Researchers at Brown University have created a brain-computer interface (BCI) with 200 electrodes providing 48 megabits per second (Mbit/s) of neural signalsThe trial participants – a 35-year-old man and a 63-year-old man, paralysed by spinal cord injuries – were able to use the BrainGate system in their homes, not a lab setting . Unencumbered by cables, they used the BCI continuously for up to 24 hours, giving researchers long-duration data, including while the participants slept.Brown University has an agreement with neural engineering and neuroprosthetics company Blackrock Microsystems, to make the device available for researchers around the world.https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2021/04/2-first-high-bandwidth-wireles
We may soon have a scientifically-proven way of optimising our diet and health based on our genes and gut microbes. In a project led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a five-year-long study will examine how 10,000 Americans process food, tackling the “what, when, why, and how to eat” to optimise health and reduce chronic health plagues such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.The resulting tools, methods, and paradigm shift will have the potential to truly transform the field of nutrition sciencehttps://singularityhub.com/2021/02/16/massive-national-health-study-looks-to-tailor-your-diet-to-your-genetic-makeup
The skin of study participants who consumed lots of grapes developed an increased resistance to UV light.Grapes contain polyphenols, good stuff for repairing skin and fighting inflammation.After their grape adventure, biopsies revealed less skin-cell damage from UV light.The researchers also found that a topical application of a grapeseed extract containing the polyphenol proanthocyanidins inhibited the formation of sunburn cells.https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/grapes-uv-protection?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1
A team from Harvard Medical School and MIT recorded directly from single neurons in the forepart of their brains. For the first time, the scientists identified a special group of cells that lets us acknowledge and predict someone else’s hidden beliefs. Even crazier, these neurons loyally encoded demonstrably false ideas that others may have, and beliefs that the person being studied doesn’t necessarily agree with.In other words, each of us has a smattering of brain cells dedicated to modelling another mind inside our own heads.https://singularityhub.com/2021/02/02/this-is-where-empathy-lives-in-the-brain-and-how-it-works
Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have produced displays that have been biodegradability certified and checked by independent auditorsThe construction materials are of natural origin or biocompatible and are sealed with gelatin making the display adhesive and flexible so it can be worn directly on the skin. This sort of display is particularly well-suited for short-lifecycle applications in sectors like medical diagnostics. The technology could also be used to monitor food packaging where reuse isn’t permitted.Scientists believe this is the first demonstration of a biodegradable display produced using inkjet printing.https://www.slashgear.com/researchers-create-biodegradable-flexible-displays-for-skin-28657194/
The next big thing in probing the brain is assembloids—free-floating brain circuits—that now combine brain tissue with an external output.To be clear, few would argue that today’s mini-brains are capable of any sort of consciousness or awareness. But as mini-brains get increasingly more sophisticated, at what point can we consider them a sort of AI, capable of computation or even something that mimics thought? We don’t yet have an answer—but the debates are on.https://singularityhub.com/2021/01/12/meet-assembloids-mini-human-brains-with-muscles-attached
