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​Listen to Episode 63 to get the full stories below.
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​Dengue Mosquitoes Can Be Tamed by a Common Microbe | The Atlantic (01:24)

Researchers at Gadjah Mada University have discovered a natural way of reducing the Dengue fever virus from being spread in the mosquito population. The bacterium, known as Wolbachia, outcompetes the virus for nutrients, which results in the virus dying and not being able to spread. Wolbachia rapidly spread among the local mosquitoes and reduced the occurrence of dengue by 77 percent. This could have implications for other diseases spread by mosquitos.

Intelligent carpet gives insight into human poses | CSAIL News (13:03)

A new tactile sensing carpet from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) can estimate human poses without using cameras, in a step towards improving self-powered personalized healthcare, smart homes, and gaming. Each of the 9,000 sensors on the carpet converts the human’s pressure into an electrical signal, through the physical contact between people’s feet, limbs, torso, and the carpet. The team’s deep neural network, using just the tactile information, could determine the person’s action.

Virgin Galactic Was Just Cleared by the FAA to Launch Commercial Flights to Space | Interesting Engineering (22:11)

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc., according to a press release, was just granted regulatory approval to launch customers into space by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in a major benchmark for the industry. The aerospace company can fly people on a fare, transforming into the world's first "spaceline." Could Richard Branson beat Jeff Bezos to space?

Adaptable AdhFix patches could replace metal plates on broken bones | New Atlas (27:30)

Scientists at Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed what's known as the AdhFix material/system. A temporary soft and malleable putty-like patch that once a high-energy LED visible light source is applied it hardens. This will allow surgeons to work the material to any size or shape needed for stabilizing a fracture while also providing more mobility for the patient after recovering.

Miniature organs to heal damaged livers | Nature (34:16)

The start-up Bilitech hopes organoids could be used as an alternative to liver transplants, to save lives and money. Kourosh Saeb-Parsy is a transplant surgeon at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, UK, had a question that spurred this research: “If a liver is 2% damaged, then why replace the whole thing if you could just fix the 2%?” This spurred him to create a bioengineered organoid that will help heal that 2% of damage in patients. Resulting in more supply of donors and cheaper pricing for the patients.

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