Canola Oil, the "Better" Oil

Beginning in the early 90’s, Canola oil became a face product for what was known as the low-fat food craze.

Canola oil, the name actually derived from a mixture of the words Canada, oil, low and acid, comes from the rape seed. Although originally rapeseed oil was considered inedible due to its high euric acid content, and was originally used in lamps and for lubrication purposes, the rapeseed was eventually bred to a point where the euric acid was reduced to a very low non-harmful level.

Beginning in the 80’s and culminating in the early 90’s, the health benefits of Canola oil became rather publicized and the product proved very popular at a time when losing weight and staying in shape was key to consumers. Canola oil boasts a very low saturated and high monounsaturated fat content, as well as having omega-3 fatty acids which promote heart health.
Oppositely, there are many that believe Canola oil to be harmful to the heart rather than helpful as it is believed by some that the euric acid content of Canola is indeed actually harmful to the heart. However, these allegations have been discredited by numerous health institutions and studies.

In 1995 the first crop of Canola oil was genetically engineered to be resistant to herbicide; followed in 1998 when crops of Canola oil were genetic engineered to be disease and drought resistant. This has caused controversy in some parts of the world for various ethical and economic reasons.

Regardless of such controversy, Canola oil remains one of the biggest selling oils today. In 2000, it was the world’s 3rd leading source in oil. Today it is categorized as having one of the biggest selling genetically-modified crops with 80% of being genetically modified. These numbers cement the status of Canola oil as a health beneficial food product.

Posted By: Rob Goodman

Sources:

Barthet, V. (2009). Canola. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 25, 2009 from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001356

No Author. (2007). What is Canola? A problem with weeds—the canola story. Retrieved October 25, 2009 from http://www.biotechnologyonline.gov.au/foodag/weeds.html

No Author. (2007). Canola Facts: Why Growers Choose GM Canola. Canola Council of Canada. Retrieved October 25, 2009 from http://www.canola-council.org/facts_gmo.aspx.

Image retrieved October 27, 2009 from http://vinniey.wordpress.com/2006/10/22/good-oils-for-good-health/.

Tamper-Evident Packaging Saves the 80's

Tamper-evident packaging involves the use of a closure on some sort of packaging that if opened, it is clearly visible to anyone that sees.

The need and importance of such packaging came full-circle in the early 1980’s, when certain groups with the intent of using blackmail or for unknowable reasons, claimed they had tampered with jars of baby food with poisonous substances. Due to this, all supplies had to be thrown out since there was no way of knowing which jars had been tampered with. Companies responded by making jars with a button on top of their lids that popped up and made a noise indicating the package was un-tampered with since being bottled. Actions such as this were vital since tampering with products became not only an issue of social importance, but of economic significance as well. Companies experienced losses from throwing out supplies and from their tarnished image.

One such company that received a massive backlash was Tylenol. In 1982, tampering of their over-the-counter product led to the death of more than 7 people, when authorities discovered that the Tylenol each individual had taken was laced with potassium cyanide. The media labeled the incident as the TYMURS (a mix between Tylenol and murders), and a nation-wide recall of Tylenol bottles was issued and Tylenol’s market share fell from 35% to 8%.

Incidents such as this forced the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to create stricter tamper-evident packaging laws, and companies like Johnson & Johnson added triple layer tamper-evident packaging to Tylenol’s products to help them save their image. Their strategy worked and ever since this incident, the FDA has progressively created more and more laws to reinforce the protection of marketable products, creating the need for more technology to create tamper-proof closures and seals.

Posted By: Rob Goodman

Sources:

Wolnik, KA, Fricke, FL, Bonnin, E, Gaston ,CM, Satzger ,RD (March 1984). The Tylenol tampering incident - tracing the source. Analytical chemistry. 56 (3), pp. 466A–470A.

Image retrieved from http://www.medidose.com/15mlpolyethylenevial-1.aspx

Architecture Goes Green

A new trend seen in the 21st century for Architecture is "green architecture" which is founded in the new "green movement" of this century. This architecture was birthed from the new hype for being environmentally friendly and "green" in today's society. Green building is environmentally friendly, economically conscious, energy saving, and cost-effective. It focuses on efficiently using the earth's resources while reducing the building impact on the environment around it.

Older trends have been coupled with new technology to create home environments which are environmentally friendly and green while at the same time still withholding the same popular trends in the home industry.

There are many aspects of these new Green buildings. New cooling and heating systems have been developed to create more efficient and eco-friendly systems. Daylight is key to these buildings. New "smar" windows have been invented to control the daylight with glass that turns from clear to opaque for control of light and privacy.

These builidings use all of the latest technology; from voice-activation controllers for every aspect of the house to weather sensors on the outside to control the opening and closing of windows. These houses are essentially completely computer controlled, cutting down on resources needed for older housing methods.

Another aspect of this new architecture is the shift towards eco-friendly resources made from natural substances in contrast to the usual completely man-made and chemically created resources. This is coupled with wind and solar energy which will essentially be running every aspect of the house.

New advancements and innovations are still being refined and discovered presently and much is to be expected in the years to come and researchers and scientists develop even newer and better ways to create Green buildings.

Posted By: Kylie Graham


Sources:

Green Architecture in the 21st Century (2009). Retrieved October 26, 2009 from http://www.reddawn.com/featart11.html

Image Retrieved October 26, 2009 from kodokloncatz.co.cc/anggitadwiyani/?p=23

Air Travel Like Never Before

Innovations in the airline industry for the 21st century have focused on cutting costs and making the travel experience for the client for convenient and personalized. The drop in the economy this century in addition to the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 have greatly impacted the airline industry. With people unable to spend as much on travel coupled with a drop in desirability of flying have pushed the industry to focus on how to attract customers again in this new setting. Airlines are facing increasing fuel costs, government regulatory and security issues, major changes in the competitive architecture of the industry, as well as shifts in consumer travel behavior.

The industry has moved from focusing on the "process" of traveling, such as reservations, ticketing, and payment management, to focusing on "the people." Airlines are now catering to the passenger due to huge shifts in moods of society and the world around.

The first attempt at creating an easier and more convenient traveling experience began with JetBlue in 2001. But even newer developments have taken form with Design Q. This is a new design and idea created by a British design company. This company has been working on plans for airplane seating layout, in 2009, in which the seats are staggered and facing eachother running vertically down the planes interior. This design is a cost-cutting option for airlines that wish to fit more seats while creating a more efficient flying experience.

This design has been created for shorter, more frequently used flights in which the flight cost can be cut dramatically while still increasing the number of passengers.

Airlines are facing huge pressures and are attempting to combat many new issues raised in this century resulting in a shift in focues for airlines

Posted By: Kylie Graham

Sources:

Chaudhuri, Saabira. "The Future of Air Travel." Fast Company (2007). September 2007. Retrieved October 25, 2009 from http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2007/09/buckman.html

Jaunted.com (2009). Retrieved October 25, 2009 from http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/8/134423/0616/travel/New+Airplane+Design+Proposes+Seating+Passengers+Face-To-Face

Active Packaging: It's Alive!

For the past few decades, scientists have been working to counteract the fact that foods are alive, biological substances that age and eventually die. The idea of preserving and extending the shelf life of food has been modified and re-modified many times over and only now with the recent introduction of "active packaging" has sufficient technology come to the forefront in order to address this issue.

This technology first began with controlled and modified storage of food and perishables in the form of storage rooms, transport containers and retail food packages that have a controlled atmosphere. A "controlled atmosphere" refers to the monitoring and controlling of gaseous compositions.

Active packaging is composed of packaging material that can control the environment that the food is residing in by interacting correctly, in a positive way, with the gases the food gives off. Gases are added or removed to the atmosphere of the package depending on what is residing in the package. This helps in the preservation of food and perishables as well as their shelf-life.

Reportedly, "active packaging" technology was utilized by 2.7 billion packages in 2001 in the U.S alone. In 2002, it was expected to be utilized in 7 billion packages by 2006. In 2007, demand for "active packaging" was projected to climb 13% by 2011. If these numbers hold, it's clear that "active packaging" is revolutionizing the the packaging industry as we know it.

Posted by: Kylie Graham

Sources:
CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences (2009). Retrieved from http://www.foodscience.afisc.csiro.au/actpac.htm

No Author. (2007). U.S. Demand for Active Packaging on the Rise. Label and Narrow Web. Retrieved from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-171029968.html

Image retrieved October 26, 2009 from http://www.acpk.com/

Surgery...from a Robot

The 21st century ushered in a new era that has revolutionized the world of medicine and surgeries. It began with robotic surgeries which were performed by robots while a surgeon controlled them from a chair across the room.

Not only was the tremor of the human hand erased by the steady ease of the robot machine, but surgeons were also not as easily tired by being allowed to sit down while performing. The robots allow surgeons to perform complex maneuvers that can be awkward and hard to reach allowing for less error margins and better precision.

Advancements in robotic surgery has led to telesurgeries in which surgeries can now be performed across the world. The first one was performed in 2001 from a doctor who was physically in New York, but was able to remove the gallbladder of a woman in Paris, France. This new development will revolutionize the world as we know it.

Since then, several prototypes have been implemented to perform surgeries, such as "Penelope," which assisted with its first human surgery in 2005. Patients can be protected from harmful viruses by having surgeries in which only robots are present. Also, patients can be operated on from across the world, allowing them to recover very near to their homes.

Posted by: Kylie Graham

Sources:
Military.com (2009). Retrieved October 21, 2009 from
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,97023,00.html

Encyclopedia of Surgery (2009). Retrieved October 21, 2009 from http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/St-Wr/Telesurgery.html

Image retrieved October 26, 2009 from http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/79286/

High-Definition Television Available Everywhere

The 1970's marked the stirrings of HDTV or High-Definition Television.

First developed in Japan to sell more TVs by improving the picture quality it soon gained popularity. The technology hit the market with the first HDTV system, dubbed MUSE, which was supposed to offer consumers the best picture and sound quality ever available.

1989 was an important year for the new technology as Japan became the first country to regularly broadcast HDTV. However, HDTV in the U.S. was first met with resistance. The Terrestrial Television Broadcasters were opposed to such broadcasts in the U.S. because they feared they would be pushed out of the HDTV market. HDTV requires a higher bandwidth than standard TV and the channels controlled by Terrestrial Television Broadcasters would not be able to handle such an increase. The United States Congress was also opposed to HDTV, essentially they did not agree that the U.S. should utilize another technology that was owned by another country. As time went out, the technology improved and the opposition softened when in 1995 the U.S. Federal Communications Commission set the standard for completely digital HDTV.

In 2006 the FCC mandated that all channels will have the capacity to broadcast HDTV. Now, such technology is standard in the U.S.

Posted By: Jessica Lantz

Sources:

undefined. (2009). HDTV History. In RepairHome. Retrieved October 25, 2009, from http://www.repair-home.com/HDTV_History.html.

Image Retrieved October 25, 2009 from

http://epltalk.lg1.simplecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/hdtv.jpg