GLIMPSES OF THE
FUTURE |
Lighting Up The Cancer Cells One of the major problems facing cancer surgeons is finding and removing every last cancerous cell in a patient. Now a new imaging system that highlights cancerous tissue in lurid colours should help surgeons remove every last trace of cancer without harming the surrounding tissue. The system, currently in early clinical trials, uses a new class of contrast agents that emit near-infrared light and can attach to virtually any kind of tissue, cancerous or healthy - showing surgeons just where to cut. The imager, which is being licensed by GE Healthcare, augments a normal video feed with near-infrared imagery to show the location of targeted contrast agents - microscopic particles made up mostly of fluorescent proteins administered to the patient before surgery. During a surgical procedure, a boom carrying one visible-light camera and two for different bands of the near-infrared spectrum is suspended above the patient, sending live video and infrared footage to a computer that displays a combined picture on a screen next to the operating table. Cool Plastic Chills When It Matters Thin films of a new polymer developed at Penn State University change temperature in response to changing electric fields. The Penn State researchers, who reported the new material in Science recently, say that it could lead to new technologies for cooling computer chips and to environmentally friendly refrigerators. Changing the electric field rearranges the polymer's atoms, changing its temperature; this is called the electrocaloric effect. In a cooling device, a voltage would be applied to the material, which would then be brought in contact with whatever it's intended to cool. The material would heat up, passing its energy to a heat sink or releasing it into the atmosphere. Reducing the electric field would bring the polymer back to a low temperature so that it could be reused. You've Got Sun Glasses - Have You Got Night Glasses? Driving at night is far more dangerous than driving in daylight according to the statistics. Though only 10 per cent of road miles are driven in the dark, 48 per cent of road fatalities occur at night. That’s primarily because at night our pupils dilate, and we become short-sighted, though glare and reduced peripheral vision all contribute to ocular tiredness. Now TAG Heuer has released a set of ophthalmic glasses specifically designed to correct dark-induced myopia, reduce glare, contrast the surroundings without changing colour perception and ultimately offer safer driving after dark. The US$400 night driving glasses were originally developed specifically for the Peugeot race team’s Le Mans 24 hour racing efforts, through TAG Heuer’s long involvement with motor racing, but they have now surfaced as a mainstream product with a very compelling feature set, particularly when we reflect on how much a set of these innovative glasses might reduce the likelihood of an accident. Scientists Copy Nature To Produce Hydrogen An international team of researchers led by Monash University has used chemicals found in plants to replicate a key process in photosynthesis paving the way to a new approach that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The breakthrough could revolutionise the renewable energy industry by making hydrogen – touted as the clean, green fuel of the future – cheaper and easier to produce on a commercial scale.
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Intel Says Gap Between Humans And Computers Will Close By 2050 Intel Corporation’s chief technology officer has taken a look at how technology will bring man and machine much closer together by 2050. Justin Rattner, during his keynote at the recent Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, predicted big changes are ahead in social interactions, robotics and improvements in computer’s ability to sense the real world. He said Intel’s research labs are already looking at human-machine interfaces and examining future implications to computing with some promising changes coming much sooner than expected. Mr Rattner is being coy and somewhat disingenuous: expect to see a computer with human levels of intelligence by 2030. Electronic 'Tongue' Is A Wine Taster Invented by European scientists, a new handheld device employs a multi-sensor chip that can identify distinctive characteristics of wine varieties. By analysing the sugar content, acidity and alcohol, the machine can also determine the year and grape variety of the sample and instead of waiting days for laboratories to analyse wine samples, wine industry specialists will be able to get a sample result at the touch of a button. The wine-tasting tongue is portable, cheap to manufacture, is capable of being programmed to test for other parameters and can be trained to test new varietals. Wearable 'Kidney' Offers Dialysis On The Move Patients suffering from kidney failure may soon be able to carry portable dialysis machines with them. The automated, wearable artificial kidney (AWAK) works better than conventional dialysis, according to a paper in the current issue of Clinical and Experimental Nephrology. The AWAK, which is bloodless, improves upon a previous artificial kidney that was portable but not actually wearable. It improves greatly on conventional dialysis, which requires patients to be connected to a machine for hours. The inventors at UCLA-VA has already signed an exclusive licensing agreement with AWAK Technologies Pte. Ltd., in Singapore, to develop the design. Toyota Produces Own Version Of Segway Toyota Motor has demonstrated a new stand-up scooter that could one day be seen zipping alongside the Segway on the personal-transporter superhighway. The 'Winglet' has a body the size of an A3 sheet of paper that houses an electric motor, two wheels, and internal sensors that constantly monitor the rider's position and make adjustments in power to ensure stability. A parallel link mechanism lets riders go forward, backward, and turn by shifting body weight, making the Winglet potentially useful for manoeuvring in tight spaces or crowded urban environments. Riders can cruise around at a leisurely 3.7 mph - not ideal for rushing to a meeting, but nice for scooting around a shopping mall, perhaps. (The Segway, by comparison, can hit 12.5 mph.) Back issues of 'Glimpses' are archived here. |