Original version

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

Science in Action

Science In Action

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

The BBC brings you all the week's science news.

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service South Asia

Science In Action: Turning brain waves into speech

Magazines & Reviews

ECoG-Electrode-Array-3 CROP.jpg

25/04/2019 GMT

Turning brain waves into speech

BBC World Service - Science In Action, Turning brain waves into speech

Analysis of neural activity associated with talking allows scientists to reproduce speech.

Analysis of neural activity associated with talking has allowed neuroscientists to reproduce speech synthetically.

Neuroscientists have recorded the brain activity of patients while talking and used this to develop computer programmes that can simulate speech.  The neural activity they monitored is associated with the muscle movements needed to talk and form words rather than the meaning of the words themselves. They say a refined version of the system should be able to generate speech for people who cannot talk.  

Data collected from a long running study of plankton is proving useful for research into historic ocean plastic pollution. Records of plastic accidentally entangled in the ocean going plankton samplers now provides a snapshot of contamination dating back to the 1950s. 

Rewilding, letting nature take its course has romantic appeal. Perhaps counter intuitively a review of methods from around the world shows the key to successful projects is often how well they interact with local people. 

And over 600 scientists have called for the European Union to put indigenous rights and deforestation to the fore of its trade negotiations with Brazil. We look at why they made this political call.  


(Picture: Researchers implanted electrodes similar to these in participants’ skulls to record their brain signals. Credit: UCSF)

Presenter: Roland Pease
Producer: Julian Siddle

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Science In Action

Turning brain waves into speech

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

About BBC World Service