Tag Archives: cyborgs

Scientists Remotely Control Cockroaches with a Solar Powered Backpack

Posted on by

An international team of mad scientists at Japan’s RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR) has created cyborg cockroaches capable of being steered remotely by humans. And not only that but each cockroach is outfitted with a solar-charging backpack and lithium polymer battery to provide it with all the power it needs to consistently power its steering capabilities. This will end well. And by well, as usual, I mean badly.

The cyborg cockroaches are controlled via minute electrical impulses to either the left or right side of the abdomen (administered via wireless button press by a human), which causes them to turn in that direction. That’s cool, but don’t even think about steering them in the direction of my kitchen.

The scientists imagine the cyborg roaches being used for worthy causes like search-and-rescue missions, although I have the sneaking suspicion they’ll also be used for unworthy causes, like crawling up my pant leg with one of my friends at the controls.

[via TechEBlog]

Watch the second trailer for the ‘Ghost in the Shell’ movie

Posted on by
The live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell is fast-approaching theaters, so of course Hollywood's marketing machine is churning out more trailers in anticipation. The latest teaser is a two-minute affair diving into "The Major" and her mysterious o...

Device Allows Paralyzed Rats to Walk, Human Trials Soon

Posted on by

This poor rat had his little spinal cord severed in a perfectly controlled laboratory experiment… let’s tell him it was an accident; a freak lab accident. While yes, it does indeed suck to be him, the good news is that he’s walking again. The Swiss Federal Institute for Technology (EPFL) has used a new method of spinal stimulation to help the furry little dude walk again.. That’s right, they electrically stimulate the spinal cord to tell the legs what to do.

paralyzed rat walking 620x411magnify

Normally, spinal stimulation is difficult or impossible because any given amplitude and frequency of electric pulses rarely works more then once. That’s right, severed spinal cords adapt to not survive, like the galaxy’s crappiest borg. EPFL, like Captain Picard’s crew, have created a device that automatically adjusts the pulses so that the spine can learn properly. The result is that they’ve developed algorithms that allow them to electrically puppet the rats’ bodies into walking and even climbing stairs.

What’s actually cool about this, rather than just impressive, but sad and creepy, is that human trials are planned for the coming summer. Of course, rather than a gaggle of scientists forcing you to walk up stairs, the plan is to use this in concert with existing technology to help paralyzed people regain control of their lost limbs. That’s awesome.

[via IFL Science]

Harvard scientists grow human cells onto nanowire scaffold to form ‘cyborg’ skin

Posted on by

DNP Artificial skin

Growing human tissue is old hat, but being able to measure activity inside flesh is harder -- any electrical probing tends to damage the cells. But a new breakthrough from Harvard researchers has produced the first "cyborg" tissue, created by embedding functional, biocompatible nanowires into lab-grown flesh. In a process similar to making microchips, the wires and a surrounding organic mesh are etched onto a substrate, which is then dissolved, leaving a flexible mesh. Groups of those meshes are formed into a 3D shape, then seeded with cell cultures, which grow to fill in the lattice to create the final system. Scientists were able to detect signals from heart and nerve cell electro-flesh made this way, allowing them to measure changes in response to certain drugs. In the near-term, that could allow pharmaceutical researchers to better study drug interaction, and one day such tissue might be implanted in a live person, allowing treatment or diagnosis. So, would that make you a cyborg or just bionic? We'll let others sort that one out.

Filed under: ,

Harvard scientists grow human cells onto nanowire scaffold to form 'cyborg' skin originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 20:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TG Daily  |  sourceHarvard  | Email this | Comments