In the blink of an eyelash . . .

Harnessing the electrical impulses of sight, scientists have built a robot guided by the brain and eyes of a moth.

As the moth tracks the world around it, an electrode in its tiny brain captures faint electrical impulses that a computer translates into action.

The moth, immobilized inside a plastic tube, was mounted on a 6-inch-tall wheeled robot. When the moth moved its eyes to the right, the robot turned in that direction.

The research, presented at the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting in San Diego this week, marked the latest advance by scientists who are trying to perfect the link between brain and machine.

The technology might one day help people who are paralyzed or have lost their limbs regain the ability to move. Scientists have developed experimental devices that allow those patients to move cursors on a screen or crude robotic hands using only their thoughts.