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Tiny glowing probes packed with LEDs and sensors are scientists newest invention for measuring and manipulating the brain.

The "Green Brain Project" aims to create an insectobot (a robotic insect) with the brain of a honey bee. It's not as crazy or difficult as it sounds though, the researchers working on this project are not directly copying a bees brain but trying to recreate it. More specifically they are recreating bees two most important senses- sight and smell. They will then upload this fake brain into a small insect like robot so it can act somewhat like a real honey bee. This is important, as it would be a huge step forward in robotics and also because scientists say they could use robotic bees to artificially pollinate. This could help  with the reduced number of honeybees. Bees are very important to the whole environment so this project could possibly be revolutionary. I chose the tag "environment" because scientist are trying to recreate a natural animal that not only comes from Earth but greatly impacts it. Plants need bees pollination to grow, and animals need plants to eat so with a lack of bees, the whole food web would take a major hit. This project aims to try to fix this. To me, it seems like it would be extremely expensive and difficult to create as many bees as the earth would need. Maybe in the distant future though, this may be realized.

Many people, especially children my age are addicted to simple games that are frustratingly amusing which makes them even more determined to play it over and over and over again. For example, Flappy Bird. I see so many people investing x amount of precious time into it, just to get a pixelated bird through the most tubes as possible. This usually results in a) anger and humiliation for not getting pass at least 1 tube b) zero attention payed during important class lectures c) less study time and failing courses. However to at least stop more people from failure, neurologists are trying to develop another addictive game for people to play which secretly builds up your brain via subliminal messaging. By knowing the foundation of the addictive power of a game and manipulating it, researchers aim to keep people interested while subconsciously giving them a stronger and healthier brain. This is something that can be really amazing because the mass majority who wastes time on silly games like Flappy Bird might actually be receivers of benefit - gaining knowledge and useful skills without even realizing it.

Because of social media and texting 24/7, our minds have become accustomed to emoticons and what they represent. For example, our brains now register the colon - dash - close - bracket as a real smiling face. This phenomenon has been studied by scientists and this break through is not only interesting but also dawns upon the fact of how people right now are beginning to be taken over by technology. If just seeing a few markings of type makes one remember a face, then what more weird things will we be able to connect with text to in the future? It's not just smiley faced emoticons people register as well - there are thousands of emoticons that people now understand are pictures that are smaller versions of a bigger idea such as, OTL representing a person kneeling in failure and even, (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻, to represent the action of flipping a table.

This skateboard is all controlled by your brain waves. When you picture where you want to go, the skateboard moves in that direction. This isn't very safe, but i'm sure many people would buy it if it were for sale. The head set that you have to wear measures your brain waves and sends it to the tablet that is connected to the skate board. I don't know about you but I would rather drive this than a car. 

I find this article very interesting. This article explains the possible use of biotechnology to transform punishment. Philosopher Rebecca Roache and her team have spoken about the use of a drug that could make a 10 year sentence seem like 1000. The drug disorients the persons perception of time. Although many parts of this punishment seem unethical Roache make some valid points stating "Is it really OK to lock someone up for the best part of the only life they will ever have, or might it be more humane to tinker with their brains and set them free? - the goal is to look at today's punishments through the lens of the future." I find this a very interesting point and in some ways i agree with it I think in some cases it can work but I have mixed feelings. Although it seems like a good idea I feel it is a huge invasion to tinker with someones brain without consent and I really don't think anyone would consent to this.

IBM announced Thursday that it has received $21 million in funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a series of experimental computer chips designed to replicate the human brain's perceptive, active and cognitive abilities.

Scientists have now further refined their ability to be able to read and render our memories. Test subjects were given a number of movies to watch (hopefully not rise of the planet of the apes, that was just a terrible movie, it has no respect to the first film in terms of story. In the first film it is said humanity wiped itself out in a nuclear war to destroy the monkeys but in this movie it was because of a disease, and they even put it after the credits so if you leave early which you will, you will not even finish the whole movie or grasp its crappy plot.)and were then placed in an MRI machine. The MRI machine read their brain activity for hours on end which was then compiled and rendered through super special 11 herbs and spices techniques to roughly display their thoughts visually. This technology needs to be further refined so that instead of hours of imaging, it can be seconds of imaging so that our governments may use it to find the terrorists, our enemies and decrease our liberties all at the same time.

As if 3D printing wasn't impressive enough. A unnamed man in the US successfully had 75 percent of his skull replaced using just a 3D printer. The printer printed out an implant, which the company (Oxford Performance Materials) was granted permission to install within the patients skull. Also stated was that the implant has special indent and features that allows and promotes brain growth within the patient. The potential of 3D printing is extremely high. The company has said that they can now print out implants to fix any type of bone damage, whether it be from disease or trauma. The company also says that 500 people in the US a month could use this technology to fix any injuries. 3D printing is the future of the medical field, and I wouldn't be surprised if some day we could 3D print organs.  3D printing is talked about a lot in Mr. Fabroa's class, but I believe that it deserves all the coverage it gets. It truly is the future of the technological world.

Social networking is a very big thing in today's society.  there are many social networking sites on the Internet, but none as big as Facebook.  With approximately 1 billion users, it is no wonder why it is so successful.  But with everything comes a consequence.  There are many downfalls to using Facebook.   One reason why Facebook is a problem to today's society is because since we are so addicted to Facebook, it can damage our minds. Receiving and answering a notification results in a hit of dopamine, a chemical neurotransmitter associated with the motivation and rewards response in the human brain.  Dopamine is also released when we consume drugs, etc.   This seems foolish right?  well In China, Taiwan, and South Korea, "Internet Addiction Disorder" is already accepted as a psychological diagnosis.  Facebook and other social networking sites can have damaging effects, such as a decrease in our attention span.  Since 2000, our collective attention span has increased by 40% It effects our lives because since almost everyone is on Facebook, or any other social networking site, almost everyday, we start to become distracted, less focused, and have a shorter attention span, which could potentially mess up future generations.  For one, we become distracted in class, and instead of listening to the teachers, we're always on our phones (or any other devices) checking our notifications. Now that we have learned what Facebook and other social networking sites can do to us, is there really a way to resolve this issue?

this article is about how social media makes a big different from when you studying, compared to alcohol , Facebook is worse because the human brain can not multitask and lowers grades. so next time Students should think twice before logging into Facebook or sending text messages during study time.

my opinion on the Google glasses are that they are not good because they are making people rely on technology way to much. people are relying on technology to much and when they don't have it, they will feel lost. i think people rely to much on technology that they can't have a proper conversation with a person face to face or use a paper map to find their way when they are lost. We have to teach the kids of this generation how to survive in life without technology and not letting them rely to much on technology, because when they don't have it they will not no how to use their brain or books to get info and will be to lazy because the information won't be at the tip of their fingers. this my opinion on the Google glasses

You may think cellphones are harmless, but think again. Cellphones do emit radio frequency energy. The National Cancer Institute explains points on how to avoid this. You could use a hands-free kit and don't spend a long period of time on your phone near your head. This is especially for the people who spend a long time talking to someone on the phone. This has no link between having a cellphone and tumours in the brain or nervous system. Therefore, people who own phones should not take a long time when talking to somebody and when driving, use a bluetooth or put your phone on speaker. 

Opposing what has been the worry about cellphones in past years. A study that has been 18 years in the making has proved that there is no correlation between cell phone users and risk for brain cancer. There were over 350,000 test subjects and only 356 were diagnosed with brain tumors which is no higher than subjects who were not using mobile devices.