These patients will be opting out of getting care at local medical centers like the University of Washington, and flying over countless others.

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But, observes Colin Pillinger of the Open University, a British member of the Flying Stones team, the experiment will cost almost nothing to carry out, so it is worth a try in any case.

ECONOMIST: Meteorites

Dr Jon Dyhr, a biologist from the University of Washington who also studies insect flight, said these flying robots were "impressive feats of engineering".

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Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cambridge University have estimated the impact on the ground of emissions from aircraft flying at cruise altitude (about 35, 000 feet), a problem typically ignored by regulations.

ECONOMIST: Planes and pollution

Though accepted into the University of Kentucky, Ueltschi decided not to enroll but to instead focus on flying.

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