Tag: sense

Impact Lab > sense
Inventions, New Inventions, Science & Technology News, Virtual Reality, VR, Wearables, Weather

Now You Can Feel Wind and Temperature While in Virtual Reality

Realistic visuals and audio are essential to shaping an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience. But these researchers from the National University of Singapore believe VR shouldn’t just cater to sight and sound. For the ultimate VR experience, other senses should come into play as well.

Last year, Nimesha Ranasinghe and his team demonstrated how electrodes can be used to add a sense of taste to VR. Their latest accessory, Ambiotherm, adds another element of realism to the experience: atmosphere.

Continue reading… “Now You Can Feel Wind and Temperature While in Virtual Reality”

Big Problems, Internet of Things, privacy

Will our smart home monitoring devices spend more time monitoring us than our homes?

smart home monitor 5d8h

Just as people originally bought mobile phones to protect against hypothetical emergencies, so internet-connected smart devices now often sell comfort from fear. Motion cameras that deter evil babysitters. Recording doorbells that stave off solicitors and burglars. Propane scales that avert cook-out disaster. Sensor-tentacled boxes that warn against flooding.

Continue reading… “Will our smart home monitoring devices spend more time monitoring us than our homes?”

Brain, Food, Health & Fitness, Human Behavior

Why Does Mint Make Your Mouth Feel Cold?

mint_lump_candy 3412
Mint is a chilling herb and flavor
When you chew a piece of mint gum and then take a drink, the drink seems colder than it would otherwise. It’s not colder, that’s an illusion from your brain and a protein called TRPM8.

TRPM8 doesn’t just respond to cold temperatures, though. It also activates in the presence of menthol, a waxy, crystalline organic compound found in peppermint and other mint oils. (It responds to other “cooling agents,” too, like eucalyptol and icilin. Why, exactly, is unknown; menthol just happens to fit the cellular “lock.”)

Continue reading… “Why Does Mint Make Your Mouth Feel Cold?”

Analysis, Animals, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News

Scientists Determine That Goldfish Can Feel Pain

Scientists Determine That Goldfish Can Feel Pain

It is a question that has puzzled scientists – and anglers – for generations, but now a team of researchers claims to have demonstrated that fish do feel pain.  

Whilst the creatures can clearly be seen to react to a jab or blow, experts have disagreed over whether the reaction indicates a sensation of pain, or is little more than a basic reflex.

Continue reading… “Scientists Determine That Goldfish Can Feel Pain”

Breakthrough Thinking, Health & Fitness, Medical Breakthrough, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News

Hand Transplant Patient Shows Signs Of Sensory Recovery

Hand Transplant Patient Shows Signs Of Sensory Recovery 

Activation of the left cerebral hemisphere during sensory stimulation of the transplanted right palm.  

Four months after a successful hand transplant — 35 years after amputation in an industrial accident at age 19 — a 54-year-old man’s emerging sense of touch is registered in the former “hand area” of the his brain, says a University of Oregon neuroscientist.

Continue reading… “Hand Transplant Patient Shows Signs Of Sensory Recovery”

Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.