Semo.net Weblog » Science

Why Won’t They Say Where?

Brian Becker — Sat, 02 May 2009 15:16:50 +0000

[Update: As of late Saturday, the Missouri Dept of Health and Senior Services released that the two probable cases are from Howard County.]

I’ve been trying to help our online community by providing Swine Flu information for Missouri as it becomes available. However, it has been frustrating to say the least because the Missouri state agencies responsible for releasing the information won’t be specific. It took scouring several posts to find that the first probable case was near Kansas City.

Yesterday, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced that two more probable cases were discovered in “Central Missouri” (a 50,000 square mile target) but no specific counties or cities have been named. The official reason for not releasing more information is found in the following quote:
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Hearing Technology – Part II

Shelly Culp — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:25:18 +0000

You wouldn’t normally think that a hearing impaired individual would get into trouble talking in class, but one teenage boy would beg to differ. Adam, who is 15, received his Cochlear implant at the age of 2 after a bout with meningitis resulting in his being diagnosed deaf. Adam doesn’t feel that his implant prevents him from being just another kid. He enjoys talking on his cell phone and says that no one at school makes fun of him and he feels very much a part of his school.

When Mardie’s mother was diagnosed with Rubella while she was pregnant, it resulted in her being born with a major hearing impairment. Although she could not hear, her parents insisted upon treating her normally and using oral language to teach her rather than sign. Growing up in the 1940s, there were no special education options available for a hearing impaired individual. Mardie attended regular public schools and learned the art of lip reading. She even went on to receive a college degree in English.

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A Treasure In Our Own Back Yard

Toni Becker — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:00:13 +0000

There are oh so many treasures of nature right in our back yard and I experienced one of those very special places with my two young boys just the other day. A warm invitation from a good friend initiated the adventure on this crisp fall morning to the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, located just a mile north of Puxico, Missouri.

With picnic packed and four very excited boys, we arrived at the Visitor Center and checked out wonderful exhibits the educational center had on display. Our favorite was a “preserved” (or less elegantly described by a seven year old as “stuffed”) pair of 10 and 12-point White-tailed deer, their horns locked in a deadly tangle seconds before they both fell into Stanley Creek, surrendering not only battle, but breath. Just as they were found back in 2004, so shall they remain, giving us humans an almost sacred look into their real life in the wild bottomland forest and wetland realm that is Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.

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Hearing Technology

Shelly Culp — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:00:17 +0000

In 2001, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh found himself having difficulty hearing callers on his radio show. Doctors eventually diagnosed Limbaugh with an auto-immune ear disease, which would leave him virtually deaf. A Cochlear implant was a great option for Limbaugh and the procedure was performed in December 2001 and after outpatient auditory therapy he returned back to work in January of 2002. Now seven years after the surgery, Limbaugh booms across the U.S. airwaves without missing a beat.

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Scientist Confirms that Salt Water can “Burn”

Bridgett Barnhill — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 12:51:03 +0000

Salt water can indeed burn when exposed to a certain kind of radio wave, a university chemist has confirmed. Rustum Roy of Pennsylvania State University verified earlier this month that the radio waves break down the water into its constituent components, allowing the resulting freed hydrogen and oxygen to catch fire.

John Kanzius of Sanibel, Florida, first happened upon the phenomenon earlier this year when running experiments with a radio frequency generator he designed to help zap cancer cells.

When he trained the radio waves on a test tube of salt water, it produced an unexpected spark, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Curious, Kanzius and colleagues decided to ignite the water with a match. The water lit and kept burning as long as it remained in the radio frequency field.

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Courtesy of National Geographic

Bubble Powered Computer

Bridgett Barnhill — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:06:22 +0000

A computer that carries out calculations using tiny bubbles instead of electricity has been developed by US researchers.

The “microfluidic” computer performs calculation by squeezing bubbles through tiny channels etched into a chip. It can perform all of the logical operations needed to make a general-purpose computer.

In practice, such a computer would be much bigger than a PC and about a thousand times slower. Nevertheless, the bubble-based computer could lead to improved microfluidic technology for chemical analysis, say its designers…read more

Paralyzed man moves computer cursor through thought

Bridgett Barnhill — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 13:11:40 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) – A paralyzed man using a new brain sensor has been able to move a computer cursor, open e-mail and control a robotic device simply by thinking about doing it, a team of scientists said on Wednesday.

They believe the BrainGate sensor, which involves implanting electrodes in the brain, could offer new hope to people paralyzed by injuries or illnesses…read more

Robotic patients help train doctors

Semo.net Management — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 20:38:24 +0000

Mexico City’s UNAM University has opened the world’s largest “robotic hospital” — where medical students practice on everything from delivering a baby from a robotic dummy to injecting the arm of a plastic toddler…read more

Crocodile’s Immune System Kills HIV

Semo.net Management — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 14:16:47 +0000

“In an ongoing effort to stop the spread of HIV, scientists in Australia have discovered that crocodiles can fight off HIV and kill the virus. This is a major boon to medicine because the crocodile serum can also fight things that are penicillin resistant such as staphylococcus aureus.”

Bionic eye will let the blind see

Semo.net Management — Wed, 06 Apr 2005 15:24:24 +0000

“For the first time ever, those who have been blind since birth will have a chance to see the world. It’s still in the early stages, but this is a giant leap forward in medical science.” From the linked BBC article: “U.S scientists have designed a bionic eye to allow blind people to see again. It comprises a computer chip that sits in the back of the individual’s eye, linked up to a mini video camera built into glasses that they wear. Images captured by the camera are beamed to the chip, which translates them into impulses that the brain can interpret.” The BBC has more…