Across the corn belt, more farmers are putting up their own grain bins. In the past year alone, farmers nationwide have added some 300 million bushels of on-farm storage. By storing their own grain, farmers can choose when and at what price they want to sell, and that can translate into thousands of dollars in profit. And this has grain buyers — like grain elevators and ethanol plants –working to keep their edge in the market.
from Morning Edition
Avocados are amazing things—they’re delicious on their own, but they also have a lot of healthy fats, dietary fibers, and vitamins, and despite their high caloric value, they’re remarkably easy to prepare. If you have an avocado that’s too firm to use for something else, or you’re just in the mood for something new and healthy for breakfast, slice it in half, remove the pit, and carve out a little space in the center. Crack an egg where the pit was, and bake. In a few minutes, you’ll have a delicious, protein and vitamin-packed breakfast treat that’s rich enough to keep you going all morning. More »
from Lifehacker
Who ever doubted an amazing meal could change your life? Researchers in Singapore have developed a robotic surgery device inspired by the country’s famous national dish, chili crab. The mini crab robot crawls down your throat and into the stomach, where its pincers grab onto a cancerous mass and a hook slices it away.
It could help patients with early-stage gastrointestinal cancer and is far less invasive than other surgical options – since it enters through your mouth, it leaves no visible scars.
Technology, Rebecca Boyle, cancers, crabs, da vinci surgical robot, future of robots, medical robots, robots, stomach, stomach cancer, surgery
Enterologist Lawrence Ho of Singapore’s National University Hospital co-designed the robot and said it has already been used to remove early-stage stomach cancers in five patients in India and Hong Kong, according to Reuters. Other existing methods to excise these types of cancers require cutting a patient open, either through a large-scale invasive surgery or a keyhole surgery, in which smaller incisions can still enable surgical access. But those methods are both quite painful and invasive.
Instead, this device enters through a patient’s mouth and is attached to an endoscope, through which a surgeon can watch and control the robot’s actions. A hook attached to the crab bot is used to remove the cancerous tissue, and it also coagulates the blood to stop internal bleeding.
Ho and Louis Phee, associate professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological Institute, decided to build the robot after a 2004 chili crab dinner with a well-known Hong Kong surgeon named Sydney Chung. Chung apparently suggested the crab as a prototype. “The crab can pick up sand and its pincers are very strong,” Ho noted.
The team formed a company in October and hopes to commercialize the crab bot within three years, Reuters reported.
[International Business Times]
from Popular Science – New Technology, Science News, The Future Now
Have you ever had the realization that you brought along a tasty instant oatmeal snack but didn’t bring a bowl to make it in? Reddit user Klacky offers up a simple solution: cook it in the packet it comes in. More »
from Lifehacker
This is brilliant!!! 
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Just because you’re away from home doesn’t mean you have to go without fresh ground coffee. If you’re a fan of using a French Press like we are, or you prefer an Aeropress for your morning cuplike we do, you need fresh ground coffee to get the best, most flavorful brew. This trick uses a standard pepper grinder or mill you can buy in any grocery store to deliver small quantities of fresh, coarse ground coffee, perfect if you’re traveling, camping, or just don’t have a coffee grinder handy. More »
from Lifehacker
Shopping at H-Mart before the Chinese New Year traffic…
I hope this is real… anyone tried this?!
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It might sound (and look) a bit ridiculous, but the Baked Bree blog swears that this trick works for preventing cakes and other baked goods from getting stale before their time: Put a slice of bread on them. More »
from Lifehacker
