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Futurology 144: particles teeth bones
Monday, 31 May 2010
Introducing ... the plasmaron, a new quasiparticle: According to a report published in Science on Thursday, the new phenomenon, called a "plasmaron," was found in a sample of doped graphene, where it appeared courtesy of the material's unusual arrangement of electrons in its electron cloud.Because the behavior of the quasiparticle is different from that of its individual components, researchers should be able to use this new knowledge to make better predictions of the atomic and molecular states present in graphene, and keep watch for the appearance of plasmarons in similar materials.
A 'quasiparticle' usually represents a combination of a bulk effect and a material. For example, an electron is only a particle, but an electron that blocks the attraction between another electron and a proton could act as a quasiparticle. A quasiparticle can also be purely effect, like plasmons, which are quantum packets of excitation in the electrons in a metal.
Comment — sounds like a Transformer
Lab on a chip detects food allergies: Less than one in twenty Americans has a food allergy. But one in three thinks they have one.
Standard allergy tests involve placing a small amount of allergen under a person's skin and monitoring the site for any redness, irritation, or itching. While effective for determining if a reaction has occurred, it does not guarantee any reaction noted is allergic. The other method for testing for food allergies is to have a person simply stop eating an item – if they get better, then it is a sign that the removed food item is an allergen.
A new lab-on-a-chip device built by a chemical engineering team at MIT promises to provide a more accurate measure. Professor Christopher Love's group developed a lab-on-a-chip capable of exposing individual immune cells to selected allergens and examining their response to the potentially allergenic proteins. This new device, described in the latest issue of Lab on a Chip, does not simply look for antibody responses from the immune cells. Love's device screens for small proteins known as cytokines – these are a class of molecule that immune cells produce to call other immune cells to come join in the fight.
Comment — love me, love my cytokines.
New hearing aid transmits through bones and teeth: Currently, the best remedy for significant or complete loss of hearing in one ear involves surgically implanting a titanium post into the base of the skull (ouch).
The SoundBite (pic) is a snap-in hearing aid that utilises the sound conductive properties of bone to channel sound from the wearer’s teeth through the bones in their head and to their ear. In clinical trials, most patients reported that it restored from 80% to 100% of their hearing and that they hardly noticed they were wearing this little example of remarkable design for health.
Comment — no surgery, restored hearing, all good. But what if you've also lost your teeth?
Grow some new teeth: Researchers at the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at Columbia University Medical Center have pioneered a technology that may allow us to regrow our own teeth, in our own mouths, as adults.
The technique involves implanting a tooth scaffolding in the mouth of a patient and redirecting stem cells in the patient’s body to regenerate the tooth right where it was in the first place.
Comment — the world has to allow stem cell research to progress.
Portable wind turbine uses solar power: Cheng Peng has designed a portable wind turbine with solar panels on its blades. The device is capable of generating enough energy to power your cell phone or GPS, or it can power its own built-in LED light. It’s called Mobile Energy, and it measures just half a meter long when folded down, making it portable enough to carry with you on backpacking or cycling trips.
Comment — or for the Army.
Where was Five Tip Friday? I was about to post it when my Mac died. Luckily, it was just a fundamental hard disc corruption that Wired Dog fixed by Saturday. Rather than run some tips on a non-Friday, I will run two lots next Friday – sorry for any inconvenience.
