Today at the White House President Barack Obama followed up on a promise made in his recent State of the Union address. Here, he’s talking about human brains: “Now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the Space Race.”
The White house said: “Launched with approximately $100 million in the President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget, the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative ultimately aims to help researchers find new ways to treat, cure, and even prevent brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury.”
Obama BRAIN Initiative partners
Look for the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the National Science Foundation to get behind nearly $100 million in research beginning in the fiscal year 2014. Government isn’t the only entity stepping up to this brainy plate: Private sector partners include the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Kavli Foundation and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
Brain disease cripples lives
Many would say “it’s about time” we focused on that spongy gray organ inside our noggin. The NIH says that “with nearly 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections, the human brain remains one of the greatest mysteries in science and one of the greatest challenges in medicine. Neurological and psychiatric disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, autism, epilepsy, schizophrenia, depression, and traumatic brain injury, exact a tremendous toll on individuals, families, and society.”
Surprise: Not everyone thinks this is terrific and as Reuters reported today, snagging $100 million from a divided Congress in this economy may take a miracle. “Although the funding requires congressional approval, agencies have some discretion to start working on the program ahead of time,” a White House spokesman told the news service.
The project is part of the President’s vision for creating jobs and building a thriving middle class by investing in research and development, said the White House.
Time for brain is now
Hope springs eternal, especially now, says the NIH. “Five years ago a project such as this would have been considered impossible. Five years from now will be too late.”
The ailing brain waits for no one. Onward.
Watch a really quick video about the BRAIN Initiative here.