Can humans regrow fingers?"
When a hobby-store owner in Cincinnati sliced off his fingertip in 2005 while showing a customer why the motor on his model plane was dangerous, he went to the emergency room without the missing tip. He couldn't find it anywhere. The doctor bandaged the wound and recommended a skin graft to cover the top of his right-middle stub for cosmetic purposes, since nothing could be done to rebuild the finger. Months later, he had regrown it, tissue, nerves, skin, fingernail and all. This particular hobbyist happened to have a brother in the tissue-regeneration business, who told him to forego the skin graft and instead apply a powdered extract taken from pig's bladder to the raw finger tip. The extract, called extracellular matrix, lays the framework that cells use to generate any given body part.
12 bizarre real-life places that are stranger than science fiction
Science fiction is home to some fantastic societies, from Cloud City to Bartertown. But you doesn't have to leave reality for this—our own world has places so abnormal, they make alien societies seem ordinary. Here are 12 remarkable locations in which people once lived (and some still do). 1. Izu Islands Off the coast of Japan lies a series of volcanic islands.
The 29 Healthiest Foods on the Planet
The following is a "healthy food hot list" consisting of the 29 food that will give you the biggest nutritional bang for you caloric buck, as well as decrease your risk for deadly illnesses like cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Along with each description is a suggestion as to how to incorporate these power-foods into your diet. Fruits
Nanoengineers invent new biomaterial that more closely mimics human tissue
Thursday, May 26, 2011 A new biomaterial designed for repairing damaged human tissue doesn’t wrinkle up when it is stretched. The invention from nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego marks a significant breakthrough in tissue engineering because it more closely mimics the properties of native human tissue. Pictured: Optical images of polyethylene glycol scaffolds expanding in response to stretching.(Note: green tone added to image.)
Animated Short Movies » Life-Changing Arts
Movie shorts, or short animations are a unique form of art, which can inspire and enlighten just like any other art form. Sometimes even more so. Here is a selection of inspiring, or for some reason animated short movies, here shown in their original full length. Thanks to all the visitors who have contributed with their detailed suggestions! That is why there are now two pages of great animated shorts! If you think there is a short animated movie that should be added, let us know which, and why.
The brain is actually wired like a chess board and a new scanner reveals how in stunning detail
By Ted Thornhill Published: 10:04 GMT, 30 March 2012 | Updated: 15:31 GMT, 30 March 2012 For a long time it was thought that the brain was a mass of tangled wires, but researchers recently found that its fibers are actually set up like a chess board, crossing at right-angles. What’s more, this grid structure has now been revealed in amazing detail as part of a brain imaging study by a new state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner.
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Public release date: 19-Apr-2011 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: David Orensteindavid_orenstein@brown.edu 401-863-1862Brown University PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Researchers at Brown University have found that specific genetic variations can predict how persistently people will believe advice they are given, even when it is contradicted by experience. The story they tell in a paper in the April 20 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience is one of the byplay between two brain regions that have different takes on how incoming information should influence thinking.
The 101 Most Useful Websites on the Internet
Here are the most useful websites on the Internet that will make you smarter, increase productivity and help you learn new skills. These incredibly useful websites solve at least one problem really well. And they all have cool URLs that are easy to memorize thus saving you a trip to Google. Also see: The Best Android Apps
An opening against Alzheimer’s
Under normal circumstances, the tau protein is a hard-working participant in memory and brain functioning. But in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, tau not only ceases to play a productive role in brain health, but actually undergoes a Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation to become a misshapen villain that destroys brain cells. “Since Alzheimer’s disease takes at least a decade to develop, the major challenge to halt memory loss is to identify the initial period when the tau protein is transformed from ‘good guy’ to ‘bad guy,’” said co-senior author Kun Ping Lu (left), BIDMC investigator, who along with co-senior author Xiao Zhen Zhou, did the research. Photo by Bruce Wahl/BIDMC Media Services The most common form of dementia in older individuals, Alzheimer’s affects 5.4 million Americans and 30 million people worldwide.
Cartagram — Geocoded Image Visualization — by Bloom
Cartagr.am This is Cartagr.am, by Bloom . It shows popular public photos from Instagram arranged on a map. Click and drag to pan around ... Scroll with your mouse or + and - to zoom ...
Tools & Utilities for filmmakers
You've now entered the Dependent Films Download Center. It's unbelievable 1) how much these files can help, and 2) how hard all of these tools are to find on the net. Thus, this is why we've assembled this compilation for all of you aspiring filmmakers out there. Best of all, they're all FREE (a favorite word for all independent filmmakers).
Stem Cell Basics: Introduction
Laboratory studies of stem cells enable scientists to learn about the cells’ essential properties and what makes them different from specialized cell types. Scientists are already using stem cells in the laboratory to screen new drugs and to develop model systems to study normal growth and identify the causes of birth defects.
50 Great Examples of Data Visualization
Wrapping your brain around data online can be challenging, especially when dealing with huge volumes of information. And trying to find related content can also be difficult, depending on what data you’re looking for. But data visualizations can make all of that much easier, allowing you to see the concepts that you’re learning about in a more interesting, and often more useful manner. Below are 50 of the best data visualizations and tools for creating your own visualizations out there, covering everything from Digg activity to network connectivity to what’s currently happening on Twitter. Music, Movies and Other Media
