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There once was a time when the parts you had were all you were going to get; when something went wrong that was that.    As science and medicine progressed in leaps during the 20th century replacement parts became available, like artificial joints, and state-of-the-art metal or ceramic implants eliminated pain and gave many relief from arthritic knees, shoulders and hips.But what once was the future is now old tech and, instead, the goal is to take a patient's own cells and create replacement joints.   A team of  researchers have found a way to create these biological joints in animals, and they believe biological joint replacements for humans aren't far away.

Couple-and treatment-specific factors can be used to provide infertile couples with an accurate assessment of the likelihood of having a successful outcome following in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) using a new prediction model created by Scott Nelson from the University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland and Debbie Lawlor from the University of Bristol, Bristol, England. They say it provides a more accurate and contemporary assessment of likely outcomes after IVF than a previously established model because the new model includes intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes. 

It's not a cartoon, an ancient flightless bird was actually able to use its wings like a flail - or nunchaku, if your perspective is more Asian.Paleontologists have discovered that Xenicibis, a member of the ibis family found only in Jamaica and that lived about ten thousand years ago used its specialized wings like a flail, swinging its upper arm and striking its enemies with its thick hand bones. "No animal has ever evolved anything quite like this," said Nicholas Longrich of Yale, who led the research. "We don't know of any other species that uses its body like a flail. It's the most specialized weaponry of any bird I've ever seen."

Randomized, controlled trials have shown the effectiveness of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) for preventing sudden cardiac death in patients with advanced systolic heart failure but a new study shows that far too many patients receiving ICDs do not meet evidence-based guidelines for receipt of an ICD, and that these patients had a significantly higher risk of in-hospital death than individuals who met criteria for receiving an ICD. The study included more than 100,000 patients who received ICDs and found that about 20 percent did not meet evidence-based guidelines.   In times of growing concern about cost versus quality of health care, there will be increased focus on ways to optimize health care, including cost and benefit. 

While hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on masking and treating male pattern baldness, surprisingly little is known about its cause at the cellular level. A Journal of Clinical Investigation study has found that stem cells play an unexpected role in explaining what happens in bald scalps.   Using cell samples from men undergoing hair transplants, researchers compared follicles from bald scalps and non-bald scalps and found that bald areas had the same number of stem cells as normal areas in the same person but noted that another, more mature cell type called a progenitor cell was markedly depleted in the follicles of bald scalps. 

In an ideal energy future, man-made solar cells would mimic much of the functionality of efficient plant life.   Currently solar cell technology is expensive and a maintenance headache but Purdue researchers are working a new type of solar cell that uses carbon nanotubes and DNA to come closer to plant life that can be durable enough for commercials use,Their design exploits the unusual electrical properties of structures called single-wall carbon nanotubes, using them as "molecular wires in light harvesting cells," said  Jong Hyun Choi, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Birck Nanotechnology and Bindley Bioscience centers at Purdue's Discovery Park.

2000 years from now, if future researchers find our Science 2.0 mug, what would it tell them? Quite a bit, it turns out - at least regarding the social structure of the period in which we live.   Coffee is big in society.   But America is a young country compared to an ancient empire like Greece.   Studying drinks in ancient Greece over a long period can help researchers piece together what the social structure may have been like beyond select older writings.

It's no secret that humans are not the only species with circadian rhythm - a biological clock.   Studying red bread mold may teach us how our own internal clock works and by experimenting with the fungus’ response to light and darkness, researchers can explore its reaction to different substances, food and temperatures.Basically, giving mold jet lag may help us mitigate it in humans.

Scientists writing in Nature Genetics have produced the full genome of a wild strawberry plant. The woodland strawberry - Fragaria vesca - is closely related to garden-variety cultivated strawberry and this berry contains large amounts of anti-oxidants (mainly tannins, the substances that give wine their astringency), as well as vitamins A, C and B12 and minerals – potassium, calcium and magnesium. In addition, the strawberry fruit is rich in substances for flavor and aroma.

The production of high quality chocolate will benefit from the recent sequencing and assembly of the chocolate tree genome - Theobroma cacao - considered by chocolate experts to produce the world's finest chocolate. The Maya domesticated this variety of Theobroma cacao, 'Criollo', about 3,000 years ago in Central America and it is among the oldest domesticated tree crops, though today many growers prefer to grow hybrid cacao trees ('Trinitario') that produce chocolate of lower quality but are more resistant to disease.

New findings indicate that weight gain of infants is influenced by not just formula versus breast feeding but also the type of formula the infant is consuming, which the researchers say could have implications related to the infant's risk for the development of obesity, diabetes and other diseases later in life.Formula-fed babies gain more weight than breast-fed babies but the study set out to determine differences between formula types.   Most infant formulas are cow's milk-based and alternatives include soy-based and protein hydrolysate-based formulas. Protein hydrolysate formulas contain pre-digested proteins and typically are fed to infants who cannot tolerate the intact proteins in other formulas.

In the Silhouette Illusion (video at the bottom), a silhouetted woman is seen spinning on one foot, her leg extended.