Instrument

An operating theater isn't somewhere you'd normally expect to see someone belt out a saxophone solo lying on the table with their brain exposed. But that's exactly what musician Dan Fabbio​ did, as surgeons removed a tumor from his brain without disrupting his professional skills.

​Scientists have been experimenting for some years with electroencephalography (EEG) as an interface for mind-controlled devices. Now a group of researchers has developed the Encephalophone, a musical instrument that can be played using the power of your mind.

Minimally invasive surgery often sees large, expensive robots acting as a surgeon's hands inside the patient's body.​ A new cheaper “needle driver” is designed to precisely mimic the motions of a surgeon’s wrist and translate it to a tiny flexible claw, with no electronic or computerized parts.

The world's shortest laser pulse, measuring only 67 attoseconds in duration, has been generated at the University of Central Florida.