Mice Levitated in Lab

[Warped]

Yay for science!

A three-week-old mouse weighing about 10 grams levitated by magnetic fields, either with a magnet (a) or without (b). Credit: Da-Ming Zhu et al.

Scientists have now levitated mice using magnetic fields.

Other researchers have made live frogs and grasshoppers float in mid-air before, but such research with mice, being closer biologically to humans, could help in studies to counteract bone loss due to reduced gravity over long spans of time, as might be expected in deep space missions or on the surfaces of other planets.

Scientists working on behalf of NASA built a device to simulate variable levels of gravity. It consists of a superconducting magnet that generates a field powerful enough to levitate the water inside living animals, with a space inside warm enough at room temperature and large enough at 2.6 inches wide (6.6 cm) for tiny creatures to float comfortably in during experiments.

Disoriented

The researchers first levitated a young mouse, just three-week-old and weighing 10 grams. It appeared agitated and disoriented, seemingly trying to hold on to something.

"It actually kicked around and started to spin, and without friction, it could spin faster and faster, and we think that made it even more disoriented," said researcher Yuanming Liu, a physicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. They decided to mildly sedate the next mouse they levitated, which seemed content with floating.

A plastic cage was also designed by physicist Da-Ming Zhu at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, to keep the mice in during levitation. Its top remained open to let in air, food, water and video surveillance, and its bottom was filled with small holes to allow waste removal.

From time to time, mice would kick the walls of the cage, causing it to briefly drop off from the levitation zone before re-entering it and floating again.

Although the researchers could levitate mice with or without the cage, "it's easier to house a mouse in a cage when you bring it to the levitation zone," Liu explained. Also, if you want to run an experiment comparing mice living inside and outside the levitator, you want to set up exactly the same living conditions to match results up as best as possible.

Results

Repeated levitation tests showed the mice, even when not sedated, could quickly acclimate to levitation inside the cage. After three or four hours, the mice acted normally, including eating and drinking. The strong magnetic fields did not seem to have any negative impacts on the mice in the short term, and past studies have shown that rats did not suffer from adverse effects after 10 weeks of strong, non-levitating magnetic fields.

"We're trying to see what kind of physiological impact is due to prolonged microgravity, and also what kind of countermeasures might work against it for astronauts," Liu said. "If we can contribute to the future human exploration of space, that would be very exciting." They are now applying for funding for such research with their levitator.

The researchers also levitated water drops up to 2 inches wide (5 cm). This suggests the variable gravity simulator could be used to study how liquids behave under reduced gravity, such as how heat is transferred or how bubbles behave.

Liu, Zhu and their colleagues detailed their findings online Sept. 6 in the journal Advances in Space Research.

http://www.livescience.com/animals/090909-mouse-levitation.html

chimps are probably going to be next, then hopefully humans. this field of technology is fascinating!

 

[sinkoman]

mice are even more fascinating

 

[MFL]

Dude, I live right down the road from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. They've been levitatin frogs in there for years. You want to see something real cool, go check out the ferrofluids.

edit: sheeee, you wanna levitate poor little stuart? have at it: https://users.magnet.fsu.edu/

edit2: also, no they aren't anywhere freakin near to levitating humans. the amount of power it takes to do that to a mouse, not to mention the engineering of the magnets they are using themselves, is more valuable than most of us can afford to produce in a lifetime of hard work.

edit3: you want to be famous? invent room-temperature superconductors. rule the damn planet if you do.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

That mouse is cute.

 

[MFL]

That magnet is sexy.

 

[CptStern]

apparently froggies too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1vyB-O5i6E

 

[sinkoman]

Oh my god.

I seriously hope they start selling "levitating frogs" in little acrylic tubes just like that.

It'd be like a living breathing lava lamp!

 

[jet_porkins]

Read the thread title as "Misc levitated..." hoping it was another misc revolt.

Oh how depressed this thread has made me.

 

[Sheepo]

Me too porkins

 

[CptStern]

Oh my god.

I seriously hope they start selling "levitating frogs" in little acrylic tubes just like that.

It'd be like a living breathing lava lamp!

I bet it looks like this after you unplug the lamp

 

[MFL]

Unfortunately as I understand it it takes equipment about the size of a garage or larger to levitate something like this.

 

[jverne]

oh snap!! so magnetic fields can influence "living" organic matter. i was reassured it does nothing, by HL2.net scientists.

Uhh.. magnetic fields? Do you know how they work and how they can/can't affect you? It basically does nothing. At all.

yup...nothing at all

 

[PvtRyan]

They decided to mildly sedate the next mouse they levitated, which seemed content with floating.

I lol'd at the mental image of a mouse floating around high as a kite going "wooahhh... duuuuuudeee...".

 

[CptStern]

I lol'd at the mental image of a mouse floating around high as a kite going "wooahhh... duuuuuudeee...".

 

[PJ]

Wow, that's pretty cool. Poor mice though, kicking about. Must be piss yourself scary.

Can't wait until the develop it for humans.

 

[MFL]

Everything has a magnetic field, and is thus affected by magnetic fields. But this thread is about fun levitating mice, so I refuse to bicker anymore about science.

 

[sinkoman]

Must be piss yourself scary.

Can't wait

lolwut?

 

[MJ12]

research with mice, being closer biologically to humans, could help in studies to counteract bone loss due to reduced gravity over long spans of time, as might be expected in deep space missions or on the surfaces of other planets.

Blah, blah, blah, when are you going to make me some damn levitating shoes?

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

What's that? I can't hear you down there because my shoes have carried me into the sky.

 

[Warped]

imagine skydiving at an incredible slow rate?? i would try that!

 

[Tyguy]

cooooool...there's another cool tech that will probably change the world

http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_giler_demos_wireless_electricity.html

 

[Viperidae]

Another case of mainstream journalism doing a story on 'cutting edge science,' this time about a follow-up to experiments that were already done 20 years ago.

Hooray for journalism!

 

[Warped]

cooooool...there's another cool tech that will probably change the world

http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_giler_demos_wireless_electricity.html

theres a thread about this a few pages down in the new posts i believe. great stuff though, we live in an amazing new era of technology. its speeding up so fast though, that i think i'm glad its regulated. some things we are not ready for, and some we desperately need

Another case of mainstream journalism doing a story on 'cutting edge science,' this time about a follow-up to experiments that were already done 20 years ago.

Hooray for journalism!

Other researchers have made live frogs and grasshoppers float in mid-air before, but such research with mice, being closer biologically to humans, could help in studies to counteract bone loss due to reduced gravity over long spans of time, as might be expected in deep space missions or on the surfaces of other planets.

we know its been done before with smaller animals, but a mouse is more like a human genetically, did you read the article??

 

[Viperidae]

Follow. Up. Frogs are comparable in mass to mice. We knew they'd float.

Also notice the 'could' parts. I just wanted to make sure the emphasis was clear here--the fact that they're mice, not that they're levitating.

 

[mortiz-Redux]

Surely whether the magnetic fields work or not would have nothing to do with animal genetics? I mean there isn't that much difference between the stuff Frogs are made from and the stuff Mice are made from, and they're similar sizes as well. Interesting but wake me up when they levitate a rat or something bigger.

 

[sinkoman]

Surely whether the magnetic fields work or not would have nothing to do with animal genetics? I mean there isn't that much difference between the stuff Frogs are made from and the stuff Mice are made from, and they're similar sizes as well. Interesting but wake me up when they levitate a rat or something bigger.

But wut if dey gets deir brains skrampled?

 

[VirusType2]

It consists of a superconducting magnet that generates a field powerful enough to levitate the water inside living animals, with a space inside warm enough at room temperature

I'll have none of this magic and wizardry! This is the work of the devil.

 

[Raziaar]

Mice. Always getting the short end of the research stick.

Nice to see them have somewhat of a break though as they get to LEVITATE!

 

[Darkside55]

magnetic field used to levitate small animals

hopefully [levitating] humans next

Can't wait until the develop it for humans.

Blah, blah, blah, when are you going to make me some damn levitating shoes?

This is merely superconductor electromagnetism. Surely you've heard of it. It levitates bullet trains from Tokyo to Osaka. It levitates my desk, where I ride the saddle of the world. And it levitates... me!

 

[Eejit]

oh snap!! so magnetic fields can influence "living" organic matter. i was reassured it does nothing, by HL2.net scientists.

yup...nothing at all

Oh snap!! You're missing the point. Intentionally? Could be.

The strong magnetic fields did not seem to have any negative impacts on the mice in the short term, and past studies have shown that rats did not suffer from adverse effects after 10 weeks of strong, non-levitating magnetic fields.

Hey I guess this means wireless electicity is going to produce huge magnetic fields strong enough to levitate us and make our brains all boooogly!

 

[13LACKBISHOP]

Thats cool. I hope its not cruel. Must be a bit scary because they would not know what is going on.

 

[PJ]

lolwut?

I knew someone would say that. If you have no ****ing idea what's going on, it must be.

Also, I enjoy pissing myself.