Bloodless Coup

Telekinesis Is Now Real

With the aid of a brain implant a paralyzed man is able to control electronic devices.

In a variety of experiments, the first person to receive the implant, Matthew Nagle, moved a cursor, opened e-mail, played a simple video game called Pong and drew a crude circle on the screen. He could change the channel or volume on a television set, move a robot arm somewhat, and open and close a prosthetic hand.

Although his cursor control was sometimes wobbly, the basic movements were not hard to learn.

"I pretty much had that mastered in four days," Mr. Nagle, 26, said in a telephone interview from the New England Sinai Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Stoughton, Mass. He said the implant did not cause any pain.

All the kinks aren't out - the electrode deteriorates fairly rapidly, and it's not possible for a remote sensor yet - but this is a really promising development.