Weird Science

Finding effective ways to stop people driving their car while drunk could save many lives each year.The dangers of drink driving have been the subject of campaigns and legal crackdowns for years. While these measures have proven to decrease the number of alcohol related deaths on the roads, there is still much room for improvement. To tackle this, a research team lead by Bud Zaouk has been researching ways in which to prevent drivers who have had too much to drink from even beingable to drive their cars at all.One potential solution would use an infrared sensor in the car"s ignition to scan the driver"s finger for signs of alcohol which gives off its own unique optical signature.

Another idea would incorporate a breathalyser device in to the steering wheel so that it could detect the driver"s alcohol levels when they sit down. In both cases, if the device detects that the driver is over the limit the car would be automatically immobilized. The message from police to party-goers this New Year"s Eveis: "Drive sober or get pulled over. " There were nearly 10,000 deaths from drunk driving in the U. S. last year, down 2. 5 percent from the year before.  

View: Full article |  Source: CBS News  

An effort to bore through two miles of Antarctic ice to reach Lake Ellsworth has had to be aborted.The ambitious project was aimed at providing scientists with a unique opportunity to study what life forms could be living in such an extreme and isolated environment. Using a mechanism that blasts hot water the team hoped to bore down through the ice to reach their goal, butdespite three years of planning and a budget of over £8 million the project ultimately failed.The main problem was that the hot water ended up leaking in to the ice around the bore hole and as a result the team were unable to get further than 300m down.

Eventually it was determined that they didn"t have enough fuel to reach the target and as a result the decision was made to abort the effort. An ambitious mission to drillthrough Antarctic ice to a lake that has been sealed off for thousands of years has been cut short.  

View: Full article |  Source: BBC News  

Doctors have been debating whether brussel sprouts should be labelled with a health warning.The humble sprout has long been a staple of the traditional Christmas dinner, but now concerns have been raised about their potential to interfere with anticoagulant medication after a man was admitted to hospital for eating too many of them. Sprouts are a rich source of Vitamin K which aids blood clotting, in this case a man from Ayrshire whohad been prescribed anticoagulants after suffering heart failure ended up hospitalized when the effects of the sprouts counteracted his medication."Patients who are taking anticoagulants are generally advised not to eat too many green leafy vegetables, as they are full of vitamin K, which antagonise the action of this vital medication," said Dr Roy Gardner.

The leafy green vegetables contain vitamin K, a chemical the body uses to promote blood clotting, and it counteracts theeffects of anticoagulants (blood thinning medication).  

View: Full article |  Source: Telegraph  

A new study has suggested that human hands may have evolved in a way that enables us to punch better.The human hand is a distinctive and efficient shape, one of only a few possible configurations capable of providing ample dexterity and the ability to deliver a forceful blow to enemies at the same time. While the clenched fist doesn"t deliver a greater amount offorce than an open-palm, it does serve the purpose of protecting the fingers more effectively."Once hands are no longer used in locomotion there could have been many different ways to manipulate and many different ways to punch," said paleo-anthropolgist Milford Wolpoff.

"A hand that does both is really limited in its morphology." Human hands may have evolved their unique shape in order to better punch theliving daylights out of competitors, a new study suggests.  

View: Full article |  Source: Live Science