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Toshiba Tech's erasable toner lets you photo-uncopy (video)
Put away the matches, finally there's an eco-friendly way to get rid of those ill-thought photocopy pranks. Toshiba Tech has developed a toner that can be erased, letting you use a sheet of paper up to five times. Unlike similar solutions, you don't need special paper, but you will need one of the compatible copiers. The idea is similar to Pilot's erasable ball-point pen system, but uses heat instead of friction. As you'll see in the video over the break, a trace of the erased image remains slightly visible, so you'll still want the shredder for those sensitive documents. A built-in scanner means you can archive documents and also lets the machine sort paper into what can and can't be reused automatically. At the minute, you can only print in blue, but Toshiba Tech promises more options are on the way, and a full-color version is in the pipes. While the price is still undecided at this time, the creators hope that with the long-term paper savings, it'll only be the toner, not your budget, doing the disappearing.
Carbon nanotubes used to more easily detect cancer cells, HIV
Cancer's not slowing its march to ruining as many lives as it possibly can, so it's always pleasing to hear of any new developments that act as hurdles. The latest in the world of disease-prevention comes from Harvard University, where researches have created a dime-sized carbon nanotube forest (read: lots of nanotubes, like those shown above) that can be used to trap cancer cells when blood passes through. A few years back, Mehmet Toner, a biomedical engineering professor at Harvard, created a device similar to the nano-forest that was less effective because silicon was used instead of carbon tubes. Today, Toner has teamed up with Brian Wardle, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, who together have redesigned the original microfluid device to work eight times more efficiently than its predecessor. The carbon nanotubes make diagnosis a fair bit simpler, largely because of the antibodies attached to them that help trap cancer cells as they pass through -- something that's being tailored to work with HIV as well. Things are starting to look moderately promising for cancer-stricken individuals, as hospitals have already began using the original device to detect malignant cells and ultimately prevent them from spreading -- here's hoping it's qualified for mass adoption sooner rather than later.
Laser printer particle researcher fires back at HP
After Australian researchers delivered a damning report claiming that HP's printers were at the top of the heap for expelling dangerous, potentially cancer-causing, ultra-fine particles, the company responded with a lengthy press release which essentially "debunked" the study's findings -- and now the researchers have fired back to the Australian press. The printer-maker claimed that the study of ultra-fine particles was a "new" science, to which Lidia Morawska, head of the project, says simply isn't true. According to her, the European Commission has added a particle number limit to its emissions standards for light vehicles, which Morawska claims is a normally "lengthy" process. Additionally, she says that there is "considerable toxicological evidence of potential detrimental effects of ultra-fine particles on human health," based on the current World Health Organization's Air Quality Guidelines. The scientist further refutes HP's claims that the particles "cannot be accurately characterised by analytical technology," by stating that the study found plenty of printer models which carried no dangerous emissions at all, suggesting clear differences in the variety of particle output. Obviously this debate is just getting started, though we'll be avoiding superfluous laser printing while the jury is out... just to be safe.
Xerox innovation can add anti-counterfeit measures to digital printers
Xerox, the same outfit looking to extract information from your web browsing excursions, has now churned out a swank anti-counterfeiting procedure that purportedly allows a vanilla digital printer to "create personalized fluorescent marks on documents." Of course, these fluorescent signatures are commonly used to authenticate currency, and Xerox is hoping that people warm up to the idea of slapping the same level of security onto documents ranging from licenses, certificates, or even personal checks. The method utilizes the "dry ink" found in xerographic printers to create the secure imprint, and curious users can spot the tell-tale sign when exposing the document to ultraviolet light. Of course, you should still be wary of that dubious looking bizhub crammed over in the corner office, but if you're interested in Xerox's latest counterfeit squashing technology, you can snag it as part of the FreeFlow Variable Information Suite 5.0 software.[Via Gizmag]
