Page 5 - Inventing Tomorrow

Cleaner air could save millions of lives
A recent study says improving air quality could potentially reduce millions
of pollution-related deaths each year. The results come from a team of environmental engineering and public health researchers, including Julian Marshall, associate professor of civil, environmental, and geo- engineering, who developed a global model of changes in air pollution, which could mean changes in heart attack, stroke, and lung cancer rates. Meeting the World Health Organization’s particulate air quality guidelines could potentially prevent 2.1 million deaths each year. To learn more: z.umn.edu/airpollution
UAV ight system, designed at U and used at NASA, getting a major upgrade
A team of aerospace engineering researchers at the University's Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Laboratory are creating the next generation of research aircraft ight control system. The lab is continuing to develop its "Goldy" system, which serves as the brain of UAVs used
for scienti c research. The system, which originated in 2006, has garnered recognition for its use in aerospace research at government agencies like NASA and the German Aerospace Center. To learn more, visit: z.umn.edu/ ight.
Telltale traits of bacteria o er clues for improved colorectal cancer treatment, prevention Dan Knights, assistant professor of computer science and engineering, is among University researchers who have uncovered a telltale link between colorectal cancer and speci c traits of bacteria found in the digestive tract. The ndings could improve colorectal cancer treatment and prevention. For more informa- tion: z.umn.edu/colorectalcancer
Researchers land $20 million grant to study environmental impact of nanotechnology University researchers are part of a team of researchers from the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology (CSN) who recently received a $20 million grant to study the e ects
of nanotechnology on the environ- ment. While there are hundreds of products that use nanomaterials
in various ways, there is still much to be learned about how nanopar- ticles a ect the environment and the organisms—from bacteria to plants, animals, and people—that are exposed to them. To learn more: z.umn.edu/nanoenvironment
Fossil teeth point to early
exodus from Africa
University of Minnesota researcher R. Lawrence Edwards, professor of earth sciences, and his colleagues dated human teeth that were found to be between 80,000 and 120,000 years old. They used methods developed by Edwards and his colleagues. The 47 fossil teeth were found in an excavation of Fuyan Cave in China’s Hunan Province, and provide evidence that humans exited Africa at least 20,000 years earlier than previously thought.
To learn more: z.umn.edu/teeth
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