Yesterday I saw my brother, David who is bipolar. If you are a regular reader of this blog you know I’ve been concerned about him recently. He’s been suffering a great deal with depression lately even though he sees a mental health provider and takes his prescription medication on a regular basis.
I’m happy to report David was a bit better yesterday as we visited over lunch and went to one of our favorite flea markets. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a good time, which reminded me of something I wrote about depression several years ago. I’m a firm believer that in addition to professional help and medication, sunshine and fresh air are some of our best friends in battling depression. David makes it a point to take advantage of all of these helpful ways of dealing with depression and I believe his efforts are once again getting him through a difficult time.
The Sun Shines on Me
by Susan King
The sun shines down upon my empty soul today
just one small ray lifts my spirits up
my depression eases and I somehow find a way
to make progress and then fill my cup
with hope of peace.
The sun shines light into my lonely heart today
I feel it’s warm glow as if I were near a fire
my anxiety slowly, slowly seems to melt away
I once again want things I dearly love and I desire
to pursue my dreams.
The sun shines bright upon my troubled mind today
the enlightenment I feel is quite intense
my worries drift off to the shadows by the way
and I can finally think more clearly and make sense
as I live my life again.
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Archive for May, 2008
Sunshine Helps those Who Are Depressed……..by Susan
Saturday, May 31st, 2008Gaze-tracking shop windows
Friday, May 30th, 2008
Eye tracking software has become a mature technology that works effectively in many real situations. So the consumer electronics company Philips hopes to apply it to displays in shop windows.
The company’s idea is to track the gaze of window shoppers to determine which items in the window they are staring at, then to display enlarged pictures, a slide show or other information about those items on nearby computer screens.
Philips says that the system could also be used in museums and art galleries to provide visitors with extra information as they need it
Read the full gaze-tracking shop windows patent application.
Justin Mullins, New Scientist consultant
Sterile nano cosmetics
Thursday, May 29th, 2008The pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry is hugely interested in “nanoemulsions” – oil-in-water emulsions in which the particles of one liquid are just a few nanometres across.
The idea is that drugs or nutrients in nanoemulsion form should be much easier for the body to absorb. The conventional way to make a nanoemulsion is to grind a mixture to make particles successively smaller.
Now Robert Nicolosi and a colleague from the University of Massachusetts, in Lowell, US, claim to have developed a better method.
Their idea is to pass the mixture of liquids through a kind of atomiser at a pressure of over 1700 atmospheres. This creates turbulence that rips large bubbles of liquid to into smaller, nano-sized bubbles.
Curiously, the resulting nanoemulsions also turn out to be sterile. Nicolosi thinks the turbulence rips apart any bacteria that might be present. This would be a boon to manufacturers because any product made from this kind of nanoemulsion should have a much longer shelf life than a non-sterile equivalent.
Read the full sterile nano cosmetics patent application.
Justin Mullins, New Scientist consultant
Portable explosives detector
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008The threat of terrorism has made reliable detection of explosives an important goal. While there are many methods for doing the job quickly and reliably, few of them are truly portable.
This is because, before an explosive can be detected, many techniques require significant preparation of a sample, such as dissolving explosive residue in a solution, or collecting large volumes of air containing explosive vapour.
Now, Rolf Hummel and colleagues at the University of Florida in Gainesville, US, have developed a portable technique that requires little or no sample preparation, based on the way explosives absorb and reflect light.
Their device shines ultraviolet, infrared and visible light onto two sample areas at the same time then calculates the difference in reflectance between them for each part of the spectrum. If explosives are present at one sample area, but not the other, the characteristic signature of reflected light should show up clearly in this difference measurement.
The explosive can then be identified by comparing the signature with a database stored in the detector. Hummel say his device is quick, simple to operate and requires none of the care and attention needed by of the current best portable explosives detectors – sniffer dogs.
Read the full portable explosives detector patent application.
Justin Mullins, New Scientist consultant
Happy Memorial Day Weekend…..by Susan
Sunday, May 25th, 2008Happy Memorial Day Weekend! This holiday is of particular significance to me because my dad was a veteran of WWII and the Korean War. My brother, David, who co-authors this blog, served in the military during the Vietnam war. My oldest son served two tours of service on a carrier in the Persian Gulf a few years ago. Military service by our loved ones is something we can all honor.
Loss of life, loss of relationships and loss of good mental health are all things that our current military and our veterans are dealing with on a daily basis. Family problems and problems with depression or suicidal feelings are things our veterans struggle to overcome. I pray for all who have served our country.
I found some interesting reading about the origin of Memorial Day, which originally occurred on May 30th each year. I was surprised that the observance of this holiday goes all the way back to the Civil War. You can read some of the interesting facts surrounding this holiday at wikipedia.org.
Blood-pressure-sensing underpants
Friday, May 23rd, 2008
Blood pressure is not hard to measure, but the necessary equipment for clinically accurate measurements – a cuff, a pump, and stethoscope or electronics – is bulky and heavy.
However, researchers have recently found that a person’s “pulse wave velocity” is closely linked to blood pressure. This is the rate at which the pulse pressure wave passes through the blood circulatory system.
Sensors sewn into the waistband of a person’s underpants can measure the rate of this wave, consumer electronics company Philips has discovered, and could be used to calculate blood pressure for as long as the garment is worn.
Each sensor continually measures the electrical impedance of the tissue beneath it – a property that changes as the pulse wave passes by. A pair of such sensors can calculate the speed of the pulse wave by timing how long it takes to travel from one sensor to the other.
Once calibrated with a conventional blood-pressure reading, the electrodes can then give accurate blood-pressure readings, while the wearer enjoys the comfort of their own underpants.
Read the full blood-pressure-sensing underpants patent application.
Justin Mullins, New Scientist consultant
Bird-killing foam
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008Since 1999, there have been 26 avian influenza outbreaks in 25 countries, which resulted in the slaughter of more than 132 million birds.
With more outbreaks likely, killing such large numbers of poultry in a humane and efficient way that prevents any further spread of the disease is a significant problem.
One common method is to flood the birds’ living areas with carbon dioxide. But although it is an avian anaesthetic, CO2 also endangers humans. Now Eric Benson and colleagues at the University of Delaware in Newark have a potential answer.
They say that covering the birds with a blanket of CO2-infused foam should quickly and humanely kill the birds with a minimal amount of manpower. And since the CO2 is trapped within the foam, it should be relatively safe for humans.
Read the full humane bird-killing foam patent application.
Justin Mullins, New Scientist consultant
Wallpaper speakers
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008Microphones and speakers use piezoelectric materials that move in response to voltage, or create voltage from movement. But common piezoelectric materials are expensive, heavy and brittle.
Now materials scientist Michael Yu at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and colleagues say they have made a rubbery plastic-based material that could help place piezoelectric devices in previously impractical areas.
The team’s invention is based on a polypropylene foam with piezoelectric properties that was discovered in 2004. The plastic is flexible and has entirely different mechanical properties to most other, often crystalline or ceramic, piezoelectric materials.
By adding silicone rubber to that material, Yu and colleagues have made it possible to separately control the material’s piezoelectric mechanical properties.
Until now changing the flexibility, say, of a piezoelectric material would always impact its electrical properties. That made it near-impossible to design materials with certain combinations of physical and piezoelectric properties.
Combined with the ease with which polymers can be processed, the new material should open up novel applications: wallpaper that functions as speakers, lightweight devices to scavenge movement energy, and foldable speakers, are just some of their ideas.
Read the full wallpaper speakers patent application.
Justin Mullins, New Scientist consultant
A Free Life……….by Susan
Monday, May 19th, 2008On Mother’s Day my youngest son took me to the movies. It takes us about thirty minutes to drive to the theater and during the ride he played one of his music CD’s for me. He told me I would like this CD and he was right. It’s called Free Life and is by a solo artist named Dan Wilson who was formerly with the group Semisonic.
As I was listening to the song, Free Life, I was struck by the beautiful simplicity of the lyrics. He says “one life is all we ever get”. One Free Life! Just think of what a wondrous gift we each received, free! After hearing the song, I felt as if I had listened to an important sermon or speech. I felt grateful for my free life.
I think along with feeling grateful for my life, I feel a renewed sense of responsibility to make my free life the best life I can by continuing to improve my family relationships and my overall mental health. I plan to keep up my fight against depression and anxiety and encourage others to do the same. It’s really true……one life is all we ever get.
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Anti-scar bandage
Friday, May 16th, 2008Keloid scars are angry red lesions that sometimes form after surgery or injury when the skin “overheals” creating an extra tough region of new skin.
Dermatologists believe that one factor in their formation is stretching during healing caused by the patient moving, or by the tissue beneath swelling.
So Geoff Gurtner and colleagues at the Stanford University Medical Center in California have developed bandages that can prevent this kind of stretching.
Their bandages are made of “shape memory” polymers that set into a rigid shape after being applied to the wound. They are fixed into place using powerful adhesives, or sewn or stapled over the wound during surgery.
The team has tested the idea on mice and says it can significantly reduce the amount of scarring by holding the healing tissue firm.
Read the full anti-scar bandage patent application.
Justin Mullins, New Scientist consultant