From Cancer Cure To Rubber Products In Yard Weeds?

The dandies have come along ways from your daughters first bouquets. How many urban folks have struggled to rid themselves of these nasty yellow weeds that take over their lawns. Could we use these rapid growing dandelions for something else?

Cancer cure - Scientists are seriously looking into the root as a possibility to destroy cancer cells without destroying the good cells. Destroying cancer after it started without hurting anything else is a possibility. Read : National Post Article On Dandelions

Medicine -  The dandelion  (taraxacum officinale) has properties of the roots that are mainly used as an appetite stimulant, and for liver and gallbladder problems. Dandelion leaves are used as a diuretic to help the body get rid of excess fluid. Read : University of Maryland School of Medicine

Food - Tea, Wine, Salads are just many of the ways people are consuming dandelions. My only caution is that in urban settings be careful not to consume any plants, where the plants may have herbicides on them or in them. These chemicals could be detrimental and very harmful to your health. Many lawn owners have been fighting the battle of the yellow flower for years with chemicals. Read Recipes: Dandy salads , GNC Tea , North Dakota Wine , Dandy Jam .

FORD - Yes the Ford motor company is using the dandelions to make a rubber product. Even though it is the Russian variety of the weed that the Ohio State university and the Ford Motor company are using it does make for interesting table talk. Read the article: Ford's Rubber Quest. Tire prices are rising dramatically because of material shortages. Could the answer be in the dandelion weed? Or maybe a genetically manufactured version of the American dandelion. Still another question is could the answer for cancer cures, food shortages and manufacturing materials shortages be right under our feet?   

Consumer Information Catalog Is Still Helpful and FREE!

It is still nice to know that some things can still be obtained free. I was recently reminded of this when I went to the USA.gov site. This site is worth looking at:Publications.USA.gov

You can find a host of publications that will assist consumers with every area of their lives. Preparing for the future can rely on the information you can obtain here. This innovation is not new. It is a old innovation with lots of new stuff. Most of it is free, the rest is fairly priced to cover printing, handling and shipping costs. It is a must have for younger viewers and a eye opener for the life experienced. Enjoy!

Shore Power Takes On A New Meaning

The Navy, Marine and boating worlds have known this term for many years. When a floating vessel comes into port the vessel plugs in to shore power to enable everything on the vessel to be powered by electricity from shore electricity so the engines do not have to run for the port term. It seems like a no brainer then that this idea could be adapted to fit other transportation modes. The heavy duty truck transportation industry that hauls America's products have been very slow to adapt to this method. The majority of heavy duty semi trucks have units that have the same amenities of a home, a yacht, or even a motor home. Several large cities like Houston, TX and Los Angeles, CA have started enforcing laws to stop the huge trucks from idling their trucks all night. This helps to fight noise and air  pollution, in the short term and slow global warming in the long term. Not to mention the fuel. Some companies have went to other expensive alternatives such as small fuel burners for heat and battery controlled air conditioning units. In colder climates, electric engine heaters are plugged into shore power so they can keep the engine warm and start the units. Yet they still left the obvious conversion to total shore power for all on board components unused over all. The extensive use of sleep apnea machines by the drivers are helping to push the trucking industry to look at shore power for the answer. Over the road drivers are required to live in these units. Refrigeration for food, air conditioning, heat, televisions where somewhat regulated by fleet owners, but sleep apnea machines cannot be regulated they are required for the life of the driver. The government has now started a "STEP" project, Shore power Truck Electrification Project. Link: Smart power for trucks!
Please watch this video: Good for business, good for everyone!

STEP realized shore power is just a simple way America can save tremendous amounts of diesel fuel every year. Decreasing fuel demand and lowering costs of shipping America's products. STEP requires trucks, especially older trucks to be retrofitted with shore power kits. There are some free kits being provided at the STEP website. It also requires truck stops and waysides to provide electrical hook ups. While this is a smart start towards fuel consumption and pollution control, still another part of the same industry uses refrigeration trailers that need this technology as well. This is a business where innovation can create new business and jobs, that is a win, win for all sides.

Dream Chaser IsThe Comercial Vehicle To Replace The Space Shuttle

We saw pictures of this vehicle on the drawing boards of NASA many years ago. I remembered it in the Six Flag shuttle display years ago. The display had a replacement vehicle that looked identical, except that it was suppose to take off without rockets. It looks like they are on their way with the multi-start jet engine, but for now it still needs the rocket. Here is an awesome you tube video explaining the progress.

Video link: Who's dream is it?

How Does The Brain Work? Will Understanding Enable Supreme Innovation?

Recently  Sebastian Seung has finished a book on his many years of brain study. Some of his findings are entirely life changing. How a child is treated in the first three years of existence, can enhance or destroy the chances of human advancements during its life time. Could be understanding the brain, advance or extend our existence? Could altering our genome cure paralysis or brain malfunctions or diseases? This could be one of the most important innovation areas in the coming years. When an author writes a book an article or even a blog post, he can only hope to make someone's brain react in a certain way or provoke action. With this post I am hoping that some young person's imagination could inspire them to go into this field of research. The machine between our ears that innovates and creates, is out of reach of full understanding.  Could  understanding it push us farther than we could imagine.

Sebastian's new book, "Connectome" Link: Brain book!

Dean Kamen's "Sling Shot" Will Change The Future Of The World

      A soft drink company thinks, "this is it." Coca-Cola has invested in testing this invention out. A soft drink company depends on clean water. As the years go by, clean drinking water was thought to get so rare that people will be fighting wars over it. Not any more. If the Coca-Cola company's test works out, they will be transporting these machines around the world.
     Why not use this technology to purify sewage waste for cities, or polluting companies sitting along our rivers and lakes. The technology has long been known that boiling water to steam cleans it. Doing it cheaper and affordable is the key. The extreme efficiency of the process is the key to is success. Like the Segway and it's  unique balance and propelling system that will change the way other future transport vehicles will operate, this could change the way water is handled and used. Could this purify water and economically heat homes at the same time?

Personal Flotation Device And Air Bag Technology Saves Lives For Skiers

Astounding You Tube Video Footage Link: Skiing in the mountains gets safer!

The chances of being dug up alive by your friends in a avalanche are actually not all that good. In a study by the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, 53% of people completely buried by avalanches did not survive, while only 4% of those who weren’t buried died. Your best bet is to stay on the surface, and an air bag provides a significantly better chance of that happening. Documented accidents show a 97% survival rate of avalanche victims with an ABS airbag. 

HOW THEY WORK - If the airbag wearer gets caught in an avalanche, they pull a trigger on the backpack’s shoulder strap and a compressed gas cylinder inflates a balloon. Basically avalanche air bags rely on the principle of inverse segregation. If you shake a bag full of sand and pebbles, the pebbles will rise to the surface as they have more volume than the sand grains. This would explain why the backpack airbags have such a large air bag when the are activated. The air bag is also meant to protect the head from receiving deadly impact. Like any in new innovation, testing and research reveals some design flaws. It has been found that the two chamber design increases your chances of survival. A second air chamber allows one bag to be punctured and the bag to remain inflated. The wrap around bag may protect the head, but cut down on peripheral vision needed to help the disaster victims escape. Even though this increases survival chances, there is a fear that this may push more thrill seekers to chance the more dangerous areas thinking they will survive.

Also read: Air bags are not just for cars any more!

Another video to watch: Riding out the avalanche.