TOPIC OF THE ISSUE

The world of nanotechnology
Irreversibly rehearsed dwarf

Nanotechnology or Nanotechnique (Greek Dwarf + Skilled, Trained) is a set of disciplines involved in the research, development and application of structures, devices and compositions that measure the sizes of atoms, molecules and macromolecules, i.e. up to 100 nanometers (1 nm = 10– 9 m), which, due to their small size, have special properties. This rapidly advancing area is intertwined with a number of other fields, such as electronics, medicine, materials science, chemical reactions, and is based on the study of basic phenomena and materials in the nanoscale.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Apocalypse prior to eternal life

The notion of artificial intelligence causes a lot of confusion, even for those who are professionally engaged in this field. This is due to the fact that artificial intelligence is a social institution in which the ideological department often works significantly better than the scientific one. When, in 1965, Gershom Scholem, a university professor and authority in the field of Jewish mysticism, heard that the Weizmann Institute had constructed a new computer in Israel, he proposed to call it the "Golem Aleph". The proposal was accepted, and his address on the introduction of this computer, Scholem ended with the following words: "I regret all the time that the Weitzman Institute did not use the funds to make the Institute for Experimental Demonology and Magic, the foundation of which I have proposed for so long. They preferred what they call applied mathematics and its sinister capabilities than my direct magic approach. Therefore, I am retreating and telling the Golem and his creators: develop in peace and do not destroy the world.”

FIVE CENTURIES SINCE
THE DEATH OF LEONARD

One genius notebook

Following the best-seller "Steve Jobs and Einstein", Walter Isaacson, professor of history at Tulane University, Louisiana, wrote a new capital work, "Leonardo da Vinci: The Biography" (Simon & Schuster, 2017, 2018). Isaacson's book on the star of art, science and techniques of the Renaissance, in the present sense of the word, surpasses all the previous ones of this kind: the main topic, the breadth of research, the mode of presentation, the abundance of data, the grounded conclusions. It was written with enthusiasm, but critically, interestingly and understandably. Leonardo is portrayed in his activity as the "embodiment of the universal mind" as a genius and a very complex and mysterious character. "There was no character more complex and mysterious than his," said Kenneth Clark.

SPACE EXPLORATION

Discovering the secrets of a hot planet

The development of astronautics in the 20th century made it possible to send cosmic probes to planets and other bodies of the solar system. By sending information about the explored worlds, they have greatly expanded and, to some extent, altered the scientific notion of our closest cosmic neighborhood. Exploration of the planet Venus with space probes was one of the largest scientific and technical endeavors, within which, over a period of more than two and a half decades, more than 20 automatic space probe machines were successfully sent to the neighboring planet. Pioneering research on Venus was conducted by the USSR with the missions of the "Venus 4-8" probes, during which capsules with probes entered its atmosphere, successfully performed aerodynamic braking and opened parachutes and sent data to Earth. The first probes failed during descent; it was not until December 15, 1970 that Venus 7 successfully landed and sent information about the physical conditions on the planet's surface.

MEDICINE

Endoscopic ORL surgery

Unlike classic surgical therapy for chronic sinusitis, minimally invasive functional endoscopic sinus surgery, and balloon-sinuplasty, are aimed at restoring the natural pattern of sinus drainage. Moreover, balloon-sinuplasty, performed at Bel Medic by Doc. Dr. Bojan Pavlovic, is the most comfortable method for one-day sinonasal surgery so far for patients. Nose and sinus diseases (paranasal cavities) are multifactorial in nature and their pathogenesis has not been fully explained, but great advances have been made in recent decades, thanks to endoscopic diagnostic and surgical methods that have made it possible to learn more about the anatomical and functional features of otolaryngology (ORL) regions. One of the most common in this group of diseases, chronic rhinosinusitis, in complicated and in cases where drug therapy does not produce results, can be treated surgically. It is thanks to new knowledge that the classical surgical approach to the treatment of sinusitis, and the newer functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), which belongs to minimally invasive methods, differ essentially. A modern procedure from the arsenal of endoscopic sinus surgery, balloon-sinuplasty (BSP), performed at the Bel Medic General Hospital by a specialist in otolaryngology, ORL surgeon. Dr. Bojan Pavlovic, made surgical treatment of chronic sinusitis even more comfortable for the patient.
 

MEDICINE

Asthma in adults

Monitoring and good control are the most effective "cure" for asthma Asthma is an incurable chronic lung disease, but good therapy and discipline in its administration, in most patients, can provide full control of the disease and a life without problems, says pulmonologist doc. Dr. SanjaSarac, Bel Medic consultant. Asthma is a chronic and incurable inflammatory lung disease characterized by hyperresponsiveness of the respiratory tract to various allergens, cold air, physical exertion ... Caused by a specific type of inflammation localized in the airway walls and exaggerated reactivity to said "triggers" leads to narrowing of the respiratory tract and obstructed airflow - and symptoms such as shortness of breath and suffocation, "wheezing" in the chest, coughing ... With good constant therapy and constant monitoring of this variable disease can, however, achieve good asthma control and allow the patient a completely quality life, almost without any hassle.

PHARMACEUTICS

Eighty years of pharmacy
studies in Serbia

The name of the drugstore, a shop where drugs are sold and manufactured, was written in beautiful black Cyrillic letters, in a unique shape, just like the name in the "Politika" newspaper. To the left and right of the front door are in the shallow relief of the figure of Aesculapius and Hygius, the ancient deities of healing skills. And inside, as the people say, everything is like a pharmacy: immaculately clean and in its place. Stalls (containers, bottles and jars), made of glass or porcelain, of different sizes and shapes, the contents of which were unknown to me, with black, red or white signatures, arranged alphabetically. On the counter is a pharmacy scales with a set of weights, and on the other side of a person in need is Mr. Apothecary in white coat, Mr Pharm. The image of a mid-century pharmacy and apothecary that the signer of these lines has preserved in his memory has not faded at all. Two major anniversaries: 80 years of pharmacy studies in Serbia and 140 years since the founding of the Pharmacy Society, today the Association of Pharmaceutical Associations, celebrated at the end of October, have only sharpened it. Now he remembers with a peculiar pet apothecary Djoko Kalijadis in Brus, or the story of Samuel Gaon from the Railway Hospital in Dedinje about working at the Kedrovic pharmacy in Krusevac and his studio colleague Miklja Petrovic from Aleksandrovac Parish. Unfortunately, this building erected by the project of Nikola Pasic, then an engineering trainee, no longer exists. Today it would be an important monument to the history of pharmacy in the Serbs, since Kedrovic's pharmacy, in 1868, was the sixth institutional establishment of its kind in the Principality of Serbia.
 

TINIEST ANIMALS

Almost all of them in millimeters,
just some of them in centimeters

Species whose body sizes are smaller versions of their ancestors and relatives are quite widespread in the animal kingdom. Extreme examples, however, are unusual. The benefits of dwarfism are difficult to grasp. Reduced body size usually results in simplified morphology, such as fewer fingers on the extremities, fewer skull bones, and some species give less offspring compared to larger relatives. Scientists are still debating the evolutionary benefits of miniature bodies in some species. In many cases, dwarfism is a way to avoid competitive environmental pressures or to exploit an ecological niche. Theories explaining the benefits of a smaller body include, among other things, earlier reproduction within the species' lifespan and, arguably, greater resistance to extinction as smaller animals are more numerous. It is thought that when resources in the environment are limited, some species are reduced to reduce their energy needs. Interestingly, the evolution towards body size reduction seems to occur in isolated habitats, and especially in islands, as food supply is limited there. Smaller animals eat less food, which is likely to pass the tipping point where population reduction is sufficient to restore food, thereby surviving and establishing a new population similar to oneself. Cases of shrinking large mammals in the islands represent some of the most dramatic reductions in known animal sizes.