A New Perspective

As I was randomly roaming the Technology Review, published by MIT, I found an article that related to the brain. I've always had a underlying interest in the brain, mainly its functions and its secrets.

Ever since brain research began, there has only been one way to "see" or "scan" the brain: mostly through electrical means (MRI's). However, surgeons apparently have found a better means. Scientists have developed a sensor that detects vital chemical signals in the brain. This could potentially help scientists measure the impact of electrical stimulation.

In order to understand the impact of this sensor, you must first know what deep brain simulation is. Deep brain simulation is a procedure that is used as a therapy to treat "challenging neurological diseases", wherein an implanted electrode delivers jolts of electricity to certain parts of the brain. It seems to be good therapy, considering that more than 75,000 have undergone this procedure, however there was very little known as to what it actually did to the brain that made it work so efficiently. Now, that question has been answered. Instead of seeing the brain through purely electrical signals, surgeons and scientists can have a look in the brain through biochemicals released by the brain during this activity.

In my belief, this new sensor allows for so much more improvement. It's almost like looking at a picture, and at the same time, being able to know what the surroundings felt like or what the conditions where during the picture. Through this sensor, it is potentially possible to even deliver a more effectively therapy, thus allowing for greater chances to live a life easier with Parkinson's or any other neurological diseases.

For references or further interests, you could find the article by Clicking Here.

Polymers Are Forever... like Diamonds, Just Not as Shiny..

It's impressive how much plastic actually surrounds us. You think that just because you don't see it, it isn't there. Weisman thoroughly explains how filled with tiny molecular pieces of plastic the world is. He makes a good point of saying that it would be better if most plastic was made with UV-sensitive material, so that it can biodegrade faster, and thus being safer, especially for the wildlife of this Earth. However, he finds an exception as to where that plan would still fail, considering plastic in water. I agree with him when he states that we basically have our own form of rolls of papyrus, where hundreds, maybe even thousands of years from now, newspapers would still exist. It's easy to see, through this perspective, how great of a job we're doing at destroying the Earth little by little.

Pluto in the News?

Considering my passion for the Universe and all that it holds, I was astounded when I found an article that had focused on activity on Pluto, one of the former 9 planets of the Solar System. I still believe and am faithful to the fact that Pluto is a planet, considering that this is what I've been taught since elementary school. In this particular article, published in the Science News magazine, Marc Buie, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., talks of his study of the "long thought dormant chunk of ice and rock" and how recent and rather sudden changes in its color are more striking than they seem. Although it seems to be minimal news, it is extremely surprising to Buie, as well as anyone in that field of research. Out of all of the nearby celestial bodies, Pluto seemed to have the greatest change in color. Buie found this dramatic change to be almost inexplicable, where the only reason he could think of was that of Pluto's "248-year orbit around the sun, which provides the body with seasons that are highly unequal in length".

On a completely irrelevant note, considering that Pluto was technically kicked out of the Solar System, I found it very ironic that now we seem to go back to studying its changes much like we would study the changes of the traditional planets.

For further interest, you could read the article by Clicking Here .

Fly Like A Bird

To be honest, I don’t have an awe-inspiring story of why I became interested in becoming an engineer. I never did much as a kid, not specifically anyways. My only aspiration was accomplishing the impossible. I wanted to do something that would catch the eye of the entire world. I wanted to put my name out there. In a sense, I wanted to be famous, but not like the average celebrity. I’m no superhero, but I always desired the recognition or acknowledgement for something that I had done or created, something that was thought to be impossible, or at least improbable.

Something that my parents have taught me that has kept me going this far is that in order to achieve something so great, you have to be passionate about it. Now, one of my few interests has always been the Universe. I would sit outside and look up, day and night, and just stare, wondering about what lay past the clouds. My biggest question was “How the hell do I get up there?” I wanted to know everything there was to know about the Universe, and I wanted to see it with my own eyes. Here began my obsession with flying.

Because of my height, or should I say lack of height, flying has been a bit restricted for me. However, I never let that stop my drive to create something that would venture to the furthest reaches of space. Although I wished to be the astronaut that got the opportunity to go into Space, I decided late in my high school career to become the person that would make it possible for their astronomic travel. Through research, I realized that the only way that I would have the opportunity to work with NASA or other manufacturers of air and space vehicles would be by studying Aerospace Engineering. My passion is flying and space travel, and even though I can’t physically go myself, I want to be fabricate a vehicle that would allow human beings to travel farther than ever before and expand our reach into the Universe.