October 31,2008
news 3
Apple continues wowing techno customers
with its iPod improvements, sleeker designs
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Music evolved exponentially over
several decades, beginning with
the classical melodies and progressing
to easy listening, country, rock, pop,
disco, punk, alternative, rap, oldies,
emo, and dance. Back in the early
1900's, citizens of the United States
tuned in to their local radio stations
or turned on their record players
every evening.
Soon musical technology trans
formed to new devices known as
the eight-track, the cassette, and finally
the CD player. Music continued to ex
pand, and by 2001, Apple introduced
the iPod, which provided music
afficionados a new and hip way to jam
to their favorite tunes.
For the past seven years, consumers
have watched the transformation of the
iPod. The product soon became smaller
as the Nano iPod and allowed storage
space for not only music, but also
photographs, movies, and books.
As their popularity increased, Apple
introduced the iPhone, and the com
pany continues to create new products.
One may question what else Apple
could possibly bring to the table.
Actually, two new additions to the iPod
collection have blasted their way
past radios and CDs, creating new
technopower. What Apple produced
next would soon rock America, the
iPod Touch and the Nano-Chromatic.
While each has some of the same
features, they still differ noticeably.
Nano-Chromatic iPods allow their
owners to enjoy many features in
an item smaller than the human hand.
With the Nano-Chromatic iPod, one
can merely shake the iPod, and the
device will shuffle the play list.
Therefore, the owner does not have
to browse the options menu; this
function saves time when rearranging
the play list.
Also packed into this product is
a new variety of games. Gamers can
take racing to a new level with The Ac
celerator. If the iPod is tilted left or right,
the game character turns with the curve.
Going faster just requires tilting the
iPod forward.
Gaming gets even easier with the
new edition to this iPod. The Nano-
Chromatic enables the owner to turn
the screen sideways, resulting in the
film, photo, or game turning with him.
Nano-Chromatics also feature
two- inch screens with high-resolutions,
allowing owners to watch television
shows, movies, and videos on
crisp screens.
Apple redefined the already magnifi
cent iPod Touch as well. It is now less
bulky and more sleek looking,
providing easier navigation. When
running with the iPod Touch, the owner
can use the built-in support for Nike +
iPod. Once the runner places the sensor
into his shoe, he has the ability to listen
while moving. With the new iPod
touch, a built-in speaker allows the
owner to play games and listen with
out headphones.
Volume control, conveniently located
on the side, makes it easy to choose how
loud the owner's music or gaming
projects. To ensure satisfaction with this
product, the battery life lasts up to
36 hours, so the owner can groove to the
music, watch, play, and flaunt all
he wants.
When playing games, a mere tip of
the fingers moves, clicks, drags, or
pinches the screen to make the view
larger or smaller. Owners of this cre
ation can use the built-in accelerometer
to play games with ease by tilting to
Interimt graphic
speed up or turning to change direction.
Both the iPod Touch and the Nano-
Chromatic have what Apple produc
ers call the "Genius." Genius will take
the songs on a play list and list them
so that each song transitions smoothly
from the previous song. The Cover
Flow, another perk, allows one to flip
through the album covers of the songs
on his iPod for easy navigation.
With music as a high priority and
source of relaxation in the 21st century,
the two new iPods provide easy ways
to work hard or play hard with music
as a driving force. These products range
in price from $150 to $375, depending
on amount of hard drive space to hold
the desired quantity of movies, music,
photos, and games.
Nanotechnology may be answer to curbing
cancer’s death toll across entire globe
Internet Graphic
For thousands of years, sci
entists have tried to find a cure
for a disease that today claims
over seven million annual
deaths worldwide. The disease
is cancer, and the latest experi
ment is nanotechnology.
In order to grasp fully the
scale of nanotechnology, one
must understand the definition
of a nanometer and compre
hend its size. The width of a
single hair divided by 100,000
is equivalent to one nanometer.
With respect to a meter, it is
equal to .000000001 meters,
which means that anything
measured in nanometers is in
visible to the naked eye.
Building a robot that the na
ked eye could not see Was con
sidered nearly impossible in years
past, and the concept of making
hundreds of them and injecting
them into one's body to cure can
cer was also thought inane.
Nevertheless, adopting such
technology is exactly what re
searchers have strived to do.
Using nanotechnology in
medicine originated in the last
twenty years. The complexity
in inventing such a small robot
and having it perform surgery
like procedures is staggering;
however, scientists arrived at
two possible solutions.
First and perhaps easiest is
the idea of encapsulation,
which uses a nanoshell to carry
toxins (chemo) to cancerous
cells in a certain bodily area.
Scientists create these
nanoshells out of only a few
carbon atoms and then hope to
utilize a drug delivery system
to locate cancerous cells.
Nanoshells will then be
equipped with a microscopic
laser to heat up the shell, thus
causing it to melt and release a
small, controlled amount of a
substance on the cell.
Flowever, the biggest
problem with this design is
not making the nanoshell or
the laser but controlling the
amount of toxin released.
Because chemo is such a
nasty chemical in relatively low
doses, it can do much more
harm than good. Researchers
are still working out the details
in allowing only certain
nanoshells to release their tox
ins while other shells wait
several hours and release
theirs over time.
Another idea to heal cancer
ous cells involves using actual
nanobots. Such a process
proves slightly more complex
but safer, and it deals less with
the problem of releasing con
trolled amounts of toxins.
First, one set of nanobots
is sent out to locate the cancer
ous cells and release a small
amount of chemo.
The next set then comes
in' with a small laser and cuts
out the cancerous portion of
the cell, leaving only the
healthy part.
As these two sets of
nanobots work, a third set
sends a video feed to the sur
geon who is performing the
operation. This second type of
cancer removal is much more
sophisticated and also safer.
Many questions still remain
regarding nanotechnology.
Is it guaranteed the nanobots
will not mistake a healthy cell
for a cancerous cell? Can
a patient trust a robot to per
form surgery?
Answers to these questions
have yet to be found, yet scien
tists and doctors have already
begun to use nanobots in order
to fight cancer in the human body.
If development continues at
its present rate, the world
should have a cure for cancer
in no time.
First Responders
CONTINtlED FROM PAGE ONE
hours practicing their life sav
ing skills.
"My most memorable expe
rience was running around the
school when we were doing
mock scenarios on dummies,"
said senior Avery Long. "It was
exciting, and since we used
practice AED machines, we
were actually able to take real
steps in giving emergency
medical care."
First responders must be ex
tremely dedicated since the
training process can be taxing
and requires both time and
practice before the AED, CPR,
and First Aid skills become sec
ond nature.
First responders must be
able to handle emergency situ
ations without panicking.
Members of the Sports Medi
cine Club meet after school
on Mondays.
"Many people have showed
up because they are interested
in the medical field and want
hands-on training and certifica
tion," said Long, club creator.