neuralizer

Man to get first bionic hand that can 'feel'

A man who lost his hand in an accident is due to receive the first bionic hand designed to more fully simulate the sensation of feeling.

Scheduled for later this year, the surgery will connect the bionic hand directly to the man's nervous system. The goal is for him to not only move the hand but also receive touch signals from the sensors across the hand, according to a story published Sunday by The Independent.

Specifically, the hand would be attached through electrodes connected to the median and ulnar nerves, two of the main nerves in the human arm, … Read more

Hi-def fiber tracking helps pinpoint brain damage

When a 32-year-old man crashed his all-terrain vehicle without wearing a helmet, he slipped into a coma for three weeks. Though his initial CT scans revealed bleeding and swelling, and an MRI scan a week into the coma revealed bruising and swelling in the same area, neurosurgeons had no way of knowing precisely how the man would be affected if he did come out of his coma.

Three weeks later, the man awoke without the ability to move his left leg, arm, or hand. Only then were doctors able to begin planning rehabilitation.

Fortunately for the patient, a novel imaging … Read more

Researchers build DNA neural network that thinks

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology say they have built what they call the world's first artificial neural network out of DNA molecules and that it can answer questions correctly.

Postdoctoral scholar Lulu Qian and colleagues describe "how molecular systems can exhibit autonomous brain-like behaviors" in a paper published about their research in the July 21 issue of the journal Nature.

Taking their cue from the limited intelligence exhibited by single-celled organisms, the researchers built four neurons made up of 112 distinct DNA strands (by contrast, the human brain has some 100 billion neurons).

This rudimentary … Read more

The 404 153: Where we get over it

On the show today: Guest Alex Green shows us his Web site "GET OVER IT", Space Beer T-shirts, 404 Dark Knight Meetup Wrap-up, Pussy Natural Energy Drink, Monster of Montauk, and Seth Rogan on the pot.

Last night's 404 meet up to see the Dark Knight was a resounding success! Our buddies showed up well before the movie and we chewed the fat for awhile. Big thanks and much appreciation goes out to Issac and Matt (the Intern) for dropping by to say hi. We missed you in the theater dudes! No surprise or complaint here, but … Read more