Brain-Twitter project offers hope to paralyzed patients

Adam Wilson posted two messages on Twitter on April 15. The first one, "GO BADGERS," might have been sent by any University of Wisconsin-Madison student cheering for the school team. His second post, 20 minutes later, was a little more unusual: “SPELLING WITH MY BRAIN.” Wilson, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering, was confirming an announcement he had made two weeks earlier — his lab had developed a way to post messages on Twitter using electrical impulses generated by thought

Share

Scientist Hawking ‘comfortable’ in hospital

Distinguished scientist Stephen Hawking was said to be in a "comfortable" condition Tuesday after spending the night in hospital, Cambridge University said in a statement. The 67-year-old, who suffers from a degenerative condition, was taken to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge by ambulance in a “very ill” condition on Monday. “He is comfortable and his family is looking forward to him making a full recovery,” the university, where Hawking is a professor of mathematics, said in a short statement.

Share

Couple pulled over during high speed sex romp

An amorous motorist faces a fine and a driving ban after he was caught having sex with his girlfriend while speeding on a highway, Norwegian media reported Tuesday. New findings show that the streams of information provided by social networking sites are too fast for the brain’s “moral compass” to process and could harm young people’s emotional development. Before the brain can fully digest the anguish and suffering of a story, it is being bombarded by the next news bulletin or the latest Twitter update, according to a University of Southern California study

Share

Scientists warn of Twitter dangers

Rapid-fire TV news bulletins or updates on Twitter or Facebook could numb our sense of morality and make us indifferent to human suffering, scientists say. New findings show that the streams of information provided by social networking sites are too fast for the brain’s “moral compass” to process and could harm young people’s emotional development.

Share

British troops begin Iraq withdrawal

British troops began their formal withdrawal from southern Iraq Tuesday, "marking the beginning of the end of the UK’s six-year combat mission in Iraq," the Ministry of Defence announced. Ballesteros has spoken publicly for the first time since being diagnosed with the disease last October after collapsing at Madrid’s Barajas airport.

Share

Seve: Battle for life is my sixth major

Spanish golf legend Seve Ballesteros says that fighting a brain tumor is the biggest battle of his life and in golfing terms like winning a sixth major title. Ballesteros has spoken publicly for the first time since being diagnosed with the disease last October after collapsing at Madrid’s Barajas airport. In the interview published in Spanish sports daily Marca, The Times and The New York Times, the five-time major champion speaks of the shock at being told by doctors the seriousness of his illness.

Share

Natasha Richardson’s Injury: Could a Helmet Have Helped?

There is, for the moment, much more speculation than information surrounding actress Natasha Richardson’s severe, and perhaps fatal, ski injury. Part of the confusion is the very nature of her accident — an improbable injury, little more than a head bump on a bunny slope, that has left an otherwise healthy, 45-year-old woman fighting for her life

Share