Snake Robot Capable of Treating Spinal Cord Injuries

In this undated photo, a timber rattlesnake, is cautiously displayed. John Weiss / AP
In this undated photo, a timber rattlesnake, is cautiously displayed. John Weiss / AP
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Snake Robot Capable of Treating Spinal Cord Injuries

In this undated photo, a timber rattlesnake, is cautiously displayed. John Weiss / AP
In this undated photo, a timber rattlesnake, is cautiously displayed. John Weiss / AP

A Japanese-US research team has made a major step towards treating spinal cord injuries by designing artificial neurons that can replace biological cells, after they created a robot that resembles a snake in both its shape and movements.

During the study published in the Atlantis Press Journal on April 12, the researchers managed to simulate the so-called "central pattern generation networks" (CPG) in the spinal cord, found in humans and snakes. CPGs are neuronal circuits that are responsible for walking, breathing, swimming.

Previous studies sought to develop animal-like robots replicate inspired by the central pattern generation networks models, but with no the biological simulation achieved by the researchers from the University of Bordeaux and the University of Tokyo.

"By using a digital neural system, we managed to efficiently simulate the biological behavior of a snake. The robot included two main components: one that acts like the brain and another that acts like the body; the signal kicks off from the brain and propagates all over the body; these processes are controlled by the central pattern generation network," Timothée Levi, the study lead author, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

In Levi's opinion, the most meaningful aspect of the study is that they tried to be faithful to biology, as the robot they designed has the same features of a real snake in terms of motor patterns and reaction to noises, which makes it highly efficient for researches seeking a better understanding of the behavior of reptilians.

"This is a just another application of the robot; but the main objective of this research was to develop a robot for biomedical applications, especially spinal cord injuries. We are now planning to add more intelligence in the robot's brain with learning rules, as well as using the different sensors. Moreover, one of our long term goals is to combine living neurons," Levi concluded.



Google Holds Illegal Monopolies in Ad Tech, US Judge Finds, Allowing US to Seek Breakup

A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP)
A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP)
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Google Holds Illegal Monopolies in Ad Tech, US Judge Finds, Allowing US to Seek Breakup

A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP)
A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area, on Aug. 10, 2024. (AP)

Alphabet's Google illegally dominated two markets for online advertising technology, a judge ruled on Thursday, dealing another blow to the tech giant and paving the way for US antitrust prosecutors to seek a breakup of its advertising products.

US District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, found Google liable for "willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power" in markets for publisher ad servers and the market for ad exchanges which sit between buyers and sellers. Publisher ad servers are platforms used by websites to store and manage their ad inventory.

Antitrust enforcers failed to prove a separate claim that the company had a monopoly in advertiser ad networks, she wrote.

Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice president of Regulatory Affairs, said Google will appeal the ruling.

"We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half," she said, adding that the company disagrees with the decision on its publisher tools. "Publishers have many options and they choose Google because our ad tech tools are simple, affordable and effective."

Google's shares were down around 2.1% at midday.

The decision clears the way for another hearing to determine what Google must do to restore competition in those markets, such as sell off parts of its business at another trial that has yet to be scheduled.

The DOJ has said that Google should have to sell off at least its Google Ad Manager, which includes the company's publisher ad server and ad exchange.

Google now faces the possibility of two US courts ordering it to sell assets or change its business practices. A judge in Washington will hold a trial next week on the DOJ's request to make Google sell its Chrome browser and take other measures to end its dominance in online search.

Google has previously explored selling off its ad exchange to appease European antitrust regulators, Reuters reported in September.

Brinkema oversaw a three-week trial last year on claims brought by the DOJ and a coalition of states.

Google used classic monopoly-building tactics of eliminating competitors through acquisitions, locking customers in to using its products, and controlling how transactions occurred in the online ad market, prosecutors said at trial.

Google argued the case focused on the past, when the company was still working on making its tools able to connect to competitors' products. Prosecutors also ignored competition from technology companies including Amazon.com and Comcast as digital ad spending shifted to apps and streaming video, Google's lawyer said.