Prosthetics: Can someone born without a limb (rather than losing it after birth) use advanced prosthetics controlled by nerves and neural pathways? | AskScience Blog

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Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Prosthetics: Can someone born without a limb (rather than losing it after birth) use advanced prosthetics controlled by nerves and neural pathways?

Prosthetics: Can someone born without a limb (rather than losing it after birth) use advanced prosthetics controlled by nerves and neural pathways?


Prosthetics: Can someone born without a limb (rather than losing it after birth) use advanced prosthetics controlled by nerves and neural pathways?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 08:10 AM PDT

I understand (or at least, I think I do to some degree) that if someone loses an arm, for example, cutting-edge prosthetics can utilize nerves and existing neural pathways to control the prosthetics. Let's say instead, however, that someone is born with an arm that stops short of the elbow due to a birth defect/genetic condition. At no point have they had an elbow, or forearm, hand... If he are she is born this way I presume that there is no neural pathways/nerves to dock onto. I am sure that technology will continue to advance so I guess I am not asking if it likely will ever be possible but rather if it is possible with existing tech and approaches.

The inspiration for this question is the video that has made more than a few circulations around the internet: a video where a little boy (maybe a few years old) with arms that stopped just short of the elbow who was interacting with his newborn sibling. He utilizes his arms and mouth to pick up his sibling's pacifier and put it in her mouth. A very heart warming video. Many of the responses commented how jealous they were that he would grow up to have awesome android arms. But one comment asked whether it would be possible to have these and cited concerns that there might not be neural pathways to use them.

Any thoughts?

EDIT: Thanks so much for the response everybody! This is my very first post to reddit after years of lurking... First, let me say that I was totally overselling my confidence when it comes to how much I understood about this subject at a base level. To clarify the question, I believe what I was picturing in my question was what is referred to as a myoelectric prosthetic. That seems to be the system of prosthesis that is most commonly featured in videos and articles. I will briefly read up on the basics of myoelectric systems before trying to read any more responses. While I am definitely interested in the use of neurons with prosthetics, the question is probably more appropriately:

Can someone born without a limb as opposed to losing a limb later in life use myoelectric prosthetics? Why or Why not?

submitted by /u/Rational-Discourse
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What makes an object sharp? How does it cut or pierce through other objects?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 11:55 PM PDT

I never understood the concept, so I'm not sure if this is a stupid question or not.

submitted by /u/Your_Typical_Weeb
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Why do small stars live much longer than big stars?

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 02:23 AM PDT

What form does the released energy take in fission and fusion reactions?

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 07:03 AM PDT

I've read so many papers and articles about this, but all they say is 'energy released'. Are they photons? Is it kinetic?

submitted by /u/NotZaphod
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Where do texts go when the recipient is in Airplane Mode?

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 05:39 AM PDT

If someone sends me a text whilst my phone is in Airplane Mode, I will receive it once I turn it off. My question is, where do the radio waves go in the meantime? Are they stored somewhere, or are they just bouncing around from tower to tower until they can finally be sent to the recipient?

I apologize if this is a stupid question.

submitted by /u/gigalord14
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I recently heard the fact that 8% of the human genome is comprised of viral DNA. How can we tell that a part of the genome came from a virus or any other source?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 08:18 AM PDT

What happens if 2 stars of the same size collide?

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 12:08 AM PDT

Why does different meat turn different colors when cooked?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 08:24 PM PDT

Beef turns a dark brown, while chicken and pork turn a white or light brown. Why does meat change color, and why does different types of meat change different colors?

submitted by /u/CthulhusIntern
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Do Everest climbers carry water, if so how do they stop it freezing?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 03:39 PM PDT

Maybe they take vodka?

submitted by /u/Weebla
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What exactly is the brown patina that is induced on copper by a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution?

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 06:19 AM PDT

I am having trouble finding an answer to this.

Copper carbonate is green (and the solution does turn green eventually), so what exactly is is the brown patina that shows up on the copper surface?

submitted by /u/Natolx
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Why do almost all animals have most of their sensory organs on/in their head?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 11:26 PM PDT

(Posting this again because last time I didnt add a flair in time)

submitted by /u/hw1725w
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When you charge something battery-to-battery, do the two equilibrate, or does the charge flow one way?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 07:53 AM PDT

I.e. if my Airpods case has exactly one full headphone charge left and the headphones are fully dead, will they both go to half a charge, or will the full charge somehow move from the case to the headphones?

submitted by /u/hendersn
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I've read that all electrons are the same, but is there some evidence for otherwise?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 01:25 PM PDT

I guess the question is not just for electrons, but for all other subatomic particles.

submitted by /u/avance70
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Can a mass maintain an orbit within a black hole's event horizon?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 04:12 PM PDT

Even though an object is officially unable to leave a black hole's event horizon, due to the impossible speeds required, could it prevent from becoming a part of the singularity by simply orbiting indefinitely? The speeds for an orbit within the event horizon are well below the limits for light speed, so the math seems to support it. I haven't been able to find any research on the topic, as most discussions regarding black holes seem to suggest once you're within the horizon you will become compressed into the singularity, regardless of sideways velocity. Would the accretion disk simply extend through to the core, invisibly?

submitted by /u/ajamesmccarthy
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Taiwan is proposing to increase voltage from 110 to 220 volts for new buildings to conserve energy. How does voltage increase conserve energy?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 03:09 PM PDT

Taiwan currently uses 110v socket. However, Taiwan's power company is proposing to increase voltage from 110 to 220 volts for new buildings to conserve energy. How does voltage increase conserve energy?

Relevant quote:

The purpose of the proposed change is to conserve energy, the report said.

...

According to Taipower's estimate, the plan is not difficult to implement, the report said. The company is likely to push new buildings in the future to adopt 220-volt electricity, which can reduce distribution system line loss in the home by 75%.

News article regarding the proposal: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3552676

submitted by /u/Monkeyfeng
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At an atomic level what causes hardware to malfunction in the presence of water?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 07:29 PM PDT

Obviously as we all know water is the kryptonite of technology but at a microscopic level why?

submitted by /u/TheGfom
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Since Lisdexamfetamine and antidepressants target many of the same neurotransmitters, and using them concomitantly increases risk of serotonin syndrome, are there alternatives for those who have comorbid ADHD and depression? Or is a negative outcome just a risk that’s taken?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 06:15 PM PDT

What causes the juice in a mandarin peel to catch on fire if you shoot it a flame?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 07:15 AM PDT

My friend and I had an argument over this. She thought there was alcohol in the peel of the mandarin but I thought it was some kind of oil that caused it. Can someone tell me what the correct answer is?

submitted by /u/DcOscat
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Why does RNA have Uracil instead of Thymine?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 10:32 AM PDT

Is there reason to believe that naproxen impacts testicular physiology to produce a state of compensated hypogonadism in the same way Ibuprofen does?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 02:12 PM PDT

This here is the Ibuprofen study. I am curious if there is reason to believe that Naproxen would impact the body the same way?

submitted by /u/btuman
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How does the Teichmann Test for detection of blood work?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 11:23 PM PDT

Hi everyone, I'm currently taking a for learning about the Teichmann Test to test for the presence of blood and I'm curious as to the actual chemistry behind how it works. The procedure for the test is roughly as follows:

1) KCL, KBr, KI and Glacial Acetic Acid added together to form reagent

2) Add reagent to sample and gently warm

3) Observe under microscope, appearance of brown rhombohedron crystal indicate presence of blood.

I understand that the reaction involves iron in haemoglobin of blood, but I'm curious as to what each of the reagents contributes to the overall reaction specifically and how the mechanism works. Would appreciate any information contributed. Thank you!

submitted by /u/lolheng
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How do we avoid confusing sunspots (starspots?) and planets in other solar systems?

Posted: 15 Oct 2018 08:03 AM PDT

How do we determine the difference between a planet that obscures part of the light of a star, vs that star's natural sunspot cycle?

submitted by /u/kayakguy429
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