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Smellicopter Combines Live Moth Antenna With Mechanical Drone
The Smellicopter is a small drone that uses a wired-in living antenna from a moth to navigate its way toward a smell.
The team used antennae from the Manduca sexta hawkmoth for Smellicopter. Researchers placed moths in the fridge to anesthetize them before removing an antenna. Once separated from the live moth, the antenna stays biologically and chemically active for up to four hours. That time span could be extended, the researchers said, by storing antennae in the fridge.By adding tiny wires into either end of the antenna, the researchers were able to connect it to an electrical circuit and measure the average signal from all of the cells in the antenna. The team then compared it to a typical human-made sensor by placing both at one end of a wind tunnel and wafting smells that both sensors would respond to: a floral scent and ethanol, a type of alcohol. The antenna reacted more quickly and took less time to recover between puffs.
(Via Techxplore)
Philip K Dick was one of the first science fiction writers to combine biological elements with machines. For example, the swibble from Service Call (1955):
Patiently, the repairman explained elementary physics. "Swibble-culture is an organic phenotype evolved in a protein medium under controlled conditions. The directing neurological tissue that forms the basis of the swibble is alive, certainly, in the sense that it grows, thinks, feeds, excretes waste. Yes, it's definitely alive. But the swibble, as a functioning whole, is a manufactured item. The organic tissue is inserted in the master tank and then sealed.(Read more about the swibble)
The Smellicopter could also be compared to the homo superior idea from Alpha Centauri (1999) which is equal parts biological and computer hardware.
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