SciTech Briefs
Researchers create electric chain mail
Researchers from the University of Illinois have created a fabric composed of microscopic rings and links akin to chain mail. The links and rings are electroplated with aluminum and copper and photoresist, causing them to have unique electrical and mechanical properties.
The chain mail construction allows the copper fabric to bend in two different directions, allowing it to take the shape of curved surfaces without wrinkling. Movement of the fabric causes changes in the electrical conduction properties, allowing it to be used as an electrical device.
The fabric is a flexible MicroElectro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) device that could potentially be used in clothing to “detect vital signs, locate bullet wounds, or provide an information network for soldiers on a dispersed battleground,” according to researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Source: www.physorg.com
ADHD medications must have warnings
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instructed the manufacturers of Ritalin, Adderall, Strattera, and all other drugs for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder to create guides warning patients and parents of potential risks of ingesting the medicine. These risks include sudden death as well as cardiovascular and psychiatric problems.
The alerts suggest to patients what they can do to to avoid such problems. This recommendation was made by two FDA panels about one year before implementation last Wednesday.
Source: CNN
No milk sold from cloned animals
Dean Foods Co., the largest U.S. dairy producer, stated that it will not sell milk from animals that have been cloned, citing several surveys showing that their customers are not interested in products from cloned animals.
Despite the company’s decision not to sell milk from cloned animals, milk and meat from certain cloned animals have been deemed safe to eat by the FDA as of last year.
Source: Reuters
Astronauts fix ship’s antenna
A U.S. and Russian team fixed an antenna on a cargo ship docked at the International Space Station (ISS) last Thursday. The antenna, which did not properly retract during the final approach of the cargo ship Progress, might have interfered with the process of undocking in April.
Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and ISS Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin released the antenna from its original support. The astronauts then provided new support for the antenna with wires. This construction provided the ships enough space to undock.
During the spacewalk, the cooling system on Tyurin’s spacesuit system was not functioning properly. However, the crew still successfully accomplished other jobs on the space mission, including taking photographs of various pieces of hardware. This was the crew’s fifth and final spacewalk.
Source: Reuters, www.nasa.gov
Compiled by
Jun Xian Leong