Bigelow Aerospace Inflatable Modules

Bigelow Aerospace has been prototyping inflatable space structures for some time now. Most people don't know but two of their structures, Genesis I and II, have launched and are currently in orbit proving the feasibility of their design.
The great thing about these structures is that they have the capability to create much larger living and working quarters in space at a fraction of the cost compared to what they call the outdated aluminum cans NASA and other agencies still use. Other side benefits to this new technology may be improved radiation protection and ballistic protection from orbiting debris.
Bigelow Aerospace is in talks with NASA to have one of their inflatable habitats be added to the International Space Station to further test the structure. This is a milestone in the recent commercialization of space because its furthering NASA's cooperation with the up and coming private space companies. With the space shuttle set to decommission soon and new manned craft still years away NASA may become more reliant on private contracts to take astronauts and supplies to the space station.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/27/NASA-considering-inflatable-modules-space-station/

This article is great because I love to see new innovation in this county. People putting their fortune on the line and taking a chance making exciting new products that will help keep the United States as a global leader in technology and entrepreneurship.

Energy Trust of Oregon help convert kids to conservation

Energy Trust of Oregon, a nonprofit organization has began to work with Portland General Electric and Pacific Power on educating the youth on the conservation of water and energy. This organization has helped informing the youth at elementary schools all across Oregon. Sixth grade science classes across Oregon are now incorporating conservation into their class lecture. This is too inform students on the ways to reduce the overuse of water and energy. Energy Trust of Oregon also gives a free curriculum to benefit the customers of PG&E and Pacific Power to save money on energy bills. This includes fluorescent light bulbs, low flow shower and sink attachment, a digital thermometer, a water flow-rate bag and toilet leak detector tablets. Records of 2010 indicate that a group of 58,000 students who were given the curriculum saved an amount of 1.2 million dollars in energy and water bills.

This article was great because it shows how organizations are reaching out to the youth and educating them on energy saving habits. The services that Energy Trust provides to its customers is a focus on using energy smarter. Not only is this good for students, its also smart for young families or anyone who is struggling to pay bills. A smart and easy way to save your money.

I wonder if Energy Trust of Oregon works with anyone on saving energy or they can only work with PG&E and Pacific Power. They have a great way to get people to save but why only certain people?

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/01/energy_trust_of_oregon_help_co.html

Fear of your childs Fever

This article is a pediatrician talking about how she gets late at night calls from worried parents about their child running fevers; to the pediatrician that is good news to hear, in the sense that the child's immune system is working good, and that most over the counter medications should be able to help the child's fever symptoms go away. The article goes on to talk about different concerns of parents and why the doctors believe it is nothing to be to worried about.

The reason I chose this article is because I am interested in becoming a pediatrician, and I like to hear about different health facts when it comes to children along with knowing the difference between small symptoms and actually needing to see a doctor.

Is it bad for parents to be overly worried and cautious when it comes to the health of their children, or contact a doctor if their child may have just a simple cold?

Below is the link to the article that I found on the NY times website.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/health/11klass.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=children%20health&st=cse

Amanda Prather
OSU Freshmen
MicroBiology & Chem
prathera@onid.orst.edu

Even Kids on Sports Teams Don't Get Enough Exercise

Most of you probably know about the growing problem of childhood obesity, and the fact that the majority of children no longer get the 60 minutes of exercise a day that is recommended. What most people don’t know, however, is that only 25% of children who participate in organized sports get the required 60 minutes of daily exercise. According new research in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescence Medicine children in organized sports are generally only active for 45 minutes a day. This is a harsh reality considering most parents believe if their children are in organized sports they are getting plenty of exercise.

These findings are even more alarming because of the recent decline in physical education classes for school children. 44 million children participate in organized sports nationwide. This number sounds good until you look at the cold hard truth. On average young athletes spend about 30 minutes of their practice standing around, not being physically active. Physical activity is essential in many aspects of children’s lives. The author Nancy Shute says this about physical activitie’s importance in young children’s lives:

"Kids really need that hour of daily activity; there's abundant evidence showing that children do better academically when they have gym or other physical activity every day. And given that 16 percent of children are obese, and 31 percent are overweight, every extra minute of exercise reduces the risk of health problems that come with being overweight or obese."

I think these finding are intriguing because this maybe one of the many reasons children today are the most unfit our nation has ever seen. Changing the way young athletes practice sports may be a key component in making America’s youth healthier. What changes in youth sports do you think need to come about?

The article can be found here!

Nike Gone Green

Everyone knows Nike and what this company has been able to accomplish over the years. From Bill Bowerman creating the first running shoe with his waffle maker, to a shoe that simulates walking barefoot, to a shoe that plays music through your ipod according to your pace. Nike has thought of it all. Even yet they think of more.

For the "sneaker- heads" out there, Nike has come out with another shoe for the infamous line of the Jordan brand. The next shoe in the line is the Jordan XX3. With each new Jordan shoe, Nike pulls out something amazing from their sleeves. The Jordan XX3 perk is that it is eco- friendly. Now, all shoes are manufactured with many toxic adhesives, and it's very difficult not to. But Tinker Hatfield, designer of the Nike Air Jordan shoes, has found a way to create a shoe with almost complete recycled materials without those chemicals

Hatfield and his design team in Beaverton, Ore., prioritized designing a shoe that would cut down on toxic chemical adhesives and wasted material. They used material derived from the waste of manufacturing footwear outsoles, as well as materials from recycled used sneakers—known as "Nike Grind," a tactic the company has used since 1993. To push the design even further into green territory, they designed the Air Jordan XX3 with an outsole, midsole, and other elements that fit and hold together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, without relying solely on glues.

"We didn't completely eliminate adhesives, but came close," Hatfield says. The design team also developed a proprietary, water-based bonding process to reduce the use of chemical cements and glues. The company says it's the first time this system was used on any Nike performance footwear.

Now the question of whether Nike has crossed the line of caring more about the look of the shoe and the environment over their whole purpose of being a shoe company, the quality of a shoe, arises. People will start to ask if sacrificing those minor chemicals to create a shoe is really worth a shoe busting while playing a championship basketball game and possibly getting hurt. Well in my opinion, Nike has always been about the quality of a shoe before anything else. All the looks and environment friendly stuff is something that is added for profit after the fact of a stable shoe is made. If you can make a quality shoe and help out our failing environment even a little bit, why wouldn't you?

But, be it from concerns of tampering with a proven branded success or fears of a backlash from consumers tired of "greenwashing," executives chose to focus on the performance of the shoe. Its green factor is an added bonus. Nike does not release specific sales figures for any of its lines, but it suggests that despite the hype, green is not in and of itself enough to provide the sales figures the company requires from its product lines. "Being green isn't enough," says Hatfield, who oversaw the design of the Air Jordan XX3. "We want to be a change agent, but also profitable and [to] make good business moves."

I chose this article mainly for the reason that I plan on working for Nike in the future. Sports has been my whole life ever since I can remember, and now that football is getting harder to move on to the next level I have to think about what I am going to do after it's all over. Because sports has never left my side, why not keep it there even after I''m done playing. I want to work with athletes and be an innovator like my some of my family that works there.

It helped to pick the article, also, because Tinker Hatfield is my uncle.

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jan2008/id20080125_828346.htm

Can Virtual Reality Reduce Pain?

There have recently been studies on virtual reality and its ability to reduce pain in Physical Therapy patients who have suffered from blunt force trauma injuries. Patients wear a virtual reality helmet and noise cancelling headphones to block their view and play computer generated noises and sounds. The patients then perform range of motion exercises.

In a case study, a man hit by a semi-truck was asked to perform his range of motion exercises without the use of virtual reality. While performing these exercises he experienced severe pain. The next day he was asked to perform those same exercises again, but this time with the use of virtual reality. The patient then rated his experiences; he rated using virtual reality as significantly less painful than the therapy without the use of virtual reality.

This article was interesting to me because it discusses a different type of pain medication. Although regular pain medications were still given to the patient, the virtual reality was still able to reduce his symptoms while trying to improve his range of motion. If the patient experiences less pain he can heal quicker than if he had to wait for the pain to subside. I’m curious if virtual reality will become a main form of pain management during physical therapy treatment in the future.

Author: Hoffman, Hunter G.

Title: Virtual Reality Pain Control during Physical Therapy Range of Motion Exercises

Database: Lexus Nexus

Why Are College Students Reporting Record High Levels of Stress?

This article found in Time Magazine addresses a serious issue that most Freshmen deal with on a daily basis; stress. Over the years, the college environment has changed, expecting more out of the students who already face extremely hectic lives. Far fewer freshmen now consider themselves in the top mentally stable percentage of their class, and it's affecting their lives and their work.

It's easy to see why your average college freshman would be stressed. The rising cost of college along with the scarcity of work leaves many relying on student loans to go to school. Without a job though, this leaves many college students in a huge amount of debt. The pressure to succeed in school is higher than ever now, and coupling that with athletics, work, and social lives certainly doesn't help the situation. This is something college students have been dealing with for years though. Why is it then that stress levels are so high now?

It is suggested that part of this is due to how we view the people around us. Society pressures us to put on our best face for everyone else, and in an environment where we are constantly comparing ourselves to those around us, it can really scar and damage some of us emotionally and mentally, seeing all those around us who just seem "better".

So, what's to be done about it? We as freshmen receive lecture after lecture about time management, how to keep ourselves from being stressed. But we all know that alone won't fix anything. The article suggests that showing our emotions openly is the answer. Is it? I think that the reason that we are in this situation in the first place is because it's become less socially acceptable to show what is troubling you openly.

Could Bionic Eyes restore sight?

This article talks about an ongoing project being worked on in America and Britain to create an electronic eye capable of restoring vision lost by disease. In order to accomplish this, doctors are developing a single-chip made up of about 500 processors that will mimic the activity of the human eye and part of the brain. Although it may be years before neurologists fully understand how the brain receives and sends visual signals, researchers believe that they can teach the chips to act exactly like the retina.

The article also includes one Ophthalmologists rebuttal of the new project, Dr. Gislin Dagnelie, who thinks that that there is a much simpler way than the bionic eye. Dr. Dagnelie’s approach is to place an array of photoreceptors onto the retina, where it can feed optical signals into the nervous system right at the point where they normally originate.

I thought this article was interesting because if the doctors actually create and follow through with either one of these ideas, it could be a life-changing invention for people who have lost their vision to disease. However, I think that both ideas will take a few years to create because the doctors still don’t fully understand how the brain receives and sends visual signals. It also makes me question what the risks of having a bionic eye are and what the proposed success rate will be?

Author: Mimi Chakraborty

Journal: Bionic eyes could help to restore sight

Database: LexisNexisX Academic

E-Cycle Law Creates Recycling Awareness

Oregon enforces a state law that requires electronics manufacturers to pay fees for recycling their electronic goods. This law benefits both consumers and small organizations since they can recycle their electronics at no charge. The Oregon E-Cycles program supports this current law.

This law prevents disposed electronics from ending up in landfills. TVs and computers can leak chemicals, such as lead and mercury, which can slowly travel towards local streams and lakes. Four collection sites are open in Corvallis, which along with all the other e-cycle sites in Oregon, will only accept computers, monitors, and TVs.

This article caught my attention since I believe that the majority of people do not know, if not, very little about electronic recycling. I think that this law will grab more attention about this type of recycling. With the E-Cycle program running successfully, will they accept more electronics to be recycled over time?

Article Link: http://blog.oregonlive.com/pdxgreen/2008/09/we_recycle_but_do_we_ecycle_ge.html

E-Cycle: http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/ecycle/index.htm

Verizon Opposes Net Neutrality Legislation

I found this article from the Associated Press through the Oregonian website. It talks about Verizon Communications’ response to the recent regulations the Federal Communications Commission adopted last month. The new legislation prohibits phone and cable companies from interfering with internet content, including competing services like Netflix or Skype. The rules do not prevent internet service providers from charging more for faster access, but is a major stepping stone for net neutrality. A major goal of the FCC is to extend the rules to internet service providers, and prevent ISPs from striking deals with companies like Google or Facebook. They would provide faster access to the websites of companies that pay their fees, while at the same time slowing down access to everything else, including private websites, smaller companies that can’t afford to pay, and non-profit organizations.

I am personally in favor of net neutrality, which would prevent major ISPs from using the above methods to make more money. Although such rules weren’t needed in the past, the internet has been growing at an exponential rate, and exploiting it is becoming more and more profitable. The new rules don’t currently affect ISPs much, but the FCC is also pushing a bill for extensive regulations on service providers. There is currently a lot of debate about if the FCC has the authority to pass this legislation, and a loss in court on this issue would be a major setback to their overall plans. The FCC should have the authority, as this is exactly the kind of issue they were created to deal with. However, there is a lot of pushback from phone, cable, and internet companies, who stand to make a lot of money through traffic prioritization.

My biggest question is, of course, how Verizon’s lawsuit will turn out. This is a major suit by Verizon, one of the largest ISPs, against the FCC as a whole. If the courts rule in Verizon’s favor, the FCC will suffer a major setback to their plans for net neutrality regulation. To further complicate things, there are several congressmen who are strongly against the FCC and their new regulations, who would support Verizon in the court case, and could tip the balance against the FCC for any new legislation. A decision for the FCC, however, will be a major stepping stone for them, and they are currently our best hope for net neutrality. Whatever the decision, I’m sure there will be a lot of news about it in the coming months, and hope it turns out to be good news.

Stress Level of College Student Rises

Ever since the recession has started and the economy has taking its downfall, the emotional health of college students has been increasing their stress levels. According to “The American Freshman: National Norms Falls 2010”, about 200,000 college students who are full time students at four year universities rate themselves as “below average” emotionally. In 1985 the percent of students who feel they are above average was 64 percent but has now decreased to 52 percent in the last 26 years. The campus counselors say that college students that have not even started college, are already under stress using psychiatric medication and already emotionally unstable. By the economy, students are even more stressed but not only because of the finical responsibilities of their parents but the debt they will have after college and the need of finding a good job after they graduate.

Brain Van Brunt said that “More students are arriving on campus with problems, needing support, and today’s economic factors are putting a lot of extra stress on college students, as they look at their loans and wonder if there will be a career waiting for them on the other side.” Brunt is the president of American College Counseling Association and director of counseling at Western Kentucky University who sees students like this every day. An interesting fact that caught my attention was that only 18 percent of men say that are overwhelmed with school but 39 percent of women say they are. Women make up 60 percent more of the clients in the mental health services. Perry C. Francis made a good note that, “Boys are socialized not to talk about their feelings of express stress, while girls are more likely to say they’re having a tough time.”

The reason why women are having more stress then men is because while men have downtime, they more likely like to go play sports, exercise while women take more responsibilities like helping out with the family and may even volunteer work.

I enjoyed reading about this article as this made me realize that I am not the only freshman on campus that stresses about school and other things in life. What I found most interesting was how women stress more than men. The question that I have is, will stress level with students going to keep increasing over the years?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/education/27colleges.html?_r=1&ref=education

Foster Care System: Stay or Leave?

The foster care system is a great way for youth to get benefits and grow up in a somewhat normal life. They get medical, dental, and practically the first year of college paid for if they decide to go. Foster care teaches youth about every day life-laundry, hygiene, cooking, and money. It even helps with learning how to fill out rental forms, helps find youth jobs. When the foster kid decides to leave, they get no more help. They're completely on their own.

At the age 18, foster kids get the choice to stay with the system or leave. Some kids stay in the foster care system just until they are 18 years old and then leave it thinking they were better off. For the most part they don't last, they get into trouble, and trying to find their way back to a normal life. The other foster youth stay with the system until they are ready to be completely on their own. Some stay for the first couple years of college, to keep the benefits and get help paying for school and finding a job. There have been other youths who stay with it until they are graduated and comfortable living on their own. Should there be a time limit that the foster youth has to make that life changing decision? Just because their being 18 makes them legal doesn't mean they're adults and ready for a life on their own.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/12/06/obrien.foster.care.part1.cnn?iref=allsearch

BIM is it a fad or the future?

Building Information Modeling became a buzz word in the construction industry about 10 years ago. This new technology has the potential to revolutionize the construction industry by increasing the infamously low efficiency of the current processes.

The basic principle of BIM is to take the traditional 2d plans and turn them into a 3D model. Once the model is created it can be scanned to detect "clashes." This will drastically reduce the on-site confusion. The model can also be used for estimation as exact quantities can be calculated straight from the model. These benefits have been shown through many construction projects with varied results, one project saved 10-15% on both time and money.

Though many see the benefits throughout the construction process, there is also huge benefits to the owner after the project is completed. The cost of constructing a building is only a part of the lifetime cost of a building. With a BIM model the owner of the building can much more efficiently do repairs or improvements.

The construction industry has had many fads and buzz words in the past. I believe that BIM is not simply just another one of those. The ability to increase construction efficiency and save all parties time and money make BIM a way of the future for the construction industry.

Click Here to read the article

Altering a Mouse Gene Turns Up Aggression

Typically, anything that relates to science will attract my attention. Since I am a Microbiology student I find genetics particularly interesting. This article relates to social behavior and genetic manipulation of laboratory mice. This genetic study was to determine dominant behavior. The mice with a paternal gene Grb10 that has been inactivated tend to show more behavioral differences than the control groups with the Grb10 paternal gene activated.

The inhibition of this gene could be used for a wide variety of studies since the same Grb10 paternal gene is present in the human genome too. could it be possible that this experiment could be significant for future studies of medicine, psycho-therapy as well as immunization vaccines?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/science/01obgene.html?_r=1&ref=science

Racehorse Rescue

In The Seattle Times a local rescue is working to help save retired racehorses. Many horses once they reach an age of 4 or 5 can no longer race and are sent down the road. Due to their high energy and need for re training many retired race horses are sent to auctions where slaughter houses buy them. According to the article “Over the past 10 years, more than 500 Thoroughbreds have gone from Emerald Downs to the ranch, where the horses learn another career and are placed in new homes, said Katie Merwick, the founder of Second Chance. She said it costs between $1,000 and $2,000 to retrain a racehorse” Rescues like Second Chance rescue as many as they can each year but not all can be saved. Many of the horses that aren’t saved are sent to Canada or Mexico to be butchered and then meat is exported to Europe and Japan for human consumption. The Article also talks about, “Portland Meadows, which is part of a chain of racetracks that includes Santa Anita Park outside Los Angeles and Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, adopted the no-slaughter policy for its racehorses in 2008.” This policy has helped save horses but is still not a perfect solution to the problem.

This article goes into the story about a promising thoroughbred named Bucky. After not racing for a while Bucky was sent to auction at least 100lbs underweight and beaten up. Bucky’s story has a happy ending though, even with some health conditions he was rescued and now is a happy horse living with a view of the Cascade Mountains. Not all racehorse stories end with this happy of a story but as people become more aware of the problem with horse slaughter many more retired racehorses are finding homes.

Renewable Energy in Construction

This article discusses various ways of saving energy in new construction. A new elementary school in Portland as well as a recently built Habitat for Humanity house use solar panels to save energy. These panels will save electricity and offset 1,400 pounds CO2 a year. In addition, Rosa Parks Elementary School is providing hands-on classes to educate students on why solar energy is so beneficial.

The article also informs us about the Kelley engineering Center, here at Oregon State University. This building was awarded with a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification. The 153,000 square foot structure recycles rainwater into the urinals, reducing around 372,000 gallons of water usage annually. Along with the solar water panels, the university purchases part of its electricity from renewable wind, solar and biomass sources. The state-of-the-art building has since received multiple awards.

Down in Medford an Oregon botanist, Paul Kay has recently received a grant to install his new product, which he calls the Botanical Burrito. The product is a mixture of soil, rush mat, dirt and plant materials. This new system is going to be studied on how it effects wetland areas, the stabilization of banks, and erosion control. The purpose of this new product is to add value to these areas of land by increasing the quality on the surface.

In my opinion green energy is the only way to go. Are there any downsides to reusing energy, or the use of solar energy? Should we be more informed on the benefits of renewable energy use? If everything is going green I feel that people should have a better understanding of how it works, and why it is so valuable.

http://northwest.construction.com/news/greenbuild/archive/0611.asp

Chicken Soup for the JOINTS?

A new supplement may be on the horizon for anyone that suffers from joint pain due to arthritis or damage to one's cartilage. Here is an article that I found which skims the surface of a new alternative to glucosamine and chondroitin supplements which have been a staple in people's daily routines for quite some time now. Derived from chicken sternum cartilage, the supplement is currently going by the lab name UC-II and has proven itself to be a better choice than traditional remedies.

Being in the Exercise and Sports Science program I find this article to be very fascinating. With the aging population of baby boomers and the stress young athletes are putting on their bodies it is significant to find a supplement that is proven to be twice as effective as glucosamine and chondroitin treatments on universal pain tests. As I pursue a degree in physical therapy I know that knee problems will always occur and with increased frequency as the population ages; UC-II will be a great alternative to suggest to patients so that they may ease the pain of their joints with fewer expensive therapy sessions. With the constant advancements in the medical field I am left to wonder about the possibilities of eliminating joint pain altogether. Could there possibly be a way to replace cartilage so that knee and hip replacements will become a thing of the past?

Horse-riding therapy receives helping hand

On January 23, 2011, Handi-Riders, a horseback riding non-profit organization declared their ability to provide service year-long to children with disabilities. This organization gives disabled individuals the opportunity to enhance their motor and sensory skills through an alternative physical therapy. Now that the organization remains active throughout the year, as many as 5,000 hour-long sessions in contrast to 500 hours are offered to help people of all ages.

Handi-Riders work alongside licensed therapists; rather than exercising under a roof, this outdoor therapy can help patients regain range of motion through light activity. This alternative can improve patient’s behaviors and their emotional disabilities as well.

Improving an individual’s health and preventing further injuries is a major goal in physical therapy. Now the organization can aid numerous patients with their extension to open business. Though the patients of Handi-Riders possess a disability, the use of horseback riding and physical therapy reveals significant progress of over time.

Donations and grants made it possible for the barn to stay open year-long; the money also serves as replenishment and renovation of Handi-Riders’ barn. The organization hopes to offer scholarships to aid those who cannot afford physical therapy to ensure more rehabilitation opportunities to individuals.

I enjoyed reading this article because I want to become a physical therapist and it highlights the enhancement in well-being through physical therapy from a different prospective. I found it interesting because physical therapy is usually associated with a gym or an indoor activity but in this situation, patients can have fun and restore their health.

If it was a requirement to receive physical therapy, would you like to try horseback riding?