What is on your mind?
The US military is paying scientists to study ways to read people's thoughts. The research could someday lead to a gadget capable of translating the thoughts of soldiers who suffered brain injuries in combat or even stroke patients in hospitals. Armed with a $ 4-million grant from the army, scientists are studying brain signals to try to decipher what a person is thinking and to whom the person wants to direct the message. The project is a collaboration among the researchers at the University of California, Irvine; Carnegie Mellon University; and the University of Maryland. The scientists use brain wave-reading technology known as electroencephalography, which measures the brain's electrical activity through electrodes placed on the scalp. It works like this: volunteers wear an electrode cap and are asked to think of a word chosen by the researchers, who then analyse the brain activity. In the future, scientists hope to develop thought-recognition software that would allow a co...