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Scientists 3D print new dragonfly-inspired ‘spiky-joints’ for treating wrist injuries

Researchers from the German Kiel University have developed novel 3D printed ‘spiky-joints’ that provide wrist injury patients with a more flexible form of arm support.

Inspired by the natural wing micro-joints of the dragonfly, the spiky-joint features a novel interlocking mechanism that’s designed to cushion the wrist without impairing free movement. When set to its maximum rigidity, the scientists believe their device could be ideal for treating everyday strains and sprains, and preventing common hyperextension injuries in athletes.

1st clone of U.S. endangered species is ferret created from genes of animal dead for 3 decades

HOW CUTE 🥰 Meet Elizabeth Ann, the first-ever cloned U.S. endangered species. She’s a black-footed ferret duplicated from the genes of an animal that died in 1988.


“You might have been handling a black-footed ferret kit and then they try to take your finger off the next day,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service black-footed ferret recovery coordinator Pete Gober said Thursday. “She’s holding her own.”

Elizabeth Ann was born and is being raised at a Fish and Wildlife Service black-footed ferret breeding facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. She’s a genetic copy of a ferret named Willa who died in 1988 and whose remains were frozen in the early days of DNA technology.

Cloning eventually could bring back extinct species such as the passenger pigeon. For now, the technique holds promise for helping endangered species including a Mongolian wild horse that was cloned and last summer born at a Texas facility.

How We Chose the 2021 TIME100 Next

As we assembled our second annual TIME100 Next list—an expansion of our flagship TIME100 franchise that highlights 100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future—what struck me most was how its members are coping with crisis.

Amid a global pandemic, deepening inequality, systemic injustice and existential questions about truth, democracy and the planet itself, the individuals on this year’s list provide “clear-eyed hope,” as actor, composer and director Lin-Manuel Miranda puts it in his tribute to poet and TIME100 Next honoree Amanda Gorman. They are doctors and scientists fighting COVID-19, advocates pushing for equality and justice, journalists standing up for truth, and artists sharing their visions of present and future.

Reverse Age

This is the FIRST part of the interview with Rodolfo Goya.


In this video Professor Goya talks about his role in the original experiment and the progress in his current study to reproduce the results with young blood plasma.

Professor Rodolfo Goya is Senior Scientist at The National Scientific and Technical Research Council in Argentina where he is a biochemist and researcher.

Dr. Goya has led a number of studies on cellular reprogramming and restoration of function in important organs, such as the thymus and the brain. He is also studying different aspects of cryopreservation.

He was one of the authors of the paper “Reversing age: dual species measurement of epigenetic age with a single clock” and is now working in his lab to reproduce and extend the results.

Gut microbiome implicated in healthy aging and longevity

The gut microbiome is an integral component of the body, but its importance in the human aging process is unclear. ISB researchers and their collaborators have identified distinct signatures in the gut microbiome that are associated with either healthy or unhealthy aging trajectories, which in turn predict survival in a population of older individuals. The work is set to be published in the journal Nature Metabolism.

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