Mess With Your Head

I'm sure many of you have tried the old trick of standing in a door frame, pushing your hands out against the sides then stepping out and having them 'magically' rise. The Boston Globe has an article describing some other mind tricks - including drug-free hallucination. Check it out and try them out.

[h/t: Culture Dish]

Hacking Taste

We've previously discussed on the bayblab the fact that bananas are all sterile clones, on the brink of mass extinction with the right pest or disease. Could the durian be on a similar track? Several different clones of the fruit, described by some as 'smelling like cheese and tasting like meat', exist, and scientists in the Thai government have controversially succeeded in engineering the fruit to have a less objectionable odor. Will the more pleasant odor create an explosion in the fruit's popularity, or will purists insist that a durian by any other name shouldn't smell so sweet? We'll have to track some down for a live tasting on the next podcast.

Those wanting to eat the fruit, but without the unpleasant taste may want to look into Miraculin. This protein, derived from the fruit of a west African shrub has the unusual ability to not only block the sour receptors of the tongue, but also trick the body into thinking their food is sweet! This little sensory hack could have you winning all the lemon eating contests you want, all the while thinking you're munching on candy. In a world of aspartame and other horrible synthetic sweeteners, miraculin could be a step towards a natural 'artificial' sweetener. Just don't over do it, the effect can last for as long as two hours which could make for some odd tasting steak.

Who needs eyes when you have a tongue?

I remember reading about "hacking" your senses a little while back, and an engineer fan of the bayblab sent us this wicked article in Wired illustrating where the field has progressed since. The idea is that the brain is so plastic that it can adapt to process information, no matter where the signal is originating. Basically the brain is very good at processing signals. At first people experimented by implanting strong magnets under their skin and being able to "feel" magnetic lines to determine their orientation. Then someone had the clever idea of using the tongue for sensory input since it has dense nerve inputs to provide a "tactile display". By placing an electrical array on the tongue and relaying signals about your orientation it permitted its wearer to "see" in situations where visual cues are poor such as flying an airplane or diving. Interestingly it has found its way into medical use and is entering clinical trials : "The researchers started testing the device on people with damaged inner ears. Not only did it restore their balance (presumably by giving them a data feed that was cleaner than the one coming from their semi circular canals) but the effects lasted even after they'd removed the mouthpiece — sometimes for hours or days."
Obviously this would be great for blind people too. And I can only speculate about the pleasures of added tactile senses when combined with regular vision. You can read more about this sort of stuff on the author's blog...Also check out this guy who wants to hack your memory!!!