NPR's Ivan Amato reports on a curious phenomenon called stochastic resonance and how it might help improve the human sense of touch. When a tiny electric charge is applied to the fingertips, people are able to feel faint sensations they wouldn't otherwise be able to notice. It's a reversal of the accepted notion that electrical noise interferes with a signal. Diabetics and the elderly, who lose sensation and often fall as a result, could profit from application of this discovery.
Copyright 1998 NPR
