Science Behind Things

Little Girl Saved With Super Glue On Her Brain

That is not a typo.

17-month old Ella-Grace Honeyman, born in Britain with “Vein of Galen Malformation” (which causes really small holes to appear in the brain’s primary blood vessels, and which affects only about 250 people throughout the entire world), has had her young life saved with medical superglue, having her faulty capillaries plugged with organic, sterile glue.  The first operation took place in France, but the followup operation had to take place in the more distant United Stated after the French surgeon tragically died after the first operation.  Most of Ella-Grace’s damaged capillaries are repaired, but a few more need to be taken care of.  But the immediate danger and constant headaches are over for the little girl.

She had just months to live when those operations took place.  Now she can live a normal life.  Praise God.

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Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1087800/Toddler-saved-pioneering-op-uses-medical-superglue-plug-holes-brain.html

Peering Inside Molecules with Greater Precision

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are collaborating with scientists across the United States, Germany and Sweden to utilize high-energy X-ray beams and complex algorithms to obtain detailed, high-resolution images of the atomic structure of cellular molecules.  Using high-energy, extremely short-pulses (less than 1/1,000,000,000,000,000th of a second, or 100 femtoseconds) X-ray beams to examine nanoscale objects.  Having a known reference object makes it easier to reassemble an image, and so the scientists are using a very special reference object called a uniformly redundant array (URA), where a combination of complex formulas known as a Fourier Transform and a Hadamard Transformare utilized to convert the data into an image that represents the object being examined.

Such technology will enable doctors to examine patients’ molecules with greater precision than ever before, helping them diagnose diseases and other conditions faster and more efficiently.  Praise God.

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Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080916144006.htm