We fight our nervous energy--but maybe we misunderstand what it's telling us. Long ago, when I was a fledgling journalist, I learned from an eminent editor about the concept of . It was a German word, he explained, that referred to the ability to sit still for a long time. "If you want to be a professional writer, you need," he told me. Although it was important to "get out there" and "report," it was also inevitable that I'd have to plant myself at a desk for whole days and weeks, focussing unremittingly on the production of words; many talented writers, he suggested, had failed to progress because they wrote beautifully but not for long enough.

Bridge Neurotech is planning to build a wearable brain-computer interface that uses ultrasound. Sam Altman-backed Merge Labs has a new competitor in the race to build a brain-computer interface powered by ultrasound. Bridge Neurotech is launching with $13.5 million in funding, including from venture firm General Catalyst, which has also backed major tech companies such as Anduril, Anthropic, Airbnb, and Stripe. The company is the latest in a growing field of startups that aim to translate signals from the brain into useful actions. Elon Musk's Neuralink, plus Synchron, Paradromics, and Precision Neuroscience are all working on brain-computer interfaces to help people who have lost the ability to move or speak.

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Neuroscientists in the US have successfully adapted mice to have functioning human cells inside their own brains. The researchers hope that potential treatments for psychiatric and neurodevelopmental diseases that only occur in humans could now be tested on the laboratory rodents. While mice with brains that are partly human might sound like a Kafkaesque experiment, the scientists said these are not mice that think like humans. The animals are genetically engineered - and surgically altered - so that some of their brain tissue is human. The scientists said their work, published in the journal Nature, external, was carried out with independent ethical scrutiny.

The device made by Flow Neuroscience is approved by the FDA and could help people get off antidepressants--but it costs $2,200. An at-home wearable for the treatment of depression is now available by prescription in the US. With roughly one in six American adults taking an antidepressant medication, Swedish firm Flow Neuroscience is positioning its device as an alternative to traditional drugs. But at the current four-figure price tag, it might take a while for the futuristic-looking headset to catch on with patients. Worn on the forehead for 30 minutes a day and operated with an app, the device provides low-intensity electrical stimulation to the left frontal lobe of the brain, an area involved in regulating mood and emotions.

Who Cares if AI Is Conscious--It's Basically Alive While philosophers ponder AI consciousness, the models have ideas of their own. I spent the waning days of summer grinding away at columns and working on a feature. But I missed a chance at a striking change of scenery--cruising the Galápagos with about a dozen prominent philosophers studying consciousness. The invite described morning classroom discussions tackling knotty questions on the nature of consciousness with marquee names in the field. Afternoons would be spent on island exploration and wading and snorkeling with rare biological species. One look at the agenda and my editor nixed my attendance.

Dogs have developed the ability to parse human speech in ways that mirror our own. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. No, that's not why dogs tilt their heads. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy . "Do you want a, Milton?" "Do you want to go for a, Bernie?" Annnnd, cue the head tilt from your dog. Many dogs turn their heads, perk their ears, and stand at attention when their humans say certain words. There's some serious science and fascinating theories about dogs' ability to understand language.

Image caption, As beautiful as it is complex - a male fly's brain Scientists have managed to compare the fine detail of the brains of male and female flies for the first time, identifying differences they say explain male aggression, courtship and their singing of love songs. The scientists in Cambridge mapped all 124m connections of nerve cells in a male fly's brain, having done the same for a female fly two years ago. The team are clear that the research won't explain differences between men and women because our behaviour is far more complex. But the research could help scientists better understand human behaviour and conditions in which genetic differences affect brain wiring, such as autism and schizophrenia. Prof Gregory Jefferis, of the Medical Research Council's Laboratory of Molecular Biology and University of Cambridge, who co-led the research, told BBC News that the breakthrough was a really important new avenue in neuroscience, likening it to the invention of a powerful new telescope in increasing our understanding of the Universe.

Say More Look Up Switch Off Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Creator Playbook Mashable Voices Trending Now Mashable Selects Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List In My Bag All Series Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says AGI is already here -- and the milestone is'senseless' Nvidia's focus is now on'productive work' and'profitable tokens.' Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says the company has already achieved AGI but it doesn't matter. Some AI industry leaders, such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, are obsessed with artificial general intelligence, or AGI. While the term has no universally agreed-upon definition, it generally refers to AI that can match or even surpass human cognitive abilities across a large range of tasks. In a recent interview, Altman shared that OpenAI believes it will achieve AGI by the end of the year.

The new device combines synthetic DNA and a semiconductor to create an efficient memory resistor, or'memristor.' More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. The researchers engineered synthetic DNA and integrated it with a semiconducting material to increase the storage capacity of advanced materials. Here, the internal two-dimensional structures of the synthetic DNA is visible via optical microscopy. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week.