Surprising Science — March 24, 2009

Cardiac assist device

Using trans epidermal nervous stimulation by way of an elastic sleeve and computer it is possible to create a peristaltic wave in the skeletal muscles. This, along with the valves in veins would assist the heart. Seen as effective for assist after auto collision when chest damage precludes traditional CPR..or possibly PAD

Art Gale

The idea would be a lattice of connections and sensors with discrete firing of random points. This followed by computer analysis of physical response of individual and mapping of their musculature. Finally the pre-programmed peristaltic motion would be simulated.

ANY first responder could easily apply these sleeves to each limb and click go. Not researcehd but certainly an help…perhaps enough to delay brain damage …and the hardware is so very very cheap!

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

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7 min

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with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

Up Next

Politics & Current Affairs

Labour dispute system

I have often thought that monetary gain should not be a part of collective bargaining. When people sign on they have a wage set…. after that some COLA clause based on gov’t numbers should be enough. By eliminating the simplistic “we want more cash in our pocket” target, more important issues might get the attention they deserve.