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Tomorrow in Brief
edited by Cindy Wagner

Portable Body Scans

One science-fiction vision may soon be here: A handheld device resembling the one used to monitor the health of Captain Kirk on Star Trek promises to detect early signs of heart disease and stroke. The noninvasive instrument, called PADD, uses an infrared beam to monitor circulation below the skin. Within five minutes, the noninvasive test could detect early signs of heart disease and stroke, according to its developer, optical engineer Vincent Crabtree of Loughborough University in England. The beam is no more powerful than that used by remote controls to change your TV channel and could one day replace more-expensive monitoring methods such as angiography and Doppler/duplex ultrasound.

Source: Loughborough University Enterprises Ltd., Marketing, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, United Kingdom. Web site www.lboro.ac.uk/business/luel/.

Sharks and Stars

A pattern-matching system created by astrophysicists to locate stars and galaxies may help marine biologists save a vulnerable species. The whale shark bears distinct white spots on its back, creating identifiable starlike patterns or "fingerprints" that can help scientists track individual animals' movements. Whale sharks are the largest living fish on Earth, but their numbers had dwindled to fewer than 350 by the mid-1980s. Earthwatch Institute volunteers have been photographing the sharks, and now the pattern-matching algorithm will help provide biologists with more accurate data on the sharks' movements, growth rates, and other vital data.

Source: Earthwatch Institute, 3 Clock Tower Place, Suite 100, Maynard, Massachusetts 01754. Web site http://www.earthwatch.org/.

Smart School-Building Design Improves Test Scores

Well-lit, airy, and uncrowded schools could make children smarter in the future--or at least help them improve their test scores. Studies show that students perform better when they can see and hear well, and at least one school in Virginia supports this conclusion. Rising test scores at the six-year-old Manassas Park High School may be due to the building's architectural features, such as wider hallways and furniture, improved lighting, more private study areas for students, and secure but not prisonlike buildings. Designing schools to enhance the academic environment not only benefits students, but also attracts higher-caliber teachers, according to Bruce McDade, principal at Manassas Park.

Source: "Innovative School Design Called a Factor in Higher Test Scores," The School Board News (January 10, 2006). National School Boards Association, Web site http://www.nsba.org/.

Preparing for Dirty-Bomb Attacks

If a radiological-dispersal device (dirty bomb) explodes in a populated area, first responders such as medical personnel and police need to take protective actions within the first 48 hours of the detonation. That will require knowledge about what materials were used and how the aerosolized particles will disperse. Now, thanks to 500 explosive experiments over the past two decades, researchers at the Sandia and Brookhaven national laboratories have developed guidelines for community preparedness. The guidelines include how to interpret radiation levels, triage exposed personnel, and decide whether to shelter the public in place or evacuate them. Most planners have treated biological, chemical, and radiological attacks the same, but this leads to inefficient procedures, the researchers warn. The particulate clouds from dirty bombs are indeed hazardous, but not as immediately dangerous to life as anthrax, for instance.

Source: Sandia National Laboratories, 1515 Eubank SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123. Web site www.sandia.gov/news.

Bringing Books to Life

No more waiting for the movie version of your favorite book. The rise of the graphic novel--like a comic book for more sophisticated literature--may soon be surpassed by animated text. New multimedia technology combined with language processing will allow books to be translated automatically into 3-D animated images. Software developed at the University of Ulster understands natural English-language input and maps it into 3-D multimedia presentations. The potential applications range from bringing a children's story to life to creating interactive city maps. Filmmakers could also use the technology to produce vivid animated storyboards from screenplays so that directors may experiment with different angles before live actors are brought onto the set.

Source:University of Ulster, Shore Road, Newtownabbey, Belfast, County Antrim BT37, 0QB, United Kingdom. Web site www.ulst.ac.uk/.

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