Surgeons and clinicians from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical Center have completed the world’s first successful transplant of a genetically modified pig’s heart into an adult human patient to save his life. David Bennett, a 57-year-old resident of Maryland, had been deemed ineligible for a conventional heart transplant and other transplant centers around the country. Read more for two videos, including an interview with one of the surgeons.
There may be robots that look like humans, but the one thing all of those don’t get right are the human facial expressions. Bioengineers at the Pisa University and Gustav Hoegen, an FX artist for Biomimic, aim to change that. They are currently working on a humanoid robot, called Abel, that comes equipped with the technology to react to human emotions by analyzing parameters such as voice frequency or thermal changes on the skin visible in infrared or heartbeat frequency. Read more for a video and additional information.
Since the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was going on this week, it’s no surprise that a multitude of Tesla vehicles would be using the Boring Company’s underground tunnel for quick access to the convention center. For those who don’t know, it’s essentially a 1.7-mile loop designed to ferry passengers around the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), cutting down the commute time for a 45-minute walk to a 2-minute drive during typical scenarios. Read more to see the traffic jam that ensued earlier this week.
Prison inmates are not able to get their hands on the latest video game consoles, like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S / X, but that doesn’t mean that gaming is out of the question for them. There are currently two options available to them, the HG-501 and HG-503, with the latter being the most popular since it comes pre-loaded with games, powered by simple AAA batteries. Read more for an in-depth look at them .
John may have only left the US Army 2-days ago, but that didn’t stop him from building one of the coolest FedEx step van conversions you’ve ever seen. For those who don’t know, this step van weighs between 1 – 2 tons and are often utilized by government agencies, specifically during disaster recovery efforts, or in this case, for deliveries. Read more to see the conversion and for additional information.
Photo credit: Lida Xing
Fossilized dinosaur eggs and nests are nothing new, but finding a well-preserved embryo inside one of them is most certainly a rarity. However, one such perfectly preserved specimen has been discovered in southern China. This discovery also led researchers to believe that oviraptorosaurs (therapods closely related to birds) remained in a tucked posture before they hatched. Read more for a short video and additional information.
Until scientists manage to build an artificial gravity generator for spacecraft, astronauts are prone to an array of eye / vision disorders in space. This is caused by the zero-gravity conditions of outer space, which cause body fluids to build in the head, thus putting pressure on the eyeballs and resulting in a condition called spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS). Read more to see how astronauts typically sleep aboard the ISS.
A pogo stick basically refers to a device for jumping off the ground in a standing position, through the aid of a spring, and it even led to an extreme sport named extreme pogo or “Xpogo”. George H. Herrington of Wichita, Kansas patented a spring stilt utilizing compression springs on each foot in 1891, and since then, there have been countless versions, including Hop Rod. Read more to see how this gas-powered pogo stick from the 1960s works.
Gino Lucci, an Air Force veteran, came across an old Doublas R4D airplane fuselage back in 2019, which was damaged by a tornado, and decided to purchase it for the cost of a used car. It didn’t sit there for long afterwards, as he dreamed of turning it into a fully-functional luxury RV. So, he began collecting parts from Bontrager’s Surplus and then spent a year building the unique vehicle, built atop a delivery truck, at his home in Michigan. Read more for a video and additional information.
Photo credit: CNET
Yutu-2 is a robotic lunar rover that was launched on the Chang’e 4 mission to the Moon December 7 2018. It made a successful soft landing on the Moon’s far side on January 3, 2019, and has been exploring its mysteries ever since. Recently, it came across a bizarre cube-shaped structure on the northern horizon, around 80km away in the Von Karman crater. The team controller the rover will spend the next 2-3 lunar days investigating it. Read more for additional information and a bonus video on another oddity it found.