Group items tagged

"SAN FRANCISCO - 3-D printing, used to construct everything from art to toys to spare parts for the space station, may one day produce human organs at a hospital near you. click image to enlarge A 3-D printed prosthetic nose and ear are displayed at an industry show in London in November. The technology may eventually help reduce organ shortages. Bloomberg News photo by Chris Ratcliffe Select images available for purchase in the Maine Today Photo Store The 20-year-old technology uses liquid materials that become hard as they print out three-dimensional objects in layers, based on a digital model. Current medical uses are in dentistry, for hard-material crowns, caps and bridges, as well as prosthetics. Last year, a 3-D printer was used to create a structure from moldable polymer that replaced more than 75 percent of a patient's skull. Now, Organovo Holdings Inc. is using 3-D printers to create living tissue that may one day look and act like a human liver, able to cleanse the body of toxins. Drugmakers and cosmetic companies already plan to use 3-D printed human tissue to test new products. Eventually, the technology may help reduce organ shortages and cut transplant rejections as patients receive new organs constructed from their own cells. "3-D printing is like a new tool set," said Organovo Chief Executive Officer Keith Murphy. "You can make a living tissue you can grow outside the body. That's the core of our technology. How can you be smart about doing that?" Organovo already is preparing to sell strips of liver tissue to drugmakers this year to be used to test toxicity of potential treatments, Murphy said in a telephone interview. The San Diego-based company's five- and 10-year goals are first to use a patient's own cells to print tissue strips that can be used to patch failing organs, and finally to be able to create entire new organs. The first 3-D printer was produced in 1992. Since then, a variety of materials have been used as the t

"A computed tomography (CT) scan uses X-rays to make detailed pictures of structures inside of the body. During the test, you will lie on a table that is attached to the CT scanner, which is a large doughnut-shaped machine. The CT scanner sends X-rays through the body area being studied. Each rotation of the scanner provides a picture of a thin slice of the organ or area. All of the pictures are saved as a group on a computer. They also can be printed. In some cases, a dye called contrast material may be used. It may be put in a vein (IV) in your arm, or it may be placed into other parts of your body (such as the rectum or a joint) to see those areas better. For some types of CT scans you drink the dye. The dye makes structures and organs easier to see on the CT pictures. A CT scan can be used to study all parts of your body, such as the chest, belly, pelvis, or an arm or leg. It can take pictures of body organs, such as the liver, pancreas, intestines, kidneys, bladder, adrenal glands, lungs, and heart. It also can study blood vessels, bones, and the spinal cord. Fluoroscopy CT is a special test that is not widely available. It uses a steady beam of X-rays to look at movement within the body. It allows the doctor to see your organs move or to guide a biopsy needle or other instrument into the right place inside your body." This talks about the CAT (CT) scan. It tells how it is preformed.

possibly used in flying cars    Magnetic-levitation is an application where superconductors perform extremely well. Transport vehicles such as trains can be made to "float" on strong superconducting magnets, virtually eliminating friction between the train and its tracks. Not only would conventional electromagnets waste much of the electrical energy as heat, they would have to be physically much larger than superconducting magnets. A landmark for the commercial use of MAGLEV technology occurred in 1990 when it gained the status of a nationally-funded project in Japan. The Minister of Transport authorized construction of the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line which opened on April 3, 1997. In December 2003, the MLX01 test vehicle (shown above) attained an incredible speed of 361 mph (581 kph)."

"But nanotechnologists think they have an answer for treatment as well, and it comes in the form of targeted drug therapies. If scientists can load their cancer-detecting gold nanoparticles with anticancer drugs, they could attack the cancer exactly where it lives. Such a treatment means fewer side effects and less medication used. Nanoparticles also carry the potential for targeted and time-release drugs. A potent dose of drugs could be delivered to a specific area but engineered to release over a planned period to ensure maximum effectiveness and the patient's safety." Nanotechnology can be a better, more efficient way of getting rid of cancer cells.

This seems like a great website to use. It backs up all of its statements with facts, so we know we can rely on it. I know this source will come in handy later because it actually explains how nanotechnology is used in some medical fields. I also know this is reliable because they list the sources that they used. This seems like a very official site to use.

"We do know that whatever computing device we use will be far more powerful than the computers we use today by mid-century, just as today's machines greatly overshadow their predecessors." Using quantum computers could make computers faster and more powerful.

"Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI), or magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to investigate the anatomy and function of the body in both health and disease. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields and radiowaves to form images of the body. The technique is widely used in hospitals for medical diagnosis, staging of disease and for follow-up without exposure to ionizing radiation." This is about the MRI scan. It gives a definition of it and tells about it.

"Engineers at the University of Florida (USA) have created a housing that incorporates a tiny microchip and antenna and, after administration, warns that a patient has taken his medicine. According to Rizwan Bashirullah, creator of the invention, the smart pill could be very useful in patients who forget if you have taken medication, or just clueless and do not take it daily. The pill consists of a capsule containing a microchip and an antenna that is printed on its surface using non-toxic ink of silver nanoparticles . The antenna is biocompatible and dissolves almost 100%. When the pill is swallowed, the microchip is communicated to a small external electronic device (which could be incorporated into future mobile phone), which in turn sends a message to a phone or a computer, informing both the patient and the doctors and family members if necessary. According to the American Heart Association, the main problem in treating illness today is that no medical requirements are met . Recent studies show that chronically ill patients only take half of the pills prescribed . And that 10% of hospital admissions due to this lack of consistency. Even 218,000 deaths annually are attributed to this problem. "Using technology to remedy may be a good idea," says Bashirullah."

"Originally designed for industrial uses, QR codes have become common in consumer advertising. Typically, a smartphone is used as a QR code scanner, displaying the code and converting it to some useful form (such as a standard URL for a website, thereby obviating the need for a user to type it into a web browser)."

This page gave a good amount on how nanotechnology can change the future of medicine, from taking pills to cancer. It also talks about nerve regeneration and how that is in the near future with nanotechnology.

"Nanotechnology is already being used in products in its passive form, such as cosmetics and sunscreens,"

"Nanotechnology medical developments over the coming years will have a wide variety of uses and could potentially save a great number of lives. Nanotechnology is already moving from being used in passive structures to active structures, through more targeted drug therapies or "smart drugs." These new drug therapies have already been shown to cause fewer side effects and be more effective than traditional therapies. In the future, nanotechnology will also aid in the formation of molecular systems that may be strikingly similar to living systems. These molecular structures could be the basis for the regeneration or replacement of body parts that are currently lost to infection, accident, or disease. These predictions for the future have great significance not only in encouraging nanotechnology research and development but also in determining a means of oversight. The number of products approaching the FDA approval and review process is likely to grow as time moves forward and as new nanotechnology medical applications are developed."

This page summarizes Chapter 3 (Future of the Medicine). "Kaku discusses robotic body parts, modular robots, unemployment caused by robots, surrogates and avatars (like their respective movies), and reverse engineering the brain. Kaku goes over the three laws of robotics and their contradictions. He endorses a "chip in robot brains to automatically shut them off if they have murderous thoughts", and believes that the most likely scenario is "friendly AI", in which robots are free to wreak havoc and destruction, but are designed to desire benevolence.[1]"

"Nanotechnology: Everything from Nothing?"

"Unlike conventional chemical rockets which use Newton's third law of motion, solar sails take advantage of radiation pressure from stars. Kaku believes that after sending a gigantic solar sail into orbit, one could install lasers on the moon, which would hit the sail and give it extra momentum. Another alternative is to send thousands of nanoships, of which only a few would reach their destination. "Once arriving on a nearby moon, they could create a factory to make unlimited copies of themselves," says Kaku. Nanoships would require very little fuel to accelerate. They could visit the stellar neighborhood by floating on the magnetic fields of other planets."

nanotechnology is a branch off of nanotechnology. they are small machines that can be used for anything. "Nanorobotics is the emerging technology field creating machines or robots whose components are at or close to the scale of a nanometer (10−9 meters).[1][2][3] More specifically, nanorobotics refers to the nanotechnology engineering discipline of designing and building nanorobots, with devices ranging in size from 0.1-10 micrometers and constructed of nanoscale or molecular components.[4][5] The names nanobots, nanoids, nanites, nanomachines or nanomites have also been used to describe these devices currently under research and development"

"Advantages of Solar Power? Solar energy is a clean and renewable energy source. Once a solar panel is installed, solar energy can be produced free of charge. Solar energy will last forever whereas it is estimated that the world's oil reserves will last for 30 to 40 years. Solar energy causes no pollution. Solar cells make absolutely no noise at all. On the other hand, the giant machines utilized for pumping oil are extremely noisy and therefore very impractical. Very little maintenance is needed to keep solar cells running. There are no moving parts in a solar cell which makes it impossible to really damage them. In the long term, there can be a high return on investment due to the amount of free energy a solar panel can produce, it is estimated that the average household will see 50% of their energy coming in from solar panels.   Disadvantages of Solar Power? Solar panels can be expensive to install resulting in a time-lag of many years for savings on energy bills to match initial investments. Electricity generation depends entirely on a countries exposure to sunlight; this could be limited by a countries climate. Solar power stations do not match the power output of similar sized conventional power stations; they can also be very expensive to build. Solar power is used to charge batteries so that solar powered devices can be used at night. The batteries can often be large and heavy, taking up space and needing to be replaced from time to time."

"It is now widely accepted that the developing world needs to invest in science and technology or risk falling behind as the technology gap between the North and South widens. However, these investments must be balanced by continued investment in basic population-wide services, such as healthcare and water supply and sanitation. Achieving this balance is a matter of ongoing debate in policy circles, and leaders and policy-makers in developing countries often have to make difficult decisions that pit investment in new technologies and capacity-building in science and technology against basic population-wide services such as healthcare and water supply and sanitation." This is about how technology and science is used for wealth.

Getting some resources off of a government website was a good find and should provide some viable information to use. It will also help us connect with how science and technology is related to wealth.

"Mass customization, in marketing, manufacturing, call centres and management, is the use of flexible computer-aided manufacturing systems to produce custom output." The definition of Mass customization is- use of computer aided manufacturing systems.

"Electronic paper, e-paper and electronic ink are display technologies which are designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper.[1] Unlike conventional backlit flat panel displays which emit light, electronic paper displays reflect light like ordinary paper, theoretically making it more comfortable to read, and giving the surface a wider viewing angle compared to conventional displays. The contrast ratio in available displays as of 2008 might be described as similar to that of newspaper, though newly developed displays are slightly better.[2] An ideal e-paper display can be read in direct sunlight without the image appearing to fade. Many electronic paper technologies can hold static text and images indefinitely without using electricity. Flexible electronic paper uses plastic substrates and plastic electronics for the display backplane. There is ongoing competition among manufacturers to provide full-color ability. Applications of electronic visual displays include electronic pricing labels in retail shops, and digital signage,[3] time tables at bus stations,[4] electronic billboards,[5] mobile phone displays, and e-readers able to display digital versions of books and e-paper magazines."

Kaku talks about space colonization in the future. "Space colonization (also called space settlement, or extraterrestrial colonization) is permanent human habitation outside of Earth. Many arguments have been made for space colonization. A common one is ensuring the survival of human civilization and Earth's biosphere from disasters such as asteroid impact or global nuclear war. Another is helping to provide unlimited space-based solar power and other resources to let all human beings on Earth enjoy developed-world lifestyles with far less environmental damage, and eventually providing a High Frontier where any number of people may settle and thrive. After its successful Apollo project moon landings, the US NASA sponsored the first formal engineering studies of a space colony concept: Princeton professor Gerard O'Neill and colleagues' proposals to build space colonies and Solar Power Satellites (SPS) from lunar materials.[1][2] These proposals are striking for their boldness, level of detail and technical rigor. The thickness of metal beams needed to contain the colony's atmosphere and withstand rotation for artificial gravity was engineered. Chemical reactions to smelt them out of Moon rocks were worked out (by a young K. Eric Drexler, who later became famous as the founder of Nanotechnology).[3] The Moon rocks would be launched to the desired orbital location cheaply using O'Neill's electromagnetic mass driver. Modifying standard 1970s industrial productivity figures as needed (work in space suits would be slower; moving heavy objects in weightlessness easier than in factories on Earth), they estimated that the 10,000-person workforce housed in the first Island One colony could produce one giant SPS-capable of supplying 5% of total American electricity demand-each year. Yet the project timeline didn't call for producing the first commercial SPS until Year 22, and the huge investment-totaling almost $200 billion in 1975 dollars-wouldn't be fully repaid unt

"The skeptics among the Old Space people will say to the upstarts: Where's your rocket? How many times have you launched? Can you deliver reliably? Repeatedly? Safely? We put a man on the moon - what have you done?" I find this source to be incredibly useful for it describes how current companies are already at work creating innovations in space travel. It shows how "Old Space" and "New Space" are competing with each other and how NASA is chipping in. I will use this website to learn what we already have and how far we still need to go. I believe this is a reliable source because it was published by The Washington Post, a typically trustworthy website.

In this website you will find information about how space is planning to be commercialized. You can currently buy a ticket to go up into space for $250,000.The plan for the future is that people want to create companies that would ship people up into space for a reasonable price, so that people could go on vacations into space. Also, the plan is to make space travel commercial, much like air-line companies, instead of having space travel be a strictly governmental idea. One way to help our governments travel further into space and explore, is the new idea to use the moon as a base to help rockets fuel-up. Basically, they want the moon to be a gas station for rockets and use some of the dirt from the moon to help create the fuel. This website is very helpful in giving various information about the commercialization of space.

"The general representation of a cyborg is that seen in science fiction films of a fusion between human and machine." This site is useful because it shares with us what could happen with the developement of cyborgs in the future. This site is reliable because I searched it on easybib and it said it was.

"The "ink" in the bioprinting process employed by Organovo is composed of spheres packed with tens of thousands of human cells. These spheres are assembled or "printed" on sheets of organic biopaper." This is a very interesting video on how organ printing is accomplished. It describes how the use of bio-ink can enable us to create a functioning structure out of thousands of human cells, and it does this through clear descriptions and footage. It gives you a look inside of a lab where 3D organ printing is being created and introduces you to a scientist who is highly experienced in the field. We know it is reliable because in the description it tells us all about the man who made these predictions, Dr. Gabor Forgacs. This will be highly beneficial during our research by helping us understand how 3D printing works.