Scientists in the United States have developed a new way of taking medicines—a drug-containing microchip that can be implanted in the body. The chip then releases the medication slowly, so the patient no longer has to take pills.

A team of neuroscientists successfully implanted a chip called BrainGate into the brain of a 25-year-old quadriplegic man, allowing him to control a computer. Since the insertion of the tiny device, the man has been able to check email and play computer games simply using thoughts.

Professor Theodore W. Berger, director of the Center for Neural Engineering at the University of Southern California, is creating a silicon chip implant that mimics the hippocampus, the area of the brain associated with memory. If successful, the artificial brain prosthesis could replace its biological counterpart, enabling people who suffer from memory disorders to regain the ability to store new memories. Next in line to get that memory upgrade isn't your computer—it's you!  ■