Paul Allen donates millions for brain research

Thursday 22 March 2012

Paul Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft, announced that he would commit $300 million over the next 10 years to turn the Allen Institute for Brain Science into a center for basic neuroscience investigation.

The Allen Institute is a non-profit organisation which began operating in 2003 as a resource for researchers. They have created brain “atlases” of the mouse and adult human brains and electronic maps that show which genes are switched on in neurons. The institute will focus on:

- counting and classifying the different types of neurons

- illuminating the molecular machinery within cells

- studying how cells process information in networks

Mr Allen said: “As someone who has been touched by the impact of a neurodegenerative disease - my mother has Alzheimer’s - there’s both a fascination in basic research and the hope that we can move things forward.” The original article is available at http://www.nytimes.com