Tootfinder

What it's like to have a brain implant for 5 years https://www.wired.com/story/synchron-brain-computer-interface-five-years-als/ (archived at

What It’s Like to Have a Brain Implant for 5 Years
No one has had a Synchron brain-computer interface longer than Rodney Gorham. He's still finding new ways to use it.

Lego unveils the Smart Play platform, with a brick powered by a custom chip that connects to compatible minifigures and tags for interactive lights and sounds (Jeremy White/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/lego-smart-brick-new-digital-brain/

Lego’s Smart Brick Gives the Iconic Analog Toy a New Digital Brain
The new sensor-packed Smart Play Brick will land this spring as part of a special Star Wars collection. The update adds interactive lights and sound to the Lego experience—including the Minifigs.

Brain-aligning of semantic vectors improves neural decoding of visual stimuli #BCI

✨ Noninvasive approach to treating stroke by boosting the brain's lymphatic system
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-noninvasive-approach-boosting-brain-lymphatic.html

Noninvasive approach to treating stroke by boosting the brain's lymphatic system
Scientists from Monash University are partnering with colleagues at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., to develop a new, high-tech approach for treating ischemic stroke by enhancing removal of toxic waste products from the brain.

whyyyy does my brain want me to extend my hoarding 😂

fly_hemibrain: Fly hemibrain (2020)
A synaptic map of the hemibrain connectome of fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Nodes are neurons, and edges are synaptic connections, traced individually from brain image sections using EM reconstruction techniques. Neurons are labeled by their type. Edges are annotated by the connection strength between the neurons.
This network has 21739 nodes and 4259624 edges.
Tags: Biological, Connectome, Weighted, Metadata

Saw somebody use the acronym "SAHM" to mean "stay at home mom" but my brain immediately goes "store AH into... memory?" (like a cousin of LAHF)

The Italian neurosurgeon
#Sergio #Canavero has been preparing for a surgery that might never happen.
His idea?
⚠️Swap a sick person’s head—or perhaps just the brain—onto a younger, healthier body.
Canavero caused a stir in 2017 when he announced that a team he advised in China had exchanged head…

Job titles of the future: Head-transplant surgeon
Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero has a dream to extend life by swapping someone’s head (or at least their brain) onto a new body.

Partner: I get Pink Floyd and The Who confused.
Me: But… how!? They don’t sound anything alike. They’re both British, but… how?
Partner: I know they’re totally different, but in middle school there was this kid who always wore either a Pink Floyd shirt or a The Who shirt, so ever since then my brain confuses the two.
Me: Brains are weird.

Hm, Doom läuft inzwischen auf Zahnbürsten und nun lernen pythonprogrammierte Gehirnzellen das Spielen von Doom in einer Wochen. Hey, was soll schief gehen, Skynet hat auch mal klein angefangen ;) :D
Human brain cells on a chip learned to play Doom in a week: https://www.

I've never really put patches (is that the correct translation?) on my stuff, but I'm starting to consider having one with crossed out "AI", and "I have my own brain*" next to it.
* thesis confirmed using MRI
#NoAI #NoLLM

Interesting
#ai

Human brain cells on a chip learned to play Doom in a week
Neuron-powered computer chips can now be easily programmed to play a first-person shooter game, bringing biological computers a step closer to useful applications

The brain is a pattern-forming organ.
Music is what happens when pattern is attended to as pattern.
Let sounds be sounds long enough, and they may become music.

(IEEE Spectrum) 11 Amazing engineering events in 2026: Brain chip helps blind people see https://spectrum.ieee.org/new-technology-2026 on Elon Musk and Neuralink Blindsight: "some experts worry he is overpromising on the quality of the brain-computer interface";

New Technology in 2026: Brain Chips and Space Missions
11 new technologies coming in 2026 may bring life-changing impacts to users. How might they change your life?

If you are an anti-fascist, you are against petroleum. Petroleum funds fascism globally. It is at the heart of the military industrial complex driving global imperialism, from both the US and Russia. Motonormitivity is fascist, both in it's elitist roots and in it's ties to historical fascism (Hitler hated bikes, just on principle). Oil is militarism.
Oil is the dominant resource which drives war, both in terms of it being the primary spoil wars are fought over and in terms of fueling the military vehicles and weapons that carry out those wars. Practically every war since (and including) WWII has been over oil. Genocides are carried out to secure oil. Gaza is over oil, in more ways than one.
Oil is the absolute enemy, and AI is simply an extension of that: an attempt to atomize us so we can't resist the oil-centric global order, one last grasp at the control over our lives oil has given to those whose power is now threatened by a solar punk future.
"I haven't written for a few weeks now. As I write the closing chapter and begin rewriting previous sections, everything feels both more distant and more immediate. The working title [Kairos] has only continued to feel more and more resonant, both during the writing and during my pause."
Now is the time to resist by making something different, by creating a world fundamentally opposed to these systems of oppression.
This is the last in my Kairos series. From here on out I'll be editing to try and make it more of a book than a series of posts. Thanks to everyone who has helped so far. All editing is welcome (typos, spell checks, questions and challenges). Between ADHD and dyslexia, it's always hard for my brain to notice mistakes in my own text so I always appreciate the support of those who can.
https://anarchoccultism.org/building-zion/kairos

🛑 Hesitation is costly in sports but essential to life – neuroscientists identified its brain circuitry
https://theconversation.com/hesitation-is-costly-in-sports-but-essential-to-life-neuroscientists-iden…

Hesitation is costly in sports but essential to life – neuroscientists identified its brain circuitry
There are specific parts of the brain that trigger hesitation in times of uncertainty.

N.F.L. Careers Scarred Their Brains. Could Mushrooms Provide Relief? https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/us/psilocybin-mushrooms-nfl-head-injuries.html

The Austrian German term for managers who push bullshit like this is "dem hams ins Hirn gschissn", which translates as "someone shat into their brain".
(This about the thinly veiled workplace surveillance stuff [they call it "bonus system" or some shit] Meta is pushing on their employees.)

fly_larva: Drosophila larva brain (2023)
A complete synaptic map of the brain connectome of the larva of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Nodes are neurons, and edges are synaptic connections, traced individually from brain image sections using three-dimensional electron microscopy–based reconstruction. Node metadata include the neuron hempisphere, hemispherical homologue, cell type, annotations, and inferred cluster. Edge metadata include the type of interaction (`'aa'`,…

Ĉu pensado dependas de lingvo? Aperas pli da atestaĵo ke la respondo estas ne.
(angle):
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-polyglot-neuroscientist-resolving-how-the-brain-parses-language-20251205/

The Polyglot Neuroscientist Resolving How the Brain Parses Language | Quanta Magazine
Is language core to thought, or a separate process? For 15 years, the neuroscientist Ev Fedorenko has gathered evidence of a language network in the human brain — and has found some similarities to LLMs.

Q&A with Skild AI CEO Deepak Pathak on building a general-purpose brain for robots, standing out among big tech's robotics efforts, the path to AGI, and more (Alex Heath/Sources)
https://sources.news/p/skild-ai-ceo-robotics-brain-davos

Skild AI's CEO on building one brain for every robot
My full Sources Live interview with Skild AI CEO Deepak Pathak from Davos.

Canadians, do you think, like Canadaland's Stephen Marche, that Canadian nationalism is a 1960s - Waffle, I guess - phenomenon?
"I just don't think of that period [post-WWI] as being hyper-nationalistic. I think of nationalism as born in 1965 from Margaret Atwood's brain."
As a historian, I know that left nationalism in the 60s was an important phenomenon, but the notion that some might think that Canadian nationalism was born then hurts my brain.

#1314 Jay Baruchel's CanCon Manifesto
“ If you think the world is better with Canada in it then you have to accept that certain things have to happen for that to continue.” -Jay Baruchel

Behind the Blog: Using Your Brain https://www.404media.co/behind-the-blog-using-your-brain/

I’ve been seen.

Series C, Episode 06 - City at the Edge of the World
AVON: Where is Vila?
BAYBAN: Who?
AVON: How would you like me to let some fresh air into that rancid little brain of yours?
BAYBAN: Go ahead. You'd be famous. The man who killed Bayban.
https://blake.torpidity.net/m/306/500

I've been bothered by Gluteus Medius. I've tried "activation exercises"—if you have a name for them, I did them. All I got in reply was "You wish!" 🤬
There is an awkward silence in the hip now. The hip is making new noises now. Which makes the internal dialogue weird:
"Hey, brain!"
"What do you want hip?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
*silence*
"Hey, brain?"
"What do you want …

#Birds #birdwatching The reason for superiority: https://neurosciencenews.com/birdwatch

Expertise Protects Against Cognitive Decline - Neuroscience News
Neuroscience News provides research news for neuroscience, neurology, psychology, AI, brain science, mental health, robotics and cognitive sciences.

The most common strategy for "AI-proofing" your career is to get good at using AI tools.
This is futile, because no one is using AI tools to make things that are *good.* The goal is to check the box on the project plan at a predictable pace. As long as the box is checked, quality is not a factor.
To AI-proof your job, get out of the project game.

You can't "AI-proof your career" with a project mindset
Competing with LLMs on output velocity is a fool's errand because you will always lose. You can only beat them by curing yourself of your computer brain.

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #Early
Wargirl:
🎵 Lost Inside My Brain
#Wargirl
https://wargirl.bandcamp.com/track/lost-inside-my-brain
https://open.spotify.com/track/3fZ2aU9vLCHYYpzj7hp9s0

🤯 Specific brain signals rapidly eliminate body fat in mice
#fat

Specific brain signals rapidly eliminate body fat in mice
Researchers at WashU Medicine have identified a potent pathway that begins in the brain and leads to loss of all body fat without reducing food intake. The study is reported in Nature Metabolism.

The 'secret connections' of the brain: a connectomic reserve for neuroplasticity? #neuroscience

CBS Evening News under fire for ditching ethics handbook for 'empty-brain' patriotic vow - Raw Story
https://www.rawstory.com/cbs-news/

You try and help. You try and make things a little better in whatever small way you can. You think, “hey, maybe at least there will be some respite now… maybe things can start to get better” and, just as your foolish little brain starts to believe it, the fuckers who fuck everything up for everyone but themselves – and somehow are never held to account for any of it – go and fuck things up even further. It’s fucking depressing. I mean I don’t know how we’re not all just fucking depressed eve…

how many times can an 8yo scream directly into your ear before your brain melts?
(study shortcomings include the tiny sample size of 1)

Study Finds 40% of fMRI Brain Scans Misread Neural Activity
https://ground.news/article/study-finds-40-of-fmri-brain-scans-misread-neural-activity_7aa5a7

Akira, who is also an idol of the "gravure" kind, is always promoting her books on the Devil ANTHEM account.
It always shock me a bit because I started listening to this band when the where like 14 and my brain refuse to acknowledge this was more than 10 years ago...

How to improve memory, mitigate dementia & reverse brain aging:
1️⃣ Take a multivitamin daily.
2️⃣ Increase choline intake. (Eggs)
3️⃣ Eat more blueberries. (1 cup/daily)
4️⃣ Aerobic exercise (60% of max heart rate)

▶️ The Fastest Way to Reverse Brain Aging (Science-backed)
https://

If you ever catch me making fun of older folks struggling with technology, just remind me of the numerous times I've tried to switch from vi to nano. Ever damn time I open nano for some dumb reason, I forget by the time I'm ready to save and quit. [Esc]-w-q-[Enter] is forever burned into my brain.
#linux #vi

fly_larva: Drosophila larva brain (2023)
A complete synaptic map of the brain connectome of the larva of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Nodes are neurons, and edges are synaptic connections, traced individually from brain image sections using three-dimensional electron microscopy–based reconstruction. Node metadata include the neuron hempisphere, hemispherical homologue, cell type, annotations, and inferred cluster. Edge metadata include the type of interaction (`'aa'`,…

A board-certified cardiologist in December expressed alarm over the state of Trump's health, citing several instances in recent weeks where he appeared to fall asleep during crowded White House meetings before jolting suddenly into periods of intense energy.
"He's done this several times in the last few weeks. He's fallen asleep in a crowded Oval Office and he's also fallen asleep at Cabinet meetings with people talking directly to him. That's what's called…

Doctor gives verdict on Trump's brain function after POTUS claimed he 'aced' cognitive exam
Trump declared last week he had correctly answered every question "for the third straight time" during his most recent mental health check

The office yesterday afternoon... donated a gig to a fundraiser for a young father battling a rare type of brain cancer.
#ThingsThatDontHappenInAnyOtherDevelopedCountry

“Brain Drain” or Temporary Wartime Realities? How the Number and Quality of Applicants to Ukrainian Higher Education Institutions Have Changed Since the Start of the Full-Scale Invasion: https://benborges.xyz/2026/02/19/brain-drain-or-temporary-wartime.html

reluctantly bidding adieu to albuquerque & the brilliant freaks of the grateful dead scholars' caucus, a just exactly perfect escape from consensus reality. mind & heart full, brain & body crisped. presentations described in alt text! #deadscholarsunite

Trump Is Making America Stupider (Catherine Rampell/The Bulwark)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-is-making-america-stupider-great-brain-drain
http://www.memeorandum.com/260129/p144#a260129p144

🎧 Earbuds can be used to monitor brain health
#sensors

Earbuds can be used to monitor brain health
An international research team has uncovered the next frontier in monitoring brain health, and the key is in technology that millions of people are already using every day—earbuds. The world-first study found that commercially available earbuds have the capability to detect and classify brain activity, simply by measuring subtle changes in users' hearing. The team used acoustic sensors in earphones to assess cognitive load—the mental effort that shapes learning, task performance and early c…

Apropos of nothing, a scientifically proven way to help your brain deal with stressful situations is to play Tetris.

... I'm not too sure if that is feasible, though. I have a former coworker who stopped writing code to start selling houses and I figured that I'm going to start by picking his brain over a cup of coffee.
I also figure that I have ~5 years before the cost of doing such a thing will normalize in any way in America. If every part of the process has a 150% tariff on the cost of materials, it probably won't be worth it.

My brain just made a weak fart noise and shrunk a bit.
https://flipboard.com/@flipboarduk/middle-east-conflict-3kg6h2ttz/-/a-kXuPjSBXS7CKFvzDIGBZ9w:a:26228122-/0

Deepinder Goyal, who stepped down as Zomato's CEO, raised $54M at a $190M valuation for Temple, which aims to make high-performance wearables for elite athletes (Jagmeet Singh/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/27/after-zoma…

After Zomato, Deepinder Goyal returns with a $54M brain-monitoring bet | TechCrunch
Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal's new wearable startup Temple has raised $54 million in a friends-and-family round at a post-money valuation of about $190 million.

budapest_connectome: Budapest Reference Connectome 3.0
A parameterizable consensus brain graph, derived from connectomes of 477 people, each computed from MRI datasets of the Human Connectome Project. Nodes are brain regions, and edges are weighted by the number of "tracks" that run between two nodes, as well as fiber length, fractional anisotropy and the number of occurrences in each of the 477 individuals.
This network has 1015 nodes and 63448 edges.
Tags: Biolo…

Northwestern University: Wireless device 'speaks' to the brain with light (in mice) https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2025/12/wireless-device-speaks-to-the-brain-with-light "Implant could restore lost senses, provide sensory …

Wireless device ‘speaks’ to the brain with light
In a new leap for neurobiology and bioelectronics, Northwestern University scientists have developed a wireless device that uses light to send information directly to the brain — bypassing the body’s natural sensory pathways.

A new study suggests that #dementia may be driven in part by faulty blood flow in the brain.
Researchers found that losing a key lipid causes blood vessels to become overactive,
disrupting circulation and starving brain tissue.
When the missing molecule was restored, normal blood flow returned.
This discovery opens the door to new treatments aimed at fixing vascular problems in …

Scientists found a way to restore brain blood flow in dementia
A new study suggests that dementia may be driven in part by faulty blood flow in the brain. Researchers found that losing a key lipid causes blood vessels to become overactive, disrupting circulation and starving brain tissue. When the missing molecule was restored, normal blood flow returned. This discovery opens the door to new treatments aimed at fixing vascular problems in dementia.

Nasal spray as noninvasive brain tumor treatment developed by researchers
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5663293-nasal-drops-fight-deadly-brain-cancer-research/

#Blakes7 Series B, Episode 10 - Voice from the Past
AVON: The human brain.
ORAC: Correct.
CALLY: A telepathic order was beamed to Blake to force him to reroute to that asteroid.
ORAC: As you yourself foresaw.
AVON: So tell us something new.

🦥 Long-term calorie restriction may slow normal brain aging
#diet …

Long-term calorie restriction may slow normal brain aging
As the brain ages, cells in the central nervous system experience metabolic dysfunction and increased oxidative damage. These cellular issues impair the ability to maintain the myelin sheath (the protective covering around nerve fibers), which leads to age-related white matter degradation.

Fascinating article in @…:
https://www.thetransmitter.org/defining-ce

From genes to dynamics: Examining brain cell types in action may reveal the logic of brain function
Defining brain cell types is no longer a matter of classification alone, but of embedding their genetic identities within the dynamical organization of population activity.

fly_larva: Drosophila larva brain (2023)
A complete synaptic map of the brain connectome of the larva of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Nodes are neurons, and edges are synaptic connections, traced individually from brain image sections using three-dimensional electron microscopy–based reconstruction. Node metadata include the neuron hempisphere, hemispherical homologue, cell type, annotations, and inferred cluster. Edge metadata include the type of interaction (`'aa'`,…

(LinkedIn) Generative human intelligence for images anyone? https://www.linkedin.com/posts/petermeijer_the-voice-for-android-apps-on-google-play-activity-7413499467846500352-sfcJ

The vOICe for Android - Apps on Google Play | Peter Meijer
What is sensory substitution? When I speak to you and say, "Imagine a rising bright line", and you "see" a rising bright line in your mind's eye, that's mental imagery guided by sound, a form of sensory substitution. The vOICe vision BCI generalizes this such that it works for all images. And yes, being software-based, it is already in "mass production" well ahead of any Neuralink Blindsight brain implant, with well over 500,000 cumulative installs from Google Play https://lnkd.in/dGaF2br More…

Source: Sam Altman's Merge Labs, which seeks to read brain activity using ultrasound, is being spun out of LA-based nonprofit Forest Neurotech (Emily Mullin/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/sam-altman-brain-computer-interf…

Sam Altman’s New Brain Venture, Merge Labs, Will Spin Out of a Nonprofit
Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface startup that seeks to read brain activity using ultrasound, is being spun out of Forest Neurotech, a Los Angeles nonprofit.

#Cortigent reports positive 6-year findings for brain implant for providing artificial vision https://www.massdevice.com/vivani-cortigent-positive-findings-brain-implant/<…

Cortigent reports positive 6-year findings for brain implant for providing artificial vision
Vivani Medical subsidiary Cortigent announced the results of a study evaluating its Orion visual cortical prosthesis system.

Donald Trump has been branded a "certified lunatic"
following his most strange warning yet to Canada
as tensions continue to escalate,
with some online claiming
the president's brain has been
'eaten away by dementia'
in fresh health concerns.

Donald Trump's brain 'completely eaten away by dementia' as he issues strange Canada warning
Donald Trump issued a striking warning to Canada, suggesting China could ban ice hockey if Canada pursues its strategic partnership with Beijing amid escalating trade tensions

[hype alert] Brain chip implant: visually impaired Korean YouTuber applies for Musk's clinical trial https://www.mk.co.kr/en/culture/11976079 Kim Hansol (OneshotHansol) on YouTube

Brain Chip Implant: Visually Impaired Korean YouTuber Applies for Musk’s Clinical Trial - MK
Oneshot Hansol, a visually impaired YouTuber (32, real name Kim Hansol), has applied to take part in a clinical trial run by Neuralink, the company led by Tesla chief executive Elon Musk.On February 7..

😵‍💫 Targeted ultrasound can shape the brain's reward-seeking mechanisms
#ultrasound

Targeted ultrasound can shape the brain's reward-seeking mechanisms
The nucleus accumbens is a tiny element of the human brain triggered when we experience something enjoyable, and used to help us learn behaviors that lead to rewards. A new study has shown for the first time that its influence on human behavior can be altered using transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS).

EPA Repeals Regulations for Mercury and Toxic Air Pollutants From Power Plants
Environmental and health groups said the change will make people sicker and supports a dying industry
https://www.thenewlede.org/2026/02/epa-rep…

EPA repeals Biden-era coal rules aimed at limiting brain-harming pollution
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) repealed Biden-era regulations that forced power plants to cut harmful pollutants including brain-damaging mercury and particulate matter, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin announced on Friday.

#Ultrasound gives the brain a nudge in the right direction https://www.ru.nl/en/research/research-news/ultrasound-gives-the-brain-a-nudge-in-the-right-d…

Ultrasound gives the brain a nudge in the right direction | Radboud University
Neuroscientist Soha Farboud of the Donders Institute at Radboud University has succeeded in adjusting activity in specific brain areas using a new technique.

"We're just going to run a physical simulation of a human brain to achieve AGI"
"Won't the brain die instantly if it's without a body and oxygen supply etc?"
"Well, we'll just also simulate a body."
"Won't the body die instantly if it's in a vacuum?
"Fine, we'll just simulate an atmosphere too."
"Won't the body die if it's without food and light and gravity and stimulation?"
"Fine, we'll just simulate all the physical processes on the Earth."
"Won't the Earth just freeze instantly without the Sun being there?"
"Fine, we'll just simulate the sun, too."
"Will the solar system work properly if there's only the sun? What about gravitational influences of other mass in the galaxy, what about cosmic rays?"
"Fine, we'll just simulate the whole universe, too."

Nature: OpenAI's brain implant would use ultrasound to read minds. Does the science stand up? #ultrasound

OpenAI’s brain implant would use ultrasound to read minds. Does the science stand up?
Spin-out Merge Labs aims to rival Elon Musk’s firm Neuralink. But researchers say the technology is still at an early stage.

Boston-based Neurable, which builds an OS for brain-computer interfaces, raised a $35M Series A led by Spectrum Moonshot Fund, bringing its total raised to $65M (Brock E.W. Turner/Axios)
https://www.axios.com/pro/health-tech-deals/2025/12/19/neurable-r…

Exclusive: Neurable raises $35M for brain-computer interface AI
The company plans to kick off another raise next year, despite having 18 months of runway.

fly_larva: Drosophila larva brain (2023)
A complete synaptic map of the brain connectome of the larva of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Nodes are neurons, and edges are synaptic connections, traced individually from brain image sections using three-dimensional electron microscopy–based reconstruction. Node metadata include the neuron hempisphere, hemispherical homologue, cell type, annotations, and inferred cluster. Edge metadata include the type of interaction (`'aa'`,…

cintestinalis: Tadpole larva brain (C. intestinalis)
Entire connectivity matrix for the complete brain of a larva of Ciona intestinalis. Each directed edge represents a synaptic connection from pre-synaptic cell i to post-synaptic cell j (may not be a neuron). Edge weights represent the cumulative depth of presynaptic contacts in µm.
This network has 205 nodes and 2903 edges.
Tags: Biological, Connectome, Weighted

Neurons receive precisely tailored teaching signals as we learn (well, as mice learn) https://mcgovern.mit.edu/2026/02/25/neurons-learn/ "the brain can deliver neuron-specific feedback during learning";

Neurons receive precisely tailored teaching signals as we learn - MIT McGovern Institute
When we learn a new skill, the brain has to decide—cell by cell—what to change. New research from MIT suggests it can do that with surprising precision, sending targeted feedback to individual neurons so each one can adjust its activity in the right direction. The finding echoes a key idea from modern artificial intelligence. Many […]

Elon Musk says Neuralink plans to start "high-volume production" of brain-computer interface devices and move to a fully automated surgical procedure in 2026 (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcar

The brain isn’t a computer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

😵 Diesel exhaust particles disrupt the function of brain's immune cells, study shows
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-diesel-exhaust-particles-disrupt-function.html

Diesel exhaust particles disrupt the function of brain's immune cells, study shows
Diesel exhaust particles can disturb the function of human brain immune cells, known as microglia, according to a recent study led by the University of Eastern Finland. The findings, published in Environment International, shed light on how traffic-related air pollution could contribute to brain inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases.

Renewed work toward a visual prosthesis (brain implant) in the #LGN instead of visual cortex https://nin.nl/news/first-ever-recording-of-a-crucial-visual-structure-in-the…

budapest_connectome: Budapest Reference Connectome 3.0
A parameterizable consensus brain graph, derived from connectomes of 477 people, each computed from MRI datasets of the Human Connectome Project. Nodes are brain regions, and edges are weighted by the number of "tracks" that run between two nodes, as well as fiber length, fractional anisotropy and the number of occurrences in each of the 477 individuals.
This network has 1015 nodes and 63448 edges.
Tags: Biolo…

The unusual electronic and optical properties of #perovskites have long been touted as useful for improving solar cells and television screens,
but these materials have never quite hit the big time.
Existing approaches have hoovered up all the investment and attention, and perovskites remain confined to specialist applications.
Now researchers at Empa, ETH Zurich and the Politecnico…

Perovskite nanocrystal computer components inspired by brain cells
Researchers at Empa, ETH Zurich and the Politecnico di Milano are developing a new type of computer component that is more powerful and easier to manufacture than its predecessors. Inspired by the human brain, it is designed to process large amounts of data fast and in an energy-efficient way.

Look ma, no brain implant! 😅 The vOICe vision BCI for the blind with USB camera glasses and AI scene description #noninvasive

fly_larva: Drosophila larva brain (2023)
A complete synaptic map of the brain connectome of the larva of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Nodes are neurons, and edges are synaptic connections, traced individually from brain image sections using three-dimensional electron microscopy–based reconstruction. Node metadata include the neuron hempisphere, hemispherical homologue, cell type, annotations, and inferred cluster. Edge metadata include the type of interaction (`'aa'`,…

Brain-computer interface commercialization https://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-025-01811-9 "This article analyzes two rehabilitative BCIs—the Argus II retinal prosthesis by Second Sight and the ARC-IM spinal cord stimulation system by Onward Medical";

Brain-computer interface commercialization - Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have emerged as powerful tools to restore neurological function lost due to injury or degeneration. Despite scientific adv

🐭 High-speed imaging tracks live brain cell activity in awake mice
#brain

High-speed imaging tracks live brain cell activity in awake mice
A research team from the School of Engineering at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has achieved a breakthrough in brain imaging by developing the world's first technology to capture high-resolution images of the brains of awake experimental mice in a nearly noninvasive manner.

fly_larva: Drosophila larva brain (2023)
A complete synaptic map of the brain connectome of the larva of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Nodes are neurons, and edges are synaptic connections, traced individually from brain image sections using three-dimensional electron microscopy–based reconstruction. Node metadata include the neuron hempisphere, hemispherical homologue, cell type, annotations, and inferred cluster. Edge metadata include the type of interaction (`'aa'`,…

To flexibly organize thought, the brain makes use of space https://news.mit.edu/2026/to-flexibly-organize-thought-the-brain-makes-use-of-space-0120

To flexibly organize thought, the brain makes use of space
MIT researchers tested their theory of spatial computing, which holds that the brain recruits and controls ad hoc groups of neurons for cognitive tasks by applying brain waves to patches of the cortex.

Where applicable, mass production is trivial for noninvasive software-based BCIs running on existing mass market devices #BCI

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) on X
Neuralink will start high-volume production of brain-computer interface devices and move to a streamlined, almost entirely automated surgical procedure in 2026. Device threads will go through the dura, without the need to remove it. This is a big deal.

💡 Our brains may learn more from rare events than from repetition
#brain

Our brains may learn more from rare events than from repetition
More than a century ago, Pavlov trained his dog to associate the sound of a bell with food. Ever since, scientists have assumed the dog learned this through repetition. The more times the dog heard the bell and then got fed, the better it learned that the sound meant food would soon follow.

Calibrated simulations for dynamic focusing of ultrasound through the temporal window #ultrasound

Calibrated simulations for dynamic focusing of ultrasound through the temporal window
Focused ultrasound can be delivered through the temporal window to modulate heterogeneously located brain areas. Acoustic simulations allow for safety assessments when dynamically targeting brain structures, but the mismatch between simulation and measured focal pressure can vary across the steerable range due to mechanically inaccurate assumptions made about the skull and transducer. Here, we describe efficient methods for simulation-measurement calibration using axisymmetric projections and s…

fly_hemibrain: Fly hemibrain (2020)
A synaptic map of the hemibrain connectome of fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Nodes are neurons, and edges are synaptic connections, traced individually from brain image sections using EM reconstruction techniques. Neurons are labeled by their type. Edges are annotated by the connection strength between the neurons.
This network has 21739 nodes and 4259624 edges.
Tags: Biological, Connectome, Weighted, Metadata

ARVO Foundation: 2026 Oberdorfer awardee recognized for outstanding research in low vision rehabilitation https://www.arvo.org/news/2026-oberdorfer-awardee Gislin Dagnelie, Argus II retinal implant, ICVP brain implant (intracortical visual prosthesis)

Audio long read: Many people have no mental imagery. What’s going on in their brains? #aphantasia are offering brain scient…

Audio long read: Many people have no mental imagery. What’s going on in their brains?
Listen to an audio version of a recent Nature Feature.

fly_hemibrain: Fly hemibrain (2020)
A synaptic map of the hemibrain connectome of fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Nodes are neurons, and edges are synaptic connections, traced individually from brain image sections using EM reconstruction techniques. Neurons are labeled by their type. Edges are annotated by the connection strength between the neurons.
This network has 21739 nodes and 4259624 edges.
Tags: Biological, Connectome, Weighted, Metadata

Editorial: The explosive growth of brain-computer interface technology in clinical trials in China: technological leap forward? https://journals.lww.com/jagr/fulltext/2025/12000/the_explosive_growth_of_brain_computer_interface.1.aspx…

The hoopla around Elon Musk's Neuralink Blindsight brain implant is reminiscent of the media storm around the Dobelle brain implant back in 2002, at the time making global front-page headlines on CNN and elsewhere https://edition.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/06/13/bionic.eye/

WIRED: Sam Altman’s new brain venture, Merge Labs, will spin out of a nonprofit, Forest Neurotech https://www.wired.com/story/sam-altman-brain-computer-interface-merge-labs-spin-out-nonprofit-forest-neurotech/ Focus on usin…

Sam Altman’s New Brain Venture, Merge Labs, Will Spin Out of a Nonprofit
Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface startup that seeks to read brain activity using ultrasound, is being spun out of Forest Neurotech, a Los Angeles nonprofit.

Generalization and extinction of learned fear alter primary sensory input to the brain (of mice) https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.25.708099v1

(YouTube) Your brain is a dream machine | Anil Seth on the neuroscience of active inference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYUoS0GkGCs That's what sensory substitution for the blind is tapping into: we see with the brain, not the eyes (Paul Bach-y-Rita).

Amid talk of a brain drain, some scientists leave U.S. behind https://www.statnews.com/2025/12/17/research-cuts-fuel-scientific-brain-drain-american-science-shattered/ "A large part of what we loved about the United States i…

Amid talk of a brain drain, some scientists leave U.S. behind
“A large part of what we loved about the United States is no longer there”: Amid talk of a brain drain, some scientists leave the U.S. behind.

Brain implants: What's standing in the way of pivotal trials, FDA approval #BCI

An electrode-based #Neuralink #Blindsight brain implant in visual cortex will not scale to large numbers of blind patients nor to normal-like vision beyond showing a few rough edges