High-speed fire footage reveals key insights for power plant safety

Fire protection and optical engineers at Sandia National Laboratories are using high-speed cameras and advanced algorithms, imaging and analytic methods to understand these dangerous arc faults between two conductors, such as the high-voltage bus bars in a switchgear at a power plant. Flames in an arc fault experiment contain useful information that can help keep power plants operating safely.

Can the state of Alabama conquer its biggest health challenges? It’s a Grand Challenge, and one state university is determined to prevail

For far too long, Alabama’s residents have seen their health statuses languish when compared to those of other states. Often, Alabama is a punchline when it comes to obesity, diabetes and the overall health of its people. But the consequences, unfortunately, are counted in decreased quality of life, increased health costs and lives lost — hardly a laughing matter.

Deployable Human-Scale Immersive Virtual Environments?

Combined with networks of sensors and controllers, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Collaborative Research Augmented Immersive Virtual Environment Laboratory Lab provides its users new modes of interactions between humans and virtual worlds, with experiences ranging from the familiar to the otherwise remote or downright imaginary.

For Concussion, MS, Other Neurologic Disorders, Telemedicine May Be as Effective as Office Visit

For people with many neurologic disorders, seeing the neurologist by video may be as effective as an in-person visit, according to a review of the evidence conducted by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). The evidence review examined all available studies on use of telemedicine for several neurologic conditions – stroke being one of the conditions that is well-validated and highly utilizes telemedicine – and is published in the December 4, 2019, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the AAN. The results indicate that a diagnosis from a neurologist by video for certain neurologic conditions is likely to be as accurate as an in-person visit.

Moffitt’s Top Blood Cancer Research Highlighted at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting

Moffitt Cancer Center, a leader in the clinical care and research of blood malignancies, will present its top clinical research at the 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, Dec. 7-10 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

Sea-Level Research Must Change So Communities Can Better Plan for the Future

New Brunswick, N.J. (Dec. 4, 2019) – With sea-level rise threatening hundreds of millions of people, researchers must do a better job engaging communities and other stakeholders so they can make the best-informed decisions on how to adapt in the…

Flu Preparedness Hearing Opens Opportunities for Vaccine, AMR Action

Today’s subcommittee hearing on U.S. preparedness and responses for the 2019-2020 flu season offers an important opportunity to examine and act on gaps and challenges exacerbating the public health threats of seasonal influenza outbreaks.

Rutgers Researchers Teach Lessons on Extraterrestrial Life in Local Elementary Schools

Each week, researchers with Rutgers ENIGMA teach astrobiology lessons to children in grades four through eight at McKinley Community School and Greater New Brunswick Charter School. Astrobiology is a relatively new interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand whether life arose elsewhere and whether we can detect it.

Hundreds of Environmental Health Professionals Across the Country Report Challenges and Research Needs

Hundreds of environmental health professionals across the nation report challenges and research needs in six areas — drinking water quality, wastewater management, healthy homes, food safety, public health pests and emerging issues such as disaster risk reduction and new facility types for body art and cannabis-infused products — in research from Baylor University and national health partners.

3 Reasons to Celebrate the CSU

​​​​​​​With 23 campuses serving more than 482,000 students across the state, the California State University has the power to transform lives with higher education. And the 3.8 million alumni who are driving the world’s fifth largest economy are a testament to that. Read on for more reasons to celebrate the CSU.

First Parker Solar Probe scientific papers publish in Nature

The first published science from the Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons (SWEAP) instruments aboard NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP) poses a major challenge to our understanding of the dynamics of the near-sun solar wind.

National Park Service Scientists: Does Aircraft Noise Make Birds More Vocal?

National Park Service scientists analyzed nearly 1 million 10-second audio recording samples from national parks across the country and discovered a small increase in bird sound detection when an aircraft sound is also detected. During the 178th ASA Meeting, Kurt Fristrup will present the findings and how human responses to noise might be studied.

ASA, CDC Plan Revamp of Sound-Related Wikipedia Pages for International Year of Sound 2020

As harmful effects of noise are becoming more widely known, popular internet websites are increasingly being used as resources of information. For the International Year of Sound 2020 (#IYS2020), the Acoustical Society of America and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, part of the CDC, took the lead in designing the online event Wiki4YearOfSound2020. The event will facilitate the improvement of Wikipedia content in topics related to acoustics, communication, music, noise and soundscapes.

Updated Genetic Screening Guidelines Published by National Comprehensive Cancer Network Feature Emerging Evidence on Personalized Medicine

NCCN Guidelines for Genetic/Familial Risk Assessment: Breast, Ovarian, and Pancreatic updated with new and expanded sections on risk assessment and management related to three major cancer types.

Articles on Chronic Hexavalent Chromium Exposure, Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles, and Bisphenol A Featured in December 2019 Toxicological Sciences

The December 2019 issue of Toxicological Sciences features research on the leading edge of toxicology, including in the areas of carcinogenesis, developmental and reproductive toxicology, and more.