Good Science

I came across this article today regarding a new (and really, truly amazing) application of science, technology, and design.  Dean Kamen's company, DEKA research was awarded a defense contract from DARPA in their efforts to create prosthetic limbs for returning soldiers.  What they came up with, and what they inspirationally call the "Luke" arm, is a highly advanced, modular, prosthetic limb.  It is such an amazing application of not only technology, but also great design principals.  They prioritized what was important to the users of such a device, and ensured the actual product as fit within those defined specifications.  It seems extremely promising.  The next step, and what I now wonder about is how far along is research in the area of being able to send and receive information directly to and from the brain.  :)  It would be great to be able to control this device without having the added set of physical controls.