Can the electromagnetic waves generated by wireless networks be harmful to certain people’s health? A woman from London, UK, seems to think so. Encouraged by dubious pseudo-scientific websites such as electrosensitivity.org.uk, she is convinced that her various symptoms – ranging from mere dizziness to the feeling of receiving an electric shock – are caused by those radiations. She went as far as discarding all her electrical appliances, having her wallpaper lined with tinfoil, and she always wears this strange beekeeper-style hat when she goes out.

From a medical point of view, there has been no link established between exposure to strong electromagnetic fields and diseases. If it were the case, scientists working with NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) machines would be off sick more often than others. However, a statistical correlation was found with the incidence of leukemia in children living close to high-voltage power lines. So should we take this woman’s claims seriously? In the meantime, she may be no beekeeper, but she does sound like she’s got a bee in her bonnet!

No, she’s NOT a beekeeper. This woman believes that her bizarre headgear can save her from the dangerous electrosmog all around us. Can she possibly be right?

Source: Daily Mail

Dogs can sniff someone’s “olfactive signature” and somehow smell that you’re coming home even before you’ve entered the door. They can also determine when you’re ill and know how to “treat their human” in such situations. Vince Rotello and his research team at the University of Massachusetts has applied the same principle by devising a ‘nano-nose’ able to recognize some pathological conditions just by “sniffing” body fluids such as plasma or cerebrospinal liquid, for instance.

Just like a very sensitive nose, gold nanoparticles with six different types of coating are able to bind various proteins and establish a pattern that gives an assessment of the physiological state of the subject. Such electronic noses had previously been developed for small molecules and had been able to diagnose certain diseases – like cancer – but this is the first time that coated nanoparticles can identify larger molecules such as proteins.

This new diagnosis method will help faster determination of various pathological states, and therefore allow the treatment to be delivered more quickly.

A set of gold nanoparticles with various coatings can identify proteins by mimicking the way the human nose distinguishes scents. US researchers are using them to detect signs of illness in bodily fluids.

Source: New Scientist

Got a headache? A runny nose, maybe? Here’s exactly what you need! A new website called quite naturally Who Is Sick? allows you to share your little discomforts with your neighborhood – and even the rest of the world – by blogging your symptoms and advertising your location. Dubbed “a hypochondriac’s dream in action” by the very serious MedGadget website, this is actually quite worrying, as Who Is Sick? claims to be an attempt at epidemiology, whereas it is merely a meeting point for those who worry sick as soon as they sneeze for no apparent reason.

Luckily enough, the site’s disclaimer warns that it is “not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.” Let’s hope that the users are aware of that!

If checking other people’s hypochondria is your cup of tea: go ahead and indulge yourself. But don’t call it epidemiology.

Source: MedGadget

After inventing a two-legged robot that can substitute for impaired legs, Japanese robotics now give us the opportunity to replace our whole body thanks to this new exoskeleton from Tsukuba University. In association with existing software in development in the USA and Austria, as well as with the international effort to link mind and machine, people who have lost their motricity – either through poliomyelitis or due to a spinal cord accident – will be able to move freely again.

Of course, this contraption could also be used by unimpaired, “normal” people to increase their strength and carry heavy objects more easily than with a cumbersome forklift truck. …Or how about a world domination endeavor? Anyone interested?

Source: The Japan Times

Marathon runners are under the false impression that drinking lots of water before and during the race will improve their performance and keep them cool. However, a recent study shows that normal hydration of the body is sufficient to keep a runner going. They should simply listen to their bodies and drink when thirsty, but further intake of liquid will not make them win the race.

Runners in today’s London Marathon may be tempted to down several litres of water to keep their cool and achieve their best time, but large fluid intake does not achieve either, according to a sports scientist from the University of Exeter.

Source: EurekAlert