In what could prove to be a major breakthrough, scientists have discovered a new material that could see the human brain merge with artificial intelligence.
The incredible find was unveiled at the American Chemical Society Fall 2020 virtual expo, today (17 August).
Traditionally it has been difficult for scientists to find a material that can be integrated with the human body without causing scarring of tissue.
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However, after testing out multiple types of polymer, researchers at the University of Delaware discovered one, called Pedot, which can do just that.
It also doesn't inhibit signals flowing between the electronic device, the brain or muscles.
Scientists believe that pedot polymers could help treat those who suffer with neurological disorders or conditions relating to the nervous system.
It's also been reported that combining it with dopamine, as researchers have done, could potentially prove useful in treating people with addiction.
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Speaking about the amazing find, the study's lead, Dr David Martin, said: "We got the idea for this project because we were trying to interface rigid organic microelectrodes with the brain, but brains are made out of organic, salty, live materials.
"It wasn't working well, so we thought there must be a better way. We started looking at organic electronic materials like conjugated polymers that were being used in non-biological devices.
"We found a chemically stable example that was sold commercially as an antistatic coating for electronic displays."
Work has already been carried out into how the human brain could be teamed with AI, of course - and Elon Musk is also keen on the idea.
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Earlier this year, the billionaire revealed a few more details about a bizarre neurological device he claims could be used to cure depression and substance addiction.
It's a computer chip that interacts with the brain, and it's called Neuralink.
Neuralink Corporation was started by Musk in 2016, but as yet very little is publicly known about what the computer chip actually does or how it works.
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Musk has said there will be more details about Neuralink on 28 August, but Twitter user Pranay Pathole decided to put a question to the tech billionaire about the things it can do, or will be able to do in future.
Pathole asked: "Can Neuralink be used to retrain the part of the brain which is responsible for causing addiction or depression? It'd be great if Neuralink can be used for something like addiction/depression."
Musk - who recently became the seventh richest man in the world - responded: "For sure. This is both great and terrifying. Everything we've ever sensed or thought has been electrical signals.
"They early universe was just a soup of quarks and leptons. How did a very small piece of the universe start to think of itself as sentient?"
Topics: Science, World News