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Protected only by sheepskin and straw hats, Chinese blacksmiths hurl “molten metal against the walls of Nuanquan village in Hebei province to celebrate the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations.” This produces a fireworks-like show known as Dashuhua. Continue reading for a video.

As the metal strikes the cold wall is explodes in a shower of sparks, most of which rebound back over the performer. The patterns made by the quickly solidifying molten metal across the cold brick of the wall given the performance its name of Dashuhua, or tree flower.

[via DailyMail]

Unlike other medical devices used to treat burn victims, this groundbreaking skin gun by Jorg C. Gerlach and colleagues at Stem Cell Systems GmbH in Berlin uses “individual adult stem cells from the patient’s uninjured skin are applied to the wound site, where they differentiate into normal skin.” Continue reading for the video — warning, not for the squeamish.

The newly introduced stem cells are able to regenerate and differentiate into their respective parts in a matter of days. The first phase of gathering the patient’s stem cells, creating a solution, and applying the stem cells takes approximately 1.5-2 hours. Within a week, the wound dressing procedure allows the stem skin cells to fully generate normal skin, and after a couple of months the skin regains its color and texture.

[via KotakuWiki]

For those who don’t already know, blue ice “occurs when snow falls on a glacier, is compressed, and becomes part of a glacier that winds its way toward a body of water (river, lake, ocean, etc.). During its travels, air bubbles that are trapped in the ice are squeezed out, and the size of the ice crystals increases, making it clear.” Click here to see more WINS, courtesy of HackedIRL.com. Continue reading to see a real-life ice city in China.

Thanks to heated sheets of carbon nanotubes, underwater invisibility cloaks on a large scale could be closer to reality than you think. In technical terms, “Ali Aliev and colleagues at the University of Texas in Dallas embedded a sheet of carbon nanotubes into aerogel, a foam-like material; when electrically heated, the nanotubes bent light waves to create a mirage, effectively cloaking the sheet and anything behind it.” Video after the break.

Aliev says the mirage forms because the nanotubes transfer heat to the surrounding air more efficiently than regular metals, allowing a steeper temperature gradient to form near the device’s surface. Because photothermal deflection depends on light’s ability to propagate faster through hotter, less-dense material, the device works better when the temperature gradient is steeper. Plus, he adds, because carbon nanotubes do not store heat well, the mirage can be turned on and off quickly.

[via NewScientist]

That’s right, “it’s not just flat stones that can skip across the surface of water; despite their spherical shape, water-bouncing balls can jump across ponds just as seamlessly.” This super ball was developed by Tadd Truscott and his team at Brigham Young University in Utah.” Video after the break.

The water-bouncing ball, however, was able to maintain a crushed shape for longer to help it scoot across the pond. Its contact area with the water increased when it was squished, helping it to ride along. The ball sprung from the water over 20 times, covering a stretch of nearly 60 meters.

[via NewScientist]

Believe it or not, “particle engineer Paul Luckham and fashion designer Manel Torres from Imperial College London combined cotton fibres, polymers and a solvent to form a liquid that becomes a fabric when sprayed.” Continue reading for the news report.

Scientists think the fabric, created through careful use of an aerosol, could have applications not only in high fashion but in medicine and industry.

[via BBCNewScientist]

More than just a small mound of dirt, this “abandoned megalopolis, which features vast subterranean highways, paths and gardens, was found buried beneath the earth in Brazil; it took ten days to pour the material down the labyrinth of channels, which covered an area of 500sq ft and extended to 26ft below the surface.” Video after the break.

Each insect would have repeatedly carried loads of earth, weighing more times more than the worker, a distance of what would be just over half a mile in human terms. In total, they excavated around 40 tonnes of soil to create the labyrinth, revealed the Nature’s Secret Power documentary, also featuring Dr Bert Holldobler from the Arizona State University.

[via DailyMail]

That’s right, researchers have developed a “bioengineered skin so tough that it stops a speeding bullet from penetrating.” In the first segment, the bullet is moving at half speed; “repeated with a round moving at a full 1,080 feet per second, the skin gives way.” Continue reading to watch.

But both half-speed and full-speed tests were also conducted with real human skin and human skin augmented with regular silkworm silk, as well as with piglet skin. In all cases, the bullet won out. The only exception was the bioengineered spider silk tissue.

[via PopSci]