Linketies: Science Friday

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  Chemists at Oxford University have developed a new synthetic "tissue" by using a 3-D printer. The development could have future medical applications, as an entirely synthetic tissue does not have a genome and eliminates certain problems with replacement tissue made by other means, such as using stem cells.
  


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  So far, the Large Hadron Collider hasn't managed to make a miniature black hole that swallows the Earth. So engineers are taking the next logical step: They're upgrading it. The BBC is the first media organization to be allowed in for a sneak peak at the upgrades. In all seriousness, the upgrades could open new frontiers in our understanding of physics. And as the BBC points out, for all the attention put on the LHC as a marvel of science, it's often overlooked that it's also a marvel of engineering.
  


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  CNN recently published another interview with the author of Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up To Biotech's Brave New Beasts which, in spite of the unfortunate mixed metaphors in the title, is a fascinating read about how scientists are re-engineering animals.
  


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  A NASA spacecraft has captured new photos of Comet ISON, which is the one that astronomers speculate could be the "comet of the century" when it passes by the sun later this year.
  


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  In a possible new breakthrough in quantum computing research, researchers at Yale have found a way to change the quantum state of the photon, which is one possibility for use in quantum memory storage.
  


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  And finally, beginning the next step in the coming robot apocalypse, researchers at Virginia Tech have built a gigantic robotic jellyfish named Cyro, modeled after the largest jellyfish species. The idea is that such robots can be used for deep-sea monitoring and research. Right. That's how it starts . . .