Sci-tech

A Dummy to Stop Snoring
Doctors in Germany claim to have developed a dummy, which they say will prevent people from snoring. Researchers at the University of Goettingen claim that the dummy, which 'parks' a person's tongue behind their teeth as they sleep, working the same way as swallowing food, will allow the user to keep their tongue in place thereby preventing them from snoring. "We have successfully cured seven out of 10 patients of snoring with this treatment," said Goettingen University snoring expert, doctor Wilfried Engelke. Engelke says that initially, although it may take a while to get used to the device, with time the user gets used to using it properly.

Burglary Prevention
Are you one of those people who always have a nagging feeling that have forgotten to lock the door or switch the lights off, after you have stepped out of the house? Well, now you don't need to worry anymore as a new device will help you perform all these functions from your car, while you are driving. According to The Sun, the device, which was presented at the 'Future Life House Project' recently, uses a dashboard internet connection to link up with live web cams in the house. With the help of the cameras you can look at your entire house and lock your doors and windows from a distance of more than a hundred miles. The device, which is currently being tested in Switzerland, will also help prevent burglary.

Wastewater Treats Itself
If a new study carried out by University of Toronto researchers is to be believed, waste water contains enough organic matter to produce at least 113 MW of electricity or about 990 KW hours annually. "With a 20 percent recovery of that potential energy into electricity, the wastewater treatment plants could produce enough electricity for their own operation," claimed Professor David Bagley, a civil engineer. To determine the amount of energy stored in wastewater's organic matter, researchers used bomb calorimetry, a technique that measures the heat content of materials. Power plants in the city presently use aerobic treatment, a process by which microbes decompose organic matter in the presence of oxygen. "We're moving towards a future where we see our wastewaters and other wastes as resources. If electricity costs go up, like they have in places like California, this could be a cost-effective and renewable energy source," Bagley concluded.

Spinach Powered Mobiles
In the next 10 years your cell phones and computers will probably be green in colour, say scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who have found that Popeye's favourite food, Spinach, is so rich a source of energy that it could actually be used to power these gadgets. According to the Boston Globe, the researchers say that in the future, cell phones and computers would be covered in a spinach based material and that they would get energy from sunlight, through the process of photosynthesis. The gadgets will have an attached electrical device that would enable them to recharge themselves from sunlight. The researchers are now indicating that since all the groundwork has been done, all they need is a little bit of financial aid to actually turn their findings into reality.

PC's Turn 'Zombies'
US Computer Security company 'Symantec' has revealed that an average of 30,000 computers per day turned into enslaved "zombies" in the first half of 2004. The company's latest biannual report shows that recruitment of 'zombie' machines peaked at 75,000 computers per day and also that their advanced infection mechanisms make traditional antivirus scanning techniques obsolete. According to the report, Zombies have networks called 'Botnets' that are used to launch attacks on corporate websites. Financial details of a company can be harvested and the machine can be used to send spam. Information was gathered from 180 countries and from anti-virus software installed on desktop machines and corporate networks. The increase of zombie machines reached an all-time high during a turf war between two virus-writing groups, worms 'MyDoom' and 'Bagle' and the Netsky virus for ownership of the infected computers. In the meantime the owner of Netsky released another version of his virus to deactivate both the worms. "Virus writers can make good money by selling botnets to online extortionists and spammers," The New Scientist quoted Jeremy Ward a service development manager at Symantec, as saying.

Source: Webindia123.com / The New Scientist.com / Google

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