http://thedesignspace.net/ My daily explorations, troubleshooting, solutions and discoveries. en-us ellen@thedesignspace.net Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:26:52 -0500 http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000857.html An interesting peek at the not too distant future of visual, gestural interfaces. Thin, light, responsive and embedded. Every incremental improvement in devices and UI's enables a whole new range of expression and interaction, so I'm looking forward to a small cultural revolution based on the ideas shown here.... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000745.html Research starting in the early 90's has suggested a neurodevelopmental basis for schizophrenia. Other studies suggest a biochemical basis for this abnormal development in schizophrenics related to insufficient fatty acids - fatty acids that contribute to the phospholipids which are the building blocks of neuronal membranes. Growth of axons and dendrites, making new synaptic connections and pruning of old ones,... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000740.html Photo by Two Big Paws [CC] Around 15 years ago, Tasmanian Devils, those cute little bad-tempered creatures from Down Under, began vanishing as a consequence of a new disease spreading rapidly among the population. Around 1996, a photographer documented severe facial tumors in the Devils in the northeast of Tasmania. By 1999, similar tumors appeared in Devils on the... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000730.html According to CDC statistics, U.S. childhood asthma prevalence more than doubled between 1980 to the mid-1990s and has since plateaued at those historically high levels. Although many triggers and risk factors for asthma have been identified, the reasons behind this increase are not yet understood. A recent study by University of Adelaide researchers Whitrow, Moore, Rumbold, and Davies may shed... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000714.html Back in the 90's, a woman named Dixie Lawrence made a splash on the internet by describing how her daughter with Down Syndrome experienced improved growth, health and cognition after starting a regimen of nutritional supplements and piracetam. I recall reading that she noticed that her infant daughter was not actually retarded - at least not yet. Dixie's routine for... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000675.html If this is true, it could be revolutionary. Fossils From Animals And Plants Are Not Necessary For Crude Oil And Natural Gas, Swedish Researchers Find ScienceDaily (2009-09-12) -- Researchers in Sweden have managed to prove that fossils from animals and plants are not necessary for crude oil and natural gas to be generated. The findings are revolutionary since this means,... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000667.html Where is the best spot for an educational (or other) intervention? When there is a workforce performance or knowledge gap to fill, trainers understandably think first of using training to fill it. But is more training really always the best answer? Depending on the skills involved and the characteristics of the audience, process improvement, usability improvement, training or performance support... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000649.html http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000648.html Although some great books [1 and 2] have been written about the huge changes being wrought on society and culture by the digital revolution, it's just as interesting to speculate about the smaller consequences of the adoption of new technology. Here are some of the ones I've noticed, but perhaps you will have your own to add. Please jump in... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000587.html Back in early 2008 I remember hearing about a cluster of cases of Hepatitis apparently caused by reusing needles at an endoscopy clinic in Nevada. I've heard other news stories like this over the years and always wondered who in this day and age would ever use a needle on more than one patient? It never occurred to me that... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000486.html The problem: Over the last few years, public attention has been focused increasingly on the problem of nosocomial or hospital acquired infections (HAI's). Why is there so much concern? A study by the CDC published in the March/April 2007 issue of the journal Public Health Reports, estimated that 1.7 million hospital patients per year ― 4.5 of every 100 admissions... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000618.html Anecdotal evidence that autistic children improve when they have a fever was confirmed last year when the journal Pediatrics published a study documenting their positive behavioral changes. In November of 2008, scientists at Yeshiva University's Einstein College of Medicine published a theory that may explain these changes. They suggest that the brains of autistic people are structurally normal but disregulated,... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000608.html Last fall we took a trip around Colorado which took us through nearly every type of landscape Colorado has to offer, including the town of Ouray, nestled in the Mountains, fantastic fall colors of the Kebler Pass area and the dry, dramatic Mesa Verde region in the Southwest. The map below is an interactive Google map, showing all the main... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000599.html There is growing interest in the use of intranasally administered insulin for treating symptoms of early alzheimers and for improving memory and cognition in general. An article published in Neurology in 2008 describes the results of a double-blind study of 25 participants with early alzheimers who were given either insulin or a placebo using an electronic atomizer, daily. They found... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000572.html Norovirus is a highly infectious stomach virus that thrives in closed communities like dormitories and cruise ships. It only takes a few virus particles to cause illness, and is relatively hard to kill. Like the flu virus, it rapidly undergoes genetic modification, and thus defeats any immunity that may have developed in the population. Every year the news is full...