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Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956
[An article appearing in] Nature Communications, suggests that instead of being seen as aberrations that ought to be surgically removed, extra fingers can bring benefits. The results also highlight how flexible the human brain can be, a feature that will be central to the design of brain-controlled robotic appendages.
For the study, bioengineer Etienne Burdet of Imperial College London and colleagues worked with a 52-year-old mother and her 17-year-old son, both born with six fingers on each hand. These extra fingers, positioned between the thumb and index finger, resemble thumbs in the versatile ways that they can move.
Brain scans and anatomical MRI scans revealed that the extra fingers are controlled by a dedicated brain system, along with muscles and tendons. That means that these extra fingers aren't just along for the ride, controlled by the muscles that move the other fingers, as some doctors had thought.
A short video on YouTube shows the extra dexterity in action.
Source: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/having-six-fingers-can-offer-major-dexterity-advantages
(Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Sunday July 07 2019, @03:24PM (2 children)
Two thumbs? Two? Is it wrong that the first thing I thought of was the advantages this would bring in foreplay and sex? And that I went straight to the whole "...and if there were multiple arms... like an octopus... that would really..."
It was only then that I went to "...and gee, it would really help when trying to get non-sexual things done, too."
Nah.
It's not wrong. Because it's right. 😊
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Dinosaurs had no pizza.
How did that work out?
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Sunday July 07 2019, @06:07PM (1 child)
So, the Japanese are onto something with tentacle porn?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Monday July 08 2019, @12:30PM
Well, not really. An octopus (or squid) arm is notably short on the structural firmness required, so the Japanese are being unduly optimistic. But it does make for some fun netsuke. [google.com] 😊
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On the Canary Islands, there isn't even one canary.
On the Virgin Islands... still no canaries.