Word: neural
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Another approach is to create "neural nets"--simulated versions of neurons and their massive interconnections that, while highly simplified, are able to solve real-world design problems and come up with unexpected though still appropriate solutions. These and related methods are also used in computer programs that "automatically" create art, music and poetry. The results of emulating nature in this way can be surprisingly effective, often solving difficult engineering and other design problems. However, as a human inventor who routinely uses these techniques, I can report that I continue to feel that I am still in charge of the process...
...wondered if that onset of divinity might have some relationship to the physiology of tickling. I'm serious - if that is the word. The (humorless) physiologist describes laughter as spasmodic, rhythmic, vocalized, expiratory and, when due to tickling, involuntary: Those studying the neural pathways of what is called "the tickle-laughter reflex arc" postulate that tickling results from the simultaneous sensation of both touch and pain - a kind of benign assault, wherein Normality of touch (N) and a prospective Violence of pain (V) suddenly occupy the same space. N + V = H (hilarity...
Folic acid, or folate, is a B vitamin. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website, folic acid can prevent up to 70 percent of neural tube birth defects when taken before and during pregnancy...
Even more exciting was the fact that the source of these new cells was neural-stem cells, master cells with the ability to morph into any type of brain cell, depending on the chemical signals they receive as they grow. Early studies hint that they may even belong to a more primitive population of stem cells that can form anything from skin to blood to liver. Gage showed that a part of the hippocampus contains actively developing neural-stem cells; he further speculated that this regeneration may eventually be controlled by the timely addition or subtraction...
...already using surgically installed neural implants for conditions such as deafness and Parkinson's disease. In 2030 nanobots could be introduced without surgery, essentially by just injecting or even swallowing them. They could also be directed to leave, so the process should be easily reversible. They will be programmable, in that they will be able to provide virtual reality one minute and a variety of brain extensions the next. They will be able to change their configuration and alter their software. Perhaps most important, they will be massively distributed and therefore can take up billions or trillions of positions throughout...