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AI-controlled brain implants for mood disorders tested in people 

Brain implants that deliver electrical pulses tuned to a person’s feelings and behaviour are being tested in people for the first time. Two teams funded by the US military’s research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), have begun preliminary trials of ‘closed-loop’ brain implants that use algorithms to detect patterns associated with mood disorders. These devices can shock the brain back to a healthy state without input from a physician.

The work, presented last week at the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) meeting in Washington DC, could eventually provide a way to treat severe mental illnesses that resist current therapies. It also raises thorny ethical concerns, not least because the technique could give researchers a degree of access to a person’s inner feelings in real time.

The general approach — using a brain implant to deliver electric pulses that alter neural activity — is known as deep-brain stimulation. It is used to treat movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, but has been less successful when tested against mood disorders. Early evidence suggested that constant stimulation of certain brain regions could ease chronic depression, but a major study involving 90 people with depression found no improvement after a year of treatment.1

The scientists behind the DARPA-funded projects say that their work might succeed where earlier attempts failed, because they have designed their brain implants specifically to treat mental illness — and to switch on only when needed. “We’ve learned a lot about the limitations of our current technology,” says Edward Chang, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), who is leading one of the projects.

Holtzheimer, P.E., et al. Lancet Psychiatry. 4(11):839–849. (2017)

How To Fall Asleep And Why We Need More 

The National Sleep Foundation recommends an average of eight hours of sleep per night for adults, but sleep scientist Matthew Walker says that too many people are falling short of the mark.

“Human beings are the only species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep for no apparent gain,” Walker says. “Many people walk through their lives in an underslept state, not realizing it.”

Walker is the director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He points out that lack of sleep — defined as six hours or fewer — can have serious consequences. Sleep deficiency is associated with problems in concentration, memory and the immune system, and may even shorten life span.

Joe Cartledge invented the jockstrap (or athletic supporter) in the 1920s. He played hockey, football, and rugby so his invention may have been inspired by painful, painful memories. It was marketed as “Protex.”

Happy birthday to Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary! This Southern California sanctuary protects an area with remarkable biodiversity: here, you’ll find deep sea corals, lush kelp forests, and more.

Living in a Bum! The Sea Cucumber and the Pearl Fish.

Oceans under greatest threat in history, warns Sir David Attenborough

Blue Planet 2 producers say final episode lays bare shocking damage humanity is wreaking in the seas, from climate change to plastic pollution to noise

Sorry for the doom and gloom today, but these have literally been the articles that I’ve come across today  =[

Use them as motivation for the mid-term elections.

IFA 2017: SAMSUNG announces Gear Sport smartwatch, Gear Fit2 Pro fitness band and Gear IconX (2018) earbuds - Specifications, Video Read more ➦ http://j.mp/2xGWWif