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It’s not every day that science and crazy brain implants lead to the generation of what is essentially a new sense, but it is that day today. Scientists from Duke University have found a way to make rats “feel” invisible infrared light and someday that same tech could give sight to the blind, or give us humans extras senses for fun.
In the experiment published in Nature, rats were first taught to respond to one of three normal, visible lights by sticking their noses into a little port that corresponded with the illuminated light. Then, the researchers implanted small, infrared-detecting microelectrodes — each roughly a tenth of the diameter of a human hair — into the part of the mice’s brains that parses touch. Right after the implantation, the mice reacted to infrared stimulus by rubbing their faces, indicating that they were “feeling” the light, but eventually they learned to respond to it exactly how they’d responded to the visible lights in earlier tests. Something akin to “seeing” it or “feeling” it but not quite either.
Aside from giving the mice a literal (and awesome) sixth sense — the first time a brain-machine interface has been able to do that in adult animals, according to researchers — this kind of implantation could be used to restore something like sight to blind people who have problems with their visual cortex. While their brain may never be able to process sight like a normal person, implants in another, still-working part of the brain could create something functionally similar, whether it’s reliant on infrared light, magnetic fields, or something else entirely. And hey, if we ever want superpowers, this is a decent place to start. [BBC]
Image by Vit Kovalcik/Shutterstock
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What a load of Bollocks!
What a waste of time!
HEY SCIENTISTS, how about doing something immediately useful like stop developing weapons, stopping crime, starvation, poverty, environmental damage, pollution etc. etc. etc. etc. instead of sticking probes into the brains of poor little cute fucking rodents. What! You some kind of pervert. STOP developing technology that fucks up the planet.
What good is giving blind people sight when you SCIENTISTS have contributed largely in the destruction of the fucking planet.
STOP sticking probes into the brains of poor fucking rats. LEAVE THEM ALONE! Why don’t you stick probes into your OWN brains – see how YOU like it.
For clever people you aren’t half STUPID.
A nice well balanced and measured response right here. ^
Something about tarring and brushes springs to mind. Idiot.
Thanks Crow, I thought so too. As regards tarring and brushes, I prefer Tarring a Feathering myself, which is what we used to do to lovers of Brits in Ireland during the troubles.
Yes, a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will,
Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.
No fear, just hate. I am a Sith Lord and desire to see you all dead.
Hi Chris,
As a working scientist and science writer for over 6 years now, i’d just like to say big fuck you, your existence offends me.
Oops missed out an a, most embarrassing. Anyway Chris to re-iterate, using your powerful writing style FUCK YOU
Scientist and writer hey, missed an ‘a’ did ya. Well, perhaps you should go back to college and do a course on, hmmm, ‘Elementary English’ or ‘English as a second language’. Doesn’t give much credence to your writing ability missing out an ‘a’. Tut, tut, tut!
Oh, and thank you, I think my writing style is quite powerful too.
Its spelled you not “ya” Christopher.
Oh and and thanks required I was being sarcastic.
Though I know its never wise to feed a troll let me re-re-iterate
You are a cancer.
The feeling is mutual.
Chris you are a cunt.
Which is MUCH better than being a jimmyb12. Thanks for the compliment. I LOVE cunts. You obviously don’t, which means you’re pervert.
People like you should be banned for receiving medicine.
I don’t receive medicine anyway because, unlike Americans I am not fat and not unfit.
I pity the fool Chris who gets shouted at a lot for being imbecile
Please place the letters WAT after your name.
contents fine but u need to work on ur delivery dude
Sorry, dude, I’m working on it.
Well it is actually fucked up to use rats that way, I agree. But when you say “What good is giving blind people sight”, and imply all scientists are bad, they’re you’re a fucking idiot. As for fighting starvation poverty etc, I’m pretty sure there are already scientists working in those fields. There’s probably some working in crime too since science is used for forensics and there’s probably people looking for other methods. Also we need weapon development, for one thing we need defences from missiles, but also what happened when a country wants to start a war? I don’t see North Korea playing nice for example and demolishing their weapons.
Americans with guns in America will kill more people than North Korea will EVER do.
If you genuinely believe that then you are not just a CUNT but a mentally challenged CUNT! Life must be tough.
Oh, jimmyb12, afraid of the nasty wasty North Koreans are we, DUR!. Never mind. If you believe the North Koreans are any threat to anyone then it is you who in mentally challenged.
Now, lets see…
Americans killed by Americans in 2012 = 32,929 (by guns)
Americans killed by North Koreans in 2012 = 0
Home goal there for the goddam yanks.
Your government dear jimmy wimmy are controlling you with FEAR. The threat from North Korea is like the threat from Weapons of Mass Destruction – doesn’t exist.
Mind you, if they made Weapons of Ass Destruction: Bang goes America and you”ll be first.
The yanks were late for the first two world wars, perhaps they’ll be real prompt for WW3.
And yes Dimmyb12, I do genuinely believe you are a pervert, or a pervert for a thing for North Koreans.
Failing to see the irony in your own posts? You complain about scientists doing things you disagree with, and then go on immediately to express your enjoyment of people being tarred and feathered, and how you wish everyone was dead.
Mammy should’ve smoked less, I guess.
No irony, just a wind-up. I never said I ‘enjoyed’ tarring and feathering, I said I preferred it to your option. Tarring and feathering doesn’t actually hurt anybody, its just a bit messy, and as for the Death bit, well, you are going to do that all by yourselves (aided by your scientists) with no input from me. It’s just a question of when.
I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species, and I realised that humans are not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment; but you humans do not. Instead you multiply, and multiply, until every resource is consumed. The only way for you to survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern… a virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer on this planet, you are a plague.
I reckon you’re a 15 year old public school boy, definitely not worth the effort.
Quoting the Matrix, I’d say you’re spot on.
“I don’t want to be human! I want to see gamma rays! I want to hear X-rays! And I want to – I want to smell dark matter! Do you see the absurdity of what I am?” -Brother Cavil
“Feeling” Infrared! Look’s like we’re getting there before you my dear angry Cylon!