I think it’s safe to assume that Google Creative Director Ji Lee doesn’t necessarily expect his designs to become actual products. Also, big toes look really weird don’t they? Have you ever seen a decent looking big toe?

[via Coolest Gadgets]

The Pong anti-radiation cases are mostly made of silicone, but the thing that really separates them from other cellphone cases is the “Pong gold PCB module” embedded in the case. As stated in a Wired article, the module has been proven to reduce the radiation from an iPhone into a users’ head to “a third of what it would be without the case.” Here’s a diagram of an ear farting the radiation being diverted/reflected/whisked away by the case:

The Pong case reduces the radiation going to into a users’ head with practically no signal loss; in fact Pong Research even says, “you may find that your communication efficiency actually improves with the use of the Pong case.” You can order the iPhone 3G/3GS-compatible Pong case for $60 (USD) at the Pong Research online store; the Blackberry Curve case (only compatible with models 8300, 8310, 8320 and 8330), also available at the store, sells for $50.

What do you guys think? Willing to drop $70 for something that might very well be unnecessary? And how about that “Pong Research” name eh? What’s up with that?

[via uncrate]

Kwon Sunman’s Rug With Scale is a neat-looking scale that looks like a shaggy rug. In addition to looking all warm and fuzzy, the scale will track your weight and can also display your target weight in comparison to your previous weight and goal weight.

I use a scale regularly and wouldn’t mind something like this that’s nice and soft underneath my feet instead of the typical cold metal or glass scales out there. Too bad it’s just a concept design at this point.

[via Yanko Design]

The Nano-Care Ion Steamer can generate up to 12mL of steam per minute. Curiously, the device can also generate the exact opposite, a “cooling mist”. If neither of them are bad… plain old room temperature water must be harmful to our skin then! To think that I’ve been taking a bath using that stuff!

You can order a Nano-Care Ion Steamer at GeekStuff4U for $416 (USD). Or you can just boil water in a pot. Just kidding.

Mitragori and his colleagues are already looking at various applications for their creation, including using it as a means of delivering medicine through our body, although they’ve yet to conduct human trials. Will vampires be able to tell the difference between fake blood and real blood? Or will an enterprising vampire soon come up with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Blood! ?

[via Discover via Neatorama]

SADS is an abnormality with the electrical system of the heart. Various triggers could cause the arrhythmia, which in turn deprives the brain of blood, causing loss of consciousness and sometimes death. Ellen Mason, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, says that the loud music may have triggered an arrhythmia in Reid’s otherwise healthy heart. Visit the SADS Foundation’s website for more information on the condition.

[via Boing Boing]

The headphones can be set to a timed workout mode, wherein the headphones will play music that the user will match – e.g. fast, intense music needs to be matched with fast, intense exercise. Of course you can also use it as plain ol’ headphones.

You can order a pair of Karada Trainer Headphones at Japan Trend Shop for $110 (USD) ($92 + shipping). Let’s hope the voice commands also come in English.

The eScale is equipped with an LED display, and can measure up to 300 lbs. As I said, the eScale sends your stats to BodyTrace’s website using a GSM network. You don’t need to pair it with a computer or anything like that, although I’m wondering if it’s like a mobile phone in that the signal strength will vary. By the way, the eScale will only be able to transmit data from the US, for now at least. BodyTrace envisions a Facebook-like setup wherein people will share their stats and their thoughts about their common dilemma. Below is a sample of the website:

Good for DreamGirl7. But going back to the earlier technique, this could turn out to be quite embarrassing for people who don’t lose or gain as much weight as they intended, even if only your friends can see your profile. Of course, you can always trick the system – put something or someone else on the eScale – but that would be missing the point, and it’s quite a pricey point at that: the eScale will be available starting this September for $119 (USD). If you want to subscribe to the online service you’ll have to pay an additional $20 for every 3 months, but as an introductory offer BodyTrace is giving away 3 months for free if you’ll pre-order it now at their website. Are you man – or woman – enough to try the BodyTrace challenge?

[via Freshpilot]

The headband supposedly measures brainwave activity and sends the data it gathers to the display. The display saves it to an SD card so you can then upload your data to your Zeo account. In your Zeo account you’ll see your sleeping patterns and you’ll also be given tips on how to sleep better. Here’s a free tip: You know what else can help you sleep? Reading about how Zeo works.

WSJ’s Melinda Beck tested the Zeo system and mentioned its scoring system, called ZQ. Basically it’s a numeric measurement of well you sleep per day. It sounds really stupid, I know, but if it’s really an accurate quantification of the quality and quantity of your sleep, then by doing something different and looking at how your ZQ scores vary, you’ll know which steps work, which habits you should really do something about, etc.

The downside? As I said, the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach is expensive: it costs $400 (USD) for the headband and the display, plus 6-months of personal sleep coaching with “experts” via email. Renewing the coaching will cost you another $100 per 6 months. You can order it at Zeo’s website; it has a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if it doesn’t work you can rest assured that you’ll get your money back.

[via Gadget Venue]

The experiment was conducted by dermatologist Emi Nishimura in 2004. She exposed mice (their hair also grays with age) to genotoxic stressors – things that can damage our DNA – such as  chemotherapy drugs and x-rays. The hair of the mice turned gray, and as Nishimura said, “the stressed mice’s gray hairs and the cell populations in their follicles were indistinguishable from those of elderly mice, suggesting that genotoxic stress might drive natural graying as well.”

So what does all of this mean? Oncologist David Fisher says that while it’s very strong evidence that the things we encounter everyday – radiation from the sun, household chemicals, perhaps even the medicine we take – can all damage us at a genetic level, the experiment doesn’t prove that emotional stress can damage our DNA or induce premature maturation of our cells.

More importantly, the experiment shows that to some extent our body is capable of protecting itself from DNA-damaged cells by accelerating their aging. Fisher thinks that the experiment is a good starting point to find ways for our body to do the same to cancer cells – which are also DNA-damaged cells.

[via Science]

One of those diseases is malaria, and so Gates was calling for support from rich governments to help fund efforts against the disease.  Malaria has been eliminated in first-world countries in 1970 through the development of the drug quinine, but it’s still present in third-world countries. Hence Gates’ little joke: he opened a jar containing “more than a few, but probably fewer than ten” mosquitoes and said, “we’ll let them roam around the auditorium. There’s no reason only the poor should experience this…”

Techflash confirms the expected: the mosquitoes weren’t carrying malaria. But I think he still scared – and pissed off – a few people in the crowd. Up next: Gates campaigns for better internet security, aims to raise awareness about viruses… and trojans?

[also via Ethan Zuckerman's blog]

image via msnbc

Pac-Man pain assessment gauge, spotted on Flickr. Currently, I feel a little Woopop myself.

Just set the time on the pillow’s built-in clock and it will wake you – and only you – with a few buzzes. Simple right? It’s cool not only because it won’t wake up anyone else, the vibrating alarm means that deaf people can use it too. The pillow also has a conventional audible alarm option for people who don’t wake up easily. I’m not sure if it’s available outside of Japan though, but it’s for sale at Amazon Japan for ¥5000 ($55 USD).

Another Japanese manufacturer, France Bed, thinks that vibrating pillows can also help people to stop snoring. Their anti-snoring pillow has a built-in audio sensor with three levels of sensitivity that alerts the pillow to vibrate once the snoring starts.

And that’s not all: the anti-snoring pillow also has an audio jack, so if you hook up a recorder to the pillow you can record your snoring and verify that you need an anti-snoring pillow.

Japan Trend Shop is selling the anti-snoring pillow for $420 USD. If your snoring is really bad then maybe you could coax your loved ones to buy it for you, since they’ll benefit from it as well.

[via CScout Japan]

Gamestop is now listing a pre-order release date of January 1, 2008, along with a $69.99 retail price, including the required Balance Board peripheral. I’m guessing the post-holiday release date is to help us all keep our all-too-often broken New Year’s resolutions.

[UPDATE 5/1/2008: Nintendo has finally confirmed that Wii Fit and the Balance Board will be released on May 19, 2008. The game and controller are priced at $89.95, check Amazon for more product details.]

[via CrunchGear]

The small, flat controller, called the “Wii Balance Board,” lays on the ground and detects your body movements as you exercise. It can also measure your body mass index to show you your progress as you regularly work out. It can store graphs and charts of your progress over time.

A variety of guided exercises and mini games let you work out and get in shape while playing your Wii. There are over 40 balance, aerobics, yoga and general fitness activities.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Nintendo is positioning Wii Fit as the “killer app” to get more non-gamers to use the Wii, and to make the Wii more than just a gaming console. The concept that I could get in shape playing my console goes against my natural instincts, but it does actually seem like a good idea.

These Wii wrist weights feature adjustable inserts, ranging from 1lb. to 4lbs. and help you burn extra calories and build up your strength whether your frying up some eggs in Cooking Mama or you’re prancing around on your pretty pony in Zelda.

I suppose we should be glad that these are only a design prototype and not actually being made. I can only imagine the damage you could do to your brand new 60″ plasma set when one of these went flying off.

[via Alchemi via NOTCOT]

The Visomate is a little LED device that plugs into your USB port and keeps watch on the position of your