Encouraging new research using electrodes in the spine hasdemonstrated that paralysis may be overcome by electrical pulses.Arizona State University researcher Richard Herman assisted apartially paralyzed man to walk by inserting tiny probes into hisspine and stimulating his nerves with small shocks.
The results are good news, as the methodology and types ofassistance available to quadriplegics is expected to develop rapidlygiven this new discovery. Prior to the treatment, Herman and hiscolleagues assisted the subject by helping him walk 50 meters on apaced treadmill.
After the probes were installed, low level shocks were induced inthe subject’s spine, which increased his ability to walk.
The subject began to walk 100 to 200 meters immediately.
While totally paralyzed patients may not be able to utilize thenew technology, a fully functional approach may soon be widelyavailable for those who can stand and move to some degree.
Scientists harness the energy of emptyspace
For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that it ispossible to harness the energy of empty space. Exploiting a bizarreconsequence of a theory known as Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle,researchers were able to force two tiny gold plates to slide past oneanother in a vacuum.
Most people tend to think that empty space is completely empty,following the logic of the term. In reality, empty space isn’t quiteempty, for a sea of tiny virtual particles pop in and out ofexistence. These particles do not last long enough for researchers tobe able to directly detect them.
Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle states that if you multiply theuncertainty of a particle’s energy, with an uncertainty in time, thatvalue must be greater than a theoretically calculated value. A resultof this is that uncertainty in energy exists even in a vacuum, so forvery small periods of time small energetic particles can pop intoexistence.
While the experiment did not ultimately create energy fromnothing, it is believed that these types of measurements may pick upsigns of other undetected fundamental forces, or be able to find thetiny curled extra dimensions that some theorists predict could exist.
Soybean solvent saves space
In another ecological victory for soybeans, the University ofMissouri-Rolla has discovered a process that dissolves polystyrenefoam using oil extracted from the plant.
Shubhen Kapila and his colleagues, who made the discovery,utilized the UMR’s Center for Environmental Science and Technology toproduce the results, and have since been awarded a patent for theprocess.
The result of the method is an ester derived from the oil of theplant. Chemically defined, an ester is the result of the reaction ofan organic acid and an alcohol. The particular ester derived fromsoybean reactions turned out to be a very effective plastic foamsolvent. The obvious application of such a chemical would be thereduction of the volume of landfills by dissolving the plastic foaminterred there.
–Compiled by P. Travis Willingham,physics major/astronomy minor
