MUNCHEN BABY
From: http://www.bannedinhollywood.com/
Sure it’s only July, but Oktoberfest is coming a little early this year and I’m sure you won’t complain. Book your flights, people. Munich, here I come…
Here’s to 45 beautiful Bavarian lederhosen wearing beer babes.
**Tip: Hold the control key (apple/command key on macs) and click on the thumbnails below to open each image in a new tab.
Pre-order 'Further' iTunes LP - http://links.emi.com/further-itlp. Amazon UK - http://links.emi.com/further-ukamazon. Rest of the world - http://links.emi.com/further-row
http://www.thechemicalbrothers.com
An interactive YouTube exclusive showcasing clips from the astonishing new audio/visual album Further - 'available as iTunes LP in the UK and as iTunes Pass in the US'.
Select your visual by clicking the appropriate box and be taken to your chosen clip. To return to the menu screen at any time click the menu button in the top left hand corner of the screen.
Released on June 14th through Parlophone/Astralwerks.
Visuals by Flat Nose George: http://www.flatnosegeorge.com
Directed by Adam Smith & Marcus Lyall
Production Company Black Dog/RSA Films
The Today Show recently ran a feature on an 18-year-old who was recently outfitted with ProDigits, the partial hand prosthesis developed by Touch Bionics. Michael Waldron was born with a congenital malformation that left him without four fingers on his right hand; through his life he has adapted to his disability, learning to perform in his high school orchestra and even play lacrosse without a fully functional right hand. But thanks to his new bionic hand, he was able to accept his diploma at graduation – and shake hands with the man who gave it to him. Tear-jerking video after the jump.
As we’ve mentioned earlier, ProDigits is a pretty exciting prosthetic – it shows off some of the leading artificial limb technology around, plus it’s already on the market. The hand can be custom tailored to each particular patient’s disability, as you’ll see in Michael’s case (his thumb fits into the device).
Myoelectric sensors along the forearm measure nerve impulses below the skin, which translates muscle flexing into finger movement. Each digit moves independently, they have pressure sensors to prevent crushing gripped objects, and the device is battery-powered. How much does all that cost? Roughly $70,000.
Check out the Today Show feature:
As you can see from the video, ProDigits does involve a learning curve. The prosthetic requires calibration to the individual user’s body, and it takes some practice to master. ProDigits can either be controlled via forearm muscle sensors (as seen in the video) or via remote pressure sensitive pads. Touch Bionics also markets the expensive but impressive i-Limb, one of a number of leading prosthetics that are integrated with the nervous system remotely.
Which is prosthetic?
Michael’s plight with social stigma is a common one, and one of the reasons that ProDigits can be outfitted with skin-like cosmetic sheaths (called LivingSkin). These “aesthetic restorations” are amazingly life-like, and frankly difficult to distinguish from a natural hand. You can even add artificial hair customized to your own, or add silicone tanning cream for the summer months. Outfitting your ProDigits with a cosmetic cover can help mitigate the unwanted attention that many amputees know too well.
At the Hub for a while we’ve been reporting on the prosthetics revolution, which has really taken off over the last few years. The competing RSPStreeper Bebionic Hand, which uses similar myoelectric sensors along the forearm, hit the market last month with a pricetag of $11,000. Some other prosthetics with more cutting-edge features are still in R&D. The Smart Hand, developed in Europe, is unique in that it sends electrical impulses back to the brain to restore the sensation of touch – but it isn’t yet available to the public.
DARPA is also involved in some cutting-edge prosthetic tech, including the Deka Luke Arm, which uses pads under the feet and shoulder sensors to control the artificial limb. Deka’s arm is not yet on the market, and will likely carry a hefty price tag (plus it’s in competition with the i-Limb, which is already available). Finally, we recently wrote up the most recent Johns Hopkins/DARPA project to actually hardwire a prosthetic directly into the brain, which is just beginning its first human trails and is probably years from marketability (and far beyond most folks’ budgets).
It’s cool to see ProDigits in action, and to get a better sense of how it impacts the lives of its users. While many of these cutting-edge prosthetics remain outside of the financial reach of many amputees (and outside of their insurance plans), they are exciting nonetheless. Time will hopefully bring pricetags down, and give these devices the opportunity to change more lives.
Dangerously funny videos created and produced by Rémi GAILLARD. The show continue on www.nimportequi.com
A litter of rare white tiger cubs have been unveiled at a zoo in northern Germany. Fewer than 250 white tigers exist worldwide, most of them in captivity
From:guardian.co.uk
Source: AP
BRISTOL, United Kingdom — A U.K. water company unveiled a Volkswagen Beetle this week powered by methane gas that is produced by human waste.
The so-called "Bio-Bug" cruised the streets of Bristol using methane generated by the local sewage treatment facility. The waste from 70 homes can power the Bio-Bug for a year, according to Wessex Water and its subsidiary, GENeco.
The companies have for years generated biogas from sewage sludge for use in producing electricity, but sometimes ended up with a surplus. The Bristol sewage treatment facility produces about 18 million cubic meters of biogas each year.
"We decided to power a vehicle on the gas offering a sustainable alternative to using fossil fuels which we so heavily rely on in the U.K.," Mohammed Saddiq, GENeco's general manager, said in a statement. "If you were to drive the car you wouldn't know it was powered by biogas as it performs just like any conventional car. It is probably the most sustainable car around." 
The biogas is produced through anaerobic digestion before undergoing a second treatment to remove carbon dioxide before it can be used in vehicles. The process holds significant potential for widespread use in a way that might also curb the amount of waste sent to local landfills.
"Waste flushed down the toilets in homes in the city provides power for the Bio-Bug, but it won't be long before further energy is produced when food waste is recycled at our sewage works," Saddiq said. "It will mean that both human waste and food waste will be put to good use in a sustainable way that diverts waste from going to landfill."
Already more than 11,500 vehicles in Sweden run on sewage-generated biomethane. If the Bio-Bug test is successful, GENeco said it will explore converting some of its fleet vehicles to run on the biogas.
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