Endoscope Camera in a Pill

Through the use of capsule endoscopic technology, it is easy to determine what is happening in the digestive tract of a human being. Ever since its genesis in 2001, many people have taken a crack at making a capsule that will be more efficient, but none have been more successful than RF America and its next generation capsule endoscope, Sayaka. RF America’s goal was to capture the entire gastrointestinal tract and provide a clear and high-quality resolution photo that could be used for diagnosis. That’s why they created Sayaka.

The patient gulps down the capsule and over the next couple of hours, the pill travels down the esophagus and intestines where it will capture up to 870,000 images. Because the pill requires energy to run its camera, lights and computer, the patient wears a vest which continuously transmits power. The thing that Sayaka can do that prior endoscope capsules couldn’t do was take close up pictures because the older ones would always be facing forward. But Sayaka will always spin 360 degrees so that it shoots directly at the tissue walls of the intestine. Because storing the pictures would be a waste of space, Sayaka continually transmits images to an SD Memory card which is in the patient’s vest. The doctor will then take a look at the pictures on the computer and use software to create a flat map of the intestines. If they find a problem they can magnify up to seventy-five times to scrutinize the problem.

Prior to the endoscope camera, doctors had to dissect a human body to identify problems in the digestive tract. But now, swallowing a pill is all it takes to identify these problems. Sayaka will help in the fight against diseases like Cystic Fibrosis, a disease where mucus is continuously built up in the digestive tracts. The camera will be able to monitor how much mucus is being built up at every point in the digestive tract which will give doctors a better understanding of the kind of treatment that their patients need. Digestive diseases are a problem in our world, but with the efficient technology that RF America has developed today, the fight against these diseases will be much easier. 

The Largest Volcano on Earth

Just over a week ago, a team of scientists at the University of Houston discovered the largest volcano ever documented on Earth. It is dubbed Tamu Massiff and is located 1,000 miles off the Eastern Coast of Japan. The volcano covers about 100,000 square miles and is nearly the size of the state of New Mexico. The main problem before with identifying Tamu Massiff was determining whether it was a single volcano or a coalition of multiple smaller volcanoes.

The volcano doesn't just stand out for its massive size, but also for its unique shape. Unlike other known volcanoes, Tamu Massiff has a low altitude. This means that much of the lava that erupted millions of years ago had to travel long distances in order to form into the shape that is today. The image below is a 3D image of the seafloor, depicting the large volcano.

                              

Solar Energy Not Great for All

A recent Time News article titled “Grid Politics” argues that the United States is in the middle of a solar revolution. It points out that solar installations in the US have increased “more than 1000% during President Barack Obama’s first term” and have “contributed nearly half the new power capacity added to the grid in the first quarter of this year.” The reason for this sudden proliferation has been the drastic decrease in the cost of solar panels, almost 80% since 2009, according to the article. Cost of Solar, an online resource for homeowners, predicts that the cost of installing solar panels will only continue to fall in future years as the efficiency of solar panels increases and the size of solar cells decreases. As this movement continues to grow in the foreseeable future, the US will be able to successfully reduce its dependence on deleterious fossil fuels.

But not everybody is happy with this sudden solar energy movement. Public utilities, who provide electricity to customers, are the ones feeling the pernicious effects of the movement. As utilities begin to lose more customers to solar energy, they are losing a significant amount of revenue. On top of that, customers are able to sell their surplus solar energy back to utilities, further decreasing the utilities’ profits. A recent New York Times article titled “On Rooftops, a Rival for Utilities” reports that the state of California, which has seen an unprecedented 160% rise in solar panel installations since 2010, estimates that they will lose almost $1.4 billion dollars this year. If that cost was distributed evenly among the citizens of California, each citizen would have to pay an extra $185 a year for their electricity.

It’s reasonable to surmise that in future years, citizens will see installing their own solar panels as a more economical option than obtaining electricity from utilities. And unless public utilities find new ways to do business, they may end up defunct.

New Nanobiocomposite Material has Huge Potential

An article in the journal ACS Nano outlines some groundbreaking research done by Eijiro Miyako and colleagues. In a simple view, the research team has combined Morpho Butterfly wings and carbon nanotubes to create a new material that is highly conductive. There are 29 different species of Morpho butterflies in the world and they are mostly located in Mexico, Central America and South America.

Miyako explains that Morpho Butterflies have unique wings because they are lightweight, thin, flexible, absorb solar energy, and also self clean. When they are combined with carbon nanotubes, which have unique electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties, the exhibited a higher electric conductivity than the individual materials by themselves.

In the article, the scientists stated that "Our present study highlights the important progress that has been made toward the development of smart nanobiomaterials for various applications such as digital diagnosis, soft wearable electronic devices, photosensors, and photovoltaic cells." This discovery has to be further developed, but it definitely shows promise for the future.

Autistic Kids Superior in Math Show Different Brain Organization

I have recently become more interested in looking into psychology and behavioral science studies and have come across some very interesting ones. This article discussed the idea that autistic kids use different parts of their brain than normal kids when performing math tasks.

The participants in the study included 36 children, 18 autistic and non-autistic children. They were all in the normal IQ range and had normal performances on verbal and reading tasks. However, the autistic kids significantly outperformed the non-autistic children in a standardized math test. The study was conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine.

After the math test, the researchers attempted to identify what specific techniques autistic children might use in order to be superior to the non autistic children. They discovered that autistic children were more likely to use decomposition techniques to solve complex math problems as opposed to rote memory techniques, which was prevalent in non autistic children.

The researchers then looked to see if there were any physiological differences between autistic and non-autistic children, in regards to the areas of the brain where there was activity. They put both groups of kids under an MRI scanner as they were solving math problems. The researchers saw an unusual activity in the temporal occipital cortex, an area of the brain that is normally associated with processing faces and emotions. The results show that this brain activity may be the reason as to why autistic kids have such a great ability in mathematical computations. This study definitely gives more confidence to the very parents of autistic kids.

The full article can be read here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130816130353.htm

New Car may Revolutionize Transportation

Elon Musk. You may have heard of him. The creator of PayPal who sold his company for billions and billions of dollars. The guy who is doing everything in his power to improve humanity. But his most recent futuristic invention is an electric car. Not just any electric car, the most efficient electric car ever created. The Tesla Model S has the potential to change transportation in the US and thus cut greenhouse emissions significantly. It would be a win for humanity, for sure.

If the Model S is equipped with the highest kWh battery, 85 kWh, then the car has an acceleration of 4.2 seconds from 0 to 60 mph and also has a top speed of 130 mph. The best part of the car is that you can charge it anywhere and at anytime and it only takes a small amount of time. To learn more about the charging, visit http://www.teslamotors.com/charging#/basics

Another interesting feature of the Model S is the 17" touchscreen between the driver's and passenger seat. This is where everything in the car is controlled. The gear, the navigation, the music, and much more.



To become more immersed into the features, visit http://www.teslamotors.com/models/features#/performance

The most exciting part about this whole project is not even the car. It is the Supercharger, essentially a gas station for electric cars. There are currently only 16 Superchargers in the US currently, but by 2015, Tesla plans to have Superchargers across America and some parts of Canada. A 30 minute charge at a Supercharger station can allow a car to travel for 200 miles before requiring another charge. And the best part is that, it is free. You will never have to pay for gas again.

But if you're in a hurry and can't wait 30 minutes or even 20 minutes for a partial charge, you can opt for a battery swap which takes less amount of time than filling a gas tank in a regular car. It is the same price of gas, but you are helping the environment in return. Expect Tesla to be a major brand in a couple of years.
To learn more about charging the Model S, visit http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger

Ozone Hole Leads to Global Warming, but in a Different Way

The growing hole in the ozone layer has long thought to be one of the primary causes of global warming. The ozone layer helps prevent the Earth from being struck from ultraviolet radiation, so a hole lets the radiation come through and the heat's surface. It makes sense, right? Well, the empirical evidence suggests that this correlation is not accurate. Now, however, a computer model created by several scientists suggests that the ozone hole might actually contribute to global warming, but in a completely unique way than expected.

The computer model shows that the ozone hole shifts the wind patterns and thus moves the clouds further towards the South Pole. Thus, the clouds will not reflect as much sunlight and thus increase the amount of ultraviolet radiation on the Earth. The cause of this ozone hole was discovered to be chlorofluorocarbons found in aerosols and cooling systems in the 1980s.

The study was conducted by Kevin Grise at Columbia University and collaborators including Lorenzo Polvani of Columbia University, George Tselioudis of NASA, Yutian Wu of New York City and Mark Zilenka of Lawrence Laboratory. It really is a revolutionary study because it completely changes conventional thinking regarding the ozone hole. A Yale University poll showed that 61 percent of people believed that the ozone layer contributes to global warming, but more people may buy this theory when looking at this new study.