Wants More Brains

New discovery challenges our understanding of nervous systems and their evolution

Apr 2023, phys.org

https://phys.org/news/2023-04-discovery-nervous-evolution.html

Ctenophores, also called comb jellyfish, are ancient animals and represent an early evolution of neurons and nervous systems that are different from ours. Using a 3D scanning electron microscope, scientists discovered a continuous neural network like ours, yet fundamentally different from ours. 

via University of Bergen: Pawel Burkhardt et al, Syncytial nerve net in a ctenophore adds insights on the evolution of nervous systems, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.ade5645.

https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.ade5645

Image credit: AI Art - Transparent Plexiglass Skull with Fish Inside - 2024

Spiral brain-computer interface slips into ear canal with no loss of hearing

Jul 2023, phys.org

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-spiral-brain-computer-interface-ear-canal.html

There's another way to do it. Non-invasive: new type of corkscrew-shaped brain-computer interface is engaged by gently screwing it into the ear canal.

via Laboratory of Flexible Electronics Technology at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Institute of Semiconductors at Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing: Zhouheng Wang et al, Conformal in-ear bioelectronics for visual and auditory brain-computer interfaces, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39814-6

https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39814-6

Scrambler therapy may offer lasting relief for chronic pain, review paper suggests

Jul 2023, phys.org

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-scrambler-therapy-relief-chronic-pain.html

Pretty cool, information theory coming in:

Scrambler therapy, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2009, administers electrical stimulation through the skin via electrodes placed in areas of the body above and below where chronic pain is felt. The goal is to capture the nerve endings and replace signals from the area experiencing pain with signals coming from adjacent areas experiencing no pain, thereby "scrambling" the pain signals sent to the brain.

They describe how pain is a combination of both the activiation of damaged nerve cells and failed inhibitory cells whose job it is to stop the active signals. 

"If you can block the ascending pain impulses and enhance the inhibitory system, you can potentially reset the brain so it doesn't feel chronic pain nearly as badly," Smith says. "It's like pressing Control-Alt-Delete about a billion times." -Thomas Smith, M.D., the Harry J. Duffey Family Professor of Palliative Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center

via Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center at their University School of Medicine: Thomas J. Smith et al, Cutaneous Electroanalgesia for Relief of Chronic and Neuropathic Pain, New England Journal of Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra2110098

https://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra2110098

Prototype 'Brain-like' chip promises greener AI, says tech giant

Aug 2023, BBC News

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66465230

Neuromimetics is another word for brain-like.

The Panoptic Phenotype

Flexible strain sensor enabled by carbon nanofibers can 'read lips'

Nov 2022, phys.org

https://phys.org/news/2022-11-flexible-strain-sensor-enabled-carbon.html

Flexible strain sensors unobtrusively monitor tiny vibrations of human skin -- "The lip-language recognition system can directly and quickly translate sentences for people with damaged vocal cords." 

Membrane made from stacking parallel and randomly aligned carbon nanofibers (CNF) that achieves both high sensitivity and wide strain detection range. (The random alignment is the key.)

via Tsinghua University Press: Peng Bi et al, Ultra-sensitive and wide applicable strain sensor enabled by carbon nanofibers with dual alignment for human machine interfaces, Nano Research (2022). DOI: 10.1007/s12274-022-5162-0

https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-5162-0

Image credit: AI Art - Neofuturistic Beavers in Mandelbub by Caravaggio 1 - 2022

https://lexica.art/prompt/d1258207-83a1-4e83-b372-862029a4074e

Spray-on smart skin uses AI to rapidly understand hand tasks

Dec 2022, phys.org

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-spray-on-smart-skin-ai-rapidly.html

Stretchable, electrically sensitive mesh network embedded in polyurethane sprayed onto the back of the hand, comprised of millions of nanowires of silver coated with gold that are in contact with each other to form dynamic electrical pathways. This mesh is electrically active, biocompatible, breathable, and stays on unless rubbed in soap and water. It conforms intimately to the wrinkles and folds of each human finger that wears it. Then a light-weight Bluetooth module can be simply attached to the mesh which can wirelessly transfer the signal changes.

As the fingers bend and twist, the nanowires in the mesh get squeezed together and stretched apart, changing the electrical conductivity of the mesh. These changes can be measured and analyzed to tell us precisely how a hand or a finger or a joint is moving," 

via Stanford University: Kyun Kyu Kim et al, A substrate-less nanomesh receptor with meta-learning for rapid hand task recognition, Nature Electronics (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-022-00888-7

https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41928-022-00888-7

Study shows that bioprinted artificial skin can be used in cosmetics and drugs testing

Jan 2023, phys.org

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-01-bioprinted-artificial-skin-cosmetics-drugs.html

"Skin-like" - Bioengineered artificial skin (for testing safety of drugs and cosmetics)

via University of São Paulo's School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCF-USP) in Brazil: Julia de Toledo Bagatin et al, Bioprinted and manual human epidermis production: A compared performance for skin irritation tests, Bioprinting (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.bprint.2022.e00251

https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bprint.2022.e00251

Multi-layered 'space skin' can help future satellites and spacecraft harvest energy

Jan 2023, phys.org

https://phys.org/news/2023-01-multi-layered-space-skin-future-satellites.html

Multifunctional Nanobarrier Structure (MFNS) nanocoatings can reduce the operating temperatures of space-qualified structures from 120 degrees Celsius to 60 degrees Celsius.

"Our new nano barrier is able to not only provide radiation and thermal protection but also harvest energy for use at a later date."

via University of Surrey: Michal Delkowski et al, Multifunctional Nanostructures with Controllable Band Gap Giving Highly Stable Infrared Emissivity for Smart Thermal Management, ACS Nano (2023). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c09737

https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.2c09737

Watch Words Come To Life

Turning an analysis of Asimov's Foundation into art

Oct 2021, phys.org

https://techxplore.com/news/2021-10-analysis-asimov-foundation-art.html

Just a great example of cross-disciplinary data art and network science, via Datapolis and the Central European University in Budapest: Milán Janosov, Flóra Borsi, Asimov's foundation—turning a data story into an NFT artwork. arXiv:2109.15079v1 [physics.soc-ph], arxiv.org/abs/2109.15079

See also this thing which I don't understand called an NFT platform: https://foundation.app/@milanjanosov/~/92747

Some interesting bits noted in the article:

• We found that among the most mentioned keywords there were three different planets.
• Different planets play different roles in the book. That's why we started to look at the emotional arcs of these planets.
• We extracted a series of sentences about each planet, and we used a happiness scoring algorithm to create their emotional arc.
• The arc of Trantor was going down, and that coincided with the fact that both Trantor and the galactic were also falling during the series; while on the other hand, Terminus, which is the heart of the Foundation, slowly rises.

Then they take an 8,000-word network graph and run it in the chronological order of the book, with the planets linking the words associated with them, but rising and falling throughout the arc of the narrative. So now it's a video. And they made their own soundtrack.

Post Script:

How does the brain interpret computer languages?

Mar 2021, Ars Technica

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/03/how-does-the-brain-interpret-computer-languages/

Interestingly, code-solving activated parts of the multiple-demand network that are not activated when solving math problems. So the brain doesn’t tackle it as language or logic -- it appears to be its own thing.

via MIT, Tufts: Comprehension of computer code relies primarily on domain-general executive brain regions. Anna A Ivanova et al. eLife, 2020. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.58906 

http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.58906

Post Post Script:

In a neuroprosthetic first, ALS patient sends social media message via brain-computer interface

Jan 2022, phys.org

https://techxplore.com/news/2021-12-neuroprosthetic-als-patient-social-media.html

It's called the Stentrode Brain Computer Interface, developed by brain computer interface company Synchron.

The real news here is that it's blurred the line over what we call invasive neural implants, since it was snaked through his jugular vein. This allows us to get really good signals from your brain without having to drill a hole in your head. 

via Synchron Press Release, "First Tweet by Implanted BCI", Dec 2021

https://synchron.com/

Image credit: Asimovs Foundation - Janosov and Borsi - 2021