Special Edition on Neurotechnology

by Kelsey Tyssowski figures by Krissy Lyon In the 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama announced a boost in scientific funding aimed at mapping the circuits of the brain in hopes of treating disorders ranging from depression to Alzheimer’s.…

by Olivia Ho-Shing figures by Tito Adhikary Imagine yourself as a self-sustaining city. Everything you think and all the tasks you carry out are driven and coordinated by a massively complex power network.  This is the brain. It transmits thousands of…

by Kevin Sitek figures by Daniel Utter Over the years, scientists have developed many techniques to observe what’s going on in the human brain as we think or move. Unfortunately, few of the insights we have made so far have resulted in any improvements…

by Emily Kuehn figures by Kaitlyn Choi “My greatest fear is this brain of mine….The worst thing imaginable is to be terrified of one’s own mind, the very matter that controls all that we are and all that we do and feel.” These are the words of a patient…

by Krissy Lyon When you accidentally touch a hot stove, you pull your hand away almost immediately, thanks to a quick reflex informed by your body’s pain receptors. Pain is an essential feature of our bodies that alerts us to danger or injury. But…

by Nivanthika K. Wimalasena figures by Anna Maurer Imagine you could know everything you needed to make you into exactly who you were destined to be—which books would inspire you, which people you needed to meet, what you should study in school.…

by Angela She figures by Shannon McArdel The brain is one of the most complex entities in biology. For thousands of years, humans have wondered how the human brain works, but only in the past few years has technology evolved so that scientists can…

by Stephen Thornquist figures by Michael Gerhardt A computer has finally beaten the Go world champion, a challenge that was considered the “holy grail” of artificial intelligence for nearly twenty years. Go’s impenetrability comes from the fact that a…

by Gabriel Filsinger figures by Bradley Wierbowski Brain diseases and age-related neurological disorders are a growing strain on society, and their impact is poised to expand alongside the aging world population. Due to protracted effects and the…