Paralyzed man walks naturally, thanks to wireless ‘bridge’ between brain and spine

“Today in Nature, an international team of researchers reports giving a man who lost the ability to walk in 2011 a way to digitally bridge the communication gap between his brain and lower body. Brain waves signaling Oskam’s desire to walk travel from a device implanted in his skull to the spinal stimulator, rerouting the signal around the damaged tissue and delivering pulses of electricity to the spinal cord to facilitate the movement. Oskam can now walk more fluidly, navigate obstacles, and climb stairs. “The stimulation before was controlling me, and now I am controlling stimulation,” he says.” (Science)

This Is Not an Extraterrestrial Signal. This Is Just a Test.

“In an act that is one part interplanetary performance art and one part dress rehearsal for an event that astronomers hope will one day occur, a coded radio message from Mars will ping radio telescopes on Earth on Wednesday. But it will only be a test. Anybody can follow along on A Sign in Space, a website that will host comments, guesses and weekly workshops on what it all might mean. (New York Times)

Pushing perovskite PV limits

“The perovskite solar race is heating up, with a cue of manufacturers forming to test products at the US Department of Energy’s (DoE) PV commercialization facilities, and academics on both sides of The Pond announcing new advances in recent months.” (PV Magazine)