Artificial neurons that mimic the brain’s efficiency are here, using 1/10th the voltage and 1/100th the power of others.

These neurons can, for the first time, process information from living cells without an intermediary device amplifying or modulating the signals, the researchers say.

While some artificial neurons already exist, they require electronic amplification to sense the signals our bodies produce, explains Jun Yao, who works on bioelectronics and nanoelectronics at UMass Amherst. The amplification inflates both power usage and circuit complexity, and so counters efficiencies found in the brain.

The neuron created by Yao’s team can understand the body’s signals at their natural amplitude of around 0.1 volts. This is “highly novel,” says Bozhi Tian, a biophysicist who studies living bioelectronics at the University of Chicago and was not involved in the work. This work “bridges the long-standing gap between electronic and biological signaling” and demonstrates interaction between artificial neurons and living cells that Tian calls “unprecedented.”