This invention looks like a real stinker

April 1, 2022 5:10 PM

"Magnetic turd": scientists invent moving slime that could be used in human digestive systems (The Guardian).

"Researcher who co-created substance says it is not an April Fool's joke."

posted by biogeo (29 comments total)

Beware of the Blob
it creeps
and leaps
and glides
and slides
across the floor
right through
the door
and all around the wall
a splotch
a blotch
Be careful of the Blob
posted by Pallas Athena at 5:19 PM on April 1, 2022 [6 favorites]

i like it. i want it to be my friend.
posted by Merricat Blackwood at 5:31 PM on April 1, 2022 [4 favorites]

This stuff seems like it's quite simple, actually. The mixture of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) and borax is essentially just the children's toy Gak, and basically this just seems to be a suspension of strongly magnetic particles in that matrix. You could probably make a decent version of it at home. There's a popular children's activity/science demonstration for making slime by mixing a white craft glue based on polyvinyl acetate (PVA) (e.g., Elmer's brand) with borax. You could probably just add iron filings into the mixture and get something very similar to what they've made. I'm not sure if the mechanical properties of the PVOH versus PVA slimes are different enough that it would matter, but it seems like you can hydrolyze PVA to PVOH pretty easily by mixing it with a basic solution in ethanol. Possibly craft glue + vodka + baking soda would give you PVOH, but people who know actual synthetic chemistry could probably tell me why that wouldn't work. Making this stuff seems like a great at-home science experiment for kids.

Anyway, it looks like a poop slug and I think it's funny.
posted by biogeo at 5:36 PM on April 1, 2022 [8 favorites]

Do you want a cyborg Mr. Hankey? 'Cause this is how you get a cyborg Mr. Hankey.
posted by credulous at 5:41 PM on April 1, 2022 [6 favorites]

Possibly craft glue + vodka + baking soda would give you PVOH

Or one rippin' hangover.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:54 PM on April 1, 2022 [6 favorites]

There's been magnetic slime for ages. I guess the thing about this is that it's thick?
posted by hippybear at 6:29 PM on April 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

Flubber, the eponymous substance in the 1997 sci-fi film

Ahem: that's a remake. The original is The Absent-Minded Professor (1961).
posted by doctornemo at 6:30 PM on April 1, 2022 [3 favorites]

"Researcher who co-created substance says it is not an April Fool's joke."

Sigh, there goes my “you’re shitting me!” joke.
posted by notoriety public at 6:50 PM on April 1, 2022 [3 favorites]

there goes my “you’re shitting me!” joke.

This too shall pass.
posted by zamboni at 7:16 PM on April 1, 2022 [14 favorites]

Given that they're suggesting they could remotely control it to help things move through the digestive system, I think your joke still has legs.
posted by biogeo at 7:26 PM on April 1, 2022 [3 favorites]

Like one of those machines they used to dig the Chunnel.
posted by hippybear at 7:30 PM on April 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

The Magnetic Turd was the only character name rejected from the Suicide Squad script.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:43 PM on April 1, 2022 [7 favorites]

Add jalepeno for a Mini Hadron collider.
posted by clavdivs at 9:07 PM on April 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

How long until someone figures out how to encode information on magnetic domains on one of these and then how long until someone invents a playback device that can be installed at some convenient point on its journey?
posted by aesop at 2:05 AM on April 2, 2022

But how is it controlled? Like, I understand oobleck with magnets, but beyond that, I'm loving the poop jokes.
posted by BlunderingArtist at 5:58 AM on April 2, 2022 [1 favorite]

Is that you, Violent J?
posted by zamboni at 6:58 AM on April 2, 2022

From a skim of the paper (which is available with limited open access), it looks like they mostly controlled the slime with permanent magnets. So for example in the video, there is probably a permanent magnet underneath the surface the slime is moving around on, which they're manipulating the control the slime. I was thinking you might need some sophisticated coordination of changes in the magnetic field with electromagnets to get it to do things like "grasp," but apparently they could just do it by moving around a ring magnet, which is kind of cool.
posted by biogeo at 7:38 AM on April 2, 2022 [3 favorites]

Incidentally, this type of magnetic control for "robots" in biomedical applications seems like it's kind of a hot topic at the moment. It means you can have a device which is placed in the body that can be optimized for biocompatibility, the desired material properties, etc., without needing to have any potentially bulky, complex, and failure-prone active components. Then all the "brains" of the device are contained in a controller which remains outside the body, and moves the robot through the body by precise manipulation of magnetic fields.
posted by biogeo at 7:44 AM on April 2, 2022 [2 favorites]

SkynetWatch: the humble origins of the T-1000.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:49 AM on April 2, 2022 [1 favorite]

What flavor is it? I am ready to be a test subject for flanimatronic devices.
posted by snofoam at 9:13 AM on April 2, 2022 [2 favorites]

If it could be used as a replacement ‘colon cleanser’ pre-colonoscopy, I say bring on the robo-turd.
posted by garisimo at 9:28 AM on April 2, 2022 [2 favorites]

Warning: Pregnant women, the elderly, and children under 10 should avoid prolonged exposure to Magnetic Turd. Caution: Magnetic Turd may suddenly accelerate to dangerous speeds. Magnetic Turd contains a liquid core, which, if exposed due to rupture,should not be touched, inhaled, or looked at. Do not use Magnetic Turd on concrete. Discontinue use of Magnetic Turd if any of the following occurs: itching, vertigo, dizziness, tingling in extremities, loss of balance or coordination, slurred speech, temporary blindness, profuse sweating, or heart palpitations. If Magnetic Turd begins to smoke, get away immediately. Seek shelterand cover head. Magnetic Turd may stick to certain types of skin. When not in use, Magnetic Turd should be returned to its special containerand kept under refrigeration. Failure to do so relieves the makers of Magnetic Turd, Wacky Products Incorporated, and its parent company, GlobalChemical Unlimited, of any and all liability.
posted by Nanukthedog at 11:24 AM on April 2, 2022 [3 favorites]

do not taunt magnetic turd
posted by fluttering hellfire at 12:31 PM on April 2, 2022 [2 favorites]

Jobby the Robot
posted by scruss at 4:09 PM on April 2, 2022 [2 favorites]

The advance here is maybe an improvement on on the polymer/ carrier.

The notable here is that instead of "iron filings" they're using mag beads, which have been around for at least a decade.

It's kind of like the novelty of getting a kilogram of silly putty, in like getting a kilo of silica-coated mag beads.
posted by porpoise at 11:00 PM on April 2, 2022

Anyone want to start a pool guessing when the first sex toy application will be released?
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:38 AM on April 3, 2022

I'd like $5 on "We just haven't heard about it yet," please.
posted by biogeo at 10:36 AM on April 3, 2022 [1 favorite]

Turdminator: Sludgement Day

start a pool

pool's closed
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:44 AM on April 4, 2022 [4 favorites]

From a skim of the paper (which is available with limited open access), it looks like they mostly controlled the slime with permanent magnets. So for example in the video, there is probably a permanent magnet underneath the surface the slime is moving around on, which they're manipulating the control the slime. I was thinking you might need some sophisticated coordination of changes in the magnetic field with electromagnets to get it to do things like "grasp," but apparently they could just do it by moving around a ring magnet, which is kind of cool.

Thanks a lot! Just now following up on this. The explanation is less complicated than I'd imagined. (I hadn't imagined much.)
posted by BlunderingArtist at 6:32 AM on April 17, 2022