The steroid squalamine, found in dogfish sharks, has been found to fight viruses that are difficult or impossible to treat once transmitted to humans. Squalamine is a potential cure-all remedy than may even have the potential to cure cancers and protozoan infections. Discover summarizes the find as such:
Link -via Discover | Image Credit OCVA
Researchers bathed lab-grown human endothelial cells—the type that line blood vessels—in varying concentrations of squalamine before introducing dengue virus. At the highest concentration of the chemical, none of the human cells became infected, nor suffered any visible ill effects from the squalamine.
Researchers also tested squalamine’s ability to prevent replication of the hepatitis B and D viruses in cultured human liver cells. In cells treated with squalamine, viral replication was reduced 10-fold.
Squalamine has antibiotic, fungicidal, and anti-protozoan properties. It kills a wide variety of pathogens and one study found it could be used to treat multidrug-resistant bacteria. Researchers are also investigating its ability to treat cancer and fight macular degeneration.
Link -via Discover | Image Credit OCVA
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More seriously, there's a lot of hype about using discarded materials to create pratical or decorative objets, the idea is obviously good, I think however that these items should sell for a fair price.
Remember the tinny tin can cars, planes and motos made in Africa? I thought that when these items were in shops the overprice was due because the shops paid the creators a good one, but not. The shops just make enormous profits by taking advantage of press covers and customers who think they do a good action like for fair trading...
http://www.meublesindustriels.com/collection-ecolo-chic-c-3365.html?language=en
But this one is quite cool :
http://www.fairesadeco.tv/leblog/objets-insolites/%E2%80%9Cre-tyre%E2%80%9D-la-chaise-pneu-par-carl-menary
more pictures of the tire horse in progress by german artist Mirko Siakkou-Flodin