Breakthrough to help paralyzed regain speech
PTI | Aug 24, 2012, 05.17AM IST
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WASHINGTON: Paralysis sufferers could soon learn to talk again after scientists discovered how the brain allows humans to pronounce vowels, a new study has claimed. Scientists are investigating the use of brain waves to create a new form of communication which could return the power of speech to paralysis sufferers like Physicist Stepehen Hawking.
Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease at 21, Hawking, now 70, relies on a computerised device to speak. The new research could pave way for prosthetic devices in the brain returning the power of speech to those paralysed by injury or disease.
Researchers followed 11 epilepsy patients who had electrodes implanted in their brains to pinpoint the origin of their seizures, with neuron activity as they uttered one of five vowels or syllables containing the vowels recorded . They found two areas , the superior temporal gyrus and a region in the medial frontal lobe, housing neurons related to speech and attuned to vowels.
Neurons in the superior temporal gyrus, responsible for processing sounds responded to all the vowels, whereas those that fired exclusively for only one or two vowels were found in the medial frontal region involved in memory.
"We know that brain cells fire in a predictable way before we move our bodies," Dr Itzhak Fried, of University of California, said. "We hypothesized that neurons would also react differently when we pronounce specific sounds. If so, we may one day be able to decode these unique patterns of activity in the brain and translate them into speech," Fried said.
"Once we understand the neuronal code underlying speech, we can work backwards from brain-cell activity to decipher speech. This suggests an possibility for people who are physically unable to speak," said Fried.
Doctors hail paralysis breakthrough
From SARAH CHALMERS, in New York
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Scientists last night claimed a breakthrough in the treatment of paralysis.
It involves the use of stem cells from human embryos, a practice which has been shrouded in controversy.
In what is believed to be the first successful experiment of its kind, researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore say they have used the cells to partially cure paralysed laboratory mice.
The team hope to experiment on human paralysis sufferers within three years.
The mice were first infected with a virus which damaged nerve cells in their spines, leaving them paralysed. The resulting condition was similar to a disease suffered by humans called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or motor neurone disease.
The disease claimed the lives of actor David Niven and former England football manager Don Revie. Professor Stephen Hawking is a sufferer. The mice then had a solution containing human embryonic stem cells infused into their spinal fluid.
The cells migrated to the area of the damaged spinal cord and developed as healthy new nerve cells. They also released proteins that spurred the regeneration of normal nerve cells. Scientists believe that if the experiment works using human cells in mice, then it has a strong chance of success in humans.
Embryonic stem cells are the basic building blocks of body tissue. They can develop into any of the body's different components.
Neurologist Douglas Kerr, who led the experiment, said: 'The majority of the animals recovered some function. 'They are not completely normal but they can begin to move their hind limbs under them and some can bear weight.'
The extraordinary progress of the mice will challenge critics of stem cell research who have argued that the work has not yielded the breakthroughs promised by scientists. It comes at a time when President Bush is trying to decide whether or not to allow federal funding for such research.
The Johns Hopkins project was financed by Project ALS, a New York-based charity dedicated to finding a cure for the condition.
Dr Kerr and colleague Professor John Gearhart isolated the primitive human stem cells from five to nine week- old human foetuses. The foetuses had been selectively aborted after IVF treatment resulted in multiple pregnancies.
Professor Gearhart said the experiment proved that embryonic stem cells can be used to treat diseases in which nerve cells have been damaged and do not normally heal or regrow. Dr Kerr added: 'We are being cautiously aggressive. We want to advance as fast as possible.'
More than 200 scientists and doctors attending a genetics meeting in Bar Harbor, Maine, were due to see a dramatic video clip of the partially cured mice last night.
Supporters of embryonic stem cell research hope this latest development will help sway President Bush. Bush is still considering his decision but is thought to feel uneasy about the use of human embryos in such work. On his European tour this week he met the Pope, who has condemned stem cell research as 'devaluing human life.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-62919/Doctors-hail-paralysis-breakthrough.html#ixzz24SyoLiWB
Top astronomer Brian P Schmidt says universe will disappear eventually
23 Aug, 2012, 03.34PM IST, PTI
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Eagerly searching for life signals in the universe, human beings -- if still existing -- will feel lonelier in a dark universe in 100 billion years.
Eagerly searching for life signals in the universe, human beings -- if still existing -- will feel lonelier in a dark universe in 100 billion years.
BEIJING: Renowned astronomer and Nobel Prize laureate Brian P Schmidt predicted a "dark" future for the universe which he says will eventually fade away throwing astronomers out of work.
"Human beings will look to an empty universe in 100 billion years, as all the galaxies will fade away except the Milky Way we live in," Schmidt, who is attending the 28th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) being held here, said.
Schmidt shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics with Saul Perlmutter and Adam Riess for providing evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.
Before their discoveries, it was commonly thought that the expansion of the universe was slowing down.
By monitoring the brightness and measuring the red-shift of the supernovae, Schmidt and his partners discovered that billion-year-old exploding stars and their galaxies are accelerating away from their reference frame.
Their discoveries led to research on dark energy, a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space and tends to accelerate the expansion of the universe.
"Unless dark energy suddenly disappears, that will surprise us as we can't really think of a reason why -- the universe will continue to expand more and more quickly and eventually fade away," Schmidt told Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua today.
Eagerly searching for life signals in the universe, human beings -- if still existing -- will feel lonelier in a dark universe in 100 billion years.
"Our Milky Way will still be here and merge with some nearby galaxies," Schmidt said, "but other things we see today will not be able to reach us in the future. Every galaxy beyond the Milky Way will disappear. At that time, astronomers will all be unemployed because there will be nothing to work at", he said.
When talking about dark energy, Schmidt said, "We don't know how dark energy is generated. It seems to be a part of the fabric of space itself. So dark energy makes more space, and more space makes more dark energy, which then makes more space. The universe runs away because of the stuff (process)."
Matthew Colless, Australian Astronomical Observatory director, was chairing Schmidt's speech yesterday, and when Colless put "dark energy" into an online translation tool for a Chinese version, and then translated the Chinese version back into English, it turned out to be "evil energy", the Xinhua report said.
Schmidt said the word "evil" is humorous although not a perfect description.
"I don't see it (dark energy) being evil. I see it as very bleak, just like a never-ending winter," said the astrophysicist, who has announced to continue his work on dark energy.
"Anything is possible. Dark energy can become attractive in the future. So we don't really know," he said.
Schmidt is also heading a project to build a new telescope called SkyMapper for a southern sky survey.
"The universe does what it does and I'm here to measure, not to judge," he said.
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Read more on »Universe|SkyMapper|nobel prize|milky way|International Astronomical Union|dark energy|Brian P Schmidt
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Eagerly searching for life signals in the universe, human beings -- if still existing -- will feel lonelier in a dark universe in 100 billion years.
Eagerly searching for life signals in the universe, human beings -- if still existing -- will feel lonelier in a dark universe in 100 billion years.
BEIJING: Renowned astronomer and Nobel Prize laureate Brian P Schmidt predicted a "dark" future for the universe which he says will eventually fade away throwing astronomers out of work.
"Human beings will look to an empty universe in 100 billion years, as all the galaxies will fade away except the Milky Way we live in," Schmidt, who is attending the 28th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) being held here, said.
Schmidt shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics with Saul Perlmutter and Adam Riess for providing evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.
Before their discoveries, it was commonly thought that the expansion of the universe was slowing down.
By monitoring the brightness and measuring the red-shift of the supernovae, Schmidt and his partners discovered that billion-year-old exploding stars and their galaxies are accelerating away from their reference frame.
Their discoveries led to research on dark energy, a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space and tends to accelerate the expansion of the universe.
"Unless dark energy suddenly disappears, that will surprise us as we can't really think of a reason why -- the universe will continue to expand more and more quickly and eventually fade away," Schmidt told Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua today.
Eagerly searching for life signals in the universe, human beings -- if still existing -- will feel lonelier in a dark universe in 100 billion years.
"Our Milky Way will still be here and merge with some nearby galaxies," Schmidt said, "but other things we see today will not be able to reach us in the future. Every galaxy beyond the Milky Way will disappear. At that time, astronomers will all be unemployed because there will be nothing to work at", he said.
When talking about dark energy, Schmidt said, "We don't know how dark energy is generated. It seems to be a part of the fabric of space itself. So dark energy makes more space, and more space makes more dark energy, which then makes more space. The universe runs away because of the stuff (process)."
Matthew Colless, Australian Astronomical Observatory director, was chairing Schmidt's speech yesterday, and when Colless put "dark energy" into an online translation tool for a Chinese version, and then translated the Chinese version back into English, it turned out to be "evil energy", the Xinhua report said.
Schmidt said the word "evil" is humorous although not a perfect description.
"I don't see it (dark energy) being evil. I see it as very bleak, just like a never-ending winter," said the astrophysicist, who has announced to continue his work on dark energy.
"Anything is possible. Dark energy can become attractive in the future. So we don't really know," he said.
Schmidt is also heading a project to build a new telescope called SkyMapper for a southern sky survey.
"The universe does what it does and I'm here to measure, not to judge," he said.
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