Instant Japanese Harusame Noodles Soup - Chige Flavor (3 servings)

Generally, when you think of a hot laser being pointed at your body, you'd expect it to create a hole rather than seal one up. And most of the time, you'd be right. But Abraham Katzir, a physicist at Tel Aviv University, has just begun human trials of healing lasers that promise less scarring, faster healing and less risk of infection when compared to traditional stiches.

As you can see from the photos to the left, the laser-healed cut on the bottom healed much better than the suture-sewn cut on top. So how do they keep the laser safe and prevent it from doing more damage than good?

To overcome this problem, Katzir and his colleagues developed a laser-based system with a feedback loop that prevents overheating. First, they had to determine the optimal temperature at which flesh melts but can still heal (about 65 degrees Celsius). Then the group created a pen-sized tool that incorporates optic fibers: one that channels a carbon dioxide-powered infrared laser to the wound with pinpoint precision, and another that leads from the pen to an infrared sensor, which measures the temperature and ensures that the heat remains within the ideal range, between 60 and 70 degrees. All a surgeon has to do is move the pen's tip along the cut, strengthening and sealing the weld with a solder of water-soluble protein.

Sounds awesome and scary. Bring on the laser sutures! [Technology Review]

OK, maybe not. But "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29" still spins an improbable, Fitzgerald-meets-Updike yarn about two elite schools, a turbulent year and an unbelievable ending.

Ted Shelton: "Frankly I felt that BlogOn was a waste of time and money."

I think the BlogOn conference was overproduced. In the name of professionalism the organizing firm turned off potential speakers, oversubscribed sponsors, etc.

I would have liked a debatable topic (aside from *blogging = journalism*. Two people slugging it out. Or a devil's advocate taking challenges from the floor.

I would have liked more hard numbers. Facts. Charts. Diagrams. We have the analytic tools to BS-check them; harder on vague opinions and single-points-of-observation.

I found it disturbing how much money was being commanded (from both attendees and sponsors) for a conference at a university. Maybe it was because it was at Berkeley? Maybe we should have taken over a community college or a Cal State or a DeVry. The facilities costs would have been cheaper at least. I heard an organizer apologize and say the next one would be at a hotel, like that would have been better.

Cost wasn't the whole problem. We're at a stage where early adopters are meeting folks who want to leap the chasm. Huge gaps in knowledge, experience, context, culture, vocabulary. It's the gap.

There are huge ideas to be explored, even in the world of applying blogs to media strategy and the enterprise. And most of the big ideas weren't even on the agenda at BlogOn. Probably because it was catering to those who want to commercialize, fund, and otherwise exploit (excuse me, "get in on") the emerging medium.

Let's fork these conferences so advanced topics on business and technology and culture fit the participants. 

[a klog apart]

Begin the mass download of NetBeans 6.5... also:
Java Today: NetBeans 6.5 ships, mirror servers set up for NetBeans downloads, and JCP 2008 election results posted
Weblogs: Election congrats to Sean Sheedy, Facelets in JSF 2.0, and Java apps for creating Gantt Charts
Forum Posts: Downloading and running BD-J code, SS7 interface for Mobicents, and XML date representations