Google today announced a significant change to how its search results are delivered. With Knowledge Graph, results will be arranged according to categories.
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Photo: Cytograft You’re looking at a “rope” made from braided human parts. No, it’s not a premise for a new Syfy movie, rather a new tissue engineering technique by biotech firm Cytograft: … the biological strands could be used to weave blood vessel patches and grafts that a patient’s body would readily accept for wound repair. The process is faster and could be more cost-effective than other methods of producing biological tissue replacements. Cytograft’s technique draws upon a long history of medical textiles, which are typically produced with synthetic fibers like polyester. “Creating textiles is an ancient and powerful technique, and combining it with biomaterials is exciting because it has so much more versatility than the sheet method,” says Christopher Breuer, a surgeon, scientist, and tissue engineer at the Yale School of Medicine. “The notion of making blood vessels or more complex shapes like heart valves, or patches for the heart, is much easier to do with fibers,” he says. “If you can make fibers of any length, then there is no limit to the size or shape that you can make.” And that’s a better than any science fiction tale you can weave: Link – via Kurzweil
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A new treatment, using highly focused ultrasound, effectively kills cancerous prostate tumors nine times out of ten. What’s more, the technique produces virtually no side effects and means patients only have to spend a single evening in hospital. More »
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Jessica Lloyd Jones creates rather unique representations of vital organs out of blown glass, then she adds neon to each piece to add a glow of life energy. Here’s what Jessica has to say about her works: Blown glass human organs encapsulate inert gases displaying different colours under the influence of an electric current. The human anatomy is a complex, biological system in which energy plays a vital role. Brain Wave conveys neurological processing activity as a kinetic and sensory, physical phenomena through its display of moving electric plasma. Optic Nerve shows a similar effect, more akin to the blood vessels of the eye and with a front ‘lens’ magnifying the movement and the intensity of light. Heart is a representation of the human heart illuminated by still red neon gas. Electric Lungs is a more technically intricate structure with xenon gas spreading through its passage ways, communicating our human unawareness of the trace gases we inhale in our breathable atmosphere. Link –via JazJaz
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Before there was Red Bull, there was Krating Daeng, a sweet energy drink sold in Thailand and a few other countries. Its labels feature two red bulls charging one another.
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As efforts to save the spotted owl seem to be failing, the government is getting ready to try some experimental forestry to keep the species alive. Apparently the scientific approach is to hunt down the owl’s competition and let the loggers in. In other words: There are some hard times ahead for the barred owl. More »
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We all know we need to exercise to stay fit and healthy, but sometimes it’s difficult to find the time. Don’t worry: scientists have worked out the minimum amount of exercise you can get away with in order to get fit. More »
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