The Empowerment through Science & Technology Initiative Newsletter
ESTI's goal is to provide you with accurate information on science, technology, and health. Happy reading!
In this Issue
MythBusters: The Amygdala Only Controls Fear
Neuro News: Turning Visualized Letters Into Text
Tech News: Computer Chip Shortage
This Month in Science: Ingenuity Makes Its First Flight
Health: The Moderna Vaccine Booster
MythBusters False: The Amygdala Only Controls Fear
The amygdala is located just above the hippocampus and it looks very small compared to other parts of the brain. In popular culture, the amygdala is thought of as the “fear center” of the brain, but this isn’t entirely true.
Various studies have shown that when the amygdala is damaged, animals cannot determine when there is a threat or not. In humans, they are less responsive to threats (when the amygdala is damaged by medical conditions/accidents). This discovery has led people to believe that this correlates with a lack of “feeling” fear. However, brain imaging studies of healthy humans (people without brain damage) have shown that the amygdala activates whether humans are conscious of a threat or not. Thus, the amygdala does not contribute to the feeling of fear but rather to the indirect response to a threat.
Communication is a central part of our daily lives. We communicate to others using our body and mind. However, people who suffer from injuries that prevent them from communicating, are left at a disadvantage. Especially with technology and social media becoming more and more ingrained in our society. For decades, scientists have been using brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to restore movement in people with paralysis.
This month, a new study published in Nature reports about a new brain implant that can allow people with impaired limb movement to communicate with text using their mind. This study had one participant, aged 65, who is paralyzed from the neck down due to a spinal cord injury from 2007. Researchers asked the participant to imagine writing certain letters and the machine was able to translate those letters into typed text on the screen using artificial intelligence software. The participant was able to type 90 characters per minute which is not far from the average 115 characters per minute for most senior texters.
This new study gives hope to the millions of people who suffer from paralysis and other brain injuries that prevent them from communicating.
Computer chips are commonly used in almost every piece of technology we own. From cars to tracking milk production from cows, we use these chips to perform the most complicated to the most basic task. However, during the pandemic, we faced a shortage that halted car manufacturing and complicated businesses around the US.
Why are we facing this shortage in computer chips? When the pandemic first hit, many businesses and companies halted orders for computer chips thinking that sales would not increase. However, with more people staying home and driving rather than taking public transportation, sales went up in all kinds of industries and companies manufacturing computer chips cannot keep up with the demand.
It’s estimated that this shortage will probably last until 2022.
This Month in Science Ingenuity Makes Its First Flight
NASA was not only able to land the Perseverance rover on Mars without a problem, they were also able to fly a helicopter-like device, named Ingenuity, for the first time on another planet. After four trial flights, Ingenuity was able to complete it’s fifth flight 423 feet away from the Perseverance rover.
Not only was Ingenuity able to travel at such a distance, but it did so without help or communication from humans on Earth or in space. Ingenuity also climbed a height of 33 feet from the ground, taking aerial shots of Mars’ landscape. If Ingenuity continues, this could be a big help to Perseverance in surveying the landscape.
With more people getting the vaccine, attention has now turned to fighting the variants that have been found in countries like South Africa and Brazil. By using mRNA technology to create the vaccine, companies like Moderna and Pfizer can change the vaccine in a matter of weeks to combat these variants.
Moderna released earlier this month preliminary data about the effectiveness of their booster shots against the variants. In a study with 40 participants, a third shot of the Moderna vaccine was given six to eight months after the two-shot vaccination. In 37 of the participants, antibodies were still found before the booster, however, it wasn’t as effective against the variants as it was against the original form of COVID-19. After the booster shot was given, antibodies levels were increased, but it wasn’t as effective as they hoped.
Moderna is now looking at three different strategies: (1) using the current vaccine as a booster shot, (2) using a booster shot designed specifically against the variants, or (3) using a combination of both in a single vaccine.
Are you interested in learning how to use your technology?
At ESTI, we’re hoping to start online workshops on how to use specific technologies and get the most out of your products. If this is something you’d be interested in please fill out this survey!
