By 2030, rapid technological advancements are expected to reshape humanity, unlocking abilities once confined to science fiction--from superhuman strength to enhanced senses. Robotic exoskeletons may soon allow people to lift heavy objects with ease, while AI-powered wearables, such as smart glasses and earbuds, could provide real-time information and immersive augmented reality experiences. Healthcare may be revolutionized by microscopic nanobots capable of repairing tissue and fighting disease from within the bloodstream, potentially extending human lifespans. Developers are also working on contact lenses with infrared vision and devices that allow users to "feel" digital objects, paving the way for entirely new ways to experience the world. Tech pioneers like former Google engineer Ray Kurzweil believe these innovations are early steps toward the merging of humans and machines, with brain-computer interfaces offering direct access to digital intelligence.

Paradromics is shifting from research to clinical trials. Recently, a neurotech company called Paradromics made headlines by successfully implanting its brain-computer interface (BCI) in a human for the first time. The procedure happened at the University of Michigan during a patient's routine epilepsy surgery. The device was both placed and removed in just about 20 minutes, a quick turnaround for such a complex technology. This achievement is a big deal for Paradromics, which has been working on this brain implant technology for nearly 10 years.

Relying on ChatGPT significantly affects critical thinking abilities, according to a new study. Researchers from MIT Media Lab, Wellesley College, and Massachusetts College of Art and Design conducted a four-month study titled "Your Brain on ChatGPT" and found users of large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI's chatbot "consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels." This included the participants' decreased brain activity, a weaker sense of authorship, and inability to remember what they wrote -- which even continued when they weren't allowed to use an LLM. Anyone who uses ChatGPT for writing may have drawn similar conclusions; the point of using LLMs, after all, is to automate the work and outsource the critical thinking effort. But with this MIT study, there's now scientific evidence showing that relying on ChatGPT and other LLMs can impair memory and learning.

The human brain is one of the most complex objects in the universe – and that complexity may be due to a surge of hormones released by the placenta during pregnancy. While numerous ideas have been proposed to explain human brain evolution, it remains one of our greatest scientific mysteries. One explanation, known as the social brain hypothesis, suggests that our large brains evolved to manage complex social relationships. It posits that navigating large group dynamics requires a certain degree of cognitive ability, pushing social species to develop bigger brains. For instance, other highly sociable animals, such as dolphins and elephants, have relatively large brains too.

But if you regularly turn to ChatGPT, a new study may raise alarm bells. Scientists from MIT Media Lab have warned that using AI could impact your ability to learn, think and remember. In their study, the team measured electrical activity in the brain to track 54 students over several essay-writing sessions. One group used ChatGPT, another used Google, and the last had no external help at all. The results revealed that students who used large language models (LLM) like ChatGPT to write essays showed poorer memory, reduced brain activity and weaker engagement than those who used other methods.

Tens of millions of Americans engage in a taboo habit that scientists have warned could pose risks to cognitive health. A recent study found that regularly viewing pornography can immediately reduce a person's performance on tasks requiring attention and cognitive control right after exposure to explicit content. Impaired executive function and reduced cognitive performance are known early markers of cognitive decline, a precursor to dementia. Research has suggested that if such effects are sustained or repeated over time, they could potentially contribute to long-term health risks. In the study, college students watched a 10-minute internet pornographic video chosen for its high viewership.

Garmin's new top running watch, the Forerunner 970, has very big shoes to fill as it attempts to replace one of the best training and race companions available. Can a built-in torch, a software revamp and voice control really make a difference? The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. The new top-of-the-line Forerunner takes the body of the outgoing Forerunner 965 and squeezes in a much brighter display, useful new running analytics and more of the advanced tech from Garmin's flagship adventure watch the Fenix 8. These upgrades come at a steep cost of 630 ( 750/ 750/A 1,399) – 30 more than its predecessor – placing it right at the top of the running and triathlon watch pile, although less than the 780 Fenix 8.

Smart devices that ensure a consistently clean environment for your feline friend. Advancements in pet care technology have led to the development of automatic litter boxes. These smart devices handle the dirty work for you, ensuring a consistently clean environment for your feline friend while saving you time and effort. Below is a list of 10 automatic litter boxes that'll get the job done – so you don't have to! The Whisker Litter-Robot 4 is an automatic litter box known for its sleek design, quiet operation and strong odor control.

What if there were a way to see the future of your health through a simple blood test? This test would assess your susceptibility to certain cancers and present your cholesterol, blood health, fatigue, glucose, and more in the context of longevity and holistic wellness. While this vision appears similar to Elizabeth Holmes' blood test startup Theranos, the end product this time comes from a different company -- and could produce life-changing results. Best known for its smart ring, Ultrahuman has now debuted Blood Vision, its advanced blood-testing platform, in the US on Tuesday, with an annual membership that will cost you 800. It will go live on July 15 for US customers.

A British biotech firm called Basecamp Research has spent the past few years collecting troves of genetic data from microbes living in extreme environments around the world, identifying more than a million species and nearly 10 billion genes new to science. It claims that this massive database of the planet's biodiversity will help train a "ChatGPT of biology" that will answer questions about life on Earth – but there's no guarantee this will work. A hydrogen fuel revolution is coming – here's why we might not want it Jörg Overmann at the Leibniz Institute DSMZ in Germany, which houses one of the world's most diverse collections of microbial cultures, says increasing known genetic sequences is valuable, but may not result in useful findings for things like drug discovery or chemistry without more information about the organisms from which they were collected. "I'm not convinced that in the end the understanding of really novel functions will be accelerated by this brute-force increase in the sequence space," he says. Recent years have seen researchers develop a number of machine learning models trained to identify patterns and predict relationships amid vast amounts of biological data.