Kind: captions
Language: en
hi I'm Anna and this is my friend
Rochelle and today we're going to tell
you how to turn roaches into cyborgs it
might sound evil but it's actually for a
good
cause it's true scientists have
discovered that they can control a
roach's navigation by sending signals to
the roach's brain through their antenna
here's how it works cockroaches use
their antenna to explore the world
around them they're intending have
nerves running through them that send
electrical signals to the roach's brain
If a roach feels a wall or another
object with its right antenna its brain
will tell it to go to the left this is
just part of the cockroach's natural
Escape mechanism but scientists figured
out that they could take control of this
system they cropped the roach's antenna
and inserted wires through them the
wires were attached to a tiny cockroach
backpack weighing about half as much as
the insect and carrying a 3vt battery
and a computer chip by sending small
electrical signals to either the left or
right antenna the Cockroach could be
ordered about like a tiny remote
controlled car to be clear these
electrical signals just stimulate the
neurons they're not actually shocking
the bug and the backpack is removable so
even though the bugs did get their
antenna cropped they're otherwise able
to live their lives as they usually
would so why are people doing this well
it turns out that these tiny pests could
turn into Lifesavers in the future we
might send them out into places unsafe
for humans to gauge radiation levels or
to look for survivors after natural
disasters and this work isn't even just
for scientists Robo roach is a recently
funded Kickstarter project which
promises to bring the experience to the
masses by giving High School classrooms
the accessories to turn any roach into a
bug Borg they hope to inspire kids to
learn about
neurotechnology since doctors use
similar technology in the treatments of
of Parkinson's disease and deafness so
next time you see a roach just think
that roach might be helping to educate
and Save a Life don't worry Rochelle
I'll never do that to
[Applause]
you e