The last time most of us paid any mind to monkey brains was in 1984, when an adventurer/archaeology professor and other guests sat down at Pankot Palace for a dessert of chilled monkey-brain cuisine.

Now monkeys' brains are again sparking conversation. In a new report released online, the journal Nature explains how monkeys have recently been able to control robotic limbs using only their thoughts.

Small probes, the width of a human hair, were inserted into the monkeys' primary motor cortex — the region of the brain that controls movement. The animals were able to control a mechanical arm with only their thoughts, using it to reach for and grab food and even to adjust for the size and stickiness of morsels when necessary, BBC News reports of the experiment.

The demonstration is the most striking to date of brain-machine interface technology. The findings suggest that brain-controlled prosthetics, while not practical, are at least technically within reach. The report's authors say their work could eventually help amputees and people with spinal cord injuries and other paralyzing conditions to gain more control over their lives.

Fryer Grease is Gold
Much to the surprise of many restaurant owners, processed fryer oil is actually not trash, as there have been reports of fryer-grease thefts in multiple states.

The New York Times reports:

The suspects in a growing number of grease infractions fall into a range of categories, people interviewed on the matter said, as grease theft is a crime of opportunity. They include do-it-yourself environmentalists worried about their carbon footprints, warring waste management firms trying to beat each other on the sly, and petty thieves who are profiting from the oil's rising value on the black market.

The grease, which is traded on the booming commodities market, has seen its value rise in recent months to historic highs, driven by the skyrocketing prices of gas and ethanol, making it an ever more popular form of biodiesel to fuel cars and trucks. Biodiesel is derived by processing vegetable oil or animal fat with alcohol.

In 2000, this "yellow grease" was trading for 7.6 cents per pound. Yesterday, its price was about 33 cents a pound, or almost $2.50 a gallon.

As the Balloon Goes, So Goes Hope
A runaway balloon has dashed a French skydiver's hopes for setting multiple world records.

Michel Fournier, a former army paratrooper, had hoped to set four records: the fastest free fall, the longest free fall, the highest parachute jump and the highest balloon flight.

But on Tuesday his ride to the sky left without him, reports the Associated Press.

The helium balloon the retired French Army officer hoped to use to soar to the stratosphere detached from the capsule he was going to use to jump from 40,000 meters (130,000 feet). At that altitude, almost 25 miles up, he would see both the blackness of space and the curvature of the Earth.

However, the balloon — reported to have cost at least US$200,000 (euro127,000) — was inflated on the ground and then drifted away into the sky without the capsule.

Phoenix Photos
NASA's Phoenix spacecraft landed in the northern polar region of Mars on Sunday to begin three months of examining a site chosen for its likelihood of having frozen water within reach of the Lander's robotic arm.

Artist's concept depicting NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander a moment before its touchdown on the arctic plains of Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona

Now the Mars Lander is returning more detailed images from the Martian surface and is preparing its instruments for science operations.

This image, released on Memorial Day, shows the American flag and a mini-DVD on the Phoenix's deck, which is about 3 ft. above the Martian surface. The mini-DVD from the Planetary Society contains a message to future Martian explorers, science-fiction stories and art inspired by the Red Planet, and the names of more than a quarter-million earthlings.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Cheers.