Uh-Oh: Cyborg Brain Parts Implanted In Rats
Mad scientists in Tel Aviv have successfully replaced a rat's cerebellum with an electronic one, effectively moving the Doomsday clock ahead a minute and increasing humanity's already significant fear of rodents. Good one, guys. *crushing computer mouse in desk drawer*
Now Matti ["Frankenstein"] Mintz of Tel Aviv University in Israel and his colleagues have created a synthetic cerebellum which can receive sensory inputs from the brainstem - a region that acts as a conduit for neuronal information from the rest of the body. Their device can interpret these inputs, and send a signal to a different region of the brainstem that prompts motor neurons to execute the appropriate movement.
Such implants could eventually be used to replace areas of brain tissue damaged by stroke and other conditions, or even to enhance healthy brain function and restore learning processes that decline with age.
You know, that really got me thinking. Would you have your brain replaced with a cyborg one if it meant you could feel pleasure 24/7? And, if so, what kind of pleasure would you opt for? Because at first I was thinking I'd want something like 'sex in space' or 'just won the lottery', but now I'm thinking something less extreme. Maybe 'daaaaamn this is some good-ass pie.'
Rat cyborg gets digital cerebellum [newscientist]
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Thanks to turtlebone and Christine, who're holding out for the implants that allow you to move things with your mind. Awwwwwh yeah -- I had that plasmid in Bioshock!
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