ted:
How to grow a bone without a body
TED Fellow Nina Tandon — a regular Poppy Pomfrey — has developed a new way to grow customized bones. How? Well, she regenerates a person’s own multi-potent stem cells. (Don’t worry, we’ll explain.)
What you see above is decellularized bone scaffolding, which serves as the mold for the bone. Then, fat stem cells from a human are added to this structure, which is placed in a bioreactor that allows the materials to combine. Three weeks later, voilà! You have mature bone.
So far, Tandon and her team have successfully regrown pig bone, which could be the first step on the way to growing human bones, and an amazing step forward in healing our bodies.
(via madbeautifulscience-blog)
This was a week or so ago, but here’s a terrible phone camera video as I was working on this mood lamp thing.
Five Dollar Chemistry Set Wins Big
Manu Prakash won a contest to develop the 21st century chemistry set. His version, based on a toy music box, is small, robust, programmable and costs five dollars. It can inspire young scientists and also address developing-world problems such as water quality and health.
When Prakash was young he had a thing about flames. He’s not encouraging all kids to follow his fiery lead – he did burn one hand pretty badly – but he thinks kids should explore more when it comes to learning about science. That’s the idea behind his programmable, toy-like device that won a competition to “reimagine the chemistry set for the 21st century.”
Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2014/04/five-dollar-chemistry-set-wins-big
Is there a science to artistic expression? And who are some people combining science and art creatively?
Hey, this is one of our favorite topics! Here are a few of our favorite artworks that intersect with science and engineering…
- The brain on music: Researchers at UCSF worked with Mickey Hart (former drummer of the Grateful Dead) to create real time images of his brain while he performs.
- A lovely drawing of UCLA’s Anna Fisher, the first mother in space.
- Do-Ho Suh’s Fallen Star: this feat of engineering is located on the top of the Jacobs School at UC San Diego.
- Portrait of a Beekeeper: Photographer Richard Avedon enlisted the help of UC Davis entomologist (and professional bee wrangler) Dr. Norman Gary.
- Astrophysics, art & gaming: UC Santa Cruz’s OpenLab is a space for artists and scientists to develop projects together.
I enjoyed this meditation from Greg on art’s intersection with science. Those are great links above, and I’d also recommend my #sciart tag for more. Discussions like these seem to begin with the assumption that art and science have long been at odds. I’m not sure that’s true, at least not in the long run.
Regardless, I think that the two disciplines cook with very similar crucibles of creation, and dammit I’m just gonna have to make a video about this.
(via itsokaytobesmart)
If there was one quality Bradbury prized above all others in a writer, it was gusto. And it was a quality that Bradbury had in spades.
There is such a grave difference between, “Even if I don’t understand you, I accept you,” and “I don’t understand you, but I accept that there are just some weird people out there that you can’t reason with.”
This 17-year-old violinist and aspiring physician was accepted to all eight Ivy League universities. Meet Kwasi Enin.
(Photo via William Floyd School District)
My mom let her facebook friends/family know what’s up regarding me just now and this is how she did it.
Heck yeah, mom.
Cutest shit I have pretty much ever seen
Okay that’s excellent
amazing
