A thoroughly amazing concept and exciting prospect. The technology to connect the human brain to the computer is just inches away from being achieved. It is always fascinating to access infinite knowledge inside our brain like in many sci-fi movies like Lucy and Limitless. Imagine Terminator like humans or human cyborgs who have enhanced brains. For those of you who have played the game Halo, might be familiar with these neural implants. This device has the capability to mingle with the neural networks inside the brain and get connected to external computers as well. It is popularly known as the ‘neural lace’.
A research team from the Harvard University and the National Center for Nanotechno
logy and Science in Beijing have developed mesh shaped electronics that can fit inside a 0.1 millimeter syringe. This electronic mesh is super thin and so flexible that it can be inserted into the brain through the syringe and the mesh quietly gets interfaced with the internal structure of the brain. The work of these researchers have been published in the paper ‘National Nanotechnology’. This neural lace is said to inter-connect with the neural networks of the brain and peacefully monitor the neural activities without any disturbance. Also it could lead to the connection between our mind and the data or information found in the computers or better, the internet.
logy and Science in Beijing have developed mesh shaped electronics that can fit inside a 0.1 millimeter syringe. This electronic mesh is super thin and so flexible that it can be inserted into the brain through the syringe and the mesh quietly gets interfaced with the internal structure of the brain. The work of these researchers have been published in the paper ‘National Nanotechnology’. This neural lace is said to inter-connect with the neural networks of the brain and peacefully monitor the neural activities without any disturbance. Also it could lead to the connection between our mind and the data or information found in the computers or better, the internet.
So is this device ready for humans? It has already been successfully tested on mice. These mice did not show any degradation in their activities and their brains remained healthy and normal. Their brain cells grew around the mesh and got intertwined with the neural lace. They also thrived normally when compared with other mice. The scientists were able to track and monitor the activities of the brain.
The connection to the computer from the brain was by wire. Soon it could become wireless which could be of critical importance. Once it becomes a wireless implant, doctors can use it to treat neurological disorders or diseases without the need for surgery or insertion of devices with a risk of brain damage. Moreover, it can also mean that our brain stays connected to computers which allows us access to any kind of information or knowledge. Scientists can then research on the inaccessible parts of the brains of animals previously only accessible by cutting a portion of the brain. So the ideas to use these implants are numerous but this futuristic device is still in development. Hopefully one day we might be able to see the neural lace come into reality.
Written by: Akash Gopalakrishnan
Website: www.thepapers.in
Written by: Akash Gopalakrishnan
Website: www.thepapers.in
