Nanoengineers’ 3D-printing technique may bring lab-grown organs to life

Why it matters to you

Rapidly 3D-printed blood vessel networks may help make lab-grown artificial organs a reality.

3D-printed organs are a biopunk’s dream and which may soon come true thanks to researchers from the University of California, San Diego.

Led by Shaochen Chen, the team of nanoengineers developed a new method for 3D printing biomimetic blood vessel networks, which may help lay the foundation for functioning lab-grown tissue and organs.

Artificial blood vessel networks — which help transport nutrients, blood, and waste — have been 3D printed by other researcher labs in the past, though these methods have proven to be time-consuming and expensive. In his research, Chen sought to make the process faster and cheaper and to develop a network sophisticated enough to be integrated with the human body.

“We used hydrogel biomaterials that are biocompatible for potential clinical uses,” he told Digital Trends.

More: Scientists use stem cells to grow animal-free pork in a lab

To make the vessels more efficiently, Chen and his team used multiple cell types and a new 3D-printing method they developed themselves.

Their first steps were to develop a 3D model of the blood vessel network on a computer, which then converts the model into a series of 2D images and transfers these images to millions of microscopic mirrors. The mirrors use ultraviolet (UV) light to reflect the images onto a mixture of live cells and polymers that solidify upon contact with the UV light. As the 2D images are solidified, one after another, the 3D structure begins to take shape.

While traditional techniques may take hours to complete, the UC San Diego lab can complete the task in just a few seconds, according to the researchers, who published a paper detailing their study in the journal Biomaterials.

So far, the researchers have been able to graft the 3D-printed tissue into the skin wounds of mice. After two weeks, they analyzed the wounds again and saw that the lab-grown tissue had successfully integrated into the host’s blood vessel network.

A startup called Allegro 3D is working to commercialize this technique, while Chen and his team are looking to optimize the conditions for growing fully functioning blood vessel networks for clinical applications.

Looking at Google Play’s most popular content over the past 5 years

A top 5 list doesn’t tell the whole story, but it’s still interesting.

Google Play has been around for five years now — a surprisingly long time — and to celebrate, Google has compiled multiple lists of the top five pieces of content in each part of the store. Games, apps, songs, albums, movies and books are the big categories here, and the lists round out just about as you’d expect.

Top installed games

Candy Crush Saga
Subway Surfers
Temple Run 2
Despicable Me
Clash of Clans

Top installed apps
(not including pre-installed apps)

Facebook
Facebook Messenger
Pandora Radio
Instagram
Snapchat

Top selling songs

Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud
Lorde – Royals
Taylor Swift – Blank Space
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk
Pharrell Williams – Happy

Top selling albums

Adele – 25
Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP2 (Deluxe)
Taylor Swift – 1989
Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly

Top selling movies

The Interview
Frozen
Deadpool
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Guardians of the Galaxy

Top selling books

Fifty Shades of Grey, by E L James
The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
A Game of Thrones, by George RR Martin
The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

Do any of the top charts stand out to you? Everything seems about as you’d think if you were asked blind what would top the list on the Play Store. If you want to download any of this top content for yourself, Google Play has a handy page with all of it in one place.

Pixel and Nexus factory images with March 2017 security patch now available

You can now get up to the latest software without waiting for an over-the-air update.

In keeping with its regular cadence of releasing full software builds for its latest devices, Google has updated its factory image page to include Android 7.1.1 builds with the March 2017 security patch for its latest phones and tablets.

The latest images are available for the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6 and Nexus 9. You may also recall that this will be the final full platform update for the Nexus 6, with only security patches coming to the phone going forward until its support is ended.

These full images are extremely useful if you’ve flashed a custom ROM on your phone, or perhaps haven’t used it in a while and want to skip through OTA updates and just hit the latest software all in one step. In the most common use case, it can also be used to just update to the latest software release rather than waiting for the software to arrive automatically.

No matter the case, we have a great guide to manually updating your Nexus or Pixel, including step-by-step instructions for bringing your phone or tablet to its latest version. Remember that using a factory image doesn’t have to wipe your phone, either — we show you how at the link above.

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Google Pixel and Pixel XL review
• Google Pixel XL review: A U.S. perspective
• Google Pixel FAQ: Should you upgrade?
• Pixel + Pixel XL specs
• Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
• Join the discussion in the forums!

Google Store
Verizon

Twitter suspends ex-KKK leader David Duke… then brings him back

David Duke, the former head of the Ku Klux Klan and vocal white supremacist, was suspended from Twitter this morning. And then the social network restored his account, albeit with a reset follower count. Twitter hasn’t commented on the initial decision to ban Duke, or why it brought him back, but we’ve reached out for clarification.

I’m back. Though I have no idea why I was suspended. Thank you to all of the wonderful people who offered support. #FreeDavidDuke

— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) March 6, 2017

Progressive users on the social network initially celebrated the ban, as Duke was never shy about spreading his hateful rhetoric. Had the suspension stuck, it would have followed Twitter’s booting of noted troll Milo Yiannopoulos last year.

“We are really at war. Trump is at war,” Duke said in response to the ban, according to Forward. “They’re trying to make (Trump) go to jail and die in jail… They’re going to war against me, too.”

Last year, Twitter also banned several high-profile “alt-right” users, including Richard Spencer, head of the National Policy Institute. The social network eventually restored Spencer’s account, but he would go on to become the subject of a Nazi punching meme. Twitter is currently adding features to help users combat abuse, but the company has also been criticized for being too slow to react to harassment complaints.

Source: Forward

Nintendo Switch controllers can steer games on your computer

Ever since gamers discovered that the Nintendo Switch’s Pro Controller works with computers, there’s been a lingering question: what about the Joy-Cons you get with the system itself? Yes, thankfully. Both Nintendo Actu and Sam Williams have verified that the peripherals work as Bluetooth controllers on Macs and Windows PCs so long as you use an app that binds buttons to mouse and keyboard controls. They should work with Android, too, although Nintendo Actu warns that it saw serious lag — your experience may vary depending on the mobile device you’re using.

This will only be of limited use given that you’re only getting a relatively basic gamepad with each Joy-Con, and you may have to change your configurations with each game. With that said, it’s still a treat for Switch owners who like to play on their PCs and would rather not buy another gamepad unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Les Joy-Con sont également reconnus nativement sur PC et fonctionnent comme des manettes indépendantes. Idéal pour la co-op! #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/fg1qIIlLZr

— Nintendo Actu (@NintendoActu) February 28, 2017

Wow, bonus Nintendo Switch feature I wasn’t expecting: JoyCons easily double as OSX bluetooth controllers pic.twitter.com/3K99S1AAuF

— Sam Williams (@stimply) March 5, 2017

Via: The Verge, TabTimes

Source: Nintendo Actu (Twitter), Sam Williams (Twitter)

Public Access’ time is done, but a better Engadget community awaits

It’s been just shy of two years since we unveiled Public Access, our grand experiment in community contribution. In that time, we’ve seen some excellent stories published on the platform by you, and we are grateful for those efforts. Today, however, we are moving the Engadget community in a new direction and will be shutting Public Access down this Thursday, March 9th. For those of you in the community, you can rest assured your contributions aren’t going anywhere — the links to your stories will remain live and shareable, even though your profile pages will disappear. That said, we will be removing all site navigation to Public Access stories, so you need to copy the links to your stuff if you want to be able to read and share them moving forward. And, if you have any questions, just email publicaccess at engadget dot com, and we’ll answer them!

While your Public Access profile will be no more, you can (and should) sign up for an Engadget account that’ll let you continue contributing to the Engadget community by submitting comments and gadget reviews. We’ve got some new features (including new and improved profile pages) planned for our community that are coming soon, so sign up, tell us what you think, and enjoy the ride!

The tech that makes MMO development easy for indies

SpatialOS is the technical foundation that makes massive, persistent, online world-building possible, even for small video game studios. Think of large, mainstream games like Destiny or Elder Scrolls Online: These are huge universes that support thousands of players at a single time. It typically takes millions of dollars and hundreds of people multiple years to make one of these games — let alone support it post-launch — which is one reason it’s notoriously difficult to secure funding for the development of massively multiplayer online games.

However, SpatialOS puts a spin on this standard. Improbable’s computational platform offers cloud-based server and engine support for MMO games, allowing developers to easily create and host online, multiplayer experiences with persistent features. SpatialOS first made a splash at GDC 2015, when it promised to power MMO games with a swarm-like system of servers that switch on as they’re needed in locations around the world.

Since then, Improbable has secured a deal with Google and launched SpatialOS in alpha. As a testament to the platform’s staying power, development on one of the first titles to use SpatialOS, Worlds Adrift, is still chugging along nicely.

Worlds Adrift comes from Bossa Studios, the home of Surgeon Simulator, I am Bread and a handful of other ridiculous, popular games. Worlds Adrift is bigger than anything in Bossa’s repertoire: It’s a gigantic sandbox-style experience that places players in a shared universe filled with unique floating islands, flying airships and Spider-Man-like grappling hooks.

Worlds Adrift allows players to explore an ecosystem spanning hundreds of kilometers and thousands of individual islands. The islands are a game on their own — the Worlds Adrift Island Creator hit Steam in April, allowing any player to dive into the developer toolbox and design their own unique landscapes. Thousands of player-created islands are live in Worlds Adrift right now, with more incoming every day.

For Bossa, this custom approach to island design replaces procedural generation, a more common development practice that uses algorithms to create varied, yet limited, landscapes.

“We’ve now actually gotten to the point where the entire world is all hand-crafted,” designer Luke Williams says.

One aspect of Worlds Adrift that sets it apart from other online games is its persistent features. Cut down a tree and it stays down for all players in the game, until someone comes along to use the wood in an airship or fortress. The log doesn’t disappear into the ground or suddenly re-form into a tree again, as would happen in many modern games. The animals and giant bugs in Worlds Adrift are persistent as well — even when no players are in the area, these creatures still carry out lives of their own, flying around the map, aging, mating and dying. Just like they would in reality.

SpatialOS is a promising platform that’s already opening up MMO development for studios of all sizes. Worlds Adrift is just one of the first games to use Improbable’s swarm-like server technology — another is Vanishing Stars — and it certainly won’t be the last.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from GDC 2017!

Verizon offers pre-paid FiOS service plans

Verizon announced on Monday that it is making its FiOS fiber-optic data, voice and television package available as a pre-paid service. That means you won’t need to submit to a credit check, pay a deposit fee or even leave a credit card number to get access.

The new payment plan, dubbed FiOS Prepaid, does not require a subscription of any kind. Instead, customers will either pay with a debit card online at the end of every month or with cash using those kiosks that are in every Verizon Wireless store.

Fios service isn’t available nationwide yet. It’s only in select markets along the East Coast, specifically New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Delaware as well as the DC Metro area and around Boston.

The pre-paid subscription will get you 25Mbps internet at $60 a month with an included Wi-Fi router. Users can add 155 TV channels for $40-50 a month, 200 channels (including 35 HD Spanish-language stations) for $40 or basic phone service for $10 a month. Or users can bundle these various services getting all three for $110-$120 per month, data and TV for $100-$110, or data and voice for $70. There’s also a $90 installation fee, though you can do it yourself for free.

Source: Verizon (PR Newswire)

Netflix wants another ‘Gilmore Girls’ season

Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino already knew what the last four word of the show would be when it started shooting in 2000. Sixteen years later, those lines were finally delivered last year in Netflix’s mini-series revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (spoilers via Entertainment Weekly). The finale brought closure to the long-standing mystery, but also left room for the show to continue. Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos told the UK’s Press Association he wants more of the Gilmores, so this just might happen.

Nothing is confirmed yet, but Sarandos said that based on the revival’s success, the streaming service has had “very preliminary” talks with the show’s creators about an A Year in the Life sequel. “We obviously loved the success of the show, fans loved how well it was done, it delivered what they hoped,” he said. “The worst thing is to wait a couple of years for your favorite show to come back and for it to disappoint you, but they sure delivered and people were really excited about more, and we have been talking to them about the possibility of that.”

Sherman-Palladino has said she’s open to another season. There’s also plenty of motivation for stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel to get on board: According to Variety, the two earned about $750,000 per episode of the revival. That was money well spent, since the four 90-minute episodes averaged nearly 5 million viewers aged 18 to 47, per episode in the first three days. Between the money, Netflix’s desire and the finale’s cliffhanger, there’s good reason to expect Lorelai and Rory to return soon.

Via: The A.V. Club, Deadline

Source: Press Association

Amazon Echo can add to your Office 365 calendar

Amazon’s Echo speakers and other Alexa devices can already control your Outlook.com calendar, but what about your schedule at work? You’re covered there, too. Alexa now supports Office 365’s calendar functions, giving you a hands-free way of checking on your next meeting or scheduling that all-important business lunch. This won’t see too much use right away when most offices aren’t exactly teeming with Echo speakers. However, that’s likely part of the point — this gives the corporate crowd an excuse to bring the Echo into the workplace, even if it’s just in private offices (open spaces will likely require multi-voice support).

Source: TechCrunch