TechRivet has previously posted about the Blue Brain project here: Reverse Engineering the Brain - IBM's Blue Brain Project.

Here is another in depth article illustrating how they have been able to achieve so much: Out of the Blue

Some key points:

According to Markram, the patch clamp robot helped the Blue Brain team redo 30 years of research in six months. By analyzing the genetic expression of real rat neurons, the scientists could then start to integrate these details into the model. They were able to construct a precise map of ion channels, figuring out which cell types had which kind of ion channel and in what density. This new knowledge was then plugged into Blue Brain, allowing the supercomputer to accurately simulate any neuron anywhere in the neocortical column. "The simulation is getting to the point," Schürmann says, "where it gives us better results than an actual experiment. We get the same data, but with less noise and human error." The model, in other words, has exceeded its own inputs. The virtual neurons are more real than reality.

Fascinating.  Essentially Dr. Markram and his cohorts are getting to the point that they can replicate this small section of a rats brain in a supercomputer accurately and dynamically.

Go read the whole thing.