• Prototyping our Low-Cost, Songbird Identifier
    Education
    Hey, Zach here with another songbird identifier update! Since the last post, I have been busy testing the prototype device by taking bird recordings in various locations. After this week I will be taking a short break before resuming work on the project with the rest of the songbird team in the coming semester. Right […]
  • Tim Marzullo Talks Human-Human-Interface, BYB History on
    Biz
    Recently, our very own Tim Marzullo spoke with the Ladan Jiracek, host and creator of the “Neural Implant Podcast.” This podcast describes its purpose as “bringing together the field of neuroprosthetics, brain-machine interfaces, and brain implants through an understandable conversation on the current topics and breakthroughs in the fields.” The Podcast runs just under an […]
  • The 2017 Summer Fellowship Concludes
    Education
    Over 11 sunny Ann Arbor weeks, our research fellows worked hard to answer their research questions. They developed novel methodologies, programmed complex computer vision and data processing systems, and compiled their experimental data for poster, and perhaps even journal, publication. But, alas and alack… all good things must come to an end. Fortunately, in research, […]
  • Octopus Wrestling and Computer Vision
    Education
      Hello again my faithful viewers, and thanks for tuning in for another exciting octopus themed blog post. As always I am your host Ilya Chugunov, but today I’ve come with sad news; all good things must come to an end, and this marks the end of my summer research here with Backyard Brains. Now’s […]
  • Finalizing a No-Harm, Dragonfly Visual Neuron Recording Prep
    Education
    Welp, it’s my last day of work here at Backyard Brains! It’s been a fun 11 weeks with my fellow interns, but all things must end. Last week we wrapped up all the TED filming for our mini series episodes. I had a great time, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the final result.  […]
  • SpikerBox Assists in Ugandan
    Education
    This post comes from our friend Dr. Thomas Tagoe, who was gracious enough to allow us to host his writing on our blog! Dr. Tagoe assisted with a recent neuroscience “Teacher Training Workshop” where dozens of teachers learned strategies for teaching neuroscience to their students. Included in the workshop was the Backyard Brains Neuron SpikerBox! […]
  • Hacking Sleep, Memory
    Fellowship
    So memory hacking during sleep is a thing? With endless runs back and forth to Om of Medicine chasing down my subjects, to countless hours staring at the Mona Lisa of sleep: Delta waves, and many other ups and downs during this summer… I can finally tell you it is quite possible!! As August is […]
  • Changing Taste Perception with Optogenetics
    Education
    Hey everyone! My summer of research in Ann Arbor has come to an end and it’s been an awesome experience. It’s been a busy 10 weeks of making daily improvements to my rig, resoldering the flyPAD, collecting data, and presenting what I found to others. The original goal of this project was to see if […]
  • Visualizing Harmonic Convergence in Mosquito Mating
    Education
    Wow, what a summer!!! I have some exciting news to report…I didn’t get bit by ONE mosquito all summer!!! Just kidding, my project is a little more exciting than that! I did it! I successfully put together and executed a project that I was a little iffy about back in May, and developed a new-found […]
  • Squid Hatchlings React to Changes in Light Levels
    Education
    Hi everyone! The summer is finally coming to a close and I am excited to share all that I have learned from my time as a Backyard Brains fellow with you. If you’ve been here since the beginning, thank you so much for following along with me and my squiddos for the past ten weeks […]
  • BYB Fellows Present at Research Symposium
    Education
    Today our Summer Research Fellows “snuck in” and presented their summer work at a University of Michigan, Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) symposium! Over the two sessions our fellows presented their work and rigs to judges, other students, to university faculty, and community members. Some of the fellows are seasoned poster designers, but others had […]
  • Real Time Mind-Reading
    Education
    G’day mate, how are ya? Thank you for waiting for the updates on my research on Human EEG Decoding (aka Mind Reading). Since my last post, I have tried to decode human EEG data in real time and… guess what…I succeeded! Hooray! I first analyzed all the data I have collected so far to verify […]