ABC Catalyst S12E07 Bionic Eye

In 2013, a chip was implanted into the retina of someone without sight in order to substitute/augment image processing. While the initial chip provided somewhat low resolution images, a next generation chip will allow the viewer to read large print and recognize human faces. 

"We anticipate that this retinal implant will provide users with increased mobility and independence," said Anthony Burkitt, BVA's research director and an engineering professor at the University of Melbourne.
Check out how the ABC Catalyst S12E07 Bionic Eye works. 

It seems another Star Trek sci-fi technology is coming to real life. Remember Geordi LaForge's visor? The new bionic retina implant is even better and you can get it right here on Earth. Go science! 

Seeing and Not Seeing

Recent results published in the journal Psychological Science by University of Arizona doctoral degree candidate, Jay Sanguinetti shows that the brain processes and understands visual input that we may never consciously be aware of. In research with his advisor, Mary Peterson, Ph.D., black and white images were shown to subjects while their EEG patterns (brain waves) were observed. The work was specifically focused on seeing the images at the outer edges of the image.

Subjects' brainwaves showed that even if a person never consciously recognized the shapes on the outside of the image, their brains still worked on figuring out their meaning. "There's a brain signature for meaningful processing," Sanguinetti said. "A peak in the averaged brainwaves called N400 indicates that the brain has recognized an object and associated it with a particular meaning. It happens about 400 milliseconds after the image is shown, less than a half a second," said Peterson.

To me, this seems to beg the question of intuition. Is intuition just the brain's unconscious recognition of a subtle visual cue? For example, sometimes you meet someone that just doesn't hit you right. You have no basis for your unease, but later find out he/she was caught stealing or cheating on a test. Perhaps the brain picked up on something and sounded the alarm subconsciously. Hmm... Go Science!

Speedy Bee Vision

The early bird gets the worm could be changed to the quick bee gets the pollen. Recent research has discovered that the photoreceptors in bees' eyes can detect black and white images about 4-5x faster than humans. They can see color 3-4x faster than humans. 

What good is visual speed? Scientists believe vision is important in bees' ability to find flowers and pollen. The high-speed vision might help bees keep track of color in flickering light (e.g., when flying quickly through bushes).

"The scene for the bee would be flickering with different amounts of light and shade, and the color view is potentially changing, from a flower reflecting more light to less light," said study author Peter Skorupski, a researcher at Queen Mary, University of London, in England. Fast color vision could help bees accurately perceive color during flight.

So the next time you bend to sniff a flower and encounter a bee, realize he probably saw you first. Relax and let him go about his pollen collecting business. Go science!

Optogenetics - Switching on Neurons with Light

Brain structure and learning research is on an steep progress curve these days as imaging and signal processing is better understood. It is particularly cool to me that an important leap ahead has been achieved via the light receptors of algae found in the pond scum, Chlamydomonas. This simple algae uses light sensitive proteins to move (phototaxis) and feed via photosynthesis. So how did basic research on pond scum in 2002 get applied to brain research in the fall of 2013? Scientific curiosity and collaboration. 

An NSF-funded team of brain researchers at Stanford University, Karl Deisseroth, Edward Boyden, and Feng Zhang were looking for a chemical "switch" to turn neurons on/off. They used light sensitive algal proteins to turn on the electrochemical signaling of the neurons. These results also drove the development of tools to:

• Turn off target neurons by manipulating light-sensing proteins
• Deliver light via laser to target neurons in the brain
• Insert light-sensitive proteins into different types of neurons to study their functions
• Study of how gene expression in the brain may influence neurochemical signaling and how changes in key neuronal genes may influence learning and memory

So the next time you feel like pond scum, realize that even it has its strengths! Go science!