trans fats (all topics introduced in organic chemistry). In my opinion, people who cannot handle this topic and or see how it applies to medicine have no business being doctors. I'll admit that not all of the practice of medicine can be described by chemistry, but it is absolutely essential to understanding the molecular interactions within the human body. Yes organic chemistry is a weed out course, but I believe that the overall quality and intellect of the physicians would decrease if organic was removed as a requirement.
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A synapse is an intracellular junction that allows for the propagation of binary electrical information between neurons.Like transistors, synapses have threshold voltages that need to reached before the information can be sent. In a sense, synapses = transistors. A single neuron in the brain may have on the order of several hundred to tens of thousands of synapses. Considering there are about 100 billion neurons in the human brain, the number of synapses add up to a daunting number. Here's where I got the info: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1188961/pdf/jpn00078-0049a.pdf http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/facts.html
The brain is estimated to have about 60 Trillion synapses (bio-electrical connections between neurons). Neuroscientists have suggested that to simulate a human brain you would need a computer with at least that many neurons. It seems that ~43 of these chips would do the trick!
I'm not sure why this is even a topic brought up. One of the first topics covered in med school is biochemistry which has a firm grounding in organic chemistry. You cannot walk before you crawl... In the big scheme of things organic chemistry is not the most difficult of courses. It does however require a style of learning which incorporates general chemistry concepts with new concepts. It is true that most doctors do not do research. However, it is necessary for them to know concepts such as how a drug interacts with its target on a protein, how the liver can modify toxins into carcinogens, or how very energetically different cis versus trans fats (all topics introduced in organic chemistry). In my opinion, people who cannot handle this topic and or see how it applies to medicine have no business being doctors. I'll admit that not all of the practice of medicine can be described by chemistry, but it is absolutely essential to understanding the molecular interactions within the human body. Yes organic chemistry is a weed out course, but I believe that the overall quality and intellect of the physicians would decrease if organic was removed as a requirement.