Small steps for a man

A paralysed man took his first steps in ten years this week after receiving
experimental treatment that restored control of his legs. Marc Merger, 39, of
Strasbourg in France, moved his legs by pressing buttons in a cane linked to a
small strap-on computer that reproduces the pattern of neural signals from the
brain that allow us to walk. These signals are transmitted by radio to a device
in his abdomen, which is linked to 50 electrodes on his leg and hip muscles. The
treatment is part of an eight-year project funded by the European Union. Merger
still needs to…