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backyardbrains.bsky.social
Backyard Brains
@backyardbrains.bsky.social
200 followers 170 following 35 posts
On a mission to democratize brain research by developing DIY neuroscience tools for K-12 and college. Let's start the #NeuroRevolution!

https://backyardbrains.com/
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backyardbrains.bsky.social
🤩 “My goal wasn’t best functioning but low cost, for people who can’t pay more than 200-300 Euros to be able to do simple things like grabbing a cup of coffee or a paper, a ball and the like.”

More in our new blog post 👇👇
blog.backyardbrains.com/2025/03/low-...
A teenager wearing white lab coat and a low-cost myoelectric hand prosthesis that he made himself using parts of Backyard Brains' Claw device.
March 18, 2025 at 1:00 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
You're looking at a functioning myoelectric robotic prosthetic hand custom-built for a person born without left-hand fingers! The engineer: student Jorge Iglesias Costas from Barcelona, who made it using our EMG sensor from Human Spikerbox. Blog post coming soon! #neuroskyence
📷 Jorge IC
A custom-built robotic prosthetic hand made by Jorge Iglesias Costas, using an EMG sensor from Backyard Brains. The hand is black and white, made of plastic, and is being used by a person born without left-hand fingers.
March 9, 2025 at 12:31 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
March 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
March 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
March 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
March 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
March 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
March 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
March 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
Kids can do amazing things as scientists, if we only give them a nudge! Throwback to our report on an incredibly brave teen scientist from Tucson AZ and her research of stress tolerance in first responders. Kudos to her mentors too! #edusky #neuroskyence

👉 blog.backyardbrains.com/2024/05/stre...
March 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
#BrainAwarenessWeek2025 is almost upon us! What exciting activities do you have planned for March 10-16? Make sure to tag us if you're using our kits. 🧠🎊
A Brain Awareness Week poster with a bunch of DIY neuroscience kits by Backyard Brains, a company that creates educational hardware, software and lesson plans.
February 28, 2025 at 6:42 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
Meet Renfield, our ravenous Venus Flytrap! Intern Matías is currently investigating how quickly this fly-loving plant plans for its next meal. (Okay, he isn't really called Renfield. But he does like his flies. 🤫)

More in Matías' blog post 👇👇
tinyurl.com/VenusFlytrapMeal
A Venus flytrap plant with electrodes attached for recording its action potentials as it plans for its next meal.
February 11, 2025 at 5:16 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
From our co-founder's speech at Congreso Futuro, Chile's largest conference on science and technology. Check out the video if you speak Spanish! Tim's live demo of Iron Man's gauntlet a.k.a. The Claw begins at 1:55:04.
▶️ tinyurl.com/BYBCongresoF...
#congresofuturo2025 #neuroscience
Quote from Backyard Brains co-founder Tim Marzullo, reading: "Our dream is that every child in Chile has access to tools to learn and contribute to science." The background shows a girl doing push-ups. Her hands are on the ground next to a Spikerbox, which is a bioamplifier of electrical signals, and a smartphone.
January 19, 2025 at 2:35 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
Wishing you a nice and calm holiday season and a very brainy 2025! 🎁❄️🎄
An illustrated Christmas card showing a Christmas tree decorated with little brains, a bunch of boxes of Backyard Brains neuroscience kits, and the text "Deck the halls with neurons bright, it's a neuro-holiday delight!"
December 27, 2024 at 7:37 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
It's not just about plants. It's about breaking down the barriers in science.
December 20, 2024 at 8:41 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
What makes their achievement all the more special is its demo of open science in action! Students from a public high school in Santiago collaborated with scientists from Germany, Serbia, South Korea, and the United States. They started an open library of plant signaling that anyone can contribute to from anywhere.
December 20, 2024 at 8:41 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
The study showed that with proper mentorship, high-schoolers can conduct original research and publish their findings. This challenges the traditional model where students typically don't publish until graduate school.
December 20, 2024 at 8:41 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
This wasn't just a school project - it was real science. The team collected 398 recordings across five countries, refined the software for custom analysis, and went through rigorous peer review. Their paper was accepted by the prestigious journal 'Plant Signaling and Behavior' after just one round of revisions.
December 20, 2024 at 8:41 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
The team recorded from 16 different plant species, from common herbs to the famous Venus flytrap, measuring their electrical responses to stimuli. 9 of these plants produced measurable electrical signals in response to either touch or flame.
December 20, 2024 at 8:41 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
5 Chilean high-school students became lead authors on a peer-reviewed study about electrical signals in plants. The project, lasted 2 years and proved two key points: that kids can make meaningful contributions to science, and that plant electrophysiology is a perfect area for student inclusion and open science.
December 20, 2024 at 8:41 PM
backyardbrains.bsky.social
Our proudest moment in 2024? 🌱 Seeing a peer-reviewed study published by high-schoolers we mentored. They started an open-source library of plant electrophysiological responses. A prime example of the #openscience spirit that we so cherish!

#edusky #neuroskyence
👇
tinyurl.com/HiSchoolPaper
Proudest moment of 2024 at Backyard Brains: High-Schoolers Publish Plant Paper in a Notable Journal
December 20, 2024 at 8:41 PM