World’s Most Powerful MRI Scans 1st Images of Human Brain

This image made with the Iseult Magneton 11.7 T MRI shows a brain during a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam simulation at the Neurospin facilities in the Paris-Saclay Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA - Commissariat a l'energie atomique et aux energies alternatives) centre in Gif-sur-Yvette, on March 22, 2024. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)
This image made with the Iseult Magneton 11.7 T MRI shows a brain during a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam simulation at the Neurospin facilities in the Paris-Saclay Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA - Commissariat a l'energie atomique et aux energies alternatives) centre in Gif-sur-Yvette, on March 22, 2024. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)
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World’s Most Powerful MRI Scans 1st Images of Human Brain

This image made with the Iseult Magneton 11.7 T MRI shows a brain during a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam simulation at the Neurospin facilities in the Paris-Saclay Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA - Commissariat a l'energie atomique et aux energies alternatives) centre in Gif-sur-Yvette, on March 22, 2024. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)
This image made with the Iseult Magneton 11.7 T MRI shows a brain during a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam simulation at the Neurospin facilities in the Paris-Saclay Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA - Commissariat a l'energie atomique et aux energies alternatives) centre in Gif-sur-Yvette, on March 22, 2024. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)

The world’s most powerful MRI scanner has delivered its first images of human brains, reaching a new level of precision that is hoped will shed more light on our mysterious minds — and the illnesses that haunt them.

Researchers at France’s Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) first used the machine to scan a pumpkin back in 2021. But health authorities recently gave them the green light to scan humans, Agence France Presse reported.

Over the past few months, around 20 healthy volunteers have become the first to enter the maw of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, which is located in the Plateau de Saclay area south of Paris, home to many technology companies and universities.

“We have seen a level of precision never reached before at CEA,” said Alexandre Vignaud, a physicist working on the project. The magnetic field created by the scanner is a whopping 11.7 teslas, a unit of measurement named after inventor Nikola Tesla.

This power allows the machine to scan images with 10 times more precision than the MRIs commonly used in hospitals, whose power does not normally exceed three teslas. On a computer screen, Vignaud compared images taken by this mighty scanner, dubbed Iseult, with those from a normal MRI.



Milan’s Historic La Scala Cracks Down on Tourist Dress Code

Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)
Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)
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Milan’s Historic La Scala Cracks Down on Tourist Dress Code

Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)
Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)

A historic opera house in Milan has cracked down on patrons and tourists entering the prestigious venue wearing summer attire such as shorts, tank tops and flip flops, warning they will be turned away if not dressed appropriately.

The opera was seen as a symbol of wealth and exclusivity in 19th-century high society, and the bourgeois elite of this time period would have been expected to turn up in tailcoats, cravats and long evening dresses, The Independent newspaper wrote on Monday.

While this opulent attire is not expected of patrons nowadays, it said Milan’s Teatro alla Scala opera house, commonly known as La Scala, has recently reinforced its smart dress code in the wake of opera-goers turning up in casual summer fashion.

“The public is kindly requested to dress in keeping with the decorum of the theater, out of respect for the theater and for other viewers,” La Scala’s policy said.

“People wearing shorts or sleeveless T-shirts will not be allowed inside the auditorium; in this case, tickets will not be reimbursed.”

The venue also has signs around the foyer and on tickets stating the same message, warning patrons that they will not get a refund if they turn up wearing clothes not in keeping with the “decorum.”

The rules over informal clothing were first introduced in 2015 when the summer season coincided with the World Expo in Milan, as a way to deter the influx of tourists turning up in summer wear.

“There are no special dress code requirements at La Scala,” a spokesperson at the theater told The Independent. “We are delighted that some of our audience members consider an evening at La Scala to be a special occasion and dress accordingly, but our priority is to welcome everyone and make sure they feel comfortable.

“This is precisely why, in 2015, we introduced restrictions on clothing that could cause discomfort to other audience members who have to share the often limited space of an 18th-century theater.

“With the return of summer (an especially hot one), we reminded the audience of these rules, which have remained unchanged for ten years.

“It would not be right to tell spectators how to dress, but it is necessary that they do dress, as not to cause discomfort to other people,” the spokesperson added.

La Scala’s spokesman added that there had been a “change in behavior led by visitors who do not follow opera but see La Scala as a landmark.”