NEWRON Vol V, Issue XIII

[Natan Davidovics]

NeuroEngineering Weekly Review of News

Obese people rejoice; those with more body could have more potential data storage space now that you can store data in your body parts (Article #3).  Happy Passover/Good Friday/Easter/Spring!

 

Interesting NeuroEngineering links:

Hopkins Neuroengineering web site: http://neuroengineering.bme.jhu.edu
New job blog: http://neuroengjobs.blogspot.com/
Blog for administrative questions: http://neuroengineering.blogspot.com
NEWRON on the web!: http://groups.google.com/group/newron?lnk=srg&pli=1

Enjoy,
Natan Davidovics
NEWRON Publishing Corporation

Scientists find way to map brain's complexity

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/10/us-brain-model-idUSTRE7392KU20110410

Scientists say they have moved a step closer to developing a computer model of the brain after finding a way to map both the connections and functions of nerve cells in the brain together for the first time. The study is part of an emerging area of neuroscience research known as 'connectomics'. A little like genomics, which maps our genetic make-up, connectomics aims to map the brain's connections, known as synapses. By untangling and being able to map these connections -- and deciphering how information flows through the brain's circuits -- scientists hope to understand how thoughts and perceptions are generated in the brain and how these functions go wrong in diseases such as Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and stroke.

Lasers let deaf ears pick up what the sonic world is putting down

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/31/lasers-let-deaf-ears-pick-up-what-the-sonic-world-is-putting-dow/

As improbable as it sounds, a research team from the University of Utah led by Richard Rabbitt has found that lasers may be able to give deaf people the ability to hear. Using a low-power infrared diode -- similar to those in laser-pointers tormenting cats the world over -- Professor Rabbitt found that exposing oyster toadfish hair cells (analogous to the cells found in humans' inner ears) to infrared light caused them to release neurotransmitters and activate adjacent neurons. . This could lead to laser-based ear implants able to stimulate focused areas of cells with thousands of sound wavelengths, as opposed to today's electrode implants whose electrical current spreads through human tissue and limits the deliverable sonic range.

Store data in your body without cyborg modification

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20325-store-data-in-your-body-without-cyborg-modification.html

Floppy discs? Too 1980s. Thumb drives? Too easy to lose. Anyway, who needs a thumb drive when you can store data in your thumb? A new program called Sparsh lets you transfer files from one device to another simply by touching the screen – and you don't have to join the Borg collective first. Mistry has designed a system to make this as simple as it could possibly be. "The user touches a data item they wish to copy from a device, conceptually saving it in the user's body," he says. "Next, the user touches the other device to which they want to paste the saved content." Behind the scenes, the first touch copies the phone number to a temporary file in either a Dropbox or an FTP account. The second touch retrieves the data.