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watch One-Minute World News Last Updated:  Sunday, 23 March,
2003, 00:06 GMT Nerve cell chip developed Scientists have
developed a chemical microchip which could help nerve cells
communicate.  It could work much more like the brain's normal
signalling system than existing chips which are stimulated via
electricity, say researchers.  The ultimate aim is to create
implants which could interact with the body's nervous system.
The chip is an "artificial synapse" which stimulates the
junctions where nerve messages travel from one cell to another.
There are huge obstacles to be overcome Dr John Chad, University
of Southampton When the process occurs naturally, electrical
signals are turned into chemical signals at nerve junctions, or
synapses.  A neurotransmitter released from one synapse is
picked up by molecular receptors on another, triggering a new
electrical impulse.  Neurotransmitters affect each cell
differently, and the same neurotransmitter aff