The signing into law of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act in May also contributed to his decision, he said, because it provided the assurance he needed that his research would move forward even without him at the helm. Alan E. Guttmacher, deputy director of NHGRI for the past six years, will serve as acting director.
Monkey Think, Monkey Do Neuroprosthetics took another step forward when University of Pittsburgh researchers got two rhesus macaques to feed themselves using mentally controlled robotic arms. The scientists connected a grid of 100 electrodes to neurons in the monkeys’ primary motor cortex. The grid picked up the neural activity and relayed it to a computer that controlled a nearby prosthetic arm. The monkeys succeeded in grabbing and eating fruit dangled in front of them 61 percent of the time, which, though lower than hoped, compares favorably to similar efforts in which monkeys (and humans) have moved objects in virtual environments [see “Controlling Robots with the Mind”; SciAm, October 2002]. Many challenges remain, however, before people can ever be fitted with mind-controlled limbs—the electrodes, for instance, must be made more durable and the gripping force of the prosthetics more variable. Grab onto these results in the May 29 Nature.
Smart Sewer Control Inexpensive, thumb-size computers that incorporate sensors and radio transceivers could link up to create ad hoc wireless networks useful for monitoring wildlife behavior, factory work and other spread-out activities [see “Smart Sensors to Network the World”; SciAm, June 2004]. In an effort to control storm runoff in South Bend, Ind., engineers from Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame and a local start-up firm called EmNet will create what they believe will be the largest such network in a permanent, industrial setting. They plan to attach 105 smart sensors to the undersides of manhole covers and to install smart valves in sewers to prevent backflow automatically. The network, to be completed in 2009, should also work in other cities where sewage and storm runoff share drainage systems.
Note: This article was originally printed with the title, “Updates”.
