The spread of tuberculosis (TB) has diminished in the developed world, but it is still prevalent in the developing parts of the world such as in Asia and Africa. The rise of HIV in the 1980's also saw an increase in TB infections due to the weakened immune systems of patients with HIV. Currently about 1.6 million people die from TB each year, and 10 million people develop active TB infections, which is also contagious. Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria and it generally affects the lungs. Individuals can harbor the TB bacteria but show no symptoms.

Researchers from Purdue University have developed a method using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and computer algorithms to map the neural networks of the visual cortex and to build a model of their visual experience as it occurs. As recently reported in Science, the researchers have made possible technology that once belonged in the realm of science fiction. During the "training" phase of the research project, women were shown video clips of people, animals, or scenes from nature. Each video clip was shown multiple times to enable the research team to collect data on the neural activity of the visual cortex of the brain as it responded to aspects of each clip such colour, spatial orientation, or size. Researchers then used this data to make predictions regarding which areas would be stimulated when that same person watched a specific video clip.