Replicating an Eel's Nerve Circuitry May Aid Paralyzed People

In a collaboration that blends biology and robotics, researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland are unraveling the circuitry in an eel's spinal cord to help develop a microchip implant that may someday help paralyzed people walk again.
After a spinal cord injury, many patients are unable to move because the brain is cut off from nerve control centers called central pattern generators, which are believed to be located in the lower back. The two-school research team's goal is to make a device that could mimic the signals sent by the brain and coax these nerve centers into sending "walking" instructions to muscles in a patient's legs.

Full story »

All News summaries from General Science news
All News summaries for December 05, 2004