EVS25 Day2: Saving the World, Earning Money, and the Well-known Problem with International Standardization

Saturday was the first day of the EVS25 symposium, which added seminars, workshops, and various presentations to the trade show that started yesterday. These included a whole range of lectures, from “we need to agree on a standard for the plugs to charge cars” to “our company will save the world”. Naturally, I am very skeptical towards the latter, as a company always has investors and/or shareholders that want to see the return on investment. In the case of e-cars, saving the world is a by-product of making money. This is a noble idea, but it also lowers the value of some high level speeches. Nevertheless, the value out of this first day was great, and I would like to share some of this here.

Dubai college's nano hope for cancer patients

DUBAI // The side effects of chemotherapy could be largely wiped out by a so-called "magic bullet" nanotechnology system being researched in Dubai, according to an associate professor at Dubai Pharmacy College.

Dr Aliasgar Shahiwala is looking into using nano-particles that would release chemotherapy drugs only on contact with cancerous cells. The amount of treatment needed to eliminate tumours could be reduced by 95 per cent should the research prove successful, he said.

"When you take normal medicine it diffuses throughout the body," said Dr Shahiwala. "It doesn't differentiate between the normal cell and the diseased cell. Using nanotechnology, you are specifically targeting the drugs to the diseased organs. Because all of the drug is targeted in this way, you also require a smaller dose. That is why nano-particles are called 'magic bullets'."