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Asked by hannahbanana to Charlie, Eoin, Jemma, Julian, Steve on 23 Mar 2011.
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Julian Rayner answered on 21 Mar 2011:
Inventions? Sadly nothing cool like a robotic arm, or a device to extract power from the sun, or a perpetual motion machine. We do invent methods all the time – just last year came up with a method to count malaria parasites invading human red blood cells using a machined called a flow cytometer, which can count individual cells really fast (about 50,000 in a minute). It’s a really cool method, and other scientists around the world are using it now too, but it will only ever be useful to 20 or 30 people. Still, if it lets us come up with way to block invasion, and so treat malaria, it will be useful enough for me!
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Eoin Lettice answered on 21 Mar 2011:
Hi hannah, thanks for another fab question,
I’ve got no invention that you can buy in the shops. Being a scientist means thinking on your feet and coming up with new ways to design experiments and make them better, but not many people want to buy that!
Hopefully, my work will lead to some new ways of doing things, rather than a physical invention that can be sold. That would suit me just fine!Eoin
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Stephen Moss answered on 21 Mar 2011:
Hi Hanna
In fact I do! But they’re probably not what you typically think of as inventions. In medical research we sometimes invent new ways of detecting or treating disease, and each time we do, we patent those inventions to stop other people stealing our ideas. I have around half a dozen such patents, they are all quite recent and with any luck some may find their way into clinical use.
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Charlie Ryan answered on 23 Mar 2011:
hi hananabanana
No i haven’t sorry to disappoint you!! Although i like your favourite invention of a spork!! I quite like the sound of a knork as well!
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