The idea is that if someone suffers a critical injury and time is of the essence, a small dose of hydrogen sulphide gas could dramatically slow the patient’s heartbeat. Effectively the patient would enter a near-death state.

As scary as that sounds, it is reversible. Time would basically move in slow-motion for the patient, while doctors would be able to work in real-time. Instead of having minutes to save a person’s life, the technique could give doctors hours.

This all sounds great, but if at all possible I would like to avoid ever having to breathe hydrogen sulphide. Good ol’ nitrous oxide would probably be much more enjoyable. [CNN via BoingBoing]

Well, according to News.com.au, there’s now another technology we’re behind the rest of the world in: dealing with e-waste. Apparently we are “coming last” when it comes to recycling and reusing our old technology, and the government’s dragging its heels when it comes to coming up with any meaningful legislation to improve the situation.

Most disappointing though is that most of the western world still believes that dealing with e-waste is as simple as shipping old mobile phones and CRT TVs to third world countries – places like Delhi and Nigeria – so they can disassemble them. The problem is that they have no means for protection against all the toxic substances inside our gadgets, and when these substances are released, they generally end up poisoning someone or something.

Hit the link for the full article – it’s a cause for great concern for any real gadget fan in Australia.

[News.com.au]