Environmentally-Friendly Explosives

From C|Net's News.com comes a report that German scientists are developing more-environmentally-friendly bombs. Yep, you read that right... green bombs.

The idea is that by creating explosives that are nitrogen-based (instead of traditional carbon-based explosives), the scientists can create explosives that are more stable (i.e., less prone to explode from mis-handling) as well as not giving off toxic gases. Now people who are being blown up can be safe in the knowledge that their surroundings are not going to be polluted by toxic gases after their dead.

And, it turns out, the new explosives may actually be more powerful than the same volume of conventional explosives.

Doctors Attempt to Re-Grow Soldier's Missing Finger

In a major new medical study of regenerative medicine, Pentagon researchers, Army doctors, and a team of researchers at several of the nation's top medical facilities are attempting to help a soldier re-grow a finger that was lost to a bomb attack in Baghdad last year, according to a top story from CNN. The procedure, which involves applying a specially formulated powder to the wounded body part, was inspired by the regenerative abilities of salamanders.

The powder—nicknamed "pixie dust" by some of the people at Brooke Army Medical Center—is made from tissue extracted from pigs, and works by forming a microscopic lattice that attracts stem cells and convinced them to grow into the tissue that used to be there. The researchers consider re-growing a finger to be the first step which, if successful, could lead to further tests to grow replacement organs for patients in need of transplant.

This is another example of technology being developed for the U.S. military that could have far-reaching implications for civilians around the world. For example, since I'm not eligible for laser eye surgery, I've been telling people I'm willing to wait about fifteen years until the doctors can just grow me new eyes. With this technology, that timetable may even be possible.

New Process Improves Cost, Usefulness of Titanium

Researchers working with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have devised a new system for creating objects using titanium powder that could dramatically reduce the cost of using the material. The process uses considerably less energy for constructing parts from titanium powders because it does not involve having to melt the powders.

The researchers see new applications in armor for soldiers and vehicles, new alloys for brake rotors, more durable artificial join replacements, and more. The clearest gain is in armor for military vehicles. The titanium alloy armors do a much better job of stopping bullets and shrapnel, but are also lighter. By being lighter, the vehicles become more responsive and mobile, making them more useful to the military. And obviously, by stopping more bullets, the vehicles are clearly more useful to the soldiers inside.

Similarly, new corrosion-resistant alloys could make their way into automobiles, making them lighter and more responsive and helping improve their fuel efficiency.

Boeing Fires High-Energy Chemical Laser

According to a report from the New Mexico Business Weekly, Boeing has for the first time fired its high-energy laser weapon from a C-130H aircraft, demonstrating its ability to precisely hit targets on the ground with minimal collateral damage.

I haven't seen any video footage of the event, but that's okay. I saw the movie a long time ago. One has to wonder if they went through extra precautions to make sure that Val Kilmer was nowhere near the site of their test....

Robotic Exoskeletons

From CNN comes news of a robotic exoskeleton being developed for the military. This isn't the first time I've seen reports about the military's plans for this sort of thing, but it is the first time I've seen an advanced demonstration and up-to-date information.

Technology like this could go a long way toward keeping our soldiers alive in dangerous situations, but it could also do more. Imagine if a group of a hundred or a thousand relief workers equipped with this technology could be deployed following a major disaster, such as the recent earthquake in China. Combing through the rubble in a powered exoskeleton would be much faster, and could save a large number of lives by getting to trapped people sooner.

Be More

Wired has an article today about the U.S. military's efforts to improve the capabilities of its soldiers. While the article mostly focuses on defense applications, the two main efforts they highlight have applications beyond the military.

One that I found interesting was a device called "the Glove", which is used to help regulate body temperature. Their researchers discovered that muscle fatigue turns out to actually be caused not by the loss of stored sugars, but rather because they overheat. The Glove cools the blood as it circulates, and their tests demonstrate that such a simple act can increase endurance dramatically (one of the researchers demonstrates by doing 600 pull-ups, and the other by doing 1,000 push-ups... on his 60th birthday).

A prototype of the Glove also can be used to warm the blood in frigid conditions, allowing for better regulation of body temperatures in extreme conditions.

The article also highlights research into a method of putting animals (and potentially humans) into stasis for short time periods. In one example, mice were put into stasis in a 5% oxygen environment and drained of 60% of their blood, a situation that should have been instantly fatal. Instead, the mice survived for ten hours or more.

The military's goal for this research, obviously, is to allow soldiers who've been shot to survive long enough for medical care to get to them, especially in an era when smaller units means troops are travelling without medics. But this technology could also be used for treating traumas, and I can foresee a time when all ambulances will be equipped with the necessary gear for putting a patient into a form of stasis until blood can be supplied and their wounds treated. It may even be useful as a viable alternative to anesthesia for surgery.

This sounds like some pretty cool technology, and I can't wait until it's available to the mass market. I'd love to have something like the Glove for when I jog my half marathon.