Brain chip reads mind by tapping straight into neurons

This appears to be a legitimate article. From Nature.com courtesy of J. Orlin Grabbe:

A pill-sized brain chip has allowed a quadriplegic man to check e-mail and play computer games using his thoughts. The device can tap into a hundred neurons at a time, and is the most sophisticated such implant tested in humans so far.

And

In June 2004, surgeons implanted a device containing 100 electrodes into the motor cortex of a 24-year-old quadriplegic. The device, called the BrainGate, was developed by the company Cyberkinetics, based in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Each electrode taps into a neuron in the patient's brain.

The BrainGate allowed the patient to control a computer or television using his mind, even when doing other things at the same time. Researchers report for example that he could control his television while talking and moving his head.

Click here for the rest.

Of course, this really excites the fanboy in me--this is one of those crystal clear moments that I get every few years when I see science fiction becoming just plain old science. The ramifications for such technology are staggering: imagine the bionic limbs of The Six Million Dollar Man; imagine Doctor Octopus. On the other hand, one wonders what this might mean in the way of mind control. If people can now electronically manipulate objects with their brains, isn't the reverse possible? Could brains be electronically manipulated?

Kinda creepy, if you ask me.

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