A woman in southern Germany watching the sunset via a webcam over the Internet helped save the life of a tourist lost on the frozen North Sea several hundred kilometers away. She saw the tourist's camera flashes and contacted police.
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Internet: Don't look too closely at white parts.
Courtesy The OPTE Project40 years ago today Leonard Kleinrock sent the first internet message via a network between Stanford University and UCLA. I think the message said something like, "Dooood! Did you hear than new Girl Talk song? He totally mashed the Trashmen and Herman's Hermits perfectly." But seriously, this simple messaging technology set the ground for the interconnected web of computers that is pretty much essential to my daily life today.
Happy Birthday Internet. At 40, I suppose it's time you bought a Porsche.
Did you know that the web page that you are staring at right now can produce as much CO2 as an SUV? Well, not science buzz itself but, the internet as a whole is a major contributer to the greenhouse gas, equaling the amount produced by the entire aviation industry. When you think about it, its not as amazing of a fact as it first appears to be. Just imagine the amount of electricity that is used to power all of the computers used in businesses and homes. Add to that the real culprit, all of the servers in data centers that store pictures, videos, and websites.
The data centers run 24/7
Data Center
Courtesy Gregory Maxwell saving and processing information for internet users around the world. The amount of energy needed to run the servers is large but that is not the only consumer of electricity. The cooling systems for the rows and rows of buzzing machines eat electrons like popcorn. All of this electricity needs to come from somewhere and that is where the CO2 comes into play. Its the coal burning plants that add the gases to the environment.
Making more energy efficient cooling systems, better software, and using recycled water are some of the steps companies have made to create a greener internet. Although it is hard to measure how much CO2 each internet action adds and a direct comparison to cars is not available, this is something to think about when watching the latest youtube video. Its not only your computer you're powering.
In this age of über-social networking via the internet and assorted technologies the folks at CollegeHumor.com have come up with a rather clever (and nicely-produced) spoof of the classic American musical "West Side Story". Inter-gang relations just ain't what they used to be.
History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.
Biography
- I wish I were an expert in:
- creating web pages.
- Dream jobs:
- Teaching?
Science in my life
- What is science to you?
- exploring
- I would invent
- up and at 'em machine.
- Technology I love
- cell phones, ipods, computers.
- Technology that drives me crazy
- everything when it doesn't work, when you want it to work.
- What technology do you use every day?
- cell phone, ipod, and computer.
- What math do you use every day?
- just something new to learn.
Human brain
Courtesy WikipediaResearch coming out of the University of California shows that surfing the web is not only good for your brain but may aid in countering the natural slow-down the brain experiences from aging. With the amount of time I spend on the Internet, this could mean the aging process in my own brain has come to a complete standstill. Why don't you give your own brain a boost by going here for the full story.
A computer program called CyberLover mimics the conversation of an on-line dating service chat room. The program fools users into divulging personal information, which can lead to identity theft -- and heartbreak.
RevolutionHealth.com: A Health 2.0 community
Courtesy RevolutionHealth
What is Health 2.0?
Health 1.0 would be like going to the doctor and the doctor tells you his diagnosis and prescribes a treatment plan. Health 2.0 involves more interactive communication involving groups of patients and doctors.
Treating a sty in my eye the old way
To demonstrate how Health 2.0 works I am going to share with you a health problem I recently had and how it might be resolved using these two models of health care. I have had allergies for several decades but after getting sawdust in my eye, my eyes often were itchy. After a few months of this I noticed a sty on the inside of my lower eyelid (a white, puss filled pustule). I tried squeezing it. Eventually I managed to lance it with a needle. After repeating this "treatment" four more times over the next six months I decided to consult a doctor.
First, I did an internet search and decided that I had blepharitis and recurring hordeolums. I printed out data about these conditions and scheduled a doctor appointment. The doctor did not want to look at my information. He did not even want to look at my eyes but instead said, "I am referring you to an eye specialist".
The eye specialist agreed with my diagnosis and wrote a prescription for both antibiotic pills and eye drops. He said I needed to practice good eye hygiene for the rest of my life (using hot packs and swabbing my lower eyelids with diluted baby shampoo).
Treating a sty in my eye the Health 2.0 way
The first website I joined that had many Health 2.0 type features was Revolution Health. Upon landing on their home page you might first notice red box (upper right) to help you find a doctor, dentist, or hospital. Upon clicking on it I was given the choices "find doctor or specialist by specialty, conditions, or treatments & procedures. Another option was to see "patient reviews and ratings on doctors, dentists, and hospitals in your area."
My hope was to learn about my problem and fix it without needing a doctor so I found a feature called "symptom-checker" provided by MayoClinic.com. First I looked under adult symptoms (child symptoms are in a different column). I then clicked on "Eye discomfort and redness" I checked the box by "Red, painful lump on eyelid" and clicked submit. The result was "A sty is an eyelid infection. Treatment may be with antibiotics." There was also a link labeled "sty" that took me to an eight page article about styes (hordeolums) advising what to do and not do (apply hot compresses and "Don't try to squeeze the pus from a sty on your own"). Three people had rated this advice, two gave it a zero and one gave it a 50%.
Entering "sty" in their "search" box resulted in 82 hits. On top was Revolution Health's page labeled "Sty" with links to basics, causes, treatments, and when to see a doctor. There were also links to Dr. Jackie Griffiths "A blog of vision: focus on your eyes" and a post titled Styes: When should they be removed?
In second place was a page about "ocular lubricant" for sty relief including use, side effects, interactions, dosage, and important information.
A Health 2.0 community should help you:
- Figure out what the problem is (differential diagnosis)
- Decide on and apply a treatment plan
- Recommends doctors near to you that have experience with treating your problem
- Provides you with patient satisfaction data (based upon feedback from their previous patients) for various doctors.
- Provide access to forums (on line discussion) where people who have your problem can offer support or share what they have learned that might help you with your problem.
iMedix is another Health 2.0 service
Another health search engine + patient social network startup is iMedix. iMedix is now in beta mode (early experimental phase). I plan to join up and will write another review soon.
Mac OSX version screenshot courtesy coin-operatedHere at the museum, we just got a nice bump up in our broadband from our provider. It feels rather luxurious! But while I might feel like I'm speeding on the internet superhighway, according to a new study from the Communications Workers of America union, the United States' average speeds are falling behind those of other industrialized nations. The study is the first state-by-state report of internet connection speeds.
According to Speed Matters, people in Japan can download whole movies in two minutes (while it takes me, sadly, an entire evening). On their website, you can view a map showing average download rates by county. Many counties, however, had little data because connections were so slow participants didn't complete the speed test.
Want to see how fast your connection is? Let Mr. T1 deliver that news. Mr. T1 is a little freebie application from coin-operated that makes monitoring your speed just a little more fun.
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Science Buzz is supported by the National Science Foundation.Copyright © Science Museum of Minnesota, 2004-2010, except where noted.
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