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Submission + - This Handgun is 3D Printed and Powered by Condoms (3dprint.com)

Submitted by ErnieKey
ErnieKey writes: Designer and maker James R. Patrick has tried his hand at developing a 3D printed gun. He was successful, but then the folks at FOSSCAD were intrigued by the idea and as part of testing it, substituted condoms for rubber bands. It appears to be equally effective and a whole heck of a lot more entertaining.

Submission + - A Turtle Receives the First Ever 3D Printed Titanium Jaw Implant of its Kind

Submitted by ErnieKey
ErnieKey writes: A wounded loggerhead turtle showed up in Turkey, with significant damage to its upper and lower jaws. It was taken to the Sea Turtle Research, Rescue and Rehabilitation Center at Pamukkale University (PAU) for help. The PAU team, working with BTech Innovation, was able to make a 3D printed titanium jaw implant for the turtle. The operation was a success, and the patient--the world's first sea turtle to receive a 3D printed implant--is recovering.

Submission + - The Biosecurity Logic Behind Australia's Threat to Kill Johnny Depp's Dogs

Submitted by HughPickens.com
HughPickens.com writes: Adam Taylor writes in the Washington Post that Australia's threat to kill Boo and Pistol, two dogs that belong to the American movie star Johnny Depp unless they leave the country by Saturday has made headlines around the world. But the logic behind the threat is typical for Australia, which has some of the strictest animal quarantine laws in the world. According to the Australian Department of Agriculture, dogs can be imported to Australia but are required to spend at least 10 days in quarantine in the country. There are also a whole variety of other restrictions on the dogs – they can only come from an approved country, they cannot be pregnant, and they must not be a banned breed. The dogs are then required to undergo a variety of tests and be fully vaccinated and microchipped. It's a time-consuming, expensive and complicated process that serves one purpose. Australia is one of a relatively small number of countries around the world that are considered rabies-free. "The reason you can walk through a park in Brisbane and not have in the back of your mind, 'What happens if a rabid dog comes out and bites me or bites my kid,' is because we've kept that disease out," says Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce.

Australia's geographical distance from much of the rest of the world and its relatively late contact with the West means that its biological ecosystem is unlike those of many other nations. To protect this, the country restricts what can be brought into the country. The impact of alien species on Australian wildlife was made clear early in the 20th century, when the cane toad, indigenous to Central and South America, was introduced to north Queensland in the hope of controlling the local cane beetle population. While the toads had little impact on the beetle population, they unexpectedly thrived in their new environment. Their effects on Australia's ecology include the depletion of native species that die eating cane toads; the poisoning of pets and humans; depletion of native fauna preyed on by cane toads; and reduced prey populations for native insectivores, such as skinks. The population of a few thousand cane toads introduced in 1935 is now in the millions, and are now considered pests that the Australian government is trying to eradicate.

Depp isn't the only American celebrity to run afoul of Australian biosecurity laws. In 2013, a Katy Perry album that featured flower seeds in its packaging triggered a biosecurity alert from Australia's Agriculture Department. "Most people are excited to think that there's an attachment between biosecurity and someone as popular as Katy Perry," said Vanessa Findlay, Australia's chief plant protection officer.

Submission + - Researchers Discover Breakthrough Drug Delivery Method by Changing Shape of Pill

Submitted by ErnieKey
ErnieKey writes: Researchers at the UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London have found a way to change the rate of dissolution within medication via a 3D printing method. Researchers used MakerBot's water- soluble filament, cut it into tiny pieces and mixed in acetaminophen. They then used the Filabot extruder to extrude a drug infused filament. With this filament they printed odd shaped pills and tested them to see what effect different shapes had on the speed at which they dissolved. What they concluded was that these odd shaped pills allowed for different rates of absorption, enabling custom medications for patients.

Submission + - Carl Sagan's Solar Sail Is Ready For Its First Test Flight (gizmodo.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: âoeThereâ(TM)s just a tremendously exciting prospect called solar sailing. [It] travels on the radiation and particles that come out of the sun, the wind from the sun. Because it has a constant acceleration, it can get you around the inner part of the solar system a lot faster...than the usual sorts of rocket propulsion.â

Thatâ(TM)s our late science ambassador Carl Sagan on a 1976 broadcast of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. During the brief interview, Sagan fiddles with what looks like a small square of tin foil, a model that he believed was the future of space travel. Itâ(TM)s been nearly 30 years since Saganâ(TM)s solar sail vision, and now his spacecraft, called LightSail, is finally getting a test flight.

Submission + - Brainwave-reading patents spike on increase in commercial mind-reading apps

Submitted by smaxp
smaxp writes: Consumer market researcher Nielsen leads the pack, with patents describing ways to detect brain activity with EEG and translate it into what someone truly thinks about, say, a new product, advertising, or packaging. Microsoft Corp. holds patents that assess mental states, with the goal of determining the most effective way to present information.

Submission + - A Huge 3D Printed Home & Estate are Being Built in New York (3dprint.com)

Submitted by ErnieKey
ErnieKey writes: This past week at 3D Print Week NY, D-Shape Enterprises unveiled details for a large estate that will be 3D printed in New York. CEO James Wolff and President Adam Kushner unveiled photo renderings of what the estate will look like. Using in situ resources, the home, swimming pool, car port and pool house will all be entirely 3D printed. The project has begun and 3D printing will commence this spring.

Submission + - Researchers Try and Prove that the Mayan Civilization Flew Airplanes (3dprint.com)

Submitted by ErnieKey
ErnieKey writes: The Mayan's have been known to be quite the advanced civilization, whether it be their pyramids or their elaborate calendar. However, some believe that gold pendants of what appear to be airplanes, which were unearthed years ago within the Mayan ruins, provide evidence that they actually were well more advanced than we have originally thought. Researchers at the Tongji University College of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics have undertaken a unique project. They have recreated these unique pendants, and then scaled them up into radio controlled aircraft, to test if they could have actually been replicas of full-sized Mayan aircraft. The results will make goosebumps run down your spine.

Submission + - New Company Promises to Turn Your 2D Printer into a Functional 3D Printer

Submitted by ErnieKey
ErnieKey writes: A new company promises to turn your normal 2D printer into a functional 3D printer using special cartridges. Printder claims to be able to print 3D objects using any one of several common 2D printers. You simply load your printer with their special paper and ink cartridges and your machine is ready to start 3D printing.

Submission + - Watch your 'Likes': Police emails show few restrictions on who & why they wa (muckrock.com)

Submitted by v3rgEz
v3rgEz writes: Love to show off your love of guns on Facebook? So do millions of other people ... but it's enough to spark monitoring of your account page by local police, even if you're two hundred miles from their city. That's what newly released emails from Austin's Regional Intelligence Center show, as details of how one man's feed was monitored came to life — and how little of a policy covered potential privacy concerns.

Submission + - Hyundai To Release 'Semi-Autonomous' Car This Year (itworld.com)

Submitted by jfruh
jfruh writes: While self-driving cars from Google and others remain in the prototype stage, Korean carmaker Hyundai intends to release a premium sedan called the Equus this year that includes self-driving features. While a car's ability to navigate complex urban enviornments on its own is still a ways off, the Equus will allow the driver to take their hands off the wheel and feet off the brakes during highway driving.

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