Microfluidics Chip: the start of a new treatment era

For people facing cancer, the decision of which treatment to use is too often made blindly and with no true knowledge on whether the specific treatment is the best one for a certain individual. Microfluidics chips are aimed to solve just this problem. The small silicon-etched chip is fitted with microscopic columns which act as test tubes in which cancerous cells and chemicals can be mixed and evaluated. The chip is able to detect small changes in gene expression, not only a gene mutation, which had been a problem for scientists in the past.

How does this chip work? Most carcinomas (cancer in the epithelial tissue of the skin or in the lining of internal organs) “shed” malignant cells which then enter the blood stream and can continue to grow in a new area. The cancerous cells in the blood, CTC’s (cancerous tumor cells), are what the chip picks up. The microposts of the cell are coated with antibodies to the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) which is present in almost all carcinoma cells but not on the surface of normal blood cells. The chip can therefore pick up only the cancerous cells which was in itself a difficult job before because the percentage of CTC’s in blood can be less than one in a million (particularly with early-staged patients in which the tumors may have not fully spread and then the CTC number will be even smaller). However, the chip has been able to find cancer cells as rare as 1 in a million; about 100 times better than commercial fluidic devices. Also, with the accustom procedure of having a large sample of blood drawn and add antibody-coated microbeads to find the cancer cells, the sample is more damaged than when the CTC chip retrieves the cancer cells.

The data obtained through the chips will allow for more precise treatments based on the molecular characteristics of the malignant cells (for example, whether certain hormones or genetic mutations are present). The chip can also help patients whose cancer cells may have mutated to resist a certain drug or have metastasized. In certain cancers, like lung cancer, the necessary biopsy to examine the cancer cells cause a risk of blood loss, infection, or even a collapse lung. However, the studies by a group in Massachusetts’ General Hospital and Genitourinary Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have found success; the future looks hopeful for these tiny chips and cancer patients, perhaps one day it "could [even] be used at annual checkups".

Sites used: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=a-chip-against-cancer , http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/23551/page1/

Driving on Glass?

Scott Brusaw of Sagle, Idaho–hopes to produce these solar panel roads by Feburary. The electrical engineer is currently at work building a prototype of his so-called "Solar Road Panel" with the help of a $100,000 small business grand from the Department of Transportation. "We're building solar panels that you can drive on," Brusaw says. "The fact that it's generating power means it pays for itself over time, as opposed to asphalt." There is about 260,000 miles of road in the United States so making this much solar panels will cost a huge amount of money. The glass will need to hold extreme strengths and the roads will have to allow tires to grip onto the glass. The coolest feature will be they will be self cleaning!


"Glass theoretically can have a very high strength, provided there are no flaws," says materials scientist John Hellmann of Penn State, a glass expert. But "can you keep the proper optical properties to transmit light to the PV [photovoltaics, or solar cell] and still not weather or change with that traffic going over it? …


We make some pretty doggone good glass for structural applications but we're not driving trucks on them." The cost of these roads will be about $1 per square foot which means they will be very expensive but with loans for the DoT Brusaw may be able to excel in this monumentus feat. Another awesome feature will be that they will be built with LED lights to illuminate the road and will be able to warn drivers about weather conditions and lane instructions such as "Slow Down". Remember this date Feburary 12, 2010 Brusaw will test a portion of his solar panel road to check durability and how well it will work.




http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=driving-on-glass-solar-roads

A Car Made For The Driver

As we move deeper into technology, our inventions improve, we now have inventions like Mercedes Benz's Distronic Plus, a cruise control system that brakes when needed. Imagine a car that could remember the way it's handler drives and report when something out of the ordinary occurs. A group of six scientists have come up with DRIVSCO, a new driving assistance program.

DRIVSCO works by studying the car owner's driving pattern over a period of time and keeping a fileit, if the driver should react in a peculiar way, the program makes a warning sound, notifying the driver of any possible hazard. The European Union Car Council reports that 42% of car accidents occur at night, DRIVSCO is also the solution with its night vision system. This system assumes that the road cannot be seen well by the driver, that is why cars installed with night vision and a sophisticated driving assistance system will reduce the number of night-time accidents on the road.

The system works from a chip with artificial vision developed by researchers at the University of Granada. The chip receives input pictures and produces a first 'interpretation of the scenario' by combining information on depth (using 3D vision), local movement and image lines.

DRIVSCO has been tested with drivers and according to the results, the program seems promising.

Eduardo Ros Vidal, project leader says that he does not see a future with cars driving themselves, because of problems with insurance companies, but there is no doubt that this

system will help the driver and probably save lives.

http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/Article.aspx?liArticleID=313259

http://www.sciencecodex.com/develop_an_intelligent_car_able_to_learn_from_his_owners_driving_and_warn_him_in_case_of_accident

New NASA Rovers

As advanced as space technology has become, missions have been plagued by operated land rovers becoming stuck in dirt and dunes. Both of the last two Mars Rovers, the Spirit and Opportunity have gotten stuck for weeks at a time. As part of an effort to avoid this unnecessary dilemma, NASA has worked on dozens of new prototypes that are specifically designed to get out of those very tricky situations.

Resembling the animal it's presumably named after, the LEMUR (Limbed Excursion Mechanical Utility Robots) uses its four arms to make its way through steep slopes. Its small size limits the chance of a fall critically damaging its condition.

The Hopper, the name basically gives away what this new prototype is best at. Equipped with six spring-loaded feet, this rover goes where no rover has gone before by completely leaping past obstacles that would have put others out of working order. Jumping one foot on Earth, translating into 6 feet under lunar gravity, the Hopper is ready to set the standard for rovers to come.

Unfortunately, it will most likely take anywhere from 10 to 20 years before any of these concepts actually are used in a space mission. However, when they finally arrive they will undoubtedly help usher in a new era of knowledge of planets.

Imagine an everyday regular military man that is able to run faster jump higher and all of his physical abilities are expanded well that’s pretty much the case with the new prototype exoskeleton. Basically, an exoskeleton is a wearable machine that gives human enhanced abilities. Imagine a battalion of super soldiers that can lift hundreds of pounds as easily as lifting 10 pounds and can run twice their normal speed. Soldiers will be able to carry more weapons and supplies. By increasing strength, soldiers will also be able to remove large obstacles from their path while marching. It will also enable them to wear heavier body armor and other ballistic protection. An average human walks 4 to 6 mph, but soldiers are often expected to carry up to 150 pounds of supplies in their backpacks. Even the best-conditioned troops cannot go very fast carrying that much weight on their backs. It's not certain how fast DARPA's exoskeleton will be able to move. An independently developed body amplifier, the “SpringWalker”, has been tested at speeds faster than 10 mph (16 km/h). In a couple of years these prototypes will be put into production and they will be made so that all infantry will be able to be much stronger


http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-04/building-real-iron-man

Gene Defect corrected in human stem cell

Correcting Cells:

What do you think life would be like if you could correct all inherited genetic diseases. Science researches have discovered a way to help patients by transforming tissue into stem cells, potentially being able to reverse the conditions. Using the older technology of cell programming scientists believe that they can use cells to create stem cells which can virtually grow into any tissue type. This system is stated in the article to be called "induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) reprogramming, this involves introducing four genes known to be active in the developing embryo, which in turn change the cells' pattern of gene expression to one that resembles an embryonic cell rather than an adult one."

While this has not yet completed full testing on humans researches are very confident it will be successfull, leading to a huge step in fixing inherited diseases which in many cases lead to increased risk of cancer.

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22724/

World's Largest Laser

The U.S Department of Energy has recently completed what is now the largest laser on Earth. Twelve years in the making, this laser located in Livermore, California has many goals. The main purpose of this gigantic structure is to recreate nuclear fusion. Unlike Nuclear fission which splits atoms to create energy, the process used in nuclear power plants, nuclear fusion creates no radioactive waste. Harnessing the energy created from fusion would change all plans for future energy sources. Although the process is extremely costly( the structure cost $3.5 billion) if we were able to control and sustain this source of energy it could swing the current state of our pollution emissions.


http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=worlds-largest-laser-nif-2009-04-01