METAVALENT * stigmergy

Displaying images directly from the human brain

Published by metavalent December 11th, 2008 in metavalent, neuro-cogno and society. 1 Comment

As we’ve said for years … just gimme the I/O ports …

Researchers at the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories succeeded in processing and displaying images directly from the human brain, they said in a study unveiled ahead of publication in the US magazine Neuron.

While the team for now has managed to reproduce only simple images from the brain, they said the technology could eventually be used to figure out dreams and other secrets inside people’s minds.

“By applying this technology, it may become possible to record and replay subjective images that people perceive like dreams.”

In their experiment, the researchers showed people the six letters in the word “neuron” and then succeeded in reconstructing the letters on a computer screen by measuring their brain activity.

The team said that it first figured out people’s individual brain patterns by showing them some 400 different still images.

Cognitive Enhancement for Everyone

Published by metavalent December 8th, 2008 in metavalent, neuro-cogno, society and war on aging. 0 Comments

Report: Brain-Boosting Pills OK For All - Staying Healthy News Story - KGTV San Diego

Healthy people should have the right to boost their brain power with pills, like those prescribed for hyperactive kids or memory-impaired seniors, according to several scientists writing in an opinion piece in the journal Nature.

Windpipe transplant breakthrough [BBC]

Published by metavalent November 20th, 2008 in biohacking, metavalent and war on aging. 0 Comments

BBC reporting:

Scientists have successfully carried out the world’s first tissue-engineered whole organ transplant, without the need for anti-rejection drugs.

Full journal text available at The Lancet: Tissue-engineered airway replacement.

SRI’s Revolutionary 1968 Demo - A 40th Anniversary Celebration

Published by metavalent November 20th, 2008 in events, metavalent and society. 0 Comments

Media X and SRI International invite you to join us in a very special event on Tuesday, December 9, 2008 from 1:00 to 5:30 p.m. at Stanford University’s Memorial Auditorium.

Engelbart and the Dawn of Interactive Computing: SRI’s Revolutionary 1968 Demo - A 40th Anniversary Celebration

On December 9, 1968, Dr. Douglas C. Engelbart and the Augmentation Research Center at Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) staged a 90-minute public multimedia demonstration at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco. It was the world debut of personal and interactive computing: for the first time, the public saw a computer mouse, hypertext linking, real-time text editing, multiple windows, cathode display tubes, and shared-screen teleconferencing.

Join us to hear original participants recount what led up to the 1968 demo, the drama of the demonstration itself, and its impact which no one could have imagined at the time. Learn about Doug Engelbart’s vision to use computing to augment society’s collective intellect and ability to solve the complex issues of our time.

Speakers include Bob Sproull (Sun Microsystems); Daniel Borel (Logitech, Inc.); Chuck House (Media X at Stanford University); Paul Saffo (technology forecaster); 1968 demo participants Bill English (formerly SRI), Jeff Rulifson (Sun Microsystems), Don Andrews (formerly SRI), and
Bill Paxton (University of California, Santa Barbara); Andy van Dam (Brown University); Christina Engelbart (The Doug Engelbart Institute); andAlan Kay (Viewpoints Research Institute).

Tickets are available for purchase from the Stanford Ticket Office online, or by calling 650-725-2787, or at the Stanford Ticket Office at Tresidder Union.

Jacking into the Brain

Published by metavalent November 14th, 2008 in biohacking, metavalent, neuro-cogno, society and war on aging. 0 Comments

So many times we’ve gesticulated, “Just Gimme the I/O Ports!”

We can haz them soon.

TAT2 could find applications in general ageing