YSM Issue 97.1

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COUNTERPOINT Elon Musk has blown up Twitter—sorry, X—again! On January 29, 2024, the multibillionaire investor and innovator announced that human trials for the long-anticipated Neuralink brain implant project have finally begun. The tweet specifically read, “The first human received an implant from @Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well. Initial results show promising neural spike detection.” Now, some of you may already recognize the impact of such an announcement. But for those just entering the complex world of neurotechnology, here’s a small crash course. Neuralink, an ambitious tech company, was quietly started in 2016 by Musk as his first foray into the incredible sector of neurotechnology. Three years later in 2019, the company made its first major splash in the news when it unveiled its main project: the development of a small brain implant called N1. N1 is about the size of a coin, with wires thinner than human hair running through the brain. Ideas, theories, and hopes for Neuralink’s future were matched by a healthy dash of skepticism about cyborgs and the artificial intelligence (AI) singularity. Of the various features unique to the N1 brain chip, the most interesting is the novel electrode density on the sixty-four threads at 1,024 electrodes, which pick up signals from neurons. With this, the device will be able to collect much more brain data which would allow for more precise control from the user. Such precision could manifest itself in more accessible computer interfaces, prosthetic devices with fine motor controls, and treatment for neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s. It could bring us one step closer to allowing people who lost their arms to play the guitar again. Despite its great potential, common worries about Neuralink stem from Musk’s turbulent track record in business management. This huge development was announced in a tweet and was not registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, a database most research institutions use to monitor research protocols. All we have is the brochure Neuralink used to find volunteers for the Mind Over Matter: Neurolink’s Groundbreaking BRAIN-COMPUTER Interface Implantation By Lee Ngatia Muita research. The brochure claimed the study would take about six years with ‘regular follow-ups’. While not strictly illegal, it is troubling that the public does not know what protocols the company is taking to conduct these human experiments. What makes it more disturbing is that the animal rights group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine previously accused Neuralink of mistreating the monkeys used for experiments with the brain chip. Claims such as these are deeply worrying when it comes to experimentation on the human brain. Novel brain chips are touted to be built for long-term use, yet the only way to verify this longevity is to wait and see if things go wrong with time. This could mean a stroke or death. Yet Musk is not known to be a patient man. This technology would be wonderful if successfully developed, but first, we need Neuralink to improve in a variety of ways. We need more transparency regarding Neuralink’s research procedures, a demonstration of their dedication to maximizing the safety of the implant chip, and an indication of their accountability for the various allegations they are facing. While many remain cautiously optimistic about the future of this technology, we cannot forget that the man who is feeding us these Neuralink updates once tweeted, “Next, I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in.” Humanity stands to benefit greatly from the development of such incredible technologies, but with great power comes great responsibility. One only needs to look at the success of OpenAI’s generative models to see how much the public appreciates transparency from companies when presenting epic and somewhat scary technology. Building trust with the target market for developing technology is important in establishing a loyal customer base that will understand the complications that arise from experimentation. This is a lesson Neuralink must learn quickly before something devastating happens to an innocent human brain. ■ 38 Yale Scientific Magazine March 2024 www.yalescientific.org
BY YUSUF RASHEED What do you think of when you hear the phrase ‘climate change’? Perhaps it’s magnificent glaciers melting away into nothingness, or tall pine trees toppling like dominoes as they go up in flames. Maybe it’s the greenhouse gas emissions from poorly regulated factories or the Atlantic Ocean slowly rising over Florida to swallow it up. For Yale professor Karla Neugebauer, the first image that pops into her mind is one of biochemistry. Neugebauer, a professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry and director of the Yale Center for RNA Science and Medicine, teaches the spring semester class “Biochemistry and Our Changing Climate.” The course focuses on understanding and finding solutions to climate change through the lens of biochemistry. When asked about the focus, Neugebauer used one of her lecture topics to illustrate her point. “In 2016, the Great Barrier Reef spiked a fever. It was literally forty-five degrees Celsius [113 degrees Fahrenheit], resulting in coral bleaching, which happens when the water temperature goes up too high. But a biochemist would ask, ‘Why? What’s the molecular mechanism? And what happened in between?’” she said. Using our understanding of biochemistry, we now know that elevated temperatures can promote the overproduction of reactive oxygen species, unstable molecules that react readily in the cell, damaging DNA, RNA, and proteins and even causing cell death. According to Neugebauer, understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie this would allow us to look into evolving coral symbiotes that are capable of tolerating higher temperatures—or in other words, to innovate in the face of climate change. This is just one example of the many lecture topics Neugebauer covers in the class, including extremophiles, soil health, and forest fires. Neugebauer’s motivation for creating the class, which began in the fall of 2021, was to show students that different fields of study must come together to solve the world’s most pressing issues. “Everyone has something to offer. I was concerned that college students didn’t really see the point of digging into a discipline when the world is falling apart,” CROSS BIOCHEMISTRY AND OUR CHANGING CLIMATE Neugebauer said. “So I think that it’s very important for people to understand that it’s still very important to learn a discipline, whether it’s acting or music or biochemistry—all of those things are going to be applicable to helping humanity face the challenges ahead.” The class is divided into one lecture and one discussion section every week. The lecture introduces the week’s topic and places its biology in the context of climate change, while the discussion section offers the opportunity to explore this further through the week’s assigned original research paper. In the spring 2024 semester, which is Neugebauer’s third iteration of the course, there are thirty-eight students, the majority of which are MB&B majors, including seven BS/MS students. Other majors include EVST, MCDB, and non-STEM fields such as English and Philosophy. The class also features several other unique programs and assignments. Neugebauer takes the students on a field trip to East Rock Park, where they go birding and catch tardigrades, which they bring back to her house to observe over pizza. “There are a lot of people in biochemistry who don’t interact with living things, which is crazy. Your interest is in biology, so you should go out in nature and have a look,” she said. Each student is also required to complete a mini-review, in which Professor Neugebauer asks them to write a short paper on a biochemical issue pertinent to climate change. This is then presented as a five-minute flash talk at the class’s Climate Biochemistry Summit, the culmination of students’ research. “We get to hear all forty projects, and everybody is working on something completely different. Some are more chemistry-oriented, […] and others are more environmentoriented,” she said. As Neugebauer looks ahead at the ways that biochemistry may inform climate change, there is one topic she is particularly interested in: carbon drawdown, the process by which carbon is sequestered, or stored, in the long-lived products that we need on the planet, such as cement. “Manmade stuff is already over half the mass of the planet. We need to build more buildings because there’s gonna be a ton more human beings on the planet by 2050,” she said. “If we build them out of the current building materials, that’s going to take up the entire carbon budget.” This means that buildings can no longer be made out of concrete and steel. “The answer is to build things out of massive wood because it has carbon dioxide in it and thus can’t go back into the air,” she said. “Biochemistry and our Changing Climate” is offered in the spring semester and is an MB&B elective. Neugebauer welcomes all students to register. ■ ROADS ART BY LUNA AGUILAR www.yalescientific.org March 2024 Yale Scientific Magazine 39
Page 1 and 2: Yale Scientific THE NATION’S OLDE
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Page 5 and 6: The Editor-in-Chief Speaks AT THE C
Page 7 and 8: Biology / Mathematical Ecology NEWS
Page 9 and 10: Paleontology FOCUS IDENTIFYING EZEK
Page 11 and 12: Social Technology FOCUS I AM ALAN T
Page 13 and 14: Genetics FOCUS hollow, tubular stru
Page 15 and 16: Immunology FOCUS may be able to tri
Page 17 and 18: Environmental Engineering FOCUS Oil
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Page 35 and 36: Profile SHORT EMILY BORING YC ’18
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