This little piggie transplanted its kidney — successfully!

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Surgeons transplant pig kidney into a patient, a medical milestone

“Surgeons in Boston have transplanted a kidney from a genetically engineered pig into an ailing 62-year-old man, the first procedure of its kind. If successful, the breakthrough offers hope to hundreds of thousands of Americans whose kidneys have failed. … If kidneys from genetically modified animals can be transplanted on a large scale, dialysis ‘will become obsolete,’ said Dr. Leonardo V. Riella, medical director for kidney transplantation at Mass General.”

// The New York Times »

Before you self-publish, please get a second opinion from AI

Have you seen some of the garbage that gets published nowadays? Yikes. Anyone can write a book, though not everyone should. Not getting second opinions is what separates the former from the latter when it comes to authors. Think you’ve got a good book in you? Run it by this ChatGPT-powered e-book AI engine that helps you organize ideas and generate content. It’ll be the little ghostwriting assistant you don’t have to tell anyone about when you hit NYT best seller status. [Ad]

// Write a book »

Exploding "devil comet" flying past Earth has spiral core

“A huge, volatile space object called the ‘devil comet’ is flying its way past Earth for the first time since 1954 — and is currently visible in the night sky. Officially named 12P/Pons-Brookes, the periodically exploding comet earned its infernal moniker for the ‘horns’ it sprouted after a recent eruption left it with a pair of distinctly shaped tails of gas and ice spewing into space. Now, new images of the devil comet reveal a feature no one had ever noticed before: a spiral of gas raging in the comet's core. … According to NASA, there's a good chance the comet will be visible during the total eclipse on April 8 — a rare and unusual cosmic coincidence. And on April 21, the comet will reach perihelion, when it will be at its closest point to the Sun and be at its brightest.”

// Futurism »

Brazil’s lost tropical island

“A sunken volcanic island, approximately the size of Iceland, thought to have once been covered in lush vegetation, rivers, and waterfalls and fringed by beaches and wave-cut platforms, has been discovered off the coast of Brazil, according to new research. … ‘Imagine a lush tropical island slipping beneath the waves and lying frozen in time,’ said [marine geologist] Bramley Murton, ‘that’s what we’ve uncovered.’ The island’s slide to the bottom of the ocean occurred long ago. The Rio Grande Rise is an 80-million-year-old mantle of volcanic plume born out of the mid-Atlantic Ridge. Over millions of years, it moved slowly westward, closer and closer to Brazil until, around 40 million years ago, its western edge gave one final burst of volcanic activity, which led to the creation of the island, after which it sunk slowly back under the water again.”

// Dive Magazine »

Welcome to the 21st century where most cars have dash displays

Before you drop big bucks on an infotainment system overhaul or a whole new ride, slap this 9-inch wonder screen on your dash. Apple CarPlay? Check. Android Auto? Got it. Doesn't require an engineering degree to install? Correct. Give your vehicle a tech facelift and drive in style. Bringing navigation, music, and Bluetooth calling control to your dashboard, it’s the cheapest way to keep your old ride relevant in the modern age. [Ad]

// Drive smarter »

The childhood toys we'd love to have back

“Your favorite childhood toy is probably gone. Maybe your parents threw it out. Maybe you broke it yourself. Or maybe it’s sitting in an attic somewhere, in a box of other toys you once loved and now have forgotten about. Whatever the case, we all had our favorite toys as kids — and now, most likely, we don’t. But it’s fun to think about them, isn’t it? To tap into those moments of childhood wonder, sitting on the floor of your living room, having the time of your life with some simple piece of plastic. Wouldn’t it be nice to have that toy again? To look at it and re-experience those memories? Of course it would.”

// Gizmodo »