"The Stomach is Controlled by Computer"

7 years ago

"And Can Even Vomit"

The Institute of Food Research hopes it will aid the development of new superfoods by revealing how they are broken down in the gut. The device, made from sophisticated plastics and metals, can withstand the corrosive gut acids and enzymes, and can be fed real food.

It mimics both the physical and chemical reactions that take place during digestion - and can even vomit.

Chief designer Dr Martin Wickham said his model was much more sophisticated than previous attempts, which tended to focus solely on reproducing the chemistry of digestion. It even mimics the stomach contractions which are used to break up food, and send it on its way along the alimentary canal.

The top half of the model consists of a vessel in which food, stomach acids and digestive enzymes are mixed. Once this hydration process is finished, the food gets broken down into smaller pieces that can be absorbed by the human body. Computer software is used to control how long food remains in a particular part of the stomach, and the release of the gut secretions.

It has the capacity of about half the size of an actual stomach, and can "eat" the equivalent of a normal portion of fish and chips.

Previously pioneered by Wim Delvoye's Cloaca.

Tags: parts, poop, robots

Current Music: Wormfood -- U-Plug ♬

11 Responses:

1. chuck_lw says:

   7 years ago at 3:02 pm

   While the robots have no need to devour human flesh, they thought it'd be a nice touch when they finally unleash their plans against us.
2. kfringe says:

   7 years ago at 3:37 pm

   Now that's what I call good timing.
   • ammutbite says:

     7 years ago at 3:42 pm

     finding a nice dress to go over the artificial stomach may prove to be a challenge...
   • valacosa says:

     7 years ago at 6:09 pm

     "We feel very lucky. Hopefully now, this cancer will stop here with us," Ruth said. Someone needs to teach them about genetics. Oh, wait a minute...

     If either sister goes on to have children, they will undergo IVF so an embryo without the gene can be selected.

     Uh, isn't this technically eugenics? I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just pointing that out.
     • valacosa says:

       7 years ago at 6:10 pm

       Fuck. First I reply to the wrong entry, then I mess up the HTML tags. You know what I mean.

       I need sleep.
     • quercus says:

       7 years ago at 2:23 am

       You think the Daily Wail would have a problem with eugenics?
3. arch_nme says:

   7 years ago at 4:52 pm

   No anus?
4. kimberley66 says:

   7 years ago at 6:19 pm

   Question is will it be brought to DNA for alcohol consumption testing, record pukings within one night, and subsequent DrunkDNA LJ posting?
5. biggeek says:

   7 years ago at 8:47 pm

   This is gonna put Pre-Chewed Charlie's Steakhouse out of business.
6. lars_larsen says:

   7 years ago at 11:15 am

   Finally, after billions of years of evolution, humans have created the pinnacle of engineering. Synthetic shit.
7. retardotron says:

   7 years ago at 11:42 pm

   Yes, I'm lame and posting this as a comment instead of emailing it. Since you're the guy who first introduced me to it, I figured you'd like to see your favorite earth-mover in action (if you haven't already):

   Toward the bottom.