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Squid to Serve Humans

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Well, sort of. Fans of classic science fiction and/or campy Disney films will recall that squid and humans have a score to settle. But Captain Nemo will be happy to hear that our cephalopod friends may have finally repaid their debt to humankind.

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara, my alma mater, have discovered a property of squid beaks that may lead to breakthroughs in the design of medical devices. They've answered a long-standing, deceptively simple conundrum: "Why don't squid hurt themselves?"

See, squid beaks are nasty, hard, sharp little things. Or, as UCSB biologist Herbert Waite so eloquently put it to the Associated Press:

"A dozen of them could eat you, or really hurt you a lot."

Squid, on the other hand, are soft, pulpy, boneless little creatures. How is it that they can clamp down on their prey with these knifelike little things and not hurt themselves at the same time? It'd be sort of like you or me trying to cut up a piece of cardboard using a pair of scissors that was missing a handle. The sharp part may be aimed at the box, but the ragged end that digs into your hand still hurts like hell.

The back end of that sharp beak, figured biologists, must be like ragged scissor handle on squishy squid body. But squid don't seem to mind, and so scientists asked that most fundamental question: "What's up with that?"

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60 S.S. Giftology: Ribcaps!

ae9a7_ribcap.jpg If you're like me, the advent of snow during the holidays brings snow, which then triggers the "extreme" response — extreme sledding, extreme groin skiing, and extreme avalanche backstroke. I've performed all of these activities without cranial protection, because I can't find a helmet that matches my high-fashion standards in headware. Now I can't count past ten. Luckily for you or your winter extremes-loving giftee, today's Giftology entry will keep their frontal cortex both stylish and protected.

Ribcaps have all the jam-banderiffic style of your regular woolen beanie, but with the added bonus of StructUre closed-cell foam, which upon impact with trees, the ground, or 5-year-olds who refuse to move out of the way, transforms from a flexible state to a semi-rigid or even fully rigid state to protect all the neurons in your shreddin' brain case. You'll need those for later, when you bake them out of existence with some really dank weed.

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Blast-proof fabric protects from multiple explosions, rules your face

923e3_sweater.jpg Whenever I'm visiting a war zone, like lovely downtown Basra, sunny Beirut, or Christmas morning with my family, I often wonder if there isn't a better way to protect myself other than wearing my lucky Chewbacca underwear. Turns out a company named Auxetix has developed a composite fabric called Zetix that can withstand blasts from multiple car bombs. It could be used for body armor, weapon-proof tents, or even in medical applications as medical sutures that don't damage body tissue.

The fabric works on a principle called helical auxetics, which means that it's made of materials that are woven in such a way that they get fatter when stretched, not thinner. Helically wound fabrics can withstand several blasts without breaking and are much stronger than other materials in their class. That should get me through sitting next to Uncle Milton after he loads up on beans and broccoli.

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