Mind implants helped create a digital avatar of a stroke survivor’s face

The information: A lady who misplaced her means to talk after a stroke 18 years in the past was capable of replicate her voice and even convey a restricted vary of facial expressions by way of a pc avatar. A pair of papers revealed in Nature yesterday about experiments that restored speech to ladies by way of mind implants present simply how rapidly this discipline is advancing.

How they did it: Each groups used recording units implanted into the mind to seize the indicators controlling the small actions that present facial expressions. Then they used AI algorithms to decode them into phrases, and a language mannequin to regulate for accuracy. One staff, led by Edward Chang, a neurosurgeon on the College of California, San Francisco, even managed to seize feelings.

The caveats: Researchers warning that these outcomes might not maintain for different individuals, and both approach, we’re nonetheless a really good distance from tech that’s obtainable to the broader public. Nonetheless, these proofs of idea are massively thrilling. Learn the complete story. 

—Cassandra Willyard

How new batteries might assist your EV cost sooner

The information: Chinese language battery large CATL has unveiled a brand new fast-charging battery—one which the corporate says can add as much as 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) of vary in 10 minutes. That’s sooner than nearly all EV charging in the present day, and CATL claims the brand new cells, which it plans to provide commercially by the top of 2023, will “open up an period of EV superfast charging.”

Why it issues: Though EVs are more and more well-liked, drivers could be held again by worries in regards to the restricted vary of their batteries, and the necessity to cost for upwards of half an hour. Innovation in battery supplies, if matched with progress in charging infrastructure, might assist mimic the comfort of gas-powered automobiles and encourage adoption of EVs. Learn the complete story.

—Casey Crownhart