Posted 09.09.2009 at 5:00 pm
13 Comments
Watch As The Great Mr. Mouse Attempts A Feat of Levitation Note to the researchers: next time you levitate a mouse, don't photograph it from above
NASA/JPL/Caltech
Scientists working on behalf of NASA have successfully levitated a mouse using a strong magnetic field. I pay taxes so that stuff like this can happen. I don't hate animals. It's for understanding microgravity better, ok?
The effort is part of NASA's desire to investigate how the human body can cope with long-term low gravity situations, for long stints on the ISS and future trips beyond our own moon. One way to model microgravity is to apply a strong magnetic field that opposes gravity, which repels the water in animals' bodies and levitates them slightly.
Although mice might initially freak out (understandably--I bet they got some levitating mouse pee, too), they were able to adjust to a levitated lifestyle in about four hours. Scientists have previously levitated frogs and grasshoppers, but a mammal model is more useful for learning about gravity's effects on humans.
I only wish that NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab had a video or a photo from a better angle (yes, I asked). And someday when someone powers up a human-sized version, I want a ride.
[Via Live Science]
Want to learn more about breakthroughs in electronics, medicine, nanotech, and more?
Subscribe to Popular Science and enter to win $5,000!
Subscribe to Popular Science and enter to win $5,000!
13 Comments
To comment, please Login.
Download Our iPhone App
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Follow Us On Twitter
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
Become a Fan On Facebook
Share links with friends, comment on stories and more
December 2009: Best of What's New
In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.
Check out the best of what's new here.
Popular Science Photo Pool
Popular on Popsci
Most Viewed
Science
- China's Weather Manipulation Brings Crippling Snowstorm to Beijing
- Mesmerizing, Isn't It?
- Synthetic Molecules Trick Body Into Improved Immune Response to HIV, Cancer
- Old Soviet Warheads Fuel America's Nuclear Power Industry
- Vatican Ponders the Existence Of Alien Life
- Implantable Device Allows Mastectomy Patients to Regrow Own Breasts
- IEA Whistleblower Claims Agency Has Downplayed Looming Oil Shortage
- Modified Algae Produce Clean, Easy Hydrogen
- Moon-Bombing Mission Finds Significant Amount of Water in Lunar Soil
- Will Drilling Into a Volcano Trigger an Eruption That Destroys Naples?
Most Commented
Science
- This Week in the Future, November 6-13, 2009
- This Week in the Future, November 16-20, 2009
- China's Weather Manipulation Brings Crippling Snowstorm to Beijing
- So Much For "Hopenhagen"
- Modified Algae Produce Clean, Easy Hydrogen
- Vatican Ponders the Existence Of Alien Life
- British Academy To Look Into Ethics of Human-Animal Genetic Hybrids
- IEA Whistleblower Claims Agency Has Downplayed Looming Oil Shortage
- Moon-Bombing Mission Finds Significant Amount of Water in Lunar Soil
- Mesmerizing, Isn't It?
Most Emailed
Science
- Fermi Telescope Detects Antimatter in Lightning Storms
- Modified Algae Produce Clean, Easy Hydrogen
- IEA Whistleblower Claims Agency Has Downplayed Looming Oil Shortage
- Yikes: Peruvian Jungle Gang Arrested for Selling Fat of Its Murder Victims
- This Week in the Future, November 16-20, 2009
- Thousands of Worms Headed to International Space Station For Muscle Tests
- New Website Tracks $21 Billion in Stimulus Dollars for Science
- Mesmerizing, Isn't It?
- Liquid Cooling Bags For Data Centers Could Trim Cost and Carbon By 90 Percent
- Oceans on Europa Have Enough Oxygen to Support Space Fish
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2009 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
this just in, in a bid to go greem popsci recycles news about maglev mouse. :/
lol i want to ride that!
I have to imagine that the little-known health effects from floating in a gigatesla field would far outweigh whatever you might learn about an animal's response to microgravity. Nifty parlour trick though.
Parlour trick or not I support this type of research. If we limit science to things that we already understand and can supply a practical business justification for then scientists become nothing more then businessmen. If this helps us understand the human body and what makes us work then I say go for it.
amazing... if our body can with stand no gravity in space why do you think our body won't with stand little gravity. This is obviously a great thing. Now when we space travel we can control polarity on the space ships and oon the space stations.. now we wont have to stay in tanks when we get back to earth to stablize body.
ALIEN NATION
A frog was levitated years ago now a mouse so what, it's just the diamagnetic properties of the water in body that makes it happen, it was a neat parlor trick years ago. Done that not such a big deal anymore and as someone else has alluded to it takes a lot of Tesla's to make it happen. These types of strong magnetic fields are dangerous to humans.
Didn't they take mice up to the international space station already and what about all those humans up there for over 50 years haven't they learned anything from that yet???
For those who want to see a video of how it works here is a frog freaking out from being levitated.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1vyB-O5i6E
Old news. thanks popsci it was more interesting when it was done with pizza years ago. im off to apply for a job in old news.... wish me luck
Old news. thanks popsci it was more interesting when it was done with pizza years ago. i think if NASA watched the discovery channel we might well have a resort on mars. im off to apply for a job in old news.... wish me luck.
-Captain Science-
Awesome. Finally something that can help me get out of bed in the morning.
id like some details on this...
personally this is my first time reading about this...
can anyone see any industrieal application to this?
I'll be more impressed when we can use magnets to levitate a train ... oh yea, we can do that already!
Take the mouse to the ISS ...
Fact is, this is too new to be useful to us in our current slated and prospective missions. While I personally hold very high hopes for electromagnetics as it applies to boosting mass, I can't help but be disappointed in our progress thus far. Call me a dreamer, but I hoped for much more in this area that we have put so much into and received so little from. Science with pointless application is just play. Got another billion? Bird. Another 2? Guinea pig. 15? A cat, 25, a dog, 50 gets us a flying monkey, and in 75 yrs, for only one more installment of the bargain price of 225 BILLION we might get to a small human. BUT only if we act now, right?