Monday, April 11, 2011

NEEDLES IN THE SIZE OF Mosquitos?

Mosquito like Needle
     Ever find yourself scratching at night, because I sure do; even though, I had taken a shower right before. It's because of those annoying mosquitoes!!  Man, I hate mosquitoes!  I hate how they hover over my ears at night, like a wolf stalking its prey.  I hate how I can't find it at night; even though, I heard it flying around my ear like only seconds before I turn on the light.  I really hate how uncontrollably itchy the bitten part becomes.

      If I had to name one good thing about mosquitoes, it would be this: at least you can’t feel it when they bite. The reason most people can’t feel the mosquito’s actual bite is that mosquitoes cover their mouths with their saliva, which has the effects of an anesthetic, before biting down and they also bite with a three-prong approach. 


      This one redeeming quality has now been capitalized by students in Kansai College located in Osaka, which is the breakthrough on how to mimic the mosquito's bite in the needles used by doctors and nurses!  This is amazing, because who here does not fear needles.  Needles are like one of the top 10 fears that humans have.  They are also one of the most early fears that children manifest. But with this invention, needles will not be fearful anymore.  The reason we won't be able to feel the needle is because of a few reason.  The first is due to the structure of the needle, called serrated, which is described as saw-like.  A serrated, saw-tooth, needle is less painful, because it covers more surface area, lessening the pain.  Compared to a conventional needle, which is sharp and pierces at a specific cell.  The second reason is because it is not just one needle, but takes on the form of a mosquito's form and applies the Three-pronged approach.  The last reason is due to the high speed vibrating that is given off by the needles as it is applied into the skin.  The vibration will ease the needle in causing less pain.  I've been bitten countless times by mosquitoes, awaken or knocked out in dreams, but I've never noticed I got bitten until I started scratching.  But with this, it will make the needling process seem like nothing but a fly.

        I’m happy about this breakthrough in needling because I've been to the hospital many times with my grandparents.  Each time they end up in the ER, the first couple procedures the nurses and doctors tend to do, was look for a vein to apply Intravenous( or I.V.) therapy on.  My grandparents have fragile and shrunken veins, and it is not easy to stick a needle in with one try.  It is also painful to keep having the needling process repeated.  But with this new invention of mosquito like needles, I can believe that the trips to the doctors will become less painful for the both of us.  I would also not have to fear needles, knowing something as painless as this would be going into my body in the future.

Play-Doh that can hold up a Bridge ?

Plastic like Steel
       As a kid, I loved playing with Play-Doh.  My imagination would run wild and I would create amazing looking helicopters or airplanes, sometimes creatures.  At Yale, they were able to develop a metal alloy that molds as efficiently and quickly like plastic.  The material is known as BMGs, bulk metallic glasses.  Besides material, the method of molding is what makes it so flexible.  They method is called Blow-Mold, which is then subgroup into extrusion blow molding, injection blow molding, and stretch blow molding.  In extrusion blow molding, the material is melted and poured into a parison, a hollow tube, and air is forced into the parison making it into the shape of the tube.  For the injection blow mold method, where material is melted onto a rod, called a preform, then placed inside another machine which blows the cooling material into the desired shape.  In the stretch blow molding, it uses a preform(obtained from injection mold), places it inside the desired shape and high pressured air is pushed in, making the complete form. *Source*

*Source*
      With this new discovery, created by scientists in Yale University, production of strong metals will become more cost efficient and shapes would be easier to make.  This is the ideal invention that our future looks to, being able to produce great durability, while paying only a faction of the cost.  All appliances, parts, structures, and toys would become much more affordable.  This type of material would be best used for restructuring buildings or mending buildings, since it can be easily molded, while producing a reliable sturdiness.  However, I don't think it can be used for building skyscrapers or buildings, because it doesn't sound sturdy knowing that it can be easily manipulated.  It can also become easy targets for terrorists and easily be put as a hostage.