Researchers in the US have turned to blood letting in bid to build a smarter computer. While leeches are not renowned for their intellectual prowess and are believed never to have written a single line of Linux code, by simply poking them full of tiny electrodes, they can now do simple sums, says Professor Bill Ditto of the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT). The Prof says handwriting recognition would be an ideal application for the Leechulator and is now on the lookout for a leech with a reading age of ten in order to put his theory to the test. Non-squeamish UK readers will be able to check out the Leechulator on the BBC's Tomorrow’s World programme later today. ®