Ewww and Coool
Totally gross and totally awesome.
Ever sit around wondering what the the thoughts of a roach sound like? Not reading it’s mind but hearing the neurons fire? Me either but now we can!
SpikerBox lets you listen to bugs’ neurons
Neurons, the nerve cells that send and receive electrical signals within the body, are one of those things that most of us probably don’t give a lot of thought to. Educational entrepreneurs Timothy Marzullo and Gregory Gage, however, think about them a lot. They think about them so much, in fact, that they’ve designed a gadget that lets anyone listen to the neural electrical activity of bugs, and conduct a series of interesting experiments. It’s called the SpikerBox, and oh yeah – in order to use it, you have to take the leg off of a cockroach.
The SpikerBox essentially consists of a microprocessor, a speaker, and two neural probes (also known as metal needles). Everything is powered by a single 9-volt battery.
Users start by grabbing a handy invertebrate, such as a cockroach or cricket, and briefly dunking it in ice water to anesthetize it. They then carefully cut off one of its legs, which Marzullo and Gage assure us will grow back. Next, that leg is placed on a surface such as a cork board. One probe is then stuck into the base of the leg, to serve as a ground, while the other is placed higher up and serves as a recording electrode.
more over at gizmag.com
Additionally, the device can be hooked up to an iOS or Android device running a custom app, providing users with a visual display of the neural activity.
The SpikerBox can be seen in use in the video below. It’s available now, for US$99.98.
Cockroaches are extra.
Source: Backyard Brains
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