Saturday, February 12, 2011

Appendix removed through vagina


On March 26, 2008, surgeons at UC San Diego Medical Center removed an inflamed appendix through a patient’s vagina, a first in the United States. Following the 50-minute procedure, the patient, Diana Schlamadinger, reported only minor discomfort. Removal of diseased organs through the body’s natural openings offers patients a rapid recovery, minimal pain, and no scarring.

The procedure, called Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES), involves passing surgical instruments through a natural orifice, such as the mouth or vagina, to remove a diseased organ such as an appendix or gallbladder. Only one incision is made through the belly button for the purpose of inserting a two millimeter camera into the abdominal cavity so the surgeons can safely access the surgical site…

Schlamadinger, a third-year graduate student at UC San Diego working toward her Ph.D. in chemistry, reported her pain as a ’1′ or a ’0.5′ on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest. The opportunity to participate in the clinical trial was attractive to the scientist in her.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Doctors Will Use Dell Streak Tablets When Treating Patients




At 5-inches, the Streak is a lot more portable than the iPad—but still not quite as pocket-friendly (lab coat-friendly?) as the iPhone. Nonetheless, that's where Dell wants to place its tablets, ramming it with a healthcare software app.

I wasn't aware of this, but it seems Dell has quite the reputation in the medical world, with its software aiding doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners with staying up-to-date with patients' medical records. They purchased Perot Systems for $3.9 billion last year, gaining the company's technology and reputation in this area.

We've all heard the stories of doctors using iPhones, but with the Streak Dell aims to fight back, giving the tablet to doctors to test later this year. The dual cameras will supposedly be useful for recording the patient's progress, and via the app they can update their electronic medical records.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Why Apple Will Not Release a Cloud-Based iPhone Nano This Year




I like the idea of an iPhone nano. One with a small screen with the same resolution of an iPhone 3GS, powered by an A4 processor. I'd buy one. But a cloud-based iPhone doesn't make any sense. Not right now.

A source at Cult of Mac claims that this is exactly what is going to happen: An iPhone nano with no storage, just some "buffer memory". This new device would pull and push everything, from the videos and photos you take to the songs you listen to. Everything will upload and download to and from the cloud. "The iPhone nano will have no memory for onboard storage of media," the source says. The Wall Street Journal claims that it will have "limited storage" too—and "MobileMe [...] would serve as a locker [...] eliminating the need for devices to carry a lot of memory."

That's really nice. It's my wet dream: A phone that uploads photos and videos in real time to your personal space in the cloud? Beam me up. A phone that can access all the music and videos and books in real time? No more synchronization at last! All your information safe and protected? It's THE FUTURE! But I don't think the future can happen this year. Not until a lot of things get fixed.


The networks suck

I lose my connection at least once a day. It doesn't matter if you are on AT&T or Verizon or whatever other operator in the world. It happens. It may be a network hiccup caused by rush hour. It may be a dark spot, in the subway or in a restaurant with no reception.

For this cloud vision of the iPhone to work, network access would have to be truly ubiquitous and 100% dependable all of the time. Right now, no cell network can offer this. The network itself would cripple the product and make users angry every time a photo didn't get saved or a song didn't play.

The cost would be prohibitive

The other problem is cost. There aren't unlimited data plans anymore. AT&T has scrapped them. Even if you get Verizon's, they will cap your data transfer speed over a certain the limit. A 100% cloud-based iPhone will pass that limit easily. And most operators in the world offer the same speed-throttled plans.

So even if the networks were perfect, it would be an expensive phone to have or an unusably slow one after some real use.

Battery life

If the phone accesses the network to pull and push everything, you will be depleting the battery really fast. 3G connectivity sucks a lot of juice, and this theoretical iPhone nano would probably have a smaller battery to begin with, just because it's supposedly tiny.

MobileMe is really bad

Unless Apple has made a lot of progress in their network abilities, experience has shown us that their cloud services are more useless than drunk pandas having the sex. I find it hard to believe that a future MobileMe would be so perfect that it would not affect the user experience.

And that's the key: The User Experience. Apple is obsessed with it, which is why they will not depend on the cloud until all these things are fixed. Because—when the user finds these problems—they are going to blame their iPhone nano. Not the network.

I can imagine the iPhone nano with storage. Not a lot of it. 8GB will be enough for most people, perhaps integrated in the same silicon as the A4 processor to save costs. That would (almost)* work.

Of course, you can add cloud services today, just like Windows Phone 7 already does. Things like automatic over-the-air synchronization of everything to the cloud, a la Dropbox. Or Spotify-style streaming, please. But Apple will not depend on the network for functions that users expect to happen seamlessly and perfectly, no matter where they are. Right now, you just can't have a zero-storage phone.

* The only thing I can't see in this whole iPhone nano business is the keyboard. How much smaller can the iPhone get before you need toothpicks to type?

By Jesus Diaz

Monday, February 7, 2011

Green wheels from Japan - The Meguru

Everything old is new again for one Japanese manufacturer, which has unveiled an electronic version of a rickshaw.

The "Meguru" is a three-wheeled, three-seat compact vehicle whose single lithium-ion battery allows for a maximum speed and range of 40 kilometers (25 miles) per hour, although the number of batteries could be increased for a longer ride.


"This is a true environmentally friendly car," said Nobuyuki Ogura, the chief executive officer of Yodogawa Group, which built the vehicle in cooperation with three other small companies in western Japan.


"Instead of an air-conditioner, it comes with a pinwheel, and we are also thinking of adding a wind chime because it gives a refreshing sound to cool you down without the need of electricity," he told Reuters Television. "It doesn't have a heater, but it's equipped with blankets to keep you warm in the winter."


A regular driver's license is required to take the vehicle on the road, but car registration is unnecessary. Devised as part of a project to revitalise small businesses facing economic hardship, the vehicle - which is 2.5 meters (8 ft 2 in) long, 1.2 meters (3 ft 11 in) wide and 1.6 meters (5 ft 3 in) tall - also showcases traditional Japanese crafts.


The body is coated in red lacquer, the floor is filled with recycled bamboo, and the retractable "window" has been carefully crafted in the shape of a Japanese fan using Japanese "washi" paper. All were made by craftsmen in western Japan. The company says it is selling the vehicle for around one million yen ($12,180) while assessing a business plan for mass production.





Even disposing of the car after its usefulness has passed poses no problems. "We've used all-natural materials, so if you ever decide to get rid of the car, simply bury it in the ground," Ogura said.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

World's Most Flexible Women

Here are some photos of extremely flexible and limber women. One wonders if they have any bones at all!
Some ways to improve flexibility are through Yoga, Pilates, Ballet, Tai Chi, Martial arts and Swimming. The people in the following pictures seem to be naturally gifted though!

















To be limber and flexible is one thing. To watch this dancer is something a few levels beyond those adjectives: