Important Innovations

US Defense Department's DARPA Investing Millions in BMIs Source:  DARPA Brain Machine Interfaces - the New Frontier Brain-Machine Interfaces (BMIs). The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA -  is investing millions of dollars into its Next Generation, Non-Surgical Neurotechnology program.  The purpose is to provide BMIs to the US military for overwhelming technological advantages. Breakthrough R&D DARPA has just launched a radical approach.  Wireless BMIs that do not require surgery to link the brain and technology.  Six academic teams have just been tapped to come up with radically different, innovative approaches.  The concepts include connecting by acoustic signals, electromagnetic waves, infrared beams, genetically enhanced neurons and nanotechnology.  It's a 4 year research program and each university team is said to be getting $20 million. MegaTrend  This is an important trend to follow.  B...

New Sports Helmet Inspired by the Brain Source:  Fluid Inside Fluid Protection Inside the Helmet The new Fluid Inside sports helmet takes its inspiration from the brain and its first line of defense against brain injury -- Fluid, specifically Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF).  For details on this innovative helmet, go to Important Innovations Collection: Brain Inspired Sports Helmet : Helmet Mimics Fluid Protection the Brain Provides Source:  Fluid Inside Fluid Inside The new Fluid Inside sports helmet take its lea...

Continuous Supply of New Neurons Tied to Lifetime Learning & Memory Source:  University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Brain Image Important Discovery by University of Pennsylvania Medical School Scientists This is breakthrough research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.  The scientists have shown for the first time that brain neurons grow and develop over a lifetime from a single population of stem cells in the hippocampus region of the brain.  That region is the brain's center of memory and learning. It's also a key area of reaction to stress and mood adjustments. Why is This Important to You The discovery underscores how a continuous supply of new neurons throughout life is the source of youthful like learning and memory throughout your life.  The discovery was found in research on mice.  And, it sets a new benchmark.  It helps neuroscientists to determine how to enable youthful life brain conditions for memory and...

Less Depression Breakthrough Research New research from Washington University in St. Louis has documented a big medical benefit  for kids playing team sports.  The scientists have linked participation in team sports to less depression in boys ages 9 to 11. Brain Changes The scientists have also documented significant positive brain changes from playing team sports.  In adults, depression is associated with the shrinkage of the hippocampus.  That's a region of the brain important to memory and response to stress.  The new research has shown  participation in team sports  results in "larger hippocampal volumes in children" and significantly less depressions in boys 9 to 11. Improving Children's Mental Health The scientists found that non-sports activities like music and art did not have the same effects.  The results were particularly strong in team sports rather than non-team.  More than 4000 children participated in the study, alon...

Elon Musk's Vision of Brain-Computer Interfacing NeuralinkInnovator/Entrepreneur Elon Musk believes that in ten years, you'll be able to connect your brain to computers to enhance your intelligence.  He has founded a start-up company Neuralink that is developing ultra, high speed bandwidth, brain machine interfaces to connect humans with machines.  For a news story on Musk's groundbreaking work, go to my journalist colleague Ed Kane blog at Important Innovations Collection: My Brain, My Computer : Elon Musk's Neuralink Source:  DARPA Musk Believes You'll Be Able to Connect Your Brain to Computers in 10 Years Elon Musk ...

Brain Uses Two Clocks to Anticipate Source:  University of California Innovative Research - University of California - Berkeley It's called anticipatory timing by the brain. And it's a 2 barreled system.  One type of timing relies on memories from past experience.  A second type is based on rhythm.  They work together.  An example is putting your foot on the car's gas pedal as the light starts turning from red to green.  Berkeley neuroscientists have discovered that in music, sports, speech and other activities we calculate movements in two parts of the brain. Brain Timekeepers The neural networks supporting these timekeepers are split between 2 different parts of the brain.  The scientists discovered that timing isn't a unified process.  Their research has documented that there are 2 different ways we make temporal decisions and they are dependent on different parts of the brain. Your  Brain Actively Anticipating the Future Be...

Human Brain Cell Transplant Provides Incredible Detail on How Brain Operates Human Brain Cells Breakthrough Neuroscience by Imperial College London Scientists have created a window into the brain, which allows them to watch in real-time and with incredible details how human brain cells develop, connect and communicate with each other. The potential of their approach may result in better understanding of brain conditions like autism and provide eventual cures. Volunteer Donators Researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge transplanted human brain cells from volunteers into a mouse brain.  It allowed them to study the way human brain cells interact in a natural environment. Down Syndrome The team used the technique to model Down Syndrome using brain cells donated by 2 individuals with the condition.  They saw significant differences in the brain cells from those with Down Syndrome and those without it.  They noted the cells are n...

Infant's Brain Foreshadows the Adult's Emotional Control and Cognition UNC's Breakthrough Neuroscience Research Medical researchers at University of North Carolina Health Care have made a remarkable series of discoveries. Using MRI's, they've shown that the brain circuits needed for successful emotional regulation in adults emerge in babies one to two years old.  These brain circuits are the foundation of successful emotional development and IQ. Predictors of Future Behavior and IQ The growth rates of the emotion circuits in the brain during the child's second year "predict", according to the scientists, anxiety and emotional regulation at the age of four.  It also predicts the child's IQ at the age of 4.  Abnormal processing in the circuits is associated with depression, anxiety and schizophrenia in adults. From the MRI's of Babies The importance of these discoveries is the ability to foresee the individual's emotional contro...

Findings:  Caltech Time Traveling Illusions Trick the Brain Source:  California Institute of Technology Rabbit Illuson How the Brain Retroactively Computes Rapid Audio & Visual Stimuli Researchers at California Institute of Technology have developed 2 new illusions to document time travelling.  The illusions, called The Rabbit Illusions as tracked above, reveal how the senses influence each other as they are received at rapid speed by the brain.  In particular, how sound can trigger and create visual illusions after the fact. Time Travel through "Postdiction" by the Brain With the onrush of sensory perceptions to the brain, the illusions occur so rapidly that they trigger a brain phenomenon called postdiction as opposed to prediction.  Postdiction happens when a stimulus that occurs later can retroactively affect our perception of an earlier event.  That's time-traveling at the pure scientific research level. Innovative and Breakthrough N...

New Revealing Research - Rockefeller University Source:  Rockefeller University - C elegans roundworm's Brain Activity In Tiny Worms, Spiking Neurons and Clues to Brain Function The brain isn't a computer but it does compute.  To process data the human brain uses a digital code.  The cells produce bursts of electric current known as  "action potentials".  They are the 0's & 1's of the nervous system.  The code is assumed to be vital also to animals. Breakthrough Research on a Tiny Creature Researchers at Rockefeller University have made an amazing discovery.  They have had their 1st chance to observe "action potentials" in the brain cells of a tiny worm, the C elegans roundworm.  It wasn't expected to be there.  It's a first and experts say it's disrupting decades of dogma about the brain.  And, it could help scientists understand fundamentals of brain computation. Advancing Scientific Understanding of the Brain The re...

Gentle Electric Pulse Boosts Memory University of Pennsylvania Innovation Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated that gentle, imperceptible electric impulses passing through the brain improve memory and information retention. 15% Improvement In fact, the electric pulses increase memory and information retention up to 15%.  The electrical stimulation is precisely timed and targeted to the left side of the brain in the left lateral temporal cortex. Real-Time The Penn team developed a system to monitor the brain's activity real-time and trigger stimulation based on the activity.  The electrical pulses are unfelt and at a safe level. Exciting, Personalized Machine Learning Models Twenty five neurosurgical patients being treated for epilepsy participated in the study at clinical sites around the US.  The scientists developed patient-specific, personalized machine learning models. They programmed the stimulator to deliver pulses only when me...