Tag: body
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18 Again
With unlimited funds and intense commitment, is it possible for a 45 year old to have the body of an 18 year old? That is what tech billionaire Bryan Johnson is finding out with his Project Blueprint, an extreme organ-by-organ regimen he and his team of 30 doctors have created. Jeff and Anthony step through the process to determine is Johnson is a pioneer or a Dracula. [more]
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In the Grip of Necrobotic Spiders
Rice University mechanical engineers are showing how to repurpose deceased spiders as mechanical grippers that can blend into natural environments while picking up objects, like other insects, that outweigh them. Anthony and Jeff discuss the merits of using spider corpses as engineering materials. [more]
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Swallow the Slime and Wear the Fungus
Researchers have developed a magnetic slime "robot" that can shift into different shapes to grab objects. It may be used to operate inside humans without the need for surgery. Anthony and Jeff discuss the notion of swallowing the magnetic slime, and the future of soft robots. Then, the nuclear meltdown in Chernobyl has given birth to a new type of slime that thrives in radioactive environments. Scientists hope it may be a biological key to creating ways for humans to survive in deep space. Jeff and Anthony talk about how sometimes awful events can reveal useful information. [more]
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Suicide Pods and Eating Plastic
A 3D-printed capsule destined for use in assisted suicide hopes to de-medicalize the process in Switzerland. Jeff and Anthony discuss the idea of choosing when - and how - to die. Then, each American might ingest up to a credit card’s worth of plastic through food and water every week. Anthony and Jeff talk about how this happens and what it might be doing to us. [more]
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Awake at 3am and Armageddon was Right
A new paper by a psychology researcher delves into why so many of us wake up at 3am full of anxiety. It isn't simply stress, but a complex interplay of internal and external processes. Anthony and Jeff talk about that unique time of night, and the KLF. Then, the idea of sending a nuke to an incoming asteroid to save humanity is the stuff of bad popcorn flicks, but what if it actually worked? Jeff and Anthony discuss new research that could make Michael Bay's vision a reality. [more]
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Shock Therapy and Space Mummies
Researchers claim, for the first time, to have used custom-fitted deep brain stimulation to substantially alleviate a patient’s decades-long bout with severe depression. Anthony and Jeff discuss the scientific and ethical ramifications of re-wiring the brain with actual wires. Then, what happens to dead bodies on Mars? If humans are gonna go there, then we better be thinking about it! Luckily, scientists are, and Jeff and Anthony might not like the conclusions. [more]
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Lancelot Drink and Headless Slugs
What separates us from the primates? Opposable thumbs? Self-awareness? What if it's water efficiency? Anthony and Jeff discuss a new study just might provide an answer an age-old question in an entirely new way. Then, researchers have discovered a kind of sea slug that can cut it's own head off and regrow its body over a series of weeks. Jeff and Anthony wonder what THAT'S like. [more]
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Trip Down The Stares
In 2015, a psychologist in Italy figured out how to induce a drug-free altered state of consciousness by asking 20 volunteers to sit and stare into each other's eyes for 10 minutes straight. Not only did the deceptively simple task bring on strange 'out of body' experiences for the volunteers, it also caused them to see hallucinations of monsters, their relatives, and themselves in their partner's face. Jeff and Anthony have been recording this podcast for years, facing each other. We finally have an explanation for some of the more unhinged episodes. [more]
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Organ Web
A study claims to have discovered a new human organ that could help scientists better understand its impact on diseases such as cancer. Reports suggests this organ, called the interstitium, is a series of interconnected, fluid-filled compartments found throughout the body. The study also claims the interstitium is among the body's largest organs. Jeff and Anthony make it through the episode without making a joke about the body's largest organs. [more]
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Bio Shock Intimate
When Josiah Zayner watched a biotech CEO drop his pants at a biohacking conference and inject himself with an untested herpes treatment, he realized things had gone off the rails. Zayner is no stranger to stunts in biohacking—loosely defined as experiments, often on the self, that take place outside of traditional lab spaces. Most notoriously, he injected his arm with DNA encoding for CRISPR that could theoretically enhance his muscles—in between taking swigs of Scotch at a live-streamed event. So when Zayner saw Ascendance Biomedical’s CEO injecting himself on a live-stream earlier this month, you might say there was an uneasy flicker of recognition. Jeff and Anthony discuss the body mods they're most excited for. [more]
Do NOT join our secret society. You’ll just wind up with a bunch of cool stuff. It’s gross.