A representation of a mammalian neocortical column, the basic building block of the cortex. The representation shows the complexity of this part of the brain, which has now been modeled using a supercomputer. |link|
Thanks Steve

Everything I Need to Know About (Real) Robots I Learned From Transformers (Wired, via AAAI)
Transformers don’t care about people, period… With their blatant disregard for people, Transformers burned into my psyche the idea that robots didn’t have to depend on—or be limited in the same ways as—humans. That was the kind of robot I wanted [...]

Led by Robots, Roaches Abandon Instincts
They set up a cockroach arena one yard in diameter. Two six-inch-wide plastic discs were suspended over it, providing the dark shelters that cockroaches prefer to congregate in. But one disc was darker and a more likely cockroach hangout.
When 16 cockroaches were placed in the arena, they naturally gravitated toward [...]

Paralysed man’s mind is ‘read’
Electrodes have been implanted in the brain of Eric Ramsay, who has been “locked in” - conscious but paralysed - since a car crash eight years ago.
These have been recording pulses in areas of the brain involved in speech.
Now, New Scientist magazine reports, they are to use the signals he generates [...]

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Researchers successfully simulate photosynthesis and design a better leaf
University of Illinois researchers have built a better plant, one that produces more leaves and fruit without needing extra fertilizer. The researchers accomplished the feat using a computer model that mimics the process of evolution. Theirs is the first model to simulate every step of the photosynthetic [...]

Dvorak on the Google Phone
And let’s not overlook both the power of the Mac mystique and the loyalty of BlackBerry users. Google has no such mavens. People like Google but only use the various Google products because they are the best of breed. There are no Google fanboys. There are no Google addicts. I cannot [...]

Robot Consumers, Grow Up!
The problem is that, especially for Americans, this is about the only way to make robots palatable: Americans see them as jokes, or fantastical beings that should do everything for us but never be fully trusted.
Thanks Bill.
addendum: The article also links to self-described robot psychiatrist Dr Joanne Pransky, who among other things [...]