at the beginning of time science Lagoon human time with might reduce of the
result much has been lost due to an energy
ingredient but the games are colossal due to our vision and insight
in agriculture we preview a futuristic Expo pavilion celebrating Britain's
biodiversity a major breakthrough in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis a
parasitic disease affecting millions of people imagine a world where pint-sized
robots made from scrap metal can sumo wrestle their way to the top it might
not be too far away that's the message from scientists as we head to this
year's robot Olympic Games in New Mexico
we look at a future gone wrong where every Muscovites dream to own a motorcar
is poisoning the atmosphere of the Russian capital by heating co2 to a
supercritical liquid stage Los Alamos laboratories in the United States has
devised an alternative precision cleaning method to the hazardous dry
cleaning applications we have today
in nature art and technology combined with the best botanical specimens at the
famous Chelsea Flower Show
find out what's going on inside the Los Alamos laboratory famous for its
creations of nuclear weapons as diseased and abnormal tissues are not able to
withstand as much heat as normal tissue this thermo surgery instrument is
effective in curing a wide range of abnormal growths and diseases such as
leishmaniasis the instrument is able to heat a relatively small localized
current filled with the use of radiofrequency the tissue in the
treatment area is heated from within to a precise temperature that destroys the
diseased tissue while causing little or no damage to the normal tissue larger
areas can be treated using multiple applications which usually take about 30
seconds each here in southern Mexico dr. Oscar Velasco of the National Institute
of Epidemiology in Mexico City one of the country's leading parasitology
experts heads a program to treat indigenous people for leishmaniasis and
provide instruction for health workers
he was accompanied on this field trip to Key AAPIs by dr. Claudio meaned
in a small rainforest village they successfully treated 65 patients in a
few days this patient has an ulcer on her right shin
and this young man presents a typical lesion on his right arm and on his back
leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that has been declared a world health
problem by the World Health Organization 12 million people in 88 countries are
affected and 350 million people are at risk of becoming infected the most
common form of leishmaniasis is the cutaneous form which produces chronic
skin ulcers leading to disfigurement and mutilation causing tremendous social and
economic problems this is a typical lesion on the forearm
of the young man we saw before
dr. Velasco estimates that 8 to 10,000 new cases of the disease appear each
year in Mexico this patient has an ulcer on his cheek it would eventually grow
bigger and disfigured his face if left untreated
since the thermo surgery instrument is so easy to use
dr. Velasco instructs several health workers in the operation of the device
and its technical features one treatment usually consists of one or more
applications of 50 degrees centigrade for 30 seconds which has to be repeated
until the infected area is covered
due to local anesthesia there is no pain involved and all the patients tolerate
the treatment very well
dr. Velasco is convinced that the thermo surgery instrument is the most effective
and affordable treatment for containing leishmaniasis this is an eight-year-old
girl getting treatment on her ear use of the thermo surgery instrument usually
achieves a 100% curing rate on lesions of the ear and the nose this patient
exhibits two large ulcers on his arm typical for cutaneous leishmaniasis here
he is treated by an indigenous health worker under the guidance of dr. Velasco
this indigenous woman has an extensive lesion on her right knee and is
receiving several treatments with the thermo surgery instrument the thermo
surgery instruments are currently being used in seven Mexican states
a recent study conducted by dr. Velasco on two hundred and thirteen patients
treated with the thermo surgery instrument yielded a 95 percent curing
rate with only 12 percent of patients requiring a follow-up treatment for dr.
Velasco the thermo surgery instrument has become the treatment of choice since
it is highly effective easy to use much less expensive than treatment with drugs
and totally safe the thermo surgery instrument a major breakthrough in the
effective treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis
at the Los Alamos laboratories scientists from the supercritical fluids
experimental facility are taking technology that was originally used to
precision clean metal parts in nuclear weapons and modifying it to improve the
current practice of dry cleaning referred to as dry wash the application
is a fast non-toxic dry cleaning process based on liquid carbon dioxide or co2
that is applied through high-speed fluid jets liquid co2 is an odorless non
flammable non hazardous solvent that effectively removes oils sweat and dirt
from a wide variety of fabrics the co2 solvent is a far cheaper and safer
solvent to perform dry cleaning then the current hazardous solvent pro chloro
ethylene one of the largest cleanup efforts in the United States today is
sites with large groundwater contaminants from pro Clarett alene the
co2 application has no volume added wastes the only waste is the dirt and
particles that were already in the garment generally speaking this system
is both efficient and environmentally friendly very simply co2 is delivered in
liquid canisters once in the machine the pressure is increased to a desired level
then heated when it reaches the supercritical stage the co2 is exposed
to the cleaning modifying or treating process it then it is a separator which
converts it back into a gas phase the system is a continuous flowing system
and as there is nothing soluble in gas all the dirt and particles drop out
leaving the gas to go back into the pressure section and the process begins
again the research with co2 and supercritical fluids is far-reaching in
cover areas such as material modifications alternative solvent waste
minimisation chemical separations extraction of contaminants and solvents
chemical synthesis and polymer synthesis alternative solvent and waste
minimization involves experimenting with materials and aging and modifying
cements to a stage that would normally take hundreds to thousands of years some
instructions become stronger as they're exposed to our natural environment as
material naturally absorb co2 dramatically the co2 aggregation of the
supercritical gas phase adds predictability to the condition of
cement contain the cement will be twice as strong with this paper meaning that
some instructors need half the amount of material to produce gonna you know
extreme again refusal environmentally unfriendly voice this technology has
taken a complex application from the weapons industry and made it available
at a civilian level but the public and the government of America are excited
about the prospect of eliminate versus in replacing it with the
technology such as co2 dry wash Los Alamos Laboratories are equally excited
at being able to help protect the environment
there are long lines outside the Kremlin in Moscow but it's not tourists queuing
to see the treasures of the Tsar's but cars the number of motor vehicles in the
Russian capital has grown by 80% in the last 6 years
Lenin predicted that even in a capitalist system the car would always
be the privilege of the few following that philosophy no one was prepared for
the explosive development of the 90s when it became easy to buy cars today
the traffic in Moscow is catastrophic the United Nations Development Programme
is assisting the city in finding ways to make life easier for commuters while
reducing pollution imagine what a traffic cop is breathing the first phase
of the UNDP approach was a comprehensive study of Moscow's traffic problems the
idea was to identify prime targets for infrastructure improvement the views of
everyone involved from police to computers were taken into account the
first step will be to upgrade the alien public transport system and create lanes
for buses that are now getting stuck in traffic jams the pride of the Soviet
hero the Moscow subway is overcrowded and city stops at too far apart lines
will be extended to the surrounding communities that now form part of this
capital of over 20 million inhabitants a 1 billion dollar monorail is under
construction to connect the suburbs with a planned business center near the
Moscow brain Institute where legend has it Lenin's brain is preserved are the
officers of the UN agencies the priorities of the second program phase
are a traffic coordinating agency and the environment 80% of air pollution in
Moscow is generated by vehicles exceeding acceptable levels by 10 times
cars are regularly checked with UNDP donated equipment and all engines must
now be fitted with catalytic converters where the average salary is $100 a month
convert constitute a major expense so private
car owners cruisers unofficial taxis but the predominant source of air pollution
is trucks 69% of all road cargo in Russia has to pass through Moscow
terminals outside the urban area are on the list of improvements together with
more overpasses to eliminate traffic lights and reduce engine idling an old
railway around Moscow will be upgraded to reduce some of the road cargo and
commuter traffic to make rush hour driving ideally a pleasant experience
budding scientists around the world are redefining how we view robots no longer
are they simply life-sized human models designed to complete computer-generated
tasks for the people participating in these being international robot games it
is tiny fragile looking creatures that represent the future of robot design
this is the fourth annual robot Olympics in Santa Fe New Mexico where robot
assists from all over America have gathered to make the simplest model
possible competing in 14 different events they'll put their technical and
creative skills to the test hoping to produce small solar powered robots
designed to tackle tough challenges some will try their luck building and racing
leg robots over difficult terrain and racing swimming robots across fish tanks
others will battle in robot sumo wrestling one of the most popular events
of the games is solar rollers in this section competitors construct and race a
self-starting 6-inch dragster along a 1 meter glass track in full sunlight using
a 1.25 square inch solar panel for power like all solar powered robots a simple
circuit called a solar engine which stores the energy from the solar panels
and turns it into bursts of movement controls the solar roller the solar
engine is the simplest circuit and can be constructed around two transistors
the amount of movement it creates can range from 4 bursts a second to one a
day depending on the configuration solar roller competitors
along with everyone else in the competition are encouraged to use scrap
electronics to build their creation old Walkmans VCRs
CD players calculator solar cells and pages make the ideal materials this
minimalist branch of robotics is known as beam developed by Los Alamos National
Laboratory scientist mark Tilden the beam acronym stands for biology
electronics aesthetics and mechanics the basic principle is to make cheap
efficient and simple robots modeled on the repetitive biological processes of
insects rather than the complex human-like operations of traditional
robotics building large complex robots hasn't been entirely successful
so beams approach attempts to evolve robots from a lesser to a greater
ability as mother nature has done with biologics the scientific inspiration for
this new development comes from a combination of artificial intelligence
artificial life evolutionary biology and genetic algorithms the beauty of the
beam robots is that their simple design doesn't sacrifice their ability to
complete tasks solar rollers are still capable and agile despite costing less
than $20 to make even some $100 robots built from scraps are more adept at
handling terrain than expensive advanced computer robots the key to being robot
agility is the way they respond to their environment while many projects are
aimed at designing a robot that displays both cognitive thinking and reactions to
stimulus beam creator Marc Tilden has designed his robots not to think this
omission is based on the nervous Nets theory that dictates robots don't need a
brain to survive themed robots like insects are only given the equivalent of
a spinal cord allowing them to react spontaneously to stimuli given the
complex behaviors they produce nervous nets are surprisingly simple circuits
most have what is called a micro core which on average is built from only
eight to twelve transistors instead of just producing power the micro course
senses what is happening to the motor and makes necessary changes to produce
the most efficient gate for the robot but having the quickest gate is not all
that the judges are looking for at forums like this although there are gold
silver and bronze medals awarded for each event the emphasis here is not
uncommon it's all about innovation the forum offers robot enthusiasts a chance
to present their designs to each other and the world at large
those who invented beam robotics see the meaning of ideas as a way of improving
robot genetic stock creative ideas are rewarded in several special categories
there's the lunatic fringe award for ingenuity the special weirdness award
for bizarre innovations the ecology award for use of recycled materials and
the artificial life awards for robots with the greatest ability to look out
for themselves because of beam robotic simplicity anyone with a few basic
skills can build a robot Los Alamos scientists use these events to aid them
in their investigation of how these adaptive beam robots can be applied to
specific functions in space or on earth
scientists at Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens collect store and catalog seeds
from around the world they are steadily building up the world's most
comprehensive encyclopedia of plant varieties many little known or
threatened with extinction this is just one example of work towards protecting
the biodiversity of the planet that's being featured in the futuristic looking
British Pavilion at Expo 2000 the 170 country world fair opening in Hannover
in Germany later this year visitors to the British Pavilion will see four
separate displays of life in Britain with the underlying theme of diversity
alongside displays stressing environmental and demographic diversity
the spirit of diversity section features British achievement in fashion media and
the creative arts the government is confident the Expo will prove popular
both as entertainment and education the Expo will encourage debate to the world
is running short of water biotechnology can help develop crops like these rice
plants that can grow in draught prone soil but many fear the impact
biotechnology may have on biodiversity
the cultural scientist and broadcaster Robert Winston is organizing lectures on
some hot scientific issues like genetic engineering he is keen for open debate
on the human genome and how the human genes might be manipulated for good or
ill 40 million visitors are expected to tour Expo 2000 with a hundred and
seventy different pavilions to see it could prove a long day out but there is
no doubt this exhibit would keep the European public informed and entertained
looking at sketches of Los Alamos and its creations the Los Alamos National
Laboratory was established in 1943 it is located on the Pajarito plateau about 35
miles northwest of Santa Fe New Mexico the laboratory is most famous as being
the site where the world's first atomic bomb was created today Los Alamos is a
multidisciplinary multi program laboratory whose central mission still
revolves around national security Los Alamos original mission was to design
develop and test nuclear weapons and it is now broadened and evolved as
technologies US priorities and the world community have changed inside Los Alamos
is advanced technical equipment the core technical competencies developed in the
laboratory are for defense as well as civilian programs they're designed to
carry out responsibilities of national security and programs based in energy
nuclear safeguards biomedical science environmental protection and other basic
science research in other words Los Alamos is a Laboratory of academic
research and industrial production and helps to expedite the development and
commercialization of emerging technologies Los Alamos employs close to
10,000 people Los Alamos personnel consists of physicists engineers
chemists material scientists mathematicians and biological scientists
collaborations with universities for research
it is also heavily involved in providing educational opportunities to students
and professional scientists as well as collaborating with several universities
about research to develop resources for the future sketch of Los Alamos facility
the Chelsea Flower Show said in the grounds of the Royal Hospital in
London's fashionable borough of Chelsea is the unmissable event of a
horticultural calendar primed botanical specimens are set off by an engaging mix
of sculpture and Technology rubbing up against local roses and tulips at
Tropical displays like this marine inspired concoction from Malaysia
visitor numbers to this three-day melting pot of garden ideas are limited
to 160,000 water flows drips and cascades through many of the displays
this year the combination of water and some original outdoor artwork transforms
some of the plots into miniature sculpture gardens this mixture of
hi-tech and nature gives this year's Chelsea Flower Show rather a millennial
fever
and as a reminder that the information superhighway would be a grim place
without some green verges the organisers have put the show on the Internet a new
site caters to the millions who surf the web in search of horticultural
inspiration here's an idea for a front garden for someone with an astrological
frame of mind and for the back garden conservatories come in all shapes and
sizes but for people without large Gardens a new area of the Chelsea Flower
Show this year illustrates that limited space need be no barrier to inventive
design there's something here for every outdoor taste and whim
For more infomation >> J Krishnamurti Bombay Mumbai 1984 Public Talk 1 A different quality of life - Duration: 1:14:34. 
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