BrainGate's First Test Subject Dies at 27

I hadn't heard any big news lately on BrainGate, which is a type of neural interface system mentioned several times here previously. That is until a few days ago when I saw that someone had come to this site with the Google search term "Matt Nagle cause of death". Then I followed that same path and found an obituary from the Boston Globe, stating that he had died on July 16 from sepsis. There are no other details relating to the cause of death. The article does mention that the brain implant had previously been removed, from that statement I only assume that his death was not related to that particular experiment, but more likely to one or some of the many comorbidities of quadriplegia. It appears that his death is now being investigated as a homicide.

I give my condolences and best wishes to his family and friends.

New Bulletin Board and the First Forum, Time-lapse Videos

Not too long ago I purchased the domain webiocosm.net through a different provider with hopes of finding a system of running not just my blog, but also the entire website without an expensive or obsolete program like Front Page. I am still mainly using the domain webiocosm.com at this time, but I am looking to employ or at least test some of the features readily available on this new service. As a result I have started the Webiocosm Bulletin board to promote discussion about topics that I and other readers find important. Here is the first Forum, which is about Time-lapse videos.

Update 08/16/07: Forget the Bulletin Board, it is too much trouble keeping the porn and medication peddlers off of there.

Arthropod Friday: Common House Centipede, Scutigera coleoptrata

click to enlarge

This is a common house centipede, Scutigera coleoptrata. I saw several of them and took this picture 2 days ago while cleaning out a storage area under my house. They were very fast moving and made me jump when I first saw them. Animals like this don't usually bother me too much, but I was already in a heightened state of creepiness because of all the brown recluse spiders I had been seeing. After the photo session, I killed a few of them but a couple got away. I began to regret that a little after reading about their feeding habits, because they eat alot of household pests such as spiders, bedbugs, termites, cockroaches, silverfish. I have never seen one of these in my living space, so I am not too worried about them bothering us. Apparently they can bite humans and sometimes deliver some venom but the bite is about equivalent to a honey bee sting.

The house centipede, when fully grown, has an average of 17 pairs of long legs, which allow them to run faster than other centipedes, up walls and along ceilings and floors. Young centipedes have four pairs of legs when they are hatched. They gain a new pair with the first molting, and two pairs with every subsequent molting.Its body is yellowish grey or brown and has three dark-colored dorsal stripes running down its length; the legs also have dark stripes. They also have well developed faceted eyes unlike most other centipedes.

Sources: Wikipedia, ADW

Don't forget to check out Modulator's Friday Ark.