Tim Andrews had end-stage kidney disease, which means his kidneys had almost completely stopped working. Then he got a transplant from a very unexpected donor: a pig.
Your kidneys work like filters. They clean waste and extra water out of your blood, and that waste leaves your body as urine. When the kidneys fail, many patients go on dialysis. A machine filters their blood for them, usually for several hours at a time, a few times a week. Dialysis keeps people alive, but it’s exhausting and takes up a lot of time. Tim depended on it before his transplant. Or, more precisely, before his first transplant.
Tim’s new kidney came from a Yucatán miniature pig, a small breed named after a region in Mexico. The pig had been genetically modified, which means scientists changed some of its genes. These changes made the kidney more like a human one, so Tim’s immune system would be less likely to attack it. Normally, the body treats an organ from another animal as an invader and rejects it. Tim lived for almost nine months without dialysis, longer than any living person who had received a pig kidney before him.
Eventually, Tim went back on dialysis for a short time. Then he received a second transplant, this time a kidney from a human donor. Other people have received pig kidneys, but Tim was the first to go from a pig kidney to a human one.
Living with a pig’s organ might sound strange, but doctors see real promise in it. In the U.S. alone, around 90,000 people are waiting for a kidney transplant, and there aren’t nearly enough human donors. Pig kidneys could one day act as a “bridge,” keeping patients healthy until a human kidney becomes available. Still, this isn’t a solution yet. Researchers are studying how long pig organs can last and whether they’re safe for many more patients.
A car called the Hydromax just set a new speed record for hydrogen-powered vehicles, and it didn’t just beat the old mark. It more than doubled it.
The run took place in August at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, a dried-up lake bed whose hard, flat surface has hosted land-speed attempts for more than a century. Behind the wheel was Andy Green, a retired British Royal Air Force pilot and the only person ever to drive a car faster than the speed of sound.
The old record for a car with a hydrogen-burning engine was 185.5 miles per hour, set in 2004. The Hydromax averaged 406.320 mph. Official records are based on the average of two runs, and Green’s two runs clocked in at about 401 and 412 mph.
Will you ever need to drive 406 mph? Probably not, even if Chipotle closes in five minutes and you’re ten minutes away.
The point was to show what hydrogen can do. The Hydromax runs on two hydrogen engines adapted from ones its maker, the British company JCB, uses in construction diggers. Gasoline and diesel engines release carbon dioxide. A hydrogen engine’s main byproduct is water.
There’s a catch, though. Hydrogen is only as clean as the way it’s made, and most of the world’s hydrogen today is still produced using fossil fuels.
In Toilets of the Future, presenter Cherry Healey learns about a Toto toilet that has lots of cool features that improve hygiene and the experience of visiting the bathroom. She visits Cranfield University to get a glimpse of the toilet of the future, one that doesn’t use water. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Inside the Factory, a series that takes viewers behind the scenes in the factories that make our favorite products.
In The Go Jetters Visit the Bishop Rock Lighthouse, the Go Jetters crew is on a boat race around the Isles of Scilly in the United Kingdom. They come upon Bishop Rock Lighthouse. Ubercorn shares funky facts about this long-standing, unique lighthouse. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Go Jetters, a series that follows the adventures of four international heroes as they travel the globe visiting landmarks and solving environmental problems with Ubercorn, a disco-dancing unicorn.
In The Go Jetters Speed Through Japan on the Bullet Train, the Go Jetters crew is waiting for a Shinkansen, a Japanese bullet train. Ubercorn shares funky facts about how fast bullet trains travel and how they are an environmentally friendly way to travel. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Go Jetters, a series that follows the adventures of four international heroes as they travel the globe visiting landmarks and solving environmental problems with Ubercorn, a disco-dancing unicorn.
In The Go Jetters Visit the Aqueduct of Segovia, A Bridge to Carry Water, the Go Jetters crew visits the Aqueduct of Segovia, a bridge built to carry water across a valley to the people who need it. Built during Roman times, the Segovia aqueduct has been bringing water to the community for thousands of years. What makes it special is that it was built without mortar, using only balance to hold the stones together — a real feat for its time! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Go Jetters, a series that follows the adventures of four plucky international heroes as they travel the globe visiting the world’s most famous landmarks with their friend and mentor, Ubercorn, a disco-dancing unicorn.
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In All About High Speed Trains, presenter and motorbike racer Grace Webb explores the thrilling world of high-speed passenger trains! She gets an exclusive look at the driver in action and experiences the excitement of traveling over 90 miles per hour, learning all about the technology and precision required for transit in the fast lane. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Grace’s Amazing Machines, a children’s show that introduces kids to some of the biggest, fastest, and most amazing machines in the world.
In A Smooth Ride on Touring Motorbikes, presenter and motorbike racer Grace Webb looks at some of the amazing features of these machines that are built for comfort rather than speed. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Grace’s Amazing Machines, a children’s show that introduces kids to some of the biggest, fastest, and most amazing machines in the world.
Tim Andrews had end-stage kidney disease, which means his kidneys had almost completely stopped working. Then he got a transplant from a very unexpected donor: a pig.
Your kidneys work like filters. They clean waste and extra water out of your blood, and that waste leaves your body as urine. When the kidneys fail, many patients go on dialysis. A machine filters their blood for them, usually for several hours at a time, a few times a week. Dialysis keeps people alive, but it’s exhausting and takes up a lot of time. Tim depended on it before his transplant. Or, more precisely, before his first transplant.
Tim’s new kidney came from a Yucatán miniature pig, a small breed named after a region in Mexico. The pig had been genetically modified, which means scientists changed some of its genes. These changes made the kidney more like a human one, so Tim’s immune system would be less likely to attack it. Normally, the body treats an organ from another animal as an invader and rejects it. Tim lived for almost nine months without dialysis, longer than any living person who had received a pig kidney before him.
Eventually, Tim went back on dialysis for a short time. Then he received a second transplant, this time a kidney from a human donor. Other people have received pig kidneys, but Tim was the first to go from a pig kidney to a human one.
Living with a pig’s organ might sound strange, but doctors see real promise in it. In the U.S. alone, around 90,000 people are waiting for a kidney transplant, and there aren’t nearly enough human donors. Pig kidneys could one day act as a “bridge,” keeping patients healthy until a human kidney becomes available. Still, this isn’t a solution yet. Researchers are studying how long pig organs can last and whether they’re safe for many more patients.
A car called the Hydromax just set a new speed record for hydrogen-powered vehicles, and it didn’t just beat the old mark. It more than doubled it.
The run took place in August at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, a dried-up lake bed whose hard, flat surface has hosted land-speed attempts for more than a century. Behind the wheel was Andy Green, a retired British Royal Air Force pilot and the only person ever to drive a car faster than the speed of sound.
The old record for a car with a hydrogen-burning engine was 185.5 miles per hour, set in 2004. The Hydromax averaged 406.320 mph. Official records are based on the average of two runs, and Green’s two runs clocked in at about 401 and 412 mph.
Will you ever need to drive 406 mph? Probably not, even if Chipotle closes in five minutes and you’re ten minutes away.
The point was to show what hydrogen can do. The Hydromax runs on two hydrogen engines adapted from ones its maker, the British company JCB, uses in construction diggers. Gasoline and diesel engines release carbon dioxide. A hydrogen engine’s main byproduct is water.
There’s a catch, though. Hydrogen is only as clean as the way it’s made, and most of the world’s hydrogen today is still produced using fossil fuels.
In Toilets of the Future, presenter Cherry Healey learns about a Toto toilet that has lots of cool features that improve hygiene and the experience of visiting the bathroom. She visits Cranfield University to get a glimpse of the toilet of the future, one that doesn’t use water. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Inside the Factory, a series that takes viewers behind the scenes in the factories that make our favorite products.
In The Go Jetters Visit the Bishop Rock Lighthouse, the Go Jetters crew is on a boat race around the Isles of Scilly in the United Kingdom. They come upon Bishop Rock Lighthouse. Ubercorn shares funky facts about this long-standing, unique lighthouse. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Go Jetters, a series that follows the adventures of four international heroes as they travel the globe visiting landmarks and solving environmental problems with Ubercorn, a disco-dancing unicorn.
In The Go Jetters Speed Through Japan on the Bullet Train, the Go Jetters crew is waiting for a Shinkansen, a Japanese bullet train. Ubercorn shares funky facts about how fast bullet trains travel and how they are an environmentally friendly way to travel. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Go Jetters, a series that follows the adventures of four international heroes as they travel the globe visiting landmarks and solving environmental problems with Ubercorn, a disco-dancing unicorn.
In The Go Jetters Visit the Aqueduct of Segovia, A Bridge to Carry Water, the Go Jetters crew visits the Aqueduct of Segovia, a bridge built to carry water across a valley to the people who need it. Built during Roman times, the Segovia aqueduct has been bringing water to the community for thousands of years. What makes it special is that it was built without mortar, using only balance to hold the stones together — a real feat for its time! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Go Jetters, a series that follows the adventures of four plucky international heroes as they travel the globe visiting the world’s most famous landmarks with their friend and mentor, Ubercorn, a disco-dancing unicorn.
In Fly Like a Bird! A Wind-Walking Airplane Adventure, presenter and motorbike racer Grace Webb explores a wind-walking airplane that can do incredible flips and tricks while someone rides up top! This biplane has a rig on the top wing where a person can sit or stand, feeling like they’re flying in the open air. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Grace’s Amazing Machines, a children’s show that introduces kids to some of the biggest, fastest, and most amazing machines in the world.
In The Exciting Features of Ambulances, presenter and motorbike racer Grace Webb explains the special features of an ambulance and gives a tour of the inside of a British ambulance. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Grace’s Amazing Machines, a children’s show that introduces kids to some of the biggest, fastest, and most amazing machines in the world.
In Exploring the Exciting World of Tracked Vehicle Shredders, presenter and motorbike racer Grace Webb explores the essential features of a tracked vehicle shredder, highlighting its powerful capabilities and the excitement of riding one. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Grace’s Amazing Machines, a children’s show that introduces kids to some of the biggest, fastest, and most amazing machines in the world.
In Leaning Into the Three-Wheeled Tilted Motorbikes, presenter and motorbike racer Grace Webb tries riding a special motorbike with two wheels in the front for the first time and explains the advantage of riding on three wheels. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Grace’s Amazing Machines, a children’s show that introduces kids to some of the biggest, fastest, and most amazing machines in the world.
In All About High Speed Trains, presenter and motorbike racer Grace Webb explores the thrilling world of high-speed passenger trains! She gets an exclusive look at the driver in action and experiences the excitement of traveling over 90 miles per hour, learning all about the technology and precision required for transit in the fast lane. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Grace’s Amazing Machines, a children’s show that introduces kids to some of the biggest, fastest, and most amazing machines in the world.
In A Smooth Ride on Touring Motorbikes, presenter and motorbike racer Grace Webb looks at some of the amazing features of these machines that are built for comfort rather than speed. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Grace’s Amazing Machines, a children’s show that introduces kids to some of the biggest, fastest, and most amazing machines in the world.