4D printing: The new human bionics

Skylar Tibbits, an architect who heads up the Self-Assembly Lab at MIT.

The essence of human identity is increasingly in the hands of a new generation. We are entering a future where our biology is becoming self-defined, assembled, manufactured, and increasingly unique. For one, advancements in new materials technology are leading to potentially game-changing innovations. When combined with rapid improvements in 3D printing techniques, the applications for human biology become manifold.

 

 

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Cold caps may prevent hair loss during chemotherapy

Hospital staff help a patient put on a cold cap.

What is the first thing most patients undergoing chemotherapy want to know? Oncologist Susan Melin of the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina told the Associated Press that often, her patients ask first about hair loss. “It’s not, ‘Is this going to cure me?’ It’s, ‘Am I going to lose my hair?'” she said.

 

 

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The future of toys – Disney 3D prints animated eyes for interactive characters

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB85O3yy0zM[/youtube]

Today, they are just cute, animated eyes. But tomorrow, curved displays could change the way we interact with everything.  According to Frog’s chief creative officer, Mark Rolston, in the next five years a doll will come out with a face made from a curved display, and that will change the way toys are made forever.

 

 

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The world is seeing less crime, so where have all of the burglars gone?

The number of violent crimes has fallen by 32% since 1990 across America as a whole.

The capital of Estonia, Tallinn, does not look like a den of thieves. On a summer afternoon, herds of elderly tourists—American, Japanese, British—wander between the gift shops and sip lagers at pavement cafés beneath the gothic town hall. In a park, teenagers chat and smoke cigarettes in the sun.

 

 

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Facebook’s power footprint growing and moving east

A breakdown of power usage at Facebook’s data centers during 2012, from the company’s annual sustainability report.

In 2012, Facebook’s data center energy use grew 33 percent, as the company installed tens of thousands of servers in its new company-built data centers. The growth of the company’s power usage is disclosed in the company’s latest sustainability report, which also documents the company’s move to reduce its computing footprint in Silicon Valley, even as it boosts its reliance on leased space in northern Virginia.

 

 

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Which industries get the most customer service complaints?

Only 44% of the top 25 online retailers responded to customer service requests from social media within 24 hours.

Social media and the internet have made it much easier for people to vent about bad service to a potentially large audience. If you make a customer unhappy these days you can count on their other 5,000-some friends hearing about it, too.  Twenty-five percent of people who have a negative customer experience share their thoughts on social networks. (Infographic)

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Dolphins use whistles to call each other by individual names

Dolphins have individual signature whistles.

Humans use particular vocal labels for objects and for people. These are called words, and names. There are many animals that use sounds to convey information such as a wolf’s howl.  Some creatures, such as parrots and dolphins, can learn specific vocal labels. And wild dolphins are known to have particular, individual signature whistles. Scientists at Scotland’s St. Andrews University wanted to know: can these whistles be used as labels?

 

 

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The negative effects of vitamins: Study

Study raises more questions about the health benefits of vitamins.

A new Biology Letters  paper raises more questions about the benefits of vitamins as a health supplement. High doses of dietary antioxidants such as vitamins are claimed to slow the process of cellular aging by lessening the damage to proteins, lipids and DNA caused by free radicals. Some research has found that the longevity of mice could be extended by administering particular vitamin supplements, despite the supplements’ limited effectiveness in reducing free radical damage. However, the opposite was found to be true in voles in a new study.

 

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Why 3D printing is set to explode in 2014

Brook Drum, the founder and CEO of Printrbot.

Patents have been holding back 3D printing, the technology that’s supposed to revolutionize manufacturing and countless other industries. In February 2014, key patents that currently prevent competition in the market for the most advanced and functional 3D printers will expire, says Duann Scott, design evangelist at 3D printing company Shapeways.

 

 

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