Walking Like a Duck
Fluffy duck Buttercup was born with a backward foot, which caused her pain and made it hard to move around like a normal bird. Physical therapy helped, but couldn’t fully turn her foot in the proper direction. Caretaker Mike Garey and veterinarian Dr. Shannon McGee teamed up with NovaCopy to make a prosthetic leg out of silicone for Buttercup using 3-D modeling and printing technology. Follow Buttercup’s progress at the Feathered Angels Waterfowl Sanctuary in Arlington, Tenn., on her Facebook page: Facebook.com/ButtercupTheDuck. Source: InhabitatTurning Coke into Water
Smits revealed that the prototype’s main purpose is to get people thinking. “I’m not planning on turning all the Coke in the world back into water; it’s more to let people think about how we humans create the world around us and ask questions.” Source: Dezeen
Nanoparticle Research Boosted by Accident
Google software engineer Tom Stanis’ February 2013 bicycle accident near Stanford University left him with a concussion, a neck brace and no recollection of the event. But it also resulted in an unrelated medical discovery that shifted the course of his career. A CT scan after the accident revealed spine fractures and a kidney mass that turned out to be cancer.With the cancer removed, and an excellent prognosis, Stanis left his post on the Google Wallet mobile payment team to join Google X, the company’s clandestine research arm. Specifically, he’s now a part of a Life Sciences group developing nanoparticles to patrol the human body to detect evidence of diseases like cancer in their early, most-treatable stages. In fact, Stanis’ story was instrumental in securing funding for the endeavor.
“I feel like the work I do is leading to better solutions to these problems. I feel a direct personal connection to this,” he said. Source: Wall Street Journal