Recent Comments

    Lending a Hand: Student 3D Prints Functional, Affordable Prosthetic

    December 10, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Physics student Ryan Bouricius with the prosthetic hand he built. Credit: Image courtesy of Ithaca College

    Physics student Ryan Bouricius with the prosthetic hand he built. Credit: Image courtesy of Ithaca College

    With a 3D printer and about $15, senior physics major Ryan Bouricius was able to create a functional prosthetic hand that can be used to grip, write and even catch a ball. With the assistance of a non-profit group, the hand will one day be matched to a person in need of such a prosthesis. The prosthetic hand is designed for a person who still has the ability to move their wrist. By moving their wrist, they can control and use the hand’s fingers to grab and hold various objects.

    Bouricius, who as a teaching assistant helps run the Ithaca College 3D Printing Lab, became interested in building prostheses after coming across a YouTube video of someone printing and assembling prosthetic ha...

    Read More

    Hubble catches a Transformation in the Virgo constellation

    December 10, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Hubble catches a transformation in the Virgo constellation

    The constellation of Virgo (The Virgin) is especially rich in galaxies, due in part to the presence of a massive and gravitationally-bound collection of over 1300 galaxies called the Virgo Cluster. One particular member of this cosmic community, NGC 4388, is captured in this image, as seen by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Credit: ESA/NASA

    The constellation of Virgo (The Virgin) is especially rich in galaxies, due in part to the presence of a massive and gravitationally-bound collection of over 1300 galaxies called the Virgo Cluster. One particular member of this cosmic community, NGC 4388, is captured in this image, as seen by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3).

    Located 60 million light-years away, NGC 4388 is experiencing s...

    Read More

    ‘Hyper-Starburst’ Galaxy churns out Stars, clues to Universe’s Evolution

    December 10, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The distorted galaxy in the simulation results from a collision between two galaxies, followed by them merging. Astronomers think such a merger could be the reason why SPT0346-52 is having such a boom of stellar construction. Once the two galaxies collide, gas near the center of the merged galaxy (shown as the bright region in the center of the simulation) is compressed, producing a burst of new stars. The composite inset shows X-ray data from Chandra (blue), short wavelength infrared data from Hubble (green), infrared light from Spitzer (red) at longer wavelengths, and infrared data from ALMA (magenta) at even longer wavelengths. (The light from SPT0346-52 is distorted and magnified by the gravity of an intervening galaxy, producing three elongated images in the ALMA data located near the center of the image. SPT0346-52 is not visible in the Hubble or Spitzer data, but the intervening galaxy causing the gravitational lensing is detected.) There is no blue at the center of the image, showing that Chandra did not detect any X-rays that could have signaled the presence of a growing black hole. Credit: Image courtesy of CXC Press Office.

    The distorted galaxy in the simulation results from a collision between two galaxies, followed by them merging. Astronomers think such a merger could be the reason why SPT0346-52 is having such a boom of stellar construction. Once the two galaxies collide, gas near the center of the merged galaxy (shown as the bright region in the center of the simulation) is compressed, producing a burst of new stars. The composite inset shows X-ray data from Chandra (blue), short wavelength infrared data from Hubble (green), infrared light from Spitzer (red) at longer wavelengths, and infrared data from ALMA (magenta) at even longer wavelengths...

    Read More

    Running actually Lowers Inflammation in Knee Joints

    December 10, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Running decreases knee intra-articular cytokine and cartilage oligomeric matrix concentrations: a pilot study. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2016; 116 (11-12): 2305 DOI: 10.1007/s00421-016-3474-z

    Running decreases knee intra-articular cytokine and cartilage oligomeric matrix concentrations: a pilot study. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2016; 116 (11-12): 2305 DOI: 10.1007/s00421-016-3474-z

    Running may also slow the process that leads to osteoarthritis. New research from BYU exercise science professors finds that pro-inflammatory molecules actually go down in the knee joint after running. “It flies in the face of intuition,” said Matt Seeley, associate professor of exercise science at BYU. “This idea that long-distance running is bad for your knees might be a myth.”

    In a study recently published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, Seeley and a group of BYU colleagues, as well as Dr...

    Read More