Category Archives: Technology

Expensive Saffron can stop Cancer

“Although the exact mechanism of the anti-cancer effect of saffron is unclear, studies in animals and in human cells have even suggested that saffron can inhibit certain cancers.”-Amr Amin.

The Science Daily reports that a study shows that the expensive spice, Saffron, can stop some cancers.

Researchers at the United Arab Emirates University, fed saffron to 24 rats daily, for 24 weeks.  They also injected them with liver cancer inducing compounds.

For a control group they kept eight rats, who got the liver cancer injection, but received distilled water instead of saffron.

Only four of the 24 saffron fed rats developed cancerous growths, whereas six of the eight rats from the control group developed cancer.

The next phase of the study is to put humans with liver cancer on a saffron rich diet.

The expensive spice is made from the Crocus sativus flower.  It is also used to treat depression, inflammation, memory loss, and as an antioxidant.

No Economic Recovery for the U.S.: eBay striking it rich in China

“Chinese exporters today have a significant price advantage, and combined with eBay’s global reach, it creates a very powerful business opportunity.”-Jay Lee, eBay Asia-Pacific.

California based eBay is seeing huge yuan signs, not dollar signs.  That’s because the online auction and retail site is making big gains in China.

Just a few years back anyone in the U.S. who bought something from China, through eBay, had to wait nearly two months to get their item.  Now it’s taking less than a month (I know, I’ve bought a couple of things from China through eBay).

That reduction in shipping time is helping to boost eBay’s China operation: “Now it takes only seven to 10 days for Chinese products sold through eBay to reach any destination in the U.S.”-Jeff Liao, eBay Greater China. (Personally I haven’t experienced that fast of shipping time)

At the end of 2010, 20% of eBay sales were outside the United States, most of which involved China.  EBay officials predict their Chinese operation to grow an amazing 30%-40% every year!

 

 

East Coast U.S. Nuclear plants under inspection for Earthquake damage, exceeeded design limits

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is sending a team of experts to a nuclear power plant in the state of Virginia, that was hit by a magnitude 5.9 earthquake on August 23.

The North Anna nuclear power station is about 20km (12 miles) away from the epicenter of the strongest quake to hit the east coast state in 114 years.

The NRC now admits the plant had experienced tremors that exceeded the level it was designed to withstand.

UN warns of return of Bird Flu, Vaccines not working

“Wild birds may introduce the virus, but people’s actions in poultry production and marketing spread it.”Juan Lubroth, UN Food and Agriculture Organization

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is warning of a new mutant strain of H5N1 (Bird Flu).  They say it’s spreading throughout southern China, and Vietnam.

Current vaccines do not work on this latest strain.

The UN is predicting the mutant H5N1 virus could spread to Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Korean and Japan.  The last H5N1 outbreak peaked in 2006.

Corporate Incompetence: Google knew those Canadian Pharmacy adds were illegal, ran them anyway

Google has agreed to pay $500 million in fines, for running illegal Canadian pharmacy adds.

The U.S. Department of Justice, said it is illegal to mail prescription drugs from outside the country.  Many of the Canadian online pharmacies did not require a prescription either.

Google officials admit they knew what they were doing could get them into trouble, so they set up a fund to pay any fines, if they were caught.

Global Economic War: Apple and Samsung fighting in Europe

“Samsung welcomes the Düsseldorf District Court’s decision to suspend the pan-European preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.”– Rachel Jones, Samsung

Early in August Apple filed a complaint with the EU, over the Samsung Galaxy Tab.  Apple claims the Samsung tablet is too similar to the iPad 2.  At first the EU court agreed, but has now allowed the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab in most EU member countries.

One legal analysts, Frank Mueller, says Apple still has a chance to beat Samsung, because the EU laws are too ambiguous, and open to much interpretation.  However, if Apple pursued the case it would “…reinforce a lot of people’s impression that Apple’s enforcement of design-related rights is… overreaching in some areas.”

 

Spider Man is for real: The Dutch combine spider webs with human skin, makes bullet proof skin

Human skin has been bio-engineered to include spider silk.  Scientists in the Netherlands then fired a bullet at it.  Turns out it’s bullet proof!

Don’t get too excited, it was only a .22 caliber bullet.  But it shows promise, after all spider’s silk is the strongest thing in nature.

https://youtu.be/iX3LtVuGp4c

The experiment is known as 2.6g 329m/s (a reference to the .22 bullet), and was actually the invention of an artist, Jalila Essaidi.  She was inspired by a U.S. scientist, Randy Lewis, at the University of Utah.

The spider silk came from Utah, it was combined with skin in a Dutch dermatology lab, and Essaidi paid for the experiment.  The spidey skin has spider silk between the dermis and the epidermis.

Essaidi said her main motivation was simply to see if it could be done.  She also fired a few .22 rounds at the spidey skin.  She doesn’t think the spider silk is harmful because it’s biodegradable, so it would degrade over time.  She also thinks that, unfortunately, that would result in loose skin.

Nokia Siemens helping governments to spy on you through social media

“If the U.S. or the EU are proudly focusing on internet freedom, while security and other ICT products made in the West are used to repress the same citizens we are trying to protect, this is clearly neither credible nor effective.”-Marietje Schaake, EU Member of Parliament from Netherlands

In Bahrain, where the U.S. supported government has been cracking down on peaceful protestors, and detaining and torturing them, human rights groups have revealed that Bahraini officials are tracking people’s activities through their cell phones.

Bahrain is using technology developed by Nokia Siemens.  Bahraini activist Abdul Ghani Al Khanjar said while he was being tortured his own cell phone conversations were being read back to him.  He was detained for seven months.

This is not the first time the company has been accused of enabling spying and torture.  Last year, two Iranians attempted to sued Nokia Siemens in U.S. Federal court. They alleged that the surveillance technology helped Iranian security forces to arrest and torture them.

Nokia Siemens Networks is a joint venture between the Finnish Nokia and the German Siemens.

 

United Police Kingdom: British Bobbies taser to death another man, at least three police killings in 8 days

For the third time in eight days British Bobbies have killed using a taser, and pepper spray.

August 23, Greater Manchester Police officers tasered to death a 53 year old truck driver. They say they were trying to stop him from killing himself!

August 22, a 25 year old amateur rugby player, died after he was hit in the face with pepper spray and subdued by up to 11 cops.

August 16, a professional bodybuilder, and father of two, was pepper sprayed and then tasered three times with 50,000 volts, before dying.  He became the first Brit to be killed with a taser.

Until last week no one in United Kingdom had been killed by the use of a taser. In United States, Amnesty International says that since 2001, more than 460 people have been killed with a taser.

 

Bacteria can stop Dengue Fever

“This is a simple, non-chemical, non-harmful way to reduce the threat of dengue to humans. It could have a transformative effect on the health of literally millions of people worldwide.”Alun Lloyd

North Carolina State University researchers have discovered that common bacterias can stop the spread of Dengue fever.  The research involved scientists from Australia.

The researchers found that a bacterium called Wolbachia, which is not harmful to humans, can block the transmission of Dengue in mosquitoes.  They think by releasing mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia, it could radically reduce cases of Dengue fever.