Democratic party volunteer Matt Lattanzi worked door to door for the Obama campaign while canvassing in a Youngstown, Ohio, apartment building on Oct. 28.
Originally published on Wed November 14, 2012 1:36 pm
A good deal of credit for President Obama's re-election has gone to his campaign's sophistication at interpreting data about potential voters and its use of behavioral research to get supporters to actually vote.
And because success in politics spawns imitators, the approach could well shape how future campaigns are run.
Scientists may have finally solved a problem that has plagued beer drinkers for ages: Insufficient foam resiliency.
As any beer drinker can tell you, a tall glass of lager without a white, foamy head on top just doesn't look right. And even if you start out with one, it can dissipate fast. And that's just sad.
Now, microbiologists have identified the specific gene in yeast responsible for a beer's head and they say this discovery can lead to stronger, longer lasting, more aesthetically pleasing foam on your favorite brews.
Brian Shaffer tests an exoskeleton developed by researchers at Vanderbilt University at a rehabilitation center in Franklin, Tenn. The exoskeleton locks around the legs and feet. To stand up, a paralyzed person simply leans forward.
Credit Courtesy of Robert Markowitz/NASA
NASA recently announced the development of an exoskeleton for paraplegic rehabilitation use and astronaut strength training. NASA engineer Shelley Rea demonstrates the X1 Robotic Exoskeleton for resistive exercise, rehabilitation and mobility augmentation.
Credit Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
Paralyzed from the waist down, Amanda Boxtel walks with the aid of a bionic exoskeleton in London in 2011. Users learn to walk in the Ekso Bionics device with rehabilitation technicians controlling their steps before walking on their own.
Credit Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
Claire Lomas, a paraplegic, walks the last mile of the London Marathon in May 2012. Starting out with 36,000 other runners, she averaged two miles a day with the help of a bionic ReWalk suit by Argo Medical Technologies.
Credit Courtesy of Parker Hannifin Corp/Ekso Bionics/Argo Medical Technologies/Rex Bionics
From left to right, the Vanderbilt exoskeleton, the Ekso Bionics exoskeleton, ReWalk by Argo Medical Technologies and Rex by Rex Bionics.
Credit Shepherd Center
A patient wears the Vanderbilt device in his wheelchair. The Vanderbilt researchers say that it has some advantages over others. It's lighter, breaks into three parts and fits in a small wheelchair.
Credit Adrian Malloch / Rex Bionics
Engineers at Rex Bionics in New Zealand developed an exoskeleton that allows people paralyzed from the waist down to walk again. Unlike other models, the Rex exoskeleton has a joystick control and doesn't require crutches.
Credit Joy Wilson / University of Houston
Steve Holbert (center), a paraplegic, demonstrates NeuroRex, a bionic exoskeleton suit augmented with a neural interface cap, developed by researchers at the University of Houston. Holbert controlled the robot's movements with his thoughts.
Credit Argo Medical Technologies
Robert Woo and Theresa Hannigan, both paraplegics, complete a one-mile walk in the ReWalk exoskeleton, developed by an Israeli company called Argo Medical Technologies. Argo's devices have been approved for personal use in Europe, but need FDA approval for sale in the U.S.
Credit Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
Claire Lomas walks the last mile of the London Marathon on May 8, 2012 in London, England. After a riding accident left her paralyzed from the waist down in 2007, Lomas completed the race walking 2 miles a day over 16 days with the help of a ReWalk bionic suit (by Argo Medical Technologies).
Some time ago, a man wearing jeans, cowboy boots and a hoodie drove a dirty Ford Explorer into a carwash in Fort Worth, Texas. As soon as the car came back clean, he got it filthy again, and drove to the next carwash. He did this with every single full-service carwash in town.
The man wasn't suffering from a strange mental disorder; Patrick Kinkade was a criminologist conducting an experiment.
Energy Of The Future? California company Sierra Energy is testing out a reactor that turns garbage — like these wood chips, metal fragments and plastics — into synthetic gas that can then be turned into a low-carbon diesel fuel.
Credit Christopher Joyce / NPR
Sierra Energy is testing a reactor that makes fuel in a warehouse at an old Air Force base near Sacramento, Calif.
California starts the ball rolling Wednesday on a controversial scheme to keep the planet from overheating. Businesses will have to get a permit if they emit greenhouse gases.
Some permits will be auctioned today; the rest are free. The big idea here is the state is putting a ceiling on emissions.
It's a gamble. And for this top-down climate plan to work, it has to usher in a greener, more efficient economy.
October is Cyber Security Awareness month, and to reach out to the community, UTSA’s Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security offered a month-long program to educate people who use computers at home, businesses and organizations.
The community seminars are in plain, non-technical language, stressing current issues and solutions.
Originally published on Thu October 18, 2012 4:49 pm
Having just stepped into the shouting match over patents on genetically engineered crops, there are a few small things that I, too, would like to get off my chest.
Team Toyota members in San Antonio are making history, along with Space Shuttle Endeavor. On Friday, a Toyota Tundra truck made in the Alamo City will pull the 96-ton shuttle to its final resting place at the California Science Center.
The Tundra will pull the shuttle a quarter of a mile across the 405 Freeway on West Manchester Boulevard through the streets of Los Angeles.
A new treatment for cancer involves the use of a childhood virus that has been shown to kill cancer cells in mice. The virus is on its way to clinical trials in San Antonio and Houston.
This is a virus that Santanu Bose, Ph.D., at the UT Health Science Center-San Antonio has been researching for 15 years, and he came across its efficacy in killing cancer cells by accident.
"I never expected that we could use RSV for cancer," said Bose. "When we were conducting some experiments with this virus; we were using normal cells and at the same time, we were using cancer cells."
