regeneration
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Researchers create lung 'blueprint' that could aid organ regeneration
Serious lung disease has a high rate of mortality, and the only curative treatment is a lung transplant. This is a complicated procedure that has other adverse health effects and oftentimes simply doesn't work, so for scientists in this field, organ regeneration -- that is, growing an organ from the body's own tissue -- is the ultimate solution. Now, researchers from Yale say they're on track for this very eventuality.
This worm grew a second head after a trip to space
There are all kinds of experiments going on aboard the International Space Station, but they all probably don't produce results as strange as this one. An article published today in the journal Regeneration details a recent experiment in which an amputated flatworm grew two heads -- twice.
This lizard's DNA might hold the key to regenerating human tissue
The humble green anole has but a few claims to fame: it was featured on the cover of the very first Animorphs book, and it can self-amputate and regrow its tail after coming face to face with a predator. It's that latter ability that's tickled the scientific community's fancy (though c'mon, Animorphs was really good), and now researchers claim to have cracked the genetic code behind the anole's little trick. Turns out, the key to the anole's near-Whovian regeneration ability are 326 genes that come into play once the tail has been detached, and Arizona State University's Dr. Kenro Kusumi thinks a better understanding of that process might ultimately lead to a way to regenerate lost or damaged human tissue.
The Light and How to Swing It: How to compare intellect and spirit in Mists of Pandaria
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Light and How to Swing It for holy, protection and retribution paladins. Every Sunday, Chase Christian invites you to discuss the finer side of the paladin class: the holy specialization. Feel free to email me with any questions you want answered, like why paladins are so awesome. With Mists of Pandaria coming up on the horizon, many holy paladins are looking ahead to the changes that the expansion will bring. Most of the talent and ability info is still very malleable at this point, and as such, I haven't begun to worry or get excited just yet. One thing that we do know is that in Mists, intellect will finish the transformation that it started in Cataclysm. Intellect is going to become a throughput-only stat, as it will stop increasing our maximum mana. Today, intellect and longevity are nearly synonymous. Replenishment and Divine Plea are two of our largest mana sources, and they both scale off of our intellect. Most paladins are sporting intellect gems and trinkets, and intellect flasks and food fill up our bags. Holy paladins have been leaning on intellect for a long time due to its versatility, and it seemed like the decision to roll spell power into intellect would permanently ensure intellect's role as our best stat. By decoupling intellect and mana, the developers are changing everything we know about gearing a healer.
Lichborne: Racial abilities for death knights
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done. With all the upheaval regarding death knight abilities and DPS happening right now, it's sometimes a good idea to go back to the basics and figure out some of the stuff that underlies a good, solid death knight. One of the most basic cornerstones of choosing a death knight is choosing your race. Since every single race can be a death knight, you have your pick, and since there's a race change service, you don't even have to stay the same race forever. Personally, I tend to say that you choose whatever race feels right for you -- but for those who want to pick a race (or change your current race) based on what racials are "best," this guide is for you.
Vindictus gives characters a moment around the campfire
The focus that Nexon has pushed with Vindictus has been one of non-stop, no-holds-barred action. While that's not a bad thing in any sense, it does lead one to wonder if there will be anything but the non-stop slaughter to deal with. As it turns out, there will be a feature in the game not just allowing players a brief rest, but actually encouraging one -- the campfire. Long known as a place where adventurers can congregate and rest, campfires can be built mid-dungeon and provide not just a chance to stop and chat, but also offer vital services. Obtained from an NPC early in the game, campfire kits and books allow players to put a campfire together, giving them small buffs that increase the longer they sit by the fire. The fire improves attack, defense, and health regeneration, with greater bonuses coming the longer you enjoy its warming presence. It also offers a more subtle benefit to players by allowing the repair of any damaged items. Although you can only assemble one per dungeon and gain no protection while sitting at the fire, it seems that Vindictus has built in a mechanic to encourage the party to sit down and chat for a minute or two before resuming the charnel-house slaughter. %Gallery-104223%
Researchers hope tooth regeneration gel will reduce the need for fillings
We may still not have jetpacks or flying cars, but it looks like the 21st century might be about to get a bit more futuristic. As Discovery News reports, a study published in the ACS Nano journal is offering some fairly convincing evidence that a new type of hormone gel could potentially regenerate teeth and eliminate the need for fillings in at least some cases. According to the French scientists behind it, the gel has already managed to make cavities in mice "disappear" after only a month, and the peptide used in the gel, MSH, has also previously been shown to encourage bone regeneration. Of course, it will be a little while yet before your dentist puts down the drill -- the researchers say there still needs to be "several years" of clinical trials, and note that it likely won't replace fillings altogether (or prevent them).
Invetech 3D bio-printer is ready for production, promises 'tissue on demand'
Say hello to "the world's first production model 3D bio-printer." What you're looking at is a machine capable of arranging human cells and artificial scaffolds into complex three-dimensional structures, which result in such wonderful things as replacement liver and kidney tissue, or such simple niceties as artificially grown teeth. All we're told of the internal workings is that the bio-printer utilizes laser-calibrated print heads and that its design is the first to offer sufficiently wide flexibility of use to make the device viable. Organovo will be the company responsible for promoting the new hardware to research institutions, while at the same time trying to convince the world that it's not the fifth sign of the apocalypse. Maybe if the printer didn't have a menacing red button attached to it, we'd all be a little less freaked out by it.
Patch 3.3 PTR: Easing the curve for beginners
The patch 3.3 PTR notes are out, and the most interesting thing to me, after just a first look, is that Blizzard is making some serious tweaks to the level 1-10 experience, of all things. Dazed is getting changed a bit -- characters from levels 1-5 will be completely immune, while characters 6-10 will have a much lower chance of getting slowed down. Health and mana regeneration at the lower levels is being increased (mana costs on the lower levels of spells are also being decreased, though we're not sure yet which spells are being changed and what the difference is). The default equipment is being tweaked, and most notably, rogues will start out right away with dual wield and two daggers do it with.
Spiritual Guidance: 12 Reasons why you don't want to play a Priest
You know, I'm normally a huge proponent of my class. Don't get me wrong, I love my Dwarf Priest. There's all these great healing spells we have at our disposal. No one's ever going to turn down a Priest from joining a raid or a guild. I have to admit, we have it pretty easy. I'm used to giving newer players advice about Priests and reasons for selecting that class. Every once in a while, I get extremely bitter about being a Priest. For those of you that want to roll a Priest, let me introduce some second thoughts.
Insider Trader: Profession-specific buffs part 2
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.Last week, Insider Trader discussed the profession-only bonuses associated with Inscription, Jewelcrafting and Enchanting. This week, I'm going to walk you through the rest of them, and include a final summary and comparison at the end. Tailoring Perks Tailors have the ability to enchant their own cloaks. Other players can get cloak enchants from Enchanters, although the Tailoring ones are superior in many cases. Darkglow Embroidery: Chance to restore 300 mana on spell cast. There seems to be a 60 second internal cooldown, with a proc rate of 35%, which is equal to 25 mp5. Lightweave Embroidery: Chance on spell cast to increase your spellpower by 250 for 15 seconds. Swordguard Embroidery: Chance for melee and ranged attacks to sometimes increase your attack power by 300 for 15 seconds. There seems to be a 45 second internal cooldown on Lightweave and Swordguard, meaning that for 15 seconds out of every 45 seconds (+, if you don't proc it on the next hit, but they do seem to proc within a hit or three), you have the effect. This averages out to 83 SP, and 100 AP respectively, in ideal conditions. Depending on your luck with procs, the average decreases the longer it takes you to proc it again.For example, after 45 seconds, each spell has a chance to proc the effect. If you managed it at the 50 second mark, the average becomes +75 SP. Casters who are not Tailors can currently choose between Enchant Cloak - Wisdom and Enchant Cloak - Greater Speed. Wisdom grants you a measly 10 spirit, as well as a now obsolete 2% threat reduction. The +23 haste rating is nice, but provides neither mana nor spellpower. Enchant Cloak - Major Agility grants you +22 agility to cloak. Agility is inefficient to everyone except rogues, hunters, shamans and druid cats, who would get +22 AP from it as well as the crit/dodge/armor. In terms of attack power alone, the Swordguard enchant is the clear winner.
Skill Mastery: Thunderstorm
Upon dipping into the Wrath beta for the first time about a month ago, I quickly realized being a Resto Shammy wasn't going to cut it for leveling from 70-80 (don't worry too much, though, dedicated Restos, as that says more about my lack of patience for the spec than the actual strength of the spec itself). I switched Elemental the first time I got in there, and haven't looked back since. And while I'm finding all kinds of fun little strengths in the Elemental tree (my spell crit is much higher than it ever was, obviously, and Lighting Overload, even though it's not new in Wrath, is a lot of fun), the real standout is the 51-point talent, Thunderstorm.Here's a spell that does its darndest to focus on two issues caster Shamans have had in the past: running out of mana and getting caught in melee. The name could probably use a tweak (it's more of a Lightningstrike than a Thunderstorm), but the spell effect is great, and while it's gone through a few tuning iterations in the beta so far, odds seem good that it'll come out being one of the best-used tools in the Elemental Shammy's arsenal.
Mana Regen Calculator updated for Mages
Resto4Life has updated their very helpful Mana Regen Calculator -- if you want to figure out just how much mana you're picking up while buffed and dressed in a raiding or group situation, it'll tell you, including talents, items, and even abilities used on you (Innervate and Mana Tide totem). Pretty slick.The new update allows for Mages to have a set of abilities of their own, including Mage Armor, and Evocation, which means that Druids, Priests and the followers of the Arcane all have their chance to see how much Mana they're getting back per tick. Shame that Shaman aren't on the list yet (maybe all of the mp5 on Shaman abilities and gear would make it too hard to do?), but if you're one of the listed classes, it's a terrific resource for seeing what your Mana regen abilities are like and how you can best make use of them. Very cool.
Researchers develop artificial nerve
Regular nerves getting you down? Why not try a bionic nerve? According to reports, researchers at the University of Michigan have developed an artificial nerve which could have the ability to bring damaged limbs and organs back to life. In a study published in the medical rag Experimental Neurology, Dr. Paul Kingham and his team at the UK Centre for Tissue Regeneration managed to take fat tissue from adult animals and differentiate them into nerve cells to be used for repair and regeneration. The team will repeat the study with human volunteers, and then develop an artificial nerve constructed from a biodegradable polymer. The "bio-material" will be rolled into a tube-like structure and inserted between two cut nerves, so that regrowing nerve fibers can spread from one end to the other. Next, the researchers hope to create a species of tyrannical man-bots called the Borg, whom they hope will move outward through the galaxy, assimilating all who stand in their way.[Via Slashdot]
