Ancient brains, cannibal birds, and more stories you might have missed this week

How does 3D-printed wood compare to the real thing? Do long genes age faster than short ones? And why did scientists teach a robot how to do parkour? Check out the answers below in some of our favorite selections from Science ’s daily newsletter, Science Adviser . How much wood would a 3D printer print if a 3D printer could print wood? According to The Three Little Pigs , building your home out of sticks is a recipe for disaster. But wood is actually quite a sturdy construction material—one that humans have been using to make houses, furniture, and other structures for thousands of years. Now, scientists have found a way to mimic the desirable properties of this ancient substance using a decidedly modern technique: 3D printing. Traditional methods of wood shaping are subtractive and tend to produce large amounts of waste, which is usually discarded or recycled into materials like fuel, mulch, and animal bedding. In a study published last week in Science Advances , however, researchers transformed balsa wood waste into an additive-free, water-based ink composed of lignin and cellulose, then used it to 3D print a series of architecturally designed structures —including a collection of miniature tables and chairs. The resulting constructions, the study authors report, looked, felt, and smelled just like the genuine article—and even had the durability of natural wood. Why the...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news