How Your Brain Data Could Be Used Against You

A ‘memory prosthesis’ implant appears to improve memory in people with brain damage, as I wrote in September. The device is designed to mimic the way our brains typically form memories in a seahorse-like structure called the hippocampus.

And a noninvasive form of brain stimulation, which delivers mild electrical pulses through a bathing cap of electrodes, appears to improve memory in older people.as I reported last year.

Electrodes implanted in the brains of people with depression help us better understand and treat the disease. A team has used a set of electrodes to develop a ‘mood decoder’, designed to tell when a person is entering a depressed state and help reverse it.

It’s not just brain data that could be dangerous in the wrong hands. My colleague Tanya Basu wrote a guide to protecting your menstrual health data in a post-deer world.

From anywhere on the web

The World Health Organization has finally published a definition of long covid in children, following a long and extremely heated debate between parents, doctors and scientists. Children and adolescents with “post-covid-19 condition” have symptoms affecting their daily life for at least two months, including fatigue, anxiety and changes in their sense of smell. The WHO has included a list of other potential symptoms, including chest pain, fever, nausea, rash, palpitations and cognitive difficulties. (WHO)

Speaking of long covid, here’s what not to ask someone experiencing long-lasting symptoms. (Atlantic)

He Jiankui, the controversial scientist whose work led to the birth of the world’s first babies using CRISPR gene editing, has had his visa for Hong Kong revoked. The Hong Kong government made the announcement hours after saying it was in contact with universities, companies and research institutes there. (Associated Press)

A 53-year-old man is believed to be the third HIV-positive person to be officially cleared of the virus. The man received bone marrow stem cells from a person who carries a genetic mutation that makes the cells resistant to HIV. (Nature)

Your body is electric. Cracking the ‘electrome’ code could help us find new ways to understand and treat all kinds of diseases. (New Scientist)