A new toxin has been found to kill cancerous cells while ignoring healthy ones, and it
comes from Brazilian wasps.
And meet the Hedgehog, a robot designed to explore the surface of a comet.
Vsauce! Kevin here. This is Mind Blow.
Researchers at UCLA have helped a paralyzed man walk by stimulating his nerves and putting
him in a bionic suit. By combining a treatment called epidural electrical stimulation with
a nerve-stimulating drug, the team was able to train Mark Pollock's nerves to have a higher
motor threshold so they could connect to the brain. The treatment is a proof of concept
and the suit acts like training wheels, supporting the patient's legs and adjusting itself based
on how much assistance is needed. Aside from walking, the treatment appears to improve
blood pressure, heart rate, and bladder function to raise the quality of life for quadriplegics.
Eter9.com is a website designed to create an immortal digital version of yourself.
It learns about your posting habits and use of language to create what they call your
counterpart, a virtual artificial intelligence that will post on your behalf even when you’re
not signed on and will continue to keep posting after you die.
Virtual robots are being used to study how cooperation amongst certain insects evolved.
The robots were placed in a virtual environment that simulated a tree with falling leaves,
and then observed over many generations. While initially the robots behaviors were erratic,
after 2,000 generations of digital breeding the robots had developed specialized tasks
despite all starting with the same programming. This discovery not only sheds light on the
evolution of insects, but also suggests that simulations could be used to improve and adapt
real swarms of unspecialized robots to specific tasks.
The IceCube Observatory in Antartica has confirmed the existence of cosmic neutrinos. Neutrinos
are high energy particles that are nearly impossible to detect due to their ability
to pass through almost anything unaffected. Detecting cosmic neutrinos is important because
they’re able to carry information across the universe, like the origins of high energy
cosmic rays, and can even alert us to the presence of supernovae before they’re visible
from earth.
The climate engineering firm transpolar has create a membrane that could cool entire cities.
These photonic membranes reflect incoming sunlight back into space and convert the heat
into infrared light without the use of electricity or water. They could be used to cool large
areas sustainably, and there’s currently an installation in Paris showcasing it that
runs until October 4th.
The solar sunflower is a hyper efficient way of harnessing solar energy. With an energy
efficiency of 80% it uses a liquid cooling system to draw heat away from the solar collectors
so that it doesn't overheat. A single device could power 2- 4 houses, but as of now concerns
over its cost and functionality without direct sunlight could keep it from seeing commercial
use.
Real Virtuality combines motion capture technology with VR headsets. It allows for multiple users
to interact with a virtual environment and each other in real time. The rendering of
the environment happens so quickly that two users can toss a torch to each other without
having to remove their headsets. This represents a huge step in virtual reality gaming and
could also change the way soldiers, firefighters and many other professions are trained.
Researchers at the University of San Diego have created 3D-printed microscopic fish.
Designed for medical purposes these microfish use iron oxide and platinum nanoparticles
in their head and tail to change direction and speed. They’re chemically powered,
magnetically steered and could be used to deliver medicine to different parts of the
body or to sense and remove toxins.
Meanwhile, researchers at Penn State have created a polymer that self heals when it
comes into contact with water. And it’s made with genes from a squid. The team found
that squid teeth possess self-healing proteins which they were able to replicate in the lab.
And they hope to use this to create underwater fiberoptic cables that can be repaired because
currently if one breaks the cable must be completely replaced.
Finally, MIT has invented a 3D printer that can print ten different materials simultaneously.
With Multifab you integrate these two worlds of traditional manufacturing and 3D printing
and by putting them together you can create a whole new range of objects that we haven't
been able to make today.
I’m going to leave you printing glass. And as always - thanks for watching.