iPhone "Tricorder" Does The Work Of A $50,000 Lab Machine

There is an X Prize competition to create a device like Star Trek's medical tricorder, a noninvasive tool doctors can use diagnose a patients ills and although this iPhone cradle made up of about $200 worth of electronics falls somewhat short of the goal, it is getting close.

Developed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by a team led by Prof. Brian Cunningham, the phone is able to detect toxins, proteins, bacteria, viruses and other molecules.

You start with a sample on a slide and then insert the slide into the cradle. The device then uses light reflected from the sample to determine its composition.

Travel Photo of the Week

Eastham, MA - David Torn

Quantum Entanglement Of Photons That Don't Exist At The Same Time

Here's how you do it!

Yes, you read that right and it's not April 1st. It seems that experimenters in Israel have shown that they can entangle two photons that don't even exist at the same time.

One of the researchers on the project, Hagai Eisenberg, said. "There is no moment in time in which the two photons coexist," he says, "so you cannot say that the system is entangled at this or that moment."

Yet, the phenomenon definitely exists.

Although they've only done this in one temporal direction, into the future, can it be long before they try to figure out a way to test if works the other way, too?

Stay Sharp: Eat A Mediterranean Diet

I've basically been eating a Mediterranean diet for years and I do have to say that it has served me well. This article in Time online, claims that it might also good for your brain as you age.

Rounds of cognitive tests were done on 522 people in three groups, in a Spanish study over a 6½ year period. One group consumed a Mediterranean diet with extra-virgin olive oil, another ate a Mediterranean diet supplemented with mixed nuts, and the control group was assigned a low-fat diet.

The results? On average, those consuming either version of the Mediterranean diet scored significantly higher than the low-fat dieters on cognitive tests.

Interesting, but more study still needs to be done.

Why French Kids Don't Have ADHD

Diagnosis of ADHD in children is becoming ever greater, year by year. Right now, in the United States, the numbers say 9% and pharmaceutical substances are generally prescribed.

In France that number is .5%. That's right, one half of one percent. Why the big difference? This article by Marilyn Wedge, Ph.D, online at Psychology Today, gives some pretty plausible answers. Most of it seems to be in professional attitude: in the US, ADHD is considered a biological affliction. In France it is looked at as a medical condition with psycho-social and situational causes.

It should also be noted that French and American parenting styles are very different.

Fun Time! Life Size Star Wars' X Wing Made From LEGOS!

Yeah, the photo above pretty much says it all. If you need the whole skinny, click HERE.

WikiHouse 3D Printed Structures

WikiHouse is an open source construction set that allows you to design and print out habitable structures which can be assembled and finished with minimal training.

All the parts of a structure can be "printed" from standard building materials and then cut on CNC machines.

The site has an open library of the shapes needed to making your building and tools for the design stage. There is also a sign up page for a community of hacker/builders.

The Plan To End Hunger With 3-D Printed Food

Imagine really ending hunger.

Imagine going up to a device somewhere and saying, "Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.", and shortly thereafter picking up your beverage with food that was printed by a 3D printer. This is certainly the most audacious idea that I've seen so far out of the 3D printing crowd.

This really could end hunger.

Travel Photo of the Week

Iceland

Hovercraft Golf Cart

Just what you need, next time you're on the golf course. You can get one HERE.