Language and speech are how we express our inner thoughts. But neuroscientists just bypassed the need for audible speech, at least in the lab. Instead, they directly tapped into the biological machine that generates language and ideas: the brain. Using brain scans and a hefty dose of machine

The translucent chip attached to the mouse’s leg looked nothing like a neuron. Dotted with a series of sensors and channels and smaller than a human finger, it looked—and flexed—like a Band-Aid. Yet when doused with dopamine, the chip worked its magic. The mouse’s leg began to twitch and stretch.

The man sat still in the chair, staring intently at a piece of cake on the table in front of him. Wires protruded from electrode implants in his brain. Flanking him were two giant robotic arms, each larger than his entire upper body. One held a knife, the other a fork. “Cut and eat food. Move

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is devastatingly cruel. As neurons that control movement slowly die off, you lose the ability to walk, speak, and breathe. Your mind remains sharp, but you’re completely locked in, without any way to communicate with the outside world. That’s what a 37-year-old

Getting man-made electronics to interface with the squishy world of biology could open up a host of exciting doors. Now researchers have made a major leap in that direction with an artificial neuron that can be wired into a Venus flytrap to make it snap shut. Brain implants, advanced prosthetics,