Ethiopian runner Feyisa Lilesa, who won a silver medal in the men’s marathon at the 2016 Rio Olympics on Sunday, may have put his own life on the line by flashing a symbol of political protest during his race. Symbols of defiance have a history at the Olympics such as when two Americans were stripped of their medals in 1986 for flashing a different salute.
“New and a bit alarming. Who’d have ever thought that this could be? True that he’s no Prince Charming, but there’s something in him that I simply didn’t see.”
In collaboration with Microsoft Research, Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, a PhD student at MIT’s Media Lab, and a team of fellow researchers have designed a new fabrication process which allows anyone—with the time and money—to create temporary, functional “tattoos” for their skin.
By applying conductive gold leaf to the body, Kao’s process, DuoSkin, produces a less invasive, and more aesthetically appealing result than other forms of biohacking.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about DuoSkin is that the
technique produces devices that are inherently temporary, creating
technology that is intended to be used as a real style statement. The
researchers who created DuoSkin say it is possible to design a circuit
on any graphics software. Then, all you would need to do is stamp the
tattoo in gold leaf, and apply other components to make the tattoo
interactive.
