Developments to Watch
Edited by Paul Raeburn
Calming the Tremors of Parkinson's
Researchers have long searched for a better way to treat a central feature of Parkinson's disease: a decline in dopamine, which helps control movement. Waning levels of that key brain chemical produce the tremors and other movement disorders characteristic of Parkinson's. But drug replacements such as L-dopa can become less effective over time, and transplants of dopamine-producing fetal tissue are often rejected.
To solve the rejection problem, researchers at Titan Pharmaceuticals of South San Francisco have come up with a treatment called Spheramine--a tiny gelatin grid carrying cells from the adult eye's retina that produce dopamine. Spheramine, which is implanted into the brain, uses cells that are easily cultured in a lab, ensuring a plentiful, standardized supply. And the grids shield the cells from destruction by the body's immune system, says Titan.
In an early clinical trial, Spheramine has been tested on six patients for more than a year. On Apr. 17, at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Denver, researchers reported that all six had significant improvement in motor function, and three showed a reduction in tremors. Thus far, say the researchers, the therapy appears to be safe and well tolerated.
By Catherine Arnst
Windows You Can Hold in Your Hand
Today's pocket PCs and palms offer all the computing power most people need in a handheld. But there are times when only full-fledged Windows will do. An engineer might need to run a custom Windows application while working under an airplane, say, or a doctor might need to carry one from bed to bed.
Tiquit Computers, a design outfit in Redwood City, Calif., has built the smallest Windows computer on record. The goal, says CEO Ian Blasch, is to run all existing Windows software in a package not much bigger than a typical handheld.
The Tiquit eightythree weighs 20 ounces, including battery, and measures a mere 5.4 by 4 by 1.1 inches, with a 4-in. color display. For input, there's a small 56-key keyboard, similar to those on BlackBerry pagers, and a touch screen. The design is based on a Pentium-class National Semiconductor Geode processor running at up to 300 MHz with 256 megabytes of memory and a 10-gigabyte Toshiba hard drive. The battery gives four hours of life on a charge.
Don't rush out to buy one, though. As a 10-person design company, Tiquit needs a partner to bring the prototype to market. Blasch estimates the price would come in somewhere between a Pocket PC handheld and a low-end laptop--or around $1,000.
By Steve Wildstrom
Copier, Spare That Tree
By the end of April, all 1,100 Staples stores will begin selling a high-quality paper for copying machines and computer printers that is made with a new recycling process using no new wood and no chlorine.
Vanguard Recycled Plus, manufactured by Living Tree Paper of Eugene, Ore., is composed of 90% post-consumer waste paper (the stuff you throw in your recycling bin), and 10% hemp and flax fibers for strength.
The paper costs $6.99 per ream, or about $2 more than conventional copier paper. But it's thicker and can also be used as stationery, says Carolyn Moran, Living Tree's founder and president. She started the company in 1994, when she was editing an environmental magazine and couldn't find recycled paper of high enough quality to print it on.
Owen Davis, a spokesman for Staples, vouches for the paper's quality and says the company will promote it as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional paper. But will it sell? "I'm a little nervous," says Moran. She's hoping consumers will show Staples that recycling matters.
By Paul Raeburn
Turf Toe May Soon Be a Thing of the Past
The plastic used in automobile bumpers to protect cars during crashes now has a new application--as an artificial turf for indoor and outdoor sports that could help reduce injuries. Named XLTurf, it absorbs a high level of impact and doesn't tear people's skin when they slide on it, reducing contusions, abrasions, and turf burns. And unlike natural grass, XLTurf's density and traction remain practically the same despite changes in weather.
XLTurf, used so far mostly in soccer, is made from a polypropylene plastic manufactured by BASF that auto makers have used for more than 10 years. Because it is lightweight, waterproof, and resilient, it is ideal for use as a sports turf. "We found the surface to be softer and safer than even natural grass," says Frederic Vachon, an engineer at the University of Quebec in Montreal. While most other artificial turfs require an underlayer of sand or rubber to have the qualities of grass, XLTurf can be attached directly to a cement foundation with Velcro, making maintenance and installation cheaper.
Manufactured by XLTurf in Montreal, the new surface has been used in more than 1,000 amateur soccer matches at Quebec's ARS Laval Complex. XLTurf Vice-President Richard Goulet says the company is now getting inquiries from European soccer teams and American baseball and football teams.
By Darnell Little
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Copyright 2002 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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