3 Questions. 3 Hints. 3 Answers. Every Tuesday.
1. If you’re seein’ things runnin’ through your head, who can you call? An invisible man sleepin’ in your bed, oh who ya gonna call?
Hint: 
Answer: if your child is afraid of monsters and you can’t get a hold of a Ghostbuster, you might give the folks at Barrett Pharmacy in North Dakota a call to request a prescription for “Monster Spray.” Created by a pharmacist and his daughter, the spray is very effective against every kind of monster imaginable and magically turns nightmares into sweet dreams. Read more here.
2. What do motion-sickness, anti-smoking, birth-control and, more recently, future drug therapy treatments have in common?
Hint:
Answer: no, not Angelina Jolie. The common denominator is a “patch” except it is not worn over an eye. A group of South Korean scientists have developed a dermal patch composed of nanomaterials that dispenses, provides feedback and monitors user requirements in relation to prescription drugs. Not only does this patch release the requisite drug into a patient’s system, it also monitors a patient’s physical status to assess prescription requirements. For instance, if a patient experiences a tremor, the motion will transmit to the patch and it will respond appropriately to the needs of the patient. However, unlike other kinds of patches, it will likely be another few years before this technology hits the market. Read the details here.
3. What computer hardware and software behemoth has somewhat quietly branched out into medical research over the last few years and what exactly is it working on?
Hint:
Answer: using nanotechnology, IBM is currently working on projects such as “creating better anti-microbial and anti-fungal agents, new methods of drug delivery, and novel ways of combating such diseases as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis” in an attempt to address global human and environmental health concerns. Taking drug delivery as an example, the IBM nanomedicine team found nanotechnology systems to be more effective than more traditional delivery methods when conducting experiments with the breast cancer drug Herceptin. The researchers saw a 75% tumor shrinkage with nanotechnology applications as opposed to 0% shrinkage with regular IV injection methods. Read additional information here.