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Startup Aims To Commercialize a Brain Implant To Improve Memory (ieee.org)

Posted by BeauHD on from the there's-a-pill-for-that dept.

the_newsbeagle writes: Neuroscientist Ted Berger has achieved some remarkable feats in his work on an implanted brain prosthetic to boost memory. Working with rats, he recorded the electrical signals associated with a specific memory from one animal's brain, then inserted that signal -- and thus the memory -- into another animal's brain. Working with monkeys, the implanted device enhanced the animals' recall in difficult memory tasks.

Still, it's startling to learn that a startup is ready to commercialize Berger's work, and is trying to build a memory prosthetic for humans suffering from Alzheimer's, brain injuries, and stroke. The new company, named Kernel, will fund human trials and develop electrodes that can record from and stimulate more brain cells. "An implanted memory prosthetic would have electrodes to record signals during learning, a microprocessor to do the computations, and electrodes that stimulate neurons to encode the information as a memory," writes Eliza Strickland via IEEE Spectrum.

85 comments

  1. eh .. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    update your brain to windows 10 today

    1. Re:eh .. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep. No way brain implants will ever be abused for surveillance purposes.

      Also, thought crimes here we come.

    2. Re: eh .. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Johnny Mnemonic?

  2. Welcome to the world of David Drake by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

    Read the RCN series of books starting with With the Lightnings.

    --
    If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    1. Re:Welcome to the world of David Drake by smallfries · · Score: 1

      Which is nice. Made me think "Tank, I need a pilot program for a V-212 helicopter."

      --
      Slashdot: where don knuth is an idiot because he cant grasp the awesome power of php
    2. Re:Welcome to the world of David Drake by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      Won't work.

      Think: How long does it take you to fill up a new hard disk with random crap until it's just as full as the old one was?

      A week or so, max...after that you need another upgrade.

      --
      No sig today...
    3. Re:Welcome to the world of David Drake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah but the more overstuffed your HDD is, the more easily and efficiently you can get work done?

      Oh, wait, that isn't right.

    4. Re:Welcome to the world of David Drake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      David Drake is great! A really nice guy too.

  3. You'll remember by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    what we tell you to remember.

  4. And so it starts... by goose-incarnated · · Score: 3, Funny

    Anybody else notice that this process to have a computer mind-control you is reported by Eliza?

    --
    I'm a minority race. Save your vitriol for white people.
    1. Re:And so it starts... by mentil · · Score: 5, Funny

      Tell me more about the process of having a computer mind-control me.

      --
      Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    2. Re:And so it starts... by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

      Interesting that Eliza have that capability considering that it was written so many years ago.

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    3. Re:And so it starts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's ok she passed the turing test.

    4. Re:And so it starts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Michael Crichton's excellent The Terminal Man explores some unintended consequences of this sort of technology.

    5. Re:And so it starts... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      For some people it will be a trade-off between being unable to function or even stay alive, and trusting a medical device manufacturer and the government not to screw with your implants.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    6. Re:And so it starts... by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      For some people it will be a trade-off between being unable to function or even stay alive, and trusting a medical device manufacturer and the government not to screw with your implants.

      If we were to say, use these devices on an Alzheimer's patient - assuming they actually worked - the device would not prevent the continued deterioration the sufferers experience. Because that's what eventually does them in. The parts of the body that need the brain to regulate them stop working.

      Having watched loved ones slowly die and the surge of drugs to "slow the progression" of end stage dementia, I'm kind of fearful that the people who are in charge of Grandma will move from memory implants to organ maintenance implants. I have no doubt this will be internet connected - the better to keep Grandma's memory in the cloud. Android might be prophetic, and no doubt Apple will make an iBrain. Geeks will argue about how much better one or the other is.. Well, that's a little goofy - I hope.

      No thanks - Nope, nope, nope. My family is already under orders that if I were to become demented, there will be no intervention other than pain killers, and the goal at that time will be for me to die as soon as possible. Way too much money is spent on keeping bodies alive long after the mind has fled them.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    7. Re:And so it starts... by Ambassador+Kosh · · Score: 1

      There are actual "cures" being tested right now that are showing amazing progress. They are not true cures since they are not permanent since whatever caused the damage in the first place would still go on and solve the problem again so you would need a treatment again in another 40 or 50 years if you last that long.

      The basic problem is that misfolded proteins cause other proteins to misfold also. These misfolded proteins aggregate together into inclusion bodies that are very hard for your cells to get rid of. However, this can go on for a long time since cells have quite a lot of space in them before their functions fail. There has been major progress recently at dissolving these inclusion bodies and some are being tested by the FDA right now and looking very promising.

      Another piece of good news for this is that until the cell reaches an actual terminal stage if the inclusion bodies can be dissolved the cell regains full function. There is every reason to expect that within 5 to 15 years that demetia and alzheimers will be essentially cured.

      If you end up demented and there is no hope left I can understand just getting pain killers but if we have a cure you might want to try that instead of the pain killers. :) If your mind is truly screwed though and we can't fix the problem then I agree you might as well be dead since the body doesn't matter.

      --
      Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD! :)
    8. Re:And so it starts... by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      There are actual "cures" being tested right now that are showing amazing progress. They are not true cures since they are not permanent since

      You know, if the "cures" gave you another 20 years as a a 20 or 30 year old, that might be something. But you'll be a physically failing person in a nursing home, often confined to bed or a wheelchair. Fine life, the penultimate goal. It isn't like Alzheimers is the single point of failure for the aging.

      Perhaps spending an extra 15 years in advanced care is an acceptable thing to you. I'd much prefer to be dead. And I still haven't changed my mind.

      And although I hadn't noted it before in this thread, the present paradigm in end of life health care is a fine (and completely coincidental?) emulation of a pecuiniary extraction scheme. I'd sooner give my estate to my children than to the nursing home. YMMV.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    9. Re:And so it starts... by mi · · Score: 1

      No thanks - Nope, nope, nope. My family is already under orders that if I were to become demented, there will be no intervention other than pain killers

      To each his own... I, for one, am hoping to some day be able to have my personality "run" inside a computer. And if that computer is some day given a body — mechanical, biological, or hybrid — well, so much the better!

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    10. Re:And so it starts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As someone with a strong hypno/mind control fetish, this comment really made me feel all weird.

    11. Re:And so it starts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know, you say that now, and you may be serious... but when you speak to people who are in their advanced years many of them report that they would give anything for another year or two.

      I am 56, when I was in my late teens/early 20's I used to refer to this age as 'almost dead'. Today I do not feel 'almost dead'.

      Maybe when you are 77, you'll feel differently? Maybe not, I guess it depends, this is a HIGHLY PERSONAL DECISION and I would hate for one person to be empowered to make it for everyone ELSE.

    12. Re:And so it starts... by s.petry · · Score: 1

      It's made of Rearden metal.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    13. Re:And so it starts... by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2

      No thanks - Nope, nope, nope. My family is already under orders that if I were to become demented, there will be no intervention other than pain killers

      To each his own... I, for one, am hoping to some day be able to have my personality "run" inside a computer. And if that computer is some day given a body — mechanical, biological, or hybrid — well, so much the better!

      Of course. The desire to somehow be alive forever is the 21st century version of religion, the electronic version of "the immortal soul"

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    14. Re:And so it starts... by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      You know, you say that now, and you may be serious... but when you speak to people who are in their advanced years many of them report that they would give anything for another year or two.

      I am 56, when I was in my late teens/early 20's I used to refer to this age as 'almost dead'. Today I do not feel 'almost dead'.

      Maybe when you are 77, you'll feel differently? Maybe not, I guess it depends, this is a HIGHLY PERSONAL DECISION and I would hate for one person to be empowered to make it for everyone ELSE.

      I never grant anything as impossible. But my thoughts on lifespan evolved in a different direction. They have gone form a live forever outlook while young, to a "Okay, I've lived a productive life, anytime will do." outlook as I aged. I can't think of any reason that I would revert back to earlier outlook. If I croaked today, I wouldn't have to worry about my chores tomorrow. Ultimate Moon shadow outlook.

      I have no problem with a person wanting to be hooked to machinery ala Terry Schaivo, to eke out the last possible second of bodily life if they thought that wa their ultimate goal. Of course, they should be required to afford that. For me that would be the ultimate nightmare.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    15. Re:And so it starts... by HiThere · · Score: 1

      By the time they could build a "good enough" body, you wouldn't want it. For a brain in a computer virtual reality could be better than any actual reality could be. For one thing the "actual reality" signals that were fed into your brain would be via the exact same channels that the virtual reality signals would use.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    16. Re:And so it starts... by mi · · Score: 1

      By the time they could build a "good enough" body, you wouldn't want it.

      Maybe. Maybe I would. Maybe, I'll "go out" in a body (or one of the bodies) and come back into the virtual reality of mine...

      The body does not have to be human, BTW. It could be an interstellar ship, for example...

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    17. Re:And so it starts... by mi · · Score: 1

      The desire to somehow be alive forever is the 21st century version of religion, the electronic version of "the immortal soul"

      I sense your vague disapproval... But consider, how "unnatural" it is for humans to live beyond 40 — which the already existing improvements in medicine, diet, work, government are giving us.

      Why can't future improvements extend the lifespan further? If one can have a new heart or kidney implanted already, why not the entire body some time in the (near) future? We have a galaxy to populate — and not just one. Can't do that, if a person's education takes a comparable amount of time as the period during which it can actually be used productively...

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    18. Re:And so it starts... by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      I sense your vague disapproval... But consider, how "unnatural" it is for humans to live beyond 40 — which the already existing improvements in medicine, diet, work, government are giving us.

      Certainly. There is some plausible argument for some evolutionary advantage of grandparents in helping their offspring to raise their grandchildren more successfully. But that's just a hypothesis.

      Why can't future improvements extend the lifespan further?

      Maybe. but as a point of clarification, we have raised the average lifespan. We have not lengthened the maximum lifespan. A long time ago, there were the few who reached ages pretty much the same as are some times reached now. And that is a real limit. For all of the interest in geriatrics, we might have more people reach 100 with artificial means, but we don't have any people living to 150.

      If one can have a new heart or kidney implanted already, why not the entire body some time in the (near) future?

      I wouldn't be surprised if we can replace our own organs via donations, strip everything but the forming structure, and implant stem cells that grow around the form. Why not? I dunno. We certainly would have to place some pretty draconian limits on reproduction. If a birth rate almost even exists at the same time that the only way people die is by accident or war - it will be bad.

      Considering the fear the CDC has for daring to suggest that women consider waiting until a Zika vaccine or the possibilities of an epidemic go away to have children, I am certain that in such a society, the biological urge to reproduce might have to be genetically eradicated. Unless we want to keep piling up people until we are living in 4 by 6 foot cubicles and eating algae.

      We have a galaxy to populate — and not just one. Can't do that, if a person's education takes a comparable amount of time as the period during which it can actually be used productively...

      Time dilation?

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    19. Re:And so it starts... by mi · · Score: 1

      I am certain that in such a society, the biological urge to reproduce might have to be genetically eradicated.

      Come, come, humanity, probably, already has some such mechanisms built in. For example, many more boys are born during war-time. Also, a better-off society has lower fertility rate, than a poor one — that is, the "need" for new people affects fertility rates.

      On the other hand, the planet remains largely unsettled — vast expanses of Siberia, Canada, Alaska, American Midwest, Australian Outback, the deserts (think Sahara) and the entire continent of Antarctica all require relatively minor improvements to become "prime" real estate. Plus the ocean floor — if we are replacing human bodies, we can make some fine improvements...

      And then come other planets — there is plenty of room for humanity to grow even with the current fertility rates.

      Can't do that, if a person's education takes a comparable amount of time as the period during which it can actually be used productively...

      Time dilation?

      I don't think, you understood my complaint... Today it takes a person 15-20 years to become reasonably well-educated. He can then use this education for another 30-40 years before retiring due to infirmities. Not only his education, but also his valuable experience all die with him... If we could turn those 30-40 years into even mere 60-80, we'd increase the efficiency of humanity tremendously — thus greatly speeding up the rate of scientific advances and quality-of-life improvements. But, if we could go to infinite, we'd become unstoppable...

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    20. Re:And so it starts... by Ambassador+Kosh · · Score: 1

      No the "cure" I am talking about is dissolving the inclusion bodies and allowing the cells to function normally again.

      Lets says you have a condition that for whatever reason is forming these bodies in your cells at a certain rate and as you age your cells get worse at running correctly so at 60 your cells are damaged enough you are diagnosed with alzheimers. We could give you the treatment and completely restore the cells to full functioning. The problem is you still have the condition and will still make more of these inclusion bodies but the process is very slow. At 80 you would probably need another treatment to restore full function and another at 100 etc. That is why these are not permanent cures but there is also no reason not to just use it again.

      I have no interest in just having you live longer in a nursing home and suffer. If that is the condition you end up in then I can completely understand wanting to go. Most of the stuff I am aware of is trying to restore full functionality. That is why restoring the brain is so important since it is a major reason to end up in a nursing home.

      One of the next most common issues is muscle degeneration. There is the same kind of cure being tested for that right now also but the effects would not last as long. You would likely need a shot once per year or so and it would regenerate most of your muscles (including your heart).

      In the end you are a biological robot. You age and fail because parts are not made correctly anymore or not made at all anymore or because damage is accumulating. The idea is to find stuff that people who are healthy are making correctly that allows them to function right and then make those exact same molecules so others can have them. This technology is why we can no regenerate someone's immune system while they go through chemotherapy and they have a very high survival chance now.

      The world is changing very rapidly right now and the biggest problems that exist for many of these drugs is just manufacturing them. It is insanely hard to make protein based drugs and they have as much in common as small molecule drugs as a rowboat has with an aircraft carrier.

      --
      Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD! :)
    21. Re:And so it starts... by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      No the "cure" I am talking about is dissolving the inclusion bodies and allowing the cells to function normally again.

      Lets says you have a condition that for whatever reason is forming these bodies in your cells at a certain rate and as you age your cells get worse at running correctly so at 60 your cells are damaged enough you are diagnosed with alzheimers. We could give you the treatment and completely restore the cells to full functioning.

      To be certain, by the time any of the effects show up, the damage is long done. Any plausible fix/repair for Alzheimers would require very early intervention. As in early 30's http://www.medpagetoday.com/ne... , or perhaps even childhood: http://www.wsj.com/articles/al...

      The problem is you still have the condition and will still make more of these inclusion bodies but the process is very slow. At 80 you would probably need another treatment to restore full function and another at 100 etc. That is why these are not permanent cures but there is also no reason not to just use it again.

      I can see from your post that you are sort of confusing some of the telltale clues and assuming that removing the aluminum containing plaques will restore a person's mental facilities. This is probably a false lead for many. It is the sort of thing that has caused many people to attempt to avoid aluminum and alumina - one of the most common elements and minerals on earth, so good luck with that. Because of studies and easy database searches, and out desire to blame ourselves for our frailty. As well, too much zinc supposedly causes Alzheimer's. Then again, too little zinc supposedly causes Alzheimer's.

      But as with the overwhelmingly largest factor influencing our longevity in the first place, my money is on genetics. And any "cure" for Alzheimer's will have to be tackled through genetic manipulation. Some people are going to get it, some aren't. My father and I discussed finances within 12 hours of his death from COPD. My Mother in law thought my wife was her mother for 10 years.

      Most of the stuff I am aware of is trying to restore full functionality. That is why restoring the brain is so important since it is a major reason to end up in a nursing home.

      I'm pretty curious about a treatment that can restore full function in a symptomatic Alzheimer's patient. As noted, the neurodegeneration has been going on for a good while before the overt symptoms appear.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    22. Re:And so it starts... by Ambassador+Kosh · · Score: 1

      I don't want to come out and name companies or anything and I am not really sure how much has been released to the public so far.

      My understanding is that the primary cause of the problems is the formation of inclusion bodies inside neural cells that interfere with cell functioning. There are some molecules that can dissolve these bodies without harming the cells but it has been almost impossible to get those molecules into peoples brains and then into the cells where it could work and so the stuff only worked in a petri dish pretty much. However, one company recently figured out how to make a chaperone molecule that can be attached to the target molecule that will cause most of the target molecule to be taken across the blood brain barrier and inside the cells where it can be effective.

      I don't know anything about avoiding zinc or aluminum only about the formation of inclusion bodies due to misfolded proteins that also cause other proteins to misfold. At least with some of the research I have read and some of the researchers I have talked to it looked like cell function was restored once the inclusion bodies where removed.

      Genetic manipulation is absolutely the long term way to fix this and there is a lot of work being done on that also. Thankfully genetic manipulation works on adult organisms and not just in the few cell stage of development.

      --
      Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD! :)
  5. Johnny Mnemonic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He had his memory upgraded to 160GB but things can still go south!

    1. Re:Johnny Mnemonic by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Just 'cause he used an illegal compressor, there's a reason such things ain't approved by the FDA!

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Johnny Mnemonic by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Will we have to load the Stacker driver before accessing our memory?

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  6. Improve? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, speed-up, manipulate, override...
    Same thing really.

  7. Cargo cult science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Working with rats, he recorded the electrical signals associated with a specific memory from one animal's brain, then inserted that signal -- and thus the memory -- into another animal's brain.

    This is a crock of such dimensions that I don't know where to even start. It's like recording the electrical signals of an Intel FPU while doing square roots and injecting an AMD FPU with them in order to teach it to be faster.

    Those guys have been reading too much science fiction.

    1. Re:Cargo cult science by sjames · · Score: 1

      And yet actual research seems to suggest it works to at least a degree. Of course, the leap from rat to human is HUGE. We have no idea of the quality of the memory since we can't really ask the rats.

    2. Re:Cargo cult science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Nope. "Electrical stimulation aids learning" is the basic essence here and it is not all that surprising since you destroy the existing function of neurons making them more susceptible to become part of new patterns. It's even imaginable that the erase patterns from one learning experience are more likely to be effective than just insertion of a needle and random signals, just like you have different levels of likelihood for visual patterns to trigger epilepsy.

      But the "actual research" does not at all indicate that particular memories are transferable or recallable. That's what makes it cargo cult science: just because something happens it does not mean at all that it has any relation to the accompanying hype.

    3. Re:Cargo cult science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When they are doing brain surgery on humans, the neurosurgeons sometime stimulate parts of the brain with electrodes. Patients say that they recall particular smells, memories, emotions, find things funny for no reason. It's like memory is one giant relational database, hit the right data field and you get a whole cascade of linked data.

    4. Re:Cargo cult science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But technology always gets better, remember? (Or do you need an implant to remember that?)
      Anyhow, isn't that the usual pro-science, pro-tech geek credo around here? At least when it comes to colonizing Mars. Shame you're such Luddites when it comes to everything else.

    5. Re:Cargo cult science by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      And yet actual research seems to suggest it works to at least a degree. Of course, the leap from rat to human is HUGE. We have no idea of the quality of the memory since we can't really ask the rats.

      Yeah, quite the jump from a rat to Grandma. And let's not forget that Grandma will need an internet connection to get Windows 10 Alzheimer's edition mandatory updates, and won't be able to talk when tehy mess up their tongue driver with their Golden anniversary edition.

      But think of all the ads that can be served - no doubt ad blockers will be disallowed.

      There is a whole potential industry here as we take the Internet of Things to it's unlimate goal - humans.

      Just imagine, GPS to make certain Grams doesn't run off, Pharmaceutical companies can deliver their maintenance ads directly to the users. "Honey be a sweetheart and ask doctor Benson if Cialis is right for me, would you? That's a good boy!".

      Let us not forget the malware - the ultimate in Ransomware.... You get a text message on your phone....

      "Greetings Mr. Smith - Perhaps you see your Mother up on the ledge. We hope she is enjoying the view - it is such a lovely time of year. It would be such a pity if she jumped off. If you were to be so kind as to send us 50 thousand bitcoins, we can ensure she gets back in safely."

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    6. Re: Cargo cult science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you can put Mrs. Smith on a ledge, why would you waste her with suicide? Much more profitable to put her to work for you.

    7. Re:Cargo cult science by sjames · · Score: 0

      Someone didn't read the links.

    8. Re:Cargo cult science by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      That is indeed a crock. It's also not what was actually done - it got mangled in the process of translating from paper to snappy headline clickbait.

      "The MIMO model verified that specific CA3-to-CA1 firing patterns were critical for successful encoding of Sample phase information on more difficult DMS trials. This was validated by delivery of successful MIMO-derived encoding patterns via electrical stimulation to the same CA1 recording locations during the Sample phase which facilitated task performance in the subsequent delayed Match phase on difficult trials that required more precise encoding of Sample information."

      Brain-to-brain copying was in rats, but the memory improvement was in primates and used a different technique - I'm having a hard time following, but it looks like they mapped out which areas were active during a trial then stimulated those during subsequent trials and were able to improve performance. The headline implies some rat-to-primate brain translation engine was involved. It was not. They didn't manage to copy memories brain-to-brain either. What they did manage was to boost the brain's ability to form and recall memories, at least in a very specific trial.

    9. Re:Cargo cult science by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      The memory tests were in primates, not rats. Rhesus.

  8. Submitter should read his own links by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    That paper he links to doesn't say anything like "he recorded the electrical signals associated with a specific memory from one animal's brain, then inserted that signal -- and thus the memory -- into another animal's brain".

    Submitter is describing some kind of futuristic Total Recall system. The actual paper describes a system for enhancing performance on unfamiliar tasks - that's a teeny tiny bit like that, but not actually that at all.

    1. Re:Submitter should read his own links by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Link is correct. The paper it links to is "Donor/recipient enhancement of memory in rat hippocampus." From the abstract: "A unique feature of this characterization was demonstrated when successful information encoding patterns were derived online from well-trained “donor” animals during difficult long-delay trials and delivered via online electrical stimulation to synchronously tested naïve “recipient” animals never before exposed to the delay feature of the task."
       

  9. Let me guess... by burtosis · · Score: 1

    The process will give you total recall?

  10. Scary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just wait until the government wants/gets the key codes

  11. It's the next revolution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Forget space, the next big thing for the human race is biotechnology.

  12. Nice name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
    They just HAD to name the company Kernel, didn't they?
    I can already see the future in 20 years:

    Bob: Did you hear Dave died?
    Jim: Holy shit, no, what happened?
    Bob: He went skydiving and his Kernel segfaulted on the way down.
    Jim: Well... damn. That's a real shame.
    Bob: Yeah.
    Jim: Yeah. Seems like a core dump always happens at a bad time.
    Bob: Like during sex?
    Jim: Haha... ha... yeah that would be, um, funny...
    Bob: Wait... is that why you and that Cathy chick broke u-
    Jim: HEY wanna come over and watch Game of Drones tonight? McVitro Burgers too, my treat.
    Bob: Sure!

  13. Animal torturer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why no videos of his 'research'? Does he think most of the public would want him incarcerated for the atrocities he commits?

    1. Re: Animal torturer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I assure you: my cat does far worse things to rats than this scientist does, and I don't hate my cat for his behavior.

  14. Bookworm, Run! by pellik · · Score: 1

    I remember this story. The effect of latency turns out to really be a problem.

  15. Old news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I read about it before, I just don't remember where...

  16. Existed in the 60's by scattol · · Score: 1

    This already existed in the 60's. There was a documentary series on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    1. Re:Existed in the 60's by BlueStrat · · Score: 3, Funny

      This already existed in the 60's. There was a documentary series on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      I thought that *this* was the '60s documentary you meant!

      https://youtu.be/uUa3np4CKC4

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    2. Re:Existed in the 60's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Man, I love 1960s movies with their vision of technology. Ever see Project X?

    3. Re:Existed in the 60's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      GREAT flick

  17. Software Updates... by mnslinky · · Score: 4, Funny

    >> Software Update In Progress ...
    >> Software Update Complete

    I know Kung Fu...

    1. Re:Software Updates... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I for one would be willing to pay to have two people completely unfamiliar with fighting, load up a kung fu program resulting in knowing the moves.. and completely lacking the reactiontime and physical strength / tolerance.

      hell id even be willing to participate

    2. Re:Software Updates... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kung Fu Panda says: "Show me!"

    3. Re:Software Updates... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Welcome to the future

      Your brain has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down
      windows error:000000xa
      brain freeze in an endless advertising loop

  18. Please hold caller by GeekWithAKnife · · Score: 1


    While I reboot your memory banks. Thank you for waiting.

    Funny AND scary but what if you had Alzheimer's?

    --
    A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.
  19. Don't forget your Neuropozine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Kernel will not be held responsible for any effects resulting from third party integration drugs.

  20. Johnny Nemonic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wrong Keanu movie fellas, this is more like Johnny Nemonic

  21. Now add a presidential candidate... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... and you've got the plot elements of "Interface" by Neal Stephenson & George F. Jewsbury... Great novel, scary outlook...

    1. Re:Now add a presidential candidate... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe that's what's currently going on!

  22. improving an SSD drive by ooloorie · · Score: 1

    That's sort of like saying that you're improving the memory of an SSD drive by disabling its garbage collection logic.

  23. I'll remember better this time, I promise! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'll remember better THIS time master, I promise! Just please don't cut my head open again!

    (Report: Subjects recall noticeably improved after test surgery.)

  24. Dang it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I knew I had a link to submit today!

  25. Misread the title by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

    Misread the title as "to remove memory" and though that the CIA was outsourcing again.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  26. DoS Attack by PPH · · Score: 1

    Do not think about elephants.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
    1. Re:DoS Attack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just lost the game!

  27. Would you install brain-cyberware (brainware)? by Qbertino · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I wouldn't.

    Just think of the implications. Imagine some evil terrorist hacker or just some bored teen with to much time on his hands messing with your brain and turning you into a suicide bomber or having you running around naked downtown on a saturday morning, screeming, singing and cussing at the top of your voice, just for the kicks of it.

    The fight with brain-hacked loser scene in GitS is cool, but the interrogation scene that follows is pretty emotional and scary. In my opinion though it pretty precisely shows what a society with brainware is in for.

    No f*cking way would I have such a thing installed.

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
    1. Re:Would you install brain-cyberware (brainware)? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Watch the fun with Microsoft Brain Implant V1.0...

  28. Exponent vs. constant by mi · · Score: 1

    Think: How long does it take you to fill up a new hard disk with random crap until it's just as full as the old one was?

    And yet, hardware capacities grow exponentially, whereas the brain's storage demand, though initially very high, remains unchanged from generation to generation.

    If the hardware has not caught up yet, it soon will. Exponents are inevitable, if I may try to coin a phrase...

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  29. Lets implement security from the start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So it will not be another case of the internet where no one thought to implement security when it was first created. Any such device must be shielded from receiving any form of wireless signal. Thoughts should stay private or we might as well merged to become a single entity instead (AKA singularity).

  30. 1 FOR EVERY FBI AND CIA STILL ALIVE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Install a module immediately that reminds them they backstabbed the entire population of the United States of America.

  31. Check with the experts by techno-vampire · · Score: 1

    Before you get too excited by this, you might want to ask Simon Illyan about the side effects and what can happen when the chip wears out. Believe me, folks, it's not pretty.

    --
    Good, inexpensive web hosting
    1. Re:Check with the experts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Godless innovation is not innovation.

  32. Someone else's Memory of a password. by basecastula+ · · Score: 1

    Nail on the head.

  33. The IoT is Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You might think this sounds good now, but wait. Microsoft or Google will buy the technology and turn it into another ad delivery vector.

    As soon as you even think about pizza, an in-mind Pizza Hut ad will play.

  34. BrainPal! by DarthVain · · Score: 1

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    I can't be bothered to remember this, I'll just store it in my BrainPal!

    Though if you think about it, we're already offloading memory into our phones, both in storage and as a search tool. I know I don't bother to remember anyones actual phone number anymore, and trivia is essentially only a quick google away!