This study develops an electrocorticography (ECoG) device named NeuroCam, which boasts up to 4096 recording channels with only 128 leads for signal fan-out, supporting large-scale manufacturing. This innovation delivers a pivotal breakthrough in overcoming the key bottlenecks of existing ECoG devices, including limited channel counts, low density, complicated wiring, and challenges in scaling production. It provides a novel tool for decoding complex neural activities, supports the breakthrough development of advanced brain-machine interface (BMI) technology, and opens up opportunities for neuroscience research as well as the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders such as epilepsy.

 Researchers from BI Norwegian Business School and NHH Norwegian School of Economics have developed a new behavioral credit-risk model that integrates credit and debit transactions. The model significantly outperforms state-of-the-art machine learning methods in predicting credit card delinquency and offers clearer insight into the behavioral drivers behind repayment problems.

At the base of mossy trees, deep in the mountains of Taiwan and mainland Japan or nestled in the subtropical forests of Okinawa, grows what most might mistake for a mushroom – but what is actually a very unique plant with some of the smallest flowers and seeds in the world. With no chlorophyll to photosynthesize with and no root system to supply it with water from the ground, Balanophora has evolved a series of extreme traits to survive entirely as a parasite on the roots of specific trees. Some species and populations produce seeds only without fertilization (obligate agamospermy) – which is exceedingly rare in the plant kingdom. 

Researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Kobe University, and the University of Taipei have now joined forces to survey Balanophora across its sparse and inaccessible habitats, upending our understanding of photosynthesis loss in land plants, obligate agamospermy, and the role of the plastids.