Scientists at New York University have discovered a new pathway for stimulating nerve-insulating
myelin - which is damaged by Multiple Sclerosis - that will hopefully lead to restoring and
protecting nerve function.
And VAMP is a solar-powered hypersonic entry vehicle designed to collect data in the Earth-like
mid-cloud environment of Venus.
Vsauce! Kevin here. This is Mind Blow! 100
Researchers in Sweden have created a cyborg plant. A liquid solution that included a polymer
was sent through the xylem of the plant - forming a solid wire that conducts electricity while
still allowing the plant to transport life-sustaining water and nutrients. The xylem wires enable
organic electrochemical transistors to convert chemical signals to electronic output, meaning
future uses could include storage systems that convert sugar produced from photosynthesis
into electricity, all happening inside plants. This video shows how they can change the color
of a leaf by manipulating the conductive material inside.
The Haptoclone lets you touch holograms. Telehaptics allows users to send a holographic image that
another person can actually feel and interact with. The box uses ultrasonic radiation pressure
to create the feeling of the holographic image, but the produced force is generally weak.
If it were strong enough to feel like a solid object, the ultrasound would damage your nerves.
But the system allows you to virtually touch fingers with someone in real time.
A computer learning algorithm can detect liars. Researchers at the University of Michigan
in Ann Arbor fed the algorithm 121 trial videos that included speakers’ expressions and
gestures, along with whether they were convicted of perjury. It correctly identified the truth-tellers
75% of the time, with humans managing just 59.5%, and the very best interrogators reaching
65%.
Meanwhile, scientists in Bristol have developed urine-powered microbial fuel cell socks. Based
on the circulatory system of fish, it doesn’t require a powered pump like previous attempts
- all it needs is pee. They say it could serve a ‘proof of life’ function for military
or outdoor gear because it’s capable of transmitting a message wirelessly and only
functions if the person is alive and peeing.
LaserPipe is a snake-arm robot that uses high-powered lasers to weld stuff. So yeah.
Finexus is a project that uses magnets on fingertips to explore virtual worlds. The
fingernail-sized electromagnets are tracked by magnetic sensors, and unlike amera-based
tracking systems it doesn't require a clear view of your hands - and it’s much more
immersive way to perform VR input than a plastic controller. Researchers from the University
of Washington are now focused on adding more sensors and miniaturizing the system - possibly
by creating a glove filled with electromagnets and a wristband to house the sensors.
Plant Lamps provide light sources for people living in the rainforest without using gasoline
or oil. They utilize the free electrons generated from the oxidation process of plant-produced
nutrients in contact with microorganisms in soil - to power the LED lamps. Which is awesome.
Over the past five years Mind Blow has uncovered several innovations that have gone on to experience
huge success, like Nest, a smart thermometer featured in Mind Blow #51. Two years later
it was bought by Google for $3.2 billion dollars.
We’ve also witnessed the very beginning of ideas that were later implemented on a
massive scale. Mind Blow #39, uploaded in April 2012, showcased the pizza button - a
bluetooth fridge magnet from Red Tomato Pizza that automatically ordered a VIP customer’s
favorite pizza. In 2015, Domino’s announced emoji ordering - just Tweet them a pizza emoji
and your order is on the way.
Various Augmented Reality systems have been featured throughout the years, like Invoked
Computing which could turn household objects input devices, GravitySpace, which tracked
users with a pressure-sensing floor, and KinEtre, which animated everything. Well, Amazon was
just recently awarded patents for an augmented reality system that projects images in a room
that users can interact with using gesture controls.
A concept for a smart highway highlighted in Mind Blow #53 featured glow in the dark
lines that would absorb light and emit a glow for 8-10 hours. After a trial in early 2014,
changes were made due to rain affecting the glowing lines and a new moisture-resistant
paint was used. The new smart highway finally went public with glow in the dark lane markers
and a glowing bicycle path. There are now plans to launch glowing lanes in Japan and
China.
If you’ve watched all one hundred episodes of Mind Blow, you’ve spent around seven
hours learning about stories which in just one video range from New Blue Butt Monkey
and Acoustic Levitation to GPS Shoes and Tallest Mohawk. If you’ve thought Mind Blow was
called Mind Blown this entire time…that could be an example parapraxis - a slip that
occurs when the brain is trying to come up with a word or name and simply selects what
it deems to be the best match.
But regardless of how you remember the name, you’ve all come together to view Mind Blow
over 228 million times. So here’s to the future of cutting edge science, here’s to
the next one hundred episodes - and as always - thanks for watching.
Meat-flavored water? Pea butter. New toilet that can flush golf balls? The N64 upside
down looks like a koala's face. A robot designed to scratch your itch? An octopus chair? A
plasma ball watch? Edible spray paint? A beehive for your apartment? A 27 pound lobster. A
dress boat? A one thousand dollar ice pop. And this robotic bear pillow is designed to
tickle your face to prevent you from snoring. And it produces contractions in the lower
intestines that relieve chronic constipation. Hey kid, want a lollipop thermometer? And
a hummingbird feeder for your face. And guitar pee. And a giant brain phone booth. And say
hello to the newly discovered blue butt monkey. And a snake cake. And a one million dollar
gold vacuum with a rap song. A kid in New Zealand recently found a chunk of whale poop
worth $65,000. Like the internet, anternet. Here's the most detailed picture ever taken
of Uranus. Half bear half dog and extinct for nine million years it's BearDog. Who's
hungry for a solid chocolate baby head? Newly discovered loris? Check. Brand new species?
Check. Extremely cute? Check. Venomous teeth? Check. This is a hummingbird hawk moth. Bones
of a new dinosaur were found in Utah and they kinda look like a cow and a triceratops had
a baby. Tweet Pee lets parents know when their baby has peed. This robot tells you if you
have bad breath. I"m a moth and here I am. I'm a moth and now I'm a tree. On land or
on sea. Amphibious RV. Sorry. It's a Mind Blow. Wait, what's a Mind Blow? Ah, I've been
waiting for you, Vsauce. Vsauce, I've come to protect Kevin from the T-1000. Uhh, Terminator?
I was just finishing Mind Blow. Come with me if you want to live. I'm gonna leave you
with a biped robot that corrects its balance if you push it. I'm gonna leave you with a
robotic ape transitioning from a quadrupedal to a bipedal posture. I'm gonna leave you
with a thousand robot swarm that self-assembles into shapes. I'm gonna leave you with a humanoid
robot autonomously playing the metallophone. I'm gonna leave you with a gymnastic robot
landing a quadruple backflip off a bar. I'm gonna leave you with a superhydrophobic knife
cutting a water droplet in half. And as always. And as always. And as always - thanks for
watching. Thanks for watching. Thanks for watching. We'll see ya there. Come on! And
what? Oh. Well. As always - thanks for watching.