A teenager in India has a 20cm 'tail' removed from his back.

A teenager with a 20cm "tail" growing at the bottom of his spine has undergone surgery to have it removed. It started to appear on the 18-year-old's back just after his 14th birthday. He and his family, from Nagpur in India, had kept it a secret because they were worried he would be bullied. They finally went to see a doctor after it grew too long to hide - and had begun to develop a bone inside. It's thought to be the longest ever recorded on a human - although cases are very rare. "It became a problem when the tail grew outside the body," said his mum, who doesn't want to be named. "He would just lift the tail every time he needed to change his clothes."I could see that it was very annoying and painful for him, so I took him to a hospital." Doctors say the teenager might have developed the tail in the womb as a result of a spinal deformity, but that it appeared outside only after he grew up."When the size of the tail grew... [it] began to press on the boy's back," said surgeon, Dr Pramod Giri. "It was cosmetically and psychologically disturbing for him." Although surgically removing a tail isn't a very complicated procedure, it must be carried out by a neurosurgeon as the growth of tail involves a part of the spinal cord. It normally develops when the end of the spine is flattened in some way. The teenager will be kept in hospital for a few days and then allowed back home - without his tail.(source; BBCNewsbeat )

A 3D Printed Skull Saves the Life of South Korean Woman.

A 60-year-old woman went to Chung-Ang University Hospital in Seoul after she developed a sudden headache, and a CT scan showed that she was suffering from a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage, a rare condition that involves bleeding between the brain and the tissues that cover it. It’s obviously a life-threatening condition, and one that required immediate surgery. The surgical team, led by Professors Kwon Jeong-tek and Lee Mu-yeol from CAUH’s neurosurgery department, first had to block the blood supply to parts of the brain to prevent further bleeding. They then removed a portion of the patient’s skull to relieve pressure caused by the swelling of the brain. Though it sounds unbelievable, surgeons have replaced large portions of patients’ skulls via 3D printing before,While surgeons have been replacing portions of patients’ skulls with synthetic implants and plates for some time, the technology has always been imperfect. According to Dr. Kwon, materials used for skull replacements have included cement, which is obviously less than ideal due to its weight, plus it’s difficult to shape such materials into the exact shape of a patient’s skull. 3D printed titanium is strong, lightweight, and can be designed to perfectly fit the patient. Plus, 3D printing a new skull is not only cost-effective but fast .continue

2-headed calf.

A man was out in the fields on his farm in Kentucky checking his cows if any has calved, to his surprise he found a calf with 2 heads. Stan McCubbin and his brother quickly brought the calf dubbed Lucky into the barn as soon as she was found to get her cleaned up and checked out. Lucky has cleft palates in both of her mouths and is unable to nurse from her mother, so the McCubbins have been bottle-feeding her. The size of Lucky's head, gave her some balance issues and was unable to walk or stand very much her first few days. She can now walk around a little bit, and is proving more and more every day that she isn't going to let her differences stand in her way. continue

Tick bites that trigger severe meat allergy on rise around the world.

‘Tick-induced mammalian meat allergy’ reported in Europe, Asia, Central America and Africa but most prevalent in parts of Australia and the US. People living in tick-endemic areas around the world are being warned of an increasingly prevalent, potentially life-threatening side effect to being bitten,which is developing a severe allergy to meat. The link between tick bites and meat allergies was first described in 2007, and has since been confirmed around the world. Sufferers of “tick-induced mammalian meat allergy” will experience a delayed reaction of between two and 10 hours after eating red meat. Almost invariably, they are found to have been bitten by a tick – sometimes as much as six months before. Tick populations booming due to climate change, although most cases of tick bites of humans are uneventful, some immune systems are sensitive to proteins in the parasite’s saliva and become intolerant of red meat and derivatives such as dairy and gelatine. Poultry and seafood can be tolerated, but many sufferers choose to avoid meat entirely. Tick bite-induced anaphylaxis is the most acute allergic reaction, which can result in death .This is rare in countries other than Australia, its common around Sydney’s northern beaches, where ticks are common and it is reportedly as prevalent as peanut allergies.continue

Pet bot #selfie for your pets.

PetBot is the first of its kind smart device that uses something called “petificial intelligence.” It comes installed with an app that is also available on iOS and Android. This gadget along with its app allows you to activate specific commands to your dog in your voice, helps you keep an eye on your furry baby via live cam, and also lets you give treats to your pet from anywhere. It can recognize your dog’s face and can click a selfie after giving out a treat as a reward. You’ll get a real-time notification about your dog’s selfie and you’ll also be able to view it on your smartphone. Now you don’t have to fret about neighbors complaining about your pet dog barking or howling too much. PetBot uses a sound sensor with “bark recognition” assist that can alert you instantly. You can play your own voice recording or any other sound via this device to direct your pet’s attention and calm them down.more

First woman to get microchip implants in Australia.

Australia’s first woman to get microchip implants paving the way for futuristic superhumans. Shanti Korporal is the first woman to get microchipped and undergo such a procedure and can’t seem to enjoy it enough as it helps make her life extremely convenient. A microchip with all of the data required to run your daily life is like a wish come true where you can perform any technological activity simply with a flick of your wrist, this is the thinking of Shanti Korporaal ,who got both her hands inserted with microchip implants. This has made her almost superhuman where she now plans to eliminate her wallet and credit cards as there may not be of use to her anymore. Shanti Korporaal's microchip contains all here data, this allows her carry out seamless transactions ,her microchips can unlock sensor type doors and even get into computer programs without keys or a password. This path breaking technology could well give rise to the futuristic humans where the possibilities of enhancing and improving the scope of the technology is endless. It could have an umpteen number of applications where the sky would be the limit. Shanti being the first woman to get microchipped under the process name Opal that gives you a unique identification number remarked that it could open your computer and photocopier .The microchip implant is extremely tiny and about the size of a rice grain. It can be programmed to store a huge amount of data in the same manner as a complex Smartphone. In Sweden alone, such an initiative by a company which offered the technology to its workers in place of a work passes received 400 volunteers. more

Researchers create bioplastic ‘Wheypack’ from cheese waste

Researchers create bioplastic ‘Wheypack’ from cheese waste; Researchers led by AINIA technology center in Spain, have created a bioplastic ‘Wheypack’ from surplus cheese whey. They are turning excess whey into valuable product and also maintaining eco-friendly status, they