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Virginia Tech football helmets monitor hits wirelessly
While the Virginia Tech Hokies tend to rely more on dazzling special teams teams play than sheer defensive prowess, the players take a lickin' regardless. In a presumed extension of Beamer Ball, the sparkly helmets donned by the football squad will sport internal accelerometers and wireless transmitters that beam (ahem) information about the seriousness of each blow to a Sybase database in order to tell if and when a certain player has had enough. The primary objective is to prevent any long-term injuries and detect concussions before individuals can even realize they're hurt, and an interesting byproduct of the system has shown what types of thwacks are typically sustained at different positions. The HITS (head impact telemetry system) technology could reportedly be used in places like the battlefield as well, or moreover, rigorous rounds of Wii Boxing -- but we're sure WVU's Punchstat system is already on top of that.[Photo courtesy of VT]
USC researcher crafting silicon brain cells
C'mon, linking actual brain cells to a silicon chip might sound a bit sensational at first, but considering the work that's already been done on replacement retinas and human brains, Ted Berger's recently-hyped work is pretty much right on time. Essentially, the USC researcher has spent the past decade or so "engineering a brain implant that can re-create thoughts," and moreover, certain implementations could even "remedy everything from Alzheimer's to absent-mindedness." We know, thoughts of instantaneous brilliance are running wild through your mind, and considering that Ted (and his highly-regarded team) have figured out how to link a silicon chip to actual brain cells and elicit responses, the possibilities are indeed nearly endless. Put simply, Berger hopes that brain disorders that are currently battled with intensive drug regimens with less-than-exciting side effects can be solved "by simply implanting a few computerized brain cells." Of course, the team admits that it's "years, maybe decades" away from hospital-approved apparatuses, but if you're interested in reading (a lot) more about "the future of brain science," grab your specs, prepare your paltry short term memory, and hit the read link for all the insight.[Via MedGadget]
Cellphones are dangerous/not dangerous, no glioma edition
If you are spending a good deal of your day and night fretting about brain cancer and mobile phones, you can rest easy knowing that current thinking (read: by current, we mean for the next 15 minutes when the next study comes out) leans toward cell phones not being associated with glioma, the most common type of brain tumor. The International Journal of Cancer reports that in a study of 1,521 glioma patients and 3,301 controls, 92 percent of glioma patients and 94 percent of controls reported using mobile phones. There is, however, some evidence pointing to increased risk of glioma in people who use cell phones on the same side of their head, though the results were of "borderline statistical significance." So, what can we take from all this? A new study is likely being written as you read this that will contradict these findings, switch up that handset once in a while -- you know, left to right and such, make a game of it -- and if you are really worried, check out a wired headset.
Big Brain Academy screens, WiiConnect24 details
It breaks our hearts to see that only a few games on the Wii's roster support Mii integration and WiiConnect24. Nintendo's lack of third-party cooperation might be to blame, but at least the company will be implementing both features with Big Brain Academy for the Wii. Users will be able to import their Miis when creating a student profile, solving the game's reflex puzzles with their customized characters. According to the latest issue of Nintendo Power, WiiConnect24 will allow other people's Miis to wander into your game, equipped with the student profiles of their creators. You will also be able to test your brain against theirs in any of the multiplayer modes. We're going to be pretty depressed if our friends' Miis turn out to be much smarter than us. At least we have our wit! There's always that, right? Big Brain Academy won't be coming out in the US until June 11, so there's still some time to hit the books and get your brain in shape. Jeux-France has several dozen screenshots of the game in action along with some Mii artwork. Check past the post break for a few of those images.
Brain Age works, it really really works!
And with a scientific headline such as that, who's to argue, amirite?But seriously, according to some Israeli scientists the brain-training exercises found in the game MindFit (very much like Brain Age), when compared against classic computer games such as Tetris, actually improve brain power more. Using a total of 121 volunteers over the age of 50, the study spanned over 3 months and, at the end, when each group was divided the scientists found that both groups had improved, but the group playing MindFit actually had better spatial short-term memory, spatial learning and focused attention.[Thanks, Andrew!]
UK retailer celebrates Brain Awareness week with Brain Age deal
Did you know this week was Brain Awareness week? Neither did we, which might say something about the current state of our brain (see: mush). As part of this week's focus on the brain and the wonderful things it can do, UK retailer GAME is selling some bundles, along with a few games, at a discount to help you get the most out of that wrinkled little guy that rests snugly within your skull.The deals offered include the pink and onyx DS Lites, bundled with Brain Training (Brain Age for us Americans) at a discounted price. Also up for grabs are Big Brain Academy, as well as Brain Training by itself, allowing those of you who already have a DS Lite (as you should) to still get in on the action.
g.tec launches ready-to-go brain computer interface kit
We know what you're thinking [1], how come no-one has made any of the various brain interface technologies out there into a commercial product? Well, your dream last night [2] took a step closer to becoming reality with the announcement of the "ready-to-go" g.BCIsys Brain-Computer interface kit by the Austrian company g.tec. Out of the box, the BCIsys can play simple games and comes with a P300 spelling device which, with a little training, can read your thoughts and place single letters on a screen. Ok, so you're not exactly going to want to throw away your QWERTY just yet, as the P300 can take as many as 20 "flashes" to correctly read the word that you're thinking; nor should the weight conscious be concerned that Wii Sports will be moving back to the sofa just yet, as the only included game is Pong. Also, this system isn't exactly what you'd call a commercial release (lets just say that g.tec's distribution partners aren't the "one click purchase" type). In fact, we can't find any information about how much the kit costs, or even whether simpletons like us would be allowed to get their hands on one. Little steps, little steps.[1] No, we didn't place one of the brain interface kits onto your head whilst you were sleeping: it's just a turn of phrase ...[2] ... honest![Via gizmag]
DS Daily: New horizons
There have been a lot of familiar franchises on the DS, and we love them! But, and this is where a lot of the system's publicity comes from, there has also been an explosion of new genres and new experiences, as well as revivals of past trends. So, as hardcore gamers (the kind who read game blogs), has your gaming universe been expanded by the DS? Have you taken part in any completely new experiences? Played your first graphical text adventure? Minigame collection? Whatever Brain Age was?Or maybe what you discovered on the DS is something popular that you just missed out on for some reason, like Final Fantasy or Castlevania. We want to hear about your experiences! We want to know how the DS has affected your gaming tastes! We want to know how you classify Brain Age!
A look at some unsung DS villains
Modojo's Ryan Morgan took a trip into the underworld of DS games, finding the meanest of the mean villains and delivering stern warnings about them. These aren't the everyday spiny, cloaked, "NOOOOOOO"-bellowing villains we know, the kind that telegraph their evilness to the world, but some more insidious cads who, while they look innocuous enough, will strike and attempt to force you to feed their twisted, evil obsessions. The biggest offender? The color blue, who Nintendo seems to have collaborated with to render Brain Age players hoarse or even mute from repeated attempts at the Stroop test. Bluuuuuuuuuuuue!
Chinese scientists control live pigeon flights via brain electrodes
Scientists in eastern China have successfully experimented with brain-motor skill manipulation in pigeons to "force the bird to comply with their commands." Micro electrodes have been planted into the brains of these pigeons to control their movement left, right, up, and down during flight. While chief scientist Su Xuecheng boasts, "It's the first such successful experiment on a pigeon in the world," they were fruitless in the search for any type of practical use, which was, ironically, the group's initiative when moving forward from similar experiments in mice in 2005. Although it's doubtful these pigeons will be transformed into aviary cyborg fighting machines, perhaps the scientists can have a little fun with practical droppings jokes and the like.
MIT brain bot mimics humans to recognize street scene
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, robots have been laying it on thick with human-inspired forms since day one. Unfortunately, AI hasn't quite kept up with mechanical achievements, mainly due to the fact that the human brain isn't merely mysterious in many regards, but dang complicated to boot. However, some brain experts at the Tomaso Poggio lab for brain research at MIT have made some impressive gains in bridging the gap. Using a computational model of how the brain processes info, the researchers created a bot capable of recognizing different objects in a street scene. The research is primarily targeted at brain geeks looking for ways to repair damaged brain functions and to better understand the brain's operation, but computer science should benefit from the biological inspiration of this research, and the methods used could lead to computer vision systems capable of better surveillance, car driving assistance, visual search engines and vision for robots. Because of its biological nature, the Poggio lab vision system is trained over time by being shown various street scenes, and the data in each picture is processed in much the same process as the brain goes through when presented with an image. Right now the system just mimics the brain's instant recognition faculties, but soon it'll be capable of putting more thought into what it sees -- for instance, cars do not belong in the sky -- so be warned people of earth: the first step in destroying an enemy is visually recognizing them. Our days are numbered.[Via Medgadget]
Koreans encountering some problems with Brain Age
With news that Nintendo was going to directly stake a claim in the bolstering Korean games market, many in that market were happy to hear that the company with a knack for creating wonderful and original games would be arriving, saving them from horrible importing fees and lackluster customer service. Now that Nintendo has arrived and launched their DS Lite system, along with Brain Training, some are finding the same technical flaws that plagued the game in America and Japan have come to Korea.At least, one reporter for the Korea Times has discovered such, claiming that both the voice recognition exercises, as well as the written ones, are failing to register the proper data. Hmm, sounds familiar, doesn't it?See also: Brain Age sells 4 million worldwide Brain Age striking it rich in the mainstream media Brain Age math challenge exploit
EEG signatures are the new fingerprint scans
If you think (er, know) that fingerprint scanners just aren't up to snuff with your strict demands, a team of European scientists are developing a novel replacement for biometric security. Dimitrios Tzovaras and his colleagues at the Center for Research and Technology Hellas in Greece have established a system which relies on measured activity in the brain to form a security protocol that's "difficult to forge." Since electroencephalography (EEG) measurements are unique for every person, users begin by having their brain activity recorded and analyzed, producing an "EEG signature" which can then be used to allow or deny entry into buildings, data centers, or other top secret locales. The catch is that employees would be forced to walk around with a wired helmet on their noggin, which could "potentially chang the ambiance of the workplace" according to a researcher at the University of Cambridge. Notably, the method is just one of the security layers that are being scrutinized as a part of the Human Monitoring and Authentication using Biodynamic Indicators and Behavioral Analysis (HUMABIO) project going on in Europe, which aims to "combine several different biometrics to create a more efficient and secure overall system." Of course, there's still some kinks to be worked out, especially considering that brain patterns are extremely dependent on "alertness," and we seriously hope they develop a less invasive (and gaudy) alternative to forcing blokes to rock oddly-shaped headgear as a part of their job.
Epilepsy and games: A closer look
Anyone who plays video games has probably come across the scary-sounding warnings about epileptic seizures that affect "a very small portion of the population." But it's still a bit shocking to stumble across a headline that urges reader to "Beware! Video game turn kids epileptic."The sensationalistic headline in the Hindustan Times is a bit misleading -- as the Epilepsy Therapy Development Project (ETDP) explains, "playing video games can, in rare cases, trigger seizures, but there is no scientific evidence that video games can cause epilepsy." Still, the article points out how otherwise normal children who have not yet been diagnosed with epilepsy can have scary, violent, seemingly unexplained fits when exposed to certain games.Research shows that while 1 in 200 people have some form of epilepsy, only about 1 in 4,000 have the photosensitive type that can be triggered by video games. That might not sound like much, but multiplied over tens of millions of video game players it adds up to thousands of people who are potentially susceptible.ETDP has some suggestions for preventing the risk of seizure, including playing in a well lit room and playing for shorter periods of time. NIH suggests that TVs running at 100 Hertz won't induce seizures, and that some children simply outgrow the problem as they get older. In short, while video game-induced epilepsy is something to keep an eye out for, it's not something to be overly panicked about.
Famitsu's top 100 DS games in Japan
Japanese mag Famitsu has compiled, using black magic and voodoo, a list of the top 100 best-selling DS games in Japan. The numbers they use appear to be different from the Media Create numbers we usually use, but one has to wonder how in the world they can claim accuracy down to individual units. We think it has something to do with spirits. Here's the top ten (Japanese sales only, remember), and for the rest, follow the link! 1. More Brain Training (Nintendo) - 3,417,956 sold 2. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo) - 3,351,234 sold 3. Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo) - 3,335,195 sold 4. Pokémon Diamond / Pearl (Nintendo) - 3,060,032 sold 5. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo) - 2,837,394 sold 6. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) - 1,626,242 sold 7. English Training (Nintendo) - 1,408,243 sold 8. Nintendogs (Nintendo) - 1,335,185 sold 9. Big Brain Academy (Nintendo) - 1,299,188 sold 10. Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop (Bandai) - 1,110,046 sold
Wii Sports: Training and Fitness modes documented
We've been spending tons of time with Wii Sports and we never took the chance to check out the Fitness and Training modes. In correcting the situation, we found that each are fairly straight forward and just how you would imagine them; Fitness is a kind of Brain Age semi-clone, yet instead of a brain age you are given a fitness age, and with Training you are taken through several scenarios in each of the sports. Fitness mode is a good deal more in-depth, so initially you'd want to head into Training mode before checking that out so that you can train up before committing yourself to a fitness age the system is looking to label you with.Continue reading for our first ever Wii Sports Fitness mode trial!
Artificial aid annoys user to counteract short-term memory loss
It's oftentimes tough to recall recent events, names, or gamertags while having a perfectly "normal" state of mind, but folks with brain damage, Alzheimer's disease, or ADHD are commonly plagued with the inability to bring back memories from just moments earlier. The function of the brain known as the "phonological loop" acts as a type of echo to hold snippets of pertinent information (such as phone numbers, directions, etc.) momentarily in your brain until you can get it written down; individuals suffering from short-term memory loss often lack this overlooked, but obviously critical, functionality. Daniel Bogen, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, has crafted a handheld device which acts as an aural stopgap to help people remember important information. The device boasts a speaker, microphone, and controls for recording / playback, and will automatically play reminders of the user's latest sound byte every two minutes, or if chosen, will nag its carrier to vocally repeat the message into the machine until he / she does so. To presumably prevent those amnesiac customers from perpetually misplacing their device, Bogen is considering integrating the hardware into "cellphones or wristwatches," but apparently forgot to mention when he hopes to see these in consumers' hands.
Nintendo feel good moment: buying mom a DS Lite for her birthday
While we were navigating the tubes of the intertron today, we stumbled upon the flickr account of one edublogger documenting his mother's birthday and the DS Lite and Brain Training combo gift he bestowed upon her. Personally, it made us feel wonderful to see someone giving, and receiving, the gift of Nintendo. We've stolen included pictures of the gifting and unwrapping embedded into the post, after the break.
Big Brain Academy headed to the Wii?
One of our wonderful readers sent us in a tip (note: sending in news tips may or may not increase your chances of becoming a billionaire) regarding Super Mario Galaxy. Turns out, Nintendo's listing of Wii titles has Super Mario Galaxy as only being a temporary name. More importantly, however, is the listing that shows Big Brain Academy (also a temporary name) is headed to the Wii.Could this mean that a Brain Age sequel will not be releasing on the Wii, with Big Brain Academy being the only brain-training game to hit the platform?[Thanks Modano!]
Teenager plays Space Invaders with only his brain
While having a robotic assistant play video games for you might sound novel, it's certainly not as thrilling as interacting with the 1s and 0s yourself. A team of researchers, engineers, and students at Washington University in St. Louis have crafted a brain-computer interface system that allowed a 14-year old gamer suffering from epilepsy to cruise through the first two levels of Space Invaders using only his imagination. Rather than picking up an Xbox 360 and perusing through the Xbox Live Arcade, the crew went back to their roots and programmed an Atari 2600 to interface with the brain-sensing apparatus. The headgear boasted a grid of sensors that monitored "electrocorticographic activity" from the brain's surface to detect signals based on thought processes that were going on. By calibrating his thoughts with video game triggers, the teenager was able to learn the ropes "almost instantaneously," and had no qualms demolishing the competition while twiddling his thumbs. The group plans to use this successful experiment to further understand the mysterious signals of the mind and give physically disabled individuals a chance to show of their mental sharpness, but we're hoping to see this thing bundled in with the sure-to-be-delayed PlayStation 8 that should hit shelves sometime before 2040 2050.[Via MedGadget]
