Elon Musk shows off Neuralink implant in a living pigAugust 29, 2020 - 12:15 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Entrepreneur Elon Musk gave a peek at his brain computing startup, Neuralink, on Friday, August 28, by showing off a surgically implanted electrical device in the skull of a living pig that broadcast the animal’s brain activity, Fortune reports. Neuralink is working on a kind of brain-computer interface that it hopes will one day help restore brain functions in humans with disorders like blindness, seizures, and insomnia. Musk's experimental technology is still in its early stages. And it has yet to be tried on humans. During the livestreamed event, Neuralink staff showed off three pigs—one normal pig, one implanted with Neuralink’s device, and another that had the device removed from its skull. Hesitant to leave its pen at first, Gertrude—a pig that has had its implant for two months—slowly walked within its small enclosure, sniffing hay. All the while, the technology recorded its brain activity and displayed it on a large screen. Each of Gertrude’s sniffs produced what sounded like video-game beeps, which Musk said were audio representations of Gertrude’s brain activity. “Whenever she shuffles around and sniffs things with the snout, that sends out neural spikes,” Musk said. The demonstration was intended to show that the high-profile startup's technology works, even if only at a basic level, inside the brain of a living animal. Creating technology that could actually impact what an animal does could take years to accomplish, if ever. Photo. Getty Images Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Macron says France commemorates 109th anniv. of Armenian genocide Today France commemorates the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, Macron says. Pashinyan: We must stop searching for homeland, we have found that homeland Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has shared a message on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Erdogan wants “realistic road map” for relations with Armenia Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a “new realistic road map” for relations with Armenia. Armenia-Azerbaijan: Experts launch work on determining coordinates Expert groups from the countries started the process of determining the coordinates based on geodetic measurements. |