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A.
How Gray Wolves Benefit Yellowstone National Park
Narrator: This is Science Today. Gray wolves, which were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, have changed the way other animals in the park search for food. A University of California, Berkeley study has shown that wolf packs help prevent the starvation of other animals during the winter months, by leaving behind carrion, which scavengers feed on. Study leader Chris Wilmers explains .
Wilmers: Wolves are constantly killing throughout the winter, providing smaller meals, but more constant. So if you're a coyote or an eagle and you're trying to get through the winter, there's constantly food for you to eat, rather than this sort of boom-bust cycle that existed before wolf reintroduction.
Narrator: With more food available, Wilmers says scavengers now have a chance to live more robust lives during the lean winter months.
Wilmers: Other studies have shown that the availability of winter carrion is directly correlated with over winter survival, so they're more likely to live through the winter, and then second of all reproduction, so their reproduction output is likely to go up.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
Better, Safer Treatments in the Works for Lupus
Narrator: This is Science Today. Lupus is an autoimmune disease, meaning it's a disorder in which the body's immune system essentially turns against itself. The disease affects over a million Americans, the majority of whom are women. At the University of California, San Francisco's Clinical Trials Center, associate director John Davis is working on developing safer treatments for lupus.
Davis: We have some effective treatments today, however they're associated with significant side effects. The most severe is infertility in young women because of our cytotoxic therapies, osteoporosis, increased infections because of the suppression of the immune system.
Narrator: So Davis is working on ways to target lupus more effectively, including using monoclonal antibodies to block a negative interaction between the immune system's B and T cells.
Davis: As technology gets more advanced and we learn more about the specific genes that are causing certain elements of lupus, we are going to be able to do so much more for patients.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
Smart Intersections Prevent Left-Turn Collisions
Narrator: This is Science Today. Left-turn crashes at the intersections of our nation's busy city streets account for one-third of all intersection collisions – resulting in nine thousand deaths a year. University of California, Berkeley researchers are helping address this problem with a transportation safety project called Smart Intersection. Project researcher manager, Jim Misener, describes how smart intersection works.
Misener: As you approach the intersection, you want to turn left. There will be sensors on the side of the road that will measure range and speed as you approach the intersection. It will also measure the range and speed of the other car that approaches the intersection and when it predicts what could be conflict, a light on the left hand side will go on and it will flash left turn arrow with a slash through it, don't turn left. As soon as the processor on the side of the road calculates that it's safe to turn, the sign will turn off and you can proceed through the intersection safely.
Narrator: Although still in the testing phases, the smart intersection has already attracted a great deal of state and federal support. For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
Researchers Strive to Better Understand Crohn's Disease
Narrator: This is Science Today. Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease, which primarily causes breaks in the lining of the small and large intestines and it affects more than half a million Americans. Dr. Michael Karin, a professor of pharmacology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, says people with Crohn's disease are considered at high risk for colon cancer.
Karin: Our understanding of the disease has not been all that great, but a few years ago, two large consortia have identified mutations in a gene called NOD-2 that account for about fifty percent of the Crohn's disease cases in Western populations.
Narrator: Karin explains that having these mutations does not mean everyone will develop the disease, nor does it mean a person develops it as soon as they are born.
Karin: Most Crohn's disease starts showing up in teenagers, so fourteen, fifteen years, they are healthy and all of a sudden, they start complaining of symptoms of these disease.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
Fluorescent Lighting Saves Energy ... and Money
Narrator: This is Science Today. A new generation of more efficient homes is part of an effort to meet state and federal energy-conservation requirements. In newly built or remodeled homes, these requirements include the installation of fluorescent lighting in certain areas of the home. Michael Siminovitch, a lighting specialist at the University of California, Davis, says many homeowners have been resistant to fluorescent technology.
Siminovitch: And I think this is really lessons of the past, where we've seen problems with flicker, poor color and cost issues. And a lot of these problems are in the process of going away.
Narrator: With these former problems getting resolved, homeowners can look forward to the fact that fluorescents last so much longer than incandescents.
Siminovitch: You can either screw in an compact fluorescent into an existing Edison socket and you're looking at spending five, ten, fifteen dollars per lamp, which is significantly more expensive than incandescent …
Narrator: But, Siminovitch says fluorescent lighting will pay for itself in two to four years. For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
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