This week, science has managed to realise the frightening reality of a cyborg rat with Terminator-vision. Plus we might have finally discovered the appendix isn't quite as useless as we previously thought. Oh, and next time you get dumped, you can blame it on the oxytocin, all in another exciting week in science.Terminator vision given to a rat One day we might be able to augment our bodies with upgrades like night-vision. Researchers have managed to plug-in an IR-camera into a rat's brain, allowing it to actually sense infrared light. It allowed the cyborg rats to find an IR light in a pitch-black room and activate a button, as if they could see it through a built-in sense. Real-life Terminator vision might be closer than you'd think. [New Scientist]Oxytocin is the love drug that keeps us locked together Although we'd like to believe otherwise, the heart has nothing to do with love - it's all in the mind. Scientists have now found the hormonal cause of long-term love. Oxytocin is released as we fall in love and is imperative for a long-lasting relationship, enhancing communication, and acting a bit like nature's 'love glue'. So next time you get dumped, it probably wasn't you, it's a lack of oxytocin. [Scientific American] Looks like that appendix isn't totally useless after all The appendix is apparently a very misunderstood organ. Previously thought to do absolutely nothing for us, just a leftover from when we used to eat grass, now researchers think they've found a
Comment