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Showing posts with the label neuroscience

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI): Neuralink and the Future of Human Brains

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Imagine controlling your computer, smartphone, or even a robotic arm just by thinking. What once belonged to the realm of science fiction is now slowly becoming reality through Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs). These advanced systems create a direct communication link between the human brain and external devices, bypassing traditional pathways like speech or movement. At the forefront of this revolution is Elon Musk’s Neuralink, a company that has gained massive global attention for its ambitious vision of merging humans with artificial intelligence. But Neuralink is not alone—around the world, scientists, medical researchers, and tech innovators are racing to make BCIs a mainstream reality. In this article, we’ll explore what BCIs are, how they work, their medical applications, Neuralink’s achievements and controversies, other pioneering companies in the field, and what the future might hold. 🔹 What Are Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs)? A Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) is a system th...

Scientists Discover HAR123 — The DNA “Switch” That May Help Make Human Brains Unique

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  Scientists have zeroed in on HAR123, a short stretch of noncoding DNA classified as a human-accelerated region (HAR). In lab and animal models, HAR123 behaves like a transcriptional enhancer—a regulatory “volume control” that fine-tunes when and how nearby genes switch on during brain development. Tinkering with this enhancer shifts neural progenitor cell dynamics and alters performance on tasks linked to cognitive flexibility, offering a rigorous, testable clue to how human brains diverged from those of our primate relatives. What Are HARs—and Why HAR123 Matters Human-accelerated regions (HARs) are tiny DNA sequences that stayed stable across mammals for tens of millions of years, then changed unusually fast on the human lineage after we split from chimpanzees. Most HARs don’t code for proteins; instead, many act as regulatory elements that modulate gene expression—crucial during development. Think of them as control dials, not blueprints. The latest breakthrough pinpoints one ...