Okay, so this whole digital tattoo concept still seems more reasonable than littering one's body with Zune imagery or the BSOD message, but we're still a tad creeped out. Dreamed up by Jim Mielke, this minuscule, implantable display would reportedly connect to an artery and a vein for its power and could display caller ID information as well as video chats right on one's arm. Best of all, this thing won't become the source of all kinds of regret when you head over the hill, as it could also be used to constantly monitor certain aspects of your health and give you a heads-up if anything goes awry. If you're not squirming in your seat at the mere thought of this, it may indeed be right down your alley -- one day, that is.

[Thanks, D]

Tanita's been known to mesh gadgetry with health before, but its latest creation really goes beyond the call. This body fat measuring system apparently enables patients to remain firmly glued to the bed / sofa / etc. rather than actually, you know, getting up and moving, when checking out just how out of shape they are. Truth be told, the device was designed to allow "bedridden or physically-handicapped people" to check up on their BMI without having to be uncomfortably repositioned, but it's still a device the lazy could love. Click on to the read link for lots more pictures -- if you can muster the will power, that is.

[Via TokyoMango]

C'mon, linking actual brain cells to a silicon chip might sound a bit sensational at first, but considering the work that's already been done on replacement retinas and human brains, Ted Berger's recently-hyped work is pretty much right on time. Essentially, the USC researcher has spent the past decade or so "engineering a brain implant that can re-create thoughts," and moreover, certain implementations could even "remedy everything from Alzheimer's to absent-mindedness." We know, thoughts of instantaneous brilliance are running wild through your mind, and considering that Ted (and his highly-regarded team) have figured out how to link a silicon chip to actual brain cells and elicit responses, the possibilities are indeed nearly endless. Put simply, Berger hopes that brain disorders that are currently battled with intensive drug regimens with less-than-exciting side effects can be solved "by simply implanting a few computerized brain cells." Of course, the team admits that it's "years, maybe decades" away from hospital-approved apparatuses, but if you're interested in reading (a lot) more about "the future of brain science," grab your specs, prepare your paltry short term memory, and hit the read link for all the insight.

[Via MedGadget]

Sure, there's quite a few ways to sniff out fibs for those who just can't "read" body language all that well, and there's certainly a entire market saturated with massage chairs that supposedly coax your muscles in return for a hefty sum of cash, but it looks like Sanyo's lineup of massage seats just might sport a hidden agenda. According to Sanyo's ever-descriptive website, its array of massage chairs sport "physical shape sensors, power recline, and GK roller technology" among other things, but the standout feature is the "stiffness detection sensor" that "locates areas of physical stiffness and gauges fatigue by changes in skin temperature, perspiration, and pulse." Interestingly enough, those three measurements are the things lie detection tools are made up of my friend, so if you've got the 1337 skills to wire up a massage chair to some swank analytical software, you could potentially extract just about any truth you ever wanted while the culprit simply enjoys the ride.

[Via CNET]

We're sure there's quite a few of you out there that have already vowed to make good use of that Nike+iPod kit you received this holiday season in order to shape up in 2007, but for those who just don't have the time (or adequate willpower), LipoSonix could help you fool everyone into thinking you actually kept your resolution. While liposuction has become frighteningly common here in the States, a Seattle-based medical device company is hoping to give folks a "less invasive" alternative to the messy methods currently used. Preferring the term "body sculpting," the company claims that its technology "works by focusing high-intensity ultrasound through the skin into precise locations within subcutaneous adipose tissue, which permanently disrupts the adipocytes without damaging the epidermis, dermis, or underlying tissues and organs." In short, a specially crafted ultrasound transducer can purportedly eliminate unwanted tissue quickly, causing "minimal downtime and bruising" to patients, and hopefully costing less than procedures done today. Although we can't promise this (admittedly bizarre) technology will be available by year's end, initial clinical testing has reportedly been quite successful, but until a few more guinea pigs have survived for an extended period of time, we'll be sticking with the tried and true "working out" method.

While the folks behind the AACS could probably use a few pointers about constructing a sufficient lock of their own, a group of scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovat, Israel have crafted a molecule-sized "keypad lock" that "only activates when exposed to the correct password, a sequence of chemicals and light." Organic chemist Abraham Shanzer and his colleagues suggest that their invention could "lead to a new level of safeguards for secret information," but we tend think the infamous hackers of the world would inevitably crack the code. Nevertheless, the molecule -- dubbed FLIP -- houses a core linker that mimics a bacterial compound that binds to iron, and attached to it are two molecules that respectively can glow either blue or green. Using three "buttons," which just so happen to be an acidic molecule, an alkaline compound, and ultraviolet light, the lock can be "opened" if given the right sequence of chemicals and light, and there's a grand total of two noticeable results possible. Interestingly, the researchers have insinuated that their creation could be used to recognize "when certain sequences of chemicals (like harmful toxins) are released in the body," but we haven't heard a 10-4 from the US Army just yet.

[Via Yahoo, thanks, Antonio H.]