Once a rabies virus begins to affect the brain, the transfer of infection from neuron to neuron is almost always fatal (only one known case of survival). However, it turns out that scientists have found a way to harness the neuron-to-neuron spread of rabies for a higher purpose – understanding how brains work.

Untangling the vast tangled mess of connected neurons in the brain is a huge challenge. So researchers Edward M. Callaway and John Young found a way to control the spread of rabies one neuron at a time in order to analyze how these neurons connect. In thie long term, efforts like these promise to unlock the mysteries of the brain.

That might also have implications for mass collaboration. People like CoreMedia’s Sören Stamer describe the similarities between networks of connected individuals and the brain itself. Microblogging between users almost acts like firing amongst the synapses. It wouldn’t be surprising if the same rules that govern the effective relationships amongst our neurons also turn out to have implications for how we ought to structure our own information sharing relationships in organizations.

Why not cultivate and harness the emergent intelligence from these highly connected networks of individuals? Without social media tools, the synapses of many organizations may not be firing at all.