We take a look at digital vision, allergy treatment, storms, braziers, fire extinguishers, alzheimer’s research, spacecraft updates, remember Sally Ride and as always take a peek back into history and up in the sky this week.

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Show Notes

Vision aids

_{YouTube channel : virtualpoint | Instant Eye : Kevin Hand}

• The low down
• Photoreceptors in a healthy retina convert light into a series of electrical signals which are transmitted to the brain via complex neural pathways
• When the photoreceptors do not function, brain is unable to receive these signals from the eyes
• Significance
• Nano Retina is a tiny implant [0.11×0.16in and 0.04in thick / 3 x 4 mm and 1 mm thick] that is inserted into the eye and attached to the retina in a minimally invasive procedure
• The device consists of photodetectors, microelectrodes and electronic circuitry that act together to replace the eye’s natural photoreceptors that have been damaged and feed visual information to the brain
• Six hundred needle electrodes (wrapped in biocompatible silicon and sapphire to prevent the formation of scar tissue) penetrate the retina
• Light incident on the implant is collected by an array of CMOS pixels are placed on an area of the retina responsible for high-resolution central vision
• The first-generation bio-retina will use an array of 600 pixels, although the aim is to increase this to 5000 pixels in future generations
• A proprietary algorithm discriminates 100 gray-scale levels and responds to varying light levels.
• The goal is that every pixel will connect to a neuron, so that every pixel in the array would use a micro-electrode
• Because the neurons must be stimulated electrically the bio-retina implant also requires a source of electrical power
• So patients who undergo surgery to implant a bio-retina will need to wear a special set of glasses, with a built-in battery and an infrared diode laser.
• The goal is for the imager and the electronics to consume no more than 1mW
• The near-infrared laser beam, gentle enough to shine harmlessly through the eye onto the implant, providing up to three milliwatts of power to a photovoltaic cell on the eye implant
• The anticipated recovery time is up to one week when patients hopefully be able to distinguish faces and to be able to look from side to side with their eyes rather than needing to turn their heads
• Current users of the Argus II bionic eye say that they can see rough shapes and track the movement of objects; they can also slowly read large writing.
• Of Note
• Another company, Second Sight’s Argus II, has a retinal prosthesis already on the market in Europe
• Bio-Retina from NanoRetina, which is to start clinical trials next year
• The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System includes an antenna, an electronics case, and electrode array designed to bypass damaged photoreceptors altogether with a video camera in the glasses captures a scene
• The video is sent to a small patient-worn computer VPU where it is processed and transformed into instructions sent back to the glasses via a cable then transmitted wirelessly to the antenna in the implant
• Multimedia
• YouTube Nano Retina – Sight restoration, produced by Virtual Point | virtualpoint
• Schematic of a procedure to implant the bionic retina in a patient’s eye Credit: Nano Retina
• Further Reading / In the News
• Nano-retina.info
• Bionic retina runs on laser power | Optics.org
• Bio-Retina Implant Could Give Laser-Powered Sight to the Blind | PopSci.com

— NEWS BYTE —

Possible Allergy Treatment

• The low down
• Exposure to increasing amounts of egg every day over two years can seemingly rid some children of an egg allergy
• More than curing the allergy there is more interest in providing protection from an accidental reaction
• Significance
• Skin-prick tests, medical history and the presence of antibodies to egg protein showed 55 children ages 5 to 11 to have an egg allergy
• All the children for unmarked power added daily to food, forty kids were randomly assigned to receive the egg treatment and 15 got cornstarch as a control
• Treatment amounted to a few grains of powdered egg white on the first day and gradually grew to the equivalent of one-third of an egg over two years
• After 22 months, 30 of the 40 children getting the treatment were able to consume 10 grams of powdered egg white without having a visible reaction
• At that time all 15 children that had cornstarch and 5 had a allergic reaction at 22 months
• Early in the study 5 children dropped out of the study due to allergic reactions
• The gradual introduction of eggs into the diet appears to re-train the immune system
• Many other children in the study developed an ability to cope with small amounts of egg without a serious reaction, but only while being treated
• Four to six weeks after stopping treatment, the children who didn’t react to the egg test got tested again, with 10 grams of egg white powder plus a cooked egg
• Eleven passed that test. A year later, 10 of them were eating eggs at will
• Of Note
• Blood tests of the kids whose treatment succeeded showed an accumulation of positive immune changes during treatment, whether those changes are permanent is unknown
• The remaining challenges will be to identify beforehand which children are the most likely to benefit from the treatment
• About 10 percent of children given this type of oral treatment for egg, peanut or milk allergies, have reactions early and drop out
• Don’t try this at home. The Food and Drug Administration would need to approve an oral treatment for clinical use.
• Further Reading / In the News
• Egg in tiny doses curbs allergy | ScienceNews.org

— TWO-BYTE NEWS —

The smells of a storm

• The low down
• If you have ever thought that you have smelled an incoming storm, you might have been correct
• Certain weather patterns produce distinctive odors that sensitive noses sniff out
• Before the rain begins, one of the first odors you may notice is a sweet, pungent zing in your nostrils which is the fresh aroma of ozone
• Petrichor occurs when airborne molecules from decomposing plant or animal matter become attached to mineral or clay surfaces
• Geosmin occurs when falling water disturbs and displaces odoriferous molecules on surfaces, particularly on dry ones, and carry them into the atmosphere
• If the storm happens to be near vegetation, these molecules may come from plants and trees
• One microbiologist has proposed that geosmin fragrance may be a beacon, helping camels find their way to desert oases
• Further Reading / In the News
• Storm Scents: It’s True, You Can Smell Oncoming Summer Rain | Scientific Amercian

Dating Braziers

• The low down
• The bra is commonly thought to be little more than 100 years old as corseted women abandoned rigid fashions and opted for the more natural look
• Archeologists have now found four linen bras dating from the Middle Ages in an Austrian castle
• They were unearthed in 2008, they did not make news until now, but were not announced until now as they waited for the carbon dating them to make sure they were genuine took some time
• One of them were intricately decorated with lace and other ornamentation
• Found intermixed with dirt, wood, straw and pieces of leather were more than 2,700 textile fragments were four bras
• One specimen in particular "looks exactly like a (modern) brassiere
• What researchers found as surprising was that the bra had commonly been thought to be only little more than 100 years old as women abandoned the tight corset.
• Further Reading / In the News
• 600-year-old linen bras found in Austrian castle | Phys.org

Sound Based Fire Extinguisher

_{YouTube channel DARPAtv]}

• The low down
• The demonstration, at the proof-of-concept stage, shows two speakers blasting out sounds at a specific frequency
• The disrupting the flame by spreading its heat over a larger area by creating an acoustic field that increases air velocity and fuel vaporization
• It is unknown whether the system could be scaled up to work inside a military vehicle
• Multimedia
• YouTube DARPA Demos Acoustic Suppression of Flame | DARPAtv
• Further Reading / In the News
• DARPA puts out fires with sound and science | geek.com

— Updates —

Alzheimers

• Last time on SciByte
• Sub Glacial Lakes & Updates | SciByte 33 – Another exciting step against Alzheimer’s [February 14, 2012]
• Habitable Planets & Chimps | SciByte 24 – Alzheimer’s Research [December 7, 2011]
• Spinal Cord Injuries & Venus Transit | SciByte 49 – [June 5, 2012]
• The low down
• The pharmaceutical company Baxter International has reported a drug that, that if it works in larger clinical trials now under way, might actually stabilize patients and stop disease progression
• Significance
• Gammagard is a soup of antibodies extracted from blood donors and is already approved for some immune disorders, was given as intravenous immunoglobulin,
• The drug has halted the decline in cognition and aided in the ability to perform everyday tasks for four patients who received the highest dose for three years
• Although these results are very promising, continued trials will show whether these four were patients who just happened to have plateaued for a while during their inevitable decline
• The results from a larger double-blind Phase 3 will show the benefit of intravenous immunoglobulins role in the treatment of AD is unproven
• The study will also help to prove that the amyloid-beta peptide is a major cause of neurodegeneration
• Of Note
• Gammagard is already used to treat immune conditions, and current supplies count not keep up with treatments for Alzheimer’s
• Any promising outcome for the drug trial may serve more as a proof of principle
• Further Reading / In the News
• Alzheimer’s: A Ray of Hope? Just Perhaps Maybe | Scientific American

In memory of Sally Ride

_{YouTube Channel : VideoFromSpace | CREDIT: collectSPACE.com/Ben Cooper}

• First Women in space
• Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was actually the first woman in space in 1963, she was also the first civilian in space. She was honorary inducted into the Soviet Air Force as a condition on joining the Cosmonaut Corps. She piloted the Vostok 6 during its 3-day mission
• Russian Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya was the second female in space in 1982
• At NASA
• Joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 she became the first american woman to fly in space
• She is also the youngest American Astronaut to enter space at age 32 and 23 days
• She saw an ad in the Stanford student newspaper saying that NASA was looking for astronauts saying they were looking for scientists and engineers
• Of the 8,000 applicants 35 new astronauts, including six women, were chosen to join the astronaut corps
• Astronaut group 8 was the first astronaut group after Apollo. Of that class a number of American spaceflight firsts were achieved, including the selection of six women
• Shuttle Missions
• The Challenger shuttle STS–7 in June of 1983
• The Challenger shuttle STS 41-G in October of 1984
• Post-NASA Career
• Ride was the only person to serve on both of the panels investigating both the Challenger and Columbia shuttle accidents
• She left NASA in August 1987 to join the faculty at the University of California, San Diego, as a professor of physics and director of the University of California’s California Space Institute
• She founded Sally Ride Science in 2001
• EarthKAM was initially called KidSat and was started by Dr. Sally Ride in 1995
• MoonKAM
• Books by Sally Ride
• To Space and Back
• Mission: Planet Earth: Our World and Its Climate–and How Humans Are Changing Them
• The Mystery of Mars
• Exploring Our Solar System
• Voyager: An Adventure to the Edge of the Solar System
• The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth from Space
• Multimedia
• YouTube Sally Ride Recalls ‘Spectacular View’ of Earth From Orbit | NASASolarSystem
• YouTube Sally Ride: AMERICA’S FIRST WOMAN IN SPACE – JUNE 18, 1983 | shuttlemania
• Photo Gallery: First American Woman in Space | NASA.gov
• Social Media
• Sally Ride Science @SallyRideSci
• GRAIL MoonKAM @GRAIL_MoonKAM
• EarthKAM @EarthKAM_Live
• Further Reading / In the News
• NASA Offers Condolences on the Passing of Pioneering Astronaut Sally Ride | NASA.gov
• Statement by the President on the Passing of Sally Ride | WhiteHouse.gov
• Jacket, In-Flight Suit, Sally Ride, STS–7 | Smithsonian National Air and Space Musuem
• Women’s Place in History | National Air and Space Museum 2010
• Amazon & Martian Weather | SciByte 39 – First MoonKAM Image comes in from the Lunar Orbiters Ebb & Flow [March 27, 2012]

– SPACECRAFT UPDATE –

Shuttle Enterprise open house

_{YouTube Channel : VideoFromSpace | CREDIT: collectSPACE.com/Ben Cooper}

• Last time on SciByte
• SciByte 52 | Extreme Exoplanets & Language : The Shuttle Enterprise’s Tentlanding [June 26, 2012]
• SciByte 50 | Dinosaurs & Neutrinos : Shuttle Enterprise’s last landing [June 13, 2012]
• The low down
• NASA’s space shuttle Enterprise opened on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City on July 19, 2012 Image | credit collectSPACE.com/Ben Cooper
• Significance
• NASA Administrator Charles Bolden joined a dozen of his fellow shuttle-era astronauts — including three of the four pilots who flew Enterprise during its atmospheric approach and landing test program in 1977
• The Enterprise, is presented in a darkened display with dramatic blue lighting, evoking the atmosphere of flight on a raised platform
• Visitors can come nose-to-nose with the Enterprise, as well as look into its crew cabin windows
• Of Note
• The museum team is working hard to raise the funds and develop a plan for the permanent home for Enterprise, on the grounds of this museum but not on the flight deck
• Multimedia
• YouTube Space Shuttle Enterprise NYC Exhibit – Sneak Peek | VideoFromSpace
• Social Media
• Intrepid Museum @IntrepidMuseum
• Further Reading / In the News
• Boldly Go: Space Shuttle Enterprise Opens to Public at NYC Museum

Curiosity Rover lands in 12 days on August 5th!!!

• *On a future SciByte …
• SciByte 57 will be 2 days after the landing, expect me to say a few things
• Social Media
• Curiosity Rover @MarsCuriosity
• Further Reading / In the News
• Mars Science Laboratoty, Curiosity rover

SCIENCE CALENDAR

Looking back

• July, 29 1927 : 85 years ago : Iron Lung : First iron lung (electric respirator) was installed at Bellevue hospital in New York for the post war polio epidemic. The first iron lung was developed at Harvard University by Phillip Drinker and Louis Agassiz Shaw built with two vacuum cleaners. The iron lung is a negative pressure machine which surrounds the patient’s body except for the head, and alternates a negative atmospheric pressure with the ambient one, resulting in rhythmic expansion of the chest cage (and thus inhalation) in response to the negative extra thoracic pressure. During periods of ambient extrathoracic pressure, the lungs deflate. This type of machine is rarely used today.

Looking up this week

• Keep an eye out for …

• Wed, July 25 | Evening | The Moon is of Spica and Saturn, with Saturn the higher of the two

• Fri, July 27 | Evening | Left of the Moon by about a fist-width at arm’s length for orange Antares

• Sat, July 28 | Evening | To the lower right of the Moon is the the bright orange Antares

• Further Reading and Resources

• More on whats in the sky this week

• Sky&Telescope

• SpaceWeather.com

• StarDate.org

• For the Southern hemisphere: SpaceInfo.com.au

• Constellations of the Southern Hemisphere : astronomyonline.org

• Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand : rasnz.org.nz

• AstronomyNow

• HeavensAbove

The post Vision Technology & Sally Ride | SciByte 55 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

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