Technology

Neuralink's chip (Image courtesy Neuralink)

1

In a presentation held yesterday, Elon Musk explained the progress made by Neuralink in the creation of an interface between the human brain and computer. When he started talking about projects of this type he called it “neural lace”, an idea taken from science fiction. Now, however, the first implant prototypes have been built and the company seems ready to start tests on human beings since it’s taking the necessary steps to obtain the approval required to perform them.

Artist's concept of a nanoprobe connecting to a neuron (Image courtesy Lieber Group, Harvard University. All rights reserved)

0

An article published in the journal “Nature Nanotechnology” riporta the creation of arrays of nanoprobes small enough to be able to record the internal work of cardiac cells and primary neurons. A team of researchers from the Universities of Surrey and Harvard produced U-shaped nanowire field-effect transistor probes. The possibility of measuring intracellular signals offers new possibilities in the medical field but also technological developments related to human-machine interfaces.

The Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE initiative announced its winners

0

The Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE project announced its winners during a ceremony held at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, part of the Oceanographic Institute. The initiative was announced in December 2015 by Peter Diamandis, president and CEO of XPRIZE, in order to support the development of ocean exploration technologies. A million dollar bonus prize was awarded by the US NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

Screenshot from an IllustrisTNG simulation (Image courtesy IllustrisTNG project)

0

An article published in the journal “Computational Astrophysics and Cosmology” presents the complete public release of the simulations coded as TNG100 and TNG300 of the IllustrisTNG project, a highly sophisticated simulation of the universe that has been improved over years of work. A team of researchers kept on improving its details and functionalities also by developing new interaction and exploration 2D and 3D tools to simulate two cubes of space of 100 and 300 million parsec side length.

An incredibly fast bonding between graphene and hydrogen

0

An article published in the journal “Science” reports the discovery of the possibility of generating a transient chemical bond between hydrogen atoms and a graphene sheet. A team of researchers coordinated by the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany and the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) in Pasadena, USA, bombarded graphene sheets with hydrogen atoms generating one of the fastest reactions ever studied since it occurs in only 10 femtoseconds in which hydrogen yields most of its energy.