The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1998

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1998

Stanley B. Prusiner

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1997 was awarded to Stanley B. Prusiner "for his discovery of Prions - a new biological principle of infection".

The History of Neon Signs

The History of Neon Signs

Georges Claude - Inventor of the First Neon Lamp

The word neon comes from the Greek "neos," meaning "the new gas." Neon gas was discovered by William Ramsey and M. W. Travers in 1898 in London. Neon is a rare gaseous element present in the atmosphere to the extent of 1 part in 65,000 of air. It is obtained by liquefaction of air and separated from the other gases by fractional distillation.

The French engineer, chemist, and inventor Georges Claude (b. Sept. 24, 1870, d. May 23, 1960), was the first person to apply an electrical discharge to a sealed tube of neon gas (circa 1902) to create a lamp. Georges Claude displayed the first neon lamp to the public on December 11, 1910, in Paris.

Georges Claude patented the neon lighting tube on Jan. 19th, 1915 - U.S. Patent

The History of Aerosol Spray Cans

The History of Aerosol Spray Cans

The concept of an aerosol can originated as early as 1790.

Aerosol Spray Can

StockXchng Daniel Nagy

using methyl and ethyl chloride as propellants.

Erik Rotheim

On November 23, 1927, Norwegian engineer Erik Rotheim (also spelled Eric Rotheim) patented the first aerosol can and valve that could hold and dispense products and propellant systems. This was the forerunner of the modern aerosol can and valve. In 1998, the Norwegian post office issued a stamp celebrating the Norwegian invention of the spray can.

Lyle Goodhue and William Sullivan

During World War II, the U.S. government funded research into a portable way for service men to spray malaria-carrying bugs. Department of Agriculture researchers, Lyle Goodhue and William Sullivan, developed a small aerosol can pressurized by a liquefied gas (a fluorocarbon) in 1943. It was their design that made products like hair spray possible, along with the work of another inventor Robert Abplanalp.

Robert Abplanalp - Valve Crimp

In 1949, 27-year-old Robert H. Abplanalp’s invention of a crimp on valve enabled liquids to be sprayed from a can under the pressure of an inert gas. Spray cans, mainly containing insecticides, were available to the public in 1947 as a result of their use by U.S. soldiers for preventing insect-borne diseases. Abplanalp’s invention made of lightweight aluminum made the cans a cheap and practical way to dispense liquids foams, powders, and creams. In 1953, Robert Abplanal patented his crimp-on valve "for dispensing gases under pressure." His Precision Valve Corporation was soon earning over $100 million manufacturing one billion aerosol cans annually in the United States and one-half billion in 10 other countries.

In the mid-1970s, concern over the use of fluorocarbons adversely effecting the ozone layer drove Abplanalp back into the lab for a solution. Substituting water-soluble hydrocarbons for the damaging fluorocarbons created an environmentally friendly aerosol can that did not harm the environment. This put the manufacture of aerosol spray can products into high gear.

Robert Abplanal invented both the first clog-free valve for spray cans and the "Aquasol" or pump spray, which used water-soluble hydrocarbons as the propellant source.

Spray Paint in a Can

In 1949, canned spray paint was invented by Edward Seymour, the first paint color was aluminum. Edward Seymour's wife Bonnie suggested the use of an aerosol can filled with paint. Edward Seymour founded Seymour of Sycamore, Inc. of Chicago, USA, to manufacture his spray paints.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1998

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1998

Robert F. Furchgott

Louis J. Ignarro

Ferid Murad

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1998 was awarded jointly to Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro and Ferid Murad "for their discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signalling molecule in the cardiovascular system".

Chinese Chopsticks

Chinese Chopsticks

Chinese Chopsticks
(Zhu) (Kuaizi)
Related Resources • Yixing Teapot • Chinese Dumpling • Chinese Teahouse • Food & Recipes • Dictionary • Chinese Characters • Chinese Names • Dragon & Phoenix • Chinese Story • Articles by Topic Chopsticks play an important role in Chinese food culture. Chopsticks are called "Kuaizi" in Chinese and were called "Zhu" in ancient times (see the characters above). Chinese people have been using kuaizi as one of the main tableware for more than 3,000 years. It was recorded in Liji (The Book of Rites) that chopsticks were used in the Shang Dynasty (1600 BC - 1100 BC). It was mentioned in Shiji (the Chinese history book) by Sima Qian (about 145 BC) that Zhou, the last king of the Shang Dynasty (around 1100 BC), used ivory chopsticks. Experts believe the history of wood or bamboo chopsticks can be dated to about 1,000 years earlier than ivory chopsticks. Bronze chopsticks were invented in the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100 BC - 771 BC). Lacquer chopsticks from the Western Han (206 BC - 24 AD) were discovered in Mawangdui, China. Gold and silver chopsticks became popular in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). It was believed that silver chopsticks could detect poisons in food. Chopsticks can be classified into five groups based on the materials used to make them, i.e., wood, metal, bone, stone and compound chopsticks. Bamboo and wood chopsticks are the most popular ones used in Chinese homes. There are a few things to avoid when using chopsticks. Chinese people usually don't beat their bowls while eating, since the behavior used to be practiced by beggars. Also don't insert chopsticks in a bowl upright because it is a custom exclusively used in sacrifice. If you are really interested in chopsticks, you may want to visit the Kuaizi Museum in Shanghai. The museum collected over 1,000 pairs of chopsticks. The oldest one was from the Tang Dynasty.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1999

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1999

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1999

Günter Blobel

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1999

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Günter Blobel

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1999 was awarded to Günter Blobel "for the discovery that proteins have intrinsic signals that govern their transport and localization in the cell".

RADAR and Doppler RADAR Invention and History

RADAR and Doppler RADAR Invention and History
Christian Andreas Doppler
Doppler RADAR is named after Christian Andreas Doppler. Doppler was an Austrian physicist who first described in 1842, how the observed frequency of light and sound waves was affected by the relative motion of the source and the detector. This phenomenon became known as the Doppler effect.

This is most often demonstrated by the change in the sound wave of a passing train. The sound of the train whistle will become "higher" in pitch as it approaches and "lower" in pitch as it moves away. This is explained as follows: the number of sound waves reaching the ear in a given amount of time (this is called the frequency) determines the tone, or pitch, perceived. The tone remains the same as long as you are not moving. As the train moves closer to you the number of sound waves reaching your ear in a given amount of time increases. Thus, the pitch increases. As the train moves away from you the opposite happens.

Alexander Fleming and Antibiotics.

Antibiotics transformed medicine. The discovery of antibiotics began by accident. On the morning of September 3rd, 1928, Professor Alexander Fleming was having a clear up of his cluttered laboratory. Fleming was sorting through a number of glass plates which had previously been coated with staphyloccus bacteria as part of research Fleming was doing. One of the plates had mould on it. The mould was in the shape of a ring and the area around the ring seemed to be free of the bacteria staphyloccus. The mould was penicillium notatum. Fleming had a life long interest in ways of killing off bacteria and he concluded that the bacteria on the plate around the ring had been killed off by some substance that had come from the mould.






Sir Alexander Fleming



Further research on the mould found that it could kill other bacteria and that it could be given to small animals without any side-effects. However, within a year, Fleming had moved onto other medical issues and it was ten years later that Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, working at Oxford University, isolated the bacteria-killing substance found in the mould - penicillin.



In 1941, a doctor, Charles Fletcher, at a hospital in Oxford had heard of their work. He had a patient who was near to death as a result of bacteria getting into a wound. Fletcher used some of Chain’s and Florey’s penicillin on the patient and the wound made a spectacular recovery. Unfortunately, Fletcher did not have enough penicillin to fully rid the patient’s body of bacteria and he died a few weeks later as the bacteria took a hold. However, penicillin had shown what it could do on what had been a lost cause. The only reason the patient did not survive was because they did not have enough of the drug - not that it did not work.



Florey got an American drugs company to mass produce it and by D-Day, enough was available to treat all the bacterial infections that broke out among the troops. Penicillin got nicknamed "the wonder drug" and in 1945 Fleming, Chain and Florey were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine. Post-1945 was the era of the antibiotics.

Invention of Sctch Tape.

Packaging Tape

Scotch tape was invented in 1930 by banjo playing 3M engineer Richard Drew. Scotch tape was the world's first transparent adhesive tape. Richard Drew also invented the first masking tape in 1925, a two-inch-wide tan paper tape with a pressure sensitive adhesive backing.



Richard Drew - Background

In 1923, Richard Drew joined the 3M company located in St. Paul, Minnesota. At the time, 3M only made sandpaper. Drew was product testing 3M's Wetordry brand sandpaper at a local auto bodyshop, when he noticed that auto painters were having a hard time making clean dividing lines on two-color paint jobs. Richard Drew was inspired to invent the world's first masking tape in 1925, as a solution to the auto painters' dilemma.



Brandname Scotch

The brandname Scotch came about while Richard Drew was testing his first masking tape to determine how much adhesive he needed to add. The bodyshop painter became frustrated with the sample masking tape and exclaimed, "Take this tape back to those Scotch bosses of yours and tell them to put more adhesive on it!" The name was soon applied to the entire line of 3M tapes.

Scotch Brand Cellulose Tape was invented five years later. Made with a nearly invisible adhesive, the waterproof transparent tape was made from: oils, resins, and rubber; and had a coated backing.



According to 3M

Richard Drew, a young 3M engineer, invented the first waterproof, see-through, pressure-sensitive tape, thus supplying an attractive, moisture-proof way to seal food wrap for bakers, grocers, and meat packers. Drew sent a trial shipment of the new Scotch cellulose tape to a Chicago firm specializing in package printing for bakery products. The response was put this product on the market! Shortly after, heat sealing reduced the original use of the new tape. However, Americans in a depressed economy discovered they could use the tape to mend a wide variety of things like torn pages of books and documents, broken toys, ripped window shades, even dilapidated currency.



John A Borden - Tape Dispenser

John A Borden, another 3M engineer invented the first tape dispenser with a built-in cutter blade in 1932. Scotch Brand Magic Transparent Tape ® was invented in 1961, an almost invisible tape that never discolored and could be written on

INVENTION OF SCOTCH TAPE.

3M Tape




Scotch tape was invented in 1930 by banjo playing 3M engineer Richard Drew. Scotch tape was the world's first transparent adhesive tape. Richard Drew also invented the first masking tape in 1925, a two-inch-wide tan paper tape with a pressure sensitive adhesive backing.




Richard Drew - Background

In 1923, Richard Drew joined the 3M company located in St. Paul, Minnesota. At the time, 3M only made sandpaper. Drew was product testing 3M's Wetordry brand sandpaper at a local auto bodyshop, when he noticed that auto painters were having a hard time making clean dividing lines on two-color paint jobs. Richard Drew was inspired to invent the world's first masking tape in 1925, as a solution to the auto painters' dilemma.



Brandname Scotch

The brandname Scotch came about while Richard Drew was testing his first masking tape to determine how much adhesive he needed to add. The bodyshop painter became frustrated with the sample masking tape and exclaimed, "Take this tape back to those Scotch bosses of yours and tell them to put more adhesive on it!" The name was soon applied to the entire line of 3M tapes.

Scotch Brand Cellulose Tape was invented five years later. Made with a nearly invisible adhesive, the waterproof transparent tape was made from: oils, resins, and rubber; and had a coated backing.



According to 3M

Richard Drew, a young 3M engineer, invented the first waterproof, see-through, pressure-sensitive tape, thus supplying an attractive, moisture-proof way to seal food wrap for bakers, grocers, and meat packers. Drew sent a trial shipment of the new Scotch cellulose tape to a Chicago firm specializing in package printing for bakery products. The response was put this product on the market! Shortly after, heat sealing reduced the original use of the new tape. However, Americans in a depressed economy discovered they could use the tape to mend a wide variety of things like torn pages of books and documents, broken toys, ripped window shades, even dilapidated currency.



John A Borden - Tape Dispenser

John A Borden, another 3M engineer invented the first tape dispenser with a built-in cutter blade in 1932. Scotch Brand Magic Transparent Tape ® was invented in 1961, an almost invisible tape that never discolored and could be written on