cyborgs
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Watch the second trailer for the 'Ghost in the Shell' movie
The live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell is fast-approaching theaters, so of course Hollywood's marketing machine is churning out more trailers in anticipation. The latest teaser is a two-minute affair diving into "The Major" and her mysterious origins. Little is revealed but there are plenty of hints concerning her previous life. While the government has given her one story, the film's shady villain, a damaged but dangerous cyborg called Kuze, is offering another, quite different version. Much of the movie, it seems, will focus on The Major hunting Kuze and the truth simultaneously.
7 real-life cyborg implants
By Cat DiStasio Medical technology advances faster than the speed of light, or at least that's the way it seems sometimes. These days, there are implants to treat all sorts of afflictions, and researchers are developing new medical devices that can help a person become a little more human than human. You can implant a bionic lens to get superhuman eyesight, get a tattoo to manage diabetes and -- someday soon, hopefully -- use a wireless device to control fertility. Read on for more amazing medical implants that can enhance your life in ways you never thought possible.
Defiance shows off the 99er faction
Defiance's latest video teaser is showing off another villain group. The 99ers, despite their name, do not lure you into their lair with the promise of free popcorn and a markedly robust gluten-free menu; instead, they're crazed former miners who have augmented themselves with extensive cybernetic hardware. And continue mining. That part seems a little bit odd, since they're not willing to interact with others or sell off all the ore they're mining, but we'll go with it. 99ers are known to be extremely territorial and have physical abilities far beyond that of human beings. Players are advised to be on the lookout for unprovoked attacks by the miners, who control most of the valuable resources within their region of operation. Players should aim for exposed and unaugmented heads or visible fuel sources during a combat encounter. Or they can just shoot the crazy cyborgs until they fall apart; that would probably work as well.
Harvard scientists grow human cells onto nanowire scaffold to form 'cyborg' skin
Growing human tissue is old hat, but being able to measure activity inside flesh is harder -- any electrical probing tends to damage the cells. But a new breakthrough from Harvard researchers has produced the first "cyborg" tissue, created by embedding functional, biocompatible nanowires into lab-grown flesh. In a process similar to making microchips, the wires and a surrounding organic mesh are etched onto a substrate, which is then dissolved, leaving a flexible mesh. Groups of those meshes are formed into a 3D shape, then seeded with cell cultures, which grow to fill in the lattice to create the final system. Scientists were able to detect signals from heart and nerve cell electro-flesh made this way, allowing them to measure changes in response to certain drugs. In the near-term, that could allow pharmaceutical researchers to better study drug interaction, and one day such tissue might be implanted in a live person, allowing treatment or diagnosis. So, would that make you a cyborg or just bionic? We'll let others sort that one out.
Eyeborg filmmaker fires up eye-cam to document cutting edge prosthetics (video)
In late 2008 filmmaker Rob Spence, caught our attention when he announced his plan to jam a video camera in his skull to replace an eye he lost to an unfortunate accident. Instead of connecting the camera to his brain, Spence sought to become a so-called "lifecaster," recording the feed on an external device. Now his bionic eye is up and running, and he's even partnered with a little company called Square Enix to create a documentary about state-of-the-art prosthetics and cybernetics. The short film, embedded after the break, was commissioned to celebrate the launch of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. But, this isn't just some over-long commercial for a game, it's a serious exploration of cutting-edge leg, arm, and eye replacement technology. Check it out below, but be warned -- there are a few images that might not sit well with weaker stomachs.
Cyborg beetles commandeered for test flight, laser beams not (yet) included
Remember that DARPA initiative from a few years back to create cyborg insects? With funding from the agency, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have managed to control a rhinoceros beetle via radio signals, demonstrated in a flight test shown on video at this week's IEEE MEMS 2009 conference. A module placed on the arthropod uses six electrodes affixed to the brain and muscles to commandeer its free will. The device weighs 1.3g -- much less than the 3g payload these guys can handle, and with enough wiggle room to attach sensors for surveillance. Ultimately, scientists say they want to use the beetle's own sensors -- namely, its eyes -- to capture intel and its own body energy to power the apparatus. Keep an eye on this one, we expect it to play a major role in the impending robots vs. humans war.[Thanks, Mimosa]
HP's Handheld sp300 All-in-One scanner/printer brings cyborg revolution to warehouses everywhere
As managers race to turn their warehouse workers into cyborgs, HP is there to help with its Handheld sp400 All-in-One scanner / paperless printer of arm-mounted doom. This strap-on contraption is a wireless scanner / printer / barcode manager that turns warehouse drones into human intake and inventory machines. To be fair, the sp400 does have some benefits, like not requiring thermal labels and a reduction in paper waste with its built-in document imprinting function. Most importantly, though, be sure to see the video at the read link -- you'll be wishing you too could work in such an efficient warehouse![Thanks, Sonya]
Ultimate PS3 fanboy goes cyborg ... not really
As incredibly bizarre as this is, we couldn't resist posting it. Kotaku reader Jonathan sent in a picture of himself to the site; apparently, he soldered the controller pieces into his flesh had a little fun playing PlayStation cyborg. Don't we all do this when we come home after a long day? Oh, you don't? Oh... whoops, said too much.Anyway, it's good to know that a functioning DualShock controller was not harmed in the making of his photo; good thing it was already broken before being disassembled. Now what we want to know is: are there any more PlayStation cyborgs out there? Well, if so, you should unite and conquer the world ... as suggested in this song (contains some explicit lyrics).
