Are people getting just a bit too close to you while you’re on the bus or train? Last year we saw a design student in Singapore try to solve that problem with a spike-covered vest. Kathleen Marie McDermott, an artist and designer in Hong Kong, took a different approach.
Before the nightmare of having to build it all yourself begins, wandering through Ikea and deciding what furniture to buy is actually kind of fun. But researchers at EPFL are working on a better approach. Instead of deciding on a specific piece of furniture, they’re working on tiny modular robots that simply assemble into whatever furniture you happen to need at … Read More → "Shape-shifting robots designed to build furniture when you need it"
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a new way to safely transfer energy to tiny medical devices implanted deep inside the human body. The advance could lead to the development of tiny “electroceutical” devices that can be implanted near nerve bundles, heart or brain tissue and stimulate them directly when needed, treating diseases using electronics rather than drugs.
</ … Read More → "Safe, wirelessly charged implants could replace drugs"
via Gizmag
The dog wheel-spit turner came sometime in the 6th or 7th century, replacing what was probably an unfortunate kitchen boy hiding behind a bale of wet hay to avoid getting cooked. In medieval kitchens, you might find this wooden wheel mounted high on the wall, away from the heat. As the dog ran, a chain tugged on spit, turning it in tandem.
Read More → "Medieval kitchens used a specially bred dog to turn roasting spits"
Because second- and third-degree burns damage underlying layers of skin, they can take a long time to heal. Such extended healing periods are not only painful to the patient, but increase the risk of infection and scarring. While various medications are available to deal with pain and infection, there is currently no commercial treatment to speed up the rate of healing of burn wounds. Now researchers have developed a nanogel that could fill this hole.
< … Read More → "Peptide-based nanogel accelerates healing of burn wounds"
The climate is so arid in some corners of the globe that virtually any source of water is crucial to survival; even the fog rolling over the hills could make a big difference. MIT is well aware of this, and has been testing an advanced form of fog harvesting in Chile’s Atacama Desert (one of the driest places on the planet) to see how the technology can help communities in very harsh regions. … Read More → "MIT harvests fog to make water in one of the driest places on Earth"
Fossilised bones of a dinosaur believed to be the largest creature ever to walk the Earth have been unearthed in Argentina, palaeontologists say.
Based on its huge thigh bones, it was 40m (130ft) long and 20m (65ft) tall.
Weighing in at 77 tonnes, it was as heavy as 14 African elephants, and seven tonnes heavier than the previous record holder, Argentinosaurus.
Scientists believe it … Read More → "‘Biggest dinosaur ever’ discovered"
If you use a piggy bank as an interest-free savings account, you’re probably happy to wait and be surprised at how much money you amass. But if you instead use a piggy bank as just a place to store pocket change, this simple weigh-scale bank will let you know when you’ve got enough money to buy a coffee or bagel.
Designed by Selma Durand as … Read More → "This piggy bank uses gravity to let you know when you’ve saved a buck"
Since 2004, Sandcastlematt has been making beautiful sculptural sand castles, mainly on beaches near Boston. Sandcastlematt makes the sculptures using the “drip castle” method. He uses sticks, fishing line, and other debris he finds on the beach to give the sculptures their often gravity-defying forms.
via Laughing Squid
Read More → "Beautiful drip castle sand sculptures that appear to defy gravity"
Many commuters know the agony of mass transit at rush hour; it’s no fun to skip packed buses and subway cars when you’re already desperate to get home. Urban Engines clearly shares in that pain as well, as it’s rolling out an internet service that uses commuting patterns to spot choke points in public transportation. Ticket purchases, pass card swipes and similar behavior create an activity map that reveals just where … Read More → "Cities use online ticket tracking to save you time on the subway"
