fresh bytes
Subscribe Now

A magnetic brain implant lets blind rats see without seeing

nzm0ogsuvwgaxcb5dflj.jpg

A new brain implant doesn’t restore sight in blind rats, but it does something a whole lot weirder: give the rat the extra sense of geomagnetism. It could one day be a new way to navigate for blind people–or heck, even healthy people hankering for a sixth sense.

In the study published in Current Biology, scientists in Japan put a chip that could sense north and south inside the brains of rats. The rats also got two electrodes implanted in the visual cortex of the brains. If its head faced roughly north, the electrodes stimulated the right visual cortex. If south, then the left visual cortex.

Essentially, the rat can “see” which direction it’s facing without really, erh, seeing anything through its eyes. It was probably disorientating at first, but after two days and 60 trials, the blind rats could navigate a maze just as well as rats with sight. With the implants removed, they were lost again.
via Gizmodo

Continue reading 

One thought on “A magnetic brain implant lets blind rats see without seeing”

Leave a Reply

featured blogs
Mar 29, 2024
By Mark Williams, Sr Software Engineering Group Director Translator: Masaru Yasukawa 差動アンプã¯ãÂ1ã¤ã®入力信å·ã§ã¯ãªãÂÂ2ã¤ã®入力信å·間ã®差ã«ゲインをéÂÂ...
Mar 26, 2024
Learn how GPU acceleration impacts digital chip design implementation, expanding beyond chip simulation to fulfill compute demands of the RTL-to-GDSII process.The post Can GPUs Accelerate Digital Design Implementation? appeared first on Chip Design....
Mar 21, 2024
The awesome thing about these machines is that you are limited only by your imagination, and I've got a GREAT imagination....

featured video

We are Altera. We are for the innovators.

Sponsored by Intel

Today we embark on an exciting journey as we transition to Altera, an Intel Company. In a world of endless opportunities and challenges, we are here to provide the flexibility needed by our ecosystem of customers and partners to pioneer and accelerate innovation. As we leap into the future, we are committed to providing easy-to-design and deploy leadership programmable solutions to innovators to unlock extraordinary possibilities for everyone on the planet.

To learn more about Altera visit: http://intel.com/altera

featured chalk talk

What are the Differences Between an Integrated ADC and a Standalone ADC?
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Microchip
Many designs today require some form of analog to digital conversion but how you implement an ADC into your design can make a big difference when it comes to accuracy and precision. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Iman Chalabi from Microchip and Amelia Dalton investigate the benefits of both integrated ADC solutions and standalone ADCs. They discuss the roles that internal switching noise, process technology, and design complexity play when choosing the right ADC solution for your next design.
Apr 17, 2023
38,944 views