Health and Wellbeing

20:19 August 7, 2007 PDT

Smooth operator : Philips Moisturizing shaving system

August 8, 2007 Philips has teamed up with Nivea for Men to release a new Moisturizing shaving system. The waterproof unit combines the latest innovations in men’s razors with one key improvement: built-in shaving conditioner that applies moisturizer as you shave. Read More

iLimb: world's first fully articulating and commercially available bionic hand

19:32 August 5, 2007 PDT

The iLimb hand, from Touch Bionics, with natural skin-look cosmesis. Can you tell which is...

August 6, 2007 The human hand is a magnificent triumph of evolution, combining a complex structure with incredible levels of facility and feedback to enable a stunning range of movements and uses. Its flexibility and usefulness also makes it a debilitating body part to lose and a huge challenge for those involved in the development of bionic limb replacements. The latest innovation from Touch Bionics represents a major step forward in bionic hand development: with four smart motorized fingers and its unique multi-position motorized thumb, all operating from myoelectrically-detected nerve endings in the stump, the iLimb hand opens up a range of grips and fine motor abilities that prosthetic hands have never had before, like using a key in a lock, or one-fingered typing on a keyboard. Another important advance is the simple yet very effective feedback sensors in the fingers which control grip pressure to hold fragile items like styrofoam cups without dropping or crushing them. What's more, patients can choose between the iLimb hand's funky robotic look or another world first - an incredibly realistic skin that you can pull on to make it look almost identical to a real hand. Read More

CPU-controlled artificial leg offers new freedom of natural movement for amputees

Otto Bock's C-LEG for above-the-knee amputees

July 27, 2007 Prosthetics is a fascinating field – science’s ability to mimic the complicated natural function of lost limbs can make a truly life-altering difference for amputees. Nowhere is this difference more strongly felt than in the field of artificial legs that get amputees out of wheelchairs, off crutches and back to a level of mobility that lets them blend back in into ordinary life. The latest drive towards the development of advanced prosthetics includes this new microchip-controlled artificial knee joint that’s opening up an unprecedented level of freedom of movement for above-knee amputees and allowing amputee servicemen to remain active in their jobs if they so choose. The US$30K hydraulic C-LEG’s CPU “brain” automatically adapts to changes of speed and direction, and can be pre-programmed into up to 10 switchable “modes” to enable natural driving, cycling and other programmable activities that require different leg actions to normal walking and stair climbing. Read More

Sugar is the key to the nicotine rush according to new research

USC College associate professor Lin Chen, left, and Keck School associate professor Zuo-Zh...

July 27, 2007 Smoking and blood sugar levels are highly interrelated – nicotine causes the body to release satisfying levels of sugar into the bloodstream far faster than eating can, which explains its appetite-inhibiting effects. The results of low blood sugar levels in a quitting nicotine addict are also responsible for some of the most difficult withdrawal symptoms. Now it has been discovered that sugar is also a key element in the chemical reaction that causes a smoker to feel “high”. When nicotine molecules are received by neurotransmitter membranes, it’s sugar molecules that then act as a sort of hinge to open a gate in the cell membrane and send the "nicotine rush" nerve signal onward. Read More

Diet Coke turns 25

July 16, 2007 It’s just 25 years since Diet Coke burst onto the scene and forever changed the beverage landscape by catering to a society paying homage to a healthy lifestyle. So well did Diet Coke hit the mark that it is now a business school text book case study, as the most valuable brand extension in marketing history and the most successful launch in beverage history. The brand was launched in the United States on July 29, 1982, and was so immediately successful that it was followed just six months later with an international roll-out. By 1984, it was the number three sparkling beverage in the United States, a title it has held since. In 1986, it became the number one low-calorie sparkling beverage in the world. Today the brand, including both Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Light, is available in 173 countries and has a 40 percent share of the global diet sparkling beverage segment. For those who worship at the altar of smoke and mirrors, there’s a commemorative can. Read More

Strap-free heartrate monitor fits like a glove

Beurer's PM 100 beltless heartrate monitor

July 12, 2007 Heart rate monitors have become an almost ubiquitous tool in fitness training, allowing athletes to ensure they're operating in the right BPM range to maximize the effectiveness of their cardio training or weight loss programs. The chest-strap used to take heart rate readings isn't universally popular though, as many find it uncomfortable and annoying. Adidas tried to solve this by building the sensor into a tight training shirt, NuMetrex built the sensor into a sports bra for women - and now Beurer has come up with a new system that fits as half a glove and reads heart rate from your index finger. The PM 100 beltless heartrate monitor uses photoplethysmography to determine your heart rate - it's effectively a flexible, soft equivalent of the plastic finger clip you get in hospital. While it won't be perfect for sportspeople that need to use their hands, those involved in running or other pure cardio exercise will likely find it a comfortable and no-fuss way to keep a constant tab on their heart rate. Read More

Bionic arm uses elephant’s trunk as a design model

July 4, 2007 The more we learn about intelligent design, the more we understand the engenuity of nature, and the latest lesson in this regard has come during the development of a bionic robot arm by German researchers. The technology is expected to be used in therapy to restore the use of injured limbs, and low-cost, flexible prosthetic devices. Such devices could be commercially available within two years. Read More

Handheld pulmonary drug delivery device could beat indoor smoking bans and assist quitters

July 3, 2007 Now here’s an interesting product which might find all manner of niche applications. Next Safety has created a handheld pulmonary drug delivery device that delivers extremely high arterial levels of nicotine – with effects felt less than ten seconds after inhalation – and provides higher psychoactive effects than cigarettes or any other tobacco product on the market. It is expected that the device, which is roughly the size of a pack of cigarettes, will substantially increase success rates for those who wish to quit smoking due to its ability to accurately duplicate the delivery of nicotine from tobacco smoke. Additionally, by delivering a high percentage of nicotine to the bloodstream, the use of the device is expected to cost less than 30 percent of the equivalent cost of cigarettes. We guess the same would be true for any other substances people smoked too. Hmmmm Could this be used indoors to beat the smoking bans implemented this week in the U.K. and Australia? Read More

My cousin slimey - the (very common) origins of the human brain

We're all God's children, even this marine ragworm cousin, the Platynereis dumerilii which...

June 30, 2007 Say hello to your long lost cousin, the marine ragworm Platynereis dumerilii. Yes folks, if the thought of “good breeding” appeals to you, we have some humbling news. European researchers have found strong evidence the hypothalamus and other hormone-secreting brain centres are much older than previously believed and probably evolved from multifunctional cells of the last common ancestor of vertebrates, flies and worms. Hormones control growth, metabolism, reproduction and other biological processes and in all vertebrates (humans included), these chemical signals are produced by specialised brain centres such as the hypothalamus and distributed around the body via the blood stream. Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL] have now found that the evolutionary basis of these advanced brain centres were multifunctional neurons that sensed the environment and released hormones accordingly – so next time you swat that fly … Read More

Should children be spared the pain of the needle?

Study recommends initial treatment with oral amoxicillin
Image Credit: wikipedia.org

June 27, 2007 Most adults hate doctor’s needles and for children the fear is even more acute. But are they always the best form of treatment? A world-first study published by the University of Nottingham suggests that in some cases children who are spared this pain are more likely to recover faster. The research found that children suffering from pneumonia – a disease that affects two-and-a-half million children each year in Europe alone – who were given oral treatment as an alternative to injections recovered as quickly, suffered less pain, required less oxygen therapy in hospital and were able to go home sooner. Read More

The Kohler C3 Toilet Seat with remote control

June 27, 2007 Given that we’ve spent a lot of time recently convincing our readers to invest money in logical places where they spend a lot of time and can hence significantly enhance wellbeing (in bed) and productivity (their computer screen), at first glance we figured that justifying a high tech toilet seat was going to be tough. Applying our usual bang-per-buck rule though, the Kohler C3 Toilet Seat is a ripper – retrofitting onto almost any toilet, the heated seat has three temperature settings, bidet functionality, a warm-air fan for partial drying, a lighted bowl that eliminates the need to turn on a light at night, a deodorizer that minimizes unpleasant odors, a Quiet-Close cover that prevents slamming and a remote control. Just like the seating/driving/heating in a luxury auto, you can have “personal settings” adjustable by a remote control. If keeping up with the Jones is your game, this is a winner! Read More

Pain Decreases under Hypnosis

June 26, 2007 Hypnosis is a process in which critical thinking faculties of the mind are bypassed and a type of selective thinking and perception is established. The term hypnosis was coined by Scottish physician, James Braid, using the Greek word for sleep for the technique which he pioneered as a surgical anaesthetic. Last week a university study presented to the European Neurological Society meeting in Rhodos demonstrated that hypnosis can offer significant reduction in pain awareness without any effect on non-painful aspects of the subject's perception. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain activity, the studies found hypnosis reduced acute pain perception by about a third. Read More

New research reveals the effects of ecstasy on memory function

June 25, 2007 Research carried out at the University of Hertfordshire (U.K.) has revealed that ecstasy users have significantly impaired memory compared with non-ecstasy users. The research report suggests that the recreational use of ecstasy produces a moderate to large effect on short-term and long-term memory and verbal memory, but not on visual memory. In over three-quarters of ecstasy users, long and short-term verbal memory is below the average of non-ecstasy using controls. Perhaps even more alarming in an era of recreational drug experimentation, the researchers also found that memory impairment was unrelated to the total number of ecstasy tablets consumed. Read More

Taking animals out of laboratory research

June 24, 2007 Pioneering work to reduce the use of animals in scientific research — and ultimately remove them from laboratories altogether — has received a major boost. A laboratory at the University of Nottingham devoted to finding effective alternatives to animal testing has been remodelled in a major overhaul designed to hasten the development of effective non-animal techniques. Scientists hope that by developing the use of cell and tissue cultures, computer modelling, cell and molecular biology, epidemiology and other methods, they will one day be able to completely remove animals from medical research — while still maintaining crucial work to defeat diseases that affect millions of people. The new FRAME (Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments) Alternatives Laboratory, within the University's Medical School, will opened on July 6. Read More

Just how hard can the hitman hit – be scared, very scared!

June 24, 2007 IBO junior welterweight world titleholder Ricky “Hitman” Hatton is renowned for his sledgehammer punches which have seen him go throughout his boxing career undefeated, winning 32 of his 44 fights by knockout. The speed and power of the Hitman’s hits were recently measured in a series of university tests - his brutal right hand was found to deliver a punch with around 400Kg of force – more than twice the kicking force of a professional footballer. Compounding the problems of his opponents even further, his blistering left hook was clocked at 32mph, which means his rivals have a lot less than one tenth of second to get out of the way. As if to underline that his nickname is no misnomer, last night the 5 ft 7 inch Hitman put away Jose Luis Castillo with a crushing body shot to the ribs in the fourth round of a world title fight. Castillo had NEVER before failed to go the distance in a 17-year boxing career. Read More

New flu vaccine could provide immunity against all strains of influenza virus

June 19, 2007 A significant new flu vaccine with the potential to protect against all strains of influenza, including pandemic and annual, was unveiled yesterday. Previously undisclosed pre-clinical data showing how PepTcell’s FLU-v vaccine has such groundbreaking and lifesaving potential was presented at the 2007 Options for the Control of Influenza Conference, in Toronto, Canada. The results show that a vaccine targeted at parts of the virus which do not change from year-to-year, can be effective against lethal influenza strains. Read More

Exercise under your desk while you work

June 18, 2007 The adverse effects of a sedentary, desk-bound lifestyle are well documented - weight gain, lack of energy, concentration issues and poor health result when we spend the larger proportion of the day not moving. Here's an interesting way to tackle the problem - the Webble is a cute little footrest you place under your desk and push around with your feet, exercising your lower body and stomach muscles through the day as you go. Read More

New research provides early warning for drug addiction

June 18, 2007 Russian researchers have developed a new technique for detecting occasional drug taking. While clearly having ramifications for high-profile sports and other arenas where drug testing has become an essential tool, it is hoped that the new method can assist in treatment of the disease in its early stages by detecting the presence of drugs before substance abuse reaches more frequent (and dangerous) levels. Read More

Total Body Management system - the full body workout?

June 5, 2007 There will always be a market for people who want the gain without the pain, and the weight loss and body image industry is the number one example. Much has been written on fad dieting and "quick fix" techniques for improved health, and the ubiquitous presence of such products on late night free-to-air television suggests that, effective or not, the demand for these products is not about to disappear. With this in mind we look at the latest developments from Dallas based MedSurge which has just released the Total Body Management system - a combination of body toning techniques that aim to circumvent some of the blood sweat and tears usually associated with attaining your ideal body image. Read More

Hyper-accurate 3D models of the human body

June 5, 2007 With multimedia technologies maturing, we are beginning to see some quite remarkable media tools emerging so that experts and educational publishers can more easily develop new ways of displaying information and furthering understanding. Going one step further, Zygote Media Group used its expertise in those fields to create hyper-accurate 3D models of the human body. The models are available to anyone but will find most application with companies in the biomedical, entertainment, athletic gear, and video gaming industries to ensure the term “anatomically correct” applies to the products they develop. The models are incredibly detailed (skeletons, heart, arteries, nerves, and muscle tissue) and have already been used in the development of new products such as back braces, shin guards, sports shoes and stents to place in damaged arteries. Read More

The Tanita Ironman BC554 - bathroom scales on steroids

June 4, 2007 Weighing yourself every morning only tells you a small part of your overall health and fitness picture. Is the extra weight you've gained in the last week muscle or fat? This innovative set of bathroom scales tells you your weight, body fat percentage, body water percentage, muscle mass, bone mass, basal metabolic rate and a bunch of other metrics to help you fine-tune your fitness training and better understand your body's composition. Read More

Using light to entrain the body's internal clock

June 2, 2007 Our body's biological clock influences a wide range of factors, including hormone levels, cognitive performance and sleep structure. Left to itself, this internal clock has an average periodicity of a little over 24 hours. For this reason, it has to be calibrated by external factors known as 'zeitgebers', the most important of which is the light/dark cycle. When the biological clock is disrupted, declines in cognitive performance and difficulties sleeping are often the result. New research, funded by the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) through the EUCLOCK project has found that exposure to brief periods of extremely bright light a few hours before sleeping is enough to synchronise the body's internal clock to the required day length. Read More

DexCom’s 7-Day STS Continuous Glucose Monitoring System

June 1, 2007 DexCom has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for SEVEN, its seven-day STS Continuous Glucose Monitoring System. SEVEN is DexCom’s second generation device designed to help people with diabetes better understand and manage their diabetes and control their glucose levels. At the same time, DexCom received FDA approval for its DM2 Data Manager software which allows continuous glucose data from the SEVEN receiver to be downloaded to a computer. The second generation software has new tools and analytical capabilities to provide further insight into an individual’s diabetes and facilitate more appropriate care. SEVEN and DM2 Data Manager will have a limited launch later this month. Read More

UCL scientist develops a measure of distraction