Spider Silk May be Used to Grow New Hearts in the Future
Genetically engineered fibers of protein that builds cobweb strands called spidroin may be used to build human heart tissue, according to a study recently published in PLOS ONE.
Scientists at the Moscow Institute for Physics and Technology examined if lab-grown silk proteins could be used as a mesh to grow cardiomyocytes, the cells that form heart tissue. Cardiomyocytes were seeded on electrospun spidroin fiber structures and cultured to form confluent cardiac monolayers.
The spidroin fiber meshes were found to be directly suitable for the adherence and growth of the cardiomyocytes and represent a much needed material for bio-scaffolds. While great achievements have been made in the field of tissue engineering over the past decade, there’s no ideal or appropriate material to be used as scaffolds.
Netflix: A Global Service Would Cut Down on Piracy
Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, believes a global video-streaming service would cut down on piracy considerably.
According to Overclocked3D, the Netflix boss is in favor of a worldwide service because it would remove the incentive to use a VPN, eliminating the problem at its root. "The VPN thing is a small little asterisk compared to piracy," Hastings said. "Piracy is really the problem around the world."
"The basic solution is for Netflix to get global and have its content be the same all around the world so there’s no incentive to
. Then we can work on the more important part which is piracy," he added.
What if…Game of Thrones Was a Kids Cartoon?
Thanks to Conan O'Brien and George R. R. Martin, we can now picture what Game of Thrones would look like if it were a kids cartoon. Or, a very violent kids cartoon.
Produced by TBS, and in the vein of The Muppet Babies or Li'l Gotham, check out the musical short for "Lil Thrones" below:
For something a little darker, check out our review of the Game of Thrones: Season 5 premiere
Anthony Couto is a writer for IGN. If you’d like to discuss the DC Multiverse or Star Trek, chat with him on Twitter at @AnthCouto or on IGN at TonyCouto.
A New Ant-Man Teaser Lands
Marvel has dropped a 30-second preview for Ant-Man's next trailer during the MTV Movie Awards.
The teaser is very much in step with the first trailer's serious tone, despite the rather hilarious opening line from Corey Stoll as Darren Cross/Yellowjacket: "imagine a soldier. The size...of an insect".
Check it out below, and stay tuned to IGN tomorrow when the second trailer lands.
Ant-Man, starring Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas, is set to hit theaters July 17.
Lucy O'Brien is Entertainment Editor at IGN’s AU office. Follow her ramblings on Twitter.
Gotham Returns Monday with a Killer New Villain
Shrek made ogres seem like friendly creatures, but there are still plenty of nasty examples and one is coming to the next episode of Gotham, which returns Monday to kick off its final four Season 1 episodes.
"Beasts of Prey" will introduce Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes) as Jack Lennon, a.k.a. the Ogre. He's a serial killer who targets young women in Gotham City, and when police start investigating him, he turns his attention to the investigating detective and people close to him or her. Yeah. He's creepy.
Elsewhere in Gotham, Fish plans her escape from the Dollmaker and Bruce and Selina talk to Reggie.
Gotham: "Beasts of Prey" Photo Gallery:
New Project X Zone, Saint Seiya Games Announced
Project X Zone 2 and Saint Seiya Soldiers' Soul are coming to the west in Fall 2015.
Earlier last week, Bandai Namco partnered with Famitsu to tease the reveal of Project X Zone 2. The Project X Zone series combines popular characters from Bandai Namco, Capcom, and Sega franchises into one strategy RPG. This iteration features characters from Yakuza: Dead Souls, Megaman X, Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, .hack//, Tekken, Tales of Vesperia, and more. Project X Zone 2 will release exclusively on the 3DS.
Saint Seiya Soldiers' Soul is an action fighter that'll be available on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and Steam. Soldiers' Soul follows the story from the Twelve Zodiac Temples arc and features characters and events from the new anime series, Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Coming to the West This Year
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 will be available in the West on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in Fall 2015. Though the specific release date wasn't announced, Bandai Namco revealed several new features for Ultimate Ninja Storm 4.
In addition to the return of the Wall-run system, Ultimate Jutsu, Awakening, and Drive type battle systems will be in Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. New combination Ultimate Jutsus include the Hyuga Clan Ultimate Jutsu, which features Neji, Hinata, and two characters from the film Naruto: The Last, Hanabi and Hiashi. Hanabi, Hinata's younger sister, is a playable character, but Hiashi is only available in the combination Ultimate Jutsu.
First Four Episodes of Game of Thrones S5 Leaked Online
The first four episodes of Game of Throne's massively anticipated fifth season leaked online yesterday, a day before its premiere.
It's particularly bad news for the network considering it had timed the launch of its new streaming service HBO Now around the release, putting something of a dampener on the arrival of HBO access without a cable subscription.
As of writing, the four episodes have been downloaded on torrent sites over several hundred thousand times, with that number likely to increase in the hours before tonight's premiere.
Rather than a hack, the leaks appear to have come from a DVD screener sent out by HBO.
Apple Watch Sells Out in 6 Hours
It didn't take long for Apple's new smartwatch to sell out online, as the entirety of the company's initial stock was claimed in a matter of hours.
According to 9to5Mac, pre-orders for every variation of the the Apple Watch reached their limit in under six hours. Online, users were able to select between two different sizes, three base materials, and a wide array of different bands.
Pre-orders kicked off early Friday morning at 12:01am PT, 3:01am ET, and as of noon that day, the Apple Store indicated that any new orders of the Sport version wouldn't be available for shipment until June. However, some of the stainless steel models are still available within four to six weeks.
Furious 7 Now Biggest Hit in Fast & Furious Franchise
Furious 7 has become the biggest hit in the Fast and the Furious franchise within 10 days of its debut. The movie made an estimated $60.6 million in its second weekend in release, bringing its domestic total to $252.5 million. That's ahead of the series' previous highest-grossing entry Fast and Furious 6 ($238.7 million).
It's the same story internationally as Furious 7 crossed the $800 million mark this weekend, making it the Fast franchise's top earner worldwide as well.
Meanwhile, the Nicholas Sparks romance The Longest Ride opened in third place with an estimated $13.5 million.
Finally, Alex Garland's sci-fi film Ex Machina opened on just four screens with a very strong $250,000.