The pick of the science news
Tasty wheels
Vegetables have never moved so fast: scientists this week unveiled a formula-three car with carrots in the steering wheel and potatoes in the bodywork. To cap it all, it runs on chocolate fuel as it corners at 125mph.
“Components made from plants form the mainstay of the car’s make-up, including a race-specification steering wheel derived from carrots and other root vegetables, a flax-fibre-and-soybean-oil foam racing seat, a woven flax fibre bib, plant oil-based lubricants and a biodiesel engine configured to run on fuel derived from waste chocolate and vegetable oil,” explains University of Warwick researcher Dr Kerry Kirwan.
The vehicle highlights possibilities for using sustainable technologies in racing.
Surgery pioneer faces the public
The recipient of a near-total face transplant in the US made a public appearance this week to highlight the surgery’s efficacy.
Ohio woman Connie Culp sustained major facial injuries from a shotgun blast in 2004, leaving her without a nose, lower eyelids, upper jaw and palate.
Last December, a team led by Dr Maria Siemionow at the Cleveland Clinic replaced about 80 per cent of Culp’s face with tissue from a deceased donor.
The 46-year old had reportedly undergone several reconstructive procedures but had remained unable to eat solid food, breathe independently or smell. But the transplant is restoring function and she has been able to enjoy solid food for the first time in years.
By numbers
500,000
The estimated number of bats killed in the US since 2006 by a fungus that causes “white nose syndrome”. The condition has prompted bat-cave closures in 33 states
40 million
The age in years of a whale fossil discovered by Italian masons cutting Egyptian limestone for a kitchen counter
Claire O’Connell
e-mail: 1000.claire@gmail.com