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UW startup creates underwater robotics with a human touch

By Guest PostMay 10, 2014Sciencealeksandar zaklan, alexis kaushansky, amerikanische schieferoelproduktion, ayanna howard, cancer drugs, damage, dilma rousseff, emergency guide robot, Environment, malaria research, opec, paul robinette, rescue robot, risk, robotic arm, rovs, smartamerica challenge, Technology, university of washington

It should be just as easy to use a robotic arm as it is to use your own hand. That’s the thinking behind University of Washington startup BluHaptics, which is taking telerobotics — controlling robots from a distance — to a new level: underwater.

Using technology developed by Howard Chizeck’s lab in the Department of Electrical Engineering, a team of UW scientists and engineers working at the Applied Physics Laboratory is creating a control system for underwater remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs. (more…)

“Simming” a mile in others’ shoes

By Guest PostApril 21, 2014Culture, Generalasif ghazanfar, california, chitchat, death valley, Environment, evidence lacking, evolutionary need, ioannis vlachos, ipek kulahci, klimagase, lemur catta, martin stevens, Mexico City, middle east, protects animals, ringtailed lemurs, small talk, stromexportsaldo, taskin deniz, treibhausgase, university of michigan

Scott Magelssen has had more lives than an accident-prone cat. He’s been a waiter in a logging camp. An anthrax victim. A Mexican migrant trying to cross into the U.S. A slave seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad. An observer during an attack on an Iraqi village.

It’s all in a day’s work for Magelssen, a UW associate professor of drama, who has participated in a variety of interactive simulations for his upcoming book, “Simming” to be published in June by University of Michigan Press. The book explores the impact of simulations and the potential of such immersive environments to promote social change. (more…)

Arzneimittel in der Umwelt sind eine globale Herausforderung

By Guest PostApril 9, 2014Environment, Healthalana feld, alex fauler, detektorsystem, Environment, fmf, joshua schiffman, kenneth feld, li fraumeni, lisa abegglen, michael fiederle, pharmaceuticals, uba, umwelt, umweltbundesamt, unep, walking conundrum, xie

Hunderte Wirkstoffe und Abbauprodukte belasten Gewässer und Böden nahezu weltweit.

Welches Ausmaß die Umweltbelastung mit Arzneimitteln erreicht, zeigt ein Forschungsprojekt im Auftrag des Umweltbundesamtes: Spuren von mehr als 630 verschiedenen Arzneimittelwirkstoffen sowie deren Abbauprodukte lassen sich in vielen Teilen der Erde nachweisen. Sie sind in Gewässern, Böden, Klärschlamm und Lebewesen zu finden. Sehr häufig kommt das Schmerzmittel und der Entzündungshemmer Diclofenac vor. Der verwendete Wirkstoff wurde bisher in Gewässern von insgesamt 50 verschiedenen Ländern gemessen. Das Umweltprogramm UNEP der Vereinten Nationen prüft jetzt, ob „Arzneimittel in der Umwelt“ ein neues wichtiges Handlungsfeld im internationalen Chemikalienprogramm SAICM werden soll. Um dies zu unterstützen, initiieren das Umweltbundesamt (UBA) und das Bundesumweltministerium am 8. und 9. April 2014 einen internationalen Arzneimittel-Workshop in Genf. Thomas Holzmann, der amtierende Präsident des UBA: „Das Umweltbundesamt kann jetzt sicher belegen, dass Arzneimittelrückstände in der Umwelt weltweit ein relevantes Problem darstellen. Lösen können wir es nur global, indem wir die internationale Chemikaliensicherheit stärken. Zum Beispiel im Rahmen des internationalen Chemikalienprogramms SAICM. Mit unserem vierjährigen Forschungsprojekt, welches den internationalen Wissensstand zu Arzneimitteln in der Umwelt analysiert und transparent macht, leisten wir dazu einen Beitrag.“ (more…)

UCLA study yields more accurate data on thousands of years of climate change

By Guest PostApril 8, 2014Environmentaradhna tripati, atmosphere, borneo, business world, change, climate change, data, data science, david ediger, diamond eye, Environment, global warming, greenhouse gas levels, last ice age, models, papua new guinea, robert eagle, sustainability, tropical pacific ocean, ucla study

Research also helps unravel the mystery of retreating glaciers in the Pacific Ocean’s western tropics

Using a cutting-edge research technique, UCLA researchers have reconstructed the temperature history of a region that plays a major role in determining climate around the world.

The findings, published online Feb. 27 in the journal Nature Geoscience, will help inform scientists about the processes influencing global warming in the western tropical Pacific Ocean. (more…)

Whales, ships more common through Bering Strait

By Guest PostMarch 21, 2014Environment, Natureamerican coast, Arctic, arctic beluga, bering sea, bering strait, chukchi sea, Environment, gas exploration, habitat, honolulu, humpback, humpback whale, janet clarke, kate stafford, killer whales, leidos inc, marine mammals, noise pollution, North America, oil, russia, ships, sub arctic whales, sue moore, underwater microphones, university of washington, whales

The Arctic is home to a growing number of whales and ships, and to populations of sub-Arctic whales that are expanding their territory into newly ice-free Arctic waters. (more…)

Q&A: Climate change is already here, says ‘father of green chemistry’

By Guest PostMarch 1, 2014Environment, Politicsclimate change, Environment, eric gershon, father, green chemistry, greenhouse gas, hazards, human health, john holdren, paul anastas, richard nixon, White House, yale chemist

Paul Anastas, the Yale chemist widely known as the “father of green chemistry,” talks about greenhouse gases, science policy, Richard Nixon, and being “a sworn enemy of the status quo.” (more…)

Help for a scarred heart: Scarring cells turned to beating muscle

By Guest PostFebruary 16, 2014Healthandrew putnam, beating muscle, better reprogramming, biomedical engineers, damage, Environment, expression, fibroblasts, gene, gene expression, heart attack, help, matrix identity, missing factor, mouse embryos, scarred heart, scarring cells, stem cells, tractional force, university of michigan, yen peng kong

Poets and physicians know that a scarred heart cannot beat the way it used to, but the science of reprogramming cells offers hope—for the physical heart, at least.

A team of University of Michigan biomedical engineers has turned cells common in scar tissue into colonies of beating heart cells. Their findings could advance the path toward regenerating tissue that’s been damaged in a heart attack. (more…)

NASA Receives Mars 2020 Rover Instrument Proposals for Evaluation

By Guest PostJanuary 21, 2014Science2018 exomars rover, 2020, astrobiology, atmosphere, carbon dioxide, electra telecommunication radios, Environment, esa, european space agency, exploration technology, geological assessment, habitability, hazards, human explorers, humans to mars, instrument, john grunsfeld, landing site, mars, mars 2020 rover, mars in 2030s, mars rover, martian dust, michael gazarik, NASA, oxygen, President Obama, red planet, rocket fuel, space exploration, william gerstenmaier

NASA has received 58 proposals for science and exploration technology instruments to fly aboard the agency’s next Mars rover in 2020, twice the usual number submitted for instrument competitions in the recent past, and an indicator of the extraordinary interest in exploration of the Red Planet.

The agency is beginning a thorough review to determine the best combination of science and exploration technology investigations for the mission and anticipates making final selections in the next five months. (more…)

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