Apr 1, 2013

Researchers at the University of Texas are currently in the process of developing a material similar to the invisibility cloaks of science-fiction and fantasy. In a recent experiment, a research team led by Andrea Alu and others was able to successfully camouflage a roughly 18” tube from detection by microwaves by cloaking it in the material they have developed. It does so by disrupting, rather than merely redirecting, the waves.

At present time, however, this technology is far from being the kind of invisibility device that would match the popular imagination’s conception. The cloak works by having a miniscule pattern on its outside, which neutralizes the electromagnetic waves which bounce off of it. However, the pattern must roughly match the wavelength in order to function correctly, and as a result, only the tiniest of objects, those which are already so small as to be invisible to the naked eye, could be rendered invisible through this technique.

Nevertheless, the steady advance on this front suggests to many scientists that this type of technology may eventually become viable for use in camouflaging, especially for military uses. Of course, it could also lead to a national epidemic of [theft and robbery], so maybe it’s for the best that the invisibility cloak remains, for now, largely a figment of the imagination.

Mar 25, 2013

A new device currently being designed in Switzerland looks like it may hold enormous potential for the future of medical care. A research team at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne is currently in the process of refining a tiny 14-millimeter robot instrument which would be implanted in an individual’s bloodstream and monitor a wide range of different elements of their blood composition. At present, the device is intended to measure the presence of up to five different types of compounds, though future improvements could increase that number.

The reason this appears so promising for the future of medical care is that one of the molecules which could be traced by the device, troponin, is released by the body several hours before a heart attack occurs. As soon as the device detects this molecule, it could send an alert to the individual’s smartphone, through Bluetooth capabilities, which would let them know that a heart attack is imminent.

There are a wide range of different reasons why this could prove amazingly effective in preventing fatalities from heart attacks. For one, it could allow individuals to get medical attention before the attack occurs, which could help to prevent most of the worst consequences of a cardiac event. Furthermore, it could help to prevent a [failure to diagnose] heart attacks on the part of doctor’s, which remains a serious problem today.

While the technology isn’t available to the public yet, one more feature stands out in showing its revolutionary potential: estimated costs for the device are less than one dollar.

Feb 15, 2013

Gun violence, while declining overall over the last few decades, remains a serious problem in the United States. Therefore, the efforts of a number of different technological firms to develop “smart guns,” or guns that are programmed to recognize and only be used by their appropriate owners, appear to pose a novel solution to some of the problems related to gun ownership in the United States.

The range of smart gun technology currently available is fairly slim, but a lot of potential programs are currently in the works. Some would work by recognizing RFID chips in users’ watches, rings, or even in skin implants. Others would work by recognizing the unique grip and shooting action registered by each user.

Regardless of the precise form taken by the technology, smart guns are being pushed by many lawmakers as a practical solution to the problems of reconciling a healthy appreciation for the right to [gun ownership] with a desire to reduce gun violence.

Jan 30, 2013

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has been an invaluable tool in improvements of medical diagnostics. However, the fundamental approach to the use of MRI has, for the last 50 years, been largely static. All that may soon change with the development of what its creators call Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF).

Traditional MRI diagnoses are typically restricted to exploring a single problem (cancerous material in lung tissue, for example). However, MRF diagnoses would, if properly calibrated, potentially be able to test the full range of tissues in the human body simultaneously, vastly increasing the amount of diagnostic data available to physicians and increasing the likelihood of detecting diseases earlier and more frequently. As a result, patient care could be significantly improved.

Failure to diagnose diseases such as cancer and other progressive conditions is a significant cause of mortality in these situations, so the potential that MRF presents for doctors and patients alike represents an exciting development in medical technology.