April 1st, also known as April Fool’s Day, is associated with the tradition of playing practical jokes on friends. However, according to many online sources the origins of the tradition are unclear. Some claim the tradition comes from the changing of the Julian to Gregorian Calendar in France 1582. Those who were unaware of the change continued to celebrate the new year in the last week of March into April (failing to recognise the New Year’s Day now fell on January 1st), and consequently were teased by their peers. Another theory is that the tradition originates from the ancient Roman festival Hilaria celebrated at the end of March where people dressed up in disguises.   More…

Nuclear Medicine: the past, present and future of brain cancer imaging

All of the greatest, most renowned inventions start with an idea and patents are often the first and only source of these ideas, as most are never published elsewhere. Holding approximately 70% of the world’s technical and scientific information, patent data is a crucial resource for inter-disciplinary research and development. This article uses patent data to explore how particle physics has contributed to medical practices, merging to form the field known as ‘nuclear medicine’. The World Intellectual Property Organization’s Innovation Index references PET scanners, particularly, as a prime example of the marriage between particle physics and imaging tools. This article utilizes the example of medical imaging, namely PET scanners, to shed light on the nature and importance of shared data within the technical sphere. More…

One of the signposts of advanced society is disaster preparedness. In a world increasingly affected by changes in the environment, disaster mitigation and relief has never been more important. Many military technologies, originally borne out of necessity, have trickled down into the mainstream population for civilian use, like GPS, EpiPens and duct tape. More…

People around the world are jumping on the trend of wearing face masks out in public for a multitude of reasons. Face masks are worn as a result of high air pollution in cities, to stop the spreading of viruses, to retain anonymity, as a fashion statement or for a combination of these reasons. There has also been an increase in supplements and skin care products being purchased for the purpose of keeping skin healthy and ageless. Air pollution has a negative effect on both the internal body such as the lungs and on the external body it negatively affects the skin. Wrinkles, aging, and nasty toxins can be emitted from air pollution into the skin which ultimately people are trying to prevent by using face masks, wearable air purifiers and skin products. More…

Global 5G patent trends

What is 5G?

5G is predicted to be a hot trend of 2020 and throughout the next decade. 5G is the next generation of mobile broadband that will improve the current 4G network connectivity. This successor promises faster download and upload speeds, lower latency and the capability to connect to many more devices at one time. For 5G to be fully implemented, this requires upgrading existing cell towers and maybe even building brand new ones, as well as a renewal of mobile devices, as existing models contain 4G modems that convert a lower frequency than 5G requires. Therefore, 5G will not be fully available to customers right away despite some network providers already having launched 5G in South Korea, China, US, UK and Australia in 2019. More…

Have you ever watched a science fiction movie and wished some aspect of it was real? From super powers to high-tech gadgets, the science fiction genre has introduced new ideas that seem outlandish and almost impossible. This article features 5 patented inventions seemingly from science fiction movies. More…