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nanotimes
10-01 :: January 2010
EU-Projects
easy because dandelions undergo polymerisation (i.e. Number 34 on the innovations list is the human-
go gummy). The Fraunhofer researchers switched off powered vending machine, which targets consumers
a key enzyme in the dandelion in order to resolve looking for a fast snack and provides them with
the problem. Thanks to their innovation, the new healthier food. The Spanish inventor Pep Torres
and improved dandelion yields a whopping 500% attached a stationary bicycle to a vending machine so
more usable latex compared to its conventional that a customer eyeing a vending machine product
cousin. has to pedal a certain distance to get their food fix.
Another invention that made the list is the brain- “We‘d like to see it in subway stations and schools,‘
child of Italian scientists at the Istituto di Scienza e said Mr Torres, ‚that way, people can eat their potato
Tecnologia dei Materiali Ceramici (ISTEC): using chips and still get in shape.”
wood to create an artificial bone replacement called
‚carbonated hydroxyapatite‘. First on the list as best invention for 2009 is NASA‘s
Ares Rockets, and rounding out the top five are the
The sponginess of the wood (rattan, red oak, sipo) is Tank-Bred Tuna, the USD10 million Lightbulb, the
so great that live bones have the potential to grow Smart Thermostat, and Controller-Free Gaming.
into the structure faster than with traditional titanium
or ceramic implants. The end result is that the bone
gets mended more quickly than ever before. While TIME‘s 2009 Best Inventions:
the procedure is not yet ready for human testing, the http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/complete-
scientists are testing the artificial bones on sheep. list/0,29569,1934027,00.html
According to the research team, the bone substitute
needs around a week to process and can be produ-
ced in any size or shape. Blocks of rattan, red oak
and sipo are heated until the only thing that remains
is pure carbon (charcoal).
“Our purpose is to convert native wood structures
into bioactive, inorganic compounds destined to
substitute portions of bone,” the ISTEC‘s Dr Anna
Tampieri explained.