So this week we fly by the seat of our pants a bit: My first choice on topic had been a piece on the golden ratio in the quantum realm, but someone beat me to it, so let's travel to Europe:
Fresh off our last visit to Italy (for bionic hands!) we now return to the land of fettuccine for another remarkable word from whatever front it is that has to deal with limb-parts: Replacement bones made with Rattan wood.
The BBC has the goods:
Scientists in Italy have developed a way of turning rattan wood into bone that is almost identical to the human tissue.
At the Istec laboratory of bioceramics in Faenza near Bologna, a herd of sheep have already been implanted with the bones.
After slicing and dicing the wood up into pieces, its twice baked to add carbon, calcium and phosphate, and from there it's good to go.
After around 10 days, the rattan wood has been transformed into the bone-like material.
Within months, the real and artificial bone will have fused
"It's proving very promising" she says. "This new bone material is strong, so it can take heavy loads that bodies will put on it.
"It is also durable, so, unlike existing bone substitutes, it won't need replacing".
And it does what no other substitute does so far: fuses with your actual bones.
That is because of its structure and porous properties, which enable blood, nerves and other compounds to travel through it.
Dr Tampieri says it is the closest scientists have ever come to replicating the human bone because, she says: "It eventually fuses with real bone, so in time, you don't even see the join".
How are those sheep getting along?
The x-rays of the sheep's legs show the progress they are making.
Particles from the sheep's own bones are migrating to the bone made from wood.
Within a few months, the real and the artificial bone will be like one continuous bone.
And real-world application is not that far away:
The new bone-from-wood programme is being funded by the European Union.
Implants into humans are about five years away.
But with no signs of rejection or infection in the sheep, there is real hope here that a natural, cheap and effective replacement for bones is now possible.