In “The Dark Knight,” Hollywood’s latest take on the Caped Crusader, Batman tries to best the Joker with old-fashioned brawn and brain: The Dark Knight is a superhero without any superpowers per se. But mere mortals who want to achieve Batman's physical and intellectual prowess may first want to visit their doctor (or pusher). As some of major-league baseball's finest players might attest, steroids can help boost physical abilities. And legions of pills, designed to treat conditions from short attention spans to drowsiness, are finding underground popularity as \"brain boosters\" for students and executives. Click on the \"Next\" arrow above to learn about six more ways humans can achieve the superpowers of their superheroes.
— John Roach"; Tech_WeirdScience_080718[i++] = new Array("","‘X-ray vision’ moves beyond geeky glasses","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Video/080421/x_lon_thruvision_080421.hmedium.jpg","","Image: PalmSecure", "", "", "", "", "", "", "Courtesy of Fujitsu", "273", "364", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_WeirdScience_080718[i-1].body = "‘X-ray vision’ moves beyond geeky glasses
Want to see through clothing like Superman? Skip the geeky glasses from the toy store and get a job with the Transportation Security Administration. Several airports around the country, including Phoenix, Los Angeles and New York, are testing body scanners that let security screeners peer beneath passengers' clothing to detect concealed weapons. The machines use low-energy electromagnetic waves to produce a grainy computerized image of a person's body – intimate curves included. Such devices may one day replace the metal detectors that passengers walk through at most airports today, but privacy experts have their concerns."; Tech_WeirdScience_080718[i++] = new Array("","Robotic suit gives super-strength","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo/_new/080715-tech-vmed-9a.standard.jpg","","Image: palm scanner in a computer mouse ", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Courtesy of Fujitsu", "298", "206", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_WeirdScience_080718[i-1].body = "Robotic suit gives super-strength
For those who want the super-strength of the Incredible Hulk without a really bad temper or the aid of steroids, consider robotic muscles. The engineer in this image is wearing a suit called an exoskeleton that can amplify his strength and endurance as much as 20 times. Sensors on the suit detect the wearer's movements, which a computer then translates to hydraulic valves that drive the mechanical limbs. The exoskeleton is being developed for the U.S. military by Raytheon. Field tests are planned for next year."; Tech_WeirdScience_080718[i++] = new Array("","Fly like Superman","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080514/080514-jet-man-hmed-01-10a.hlarge.jpg","","Image: fingerprint check", "", "", "", "", "", "Daniel Berehulak", "Getty Images file", "268", "622", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_WeirdScience_080718[i-1].body = "Fly like Superman
Flight is perhaps Superman's most enviable and famous superpower – and humans have labored hard to mimic it. Airplanes, of course, are a reasonable solution, but they don't allow individuals to take to the skies on a whim. Since the 1950s, rocket-powered backpacks have been a viable option for short-lived jaunts, and their future could look even better: Jet Pack International says it will soon release a model that promises 9 minutes of flight time and an estimated speed of 83 mph. The rocket man in this photo, 48-year-old Yves Rossy, lived out his Superman dream in May 2008 when he demonstrated his self-made jet-powered wings on a flight in the Swiss Alps."; Tech_WeirdScience_080718[i++] = new Array("","Gecko inspires super-sticky tape","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080208/Gecko-intro.hmedium.jpg","","Image: portable iris scanner", "", "", "", "", "", "Peter Macdiarmid", "Getty Images file", "273", "357", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_WeirdScience_080718[i-1].body = "Gecko inspires super-sticky tape
For everyone who has ever had a Spider-Man fantasy of scaling tall buildings – and who hasn't? – here's good news: Your day has almost arrived, thanks to scientists inspired by little lizards called geckos that scamper across vertical surfaces as if there's nothing to it. The gecko's secret is the collective power of tiny attractive forces exerted by millions of microscopic bristles on the pads of their feet. Scientists have mimicked the bristles, as shown in this image, to create a postage-stamp-size patch of tape that is super sticky but rapidly and easily releases just like a scampering gecko's foot. Use the tape to cover a pair of gloves and shoes and you could be scaling skyscrapers just like Spidey."; Tech_WeirdScience_080718[i++] = new Array("","Cloak of invisibility on the horizon?","","http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060524/060524_invisible_hmed8p.widec.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "263", "298", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_WeirdScience_080718[i-1].body = "Cloak of invisibility on the horizon?
Wanna disappear? Susan Storm, a.k.a. the Invisible Woman of the film and comic strip \"Fantastic Four\" fame, has the power. Harry Potter and his pals carry around a cloak that allows them to do the same. And maybe someday in the future so can you – if a team of British and American researchers can make their cloak of invisibility work with all the wavelengths that make up visible light. To date, it only kind of hides objects from microwaves. The device is made of a complex mixture of copper wires, rings and a fiberglass composite used in circuit boards. It channels microwaves around the object being hidden – but the effect is not perfect, and it’s a long way from allowing people to hide in a room. Nevertheless, it's a start. Stay tuned."; Tech_WeirdScience_080718[i++] = new Array("","Tissue regeneration for real heroes","","http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070216/070215_fingers_vmed_11a.widec.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "389", "298", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_WeirdScience_080718[i-1].body = "Tissue regeneration for real heroes
Wolverine may be a superhero, and a member of the X-Men and New Avengers, but he's got nothing on the thousands of U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. What Wolverine does have, though, is the ability to grow back severed limbs – a trait those real heroes wish they possessed. Scientists are busy investigating everything from stem cells and salamanders to pig powder for clues on how to make the soldiers' wishes come true. Stem cells are so-called master cells that have the ability to specialize into various tissues needed to create body parts. Scientists believe the cells play a key role in salamander limb regeneration. Meanwhile, the hobby store owner is this picture, Les Spievack, had great luck re-growing the severed tip of his right middle finger by sprinkling a pig bladder extract on it every two days for four months. Experts caution that there is no proof the powder was responsible, though."; // END editorial data