3D Printing Hearts, Fighting Asteroids, and A DIY Camera Slider

Maker Message Monday!

Here is your weekly dose of “Maker Message Monday”, a list of what we are enjoying or pondering as Makers!

Random Shower Thoughts

“Using solar panels to power an air conditioning unit is like using the Sun’s power against itself.”

Videos We Are Watching

Israeli researchers have created an entirely 3D printed heart made from human cells.

the heart is about the size of a rabbit’s heart and does not beat (for now). This 3D printed organ is still considered a milestone in the industry.

The leading cause of death in the United States is heart disease. If we were able to 3D print a human heart, tens of thousands of lives would be saved that are dependent on finding a donor organ.

The Israeli team out of Tel Aviv University’s School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology are confident that in 10 years there will be organ printers in the finest hospitals around the world.

The next task for the team is to create a heart that functions properly and meets the needed size of a human heart.

Articles We Are Reading

NASA is Building A Camera To Save Humanity

“The question is, when is the next one going to happen on a human time scale as well as a geological time scale?” told Quartz Amy Mainzer, a scientist at CalTech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the principal investigator for the NEOCam project.

NASA is working on an infared space telescope called Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam).

This project is pushed by the law Congress passed in 2005. This law requires NASA to find 90% of the near-Earth objects larger than 140 meters in diameter. The deadline is set for 2020 but scientist already have stated that the deadline will not be met.

Other efforts to spot near-Earth objects consist of a large synoptic survey telescope (LSST). The telescope will begin a 10-year survey of the night sky and is expected to get 75% of near-Earth objects 140 meters across or larger.

This is short of the 90% required by Congress but you can’t force inspiration upon scientists.

Unless Bruce Willis decides to join NASA, these scientists are our best hope to spotting the next asteroid in course to collide with Earth.

Read the full article by Interesting Engineering here.

Projects We Are Enjoying

Have a passion for creating videos?

Replicate big-budget Hollywood movies by creating a camera slider yourself. In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a camera slider that can automatically track objects!

The entire project is built on parts you can 3D print and code runs on an Arduino board.

In this Instructable tutorial, you will find a parts list, step by step instructions, CAD files, and downloadable code.