The information: Eight years in the past, a affected person misplaced her energy of speech due to ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s illness, which causes progressive paralysis. Now, after volunteering to obtain a mind implant, the lady has been in a position to quickly talk phrases at a charge approaching regular speech.
Why it issues: Even in an period of keyboards, thumb-typing, emojis, and web abbreviations, speech stays the quickest type of human-to-human communication. The scientists from Stanford College say their volunteer smashed earlier data by utilizing the brain-reading implant to speak at a charge of 62 phrases a minute, 3 times the earlier finest.
What’s subsequent: Though the examine has not been formally reviewed, consultants have hailed the outcomes as a major breakthrough. The findings may pave the way in which for experimental brain-reading know-how to depart the lab and grow to be a helpful product quickly. Learn the complete story.
—Antonio Regalado
Resolving to reside the Yr of the Rabbit to the fullest
By Zeyi Yang, China reporter
This previous Sunday was the Lunar New Yr, crucial vacation for Chinese language and a number of other different Asian cultures. It’s presupposed to be a possibility for us to reset and seize new alternatives.
In that spirit, I’ve not too long ago revisited a few of my favourite China-focused MIT Expertise Evaluation tales from the final yr and gone again to the individuals I interviewed. I requested them whether or not they’d resolved any troubling challenges, and what they’re hoping for within the Yr of the Rabbit.