Monkeys Move Robotic Arm With Brains

And they weren't even looking for them

(NEWSER) - Scientists have stumbled upon a monkey many thought no longer existed. Seeking leopards and orangutans, the researchers placed camera traps in an Indonesian forest. When they checked the pictures, they were astonished to see images of large gray monkeys none had ever seen before, the AP reports. Photographs of the Miller's Grizzled Langur are nearly impossible to find, so the researchers could only compare the images to museum sketches. More»

They'll gather data from collars attached to wild ones

(NEWSER) - Japanese scientists are recruiting some unusual agents to investigate the radiation levels in the forests around the Fukushima reactor: wild monkeys. A professor of robotic technology at Fukushima University is leading a team that plans to capture up to three wild monkeys and outfit them with a collar that will measure radiation levels around the monkey while broadcasting its location via GPS, he tells CNN . The monkeys will then be released back into the wild. More»

Double-transplant is successful in Boston

(NEWSER) - Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital is renowned for face transplants, but it can do miracles with hands, too: A 65-year-old who lost his lower arms to a blood infection got a new set in a successful double-transplant, reports the Boston Globe . “It’s just like you can fly,” says patient Richard Mangino, who also lost his lower legs. “It’s like a bird that got its wings back.” More»

Numbers are up as more go on foot patrols

(NEWSER) - A new Pentagon report has some rough stats, mostly from the Afghan war:

• The number of troops who have had amputations rose from 86 in 2009 to 187 last year. The pace continues this year, with 147 so far.
• The number of troops who lost two or three limbs rose from 23 in 2009 to 72 last year; the figure is already 77 this year.

Health worker replaced working artificial limbs, sold them online: probe

(NEWSER) - Seeing this health worker could literally cost you an arm and a leg. A hospital official may have tricked his patients into replacing quality prostheses so he could trade the originals for cash on eBay, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The FBI is looking into whether the head of prosthetic devices at the University of Minnesota’s medical center falsely told his patients they needed new artificial limbs, then took the old ones home with him. More»