Science

How are your surgery skills, and how do you feel about using them on a creepy crawly cockroach? If your answers are between "excellent" and "I'm willing to find out," there's now a way to create your very own, smartphone-controlled cyborg insect.

RoboRoach, from Backyard Brains -- the same science-minded folks who played Cypress Hill to a squid -- is not for the squeamish. Like many of the group's experiments and projects, it requires at least some vivisection. … Read more

When scientists at the University of Washington recently drilled into the skulls of seven people with severe epilepsy and placed thin sheets of electrodes directly onto their brains, they were surprised by the brain activity they observed.

While physicians were studying neuro activity to investigate seizure signals, a separate team of bioengineers was simultaneously on the lookout for exactly how the brains of the seven volunteers behaved as they learned to move a cursor using their thoughts alone. It turns out that, in as few as 10 minutes, activity went from being centered on the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with learning new skills, to areas seen during more automatic functions, such as waving one's hand or kicking a ball.

In other words, in just a matter of minutes these brains behaved as if they had already mastered these Jedi mind tricks.… Read more

Animals can do amazing things, and their behaviors and physical properties have inspired some groundbreaking tech. But what if we could do more with what animals make? Spider silk, for instance, has a tensile strength similar to that of alloyed steel -- and some fascinating potential uses.

But the silkworm is by far one of the most productive animals we rely upon. The silk it produces is strong, lightweight, soft, and beautiful -- and perhaps there are ways to use the creatures in new ways.

To explore the potential relationship between digital and biological fabrication, MIT Media Lab's Mediated Matter research group has created the Silk Pavilion -- a 12-foot-diameter dome that's a collaboration between human designers, machines, and grubs. … Read more

Nowadays breathalyzers are being used to detect far more than just how much alcohol one has imbibed. Researchers in Sweden are working on one that can spot marijuana and cocaine. Scientists in Germany are exploring one that can sniff out heart failure. And researchers in the U.S. are hard at work on one that can detect diseases such as diabetes.

And now, a group of chemists at the University of Pittsburgh is unveiling new sensor technology that could lead to a breathalyzer for not just the detection of diabetes, but the ongoing monitoring of it as well.… Read more

This week, experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats will install the world's first "Quantum ATM" in New York City.

Part art installation, part science experiment, and part social commentary, the new not-so-automated teller machine at 20 Rockefeller Center will take deposits and transfer them to a so-called quantum superposition, allowing the real-world cash to proliferate itself into seven billion accounts in the Quantum Bank.… Read more

If you've spent much time looking into the peculiar world of quantum physics and the notion of a so-called quantum superposition that theoretically allows a particle to be everywhere at once, you've surely thought of some ways that being able to manipulate such properties could be pretty awesome.

In my case, it's the strongest evidence I've found since turning 12 that the Santa Claus I grew up hearing about could actually exist.

But experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats is setting out to put quantum physics to a much more practical use, no matter how impractical the world of finance may find it.… Read more

If you've never heard of the Chladni plate experiment, the principle is very simple. Sound frequencies create patterns. If you can make a metal at certain frequencies, acoustic resonance will cause those plates to vibrate with those patterns.

Normally, you can't actually see this -- unless you sprinkle something granular over the top. Which is exactly what YouTube user Brusspup has done in his latest video. Using a metal plate attached to a speaker, he drove frequencies through it using a tone generator to create intricate configurations of sand. … Read more

Do you need an app to help you think straight? How about a dorky bit of wearable tech that promises to improve your life?

Melon is an electroencephalography (EEG) headband that supposedly helps you focus your thoughts. If you usually need caffeine for that, it could be worth a look.

The subject of a successful Kickstarter campaign that has more than doubled its $100,000 goal, this wireless headband and app "was built to be worn while engaging in a variety of activities -- from working, to studying, playing sports, dancing, practicing an instrument, programming, painting, or doing yoga." … Read more

How close are we getting to actual brain control? It's starting to seem like it's not far off. On the sillier end of the spectrum, we've seen robotic ears and tails that respond to brainwaves, and more recently we've seen a brain interface for designing printable objects, a mind-controlled exoskeleton, and even mind-to-mind communication.

A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota has just added another exciting new technology to the list: a quadcopter that can perform feats of aerial agility, controlled entirely by the pilot's thoughts. … Read more