Tires and dolphins

Adjust font size:

Who says car technology doesn't benefit the wider world? A disabled dolphin is able to swim normally and jump again after engineers at Japanese tire firm Bridgestone created a prosthetic tail fin for it.

Fuji, 34, had part of her tail amputated in 2002. One of her vets contacted the tire giant, which made ten prototypes before coming up with one that was comfortable for Fuji to wear. Even so, it took Fuji five months to get used to the fin, which is constructed from materials used in the company's Formula One tires.

Masaya Kowami, of the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in southern Japan, said that Fuji can swim slowly without the artificial fin but cannot jump.

"Visitors have told us she looks happy," he said.

Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.

---

• Feds: Couple crashed Obama's state dinner
• Orphan finds new life in Israel
• Dubai shock after debt standstill call
• Philippines politician to be questioned
• Site posts reported 9/11 text messages

• Irish PM to quit over payments scandal
• NATO chief: Afghan troop increase likely
• Militants hunted as calm retuns to Basra
• Pressure on Bush to skip Olympics
• BA sending misplaced T5 baggage to Milan

• Recruiting suicide bombers (2:50)
• London was lucky (2:36)
• Cars in London rigged as bombs (3:48)
• Second explosives-packed car foun (2:32)
• Soviet culture returns (3:47)