Paralyzed Woman Flies F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

There’s no doubt in the world that we’re in the midst of a biotech golden era.

Surgeries are being performed with robotic assistance; microscopic nerves are being spliced through tiny incisions thanks to fiber optics; medicines are being created and tested using supercomputer-powered intelligent simulation programs.

Every corner of the medical universe is slowly merging with the biotech industry, creating a seamless melding of art, science, and industry.

Perhaps the most impressive and far-reaching aspect of this comes to us from the field of neuroscience.

When I was a teenager, I recall my high school biology teachers marveling at the human brain, repeatedly lamenting that we only understood a small fraction of how it worked.

Well, today that fraction has increased to the point where human technology and the human brain can finally be linked together — and the results are amazing.

A Paralyzed Fighter Pilot?

The most dramatic example to emerge in recent times is the story of Jan Scheuermann — a quadriplegic who lost the use of her arms and legs to a neurodegenerative disease.

A mystery writer, Jan made the most of her physically limited life. But when she was approached by scientists from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the University of Pittsburgh’s Human Engineering Research Laboratories in 2012 about helping them research new neuro-actuated technology — in this case, a robotic arm — she eagerly accepted.

As the story goes, Jan wanted nothing more than to be able to feed herself candy using the thought-controlled arm, but as the experiment progressed, it took on a surreal path that was more sci-fi than science.

The researchers disengaged the robotic arm and connected Jan’s electrode-linked brain to a flight simulator for the U.S. Air Force and Navy’s state-of-the-art F-35 Joint Strike Fighter — the world’s most expensive and sophisticated multi-role fighter aircraft.

Once the proper links were made, Jan was able to fly the virtual airplane with the same level of control and degree of motion that a remote pilot of an unmanned drone would achieve using a stick.

Did Jan turn out to be a natural pilot with a never-before-known talent for aerial combat? No, she didn’t. But the achievement was impressive enough to be presented at the 24-hour Future of War conference held in Washington, D.C. last month.

It Got The DoD’s Attention

Before all the Luddites out there start sweating and fainting at the thought of mind-controlled missiles and crazed, half-computer/half-human Terminators running amok in the streets, I do want to add that this was a proof-of-concept demonstration and not a prototype.

Successfully translating neural synapses into controlled, intended motions of a machine has been an elusive goal for neuroscientists and engineers for decades — but today, this field has finally entered the realm of practicality.

Thanks to the information Jan Scheuermann’s experiences provided, an entirely new segment of bioengineering will soon be possible — and it will do what wheelchairs and crutches have been sorely unable to for centuries.

The fact that the demonstration happened to take on an especially cool form was merely to prove a point — and I’m sure Jan didn’t mind getting to fly the simulated F-35.

A Sign of Things to Come in Neuroscience

But there is a bigger takeaway from all this that we can’t forget: Milestones like these have been steadily increasing in frequency since the turn of the century.

This means the surprises and miracles are going to be growing more and more dramatic as microprocessors, robotics, and nanotechnology continue to expand functionality.

A few weeks ago, I heard about a company working on a different kind of miracle neuroscience breakthrough.

Instead of synergizing mind and machine the way Jan’s robotic arm did, this innovation was designed to heal a brain ravaged by neurodegenerative disease — the very thing that rendered Jan a quadriplegic in the first place.

Referred to as neuroregeneration, the process of rebuilding damaged nervous tissue was long thought of as impossible.

But one company has proven this theory wrong. It’s invented a device that can actually combat the effects of some of mankind’s most feared neurodegenerative diseases — including multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s.

My colleague Nick Hodge recently met with representatives of this company, including a celebrity you may not have known suffers from one of these diseases.

The report he put together might surprise you and shock you, but most of all, what this tiny company is doing will amaze you.

Get instant access to this report right here.

To your wealth,

Brian Hicks

Brian is a founding member and President of Angel Publishing and investment director for the income and dividend newsletter The Wealth Advisory. He writes about general investment strategies for Tech Investing Daily, Wealth Daily and Energy & Capital. Known as the “original bull on America,” Brian is also the author of the 2008 book, Profit from the Peak: The End of Oil and the Greatest Investment Event of the Century. In addition to writing about the economy, investments and politics, Brian is also a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox and countless radio shows. For more on Brian, take a look at his editor’s page.