Reverse Engineering the Human Brain: First accredited university to commence identifying the precise...

...location of every neuron in the human brain.  [This requires the slicing of very thin wafers (50 nanometers wide) of a human brain, using an electron microscope to photograph each (billion pixel resolution), processing the data, and reconstructing the 3D wiring of each neuron of the human brain.  Fortunately, no new technology needs to be developed to do this.  Unfortunately, current techniques are so slow that it will take decades to accomplish it.  However, new automating technology will very likely be developed in the near future that will greatly speed up the process.]  To win this challenge, the project must be fully funded (or the university makes a legally binding commitment) for the projected duration of the project, the university must possess all the equipment needed to do the project, and the project must have started.  By “started” it means that the first wafer of a human brain has been sliced, processed, and a 3D map of its neurons has been constructed.  Other universities and research centers from the same country can assist this university in this endeavor EXCEPT those in the United States.  Those in the USA can only receive help from other research centers and universities from their same US state.

1) Second accredited university to announce launching the above project.  To win this future challenge, the university cannot be from the same continent nor country as the university in the original challenge nor can they cooperate or share data with them.  They must be trying to accomplish this feat alone – or at least with the help of others from their same country.  Same higher restrictions imposed on US universities as in the original challenge.

2) Like Future Challenge #1 but from still a different continent and country.

3) First accredited US university to announce launching of the same project as in the original challenge.

4) Like FC #3, second accredited US university to announce such a project.  University cannot be from the same state as the one that won FC #3.

5) Like FC #4, third accredited US university to announce such a project.  [The goal of FC #1-5 is to spark off an international race and thereby accelerate the rate of progress of this challenge.  Additionally, to truly reverse engineer the human brain, more than one human brain will need to be sliced and processed.]

First enterprise (non-profit or for-profit) to successfully reverse engineering:

6) A human brain.

7) A male human brain.

8) A female human brain.

9) A human brain of a person that had a verified IQ of no more than 19 (idiot level).  [For a rundown of what the different IQ levels mean in this future challenge and later ones, click here.]

10) A human brain of an idiot savant.

11) A human brain of a person that had a verified IQ between 50 and 69 (moron level).

12) A human brain of a person that had a verified IQ between 90 and 109 (average level).

13) A human brain of a person that has a verified IQ between 120 and 140 (Mensa level).

14) A human brain of a person that had a verified IQ of at least 160 (genius level).

15) A human brain of a person that had a verified IQ of at least 160, possessed at least one doctorate degree, and won at least one Nobel Prize in hard science or medicine.

16) Five human brains.

17) Ten human brains.

18) 100 human brains.

19) 100 human genius brains.

20) 1,000 human brains.

21) 1,000 human genius brains.