Implants that read and decipher our brain activity have allowed people to control computers, robotic limbs or even remote-controlled helicopters, just by thinking about it. These devices are called BMIs, short for brain-machine interfaces.

But our cyborg future isn’t limited to machines that hook up to our brains. At the University of Cambridge, James Fawcett has created a BMI where the B stands for bladder.  The implanted machine senses when a bladder is full, and automatically sends signals that stop the organ from emptying itself.

So far, it works in rats. It will take a lot of work to translate the technique into humans, but it could give bladder control back to people who have lost it through