Science & Technology Today

Russian scientists have developed a drug-free method of healing wounds that may prove as revolutionary as the discovery of penicillin. Antimicrobial sorption materials –VitaVallis is safe alternative to antibiotics and chemicals for healing wounds and wound infections, including antibiotic resistant ones. VitaVallis, created by researchers in Tomsk, Siberia, helps clean up wounds of all known types of toxic bacteria. It does not get stuck to the wound and heals burns, cuts and any septic and infected wounds two to three times faster than traditional methods do. The dressing stops bleeding, ends inflammation, eliminates swellings and stimulates skin regeneration. It also helps kill pain and remove foul wound odour. The new method was developed at the junction of physics and medicine. It is based on the long-known fact that pathological bacteria typically carry a negative electric charge. Siberian researchers figured that positively charged material should be able to extract bacteri...

Not too long ago, it was on the list of must-have gadgets of most tech enthusiasts. But Cisco has announced last week that it is shutting down production of the Flip Camcorder, a company that it acquired as recently as March 2009. The camcorder continues to be quite popular in the U.S. and in the few other markets that it has been present, its USP is its ease of use and “file transfer”. The third generation Flip camcorders that hit the stores last year were capable of shooting videos in HD, image stabilisation, and the advanced models even had options to plug in external microphones. Sadly the growth of Flip coincided with the growth and the growth of smart phones. With the camera functions of smart phones improving vastly, Cisco just did not see reason in continuing with a stand-alone camcorder.

Our universe is full of massive empty spaces and if all emptiness in the universe were to be removed, the universe may become as big as our fist. This is a fascinating excursion. You could say that an atom is more empty than the solar system. The universe is quite empty. The interstellar space contains only about one atom hydrogen per cubic centimeter. In the intergalactic space, this is one hundred thousand times smaller. Yet, it is enough to ensure that the universe is relatively stable and relatively flat. Even our hydrogen atom is quite empty. The size of an atom is small but the size of the nucleus inside is a hundred thousand times smaller. A peculiar happening, but this is the only way it works. The reason is that the so-called empty space is nothing; it carries the influence of every thing around. Also, whatever is not present physically has a potential existence that can transition to reality of the kind we can touch and feel through a quantum fluctuation.

The world’s largest detector for high-energy neutrinos was completed December 18 2010, when scientists lowered the last of 5,160 sensors more than a mile beneath the ice of the Antarctic plateau. The electron neutrino (a lepton) was first postulated in 1930 by Wolfgang Pauli to explain why the electrons in beta decay were not emitted with the full reaction energy of the nuclear transition. The apparent violation of conservation of energy and momentum was most easily avoided by postulating another particle. Enrico Fermi called the particle a neutrino and developed a theory of beta decay based on it, but it was not experimentally observed until 1956. Wolfgang Pauli introduced the neutrino to the world of physics in 1930 with a famous letter to "Liebe Radioacktive Damen und Herren" (Dear radioactive ladies and gentlemen) at the Tubingen meeting of radioactivity researchers. Pauli's first public discussion of the neutrino was at the 7th Solvay Conference in Brussels in 1...

While searching for a 3D TV, I cam across this health warning about the possibly dangerous effects of watching 3D television that was released by Samsung.                    Photosensitive Seizure Warning and Other Health Risks •Some viewers may experience an epileptic seizure or stroke when exposed to certain flashing images or lights contained in certain television pictures or video games. If you or any of your family has a history of epilepsy or stroke, please consult with a medical specialist before using the 3D function. •If you experience any of the following symptoms, immediately stop watching 3D pictures and consult a medical specialist: (1) altered vision; (2) lightheadedness; (3) dizziness; (4) involuntary movements such as eye or muscle twitching; (5) confusion; (6) nausea; (7) loss of awareness; (8) convulsions; (9) cramps; and/or (10) disorientation. Parents should monitor and ask ...

On Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. EST, the moon was at its closest point to the Earth in 2011: a distance of 221,565 miles away. At its peak, the supermoon of March was 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than lesser full moons (when the moon is at its farthest from Earth). But to the casual observer, it may be hard to tell the difference. The moon has not been in a position to appear this large since March 1993. In December 2008, there was a near-supermoon when the moon turned full four hours away from its perigee – the point in its orbit that is closest to Earth. But this month, the full moon and perigee are just under one hour apart, promising spectacular views, depending on local conditions. Although a full moon theoretically lasts just a moment, that moment is imperceptible to ordinary observation. During the day or so before and after, most will speak of seeing the nearly full moon as "full," with the actual shaded area of the lunar surface being so narro...

The Hydrogen Explosions at Fukushima nuclear complex in Japan was result of the effort to prevent the meltdown of the core. The core which contains fuel rods is inside a 6 inches thick stainless steel vessel. Water is being injected into the vessel to keep the temperature for rising to the level were it will melt down. This process results in generation for steam and hydrogen and in order to release the pressure inside the vessel it released in to atmosphere. The hydrogen combines with atmospheric oxygen resulting in big explosions. The blast actually lessened pressure building inside the troubled reactor, and officials said the all-important containment shell - thick concrete armor around the reactor - had not been damaged. In that case, the uranium core can melt through the outer containment shell, releasing radioactive byproducts like iodine and cesium. That endangers the environment and people nearby.