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Researchers create bone-inspired 3D-printed building materials
You may not think of your bones as buildings, but researchers do. A team from Cornell University, Purdue University and Case Western Reserve University believes that by studying the internal structure of bones, they may be able to 3D-print stronger construction materials for homes and buildings.
Netflix is turning the classic comic book 'Bone' into a series
One of the comic book world's best-known series is finally coming to screens. Netflix has secured the rights to Jeff Smith's classic Bone, and intends to create an animated kids' series that covers the Bone cousins' trek through the desert. Smith touted the episodic format as "exactly the way" to adapt his work. The story unfolds "chapter by chapter and book by book," after all.
Skeletal stem cells could regrow damaged bones
Believe it or not, scientists are still discovering new forms of stem cells -- and these latest examples could shake up how doctors treat a multitude of common injuries. A Stanford-led research team has identified the human skeletal stem cell, helping the group create a "family tree" of cells that can regenerate bones and cartilage. You can either isolate them from existing bones or generate them from specialized cells in fat, and they're predictable enough (that is, they'll always make bone tissue) that doctors wouldn't have to worry much about unintended results when using them in treatments.
Scientists want to make buildings from bone
A cityscape made of bone and eggshell might sound like the set for the final act of some big-budget fantasy epic, but the idea could help support ever-growing populations in our cities -- and reduce carbon emissions in the process. According the University of Cambridge, typical materials like concrete and steel make up almost 10 percent of global carbon emissions. Before they even get to the place of construction, both materials need high temperatures to be processed, and thus a whole load of energy. Researchers are hoping that artificial bone and eggshell, made of protein and minerals, could one day stand in for traditional building materials.
ICYMI: Animal vs. drone, 3D-printed living bone and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-69230{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-69230, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-69230{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-69230").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Dutch police are training eagles to attack drones in areas deemed off-limits while simultaneously being way more rad than other antidrone solutions that use nets.
3D-printed 'dough' helps fix your fractured bones
One day, you might not have to spend ages waiting for broken bones to heal. Researchers have developed a 3D-printed, dough-like biomaterial that could fill large bone fractures while aiding the recovery process. The porous chemical blend can withstand the same abuse as the spongy parts of your longer bones while still letting cells and proteins through -- it even could release its own proteins to speed up your treatment.
Georgia Tech develops poultry deboning robot / chicken nightmare machine
If you have any chickens in the house, you're going to want to keep them away from the computer. Georgia Tech researchers have developed the device that will haunt their feathered dreams. The prototype Intelligent Cutting and Deboning System has a built-in 3D vision system in order to help it cut and debone a chicken. The robot uses collected data and custom algorithms to help reduce bone fragments and increase yield on birds, whilst ensuring that no fowl with ever get a full night's sleep again. The school has begun testing the system, as evidenced by the unfortunate bird picture above. Press release after the break, if you're not too chicken.
Bone comic now available on Comixology
Jeff Smith's Bone comic is one of my favorite series ever -- it skillfully combines an epic fantasy story with some hilarious cartoon characters, making for a really solid tale that will appeal to all kinds of readers. And now the series is fully available in a digital format for the first time, thanks to iOS app developer Comixology. Comixology has been making a lot of great deals on their Comics app, and this Bone deal, selling all 55 issues of the series for just a buck each, is one of the better ones they've made lately. The first issue of the series is also up for a free download, and another series by creator Jeff Smith called Rasl is also available, with the first issue for free, and subsequent issues on sale until July 19th. We knew a lot time ago that comics on the iPad would be one of the tablet's greatest assets, and the Comixology app has a lot of great funnies to read, from all kinds of different publishers. The app is free on the App Store right now.
More rumored Telltale plans for the Mac
We posted a little while back about Telltale possibly bringing its games over to the Mac, and now there's even more rumblings to be interested in. Rumor has it that since most of their games use the same platform, one port is the same as all of them, which means we may see the whole catalog released in one fell swoop on OS X, and sold right alongside their PC brethren. Additionally, Telltale hints that we may even see iPhone and/or iPad versions of their games, including Sam and Max, the Monkey Island franchise, and all the rest (with the exceptions of the Bone series and Texas Hold 'Em). They are saying that we'll hear more at Macworld next month, and since TUAW plans to be there en masse, we'll definitely keep our eyes open for anything they're showing off. Good to hear that one of the more interesting and quality developers out there is planning to come over to the Mac in a big way. [via IMG]
No Bone about it: new Bone game NOT coming (curses!)
Despite the fact that we wrote about it, and our hearts yearned for it, Jeff Smith has dashed our hopes to pieces on the sharp rocks below by confirming that a new Bone game is not indeed coming out anytime soon:"You know, I don't know what the video game thing is all about. There is no new Bone video game in the works. I think it may be refering to something Scholastic is planing for its website - - a little flash game, maybe, or it could just be an internet rumor that made it onto the list!"It's too bad, because if you've read this magnum opus comic book, you'll know how cool another Bone game would be. Or rather, a good Bone game. We'll cross our fingers in the hopes that someone will start work on something that brings Bone to life in a video game setting, preferably in the original black and white. With all the indie game action at SXSW, it seems ripe for the developing.[Via VGTribune]
Rumor: New Bone game coming in this spring
Here at Joystiq we hear a lot of rumors, but few that point and click on our hearts like news that Bone may be making a return visit to video games. This according to trade magazine Publishers Weekly, which casually mentioned a new Bone game while listing the final colorized take on Jeff Smith's renowned series amidst March's top selling comics. While unconfirmed, the publication notes the game will be released this spring, leaving us more than a little skeptical given that it's already March and nothing has yet been announced. Even so, we've reached out to developer Telltale Games for more information. Besides, since Telltale cast aside Phoney, Smiley and Fone Bone in 2006 for a lagamorph and a macrocephalic boxer, our gaming habit has been sorely lacking. Though mostly in stupid, stupid rat creatures. [Via VGTribune]
NTT DoCoMo's Sound Leaf+ ready to conduct a bone near you
Remember the Sound Leaf? Unless you live in Japan, there's a very good chance you don't, so let us refresh your memory: it's a rather interesting Bluetooth device that looks a bit like a miniature handset and functions as a bone-conduction receiver for taking calls in noisy environments. It's a cool idea -- Bluetooth headsets are very, very rarely as loud for the wearer or as noise-free for the person on the other end of the call as they should be -- but for whatever reason, the technology really hasn't taken off in full force. Again, that's unless you're in Japan -- because NTT DoCoMo's just released the Sound Leaf+, a new take on the original that looks almost exactly the same but trades an all-white color scheme for a more in-your-face black getup and apparently features improved reception. It'll go for about 15 hours on a pair of AAA batteries, and the mouthpiece folds conveniently away when not in use. We'll take a dozen, NTT; you can float 'em across the Pacific in a bottle, if you like.[Via Slashphone]
Nextlink's Invisio Q7 finally sees FCC approval
Wow, we'd darned near forgotten about this thing. Remember the Invisio Q7, Nextlink's hot little bone conduction number from mid '06 that was promised for delivery by the end of the year? Yeah, it never showed up -- until now. It may not be for sale just yet, but at least a few folks at the FCC have had a chance to check it out (ick, we hope they changed earbuds as they passed it around), giving us hope that it'll finally show up in stores in time for the holidays. The $200 price point still puts a sour taste in our mouths, but considering how much smaller it looks than the similarly-spec'd Jawbone, it may end up being worth every penny.
All the World's a Stage: Oh the drama! -- When to "/ignore"
All the World's a Stage is a weekly column by David Bowers, published on Sunday evenings, investigating the explorative performance art of roleplaying in the World of Warcraft.We've talked before about roleplaying as an art form, whether you think about it as acting or puppeteering, fiction or improv, there's definitely something creative going on here. But like any art form, roleplaying is best when it means something; that's to say, when it expresses something ultimately "true" about human experience, and perhaps even illumines the minds and hearts of the roleplayers in some way.Roleplayers all want to achieve that creativity, of course, but one problem often stands in our way: it's a rare work of art that really works for everyone. That's why the regular old art world is such a complete mess -- one man's fingerpainting is another man's post-modernist masterpiece. People constantly disagree about what subjects make for acceptable art, whether some art pushes extremes too far and becomes obscenity, and whether real art actually requires talent and skill. One person may curl up with their favorite Jane Austen novel and read it for the 10th time, while another may come home from the comic book store with the epic adventures of the Bone cousins. Each story conveys very different things to the reader -- but then the people who want to read these stories are looking for different things to get out them as well. Each form of storytelling speaks its own language for its own special audience.We have the same problem in roleplaying. To illustrate, imagine there's a teenage boy going through public school and not getting along with his peers very well. When he roleplays, he plays an intimidating character who likes to try to get in your face, pick a fight with you and insult you to show how very powerful he is. That power fantasy may be very annoying for you and me, but for him it really means something. That's not to say it's high-quality art by any means, but nonetheless, his feelings are important too, and he has his right to play a character on an RP server the same way we all do. It's just that for us, the "/ignore" command starts to look really tempting every time his sort comes along.
Telltale secures $6 million for multi-platform episodic content
Displaying a respectable level of business acumen, Telltale Games has announced that the $6 million in funding it recently secured will not go towards the procurement of the world's largest ball of twine, but rather the expansion of its episodic endeavors. Provided by San Francisco-based venture firms, Granite Ventures and IDG Ventures SF, the funding will allow Telltale to continue building upon their current franchises, such as Bone and Sam & Max, and pave the way for new episodic projects. "This funding will allow us to stay on the cutting edge of innovation by building out our team and our tools, and by taking on new licenses for the episodic treatment," says Telltale CEO and co-founder, Dan Connors. The Telltale team also plans to develop for multiple hardware platforms, a goal that seems right in line with its previous job listings and the success digital distribution has enjoyed on all current consoles. It's about time proper episodic content moved beyond the PC, wouldn't you say?
Portable splint instantly hardens around broken limbs
If you always thought the inkjet approach to healing broken bones was too much of a stretch, you'll probably be interested in the plastic portable splint. Designed by Ching-Sui Kao, Geremi Durand, and Maxime Ducloux, the device is intended to be used by extreme sports participants (guess that includes Wii Sports?) that typically set records in either completion times or amount of damage done to their bodies, and can set your newly-broken limb into place right on the side of the mountain. By wrapping the limb with a set of flexible plastic strips, linking them up with Velcro, and finally applying a sodium citrate-based gel over top, a chemical reaction creates a rigid structure that forms a cast around the arm or leg. Of course, doctors can remove the material at the hospital and apply a more medically-approved rendition, but if you're looking for an easy way to excuse yourself from class or work without actually forging a doctor's note, here's your ticket.
Bone: DS adventure renaissance continues [update 1]
[Update 1: The announcement was about Bone for the PC and not for the DS. It mentions that the publisher is "focusing on the PC and Nintendo DS markets", not the game. We apologize for the misunderstanding. Thanks to eric c for the correction!]Before the episodic Sam & Max games, Telltale Games were known among adventure game holdouts for their adaptations of Jeff Smith's Bone comic series. They followed a similar business model: periodic, bite-sized chunks of delicious puzzle solving, set in cult comic book trappings.Now publisher Xider is bringing the Bone games to the DS PC and unidentified games to the DS in Europe in 2007. We hope that they decide to bring them stateside as well, and that they don't decide to shoehorn weird touch screen/microphone puzzles into what is supposed to be a pretty good adventure series. It's still possible, but the identities of the DS games have yet to be announced.We're so proud of our little DS, bringing back two of our favorite long-lost game genres: the graphical text adventure and the 3D adventure game.
Raffle: A Bone bundle, with signed books and game [update 1]
Buy a Bone raffle ticket [Update: This raffle is closed. Congrats to winner #45!]One final charity raffle to finish off '06 in style. We're going to be raffling a bundle including a copy of the IGF-nominated Bone: The Great Cow Race signed by the game's developers, copies of Jeff Smith's first two Bone books, Out From Boneville and The Great Cow Race signed by Mr. Smith himself, and downloadable codes for the Director's Cuts of both of Telltale's Bone episodes! The rules: each dollar in donations purchased using this link earns you one comment. Think of each comment as a raffle ticket. In three days (11:59pm EST this Monday), we'll choose our winner using random.org and verify their donation. More on the rules here.We'd like to thank both Telltale for the great prizes (and for being an official Child's Play sponsor in the first place!) and Jeff Smith for the autographed books!
Nextlink's new bone-conduction headset goes Bluetooth
It's hard not to love the concept of bone-conduction headsets: government-funded technology (much like the iPod), fairly positive reviews on sound quality in noisy environments, and most importantly, they represent the closest most of us will ever get to bionic implants. The tech is still fairly young, though, and previous entries from Nextlink and Aliph have come up short in the size and, uh, wire departments. Nextlink's at it again with their latest entry, the Invisio Q7, and both issues appear to be solved. The Q7 takes the shape of Nextlink's well-liked Bluespoon line, adding Bluetooth and a send/end button for good measure. At $200, the headset is a bit steep when it looks to drop toward the end of the year, but if it means we can hold a phone convo in the middle of a raucus Engadget reader meetup, we're all for it.[Via phoneArena]
Episode 2 of Bone series available now
The second installment of Telltale's episodic Bone series is available for download, starting today, for the newly reduced price of $12.99. There is also a packaged version available for $17.99, a combo pack with Episodes 1 and 2 for $24.99, and the download includes a free trial mode so you can try before you buy. The story: It's Spring Fair time as The Great Cow Race begins - with games, goodies and challenges. Gran'Ma Ben is preparing to compete in the Great Cow Race (yes, she'll be running) and Phoney Bone hatches a devious plan to profit from the competition. Meanwhile dark forces are at work in the mountains.An early review from Eurogamer gives the title a 7/10, praising the improved puzzles, while lamenting the short four hour play time. Apparently their major beef is the title's juvenile sensibilities which haven't changed since the first episode. "If there's one area Bone could improve on, it's the killer lines - and, selfishly, it needs to stop pandering to the kids so much." Thankfully the Sam & Max demographic is a little older!
