slick_shoes - Slashdot User

Submission + - Researchers Simulate Rat's Brain (guardian.co.uk) 3

Submitted by slick_shoes on Sunday December 23, 2007 @10:42AM

slick_shoes writes: Researchers working on the 'Blue Brain' project have developed a computer simulation of the neocortical column — the basic building block of the neocortex, the higher functioning part of our brains — of a two-week-old rat, and it behaves exactly like its biological counterpart. The machine that simulates this column is an IBM Blue Gene/L supercomputer. Project director Henry Markram believes that with the state of technology today, it is possible to build an entire rat's neocortex. From there, it's cats, then monkeys and finally, a human brain.

Submission + - Brain grown in jar pilots F-22 sim (pantherhouse.com) 5

Submitted by NJ Hewitt on Saturday December 15, 2007 @08:40AM

NJ Hewitt writes: "Florida scientists have grown a brain in a petri dish and taught it to pilot an F-22 jet simulator." The brain, with neurons connected to 60 electrodes, at first had no ability to pilot the fighter jet, but slowly learned and can now reliably navigate through even hurricane-force winds in the simulator.

Submission + - The UN IPCC bans dissenting scientists 3

Submitted by LynnwoodRooster on Sunday December 09, 2007 @12:23AM

LynnwoodRooster writes: The UN's Bali meeting about Climate Change has refused to let any scientists associated with the ICSC to participate in the meeting. Not a very open, scientific and non-political way to handle climate concerns...

Submission + - Reading paralysed man's mind (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by

Tjeerd

on Friday November 16, 2007 @08:57AM

Tjeerd writes: "Electrodes have been implanted in the brain of Eric Ramsay, who has been "locked in" — conscious but paralysed — since a car crash eight years ago. These have been recording pulses in areas of the brain involved in speech. Now, New Scientist magazine reports, they are to use the signals he generates to drive speech software. Although the data is still being analysed, researchers at Boston University believe they can correctly identify the sound Mr Ramsay's brain is imagining some 80% of the time."

Submission + - Major Breakthrough in Speech Brain Hack

Submitted by

jd

on Friday November 16, 2007 @03:31AM

jd writes: "In a major breakthrough, neurologists are reporting that they can decypher neurological impulses into speech with an 80% accuracy. A paralyzed man who is incapable of speech has electrodes implanted in his brain which detect the electrical pulses in the brain relating to speech. These signals are then fed into computers which covert these pulses into signals suitable for speech synthesis. As a biotech marvel, this is astonishing. Depending on the rate of development it is possible to imagine Professor Hawking migrating to this, as it would be immune to any further loss of body movement and would vastly accelerate his ability to talk. On the flip-side, direct brain I/O is also a major step towards William Gibson's Neuromancer and other cyberpunk dark futures."

Submission + - UK Bosses crack down on internet socialising (guardian.co.uk)

Submitted by slick_shoes on Monday November 12, 2007 @08:02AM

slick_shoes writes: Studies have shown that up to £130m a day in productivity is lost because of the sites, with Facebook's British members spending an average of 143 minutes a month logged in.

Submission + - A step nearer to creating artificial life (guardian.co.uk)

Submitted by

slick_shoes

on Friday September 07, 2007 @07:01AM

slick_shoes writes: "To the untrained eye, the tiny, misshapen, fatty blobs on Giovanni Murtas's microscope slide would not look very impressive. But when the Italian scientist saw their telltale green fluorescent glint he knew he had achieved something remarkable — and taken a vital step towards building a living organism from scratch. The green glow was proof that his fragile creations were capable of making their own proteins, a crucial ability of all living things and vital for carrying out all other aspects of life."

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