Here’s the incredible moment a deaf girl heard for the first time thanks to the word of an impressive brain implant.
Maggie Gleason’s story went viral way back in 2015 as medical experts filmed her hearing sounds for the first time.
It’s the most heartwarming clip you’ll watch to kick off 2025, and people on the internet who have can certainly confirm that.
Maggie underwent major surgery as a teen that saw an auditory brainstem implant placed on the lower part of her brain.
Doctors recorded her reaction after they turned on the implant at UH Case Medical Center in Cleveland, and the footage showed Maggie grinning as she heard for the first time.
“Maggie, can you hear me?”, her father Frank asked.
“You can hear my voice? What about your sister?”, Maggie’s mother Joanna then said.
Maggie then nodded and uttered a ‘yes’, as the whole room burst out into tears at the extremely emotional moment.
University Hospitals uploaded the clip to YouTube, where it quickly went viral with close to three million views.
“Maggie Gleason, 14, who was born deaf, heard sound for the first time ever when hearing specialists at UH Cleveland Medical Center turned on an innovative electronic device called an auditory brainstem implant (ABI),” a description to the YouTube video read.
Many flocked to the comments section of the video, and it’s safe to say there’s not a dry eye in the house.
“What an inspirational family! I’m happy that this technology has reached Maggie; may it help her continue to make great strides in her life. Bravo!”, one person wrote.
A second added: “WOOOO!! Go humans and science!!!! This is so amazing….just wow.”
Many asked how Maggie was able to understand what doctors and her nearest and dearest were saying, so the University Hospitals account took to the comments section to further explain the situation.
Maggie heard for the first time (YouTube/UniversityHospitals)
They said: “So Maggie does not yet understand words as we do. She currently communicates using a combination of American Sign Language (ASL) and lip-reading cues, now combined with auditory cues. She is working with a speech-language pathologist toward the goal of understanding words using the auditory cues. Think of it like learning a foreign language; the auditory sounds of the foreign words are being heard, but the brain must be trained how to make sense of the sounds. This will take time.”
The auditory brainstem implant, an electric device, is placed in a spot on the head where the spinal cord and lower part of the brain meet.Featured Image Credit: YouTube/UniversityHospitals
Topics: Health, Science, Technology, Viral
Conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel have ‘unique’ anatomies which share some features, but also have certain other ‘adaptations’.
Abby and Brittany Hensel are dicephalic parapargus twins – they have two spearate heads and they’re joined at the torso.
The pair have been very open about their lives as conjoined twins, whether it be becoming teachers or their relationships.
And a simulation video has since scientifically broken down how their anatomies work.
A YouTuber called Hashem Al-Ghaili shared a simulation video about Abby and Brittany Hensel’s ‘unique’ anatomies to his channel earlier today (December 30).
Revealing an animated version of the twins, the video comments they have a ‘remarkable blend of shared and individual organs and tissues’ but the twins ‘each have their own distinct upper-body systems’.
Abby and Brittany have two heads, two brains, two spinal chords, and two hearts, which are part of a shared circulatory system.
The video explains: “Each heart pumps blood through the same system, meaning the actions of one can directly affect the other. Despite sharing blood circulation, their individual brains and spinal chords function independently from each other, coordinating movements for their respective sides of the body. “
Abby and Brittany each control the arm on their respective side – Abby the right and Brittany the left. And it’s the same for the twins’ legs too.
But even with this ‘division,’ the pair’s ‘movements are highly coordinated’.
Abby and Brittany Hensel (Channel 5)
For holding objects – i.e. an activity which requires both arms – the pair rely on ‘constant cooperation and communication’.
“They are able to perform these tasks smoothly thanks to the remarkable synchronization between their two brains and nervous systems,” the video continues. “Their skeletal systems including two separate spines joined at the pelvis, maintaining their independent neurological functions.
“Each twin also has two lungs, making for a total of four. While their medial lungs are fused to some degree, the outer lungs operate independently.”
Certain elements of the pair’s anatomies work together and others separately (YouTube/ Hashem Al-Ghaili)
When it comes to the pair’s stomachs, they each have their own, allowing them to digest food separately and their ‘sense of hunger or satiety is unique to each twin’ too as the brains controlling the stomachs are independent too.
Abby and Brittany each have their own oesophagus leading to their respective stomachs too, their ‘digestive systems functioning independently in the upper body’.
However, while they both control their own sides of the body, they experience stomach pain differently, with the ‘discomfort felt on the opposite side of the shared body’.
“The twins share one liver, though it is slightly elongated and enlarged to meet the needs of both bodies,” the video explains. “They have a single small intestine which splits into two spastic peristalsis patterns to accommodate their dual physiology.”
They also share one large intestine, one bladder and one set of reproductive organs – their lower pelvis having to be ‘slightly broader than average’ in order to accommodate them both.
And when it comes to kidneys, the twins have three – Abby with one on her side and Brittany two.
“This is a unique adaptation that allows for filtration and waste removal, despite the shared urinary system,” the video continues.
Their gall bladders are also individual – a total of two.
When it comes to the pair’s skeletal system, they share one ribcage, but it’s ‘widened and contains traces of fused and separate ribs to support both upper bodies’.
“The surgical removal of the rudimentary third arm at birth left behind an additional shoulder blade.”
The video resolves: “[Abby and Brittany’s] story remains a testament to the adaptability of the human body and the resilience of the human spirit.”
And as one Reddit user resolved: “This video was surprisingly very good and informative without being overdone or disrespectful to the two women.”
“Nice to see someone explain it in detail. Pretty fascinating stuff!” Another resolved.
Featured Image Credit: OMG Stories/YouTube/Hasham Al-Ghaili/YouTube
Topics: Health, Science, Social Media, US News, Viral, YouTube
A woman who was left severely paralyzed after a stroke has been able to speak for the first time in decades thanks to a brain implant and artificial intelligence (AI).
Ann Johnson was only 30 years old when she suffered from a stroke in 2005 that left her paralyzed and unable to speak.
18 years after her stroke, a new experimental technology has allowed Johnson to communicate again by translating her brain signals into audible worlds and playing them through a digital avatar
Ann Johnson lost her ability to speak following a stroke (YouTube/UC San Francisco (UCSF))
Developed by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of California, Berkeley, this new technology starts with an implant that contains 253 electrodes that intercept brain signals from Johnson’s neurons.
The implant was placed on the surface of Johnson’s brain in areas associated with speech and language.
While undergoing surgery to receive the implant, doctors also installed a port in Johnson’s head that connects to a cable, allowing her brain signals to essentially be sent to a computer bank.
The computer then proceeds to use AI algorithms to translate the brain signals into words and sentences, which get spoken through a digital avatar on a TV screen.
So essentially, whatever Johnson thinks is translated into the machine and is then expressed by the avatar that was modeled after her.
To make the avatar more personalized, researchers used a recording of Johnson speaking at her wedding to model its voice after hers.
The technology also converts Johnson’s brain signals into facial movements on the avatar, to give it movement like pursed lips or expressions of sadness or surprise.
Researchers used Johnson’s wedding video to make the avatar more personalized (YouTube/UC San Francisco (UCSF))
According to the results of the experiment published in the journal Nature, this new technology seems to be faster and more accurate than previous systems that attempted to create a similar outcome.
One of the study’s authors who also performed Johnson’s surgery, Dr Edward Chang, said he was ‘absolutely thrilled’ to watch Johnson successfully speak through the avatar.
“There’s nothing that can convey how satisfying it is to see something like this actually work in real time,” Chang said at a news briefing.
The results also show that the new technology was able to convert Johnson’s speech attempts into words at nearly 80 words per minute.
Johnson was successfully able to speak through the avatar (YouTube/UC San Francisco (UCSF))
Chang explained the natural rate of speech is around 150 to 200. Moreover, the technology had a median accuracy of around 75 percent when Johnson was using a 1,024-word vocabulary.
Following the study, Johnson wrote in a feedback survey that hearing the avatar speak in a voice that sounded similar to hers made her emotional.
“The first 7 years after my stroke, all I used was a letterboard. My husband was so sick of having to get up and translate the letterboard for me,” she said.
Johnson also went on to express that she hopes to become a counselor and use the new technology to talk to clients saying: “I think the avatar would make them more at ease.”
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/UC San Francisco (UCSF)
Topics: Technology, Health
A 13-year-old boy has become the first patient in the world to try out a brain stimulation device to treat severe epilepsy.
With the advancements in technology, we’re seeing some pretty incredible things.
And this latest piece of technology, worked on by experts, looks set to be a game changer for millions of people if it does indeed go mainstream.
Oran Knowlson is one of those who suffers from severe epilepsy, to the point where he was having hundreds of seizures per day.
The teen had surgery in October 2023 when he was 12, and his family says he’s already experiencing massive benefits.
A teen has become the first person to receive a brain implant that treats epilepsy. (Getty Stock Photo)
Speaking of raising Oran, his mother, Justine, explained to the BBC: “I had a fairly bright three-year-old, and within a few months of his seizures commencing he deteriorated rapidly, and lost a lot of skills.”
Her young son was diagnosed with autism and ADHD, while it was also discovered he had a condition called Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, which Justine said ‘robbed him of all of his childhood’.
As per the National Organisation for Rare Disorders, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) “is a severe form of epilepsy that typically becomes apparent during infancy or early childhood.”
They add: “Affected children experience several different types of seizures, most commonly atonic, tonic and atypical absence seizures.”
Children with the condition may also develop cognitive dysfunction, delays in reaching developmental milestones and behavioral problems.
Because of this, Oran’s mother explained how he would often drop to the floor, lose consciousness, and, on occasion, even stop breathing.
The tech is revolutionary. (CADET Project)
Usual drug treatments don’t typically work in these cases, so scientists have been looking at different approaches to treatment.
The CADET Project is aiming to trial the use of a deep brain simulation (DBS) in 22 children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
Oran has become the first of the children to have his device surgically implanted.
The simulator is anchored to the skull, with connected electrodes inserted into the part of the brain responsible for seizure activity.
“This study is hopefully going to allow us to identify whether deep brain stimulation is an effective treatment for this severe type of epilepsy and is also looking at a new type of device, which is particularly useful in children because the implant is in the skull and not in the chest,” lead neurosurgeon Martin Tisdall told the BBC.
After an eight-hour surgery, Oran’s life couldn’t be more different.
The teen has seen a whopping 80 per cent reduction in daytime seizures.
“He is more alert and with no drop seizures during the day,” his mother said.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/sallywatts/PonyWang
Topics: Health, Science, Technolog
Scientists had a major breakthrough after implanting mice with deer cells, which allowed them to grow ‘mini antlers’.
With huge advancements in technology, researchers are making incredible discoveries every single day.
Just this week we’ve seen experts hard at work attempting to ‘de-extinct’ the mammoth by 2028.
While that raised some concerns, there was a lot of excitement and intrigue from science geeks.
And now it seems there has been a step forward in regenerative medicine.
The results of a 2020 study, published in the journal Science, suggest that mammals that have lost the ability to regenerate organs may still contain some regenerative genes.
Scientists implanted mice with deer cells. (Getty Stock Image)
On top of that, it may be possible to harness the rapid growth of antlers in other ways that could prove vital to researchers.
These so-called ‘mini antlers’ grow at around 2.75cm per day, making it one of the fastest regenerating tissues in the animal kingdom.
Mammals in general have lost the ability to regenerate organs and most other tissues for that matter, so the antlers could certainly provide a unique insight into how regenerative medicine for bones could work.
Chinese researcher Tao Qin and his team – at the Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an – delved deep into the mechanics behind the antlers of Sika deer, something that regroups each year before they shed.
From there, the scientists were able to create a regenerative ‘atlas’ of Sika deer antlers, subsequently isolating multiple single cells and genes that are crucial in the development of the antler tissue.
After identifying multiple stages of growth, the team took the stem cells with the most regrowth potential and cultured them in a Petri dish.
After 45 days, the mice had developed ‘mini-antlers’. (Getty Stock Photo)
They then implanted the cells into the head of the mice, leading to some interesting developments after 45 days.
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After just that short period of time, the mice had remarkably developed ‘mini-antlers’.
And with that coming about so rapidly, researchers were given an insight into how this regenerative medicine could be utilized in humans.
“We present a spatiotemporal cellular atlas of antler regeneration, which provides a useful genetic and histological resource for mammalian organ regeneration,” a conclusion in the journal read.
“Our results show that antler regeneration is consistent with a conceptual stem cell–based regenerative process.”
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Future treatment could raise ethical concerns about the cross-species implantation of cells, while significant safety trials would have to be conducted, too.
