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macular carotenoids pill improves eyesight

Perhaps the most damaging natural phenomenon for the eyes is the retinas exposure to sunlight. Blue light in particular is known to deteriorate the retina and degrade the vision of an individual. Researchers believe there may be a dietary supplement which can act like sunscreen for our eyes to help protect them from exposure to sunlight.

carotenoids improve vision

The key to this research is in macular carotenoids, a pigment in common foods such as carrots, spinach, broccoli and eggs. These primarily exist in vegetables cannot be created by humans but appear to be linked to qualities that enhance vision. Research indicates that ingesting foods that contain macular carotenoids not only protect the subject’s eyes but also provide enhancements in color contrast, glare reduction and in some cases further eyesight.

There are over six hundred known types of carotenoids with a particular kind, lutein, found in in our eyes. Luteins act essential as an antioxidant to help our eyes absorb less blue light and are believed to help eye recovery from long term exposure to light. This may be particularly helpful for employees who work behind a computer.

An ongoing study in Ireland from the Waterford Institute of Technology conducted by Professor John Nolan has yielded promising potential in developing a cure for mascular degeneration. His results show that approximately a healthy subject taking lutein supplements can experience a 10% – 15% improvement in vision while those with mascular degeneration could see up to 30% improvement.

vegetables with luteins

Luteins work by creating a layer of yellow pigment in the center of the retina which in turn acts as a shield or sunscreen like film which absorbs and reflects blue light. Carotenoid supplements may become a new standard in dietary health to help maintain healthy eyes as the average human lifespan increases. Although these can be acquired from natural means such as corn, eggs and vegetables, 20 milligrams of carotenoids daily are need to achieve the results from the study making supplements a more viable solution. Researchers have also been investigating using carotenoid enhanced eggs to help provide a better variety for daily consumption.

Despite the benefits observed in the studies, these are not a cure all for vision impairments although it is believed that a regular diet of cartenoids can help maintain the health of an individual’s eyesight. Further research is still being conducted to explore the possibilities of macular carotenoids including investigations of their effects on the brain, cognitive functions and motor skills.

orion spacecraft may take humans to mars

orion spacecraft nasa

The Orion spacecraft, also referred to as the “Mars ship”, experienced a successful preliminary flight test which last approximately 4 hours and 24 minutes. On Friday, December 5th 2014 the space capsule will launch out of Cape Canaveral, Florida and circumnavigated the Earth landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja Mexico.

Orion’s design takes after the famous Apollo spacecraft except with highly advanced technology systems and room for additional crew members. It has the capabilities to carry four passengers and is slated to become a Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MVCP) for NASA to transport. Originally the concept came from the scrapped Constellation program as the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle which has received a new makeover.

orion spacecraft mars misison

NASA’s Orion vehicle has been in development by the aerospace contractor Lockheed Martin and hopes to take the first humans to Mars someday. Lockheed Martin will be orchestrating the launch with supervision and observation from NASA. The Orion capsule contains a unique feature that may become the standard for long range space travel with its radiation protection built into the capsule. Once outside the atmosphere radiation becomes a critical factor for the computer processors onboard the craft. Lockheed Martin has come up with solution to protect their microprocessors from radiation damage on the way to the Moon or Mars.

orion spacecraft modules

The launch was conducted with a Delta IV Heavy rocket, manufactured by United Launch Alliance, but will likely see a dedicated rocket designed by Lockheed Martin on its first deployment. Its primary role will be to transport people and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) with a secondary focus on taking crew to asteroids and Mars. Three main components make up the spacecraft: the launch abort system just below the nose of the rocket, the Crew Module and a lower Service Module.

Despite the success of the initial flight test, dubbed Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1), NASA admits it will be a long time before we will actually be able to land humans on Mars. Orion spacecraft’s completion is just the first step for a mission to Mars, however further technology to sustain the life of the crew on an alien planet is still required to achieve this. This fact has some skeptical about the follow through on the project by NASA due to budget cuts and a lack of funding. A manned launch is scheduled for year 2020 to 2021 but further details on a mission to land a crew on a planetary object has not been clearly defined by NASA.

navy railgun weapon technology

railgun weapon technology

The United States Navy has developed an innovative weapon system called the railgun which uses technology that borders on what many might think of as science fiction. The railgun weapon technology uses electromagnetic energy to launch a projectile out of a cannon like artillery barrel at speeds exceeding Mach 7 (8046.72 meters a second or 5,328.45 mph).

According to the project manager for NAVSEA PMS 405, Captain Mike Ziv, the railgun has the ability to go from 0 to 5,000 miles per hour in about one one-hundreth (1/100th) of a second. Although the technology is not new and has been in testing phases for several years, the U.S. Navy is preparing to begin tests with the weapon system mounted on ships in 2016 before seeing combat deployment.

how railgun weapon technology works

The technology works by using two conductive rails. Electromagnetic energy flows down one rail then into the armature and up the opposing rail creating an amplifying effect on the electromagnetic energy which allows the projectile to reach extreme speeds in a fraction of a second. The projectile being shot in fact contains no explosive components what-so-ever. Instead a solid metal shell is fired from the weapon system which utilizes the immense kinetic energy generated by the weapon system which creates a smaller localized explosion on contact during the transfer of kinetic energy.

This new ammunition weighs around 23 lbs at a cost of $25,000 a shell compared to standard naval artillery shells which weigh in between 95 – 105 lbs. Due to their explosive components, traditional navy artillery shells are significantly more expensive at a weight 4 times greater than the new railgun shells showing tremendous potential for optimizing precision naval capabilities if the technology proves its self in further testing.

Although the technology and concept its self is not new and has been used for a variety of experiments in the past, one of the major flaws has always been a requirement for vast amounts of energy and the sheer size of the rails needed to create the energy required to fire the railgun. It is highly likely however that this will become a part of the new military weapon systems to see its way into combat in the coming decades.

railgun weapon technology diagram

consolidated bioprocessing

Fossil fuels are one of the greatest influences on climate change which could lead to an increase in global temperatures within the next 30 years states the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel studying Climate Change. Luckily alternative fuel sources are being developed which come from sustainable organic matter using chemical engineering in a process called bioprocessing. Scientists from Switzerland have discovered a new and more effective method of streamlining bioprocessing which could lead to more efficient production of biofuels to decrease the use of fossil fuels in modern society.

consolidated bioprocessing 1

One of the problems with traditional biofuel production came from its inefficiency to provide large scale supply to replace the need for fossil fuels. With this latest research, “second generation biofuels” are on track to become a viable solution to energy resources around the world. Lignocellulosic biomass is the key to second generation biofuels, where first generation biofuel was traditionally manufactured from food crops such as corn and sugar cane which was not only insufficient but a potential problem for food production globally. As explored previously maintaining a balance for biofuel production and food crops is becoming an integral part of scientific research to solve this dilemma.

Steps Involved in Bioprocessing

  1. Pretreatment of biomass is conducted at increased temperatures
  2. Enzymes are manufactured for the final hydrolysis phase
  3. Enzymes are added to separate monosaccharides (xylose and glucose)
  4. Additional steps are sometimes required to wash and detoxify monosaccharides to increase biofuel yield

The latest research from Swiss scientists has found a way to combine these processes (with consolidated bioprocessing) making it more cost effective while maintaining greater yields in a process called consolidated bioprocessing. Part of this breakthrough technology comes from using processes of molecular biology and bioengineering to produce genetically engineered microorganisms to complete the processes of hydrolysis in one fell swoop. This microorganism has the ability to ferment sugars into ethanol and produce hydrolytic enzymes in the same process however it has only been tested in labs in small scale experiments. Although preliminary experiments have proved successful the real application for large scale industrial production will need to be tested before it can be considered a viable alternative for fossil fuel resources.

The bulk of this research into consolidated bioprocessing comes from Dr. Michael Studer and his team of scientists and researchers out of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Bern University of Applied Sciences. The primary focus of the team has been on the production of ethanol but alternative chemicals such as butanol can be synthesized from lactic acid and succinic acid. Their belief is that by diversifying the chemicals produced from the method a variety of beneficial fuel sources can be created using the biomass of organic plant materials.

consolidated bioprocessing 2

consolidated bioprocessing 3

chemists use nanoparticle coating

chemists ceramic coat glass

Fogging in glass is created by treatment on glass that repels water molecules away from it but a new ceramic coating could help to solve this problem. The new technology is patented by A*STAR’s IMR (Institute of Materials Research and Engineering) which consists of a ceramic coat applied to glass which causes water molecules to attract creating a thin transparent layer of water instead of beading which limits visibility.

Chemists have already found chemical based coatings that can achieve the same effect however this is only temporary which requires reapplication on the surface. The ceramic treatment patented by IMRE requires a one-time only coating which could prove extremely useful for people living in humid environments. The application of this technology on automobile windshields could enhance safety by maximizing visibility in less than ideal weather conditions.

One of the main advantages of ceramic coating is it requires a low amount of heat, only about 100ºC which is likely to improve its cost efficiency over other materials. Some companies have already implemented a treatment of titanium dioxide to create a self cleaning glass that repels dirt, debris and water, however titanium dioxide (TiO2) requires treatment at 600ºC to temper within the glass.

self repairing surfaces

A chemist for IMRE by the name of Gregory Goh commented that their new ceramic treatment is permanent as opposed to the previously used chemical mixtures of nanoparticles and organic materials. IMRE is excited at the range of possibilities this technology could be applied to ranging from the food industry to home and automobile installation.

Even more advanced materials and coatings exist today that allow a surface to repair its self. Chemists from the Eidhoven University of Technology have developed a coating that can be applied to certain surfaces to repair cracks, damages and clean finger prints. The application of these self healing surfaces could prove handy for airplanes, mobile phones, cars, and solar panels. Use in mobile phones could extend the life of a device and cleaning screens from water, finger prints and scratches while use in solar power panels or airplanes would reduce maintenance time and costs while enhancing safety.