Blog Post Two

   The article that I read for this blog post was all about pigments and how there are certain pigments in the skin that people are now turning to, to create safer batteries. The pigment that is the focus of this article is called melanin and it is the same pigment in your skin that allows you to tan your skin. Not only are scientists thinking that this will be used in the future to create non-toxic batteries but they may also use this pigment to allow for internal monitoring. When they say that this pigment will make a safer battery what they mean is that it will be able to be ingested or swallowed and will not cause harm such as lithium batteries do now.

   After reading this article I must say that I was really amazed and I really want to know more as to how exactly they are doing this. If I had to say something about how others would see this article I think that most would like this idea. You are taking something that is found naturally in your body and you are using it for something that you use in your everyday life. If this was to be put into use in the world many good things could come out of it such as the fact that people would not be exposed to the toxic material inside of the batteries that are used now. Even though they are used because they work for a long time they are still highly toxic to people. Parents out there would probably like this new idea of the battery made of a pigment in your skin because it’s found on your body and it can be swallowed and it will not put toxic material into your mouth.

   For me personally, I really do like this idea of putting a pigment that is found on your body into batteries. The only problem would be does it actually work as efficiently as a lithium battery.  I don’t think that if it doesn’t work as long as a regular battery now, that people would really want to use it. People don’t seem to like things that don’t work efficiently. If this new pigment doesn’t work well I cannot see it taking off. Yes, it is safer but if it doesn’t work well I would probably use the lithium battery instead. Also in the article it discusses that other materials found in nature may work more efficiently such as squids ink since it has a higher density of the melanin pigment. According to the studies done by these scientists who have been researching this topic and doing labs on it, they say that if they are going to use safer substances for batteries then the best way to go would be to find a substance that has a high density of the melanin pigment. The reason that this is, is because these substances would be work more efficiently as a battery.  One thing that the researchers also noticed was that melanin was better at hold a charge than man made versions that are currently used in making batteries which is interesting.  Over time I feel that people will become more accustomed to things like this that will make peoples everyday lives safer even if it’s just using a battery that contains pigments from skin.

Website: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24728-skin-pigment-could-power-safe-implantable-battery.html#.UqjwIvRDseg

Blog Post One

     The article that I read for this first blog post of the year was about stem cells and how a group of scientists have found a possible way to take these specialized stem cells and to use them to help people with certain eye diseases. This procedure, according to the article, is about a minute long and can help people who have been born blind or have become blind. During the procedure it is said that they inject a certain substance into a membrane that allows for the stem cell research to be able to move forward drastically. The goal of this would be that they would be able to help so many people with coronary diseases.  

     After reading this article I feel that people would be very interested as to how they were able to do something like this. To some it may seem amazing to others it is quite controversial. There are two big issues with this new discovery with stem cell research.

      On one hand it is truly amazing how it can help so many people and it really is a good thing to be able to help so many people. So many could benefit from having this new opportunity. People who have been blinded by burns, cancer, and genetic disadvantages could all be helped with this new research. However there are always risks when you do something such as this. This article is only talking about how they are able to begin conducting research on these stem cells and they may put it through to clinical trials. But until they get this into clinics no one can be sure that it is going to work well. No one can really know what will happen if they do this and they don't know if things could take a turn for worse rather than better with this new surgery or procedure. There is not a clear way to determine what exactly would happen if a person were to undergo it.

     There is also the fact that stem cell research is extremely controversial. Not everyone one agrees with the research that they do. Everyone knows that there are two sides to this problem there are the people who think that it is the greatest thing ever and then there are others who question why they are doing what they do. On one hand many could benefit from this new research done but others may view this differently. The issue being that the way that they obtain stem cells is not very good. They are basically taking away life to help create these things that, while being very helpful and useful, still bare the fact that they are taken from life that hadn’t exactly had a chance to live. So while this new discovery is incredible and it is a breakthrough for stem cell research it still is quite controversial.


The website used : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131127105952.htm