innovative technology: Japan scientists can ?read? dreams

Friday, April 5, 2013

Japan scientists can ?read? dreams

Scientists in Japan said they had found a way to ?read? people?s dreams, using MRI scanners to unlock some of the secrets of the unconscious mind.

Researchers have managed what they said was ?the world?s first decoding? of night-time visions, the subject of centuries of speculation that have captivated humanity since ancient times.

In the study, published in the journal Science, scientists at the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, in Kyoto, western Japan, used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to locate exactly which part of the brain was active during the first moments of sleep.

They then woke up the dreamer and asked him or her what images they had seen, a process that was repeated 200 times.

These answers were compared with the brain maps that had been produced by the MRI scanner.

Researchers were then able to predict what images the volunteers had seen with a 60 percent accuracy rate, rising to more than 70 percent with around 15 specific items including men, words and books, they said.

?We have concluded that we successfully decoded some kinds of dreams with a distinctively high success rate,? said Yukiyasu Kamitani, a senior researcher at the laboratories and head of the study team.

?I believe it was a key step towards reading dreams more precisely,? Kamitani said.

Hanoi to focus on areas of chronic flooding
Hanoi authorities have set up a pilot scheme to install cameras in underground sewers to detect the dumping of any building or other waste into the drainage system. Thai Ha Street in Hanoi's Dong Da District floods after rain The effort, announced by Nguyen Anh Tu, deputy head of... [Read more]
World powers await Iran's reaction to nuclear offer
World powers will urge Iran on Friday to accept their offer to ease some economic sanctions if it stops its most sensitive nuclear work, in talks aimed at easing tensions that threaten to boil over into war. The six powers - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany... [Read more]
China reports tenth case of H7N9 bird flu
Chinese authorities on Thursday reported a man in the eastern province of Zhejiang has been infected with the H7N9 strain of bird flu, the tenth human case of the disease which has claimed three lives. The 64-year-old from Huzhou city was admitted to hospital on March 31 after being ill... [Read more]
Sudden flooding kills at least 46 people in Argentina
Flash floods killed at least 46 people and forced about 1,500 residents to evacuate the Argentine city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires province, government officials said on Wednesday. Some people drowned after being trapped in their cars or while walking along city streets when the water rose suddenly... [Read more]
N.Korea tells South workers to quit Kaesong: report
North Korea has demanded the withdrawal of all South Korean managers and staff from the Kaesong joint industrial zone by next week, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Thursday. The personnel should leave the complex, which lies 10 kilometres (six miles) inside North Korea, by April 10, Yonhap said without... [Read more]
HCM City to host international conference on aviation logistics
International logistics scholars and representatives from aviation agencies and logistics companies will meet in HCM City on April 25-26. The international conference is co-organised by the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) to discuss Vietnam's aviation logistics... [Read more]
Risk of diabetes multiplies
A report from the National Hospital of Endocrinology on April 2 has shown that the country is seeing a sharp increase in the number of people with diabetes in recent years. Weight gain can lead to a higher risk of diabetes The survey featured more than 11,000 people aged from 30 to... [Read more]
Droughts upset lives in central and southern regions
Over the past week, people in southern central and south-eastern regions have been struggling to adapt to the scorching drought. Doi Duong Park's parking lot overcrowded in hot days The lives of people in provinces from Binh Thuan to Khanh Hoa as well as HCM City, Dong Nai and Binh... [Read more]
NKorea delays SKorea entry to Kaesong industrial park
North Korea on Wednesday delayed the entry of South Koreans to a joint industrial complex in a rare move amid high tensions on the Korean peninsula, the South's Unification Ministry said. Vehicles line up at a South Korean military check point on the road to the Kaesong Industrial complex across... [Read more]
At least seven dead as bus falls from Rio bridge
At least seven people were killed and nine injured Tuesday when a bus plunged off a bridge overlooking one of Rio's main access roads, firefighters said. People surround a bus which fell from a bridge with a height of 15 meters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on April 2, 2013 ... [Read more]