Category: Uncategorized

BRAIN AS MACHINE. “The flow of information within the hippocampus that supports memory encoding. Key to this process is a strong electrical signal that travels from CA3, the “input” part of the hippocampus, to CA1, the “output” node. This signal is impaired in people with memory disabilities...if we could recreate it using silicon, we might be able to restore — or even boost — memory.” http://singularityhub.com/2015/11/15/first-human-tests-of-memory-boosting-brain-implant-a-big-leap-forward/ View in LinkedIn

REDUCTIONIST MODEL. “At its heart, a memory is a series of electrical pulses that occur over time that are generated by a given number of neurons...This is important — it suggests that we can reduce it to mathematical equations and put it into a computational framework.” http://singularityhub.com/2015/11/15/first-human-tests-of-memory-boosting-brain-implant-a-big-leap-forward/ View in LinkedIn

ONE SMALL STEP. “The revolutionary implant, already shown to help memory encoding in rats and monkeys, is now being tested in human patients with epilepsy — an exciting first that may blow the field of memory prosthetics wide open. To get here, however, the team first had to crack the memory code.” http://singularityhub.com/2015/11/15/first-human-tests-of-memory-boosting-brain-implant-a-big-leap-forward/ View in LinkedIn

MEMORY CHIPS. “First Human Tests of Memory Boosting Brain Implant—a Big Leap Forward. Funded by DARPA, Dr. Theodore Berger, a biomedical engineer at the University of Southern California, is testing a memory-boosting implant that mimics the kind of signal processing that occurs when neurons are laying down new long-term memories.” https://lnkd.in/dmBNXWG View in LinkedIn

NECTAL BUZZ. "In addition to sugars, which constitute the principal reward in most floral nectar, many other substances are also found in nectar. Bitter substances, such as caffeine or nicotine, repel visitors at high concentrations, but at low concentrations can be attractive and indeed have beneficial effects on pollinator learning and memory for floral traits." https://lnkd.in/dHD-ddW View in LinkedIn

CUMULATIVE IMPACT. "In some cases, small genetic changes controlling floral traits not only generate a shift in the principal pollinators that visit the flowers, but also in the unwanted visitors, such as nectar-thieving ants." https://lnkd.in/dHD-ddW View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE continues from last weekend and concludes this weekend on plant-pollinator relationships. The unforeseen consequences, metaphorically, of the methods of plant reproduction, particularly not choosing the sexual partner directly, and the consequence of a sessile lifestyle, have forced plants to have intimate relationships with vector species who are reproductive intermediaries, and to find clever ways to reward them without being preyed on by them. Despite the challenges, plants have successfully achieved sexual reproduction and vegetative reproduction together. A complicated dance. View in LinkedIn

LAWRENCE LIVERMORE LABS. "On the electrical end, LLNL’s new wafer technology will use fairly high electrode counts, perhaps 500-1000 spots. While higher density 11,000-electrode chips have been par for the course in single neuron analysis, these chips will have more sparsely distributed electrode locations. Integrated light guides will provide conduits for optogenetic manipulations, and as an added bonus bi-directional fluid channels for any number of chemical exchanges are also etched in. To wire everything up, new standardized multiplexed connectors are also in the works.” https://lnkd.in/duuv7mx View in LinkedIn