![How does consciousness arise? A 25-year-old bet has now been decided 1 Neuronal network with electrical activity of neuron cells 3D rendering illustration. Neuroscience, neurology, nervous system and impulse, brain activity, microbiology concepts. Artist vision.](https://i0.wp.com/images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/26164443/SEI_161828989.jpg?resize=696%2C464&ssl=1)
Researchers are still looking for brain cells that give rise consciousness
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It is Friday night in New York City. Nearly a thousand people are packed into a theatre, eyes glued to the stage, the atmosphere electric. The crowd isn’t gathered here for a stand-up comedian or musician – instead they are waiting for an answer.
That is because 25 years ago, on 20 June 1998, a neuroscientist and a philosopher made a bet. Christof Koch, now at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, wagered that scientists would have discovered the …