Futurity.org » University of Florida

How to give a 1,500-pound manatee a heart exam

Ron Wayne-U. Florida — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:54:37 +0000

U. FLORIDA (US) — Scientists are testing endangered manatees in captivity and in the wild for heart problems using a table built to hold the heavy animals.

“Due to their current endangered status, it is important that we understand the animal in its entirety so that we can better tailor conservation efforts for the species,” says Trevor Gerlach, an intern in the aquatic animal health program at the University of Florida.

Designated drivers: One-third still drink

Ron Wayne-U. Florida — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:30:30 +0000

U. FLORIDA (US) — More than one-third of designated drivers drink before getting behind the wheel—and most have blood-alcohol levels high enough to impair their driving.

Researchers interviewed and breath-tested more than 1,000 bar patrons in the downtown restaurant and bar district of a major university town in the US Southeast. Of the designated drivers who had consumed alcohol, half recorded a blood-alcohol level higher than .05 percent—a recently recommended new threshold for drunken driving.

Swarms of tiny drones built to spy on hurricanes

Cindy Spence-Florida — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 10:45:55 +0000

U. FLORIDA (US) — Tiny unmanned vehicles may one day be able to swarm over, under, and through hurricanes to help predict the strength and path of storms.

The autonomous craft—some fly and others dart under the waves—can spy on hurricanes at close range without getting blown to bits, while sensors onboard collect and send in real time the data scientists need to predict the intensity and trajectory of storms: pressure, temperature, humidity, location, and time.

“Our vehicles don’t fight the hurricane; we use the hurricane to take us places,” says Kamran Mohseni, professor in the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Florida.

Survey: Mixed feelings in Florida over immigration

Mickie Anderson-Florida — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:13:26 +0000

U. FLORIDA (US) — While residents in Florida have negative feelings about undocumented immigrants, an overwhelming majority also favor a policy that would allow them a path to US citizenship, a new survey suggests.

The survey of 507 Floridians shows that although many see undocumented immigrants as threats to their economic well-being and personal safety, they still have “pockets” of sympathetic views toward those trying to establish themselves as US residents.

How to decide if a daily aspirin is harmful

Melissa Blouin-Florida — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:31:49 +0000

U. FLORIDA (US) — A new algorithm outlines factors doctors should consider when deciding whether or not a patient would benefit from a daily dose of aspirin.

Approximately 50 million people in the United States take a daily aspirin to treat or prevent heart disease. Of these, at least half take more than 100 milligrams of the drug—more than one baby aspirin—a day.

Why your ‘seesaw’ brain can’t stay on task

Melissa Blouin-Florida — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:08:07 +0000

U. FLORIDA (US) — When we try to concentrate on a specific task, different parts of our brain are in a constant battle for control behind the scenes.

We’ve all been there: You’re at work deeply immersed in a project when suddenly you start thinking about your weekend plans. Now, researchers are using a new technique to examine how parts of the brain fight for dominance.

Dual therapies treat blindness in dogs

Andy McGlashen-Michigan State — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:01:56 +0000

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Two kinds of therapy may be a knockout combo against inherited blindness. The study focused on impaired dogs, but the remedy may help people, too.

Published in the journal Molecular Therapy, the study builds on earlier work by Michigan State University veterinary ophthalmologist András Komáromy and colleagues. In 2010, they restored day vision in dogs suffering from achromatopsia, an inherited form of total color blindness, by replacing the mutant gene associated with the condition.

While that treatment was effective for most younger dogs, it didn’t work for canines older than 1 year. Komáromy began to wonder if the older dogs’ cones—the photoreceptor cells in the retina that process daylight and color—might be too worn out.

To heal heart, treat depression, too

Wilson Valentin-Columbia — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:25:14 +0000

COLUMBIA U. (US) —Treating people for depression after a heart attack could reduce the risk of death or another attack, new research shows.

Researchers completed a randomized controlled trial with 150 patients with elevated depressive symptoms two to six months after hospitalization for heart disease.

Tool keeps track of at-risk older drivers

Jill Pease-Florida — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:57:50 +0000

U. FLORIDA (US) — A free, online tool will help caregivers and family members identify drivers age 65 and older who may be at risk of driving problems.

The Fitness-to-Drive Screening Measure can be completed by caregivers or family members who have been a passenger in a vehicle driven by an older driver within the past three months.

Give-and-take helps hyenas, people coexist

Layne Cameron-Michigan State — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:46:18 +0000

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Motion-detection cameras show that in the southern Rift Valley of Kenya, the Maasai people and their livestock coexist fairly happily with carnivores that include hyenas, lions, and bat-eared foxes.

“I wouldn’t call the results surprising,” says Meredith Evans Wagner, a visiting scholar from the University of Florida at the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability at Michigan State University. “Other research has shown that people and carnivores can coexist, but there is a large body of thought that believes carnivores need their own protected space to survive.”