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A.
Unique Technology Helps Researchers Conduct Basic
Biomedical Research
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Physicists and researchers
at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are
using an isotopic, analytical tool called Accelerator
Mass Spectrometry to conduct basic biomedical research.
Ken Turteltaub, the head of molecular toxicology
at the Livermore Lab, explains what Accelerator
Mass Spectrometry can do.
Turteltaub:
You can see one damaged DNA base - one flaw in your
DNA - in a whole cell and there are about three
billion or more base pairs in your cell. We can
see one mutated letter. Take one word in a book
really, change one letter in that book - we can
find it with this kind of technology.
Narrator:
One way the Lab is using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry
is to study why some foods in our diets - such as
broccoli or lycopenes in tomato paste - seem to
reduce the risk of certain cancers.
Turteltaub:
There aren't that many techniques out there
sensitive enough to measure the specific chemicals
and the specific changes that are occurring in our
bodies at the levels that we're exposed to them.
And that's a really unique thing that technologies
like this are allowing.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
A Global Network of Infrasound Monitoring
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Infrasound energy tracking,
which can detect signals that fall below the 20-Hertz
level of human hearing, was widely used in the 50s
and 60s because of a high amount of nuclear testing
in the atmosphere. But when nuclear testing moved
underground, the technology decreased. Now, researcher
Michael Hedlin of the University of California, San
Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography says infrasound
monitoring is making a comeback due to the number
of countries capable of developing nuclear weapons.
Hedlin and his group have deployed such a listening
device in the California desert.
Hedlin: This station that we've
built is to be part of a global network of stations
- a network that will have sixty similar listening
posts to listen for sounds from secret nuclear explosions.
Narrator: But that's not all they can
detect …
Hedlin:
It will simultaneously listen to sounds produced by
all sorts of other sources - including hurricanes,
tornadoes, landslides, supersonic aircraft and of
course, meteors. We feel we can learn a lot more about
them just by listening to them.
Narrator:
For
Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
What To Consider When Evaluating Nursing Homes
Narrator:
This is Science Today. When evaluating nursing homes,
a new study suggests consumers should consider certain
categories of care, including whether or not residents
are well nourished and hydrated. While these basic
needs should be a given, study co-author Charlene
Harrington of the University of California, San Francisco,
says it's often not the case in many nursing homes
in this country.
Harrington:
There's been research that shows that a number
of residents have died of malnutrition and dehydration
and that's really because there aren't enough staff
to feed the residents because they have fifteen or
even twenty residents to feed.
Narrator:
Other categories of nursing home care to consider
include that the staff meets minimum state and federal
standards.
Harrington:
Not only would people feel better and have less problems,
but there also might be some savings that would be
achieved because you would have fewer people going
to the hospital from the nursing home if you improve
the staffing and have better quality of care.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
Amusement Parks Embrace Magnetic Levitation Systems
Narrator:
This is Science Today. While governments are still
debating whether or not to move forward with magnetic
levitation transportation systems, some of the nation's
amusements parks are already using this technology
for high-speed rides. Richard Post, a senior scientist
at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, who
developed a model railway using this technology, describes
how magnetic levitation works with trains.
Post:
They would move above a track which would be composed
very simply of shorted coils stacked together making
a track and as long at the train's moving above a
few miles an hour, the magnetic levitation forces
created when the magnets move over the coils and induce
currents in the coils and those currents interact
back on the magnets and levitate the system.
Narrator:
The key to magnetic levitation is maintaining speed.
Post:
From a safety standpoint, it's what you call fail-safe
or passively stable. So, so long as the train is moving,
it's going to levitate and if the power fails to drive
the train, it would slow down a very slow speed and
settle down onto auxiliary wheels.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
A Study Sheds Light on Workplace Injury
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Often times in the workplace,
physical workload and job stress co-exist. That's
why it's been hard to isolate if back injury may be
solely stress-related. But Dr. Niklas Krause, of the
University of California, Berkeley, was able to disentangle
the two effects by studying San Francisco bus drivers.
Krause:
We, for the first time with adequate methodology,
proved that psychosocial job factors - job stress
and physical workload - are both independent predictors
of workplace injury - of low back injury - in that
group of public transit operators.
Narrator:
It's been long thought that stress is not an objective
measure but rather a characteristic of one's personality.
Krause:
And the firefighters can determine - do they really
want to light that fire today or maybe they should
wait until a couple days later.
Narrator:
For
Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
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