Neuroprosthetics and deep brain stimulation: Two big neuroscience breakthroughs

Neuroscience is working to conquer some of the human body's cruelest conditions: Paralysis, brain disease, and schizophrenia.

  • Neuroscience and engineering are uniting in mind-blowing ways that will drastically improve the quality of life for people with conditions like epilepsy, paralysis or schizophrenia.
  • Researchers have developed a brain-computer interface the size of a baby aspirin that can restore mobility to people with paralysis or amputated limbs. It rewires neural messages from the brain's motor cortex to a robotic arm, or reroutes it to the person's own muscles.
  • Deep brain stimulation is another wonder of neuroscience that can effectively manage brain conditions like epilepsy, Parkinson's, and may one day mitigate schizophrenia so people can live normal, independent lives.
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Why the Parker Solar Probe is NASA's most exciting mission

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  • The Parker Solar Probe is set to uncover a mystery about the sun: Why is it's corona hotter than its surface?
  • NASA's ability to fly a probe so close to the sun is a marvel of engineering.
  • Michelle Thaller, an astronomer at NASA, explains why the Parker Solar Probe is so hot right now.
cosmos nasa physics science solar energy space sun engineering michelle thaller ask an astronomer astronomy

New study: Melanin conducts enough electricity to enable implantable electronics

What gives us color now may give rise to our cyborg future.

Image source: PandP Studio / Shutterstock
  • Eumelanin is a mildly conductive type of melanin that produces dark pigmentation in hair, eyes, and skin.
  • Researchers have just found a way to boost its conductivity without adding foreign materials.
  • Eulemanin may be useable as a coating for implanted devices the body won't reject.
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Why this Austrian village has its own metro system — it's less than one-mile long

Less than a mile long, the Dorfbahn in Serfaus is also the world's highest metro system.

Image: Kommunalnet / Seilbahn Komperdell GmbH
  • The world's shortest (0.8 mi) and highest (4,680 ft) metro runs beneath an Austrian ski resort.
  • Constructed in 1985, the Dorfbahn keeps Serfaus traffic-free.
  • Capacity will increase from 1,600 to 3,000 passengers per hour this spring.
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Gender equality in STEM is possible. These countries prove it.

Globally 72 percent of scientific researchers are men. But there are some exceptions.

Forensic scientist Jasmine Thomas prepares blood samples for DNA extraction for evidence in a sexual assault case in the Forensic Evidence section of the Louisiana State Crime Lab June 4, 2003 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Mario Villafuerte/Getty Images)

There should be no shortage of inspirational role models for young girls dreaming of a career in science. Women have been responsible for some of the most important scientific breakthroughs that shaped the modern world, from Marie Curie's discoveries about radiation, to Grace Hopper's groundbreaking work on computer programming, and Barbara McClintock's pioneering approach to genetics.

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