En este episodio, Stephen Hawking y su equipo investigan la aplicación de los avances tecnológicos al ser humano, no sólo para hacer curas más eficaces y miembros y órganos de recambio, sino también para mejorar el cerebro. ¿Conseguirá la ciencia mejorar el producto de la evolución?
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00:00We are entering a new era in which we will integrate technology into nature itself.
00:08An age in which we will no longer be able to determine what is human and what is not.
00:13The ultimate convergence between man and machine is inevitable,
00:17and we are already redefining what it means to be human.
00:21Human Design
00:25The human brain is the most complex of our organs,
00:29with more than 85 billion of the cells known as neurons.
00:34These neurons send messages through the brain thanks to chemistry and electricity.
00:40Scientists have long discovered that a low electrical current can stimulate the brain,
00:46but a team of researchers believes that electricity can be used to make us smarter.
00:52Jim Al-Khalili has traveled to Oxford to investigate this surprising statement.
00:58We all know that we can train and sculpt our bodies and improve them,
01:02make them more agile and stronger,
01:04although there is no pill or any other type of shortcut to get the perfect body.
01:09It's just going to take a lot, a lot of time and a lot of exercise.
01:14But what about our brains?
01:17Can we train our brains to make them stronger and more agile?
01:21I am at the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford
01:26to learn about the latest experiment on brain improvement.
01:30Over the last decade, they have been working on a program that has experimented
01:34with different electrical pulses to stimulate and improve brain functions.
01:39The person in charge of this project is neurologist Roy Cohen Kados.
01:43We focus on one of the most advanced human abilities, mathematics,
01:48and we stimulate the parts of the brain involved in the mathematical process
01:52in order to make it better.
01:54When the project began, the main challenge was to identify exactly
01:58what functions each part of the brain performed.
02:03By exposing a specific region of the brain to a certain magnetic stimulation,
02:08it is possible to discover what functions are affected.
02:11I'm going to give you the first pulse.
02:15This is very strange.
02:18And again.
02:20So what Rika is doing, she's stimulating the left motor cortex,
02:25and in doing that, your neurons shoot and drive a movement in your right hand.
02:32What I can feel is a click on the left side of my skull,
02:37and then a spasm that I only feel in my hand.
02:42It's not making me jump because otherwise I would shake both hands.
02:46Roy and his team subjected the different brain cells to magnetic pulses.
02:51So you use this technique to locate the parts of the brain
02:55that intervene in the mathematical process.
02:57Exactly.
02:58And it makes us think that if we can improve the function of this region of the brain
03:02or those that intervene in mathematics,
03:04we can get people to do better in mathematics.
03:08Once Roy and his team determine which parts of the brain intervene in the process,
03:12they develop a system to increase the speed of information flow in those areas.
03:19A kind of cap, capable of sending electricity directly to them when they are active.
03:28We have designed this new game in which you have to solve mathematical problems
03:32and we know that it activates the brain regions
03:34that we are going to stimulate with the cap during it.
03:37So you have to play...
03:39With the cap.
03:40With the cap on.
03:41Exactly, while we stimulate the brain.
03:43And what results have you got?
03:45We found that thanks to these stimuli,
03:47during the performance of mathematical calculations,
03:50the performance can improve up to 28%.
03:53The results obtained by Roy and his team
03:55of being able to improve a person's mathematical skills by 28% or 30% are incredible.
04:01Let's try this device on a teacher, Hanna Paul.
04:04A denial for mathematics.
04:07First she will do an exam without the cap.
04:10And I the same.
04:11I'll tell you when to stop.
04:13Sarah had 200 pounds and bought four tires.
04:17Each of them cost 35 pounds.
04:20How much money does she have left?
04:23God, I have no idea.
04:24Put the fractions in order, from the smallest to the largest.
04:28A quarter, a third and a half.
04:30How many tables are there in each row?
04:3250 problems later, Miss Paul correctly solves 60% of them.
04:37I do much better with 90%,
04:39but you have to take into account that I perform mathematical calculations every day.
04:43I don't know, 300.
04:46This is the cap.
04:47The next day we did another exam,
04:49but before it was brain stimulation session.
04:52We tried both,
04:53we were going to use our bodies to solve mathematical problems.
04:56The only thing you have to do is represent the values on the line.
04:59Move your body and once you're ready, raise your hands, okay?
05:05The goal was to represent a fraction on the line at the bottom of the screen.
05:14Have you seen that?
05:16As the game progressed, the problems became more and more complicated.
05:21Hope?
05:23Meanwhile, our parietal lobes were stimulated by Dr. Coyne's cap.
05:29There it is.
05:32Oh, bad.
05:39Let's take it off.
05:40Well, at least.
05:42Well, I did feel like it was stimulating.
05:44And I think my brain has had to work much more than it normally does,
05:48and I felt like I could feel it was,
05:50that I was trying to figure things out much faster than I did at the beginning.
05:58Then we had to do the same exam that we had done the day before
06:02to see if we had improved.
06:07The game didn't make me improve much,
06:09but once again, my information as a theoretical physicist put me at an advantage.
06:14Saha, how do you think you've done it?
06:17Well, yesterday I didn't know how to answer many questions.
06:20Now I feel my brain a little more receptive,
06:23because I've always been afraid of maths.
06:26Yes.
06:40Well, Hannah, your score has improved compared to yesterday's test.
06:44If you did a few more stimulation sessions,
06:47the results could be very much better.
06:50Okay.
06:51This time you've improved by 10% compared to the first test.
06:55And you, Jim, well, your percentage of success has also increased.
06:59Practice is the most common method to stimulate the brain.
07:03So, how do you think this technology will develop in the future?
07:07Will it be available to everyone?
07:09We hope it will be available to everyone,
07:12but it is clear that it will pose some ethical problems.
07:15For example, those who are already good or very good at maths
07:18could use it to further improve their skills.
07:22But surely if we all can get better at maths, it's fair, isn't it?
07:26Some neuroethics think this is not the best way to achieve it,
07:31but I think if it's safe and doesn't cause any kind of injury,
07:35it has a great future.
07:45So, if we look at this cap we're talking about,
07:47as you know, it's capable of doing something incredible,
07:50improving our skills in maths by 30%.
07:53Who would like to try it?
07:55Who would dare to put it in class?
07:57Me.
07:58Me too.
07:59Wouldn't you be ashamed to be the only person who wears it in class?
08:02I'd wear it if everyone wore it,
08:04but if I had to be the only one, no.
08:06Okay, very good.
08:08And you would wear it in a maths test
08:10even if you were the only one who wore it?
08:12If it made me smarter, why not?
08:14Would you wear it out of class?
08:16Of course, as a complement, it's cool.
08:20Good.
08:21It's a cool accessory.
08:22Now, of course, the technology will have to continue to advance
08:25over the next few years,
08:27but when we're ready, when we're able to acquire
08:29a notable advantage when performing certain mental tasks,
08:32I think we're going to have to look very carefully
08:35at the ethical implications that would involve.
08:39Would it be fair to say that a technology
08:41capable of enhancing our brain
08:43defines the next generation of scientific geniuses?
08:47Regardless of the ethical questions,
08:49I think in 2020 we're going to have several devices like this
08:53capable of stimulating our brain.
08:56If we use people to improve our mental capacity,
08:59could this be the next phase of human evolution?
09:03Many of these technologies may seem invasive right now,
09:06but it's likely that in the near future
09:08they will be the most common.
09:11And as the next decade allows us
09:13to expand the power of our brain,
09:15we'll also be able to find new ways
09:17to strengthen our body,
09:19even when the injuries seem to be irreversible.
09:26Since the dawn of medicine,
09:28doctors have been looking for ways
09:30to repair the parts of the body
09:32that either break or get injured.
09:34As sports have become more competitive and demanding,
09:38injuries have also increased their frequency,
09:41even truncating the careers of some athletes.
09:44Could science give us a solution?
09:47Arati Prasad is going to Boston
09:49to investigate a new ligament repair technique.
09:57Ice hockey is one of the sports
09:59that causes the most injuries in the world.
10:05But to many of these players,
10:07their dreams of fame and fortune
10:09can be cut short in an instant
10:11by an incapacitating injury.
10:14The rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament
10:17of the knee is one of the worst types of injury.
10:20The ligaments are very difficult to repair,
10:23especially in the complex anatomy of the knee.
10:26It can not only happen to hockey players,
10:28it also happened to a promising gymnast,
10:30Shira Lewis.
10:32That day I was practicing.
10:34It was two days before my last year of high school.
10:37It was when I was going to fall.
10:39My body was still spinning when I landed
10:41and I heard a noise.
10:43Shira's knee, the anterior cruciate ligament
10:45that helps us turn and pivot,
10:47had detached from the bone.
10:49As an experienced gymnast,
10:51Shira knew what that meant.
10:54It was devastating.
10:55I was sitting on the mat
10:57and I looked at my coach and I said,
10:59it's over, I'm not a gymnast anymore.
11:02With today's technology,
11:04the only option would be to remove it
11:06and replace it with another leg ligament.
11:08But it is an operation that is not always successful.
11:13To find out why it is so difficult to repair,
11:16I met with Professor Brayden Fleming
11:18at the Brown University of Providence in Rhode Island.
11:22This is a pig knee.
11:24This would be the femur and this the tibia.
11:27And if you look here, you'll see the anterior cruciate ligament.
11:29Is that it?
11:30That's it.
11:32The ligament is like a biological rope
11:34composed mainly of collagen,
11:36one of the most resistant substances in the body.
11:38And how can it tear?
11:41It takes a lot of force to do that.
11:43Come on, guys.
11:45Professor Fleming's experiment is a bit unusual.
11:48A team of doctors is going to play tug of war
11:50but with the pig's leg.
11:54So we have four guys pulling this little ligament.
11:58Are you pulling hard?
11:59Yes.
12:02They're getting red.
12:07Pull!
12:09I can't believe it.
12:11They were pulling with a force equivalent to 1,500 newtons,
12:14that is, 150 kilos,
12:16and the ligament remained intact.
12:18I didn't think the ligament would hold that long.
12:20I thought it would break very easily.
12:22If the ligaments are so resistant,
12:24it's because of the elastic fibers
12:26that are linked to each other.
12:28Like a rope.
12:29Like a rope, exactly.
12:31The ligaments may be resistant
12:33but they are difficult to repair
12:35because they get very little blood,
12:37so the body can't send them nutrients
12:39easily enough to heal them.
12:42Boston Children's Hospital could have the solution.
12:45I've come here to meet a team of scientists
12:48who are working on a revolutionary technique
12:51with which they believe they can repair the ligaments.
12:54This way, the surgical interventions
12:56and the recovery time would be reduced.
12:58Injured athletes could return to their races much earlier.
13:01This microscopic photograph shows us what a ligament is like.
13:05When it breaks, the fibers separate
13:07and the two halves remain like a rope.
13:10It's very difficult to sew it together
13:12because the points don't hold.
13:14In other parts of the body,
13:16when a ligament breaks,
13:18the two ends bleed,
13:20and that blood clot makes them stay together.
13:22But the previous crossed ligament
13:24is in the joint of the knee,
13:26where there is a fluid,
13:28and that fluid eliminates the scab
13:30that could form,
13:32so that the two ends are loose in the fluid
13:34and then, if we create a kind of bridge,
13:36the two ends of the ligament could join again
13:38and we could recover them.
13:40And how could that bridge be made?
13:43This here is an extracellular matrix
13:45extracted from the knee of a cow,
13:47which we turn into something that looks like this.
13:50One of the main components is collagen,
13:53although it also has other proteins
13:55that help the cells get into it.
13:57So we would take this
13:59and put it in the middle of the two ends of the ligament,
14:02filling it with its blood
14:04so that it would stay in place
14:06and the fluid wouldn't eliminate it.
14:08I'm going to check if it's possible
14:10that this improved biome collagen
14:12can prevent the dissolution of a blood clot.
14:14What they're going to do is add human blood
14:16to the same materials that are in the bridge
14:18that I've shown you,
14:20and that will help to form a large clot.
14:22Now it looks like a kind of gel.
14:24Yeah, it makes it easier to mix it with the blood,
14:26and now they're going to put it in a mold,
14:28and in another one they're just going to put blood.
14:30To form a clot,
14:32the two samples are heated
14:34to the temperature of the human body.
14:38Now we're going to add the fluid,
14:40and you'll see that with each clot,
14:42something happens.
14:44Whoa!
14:46Do you see what happens to the blood?
14:48But that had formed a clot.
14:50Yeah.
14:52There's nothing left, right?
14:54And so here's what happens to the bridge.
14:56The bridge doesn't dissolve,
14:58but what's the process
15:00to use it in patients?
15:02Now we've perfected the surgical intervention
15:04that allows us to use it in patients.
15:06Passed the test.
15:08It's an extraordinary advance
15:10in ligament repair,
15:12but it's so recent
15:14that it still can't be tested in patients.
15:16A shame for athletes like Syrah,
15:18whose operation to rebuild it
15:20didn't go well.
15:22She never got to compete again.
15:24I just never got to the same level.
15:26My knee is unstable.
15:28At times it pains me when I step badly
15:30or when I land badly.
15:32It's definitely still giving me problems
15:34to this day.
15:36Dr. Murray and her team
15:38hope to be able to start
15:40the tests in humans
15:42during the next three or five years.
15:44Until then, the interventions
15:46in which this regenerative technique
15:48will be used will have to continue
15:50in animals like this pig.
15:52What you just put in
15:54will dissolve and will be replaced
15:56by the previous cross-linked ligament.
15:58Exactly.
16:00So we put the bridge between the two ends
16:02in the hole and it will grow until it joins.
16:04How long after you put it in?
16:06Two weeks.
16:08It looks like a gelatinous substance
16:10and it's not very resistant,
16:12but at six weeks it becomes more fibrous.
16:14At 12 weeks a normal cross-linked ligament
16:16starts to appear.
16:18That's it.
16:20We will wait for the pig to wake up
16:22and we will return it to its cage
16:24and in a couple of hours it will be walking.
16:26Using a mechanism like this
16:28in favor of the powerful
16:30healing mechanisms of the body
16:32to recover will transform
16:34the surgery of the current knee.
16:36With this intervention, it is intended to repair
16:38the previous cross-linked ligament,
16:40but would it be possible to use this technique
16:42not only on the knee but in other parts of the body?
16:44Yes, we believe so.
16:46It could be used in any other joint,
16:48as long as the body heals itself.
16:50Exactly. Do you think this is the future of medicine?
16:52Of course.
16:54We have many wonderful mechanisms
16:56that have evolved with us
16:58to keep us alive and healthy.
17:00And the only thing we intend to do
17:02is alter those that are not perfect
17:04to reach 105 years.
17:06400,000 people are injured
17:08in the previous cross-linked ligament
17:10in the United States every year.
17:12In 2018, some of them
17:14could benefit from this technique.
17:16But this is just one of the many advances
17:18with which science is helping
17:20the healing processes of the body.
17:24Broken bones,
17:26wounds, tears,
17:28everything can be repaired in a matter of days
17:30with the use of new medical technologies.
17:34However, sometimes the best thing
17:36is not to repair,
17:38but to replace some parts of the body
17:40with others, giving rise to the cyborg man.
17:46Futurists have long anticipated
17:48an era in which humans
17:50become cyborgs.
17:52A vision of the world in which
17:54the line between our organic bodies
17:56and machines is blurred.
17:58Our body would be made up
18:00of chips, motors and gyroscopes.
18:02And in that world we could
18:04redesign ourselves
18:06with our computers.
18:08We currently have a wide range
18:10of electronic and synthetic devices
18:12that we can attach to our bodies
18:14and introduce them into it.
18:16But how long does it take
18:18for the completely bionic human
18:20to become a reality?
18:22Karin Bondar is going to find the answer
18:24at the Boston Technological Institute.
18:26I was about to discover
18:28that not all limbs are the same,
18:30some are superhuman.
18:32Hugh Herr is considered
18:34one of the most important
18:36artificial leg creators.
18:38He has patented more than 14 designs
18:40and in addition to being a pioneer,
18:42he is called the leader
18:44of the bionic era.
18:46Welcome to the group
18:48of Biomechatronics.
18:52What we are building here
18:54is what will be the most complete
18:56laboratory in the world
18:58for the study of people's movements.
19:00That science, that understanding
19:02of our biological bodies,
19:04motivates what we design,
19:06what we manufacture,
19:08the biological structures,
19:10And how do you start doing something like that?
19:12What is the process?
19:14We have mathematical descriptions
19:16of the muscles and tendons
19:18and how the muscles are controlled.
19:20That model tells us how each limb
19:22should move to make it look like
19:24one of flesh and blood.
19:26I myself have two bionic limbs.
19:28In 1982 I had an accident
19:30climbing a mountain
19:32and my two legs were amputated.
19:34I'm going to show you its structure.
19:36His accident led Hugh to invent
19:38stronger bionic limbs
19:40than the biological ones he had lost.
19:42It took more than two decades
19:44to make his dream come true.
19:46The computer chip is inside
19:48this case and inside it
19:50is the mathematical model.
19:52Along the bionic limb
19:54there are several sensors
19:56and the information they produce
19:58is sent to the chip,
20:00to the mathematical model,
20:02and it calculates how rigid
20:04the leg should be,
20:06so that whatever is made
20:08of synthetic materials,
20:10carbon, silicon and titanium,
20:12moves like one of flesh and blood.
20:14And what do we have here?
20:16This is a bionic ankle.
20:18Inside here is a sensor
20:20that detects the ground.
20:22When I walk, when I move,
20:24it detects the pressure level
20:26of the force I apply
20:28to the bionic limb.
20:30There's a computer chip
20:32inside it and we've programmed it
20:34so that it emulates
20:36how the calf muscles work.
20:38The calf muscles use
20:40a positive force feedback.
20:42So the greater the force
20:44we apply when we walk,
20:46the faster and faster.
20:48The greater the force
20:50we apply to the spinal cord,
20:52the greater the force
20:54we apply to the body
20:56when we move.
20:58So basically you've created
21:00a response mechanism
21:02and it's very interesting
21:04because the bionic limb
21:06would not work in isolation
21:08in the human body.
21:10It's this biomechatronic interaction
21:12between the person
21:14and the bionic limb
21:16that completes the circle
21:18between perception,
21:20calculation and answer.
21:22In the other part of the lab,
21:24Dr. Elliot Rose works
21:26on an innovative artificial knee design.
21:28So this is your biomechatronic knee?
21:30The structure of the human knee
21:32is tremendously complex.
21:34How the hell do you start
21:36to redesign it?
21:38Well, what we do is observe
21:40how the leg acts when we walk
21:42and we try to reproduce
21:44its behavior.
21:46That includes the range of motion
21:48you see when you walk
21:50and also the rotation
21:52and the force of the knee.
21:54So what is this artificial knee
21:56made of?
21:58Well, it basically replaces the tendon
22:00which provides us with a solution
22:02inspired by high-performance biology.
22:04But one of the things
22:06that requires a lot of energy
22:08is that it requires a huge battery.
22:10However, what makes this technology
22:12something unique is that
22:14you can use a clutch
22:16to spend energy on the battery
22:18only when it's strictly necessary.
22:20Okay, so it's one thing
22:22to see it in a lab,
22:24but could we see it in a real person?
22:26So Bob, how does this feel?
22:28Do you feel more comfortable
22:30than other prostheses?
22:32Yes, it's very comfortable.
22:34I just have to make an effort.
22:36What is it that sets this technology
22:38apart from the other prostheses
22:40in the market?
22:42So this knee is capable
22:44of adding energy to the movement
22:46so that it will allow
22:48someone to carry it up the stairs
22:50step-by-step,
22:52while the other prostheses
22:54are passive,
22:56and they don't allow you to do that.
22:58You have to drag the affected leg.
23:00That's really key, isn't it?
23:02The fact that it's not
23:04a passive prosthesis,
23:06but it has energy
23:08and allows the person to move.
23:10When will this technology
23:12be available all over the world?
23:14So if it passes the clinical trials successfully,
23:16it will be available in about
23:18three or five years.
23:20We're working now
23:22on the nervous system,
23:24so that when the person
23:26sends the leg to walk,
23:28it walks, or when it wants to dance, it dances.
23:30This is going to be the next step,
23:32and I think it's going to be a revolution.
23:34The last thing in control
23:36from the mind, isn't it?
23:38How will our relationship
23:40with technology be in about 20 years?
23:42Can we apply the possibilities
23:44of the human body beyond
23:46what we can imagine right now?
23:48Currently, my limbs
23:50are not fully fused with my anatomy.
23:52For example, when I go to sleep,
23:54I take off my artificial limbs.
23:56In the future, that won't be the case,
23:58but they will be completely
24:00fused with my body.
24:02I will have a titanium rod
24:04implanted directly in the skeleton,
24:06and there will be neuronal implants
24:08that communicate the electrical pulses
24:10between the biological and synthetic parts
24:12of my body.
24:14So how far will this convergence
24:16between man and machine take us?
24:18Through the fields of regenerative medicine,
24:20bionics, and genetics,
24:22we will improve human abilities
24:24not only on a physical level,
24:26but also on a cognitive level.
24:28We will think faster,
24:30we will think faster,
24:32we will feel more intensely,
24:34we will feel more intensely,
24:36and we will have a better physique.
24:38I suspect that Hughes-Herr
24:40is right.
24:42Cyborg technology will become
24:44something common when human beings
24:46realize that we can be faster,
24:48stronger, and live longer
24:50with replaceable body parts
24:52made of silicon chips
24:54and carbon fiber.
24:56If healthy body parts
24:58should be replaced by other bionics,
25:00it's a moral question.
25:02But these advances could end up
25:04turning those who are now
25:06considered disabled
25:08into superhumans.
25:10Improving strength and speed
25:12is just part of this evolution.
25:14Science is opening the door
25:16for the blind to see.
25:18A radical and innovative interface
25:20could allow us to see in the dark.
25:26Science is opening the door
25:28for the blind to see.
25:30It's a challenge
25:32that has always been impossible
25:34to overcome so far.
25:36The eye is such a complex instrument
25:38and cannot be replaced
25:40simply by a computer chip
25:42connected to a camera.
25:44But now, it seems that a New York
25:46researcher has done just that.
25:48Chris Elias Smith
25:50has investigated this advance.
25:58The key is to understand
26:00the coding that the eyes use
26:02to communicate with the brain.
26:04A New York scientist has studied
26:06that coding and her discoveries
26:08could revolutionize the way
26:10we communicate with the brain.
26:40I was interested in those problems in general
26:42and I simply decided to start with the retina
26:44to try to understand how the neurons
26:46in the retina communicate to the brain
26:48what you see.
26:50How long have you been studying that?
26:52Well, it's been about 10 years
26:54focusing mainly on the part
26:56of the neuronal coding
26:58and well, during the last two years
27:00we have focused more on the prosthetic part.
27:02Yeah, I had heard something about
27:04the visual prostheses,
27:06but they had not given good results.
27:08It looks like a camera,
27:10but it's actually more than a camera.
27:12I'm going to show you, I'm going to draw it.
27:14When the image reaches your retina,
27:16at that moment it acts like a camera.
27:18The image enters, but it is then
27:20when the retinal circuit does something to it.
27:22It performs some operations
27:24such as information extraction,
27:26which converts it into a code
27:28and that code follows this pattern
27:30of electrical pulses that reach the brain.
27:32So, in order to create a prosthesis
27:34capable of restoring vision,
27:36what we have done is,
27:38in an abstract way,
27:40and using mathematics,
27:42imitate that compression of information.
27:44The key is in the relationship
27:46of the eye with the brain.
27:48It is complex and making a machine
27:50that imitates it is not an easy task.
27:52The retina is not uniformly sensitive.
27:54It records more details
27:56and more color in the center
27:58and has a dead point.
28:00We are not aware of that
28:02because what we see is what our brain interprets.
28:04That is why it is so difficult
28:06to decipher the code that the retina sends to the brain,
28:08but Sheila and her team
28:10believe they have done it.
28:12So, basically, here we have a camera
28:14that collects light, like the eyes,
28:16and then it will go to this piece of silicone
28:18that implements the equation,
28:20that is, implements the code.
28:22Yes.
28:24How will you exploit this
28:26to help visually impaired people?
28:28This is the starting point of the neurons.
28:30Yes, green lights.
28:32It recognizes that there is a strange pattern
28:34and recognizes that what is there is my hand.
28:36How strange.
28:38And if I move it, it recognizes
28:40that what it sees are the fingers
28:42of a person moving.
28:44Is this what would be projected
28:46to the back of the eye?
28:48Exactly.
28:50And what we have here is a prosthesis
28:52that is capable of producing
28:54what comes out of the retina normally.
28:56Thanks to your knowledge
28:58about encoding the equations.
29:00Do you know how many people still live in the retina
29:02to be part of the transduction?
29:04We call it brain jump.
29:06We jump the damaged retina,
29:08we go to the cells that still survive,
29:10and we ask them to send normal signals to the brain.
29:12And how is that jump done?
29:14What we do is inject a component
29:16into the patient's eye,
29:18an optogenetic molecule
29:20that responds to the device's signals.
29:22So it's a kind of wireless transmitter
29:24and receiver that communicates with the brain.
29:26Does it work completely wirelessly?
29:28It works perfectly.
29:30So the chip I showed you before
29:32is not carried by the patient,
29:34it's carried in glasses.
29:36And we've reduced the size.
29:38What we've been working on
29:40has been a miniature version of the device.
29:42If we treat it as something external,
29:44we can end up making glasses
29:46that are much more attractive
29:48and look like, I don't know,
29:50Star Trek or something fashionable.
29:52But for now,
29:54they're ridiculous skiing glasses.
29:56Well, right now,
29:58we're doing all the procedures
30:00to comply with the government's regulations
30:02and pass the safety tests.
30:04We hope to be able to do the first clinical test
30:06in the next two years.
30:08In 2016, they could start the tests
30:10and those who participate in them
30:12could already improve their vision.
30:14What other uses could be given to this type of technology?
30:16Well, by being in a chip,
30:18we could make patients sensitive
30:20to a type of vision
30:22that they wouldn't have naturally.
30:24We could make them see in the dark
30:26and capture more things.
30:30Sheila's work is impressive.
30:32It's the best I've ever seen in my life.
30:34It's amazing that she was able
30:36to describe the complex process
30:38that takes place when an image
30:40reaches our eyes and the signals
30:42are sent to the brain.
30:44To think that one day it will be possible
30:46to restore or improve the vision
30:48of millions of people
30:50to the point of not needing
30:52a computer is fascinating.
30:54As we continue to understand
30:56neuronal coding,
30:58it's clear to me that our brains
31:00and technology will be able to interact
31:02in still unimaginable ways.
31:04Chris is right.
31:06Discovering how the brain works
31:08is the next step in the design
31:10of artificial ways to improve our bodies.
31:12And this field will expand rapidly
31:14over the next decade.
31:16However, some researchers believe
31:18that before humans become cyborgs,
31:20we will need to optimize
31:22our biological bodies.
31:24A military research group
31:26is not only looking to train
31:28better soldiers,
31:30but to equip them with a kit
31:32that will take them one step forward.
31:38There are no two equal human bodies,
31:40and it seems strange that
31:42there hasn't been much research
31:44on how to optimize our strength
31:46individually.
31:48This is very important
31:50in the army,
31:52where a small difference
31:54in performance
31:56can be totally crucial.
31:58Daniel Kraft
32:00has traveled to Massachusetts
32:02to investigate.
32:10For anyone who is part of the army,
32:12being in a combat zone
32:14is already bad enough
32:16with nature.
32:18I just got here and I'm soaked to the bones.
32:20This is disgusting.
32:22The only good thing about this is that
32:24it's not real.
32:26Okay, guys, okay.
32:28I'm in a tunnel that recreates
32:30some weather conditions
32:32here in the military research facilities
32:34in Naitick, Massachusetts.
32:36Here they design, develop and deploy
32:38the best tools for the soldiers,
32:40and they also test them here.
32:42This rain chamber can drop
32:44like a hurricane.
32:46Every year, many soldiers come here
32:48to be put to the limit in tests
32:50that last several months,
32:52with the most extreme conditions
32:54the planet can offer.
32:56Humidity,
32:58heat,
33:00cold.
33:04We have a tropical chamber
33:06and an arctic chamber.
33:08The tropical chamber can go
33:10up to 60 degrees centigrade
33:12and down to 20 degrees below zero.
33:14The purpose of these chambers
33:16is to evaluate how each individual responds
33:18and send that information to the engineers
33:20who design the tools
33:22that these men and women need to fight.
33:26And everything takes place under the same roof.
33:28This one.
33:30Let's equip you first
33:32like a soldier in combat
33:34so you can experience what it feels like
33:36to be a soldier in a deployment.
33:38Okay, let's do it.
33:40This is a small part of the kit
33:42that a real soldier would wear
33:44in a deployment in a combat area.
33:46All right.
33:54Very good.
33:56So we're going to put you
33:58in the tropical chamber,
34:00on the treadmill,
34:02and you're going to do some exercise.
34:04It's so hot.
34:06It's already weighing me down,
34:08but this is about
34:1041 degrees here.
34:12Relative humidity is about
34:1445 percent, more or less.
34:16So, Sergeant Adams, is this realistic?
34:18This is pretty realistic
34:20in terms of temperature,
34:22but as I said before,
34:24you're carrying very little weight.
34:26Yeah, well, I'm carrying little weight
34:28and they don't want to kill me.
34:30I was carrying 40 kilos of tools
34:32and apparently it's not much
34:34for what you're usually carrying.
34:36And it's a nice day
34:38to go for a walk.
34:40Left, right, left.
34:44The purpose of the test
34:46was to monitor my biometry
34:48and see if there was any way
34:50to improve my performance
34:52in that extreme condition.
34:54The lights I had above
34:56imitated the sunlight
34:58and the treadmill simulated
35:00the resistance needed
35:02to withstand the usual exercise.
35:04Hurry up. Is this all you can lift?
35:06Come on.
35:08Okay, lift it one more degree.
35:12How are you doing, soldier?
35:14Is it far? I think it's almost there.
35:16It's almost there.
35:18Okay, let's slow it down
35:20and let it go down.
35:22Okay, guys, I'm going out.
35:24The system had recorded
35:26the rotation of my ankles, knees and hips
35:28and had also measured the oxygen
35:30I was consuming and the carbon dioxide
35:32Adams compared the reaction
35:34of my body to that of other soldiers.
35:36A database averaged the results.
35:38Performance tests revealed
35:40that a large part of the army's equipment
35:42could benefit from significant
35:44weight redistribution.
35:46I had to go to another lab
35:48to find out if it was possible
35:50to solve the problem.
35:52You could have a good time there,
35:54but in real life it's a matter
35:56of life or death.
35:58In a military facility in Massachusetts
36:00it's a matter of how the human body
36:02can withstand the weight
36:04and how the kit has to be adapted
36:06so that these men and women
36:08can move and stay alive.
36:10This research could be the key
36:12to optimizing physical performance
36:14in the future.
36:16Daniel, welcome to the
36:18Military Biomechanics Center.
36:20Here we carry out basic research projects
36:22applying soldiers or people's actions
36:24and products for soldiers.
36:29We already knew that the distribution
36:31of the tools would have to adapt
36:33to my body, so I had to pay attention
36:35to my way of moving
36:37and how we could redistribute
36:39the things I was carrying.
36:41This is possible thanks to
36:43motion capture.
36:45I think we have to change
36:47a lot of things in this place.
36:49Yes, well, come, sit down here.
36:51We're going to mark you.
36:54Very good.
36:58So, what do the cameras see
37:00when I carry these balls?
37:02Good question.
37:04If you look at the camera
37:06that we have here,
37:08you'll see the lens
37:10surrounded by a white circle.
37:12That circle shoots infrared lights.
37:14These lights bounce off
37:16any reflective object,
37:18like the reflective tape
37:20that surrounds the balls,
37:22and the infrared light
37:24returns to the camera.
37:26Yes.
37:28The first thing we're going to do
37:30is check how you accelerate
37:32with the load.
37:34Okay.
37:36You have to start walking,
37:38and I want you to plant
37:40your right foot here
37:42and sprint out.
37:44Okay, got it.
37:46Go ahead.
37:52Good job.
37:54What we've captured
37:56has been the change
37:58of walking and sprinting
38:00to discover how carrying weight
38:02can reduce your ability
38:04to stop walking and sprinting.
38:06As you can see,
38:08you're walking around
38:10and you're capturing it.
38:12Your right foot is the orange one.
38:14Now you're planting it,
38:16and then you sprint.
38:18So you measure the force?
38:20Yes.
38:22Now we're going to try
38:24to do the same thing
38:26with 20 more kilos.
38:28And now we have to
38:30sprint again.
38:32I'm still well-located
38:34and well-armed.
38:36Ready, Daniel?
38:38All right.
38:44All right, good job.
38:46Okay, very good.
38:48So what are the differences
38:50between walking and sprinting?
38:52Well, you've had to lean forward.
38:54You've had to bend your trunk more,
38:56bend your hips and knees more,
38:58and reduce the center of gravity
39:00to increase your stability
39:02because with more weight
39:04you have more chances of falling.
39:06You're less stable.
39:08When will this technology
39:10leave the lab?
39:12In the next two or three years
39:14we'll be able to measure
39:16this joint kinematics,
39:18and compare it to other individuals.
39:22The graph shows a larger line
39:24with the heaviest load.
39:26Thanks to the study of the exact changes
39:28that produce the different distributions
39:30of weight in performance,
39:32Tyler has more data to adjust the load.
39:34In these facilities,
39:36thousands of soldiers have already been examined
39:38to create the profile of the perfect soldier.
39:40And of course, it's not me.
39:42Thanks, it's been fun.
39:44Would you like to try the heaviest backpack?
39:46This military research
39:48can also be applied to civilians.
39:50A range of new technologies
39:52are being developed to quantify ourselves.
39:54Capable of measuring aspects
39:56of the performance of each individual
39:58to propose personalized improvements.
40:00A concept that millions of people
40:02already enjoy in their daily training.
40:04If with these exact changes
40:06I can be faster, climb higher
40:08and be stronger, I sign up.
40:12The last step is to meet the engineer
40:14who analyzes all this information
40:16to create the ideal kit.
40:18Here we design all the load structures
40:20for today's soldier.
40:22Let me show you the last thing
40:24in backpacks that we have designed.
40:26We call it Mole Medium System.
40:28It has an ergonomic structure
40:30that rests on the torso
40:32with or without armor
40:34and has all its straps knotted
40:36in pockets designed specifically.
40:38What role will it play in the future?
40:40Well, a good part of all this
40:42is already out there.
40:44The fundamental thing for soldiers
40:46is the balance between the weapon,
40:48the equipment and the survival kit.
40:50It is crucial, but it is possible
40:52that in the next five years
40:54we can focus on putting it all together
40:56to create a kind of unified system,
40:58more equal, so to speak.
41:00In 2018, NATIC researchers
41:02hope to provide a generation
41:04of soldiers with equipment
41:06for lighter, more manageable
41:08and safer combat.
41:10The U.S. Army has undertaken
41:12a research to evaluate
41:14human performance
41:16and equipment design
41:18all in the same building.
41:20They believe in the idea
41:22that small improvements
41:24in certain areas
41:26can lead to a remarkable
41:28global improvement.
41:30The uses that could be given
41:32to this program in civilian
41:34are very varied and numerous.
41:36The more precise the understanding
41:38is, the easier it will be
41:40for scientists to adapt
41:42to the changing world
41:44we live in.
41:46It is evident that
41:48human beings will continue
41:50to improve and improve
41:52thanks to technology,
41:54which could lead us
41:56to take such a radical
41:58step as to replace
42:00perfectly functional parts
42:02of our body
42:04with other artificial
42:06parts.
42:08This is a fictional experience.
42:10All this is real
42:12and will play a fundamental
42:14role in our future.
42:16Thank you for your attention.