Monkey with brain chip controls limbs of 'Avatar'

Scientists have wired the brain of a monkey to the spinal cord of another as part of research that could ultimately help to reanimate the limbs of paralysed humans.

The "master" monkey learnt to control the hands and arms of a second, sedated monkey in a separate room thanks to a chip implanted in its brain, the Times reported.

“It’s all a bit like the [Avatar] movie,” said Professor Zoe Williams, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School. “The neurons in the brain of the master are fully in control.”

Christopher James, professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Warwick, said: “This has profound implications, most especially for controlling limbs in spinal cord injury, or controlling prosthetic limbs with limb amputees.”