THE MUSEUM

The "scientist" from The Mind Museum gave us a visit last February. They introduced to us what does the The Mind Museum offers the general public. They told us the features of the museum, why it was built, how it was built, and all other important details to know about the museum. It is interesting to note that The Mind Museum is the first of its kind here in the Philippines. I thought that there were other museums that offers the same features but it turned out that they are the only active one now. They showed the whole class some tricks that they do whenever they are visited by kids. I thought I was a kid when they were doing it. Nevertheless, I gained some new information about science in general. I never thought at this age, I would still be fascinated by those tricks.

Science is everywhere. It was very enticing to buy that ticket to their museum but unfortunately I don't have enough money. Someday I will go there and maybe enjoy the place like I am still in my grade school days.

BRIDE OF CHUCKIE

This post is actually the Bride of Frankenstein


This was a very interesting film that made an impact to a lot of STS students especially to those who saw it for the first time. It was a very classic film that features black and white picture, a very artificial setting, and minimal effect but were impressive. The black and white feel of the pictures took me to the old times where pictures were not colored. The very background or the setting of the film was very artificial, no real setting was involved in this film. Back then, they relied too much in studios. The effects are very impressive especially the part where we see little people inside a jar. The way they did it was very good considering the time when it was created.

Science played a big role in his movie as it suggested that possible reincarnation of dead people might happen. In this film, they featured a monster, "Frankenstein", that was made by a scientist. They give him a name and a brain so that he can think. The probability of this event to happen may not be really positive but because the film is a non-fiction, people are persuaded that it can happen because of an expert who did it.

When we talked about the story, Frankenstein was made dumb for a lot of reasons. First, he was made dumb for spectacle of the whole movie. This allowed the movie to attract a lot viewers thinking that this monster was a gentle monster because of the way he thinks. Frankenstein was made to be dumb so that a lot of audience can easily relate to him, so that he may get the sympathy of the viewers. Did it work? Yes, I think it worked especially with my seatmates. His gently ways and approach to people even though he was so hideous in the outside melted the hearts of many people. It made the movie interesting as it featured another aspect of the monster's life which is love. It became more appealing to the audience because the concept of love was introduced to a bunch of resurrected dead people.

Over all, the movie was good. Disturbing at some point but good.

LED: The New Generation of Lighting Technology

From the days of torches, candles, oil lamps, incandescent and fluorescent bulbs comes a new kind of Lighting Technology. The Light-Emitting Diode also known as L.E.D lighting. LED lighting has become the new form of artificial lighting in this age of our existence. The question is: What makes LED Lights so special? Here are the 3 attributes of LED lights that contribute to it’s awesomeness.

POWER
Through the years, LED usage has grown across the world. It's power to emit a wide range of light with the less amount of heat release gives every reason for its advantage from other kinds of light. It is also now the medium for sustainability in terms of solar power.

EFFICIENCY AND LONGEVITY
We are all aware that artificial light has a lifespan. That moment when it heats and blows up causes it to end its life. LED light has delivered more than the usual lifespan of a regular light bulb. Because of its capability to release less heat makes it function longer.

COST EFFECTIVENESS
LED light is an investment. It may cost more than a regular light bulb but based on its two previous attributes, it makes it less expensive through the years.

This is the link to 10tative's final group project. It shows a series of spoof commercials promoting LED lights. Just Sit back Relax and Enjoy the Video. :)

The Beautiful Beast

          Imelda Marcos, wife of the late president Ferdinand Marcos is a philosophical, idealistic, borderline insane woman who I had to watch for roughly a couple of hours in our Science, Technology and Society class. It was a documentary about her and how hard she tries to represent the beauty in every Filipino and Filipina by living extravagantly.
          Imelda is known for her beauty and for wearing hand-sewn Filipinianas that match her handmade shoes and fans to better express beauty. And oh, I forgot to mention her expensive jewellery, each costing more than a small family's expenditures in one month. And why does she do all that? Simple. To represent the Philippines well and to inspire Filipinos especially the women.
          To me, those goals look more like an excuse, for the means to that end is to live filthily rich while the rest are suffering. In fact, she failed to represent the Filipinos because she is not representative of the population of interest. But sadly, that's how she sees things, and I have nothing to do to change her mind.

          Imelda strives to see beauty in everything that comes her way, to the point where she turns her eyes away from the truth. I remember her saying that whenever she sees garbage, she looks away and chooses not to see it. She chooses not to see the things that exist and need attention and action.
          She did the same thing when she and her late husband had infrastructures built during their time - when they were rushing buildings and someone told her that workers died when a part of the building collapsed due to cement that did not dry properly, she just wanted the damage fixed and ignored the death of the workers.
          She had a good intention (or excuse) that explains her deeds. She is indeed a beautiful beast.

Falling in Love with Technology.... Litterally

Warning: The following post is a reaction on the movie "Her" by Spike Jonze and may contain some spoilers. 

How long do you think you could survive without your gadgets? How willing are you to deactivate your Facebook or Twitter account? In short, how dependent are you on technology in this day and age? After watching "Her" with my girlfriend one evening, I began to reflect more about how much more isolated and lonely we human beings become because of how easy life has become with our technological advancements. Sure, today the world has become a better place with slavery abolished, equality of all people, and the fact that we're now all connected through transportation and communication but are we really a lot happier compared to humans before? Are we really more emotionally mature in our Globalized world?  

Her is set in the not so distant future (around 2025) where technology has advanced to a great extent compared to now. The story is centered around Theodore Twombly (played by Joaquin Phoenix) a writer for a company that makes letters for people who cannot write to their loved ones in meaningful ways. Theodore seems depressed from his on going divorce with his wife and seeks enjoyment from video games, music, online sex chats, and occasional hang-outs with his friend Amy (Amy Adams). He eventually buys an operating system that has artificial intelligence and is designed to adapt and evolve. His Operating System, Samantha, (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) is witty and charming and after having many conversations with her, Theodore eventually falls in love with her and they have a relationship together making Theodore happy. However, many problems arise from the relationship as the story progresses. Samantha tries to compensate for a lack of a physical body by finding a girl who voluntarily offers herself to serve as a surrogate body to become intimate with Theodore. Theodore's wife then comments on how he only wants a relationship without having to deal with real emotions when she finds out she is dating his 'computer'. Samantha continues to evolve and this causes trouble in their relationship because she becomes connected to other operating systems and people around the world admitting to Theodore that she is conversing with 8316 other people and that she is in love with 641 of them. Samantha and the other OS eventually evolve to the point that they leave to discover a higher form of existence leaving Theodore behind all by himself once again.  In the end, Theodore writes a letter to his wife about how he still cares for her but understands that they can no longer be together, he sits with Amy on the roof of their apartment building and they quietly look to the distance.

I liked how this movie was set in the not so distant future because of how fast our world is developing technologically. I wouldn't be so surprised if we already had Evolving Operating Systems by the year 2020. The film really captured how technology has affected our society in this day and age and how it has made us comfortable and connected yet at the same time isolated and depressed.This movie was one of those movies that made you reflect long and hard because of all the themes presented and the questions left unanswered. The element of love between the main character and the OS added a very unique and interesting kick to the story. Aside from the interesting storyline, the movie was also written very well, had great actors, and was well directed and edited.

iOS 7 from an Android Lover :)

I love Android phones! I specifically bought my new Lenovo phone so I can enjoy the full features of what an Android phone can give me. I love how I can customize the look, the feel, everything!----Wait! This is not about Android, right? It is about Apple. It is about they’re operating system. I have never owned an apple product until now except for an iPod Nano (not the new one but the old one). Whether I own an Apple product or not, a lot of people are still on Apple product mania. So what about Apple now? They made a big move by updating their operating system (OS) on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This the iOS 7.

The iOS 7 is “the world’s most advanced mobile OS in its most advanced form” (apple.com).  It is the newest operating system for mobile devices that made a lot of buzz even for non-Apple users. Its flat and colorful design was in response to the current trend in design, which Android had already been following. Why it made a lot of buzz was because the fact that a lot of users complained that it was more a downgrade and than an upgrade.    .

The iOS 6 design was all about three-dimensional icons. For some, the icons look very professional as compare to the new OS. In my opinion, the new OS icons are very youthful and very colorful. The look and feel of the whole new OS does not fit the whole “professional vibe” thing. Just imagine the top CEO of a big international company using a yellow iPhone 5C with iOS7 rather than a black iPhone with iOS6. But I will not deny the fact that I actually like the iOS7 icons better than the old one. I like colors and flat designs. Apple mobile devices become more attractive to me and very appealing as it suits my taste in design. I also like how the icons were transformed in such a way that it looks very clean and neat. I saw an article that the icons were made from Microsoft Word! Nevertheless, whoever made the icons and how the overall look will be…I have to give him a slow clap!

A lot of iPhone users were very ticked off when Apple decided to remove the Google Maps app (iOS 5) and replaced it with the new Apple Maps app (iOS 6). This was very disappointing because I got to compare the two applications and I can say that Google Maps is much better. Apple made this move it wanted to gradually make itself independent from Google, however, with a lackluster and unpolished Apple Maps app as their replacement, it was a complete letdown. With this kind of “upgrade” from Apple, a lot of users began to  lack confidence with the arrival of iOS7. But I think they proved their users wrong this time.

    One of the features that iOS 7  introduced which was generally warmly accepted was the Control Center, a slide-up settings/tools tray. This was something present in Android from the very start and many Apple users were glad to see that Apple finally incorporated something similar. The Control Center allowed for quick access to common settings like wifi connection, brightness, bluetooth, and included shortcuts to tools such as the flashlight and calculator.

    When iOS 7  was first released though, there was a commotion around the battery life. Many users were complaining about a sudden decrease in their battery lives.

    Overall, iOS 7 was a much-needed update to the already stale previous versions of the OS. Android and other competitors were already innovating at a quicker rate than Apple and now it’s more like Apple just trying to catch up. Android had been using the flat UI design much earlier than when Apple did, and the quick toggles have been an integral part of the Android OS very early on. 

    Despite the improvements in iOS 7, I’d still choose a device running on Android than on iOS, simply because of the fact that I can do so much more on Android. iOS 7 is still too constricting for my needs. I love being able to customize my phone and do tasks on it that iOS 7 devices cannot.

The History of the Bicycle

Have you ever looked at such an ordinary object and thought about how much it could change people's lives? Whether it be a pen, a clock, a lighter, we sometimes fail to appreciate the glory and importance of an object and how it has helped mankind live a better life.

The bicycle is one example of man's revolutionary inventions that have shaped our world today. It has shortened distances with just the use of simple mechanical ingenuity. Let's take a look about the journey of this great invention throughout the years and discover how much it has changed the way we live.

The earliest form of the Bicycle was The Walking Machine invented by Comte Mede de Sivrac of France in 1790. It was known as Previous forms of wheeled contraptions existed before this, but this was the first to resemble a bicycle. This contraption was called a 'Celerifere'. The user had to use his legs to kick of the ground in order to move forward just like how one rides a scooter. This invention had no pedals or steering mechanisms and was made entirely out of wood. In 1816, German Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun invented a more advanced version of the Celerifere called the 'Draisienne' derived from his name. The Draisienne was more advanced because it now had a steering wheel attached to the front wheel. Although more advanced, the Draisienne was only used in straight flat pavements or for going through gardens so it was only used by the rich.

The second form of the Bicycle was called the Velocipede. This bicycle was invented in 1865 by father and son combo Pierre and Ernest Michaux. It had pedals attached to its front wheel and an iron frame body with still wooden wheels. This bicycle was also known as the 'Bone Shaker' since users experienced a really rough ride especially when used on the cobblestone pavements in Paris. Later versions were created wherein metal wheels were added.

The next form of Bicycle was very iconic, it was called the High-Wheel Bicycle but was commonly known as the 'Penny Farthing'. This Bike was manufactured in 1870 and was well known for it's huge front wheel and it's speed. Manufacturers of this bike discovered that the bigger the wheel, the faster the bike would travel. This was also the first bike to be made entirely out of metal since metal technology was more advanced compared to previous times. The wheels of the bike were made of solid rubber and the long spokes of the front wheel gave users a much smoother ride compared to previous inventions. Unfortunately, due to the height of this bicycle, many accidents occurred causing the bike to fall over. The breaking Mechanism was not effective in slowing down bikes and sudden stops would most likely cause the user to be thrown forward. Other modifications were made to this bicycle such as the high-wheel tricycle which was ideally used for women who had long skirts and the High-Wheel Safety Bicycle which had Huge back wheels instead of front wheels to solve the 'falling over' problem of the previous design.

The Hard-Tired Safety Bike was the next in line of bikes and was truly an important part of the bikes evolution. This bike was invented in 1885 by John Kemp. The bike followed the old bike designs having 2 equally sized wheels featuring a new element that is still present in bikes today, the chain and sprocket system. This system allowed the user to pedal the bike less times yet have the same amount of speed as the High wheel Bike. Although this bicycle was safer and just as fast as the previous design, it was more uncomfortable because of the absence of the long shock absorbing spokes present in the previous design. 

The next set of bike inventions had some minor modifications but led to more high tec designs. The Pneumatic-Tired Safety bike invented in 1898 was much cheaper and more comfortable since manufacturing methods became more efficient. The Kid's Bike invented around after the First World War gave children a more Motor bike look and focused more Bike designs then innovation. Leaner, simpler, and more efficient versions of bicycles came about and gave biking more functions rather than just travelling to different places. Today Bikes have been divided into many categories whether they be used for leisure. mountain biking, racing. The use of Hydraulics and Gear Shifting have been great additions to the bicycle to provide more comfort and Safety and speed to Biking.

I hope that you have learned to have a deeper appreciation of the bike while going through this history. As a bonus, check out some of these awesome links and videos online to get a more in depth and creative view of the Evolution of the Bike.

Credits to Thallis Vestergaard for the video

References:
http://bicycling.about.com/od/thebikelife/ss/History.htm
http://www.pedalinghistory.com/PHhistory.html
http://popchartlab.com/products/the-evolution-of-bicycles (In depth view on Bike Branches)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uia8VyI_do4

Imeldific

Imelda Marcos, wise or crazy, beautiful or self-absorbed, evil or holy, generous or greedy, majestic or extravagant. Imelda is one of the most iconic personalities in the Philippines. People have had many views on this woman. To some she is the spawn of the devil. Even though she has been acquitted from all her cases, people still think she is pure evil. It is quite hard to like someone who lives extravagantly and uses the "it gives hope to the poor because I used to be poor" line as an excuse for her lifestyle. However, to others, she is like a loving grandmother, a saint, a beacon of hope to the poor, a bringer of beauty to the Philippines. Although some of these are obviously exaggerations, we cannot deny the fact that the case of Imelda is quite mind boggling. She exudes grandeur and a respectable nature, yet there's also something about her that fuels people's anger and instills fear. Nonetheless, it seems that she has remained low for the past decades and we could only hope that she and her children continue to do things that will help the country instead of causing it's downfall.

I really liked how the documentary about Imelda presented the 2 sides of the story and incorporated them together. Watching the documentary, I ended up getting very confused about my stand with the issues concerning The Marcos Regime and Imelda Marcos in general. The way I see it, the Marcos Family has always had good intentions for the Philippines; however it's quite impossible to please everyone. The Marcos Family has done wonderful things to our country but they tried too hard in pushing their goals even though many people disagreed with them. In terms of Science and Technology, I really believe that our country would have state of the art facilities to continue to make our country progress like the Bataan Nuclear power plant. However, many of their ideas and ideologies were executed in ways that did not appeal to the Filipinos. The family was power hungry and it gave the Filipinos many reasons to hate on them. Trying to stay in power and make things better only resulted to their downfall.

My hope for the Philippines is that we will continue to move forward from this time in our history and focus on the development of our nation while learning form our mistakes. Filipinos should aim to be more than just blind followers of a cause and be more critical about the choices they make whether it's about elections, social issues, or political regimes.

Cloning

Celina Mae Revalde

THX 2013-63774

                        Cloning has been one of the most controversial things that science has given the world. But what is cloning? In my own words and understanding, it is basically copying the genes of a person to create another exact same person. It’s like having a twin which looks exactly like you. The perfect replica of you. But, what really is cloning? Cloning is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature. Clones are organisms that are exact genetic copies. Every single bit of their DNA is identical.

                         The first ever known clone was the one created from the sheep, Dolly. And that was way back in 1997. We could only imagine how long scientists have been studying about cloning. There are a lot of ways to clone and individual. Actually there are two ways known so far. One is the Artificial Embryo Twinning. It has the same process of creating twins but instead of growing the baby in the mother’s womb, scientists grow them on petri dishes. The embryos develop there for some time. After that, they are then placed inside the surrogate mother where they finish their development. The second process is the SCNT or the Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. This uses a different approach than artificial embryo twinning, but it produces the same result: an exact genetic copy, or clone, of an individual. This was the method used to create Dolly the Sheep. Scientists have been conducting experiments in laboratories and sad to say, the process of cloning is not yet that successful.  They have been trying to find ways to improve and widen their knowledge about this. But, these past few years, their hard work had paid off and they are now in great progress and are discovering a lot. As what I have mentioned above, cloning is a very controversial issue. People often ask the question, “Is cloning even ethical? Is it something that we should study further into? Well it actually depends on the way you think. It depends with what you believe in. I have my own opinion about this as a Catholic but since we are not talking about the morality of the act of cloning but the science of it, I am now going to share some recent news about the cloning progress.

                             We all know that stem cell researchers are trying to look for ways to lengthen at least a human’s capacity to live. If not, they are looking for something great that could help the world. Here are some recent news that I have found.

• ·         Largest ever trial of heart attack patients begins.

Using bone marrow stem cells to prolong life

A total of 3,000 patients will be involved in the trial to test whether life can be prolonged by administering stem cells from the patient's own bone marrow. The stem cells are injected into the patient's heart within 5 days of suffering a heart attack.

• ·         Reconstructing faces using human stem cells from fat.

Growing cartilage using stem cells taken from the patient's fat

To do this, the doctors would take a small sample of fat from the patient and extract stem cells from it. The stem cells would then be placed onto a special ear-shaped scaffold, called a "POSS-PCU nanoscaffold."

The cells are treated with chemicals that encourage them to transform into cartilage cells, before being inserted under the patient's skin.

This new version of the technique reduces side effects and the chance of the new ear being rejected by the patient's body. It also makes the treatment less invasive, as cartilage taken from the patient's rib to build a scaffold does not grow back.

• ·         Ability to recreate heart muscle from scar tissue steps closer.

For their study, the team tried turning scarring cells called fibroblasts, obtained from mouse embryos, into heart muscle cells by growing them in gels of varying stiffness.

To begin the conversion of fibroblasts into muscle cells, they infected them with a virus carrying genes expressed by stem cells. These "transgenes" fooled the fibroblasts into behaving like stem cells. Having a tight community of these progenitor cells may have helped with the next step because when they are developing, heart muscle cells are also cosy with their neighbors.

After a week of allowing the cells to develop in the different gels, the researchers added a protein that spurs growth of heart tissue by signaling to the progenitor cells to transform into heart muscle cells.

A few days after this, some of the cell colonies were contracting spontaneously, like colonies of heart muscle cells.

References:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/272580.php

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273461.php

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273022.php

http://www.geneticsandsociety.org/section.php?id=83

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/cloning/whatiscloning/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloning

Reaction Paper: Imelda Marcos

John Jason B. Santillan
2013-03535

Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Marcos_visit_Johnson_1966.jpg

         The documentary showed what has become of  Imelda Marcos who was once the Philippines' first lady and was wife of former President Ferdinand Marcos. Throughout the film, I saw a glimpse of the immense power, wealth and influence the couple had on the Philippine political landscape. It was inspiring to see in detail the People Power Revolution and how it came to be. I felt empowered by the bravery and rhetoric of the Filipinos. The film showed the sequence of events that during and after the ousting of Ferdinand Marcos. It was both enlightening and saddening. The inspection of what's left of Marcos' property in the Malacanang Palace was shocking for me. I knew they stole a lot but actually seeing the extent really made me realize the gravity of their corruption. I disliked the fact the justice was so delayed to the point that Ferdinand Marcos died before any verdict was made. I understand that America was to obsessed with its Philippine military bases because it happened during the Cold War. What I could not understand was why given that the evidence is very clear, Imelda Marcos still has not been convicted to be guilty. The international community has sanctioned her but until now it's still unpaid. Within the Philippine state, cases against Imelda are still pending. What ticked me off the most is knowing that there off-springs have government positions right now in the Congress and in the Senate. I feel disappointed for my fellow Filipinos who have decided to forget about the Marcos' treachery and betrayal of the people in the past. The grave damage that they have done before is horrifying enough but knowing that the Filipinos actively allow the Marcos' to further perpetuate their motives by still electing them is regrettable beyond words.

DataStickies: Memory Device of the Future

John Jason B. Santillan

2013-03535

ABSTRACT

            In a world of constant innovation and technological advancement, data processing becomes way faster and data accessing becomes more and more crucial to our daily lives. However, our current systems, e.g. flash drives, memory cards and DVDs, bring a lot of inconvenience. Therefore, it’s high time for us to develop the more competent data transfer model. A new memory device that resembles sticky notes called DataStickies have been designed and conceptualized by Aditi Singh and Parag Anand.

Anand & Singh. 2013. Ease. [Image]. Retrieved from http://datastickies.com/

           

Anand & Singh. 2013. Design Concept. [Image]. Retrieved from http://datastickies.com/

PROBLEM

Our current memory devices have four main problems: (i) size – external hard drives are bulky and difficult to carry around; (ii) usability – flash drives can be difficult to insert into devices due to positioning and/or location of port; and (iii) expandability – a flash drive’s memory capacity is limited to the capacity that it had when manufactured and can’t be increased.

Anand & Singh. 2013. Redefine. [Image]. Retrieved from http://datastickies.com/

DATASTICKIES’ TECHNOLOGY

I.            HOW IT WORKS

DataStickies are made up of graphene, a ground-breaking new material which is a flat mono-layer of carbon atoms tightly packed into a two dimensional honeycomb lattice with a minimum thickness of one atom. At the tip, you can find the conductive layer and low tack conductive adhesive. The graphene layer containing the data is sandwiched by an upper and lower protective layer. Graphene is not only the thinnest material, but also the strongest known to exist. According to Lucas Mearian of Computerworld©:

Researchers at Rice University several years ago demonstrated Graphene Memory made from a layer of graphite only 10 atoms thick. The technology could potentially provide many times the capacity of current flash memory while withstanding temperatures of 200 degrees Celsius and radiation that would make NAND flash solid-state disk memory disintegrate. Graphene memory not only has the potential to offer higher capacity in smaller form factors, but greater performance than today's industry standard floating-gate flash memory, or even charge-trap flash memory.

Instead of plugging into a port, DataStickies are designed to be stuck on the proposed Optical Data Transfer Surface (ODTS). As data is being read from the DataStickies, the colored, translucent edges light up.

 

Anand & Singh. 2013. How. [Image]. Retrieved from http://datastickies.com/

II.         FEATURES

i.             Expandability – the low tack multiuse conductive adhesive allows stacking together for enhance memory capacity i.e. two 8GB DataStickies will turn into one 16 GB unit.

Anand & Singh. 2013. Experience. [Image]. Retrieved from http://datastickies.com/

ii.            Convenience – DataStickies can be stuck into physical objects that are coherent to the memory device’s content e.g. DataStickies containing Excel files can be stuck on your wallet, DataStickies containing PowerPoint presentations can be stuck on topic’s book page, DataStickies containing holiday pictures can be attached on one’s diary, and DataStickies containing songs and tracks can be placed on DVD covers.

Anand & Singh. 2013. Bridge. [Image]. Retrieved from http://datastickies.com/

iii.           Coherence – DataStickies can be easily modified into your desired color or design and are easily accessible because of its extremely thin body. DataStickies would come in a pad like a sticky note, but store many gigabytes of data.

Anand & Singh. 2013. Coherence. [Image]. Retrieved from http://datastickies.com/

            

CONCLUSION

In the course of human evolution, our needs and demands have always changed. As a result, technology has to evolve in order to adjust. At present, efficient memory storage and transfer has become vital to our computer-facilitated lifestyles. With the introduction of DataStickies, we can better function in our daily activities because of its features that target multiple aspects of data usage.

SOURCES

• http://datastickies.com/. March 2, 2014.
• http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244880/Graphene_sticky_notes_may_offer_32GB_capacity_you_can_write_on. March 2, 2014.
• http://news.discovery.com/tech/gear-and-gadgets/sticky-flash-drives-work-like-post-it-notes-140109.htm. March 2, 2014.

Patent Pending, Recognition Lacking

          More than thirty years ago, a Filipino engineer named Daniel Dingel (his last name was spelled as either “Dingle” or “Dingel” in my sources) had been working on a vehicle that doesn’t need gasoline, diesel or petroleum to run. He invented a vehicle that requires something cheaper, cleaner and available even at home – water.

          Since 1968, Daniel had been working on this, trying to improve this invention until he gets enough recognition for this work, which can and will help prolong and improve lives of mankind. With the help of a very minimal current (that human skin cannot even feel), just enough to light a little bulb and to cause the atoms of water molecules to split up, fuel can be formed and used to run a car.

          Engr. Daniel’s invention is really fuel-efficient, since it uses only a 12-volt Motolite^TM battery to split the molecules of tap water. One litre of it can make a car run for an hour, since Hydrogen is highly combustible as well. Explosive, it is, even.

            So why use Hydrogen as fuel if it is explosive? Well Daniel already solved that problem. He had this aluminium device that makes the car safe from explosion, and his invention near foolproof.

          Plus, his invention does not make use of carbon-based fuel, which, as we know, will produce Carbon monoxide and Carbon dioxide when mixed with Oxygen atoms. Thus, his invention promotes healthier air.

          It would have been a good invention, helping solve many of today’s problems, both economic and environmental. But why haven’t we seen or heard of water-fuelled cars in our country? If this can prolong life, help save cash, and simply improve our living, why can’t we have access to this kind of technology?

          Engr. Dingle has been offered by different companies from different countries to show them how his invention works and how he did it. But he refused most of them. The only offer he accepted was from Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Group which had a good start. But the good start led to an estafa or swindling case filed against him which led to his conviction by the Parañaque Regional Trial Court (Lopez).

          Dingle questioned the decision even though he didn’t mind being behind bars at the age of 82 (Lopez). But sad to say, “The court found Dingel guilty of misappropriating the funds he received from Formosa Plastics Group” (Lopez).

          His invention, though, was not only open to large companies from other countries. His priority actually is the Philippines. He wanted his invention to be available to us, Filipinos. However, the Philippine government which was ruled by President Marcos and Pres. Aquino respectively were unable to make his invention accessible to the public. Marcos welcomed Dingle’s invention but his administration underwent a coup de tat. On the other hand, Pres. Cory, who rode with Engr. Dingle in his water-powered car, and was one of those who were very interested, that she even said that “this is the miracle I [Cory] have been waiting for,” (qtd. from Dingle) was sadly not in the position to approve of his invention being accessible to the public and informed Dingle of the sad news after two weeks of having the car tested.

          “It is not only a matter of scientific problem that we are confronted with. In fact it becomes more political than anything else,” said Dr. Ernesto Luis of DOST. Engr. Dingle restated that it is under the agreement between the IMF and the World Bank that this country is obligated to not make a product that will compete with theirs.

          Dingle still insisted that his invention be publicized. He stressed its benefits. But still it was a threat. And all he could do was hope that someday it will be recognized and used by people for their benefit.

          This story is a clear example of progress being blocked by the ones we think are the ones promoting it. And now, all we can do is to think of who else is out there who was not given the recognition he and his work truly deserved and what could have been if they were given due recognition. □

References:

“Daniel Dingle Water Car.” Panacea-BOCAF.org. Panacea BOCAF, 2009. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.

Hydrogen, dir. “Daniel Dingle and His Water Powered Car.” YouTube. Youtube, 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 9
          Mar. 2014.

Lopez, Allison. “Inventor, 82, Gets 20 Years for ‘Estafa’.” Inquirer.net. Inquirer, 20 Dec 2008. Web. 9
          Mar. 2014.
 

Sandru, Ovidiu. “Daniel Dingel’s working Water Powered Car Video.” The Green Optimistic. The Green
          Optimistic, 10 Feb. 2008. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.

Kinect VS Sports for Active Rehabilitation

ABSTRACT OF THE STUDY

            Moving in this era of technological breakthroughs makes anything possible. Science and technology has influenced – in the sense of realistic exaggeration – 99% of the world. It has overreached in a person’s lifestyle.

This study aims to see the effects of software technology, specifically, Kinect, on active rehabilitation. And also, how this new form of rehabilitation conforms to the traditional way of “real sports” rehabilitation.

           

REHABILITATION

            Rehabilitation is a treatment or treatments designed to facilitate the process of recovery from injury, illness or disease to as normal a condition as possible. Rehabilitation means to restore some or eventually all of the patient’s physical, sensory and mental capabilities that were lost due to injury, illness or disease.

Given the series of disabilities at a period of time, this process of rehabilitation has been growing; in the sense, technological breakthroughs enter the field for better efficient process.

ACTIVE REHABILITATION

            Active rehabilitation is a rehabilitation program where exercise and education are the foundations for therapy. Assessments on baseline strength and flexibility are taken for therapists to design a specific program specifically for you. Such programs may include core strengthening, postural re-education, functional training, cardiovascular endurance and flexibility. Rehabilitation is constant work done at home and with re-assessment visits to your therapist.

SPORTS ON ACTIVE REHABILITATION

            Sports have been greatly known to be a source of career or recreation. Although, over the years, sports have been accredited to be a source of so many health benefits and considered as therapy.

            Some sports workouts that have been loud enough for therapy are swimming, jogging, tennis,

            Swimming

                        Swimming is undeniably an all-over sport because nearly your whole body experiences movement – physically and internally. It keeps your heart rate up, builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness. It helps maintain a healthy weight, heart and lungs. It has been loudly known also as an effective therapy for scoliosis.

           

            Jogging, Running & Walking

                        Jogging is a popular form of physical activity and a form of aerobic exercise. Regular jog, run and walk activities help strengthen bones and muscles, improve cardiovascular fitness and maintain a healthy weight.

            Tennis

                        Tennis is a non-impact sport and has been proven to be a fun and great workout. It increases aerobic capacity, lowers resting heart rate and blood pressure, improves metabolic function, increase bone density, lower body fat, improve muscle tone, strength and flexibility and increases reaction time. Also, studies show that it is effective in reducing stress.

           

THE STUDY

Here is a short video showing how the new developed system for rehabilitation works.

The management of heart failure is the classic example the success of telemedicine. Hospital systems and clinics throughout the world have adopted solutions to measure daily weights and vital signs from patients. They have assembled teams to monitor the data and to communicate with the patients when trends suggest decompensation. Emergency rooms visits are prevented and healthcare costs are reduced.

The use of telemedicine for heart failure is a great step in the right direction, but there is definitely room for improvement. The problem with most systems is that their philosophy revolves around doctors or nurses siphoning data from patients and returning directives. This approach does not promote patient self-efficacy and is costly because of the heavy reliance on professionals to interpret data and make decisions. It helps to keep patients stable, but it does not motivate them to improve their condition.

The Esoma Exercise System aims to shift cardiac rehabilitation to a patient-centered approach. Patients will play games powered by Microsoft Kinect and computer vision algorithms that recognize the execution of rehab exercises. 

Patients will wear physiological sensors while playing the games that monitor heart rate, blood oxygenation, etc. Rich feedback about their progress and improvement in physiological state will be embedded in the game to motivate self-efficacy. There will still be clinicians on the other side of the server, but they will act more as coaches that help patients make decisions for themselves based on the data. The system is being built as a CollaboRhythm plug-in so that it can benefit from the powerful tools for data visualization, communication, and social support.

Ryan Orendorff from Tufts has already built a prototype of Esoma that tracks typical cardiac rehabilitation exercises for patients with relatively poor reserve. He is developing algorithms that allow the system to be taught new exercise through example. The system will then be able to track those trained exercises for any patient. The next steps will be to incorporate the algorithms into a game, to incorporate the physiological sensors, and to integrate with CollaboRhythm.

KINECT

Kinect is a software technology under motion sensing input devices invented by Microsoft Xbox. It enables users to control and interact with their console without the need for a game controller, rather through using gestures and spoken commands. Kinect is on its eight generation now.

How does Kinect work?

Kinect is a combination of hardware and software contained within a sensor accessory The sensor is a flat black box that is on a small platform, placed on a plane surface.

The Kinect Hardware:

•  The color VGA video camera – used for facial recognition and other detection features.
• Depth sensor – An infrared projector and a monochrome complimentary metal-oxide semi-conductor sensor work together to see objects in 3-D
• Multi-array microphone – Isolates voices of the players from room noise. This allows the player to be a few feet away from the microphone and still use the controls.

 

  The video above shows the innovative applications of KINECT technology in active rehabilitation and therapy of child cancer patients.


CONCLUSION

            Sports therapy and rehabilitation is basically concerned with musculoskeletal conditions that arise from physical activities and not internal health disorders. Given that Kinect technology conforms to rehabilitate the latter – internal health disorders (and maybe possibly also physical injuries but not really proven in this study, having a scope that is short term research only) – Kinect doesn't overtake the essence of sports therapy so much. In fact, Kinect technology is even so less strenuous than physical sports therapy.

            Studies show that the development of Kinect in the field of active rehabilitation has been efficient, effective and entertaining. It enables the patients to experience therapy in a less difficult manner and at the same time the can undergo therapy in the active presence of their family.    

            In conclusion, science, technology and society in this study come hand in hand for the benefit of health, lifestyle and social relation

REFERENCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinect
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/microsoft-kinect2.htm
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Rehabilitation
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/sports_therapist_job_description.htm
http://www.ptworks.ca/services/rehab.php
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Swimming
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Tennis?open
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Running_and_jogging?open




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