NEUROSCIENTIST
Imagine you had an accident that paralyzed your arms and legs.
So, you get fitted with a brain implant that lets you control robotic limbs, a computer, and more-using your mind. How incredible would that be? Nicholas "Nicho" Hatsopoulos is working toward achieving such mind-boggling goals. He is a neuroscientist at the University of Chicago in Illinois. There, he studies how the brain controls body movements and develops brain-computer interfaces (BCIS). A BCI is a system that interacts with the brain, making it possible for a person to control a computer or robot with their thoughts. It even allows a person to feel touch sensations via a robot hand.
Hatsopoulos co-founded the company Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems and heads the University of Chicago's Hatsopoulos Lab. He has also won an award for his teaching.
WHAT FIRST GOT YOU INTERESTED IN HOW THE BRAIN CONTROLS MOVEMENT?
I saw a story about people building insect robots with very simple nervous systems that could exhibit really complex motor behavior. And I thought that was super cool. So, I ended up working in an insect lab [with locusts] and started recording from their brains. I was hooked.
AND NOW YOU GET TO WORK WITH HUMAN VOLUNTEERS. CAN A PERSON REALLY CONTROL A COMPUTER OR ROBOT WITH THEIR MIND?
We've successfully done it, at least in a research setting with human patients that have a spinal cord injury and that are partially paralyzed or completely paralyzed.
WOW! YOU'RE ALSO WORKING ON SIMULATING THE SENSE OF TOUCH. WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT?
Esta historia es de la edición September 2023 de Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
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Esta historia es de la edición September 2023 de Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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Who's Your Cousin?
The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?
Is it possible to die of boredom?
To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL
Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.
SERGE WICH
Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.
ELODIE FREYMANN
When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.
Guardians of the Forest
EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.
APE ANTICS
The Whirling World of primate play
Dr. Ape Will See You Now
HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.
THE LEFT OVERS
A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.
SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?
What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.
