Awesome Medicine

If you think augmented reality is just another technology gimmick, this video might change your mind. This incredible technology from Medivis helps doctors overlay 3-dimensional MRI scans on patients to help visualize anatomy, helping to identify the exact location of tumors, blood vessels, and other structures before performing surgery.

Sony shows off a prototype of its incredible Microsurgery Assistance Robot by performing surgery on a single kernel of corn. Its tiny robotic arms are controlled remotely by a surgeon, replicating their movements at 1/2 to 1/10 scale using the robot’s precision motors. The surgeon can observe the microscopic procedure via a stereoscopic OLED viewer.

Medical professionals use a special power saw to cut through casts when it’s time to remove them. While the high-speed saw blade slices effortlessly through a hardened cast, it does nothing to your body if it makes contact with your skin. Steve Mould investigates the physics that allows this ingenious device to work without causing bodily harm.

The medicine and vitamins we take help keep us alive and healthy. So why should you carry something so important in a cheap plastic case? The mbarc is a modern pill organizer made from aluminum with wood trim. It has seven compartments and a silicone closure on its drawer to seal out moisture. They also make an XL version.

From snake venom to bad foraging to intentional poisonings, characters in movies and TV shows are often exposed to toxins. Insider asked medical toxicologist Dr. Cyrus Rangan to evaluate scenes for their accuracy. The video includes scenes from Game of Thrones, The Princess Bride, The Hunger Games, and Breaking Bad.

Kurzgesagt provides a layperson’s explanation of human immunity, the amazing and complex system that helps keep us alive – and sometimes needs a little help to build a memory against disease. Be sure to check out Kursgesagt’s new book Immune for more on the topic, and keep your eyes peeled for episode 2.

It’s a trope we’ve seen in movies and TV shows over and over. Someone gets impaled or shot with an arrow, and their instinct is to yank it out. TikTok contributor and paramedic StolenAmbulance demonstrates us in very simple terms why that’s a terrible idea.

Like many inventions, pharmaceuticals are a double-edged sword. Some have saved and improved millions of lives, while others have caused terrible side-effects and dangerous, deadly addictions. Patrick Smith’s rapidfire short film offers a satirical commentary on our obsession with drugs without saying a word.

Beyond the comfort issues, one of the reasons people don’t like wearing masks is that it covers their face. Engineers from EPFL’s EssentialTech Center and Empa have developed a mask that both acts as a filter and is transparent. The trick is the weave, made from incredibly thin nanofibers, woven together using electrospinning.

All kinds of bad things happen to people in the movies. But we all know that fiction can exaggerate what people can live through in the interest of drama. Emergency physician Italo Brown is here to set us straight on the survivability of film boo-boos from Scarface to Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

We’ve all been there at one point or another. You’re feeling off, and you’ve got an unusual mix of symptoms that you can’t quite figure out. Swedish physician and novelty musician Henrik Widegren reminds us about the worst possible thing you can do when you’re sick. From the album Medical Melodies And Surgical Songs.

Whether it’s a bee sting or a kick in the groin, pain sucks. But we need these unpleasant sensations so we know when something is wrong or when to avoid danger. Life Noggin explores the nature of pain, and some conditions which prevent people from feeling it.

Drink too much last night? Drop a couple of these fizzy tablets into a glass of water, and an effective combination of aspirin and caffeine will have you feeling good as new in about 15 minutes. Save 20% on a 20-dose pack in The Awesomer Shop.

Meet Arnold, the king of animated hypotheticals is here to explore what might happen to us if we actually could cure aging, and live at least 10 times longer we can today. The result isn’t all butterflies and lollipops. Also, nice segue to the sponsorship, guys.

(PG-13: Language) We love Simone Giertz for all of the wonderfully sh*tty robots she’s given us. But not too long ago, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Well, the good news is that she’s on the mend from the scary procedure to remove it, and is here to share her story.

If you’re squeamish about the possibility of having a surgery, one look at Sam O’Nella Academy’s history lesson on how these procedures worked before modern medicine should give you plenty of perspective and a more positive outlook on your prognosis.