{Photo} Hold That Thought! Researchers Learning to Read Minds

Figuring out the way the human brain understands and processes speech could be a huge step forward in helping nonverbal people communicate. Scientists have already made progress toward that goal in a study that analyzed the neural activity of 15 people undergoing surgery for epilepsy treatment or brain tumors.

The patients wore electrodes that recorded their brain activity when listening to spoken words. Later, the team studied which types of brain activity correlated with aspects of speech like frequency and rhythm. With this data and some specialized software, they were able to reconstruct some of the sounds the patients heard.

Now, a new study measured the neural activity of patients reading words aloud and reading silently to themselves. Again, the researchers used the neural activity to pinpoint which areas of the brain were stimulated by reading the words aloud . 

Using this road map of sorts, they were able to decode which areas of the brain were active when reading the same words silently. Although the brain patterns differed somewhat between spoken words and internal words, the researchers were still able to reproduce some of the words the patients read to themselves. They could, in effect, kind of read the patients’ minds sometimes.

If the same type of road map were to be constructed for nonverbal people, the initial neural activity measured would have to come from speech that the patient hears, not their own speech. But according to the researchers, this should be easy enough to accomplish – as easy as figuring out how to read a mind can be, anyway. From there, measuring the neural activity of the nonverbal person could allow researchers to understand what that person is thinking.

The research results have been promising, but they are nowhere near advanced enough to build a device to do the decoding (hence our amusing depictions of mind reading helmets). Other types of brain activity still need to be decoded, and algorithms need to be fine-tuned, but we are ever inching closer to the goal of reading each other’s minds. Time to break out the tin-foil hats?

Source: gajitz

{Photo} Wearable Smartphone: Bracelet Projects Screens onto Arms

As devices get ever smaller the need to sacrifice functionality and screen size seems inevitable, but could be prevented by something that like this clever device that uses an external surface as both its display and interface.

The Cicret Bracelet is a wristband that turns your arm into a tablet, allowing you to use swipe, tap and pinch gestures along your own appendage instead of on a built-in screen. Naturally, it is possible to also use this device on either wrist for those who are left- or right-handed.

The tiny projector works in concert with a series of long-range proximity sensors and, while still being developed, is intended to come in multiple storage capacities, sizes and colors. Games, maps, phone calls, the device will do anything your current mobile gadget can.

The 'magic' iPhone case that repairs itself

Are you always dropping your iPhone? What if there is a way to make all the scratches disappear on their own? 

That's the promise of a new type of a phone case designed by a car manufacturer Nissan for Klutzy smartphone addicts. Here's what you need to know:

That's the promise of a new type of phone case designed by car manufacturer Nissan for klutzy smartphone addicts. Here's what you need to know: 

It heals itself? How?

It uses a tactile, gel-like surface made of a chemical compound called polyrotaxane, which responds to small disturbances. When the case, say, "acquires a small scratch, its chemical structure reacts and changes back to its original shape, effectively filling the gap the scratch made," says Jamie Condliffe at Gizmodo" . "In other words, it heals."

How long does it take for a scratch to disappear?

About an hour for a small scratch, though "the chemical reaction will continue to work its magic on more major damage for up to a week," says Time international Business Times. Though there's no word on pricing (yet), the case is expected to go into production later this year after a trial run.

Sources: Gizmodo, International Business Times, Ubergizmo