Some spinal cord injury victims have been able to walk again, using a new stimulation unit that is the brainchild of an American professor. The unit, a clip-on affair that ties in to your body’s nervous system, can, through a series of electrical stimulations, convince the body to move ever so slightly and ever so slowly. Yet any movement is a vast improvement over complete paralysis.

The first successful device requires a 3-second delay, but the person says figuring out the timing is definitely worth the effort. The device isn’t for everyone, and may not work on everyone anyway.

This is actually quite amazing when you think about it. Scientists have figured out a way around what many people see as a one-way street. Building on previous research, the researchers have come up with a way to shock the system into action, as it were.