Vaportini is a device that lets people inhale alcohol. And this parasite eats the tongue
of a fish, hooks itself into the muscles of the tongue stub, and becomes its new tongue.
Vsauce, Kevin here. This is Mind Blow.
This DNA gun invisibly tracks criminals for weeks. Developed by UK-based company Selectamark,
the High Velocity DNA Tagging System fires small, soft, green pellets, kind of like a
paintball, filled with a unique DNA code that can penetrate clothing and mark a suspects
skin. The idea is to mark criminals during a riot so they can be arrested later when
DNA tag is revealed using a UV light.
The Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany has an interactive floor that creates a computer-generated
reflection of you. The video screen floor is touch-sensitive and the system uses an
infrared camera and high-resolution projector. It tracks footsteps and beams video up to
the glass. The hope is that this technology eventually leads to new ways of playing games,
controlling objects in the home, or assisting disabled people.
The Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department at NC State University has developed
self-healing stretchable wires. The wire is made of a gallium liquid-metal alloy, and
a self-healing polymer that heals it both mechanically and electrically after being
severed with scissors.
"Dear Diary. Today I's made a desk wit a pillow on it. So's I can sleeps on my desk. Yeah!"
Engineers in Taiwan are developing displays for fingertips. The point is to still be able
to see the display on your smartphone or tablet while your thumb is obscuring it. It even
enlarges the view so it's easier to tap small buttons on a 2.5 cm diagonal OLED screen.
And, you can also see and answer incoming calls with it.
The Artificial Photosynthesis System is being developed by Panasonic and is producing organic
materials with the efficiency of real plants used in biomass energy. It uses sunlight to
produce oxygen from water and carbon dioxide, and they hope to use this to solve global
warming and energy problems. Find the link below for more.
Kilobots are tiny, cheap robots that are being used to research swarm algorithms. Designed
by a research group at Harvard, they cost about $14 each, are 33 mm in diameter, and
can communicate with neighbors up to 7 cm. Now, let's just watch them swarm for a second.
Okay.
The University of Southern California did a real-time MRI study of human beatboxing.
This allows researchers to visualize the movement of the vocal tract from the upper trachea,
to the lips, and the opening and closing of the vocal folds, to help study the mechanisms that
produce various sounds.
Finally, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has a great video of the Lobed Comb Jelly which has comb
rows that diffract light as they swim...
I'm gonna leave you with sperm from two males competing within the reproductive tract of
a female fruit fly...Seriously...and, as always, thanks for watching.
"I have such a large selection of crackers in my grocery store. It's a Mind Blow."
"Wait, what's a mind blow?"
"Ah, I've been waiting for you Vsauce."
"Darth Vader, why are you working in a grocery store?"
"I'm Chad Vader, and I don't work here, I rule here! As day shift manager...Click here
to check out the latest season of Chad Vader..."
"Oh...and, as always?"
"And, as always, thanks for choosing the dark soul half."
"Eh...close enough."