Bee keepers, farmers and scientists alike are getting worried about a current trend that is being witnessed all over the globe. Massive bee colony collapse disorder, which is an unexplained disappearance of bees which may have died off or gone hiding somewhere due so an unidentified cause. Bee keepers have found that massive hive collapse from their farms that has steadily been getting worse year after year. Some have even cited the radiation form cellular phones as the culprit but that has long been proven false by experts. Now why the hell bees so important in today’s energy conscious world?
In order for crops to bear fruit, they have to be planted, grown, flower, POLLINATED and then bear fruit. If the affected plants would happen to be corn and soy, then we’re in big trouble for the total biofuels output of the US is mostly dependent on corn and soy-based crops. Another problem, of the total agricultural output of the US, crops that rely on pollination which the bees are good at and do for free hover around $15 Billion worth. Imagine the lost revenue and food shortage that could happen if there were no bees. Major companies that rely of fruits and agricultural products are pouring in money to fund research into how the problem can be fixed or how they can be eliminated by artificially re-introducing lab-raised bees to replace the ones that are disappearing. If no solution is found then Green Fuels may have a short lifespan so the next time you see a bee, don’t reach for the swatter and treat it with respect. That tiny insect feeds most of us on this earth.
No Comments Yet | Posted by Nick at 11:02 am under General, Home & Garden
Seems the world has come face to face with one of its worst nightmares, the advent of cloning and regeneration. Well theoretically that is, stem cell research has progressed so much that people are beginning to worry about the ulterior implications of such scientific fervor. Stem cells are the human body’s super cells or blanks that have the ability to turn into a heart cell to a skin cell and the area scientists are working on is how they get them to do so on demand. The subject of cloning has been successful in animals and plants but has been met with strong opposition form most of us humans due to the implications of ethical infractions by which people get cloned from a single DNA sample.
That might have been possible in a lot of Hollywood blockbusters but the advances in genetics and stem cell research are indeed taking us a step closer to such medical breakthroughs. Imagine growing a new and perfectly healthy heart to replace a diseased one that would not be rejected for it is made up of the same genetic materials, your own. Or better yet, have an injection to get a couple of hundred or so Nano-machines to go into your body and scrape away all the plaque on your heart and blood vessels lessening the chances of a heart attack. They have even been designed to carry radioactive isotopes into the body releasing them onto or near cancerous cells, killing them more effectively than current treatments available.
The prospect of a world where nobody dies and everybody is perfectly healthy is not so far off. We have begun to play GOD by manipulating and probing into the innermost workings of the human body down to the molecular level. These advances in medical technology will take time to get out and manifest their true potentials, let us just hope that they don’t become the precursor to the extinction of the human race.
No Comments Yet | Posted by Nick at 4:04 pm under General, Robots
Researchers have come up with a bacteria resistant cloth that is able to kill most known pathogens from the air we breathe. The protection is not in the filter or fabric but the chemical concoction they apply to it that gives it a blue tinge that is activated by light. The cloth is considered to be a medical fabric so it is awaiting approval by the US Food and Drugs Administration. The fabric is planned not only for face masks and filters but for a myriad of other applications such as lab gowns and hospital over-garments that are able to contain and neutralize bacteria rendering them harmless. Face masks and filters work mainly by mechanical filtering that prevents particles and pathogens from getting inhaled as you breathe. The new filter would allow pathogens to be neutralized and disposed of better needing less handling and treatment. Imagine the flu virus for which people have been using face and dust masks for prevention that is totally useless for handling them simply transfers the pathogens filtered out from the air into your mouth or skin producing mechanical transmission and spreading it further. The bacteria killing fabric, kills viruses and bacteria rendering them safe to handle thus preventing the spread of diseases from contaminated waste.
The treatment system used on the fabric is still under development and will also be released soon along with the many other applications for which it can be used making the world a safer place for all of us allowing all of us to breathe a little easier.
On another front, 3M a pioneer in adhesives and houshold cleaning agents has come up with a cloth that has built in bacteria indicator that fades as the clothing gets loaded with bacteria. The product, Scotch Brite Heavy Duty Cloth has been on the market for sometime and is a welcome addition to our health conscious generation as we learn more and more about the dangers these pathogens expose us to.
No Comments Yet | Posted by Nick at 6:03 am under Fashion, Home & Garden
Ever been in battle, say in war and wanted a way to drive out all enemies from a specific cave? Or have you seen mobs causing all kinds of problems such as looting, vandalizing property and other such heinous acts? Well then all you need is a ray gun and all your foes go scurrying away. Yep, the fictional ray gun has come of age though it does not vaporize your enemy or bore holes in them rather they offer the latest technology in crowd control and combat security systems. They can come in two forms, Long Range Acoustic Device(LRAD) has been in use in Iraq as a way of getting people out of an area you want to secure, say a cave of house or the front of the gate to your base. Acoustic systems that are designed to emit deafening sound waves that even render ear plugs useless that is directional and non-lethal. The sound is so painful it sends you out of the area immediately with your ears ringing from the experience that reassures you avoid them in the future.
Still not afraid, focused energy weapons are the way to go which emit a form of radio waves that causes a painful reaction that tells you to get out of the way. The good thing, it doesn’t cause your brains to blow up or your arm to fall. The efforts have been under development as new and non-lethal technologies that would offer better solutions for crowd clearing and control. These systems have no lasting effects and are non-lethal meaning they hurt less than rubber bullets or teargas. You simply point and send them running, even chasing them if you want to. The active denial system is so powerful, experts are saying they can rival the effectivity of rifles and can be used to sweep for snipers if needed so.
No Comments Yet | Posted by Nick at 4:29 am under Security, General, Gadgets
Duct tape has been the all-around versatile tool that has been in toolboxes for many years, since they were invented in the 1920’s by who else but the adhesive pioneers at 3M a division of Johnson and Johnson. Duct tape if you don’t already know is again a product that was designed for military uses and was intended to keep moisture out of ammunition cases which if allowed to get wet can mean the difference between life and death(originally called duck tape due to the material it was made of, cotton duck). The original material was colored green (the favorite of the military) where the mother of all invention, improvisation had soldiers finding all kind of uses for the humble “duck tape” from repairing their jeeps, boats and all other stuff they had to get working or face the enemy. The current version we all know as duct tape was a re-name done when the advent of air-conditioning systems had them used for sealing joints and fixing insulation in duct work, hence the name “Duct Tape”.
From MacGyver to the space shuttle (yep, they used it recently to repair a leak and way back in the Apollo 13 failed moon landing) all creative thinkers always found a use ofr good old duct tape. Imagine being in space with no atmosphere and breathing only oxygen you bring with you and then your ship springs a leak, duct tape is the answer(well along with some pieces of cloth and rags actually). From ammunition savers to life savers, they have been used in all kind of applications that the world is truly a better place. That’s to old American engineering and thinking we all used to love.
No Comments Yet | Posted by Nick at 4:25 am under General, Home & Garden
Yep, everybody wants it, yet not everybody can afford it. The latest hybrids that are on the market cost a tad bit more than the regular gasoline ones (if the price is lower, there might be incentives for manufacturers in that state which gives tax discounts to them for selling these hybrids thus lowering the […]
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