With E. coli, TB, seasonal hay fever and the cell phones cause cancer scare, our world appears to be on a different axis. However, given the prospects of research funding and sponsorship inventors, scientists are never short of mind-boggling ideas. In this article, we will look at some medical breakthroughs, new inventions and how one can remain youthful and increase longevity and vitality — even if you are well past it.
The desire to remain or at least prolong youth is hidden somewhere in everybody and hence the search for the elixir of youth and beauty. Pomegranates could keep you young, announced a salesman at the greengrocers last Saturday. Until recently, I had only heard greengrocers eulogizing rocca leaves, which they claim energize your depleted spirit. Researchers at a Middle East facility, echoing the claim of the street vendor, claim that the fruit can slow down the ageing rates of our cells. Pomegranates, they also claim, have more chemicals that fight heart disease and cancer than any other fruit or drink. The fruit contains a unique fatty acid called punicic acid, which is believed to give the fruit its healing power. Researchers hope to work out exactly how the acid helps combat heart disease, cancer and arrest the aging process.
On another note, one group of California doctors claim that electricity can kill breast cancer cells. Doctors have implanted a specially designed electrode into the tumors of five women and put a high frequency alternating current charge through for a short period of time. They found that the tiny electrode caused cancer cells to die within a radius of one centimeter of the tip of the electrode. They believe this method could provide an alternative therapy for the killer disease.
However, in today's high-tech charged world, electricity is still a rare facility in far-flung areas. For example, isolated villages in some African countries have no quick way to contact emergency services, and it can take days to reach expert help, says the inventor. To combat this, a new pedal powered generator was built on the Isle of Dogs, which will power short wave radios to allow rural people to contact doctors and police immediately. The generator powers the 100-watt radio transceiver directly without storing energy in car batteries. Instead, his machine has an unbreakable 32 kg cast-iron flywheel, the size of a Frisbee, to store the power and smooth out fluctuations from pedaling.
And here is the good news for all suburban housewives: An ingenious method of finding out what’s in a sealed container. The invention, officially known as Swept Frequency Acoustic Interferometer (SFAI), uses a gun — not a real gun, of course — to transmit sound waves and establish what is in a container by precisely measuring the way sound waves behave as they pass through. A match is then found by comparing the information with a database of known materials. Despite being developed for the US military to identify dangerous chemicals in Afghanistan, the device has a lot of civilian applications. It is so sensitive that it can detect contaminants in drinking water and can even tell you — without even touching the fridge door — if the milk in your fridge has gone bad.
In another part of the world, scientists not happy with just cloning are concentrating on growing new arteries, which has revolutionized heart-bypass operations. The test-tube arteries are designed to do away with the need for heart-bypass patients to have a new artery from their legs to replace blocked supply routes. Scientists at Advanced Tissue tried and tested it on animals, including dogs, and have grown lengths of human artery in the laboratory.
From longer-lasting youth to longer lasting aircrafts, a new satellite is to help airlines cut costs by warning them of corrosion-inducing (ash or no ash) clouds of ozone. With real-time information from the satellite, the planes will be able to avoid the danger zone and reduce maintenance costs. The High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HILDS) satellite is a joint venture between Britain’s Natural Environment Research Council and NASA. Will it make any difference to passengers? Probably not. Poor passengers will continue to bear the high cost of aircraft maintenance, aviation fuel, exorbitant airport taxes, pilferage, insurance, staff training and turnover, and of course, the pre-World War II baggage allowance!
The desire to remain or at least prolong youth is hidden somewhere in everybody and hence the search for the elixir of youth and beauty. Pomegranates could keep you young, announced a salesman at the greengrocers last Saturday. Until recently, I had only heard greengrocers eulogizing rocca leaves, which they claim energize your depleted spirit. Researchers at a Middle East facility, echoing the claim of the street vendor, claim that the fruit can slow down the ageing rates of our cells. Pomegranates, they also claim, have more chemicals that fight heart disease and cancer than any other fruit or drink. The fruit contains a unique fatty acid called punicic acid, which is believed to give the fruit its healing power. Researchers hope to work out exactly how the acid helps combat heart disease, cancer and arrest the aging process.
On another note, one group of California doctors claim that electricity can kill breast cancer cells. Doctors have implanted a specially designed electrode into the tumors of five women and put a high frequency alternating current charge through for a short period of time. They found that the tiny electrode caused cancer cells to die within a radius of one centimeter of the tip of the electrode. They believe this method could provide an alternative therapy for the killer disease.
However, in today's high-tech charged world, electricity is still a rare facility in far-flung areas. For example, isolated villages in some African countries have no quick way to contact emergency services, and it can take days to reach expert help, says the inventor. To combat this, a new pedal powered generator was built on the Isle of Dogs, which will power short wave radios to allow rural people to contact doctors and police immediately. The generator powers the 100-watt radio transceiver directly without storing energy in car batteries. Instead, his machine has an unbreakable 32 kg cast-iron flywheel, the size of a Frisbee, to store the power and smooth out fluctuations from pedaling.
And here is the good news for all suburban housewives: An ingenious method of finding out what’s in a sealed container. The invention, officially known as Swept Frequency Acoustic Interferometer (SFAI), uses a gun — not a real gun, of course — to transmit sound waves and establish what is in a container by precisely measuring the way sound waves behave as they pass through. A match is then found by comparing the information with a database of known materials. Despite being developed for the US military to identify dangerous chemicals in Afghanistan, the device has a lot of civilian applications. It is so sensitive that it can detect contaminants in drinking water and can even tell you — without even touching the fridge door — if the milk in your fridge has gone bad.
In another part of the world, scientists not happy with just cloning are concentrating on growing new arteries, which has revolutionized heart-bypass operations. The test-tube arteries are designed to do away with the need for heart-bypass patients to have a new artery from their legs to replace blocked supply routes. Scientists at Advanced Tissue tried and tested it on animals, including dogs, and have grown lengths of human artery in the laboratory.
From longer-lasting youth to longer lasting aircrafts, a new satellite is to help airlines cut costs by warning them of corrosion-inducing (ash or no ash) clouds of ozone. With real-time information from the satellite, the planes will be able to avoid the danger zone and reduce maintenance costs. The High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HILDS) satellite is a joint venture between Britain’s Natural Environment Research Council and NASA. Will it make any difference to passengers? Probably not. Poor passengers will continue to bear the high cost of aircraft maintenance, aviation fuel, exorbitant airport taxes, pilferage, insurance, staff training and turnover, and of course, the pre-World War II baggage allowance!
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