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Artificial Jellyfish Created From Rat Cells

It may look and move like a jellyfish, but it isn’t. Instead, it happens to be an artificial tentacled creature composing of silicon and rat cells. The creature, known as the “Medusoid” due to its Medusa like appearance, was created by some obviously fun loving scientists at Caltech and Harvard.

The Medusoid is able to simulate a swimming movement by using rat heart muscle cells grafted onto a silicon frame. The cells were allowed to grow into a pattern similar to a real Jellyfish. The creature moves when a current is applied to the enclosing conducting liquid.

The project’s goal was to study advance tissue engineering, and how it could be applied to new structures. According to project colleague Prof John Dabiri,

I’m pleasantly surprised at how close we are getting to matching the natural biological performance, but also that we’re seeing ways in which we can probably improve on that natural performance. The process of evolution missed a lot of good solutions.

Now, if only we could be sure that such power will be used for good instead of evil tentacled giant rat heart powered killing machines. But even though it sounds creepy, the idea of tissue engineering applied to physical goals is an amazing concept. Just imagine all of the interesting creatures just around the bend…

via neatorama

Cardiac Muscle

Cardiac muscle is adapted to be highly resistant to fatigue: it has a large number of mitochondria, enabling continuous aerobic respiration via oxidative phosphorylation, numerous myoglobins (oxygen-storing pigment) and a good blood supply, which provides nutrients and oxygen.

source:wikipedia

Sapphires Could Be The Million+ Year Data Storage Solution

Greg Chaffins

Did you ever stop to consider how all of this digital data we live with today is going handle long-term storage? The typical hard drive is rated for about 5 years. The new SSDs fare better, with an expected storage of 8 to 10 years. Even a physical DVD is only good for 25 years or so. With that said, how can we store all of this data for the far-flung future? A French nuclear waste management company may have found the answer.

ANDRA has created an industrial grade sapphire disk that can store data, and it should be good to go for millions of years. The prototype was created by taking two thin, 20 cm wide disks and etching them with platinum on one side. Then the two disks are molecularly fused back together, sealing the etchings on the inside.

Naturally, a custom-made sapphire and platinum storage disk is not going to be cheap, and the current rate is about US $30,738. But the finished product can store up to 40,000 pages of text or images, perfect to pass on today’s Facebook status or a dire warning about the effects of pollution and political upheaval.

Now I have to wonder if history has repeated itself, and maybe we should take another hard look at those Egyptian gems. Wouldn’t it be awful if we have the secret to the universe right in our hands, and someone is just wearing it around their neck as a decoration?

via gizmag

Sapphire

Sapphire (Greek: σάπφειρος; sappheiros, “blue stone”) is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide (α-Al2O3). Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, copper or magnesium can give corundum blue, yellow, pink, purple, orange or greenish color. Chromium impurities in corundum yield a red tint, and the resultant gemstone is called a ruby.

source:wikipedia

A Little Tough Love with Mr. Wizard

Greg Chaffins

Mr. Wizard, aka Don Herbert, made science fun for millions of kids over the years. With his approach of hands on learning and a youthful assistant, Mr. Wizard brought science out of the textbooks and into the real world. But through those years of helping his assistants perform the experiments, there was always a message of learning. And sometimes it takes a little tough love to get the message across. Despite the opening title, I think the video shows Mr. Wizard to be at the top of his game. But the compilation is fun to watch.

Don Herbert died in 2007, but he leaves behind a wealth of science education for a generation. It is probably impossible to measure the impact he had in shaping the modern scientific community. But I do believe we could use a little scientific “tough love” today to prepare us for the future.

via Neatorama

Mr. Wizard

Donald Jeffry Herbert (“Mr. Wizard”) (July 10, 1917 – June 12, 2007) was the creator and host of Watch Mr. Wizard (1951–65, 1971–72) and of Mr. Wizard’s World (1983–90), which were educational television programs for children devoted to science and technology. He also produced many short video programs about science and authored several popular books about science for children. In his obituary, Bill Nye wrote, “Herbert’s techniques and performances helped create the United States’ first generation of homegrown rocket scientists just in time to respond to Sputnik. He sent us to the moon. He changed the world.”

source:wikipedia

Stay Better Informed with Blink(1)

Greg Chaffins

It’s great to stay informed with what happens on your computer and that wacky web thing, but having to continuously scan a screen for changes while you are trying to get more immediate work done can be frustrating. But Blink(1) – yes, the “(1)” is part of the name – can make it a simple thing.

Blink(1) is a multicolored LED that is designed to plug into your USB port. You set the event that you want to monitor through software, and assign it an alert pattern. Now you are free to to wander about the room (or the computer screen), and when the event fires, the light will alert you. In case things too complicated, you can add as many Blinks as you want, as long as you have a USB port to plug them into.

Blink(1) is a crowd funded Kickstarter project, and they have met their funding target. You can read more about the Blink(1) project here, but in the meanwhile check out the video below.

Kickstarter

One of a new set of fundraising platforms dubbed “crowd funding,” Kickstarter facilitates gathering monetary resources from the general public, a model which circumvents many traditional avenues of investment. Projects must meet Kickstarter’s guidelines to launch — charity, cause, “fund-my-life” projects and open-ended fundraising are not permitted. Project creators choose a deadline and a goal minimum of funds to raise. If the chosen goal is not gathered by the deadline, no funds are collected (this is known as a provision point mechanism). Money pledged by donors is collected using Amazon Payments. The platform is open only to permanent US residents of 18 years of age or older, with a US address, US bank account, a US state-issued driver’s license, and a major US credit or debit card.

source:wikipedia