MetaFilter posts tagged with replacement

More human than human

Artw — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:53:23 -0800

The making of the Deus Ex: Human Revolution title sequence

Wooden Bones

emilyd22222 — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:20:48 -0800

New research suggests that treated wood may serve as an ideal bone replacement. The researchers used rattan wood, which is similar to bamboo in composition, but more pliable, and thus commonly used in furniture. Heating the wood, then exposing it to carbon dioxide and oxygen, caused it to turn into porous calcium carbonate. Then it was converted to hydroxyapatite using a phosphate donor. Other ways to replace bones include ceramics, metal, and bone from cadavers. However, like previous attempts at calcium carbonate bone replacements, these methods tend to be brittle and do not always adequately fuse with existing bone. Other upcoming methods for replacing bones include bone printers. The authors state that this research could have implications for building space vehicles, as the resulting material is strong and tough, and maintains its properties under high heat and mechanical stress.

Avoiding death by plastic

TheyCallItPeace — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:15:13 -0800

Talk about plastic accumulating in the North Pacific gyre has popped up on and off for quite a while now. Vice is running a series on the state of the gyre, as part of their "Toxic Series". Given the fact that most plastics are not biodegradable, we need to start looking more carefully at how much damage we are doing to ourselves through our use of plastic, and what we can do about it. Not surprisingly, some plastics may also pose more direct health risks to us. Just a few months ago, Mountain Equipment Co-op, a popular retailer of outdoor gear in Canada, pulled polycarbonate Nalgene bottles from its shelves. Now the Canadian government has banned baby bottles made from this clear plastic because there are indication that Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in its production and which leaches out of the plastic, may be potentially quite harmful. It seems unavoidable that we need to find viable replacements for plastics. San Francisco has banned plastic shopping bags, and even China, a country with pretty spotty environmental record, will ban plastic shopping bags nationwide starting in June. Given the current prevalence of plastics today, we also need to consider how we can recycle or reuse the vast mountains of plastic waste we have already produced. One of the links above mentioned Plastic Lumber, which apparently does not require plastic to be sorted before recycling. As today is Earth Day, I though this would be a good topic for people to think about.