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Sandra Arcaro
- World's largest solar power plant to be built in China (4,086 Views)
- The wearable kidney (3,379 Views)
- Defeating oil stains with water (2,370 Views)
- Potential new drug delivery system (2,156 Views)
- Scrubbing CO2 and sulfur from power plant emissions (2,124 Views)
All Articles by Sandra Arcaro
New pill promises to put an end to period pain
17:13 November 1, 2009 PST
For anyone who has ever experienced or witnessed the debilitating effects of period pain, they’ll be glad to know that the suffering may soon be at an end. Vantia Therapeutics has announced that its new development, an oral small molecule drug for now known simply as VA111913, has entered its second phase of testing as a treatment for dysmenorrhoea (painful menstruation). If results are successful the drug could be available for commercial use within four years. Read More
Researchers ease monthly burden for world's poorest women
16:16 October 25, 2009 PDT
For most women the obligatory monthly visit that is the menstrual cycle is a quietly endured and discreetly dealt with occurrence. Feminine products in every size, shape and color, and available for purchase from supermarkets to public restrooms, lessen the burden. But contrast this reality with that of women living in impoverished countries for whom these commonplace hygiene products are unaffordable luxuries. This glaring discrepancy has prompted Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE), together with researchers from North Carolina State University, to create affordable, quality sanitary pads to ease the lives of millions of women who, for several days a month, know another kind of period pain. Read More
Scientists cure color blindness in monkeys - humans next?
20:28 September 20, 2009 PDT
When English chemist John Dalton first wrote about color blindness in 1798, he must have wondered how science would improve the quality of life for people living with the condition. Today, spectacles, contact lenses and revolutionary corrective eye surgery combat the effects of a myriad of vision disorders, yet people with color blindness still live in quiet acceptance of this common genetic disorder. Now researchers have delivered promising results by successfully treating two squirrel moneys with defective color perception using a gene therapy that could also safely eradicate color blindness in humans. Read More
World's largest solar power plant to be built in China
03:40 September 12, 2009 PDT
In the midst of overwhelming debate over climate change - an issue that seemingly paralyzes politicians - the Chinese government has announced its intention to construct a 2-gigawatt solar power plant in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia. Mike Ahearn, CEO of the Arizona-based company which will construct the plant, describes the unprecedented project as “an encouraging first step forward toward the mass-scale deployment of solar power worldwide to help mitigate climate change concerns.” Read More
LG adds UV lamp to dishwasher to improve family health
20:25 September 6, 2009 PDT
LG Electronics has just released a dishwasher with an hygienic edge. Designed to target and improve family health, LG designers incorporated a distinctive UV lamp to prevent bacterial growth and eradicate 99 percent of remaining bacteria after a wash cycle. The UV lamp allows dishes to be hygienically stored inside the tub for up to four hours after the wash cycle. Read More
Potential new drug delivery system
21:17 August 31, 2009 PDT
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have developed a biological mechanism that can act as an entirely new means of drug delivery, carrying with it the potential to make treating illness even more effective. Rather than simply circulating in the bloodstream, the laboratory-developed peptide can deliver nanoparticles directly into tissue. Read More
Getting Parkinson's patients to speak up
18:19 August 30, 2009 PDT
The sad reality of Parkinson’s disease is that it indiscriminately affects 1.5 million people in the U.S alone, making it one of the most common degenerative neurological conditions with no known cause or cure. In the effort to make one of Parkinson’s many debilitating symptoms more manageable for sufferers, researchers have developed a new technology to overcome voice and speech impairment by playing a recording of ambient sound resembling the chatter of a busy restaurant. Read More
Scrubbing CO2 and sulfur from power plant emissions
15:20 August 30, 2009 PDT
The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has developed a reusable organic liquid that can remove harmful acid gases from emissions generated by power plants. The process could easily replace current industrial practices to help clean the environment in a way that is energy efficient, cost effective and saves on water. Read More
The wearable kidney
22:30 August 25, 2009 PDT
A fashion statement it may not be, but the Wearable Artificial Kidney (WAK) could prove a very smart accessory for those with serious kidney disease. A miniaturized dialysis machine that can be worn as a belt, the WAK concept allows patients with end stage renal failure the freedom to engage in daily activity while undergoing uninterrupted dialysis treatment. Read More
Defeating oil stains with water
18:13 August 19, 2009 PDT
While it’s true that water and oil don’t mix, water may soon be all a person needs to completely remove any trace of an oil spill - provided the surfaces are coated with newly designed polymer materials that would do away with harsh chemical detergents and solvents. And if you have ever been inconvenienced by fog on your bathroom window, car windshield, or eyeglasses, the same materials can be used as an anti-fog agent with similar eco-friendly benefits. Read More
AIDS-preventing gel to protect women in resource-poor areas
22:57 August 16, 2009 PDT
The statistics paint a grim picture - an estimated 2.0 million people, including 270,000 children, died of AIDS in 2007 and at that time 33 million people around the globe were living with HIV, two thirds of them in sub-Saharan Africa. New advancements in microbicides may help to improve this horrific scenario with U.S. researchers undertaking trials for a specially designed ‘molecular condom’ to prevent the spread of HIV in women. Read More
‘Mixed reality’ patient helps medical students with intimate exams
17:47 August 12, 2009 PDT
Routine physical examinations of a more intimate nature may become a little less awkward and a little more precise according to a team of engineering students from the University of Florida. The team's design of a ‘mixed reality’ human patient could be the answer in managing this delicate aspect of bedside manner. The mixed reality human is named Amanda Jones and she exists, in both virtual and physical form, as a life-sized cyberspace image on a flat screen, and as a mannequin with a prosthetic breast. Her purpose is noble: to help train medical students to conduct intimate breast exam procedures. Read More
New Samsung Video Wall System manages up to 250 video displays
21:47 July 19, 2009 PDT
Samsung has released a new interactive video wall solution designed for markets requiring large-scale video display formats. The Ultra-Definition Display (UD) System displays information from up to 125 networked PCs and, using one control server, manages up to 250 video displays. Read More
Terotech
- November 21, 2009 @ 19:38 UTC
