and more before market opensRecent advances in our still-shallow...

and more before market opens

Recent advances in our still-shallow understanding of the human brain have led to a renewed interest in companies that focus on neuroscience.

The most famous neuroscience startup, Elon Musk’s Neuralink, is probably the first company that comes to mind in this space.

Neuralink recently released a video of a monkey implanted with a Neuralink chip playing a version of the game Pong with its mind.iously, it went viral.

The company’s goal is to eventually create “high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect humans and computers.”

Another story that went viral was a study from the Journal of Neuroscience, who suggested that our brain activity may be a better predictor of stock price changes than prior market trends.

According to that study, scientists were able to accurately forecast market price changes (up or down), based on the average brain activity among a group of people.

As these technologies develop, we’re seeing more and more the blurring of the line between computers and biology.

On the ASX, there are companies that focus on the brain – ranging from self-assesment apps, brain cancer fighters, to pure play technologies that try to mimic the brain itself.

Patrys (ASXAB) is one example of an ASX company that fights brain cancer.

The company announced yesterday that new preclinical data for its deoxymab antibody, PAT-DX1, has been published in a leading, peer-reviewed journal The Journal of Clinical Investigation—Insight.

The data, which was obtained from studies conducted in three different animal models, demonstrated the ability of Patrys’ PAT-DX1 antibody to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and significantly inhibit the growth of both primary and secondary cancers in the brain.

The company said it is now on track for the first human study of PAT-DX1, pencilled in for the first half of 2022.

Another ASX company that focuses on the brain is newly listed stock, HitIQ (ASX:HIQ), which made its ASX debut yesterday.

Using sensor technology embedded in the mouthguard, HitIQ’s device measures the biomechanics of the head and uses motion detection to quantify head impact forces.

It raised $10m from investors at 20c per share, and closed the first day of trading at 26c, a 30 per cent gain.

While HitIQ has gained early traction with elite sports leagues, it says the longer-term vision is to leverage that data into a broader healthcare platform solution around concussion prevention and rehabilitation.