It was Small Business Week last week. You know, everyone says how much they value small business in an election year- and does nothing about it. Depending upon how you define small business (a company that employs- with a payroll- one or more people OR include Mary or Tom working 2 hours a month on the side, with a full time job or mommyhood [or daddyhood] taking up most of the time), most small businesses are not incorporated and pay their taxes as part of an individual’s tax return. So, tax rates for corporations have no impact on their bottom line. (Another large segment of “small” business are pass-through entities, which have their profits taxed on an individual’s tax returns, too.) But, that’s not the subject of this post, either.
Monthly Archives: May 2012
Smart Bandage?
When I first heard about this development, I thought they were working on something similar to what Bob Langer, a fellow ChemE grad student from MIT, was working on years ago. Normally, all bandaging does is to contain a wound, preventing infection from setting in. That’s why Bob Langer developed his artificial skin to treat burn patients more effectively, because the “new skin” effectively replaced the burned skin and precluded infection in the patient. This new device was being touted as a “smart bandage”. But, that’s not really what Dr. H. Kong (Chemical and Biomolecular engineering, University of Illinois-Urbana), along with Drs. Jeong, Chan, Cha, Zorlutuna, Dyck, Hsia, and Bashir are developing.
A shot to be felt ’round the world?
We know the four letter curses, the 10 letter curses. But, we dread the 6 letter one… C A N C E R…… But, maybe not for much longer.
Really? That’s really your position?
I am deliberately releasing this post today, on the holiday of Shvuot. I apologize if your comments will not appear until tomorrow- but that’s because I will be praying almost all day. The 50th day since Pesach (Passover) is the day that the Ten Commandments were proclaimed by the Supreme Being, the day our Tora was granted. It is traditional to spend all night studying, so that we may re-enact the feeling of the Israelites at the foot of Mt. Sinai. I doubt I will be able to see the words of Hashem, as it is stated in Tora. (The Tora proclaims that the words were seen. I have had the opportunity to see real sound waves; it was pretty scary, to be honest- but, amazing, at the same time.)
Got a better idea?
Creativity is at least half due to an inherited trait. Given that fact, you want to hire creative folks, since that gives you better odds to having creative new ideas within your organization. But, being creative does not mean the creative one can convert those ideas into a useful product or service. So, is there really an advantage in hiring those creative types? After all, it’s not like you can call me up tomorrow and say “Can you have that creative new invention for me by 12 noon? I need it for my press conference.”
Land of the Free? Or Land of the Sue?
Oh, welcome to America (especially if you are reading this from overseas). The land of lawyers and suing. (Forget the old schoolhouse taunts- the one that works here is “My lawyer is bigger than yours!”) And, now we have yet another outrageous reach… Let me tell you the story.
Just the facts, even in an election year
So you know, this is going to be an overtly political blog. Because no sane person can listen to the various pronouncements and not take umbrage at the deliberate actions being taken to harm America and American workers- for specific political gain.
Drugs on demand?
We’ve seen 3-D printers for rapid prototyping for a while now. And, the prices for these printers have been dropping to ‘home-affordable’ over the past few years (e.g., last May’s Cerebrations). Given these facts, Dr. Lee Cronin (University of Glasgow) heading a research group at the University of Glasgow (with Drs. Symes, Kitson, Yan, Richmond, Cooper, Bowman, and Vilbrandt of Uformia in Norway) developed yet another use for 3D printers- producing chemicals. They presented their findings in Nature.
It turns out we “light up our lives”…
You know this person. You are at a meeting. Wanting to meet a whole bunch of interesting people. And, you have been cornered by “Tom”, who has been regaling you with his capabilities and exploits for the past 20 minutes. What makes this guy tick?
Our memories ARE mapped to specific neurons
My first kiss. The first time I saw my first-born. When I knew I passed my PhD exam. Those exquisite moments in time. It turns out, I- and you- can relive those moments. Because they are encoded in specific cells in our brain.
Continue reading Our memories ARE mapped to specific neurons