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ICYMI: Reading a fly's mind, real Minecraft phone and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-44671{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-44671, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-44671{width:570px;display:block;}try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-44671").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Neuroscientists figured out what fruit flies are thinking with fluorescent molecules. Minecraft now has an internal smartphone that can be used to text and call people within the game. And this new smart flossing product that gives a strip of floss once the button is pushed also serves to shame your partner for not flossing with lights that come on if a daily cleaning is missed.
Researchers control fruit flies' hearts with a laser
Scientists have directly controlled animals before, but these approaches tend to either require surgery or only work with critters at certain stages in their lives. Researchers might have a more powerful technique in store, however: they've managed to control fruit flies' heartbeats through laser pulses. The approach relies on optogenetics, or modifying the genes of animals to produce materials that respond to light. In this case, the team tweaked flies' heart cells to produce light-sensitive proteins. After that, it was just a matter of zapping the hearts to make them beat on command, whether the flies were larvae or full-grown insects.
Scientists use lasers to make fruit flies do a song and dance
What with their simple genetics and ultra-brief lifespan, poor fruit flies are the go-to insect for mad scientists. Researchers have discovered a new way to make their lives miserable with a mind-altering project called FlyMAD (not kidding). There's even an overly-elaborate plan: motion tracking cameras guide a specially-tuned laser to zap the insects like a tiny missile system. That activates light and heat neurons in their brains, triggering singing and dancing that seduces no actual female Drosophila. The scientists, however, were well pleased, and think they can further manipulate their subjects by perfecting the technique -- which we're sure has infinite real-world application.
Electron showers could create the nano-spacesuit of the future
Historically, whenever man or beast's been bombarded with massive amounts of radiation the results have either been gruesome or wholly fantastical (see: any superhero origin story). But recent research out of Japan indicates that a barrage of electrons could actually help scientists revolutionize microbiology and, more excitingly, space travel. The experiment, conducted by a team from the Hamamatsu University of Medicine, found that the larvae of fruit flies hit with this electron rush were able to withstand an electron microscope's hostile vacuum unharmed and even grew to be healthy adults. The results weren't so rosy for the untreated group which, understandably, suffered a grislier fate: death by dehydration. The magic, it turns out, is in that subatomic spray, as the group treated with an electron shower benefited from a polymerizing effect or, more plainly, a bonding of molecules just above the skin's surface that yielded a tough, protective nano-layer measuring between 50- to 100-billionths of a meter thick. Finesse that technique some and it's easy to why one NASA scientist thinks this could lead to the creation of a super-thin "space shield... that could protect against dehydration and radiation." The process is still far from foolproof, however, seeing as how an increase in the microscope's resolution requires an equal boost in radiation -- all of which is fatal to the insects. So, in order to go deeper and get a more close-up view of the larvae's internals, the team's currently exploring new methods of fabricating these "nano-suits" using an array of chemicals. If you're wondering just how far-off we are from practical human application, then consider this: the amount of radiation required to form the bonded layer is akin to "sunbathing naked on the top of Everest under a hole in the ozone." Which is to say, keep dreaming. And get Jeff Goldblum on the phone while you're at it... we have a promising idea for a Return of the Fly sequel.
Mad scientists figure out how to write memories to brains, take over Earth
Call us crazy, but we're guessing one Gero Miesenböck of the University of Oxford has been watching just a wee bit too much Fringe. Gero here, along with a few of his over-anxious colleagues, has seemingly figured out a way to actually write memories onto a fruit fly's brain using only a laser pen and three-fourths of a Ouija board. We know what you're thinking, and we're thinking the same. But all terrifying thoughts aside, what if boffins could burn memories of hard lessons learned into our minds without us having to suffer through them first? You know, like upgrading to Snow Leopard.
Scandinavian artist merges cellphones and fruit flies, world wonders why
We know that Scandinavians have a reputation for high-tech and ultra-liberal attitudes, but this one may be a bit over the top. Laura Beloff, an artist who seems to have a penchant for her cellphone and for fruit flies, has built what she calls "The Fruit Fly Farm" -- a wearable sculpture involving a transparent acrylic ball that contains a bunch of fruit flies munching away on a piece of rotting fruit. A cellphone is positioned so that its camera can take a picture of the swarm in action upon receiving a text message from the public; the snapshot is then uploaded to a website for posterity and is also sent back to the sender as a reply. If you want to get your own shot of these amazingly boring insects, you've got until November 30 to text +47 92096767 (Norway), after which time the shirtless dude walking around in the Norwegian winter wants to get some clothes on.[Via Textually]
