Taking control of another person's body with your mind is something that has been long dreamed of in comic books and films like X Men, but now scientists have achieved it in real life. Researchers used electromagnets and computers to transmit a person's brainwaves allowing them to control the hand of another sitting in a different building one mile away. The technology recorded the brain signals from a computer gamer and then fired them into the brain of another volunteer, triggering the nerves that controlled their hand muscles. This allowed the gamer, who had no physical computer controls themselves, to use the other person to play a computer game. The technology makes it possible to control the body of another person with thoughts - something that Professor Xavier was able to do in the X Men. The researchers behind the project believe it may eventually lead to new ways of helping rehabilitate stroke patients and those who have suffered brain damage. It could also be used to pass information between people or allow skilled surgeons help others perform difficult operations from miles away or allow pilots to take control of a plane from the ground in an emergency. Dr Rajesh Rao, a computer scientist and engineer at the University of Washington who led the work, said: "Our results show that information extracted from one brain can be transmitted to another brain, ultimately allowing two humans to cooperatively perform a task using only a direct brain-to-brain interface. |