Painless Shots

Coming this fall just in time for flu season, a tiny needle will be released to the U.S. by Sanofi Pasteur to almost completely free flu shot patients of pain and aches thanks to an approval by the FDA in May.

Since flu shots cause pain through the needle piercing the skin and going into the muscle, a new needle, created by Sanofi Pasteur, will only inject vaccine into the skin, which noticably reduces pain.

Here is a picture of this new needle, called the "Fluzone Intradermal Microinjector."

This needle is recognizably smaller than the old, standard needle used by doctors. It is one-tenth of the length and only the width of a human hair.

And since the needle only injects vaccine into the skin and there are more immune cells in skin then there are in muscles, less vaccine has to be used per shot. This could make a huge difference in how much vaccine we have available to patients in the United States.

So, hopefully this Fall when the shot comes to the U.S, more people will have easy access to flu shots. We might also be able to help out poorer, less fortunate countries who don't have flu shots available to them.

Overall, I think this is a great new invention and I give lots of credit to Sanofi Pasteur for making this because it will really help our world further advance with technology.

All of the information on this and more can be found here: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-07/incredible-shrinking-shot-needles-get-pain-free-makeover

Fingertip Microscope

This year scientists at Stanford University have created a microscope that is only the size of your fingertip capable of seeing inside of living animals for the purpose of easier and more convenient research.

The device weighs less than 2 grams and is mounted to the small animals head. The device can then capture activities of up to 200 brain cells as then animal reacts to its environment, which makes for much easier research methods.

Here is a  picture of it:

Mark Schnitzer, neuroscientist, TR35 honoree of 2003, and one of the creators of the device, says that it is lighter than a two-photon microscope, which restricts the test animals movements. He also says that the device could quite possibly only cost a few dollars per part, which blows away the price of previous microscopes which can go for up to $50,000. These are also very easy to mass produce and in my opinion, will end up going public some time in the future.

The microscope works with a "metal-oxide-semiconductor sensor" which is commonly used in cell phones. It detects flourescent light, which is used by the scientists to view all the different cells.

In my opinion, this will help researchers discover more about the brain and uncover tons of unknown facts about it.

Here is the website with all the information on it: http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/38546/?p1=A1

"Schluckspecht E"

In late August this year a car, driven by 4 people in Germany, called the "Schluckspecht E" traveled a distance of 1013.8 miles on a single electric charge through modern technology and a lightweight design to shatter a previous record by over 600 km.

This car has been nicknamed "Boozer" or "Heavy Drinker" after a previous gas-guzzling car made by the same company in 1998.

Although the car might not be the fastest car, traveling at an average rate of 28 mph, it could be a possible breakthrough in modern science and stop any problems due to using gas in normal cars.

It traveled at the Bosch track in Boxberg, Germany for a total time of 36 hours and 12 minutes. The track is 2.945 km long, but the weather during the run varied from sunny to rainy.

The car was designed by Mrs. Sunmin Lee. The vehicle body is called Bow String Structure. It is very aerodynamic because it does not require an engine, or room for one. It has 14 lithium cobalt battery packs that power the two wheel-hub motors. A self-made monitoring system helps to make sure it is operated safely. With all of this lightweight technology, the car weighs an amazing 320 kg.

In my opinion, this could be a breakthrough in modern technology that will help us further develope futuristic cars.

The German companies website and all the information on the "Schluckspecht E" can be found here:
http://www.schluckspecht.net/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=81&cntnt01origid=24&cntnt01lang=en_US&cntnt01returnid=80