Be Smart

This story brings together some of my favourite things: cats, design ingenuity and intelligent young women kicking ass. Plus, it shakes off the stereotype that British people don't care about teeth. (We do, just not our own...)

Seventeen year old British college student Rachel Gilbert has reached the final of a national competition, the Ideas Igloo Roadshow, with her design for feline false teeth.

They look a little ghoulish, but have a noble purpose: "When animals suffer broken or rotten teeth, they have had to be removed," Rachel told her local newspaper, The Sheffield Star. "The gum can become infected and they find it difficult to chew food. We aim to reduce animals' suffering and improve their quality of life." Local vets are already on board with the design, which was created after taking a mold from a cat with damaged teeth. This revolution in animal dentistry could also be extended to dogs and sheep.

Rachel and her team of eight now have two minutes to pitch their idea to a panel of American Inventor-style entrepreneurs for a chance to win £2000 (around $4000) to help launch their business.

The best part of this whole story? Rachel's from my home town. Not that I'm biased, but I hope she wins...