Navigation Links
College students work to sterilize air, kill pathogens on buses
Date:4/27/2012

The best place to enjoy a breath of fresh air may be a city bus, if Rice University students have their way. A team of graduating seniors has created a system for public transit that would continually clear the air of pathogens that can lead to tuberculosis (TB), flu and pneumonia.

The CityBusters Joseph Spinella, Jerry Lue, Sundeep Mandava, Grace Ching and Shidong Chen, all seniors have installed a $500 device on a METRO bus in Houston that has proven effective at killing 99.8 percent of the pathogens that circulate through the air-filtering system. The device, called FluProof, incorporates high-powered ultraviolet lamps that sterilize the air on the fly.

Spinella said research by others has suggested that buses, being enclosed public spaces, can provide an environment for the spread of TB and other diseases. "These are closed spaces where people are in close proximity, and you have an active air-conditioning system that's continually mixing up the air and spreading it to all the passengers," he said.

The Rice project stemmed from the results of a study called the Houston Tuberculosis Initiative (HTI). Researchers worked from 1995 to 2004 to identify patterns of transmission in the region that though the disease is still rare has the second-largest TB population in the nation. They were surprised to find a correlation between riders of city buses and cases of tuberculosis. A study published last fall in the journal Tuberculosis put numbers to the risk by pointing out that some routes, particularly long ones, indicated a higher number of cases of the disease. The lead author of the HTI study prompted the Rice project when she decided to act on the research results. "We found we had a problem on the buses in Houston," said Marsha Feske, a former graduate student at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and research fellow at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute. She is now an epidemiologist at the global b
'/>"/>

Contact: David Ruth
david@rice.edu
713-348-6327
Rice University
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3 4

Related biology news :

1. American College of Medical Genetics receives $13.5M NIH contract
2. Better beer: College team creating anticancer brew
3. College students find comfort in their pets during hard times
4. Texas College Police Unit Deploys BIO-key(R) Mobile Data System
5. High school students paper published in prestigious college math journal
6. NYU College of Dentistry awarded $1.9 million NIH grant for HIV research
7. Empire State Stem Cell Board awards $12.7 million to Albert Einstein College of Medicine
8. Imperial College London and NTU collaborate to offer joint Ph.D. programs in engineering and science
9. Boston College chemistry professor Udayan Mohanty receives a 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship
10. Genetic secrets of date palm unlocked by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar
11. American College of Medical Genetics affirms importance of newborn screening dried blood spots
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:6/18/2013)... UT Arlington environmental engineer has been awarded a ... to ensure water quality and flow in the ... , Andrew Kruzic, UT Arlington associate professor of ... locations to add monochloramine to the water in ... new pump stations and pipelines. Adding monochloramine is ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... are expecting a very large "dead zone" in the ... level in the Chesapeake Bay this year, based on ... University of Michigan, Louisiana State University, and the ... Gulf of Mexico hypoxic "dead" zone will be between ... among the ten largest recorded. That would range from ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... awarded $12.7 million to match nine academic research ... to explore new treatments for patients in eight ... and schizophrenia. The collaborative pilot initiative, called Discovering ... by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences ... , The process of developing a new therapeutic ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):UT Arlington research to benefit quality, flow in 150-mile Integrated Pipeline 2NOAA, partners predict possible record-setting deadzone for Gulf of Mexico 2NOAA, partners predict possible record-setting deadzone for Gulf of Mexico 3NOAA, partners predict possible record-setting deadzone for Gulf of Mexico 4NIH to fund collaborations with industry to identify new uses for existing compounds 2NIH to fund collaborations with industry to identify new uses for existing compounds 3NIH to fund collaborations with industry to identify new uses for existing compounds 4
... eliminate malaria worldwide, new strategies are needed to find ... signs of the disease. The prevalence of asymptomatic or ... percent in populations with malaria and these asymptomatic individuals ... in areas where disease transmission has declined. ...
... latest news and discoveries in medicine, physics, environmental science, ... Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS), held Feb. ... Convention Center in San Diego, Calif. With more than ... research scientists in attendance each year, the BPS Annual ...
... of scientists studying the effects of electron-beam irradiation on ... in the February issue of the leading microbiology journal, ... lead investigator. The study quantified the theoretical health-risk ... electron-beam irradiation. "The purpose of this study was ...
Cached Biology News:'Test and Treat' model offers new strategy for eliminating malaria 2Highlights of the Biophysical Society 56th Annual Meeting 2Highlights of the Biophysical Society 56th Annual Meeting 3Highlights of the Biophysical Society 56th Annual Meeting 4Highlights of the Biophysical Society 56th Annual Meeting 5Highlights of the Biophysical Society 56th Annual Meeting 6Highlights of the Biophysical Society 56th Annual Meeting 7Highlights of the Biophysical Society 56th Annual Meeting 8Highlights of the Biophysical Society 56th Annual Meeting 9Highlights of the Biophysical Society 56th Annual Meeting 10Study shows electron-beam irradiation reduces virus-related health risk in lettuce, spinach 2Study shows electron-beam irradiation reduces virus-related health risk in lettuce, spinach 3
(Date:6/20/2013)... MA (PRWEB) June 20, 2013 Belatrix ... firm , today released news on its latest initiative ... BSIU initiative brings together leading thought leaders, and business ... webcasts and dynamic workshops. The goal of the initiative ... to gain fresh inspiration for their product innovation efforts. ...
(Date:6/20/2013)... June 20, 2013 Confluent is a ... of medical, software, manufacturing, safety, chemical, B2B, retail and ... Charlene Nagy, Confluent’s President and CEO, they had ... engage prospects and client via social media, and direct ... and converted to new clients. “What was missing was ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... (PRWEB) June 19, 2013 For an ... Waterless Bead Baths using metallic beads instead ... electricity, and do not require germicides. Yet, the bead ... because the bath is always ready unlike a water ... create a dry bath, which eliminates the contamination and ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... June 19, 2013  U.S. Secretary of State ... which distinguished Syngenta  scientist Mary-Dell Chilton , ... World Food Prize. The prize is the foremost international ... improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in ... laureates were recognized for "revolutionary biotechnology discoveries that unlocked ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Belatrix Software Kicks off Major Innovation Effort and Invites Innovation Expert to Share How Agile + Design Thinking Accelerate Product Innovation 2Confluent Translations Consolidates Marketing Efforts 2Cole-Parmer Introduces Eco-Friendly Waterless Bead Baths 2Syngenta's Mary-Dell Chilton named 2013 World Food Prize laureate 2
... SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. , April 29 ... new therapeutics discovered using cellular reprogramming and directed differentiation ... awarded a three-year $1.5 million "Basic Biology ... The grant will be used to fund the study ...
... , VIENNA , April 29, 2010 ... and an obnoxious plant called,Chinese Giant Knotweed, actually improve your brain function? ... ... study in the journal, American Journal of,Clinical Nutrition, which concludes that a ...
... ... and pharmacovigilance training provider, will be speaking today at the 2010 ... President of eLearning and Informatics, will present BioSoteria’s experience with Trivantis ... create online pharmacovigilance training courses for the biopharmaceutical industry. ...
Cached Biology Technology:iPierian Awarded Basic Biology Grant by California Institute of Regenerative Medicine to Study Cellular Reprogramming 2iPierian Awarded Basic Biology Grant by California Institute of Regenerative Medicine to Study Cellular Reprogramming 3Your Brain on Resveratrol 2Your Brain on Resveratrol 3Your Brain on Resveratrol 4Your Brain on Resveratrol 5Drug Safety Firm BioSoteria to Present on eLearning Development Experience 2Drug Safety Firm BioSoteria to Present on eLearning Development Experience 3
... is a high-quality four-place microplate shaker with ... speed is adjustable from 100 to 1350 ... a small orbit ensure effective shaking for ... quick and easy to set for 0 ...
Mouse monoclonal [AZ24] to Polo like kinase ( Abpromise for all tested applications)....
... The dotLab System brings together ... diffraction and immobilized capture surfaces. This ... simple technique for the detection of ... of fluorescent labels. , Protein-specific capture ...
... provides a comprehensive experiment based analysis package ... menus yet sophisticated and powerful functionality., Image ... CCD cameras for easy image capture. ... Digital Video Playback Saturation Warning ...
Biology Products: