A team of researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a handful of other groups are working to develop hybrid biocomputers that marry living nerve cells with silicon circuits to create smarter computers. If they succeed, they could set the foundation for brain-like computer systems that could find solutions on their own, with no need for step-by-step programming instructions. So far, researchers have joined two neurons from leeches and linked them to a personal computer, which sent signals to each cell and correctly extracted the answer to a simple addition problem. The program that links the neurons and the PC, dubbed "wetware," is based on chaos theory, using the results to tune the neurons and alter the way they communicate. Ultimately, brain-like chips will be more creative and may mirror both the good and bad aspects of human thinking. William L. Ditto, who heads the project at the Georgia Institute of Technology, says it will be 10 years or more until biocomputers are commercially available. (Business Week 06/21/99 - Edupage 21 June '99)

DESIGNING WEB PAGES FOR SIGHT IMPAIRED USERS - If you are involved in making Web pages accessible for users with sight impairments, check out "Disabled Accessibility: The Pragmatic Approach," by Jakob Nielsen ("The Alertbox," June 13, 1999 issue). Nielsen includes a link to the W3 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, the W3's prioritized list of design rules, and a very useful checklist for Web page designers. The article is available at http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990613.html "The Alertbox: Current Issues in Web Usability" is a biweekly column by Dr. Jakob Nielsen, of the Nielsen Norman Group. Back issues are available on the Web at: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/ (CIT INFOBITS June 1999 )