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University of Rochester
Blue M&M food dye reduces paralysis from spinal injuries - but turns you blue
By Loz Blain
00:20 August 11, 2009 PDT
Spinal injuries are both common and devastating, leaving many victims paralyzed and relegated to wheelchairs for the rest of their lives. But in most cases, the worst spinal cord damage doesn't happen at the scene of the injury - it's the swelling around the spinal cord and the crazy firing and burning out of otherwise healthy neurons in the hours and days following the incident that turns a bad situation permanently worse. Now, scientists in Rochester, New York, have discovered a simple way to stop a lot of this secondary damage in its tracks - using the same, familiar blue food dye that gives M&Ms and blue icy poles their color. Patients with spinal injuries could escape with vastly reduced loss of function - but they'll turn bright blue in the process. Read More
Scientists defy gravity with metal that pumps liquid uphill
By Darren Quick
01:42 June 4, 2009 PDT
Gravity can make it difficult to move liquid uphill but scientists at the University of Rochester have created a simple slab of metal that does exactly that using the same wicking process that trees employ to pull vast amounts of water from their roots up to their leaves. The metal could be used to pump microscopic amounts of liquid around a medical diagnostic chip, cool a computer's processor or turn almost any simple metal into an anti-bacterial surface. Read More
rob yates
- November 26, 2009 @ 12:49 UTC
