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Unlocking the Monkey's Mind
David Reich discusses groundbreaking research from Caltech where scientists decode the visual cortex of macaque monkeys. By showing the monkeys thousands of photographs and recording neuron activity, researchers successfully reassembled a new photograph based on the learned patterns. This segment explores the implications of understanding how genetic data from modern and archaic genomes could potentially allow us to read the brain's code.
"we really can't read a genome and tell you how a person looks how a person develops we can begin to say what terrible diseases they have but not even predict that so well I was at a talk that was real..."
Unlocking the Monkey's Mind
David Reich discusses groundbreaking research from Caltech where scientists decode the visual cortex of macaque monkeys. By showing the monkeys thousands of photographs and recording neuron activity, researchers successfully reassembled a photograph from neural data. This segment explores the implications of understanding how brains represent visual information and raises the question of whether we can apply similar techniques to decode human genetic data.
"we really can't read a genome and tell you how a person looks how a person develops we can begin to say what terrible diseases they have but not even predict that so well I was at a talk that was real..."
The Future of Genetic Decoding
In this segment, David Reich speculates on the potential to mine genetic data from both modern and archaic genomes. He emphasizes the need for innovative thinking to unlock the patterns within our genetic code, suggesting that understanding the brain's representation of information could lead to breakthroughs in genetic research. This raises exciting possibilities for the future of genetics and neuroscience.
"I would really like to know is can we mine the genetic data we have from Modern genomes and archaic genomes and can we actually learn the patterns well enough to actually read the code and I think tha..."