Amazing robotics.

I didn’t post this when I ran across it months ago, though I was definitely enthralled.  JayG’s post yesterday about the exoskeleton being developed in Haifa that’s enabling paraplegics to walk with crutches spurred my memory.

BoingBoing had a post about the Neruobotics talk given at The New Yorker Conference this past May.    Yoky Matsouka, who is the director of the neurorobotics lab @ UWashington, gives an amazing presentation about the fledgling field of neurobotics.  Neurobotics is the intersection of robotics, neuroscience, and prosthetics.  I’m completely facinated.  It’s things like this that make me wish I’d been a bit more adventurous in college, cause I’d LOVE to get my fingers in it now.

Grow plastic in a plant? You can now!

Scientists at the MA biotech company, Metabolix, have figured out how to grow their bioplastic in the leaves of modified switch grass! This competely bypasses the need for polymerization, which is a very expensive and poluting step in the production of plastics, whether they originate from fosil fuels or from renewable resources.  This is revolutionary!   To make plastic all you need to do is grind up the switchgrass and removed the plant mater.  Voila! you’ve got plastic, just heat and shape!