UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News

Unpiloted seaplane takes off, lands itself

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. engineering researchers have developed an unpiloted aircraft that's believed to be the first seaplane that can initiate its own takeoffs and landings.

Called the "Flying Fish," the electric-powered seaplane with a seven-foot wingspan was developed at the University of Michigan with funding from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

University researchers recently demonstrated the robotic craft's capabilities during sea trials off the coast of Monterey, Calif.

"The vehicle did very well," said Hans Van Sumeren, associate director of the university's Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratories. "To take off and land in the water was a big effort. We did it 22 times."

The aircraft drifts until its onboard Global Positioning System tells the craft it has floated too far. That triggers the takeoff sequence, which gets the plane airborne within about 33 feet. Other GPS coordinates trigger the landing sequence.

Next, the team plans to outfit the plane with solar power.

More information on the Flying Fish project is available at http://www.engin.umich.edu/dept/name/facilities/mhl/projects/flying_fish.html

Embryonic heart cells prevent arrhythmia

ITHACA, N.Y., Dec. 6 (UPI) -- A U.S.-led study has found transplanting living embryonic heart cells into mice that have suffered heart attacks can prevent cardiac arrhythmias.

The researchers from Cornell University, the University of Bonn in Germany and the University of Pittsburgh found such transplantation made the mice resistant to cardiac arrhythmias, thereby avoiding one of the most dangerous and fatal consequences of heart attacks.

The scientists discovered a protein called connexin43, expressed by the transplanted embryonic heart cells, improved electrical connections with other heart cells.

The researchers showed the improved connections helped activate the transplanted cells deep within the damaged section of the heart tissue, thereby reversing the risk of developing ventricular arrhythmias after a heart attack, which is the most common cause of sudden death in the Western world.

"These results have important implications for therapy, although they must be verified in the context of naturally occurring heart damage," said Michael Kotlikoff, dean of Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine. "One can envision using a patient's own cells by deriving heart cells from stem cells to improve heart function and decrease arrhythmia risk."

The study is reported in the journal Nature.

Study predicts more U.S. severe storms

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. weather experts say global warming is increasing the likelihood of severe storms occurring over parts of the United States.

Led by scientists at Purdue University, the researchers used several climate models to predict the effects of rising air temperatures on the nation's weather.

The models predict the increased likelihood of severe storms is greatest for areas near the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. While some areas were only slightly affected by the forecasts, researchers found the number of days that favor severe storms could more than double by the end of this century in Atlanta, New York and other areas.

The climate models also predict conditions favoring severe storms will occur during typical storm seasons in those locations, but not during dry seasons when such storms might be more beneficial.

Researchers said their findings should increase awareness of climate change, as well as promote efforts to develop emergency plans in vulnerable areas.

Study results are detailed in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Computerized physical rehab system created

HOUSTON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists are developing a computer-based system designed to aid stroke victims during their physical rehabilitation.

Rice University robotics engineers and physicians from Houston's Memorial Hospital and The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research are involved in the two-year research effort.

"It can take months of physical therapy for stroke patients to regain the use of their limbs," said system architect Marcia O'Malley, director of Rice's Mechatronics and Haptic Interfaces Laboratory. "We hope to refine our system to allow patients to recover faster and to allow therapists to more precisely monitor patients' recovery."

O'Malley and Memorial Hermann-TIRR doctors developed a prototype that uses a joystick to help patients with eye-to-hand coordination. The system uses force-feedback technology that allows people to "feel" their environment while they are in virtual reality.

"The computer can precisely measure how a patient responds to every single exercise," said O'Malley. "This lets the doctors and physical therapists know exactly what their patient most needs to work on. This precise, measurable feedback provides a great advantage over the subjective evaluations currently in use."