era sains, teknologi & inovasi - Portal Rasmi Akademi Sains Malaysia

14
Oktober
2012
Science Facts
By NURUL ANUAR KARI
No Pain No Gain?
MEDICAL achievements have
been dated back since the
beginning of recorded history,
starting with herbal remedies
and superstitions, up to the modern
marvels of today.
The best medicinal findings of the past
centuries included the antibiotic, vaccine
and chemical drugs for cancers or any other
diseases known to man.
Then again, there’s also a huge leap in
the technologies for medical purposes from
cleaning hands and operation theatres, to
nuclear medicine for treatment and
detection of certain disease.
Although improvements in medication
formulas take a long time, technologies for
surgery, detections and treatments have
moved faster than ever, up to a level
surpassing all achievements by previous
human civilizations.
This has brought about a new age where
‘open surgeries’ are no longer required,
even for certain treatments of organs or
many other internal body structures.
Now, certain heart
surgeries can be done
using a scope, not to
mention surgeries for
injured knees, remo ving
inflamed appen dixes,
gastroin tes tinal tract and
even urolo gical
conditions such as
kidney stones.
Surgeries requiring
huge incisions into the
skin, leaving prominent
scars are no longer
procedures of choice
except for certain critical
conditions.
All this advancements also meant less
recovery time because there’s less trauma
to the body, and ultimately less pain or
even requirement for painkillers.
Advancements in surgical equipment has
even allowed for minute operations on the
eye, nerves, blood vessels and much more
either with semi-automatic or fullyautomatic
robotics in the operation
theatre.
With new improvements in the medical
industry reaching the public every few
months, the dreams of ‘nanobots’ or
miniature robots repairing the human body
from the inside may be more realistic than
anyone ever imagined.
A World Without Borders
HARD to believe for younger generations,
but there was a time when mankind could
only communicate through pen and
paper, fire and smoke, even blips of light
or sound.
Of course those means of passing a
message is still in use today, but had
passed the days of time consuming ‘data
transfers’.
Advancements in communications
have brought about the telegraph,
telephone, mobile phone and now the
Internet.
Many did not realize that these
technological marvels were responsible in
bringing down the barriers and borders
between countries or geographical
positions which divided one man from
another.
Radio waves, laser and light (fiber
optics and satellite positioning) and other
findings has brought about the era of
information and telecommunications that
for the first time united all civilizations
around the globe.
Now, it’s hard to even imagine a life
without a mobile phone or the Internet
either for work or banking transactions,
and even joy in socializing with others in
faraway places.
Not only allowing communications at
any time with anyone anywhere, tele commu
nication technologies has also cut
short the time for transfer of information
and data.
This means more people can work from
home, do business from one place to
anywhere around the world an even find
information they need just by clicking a
few buttons.
Imagine what other improvements
could be made in the next six months in
the world of telecommunications,
s u r p a s s i n g t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f
smartphones and tablet computers.
Perhaps the limitations are set only by
human imagination, perhaps just waiting
for a leap of advancements for humans to
even communicate with other planets?
Who knows?