Scientists at Hokkaido University in Japan have developed this hydrogel that can somehow “memorize” and “forget” information fed into it, much like how the human brain works. According to Kunpeng Cui, the assistant professor who lead the study along with Prof. Jian Ping Gong, the brain-like system of this hydrogel could be used in some systems, such as making messages disappear for security.
A paper on the research was recently published in the journal PNAS. In the time-lapse video below, you can see the word "gel" sequentially disappearing one letter at a time, due to the fact that each letter cut-out had been exposed to the hot water for an increasingly longer time period.
Find out more about this fascinating hydrogel over at New Atlas.
(Video Credit: Hokkaido Uni/ YouTube)