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ICYMI: Treat all your wine right with a $1,500 fridge
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A wine fridge called Plum can scan your wine bottles, seals so they stay fresh and then calibrates the temperature inside for maximum deliciousness of pour for every glass. Downside? It's $1,500 so you could take a vacation to wine country instead. Meanwhile, Harvard scientists announced a 3D-printed heart on a chip that has integrated sensors, so it can be used to test medications, which should rapidly accelerate medical studies. The most detailed Milky Way Galaxy yet is here. The particle accelerator on a chip talk at the SLAC lab is here and the Singapore driverless bus news is here. For drones attempting a lightbulb change, go here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
ICYMI: A cold foam heart, fast oil change invention and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-524051{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-524051, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-524051{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-524051").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Castrol invented an oil-storing apparatus that lets you change the oil and filter by swapping in a fresh container under two minutes. It's already inside an Aston Martin racing car but the company's goal is to get it into mainstream consumer cars within a few years. Meanwhile Cornell scientists invented a polymer that has pores and can pump fluids, allowing it to act as an artificial foam heart. And a Tokyo-based eyewear company will begin selling its smart glasses next month. The classically-styled eyeglasses can track movement and are definitely less nerd-defining than the telltale Google Glass version.
Scientists make an artificial heart out of foam
Artificial hearts only kinda-sorta behave like the real thing. They pump blood, sure, but they're typically solid blocks of machinery that are out of place in a squishy human body. Cornell University thinks it can do better, though: its scientists have developed an artificial foam heart that imitates both the functions and shape of its fleshy counterpart. The key is a new polymer that can be poured into specific shapes, and has pores that let it pump fluids. It's not only soft and stretchable, but more efficient -- you don't need much energy to get liquids moving.
Taking walks with this leg brace can power an artificial heart
Someday, folks with artificial hearts might have to take long, daily walks to stay alive -- not because exercise is good for their health, but because those walks literally power their synthetic organ. A team of students from Rice University called "Farmers" are developing a device that can generate energy and feed it back into the body to be used by an artificial heart. Their creation? A modified medical leg brace with a motor attached right on the joint, so it can produce energy every time the user bends his knee. An earlier prototype for the same project -- it's a multi-year endeavor, and the current model is the brainchild of the third batch of students -- could also generate power by walking. However, that wasn't a brace, but a shoe with a pedal attached to the sole.
Prototype artificial heart unveiled, expected to cost $192k
Far from being the first artificial heart we've seen, the latest iteration unveiled by a team of French scientists is easily the most sophisticated. Built from technology used in satellites and airplanes, the prototype heart is said to "beat almost exactly like the real thing using electronic sensors to regulate heart rate and blood flow." Reportedly, the device boasts "the same tiny sensors that measure air pressure and altitude in an airplane or satellite," enabling it to theoretically react in an instant if the patient suddenly needs more or less blood. Thus far, the heart has only been tested in animals, and now gurus behind it are hoping to net approval from authorities in order to forge ahead with clinical trials. Of course, a "lifelike" heart made from polymer and pig tissue won't come cheap, with initial pricing estimates putting it just south of 200 grand. Or, just enough to give you a heart attack.[Via DailyTech, image courtesy of AP; thanks, Allislost]
