Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956
A quantum dot–powered material could help reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections, including those with drug-resistant bacteria.
A new material that harnesses the power of ambient light to produce bacteria-killing molecules could help stem the spread of hospital infections, including those with drug-resistant bacteria.
About 1 in 10 patients worldwide get an infection while receiving treatment at a hospital or other health care facility, according to the World Health Organization. "Contaminated hospital surfaces play a key role in spreading those infections," said Ethel Koranteng, a chemist at University College London, on April 5 at the Materials Research Society spring meeting.
Koranteng and colleagues developed a material to make hospital surfaces self-disinfecting. Naturally antimicrobial metals such as copper and steel are difficult to sculpt around uneven surfaces. But the new polymer-based material could be fashioned into a flexible film that covers computer keyboards, or molded into rigid, plasticlike casings that enclose phone handles, bedrails and other surfaces especially prone to contamination.
Source:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/material-uses-energy-ambient-light-kill-hospital-superbugs
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @02:09AM (1 child)
Condoms powered by ambient heat to produce spermicide.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Tuesday April 17 2018, @04:48AM
Harder
Harder
Faster
Faster
Good, they should all be dead, now..
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday April 17 2018, @03:03AM (4 children)
Guys, if you're having problems getting the shapes you want made out of steel or copper you have no business holding a degree. The average Joe on the street has been able to do exactly that for thousands of years now.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Virindi on Tuesday April 17 2018, @03:23AM
Yeah, I was thinking that too. Except, really, the question is cost.
You couldn't make everything in a hospital out of copper! It would turn the $10,000 medical-grade stapler into a $15,000 medical-grade stapler!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @03:26AM (2 children)
having problems getting the shapes you want
Yeah. Clearly, these guys didn't even listen when Tim Allen told them what to do. [google.com]
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday April 17 2018, @03:32AM (1 child)
Well, I was talking about paying a skilled fabricator to do it for you but I consider any misunderstanding worth it if it leads to a Tim Allen reference.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @08:30AM
I've sometimes wondered if Binford was a corruption of another brand name. [google.com]
a skilled fabricator
At 1 place I worked, we had a big honking mill made by those folks.
It's just amazing what can be produced if you have the right tool.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @03:19AM
The problem with drug-resistant pathogens is worse in hospitals which concentrate on making profit, because staff are often hurrying around since "time is money".
Improve procedures could make a big difference in the prevalence of drug-resistant pathogens. Of course, why do that when you can SELL something instead ?