"(Friday, June 1, 2012) - Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have figured out how to get paralyzed rats walking again, and they suspect that they can do the same for people.

In a study published Friday by the journal Science, researchers explain that they severed nerves in rats’ spinal cords by making two incisions half way through at two key points. The rats were later fitted with a special backpack-looking robotic device that delivers targeted electric shocks, enabling them to begin walking on their own again after just a few weeks of regular training.

The robot works by delivering a shock to the spinal cord that causes the rat’s lower legs to contract and extend in a walking movement that’s entirely automated, triggered by the rat’s own willful attempt at movement..."

READ HERE