rats
Science
Algernon Lives! (Scientists Develop World’s Smartest Rat)
9:00AM Mark Wilson | Hobbie-J is a genetically engineered rat that can navigate mazes faster and recognise toys better than his peers. We just hope the little guy fares better than Charlie and Algernon. More »
Science
Fibre Optic Cable In Your Skull Can Reprogram Your Brain
8:30AM Jason Chen | Stanford scientists discover that by changing a mouse’s neurons to respond to light, they could use fiber optic cables to influence the mouse to do certain things. The trick is to insert plant genes into the brain first. More »
Random Stuff
Bangladeshi Farmer Slaughters 83,000 Rats, Gets Crappy 14-Inch TV
9:20AM Matt Buchanan | Bangladesh has a disgusting rat problem: It imports three million tons of food a year, and rats destroy 1.5-2 million tons of it. So the government made killing rats a legit sport, with prizes. More »
Science
10:40AM Jesus Diaz | It’s not a negative. It’s not frozen. This rat’s skin is blue and its colour may be the secret to avoid spinal cord injuries and paralysis, according to a new study by neurologists at the University of Rochester Medical centre. More »
This Blue Rat May Have The Secret To Avoid Spinal Cord Injuries
10:40AM Jesus Diaz | It’s not a negative. It’s not frozen. This rat’s skin is blue and its colour may be the secret to avoid spinal cord injuries and paralysis, according to a new study by neurologists at the University of Rochester Medical centre. More »
Weapons
In Mozambique, Rats Make Good Mine Detectors
5:40AM John Mahoney | Finding humans to clear minefields is hard. So in Mozambique, they’ve trained rats to sniff out unexploded ordinance, single out its location by pawing at the ground (careful!), and de-mine the field. More »
Online
NYC Launches ‘Rat Information Portal’ With Hotspot Maps
3:40AM Gizmodo US Edition | NYC’s new “Rat Information Portal” is being billed as “a one-stop resource website for New Yorkers’ rat prevention needs.” In addition to tips on how to control rat populations, the website also supplies an interactive “Rat Map” with data on inspections, violations, compliance, exterminations, and cleanups for any property in the city going back three years. Basically, it is a hotspot map for creepy vermin within the city. The idea is to put pressure on property owners who are slow to address their growing rat problems and give everyday citizens the tools they need to fight back. That’s right folks…NYC has declared war against the rats. [Rat Information Portal via SFGate] More »
Science
Robot with Rat Brains Learns to Avoid Obstacles; Holy Crap, a Robot with a Rat’s Brain
9:20AM Adam Frucci | A group of mad scientists from Reading University in the UK have hooked up a bunch of rat brain neurons to a circuit board and gotten it to control a robot. What resulted what a robot on wheels that used its rat brain to avoid running into obstacles. How unsettling! More »
Gadgets
CIA Animal Tech: Bats, Cats and Rats As Covert Operatives
4:20AM Wilson Rothman | I was surprised to learn that the CIA has had a long though not always fruitful relationship with the animal kingdom. In Spycraft, the authors describe many clever animal-assisted devices, from the dead-rat dead-drop pouch to the “acoustic kitty,” a cat with a remote listening system embedded in its body. And what’s this about the 1 million bats the CIA’s precursor, the OSS, were gonna use to firebomb Tokyo during WWII? More »
Toys
