this. crime fighters are back with africa's most successful radio drama series continues all of us those are available online course you can share and discuss on w africa's face fish and other social media platforms crime fighter. in. the human brain is thought to be the most complex organ in the natural world it has over 85000000000 neurons. and a newborn baby actually has an even higher number. $3000.00 early childhood the brain continues to develop as does the memory. even the most powerful computers can't match the human brain in many respects but computers are being taught to read brain activity allowing human beings to control them merely with the power of

thought. well come to you tomorrow today with an exploration of the human brain and the world of thought. our brains are constantly working take vision for example we see football a shot to the right. the ball is our range. our eyes take in what we see that information is passed by the optic nerve to other parts of the brain in the form of electrical signals these signals can pass through the brain's neurons at a speed of up to 120 meters a 2nd. at the connection linking one iran to another the signal has to bridge the tiny gap known as the synoptic left before continuing on. there is no one central and. haitian in the brain where

a thought is developed we think by an entire network of neurons distributed across the brain. so detecting a single thought isn't easy but computers are learning to do just that. getting ready to play a very special computer game one that doesn't require the use of your hands a game that soley powered by use. it's really interesting to try this out for myself and when i think that in 5 or 10 years time we could be turning the lights on and off at home like this it's pretty amazing it doesn't respond is this the future we've come to the sensory motor system a slap at the e.t.h. institute in 06 switzerland scientists here are studying how humans and machines can interact the video game are connected to the monitor via

a headset that can read the brain's electrical signals to those on this device consists of an electrode which is a conductor that can detect changes in frequency very well if we think about wanting to carry out of particular movements and that triggers electrical activity in the brain just small differences in frequency that can be measured by this electrode. right now the electrode can only detect 2 commands concentration which causes the characters to speed up and relaxation which slows them down the players have to respond deliberately. when i want to concentrate i try to solve mathematics problems in my mind all recitals alphabet in reverse to relax i'll close my eyes for a moment and try to just brief deeply sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. technology is still quite basic but the game shows what's already possible in the realm of brain. computer interfaces perhaps we'll soon be able to control our

electrical devices at home just with our minds. cleaner has a different goal for years he's been exploring how humans and machines can interact for medical purposes. for example if people with paraplegia could control this robotic exoskeleton with their thoughts they could once again become mobile. but the technology is still in its early stages. would have to be very reliable and safe see exoskeleton must stop for example when the patient wants it to as yet it's still difficult to achieve that reliability to become a major global players such as facebook envision a huge market for this technology and a pumping billions into its development why if you could type directly from your brain. instead of typing you could just sync your messages directly into your smart

phone facebook wants to make this future vision a reality in just a few years. a kind of brain controlled typewriter already exists researchers at stanford university have developed a system whereby people can you think letters into a computer this enables not 10 paralyzed patients to communicate with the outside world. and all you need to do is a mandarin moving your right arm for example to the water team on a keyboard and all slide out to the tin can in addition to that we're also able to turn when you wish to so what about what are you patients can type up to 40 letters and minutes but in order to use the technology they have to have an electrode implanted into their brain. they also need an alphabet table to choose the letters with their eyes in. this system would not be useful as an everyday tool for people

without such disabilities from your brain. and there's another major problem that stands in the way of widespread to use. went into town and people constantly think of other things they get distracted and you might also be driving a car at that moment or walking the peace processes overlap in the brain without making it almost impossible to pull a text message out of your mind as things stand right now in the last scene scientists from the university of freiburg researching how to separate the various processes going on in the brain tonio balland philip k. meyer use e.g. waves to make these processes visible this shows the difference between moments of high concentration and chaotic everyday situations. here here you can see these classic e.g. alpha waves they appear when our test subject just closes his eyes so now i'll

shake your head a bit my business. sort of then be strong waves appear. you know not spend and it's a hindrance if we want to get to the actual information that the brain is thinking because this disruption just stored the whole thing for months you want to come. to filter the correct thoughts from the chaos they use a deep learning process in which the computer recognizes brain activity on the basis of e.g. wave patterns that it is already. to teach the system these patterns test subjects are asked to repeatedly make a movement in this case raising the right arm the computer now learns that the brain wave pattern created represents the desire to move one's right tom regardless of the end there is. the scientists have taught this robot how to recognize a specific commands. using only his thoughts the test subject asks the

robot to fetch him a trick. the robot recognizes the specific brain wave pattern and carries out the task. a reason to celebrate perhaps but the scientists are also concerned about the potential implications of their work because it can only function if machines are taught to read new real activity data and this is very risky after all what might happen if corporations like facebook had access to the brain activity data of millions of people. when it comes if huge amounts of brain activity data were stored in one location for the benefit of learning processes it might be that more very relevant information could be gleaned for example of troop level one from you could distinguish between gender or ethnic background all things that we don't know

it's a moment but it would make sense to think about how to effectively protect this data before simply handing it over and consider whether such systems should even be given to consumers. or. the plans to brain control devices has already been paved even if they exist mainly in research and development at the moment facebook as well as other companies are in the starting blocks in the race to conquer afterthoughts with technology. the human brain is likely to remain a source of fascination many of its inner workings are still a mystery but scientists have been able to debunk some of the myths surrounding the brain. one involves. a dios mozart who lived from 17. 562-7918 study from the 1990 s. claim that listening to his music could make you smile especially his analysis for

2 pianos in teenager. a gun a huge public interest and became known as the mozart effect but the results of the study could never be reproduced the mozart effect is a myth. still music that we enjoy can stimulate the brain and have a positive effect on us. one of the was in the rock asked about another commonly held misconception concerning the brain. do people really only used 10 percent of their brain. then surely telepath the or telekinesis would be no problem if people could finally access 100 percent of their brain power. like lucy in the film of the same name. while the rest of us bumble along at a pivoting 10 percent. that's a myth that is more hollywood the reality. using only 10 percent of the organ that

consumes the most energy would be a huge evolutionary disadvantage. even asleep we use far more than a 10th of a brain. no one knows exactly where the persistent 10 percent myth comes from it's been mr tributed to many people including albert einstein at my heart back to a misunderstanding of a very positive by psychologist william james and the student boris c.d.'s. c.d.'s the son was a child prodigy. at 18 months reportedly could read a newspaper the. motor was a claim that he had an i.q. of 254000000 james then said in a lecture people only meet a fraction of their full mental potential. but he said not. thing about 10 percent or parts of the brain remaining on used. pop culture has also helped to

perpetuate the myth. of course some areas of the brain may be more active than others but none are completely idle if they can't receive stimuli they'll find another job to do. for example in blind people the visual centers of the brain can adapt to help process order tree signals. but brain cells tend to atrophy if their own news. quite apart from conscious decision making the brain has plenty to do filtering impressions regulating breathing controlling reflexes hunger and thirst and much more besides. the fact is only people who suffer real brain damage can no longer use certain parts of their brain. the rest of us can access all of those billions of brain cells.

the brain of a newborn baby possesses many more new runs than that of an adult while in the womb the brain grows that an average rate of $250000.00 neurons per minute. that it's still not fully developed the brain initially develops many more synopses than it actually needs it when it's hard to comprehend the world and to remember. babies are curious and attentive but come a watch somebody do something remember it and then do it themselves that is imitate a simple action. 6 months old and she's observing closely. you can pull off the toys and shake it like a rattle. after a brief pause it's layers turn she's clearly noted the trick with the air. that

shows she's developed some memory for a sequence of events. but that's only one of many stages in the development of memory. psychologists at frankfurt university tested $1000.00 children extensively over a period of 5 years. they wanted to find out what stages children go through until they develop the ability to remember events from their own past and then go on to have an autobiographical memory. the ability to recognize oneself is a prelude to being able to remember things from one's past can morrow recognise herself yet. have task is to wipe away the mark on her face with the help of america is that what is it a mark. why don't you morrow touches her face she recognised herself in the mirror not all children can do that at one and a half. benjamin tries to wipe the mark off the mirror instead.

because i think now finds the image in the mirror upsetting. look why put away your lips is a bit older. you north america way. you'll use recognises himself in the mirror but he's still got a way to go to develop an autobiographical memory. there's an old we could have a lot of biographical memory is the queen of disciplines within memory and it requires many different components which children don't have when they 1st arrive on the planet. the ability to remember past events is one of those components you leave us recognises himself in the mirror and on screen what's not up there. it's a bit of red tape there where is it. can't you lose connect the past situation he

sees in the video to the present that would be sensational as you will also still rather young for that now and for what than just what do you see the red thing is kind what is it you can you give it to me. when you take it off the video off grab a fan and listen to the earth doesn't just require him to recognize who's there on the screen the strip of paper was attached to his head a few minutes earlier he also has to understand i existed a few minutes ago and i remember that happening so the paper might still be there only then can you look for it on his own head. by the time for most children can complete this task with that they're already much closer to having a full autobiographical memory. remembering an experience is the next stage. tony is 6 and he's shown a scene from 2 years earlier. do we still have this straight yeah.

we take those cars and drive them along the street right now because the situation he also talks about other adventures without any video prompt most of us here there was this pull i said to light but didn't get away in time and it went off. tony had to work hard to reach this stage and lest we forget here's the video to prove it. times how good is your memory what did you wear to that party one month ago a red dress or was it the blue one. what did you eat something healthy. or fast food. are you sure maybe you got it wrong. did you have an argument with your friend. well one thing

is clear our memories are not always as reliable as we'd life. we all have minor lapses of memory from time to time we find ourselves thinking i could have sworn i put the keys on that shelf. after an anxious search we eventually find them. on the desk. or minds play games on us and london based forensic psychologist julie assure says it happens far more often than we realise. i like to compare memory to a week of pedia pain inch you can alter it but so can others and i like the analogy because it describes how flexible our memories are and how they can undergo massive changes in everyday life as well as an extreme situation and explains at what cost of an oncoming car. in experiments sure has brought 70 percent of participants over

the course of 3 interviews to have memories of a crime they never committed. and they remember it in all its complexity as if it really happened at its highest give details emotional details why you think that can't possibly be a phone's memory and it sounds as if this person really did it to him to think you matter it self declared perpetrators and victims can turn out to be nothing of the sort happens time and again. in germany in 2004 a man admitted to chopping up his fiance father and feeding him to dogs he said the victim's family had to help him carry out the gruesome deed. but 5 years later the police found the man's car in the danube river and inside they found the corpse of the allegedly butchered would be father in law all in one piece.

year after many a matter of fact the more you question someone the more their memories can change and that is important for police investigation methods. as it means that we have to take into account that repeated interrogate. can lead to a suspect adding misinformation to their memories misrepresenting things in a very major way. in australia or in 1975 a woman was raped and then gave investigators a very detailed description of her attacker he was soon found and arrested but he had a water tight alibi he was doing a live interview at the time of the rape so if he could not possibly be the rapist why was the woman so sure he was. in this case the answer was quite simple she'd watched the interview on t.v. just before she was attacked the woman had confused the face she'd seen on t.v.

with that of the rapist. to mention that you see people who are involved in the criminal justice system like police officers and lawyers often say that they would recognise a false confession or a false memory when they encountered one once. but that's not true these situations are incredibly difficult to understand for everybody so we can see if someone is lying and we can't see if someone has a false memory that that led to a nightmarish situation for a man in the united states in the 1990 s. while undergoing psychotherapy his adult daughter suddenly came to believe that she had been sexually abused by him for many years she said that had resulted in 2 pregnancies and she had tapped to abort the foetuses with a wire coat hanger. but then it emerged that the woman had never been pregnant much

less had any abortions she was in fact still a virgin. juliet schor also consults as an expert on criminal cases and provides training to the police. have primary aim is to teach investigators to. void suggestive questions that can elicit false memories. sure says it can happen very fast. as only if you think the person you are talking to you know small and even knows more about you and your life than you do then you can soon start thinking yes what if that is what happened on the what if can quickly turn into a. consume become a yes that is what happened. false memories can lead to false statements and to terrible miscarriages of justice. incidentally studies show that we are much more likely to notice negative things than positive ones that make

sense from an evolutionary point of view allowing us to recognize problems and dangers and to resolve them but it can also prevent us from shrugging off things that aren't important. however we can retrain ourselves for example by taking time to remember the good things that we are happy about. things are known to have a very good memory and there's social animals like most primates including humans then they're all social predators that hunt in packs study suggests the brain can reveal how sociable and i'm a list dolphins for example have been shown to be extremely social animals but other species also appear to be more selfless than we realized. it's well known that parents are pretty smart birds but i think also helpful. is an

african gray and lives in laurel park zoo on 10 a river in the community islands she and her friends have been helping the mox branch institute for ornithology with an experiment about social intelligence and cooperativeness. the parents quickly learn that they can exchange a token for food. but in this experiment bella has a problem she can swap her tokens for a treat because the window is closed instead she hands them over to her friend kimmy kimmie then swaps the tokens for food through her window bella gets nothing this generosity without any immediate favor in return surprised even the researchers because until now such behavior had only been observed among some green apes and humans. in the 2nd experiment the parents are given a choice. a blue token means only one of them gets a treat

a white token earns them both a snack they soon work it out and choose white which benefits both birds even though the other one has done nothing to earn or treat. me parents are evidently helpful and not envious. the researchers think this has to do with parrots live longer knockabout. they prefer solidarity to selfishness. the problem is rat why are great but only if it has to do have a science question that you've always wanted answered it like we're happy to help out and send it to us as a video text ovoid smell if we answer it on the show will send you a little surprise as a thank you come on just ask a. man for most stories about the world of science visit us on our website on

twitter and facebook. that's all for visitation of tomorrow today join us again next time for more fascinating stories from science and technology. stay healthy and stay curious. to me.

imagine if they. can tell for some fun a missed. call and finish explosive gemini's i'll go if you can. no matter if you're into winter sports or nature the al goalie has something for everyone. checking. coming up. cinema should

be celebrated since agree certainly had its 125th birthday. but the movie industry is in a crisis which has been exacerbated by corona. will the movies ever be the same and if so when are $21.00. and 30 minutes on d w. with them how to be done because of it as well the highest high you know if i had known that the boat would be that small i never would have gone on a trip to cuba i would not have put myself and my paris on a bad dangerous bought of the dream of the open a beautifully it would. love one's uncle the puppet on the hood to give them i had

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the word for. a constant. stream. to use. this is d w news and these are our top stories germany has banned travel from range ends in one ring austria and the czech republic that's after a surge of infections involving more contagious variants of the corona virus in some border regions checkpoints have been said opp and rail services suspended only essential travel and tried is allowed.