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Apparently,
surviving a nuclear holocaust isn't enough. Science has created a cyborg
cockroach, complete with its own power source. What could possibly go
wrong?
What's next? Lasers? Link (Photo: Shutterstock)In a first step toward making these technologically enhanced insects a reality, scientists have devised a way to power bug-robot hybrids by tapping into their own metabolism.
The secret: an implantable biofuel cell powered by a sugar the cockroaches make from their food.
The device doesn't appear to harm the insect either. Neurobiologists on the team implanted the tiny device into the abdomens of five immobilized cockroaches independently, measured the power it produced and removed it. The cockroaches appeared to behave normally afterward, said Daniel Scherson, the senior researcher and a professor of chemistry at Case Western Reserve University.
Although the device converted the sugar into energy slowly, the electricity it generated could be stored in a battery and used in bursts, Scherson said.
You will be emancipated. Resistance is futile. Chris Krahn of Boise Tattoo made this tattoo for Michael Vellotti. Krahn’s website is worth a look. He has some really interesting pieces of work there, including one of Benjamin Franklin as an Old West robber. Link | Artist’s Website
I don’t know what this is. There are captions written in the Cyrillic alphabet. But it’s very clear that this would have been the basis of the greatest Lassie series ever.
via Super Punch | Previously: Cat Lassie is Unconcerned with Your Suffering
Engineers at the University of California at Berkeley have developed remote-control beetles that can be used as spies! They aren’t just robots, either. These are cyborgs, real beetles that have implanted electrodes that control their flight muscles.
With the mind of a machine and the nimble body of an insect, this bug-bot may be the perfect scout: inexpensive, expendable, and capable of surreptitious reconnaissance. The Berkeley researchers, led by Michael Maharbiz, note that beetles are strong enough to carry useful payloads, such as a miniature camera.
(image credit: Hirotaka Sato and Michel M. Maharbiz, U. C. Berkeley)
