We've all got the somewhat awkward mystic aunt or grandparent who fancies they've been abducted by aliens or frequently visit with dead relations, but now science can trigger real out of body experiences - or, as real as they're apt to get. By combining visuals, via goggles, with tactile experiences which track what's happening in the visuals, the brain is fooled into feeling like it's really there. A video of "your" leg (even rendered as a dragon leg or a pixie leg) being touched plus the sensation of your real leg being touched, makes you feel that dragon or pixie leg is actually yours. Dr Ehrsson said, "In other words, we feel that our self is located where the eyes are." Deriving the implications for Bioshock 2 are left as an exercise for the reader. [Camille]

Out-of-body experience recreated

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