posted by admin on Jul 1

Could this pretty blue flower really be at the forefront of fighting crime?

Would you believe it if I said that a piece of pollen from a garden plant could be the key evidence in a murder trial – dating back from the 1950′s?

I wouldn’t have thought it possible myself a few years ago, yet with the growing science of forensics in general and now more specifically forensic ecology – it is all so very true!

photo credit: ChodHound

Pollen Power:
In exactly that same way that we can date particles from history to tell a Bronze Age barrow from an Iron Age settlement; or work out what the age of a pre-historic grain store is – we can find out what plants you have in your garden from their residue on your shoes.

Every habitat in the world has a unique botanical footprint – and sometimes they just need a few spores or pollen fibres to work it out.

For example forget-me-not pollen can last 1000′s of years before degrading – a perfect place to look to link a person to a place.

It’s just one step on from identifying clothing materials and other products really – however, pollen can be so small that even a change of clothes won’t quite get rid of them all!

They can travel on your hair, skin and shoes as well as pass into your nasal cavity or ears – places you least expect to look for more traditional fingerprints.

And whole plants can be used too. New shoots on trampled plants, or germinating seeds on dumped clothing can help to date the time of last disturbance – even if it was months or even years ago.

Hair Of The Dog:
And it’s not just plants that are getting in on the action – pets and furniture can also give away a criminal! Those few cat hairs on your coat or the fibres from your carpet could plant you firmly at the scene of a crime these days – with virtually no argument!

These mostly microscopic particles – things that we don’t even think about day to day – that can be found and used by forensic scientists in all aspects of our life.

They can trace virtually anything to virtually anywhere – usually just at the click of a button!

photo credit: Svadilfari

posted by admin on Jun 2

Bored of Earrings and Tattoos? Maybe you need optical surgery!

There are many ways for humans to adorn their bodies with color and jewelry – and many are hundreds if not thousands of years old.

However – there is one that is so new it is still only carried out in one place and is awaiting its patent!

Eyeball Implants!

Taking the idea of ‘lizard’ or ‘Devil’ contact lenses one step further – this surgical body modification will implant a small piece of shaped material in the outer layers of the eye ball, like a heart or star.

So if you have enough piercings, tattoos and brandings already – why not stick a four-leafed clover or $ sign in your eye!

JewelEye:
Well this is just what you can get at the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery – an implant in your superficial, interpalpebral conjunctiva!

It apparently doesn’t ‘interfere with the ocular function of the eye’ – like how you see and move your eye – although I could imagine it could be quite irritating until you get used to it!

And the material used is totally inert and can be shaped to almost any solid shape by the manufacturers – perfect for that ‘unique’ touch that everyone is after.

Implanting The Jewel:
With just an eye anaesthetic between you and the implant – you eye is cleaned thoroughly while you are awake – the qualified opthalmic doctor creates a small pocket in your outer eye with liquid, to about the size of the implant.

The implant is then ‘slipped’ into this pocket with normal forceps and patted dry.

Antibiotic drops need to be used for at least 1-2 weeks after implantation, and then that’s it – all done!

People have had these implants in their eyes for over a year and have had no problems at all – so at least there is that to reassure you of this ‘new’ procedure.

Fancy Getting One?
Well, you will need to go to Holland first as only 2 clinics currently offer this type of cosmetic surgery.

However, if you are interested in learning more – go to their website to look at the procedure taking place as well as more detailed information on the procedure.

Let us know if you have had this done anyone!

posted by admin on Apr 29

When was the last time that you took a First Aid Course?

If it was more than a year ago – you could well be out of date! There have been changes to the way of thinking when dealing with an emergency situation, and you should keep up.

By changes, I don’t mean that everything is totally different and that the ‘old’ way won’t save a life anymore – what I mean is that through experience and advances – the way to do things has been improved; both for the casualty or for the First Aider.

For The Casualty:
Firstly – we are only trying to save your life – we aren’t fixing things or making things better: we are just keeping you alive.

Whether that means dragging you out of a car or pulling you off the road – as long as it means that we can get you breathing normally, we dont mind.

What if your legs are broken? Well firstly – they are already broken anyway; and secondly – if you aren’t breathing then what does it matter what we do with your legs? It’s a choice: broken legs or not breathing?

I know which I would choose!

For The First Aider:
It is so simple now that you can’t go wrong. Rather than having to remember how many fingers up the breast bone for CPR, what to do for a young person instead of an adult, etc – it’s all the same.

People used to get so so worried that they were doing CPR in the wrong place, or using too many fingers – that people weren’t being given immediate First Aid. People were delaying emergency actions due to the worry of minor details; and lives were lost, so it’s all the same now.

Only children under 1 get anything different these days – and it makes for very fast first aid!

You only get a few minutes to really save a life – so make sure they count. Don’t waste time planning what you are going to do or waiting to ask someone else – just do it, and do it fast!

If you are worried about what to do – then book yourself onto a refresher course to make sure you are up to date – and don’t wait for work to put you on a course! Don’t you want to know first aid to save your family and friends rather than a customer in your store or office?

I’ll be taking a course every 6 months to make sure that I make a difference!

posted by admin on Apr 9

Would you like an implant that could type for you and change the TV channel?

They have been using brain waves to move objects for some time – but only the very basics – and you have to wear a giant cap with dozens of wires coming out of it. Not so practical.

Yet, now medical advances have allowed for more complex signals to be collected from the brain, and then translated into actual letters! Imagine what this could lead to.

The hindrance to this technology was always that the signal had to be picked up through the skull and hair so were therefore much weaker than if attached to the brain itself – a bit like trying to get wi-fi too far from the source.

Get Inside:
So by moving the sensors onto the surface of the brain itself – these signals can be greatly enhanced to make more things possible.

Wireless technology has already shown us all the amzing things that can be done by very small handheld gadgets – so why not make something run by your brain rather than the ether!

By attaching electrodes to certain areas of the brain – your electrical thoughts can be harnessed in exactly the same way that your body does it already. We know which parts of the brain fire when you move your finger, have a dream, react to a fright and even when you smile – so why not find out how the brain reacts to certain words, letters and pictures?

Imagine the achievements of an arthritic author if the could type their essays with just their thoughts? Think of that disabled shopper able to steer themselves around the malls just by thinking ‘left’ or ‘right’.

Get Outside:
And it wouldn’t just be about filling the gap for people who had physical barriers – what about people working in certain industries being able to complete forms or procedures online by just thinking.

There is the potential for this to become some sort of implant for communication, security access or identification. It could all be a bit Sci-Fi – but if the technology is there for one reason – why not see if it can be applied elsewhere…..

You can already play simple games by ‘thinking’ of your moves – but this new technology taps straight into the brain interface and allows the same type of reaction as a mouse click on a computer.

By setting up a control system in the brain that reacts to a thought or a sound, you can then link it up to any type of technology that just needs a click to operate it.

And we all know the freedom that the mouse gave us!

posted by admin on Jan 28

It’s not just genetically modified foods that are being manipulated!

The argument for and against GM foods, as they are known, is a raging one. The ‘Againsts’ are asking “why should scientists tamper with nature” (by adding bits of fish proteins to tomatoes for example) – but then the ‘Fors’ are saying “why should scientists not try to ‘invent’ food that is more nutritious, disease resistant and with a longer shelf life?”

However – there is now a new way to manipulate processed food without necessarily modifying the original ingredients: nano particles.

NanoTechnology:
These ‘nano’ particles are inbetween the atomic level and molecular level and nanoparticles of known substances act differently to their ‘normal’ counterparts – for example; nano particles of gold have a different melting point to a slab of gold.

These particles can be used to change the properties of other particles and can therefore be very useful for solidifying, or liquifying certain solutions etc.

There is much debate about the implications of using nanoparticles in the future – as with medicine, biomaterials and foods – due to the fact that nanoparticles can pass through cell walls with ease – including into the brain. As a result there is much debate as to their uses and regulation – particularly as they have unproven effects on the body.

Nano Foods:
So, would it then surprise you to find out that there are already food products and toiletries on the market containing nanoparticles – whether you knew it or not!

Nanoparticles – like nano-silver – can be great in the product they are made for, improving its qualities many times over – but it’s what happens after these particles leave the product that they become a hazard.

photo credit: Akira Ohgaki

As always, when eaten in the form of a highly nutritious and long-lasting product – it eventually has to come out of that product – as we all know ‘what comes out doesn’t look at all like what went in’. So where do these nanoparticles go as they don’t usually break down very easily?

The first answer is that they don’t go anywhere. They may move themselves across the digestive wall, travel around your body and settle somewhere forever. Whether they are in a ‘good place’ or a ‘bad place’ isn’t necessarily the worst thing to worry about – it’s what they do when they get there – and how much you eat that can cause the problem.

The second scenario is that you excrete them and they head off into the sewers and landfill. Now usually, nanoparticles are added to food to prevent bacterial growth and decay – so they aren’t going to degrade easily alongside other waste. And what if they stop the other waste from degrading too?

Just as excessive polystyrene is great for protecting products – but a nightmare to dispose of; nanofoods may well be the greatest answer to food preservation and improved nutrition. However, if their consumption causes health issues and their disposal causes pollution and disruption – then are the initial benefits worth while?

People Say:
Unfortunately, consumer trends are what can influence whether a product is successful or not – so by keeping your ingredients ‘under the radar’ you can just about put anything in them.

In the same way that companies use various other words to describe palm oil other than actually saying ‘our product contains palm oil’ – they are still selling crates and crates of their products – even though consumers ‘hate to see the rainforests being burnt down’.

However, in Europe, GM foods hit the headlines and now hardly any companies at all can sell GM foods anywhere. People spoke their mind and they stuck to their guns. However, people in other countries weren’t so bothered by it all and so regularly buy genetically modified foods.

So why not eat nano foods too? Is the risk that great?

Lets be honest: we know that smoking can lead to all sorts of long-term illnesses and even death – but millions of people world-wide still smoke.

Fancy a packet of nano-peanuts with that!