Infocult: Uncanny Informatics

Today's terrifying robot

Robots in fictional and actual forms have charmed people for centuries, while also eliciting dread.  Today's story concerns a way of, shall we say, bringing humans and robots closer together?

A smiling face made from living human skin could one day be attached to a humanoid robot, allowing machines to emote and communicate in a more life-like way, say researchers. Its wrinkles could also prove useful for the cosmetics industry.

The living tissue is a cultured mix of human skin cells grown in a collagen scaffold and placed on top of a 3D-printed resin base. Unlike previous similar experiments, the skin also contains the equivalent of the ligaments that, in humans and other animals, are buried in the layer of tissue beneath the skin, holding it in place and giving it incredible strength and flexibility.

Let's take a look:

Cheers!

The corpse that wasn't

One of the essential aspects of horror is the set of anxieties we have around death - specifically, dead bodies. We find them horrifying yet also attractive, alien but so clearly us, as separate from our being as we can imagine and yet our universal state.

Today's real-life Gothic occurs in this vein.  A Nebraska woman died in hospice.  Locals were making funeral arrangements... only to find the person breathing.  Some frantic activity ensued, including a rapid trip to hospital, where the poor woman eventually died.  For good.