PROSTHETIC PROGRESS

Scientists have shown that the nerves in patients’ arms can be trained to control the movements of prosthetic fingers and thumbs. They boosted the nerve signal by wrapping tiny bits of muscle around nerve endings, and as the nerves grew into the muscle, the person’s thoughts created a muscle

twitch that produced a signal big enough to be picked up by tiny wires connected to a nearby computer, which told the prosthetic hand to move. Study participants were able to, among other actions, play a version of Rock, Paper, Scissors.