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Backyard Brains Can Help Satisfy Your Inner Frankenstein (Video)

Posted by Roblimo on from the do-not-try-this-on-your-little-brother-or-sister dept.

Did you know that cockroaches have such large nerves in their legs that you can poke into their legs almost at random and hit a nerve with an electrode so you can stimulate that leg with hip-hop music and and watch it move? And that you can easily order the parts to do this at home or at school? You can. And supplies to perform many other neuroscience experiments, too. Amaze your friends! Learn how neurons work! Gross out squeamish people! All that (and more) is what Backyard Brains is about.

3 of 199 comments (clear)

  1. That's not funny by Gothmolly · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sticking an electrode into a creature and have it twitching to music is not funny, it's cruel.

    --
    I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
    1. Re:That's not funny by codewarren · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A human analog is irrelevant. Humans are not analogous to cockroaches in this way. Humans feel pain through nociceptors. Cockroaches don't have these.

      Besides that Humans can feel horror and misery that a brain as simple as a cockroaches almost certainly cannot. They do not have higher emotions and higher functions. They don't even have memory. Whatever it is like to be a cockroach, it is almost certainly nothing like what it is like to be a human.

  2. Slashvertisement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Did you know that nerds have such large deficiencies in their brains that you can post Slashdot articles almost at random so you can stimulate that advertising revenue with advertisements disguised as badly edited articles and watch them squirm? And that you can easily order the editors to do this at home or at work? You can. And supplies to perform many other psychology experiments, too. Amaze your investors! Learn how marketing works! Alienate your readers! All that (and more) is what Slashvertisement is about.