NEWS : TECH (NFPC)

Stainless Steel Disinfects Itself

If home decorating channels have taught us anything, it’s that stainless steel is the “gold” standard in appliances. The same holds true in commercial, medical and manufacturing machines. It’s resilient, resists corrosion, simple to maintain, and easy on the eyes. However, stainless steel absorbs bacteria easily and if not properly cleaned, countertops and appliances can harbor colonies of bacteria that lead to pathogens. 

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A report from the ACS journal Langmuir introduced a green approach to preventing bacteria from finding a cozy home on the surface of stainless steel. They developed a coating made of negatively and positively charged micelle molecules. Micelles are natural-born cleaners and, for the purposes of this project, they were doped with silver-based particles, causing an electrostatic interaction to kill bacteria. (Interesting fact: the adhesive that helps the coating stick to stainless steel is inspired by a component that mussels secrete to adhere to the sides of a ship.) 

The process of coating the steel takes about ten minutes, and because it uses water instead of harsh chemicals, it's potentially appealing to manufacturers and consumers. No word on whether this will be available for consumer products. But how cool would it be to not have to frantically wipe down the fridge handle when you accidentally touch it after handling chicken? Even though, for prevention of the “ick” factor, you might still want some wipes handy.

Credit: Ivan Hunter / Getty Images

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Sickweather Maps the Health of Your Friends

One of the most recurring complaints about social media is that people use it to advertise mundane facts about themselves that nobody really cares about. But this accumulation of seemingly useless information can be quite valuable when gathered and analyzed in mass.

Sickweather, a Baltimore startup, is in the process of creating a system that tracks social media sites like Facebook and Twitter for public references to "sickness." The system then attempts to create a sickness map that warns people of outbreaks to help them avoid catching the bugs.

The company hopes to establish its own social network eventually, through which users will be able to log in to track the health assessments in their community. For now, however, Sickweather's founders are moving to build a reporting tool on the shoulders of other more established online communities.

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Graham Dodge, the CEO of Sickweather, anticipates the system will be particularly appealing to young families with vulnerable children and tells Technology Review that "they can decide, 'Maybe I won't take my kids to that birthday party.' " It’s not difficult to imagine the awkward social dynamics that this might lead to and the many "un-friendings" that could ensue.

Other companies, such as HealthMap, have tried this idea on a wider scale. They have been rummaging through search engines and news stories to create a map of notable epidemics across the globe in an effort to alert the public and help them visualize this information. Sickweather is hoping that by applying the same approach at a local level, and using micro-blogging sites instead of news sources, they can give the public an even more personal health tool.

Credit: Ghislain & Marie David de Lossy/cultura/Corbis

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Who's the Hottest One of All?

Want to find out if you're hot or not? Look in the mirror. No, not to see if you're attractive, but to see if you have a fever. Japanese Company NEC Avio Infrared Technologies recently introduced a new fever-screening tool to the market: a mirror-like infrared device that detects and displays a person's skin temperature on its surface. Because the tool works without touching anyone, it could be used in airports or other public places where authorities want to screen for communicable diseases like the flu.

“Thermo Mirror,” which looks a typical beauty table mirror, contains sensors that measure infrared radiation coming from a person's skin to determine his or her temperature. The reading only takes a few seconds and works from about a foot away. It sets off a beeping alarm when the person is deemed feverish. In contrast to infrared cameras, which can cost up to $10,000, the mirror thermometers come in two models that are just $1,440 and $1,880. The company plans to sell 5,000 of them this year.

Although skin temperatures are variable and thus less accurate than internal temperatures (imagine someone just stepping inside from the cold, or taking off a warm jacket), a software system could conceivably track the average temperature of people screened by the mirror and alert for abnormalities. Though no information about such a system has yet been mentioned for the “Thermo Mirror,” NEC Avio Infrared Technologies does advertise monitoring systems with its other infrared thermography products. If the mirrors are calibrated correctly and a regular under-the-tongue thermometer is on hand to settle disputes, I forsee few qualms with this as a widespread screening device. Especially during flu season, the new technology could potentially benefit public health efforts on a large scale.

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Looking at Sick People Can Keep You Healthy

Some folks wash their hands or take Vitamin C, zinc or echinacea to keep colds and flus at bay. But a new study shows that looking at sick people could do it. Mark Schaller, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia and his colleagues hypothesized that seeing disease-connoting cues promotes a more aggressive immune response in people.

To test it, the scientists asked a group people to watch a 10-minute slide show of images of ill people, some suffering from chicken pox or sneezing or coughing.

A different group of people watched a slide show of images of people brandishing guns.

The participants rated the pictures of gun-carrying thugs as more distressing than the pictures of sickly folks. But the bodily reactions were much different.

This was revealed in blood samples taken from the participants before and after viewing the slide shows. The researchers exposed the blood samples to a bacterial infection, and then measured the amount of an immune substance that white blood cells produce called interleukin-6, or IL-6. White blood cells normally secrete IL-6 when they detect microbial intruders. The higher the level of IL-6, the stronger the reaction the white bloods cells are having against a possible infection.

People who saw the pictures of thugs with guns had white blood cells that increased their production of IL-6 by 6 percent. The people who saw images of the infirmed had white blood cells that increased their production of IL-6 by 23 percent.

As Mark Schaller told Psychology Today in this Q&A interview, "It seems that there is something specific about seeing people who look diseased that triggers the immune system to kick it into a higher gear."

The researchers don't know why this happens, but they speculate it's a survival mechanism, enlisting mind over matter. "If you see a bunch of people around you who look sick, that's a pretty good indicator that you're in imminent danger of infection. Which means that this is one of those times when it'd be wise to allocate more of those precious bodily resources to mount an especially vigorous immunological defense," Schaller told Psychology Today.

In related "mind over matter" news, hearing phrases like "this might pinch," or "you might feel some pain," could actually make the pain worse.

Researchers at Jena University in Germany used magnetic resonance tomography to investigate how individuals processed words associated with experiencing pain. They found that talking about pain might make the situation worse, because it stimulates a part of the brain known as the "pain matrix."

In short, sticks and stones can break your bones and words may sometimes hurt you.

Photo: iStockphoto

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Find H1N1 Vaccine Through Google

I'm recovering from a cold. Some sniffling, coughing.

When I first came down with the symptoms this past Monday, I thought for sure I had the flu. I was achy, had the chills. Of course, the first thing I thought was, "H1N1."

I hadn't gotten the vaccine, because as you know, there's a shortage. But there's also the issue of where to get the vaccine. You can call your doctor. Or you can ask Google. They know everything, and perhaps one day I'll regret their imminent takeover of the world. But for now, they're super useful.

They launched a flu shot finder web service this week to help people locate clinics offering the H1N1 vaccine as well the season flu vaccine.

The site work just like Google maps. You type in your zip code and voíla, clinics marked with little needle icons pop up. Blue equals those clinics offering H1N1, red is for seasonal flu and blue/red offer both.

And speaking of H1N1, scientists recently reported that the Virus Can Be Killed by Acidic Ozone Water. Sure, you can use other disinfectants or harsh chemicals, but those aren't environmentally friendly. Ozone water is made by adding a teeny tiny bit of hydrochloric acid or a high concentration of ozone gas to water.

In big doses, hydrochloric acid is dangerous, but in weak doses, not so much. In fact, your stomach contains hydrochloric acid to digest food. Furthermore, after the ozone water deactivates the virus, it decays into plain water, leaving behind no harmful residue in the environment.