episode-header-image

Nov 2023

26m 45s

How to 3D print fully-formed robots

SPRINGER NATURE LIMITED

About this episode

Up next

Briefing chat: What Galileo’s scribbled margin notes reveal about his scientific journey

In this episode:00:25 How paediatricians’ antibodies could treat serious viral infectionsNew Scientist: Paediatricians’ blood used to make new treatments for RSV and colds04:22 Galileo’s annotations in an ancient textScience: Galileo’s handwritten notes found in ancient astronomy ... Show More

Heart surgery with quick-setting magnetic fluid could prevent strokes

Injectable fluid safely fills area in which blood clots can form, in animal trials — plus, strong evidence that an elusive form of diamond has been made in the lab.00:47 A magnetic seal to stop clots forming in the heartResearch Article : Wang et al.News and Views: Magnetic fluid ... Show More

Audio long read: Many people have no mental imagery. What’s going on in their brains?

This is an audio version of our Feature: Many people have no mental imagery. What’s going on in their brains? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recommended Episodes

What 3D printing can fix

The ability to print objects in three dimensions has been heralded as the solutions to many problems. We check out some of the latest innovations. In Jordan we hear from the doctors who are printing prosthetic arms for people injured in conflict. In the UK we meet the man fitted ... Show More

Self-assembling robots and the potential of artificial evolution | Emma Hart

What if robots could build and optimize themselves -- with little to no help from humans? Computer scientist Emma Hart is working on a new technology that could make "artificial evolution" possible. She explains how the three ingredients of biological evolution can be replicated ... Show More

Playback: The Battle for the Soul of Artificial Intelligence

With every breakthrough, computer scientists are pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence (AI). We see it in everything from predictive text to facial recognition to mapping disease incidence. But increasingly machines show many of the same biases as humans, particularly ... Show More

For years, prosthetic technology focused on form over function, on masking lost limbs, rather than agency and usability. But things are changing. Innovations in robotics are giving more people more options, with lower thresholds of entry—and lower price tags, too. Tilly Lockey t ... Show More

Robot revolution

A brain-computer interface allows a severely paralysed patient not only to move and use a robotic arm, but also to feel the sensations as the mechanical hand clasps objects . We hear from Jennifer Collinger at Pittsburgh University’s Rehab Neural Engineering Labs. And Nathan Cope ... Show More

Bodies, brains and computers

We've been building computers to think like us for years, but our ability to replicate human senses has been impossible. Until now. Evolutionary biologist and broadcaster Professor Ben Garrod, is off to meet some of the sensory innovators and technological pioneers who are develo ... Show More

In this episode:

00:46 Machine vision enables multi-material 3D printing

3D printers are capable of producing complex shapes, but making functioning objects from multiple materials in a single print-run has proved challenging. To overcome this, a team has combined inkjet printing with an error-correction system guided by machine vision, to allow them to print sophisticated multi-material objects. They used this method to make a bio-inspired robotic hand that combines soft and rigid plastics to make mechanical bones, ligaments, and tendons, as well as a pump based on a mammalian heart.

Research article: Buchner et al.

News & Views: Multi-material 3D printing guided by machine vision

Video: The 3D printer that crafts complex robotic organs in a single run

07:49 Research Highlights

Citizen-scientists help identify an astronomical object that blurs the line between asteroid and comet, and how a Seinfeld episode helped scientists to distinguish the brain regions involved in understanding and appreciating humour.

Research Highlight: Citizen scientists find a rarity: an asteroid trying to be a comet

Research Highlight: One brain area helps you to enjoy a joke — but another helps you to get it

10:31 Assessing the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions for diabetes

Type 2 diabetes affects hundreds of millions of people around the world and represents a significant burden on healthcare systems. But behaviour change programmes — also known as lifestyle interventions — could potentially play a large role in preventing people from developing type 2 diabetes. This week in Nature a new paper assesses how effective this kind of intervention might be. Looking at a huge amount of data from the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, the paper concludes that these interventions represent a viable diabetes prevention strategy.

Research article: Lemp et al.

News & Views: Diabetes prevention programme put to the test

17:35 Briefing Chat

How marine heatwaves revved up crabs’ metabolisms until they starved, and the AI-powered, robot chemist that could extract oxygen from water on Mars.

Wired: The Surprising Reason Sea Creatures Are Getting Hungrier

Nature News: This AI robot chemist could make oxygen on Mars

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.