Media Watch
Smart clothes could let you change your temperature with the touch of a button
Digital Trends -
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a material that could more easily adapt to temperature requirements; either trapping in or releasing heat as required? That’s exactly what researchers from the University of California, Irvine, have been developing. … “Essentially, the material can act like a regular space blanket, reflecting almost all heat back to the body,” Erica Leung, one of the researchers on the project, told Digital Trends.
Mimicking squid skin to improve thermoregulating blankets
Physics World -
Engineers at the University of California, Irvine, have made a new and improved space blanket that allows users to control their temperature. The blanket, inspired by the adaptive properties of cephalopod skin, comprises a soft and stretchable polymer matrix that is transparent to infrared radiation covered with an array of infrared-deflecting metal domains anchored within the matrix.
Sports suit inspired by squids
BBC -
Imagine a material that can change its thermal properties to suit the comfort of the wearer? Well that is what some engineers in California have been working towards using inspiration from nature, and specifically the skin of squid. These sea creatures can change colour by manipulating the shape of special cells in their skin and its hoped new fabrics will be able to do the same. Professor Alon Gorodetsky from the University of California Irvine is behind the research.
An experimental test may help confirm cases of chronic fatigue syndrome
STAT -
Now, [Ron] Davis and other scientists at Stanford and the University of California, Irvine, have created a device that could make diagnosing ME/CFS much simpler. The research was published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Known as a “nanoneedle,” the new device picks up on certain changes in electrical signals to identify people with ME/CFS.
Innovative Asthma Monitoring Device Could Predict Attacks Before They Occur
Spectrum News -
According to the American Lung Association, more than six million children in the United States suffer from asthma. Thankfully, there could an innovative new way for parents and kids to stay on top of the condition. A researcher and professor at the University of California Irvine has created a way to monitor breathing while on-the-go. Medical Engineering Professor Michelle Khine says she created the device dubbed the "breathing bandage" after her own son was born with a collapsed lung. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.]
Blood Test Might Diagnose Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
HealthDay -
The test tracks changes in the electrical pattern of a person's cells, and it accurately flagged all CFS patients in a small group of 40 people, researchers report. "When we stress the cells, we can easily differentiate them based on the signal they are showing," said lead author Rahim Esfandyarpour. "It's a huge difference." [Rahim] Esfandyarpour worked on the test with a team while at Stanford University in California. He's now an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Irvine.
Fabric mimics squid’s skin to achieve perfect temperature
The Times -
“Ultra-lightweight space blankets have been around for decades. You see marathon runners wrapping themselves in them to prevent the loss of body heat after a race -- but the key drawback is that the material is static,” said Alon Gorodetsky of the University of California, Irvine (UCI). … Dr. Gorodetsky’s laboratory specializes in drawing inspiration from the animal kingdom. In this case they were influenced by the abilities of a certain species of squid, octopus and cuttlefish to camouflage themselves. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.]
‘Flailing’ Blood Cells and Plasma Signal Chronic Fatigue
Futurity -
The problem, he says, is that they’re not looking deep enough. Now, [Ron] Davis; Rahim Esfandyarpour, a former Stanford research associate; and their colleagues have devised a blood-based test that successfully identified participants in a study with chronic fatigue syndrome. … A paper describing the research findings appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Davis is the senior author. Esfandyarpour, who is now on the faculty of the University of California-Irvine, is the lead author.
Squid-inspired material keeps the heat – or loses it
New Atlas -
[UCI] Assoc. Prof. Alon Gorodetsky, co-author of the paper [said] "Our invention could lead to clothing that adjusts to suit the comfort of each person indoors. This could result in potential savings of 30 to 40 percent on heating and air conditioning energy use."
Los Angeles sets dramatic new goals for electric cars and clean buildings
Los Angeles Times -
Some researchers agree with SoCalGas that substituting cleaner fuels for gas would be easier and cheaper than swapping out gas for electricity. They include Jack Brouwer, a UC Irvine engineering professor, who has led a project to inject small amounts of hydrogen into the university’s gas pipelines. “Our policy goals cannot be met without hydrogen, is my view,” Brouwer said in an interview last month. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.]