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Biotech

Brain Heatsink Could Reduce Epilepsy 181

Posted by CmdrTaco from the also-prevent-core-dumps dept.
SimonNight writes "Attaching a heatsink to the brain can reduce the severity of epileptic seizures, Japanese researchers say. They've developed a surgically implanted heat conduit that connects a brain region to a heatsink on the outside of the skull. Seizures get worse when they abnormal activity of brain cells overheats the brain and causes more abnormal firing patterns."
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Brain Heatsink Could Reduce Epilepsy More

Brain Heatsink Could Reduce Epilepsy

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  • awesome! (Score:5, Funny)

    by jollyreaper ( 513215 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @10:49AM (#20899597)
    Now we can start overclocking! Break out the red bull and inject-into-the-heart adrenaline.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by chord.wav ( 599850 )
      A much better project would be to overclock your liver so you can maximize your alcohol drinking limits. No more designated drivers!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by j-pimp ( 177072 )

        A much better project would be to overclock your liver so you can maximize your alcohol drinking limits. No more designated drivers!

        People drink to get drunk. Over clocking their liver would make them drink more.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by MrCrassic ( 994046 )

          I will attest that not all of them do.

          I drink occassionally to "pep" me up, but definitely not to get drunk. It's no fun being "tipsy" and having little coordination over yourself, so I don't even want to imagine how it would feel to be completely out of it. Many enjoy that, but I personally avoid the troubles that it brings (stupid actions, hangovers, embarrassing situations, etc.)

          • Re:awesome! (Score:4, Funny)

            by cHiphead ( 17854 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @11:42AM (#20900319)
            Well then, you need to learn the proper way to PAR-TAY, sir. ;)

            Cheers.

            • I think I know of the proper way to party.

              I go to a party with a head on my shoulders and a limit as to how much I can drink. I drink some alcohol, have fun, and leave either when the party's over or when I get to the tipping point (not drunk, but not entirely in control).

              I, for one, refuse to join the ranks of those that must see drunkenness as a means to enjoy themselves. It's self-demeaning, and I completely disagree with it. Furthermore, I'm a cyclist, so it's important to keep tabs on my health. :-

              • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

                by cHiphead ( 17854 )
                Furthermore, I'm a cyclist, so it's important to keep tabs on my health

                This is slashdot, sir, and moreso, the internets, we don't do "health". ;)

              • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

                by ConceptJunkie ( 24823 ) *
                How dare you be responsible and intelligent about something? This is the 21st century. Self-governance is out of style.

        • You've obviously never been to any sort of alcoholic beverage tasting before. Amazingly, some people actually enjoy the taste of good whiskies, wines, etc. I'd recommend a bottle of Oban for starters.

          • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

            by CastrTroy ( 595695 )
            Yes there are some people who enjoy the taste of alcohol, just for the taste. However, the vast majority of people drink the cheapest stuff they can find. Hence half the beer commercials proclaiming they are cheaper than the other guys, or how you get 4 extra bottles, or how you get a free t-shirt. I'm not one of these people, but the vast majority of them are very much only interested in getting drunk.

          • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

            by networkBoy ( 774728 )
            For starters Oban is not what I would suggest. It is good, but will reinforce what most people think about Scotch (that it is bog water in a bottle).
            I would highly recommend one of the speyside malts to someone new to Scotch. Perhaps Aberlour 15 double cask, or Dalwhinnie 10. Then you start moving them down the hill till you get to Nam Biest.

            My preferences run to Bowmore though.
            -nB
            • I suppose I shouldn't be making suggestions towards a good Scotch, having only tried a handful of them myself. Thanks for the correction (and suggestions!)

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by j-pimp ( 177072 )

              For starters Oban is not what I would suggest. It is good, but will reinforce what most people think about Scotch (that it is bog water in a bottle).
              I would highly recommend one of the speyside malts to someone new to Scotch. Perhaps Aberlour 15 double cask, or Dalwhinnie 10. Then you start moving them down the hill till you get to Nam Biest.

              My preferences run to Bowmore though.
              -nB

              I actually do drink single malt Scotch, although I mostly drink Glenfeddich 12 and Glenlivet 12 and 15. However, while I do drink those things for taste, as well as a wide variety of beers, few of which would be considered cheap. I think part of the experience is getting drunk along with the taste. Quite frankly I'm not sure I'd drink any form of alcohol without the intoxication of ethanol. It would just be weird. Part of the experience is getting intoxicated.

              • I don't drink to the point of impairment, either.

                As to whiskies, I recommend Glenmorangie (Highlands) or Lagavulin (Islay). Lagavulin, particularly, depends upon a certain tenacity to muscle past the initial "OMG, I'm drinking creosote!" reaction, but is rewarding by the second dram (IMO).

                FWIW, people who pooh-pooh other peoples' whisky preferences are compensating, IMO. The same mindset as audiophiles, as far as I'm concerned.

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by j-pimp ( 177072 )

                  I don't drink to the point of impairment, either.

                  Even one sip will produce some level of intoxication. Although that amount is mainly topical absorption and its just a matter of the ethanol affecting the taste buds perception of the rest of the chemicals. A dram will affect a person in subtle but measurable ways.

                  As to whiskies, I recommend Glenmorangie (Highlands) or Lagavulin (Islay). Lagavulin, particularly, depends upon a certain tenacity to muscle past the initial "OMG, I'm drinking creosote!" reaction, but is rewarding by the second dram (IMO).

                  I've had Glenmorangie, a nice whisky indeed. I have a bottle at home that was aged in three different types of casks during its maturation that I am saving for a special occasion. I don't remember the brand. I shall take your other recommenda

                • FWIW, people who pooh-pooh other peoples' whisky preferences are compensating, IMO. The same mindset as audiophiles, as far as I'm concerned.

                  Not sure if that was directed at my Oban comment, but in case it was...
                  I was not meaning to Pooh Pooh his selection, just noting that neophytes to Scotch may find it overpowering. Nam Biest, that is one scotch that can stand on it's own without a bottle to hold it... makes Lagavulin taste like heather and honey.

                  All that said, I whole heartedly agree with you about the audiophile comment.
                  -nB

            • My wife tends to enjoy the Speyside single malts with a sherry cask finish. She particularly likes The Macallan [themacallan.com] 25 year old single cask/cask strength. Very nice. We have a friend that loves the heavy peat/iodine taste of the western isles, but that's a bit too medicinal for my wife. To each his/her own, I guess!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dynamo ( 6127 )
        Um, duh, then underclock your liver.

        One way to underclock by 10% or so is to drink right after giving blood (** NOT RECOMMENDED **). With 10% less blood (giving 1/~10 pints), you're going to have a 10% higher BAC for the same amount of alcohol (or your favorite other blood-borne whatever).

    • I'd hold off on the self mods and partying if I were you. Put the RedBull down...

      In direct sun, could this boil your brain?
      In the winter, could this give your brain frostbite?

    • Re:awesome! (Score:5, Funny)

      by infestedsenses ( 699259 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @11:06AM (#20899845) Homepage

      I can see it now... a big, fat heatsink sticking out of the side of my head, with a frikkin' laser attached to it!

      Oh, glee!

    • What about fevers? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by SwordsmanLuke ( 1083699 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @01:10PM (#20901605)
      Correct me if I'm wrong (IANAD), but I understood that part of the problem with high fevers was that the heat eventually caused brain damage. I wonder if such a device would have a fever-lowering effect as well. Obviously, we're not going to start installing these in every kid with the flu, but I'm curious if this would work.
    • Break out the trepanning tool, aftermarket heatsinks, and Arctic Silver!

  • I wonder... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by torkus ( 1133985 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @10:49AM (#20899613)
    ...if that means we can start overclocking our brains too.

    I can't wait to see people walking around with heat sinks sticking out of their skull. Will they have designer ones? :)
  • Sweet! How much of an overclock can I get versus air cooling?

    • Liquid cooled (Score:5, Informative)

      by benhocking ( 724439 ) <benjaminhocking&yahoo,com> on Monday October 08, 2007 @11:24AM (#20900083) Homepage Journal
      The funny thing is the brain already is liquid-cooled. That liquid being the blood, of course. (Perhaps you were already going for this in your joke, but if so, it'll go over so many heads that I thought it worthwhile to explain it in more depth.)
      • To get the best results, the literature shows that the brain needs to be chilled below normal temperatures. In some old experiments, they would pour ice water directly on an exposed portion of the brain. Two bits of interesting information from that were there were no long term negative effects of reducing portions of the brain to 5C, and in some cases epilepsy was cured. So why did they dump ice water directly? Unfortunately, the brain has more blood flow than most any other tissue. So you are fightin

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by salec ( 791463 )

          So you are fighting the warming effect of the blood.
          Why not cool the neck arteries then?

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Magada ( 741361 )
            Darn good question.
            1. Their idea is to cool only the area responsible for seizures, not the whole brain.
            2. Your idea might work, if not for the fact that it's damn hard to expose those arteries without breaking stuff around them - other arteries, muscles, tendons, veins, important nerves and whatnot; sinking a pipe into a known area of someone's brain is comparatively straightforward.

  • Fan? (Score:5, Funny)

    by InvisblePinkUnicorn ( 1126837 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @10:51AM (#20899635)
    Nice diagram. Is that a fan sticking out the side of the guy's head? Should newegg add a new category for 80mm and 100mm brain cooling fans? Or maybe go water cooled for complete silence? The worst that could happen is it leaks and you finally get the shower you're long overdue for...

    I'd avoid the liquid nitrogen option at this time.

  • Too much heat? (Score:5, Funny)

    by sucker_muts ( 776572 ) <<sucker_pvn> <at> <hotmail.com>> on Monday October 08, 2007 @10:52AM (#20899661) Homepage Journal
    If the problem seems to be too much heat, why do they try to use difficult to install heatsinks?

    Underclocking people! Makes the system way more stable.

     

    • Re:Too much heat? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by torkus ( 1133985 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @10:56AM (#20899709)
      Nonononono. We've already CLEARLY proven that underclocking produces undesirable results. e.g. country music, "war on terror", wardrobe malfunction paranoia, and "for the children!!!11!1one1oneone" movement.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by MikeFM ( 12491 )
        I'd add the war on drugs, the war on immigration, and just throw in a general 90% of the population as being obviously underclocked. Of course my personal problem is that my sleep mode malfunctions - thus explaining this post at 4am.

    • Apparently there is a fault in the design, you can't underclock it anymore without flatlining when you watch reality tv and still peoples brain heat up. Mostly from its fevered attempts to crawl out your ear hole.

      But hey, think of it like this, with proper cooling we can really start poring in the juice and all be geniusses. It will be brilliant, we grow so intelligent cooling our brain and powering it up, we might suddenly realize how stupid that is.

      Now that is irony, overclocking your brain to become sm

    • I thought all brains were liquid cooled....

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by antdude ( 79039 )
      Underclocking makes things slower. Do you want people to go SLOWER? :)
  • there is nothing more annoying than the whir of a pc fan. now we are going to have epileptics walking around with pc fans whirring on the side of their heads? even those chessy looking "turbo" fans for the processor? uggh, ugly too. how do you accessorize that? earings?

    nah, i'd rather they be epileptics. then when they seize, i can just walk away, like any aesthetically responsible citizen. rather that than have to see and hear all of those epileptics walking the street with pc fan assemblies on the side of

    • uggh, ugly too. how do you accessorize that? earings?
      Nah dude. It's all about the cold cathode lights.

    • Actually, take the heatsink, wrap tubes filled with glycol around them, run them through a flask of water, and generate some electricity via the steam. Then use the electricity to run a hard drive brain backup.

  • Heatsink? More like a ground... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Sleen ( 73855 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @10:56AM (#20899719)
    I doubt the heatsink is contributing anything to the patients ability to regulate cranial temperature. More likely, its providing an electrical ground that helps alleviate the conditions that lead to a seizure.

    • Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @11:13AM (#20899937)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by ajlitt ( 19055 )
      That makes perfect sense, since the salts in blood and cranial fluid are such excellent insulators.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by chgros ( 690878 )
      I doubt the heatsink is contributing anything to the patients ability to regulate cranial temperature. More likely, its providing an electrical ground that helps alleviate the conditions that lead to a seizure.
      I'm sure your years of research conclusively prove that those Japanese researchers are wrong.
  • "No, I swear it's not a tinfoil hat! It's a brain heatsink!"

    • Re:Tinfoil Hat (Score:4, Funny)

      by Anonymous Monkey ( 795756 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @11:09AM (#20899891)
      It is only logical that the heatsink would be the visible component. After all, foil keeps the heat in. Therefore the logical setup is aluminum foil hat with a small gap for heatsink connection, and only aluminum components in the heatsink, thus covering the gap in the aluminum foil hat. That way you could have all the benefits of the aluminum foil hat and a heatsink. Also THEY would never know you had shielding under your heatsink.

  • Joke Ingredients (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ajs318 ( 655362 ) <sd_resp2@earthsh ... minus herbivore> on Monday October 08, 2007 @11:01AM (#20899775)
    Didn't Cuddy the dwarf build a "thinking cap" for Detritus the troll, with a clockwork cooling fan to help cool his silicon brain so he could think faster? There's got to be a joke in there somewhere, what with trolls, cooling fans and everything else, but I'm too lazy to put the bits into the right order. Sort of like the maths teacher who, seeing the corridor on fire and an extinguisher on the wall, returned to bed satisfied that a solution existed.
  • It seems like most (all?) heat sinks can transmit heat back (or remove heat by being too cold).

    It seems like haveing a slug on your head that could directly cool/heat your brain accidentally according to weather/environmental factors would be dangerous and scary... or at the least hard to manage.
    • Good point. However, mechanical power can be used to transport heat from a colder place to a warmer place. In other words, with batteries, this system could be made more advanced and cool the brain even if the environment is hotter than body temperature.

  • Science fiction becoming science fact ... (Score:4, Informative)

    by haluness ( 219661 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @11:05AM (#20899819)
    Interesting developement. An analogous idea was used by Alastair Reynolds in Redemption Ark where one of the characters was genetically modified to have high neural processing speeds and required a 'heatsink' (made of bone and blood vessels) to dissipate the extra heat.

  • Medical implications (Score:3, Informative)

    by the_kanzure ( 1100087 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @11:05AM (#20899825) Homepage
    In invasive BCIs, a big problem is getting information out of the head, so many researchers have been using wireless transmission of power and data either by RF (popular) and less commonly IR. The reason they do this is because of infections- and you do not want a brain infection. So how does this heat conduit really work? A direct link from inside the skull to outside the skull is not a good idea, and if there's any skin in between the heat sink and the conduit then that skin is going to die. Maybe it's causing more problems than it solves. If it does what it says it does, then we could easily throw in some more BCIs and not have to worry about too much heat dissipation, which has this nasty tendency to kill brain cells. I maintain a small page on neurotech [heybryan.org].
  • This is from Japan, so obviously this is just another step toward a direct brain interface for battle mechs.

    • This is from Japan, so obviously this is just another step toward a direct brain interface for battle mechs.
      But who is in charge of Gundam?

  • PRIOR ART! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Bill, Shooter of Bul ( 629286 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @11:19AM (#20900023) Journal
    I made one for my brother when I was in High School. He was complaining about the thermostat temperature. My room was always 10 degrees colder, so I didn't want the AC cranked anymore than it was. So I took an old Pentium heat sink fan combo, attached a headband and 9 volt. He used it for a while. I'll ask my parents if they still have it.
    • Smart people would've adjusted the vents throughout the house to control the air-flow better. (My room was closest to the AC unit, so I'm familiar with the problem.)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by lahi ( 316099 )
      The most obvious example of prior art would be the propeller hat, and I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet,

      As Lotus Notes uses it as an icon (for advanced configs or something? I never could figure out!), it "must" be a universal archetype.

      -Lasse
  • How does this not open the brain cavity up to Serious Infections? Re: Meninges: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meninges [wikipedia.org] Aren't our brains "water cooled" (by blood) in the first place?

  • My Canine Experience (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Scot Seese ( 137975 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @11:31AM (#20900183)
    Years ago our family had a Brittany Spaniel that started Grand Mal epileptic seizures at around 1 year of age. Phenobarbitol only moderately increase the time period between seizure clusters by a week or so.

      While comforting the dog immediately post-seizure one evening, I noticed that he felt warm - his entire body was overheated, as though he'd just come in from a long walk on a hot summer day. To me, the obvious thing to do was to crush 10-15 ice cubes, dump them in a ziploc bag and apply it to the crown of his head. The effect was immediate, and amazing. His anxiety and discomfort disappeared immediately, and the "brain chiller" icepack seemed to lessen the severity of any subsequent cluster seizures, and reduce the number of seizures in a cluster (to almost petit mal effect.)

      To me, this feels like another forehead smacking "well, DUH" discovery. ;]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by martyb ( 196687 )

      While comforting the dog immediately post-seizure one evening, I noticed that he felt warm - his entire body was overheated, as though he'd just come in from a long walk on a hot summer day. To me, the obvious thing to do was to crush 10-15 ice cubes, dump them in a ziploc bag and apply it to the crown of his head. The effect was immediate, and amazing. His anxiety and discomfort disappeared immediately, and the "brain chiller" icepack seemed to lessen the severity of any subsequent cluster seizures, and reduce the number of seizures in a cluster (to almost petit mal effect.)

      Thanks for that. Wish I'd thought of it many years ago when I dated a woman who had Grand Mal seizures. I only witnessed one, but it did happen during a hot summer day... hard to watch someone you love struggling and feeling powerless to help.

      I understand there are multiple triggers for seizures, so YMMV, but here's something that worked for her and might help others:

      She tended to have seizures in the morning, during (or shortly after) getting cleaned up for the day. After several times of hearing

    • Re:My Canine Experience (Score:5, Informative)

      by Scot Seese ( 137975 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @01:37PM (#20902039)

          I should add, that if you've never witnessed a Grand Mal seizure in either a human (or animal) - be glad. Short of hollywood's best effort at demonic possession I can't begin to describe how horrible they are to watch. We had to have the dog I mentioned above put down after he cluster-seized for almost a full day (about a year after his seizures began.) It was of great consolation to find out later, talking with people that suffered from epilepsy, that they (usually) are in no pain during the event. They feel an 'aura' (like migraine sufferers) and regain their senses a minute later, exhausted and sweaty on the floor or sofa, or wherever a kind passerby guided them.

        If you ever witness someone experiencing an epileptic seizure,

      1. Catch them if they are falling, guide them gently to the floor and step away. If they have already fallen down, ask bystanders to step back, move furniture, tables, lamps away from them so they do not injure themselves or damage property while their limbs (may) flail uncontrollably.

      2. Wait. Most seizures "ride out" after less than a minute. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RESTRAIN THEM and do NOT attempt to put ANYTHING in their mouth. They very well may bite your fingers off. The "they will swallow their tongue" bit IS A VERY DANGEROUS MYTH.

        If they do NOT stop seizing after 10-15 seconds, if they have injured themselves, if you have reason to believe there is a problem with their breathing or pulse, CALL 911. Not all seizures are epileptic in nature. They may be suffering a stroke, or have a non-epilepsy genetic disorder.

      3. If they "ride out" the seizure, empathize. Help them sit up, hand them their purse, briefcase, smile. Tell them they had a seizure and they're OK, talk as though it happens to everyone every day. GIVE THEM A COLD BOTTLED WATER or buy them a soda, anything COLD. Ask if they feel they need medical assistance.

      4. Be glad you don't live in ancient China or Rome, and the person you witnessed seizing was the Emperor. You would be executed. Thankfully we live in more civilized times.

        If you know any (humans) with epilepsy, suggest they look into getting a seizure dog. What?! Yep! Trained dogs that follow you around, and tell you that you're about to have a seizure. Scientists think they can cue in on changes in body odor caused by chemical changes. They are remarkably accurate, many kids with epilepsy can lead fairly normal lives with seizure dogs, even go swimming and ride bicycles. Their furry little pals just start barking a few minutes before the seizure is going to occur, they get somewhere safe and notify friends or family.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seizure_response_dog [wikipedia.org]

      • I have occipital-temporal lobe epilepsy. It's hard on other people in a different way than for me because I don't remember the seizures, and everyone else does. I come out of them and everyone is shaken, saying stuff like wow, I feel bad for you, it must be difficult etc etc etc and I say, well, I don't remember anything. Seizures are profoundly disruptive to memory. I do have some memories of the actual event, something like extreme pain and screaming agony, but they are very dim.

        There is some pipeline you

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by kuzb ( 724081 )
        If you know any (humans) with epilepsy, suggest they look into getting a seizure dog. What?! Yep! Trained dogs that follow you around, and tell you that you're about to have a seizure. Scientists think they can cue in on changes in body odor caused by chemical changes. They are remarkably accurate, many kids with epilepsy can lead fairly normal lives with seizure dogs, even go swimming and ride bicycles. Their furry little pals just start barking a few minutes before the seizure is going to occur, they g
    • You'll be happy to know that human experiments back up your discovery. Ice water has been poured on exposed human brains to stop seizures with excellent results. Seizures were stopped, and in some cases eliminated permanently. Sounds like a joke, doesn't it? But the results were good enough that the only reason it probably isn't don't today is the craniotomy. However, similar experiments (like what the Japanese are doing) are pushing towards eliminating having a gaping hole in your head.
  • You could also try to develop a temperature sensitive neural inhibitor. That seems more feasible since you don't necessarily have to identify the region you want to be affected.
  • ,,goes best with black rubber suit
  • 1. Blow air through the ears. 2. Put a radiator on the neck and cool the whole brain down. 3. Wear an ice-togue 4. Move to a northern clime and live in an igloo. 5. No profit - solutions are too cheap.

  • MRI (Score:2)

    by RandoX ( 828285 )
    Would an MRI rip this thing out by the roots?
  • Too bad there's only one slot in the head for a heatsink. I wonder if stacking the arms and torso full of them would work.

  • What a great idea. A very visible device that announces to the entire world that the unfortunate wearer is an epileptic. Epilepsy is a disease that many people are ashamed of because it makes them "different" from everyone else. Can you imagine a child being taunted for such a device? I certainly can.

    Even adults are reluctant to admit that they have the disease for fear of being different. About 9 years ago I played in a recreational coed volleyball league run every fall by my apartment complex. I was
  • I'm thinking a passive radiator might work. Say something like an aluminum mohawk -- perhaps shaped like stegasaurus dorsal plates.....

  • with trolls being able to think better when it's cold.
  • In one of Pratchett's Discworld novels (The Fifth Elephant, maybe), Sargent Detritus, a troll, who, like all Discworld trolls, have silicon-based brains, starts wearing a helmet with fans built into it. The fans help cool his brain, allowing him to think faster. Lock him in a freezer for a few hours, he'll figure out the answer to the ultimate question, assuming he doesn't freeze to death first.
  • ...than cutting a hole in the skull. Really a case of "because we can."

    My wife has MS and the episodes of MS are more likely to happen when you get too hot. There are various devices to cool the body and the brain/spinal column in particular, that the MS Society has recommended.

    The simplest is to take a break when you get hot, sit in the shade, and drink something cold to lower core body temperature.

    Next is a "neck tie/ascot" filled with watergel, that stuff they put in the bottom of flowers to slowly rel
  • Some people's migranes are triggered by extra heat in the head, so it might help them ( us ) as well
    • Man enters the brain heatsink shop with an English-Hungarian phrasebook.
    • Hungarian (always reading from the phrasebook): I will not buy this Beowulf cluster - it is incompatible with GNU GPL.
    • Heatsink seller: This is a brain heatsink shop, Sir, we don't have Beowulf clusters here.
    • Hungarian: Ah! I will not buy this brain, it is incompatible with GNU GPL.
    • Seller: We only sell heatsinks, see this one here
    • Hungarian: Ya! - My CowboyNeal is full of OMG ponies.
    • Seller: Do you want a copper brain heatsink or an

  • Effect on other brain functions? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by NewsWatcher ( 450241 ) on Monday October 08, 2007 @08:48PM (#20906333)
    I have epilepsy and have lived with it all my life. This story interests me as much as what it doesn't say, as for what it does say.

    I have undergone brain surgery to alleviate my symptoms and take piles of medicine, but nothing has worked.

    What I want to know are what are the side-effects from this type of equipment. The brain is a very sensitive organ. Just a few neurons misfiring out of the billions in the brain can cause seizures or other symptoms.

    Stopping the brain from overheating is one thing, but stopping natural heat fluctuations in the brain may have unintended consequences.

    We are talking here about the most complex organ in the body. Mess with it at your own risk, as I have discovered.

    Since surgery I can barely tell the difference between different house keys, because the surgery to my right temporal lobe affected my visual memory.

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