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New processes use ozone and viruses to kill harmful bacteria
By Ben Coxworth
15:55 December 13, 2011
According to Dr. Dick Zoutman of Queen's University in Canada, over 100,000 people die every year in North America alone, due to hospital-acquired infections. It would only seem to follow that hospitals need to be kept cleaner, and Zoutman has developed something that he says can do the job - an ozone and hydrogen peroxide vapor gas. Some bacteria are particularly tenacious, however, and that's where Dr. Udi Qimron of Tel Aviv University comes into the picture. He has developed a liquid solution in which viruses are used to make antibiotic-resistant bacteria once again vulnerable to traditional cleansers. Read More
Researchers from the Human Media Lab at Canada's Queen's University have created a fully-functioning floppy E-Ink smartphone, which they also refer to as a paper computer. Like its thicker, rigid-bodied counterparts, the Paperphone can do things like making and receiving calls, storing e-books, and playing music. Unlike them, however, it conforms to the shape of its user's pocket or purse, and can even be operated through bending actions. Read More
Gel sensors to detect bomb chemicals and illegal drugs in seconds
By Jeff Salton
03:26 October 12, 2009
Sensors that quickly detect chemicals used to make bombs are being developed by scientists at Queen’s University, Belfast. The devices will use special gel pads to "swipe" a person or crime scene to gather a sample which is then analyzed by a scanning instrument that can detect the presence of chemicals within seconds, much quicker than current analysis methods. This will allow better, faster decisions to be made in response to terrorist threats. The team is also working on devices that detect illegal drugs and will hopefully be deployed by police as roadside drug "breathalyzers". Read More
