makes me wish i were a different major

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/salad-spinner-centrifuge-a-cheap-ingenious-health-care-tool-2019637/

the girls in this article have done something incredible. if you find yourself randomly on my blog, take a second to read what i've linked to.

Lila Kerr and Lauren Theis , students at Rice University, have developed an invaluable tool for the world of health care. Using a simple salad spinner that most of us may have in our own kitchens, they've created a tool that utilizes centrifugal force to separate red blood cells and plasma from blood samples in about 20 minutes.

The invention requires no electricity and is relatively cheap to manufacture. It can process 30 blood samples at a time.

This device is especially essential to testing for anemia in patients of the third world. Anemia is one of the first diseases most doctors look for when diagnosing heavy medical issues within a patient. I get a full blood scan basically every six months, and anemia is always on the list.

Anemia often appears along with other more serious conditions such as HIV/AIDS, or other autoimmune disorders. Anemia results in lack of oxygen to vital organs and can do more damage when occurring next to other conditions. SO yes. I've also noticed that anemia is quite common among female patients...

imagine the impact this new device can have for the less fortunate peoples? Instead of having to send out blood samples to far away locations and losing valuable diagnosis time, the tests can be performed quickly, and in almost any situation.

I don't know about the rest of the random people that may read this, but I'm excited.

Also excited that the girls (GIRLS!) who invented this were my age when they built it.