ARTIFICIAL SILICON RETINAS (ASR)
The first artificial retinas were recently implanted in three individuals who had lost almost all their vision from retinitis pigmentosa (RP). All three patients, ages 45 75, hope to regain light perception and perhaps as much vision to be able to detect motion and the shapes of objects. Designed for patients suffering from RP, the artificial retinas could also be used with patients with age-related macular degeneration.

The artificial retinas are a microchip 2mm in diameter and thinner than a strand of hair and are powered by the ambient light within the eye hitting the 3,500 microscopic solar cells embedded in the microchip. The ASR works by transmitting electrical signals to the retinal cells in the macula in a fashion similar to the signals created in health human eyes.

Final results from the first three patients will not been known for several more weeks. (Source: Computerworld, 7/24/2000).

CARBON NANOTUBES
Carbon nanotubes are microscopic tubes that are stronger than steel, lighter than plastic and are excellent conductors of electricity and heat. Their unique structure allows them to take 100 times the current of metallic wires and they can be made to react as if they were metal or a semiconductor. Carbon nanotubes cost US$100 per gram.

Currently limited to the research lab, some people are predicting that we could see having paper-thin monitors using this technology within the next 2 to 3 years. Carbon nanotubes are also being looked at as a replacement for silicon in transistors, diodes and other semiconductors.

Nanotubes have sparked so much interest in the research world that at least one publication, Nanotimes, and numerous Internet sites and chat rooms have been created. (Source: Computerworld, 7/10/2000).

E-MAIL
Worldwide, there were 570 million e-mail boxes at the end of 1999, compared to 309 million in 1998, 185 million in 1997 and 99 million in 1996.

In the U.S. there were 333.5 million e-mail addresses, with the average person having one account for work and up to four other accounts for their personal use. Jupiter Communications projects that in the U.S. alone, the number of e-mail messages will increase from 132 billion in 1999 to 432 billion in the year 2003. (Source: The Industry Standard, 7/24/2000).

WEB SITE OF THE MONTH
We've all heard one urban legend or another. Stories such as the guy who after spending a night in a bar woke up covered with ice in his bathtub after someone removed one his kidneys. Or stories about KFC serving rats or being entitled to a free case of M&M's because you forwarded a certain email to five people before the year 2000 (MM in Roman numerals) started. Two great resources are Urban Legends & Folklore and Urban Legends Reference Pages. (Source: CIO Magazine, 7/15/2000).
_______________________________________________________________
Technology Tidbits is published monthly by Jerry Price, Eau Claire, Wisconsin © 2000 Jerry W. Price

Return to Archives.