
Avita Medical announces Cohealyx data published in Journal of Surgery
Avita Medical (RCEL) announced the first clinical publication evaluating Cohealyx, an Avita Medical-branded collagen-based dermal matrix, published in the Journal of Surgery. According to the investigators, Cohealyx demonstrated significantly faster wound bed vascularization and autograft readiness compared to conventional dermal matrices, achieving readiness within five to 10 days versus the typical two to four weeks. In the case series conducted at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, two patients with complex, full-thickness hand wounds were treated with Cohealyx. One patient achieved a well-vascularized wound bed by day five, enabling autografting by day 7. The second patient reached robust re-vascularization by day 10 and proceeded to autografting on day 13. Both patients had excellent skin graft take outcomes and functional recovery. According to the publication, these outcomes demonstrate accelerated integration and wound bed vascularization, potentially facilitating earlier definitive wound closure, which can significantly reduce patient burden and lower associated complication risks.
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Indianapolis Star
17 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
New Steak 'n Shake product on the way. What to know about the MAHA-approved item
After being lauded by the Trump administration's health movement for its transition away from vegetable oils and using beef tallow to cook its signature shoestring fries, Steak 'n Shake will sell tallow directly to customers. The Indianapolis-based fast-food chain said its restaurants will start selling grass-fed beef tallow later this month. The chain began cooking its fries in tallow at all of its restaurants earlier this year; but the potatoes are pre-fried in seed oils. "Buy our 100% Grass-Fed Beef Tallow for your home cooking at any Steak n Shake starting June 23. MAHA!' the chain announced on social media. The posts included an image of a 14-ounce jar. Steak 'n Shake, a subsidiary of San Antonio, Texas-based Biglari Holdings, has about 400 locations nationwide. Although the jars will be sold in the restaurants, other Steak 'n Shake-branded products, including chili made by Pinnacle Foods Group and frozen burgers distributed by AdvancePierre Foods, are sold in grocery stores. Beef tallow is rendered beef fat, sometimes called beef drippings. Like other solid cooking fats such as butter and coconut oil, beef tallow is made up primarily of saturated fat, including stearic acid, which appears not to raise cholesterol in the same way as other saturated fats, according to Mayo Clinic. Tallow also contains monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are considered healthier, as well as fat-soluble vitamins that are vital for various bodily functions, including immune support, bone health, cellular function and skin health. Steak 'n Shake announced in January that by the end of February, all locations would end the use of vegetable oil and switch to 100% all-natural beef tallow for its fries, onion rings and chicken tenders. Operations chief Daniels told Fox the company had been considering the move for a while, a directive of owner Sardar Biglari, who as a boy, was impressed with fries he tasted in Belgium that were cooked in beef tallow. 'We wanted to switch years ago but couldn't get a chemical-free, additive-free, all-natural pure beef tallow,' Daniels said. 'He tells me we have to do beef tallow, but we have to do it all-natural and no additives and no preservatives. And we found a supplier who could finally do it for us.' 'We've RFK'd our fries.' Steak 'n Shake touts beef tallow fries: Early MAHA supporters question chain's process The move was praised by U.S. health czar Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose 'Make America Healthy Again' agenda the brand supports. The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services even did a Fox News Channel interview at a Florida Steak 'n Shake, commending the chain. 'Steak and Shake has been great. We're very grateful to them for RFKing the french fries,' Kennedy said. "They turned me into a verb." Kennedy wants fast food companies to use beef tallow for frying instead of seed oils, like soybean and canola oil, which he has called 'one of the most unhealthy ingredients that we have in foods.' The chain later said that while it is committed to removing seed oils from its restaurants, its suppliers pre-fry fries, onion rings and chicken tenders in seed oils before freezing them and shipping them to the shops. Indy Steak 'n Shake $1M renovation: What's new at the downtown restaurant Republican politicians and high-profile MAGA and MAHA boosters responded positively to Steak 'n Shake's blatant appeal on social media to Kennedy and others tied to the Trump administration. The chain's postings included a red hat with yellow letters saying 'Make Frying Oil Tallow Again,' nodding to the Kennedy-led agenda, and posting images of the health secretary. A version of the hat is available on the Kennedy's MAHA merchandise website. The chain's social media accounts also made overtures to Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, who President Donald Trump tapped to lead an effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.


Scientific American
2 days ago
- Scientific American
Thermal Runaway Explains Why Waymo Cars Burned So Completely in the Recent Los Angeles Protests
Imagine watching a car burn until it seems to vaporize and the street itself begins to sag. That happened on Sunday in Los Angeles, when protesters torched at least five Waymo-branded Jaguar I-Pace robotaxis. When the smoke cleared, virtually the entire shell of each car—its roof, doors, hood, trunk and body panels—was gone, leaving only wheel rims and traces of aluminum lacing. Why did the fires cause such obliteration? The answer starts with the battery. Each I-Pace can carry roughly 90 kilowatt-hours of stored chemical energy, comparable to about 170 pounds (77 kilograms) of TNT. That energy is distributed across hundreds of lithium-ion pouch cells, which are sealed in flammable electrolyte and separated by polymer films as thin as snack-bag plastic. When any one cell is punctured or overheated—or set aflame with an incendiary device—chemical reactions generate more heat than the cell can shed, and neighboring cells follow in a chain reaction. This positive-feedback loop is called 'thermal runaway.' According to a 2024 study in the Journal of Power Sources, as the battery burns, its temperature can soar past 1,000 degrees Celsius. At that point, the pack becomes its own furnace. Aluminum sections of the car's floor surrender, liquefying at about 660 degrees C and taking the underbody with them. Magnesium parts—seat-base frames, the bracket that holds the steering column and the cross-car beam that is located behind the dashboard—flare bright white. Patches of magnesium can catch fire and burn fiercely. Plastics disappear as vapor, wheels lose their tire, and even the lidar mast on the roof quickly resembles an overcooked marshmallow. A 2025 study in Fire Technology and a 2023 study in Applied Energy noted that the placement of the battery on the floor—sometimes referred to as a 'skateboard architecture'—makes the floor the hottest zone. Thus, flames radiate upward and outward, cooking everything above. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. All the while, the battery cells vent hydrogen fluoride, a toxic, lung-searing gas documented in laboratory test burns of commercial lithium packs. Among the disturbing scenes from the recent Los Angeles protests, which erupted over federal immigration raids, are those in which protestors stood around the flaming Waymos. Historically, first responders without supplied-air protection have developed throat burns and breathing difficulties upon arriving at scenes with burning lithium-ion batteries. Depending on the hydrogen fluoride levels, an exposed person can begin coughing up blood within minutes. Whereas inhaling concentrations above roughly 30 parts per million (ppm) is immediately dangerous to health, 50 ppm may be fatal when inhaled for a half-hour to an hour, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that exposure to 170 ppm for 10 minutes can be deadly. Measurements taken near electric-vehicle (EV) fires show peaks of 150 to 450 ppm, with levels during much of the fire hovering around 50 ppm. Firefighters call such blazes 'battery box fires,' and they hate them. Flame-retardant foams do little, and fire departments now favor high-pressure water lances or immersion pits. Dousing a runaway battery usually means lowering temperatures below the runaway threshold for every last battery cell—a task that, according to the Independent, can swallow 30,000 to 40,000 gallons (about 114,000 to 151,000 liters) of water. That's at least 40 times the amount of water required to extinguish a gasoline-car fire. If you hit the flames too lightly, stranded energy reignites hours later—a quirk the National Transportation Safety Board flagged in its 2020 report on EV firefighting hazards. Car designers have tried to address the danger. Software monitors cell temperatures and slows the rate at which batteries charge to prevent overheating. And it automatically cuts current if anything looks amiss. Yet even the best code cannot rewrite chemistry: in 2023 Jaguar recalled more than 6,400 I-Pace cars after at least a dozen of them caught fire from overheated batteries—which had likely shorted from manufacturing defects in their pouch cells. Six of the fires happened while the car was either plugged in or within a few minutes of being unplugged. Waymo's fleet got the update to better regulate the batteries, but software can't help when someone smashes one of the car's windows and lights up its interior with a 'makeshift flamethrower,' as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Could a Waymo van have burned just as thoroughly? Only with great effort. The company's earlier Chrysler Pacifica hybrids, which were phased out in 2023, stored a tenth of their battery energy in a steel-framed shell. Steel keeps its shape beyond 1,300 degrees C, so after a typical blaze, you would still recognize the carcass. To prevent thermal runaway, Teslas have batteries that use thousands of small cylindrical cells locked inside an aluminum tray with titanium undershields and built-in firebreaks. And most brands of electric-car batteries now sit in similarly rigid aluminum or steel boxes—and are shifting toward less volatile chemistries. Importantly, however, the scene in Los Angeles by no means indicates that electric cars are tinderboxes. A 2023 study in Finland showed that, mile for mile, they caught fire less often than gasoline cars. But when an EV does burn, the physics shift. You're no longer fighting a puddle of gasoline on asphalt; you're battling an energy-dense, metal-oxide battery that is determined to finish what it started—and in such cases, a single Molotov cocktail can turn a sleek robotaxi into a pool of molten alloy.

Epoch Times
2 days ago
- Epoch Times
Nearly 4 Million BowFlex Dumbbells Recalled Nationwide: CPSC
Wisconsin-based Johnson Health Tech Trading Inc. is recalling around 3.84 million units of dumbbells due to a risk that 'weight plates can dislodge from the handle during use, posing an impact hazard,' the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said in a June 5 The recall applies to BowFlex-branded Model 552 (52.5 lb.) and Model 1090 (90 lb.) adjustable dumbbells. Bowflex, formerly Nautilus Inc., filed for bankruptcy in March 2024. Johnson Health Tech