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Eyeballs Are so Spoiled These Days
Wednesday, 30 July 2008

For those who are bored with ordinary contact lenses, there's quite a few strange new objects out there and others in the works that you can stick in your eye and not go blind (hopefully).

For instance, an artist-designer in the Netherlands named Eric Klarenbeek has created what he calls eye jewelery for people who have been dying to dangle diamonds from their eyeballs. But blinging in this manner may pose some problems: Besides having to figure out what to wear with it, some pain may be involved.

Dr. Brian Boxer-Wachler, an ophthalmologist based in Beverly Hills, warns that potential bleeding may occur as the string scratches against sensitive skin layers. "It looks like it would rub against the bottom of your eyelid as it swings around," he said. "And so I would expect it to cause some irritation if it were to be worn for a prolonged length of time."

And although the doctor "applauds the creativity" of such a concept, he notes that there are safer ways to wear jewelery.

And since it seems like we are spending more and more of our waking hours in front of a computer screen these days, a new technology being developed at the University of Washington may allow us to always be connected. Scientists at a laboratory somewhere in Seattle have figured out a way to fit circuits and LEDs into a contact lens. They've even tested the prototype lens on a rabbit and found no adverse affects.

Although the bionic lenses aren't fully functional yet, additional research may make it possible to perhaps read e-mail and watch movies by having them beamed directly to your eye. Sleep is overrated anyway.

 
An Owl's Secret Past
Friday, 11 July 2008

Athena’s secret past was one that even she didn’t know about.

Before arriving at the San Francisco Zoo three years ago, the Eurasian eagle owl with salt-and-pepper feathers began her journey disguised as an Easter egg that was smuggled into the country from Austria. A true survivor, she is one of only three hatched from a lot of 15 eggs.

"It’s really amazing," said agent Sean Hamm. "Besides crossing the Pacific in an Easter basket, the eggs were even blasted with radiation and put through the X-ray detection machine at the airport, which should have killed the eggs."

Eurasian eagle owls can be kept as pets in the United States, but a proper license is required. And since they can spread foreign diseases, there are strict laws that can prevent their importation. A live bird may fetch $5,000 and the smuggler, Jeffrey Diaz, seemed to have pulled off the scheme until informants turned him in to authorities.

But instead of being released to her natural habitat, Athena will likely spend the rest of her life at the zoo -- and much of it away from other birds. "She grew up with people from day one," bird curator Harrison Edell told ABCNews.com. "She doesn’t recognize she’s a different species than us."

The social norms among predatory birds like the owls are strict and they can be aggressive towards each other, says Edell. Introducing her to other owls, he says, would likely get her beat up. Also, if Athena ever came across a male who wanted to mate, she most likely would be "very confused."

And while Athena’s comfort in interacting with humans has made her an ideal candidate to be brought into the classroom as part of the zoo’s Animal Ambassador program, Edell finds that "there’s something kind of sad about her never being able to go back into the wild."

 
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