Innovations

I thought this week I would highlight some interesting innovations impacting our world.

Nike Flyease – Nike has created a handsfree fully enclosed shoe perfect for pregnant women in their third trimester, arthritis patients, or those who have lost some or all of the use of their arms—such as stroke victims or injured military veterans. Essentially, it’s a hinged shoe that allows the wearer to slip the shoe on and off without needing bend down and pull/adjust the heal of the shoe. When the hinge is snapped into place the shoe “hugs” your foot. Primarily designed to assist those who have challenges putting on shoes, it could have more mainstream uses in the future. Check it out here https://youtu.be/ZTRsiWa79rY

A group of Scottish scientists, led by Professor Jonathan Shepherd, have created a system of lasers that will melt cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact by using a series of pulses short enough to melt the cancerous cells while leaving the healthy cells unheated. The process has another 3 years in R&D before clinical testing and will include research into an optical fiber device that can target and kill cancer cells three times smaller than the lasers can remove.

A Kenyan materials engineer, tired of seeing civil servants of Nairobi struggle against plastic waste, has used recycled plastics to create a product 5 to 7 times stronger than concrete. Nzambi Matee, founder of Gjenge Makers, gets dumps of high and low polyethylene for free from local packinging plants. After the plastic polymer is heated and mixed with sand it is formed into a variety of paving stones by the machines Nzambi created for her factory. She has recycled about 20 metric tons since the company opened in 2018. You can learn more about her company here https://gjenge.co.ke

Cheers to these amazing innovators and their creative problem-solving skills.