(Press-News.org) ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell University researchers and collaborators have developed a neural implant so small that it can rest on a grain of salt, yet it can wirelessly transmit brain activity data in a living animal for more than a year.
The breakthrough, detailed Nov. 3 in Nature Electronics, demonstrates that microelectronic systems can function at an unprecedentedly small scale, opening new possibilities for neural monitoring, bio-integrated sensing and other applications.
Development of the device, called a microscale optoelectronic tetherless electrode, or MOTE, was co-led by Alyosha Molnar, professor in the school of electrical and computer engineering, and Sunwoo Lee, an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University who first began working on the technology as a postdoctoral associate in Molnar’s lab.
Powered by red and infrared laser beams that pass harmlessly through brain tissue, the MOTE transmits data back using tiny pulses of infrared light, which encode the brain’s electrical signals. A semiconductor diode made of aluminum gallium arsenide captures light energy to power the circuit and emits light to communicate the data. Supporting this is a low-noise amplifier and optical encoder built using the same semiconductor technology in everyday microchips.
The MOTE is about 300 microns long and 70 microns wide.
“As far as we know, this is the smallest neural implant that will measure electrical activity in the brain and then report it out wirelessly,” Molnar said. “By using pulse position modulation for the code – the same code used in optical communications for satellites, for example – we can use very, very little power to communicate and still successfully get the data back out optically.”
Molnar said the MOTE’s material composition could make it possible to collect electrical recordings from the brain during MRI scans, which is largely not feasible with current implants. The technology could also be adapted for use in other tissues, such as the spinal cord, and even paired with future innovations like opto-electronics embedded in artificial skull plates.
For additional information, see this Cornell Chronicle story.
Media note: Pictures can be viewed and downloaded here: https://cornell.box.com/v/neuralimplant
-30-
END
Neural implant smaller than salt grain wirelessly tracks brain
2025-11-03
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Large brains require warm bodies and big offspring
2025-11-03
Vertebrates have extremely different brain sizes: even with the same body size, brain size can vary a hundredfold. As a rule, mammals and birds have the largest brains in relation to their body size, followed by sharks and reptiles. Amphibians and most fish, on the other hand, have the smallest brains of all vertebrates.
Why is this the case? In some animal groups, species that live in groups have larger brains than solitary species. They have to cope with rapidly changing social situations and therefore need ...
Team’s biosensor technology may lead to breath test for lung cancer
2025-11-03
University of Texas at Dallas researchers have developed biosensor technology that when combined with artificial intelligence (AI) shows promise for detecting lung cancer through breath analysis.
The electrochemical biosensor identifies eight volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are potential biomarkers for thoracic cancers, which include lung and esophageal cancers. AI then analyzes the biochemical characteristics of the compounds to determine whether they are a match to those linked to various thoracic cancers.
“We built a screening tool that could allow physicians to catch the disease ...
Remote patient monitoring boosts primary care revenue and care capacity
2025-11-03
Remote physiologic monitoring (RPM)—digital tools that track patients’ health data between visits—shows promise for improving chronic disease management and reshaping primary care delivery, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. While prior studies have examined how RPM affects patients who use the technology, this is the first study to quantify the impact of RPM on practices, including its effects on practice revenue, care delivery, and ...
Protein plays unexpected dual role in protecting brain from oxidative stress damage
2025-11-03
New research from Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that the enzyme biliverdin reductase A (BVRA) plays a direct protective role against oxidative stress in neurons, independent of its role producing the yellow pigment bilirubin.
In this study of genetically engineered mice, the scientists say BVRA protected brain cells from oxidative stress, an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants that protect cells, by modulating another key protein, NRF2, which regulates the levels of protective proteins and antioxidants in cells. Oxidative stress is a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.
A report describing the research, funded by the ...
Fermentation waste used to make natural fabric
2025-11-03
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A fermentation byproduct might help to solve two major global challenges: world hunger and the environmental impact of fast fashion. The leftover yeast from brewing beer, wine or even to make some pharmaceuticals can be repurposed to produce high-performance fibers stronger than natural fibers with significantly less environmental impact, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State and published today (Nov 3) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The yeast biomass — ...
When speaking out feels risky
2025-11-03
In an era when social media blurs the line between public and private speech, how do people decide whether to speak their minds or stay silent?
A new study from researchers at Arizona State University and the University of Michigan, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS, offers a groundbreaking look at the strategic trade-offs individuals make when facing the threat of punishment for dissent.
The work, co-authored by Professor Stephanie Forrest and Assistant Professor Joshua J. Daymude in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the ...
Scientists recreate cosmic “fireballs” to probe mystery of missing gamma rays
2025-11-03
An international team of scientists, led by the University of Oxford, has achieved a world-first by creating plasma "fireballs" using the Super Proton Synchrotron accelerator at CERN, Geneva, to study the stability of plasma jets emanating from blazars. The results, published today (3 November) in PNAS, could shed new light on a long-standing mystery about the Universe’s hidden magnetic fields and missing gamma rays.
Blazars are active galaxies powered by supermassive black holes that launch narrow, near-light-speed ...
Turning on an immune pathway in tumors could lead to their destruction
2025-11-03
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- By stimulating cancer cells to produce a molecule that activates a signaling pathway in nearby immune cells, MIT researchers have found a way to force tumors to trigger their own destruction.
Activating this signaling pathway, known as the cGAS-STING pathway, worked even better when combined with existing immunotherapy drugs known as checkpoint blockade inhibitors, in a study of mice. That dual treatment was successfully able to control tumor growth.
The researchers turned on the cGAS-STING pathway in immune cells using messenger RNA delivered to cancer cells. This approach may avoid the side effects of delivering large doses of a STING activator, and takes ...
Tiles, leaves and cotton strips for measuring river health
2025-11-03
Rivers perform a vital role in environmental balance. Keeping them in good condition depends not only on water quality, but also on the life they host and the processes that take place within them: plant respiration, decomposition of organic matter, and transformation of nutrients, among others. “The good condition of a river means taking into account both the organisms that inhabit it and the way it functions,” explained Luz Boyero, an Ikerbasque Research Professor at the EHU. Human activity may alter this natural dynamic, so tools need to be available to enable its effects to be detected in a timely manner.
With the aim of standardising methods for assessing river ...
Exploring the relationship between sleep and diet
2025-11-03
Sleep patterns and eating habits can influence each other, but the link between these behaviors remains unclear. In a new JNeurosci paper, researchers led by William Ja, from the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation and Technology, used fruit flies (Drosophila) to explore how different kinds of sleep deprivation influence subsequent sleeping and feeding behavior.
The researchers tested different sleep loss conditions and discovered that when fruit flies are sleep deprived to the point of energy loss, they compensate by feeding and sleeping more to restore their energy. When ...