geekosystem

Craigslist has brought us a great many wonderful things, and now this: A 1970 Volkswagen Beetle, heavily modified to resemble KISS bassist Gene Simmons. All it takes is $10,000 and an open mind.

The tongue is a strong muscle that plays a role in our ability to speak and digest (and taste) food. But for paralyzed individuals, the tongue could also be the key to gaining some mobility. Researchers at Northwestern University, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, and the Shepherd Center in Atlanta have launched a clinical trial of a tongue drive system for wheelchairs. The system is based on first piercing users' tongues with a magnetic stud. A headset with sensors that can read the magnetic signals emitted from the piercing is worn by the user, who moves their tongue to signal the desired movements of their wheelchair. For example, pointing the tongue to the upper left corner of the mouth will signal the wheelchair to move forward.

Though you probably never gave it a moment’s thought, it turns out we’ve been wrong about how hummingbirds drink. A new article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences used high-speed imagery of a hummingbirds split tongue to determine what, exactly, happens when a the fast-flapping birds go in for a drink. Conventional [...]