At UC San Francisco, a man paralyzed by a stroke learned to control this robotic arm using his thoughts. (Credit: Noah Berger / UC San Francisco)

A man who hasn’t been able to move or speak for years imagines picking up a cup and filling it with water. In response to the man’s thoughts, a robotic arm mounted on his wheelchair glides forward, grabs the cup from a cabinet, and holds it up to a water fountain.

It sounds like something straight out of science fiction. But it’s just another day in the lab for UC San Francisco neurologist Karunesh Ganguly, one of many researchers across the University of California making progress in the brain-computer interfaces, aided by artificial intelligence.

In a fascinating new article, Julia Busiek of the UC Newsroom shares how support and funding from federal agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation are making unprecedented new strides in expanding what’s possible when the human mind and advanced computers meet.

Read the story here

And, join us in asking Congress to reject drastic cuts to research! Email your lawmakers.

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