http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/24/eye.microchip.wired/index.html
This article describes a microchip that will allow the blind to have some vision again. This could be an incredible invention if it makes it through the research and development process and is implemented. It would not be like having actual eyes and having full vision again, but it would be enough to see the world around them, recognize people, and be able to interact better with people and things in their immediate vicinity. Basically, the blind person would wear a pair of glasses with a small camera in them, which would send information to the microchip, which could send the information to the brain, bypassing the damaged eyes. This would not work for people who are blind due to issues with their brain, but at least fixing damaged eye blindness is a start, and a very impressive one at that. Helping someone to regain a lost sense is like reintroducing them to a part of the world they've been missing out on, and is definitely something great that science can do for people. This article from last year also describes the same type of microchip being developed, and also says there is little room for error in such a microchip, as it interacts directly with a human organ, so as long as data is transferred without problems, there isn't much else that could go wrong. Last year the chip was far along enough in development to allow test subjects to see patterns of light and dark, perceive motion, count things, and differentiate and locate large items around them. This was only a first generation device, and this particular researcher was working on a third generation device last year, so the development of this microchip is well on its way and looks like it will actually be available in the near future. This invention will change a lot of lives when it becomes available, and is definitely a good thing for scientists to be researching.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Journal 4 September 20
http://www.physorg.com/news172672409.html
Scientists have recently been able to assist rats with complete spinal injuries to walk again, or at least be able to walk with the assistance of equipment and drugs. The scientists administered drugs that affect serotonin, and also administered electricity to the area of the spinal cord below the injury, and a certain part of the brain that allows for rhythmic motion of the legs (not quite walking, but "stepping") was activated, and the rats were able to walk on a treadmill. With regular exercise, they were able to not only walk, but they could walk backwards, sideways, and could run. This could lead to some amazing breakthroughs medically, and could inspire hope for people who have spinal injuries and are unable to walk. It would take time and research to be able to make the devices necessary mobile and cheap enough for someone to afford, but in time this could help people with crippling injuries walk again. If a way could be found to create these electrical currents without the assistance of researchers, such as a device that could strap to the injured person's back and apply the current, then it may be more plausible to say that this could be a legitimate project to deal with debilitating injuries. This discovery may not be everything it seems, though. The part of the brain that is tapped into in the experiment allows the rats to "step" but not walk as they used to. It is more of an automated rhythm generated by the brain and not a conscious effort to actually walk in the desired direction. There has been other research on the topic of spinal cord injuries, as well, like regenerating the axons of the spinal cord that are damaged or destroyed, such as in this article. These types of research combined could probably help a lot more than each one individually, although they deal with different types of treatment. If the spinal cord is repaired, there isn't really a need to bypass it to get the legs to walk without connection to the brain.
Scientists have recently been able to assist rats with complete spinal injuries to walk again, or at least be able to walk with the assistance of equipment and drugs. The scientists administered drugs that affect serotonin, and also administered electricity to the area of the spinal cord below the injury, and a certain part of the brain that allows for rhythmic motion of the legs (not quite walking, but "stepping") was activated, and the rats were able to walk on a treadmill. With regular exercise, they were able to not only walk, but they could walk backwards, sideways, and could run. This could lead to some amazing breakthroughs medically, and could inspire hope for people who have spinal injuries and are unable to walk. It would take time and research to be able to make the devices necessary mobile and cheap enough for someone to afford, but in time this could help people with crippling injuries walk again. If a way could be found to create these electrical currents without the assistance of researchers, such as a device that could strap to the injured person's back and apply the current, then it may be more plausible to say that this could be a legitimate project to deal with debilitating injuries. This discovery may not be everything it seems, though. The part of the brain that is tapped into in the experiment allows the rats to "step" but not walk as they used to. It is more of an automated rhythm generated by the brain and not a conscious effort to actually walk in the desired direction. There has been other research on the topic of spinal cord injuries, as well, like regenerating the axons of the spinal cord that are damaged or destroyed, such as in this article. These types of research combined could probably help a lot more than each one individually, although they deal with different types of treatment. If the spinal cord is repaired, there isn't really a need to bypass it to get the legs to walk without connection to the brain.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Journal 3, September 10
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17770-mighty-mouse-takes-off--thanks-to-magnets.html
This article is about scientists studying the effects of zero gravity on mice to see what effects extended exposure to zero gravity could have on astronauts. The scientists use a super powerful magnet to levitate a mouse, which works because the magnetic field is so strong it distorts the movement of electrons in water molecules, creating an opposing magnetic field which causes the mouse to float. I think it is absolutely ridiculous that we have technology like this. I suppose when scientists have the ability to cool things to just a few degrees above absolute zero, as in this experiment, and making superconducting magnets some pretty crazy things can happen. It seems like they were skeptical of the magnet's ability to levitate a mouse, even though it had been done with strawberries and frogs before, but it obviously worked very well, for hours at a time. I had no idea magnetic fields could even do anything close to make living beings levitate and float around, but technology has come a long way.
If the magnets have any health effects on the mice, though, it would be difficult to distinguish between those effects and the effects of zero gravity, which is the intended purpose of this, not just to make mice float around their cages. The article says that rats exposed to a magnetic field just over half the strength of this one suffered no ill effects, however, so this could be very useful in understanding what happens to astronauts when they stay in space for long periods of time. It even says that the mice got used to zero gravity pretty quickly, spending hours floating around, even eating and drinking, after the initial terror of floating off the ground without expecting to do so. Understanding the changes that happen in astronauts bodies in space could help us to prevent unwanted health effects, and possibly explore more of space than we have been able to before. There are obviously still a large number of factors that do not allow us to do that, such as astronauts needing food for the entire trip, and obviously not being able to resupply until they return. This is a step in the right direction, though, space is a vast frontier that we have explored very little of, and there are an infinite number of possibilities as to what could be out there.
This article is about scientists studying the effects of zero gravity on mice to see what effects extended exposure to zero gravity could have on astronauts. The scientists use a super powerful magnet to levitate a mouse, which works because the magnetic field is so strong it distorts the movement of electrons in water molecules, creating an opposing magnetic field which causes the mouse to float. I think it is absolutely ridiculous that we have technology like this. I suppose when scientists have the ability to cool things to just a few degrees above absolute zero, as in this experiment, and making superconducting magnets some pretty crazy things can happen. It seems like they were skeptical of the magnet's ability to levitate a mouse, even though it had been done with strawberries and frogs before, but it obviously worked very well, for hours at a time. I had no idea magnetic fields could even do anything close to make living beings levitate and float around, but technology has come a long way.
If the magnets have any health effects on the mice, though, it would be difficult to distinguish between those effects and the effects of zero gravity, which is the intended purpose of this, not just to make mice float around their cages. The article says that rats exposed to a magnetic field just over half the strength of this one suffered no ill effects, however, so this could be very useful in understanding what happens to astronauts when they stay in space for long periods of time. It even says that the mice got used to zero gravity pretty quickly, spending hours floating around, even eating and drinking, after the initial terror of floating off the ground without expecting to do so. Understanding the changes that happen in astronauts bodies in space could help us to prevent unwanted health effects, and possibly explore more of space than we have been able to before. There are obviously still a large number of factors that do not allow us to do that, such as astronauts needing food for the entire trip, and obviously not being able to resupply until they return. This is a step in the right direction, though, space is a vast frontier that we have explored very little of, and there are an infinite number of possibilities as to what could be out there.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Journal 2, September 3
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/02/wireless.electricity/index.html
This article describes ways in which technology is advancing to bring wireless power to a new level. We already do have the ability to send electricity wirelessly, but it is not very efficient at this time, and that's what scientists are trying to improve. This could end up being expensive for consumers, since the technology itself is more expensive to research, develop, implement, and produce. It would bring a new level of convenience to electronics, though. For example, you could have one power pad to charge multiple electronics in your house, or simply drive an electric car into a garage fitted with a charger as stated in the article, as opposed to plugging these things in. The way society is progressing, people who can afford it are generally in favor of things like this, it brings more convenience to their every day lives. In the article, it also says that this technology may not increase the cost of things such as cell phones and mp3 players by much, although it would go up. The majority of people own these devices, at least a cell phone, and this technology would be widely popular if it were developed effectively. Wireless technology is already a big part of the technological world, as described in this article. The article talks mainly about use of devices without cords, not specifically charging them without cords. The fact that so many people already use this technology, support it, and are helped by it means that providing wireless power sources and even more convenience would definitely not be a bad thing. This could also be very environmentally friendly, especially if a solution for electric cars can be worked out. If people can charge things wirelessly, though, they won't need batteries, which just get thrown out when they're dead, creating trash that is far from biodegradable. In the more distant future, perhaps we could progress to electric cars with the assistance of this technology, which would reduce pollution greatly and probably be cheaper for people driving these cars.
This article describes ways in which technology is advancing to bring wireless power to a new level. We already do have the ability to send electricity wirelessly, but it is not very efficient at this time, and that's what scientists are trying to improve. This could end up being expensive for consumers, since the technology itself is more expensive to research, develop, implement, and produce. It would bring a new level of convenience to electronics, though. For example, you could have one power pad to charge multiple electronics in your house, or simply drive an electric car into a garage fitted with a charger as stated in the article, as opposed to plugging these things in. The way society is progressing, people who can afford it are generally in favor of things like this, it brings more convenience to their every day lives. In the article, it also says that this technology may not increase the cost of things such as cell phones and mp3 players by much, although it would go up. The majority of people own these devices, at least a cell phone, and this technology would be widely popular if it were developed effectively. Wireless technology is already a big part of the technological world, as described in this article. The article talks mainly about use of devices without cords, not specifically charging them without cords. The fact that so many people already use this technology, support it, and are helped by it means that providing wireless power sources and even more convenience would definitely not be a bad thing. This could also be very environmentally friendly, especially if a solution for electric cars can be worked out. If people can charge things wirelessly, though, they won't need batteries, which just get thrown out when they're dead, creating trash that is far from biodegradable. In the more distant future, perhaps we could progress to electric cars with the assistance of this technology, which would reduce pollution greatly and probably be cheaper for people driving these cars.
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