News Archive
Sunday, August 2 2020
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Engineers developing no-touch, mail-in, fast-scan test for COVID-19, other outbreaks
Iowa State's Nigel Reuel is leading development of a closed, contact-free diagnostic sensing system that could be used to quickly test for COVID-19 or other outbreaks. The project is supported by a National Science Foundation Rapid Response Research grant.
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Anti-Asian racism during COVID-19 has historical ties in United States
Anti-Asian hate crimes during health crises are unfortunately not new, according to a new academic paper examining the history of this phenomenon. The research team, including an Iowa State University criminal justice researcher, looked at how anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic have furthered the historical “othering” of Asian Americans and reproduced inequalities.
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Work proceeds on innovative approach to coronavirus testing at Iowa State
Researchers continue work on a new testing platform that could detect coronavirus particles in the air without the necessity of a laboratory to process the results. The scientists have had to take an innovative approach to their work to negotiate the challenges of physical distancing.
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Engineers find thinner tissues in replacement heart valves create problematic flutter
Iowa State and University of Texas engineers have developed high-fidelity computational models of replacement heart valves to examine the performance of biological tissues built into the valves. They found that thinner tissues can flap and flutter, which can damage the valves and even the blood that flows by.
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Iowa State University scientists examine reproductive effects of glyphosate in mice
A pair of recently published studies analyzed how ovarian function in mice responded to various levels of exposure to glyphosate, a chemical extensively used to kill weeds. The results showed exposure changed the level of some ovarian proteins but did not impact ovarian steroid production, an indication glyphosate may not adversely affect reproduction.
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Tendency to select targeted retirement fund ending in zero may impact wealth
New research shows that selecting a targeted retirement fund that ends in a zero could negatively impact your retirement savings. The study identified a "zero bias" or tendency for individuals to select retirement funds ending in zero, which affects the amount people contribute to retirement savings and leads to an investment portfolio with an incompatible level of risk.
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Researchers simulate, assess damage to brain cells caused by bubbles during head trauma
Researchers led by Nicole Hashemi, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, are using their expertise with the manufacture of microstructures to study how the collapse of microbubbles within the skull can damage brain cells. Their research, which is supported by the Office of Naval Research, could lead to the design of better helmets.
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Innovative spirits: Iowa State students help family distillery make hand sanitizer during pandemic
For the Hoffmann children – twins Dave and Will, both juniors in agricultural systems technology at Iowa State University, and Lexi, recent graduate in elementary education – the pandemic not only altered their education but their family’s distillery as they decided to change course and make hand sanitizer to help frontline workers in the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Grant to help scientists, industry and farmers harness biomass and manure to fuel farms
A $10 million federal grant will power a multi-institutional consortium aiming to create new value chains on U.S. farms. The consortium will innovate methods for farmers to make more efficient use of resources with an emphasis on the generation of renewable natural gas, improved rural economic outcomes and protection of the environment.
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Toyia Younger named senior vice president for student affairs
Toyia Younger has been named the next senior vice president for student affairs at Iowa State University, pending approval by the Board of Regents. Younger, vice president for leadership development and partnerships for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, will begin her tenure Aug. 17.
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Survey of rural Iowa communities will gauge pandemic response
Residents in 70 rural Iowa communities soon will receive surveys that will help to inform state and federal officials as they orchestrate the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey, orchestrated by researchers at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa, will cover topics ranging from the availability of health care services to the reliability of high-speed internet to the economic stresses placed on a community by the pandemic.
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Iowa State researcher wins Department of Energy early career award for cyclone studies
Christina Patricola is joining the Iowa State University faculty this fall with a research program focused on tropical cyclones. A new grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science Early Career Research Program will help launch her studies of global storm numbers and regional storm intensity and rainfall.
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President Wintersteen statement on response to ICE ruling
President Wendy Wintersteen and other Regent presidents are calling on Congress to immediately rescind a recent ruling by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcment. The president said the ruling, "is arbitrary and troubling, creating uncertainty for students during a global pandemic."
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Iowa State attracts $494.7 million in external funding, sets federal research funding record
Iowa State University attracted a total of $494.7 million in external funding for the fiscal year that ended June 30. That total includes a record $186 million in federal support for Iowa State research.
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Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory’s swine influenza surveillance is ready to monitor new and current flu strains
State-of-the-art monitoring and sequencing at the ISU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory allow pork producers to keep up with both current and new flu strains among their herds. A new flu variant infecting pigs in China likely won’t pose a significantly greater threat to humans than strains currently circulating among U.S. pigs, according to the veterinarian who leads influenza monitoring at the laboratory.
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Research explores how youth are excluded from public spaces, design practices
America’s youth have historically been excluded from using public spaces how they want, in addition to being left out of design discussions. Including them in this process will have long-term societal benefits, according to an Iowa State University researcher.