News For The Inventor In All Of US

In what is believed to be the first instance of electronic gamers reaching a scientific discovery before trained research scientists, University of Washington (UW) gamers did indeed produce a model of an enzyme in AIDS and other viruses that scientists have been trying to model for more than 10 years. This was not just an academic exercise to test the new UW Fold-it game; discovery of the AIDS molecule in question opens the door to a whole new line of retroviral drugs.

Learning to walk again after breaking a leg or hip, having a stroke, prosthetic, or partial paralysis depends on a lot of persistence and an excellent rehabilitation program that can guide you through gait training.  Movement scientist Dr. Melvyn Roerdink from The Netherlands has developed a super smart, oversized treadmill that helps rehab patients gain confidence in their new gaits, with bells, whistles, and even light shows.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revamped its healthy eating recommendations a few months ago with a new visual - an icon called 'MyPlate,' replacing the former healthy foods pyramid icon.  The Nutrition Source at the Harvard School of Public Health thinks the government's plate lacks a good bit of guidance as to which specific foods should be eaten - after all MyPlate offers no guidance.

For many of the 13 million Americans currently at risk for non-melanoma skin cancers, the VivoSight® Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scanner will be a blessing in their dermatologists' tool closet.  The device, just approved for clinical use by the FDA, offers real-time laser imaging of a patient's skin, enabling better, and sometimes immediate, treatment of basal or squamous cell cancers.

Scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) and the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine just achieved a scientific breakthrough that has the potential to revolutionize the design of neurological drugs: they captured the first high resolution images of the acetylcholine receptor (AChR), the α7 molecule responsible for transmitting signals between neurons, particularly those associated with learning and memory.

For the third year in a row, the Biomimicry Institute, a non-profit organication that promotes the study and imitation of designs found in nature, is sponsoring the Biomimicry Student Design Challenge.  This year the Challenge, which is open to college students world-wide, is to use biomimicry to design a solution that results in more efficient use of energy and ultimately reduces greenhouse gases.  No small feat, but the Institute provides students with plenty of resources on biomimicry....

Experiments with acne-piercing lasers have been conducted before, but this time, the laser electron is not "the size of an entire hospital," but the size of a DVD player.  The unique laser system, the Raman Fiber Laser, has the potential to permanently alter sebaceous glands, those that give rise to pimples and acne, the bane of adolescence.

It's so great to find innovations for disabled people on design websites, rather than buried in disability association files.  "Design" says the world is paying attention to disability needs, and it cares that the latest technologies are employed in the tools and that they look pretty cool too.  The Finger Reader is at least the second design for blind and visually impaired persons by Hansub Lee and it's a great accessibility creation for finding exactly what you want while shopping.

Until recently, one could rarely find a dog toy made of natural organic materials outside of a high-end specialty pet boutique.  High end usually meant high prices, although many environmentally-conscious were willing to pay them.  But it's common now to find dog toys mass marketed with both their stuffing and the adorable, colorful character patterns in totally organic materials... and they're much more affordable.