Lab-Grown Skin May Eliminate Animal Testing

The once-prevalent practice of testing cosmetics on animals has declined significantly over the past decade thanks to new legislation and awareness but, in many labs, it still exists. A recent partnership between cosmetic company L’Oreal and 3D bioprinting start-up Organovo may soon eliminate animal testing altogether, though, as the two companies are aggressively pursuing mass-produced, lab-grown human skin. If successful, the skin swatches will replace …

Ancient Manuscript Reveals Medicine’s Beginnings

When Syriac scholar Dr Gregory Kessel first handled the ancient medicinal manuscript “On the Mixtures and Powers of Simple Drugs,” he immediately knew he had encountered it before. Kessel recalled a stray page at a Harvard library that looked eerily similar and, it turns out, it was one of seven missing pages from the influential text. An ensuing international page-hunt provided five more strays leaving …

A Structure For Ocean Self-Cleaning

Boyan Slat wants to rid the Pacific Ocean of half of its plastic waste by 2025. To do so, the 20-year-old and his nonprofit company Ocean Cleanup have designed a simple yet effective floating barrier that will allow the ocean to clean itself. Unlike nets—which sea life can become entangled in—the barriers will skim the surface of the water as ocean currents pass below it, …