technabob » pig

lab chops: scientists create artificial pork

lambert v. — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:55:35 +0000

Scientists in the Netherlands managed to create artificial meat using muscle cells extracted from a live pig combined with “a broth of other animal products”, which allowed the muscle cells to multiply and form muscle tissue. Yummy. But the scientists still have quite a ways to go from producing bacon in a petri dish.

The artificial meat is described as “soggy pork”: “What we have at the moment is rather like wasted muscle tissue. We need to find ways of improving it by training it and stretching it, but we will get there”, says Mark Post, professor of physiology at Eindhoven University.

Exercising pig muscles when they’re not attached to the rest of the pig? – Quite a stumper indeed. I don’t know how far this experiment is going to go, but if it succeeds this is going to cause drastic changes worldwide. Meat may become cheaper, but at the same time a lot of people could lose their jobs if we don’t need to rely on live animals for meat. Would you eat lab meat?

pic from Room Candy

[via Telegraph via The Presurfer]

…and this little piggy had sound

technabob — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:00:31 +0000

How many times have you said to yourself: “I could really use a new speaker for my MP3 player, but I really want one that looks like a pig. Oh, and I happen to live in Japan.” Well, to the none of you who have actually said that, have I got something for you!

These ceramic pigs from Japan’s I.D.E.A. feature a full-range speaker in their bellies. The only thing tastier than pork bellies is amplified pork bellies! Mmmm.

They’re available in black, white, and shiny gold, but you really want the pearlescent pink one, don’t you? Of course you do. My favorite thing about the piggy speaker is the skinny little tail that doubles as the connector for your media player. Oink!

Currently, I.D.E.A. Pig Speakers are only available in Japan, where they sell for ¥4,725 (appx. $50 USD).

I just want to put that Spider-Pig song on my iPod, hook it up, crank it to 11, and put it on infinite repeat.

out of body experience: machine keeps disembodied animal hearts beating

lambert v. — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:20:50 +0000

Researchers at North Carolina State University have invented a machine that can keep an animal heart functional even after it has been removed from its body. Freaky. Andrew Richards, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, designed the “dynamic heart system”, which “pumps fluid through a pig heart so that it functions in a very realistic way.”

The machine uses a pressurized saline solution to emulate blood flow. It can also be used to film the interior of the pumping heart, a welcome feature for researchers working on tools and technologies for repairing heart valves. The inventors hope that the dynamic heart system will lead to significant reduction in costs for experiments, since it allows scientists to refine their designs and ideas before moving on to expensive live tests. According to Richards, “It costs approximately $25 to run an experiment on the machine, whereas a similar experiment using a live animal costs approximately $2,500.”

[via Inventor Spot]

baconize websites with bacolicio.us

lambert v. — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 12:30:09 +0000

It is said that Jesus is the King of Kings, and that three kings visited him when he was born. So what better way to get into the holiday spirit than to plaster a huge strip of bacon – made from The Meat of Kings (try it with onion rings) - on your screen while you’re surfing?

Just add “http://bacolicio.us/” to the beginning of any site’s URL and boom! BACON!

So for example you want to baconify TIME’s website, just type http://bacolicio.us/http://time.com. Look at that strip of goodness. The only thing better than that is a picture of woven bacon. OR a baconized picture of woven bacon. OR real bacon.

[via The Raw Feed]

hungry piggy bank eats coins for lunch

technabob — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:27:41 +0000

Looking for a place to keep all that loose change you’ve been saving up since you gave up on tipping the baristas at the Starbucks? Keep ‘em all in this whimsical piggy bank that chows down on your coinage before it heads deep into its porty, porky belly.

As soon as you put a coin in its mouth, the little pink piggy gets down to business, making appropriately piggish snorting sounds as it gulps your money.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

As an added bonus – if you flip him upside down, he kinda looks like Spiderpig.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Available from UK gadget shop GadgetShop, you’ll need to save up £14.99 (appx. $30 USD) in coins before you have enough money to put one on your desk.

[via Toyology]

i-panda and i-piggy electronic piggy banks teach kids to pinch their pennies

technabob — Thu, 31 May 2007 20:50:57 +0000

These piggy banks from i-Kiddo are not only goofy looking, but they’re actually quite tech savvy.

The i-Panda and i-Piggy digiBanks automatically identify each coin placed in the bank, then calculate the total and display them on the bank’s LCD screen. The banks can also be programmed with savings goals and can play celebratory musical tracks when milestones are met. Each digiBank also functions as an alarm clock and has a special key that prevents kids from pilfering the funds before they should.

Amazingly, even though i-Kiddo is based in Taiwan, they’re supposed to be able to identify U.S. currency including pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.

wacky cloth ipod nano cases by annamatic

technabob — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 05:15:08 +0000

These hand sewn cases for the iPod Nano are pretty goofy looking if you ask me. They’re certainly not the typical sleek metal or plastic cases you usually see.

Individually crafted by artist Anna Lee (a.k.a. ‘Annamatic’,) these cases are definitely geared more toward girls, kids or men who are extremely confident in their masculinity. Choose from “Mr. Devil,” a little red demon, “Bubba,” the leather-clad bear, or “Hamlet” the pink pig designs.

The cases cost just $15 each and are available from Annamatic’s shop over on Etsy.

[via Smidigt]