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Rat Brains Fly Planes

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the bummer-of-a-support-job dept.

An anonymous reader writes "According to The Age newspaper, scientists at the University of Florida have created neural cell cultures capable of flying an airplane using rat neurons. No actual planes are involved (yet), but the disassembled bits of rodent are already capable of level flight when hooked up to a simulator of an F-22."

29 of 345 comments (clear)

  1. Just What We Need by susano_otter · · Score: 4, Funny

    A rat that can smart-bomb your rat-trap.

    --

    Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.

    1. Re:Just What We Need by saskboy · · Score: 2, Funny

      Just think what they'll say when they miss their target, and collateral damage the cheese and their mouse cousins?

      "RATS," they'll exclaim!

      --
      Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
    2. Re:Just What We Need by metlin · · Score: 4, Funny

      Reminds me of a sig that I once saw -

      "My dog! It's full of Rats!" - 2001: A Dyslexic Odyssey

  2. Think of the possibilities by Scarblac · · Score: 3, Funny

    Rodent brains may seem small, but think of where we can go if we can ramp this technology... One day we may have humans flying planes!

    --
    I believe posters are recognized by their sig. So I made one.
    1. Re:Think of the possibilities by Rei · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, we already can enjoy flies flying airplanes if we're sadistic enough :)

      --
      They are turkeys, and in election after election after election they vote for Thanksgiving.
    2. Re:Think of the possibilities by ToasterofDOOM · · Score: 3, Funny

      If God meant for rats to fly, he would have given them enormous egos. Ever met a fighter pilot?

      --
      I am Spartacus
    3. Re:Think of the possibilities by Belseth · · Score: 2, Funny
      Rodent brains may seem small, but think of where we can go if we can ramp this technology... One day we may have humans flying planes!

      It'll never happen. If people were meant to fly they would have wings. A rat however when propelled with sufficent force are quite capible of flight. If you load one into a cannon with enough powder they can even hit supersonic speeds. They aren't very good at landings so they rarely fly on their own. A block of cheese stuffed down a cannon barrel can encourage the little rascals to take flight. Just don't point the cannon towards a brick wall, I'll never make that mistake twice.

    4. Re:Think of the possibilities by bhsurfer · · Score: 2, Funny

      This isn't news. We've had rat brains running record companies, state & federal governments and lots of other stuff for years. Hell, my company's entire upper management is comprised, as far as I can tell, of rat brains.

      --
      Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.
      Groucho Marx
  3. Good lord no! by Raul654 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Given this news, I can only imagine what the next round of layoffs at American Airlines will bring...

    --


    To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
    --E.C. Stanton
    1. Re:Good lord no! by IAmTheDave · · Score: 2, Funny

      Makes one rethink those years of pilot training...

      --
      Excuse my speling.
      Making The Bar Project
  4. i for one welcome our new... by circletimessquare · · Score: 3, Funny

    oh never mind

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  5. My computer ... by kitzilla · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... already has a mouse. Next story?

    --
    This is my post. There are many others like it. If you don't like what you read here, go try one of the others.
  6. Unfinished Quote by iamdrscience · · Score: 2, Funny
    the disassembled bits of rodent are already capable of level flight when hooked up to a simulator of an F-22
    ...right into the ground.
  7. Re:But can a rat brain post dupe stories? by __aagctu1952 · · Score: 5, Funny

    What do you know - it was October last year. Thought my memory of the article was rather too fuzzy to be from just two months ago. Fourteen months it is then.

    Wait, I just thought of something - since duplicate stories are "dupes", this is the proof we've always wanted that Slashdot's main page really is full of tripe!

  8. Distracted? by autophile · · Score: 2, Funny
    "Alpha Charlie one niner coming around to two seven niner. Setting altitude to thirty two thousand. Alpha Charlie -- oh, look, a bit of apple!"

    --Rob

    --
    Towards the Singularity.
  9. the new hit by DarkClown · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ratty Brainee Flee Planee
    1! 2! 3! 4!
    Ratty Brainee Flee Planee
    1! 2! 3! 4!

    Rodent wants a black helicopter
    Hover the sticky paper
    Raiding the larder

    Ratty Brainee Flee Planee
    1! 2! 3! 4!

    I want be one
    You want to have some
    With little a 'dungee
    They've gone past the bungee

    Ratty Brainee Flee Planee
    1! 2! 3! 4!

  10. How about... by eyepeepackets · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...a culture of rat brain cells which can detect year-old dupes on /. Now that would be both news _and_ considerable progress over the current method, which is most likely a culture of Cowboy Neal's brain cells in dire need of a vacation, a blonde and a bottle of diet Coke.

    --
    Everything in the Universe sucks: It's the law!
  11. Re:Next step... by Seumas · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is my favorite post of the week. Awesome.

    Seriously, can you imagine a beowolf cluster of rat-brains applying various complex filtering techniques? Then you just have to figure some way to give them ESP so they can communicate off-network with each other to share new spam-info with each other.

    I mean, either that or secretly plot how to take over the world.

  12. Re:Next step... by vertinox · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ultra-intelligent spam filters. //yay!

    Hrm... You've given me an idea for an expiriment. I'll put a keyboard in a mouse cage with a full view of my monitor:

    If he jumps on the delete key and deletes a spam message, he'll get a peice of cheese.
    If he deletes a legitimate peice of email, he will get an electric shock.
    If he hits ctrl+alt+del, I'll be using him as tech support.

    --
    "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
    -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
  13. How about a cluster? by antdude · · Score: 2, Funny

    Maybe a cluster can fly the space shuttle?

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  14. Re:Training by susano_otter · · Score: 5, Funny

    But would one want to own a quasi-intelligent PDA that runs off rat neurons?

    You're asking the wrong question.

    The real question is: Would anyone not want to own a quasi-intelligent PDA that runs off rat neurons?

    --

    Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.

  15. Close by geekoid · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's walking away from a landing thats the goal.
    Or in this case, carried off in your petri dish.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  16. New headline: Senile rat brain flies plane by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 4, Funny

    Since the original posting the rat has got pretty old.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  17. In other news... by TerminalInsanity · · Score: 5, Funny

    In other news...
    Slashdot has opensourced a way to use pidgeon brains to run news portals.

  18. Junior? by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...in level flight. It's landing a plane that poses a bit more of a challenge.

    Dr. Henry Jones: "Junior, I didn't know you could fly a plane!"
    Indy: "Fly? Yes! Land? NO!"

    (Ah... memories)

  19. Landing is easy. by LWATCDR · · Score: 2, Funny

    Every plane lands eventually. Landing is mandatory :)

    --
    See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  20. Re:Next step... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    If you can get a rodent to stretch far enough to PRESS ctrl-alt-delete, I think he'd qualify for membership in the Fantastic Four!

  21. Re:Just What We Need... by chemicalagent · · Score: 2, Funny

    Start to worry once it learns quake 3...

  22. Re:news is exactly a year old by markov_chain · · Score: 2, Funny

    I could've shown you a mouse controlling a flight simulator at least as far back as the early 90s :D

    --
    Tsunami -- You can't bring a good wave down!