Decoded Neurofeedback

Do you remember how in the movie “The Matrix”, Keanu Reeves was able to learn anything from Kung-Fu to using firearms in just couple of seconds. That might prove possible according to a new research conducted at Boston University and ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan.

Think of a person watching a computer screen and having his or her brain patterns adjusted to match those of a high-performing athlete. Though preliminary, researchers say such possibilities may exist in the future.

The scientists found out that patients can quickly learn new skills while having their brain patterns modified via decoded fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). The innovative method could rework brain activities to help people recover from an accident, learn how to play a piano or even fly a plane.

What is even more interesting is that the approached worked even when test subjects were not aware of what they were learning.

"The most surprising thing in this study is that mere inductions of neural activation patterns corresponding to a specific visual feature led to visual performance improvement on the visual feature, without presenting the feature or subjects' awareness of what was to be learned," said Takeo Watanabe, one of the developers of the idea for the research project.

Darn, those future people! They will have it all way too easy. Instead of spending years (like us) to get their university degree they will just press a button and have it all in couple of minutes. :)

Air-free tires

We all know that a flat tire can lead to a fatal accident on the road. To prevent this the people from Bridgestone (a leading manufacturer of tires) are currently testing a new product. 

Their invention is air-free, puncture-less tire made from entirely recyclable materials. The 9-inch wheels have thermoplastic-resin rods that emit from the rim to the tread, twisting to the left and right for maximum structural support. Currently they have been successfully tested on single person vehicles in Japan. 

Bridgestone will be evaluating the performance of the tires on regular automobiles and plans to make them accessible on the market in the near future.

PrediBirth

I guess most of you know what Cesarean or C-section is. For those who don’t let me give you a definition. A “C-section” is a procedure in which a baby has to be extracted from the mother’s uterus through a small scale surgery. It is usually performed when a vaginal (natural) delivery is not possible.

If the Cesarean section is planned ahead it normally brings no complication or risk to the mother and baby’s health. However, according to a statistic from the World Health Organization, an unexpected (emergency) C-section is six to seven times more likely to result in harm or death to the newborn.

A group of French researchers took a note on that and developed software called “PrediBirth”. The computer program can predict childbirth complications when used with magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the fetus. The system works by creating 3D model out of the supplied images. By using this method the software can calculate how likely a normal birth is to occur.

While testing the system the researchers took MRI from 24 pregnant women. “PrediBirth” rated 13 of them as highly favorable for a normal birth. As expected by the researchers all of the 13 women had no complications when they were giving birth couple of months later. The software rated the rest as mildly favorable or at high risk for difficult birth. Unsurprisingly for the French scientists three of the pregnant women went with an elective C-section. The rest had to go through emergency cesareans due to an obstructed labor.

Dr. Olivier Ami the head of the researchers said: “This goes beyond simple imaging. The software simulates the properties of potential deliveries. With this virtual childbirth software, the majority of C-sections could be planned rather than emergency, and difficult instrumental extractions might disappear in the near future.”