The Physics World 2023 Breakthrough of the Year goes to a Swiss–French team led by Grégoire Courtine at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Jocelyne Bloch at Lausanne University Hospital and EPFL and Guillaume Charvet at CEA-Leti for the development of a digital bridge that restores communication between the brain and spinal cord. When tested on a man with paralysis, the system enabled him to stand and walk naturally.