This month’s Scientific American contains an article about how testing chemicals for human safety is becoming both more effective, and less dependent on animal suffering. From the article:

Safety testing of household, agricultural and other chemicals as well as medical products traditionally uses many millions of animals every year in protocols that are often painful. New methods involving cell and tissue cultures, noninvasive imaging, or plain statistics are greatly reducing the need for, and the suffering involved in, animal testing. The new toxicology is more rigorously based on scientific evidence and can save time and money.

For more information, check out the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing.

Imagine having speakers the size of a plane!

A safer way to fly has been found and it involves turning the wings of an aircraft into giant speakers, truly a sound idea. The vibrations caused by the speakers allows air to basically cling to the wing’s surface meaning a more efficient and safe flight.

I hope that the pilots get to pick what plays through the wings, I would like to hear Jefferson Airplane or perhaps Kraftwerk.