Breakthrough: A robot brain implanted in a rodent

Writtne By: Samantha Bernickus Reasource: http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2011/10/03/breakthrough_a_robot_brain_implanted_in_a_rodent.html Summary: A scientist has successfully implanted a robotic brain into a bug that had brain damage, and restoring the bugs capasity for movement.The robotic brain is supposed to make the bug able to move properly by making information from the brain stem communticate between the brain and the body. They tested this on a rat to see if it would work, they made the rat blink by listening to a certain sound and this can only work when the robotic brain is functional. Accordint to the researcher the chip can mimic natural activity of the animal. "It's a proof of the concept that we can record information from the brain, analyze it in a way similar to the biological network, and then return it to the brain," says Prof. Mintz, who recently presented his research at the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence meeting in Cambridge, UK. Critique: Bugs and maybe even people can now have robotic brains to help them live longer and maybe help their diabilities. Impact: This could have a big impact on the world especially if people can make robotic brains for humans that would truely be helpful to people with disabilaties and other problems with their brain.