A.
An Air Cargo Explosives Detection Pilot Program
Narrator: This is Science Today. The San Francisco International Airport is the first of three federalized airports to take part in a national pilot program to screen passenger aircraft cargo for explosives. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is among a handful of agencies taking part in the Air Cargo Explosives Detection Pilot Program. Howard Hall is project leader of the Lab's Countermeasures Test Beds.
Hall: During the course of this pilot, we'll be working closely with the Transportation Security Administration, the airport and the air carriers. We will test screening technology that has been proven in the checked baggage environment. We will use modeling and simulating tools to understand and extend our knowledge of what we learned here at San Francisco to other airports and much of the data that we collect will provide a unique data set for researchers developing new technology for screening air cargo.
Narrator: The pilot program will begin in late summer and then expand to two other, as yet unannounced airports. For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
The Results of Two Brain Aneurysm Treatments are Similar Over Time
Narrator: This is Science Today. A brain aneurysm is a weak, bulging spot on the wall of a brain artery, which if large enough, can rupture and lead to internal hemorrhaging. Aneurysm sufferers typically have to choose between two treatments. One is called clipping and the other is called coiling. A University of California , San Francisco study has determined that they each work equally well. Dr. Claiborne Johnston, who led the study, explains.
Johnston : There are two ways of treating aneurysms – two main ways. One is with open surgery, where you open up the skull and you put a clip over the neck of the aneurysm and the other is by coiling where you go through a catheter through the groin and thread a catheter up to the brain and fill the aneurysm from the inside with coils.
Narrator: Before, it was uncertain whether the coiling treatment would be effective for over a year.
Johnston : What we found was that although there were some ruptures that occurred soon after both treatments, after one year, rupture was extremely rare in both groups.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
The Relationship Between Kids' Health and School Performance
Narrator: This is Science Today. Is there a direct correlation between the health of schoolchildren and school performance? For years, health professionals have advised parents and teachers to make sure kids sleep well, eat breakfast and get enough exercise.
Taras : People repeat these things over and over again and the question is – is it true? I mean, do we know, do we not know or maybe it's been actually proven that it has nothing do to with how they'll achieve in school.
Narrator: Dr. Howard Taras, a pediatrician at the University of California , San Diego School of Medicine, was tapped by the National Coordinating Committee on School Health to review previous studies on the relationship between school performance and various health concerns. Taras found there is a strong connection.
Taras : We did these studies so that we can find out what it is that we know where health affects performance. Doctors didn't have to know that so much because we are not there to help school performance, primarily. That's a secondary benefit. We are there to help with health. But we now have an ally for certain health problems in the schools.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
Cleaning House? Make Sure to Open a Window
Narrator: This is Science Today. The next time you're cleaning the house, you may want to make sure you have a window open. A University of California , Berkeley study has found that chemicals in certain household cleaning products could be dangerous if used in areas that are not well-ventilated. Environmental engineering professor William Nazaroff, who led the study, explains.
Nazaroff: The kinds of situations where one might be at high risk include those where the ventilation of the space is poor, where a high amount of the product is used where, and especially if it's used in a small space, where the products are used with high frequency.
Narrator: Nazaroff says a high risk of air pollution exposure comes from the mixture of ozone with chemicals called terpines, which are found in scented cleaning products and air fresheners.
Nazaroff: Examples of the steps that one can take to reduce exposures include, using the product in dilute form whenever that's appropriate. Not using more than the amount necessary to do a good job of cleaning.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E. The Nation's First Center for Energy Efficiency
Narrator: This is Science Today. The University of California , Davis was awarded a one million dollar grant to create the nation's first center for energy efficiency, which will bring together leaders in academia, industry and the investment community to advance innovation. Andrew Hargadon, an associate professor at the Graduate School of Management and an expert on innovation in business and technology transfer, is the founding director of the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center.
Hargadon: If you look at the history of energy use in the U.S. , efficiencies always bring more money to the bottom line. And so our trick is going to be developing the science and putting it in a business model that makes it clear for the businesses, for the consumers, that they are going to make money by saving money.
Narrator: The focus of the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center will be three-fold – reducing fuel use in our cars, saving water and energy in the agricultural industry and reducing electricity usage in homes and in office buildings. For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
