With BrainNet, 3 people play Tetris with their minds

A new system called BrainNet lets three people play a Tetris-like game using a brain-to-brain interface. This is the first demonstration of two things: a brain-to-brain network of more than two people, and a person being able to both receive and send information to others using only their brain. “Humans are social beings who communicate… Continue reading With BrainNet, 3 people play Tetris with their minds

Can mathematics help us understand the complexity of our microbiome?

How do the communities of microbes living in our gastrointestinal systems affect our health? Carnegie’s Will Ludington was part of a team that helped answer this question. For nearly a century, evolutionary biologists have probed how genes encode an individual’s chances for success—or fitness—in a specific environment. In order to reveal a potential evolutionary trajectory… Continue reading Can mathematics help us understand the complexity of our microbiome?

Humans don’t actually want to be immortal, we just want to be forever young

For a personal sense of wellness, we may still be better off thinking of aging as an inevitable process with certain positive aspects—like additional wisdom accumulated through experience—rather than a sickness we hope to eradicate. If the many startups working on extended youth and anti-aging endeavors actually manage to create a magic potion that keeps… Continue reading Humans don’t actually want to be immortal, we just want to be forever young

Crawling Robots on the Brain

Nanosized robots capable of crawling around on a person’s brain or underneath the skin may sound like a nightmare to some, but researchers suggest the mini machines could serve medical purposes such as gathering data on the brain or the spinal column. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University recently announced they have… Continue reading Crawling Robots on the Brain