Quicker and faster 3-D printers have allowed not just amazing objects to be created, but have started to affect how doctors treat patients.

    We've put together a list of some of the most amazingmedical break throughs made possible with 3-D printing.

Life-Saving Airway

    In 2013, doctors created a new airway for kaiba Gionfriddo, aboy born with an airway that kept collapsing (萎陷). To save his life doctors printed tiny tubes to join together in different shapes and sizes until one finally worked for Kaiba. It was placed in Kaiba's bronchus (支气管) so that it no longer collapsed. Even more remarkably, once the plant was placed it couldstay there. It's designed to eventually be absorbed into the body.

New “Bionic” Hands

    One of the most remarkable ways 3-D printing is now being used is as a way to create prosthetics (假肢). A boy born without an arm named Alex was able to get a new“bionic”hand thanks to it. Last year a college student spent 8 weeks coming up with a special prosthetic design that only cost a few hundred dollars in materials. He said he wanted to create a prosthetic far cheaper than other choices that can run tens of thousands of dollars.

A practice Heart

    In Seattle, doctors have been able to use 3-D printing technology to“practice”risky operations so that they will face fewer surprises in the operating room. Kami Sutton was born with her heart“in the wrong place”. For a recent operation her doctor was able to take many scans of Sutton's heart and print out a model. “Kami's heart is truly one-of-a-kind,”Dr. Stephan Seslar, a heart disease specialist said. “Operating on her without understanding the structure of her heart better could be very dangerous.”

A New Skull

    A U.K. man was able to have part of his skull rebuilt thanks toa 3-D printer. Stephen Power broke his cheek bones in a crash. To help Powerh is doctors instead created 3-D bones all carefully printed in the shape of his face. “This is really the first time we've taken it to this stage, where everything has been planned and modeled in advance — and worked sweetly,”said Adrian Sugar, a doctor.

    Hello, Listeners. Welcome to Henton Hospital Radio. Before our music program at four, I'm going to repeat some of our hospital rules.

    The hospital can sleep 800 patients. There're 8 beds in each ward (病房). The visiting hours are in the afternoon from 2:30 to 3:30 and in the evening from 7:00 to 8:00. But remember only two people can see you at the same time. Sorry about that, but you can see what would happen if we didn't have these rules.

The other rules are about our hours. We start quite early—you might not be used to that. We wake you at 6 o'clock, and breakfast is at 8 o'clock, lunch is at noon.

    There's tea at 3:30 and supper is at 6 o'clock.

    You can see the non-smoking sign –-- we don't allow smoking in the wards. I'm sure you understand why. However, if you do need to smoke, there are some smoking rooms where it is allowed.

    You will find the radio switch (开关) on the wall near your bed, with your own headphones, if you want to listen. It's our own hospital radio wishing you a quick recovery (康复).

    I told my friend Graham that I often cycle two miles from my house to the town centre but unfortunately there is a big hill on the route. He replied, "You mean fortunately." He explained that I should be glad of the extra exercise that the hill provided.

    My attitude to the hill has now changed. I used to complain as I approached it but now I tell myself the following. This hill will exercise my heart and lungs. It will help me to lose weight and get fit. It will mean that I live longer. This hill is my friend. Finally I comfort myself with the thought of all those silly people who pay money to go to a gym and sit on stationery exercise bicycles when I can get the same value for free. I have a smile of satisfaction as I reach the top of the hill.

    Problems are there to be faced and overcome. We cannot achieve anything with an easy life. Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to gain a university degree. Her activism and writing proved inspirational. She wrote, "Character cannot be developed in ease. Only through experiences of suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved."

    One of the main determinants of success in life is our attitude towards adversity （逆境）. From time to time we all face hardships, problems, accidents and difficulties. Some are of our making but many are no fault of our own. While we cannot choose the adversity, we can choose our attitude towards it.

    Douglas Bader was 21 when in 1931 he had both legs cut off following a flying accident. He was determined to fly again and went on to become one of the leading flying aviators in the Battle of Britain with 22 aerial victories over the Germans. He was an inspiration to others during the war. He said, "Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you can't do this or that. That's nonsense. Make up your mind, you'll never use crutches （拐杖） or a stick, and then have a go at everything. Go to school, and join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible."

    The biographies （传记） of great people are full of examples of how they took steps to overcome the difficulties they faced. The common thread is that they did not become depressed. They chose their attitude. They chose to be positive. They took on the challenge. They won.

    Nevertheless, there is still the problem of how you change your attitude towards adversity.

    Smart Cameras to Help You Take Better Photos

    Google Clips

    One of the latest to launch (发布) is Google Clips. It is designed to be put somewhere in a room to take pictures by itself. It can also be attached to an object or a person's clothing.

    Google says machine learning helps the camera choose the best times and situations for taking pictures and videos. Interested buyers can join a waiting list to be informed when it is on the market.

    GoPro Hero

    GoPro also uses machine learning to power its QuikStories characteristic. This tool takes existing photos and videos and automatically (自动地) creates a finished video piece, complete with music and effects.

    Snap Spectacles

    Messaging app Snapchat sells a pair of sunglasses with a built-in camera that can record short videos with the push of a button. Snap Inc. says the product, called Spectacles, is designed to “catch the moment, without taking you out of it.”

    The glasses can record short video clips that can be shared with Snapchat users. Snap Inc. has started selling its Spectacles sunglasses online in the United States.

    Apple iPhone X

    Apple's new iPhone X is being launched with its new Face ID system that it says will unlock the phone just by having the user look at it. This replaces the Touch ID on previous ones that used a fingerprint to unlock the phone.

    Apple says the system works by projecting more than 30,000 dots on the face to create a kind of map. Apple says its facial recognition is even secure enough to allow payments through its Apple Pay service.

    As you know, there are many fantastic parks in New York City.

    Central Park

    One of the most famous parks in the world, Central Park is a man-made wonder. Not only is it the first public park built in America, but it is also one of the most frequently visited parks, with over 25 million guests per year. Set in the middle of busy Manhattan, its grounds serve as a safe harbor, not only for athletes, and musicians but also for lots of migratory birds each year. One can spend an entire peaceful day wandering its grounds, gazing upon nearly 50 fountains, monuments, and sculptures or admiring its 36 bridges.

    Hudson River Park

    Hudson River Park is a waterside park on the Hudson River that extends from 59th Street south to Battery Park in the New York City district of Manhattan. Bicycle and pedestrian paths, including the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, span the park north to south, opening up the waterfront for the public to relax. The park includes tennis and soccer fields, children's playground, dog run, and many other features.

    Washington Square Park

    Washington Square Park, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, is a very popular and often crowded place. People from all backgrounds gather to this large square dotted with trees.

    Central Park Zoo

    The Central Park Zoo is a small 6. 5-acre zoo located on Central Park in New York City. The zoo began in the 1860s, making it the first official zoo to open in New York. The zoo was improved in 1934, with the addition of many new buildings ranged in a quadrangle around the sea lion pool. Finally, the zoo was repaired in the mid-1980s and reopened in 1988, replacing the old-fashioned cages with naturalistic environments.

When it comes to architectural accomplishments, humans like to think they stand at the top. That is to underestimate the astonishing achievement s of social insects; for example, white ants raise skyscraping nests. The true master builders of the insect world, however, are the hundreds of species of stingless bees.

In a new study, Ms. Di Pietro and her colleagues observed over 400 colonies of the stingless bee species in a large bee house in Brazil in 2022 and 2023. Around 95% of the colonies exhibited honeycombs（a structure made by bees） built up in horizontal layers（水平分层）, like tiered wedding cakes, while the rest adopted a spiral（螺旋的） structure.

Since the stingless bee shows a strong preference for a horizontal-layer honeycomb structure, it's surprising that spiral honeycombs occur. The team confirmed that there was no difference in the average cell-building rate between the two styles, and therefore no efficiency advantage.

In order to rule out a genetic explanation for the different styles, the researchers transplanted workers from colonies that built in one tradition to colonies that built in the other, having first emptied the host structures of their native adults. The imported workers soon switched to the local style, which was then continued by the colony's young insects as they eventually matured into workers.

Dr. Tom Wenseleers guessed that the bees may switch styles as a way of coping with the build-up of small construction errors made by their fore-runners. Such a process, in which multiple organisms indirectly affect each other's behavior through the traces they leave in their environment, is known as stigmergy（共识主动性）. The researchers later introduced a sign of spirals to the otherwise perfect horizontal-layer honeycombs, and found that it did indeed cause the bees to switch to building spirals.

These results suggest that stingless bees can pass on different building traditions across generations and individuals needn't be instructed by their peers. "The findings are the clearest demonstration of cultural differences naturally appearing in insects. Insect culture would once have been thought impossible," says behavioral biologist Andrew Whiten, who wasn't involved in the research. "Less than a century ago, culture was thought to be uniquely human."