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A severely brain injured woman, who recovered the ability to communicate using her left eye, restored connections and function of the areas of her brain responsible for producing expressive language and responding to human speech, according to new research from Weill Cornell Medicine scientists.

The study, published Dec. 7 in Science Translational Medicine, began 21 months after Margaret Worthen suffered massive strokes, and her continuing recovery was tracked for nearly three years. The research signifies the first time that scientists have captured the restoration of communication of a minimally conscious patient by measuring aspects of brain structure and function before and after communication resumed. It also raises the question of whether other patients in chronic care facilities who appear to be minimally responsive or unresponsive may harbor organized, higher-level brain function.

“From the beginning of Margaret’s attempt to communicate, through the course of our study, we were able to show reorganization of the areas of her brain responsible for expressive language, as well as an exceptionally large change in the correlation across the brain areas in response to human speech,” said study lead author Daniel Thengone, the Fred Plum Fellow in Systems Neurology and Neuroscience in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine. Adds senior study author Dr. Nicholas D. Schiff, the Jerold B. Katz Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute: “This is a unique demonstration of plastic change in the brain of an adult starting years after a severe brain injury. We showed a convergence of measurements over years and at multiple time points, revealing an evolving biological process of recovery.”

Another breakthrough on our path to Singularity.

Researchers at Duke University have demonstrated for the first time an electronic link between the brains of pairs of rats. The link allowed the rats to communicate directly and solve simple tasks. A follow up research demonstrated a similar link created between animals thousands of miles apart—one in North Carolina and one in Brazil. The research might allow scientists in the future to connect multiple brains to form a combined multi-brain which could allow sharing of both motor and sensory information between several animals. How easily can you connect one brain directly to another? The surprising answer is that it might be significantly easier than previously thought, at least when it comes to rats. Professor Miguel Nicolelis from Duke University School of Medicine and his team, discovered in previous studies that rat brain are much more “plastic” than we expected, and that they can adapt quickly to accept input from devices outside the body and even learn how to process invisible infrared light generated by an artificial sensor (somewhat similar experiments are currently being done in humans, where blind people are fitted with bionic eyes connected to the optical nerve which is given time to adjust to the new stimuli with the hope of eventually allowing them to process the information and regain partial sight).

Continue reading “First Brain-to-Brain Interface Demonstrated” »

Precise stimulation could be useful for visual prosthetics or brain-computer interfaces.

In the George Lucas classic Star Wars, hero Luke Skywalker’s arm is severed and amputated during a lightsaber fight and consequently fitted with a bionic arm that he can use as if it were his own limb. At the time the script was written, such a remedy was pure science fiction; however, the ability to manufacture bionic arms that have the functionality and even feel of a natural limb is becoming very real, with goals of launching a prototype as soon as 2009. Already, primates have been trained to feed themselves using a robotic arm merely by thinking about it, while brain sensors have been picking up their brain-signal patterns since 2003. The time has come for implementing this technology on paralyzed human patients and amputees. This article will provide a brief explanation of the technology, its current status, and the potential future it holds.

Although we strive towards a limited invasive BMI technology; public adoption will (like autonomous AI) will be limited until the public and even private networks are updated and secured with QC.

The driver mentally commands the car to accelerate or brake. True, the autopilot is a joy and wonder to marvel, but what about those who still love driving? Good new, soon enough it will be possible to drive with your mind.

Continue reading “Turning a Tesla Into a Brain-Controlled Vehicle” »

Scientists have created pressure detectors so sensitive, they respond to the footsteps of a spider. This advance combines the latest in nanotechnology with a decades-old children’s toy. VOA’s Steve Baragona has more.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=_-kkkNdbils

Harvesting human energy into devices.

Engineers find an alternate route toward self-powered devices with foldable material.

Continue reading “Nanogenerator Harvests Swipes To Power LCD Screens” »

Glad that the author is highlighting the need for investment; however, the US government has had a quantum network since 1991. Wall Street, various overseas banks, ISPs, etc. well over a year to 2 years ago. And, tech has invested in QC for a decade or longer. So, the article raises the need for investing in QC; however, the investing is no longer experimental as it is now about the daily usage of this technology as well as planning for technical transformation that is coming in the next 5 to 7 years.

Researchers led by Lockheed Martin and IBM are pushing quantum computing prototypes and military applications.

An international team of scientists has succeeded in making further improvements to the lifetime of superconducting quantum circuits. An important prerequisite for the realization of high-performance quantum computers is that the stored data should remain intact for as long as possible. The researchers, including Jülich physicist Dr. Gianluigi Catelani, have developed and tested a technique that removes unpaired electrons from the circuits. These are known to shorten the qubit lifetime (Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.aah5844).

Quantum computers could one day achieve significantly higher computing speeds than conventional digital computers in performing certain types of tasks. Superconducting circuits belong to the most promising candidates for implementing quantum bits, known as qubits, with which quantum computers can store and process information. The high error rates associated with previously available qubits have up to now limited the size and efficiency of quantum computers. Dr. Gianluigi Catelani of the Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI-2) in Jülich, together with his colleagues has now found a way to prolong the time in which the superconducting circuits are able to store a “0” or a “1” without errors. Beside Catelani, the team comprises researchers working in the USA (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory, and the University of California, Berkeley), Japan (RIKEN), and Sweden (Chalmers University of Technology).

When superconducting materials are cooled below a material-specific critical temperature, electrons come together to form pairs; then current can flow without resistance. However, so far it has not been possible to build superconducting circuits in which all electrons bundle together. Single electrons remain unpaired and are unable to flow without resistance. Due to these so-called quasiparticles, energy is lost and this limits the length of time that the circuits can store data.

Continue reading “Further Improvement of Qubit Lifetime for Quantum Computers” »