Are cyborgs now reality? Elon Musk certainly thinks so. His company, Neuralink, has successfully implanted one of its wireless brain chips in a human. Although billed as a breakthrough, they’re not the first to do it. In fact, similar devices have already been implanted, all with the aim of connecting our brains to computers with the aim of tackling complex neurological conditions. Joining Inside Science is neuroscientist and author, Dean Burnett. In this episode, Dean helps to break down the technology behind the brain-computer interface and digs into the ethical implications.
Plus, game changing smart technology gets a run out as Rugby Union’s Six Nations Championship kicks-off. This year, all players will be wearing “Smart Mouth Guards.” These are intelligent gum shields containing miniature gyroscopes, accelerometers and Bluetooth, which provide - with incredible accuracy - a measure of the magnitude and frequency of forces experienced by players. An athlete making their international debut in this competition could have their entire collision history mapped from now until retirement, providing invaluable information for training and treatments. Crucial not only for elite squads, but ultimately for community and schools rugby where the technology will eventually land, leading to a safer game.
And finally, it turns out that we can actually understand chickens even if we’ve never met them before! After assessing a group of around 200 volunteers, a team at the University of Queensland has discovered that humans with no experience of chickens at all, could understand the birds’ calls of satisfaction, or frustration. The research has serious implications for what’s known as precision farming, an area of livestock farming with little, to no, human interaction that requires automated systems of welfare detection using sound recognition.
Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Louise Orchard, Florian Bohr, Alice Lipscombe-Southwell Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
BBC Inside Science is produced in collaboration with the Open University.
IPCC report - extreme weather events
Bees and multiple pesticide exposure
Covid 19 – reaching the unvaccinated
A life-changing database
Covid19 - should we test everybody ?
Covid and our ancient ancestors
Gene editing gets real
UK science policy shake-up; Ivermectin & Covid; black fungus in Indian Covid patients; many hominins in Siberian cave
Cov-Boost trial; SARS-Cov 2 infection in action; sapling guards; why tadpoles are dying
Covid vaccines in children; preventing dengue; algal blooms; supersonic flight
Lab origin theory of SARS-Cov2; gene for obesity; dark matter map; rock art in Scotland
Human use of plants beyond the limits of history.
Blood Clot Cure, Synthetic Fuels and Coal Mine Heat Pumps
Microplastics in UK river beds
Early burials, diversity in Tudor England, a malaria vaccine, and rogue brain waves
Dragonfly on Titan, Retreating Glaciers, Surge Testing, Acoustic lighthouses
Coronavirus variants and vaccines, climate change resistant coffee, dare to repair and how to get rid of moths
Blood clots, grieving and the emotion of screams
Disobedient particles, noisy gorillas, sharks and fictional languages
Science funding cuts; Mice get Covid-19; Native oyster reintroductions
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