Well I thought that I would show that I am finally recovering from the grandchildren induced flu by restarting this blog…. on the timely subject of bird flu. It looks like this thing is finally gathering some momentum, and this is not a good thing.
If you go to the link, down the right side of […]
Hello blog readers! It has been a bit since my last post; the flu has been alive and well in this old man’s 59 year old body for the last week. In the meantime, I have a load of blogs topics that I am working through. I am in barrage mode, so be prepared.
This […]
Sometimes things from your past pop up at the strangest times. Reading this article was one of those times for me. The article discusses using electricity to grow coral reefs. This notion of “growing” a reef by using a low power electric current and accreting a calcium carbonate onto a metal armature has been around […]
Here’s a technology that an old timer can love, as well as an increasing number of not-so-old timers. This article describes an “in vivo” (in the body) spectroscopy system that looks for soft plaque buildup on your arterial walls.
First, why would you care about soft plaque? Well, you could ask Jim Fixx, a marathon runner […]
Now here is better living through chemistry. Mix microencapsulated solvent, and microencapsulated unreacted epoxy into a composite matrix. Then, once the matrix is later cracked or broken through some type of abuse, the solvent capsules will open and mix with the unreacted epoxy, healing the crack. In other words, a self healing material that could […]
Again, I am blown away by what come from the field of biomimetics (a big word for “the application of methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology”, thank you Wikipedia). The iridescent colors of a butterfly wing come from photonic crystals. The “lighted up look” […]
In a recent entry, I commented on Philips Electronics’ drug delivery pill which is ingested, rather than injected. Now, in yet another “Fantastic Voyage” article, the Israelis announced that they have created a robot that is small enough to travel through the blood stream to deliver drugs to a specified site. This robot is powered […]
Just when you thought that you were safe from the “Fantastic Voyage” shrinkonauts, Phillips has patented a deep diving drug delivery system that will release its contents on-demand, through an RF link through your innards. The mini stomach diver has a control system, comm. link, drug storage, release hatch and power supply.
The idea is to […]
Not often do termites and biofuels cross paths, but this interesting piece from the Department of Energy really points to something worth thinking about. Anyone not on the ethanol payroll realizes that this particular boondoggle benefits only the corn grower, and no one else in the long run, especially those of us who actually eat.
That […]
