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A.
Computer Guided Imaging in Sinus Surgery
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Computer guided imaging systems
are allowing many surgeons to better navigate through
the sinuses during standard endoscopic sinus surgery.
Dr. Brad Strong, an otolaryngology professor at
the University of California, Davis, says image
guided surgery, which displays a three dimensional
model of the patient on a TV monitor, reduces the
risk of complications and allows a more accurate
and complete surgical procedure.
Strong: It gives us certainly that sense
of security when we're operating using traditional
endoscopic-guided instruments to locate where the
sinus cavities openings and other vital structures
like the brain or the eyes are and then confirm
that location on the video monitor.
Narrator: Generally, image guidance is not
crucial for routine sinus surgery.
Strong: Certainly for patients who are having
revision procedures, where the anatomy is distorted,
they're difficult cases or there's something unique
about their anatomy, this is something that certainly
is an added benefit.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa
Branin.
B.
Communicating with Your Baby Goes a Long Way
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Children who used simple gestures
to communicate as babies were found to perform better
on standard I.Q. tests than those who did not learn
these gestures. Linda Acredolo, a psychology professor
at the University of California, Davis, has dubbed
these gestures "baby signs" because they can be used
to communicate like a form of sign language.
Acredolo: For example, one of the most popular
for parents and babies is some kind of simple gesture
for "more". Babies need more goldfish crackers or
more juice. And so if they have a specific gesture
like putting their fingertips together, tapping them
together or one finger to a palm, everyone knows that
that means more.
Narrator: Although these signs did benefit
children's I.Q. in the long run, Acredolo doesn't
want parents to think of this as a better baby gimmick.
Acredolo: But parents can really rest assure
that they can take advantage of all that baby signs
offers in terms of parent-child interaction without
worrying about I.Q. effects or learning to talk. This
really promotes those two skills.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa
Branin.
C.
How to Supplement a Poor Diet
Narrator: This is Science Today. An antioxidant
supplement can make a big difference in the diets
of those who are not getting enough of these crucial
nutrients. Lynn Wallock, an assistant research scientist
at the University of California, Berkeley, recently
conducted a study that included the diets of male
smokers.
Wallock: The focus really was to find out what
it is about fruits and vegetables that is healthful.
One reason for including smoking in the group is because
it's easier to see differences with smokers and non-smokers
and it's easier to see a change when you look at smokers
and you do something to try to improve their health.
Narrator: The smokers in this particular study
were eating three or less servings of the recommended
five to nine servings of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Wallock: What we were trying to do was to simulate
a better diet. When we gave these men the supplement,
which they took daily for ninety days, we found that
their vitamin C concentrations in their blood increased
dramatically.
Narrator: Still, Wallock says supplements should
not be a substitute for fresh fruits and vegetables.
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin. .
D.
The Future Use of Micro ElectroMechanical Systems
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Advances in Micro ElectroMechanical
Systems, or MEMS, which combine electrical and mechanical
components on a computer chip, are giving researchers
the opportunity to develop tiny devices that can sense,
process and communicate information about its environment.
Kris Pister, an associate professor of electrical
engineering and computer sciences at the University
of California, Berkeley, is using this technology
to develop what he calls 'smart dust'.
Pister: The goal of the smart dust project
is to integrate a sensor and computer and power supply
and communication into a cubic millimeter volume.
So, we want to make a completely autonomous, remote
sensor that's roughly the size of a grain of sand.
Narrator: The next step would be to develop
smart dust with legs, or rather synthetic insects,
such as a silicon ant.
Pister: One application of that might be in
disaster search and rescue, where you could sprinkle
your little silicon ants all over collapsed building
and have them hunt for survivors, for example.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
How Green Algae May Impact the Future
Narrator:
This is Science Today. A group of scientists at the
University of California, Berkeley and their Colorado
colleagues have discovered a way to trigger green
algae to produce large quantities of hydrogen gas.
Tasios Melis, a UC Berkeley professor of plant and
microbial biology, says because hydrogen gas is one
of the most promising alternative fuel sources, this
discovery may greatly impact the future.
Melis:
There is a concerted effort by the U.S. Department
of Energy to develop what is called now hydrogen technologies.
That entails not only the production of hydrogen,
in which we are involved with, but also to develop
technologies such as storage of hydrogen, transportation
of hydrogen, utilization of hydrogen to power cars.
Narrator: The limiting step right now is the
production of hydrogen because it's done in a non-renewable
manner.
Melis: So I think that's where our contribution
is significant, because we have a process based on
the biology of green algae and this process permits
the production and accumulation of significant amounts
of hydrogen.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
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