Main Battle Tanks and Fighting Aircrafts of the World's Most Powerful Nations

The T-90S represents one of the most advanced Russian tanks from the T-series. It features an improved firepower, mobility and protection. The tank was built at Uralvagonzavod, factory located in Nizhnyi Tagil, Russia. It is worth mentioning that the T-90S officially entered the service with the Russian armed forces in 1992.
The tank is developed for a crew of 3 people, its combat weight is 46.5 tons and it features a 4-stroke V-84ms diesel engine with 849hp. The fuel capacity of this battle machine is 1,600l. The range is 650km on paved roads and 500km on unpaved. The tank reaches a speed of 65 km/h.

The information provided by the American Foreign Policy Center says that Russia is currently working on upgrading its main battle tank to the new T-95 version.

When Su-37 was developed it was instantly shipped to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) air force as a multi-role version of Russia's previous generation Su-35. The aircraft has a number of features that make it different from other air fighters. It can make a preemptive hit at any air target, even those that are hard to spot. Su-37 has a multichannel redundancy and algorithmic security of all data and targeting systems. It can also hit ground targets at standoff range. The aircraft's all stages of flight and combat are automated.

Tongue Drive System to Operate Computers

Scientists developed a new revolutionary system to help individuals with disabilities to control wheelchairs, computers and other devices simply by using their tongue.
Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology say that a new technology called Tongue Drive system will be helpful to individuals with serious disabilities, such as those with severe spinal cord injuries and will allow them to lead more active and independent lives.
Individuals using a tongue-based system should only be able to move their tongue, which is especially important if a person has paralyzed limbs. A tiny magnet, only a size of a grain of rice, is attached to an individual's tongue using implantation, piercing or adhesive. This technology allows a disabled person to use tongue when moving a computer mouse or a powered wheelchair.
Scientists chose the tongue to control the system because unlike the feet and the hands, which are connected by brain through spinal cord, the tongue and the brain has a direct connection through cranial nerve. In case when a person has a severe spinal cord injure or other damage, the tongue will remain mobile to activate the system. "Tongue movements are also fast, accurate and do not require much thinking, concentration or effort." said Maysam Ghovanloo, an assistant professor in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The motions of the magnet attached to the tongue are spotted by a number of magnetic field sensors installed on a headset worn outside or an orthodontic brace inside the mouth. The signals coming from the sensors are wirelessly sent to a portable computer that placed on a wheelchair or attached to an individual's clothing.
The Tongue system is developed to recognize a wide array of tongue movements and to apply specific movements to certain commands, taking into account user's oral anatomy, abilities and lifestyle."The ability to train our system with as many commands as an individual can comfortably remember is a significant advantage over the common sip-n-puff device that acts as a simple switch controlled by sucking or blowing through a straw," said Ghovanloo.
The Tongue Drive system is touch-free, wireless and non-invasive technology that needs no surgery for its operation.
During the trials of the system, six able-bodied participants were trained to use tongue commands to control the computer mouse. The individuals repeated several motions left, right, up and down, single- and double-click to perform computer mouse tasks.
The results of the trials showed 100 percent of commands were accurate with the response time less than one second, which equals to an information transfer rate of approximately 150 bits per minute.

Scientists also plan to test the ability of the system to operate by people with severe disabilities. The next step of the research is to develop software to connect the Tongue Drive system to great number of devices such as text generators, speech synthesizers and readers. Also the researchers plan to upgrade the system by introducing the standby mode to allow the individual to eat, sleep or talk, while prolonging the battery life.

Inventions of Ancient Egypt

The civilization of Ancient Egypt occupied the territory of eastern North Africa, along the lower reaches of the Nile River. Today this is the territory of modern Egypt. Ancient Egypt managed to succeed in numerous fields, bringing new invention some of which not only survived till nowadays, but can also be seen in use.
Mainly the great evolution of ancient Egyptian civilization is due to its ability to adjust to the somewhat harsh conditions of the Nile River Valley.

The socio-cultural development greatly evolved thanks to predictable flooding, the ability to control irrigation and development of some really important devices. Check out some of the most important inventions that appeared in ancient Egypt.

The Pyramids

The oldest pyramid to date was erected back in 2750 BC for King Zoser, a representative of the 3rd dynasty of Egyptian kings. Prior to a pyramid tomb, the Egyptian kings were buried in rectangular mud-brick tombs dubbed Mastaba. But the architect of King Zoser, Imhotep, decided to place several mastabas of decreasing dimensions on top of each other and thus created the first pyramid on the planet.

The largest Egyptian pyramid, however, is the Great Pyramid of Giza, which for thousands of years remained the tallest architectural creation in the world until the erection of Lincoln Cathedral in 1311. The area of its base measures more than 52,600 square meters.

Solar Calendar

A solar calendar is a type of calendar that is meant to show the position of the earth on its revolution around our sun.
Egyptians are also responsible for the appearance of the solar calendar. To make it, they took the yearly sunrise recurrence of Sirius (the Dog Star) in the eastern sky as a fixed point. Interestingly enough, this period coincided with the yearly flooding of the Nile River. Ancient Egyptians developed a calendar that featured 365 days and 12 months (30 days in each month and additional 5 days at the end of the year).

Due to the fact that Egyptians didn't manage to account the additional fraction of a day, their calendar steadily went into showing the wrong data. However, Ptolemy III Euergetes of Egypt, decided to add one day to the 365 days every 4 years.

Written Language

Egyptians contributed to the evolution of paintings into the first written language. It is worth mentioning that the first writing appeared in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The writing system of the former started with pictograms which go back to 6000 BC. Pictograms represented simple illustrations of the words they represented. These images had limitations and as time went by Egyptians added more features to their writing system. For example, they added alphabet-like characters that represented specific sounds. The improved system made it possible for Egyptians to write out names and even some abstract ideas.
The famous Egyptian hieroglyphics represent a fusion of alphabetic and syllabic symbols, along with ideograms that enriched different places in Egypt, such as tombs. It would be interesting to note that ideograms are images that stand for whole words. They helped Egyptians to write about war, politics and culture.

Wigs

The first documentations of wigs were registered on different Egyptian artifacts as well as wall painting on ancient tombs. During hot summers a lot of Egyptians shaved their heads to keep them clean, which was much easier than cleaning them from pests.
At the same time looking bald in ancient Egypt was not considered to be aesthetically pleasing, which is why they invented wigs. Those who did not wear wigs, while remaining bald were mostly priests and laborers.

At that time wigs were not meant to replace hair. They usually consisted of various sizes of braids set with beeswax or the like, which made wigs rather stiff.

Latest Invention- Washing Machine That Doesn't Need Water

British company Xeros looks forward to conquer the American market with its latest invention, a new washing system able to save a lot of water using nylon beads. The beads tumble wash clothes using 90 percent less water than traditional washers.
In addition, the company's latest invention, which is currently in the development stage, requires less detergent. Xeros claims that there would be no need for tumble drying and if the homes in the United States would switch to the new system, the emissions of carbon dioxide would be considerably reduced. The result would be as though 5 million vehicles have been removed from the road. The company also says that the new washing machine will save 1.2 billion tons of water each year, which equals 17 million swimming pools.
The washing machine does its job using small nylon beads that eliminate stains off clothes and lock them into the molecular structure of the nylon. The beads can be used for hundreds of washes and afterwards they can be easily recycled. The technology behind the new washing machine is the result of a research carried out at the University of Leeds. It has been used in a concept washing machine by the Cambridge Consultants.

After carrying out tests for over three years, Xeros, a spinout from the University, managed to achieve an agreement with Kansas City-based GreenEarth Cleaning, which intends to market Xeros' latest invention across North American continent in 2010.

Rolly Chewable Disc Instead of a Toothbrush

Find yourself in a situation, when you need to brush your teeth and there is no toothbrush and toothpaste available? Now you can use Rolly - small rubber disc with hundreds of miniature bristles that you can chew to clean your mouth.

The innovative product contains fluoride and xylitol that strengthen tooth enamel, removes plaque and fight demineralization of your teeth.

All you need to do is to put it in your mouth and chew like a chewing gum. Small bristles work similar to toothbrush bristles, removing food particles in most hard-to reach areas and cleaning your tongue. The material of the disc also massages the gum, while the minty flavor leaves your breath fresh-smelling. You don't need water, mirror or toothpaste and its small size allows you to take it everywhere, placing it in your pocket. After use you simply get rid of it and use the new Rolly. The chewable toothbrush is available in mini-packs and one piece will cost about one dollar.

Robotic Fashion Model

Such a strange invention could only be created in the land of the rising sun. Researchers in Japan presented their cybernetic fashion model at a fashion show.
Dubbed HRP-4C, the robot includes 30 motors that allow it to walk and move her limbs. In addition, there are 8 motors that are used to express certain emotions, such as anger and surprise.
At its first demonstration the robot tottered out, blinked and saluted everyone in a tiny feminine voice. When HRP-4C said "Hello, everyone" it moved her mouth.
Of course this rather strange invention will not be able to replace a real fashion model, at least for not. This is because, despite being equipped with special sensors in its feet, it cannot boast sensitive balance like a real person.

If you stumbled upon a strange invention, share it with us and leave a comment in the section you see below.

Device that Produces Rainbows

Rainbows are beautiful and that's it. Children enjoy watching these creations of nature, but one man thought that it would be better if people could see rainbows more often. This is why he has come up with a machine that creates rainbows.
Artist Michael Jones McKean has been testing his device in parks where he shot small rainbows across the sky. Now he looks forward to developing a machine that would generate much larger rainbows with the help of reclaimed rainwater and sunlight.

His studio is located at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, Nebraska.

Device that Helps You Understand Dog's Language

The first version of this device appeared back in 2002. Now a new version of the Bowlingual comes into attention. The device is able to analyze a dog's bark and figure out its emotion.
The inventor of this gadget is the toy-making company called Takara Tomy. The device will only be available for the dog lovers living in Japan.
According to the company the Bowlingual is able to understand six of the dog's basic emotions. The first model included a microphone attached to a dog's neck and a special handheld unit that was used to read the data and transmitted it from the microphone to the display.

The latest version features a more compact unit that includes a speech synthesizer. The latter audibly informs the person about the things their dog tries to say. Just like the first model, this one shows all data on the screen of the handheld unit.

Top 7 Most Dangerous Computer Viruses of the 20th Century

The 20th century was a period when computer viruses saw light and managed to cause serious damages to unprepared users and their machines. Millions of users downloaded computer viruses without even knowing about it. To download a computer virus one simply needed to click on a certain link or open an email attachment.
Today the best way to keep your computer virus-free is to install an effective antivirus software like the Antivirus and Security All-in-One-Suite that will not only allow you to check for any malware but will also stop attacks on your machine. However, previously there were little or no such programs.
Hackers used various ways of penetrating the systems of universities from around the world, NASA, armed forces and governments. In this article you will find the most dangerous computer viruses of the 20th century. Note that the list includes computer viruses selected by the InfoNIAC team, which means that it represents our subjective opinion. If you have any additional information on the topic you are free to leave your comments at the bottom of the story. Here we go:
7. Jerusalem - 1987
For the first time it was discovered in 1987 on October 1. The virus was dubbed Jerusalem because it was identified in a Hebrew university, but in 1991 antivirus experts found that Italy is the country were the first traces of the computer virus were noticed. Jerusalem is believed to be one of the oldest computer viruses in history, being able to infect both .EXE and .COM files. Initially the Jerusalem virus included a bug that led to a repeat infection of the files that continued until the size of the files overcome computer resources. In addition, each Friday 13 it deleted all programs in the infected system as a result of a malicious payload that set off on the respective day. Jerusalem considerably slowed down the machine. A person could identify the virus but noticing two lines on the monitor.
6. Morris (a.k.a. Internet Worm) - 1988
Previously at www.InfoNIAC.com we wrote about this computer worm, which is believed to be one of the first worms that spread over the Internet. The name of the virus comes from its developer Robert Tappan Morris, who was a student at Cornell University. The computer worm was set off on November 2, 1988 and after some time it managed to infect 6,000 to 9,000 machines. It overloaded the whole Internet, leading to the failure of a large number of servers. According to its developer, the goal was to discover just how far and fast a computer worm can spread all over the network. Robert Tappan Morris was found guilty and sentenced to 3 years of probation along with 400 hours of community service. In addition, he had to pay a $10,000 fine.
5. Barrotes - 1993
This is believed to be the first popular computer virus developed in Spain. As soon as it infected the system, it would remain there until January the 5th, when it would set off showing a series of bars on the screen. It infected .COM, .EXE and overlay files. The Barrotes computer virus represents a resident virus - it becomes a resident of the computer memory each time the machine starts up. Due to a series of vertical lines that appear on the monitor, it was easy to identify the virus. It could also overwrite the Master Boot Record of the HDD, thus making it impossible for the uses to access the hard disk.
4. Solar Sunrise - 1998
This is not the name of the computer virus, it is the name of the situation that occurred in 1998 when a team of hackers managed to take control of more than 500 computer system of the army, government as well as private sector of the United States. The name Solar Sunrise comes after the well-known vulnerabilities in machines that run on the Sun Solaris OS. At first the attack was believed to have been organized by hackers from Iraq, but later it was discovered that the ones to blame were two American youngsters from California.
3. CIH (a.k.a. Chernobyl) - 1998
Our list of the most dangerous computer viruses on the 20th century continues with CIH virus that caused an estimated damage of $20 to $80 million around the globe. After its launch, the computer virus managed to affect huge amounts of data stored on computers. Later it was discovered that the computer virus was launched in Taiwan. It has been recognized to be one of the most dangerous computer viruses in history. It infected Windows 95, 98, and ME executable files. In addition, CIH remained resident in the memory of the machine, being able to carry on infecting other executables. After being activated, the virus overwrote data on the HDD of the infected PC, making the latter inoperable. CIH could also overwrite the BIOS of the infected computer, thus preventing boot-up. The second name of the virus - Chernobyl - was given because some of the biggest damages occurred on the day when the nuclear reactor exploded.
2. Melissa - 1999
This computer virus managed to cause a damaged estimated between $300 and $600 million. The famous computer virus gained huge fame on March 26, 1999. Experts claimed that this computer virus managed to infect between 15 and 20 percent of all business PCs on the planet. Melissa virus spread so fast that a number of big companies, including Intel and Microsoft, that used Outlook, had to shut down their email systems to hold up the damage. The computer virus took advantage of Microsoft outlook to send email messages of itself to 50 names on the contact list of a user. The message in the email read: "Here is that document you asked for don’t show anyone else." It featured an attached Word document, which, when opened, unleashed the virus that infected the computer and then repeated the replication. When the virus was activated it changed Word documents by leaving quotes from the popular animated show "The Simpsons".
1. ILOVEYOU - 2000

Considered to be one of the most dangerous computer worms in history, ILOVEYOU was for the first time detected in Philippines on May 4. In just one day it spread worldwide, with about 10 percent of all Internet users being affected by the worm. ILOVEYOU also caused $5.5 billion damage. Its name comes from the subject of the email that a user received. The email included an attachment that said "LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs". When activated, the computer worm overwrote all files on the host, attacking a copy of itself to each file. In addition, the worm sent a copy of itself to everyone in a user's contact list.

Spray that Kills 99,9 of Colds and Flu Viruses

As the flu seasons approaches, our fears of getting swine flu or whooping cough increase. One way to protect you and your family from the respiratory infections is to get flu shots regularly, while another is to use special oral antiseptic.

Clinical trials of new Halo Oral Antiseptic spray have shown that it kills 99,9 percent of viruses, causing flu and colds.

Scientists from the University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio used strains of 2009 H1N1 to test the effectiveness of this spray. Just three sprays of Halo killed airborne viruses breathed in for up to 6 hours, even after eating and drinking. It is also effective against whooping cough, fighting off 11 strains of Bordetella pertussis causing it.

Latest Invention- The Smallest Laser in the World Created by US Researchers

The latest invention of American researchers is the laser that claims to be the smallest in the world. They managed to develop the laser by squeezing light into a space that is even tinier than a protein molecule. Their latest invention could be a significant breakthrough in the field of optical technology, making one step closer to nanolasers, which can be used to investigate and manipulate DNA. In addition, the laser can lead to the creation of super-fast computers and improved telecommunications.
The team of researchers was led by Professor Xiang Zhang. He mentioned that the plasmon laser constricts light into a gap that is only 5nm wide. An important step was the ability to detain light in a small space for a specific period of time required for light to stabilize into a "coherent" laser state, having all of its waves synchronized.
It is worth mentioning that plasmons are in fact wave-like movements of excited electrons on the surfaces of different metals. By connecting light to these oscillations, scientists managed to compress it further than usually, reports The Telegraph. More information on lasers and latest inventions you can find here at www.IfoNIAC.com, please check the links at the bottom of the story.

Professor Zhang, from the University of California at Berkeley said: "Plasmon lasers represent an exciting class of coherent light sources capable of extremely small confinement. This work can bridge the worlds of electronics and optics at truly molecular length scales." Their latest invention was described in the online version of the journal Nature. The scientist who co-authored the research, Dr Thomas Zentgraf, from the University's Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centre, stated: "The advantages of optics over electronics are multifold. For example, devices will be more power efficient at the same time they offer increased speed or bandwidth

Latest Invention: LG Unveils World's First Curved OLED TV

This year at CES Samsung decided to unveil its curved OLED TV. Despite the fact that the company claims this is the world's first curved television set, another tech giant LG doesn't think so.
Moreover, LG says that it is going to become the world's first firm to begin commercializing the technology and that the first to obtain the Curved OLED TV in May will be people of South Korea.
It is worth mentioning that the new TV from LG is called 55EA9800 and it boasts a 54.6-inch screen with curved forward edges that provide "IMAX-like" viewing experience.
According to the company its researchers needed 5 years to come up with the optimum curvature so that the whole surface of the screen is equidistant from the eyes of the viewer.
LG's 55EA9800 is equipped with in-house WRGB technology, which adjoins a white sub-pixel to the traditional red, green and blue sub pixels. In addition, the TV has an infinite contrast ratio that cannot be affected by ambient brightness or viewing angle.
Another interesting thing about the new curved TV is its thickness, which is just 4.3 mm, and weight - 17 kg (37.5 lb).
For customer's comfort, the company ahs also developed a wall mount for its TV.

The initial price of the TV is 15 million Korean Won (around US$13,500). In the coming months LG will announce the price of its curved TV for other markets.

Huge Crystal Ball Building to Be Constructed in Qatar for FIFA World Cup 2022

Qatar, the country that will house the FIFA World Cup in 2022, has recently announced plans to erect a giant shimmering crystal ball building for the upcoming event.

The idea was envisioned by Danijel Koletić, owner of Apriori Communications. The design of the structure, which is officially called Crystal Ball-Light of the Future, was developed by architects Vedran Pedišić (It would be interesting to note that the structure will include a sports museum and a shopping center. Architects say that the crystal ball will boast cutting-edge technology that will be used to make the building more energy efficient.

The ball is designed around a vertical axis found in the middle and it spins throughout the day, performing gradual turns around the axis. The sphere starts glowing right after the sun goes down. During the day it also sparkles and fills the interior with sunlight.) and Erick Velasco Farerra (AVP-arhitekti).

Four Rooftop Villas Built Atop Green-Roofed Shopping Mall

Taking the idea of green roofs further, the city of Zhuzhou in Hunan, China decided to build on top of a shopping mall covered with a lush living roof and 4 villas.
According to China Daily, the houses erected atop Jiutian International Square mall will play the role of offices for workers of the mall's real estate developer.
It would be interesting to note that green roofs are used to lessen the impacts of the urban heat island effect, which is currently the issue of many cities. The foliage on rooftops helps cool urban areas that are usually hotter than rural regions.
It is worth mentioning that Zhuzhou is inventing a lot of resources to make its infrastructure greener. The five-story shopping mall has 4 two-story houses located at opposite corners of the roof and measuring 500 square meters.

Zhuzhou Jiutian Real Estate is the company that designed the houses so they would look like villas. The firm used modern designs and landscape decorations to achieve the goal.

New Fitness Trend: Anti-gravity Workouts

Want to get fit and seek low-impact workout? Try one of the newest fitness crazes, such as gravity-defying workouts. Nowadays there are many options of workouts that take you in the air, like anti-gravity yoga, climbing exercises and even anti-gravity treadmills, such as Alter-G.

Alter-G is a treadmill that uses latest technology to gently lift you up and allows you to feel light during working out. It reduces body weight of up to 80 percent, which in turn has less impact on joints and muscles.

Another option to most gravity-altering workout, such as swimming, may be climbing exercises, which also can become effective for muscle training, including core muscles.

Anty-gravity yoga with students working out in hammocks is a new way to stretch your body, which also allows to relieve pressure and tension and boosts circulation and lymphatic system.

So what are the benefits of altered gravity workout? First of all anti-gravity exercises are great low-impact form of workout, which is important for older people and those who suffer from excessive weight. It allows less pressure and tension on joints, reduces the risk of injury and provides minimal impact cardiovascular workout. But probably above all is the fun aspect of such workouts that can become a great motivation for those, who want to keep on working out.

Smart Pill Tracks Your Vital Signs, Sends Data to Your Smartphone

In near future the pill could be your best doctor, watching over your vital signs such as heart rate or blood sugar level. The smart pill called Helius was developed by Proteus Medical and Swiss company Novartis and has a biodegradable chip and medication to track the important health signs, which are sent to your smartphone.

The pill will give you valuable information about your heart rate, temperature, glucose level and respiratory rate.

Since health monitoring though various health gadgets becomes more and more popular these days, such pill will certainly help many patients and their doctors get instant information about their condition. In such cases the patient could get help faster, which in many cases could safe life.

The Helius has a tiny microchip that is swallowed in a pill to monitor body's reaction to medications. The miscrochip becomes active when it comes in contact with water. Once activated, it starts sending high electronic frequences through the body. The measurements on temperature, heart rate, sleeping patterns and respiration rate are sent to a skin patch. Then you will be able to see this information on a website with the help of a smartphone app., thus your doctor will know if the medications works.  

Resperate Device Lowers Blood Pressure with Relaxing Music

Having high blood pressure often means that you need to take blood pressure drugs regularly. But the makers of a new health gadget claim that their device can help control your blood pressure without medications.

The gadget called Resperate works by slowing down user's breathing, playing soothing music. First it checks user's breathing through a strap that is worn around their chest and then plays the relaxing music, allowing the user to breath in tune with certain notes. This slows down your breathing which in its turn lowers blood pressure. We take around 18 breath a minute on average, but to lower blood pressure we need to slow down to less than 10 per minute. This can be achieved with the help of a new health gadget.

It is recommended to spend at least 40 minutes per week, which is about 4 sessions of 10 minutes, u Resperatedevice to see positive results.

Though specialists warn that patients should not discontinue using their blood pressure drugs, the device can significantly improve your conditio

Latest Invention New Heat-Resistant Face Camouflage Paint

During a firefight, the hardest thing for a soldier to protect is their face. Face paint used for camouflage makes things even worse, which is why researchers decided to come up with a new type of paint that protects human skin from intense heat.
Usually face paint includes carbon, oil and wax bases, but the new material replaces all that with silicone. It can increase the time of high heat protection from a couple of seconds to as many as 15 seconds, which is quite enough for a soldier to turn away.
It is worth mentioning that the paint was developed by specialists from the University of Southern Mississippi. Scientists have now plans to develop a clear version for firefighters and even face paint with built-in mosquito repellant to help people in bug-prone regions.

Watch the video below to see how the paint protects a metal sheet from a direct blowtorch blast.

Innovative Bandages Made of Starch Fibers are Sweet and Painless

Scientists at Pennsylvania State University developed a new way to turn starch into fine strands that can be combined to create bandages, tissues, napkins and other medical products.

Starch that can be found in such foods as corn and potatoes is among the most abundant and inexpensive natural materials that is not only easy on the environment, but also can lead to the development of medical bandages that do not require any removal.

Scientists used electrospinning device to create innovative starch fibers from starch solution that have potential industrial applications.

While currently available bandages are quite painful, when you have to remove them, starch bandages will dissolve into glucose that is easily absorbed by the body.  

Plasma Flashlight Kills Harmful Bacteria

Your body is full of various types of bacteria and while most of them are quite harmless, there are also many antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are quite hard to get rid of. But now you have a new health gadget that will kill all those harmful bacteria in just seconds.

The Portable Plasma Flashlight developed by Australian and Chinese scientists kills 17 layers of bacteria that form on human skin. The device exposes skin to plasma that has the temperature between 68 and 73 degrees Fahrenheit or 20-23 degrees Celsius and does not harm skin tissues.

Until now, in order to kill harmful germs you needed high temperatures, which cannot be used in medicine without burning the tissues. The problem is that bacteria tends to form biofilms that act as a protective layer from any outside factors. Washing your hands with antibacterial soaps can help you get rid of bacteria, but that does not mean the bacteria becomes inactive.

Scientists suggested that plasma's interaction with air mimics the immune system. They cultured bacteria for a week and blasted the plasma to the bacteria biofilms, which resulted in killing all those layers of bacteria and inactivity of the top layer.

The Portable Plasma Flashlight costs 100 dollars and will become available quite soon.  

Blood Clots: Vaginal Rings and Patches Have Higher Risk than the Pill

Women, using birth control methods, such as vaginal rings and skin patches, have higher risk of developing blood clots than those, who use contraceptive pill, scientists say.

The study conducted by scientists at the University of Copenhagen used the data of 1,6 million women. The analysis showed that women, who did not use birth control methods, had 2 in 10,000 risk of having blood clots annually. For those, who chose the contraceptive pill, the risk was estimated as 6 in 10,000. This number increased to 7.8 in 10,000 for those, using vaginal rings and 9.7 in 10,000 for skin patches users.

Specialists say that it is important to inform women about the risk of blood clots and help them make their choice. One of the most popular birth control methods is contraceptive pill. Still many women find it hard to remember to take the Pill every day at the same time. They opt for vaginal ring or skin patch.

In case you are concerned about the risk, you need to consult the doctor to find.

E.chromi Bacteria to Diagnose Disease By Coloring Your Feces

Synthetic biology has a great potential to change the way we live, including our environment and health. E.chromi is a new ambitious project that is a result of collaboration of synthetic biology scientists and designers that promises to make such difference. Cambridge University undergraduates decided to create genetically engineered bacteria that will produce colored pigments.

This has a huge variety of applications. For example, it will be able to detect dangerous pollutants in water by producing color visible to the eyes. Scientists created standardized sequences of DNA, called BioBricks and inserted them into E.coli bacteria. The genes were seleceted from existing organisms that in combination with other BioBricks would serve as a diagnostic tool.

The idea is to design a probiotic drink with E.chromi that will diagnose various ailments. The modified E.coli will produce certain color when it will come in contact with enzymes, proteins and chemicals in gastrointestinal tract. The patients will ingest the drink and it will change the color of his stool, indicating what kind of disease they have.  

Experts Unveil Inventions that Will Be Used in Everyday Life by 2039

Recently the New Scientist magazine predicted that by 2039 the X-Ray vision and invisibility cloak could be used in everyday life. The magazine listed a number of latest scientific and technological inventions that in the near future could be used by people.
Researches that are currently performed on ultrasound will make the X-Ray vision in humans possible, giving the possibility to virtually see through walls. As for the invisible cloaks then, experts believe these will be available in the shops by 2039. The technology used in the invisibility cloaks, which are currently tested by scientists, tricks the human eye by altering the light waves.
The list also includes a replication of a gecko's foot, which scientist will create for gloves and boots, making it possible for people to easily climb walls by sticking to them just like the Spiderman.
The magazine's representatives interviewed scientists to discover that within 30 years the world will observe world's first handheld language-translating device that will instantly convert foreign words that are heard by its user. The invention will resemble the "Babel Fish" in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
It is worth mentioning that New Scientist magazine collected information about the latest inventions in science to mark the 30th anniversary of the first cellular network that was launched in Japan back in 1979.
Experts also included in their list an invention called "handheld healing machine", which can identify and instantly heal internal injuries in a human body.
In 2039 scientists also predict that people will use readily-available jet pack which will help users fly short distances avoiding being stuck in traffic jam.
Experts also predict that humans will use a device able to gather human energy and utilize it to charge cell phones and iPods.

The authors of the article in the scientific magazine mention that in 30 years time the upper mentioned scientific and technological inventions might have a great influence on our life and their impact could be even bigger than mobile phones, the Internet and the iPods.