Ed Boyden -> using light to activate neurons
Posted: May 18, 2011 Filed under: // tech, //educate!, biology, chemistry, future Leave a comment »Incredible
mind control system for prosthetics [newscientist]
Posted: May 5, 2011 Filed under: // tech, biology, future, ideas Leave a comment »I’m on a bio-interface kick today. This is pretty neat.
New Scientist | A model helps to visualize how a new neural implant device reads brain signals and interprets them to control a prosthetic arm. The yellow spikes represent firing motor neurons in the brain. Each neuron is tuned to recognize a different direction in space, so as the arm moves, the spikes change to reflect the changing direction. By combining the output of all the neurons, the direction of the arm’s movement — represented by the blue arrow — can be predicted.
This system, developed by Daniel Moran of Washington University in St. Louis, uses a grid of disc-shaped electrodes, inserted between the brain and the skull, to read electrical activity in the brain. It’s more precise than electrodes placed outside of the skull but less invasive than probes inserted directly in the brain. The system could eventually give amputees better control over prosthetic limbs without overly invasive surgical implants.
Under Armor [bio-interfaces]
Posted: May 5, 2011 Filed under: // tech, biology, future Leave a comment »I’m intrigued by bio-interfaces, and while I’m not the biggest fan of Under Armor, I must admit this is pretty neat. Definitely a step in the right direction!
USC builds synthetic synapses with carbon nanotubes!
Posted: May 5, 2011 Filed under: // tech, biology, future Leave a comment »USC engineers build synthetic synapse with carbon nanotubes! [rad] This brings us one step close to BRAIN INTERFACES!!! can. not. wait.
May 2, 2011 by Amara D. Angelica
Synthetic synapse using field effect transistor built with carbon nanotubes, titanium/platinum contacts, and silicon dioxide gate dielectric (credit: USC Viterbi School of Engineering)
Engineering researchers at the University of Southern California havebuilt a carbon nanotube circuit that reproduces the function of a neural synapse.
“This is a necessary first step in the process,” said Professor Alice Parker, who began the complex project of looking at the possibility of developing a synthetic brain in 2006.
“We wanted to answer the question: Can you build a circuit that would act like a neuron?,” she said.
“The next step is even more complex. How can we build structures out of these circuits that mimic the neuron, and eventually the function of the brain, which has 100 billion neurons and 10,000 synapses?”
Parker emphasized that the fabricated synapse is simplified. The actual development of a synthetic brain is decades away, and she said the next hurdle for the research centers on reproducing brain plasticity in the circuits.
She believes the ongoing research of understanding the process of human intelligence could have long-term implications for everything from developing prosthetic nanotechnology that would heal traumatic brain injuries to developing intelligent, safe cars that would protect drivers in bold new ways.
genetic modification: [Harvey Fineberg, "Are we ready for neo-evolution?"]
Posted: April 30, 2011 Filed under: // tech, //educate!, biology, future, ideas Leave a comment »
the whole talk is worthwhile but it gets rad at 11:00 -> we can drive our own evolution! count me in
Medical ethicist Harvey Fineberg shows us three paths forward for the ever-evolving human species: to stop evolving completely, to evolve naturally — or to control the next steps of human evolution, using genetic modification, to make ourselves smarter, faster, better. Neo-evolution is within our grasp. What will we do with it?
