1. “College student 3D prints his own braces”

2. Amos Dudley wears his skills in his smile
Amos Dudley wears his skills in his smile. The digital design major has been straightening his top teeth for the past 16 weeks using clear braces he made himself. "I'm still wearing the last one," Dudley said on Tuesday. Dudley said he had braces when he was in junior high, but he didn't wear his retainer as much as he should have, and his teeth shifted. Over time, Dudley discovered that he wasn't smiling as much because he wasn't happy with the way his teeth looked. Name brand options for clear braces can cost up to $8,000, like Invisalign. But the 24-year-old wanted to save money, so he found a way to manufacture his own for less than $60. The total cost is so low because he only had to pay for materials used to make the models of his teeth and the retainers. Even though he built his own 3D printer at home, he opted to use a high-end and more precise 3D printer at his school, New Jersey Institute of Technology. Researching the materials he needed and figuring out how teeth move was the most difficult part of Dudley's orthodontic adventure. The most exciting was when he finally put the first aligner in his mouth.

3. In Other News
Got what it takes to be a ninja assassin? The Japanese prefecture of Aichi is looking for six fit young ninjas to join its team. Opportunities for sleek, fast masters of espionage don't come along every day -- but this position offers a year-long contract and 180,000 Japanese Yen ($1,585) a month. Unusually for this notoriously secretive band of warriors, Aichi is looking for talkative ninjas who enjoy performing on stage.
Just after President Obama and I concluded our interview — and after the microphones and cameras clicked off — he added a thought. Senate Republicans' vow not to consider the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court, he said, could have profound consequences for the high court and the justices themselves. "The thing that could be lost," said Obama, is the "collegiality" of the court, the ability to work together. When the confirmation gets so out of whack that it is "just impossible," he said, that could bleed over and eventually erode "the ability to disagree without being disagreeable" that is the hallmark of an independent judiciary.