Scientists Bring Viking King "Back from the Dead" with 3D Printer

Computer model of dead Viking King's skeleton rebuilt with 3D printer.

Danish Viking king, Gorm the Old, is the son of semi-legendary Danish King Harthacnut, originally from Northmannia, who took power in the early 10th century deposing young king Sigtrygg Gnupasson and reigning over Western Denmark. When Harthacnut died, Gorm ascended the throne and ruled into his old age until he died in 958 AD. 

Scientists at the National Museum of Denmark made computer tomography (CT) scans of Gorm the Old's remains before reburying them in 2000. However, these early low-resolution scans were not good enough to learn many aspects about the man himself. For example, they could only guesstimate his age was between 35 to 50.

In the computer, they repaired the 3D model of his bones to compensate for damages of time. Marie Louise Jørkov of the University of Copenhagen said “you can print the bones one to one in 3D, which makes it possible to display the bones. We can then re-analyse the skeleton and study the bones to look for any signs of disease, which can’t be seen at the surface.”

They found a bump on the back of the skull that “can best be compared to a bunion,” concluded Carsten Reidies Bjarkam of Aarhus University. This is larger than normal but not a big deal, besides it probably being painful to lay down on. There's plenty of room for speculation as to what pressure could have caused such a protrusion, among the most likely may be a battle injury or the heavy burden of the king's crown. 

Despite not being able to gather DNA evidence of this body's actual identity, the museum feels it's best to leave the bones to rest since they've already been excavating and reburied several times. It's also an issue for the church and the royal family to decide. 

“He’s been in the grave for 800 years, which for much of that time was under water, and his bones are very damaged. I doubt that it’s possible to extract DNA or strontium [a trace element that can say something about where a person was born and lived]. Moreover, he’s been disinterred three times now, so it’s also a question of allowing him to rest in peace,” he says.

Rest in peace Viking King.

---

Sources:

http://sciencenordic.com/denmark%E2%80%99s-first-viking-king-printed-3d

https://www.archaeology.org/news/6114-171121-gorm-the-old

New Silver Nanowire Makes Printed Electronics 4,000x Better

Silver nanowires conduct electricity 4,000x better than nanoparticles and don't require heat. 

To get good electrical signal conductivity, engineers use to heat nanoparticles until they melted together, which would burn up thinner materials like paper, fabric, etc. This meant only thicker, heat resistant, and more expensive materials could be made into electronics. 

Thanks to researchers from Duke University, now flexible electronics can be made much cheaper, more effective, and on almost anything. Ironically, the solution turns out to be rather simple. Simply changing the shape of the nanoparticles in the ink eliminated the need for heat.

They tested silver nanosphere, short and long nanowire, and microflake exposed to different temperatures to create the best conductive films from the ink compounds. Tests on the different films them showed that electrons flowed easier through films made of silver nanowires than those made of nanospheres or microflakes. 

The "Aha!" moment wasn't the finding the best form but in learning how much more conductive nanowires were to nanoparticles: 4,000 times greater! 

They’re currently studying whether silver-coated copper nanowires, a cheaper alternative to pure silver nanowires, will deliver the same effect as a part of that effort, and they’re also experimenting with aerosol jets as a method of printing silver nanowire inks in usable circuits.

Silver + Graphene = WOW

Even better than silver plating copper, is balancing the weaknesses of silver with the strengths of graphene. Other researchers have been experimenting with combinations of super conductive silver nanowires and super thin yet extremely durable graphene. 

It is the strongest material ever tested, efficiently conducts heat and electricity, and is nearly transparent. However, it is also very expensive to make, so a hybrid combo seems to be a great solution.

"The addition of graphene to the silver nanowire network also increases its ability to conduct electricity by around a factor of ten thousand," says Alan Dalton, head of the team behind this new material. "This means we can use a fraction of the amount of silver to get the same, or better, performance. As a result screens will be more responsive and use less power."

"One of the issues with using silver is that it tarnishes in air," says Matthew Large, lead researcher on the project. "What we've found is that the graphene layer prevents this from happening by stopping contaminants in the air from attacking the silver. What we've also seen is that when we bend the hybrid films repeatedly the electrical properties don't change, whereas you see a drift in the films without graphene that people have developed previously. This paves the way towards one day developing completely flexible devices."

Endless Silver Nanowire Possibilities

Duke University researchers are excited to develop technologies with these super conductive silver nanowires. They expect these to improve photovoltaic solar cells, touch-screens, pressure sensitive devices, LEDs, batteries, and even bio-electric devices. They will be exploring aerosol jet 3D printing of such metal foams for uniquely customizable and versatile applications. 

Using nanowires as building blocks, the silver aerogels don't have traditional rigid limitations. They even have tunable densities, controlled pore structures, improved electrical conductivity and mechanical properties, making them uber practical for any application.

"The high porosity and excellent mechanical/electrical properties of these silver nanowire aerogels may lead to enhanced device performance and open up new possibilities in fuel cells, energy storage, medical devices, catalysis and sensors," said Fang Qian
 

Sources:

https://phys.org/news/2017-10-ultralight-silver-nanowire-aerogel-boon.html#jCp

https://newatlas.com/graphene-silver-tougher-smartphone-screen/51923/

New Company is 3D Printing Rhino Horns to Defeat Poachers

Seattle biotech startup beating rhino poachers by 3D printing horns.

Pembient corporation developed a "bio-fabricated" rhino horn made out of keratin, the same substance of our fingernails.

The CEO and co-founder, Matthew Markus, says these are "absolutely identical to real rhino horns on a macroscopic, microscopic, and molecular level." Collectors supposedly cannot distinguish real horns from Pembient's fabricated ones. 

So, instead of killing rhinos for their horns, you can now 3D print them. 

Save the Rhino non-profit group calculates that about 1,054 rhinos were poached in 2016 in South Africa, up from only 13 in 2007. Although, poaching has decreased recently. They know the largest horn market is in China where people consider them as collectible investments. 

Some may argue that the price for real organic rhino horns may rise as they become rarer in a synthetic market.

“More than 90% of ‘rhino horns’ in circulation are fake (mostly carved from buffalo horn or wood), but poaching rates continue to rise annually." - The International Rhino Foundation and Save The Rhino International

But since telling them apart is basically impossible and with so many manmade ones flooding the market, the price should drop. Pembient will prioritize selling their horns to Asian horn-carving jewelry makers as the place to inject their 3D printed ones into the black market. 

“If you cordon rhino horn off, you create this prohibition mindset,” Pembient CEO Matthew Markus said. “And that engenders crime, corruption, and everything else that comes with a black market.”

Hopefully such technologies can reduce the harm to animals and natural resources. Perhaps this may encourage artistic creativity and craftsmanship instead. 

$80,800 rhino head is stolen from British auctioneer for 'black-market' trade

---

Sources:

https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2017/11/20/startup-company-plans-to-3d-print-rhino-horns-to-undercut-poachers/&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwjixuPx2NLXAhWnQd8KHXv2Dx0QFggIMAE&client=internal-uds-cse&cx=partner-pub-9229289037503472:6795176714&usg=AOvVaw0f04U8a1yOlbqF6M4kQ9fr

MIT Lab Machines Print Furniture in Liquid 3D Space Gel Super Fast

MIT's Self-Assembly Lab researchers recently created a new kind of 3D printer that creates large items very fast. Instead of layering thin bits of material atop, again and again, this new technology process pushes the material out like a caulking gun or toothpaste. This creates a much more structurally sound object that can withstand greater pressure and weight. 

"There are a couple of reasons why the properties aren't so good," he added. "Nearly every printing process utilises layers, and those layers degrade the structural property of the material compared to a consistent material all the way through."

Collaborating with US furniture company Steelcase, this new 3D printing method is called Rapid Liquid Printing. Another unique feature is that the material is injected into a gel which holds it in place while being printed. This enables the freedom to construct forms that 2D layering kinds of 3D printers just cannot match. You could say this is a true 3D printer because it actually prints in 3D space and very quickly too. 

"Most of the time we can only print centimeter-scale structures, and for furniture, it's unfeasible," said Tibbits.

"In the beginning, we started with this question: could you print furniture in minutes?" lab director Skylar Tibbits told Dezeen. "If you look at printing from that perspective it forces you to think about it in a completely different way."

The 3 unnecessary limitations of other 3D printers: speed, scale, materials.

Rapid Liquid Printing allows the robotic aperture to draw freely in 3D space, constrained only by the size of the tank.

They tested different plastic, rubber, and polyurethane compounds that each remain liquid until mixed together with another chemical to cure when printed. So, using zig-zag and/or intersecting latices of these materials, a wide variety of furniture and items can be made. 

Watch it in action here: http://www.christopheguberan.ch

Examples of practical applications for this technology include custom sized furniture to fit unique project needs and even to manufacture automotive, aerospace, and architectural components. 

Basically, you're limited to your imagination. 

New Prosthetic Grants Users a Third Thumb

What would you do with a third thumb?

Well Dani Clode, product design student from the Royal College of Art, took this question and made a prototype out of it for her graduate work. She created a motorized prosthetic thumb to help people carry more things or even play musical instruments on another level. 

Her intention was to design a prosthetic not to help disabled people but to add an ability to normal people. But how practical is an extra thumb and does this device really work well? 

"The origin of the word 'prosthesis' meant 'to add, put onto', so not to fix or replace, but to extend," said Clode. "The Third Thumb is inspired by this word origin, exploring human augmentation and aiming to reframe prosthetics as extensions of the body."

To control the Third Thumb's movement, you use your feet to adjust the pressure of sensors in your shoes. So, it's a bit far from a mind-controlled extra digit but it seems people are able to make it work.

It's 3D-printed out of Ninjaflex with a wire pulley pulled by two motors. 3D printing enabled Clode to easily customize the Third Thumb to each wearer's specifications. 

What do you think about this? Are you interested in having extra fingers? Leave your comment below. 

---

SOURCES:

https://www.dezeen.com/2017/07/05/controllable-third-thumb-lets-wearers-extend-natural-abilities-royal-college-art-design-graduates/?li_source=LI&li_medium=bottom_block_1