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Gizmorama - May 20, 2015
Good Morning,
Engineers at GE have now used a 3-D printer to build a jet engine. Seriously? Is there anything these 3-D printers can't make? What's next, the jet the engine goes with?
Learn about this and more interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.
Until Next Time,
Erin
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*--- GE engineers used 3-D printer to build jet engine ---*
CINCINNATI (UPI) - Engineers at General Electric recently used a 3-D printer to build a jet engine, employing a technique called additive manufacturing. Despite the machine's compact size, the jet engine roared to an impressive 33,000 rotations per minute.
Additive manufacturing is the process of stacking thin 2-D layers of material to create 3-D objects. Traditional manufacturing sees objects carved from larger chunks of material.
In this case, engineers at GE constructed engine parts using a 3-D printer that employs lasers to fuse thin layers of metal. The differently shaped layers are stacked and fused to form the engine parts -- compressor, turbine, nozzle, burner -- from the ground up.
Additive manufacturing isn't new, but engineers, technicians and machinists at GE employed the technology in a novel way. The team was able to melt metal powder, layer upon layer, to construct complex (and combustible) 3-D structures.
The jet engine was more or less a side project, a victory en route to the next generation of aircraft components. The engine is too small to be of any practical use, but it is an impressive proof of concept.
"We wanted to see if we could build a little engine that runs almost entirely out of additive manufacturing parts," one of the engineers said in a press release. "This was a fun side project."
The larger goal for scientists at GE Aviation's Additive Development Center is to employ additive manufacturing techniques in the building of airplanes.
"There are really a lot of benefits to building things through additive," explained Matt Benvie, spokesman for GE Aviation. "You get speed because there's less need for tooling and you go right from a model or idea to making a part. You can also get geometries that just can't be made any other way."
The Federal Aviation Administration recently approved a 3-D printed GE engine part for flight, and the company is currently testing a next-generation engine that uses 19 3-D printed fuel nozzles.
*-- Hydrogels help stem cells reverse blindness, heal brains --*
TORONTO (UPI) - Scientists have successfully implanted organs grown from stem cells, however direct injection of stem cells for treatment has mostly failed because the cells often die after being introduced into the body.
Stem cells injected into mice using a hydrogel survived introduction into the rodents' bodies, restoring eyesight and repairing brain injuries after stroke, showing promise that high hopes for stem cell therapy have not been misplaced, a new study found.
The hydrogel, invented at the University of Toronto by professor Molly Shoichet, is made up of hyaluronan, which keeps stem cells alive, and methylcellulose, a chemical compound that forms a solution which holds the stem cells together.
Originally, the substance was used to hold stem cells together when being injected into a transplant site to help healing and acceptance new organs by the body.
"This study goes one step further, showing that the hydrogels do more than just hold stem cells together; they directly promote stem cell survival and integration," Shoichet said in a press release. "This brings stem-cell based therapy closer to reality."
Photoreceptors, grown from stem cells, were injected into the eyes of blind mice using the hydrogel. These cells, what eyes use to detect light, began to restore about 15 percent function to the pupils. Researchers also saw mice that had recently suffered strokes start to regain motor function after stem cells were injected into their brains.
Since the cell injections were successful in two different parts of the nervous system, researchers think the hydrogel would be effective in other parts of the body as well.
The study was published in the journal Stem Cell Reports.
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