Three New Kinds of Gadgets!

Last Tuesday afternoon I did my first class as an English teacher practitioner –It was very exciting, by the way! I was in charge of an 8º grade and I had to start teaching them a unit that contained the topic of new technologies and some grammar related to the structure of “passive voice."

Regarding the subject of new technologies, there was a listening activity that pointed out to the new kinds of devices that have been developed during the last time. Jeff, the student who had traveled to Las Vegas in order to visit a technology fair to know everything about these gadgets, said there were three new amazing inventions that are already being sold online: 3D computers, solar bags, and electronic pen scanners.

According to Jeff’s description, by covering a screen with a special 3D film and wearing 3D glasses people are able to watch old movies and photos on computers --it sounds great, doesn’t it? Then, he mentioned the solar bags, which look like normal bags, but they can generate a power used for batteries of cellphones and MP3 players; so, we won’t need to use electricity anymore! Can you believe it?    

In the case of electronic pen scanners, my favorites! , they are meant to read a text and store the information on their memories; furthermore, this information can be transferred to a computer via a USB flash drive. Also, these pens have advantages in terms of design, portability and price! I’m sure all students will love it! 

Which one of these gadgets would you like to have?

Cloudy days are bad for our health

It is common to hear that a constantly exposure to the sunlight is dangerous for our health. What if I told you that scientists have discovered that one reason of lacking vitamin D in our body is because we don’t spend the necessary time under the sun? Surprising? Well, it is true.

The Vitamin D, or so-called sunshine vitamin, is a very important nutrient which our body produces in abundance when we exposed our skin to the sun’s rays. The importance of this vitamin is continually growing because of the several benefits that it can bring to our health, such as preventing us from cancer, and multiple sclerosis.

Nowadays, people try to avoid sunshine covering their bodies, or even worse, staying at home. This strange and modern disease is more and more frequent in children and in teenagers, why? Unlike many years ago, children don’t go out from their houses to play outside; now, they prefer to stay playing video games or using the computer. These situations are leading that many people start to suffer from diseases caused by the vitamin-D deficiency.

The sun’s rays could be very aggressive with our body, but the absence of these is also an imminent problem for our health. Are we willing of having serious diseases instead of going out and enjoy the sun and its benefits? It is time to think about it.

It's all about colour, girl!

(full article available on http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3language=english&type=&article_id=218391833)

The last Christmas my mother gave me a beautiful jacket. It fitted me perfect, but the color was awful, so I spent the whole December 26th uselessly trying to find another one.

Common problems like this could be solved with the following invention: a nanotech-including fabric that can change of colour as many times as you please.  

This nanotechnology was developed—firstly with military and camouflage purpose—by Professor Yoel Fink and his colleagues of the Department of Material Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Combining two extremely thin layers of glass and plastic, Scientifics created a fabric capable to reflex the light in different ways, changing the colour that viewers perceive. Additionally, the military clothes include an invisible bar code (only visible using especial glasses) to identify friend and foes in the battlefield.

In the fashion industry, this discovery certainly will be a revolution. Could you imagine yourself wearing a plain black, gray or navy blue dress or suit for work, and then to change it into a more exciting colour to go dancing after work?   MIT graduate student, and member of Dr. Fink staff, Shandon Hart is working on making this fabric commercial, adding a small battery which provides the electric impulse needed to change the internal structure of the fabric; thus, its colour.

Timothy M. Gunn, chair of design department at Parsons School of Design in New York, said that this is “incredibly revolutionary,” envisioning its use in clubs, celebrity parties and red carpets. He also predicts that at the beginning it may be used in accessories, as hats, scarves and clutches; for men in jackets and shoes.  In the field of home design, he said that it may be use in curtains and tablecloths.

Do you buy and wear a changing-colour piece of clothes or it is too much?

Girls and video games.

Who said football and video games were only for boys?
Every time I hang out with boy friends and they ask who wants to play video games with them and I raise my hand or simply say : Me! Is like I don't even exist. Although I cannot say that from every boy I know; there are some out there who think differently.

At first I didn't even care because I wasn't that interested in video games, nevertheless, in football. Now all I want is for them to let me play.

My obsession with football video games began last year when in an attempt to please my boyfriend and do something he liked, for a change, I ended up learning the techniques and strategies to beat my boyfriend's... well, you know what.

It took a lot of practice actually and until this day I cannot say I'm a pro but I have the best times with him.

I tested myself playing with other guys and I can say that I survived. I'm proud of myself because there some boys out there who have been playing this game for years, since this particular video game saw the light. Imagine what I could do in the time they have been playing. Yeah! I know it sounds like I'm bragging, but I just want to make my point here. We girls can also do the same stuff boys do!

The game that I'm talking about is called PES ( and yes! I know what it stands for. ) This game is also known as Winning Eleven for it has a Japanese version. It was developed by the Konami video games company.

In a difficult - at the beginning - button combination, you can control the players of your football team and finally score. Of course, it is not that simple but you get the hang of it !

Now, Konami has released a new version of the game which is called PES 2013. For those of you who are almost experts, you might see a huge difference, but for me there isn't. The menu is different and there are some new features that you might like, but if you're not a pro you may not need them. The button combination is also different but you can go to settings and change them if you want to.

So girls, for those of you who want to try something different, keep your boyfriend company by playing with him instead of just watching him play; or if you just want to call some guys attention, try playing video games.
I know you'll have a great time !

PES 2013 Review !!

Energy Issues

Everyday we use electricity without being aware of its existence. We are jolted out of our complacency only when there is a blackout or when we forget to pay the bills. Electricity has become vital to the form and function of our society; It is everywhere you look, in refrigerators to cars, EMG machines to toys. As the world began to need more and more this precious form of energy, we have sought it out in numerous ways.

In the 20th century nuclear energy became one of these ways, and at first it seemed to be the least-polluting option. The process primarily involves pressurizing water in a reactor: water is enclosed in three separate but interacting loops, absorbing heat in the first loop from nuclear fission, then moving into the lower pressure second loop where the water boils, emitting steam to power the generator’s turbines. The steam is cooled and condensed in a heat exchange within the third loop, which transports the water to the cooling tower. After cooling it returns to loop one, the water is re-heated, and the cycle repeats.

This kind of energy doesn't seem dangerous, but remember Japan’s Tohoku Earthquake and the leaks in three nuclear reactors. The entire world was worried about what would have happened those plants had exploded, as well as the implications the disaster set for their own nuclear programs. No country on Earth wants another Chernobyl on their soil.

What if a nucear plant was goig to be built where you live now; would you move?

Say yes to the e-wedding

Planning a wedding is one of the most stressful things that a bride has to handle. If you don’t have enough money to hire a professional wedding planner, or you want to make it more personal, doing everything by yourself, cell phones and smart phones provide a wide range of software and applications to make this work easier.

Blackberry

Blackberry wedding planner: This application allows you to plan every detail of your wedding, as same as it provides some advice and suggestions for making you wedding day ‘the best day of your life.’  This application is completely free and it´s available on Blackberry’s official webpage.

iPhone / iPod

iWedding iPhone Wedding Planner: Free application which helps you to plan every detail of your future wedding, combining an agenda, note pads, on-line advice and the possibility to share your information with your future husband or friends. Available on App Store.

Ultimate Wedding Planner for Iphone and iPad: Create and control your guest list, create and check your to-do list, receive and compare different budgets, search your wedding dress on-line… These are examples of thing that you can do with this application, available on App Store.

Android

Wedding planning: Free application that allows you to do all you need to make your day especial. Available on Android Market.

Money Saver: This application allows you to control all your expenses, stick to your budget and it can be use in your daily life.

Free sample version: 
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.israelcardenas.moneysaverlite  

Full version available for less than 2 dollars on: 
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.israelcardenas.moneysaver 

            As you see, with this new technology, having your dreamt wedding doesn’t have to be a nightmare!

(For further information visit http://www.todoboda.com) 

Green tea: the most healthy beverage

      Have you ever drunk Green tea? What do you know about its healthy benefits?    Is it worth drinking it?                                                                                                     This variety of tea comes from the Camellia Sinensis Plant  which grows in China. From this species are harvested more than 50 different varieties of teas. The differences from one to another are ascribed to the process which all the different types of teas go through. In the process of Green tea, leaves and leaf buds are taken prematurely from the plant in order to get a very-low level of oxidation in the tea. That is really important for the beverage, given that premature harvest keeps the natural benefits of the plant.

 Green tea has caught the attention of the scientific world, which has conducted many researches throughout the years. Because of that, many other properties of the Chinese tea itself have been discovered -- as well as its components, such as: zinc, vitamin C, L- Theanine, among others.
 Some of the discoveries are the following:
-         2001, Oregon State University: Green tea stimulates the immune     system and avoids autoimmune disorders.                                                                                               

  -         2005, Case Western Reserve University:  Antioxidants in Green tea reduces the impact of rheumatoid arthritis on elderly people.                                                                                                        -         2005, AJCM:  Consuming Green tea for 12 weeks, reduces fat and It might prevent obesity and related diseases.                                                     

 -        2006, Tohoku University:  5 or more daily cups of Green tea reduce mortality due to all causes, in a 16 %. Also, it reduces the risk of a cardiovascular disease in a 26 %. 

          

 As you could see, Green tea has many  healthy benefits to your body. Also there are many others that might be discovered. So, why dont you start drinking it by now?  

This misraculous beverage will give you the opportunity to make your life healthier ! 

This is a complementary video on how to make green tea:

                                             

No more alcoholism

Alcoholism is one of the issues that most affects our society today. Many people have lost everything and end their lives living in the streets due to this addiction.

Nevertheless, nowadays the solution for this problem could go beyond psychological therapy. Do you know where is it? Here in Chile! A team of scientists from “Universidad de Chile” are working to produce an anti alcoholism vaccine. The vaccine injects a gene, already present in the 20% of the Asian population, which blocks the action of an enzyme, "dehyde dehydrogenase", this enzyme metabolizes the alcohol in our system. Without it, the unease provoked by the consumption of alcohol, such as dizziness, tachycardia or vasodilatation, is exacerbated. Therefore, patients react so violently to alcohol that it inhibits their addiction  Most current therapies against alcoholism block this enzyme, but as they are patches or pills they depend on the patient’s will to take the medication. The vaccine affects the liver cells directly, and one shot a month would be sufficient to help alleviate the addiction.

When testing alcoholic rats, they diminished their consumption of alcohol by 50%. They hope to reduce the consumption of alcohol in humans by a 90% to 95%. The process is slow because they need to pass many stages to get the final product, but if everything goes as planned the vaccine will be available in 2014. But is it good to depend on a vaccine? Might more people start drinking alcohol recklessly because they know that a vaccine exists that could cure their addiction?

 Here you can find some international news regarding this discovery

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2011/01/07/vaccine-alcoholism-works-chile/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1344971/Vaccine-alcoholism-works-making-feel-sick-drink.html
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/159226.html
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/chilean-researchers-to-test-vaccine-against-alcholism/story-e6frg8y6-1225983868771

Non-distorting Mirror

At first sight it could sound as the most useless invention in the world.  Thinking in the mirror that we have in our bathrooms or bedrooms, who cares how exact their reflexes are?  But what happen in situations where an accurate reflex is needed? 

If you have driven a car—or travelled in the passenger seat—you should have notice the inscription in the side mirrors “objects are closer than they appear.”  This is because the curve surfaces of those mirrors, designed for giving the driver a wider view, produce that distortion in the depth perception, increasing the risk of having a crush while you are  driving or parking your car. A flat mirror, on the other hand, gives a more accurate perception of depth, but it has a blind spot just beyond driver´s left shoulder, which seems to be less important, due to U.S. regulation obliges car manufactures install flat side mirrors in their cars.

Andrew Hicks, a mathematician at Drexel University, discovered a wide view mirror without distortion or blind point. After years of investigation, Hicks developed a mirror with a field of view of 45 degrees (simple mirrors have a 15 to 17 degree field of view.)

This new technology is still in testing, but in a couple of years, it will be the car accessory of the future.

To watch the full article, please visit https://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=patent-watch-wide-angle-non-distorting-mirror

THEY are watching us

Did you know that big companies are using your personal information so they can grow their business?

Since 1960, everything that we do and purchase is being watched, processed and studied. Whenever we find attractive ads that appeal to our needs, is because our consumer behavior is being observed. Twenty years later, with the development of new computerized databases and sophisticated studies, many companies have obtained much more information of customers in order to predict a future behavior and to maintain a successful business.

Data Mining is the software that companies have used to gather large amounts of lists of information and analyze them through mathematical algorithms to find out the most profitable group of consumers and what those consumers have in common, so it is easier to predict what they are going to buy. All these information is used to find the most profitable market; the one that will directly appeal to the consumers by designing attractive advertisements, based on models created when all the information was gathered.

Data Mining is everywhere, and it is not only used by large companies such as Facebook, YouTube  Adidas, etc., it's also used by every little business that wants to enlarge their market.
So it's not a surprise when you find out that the internet suggests what to buy, do, or who to be friends with. Your personal information (even your credit cards) is rapidly spread, and its being sold for economic and marketing purposes.

Do you think that this software is crossing the line? Do you feel like being spied?