'Bulletproof Human Skin' Lives Up to Name, Sort Of

Take a pinch of Spider-Man's webbing, add some human skin cells, and you just may end up with skin worthy of Superman. A Dutch team created a piece of "bulletproof" skin from special, U.S.-made spider silk and human skin cells and found that it indeed can repel bullets ̶ as long as they're not traveling too fast.

The bulletproof skin showed its superiority over normal human skin by stopping a bullet fired at a reduced speed. But it fell short of surviving a shot at normal speed from a .22 caliber rifle, the benchmark for protection for a Type 1 bulletproof vest.

A bulletproof human skin managed to repel
low-velocity bullets.

The result did not discourage Jalila Essaidi, the Dutch artist who, along with the Forensic Genomics Consortium Netherlands, created the skin. She just wanted an art project demonstrating the relative concept of safety.

The result did not discourage Jalila Essaidi, the Dutch artist who, along with the Forensic Genomics Consortium Netherlands, created the skin. She just wanted an art project demonstrating the relative concept of safety.

"Even with the 'bulletproof' skin being pierced by the faster bullet, the experiment is, in my view, still a success," Essaidi said. "The art project is based on and leads to a debate on the question, 'Which forms of safety are socially important?'"

The special brand of spider silk came from genetically modified goats and worms at Utah State University in Logan. U.S. researchers have spent years harvesting the spider silk protein from the goat milk to try to make new types of super-strong fibers.

Essaidi combined the spider silk with human skin cells from Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

Such skin is still a long way from adding practical protection to humans, but it gives a glimpse of what future soldiers or would-be superheroes might expect. After all, the U.S. military and other armed forces have continually sought new ways to bulletproof their warriors on the battlefield, and also have shown interest in discovering the ultimate warrior genes.


source: technewsdaily

Netherlands Meter Plan Links Gas Pedals to Wallets

As Sander Van Dedem recalled watching the charges tick up every 10 seconds on the dashboard meter on the way to the airport, he resolved to try public transportation next time.  “Looking at the money makes you realize that a car isn’t always a good idea,” said Mr. Van Dedem, a commercial sales manager for I.B.M. here. But his pricey ride was not in a taxi. He was driving his own Volvo XC60.

The car had been outfitted with the meter so that Mr. Van Dedem could take part in a trial of a controversial government tax proposal to charge drivers a fee for the miles they drive. The meter also factors in the cost to society in the form of pollution, traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and wear and tear on roads.


Hooked up to the Internet wirelessly and to GPS, the system tabulates a charge for each car trip by using a mileage-based formula that also takes account of a car’s fuel efficiency, the time of day and the route. (Driving on busier thoroughfares costs more than driving on less-traveled roads.) At the end of each month, the vehicle’s owner would receive a bill detailing times and costs of usage, not unlike a cellphone bill, although participants in the trial did not have to pay the charges.


Governments in car-clogged regions of Europe, Asia and even the United States have shown an eagerness to explore such systems, but they face a nagging challenge in placing them in private vehicles. Even in environmentally conscious places like the Netherlands, voters and politicians often vehemently oppose the programs, citing privacy concerns about the monitoring of drivers’ whereabouts and the introduction of what amounts to a new type of tax.


source: nytimes

Possible new treatment on memory problems

With over one in three people, memory declines with age. Neuroscientists from the Free University of Amsterdam have recently shown how and where this happens in the brains. This offers new opportunities for the treatment of memory problems with elderly people.

Receptor

With over one in three people the memory and concentration ability will decline with age. This is partly because the amount of the messenger substance acetylcholine in the brains decreases when getting older. Acetylcholine makes signal transportation from one nerve cell to the other possible.

The memory and concentration ability may imrpove by stimulating the receptor that recognizes and captures the acetylcholine in the brains. This way signal transmission in the brains will be better which will result in an improvement of the memory and concentration.

The researchers showed in their study that a particular component of the acetylcholine receptor is essential for optimal concentration. In addition, they showed in which part of the brains this process occurs.

Treatment

The results of the research, which will be published in the scientific journal 'Schience' this Friday, make a major contribution to our understanding of how attention and concentration in the brains are organized at molecular level.

This knowledge also provides clues with which after further inquiry problems on concentration and memory at aging may be treated better.


So what would this mean for our future grandchildren? They may either rejoice or get frustrated, because stories about the good ol' days will be longer, a lot more detailed, and well..yeah..Longer, much much longer.


source: www.nu.nl

No ban on the Galaxy Tab in the Netherlands

There won't be any ban on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the Netherlands for now, reports Webwereld. The Dutch court has decided to give Samsung some breathing space in order to finish the negotiations with tablet rival Apple. This means that any possible banning in the future has to wait until at least October 13th.

The Dutch court has ruled this today during a two-days interlocutory proceeding between Apple and Samsung. Unlike the rest of Europe, there will be no direct ban on the import of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the Netherlands. 

Apple wants the Galaxy Tab banned from import, because the company believes Samsung has used up to 10 patents of Apple in the device without their permission.

The final court ruling will take place on September 15, 2011. If the court decides on a ban on the product, the actual date of it to be legally established won't be before 13th of october this year.

source: www.telegraaf.nl

So what does this mean for the Dutch tablet lovers? They can easily sit back and make use of the rivalry between Apple and Samsung. Price war here we come! Well, at least until October 13th.