An interview with Greg and Tim of Backyard Brains - Boethetic Bug Brainwaves

Welcome Greg Gage and Tim Marzullo of Backyard Brains! (hereafter annotated as “BB”)

• The focus of BB is to make simple to use electronics so that neuroscience is taught sooner in students' lives.
• The Spiker box is a signal chain with bio instrumentation amp, then bandpass filtering, then an amplifier to output through a speaker
• It turns out that plants also have electrophysiology (action potential firing). Especially
• The cortex is done in layers, so the polarity lines up and the signals are detectible
• The human brain initiative is part of a push from the Obama administration. It's meant to increase the understanding of the brain.
• Tim did some predication of the future:
  • 2035 neuromotes, silicon wrapped in biocompatible material.
  • 2165 is the completely controllable to the single neuron layer.
• There is a bluetooth kit to control bugs by manipulating their antennae. It's called The Roboroach; it uses similar science as to the experiments by Luigi Galvani on frog legs.
• Greg gave a TED talk about the human to human interface
• Chris knew what the Myelin sheath is; a coating over neurons that allows signals to travel faster.
• Squid giant axon and the entire equation is governed by the telegraphers equation.
• Communication between axon of one neuron and the dendrite of the next is done via neurotransmitters. Check out the diagram of a neuron on wiki.
• The Spiker box can also act on the output of electromyograms.
• Chris had a chance to meet Greg and see some of the electronics in action (with bugs) with Hackaday in Ann Arbor, MI.
• On the educational front, BB's goal is to make more experts via their tutorials and kits.
• For neurological disorders, doctors are starting to look at using electroceuticals instead of pharmaceuticals.
• Ben Krasnow did a video about creating his own TMS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUW7dQ92yDU
• Chris confused DBS (where they install an electrode) vs TMS (where there is an external magnetic field).
• BB has done some educational based research papers.
• They have been working with marine biology in Woods Hole. Aneonomes and jellyfish have loose neural nets and there is very little understood about them.
• BB got a fellowship from Chilean gov't (Startup Chile). They also have worked with folks from the Santiago Maker Space.