As government projects go, this one is high up on the worthwhile scale, relatively speaking cost-effective and less likely than some to turn into a debacle:
The Obama administration is planning a decade-long scientific effort to examine the workings of the human brain and build a comprehensive map of its activity, seeking to do for the brain what the Human Genome Project did for genetics.
The project, which the administration has been looking to unveil as early as March, will include federal agencies, private foundations and teams of neuroscientists and nanoscientists in a concerted effort to advance the knowledge of the brain’s billions of neurons and gain greater insights into perception, actions and, ultimately, consciousness.
At least if it's as succerssful as the genome project, which was an incredibly complex task that was finished early. Between the two of them, and with the advances being made in nanotechnology, we may be on the verge of the next stage of human evolution, one that will be under our control for a change. Imagine being able to pinpoint the exact spot in the brain where a particular mental illness orginates and being able to target it precisely instead of having to rely on the current hit-or-miss therapeutic and pharmacological methods.
