Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Invention: Furry TV - tech - 23 April 2007 - New Scientist Tech

Invention: Furry TV - tech - 23 April 2007 - New Scientist Tech

Furry vision

How would you like to watch a television screen that is also soft and pleasant to the touch? Welcome to Furry TV. It's no joke: consumer electronics company Philips says a single pixel can be made out of a piece of fabric covered with hair-like strands.

Here's how it works: imagine the fabric is red and the hair is blue. With the hairs lying flat obscuring the fabric beneath, the pixel looks blue. But applying an electrostatic charge causes the hairs to repel each other and stand on end.

This reveals the fabric underneath and changes the pixel from blue to red. With an array of pixels, Philips says it should be possible to build a furry display that can show complete images. The company hopes to build furry displays into outfits. But does that mean we would all have to dress like Teletubbies?

Read the full Furry TV patent application.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Flagellation ritual exposes Filipinos to rabies - health - 19 April 2007 - New Scientist Tech

Flagellation ritual exposes Filipinos to rabies - health - 19 April 2007 - New Scientist Tech

More than a hundred men in the Philippines may have contracted rabies after taking part in a self-flagellation ritual to mark Good Friday, doctors and local authorities said on Thursday.

A health alert was issued after a man who took part in the traditional ceremony – where participants slash their backs with knifes before flaying themselves with bamboo whips – died from the virus on 11 April.

Mario Morales, the mayor of Mabalacat in Pampanga province north of Manila, told local media that Eduardo Sese may have contaminated up to 100 people who shared knives to cut themselves. He was bitten by an infected dog in February 2007.

The government doctor in Pampanga, Maria Clara Aquino, said vaccines had been given to 103 people who could have been exposed.

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