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Shockwave Shrimp
How do mantis shrimp survive their own punches capable of breaking glass? Similar to ogres and onions, it’s all about layers.
“Fists” = hammer-like appendages called dactyl clubs
Made of 3 specialized layers
Including latch-like tendons that release as fast as a .22 caliber bullet
One layer contains twisted chitin fibers that filter out intense recoil vibrations. Adapting this shock wave defense could improve sound-filtering protective equipment for first-responders. Or some Shrek-themed noise cancelling headphones.
Quick! (vote)Who is the better boxer? |
Check out last week’s results in “Unnatural Selection” below
Kidney Vax
We’re one step closer to vaccinating against kidney cancer. All patients showed promising results in a small feasibility trial for clear cell renal cell carcinoma.
Trial size: 9 patients w/ stage III and IV
Vaccine is personalized using patient’s tumor cells
Trains immune system to target tumor’s mutant proteins
Vaccine-induced T cells increased 166x in the first 3 weeks, and all patients remained cancer-free during the 40 month observation period. While promising, results need to be validated in larger studies to confirm efficacy.
VR Doctor
An Apple a day keeps the doctor at play. Apple’s $3,500 Vision Pro headset is saving surgeons thousands on training.
Replaces some training cadavers costing up to $5-10k per body
Traditional medical monitor setups cost up to $20-30k
Spatial computing reduces physical screens in live-operating rooms
Displaying patient’s vital information within a surgeon’s field of view could improve safety and efficiency. Future app-creation has potential to overlay 3D imaging on real-world anatomy. Sort of like Operation, but in real life.
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👀 Wait, sea anemones can swim?
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🪂 Free-fall w/ skydiver catching a plane mid-air
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Unnatural Selection
Last week: “Which one is cooler?”
It’s not that penguins can’t fly, they are fly. Built-in tuxedos are the ultimate classic-cool.
Make sure you vote up top for next week’s “Unnatural Selection”!
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Between VR medical training sessions, st3v made sure to follow casualSTEM on Bluesky. It’s like Twitter used to be, but better!
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