Interesting News

From science.slashdot.org:

- Amazing creature!:  A new paper at www.plos.org (Public Library of Science) reports on the sequencing and analysis of the genome of a single-celled organism, whose genome is nearly as complex as the human genome.  Tetrahymena thermophila has 27,000 genes giving it amazing complexity and abilities.  It is a master at changing its shape and its properties in response to the changing environment.  This species uses its genomic complexity to physically dominate whatever environment it encounters.

- Cure for Cancer?:  A group of scientists were able to reverse advanced melanoma by inserting genes into lymphocytes from the patients blood that allowed them to recognize a protein on melanoma cells and attach itself onto the cancerous cell and kill it.

- Dark Matter exists:  After much speculation, scientists now have conclusive proof of dark matter.

- Depression:  By breeding mice lacking a gene involved in serotonin transmission, researchers were able create a breed of mouse that is depression resistant.

- Stem Cell Research:  A new scientific breakthrough allows scientists to harvest stem cells without harming the embryo and the remaining embryo also has the potential to go on to create a healthy blastocyst. What do you have to say about it now George?

- Cloned Beef:   According to this article at Popular Science cloned beef may be coming soon.

 

The “BrainChip”

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried have successfully created a “BrainChip”!  They have been able to connect a cultured hippocampus slice to a semi-conductor chip making direct connections between the hippocampus neural network and the chips transistors.  The electrical signals produced in the hippocampus travel onto the semi-conductor chip and can be read and examined.  I am assuming that using this same principal, one could send electrical signals from the chip into the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the region of the brain responsible for short-term storage of memory.  These scientists actually have been doing this kind of work now for the last 15 years and it is not the first time they have connected a neuron to a transistor, but Im assuming this is the largest scale to date. Check the slashdot article here.