17. The Filter that Fights Ebola

抗埃博拉過濾器

What makes the Ebola virus so frightening is its speed. In a matter of days, it can pump out enough copies of itself to overtake the immune system. But the Hemopurifier, a specially designed cartridge that attaches to a dialysis machine, can tip the balance back in the body’s favor: its lectin filter attracts Ebola viruses and sucks them from the blood as it flows through. It’s been used only once, on a patient in Germany, but it did the trick—effectively curing his Ebola infection.

埃博拉病毒的可怕之處是它的傳播速度。它可以在幾天之內進行大量自我復制，攻破免疫系統。但Aethlon醫療公司開發的Hemopurifier過濾筒可加裝到血液透析機上，能讓機體恢復應有的平衡：其植物凝血素過濾劑可吸收埃博拉病毒，并在血液流經時把病毒清除。該產品僅在德國一名患者身上用過一次，但它產生了奇效，真的治愈了他的埃博拉感染。

18. The Selfie Stick (and Hairbrush)

自拍助手

If 2013 was the year in which selfie became a buzzword, then 2014 was the year selfies became a cultural phenomenon. Look no further than a recent Pew report, which found that at least a quarter of Americans have shared a selfie on a social-networking site. Sensing a new market, several companies have launched devices designed to streamline the selfie-taking experience. Many of them, like a hairbrush that holds your smartphone, are more goofy than game changing. But the selfie stick (produced by multiple brands), which enables users to position their smartphone beyond arms’ reach to get better photo angles adds genuine value.

如果說2013是“自拍”成為熱詞的一年，那么2014便是自拍成為一種文化現象的一年。最近的皮尤調查顯示，至少有1/4的美國人在社交網站上分享過自拍。感覺到新商機的幾家公司推出了優化自拍體驗的專門裝置。大部分像發梳一樣的自拍裝置形式大于實際意義。不過，讓用戶能把手機放到雙手夠得著的范圍之外取景的(多種品牌的)自拍助手真正達到了增值效果。