hand

This Medieval Italian Man Replaced His Amputated Hand With a Knife

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In 2018, archaeologists described a truly fascinating puzzle. It looks like this medieval Italian man went through life with a knife attached to his arm, in place of his amputated hand.   The skeleton in question was found in a Longobard necropolis in the north of Italy, dating back to around the 6th to 8th centuries … Read more

This Robotic Hand Is Precise Enough to Move a Microchip With Tweezers

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Innovators at South Korea’s Ajou University have created a robotic hand that is capable of holding fragile objects like eggs. It can also crush cans and work with tools like tweezers and scissors.   An article published in Nature Communications explained all the details of the new technology. It weighs just under two and a half pounds … Read more

This 19th Century ‘Eco-Villain’ Made Space Art That Was Truly Ahead of Its Time

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Astrophotography allows us all to become citizens of the cosmos.  At a glimpse, we can be transported into the depths of space to gaze upon Jupiter’s dazzling cloudscape. Moments later we can picture the shifting rust-colored sands of Mars, or navigate our way across the lunar surface.   It’s a gift that’s easy to take … Read more

Robots: Gecko-like coating gives robot hand a delicate touch

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Robotic hands often trade strength for adaptability, but a sticky coating inspired by gecko feet has given this artificial hand a delicate touch Technology 15 December 2021 By Matthew Sparkes The gecko-inspired robot hand farmHand/Standford University Mechanical hands with human-like fingers are more adaptable than the simple two-pronged clamps found on industrial robots, but they … Read more

Robots: Human-like hand can crush beer cans and hold eggs without breaking them

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A robot hand that has the lightness of touch to hold delicate objects and the strength to crush cans could one day be used as a prosthetic Technology 14 December 2021 By Carissa Wong A highly dexterous, human-like robotic hand with fingertip touch sensors can delicately hold eggs, use tweezers to pick up computer chips … Read more

NIH Director Francis Collins to hand reins to acting Director Lawrence Tabak on 20 December | Science

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Lawrence Tabak, principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will become the agency’s acting director on 20 December—the day after current Director Francis Collins leaves his post, the Department of Health and Human Services said today. Collins, the physician-geneticist who has served as head of the $43 billion NIH for 12 years, … Read more