Next frontier

Science writer Robert Lee Hotz reports on the front page of today's LAT:

Harnessing the electrical echoes of thought, researchers have developed a way for people to control a computer cursor simply by thinking about it.

The device, which so far has been tested successfully on four people, does not require implants, surgery or any other invasive medical procedure, the researchers reported Monday....

The researchers used a skein of 64 electrodes in a cap placed on the scalp to eavesdrop on the wasted energy of thought, tapping into the patterns of neural electricity that normally dissipate in the immediate vicinity of the skull....The volunteers needed more than five weeks of regular lessons to master the basics of the technique, then hours more in practice sessions to refine their new ability.

Also on page one: Day three of the King-Drew series, the pathologist from hell. Part four will detail disarray at the hospital, and part five takes on the county Board of Supervisors.