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In a milestone that could turn sci-fi into fact, the first U.S. clinical trial of a brain implant that returns the power of communication to severely paralyzed people has begun. | In a milestone that could turn sci-fi into fact, the first U.S. clinical trial of a brain implant that returns the power…
Brain-computer interfaces have become a practical (if limited) reality in the US. Synchron says it has become the first in the country to implant a BCI in a human patient. Doctors in New York’s Mount Sinai West implanted the company’s Stentrode in the motor cortex of a participant in Synchron’s COMMAND trial, which aims to gauge the usefulness and safety of BCIs for providing hands-free device control to people with severe paralysis. Ideally, technology like Stentrode will offer independence to people who want to email, text and otherwise handle digital tasks that others take for granted.
Surgeons installed the implant using an endovascular procedure that avoids the intrusiveness of open-brain surgery by going through the jugular vein. The operation went “extremely well” and let the patient return home 48 hours later, according to Synchron. An ongoing Australian trial has also proven successful so far, with four patients still safe a year after receiving their implants.
It may take a long time before doctors can offer Synchron’s BCIs to patients. The company received FDA approval for human trials in July 2021, and it’s still expanding the COMMAND trial as of this writing. Still, the US procedure represents a significant step toward greater autonomy for people with paralysis. It also represents a competitive victory — Elon Musk’s Neuralink has yet to receive FDA permission for its own implant.
Summary: A new study using 3D-MINFLUX technology allowed researchers to image the active zone of synapses with the precision of a few nanometers.
Source: University of Gottingen.
Scientists at the Institute for Auditory Neuroscience, UMG, the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences and the Abberior Instruments GmbH have applied high-resolution 3D-MINFLUX technology for precise 3D representation of the molecular organization in the active zone of rod photoreceptor cells.
Researchers at Rice University have shown how they can hack the brains of fruit flies to make them remote controlled. The flies performed a specific action within a second of a command being sent to certain neurons in their brain.
The team started by genetically engineering the flies so that they expressed a certain heat-sensitive ion channel in some of their neurons. When this channel sensed heat, it would activate the neuron – in this case, that neuron caused the fly to spread its wings, which is a gesture they often use during mating.
Continue reading “Scientists hack fly brains to make them remote controlled” »
Scientists have demonstrated that a brain-penetrating candidate drug currently in development as a cancer therapy can promote regeneration of damaged nerves after spinal trauma.
The research used cell and animal models to show that when taken orally the candidate drug, known as AZD1390, can block the response to DNA
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule composed of two long strands of nucleotides that coil around each other to form a double helix. It is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms that carries genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).
Can the sum of knowledge and experience we’ve accumulated over a lifetime live on after we die? The concept of “mind-uploading” is a modern version of an age-old human dream. Transhumanism hopes to not only enhance human capacities but even transcend human limitations such as bodily death.
The main character of Oscar Wilde’s famous novel The Picture of Dorian Gray wishes for eternal youth. And his wish is fulfilled: Dorian Gray remains young and exquisitely beautiful, whereas his portrait grows old, bearing the burden of aging, human shortcomings and imperfections. As we know, the story ended badly for Dorian.
In our time, scientific discoveries and new technologies promise to bring us closer to his dream. And no deal with the Devil is needed for doing so: once we understand how to manipulate the building blocks of life as well as the material foundations of our consciousness, emotions and character traits, so the story goes, we will be able to broaden human nature and overcome its inherent limitations such as aging, suffering and cognitive, emotional and moral shortcomings.
The Neuro-Network.
𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬
𝘼 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙢𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨.
Continue reading “Study Suggests Brain Processes Information like Ocean Waves” »
New work shows that neurons and other brain cells use DNA double-strand breaks, often associated with cancer, neurodegeneration and aging, to quickly express genes related to learning and memory.
