Ion tunable biorealistic artificial neurons.
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Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a neural implant that provides information about activity deep inside the brain while sitting on its surface. The implant is made up of a thin, transparent and flexible polymer strip that is packed with a dense array of graphene electrodes. The technology, tested in transgenic mice, brings the researchers a step closer to building a minimally invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) that provides high-resolution data about deep neural activity by using recordings from the brain surface.
The work was published on Jan. 11 in Nature Nanotechnology.
“We are expanding the spatial reach of neural recordings with this technology,” said study senior author Duygu Kuzum, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. “Even though our implant resides on the brain’s surface, its design goes beyond the limits of physical sensing in that it can infer neural activity from deeper layers.”
Bursts of brain rhythms with “beta” frequencies control where and when neurons in the cortex process sensory information and plan responses. Studying these bursts would improve understanding of cognition and clinical disorders, researchers argue in a new review.
The brain processes information on many scales. Individual cells electrochemically transmit signals in circuits but at the large scale required to produce cognition, millions of cells act in concert, driven by rhythmic signals at varying frequencies. Studying one frequency range in particular, beta rhythms between about 14–30 Hz, holds the key to understanding how the brain controls cognitive processes — or loses control in some disorders — a team of neuroscientists argues in a new review article.
Drawing on experimental data, mathematical modeling and theory, the scientists make the case that bursts of beta rhythms control cognition in the brain by regulating where and when higher gamma frequency waves can coordinate neurons to incorporate new information from the senses or formulate plans of action. Beta bursts, they argue, quickly establish flexible but controlled patterns of neural activity for implementing intentional thought.
Connecting cerebral organoids with an axon bundle models inter-regional projections and enhances neural activity. Optogenetic stimulation induces short-term plasticity, offering insights into macroscopic circuit development and functionality.
BARseq interrogates the expression of 104 cell-type marker genes in 10.3 million cells over nine mouse forebrain hemispheres to reveal the role of peripheral inputs on cortical area development.
LimX Dynamics, a leading Chinese company in general-purpose robotics, has recently shared an exciting update on its latest innovation — the P1 bipedal robot. The company released a video showcasing the remarkable locomotion capabilities of the P1 as it navigates through a dense forest terrain. This significant milestone highlights the robot’s agility and adaptability in challenging environments.
Advanced Learning Techniques.
The P1 robot is equipped with cutting-edge reinforcement learning technology, allowing it to swiftly identify and respond to various external stimuli. This includes dynamically reacting to obstacles and uneven ground encountered during its traversal. Notably, the robot can autonomously right itself if pushed or kicked, demonstrating its robust stability and control.
Successful Testing in Tanglang Mountain.
ONE in 50 people could be at risk of a new type of genetic dementia, according to a study.
Researchers found people carrying two copies of the APOE4 gene mutation are “almost guaranteed” to develop Alzheimer’s in old age.
Ohh nice! New vaccine science it seems though I’m not familiar with vaccines, this does seem like a novel approach. It’s kinda future proof to train the immune system to target proteins that are shared across all coronavirus’ I’m hoping it provides, as do they, that it provides a better solution than current vaccines.
The vaccine is made by attaching harmless proteins from different coronaviruses to minuscule nanoparticles that are then injected to prime the body’s defences to fight the viruses should they ever invade.
Because the vaccine trains the immune system to target proteins that are shared across many different types of coronavirus, the protection it induces is extremely broad, making it effective against known and unknown viruses in the same family.
“We’ve shown that a relatively simple vaccine can still provide a scattershot response across a range of different viruses,” said Rory Hills, a graduate researcher at the University of Cambridge and first author of the report. “It takes us one step forward towards our goal of creating vaccines before a pandemic has even started.”
Engineers at Princeton and North Carolina State University have combined ancient paper-folding and modern materials science to create a soft robot that bends and twists through mazes with ease.
