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Health
Dating sites use DNA to find your perfect match
By Darren Quick
22:56 November 18, 2009 PST
If you’re looking for love online you can forget listing your hobbies and favorite books. Dating sites can now find your perfect match based on DNA. Numerous studies have revealed that chemistry, in particular body odor, plays a big part in the art of attraction, but such physical chemistry is usually impossible to identify when searching for partners online. Dating sites such as ScientificMatch and sense2love.com say they can bring chemical attraction back into the mix to increase the chances of finding someone genetically compatible with your DNA. 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
The interactive 3D Virtual Autopsy Table
By Paul Ridden
16:17 October 20, 2009 PDT
Swedish researchers have developed an interactive touchscreen 3D autopsy table that allows pathologists to examine virtual representations of real bodies in minute detail and from numerous viewing angles. Using data provided by scans of an actual body, the table allows the user to remove layers such as skin and muscle, add or remove tissue and circulatory systems, zoom in and out and cut through sections with a virtual knife. The video below is a "must watch". Read More
Magnetic leaves indicate levels of air pollution
By Darren Quick
00:54 October 19, 2009 PDT
Measuring the level of magnetism of tree leaves could be a powerful tool to monitor the air quality of streets. A new study has shown that leaves along bus routes were up to ten times more magnetic than leaves on quieter streets. The magnetism comes from tiny particles of pollution, such as iron oxides from diesel exhaust, that float through the air and either stick to the leaves, or grow right into them. Read More
Vioguard Self-Sanitizing Keyboard
By Paul Ridden
14:43 October 13, 2009 PDT
Does your job require you to move from workstation to workstation on a regular basis? Does your nursing station have only one computer terminal? Is all the experimental data input via one interface? If the answer to any of these questions is in the affirmative, then Vioguard thinks its self-cleaning keyboard system might be just what you need to keep your PC safe from harm. By flooding the input device with germ-killing ultra-violet light for 90 seconds, Vioguard claims that nasty microbes will cease to exist and so reduce the risk of users inadvertently spreading infection. Read More
The Cruzbike Silvio - form and function in a front wheel drive
By Mick Webb
22:05 October 4, 2009 PDT
For many, the words “recumbent bicycle” conjure the image of a strange-looking vehicle with the rider set low to the ground achieving less than remarkable speeds. That perception could well become a thing of the past with the Cruzbike Silvio, the world’s only recumbent racing bike that is not only fully compatible with road bike components, but aims to eliminate many health problems associated with standard cycling. Read More
Hookworms may protect against asthma and other allergies
By Darren Quick
00:24 September 29, 2009 PDT
There has been a worldwide increase in the prevalence of asthma and other allergies over the last century. With the biggest jump in cases coming from the developed world, it's been theorized that the rise in such diseases could be the unintended result of the success of modern hygiene in preventing childhood infections. A new study conducted in Vietnam has added credence to the view that parasitic gut worms, such as hookworm, could help in the prevention and treatment of asthma and other allergies. Read More
Breathe easy (or not) with the Dust Alert sensor
By Darren Quick
02:48 September 28, 2009 PDT
Out of sight might mean out of mind, but it doesn’t necessarily mean out of danger, particularly in the case of small airborne particles. Such particles can severely affect your health, with effects ranging from asthma and bronchitis to lung cancer. If you’re worried about the possible presence of airborne particles in your home researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) have developed a sensor called ‘Dust Alert’ that could confirm your suspicions or better yet, set your mind at ease. Read More
Time to relax with the StressWatch
By Jeff Salton
19:10 September 27, 2009 PDT
Most of us need a little bit of stress in our lives to operate effectively - the saying: “if it wasn’t for the 11th hour I'd never get anything done” rings true for many of us. But those with highly demanding jobs, or who live in stressful environments, know how damaging long-term exposure to stress can be. The StressWatch concept is intended as a stress-reducing device that provides a visual alarm for those sufferers who want to reduce the impact stress has on their health. In the past, Gizmag has witnessed a few stress-relieving devices like the HeartMath emwave PSR and the 'stress sensor vest' - it seems stress just won't leave us alone, so we better learn to deal with it. Read More
Some indoor plants may be bad for your health
By Darren Quick
23:38 September 7, 2009 PDT
Houseplants are not only aesthetically pleasing, giving a touch of color to otherwise drab offices or houses, they also combat indoor air pollution, particularly with their ability to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air. These compounds are gases or vapors emitted by solids and liquids that may have adverse short- and long-term health effects on humans. But in addition to giving off oxygen and sucking out harmful VOCs, a new study has shown that some indoor plants actually release VOCs into the environment. Read More
Possible cure for peanut allergy discovered: peanuts
By Loz Blain
01:22 August 31, 2009 PDT
Peanut allergies are very common - something like one in every 200 children will suffer from some sort of reaction, and while roughly 100 people per year die as a result, peanuts are still thought to be the most prevalent food-related cause of death. Certainly, for those afflicted, it's a huge annoyance to be constantly checking labels and asking at restaurants just to make sure. So it's good to hear that Duke University researchers are making progress on a cure - or at least a therapy for reducing the effects of peanut exposure. Read More
Drink a smoothie to treat your diabetes
By Jeff Salton
23:52 August 26, 2009 PDT
A yogurt-based treatment for diabetes that uses non-harmful bacteria is being tested on diabetic mice. Gut microbes that have been engineered to make a specific protein are helping regulate blood sugar in the rodents, according to research presented at the American Chemical Society conference in Washington, D.C. Scientists hope the treatment might one day provide an alternative for people with diabetes. Read More
Digital drink tampering detector
By Paul Ridden
18:17 August 23, 2009 PDT
One of the dangers of drinking in unfamiliar territory can be the quality of liquor on offer. Rotgut, the slang term for an inferior alcoholic concoction, can be dangerous to your health, not just your wallet. How big an issue being served rotgut actually is seems to depend as much on where in the world you find yourself as which nightclub or party you're at. Rotgutonix is a new take-anywhere prototype device that analyzes your chosen beverage and lets you know if it's genuine or a nasty pretender. 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
Blue M&M food dye reduces paralysis from spinal injuries - but turns you blue
By Loz Blain
00:20 August 11, 2009 PDT
Spinal injuries are both common and devastating, leaving many victims paralyzed and relegated to wheelchairs for the rest of their lives. But in most cases, the worst spinal cord damage doesn't happen at the scene of the injury - it's the swelling around the spinal cord and the crazy firing and burning out of otherwise healthy neurons in the hours and days following the incident that turns a bad situation permanently worse. Now, scientists in Rochester, New York, have discovered a simple way to stop a lot of this secondary damage in its tracks - using the same, familiar blue food dye that gives M&Ms and blue icy poles their color. Patients with spinal injuries could escape with vastly reduced loss of function - but they'll turn bright blue in the process. Read More
Human trials to begin on genetically-engineered malaria vaccine
By Darren Quick
20:22 August 5, 2009 PDT
There were 247 million cases of malaria and 881,000 deaths worldwide from the disease in 2006, making it one of the world’s most common infectious diseases and an enormous public health problem, particularly in poverty stricken areas. We’ve previously looked at various proposals to fight the disease, from targeting the mosquitoes that spread it, to research into a possible vaccine. Now researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, working in collaboration with researchers from the US, Japan and Canada, have renewed hopes by creating a weakened strain of the malaria parasite that will be used as a live vaccine against the disease. Human trials will begin in 2010. Read More
Dishwasher-safe, waterproof keyboard and mouse
By Jeff Salton
18:33 July 26, 2009 PDT
Seal Shield's range of keyboards and mice are waterproof, dishwasher safe and contain antimicrobial properties to resist the spread of harmful germs and bacteria, which means a cleaner, healthier work and play environment. Read More
Stopping to smell the lemons can help reduce stress
By Darren Quick
23:15 July 23, 2009 PDT
Stopping to smell the roses is a good mantra to encourage you to take the time to appreciate what’s around you. Stopping to smell the lemons might not have the same ring to it, but scientists in Japan have shown how doing just that can actually alter gene activity and blood chemistry in ways that measurably reduce stress. Read More
The Royal Society for the Extremely Stupid is 2009 Most Successful SIG
By Mike Hanlon
00:25 July 16, 2009 PDT
They are now the most powerful lobbying force in the land. You can see the results of their campaigns on park benches, on street corners, on station platforms – and now their hectoring signage is sprouting on desolate beaches and once unspoiled stretches of moorland. They are more energetic than the RSPCA. They are more effective than the birdwatchers, the child‑protectors and the petrolheads put together. Indeed, for manic dedication they are only rivaled by Fathers4Justice. Ladies and gentlemen, let's have a big hand for this year's winner of the prize for the Most Successful Special Interest Group. I give you – the Royal Society for the Extremely Stupid. Read More
Researchers create acoustic metamaterial ‘superlens’
By Jeff Salton
04:48 July 1, 2009 PDT
A team at the University of Illinois, Chicago, has developed the world’s first acoustic ‘super lens’. It is proposed that this innovation could be used for high-resolution ultrasound imaging, non-destructive structural testing of buildings and bridges, and underwater stealth technology or "acoustic cloaking". Read More
Babyglow color-changing suit tells you when baby is ill
By Jude Garvey
02:08 June 22, 2009 PDT
Usually, when a young baby cries, the cause is one of three things. They are hungry, tired or need their diaper changed. When it’s not one of these problems causing the tears, it may mean they are not well. This new invention might help parents immediately recognize that their child has a high temperature - the Babyglow baby suit is designed to change color when your baby’s temperature rises to a dangerous level. Read More
Biodegradeable nanoparticles promise end to toxic chemotherapy treatments
03:23 June 19, 2009 PDT
Researchers at the University of Central Florida have engineered nanoparticles that can target and destroy cancerous cells, delivering a chemotherapeutic drug directly to a tumor without harming healthy cells. This technology could not only mean the end of toxic, whole-body chemotherapy, but also provide a diagnostic role in the early detection of cancer. Read More
Zeo: the personal trainer that keeps you fit while you sleep
By Karen Sprey
21:44 June 16, 2009 PDT
If you have trouble getting to sleep at night, and drinking warm milk or counting sheep doesn't do the trick, you might want to try the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach. The product works on different levels. On one hand, it is designed to educate you about sleep as well as monitor your sleeping patterns, using a headband that records information to a digital reader. But the Zeo goes further – it also shows you how to analyze the data and understand its impacts on your lifestyle. Through a personalized "sleep fitness" program, it recommends ways you can catch that much-needed 40 winks. Read More
Over 60% of all U.S. bankruptcies attributable to medical problems
By Mike Hanlon
14:02 June 6, 2009 PDT
June 6, 2009 An article in the latest issue of The American Journal of Medicine makes chilling reading, and presents compelling evidence that the US health care system is broken. In 2007, before the current economic downturn even began, an American family filed for bankruptcy in the aftermath of illness every 90 seconds; three-quarters of them were insured. Over 60% of all bankruptcies in the United States in 2007 were driven by medical incidents. Summarising the results of the first-ever national U.S. random-sample survey of bankruptcy filers, the article shows the share of bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by 50% between 2001 and 2007. Medical bankruptcy is a unique American phenomenon, which does not occur in countries that have national health insurance. Read More
Solaqua draws on the sun to provide safe drinking water
By Karen Sprey
20:04 June 2, 2009 PDT
While clean, safe water is in short supply in much of Africa, there's no shortage of sun. The Solaqua is a nifty portable device that uses the sun's rays to purify contaminated water. Through innovative use of readily available materials, it carries, disinfects and stores water, providing a safe, environmentally sustainable source of water for rural communities. Read More
Terotech
- November 21, 2009 @ 19:38 UTC
