Yes, it’s the sweet truth: Honey can soothe a burn

Home remedies for soothing mild burns run the gamut, from aloe vera gel to butter. Most that have been around for ages are clearly bad ideas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US, warns that applying butter or various popular ointments, for example, can increase the risk of infection. But at least one remedy, honey, has held up well. In studies of quick and easy treatments to soothe mild burns, scientists have found that honey has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that may promote healing. One study in 2006, examining results of more than a dozen previous studies, found that small, nonserious burns healed faster when treated with gauze and a dash of honey, on average, than those treated with antibiotic creams and other dressings. A separate report published earlier found similar results. Medical doctors say the tried and true method for healing small burns remains applying a wet compress, immersing it in cool water and then covering the area with a sterile, nonadhesive bandage. But for those who prefer using natural remedies to soothe discomfort, honey may be a decent option.

Motorless sub keeps going on energy from heat differences
Scientists seeking to gather temperature, salinity and other data from the oceans have long had two choices: steam out to sea on expensive research ships or launch unmanned submersibles, whose batteries typically die in a few days. Now engineers and oceanographers have successfully tested a novel unmanned mini-sub that grabs energy from temperature differences in the ocean. In an ongoing test, the “thermal glider” has been travelling, without a propeller, for nearly two months. “We now believe the technology is stable enough to be used for science. It is no longer just a prototype,” said Dave Fratantoni of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod. Made by Webb Research Corp. of Falmouth, Massachussetts, the glider changes its buoyancy by pumping fluid back and forth between bladders inside and outside its hull.

Near the surface, where waters are relatively warm, wax within a chamber melts and expands, producing a pumplike force that can push water between bladders. To ascend from frigid depths, fluid is pumped from an inner bladder to one outside. The vessel’s mass does not change, but its volume increases, bringing greater buoyancy. Back at the surface, pumps are recharged as wax melts and expands anew, even as fluid is drawn again to the inner bladder, reducing volume and slowly sinking the vessel again.
Fixed fins convert the rising and falling into forward momentum, just as a paper airplane’s wings make it glide forward when dropped. The six-foot craft travels about 1 mph, repeatedly bobbing up and then sinking to 4,000 feet as it goes, fueled by a temperature differential of about 43 degrees Fahrenheit. Instruments that can run on batteries for months gather data from the ocean and transmit to satellites with each surfacing.