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THE LATEST INTELLIGENCE

Update

PHOTO: BRYCE RICHTER/UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON, DAVID LABONTE/ADAM ROBINSON, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS/WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, NASA, THINKSTOCK X2, TUFTS UNIVERSITY, ALAMY, GETTY, QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

If you want to keep your heart beating, put

a sock on it. Researchers at the University

of Illinois have developed a silicone sock

decked out with sensors and electrodes that

fits over the heart to monitor health and even

act as a pacemaker should the need arise.

So far it has been used to keep a rabbit

heart beating outside the animal’s body. But

the team hopes the device will be trialled in

humans and is considering developing

similar systems to monitor other organs such

as the brain.

Sock keeps heart beating

They seem like unstoppable forces

of nature, but now Stanford

University’s Marc Jacobson has

found a means of combatting

hurricanes: huge offshore wind farms.

Using computer simulations,

Jacobson found that banks of wind

turbines may slow down the outer

rotation winds of a hurricane and

help them to dissipate faster. In a

simulation of Hurricane Katrina,

Jacobson has shown that a wind farm

of 78,000 turbines could have reduced

peak wind speeds from 281km/h

(175mph) to 144km/h (90mph).

Hurricane

wind farm

Doctors at Great Ormond Street

Hospital are pioneering a technique

to grow replacement ears and noses

using stem cells taken from abdominal

fat. The team plans to take a minute

sample of fat, extract stem cells from it

and then encourage them to grow on a

‘scaffold’ in the shape of the proposed

body part. It is hoped the technique will

help those with

facial defects.

Growing fat

from ears

10

Stick insect

shoes

Ever fallen over while out on your

morning run? Well, a study of stick

insects’ feet could make slippery

sneakers a thing of the past.

The animals use specially adapted

sticky toe pads when climbing up

plant stalks or hanging upside down.

But when they’re on flat ground,

they walk on heel pads that feature

a system of tiny

hairs that allow

the insects to

grip but not stick.

Researchers

say a similar

system could be

used to design

a pair of training

shoes with extra

grippy soles.

DISCOVERIES

Sometimes when you make a

big mess, the best way to clean

it up is to use a big sponge. The

Wisconsin Institute for Discovery’s

Shaoqin Gong has created a

unique aerogel, an incredibly light,

highly porous material, made of

cellulose fibres derived from wood.

The substance repels water and

can absorb up to 100 times its

own weight in oils and metal ions.

If the material is developed

further, Gong says huge sheets

of the substance could offer a

cheaper, greener method of

clearing up environmentally

destructive oil spills.

Greener oil spill

clean-up

The new aerogel soaks

up diesel that has been

dyed red in a beaker

of water, proving its

effectiveness

The hairy heel

of a stick insect

A rabbit’s heart

covered by the

sensor-laden sock

Stem cell

research

could lead to

replacement

facial parts

Hurricane Sandy

strikes the US in 2012

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