The tongue, besides being creepy, offers plenty in the way of research opportunities, as you know if you're a regular visitor to this space. In the past we've seen a
tongue-based computer interface or two, the
BrainPort sight-via-papillae solution, and this week, at the American Chemical Society's annual meeting, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign introduced a sensor about the size of a business card that detects and identifies fourteen common sweeteners -- including Splenda, Sugar in the Raw, and Sweet'n'Low. The product of a decade of research in colorimetric sensor arrays, it works when dipped into the substance, and takes about two minutes to get results. The team, led by a Professor Suslick (really!), hopes that this leads to a low-cost solution for anyone who needs to monitor their blood glucose levels, and eventually a way to monitor contaminants in food or in the environment at large. We recommend using with
D+caf caffeine testing strips to ensure that you get nothing out of your morning coffee whatsoever.
[Via
CNET]
posted Aug 19th 2009 2:53PM
I was an undergrad at U of I, and Dr. Suslick was on my wife's doctoral thesis committee. U of I is full of mad scientists, go Illini!!!!!
You're right about measuring contaminants if this measures artificial sweeteners..
Can't stand any kind of sweetener...it's just like drinking diet soda i.e. unbearable.
mmmmmmmmmmm diet!!!
it looks like stevita is most like normal sugar
And stevia is probably the only substitute that won't cause the big "C".
And I do mean "stevia" ... not sure if they added anything special to Stevita or PureVia or Truvia.
tastes like shit though as do all these fake sweetners.
The tongue isnt that creepy..... My girls tongue last night was pretty awesome......
Who am I kidding I read engadget..... What girls tongue could I be enjoying?
+1 for the self-deprecating humor
It's like Turrets syndrome, only for geeks...on forums.
does it come with a working mouth.
Interesting how Equal (NutraSweet) and Splenda are nearly identical to that tongue...
And what a difference molasses makes between refined white and Sugar in the Raw...
I want to see High Fructose Corn Syrup tested. Then again, the corn lobby probably put a stop to that.
They need to get with the medical researchers to see if the brain also treats these differently and makes people eat more. All the 'low fat & diet products on the market has made lots of people fatter.
what is Turrets syndrome?
What is Turrets syndrome?
It's like playing Tower Defense and you have too many turrets.
Oh thanks. I've learned something new today.
It's an illness where you think you've a gun turret on top of your head, and you feel like you can blast people with 120mm rounds.
Well.. that's.... interesting. There's something about a computerized tung that's unsettling.
Well, my life's over.
The name “ Brainport” reflects the major goal of this technology – to transfer into the human brain the flow of information from outside environment using as an alternative channel, human skin and the surface of the tongue for particular applications to help people who lost natural sensory systems (vision, hearing, vestibular). Even more, this technology applied as a unique machine-brain interface can extend human abilities in limitless applications for navigation (including firefighters and scuba divers), communication, entertainment and other areas of everyday life and human activities, see Danilov, Yuri, Tyler, Mitchell. BrainPort: an alternative input to the brain. Journal of Integrated Neuroscience, 2005, 4, 4, pp.1-14.
As a scientific research tool, this technology can facilitate our understanding of brain plasticity, open new areas of research in human psychophysics (basically we discovered new way to utilize the electrotactile sensory system), help to understand interactions of information flows in the human brain. As a clinical tool for sensory substitution, this technology tremendously changed the quality of life of people with sensory loss, for example, see PBS video clip, http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/story/97-mixed_feelings.html
Turrets or Tourette Syndrome? Tourette is a tic disorder, more information at http://cefaleias.com.br/enxaqueca