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       [_][_][_][_][_][_]            (__)  THE GENESIS USER'S GROUP
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     [][][][][][][][][][][] *  ||----||         August 22, 1993
     [][][][][][][][][][][]    ^^    ^^         

You will be hearing from us in the near future regarding our plans for the major revisions which will go into GENESIS version 2.0, which we hope to begin testing later this Fall. In the meantime, we have added enough improvements to version 1.4 to warrant a new release.

Version 1.4.1 has now been installed on babel.cns.caltech.edu. The full distribution is available in the /usr/genesis/babel/archives directory as genesis1.4.1.tar.Z. We are also updating the "free ftp" version of GENESIS at genesis.cns.caltech.edu to this new version. However, access to the "Babel News" mailing list, BABEL collection of tutorials, simulations, models, user contributions, etc. will continue to be available only to members of BABEL.

The main new features are the ability to compile GENESIS with X11R5, easier installation, improved channel editing with Neurokit, new additions to the Scripts directory, and some bug fixes. The file "README.changes" in the /usr/genesis directory on babel gives further details of these and other changes. You may wish to browse it in order to determine whether or not you should update your version of GENESIS at this time.

The Scripts directory now contains the latest versions of most of the educational tutorials in computational neuroscience which were described at CNS*93 and have been available in the babel "newsims" directory. It now includes "cable", "burster", "traub91", "piriform", and new versions of "neuron" and "squid". These tutorial simulations (plus "CPG", which will soon be available on babel) form the basis of Part I of "The Book of GENESIS" by James M. Bower and David Beeman, to be published in early 1994 by TELOS/Springer-Verlag.

This a workbook of GENESIS-based tutorials intended to be used in upper division undergraduate and graduate neuroscience courses. Typically, it would be used to provide "hands on" experience in computer simulation laboratory which would accompany the course. Part I of the book teaches concepts in neuroscience and neural modeling by means of these tutorials, which may be used without any prior knowledge of GENESIS. Part II is intended to teach the use of the GENESIS script language for the construction of one's own simulations. This part will be useful for self-study by researchers who wish to do neural modeling, as well as by students. Several of these chapters are based upon the tutorials which are available on babel in the "tutorials" directory. Later this year, we plan to make selected chapters of the book available to BABEL members for review.

Those of you who are using GENESIS in teaching are urged to share your experiences with others by sending a short summary of what you are doing to babelnews@babel.cns.caltech.edu, or to contact me directly.

Dave Beeman - GENESIS Users Group
(dbeeman@dogstar.colorado.edu)