One of President Obama's most altruistic scientific advancement efforts - a story that has been receiving minimal coverage in the face of fatuous celebrity gossip - involves the BRAIN initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies). Last April, Obama announced the BRAIN initiative with its mission statement to revolutionize our understanding of the human brain. This year, he followed up with additional news :
“Last year, I launched the BRAIN Initiative to help unlock the mysteries of the
brain, to improve our treatment of conditions like Alzheimer’s and autism and to
deepen our understanding of how we think, learn and remember. I’m pleased to
announce new steps that my Administration is taking to support this critical
research, and I’m heartened to see so many private, philanthropic, and academic
institutions joining this effort.”
President Obama- September 30, 2014
What "new steps"? Well, the President granted $46 Million in awards to 58 leading research groups across the world. In turn, these groups and individuals hope to make significant advancements in research and technology over the next decade.
Neuro-research is relatively new; what we currently know about the brain has only been discovered in the last few decades. Much of the information we know about Neurological Diseases is relatively new as well. Which is why it is vital for scientists to continue to expand knowledge the field of neuroscience and neurotechnology. Unfortunately, funding should not be a limitation or constraint, but it is. The White House BRAIN initiative seeks to foster advancement in treating diseases, but that will mainly become possible through breakthroughs in research. Funding essentially enables the usage of quicker, more accurate, and more efficient tools that would be needed to treat these disorders or neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer's'). In doing so, the BRAIN initiative has paved the way for future success in neuroscience.
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