Understanding and manipulating bioelectric signaling could present a new wave of progress in developmental biology, regenerative medicine, and synthetic biology. Bioelectric signals, defined as voltage gradients across cell membranes caused by ionic movements, play a role in regulating crucial processes including cellular differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, and tissue morphogenesis. Recent studies demonstrate the ability to modulate these signals to achieve controlled tissue regeneration and morphological outcomes in organisms such as planaria and frogs. However, significant knowledge gaps remain, particularly in predicting and controlling the spatial and temporal dynamics of membrane potentials (V_mem), understanding their regulatory roles in tissue and organ development, and exploring their therapeutic potential in diseases. In this work we propose an experiment using Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) framework together with lab automation techniques for real-time manipulation of bioelectric signals to guide tissue regeneration and morphogenesis. The proposed framework should interact continuously with biological systems, adapting strategies based on direct biological feedback. Combining DRL with real-time measurement techniques -- such as optogenetics, voltage-sensitive dyes, fluorescent reporters, and advanced microscopy -- could provide a comprehensive platform for precise bioelectric control, leading to improved understanding of bioelectric mechanisms in morphogenesis, quantitative bioelectric models, identification of minimal experimental setups, and advancements in bioelectric modulation techniques relevant to regenerative medicine and cancer therapy. Ultimately, this research aims to utilize bioelectric signaling to develop new biomedical and bioengineering applications.

Humans acquire knowledge through three cognitive stages: perceiving information, comprehending knowledge, and adapting knowledge to solve novel problems. Videos serve as an effective medium for this learning process, facilitating a progression through these cognitive stages. However, existing video benchmarks fail to systematically evaluate the knowledge acquisition capabilities in Large Multimodal Models (LMMs). To address this gap, we introduce Video-MMMU, a multi-modal, multi-disciplinary benchmark designed to assess LMMs' ability to acquire and utilize knowledge from videos. Video-MMMU features a curated collection of 300 expert-level videos and 900 human-annotated questions across six disciplines, evaluating knowledge acquisition through stage-aligned question-answer pairs: Perception, Comprehension, and Adaptation. A proposed knowledge gain metric, {\Delta}knowledge, quantifies improvement in performance after video viewing. Evaluation of LMMs reveals a steep decline in performance as cognitive demands increase and highlights a significant gap between human and model knowledge acquisition, underscoring the need for methods to enhance LMMs' capability to learn and adapt from videos.

In this paper, we lay out a novel model of neuroplasticity in the form of a horizontal-vertical integration model of neural processing. The horizontal plane consists of a network of neurons connected by adaptive transmission links. This fits with standard computational neuroscience approaches. Each individual neuron also has a vertical dimension with internal parameters steering the external membrane-expressed parameters. These determine neural transmission. The vertical system consists of (a) external parameters at the membrane layer, divided into compartments (spines, boutons) (b) internal parameters in the sub-membrane zone and the cytoplasm with its protein signaling network and (c) core parameters in the nucleus for genetic and epigenetic information. In such models, each node (=neuron) in the horizontal network has its own internal memory. Neural transmission and information storage are systematically separated. This is an important conceptual advance over synaptic weight models. We discuss the membrane-based (external) filtering and selection of outside signals for processing. Not every transmission event leaves a trace. We also illustrate the neuron-internal computing strategies from intracellular protein signaling to the nucleus as the core system. We want to show that the individual neuron has an important role in the computation of signals. Many assumptions derived from the synaptic weight adjustment hypothesis of memory may not hold in a real brain. We present the neuron as a self-programming device, rather than passively determined by ongoing input. We believe a new approach to neural modeling will benefit the third wave of AI. Ultimately we strive to build a flexible memory system that processes facts and events automatically.

Neurons communicate with each other via electrical impulses, which are produced by ion channels that control the flow of ions such as potassium and sodium. In a surprising new finding, MIT neuroscientists have shown that human neurons have a much smaller number of these channels than expected, compared to the neurons of other mammals. The researchers hypothesize that this reduction in channel density may have helped the human brain evolve to operate more efficiently, allowing it to divert resources to other energy-intensive processes that are required to perform complex cognitive tasks. "If the brain can save energy by reducing the density of ion channels, it can spend that energy on other neuronal or circuit processes," says Mark Harnett, an associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences, a member of MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research, and the senior author of the study. Harnett and his colleagues analyzed neurons from 10 different mammals, the most extensive electrophysiological study of its kind, and identified a "building plan" that holds true for every species they looked at -- except for humans.

The human brain is incredible. But a team of researchers has designed a way to build a prototype of an artificial neuron made of unbelievably thin graphene slits housing a single layer of water molecules, according to a new study published in the journal Science. And, instead of electrons, this artificial neuron uses ions. The brain's ultra-high efficiency is contingent upon a base unit we know and love as the neuron, which consists of a neuron with nanometric pores called ion channels. These channels alternatively close and open depending on the stimuli, but the ion flows resulting from this process generate an electric current, one that emits action potentials, which are the crucial signals that let neurons communicate betwixt one another. Artificial intelligence (AI) can do it, too.

A new generation of futuristic robots could be powered by gel packs inspired by the electric eel, according to new research. Experts created the biologically based batteries by harnessing the same chemical process used by the fish to stun their prey and defend against predators. It could lead to the development of flexible, transparent, bio-compatible energy sources for use in everything from cyborgs to implantable gadgets. A new generation of futuristic robots could be powered by gel packs inspired by the electric eel, according to new research. To create their artificial electrical organ, the team used a 3D bioprinter to deposit droplets of liquid onto plastic base layers and set them into gels using a UV light.

It's not too often that you see handkerchiefs around anymore. Today, they're largely viewed as unsanitary and well… just plain gross. You'll be quite disappointed to learn that they have absolutely nothing to do with this article other than a couple of similarities they share when compared to your neocortex. If you were to pull the neocortex from your brain and stretch it out on a table, you most likely wouldn't be able to see that not only is it roughly the size of a large handkerchief; it also shares the same thickness. The neocortex, or cortex for short, is Latin for "new rind", or "new bark", and represents the most recent evolutionary change to the mammalian brain.

Years ago, I was working on a project that needed to be adaptive. Essentially, the software needed to learn and get better at a frequently repeated task over time. I'd read about neural networks and some early success people had achieved with them, so I decided to try it out myself. That marked the beginning of a life-long fascination with AI. AI is a really big deal.

In this series, we're discussing a topic that will transform the world we live in over the course of the next 25 years. We're going to see lots of drones, self driving cars, VR, and AR devices changing how we get around, how we transport things, and how we see and interact with the world, and it will all be powered by AI and neural nets. In part 1, we talked a little bit about what neurons are and how they work, and wrapped it up by showing a trivial example of how to sum synapse inputs and determine whether or not the neuron should fire, and finished off the article by suggesting a question: What about time? From here on out I'll be recording these adventures in a library called neurolib. If you're at all familiar with traditional neural nets, you're probably wondering when I'm going to start talking about gradient descent or Hidden Markov Models (HMM).

Years ago, I was working on a project that needed to be adaptive. Essentially, the software needed to learn and get better at a frequently repeated task over time. I'd read about neural networks and some early success people had achieved with them, so I decided to try it out myself. That marked the beginning of a life-long fascination with AI. AI is a really big deal.