Brain-computer-interface training helps tetraplegics win avatar race

When humans actively participate with AI in improving performance

Pilot and avatar at Cybathlon (credit: Cybathlon)

Two major advances in autonomous technologies that rival human abilities

Google Duplex voice technology and Boston Dynamics' robot advances push the boundaries

Atlas jump

FAA to team with local, state, and tribal governments and companies to develop safe drone operations

But could this ambitious program have unintended consequences when criminals and terrorists get involved?

Future autonomous drones as portrayed in “Call of Duty Black Ops 2” (credit: Activision Publishing)

Three dramatic new ways to visualize brain tissue and neuron circuits

May lead to breakthroughs in tracking brain disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's

The "dentate gyrus" section of a transgenic mouse,  imaged and colored-coded to reveal the distribution of the nerve cells. (credit: The University of Hong Kong)

round-up | Hawking’s radical instant-universe-as-hologram theory and the scary future of information warfare

Plus molecular movies of RNA for drug discovery, an atomically thin memory breakthrough, and a Magna Carta for the AI age

Timeline of the Universe, based on cosmic inflation theory (credit: WMAP science team/NASA)

round-up | New high-resolution virtual-reality and augmented-reality headsets

Promise amazing new consumer experiences, including VR/AR displays in 2020 with four times higher resolution than today’s 4K TVs

Oculus Go (credit: Oculus)

New sensors monitor brain activity and blood flow deeper in the brain with high sensitivity and high speed

Magnetic calcium-responsive nanoparticles (dark centers are magnetic cores) respond within seconds to calcium ion changes by clustering (Ca+ ions, right) or expanding (Ca- ions, left), creating a magnetic contrast change that can be detected with MRI, indicating brain activation. (High levels of calcium outside the neurons correlate with low neuron activity; when calcium concentrations drop, it means neurons in that area are firing electrical impulses.) Blue: C2AB “molecular glue” (credit: The researchers)

round-up | Three radical new user interfaces

Holographic videoconferencing, a smart wall, and a smart-watch projector offer new ways to interact with data and each other

life-size hologram ft

New immunotherapy treatment for lung cancer dramatically improves survival, researchers report

Treatment cut in half the risk of dying or having the cancer worsen, compared to chemo alone, after nearly one year

(credit: Merck)

New microscope captures awesome animated 3D movies of cells at high resolution and speed

Nobel laureate Eric Betzig's radical invention merges high-speed, non-invasive bioscanning and astronomy's adaptive optics

Zebrafish inner ear

How deep learning is about to transform biomedical science

“In silico labeling” aims to decode the terabytes of data per day generated in bio research labs

human induced pluripotent stem cell neurons ft

A future ultraminiature computer the size of a pinhead?

Future ultrahigh-storage-density MRAM memory chip promises to outperform RAM and flash memory for AI, IoT, and 5G applications and reduce power needs in data centers

Surface structure of one-monolayer iron (Fe) deposited on a boron, gallium, aluminum, or indium nitride substrate. (credit: Jie-Xiang Yu and Jiadong Zang/Science Advances)

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