Scientists have found a way to decode (解码) a stream of words in the brain using MRI scans and artificial intelligence. The system reconstructs the main point of what a person hears or imagines, rather than trying to copy each word, a team reports.“It’s getting at the ideas behind the words, the meaning, says Alexander Huth, an author of the study.”

Previous efforts to decode language have relied on sensors placed directly on the surface of the brain. The sensors detect signals in areas involved in expressing words. But the Texas team’s approach is an attempt to “decode more freeform thought,” says Marcel Just, a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University.

The new study came about as part of an effort to understand how the brain processes language. Researchers had three people spend up to 16 hours each in a functional MRI scanner which detects signs of activity across the brain. Participants wore headphones that streamed audio from the Internet. Those streams of words produced activity all over the brain, not just in areas associated with speech and language. After participants listened to hours of stories in the scanner, the MRI data was sent to a computer. It learned to match specific patterns of brain activity with certain streams of words. Then came a paraphrased version of what a participant heard.

The MRI approach is currently slower and less accurate than an experimental communication system being developed for paralyzed people, where people get a sheet of electrical sensors implanted directly on the surface of the brain. With an MRI-based system, no one has to get surgery.

But future versions of MRI scans could raise moral questions. “What if you can read out the word that somebody is just thinking in their head? That’s potentially a harmful thing.” Huth says. This technology can’t really read minds uncontrollably, though. It only works when a participant is actively cooperating with scientists. Still, systems that decode language could someday support people who are unable to speak because of a brain injury or disease. They are also assisting scientists in understanding how the brain processes words and thoughts.

Roll over, sit and fetch aren’t commands normally given to a robot, but the smart toy company WowWee has developed a new way of owning a puppy.

CHIP (Canine Home Intelligent Pet) is a robotic dog with blue LED eyes and pointy ears and can sit, shake, dance and make all types of dog noises. It also has tracking capabilities to help locate its owner. “The beauty about CHIP is that it has its own thing going on,” said Sufer, CTO at WowWee. “It has its own life and own kind of intelligence. Even if you’re not around, it’s always doing something.”

CHIP uses wheels to get around and is loaded with sensors (传感器) that give it a 360-degree view to find its ball. The pup is Bluetooth enabled, which connects to a wristband worn by its owner. The wristband, similar to a watch, displays icons (图标) for different commands such as a thumb-up, which allows you to give your pup a digital belly rub. With its owner wearing a smart wristband, it can even follow him around the room.

“We worked on CHIP for about five to six months,” Davin Sufer, told dailymail. com, “We typically come up with a concept, model and product and get it on shelves within a year.” The company plans to start shipping units by next fall, which will allow them to load up the robotic dog with sensors and add many more animated responses per-owner interactivity.

The high-tech toy company made its debut (处女作) in 2004 by releasing the 1.5 foot RoboSapien, which sold millions of units. MiP, which hit shelves last year, is a seven-inch-tall robot covered in white with black accents. Users can direct it, change its emotions and make it dance to any song on your iPad. It’s loud, fast and active.

About 15 years ago, a company called ToyQuest developed the first ever electronic robotic dog — Tekno, the Robotic Puppy. The company sold over seven million units in the first season and 40 million more during its original four years of production. Tekno was built with over 160 emotions and instructions, but most importantly offered consumers a quick look into the future.

There’s no pizza on Mars, but scientists have found a solution to this problem for hungry astronauts: a pizza printer! NASA, the American space agency, has developed a machine that “prints” food. They showed a model of the printer in Austin, Texas last month.

How does it work? Cartridges (墨盒) filled with powdered dough (面粉团), cheese, sauce, water and oil put the ingredients layer (层) by layer onto a printer bed. The printer bed, which gets hot from below, cooks the food as it’s being printed.

Since most of the ingredients are powdered, they can be sent into space and stored for many years without going bad. Water makes food go sour, so the food powders are mixed with water and oil only when they are being printed.

“Long-distance space travel requires more than 15 years of shelf life for food.” says Anjan Contractor, whose company developed the printer. “We take water out, and in that form, food will last maybe 30 years.”

In outer space, there are far fewer choices for astronauts for dinner. Most of their foods—even things like beef or shrimp—are eaten from bags as powders (粉末). Scientists hope the new food printer can be used to make more delicious food in outer space, keeping astronauts healthier and happier.

But the printer is not limited to use in outer space. Scientists think it could be useful on Earth, too. It could allow personal meals to be made at the dinner table, according to each person’s different needs.

“Let’s say someone is an athlete in the family, and he needs more protein (蛋白质),” says Anjan Contractor, founder of Systems and Materials Research Corp, the company developing the printer. “We can design recipes for him and print out more protein-nutritious food for him.”