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ICYMI: Future motorcycle, brain membrane breakthrough & more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-801049{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-801049, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-801049{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-801049").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Doctors were able to bypass the blood-brain barrier to deliver medicine to the brain quickly. Yamaha's new electric concept motorcycle is getting attention from even the non-motorcyclists in the office. And a YouTuber constructed a real-life Dejarik gaming table that took him 11 months to complete; well worth seeing.
I electroshocked my brain and I feel great!
For years I've relied on caffeine and cannabis to modulate my moods. It's an effective, albeit slightly illegal, system and not without its side effects. Too much coffee and I become a jittery, hyperactive mess. Too much cannabis and I spend the next few hours taking a weed nap. But that's where the Thync comes in. It's a tiny, head-mounted device that is supposed to discretely modulate your moods by gently zapping your brain with pulses of electricity. But can the power of Tesla really get me out of an emotional funk the way a doppio espresso and some dab rips can?
Lasers help prove parts of the brain 'sleep' while you're awake
Have you ever spaced out in the middle of a conversation without dozing off completely? MIT scientists now have a better idea why: only part of your brain is sleeping while the rest stays awake. Neuroscientists always suspected that, but the MIT team proved it in mice by using "optogenetics" to stimulate a part of the brain associated with sleep. They showed that the "thalamic reticular nucleus" (TRN) not only triggers slow sleep waves across the brain, but controls individual regions as well. The research could lead to safer anesthetic techniques and improved drugs for insomniacs.
ICYMI: The Martian colony plan, simulated rat brain and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-424179{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-424179, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-424179{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-424179").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: We are rounding up Space Week with NASA's detailed plan to get earthlings to settle on Mars. Meanwhile other scientists teamed up to unravel how a rat's brain works, to then simulate it with a computer. Early testing shows how calcium affects the brain in a way that can only help with studies on neurological disorders. And Disney is jumping into more augmented reality with a coloring book app that brings creatures to life while they're worked on.
Brain simulation breakthrough reveals clues about sleep, memory
The Blue Brain Project is a vast effort by 82 scientists worldwide to digitally recreate the human brain. While still far from that goal, the team revealed a breakthrough that has already provided insight into sleep, memory and neurological disorders. They created a simulation of a third of a cubic millimeter of a rat's brain. While that might not sound like much, it involves 30,000 neurons and 37 million synapses. In addition, the simulated level of biological accuracy is far beyond anything so far. It allowed them to reproduce known brain activities -- such as how neurons respond to touch -- and has already yielded discoveries about the brain that were impossible to get biologically.
NASA's studying how zero gravity affects the brain
Because there's no up or down in zero gravity, the way our brains calculate 3D space stops working. As it turns out, that can be problematic, with astronauts finding it hard to complete basic tasks. It's a phenomenon that NASA wants to learn more about, which is why the agency has started to test a crew's spacial awareness before, during and after their trips to space. Whilst on the ground, participants are subject to MRI scans, and on the ISS they're asked to complete various tests requiring thinking and co-ordination. The reason that this is so interesting isn't just because the testing is going on above us right now, but because of what conclusions have already been drawn.
Virtual reality for mice teaches scientists about navigation
Virtual reality isn't just helping scientists understand and treat fellow humans -- it's helping them make sense of their four-legged friends, too. Researchers have built a virtual maze that convinces mice they're running through hallways when they're really running on a ball. The invention makes it possible to keep the rodent's head still and study how its brain works while it's navigating. That's important when you can usually collect only limited data while a critter is on the move. Unlike earlier prototypes, this doesn't require training the mice before they can give the experience a try.
Easy-to-make mini brains will help medical research
If you want to study the effects of drugs or transplants on the brain without operating on the real thing, you typically have to break out some microelectronics and build a model yourself. Not exactly convenient or cheap, is it? If Brown University scientists have their way, however, just about any lab could make some simulated brain matter of their own. They've developed a technique that creates a miniature brain (really, a bundle of electrically active neurons) by extracting cells with a centrifuge and seeding a cell culture. So long as you have two to three weeks and 25 cents' worth of material, you'll have a complex, three-dimensional neural network to tinker with.
Brain implants help the paralyzed type faster
It's possible for paralysis victims to type and otherwise communicate with the world, but they usually have to do so at a glacial pace. They might not be nearly so limited in the future, though. In experiments combining BrainGate2 (a high-speed neural implant system) with text entry software, researchers had a Lou Gehrig's sufferer type words at six words per minute. While that may not sound quick on the surface, it's incredibly fast for someone relying solely on mental activity to write a message.
Scientists control a worm's brain cells using sound waves
Forget using clunky headsets and implants to control brain cells... one day, you might only need to use sound waves and some chemicals. Salk Institute scientists have found a way to control the brain cells of a tiny nematode worm through ultrasound. All they need to do to trigger activity is add a membrane ion channel to a neuron cell and blast it with ultrasonic waves -- in this experiment, the researchers changed the worm's direction through sound bursts. The approach is not only relatively unintrusive, but can reach deep into the body. You could trigger neural activity without ever hooking up an electrode, even for much larger animals.
Scientists stimulate mouse brains with wireless 'charger'
For reasons we'll soon explain, turning on a light inside a mouse's head can help scientists map brain function. It's easy to implant an LED in a mouse's brain, but how to power it? Until now, the mice either needed to be tethered to a fiberoptic cable or fitted with heavy wireless charging devices. However, Stanford scientists managed to build an implant that's not only lightweight, but able to receive consistent amounts of wireless energy.
Digital pens help spot early signs of brain conditions
Doctors frequently check for early signs of brain conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's by looking at irregularities in your drawings, but it's an imperfect art based largely on the doctor's opinion. All too often, the only concrete signs show up by the time you've already been ravaged by the disease. MIT researchers might have a more effective way to catch these conditions early on, though. By using custom tracking software to monitor the output from a digital pen, they can more accurately predict the onset of brain conditions based not only on what you draw, but how you draw. Healthy people spend a bit more time thinking than scribbling; those with memory issues (such as Alzheimer's sufferers) spend a lot more time in thought, while Parkinson's patients tend to struggle with the drawing process.
Gripping objects takes much more brain power than we thought
Researchers from Brown University have made a discovery about how the human brain operates when gripping an object. Previously, it's been assumed that the mind had a short, single command to drive the hand, but in reality it's much more complex than that. With this new information, it's hoped that engineers will be able to build prosthetic limbs that are significantly more responsive. In addition, the finds could also go some way to helping develop new tools for people with severe paralysis.
BBC experiment lets you control iPlayer with your mind
Instead of grabbing the remote or poking at your smartphone, the BBC thinks the future of TV navigation could lie in mind control. For its latest experiment, the broadcaster is testing a brainwave reading headset developed by This Place that lets you launch iPlayer and choose programmes with your thoughts. The device uses two sensors, one on your forehead and one on your ear, to interpret electrical activity as "concentration" or "meditation." Depending on your preference, focusing your mind will trigger a contextual command, such as launching the app or selecting from one of five programmes on a scrolling carousel. Once the app lands on your chosen TV show, you simply have to "think" until a pink volume bar fills on the left-hand side of the screen. The functionality is basic, but the BBC hopes it can be adapted to assist viewers with disabilities. For now it's just a proof of concept, but maybe in the future we'll all be using brainwaves to tune into BBC Two.
Thync's mood-changing wearable arrives for $299
How eager are you to calm down (or psych yourself up) at a moment's notice? If the answer is "enough to buy a fairly expensive gadget," your solution is now within reach. Thync has launched its namesake mood-changing wearable at the hefty price of $299. That's a lot to pay simply to feel different, but the company is betting that its funky, triangular neurosignalling device is just the ticket if you tend to be stressed or lethargic at inopportune moments. Use the phone-controlled device and it should either relax or revitalize you for up to an hour, with "carry-over impacts" lasting for hours longer. The hardware worked well enough in our early hands-on, so it might be worth giving Thync a shot if you're often out-of-sorts -- it may well beat drinking coffee or beer to achieve the same effects.
'Amnesiac' mice made to remember what they forgot with blue light
Mice with amnesia were able to recover training memories with assistance from blue light, in research that suggests that memories lost in brain trauma could still exist (and perhaps even be recalled) from the human brain. It marks the first time scientists were able to suppress a memory and then bring it back. The research focused on retrograde amnesia, which affects the ability to form memories after a brain injury, or recall what happened before the accident. The group trained two mice teams to remember that one room would deliver a mild electric shock when entered into. Afterwards, placing the mice in the room would cause this reaction without even delivering the shock. Researchers then identified which neurons were active in mice brains when they froze at being in the shock room. labelling those cells with a protein sensitive to blue light, and using a virus to get it where they wanted it. When blue light hit these "memory engram cells" the mouses experienced the same shock — and froze up.
Brain-like circuit performs human tasks for the first time
There are already computer chips with brain-like functions, but having them perform brain-like tasks? That's another challenge altogether. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara aren't daunted, however -- they've used a basic, 100-synapse neural circuit to perform the typical human task of image classification for the first time. The memristor-based technology (which, by its nature, behaves like an 'analog' brain) managed to identify letters despite visual noise that complicated the task, much as you would spot a friend on a crowded street. Conventional computers can do this, but they'd need a much larger, more power-hungry chip to replicate the same pseudo-organic behavior.
Obama's 2013 'BRAIN' initiative results in remote-controlled mice
The first results to stem from President Barack Obama's 2013 "Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies" initiative are in, Reuters reports. As noted in the journal Neuron, scientists were able to manipulate the brain circuitry of lab mice, making them move, stay still, eat or leave their bowls of food behind. This was accomplished through the use of DREADDs, "designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs." The DREADDs system uses genetically engineered brain neurons to create custom receptors that lock into manmade molecules, activating whichever neuron scientists target. The DREADD method is a noninvasive form of behavior control, first introduced about a decade ago as a way to turn neurons on or off -- the newest DREADDs are the first to be able to do both.
Ultrasound helps destroy Alzheimer's-causing plaque in mice
Alzheimer's is a degenerative disease often characterized by severe memory loss, and even though it affects more than 5 million people in the United States (with an uptick expected as the Baby Boomer generation ages), it remains notoriously difficult to treat. The University of Queensland reports an Australian research team recently took an encouraging step toward possible treatment by sending ultrasound waves at the brains of mice with Alzheimer's. In 75 percent of the mice, the waves broke up clusters of an amyloid beta plaque that contributes to the disease's progression, and these mice performed better on subsequent memory and spatial recognition tests.
Mind-controlled drones promise a future of hands-free flying
There have been tentative steps into thought-controlled drones in the past, but Tekever and a team of European researchers just kicked things up a notch. They've successfully tested Brainflight, a project that uses your mental activity (detected through a cap) to pilot an unmanned aircraft. You have to learn how to fly on your own, but it doesn't take long before you're merely thinking about where you want to go. And don't worry about crashing because of distractions or mental trauma, like seizures -- there are "algorithms" to prevent the worst from happening.
