Lifeboat Foundation

A research team led by Rice University neuroengineers has created wireless technology to remotely activate specific brain circuits in fruit flies in under one second.

The team – an assemblage of experts in genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and electrical engineering – used magnetic signals to activate targeted neurons that controlled the body position of freely moving fruit flies in an enclosure.

Continue reading “Neuroengineers hack fruit fly brain and remotely control its movements” »

SYNOPSIS: Will a computer ever be more creative than a human? In this compelling program, artists, musicians, neuroscientists, and computer scientists explore the future of artistry and imagination in the age of artificial intelligence.

PARTICIPANTS: Sougwen Chung, Jesse Engel, Peter Ulric Tse, Lav Varshney.
MODERATOR: John Schaefer.
Original program date: MAY 31, 2017

Continue reading “AI and the Art of Ingenuity: Computational Creativity” »

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The field of Artificial Intelligence was founded in the mid 1950s with the aim of constructing “thinking machines” — that is to say, computer systems with human-like general intelligence. Think of humanoid robots that not only look but act and think with intelligence equal to and ultimately greater than that of human beings. But in the intervening years, the field has drifted far from its ambitious old-fashioned roots.

Continue reading “#58 Dr. Ben Goertzel — Artificial General Intelligence” »

Glioblastoma tumors take advantage of mechanisms used to create neurons to spread far and wide, scientists in Germany say.

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐲

Scientists from the University of Birmingham have shown that a brain-penetrating candidate drug currently in development as a cancer therapy can foster regeneration of damaged nerves after spinal trauma.

The research, published today in Clinical and Translational Medicine, used cell and animal models to demonstrate that when taken orally the candidate drug, known as AZD1390, can block the response to DNA damage in nerve cells and promote regeneration of damaged nerves, so restoring sensory and motor function after spinal injury.

Continue reading “Research shows investigational drug fosters nerve repair after injury” »

To build a true artificial mind, first map out how thinking works. Enter the Common Model of Cognition.

How the virus behind covid-19 enters the brain was somewhat of a mystery, but new evidence hints it may build tiny tubes from nose cells to brain cells that it can shuttle through.

People who have at least two of the conditions type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or stroke are twice as likely to develop dementia. Research from Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet that was published in the journal Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s disease is a disease that attacks the brain, causing a decline in mental ability that worsens over time. It is the most common form of dementia and accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases. There is no current cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but there are medications that can help ease the symptoms.

University of Iowa researchers have confirmed in a new study that a specific region in the brain is critical to governing the mind’s communication with the body’s motor control system. The findings could yield advances in treatment for Parkinson’s disease, as declining motor coordination is a central symptom of the disorder.

In experiments with humans, the researchers pinpointed the subthalamic nucleus as the region in the brain that communicates with the motor system to help the body stop an action. This communication is vital because it helps humans avoid surprises and react to potentially dangerous or unforeseen circumstances.

The subthalamic nucleus is a tiny grouping of cells that is part of the basal ganglia, which is a key circuit in controlling movement. The basal ganglia takes initial motor commands generated in the brain and either amplify or halt specific parts of those commands as they pass from the central nervous system to the spinal cord.