UC Science Today

Wi-fi has become ubiquitous in our world as a wireless way to get access to the Internet, but what if radio waves could be used to sense the environment? Yasamin Mostofi, an electrical and computer engineer at the University of California, Santa Barbara has been using wi-fi signals to basically give x-ray vision to robots and unmanned vehicles.

"Can they image objects? Can they see through walls? Can they count people? Can they localize people?"

Such technology could be used in security, search and rescue scenarios, ‘smart homes’ and even at archeological sites.

"The robots basically have everyday wi-fi cards that we all have in our laptops and a directional antenna. So, one robot transmits and that transmission goes through the object and the objects interact with it, depending on their material property, their location. And in a sense we can see they leave a signature on a signal and that signature is what we’re trying to use to figure out something about the object."

Wi-fi has become ubiquitous in our world as a wireless way to get access to the Internet, but what if radio waves could be used to sense the environment? Yasamin Mostofi, an electrical and computer engineer at the University of California, Santa Barbara has been using wi-fi signals to basically give x-ray vision to robots and unmanned vehicles.

"Can they image objects? Can they see through walls? Can they count people? Can they localize people?"

Such technology could be used in security, search and rescue scenarios, ‘smart homes’ and even at archeological sites.

"The robots basically have everyday wi-fi cards that we all have in our laptops and a directional antenna. So, one robot transmits and that transmission goes through the object and the objects interact with it, depending on their material property, their location. And in a sense we can see they leave a signature on a signal and that signature is what we’re trying to use to figure out something about the object."

When you hear the word ‘radioactivity’, what do you think of? It might bring to mind nuclear disasters like Fukushima and Chernobyl. But it does exist naturally in our environment. So, physicist Kai Vetter of the University of California, Berkeley wants to change the way we think about radiation.

"We have established what we call the Berkeley DoseNet program, aiming at providing simple radiation sensors to communities and to high schools, to enable the broader public to learn about the world we’re living in."

And speaking of radiation, astronomer Imke de Pater of UC Berkeley has released the most detailed radio maps yet of Jupiter’s surface.

"We could see just all kinds of different features. For example, the Great Red Spot, and other little ovals and storm systems on Jupiter."

The maps are just in time for the arrival of NASA’s Juno space probe, which has begun its trip around the gas planet. Meanwhile, back here on terra firma, we meet the Livermore Lab’s Jonathan Allen – a bioinformatics scientist who has been tapped to join a national panel to study the relationship between ‘built environments’ and the microbiome.

"So, everywhere we go, our skin is contacting surfaces and shedding bacteria on building surfaces and then also it’s coming from the natural environment, plants and the outdoor environment."

To hear these and other episodes about the latest University of California research, subscribe to UC Science Today on iTunes or follow us on Facebook. Thanks for listening. Until next time, I’m Larissa Branin.

Subscribe to Science Today on iTunes: apple.co/1TQBewD

Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ucsciencetoday

Stories mentioned in this roundup:

https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/radiation_education

https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/jupiter_map

https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/built_environment

You’ve probably heard about the human microbiome. But what about microbiomes growing in “built environments”? Jonathan Allen, a bioinformatics scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has been tapped to serve on a national panel to study these microbial communities to get a better sense of the design of buildings and how that may affect human health.

"So, everywhere we go, our skin is contacting surfaces and shedding bacteria on building surfaces and then also it’s coming from the natural environment, so you know plants and the outdoor environment. As the wind is blowing, it’s actually bringing in bacteria, microbes and also fungi. You know, fungi has a big part in the human microbiome too, potentially. It’s not nearly as pronounced as it is in building environments, where fungus can grow and actually become a major health issue for people."

The panel will be conducting its study over the next 18 months.

You’ve probably heard about the human microbiome. But what about microbiomes growing in “built environments”? Jonathan Allen, a bioinformatics scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has been tapped to serve on a national panel to study these microbial communities to get a better sense of the design of buildings and how that may affect human health.

"So, everywhere we go, our skin is contacting surfaces and shedding bacteria on building surfaces and then also it’s coming from the natural environment, so you know plants and the outdoor environment. As the wind is blowing, it’s actually bringing in bacteria, microbes and also fungi. You know, fungi has a big part in the human microbiome too, potentially. It’s not nearly as pronounced as it is in building environments, where fungus can grow and actually become a major health issue for people."

The panel will be conducting its study over the next 18 months.

When you hear the word ‘radioactivity’, what do you think of? It might bring to mind nuclear disasters like Fukushima and Chernobyl. But it does exist naturally in our environment. So, physicist Kai Vetter of the University of California, Berkeley wants to change the way we think about radiation.

"We have established what we call the Berkeley DoseNet program, aiming at providing simple radiation sensors to communities and to high schools, to enable the broader public to learn about the world we’re living in."

And speaking of radiation, astronomer Imke de Pater of UC Berkeley has released the most detailed radio maps yet of Jupiter’s surface.

"We could see just all kinds of different features. For example, the Great Red Spot, and other little ovals and storm systems on Jupiter."

The maps are just in time for the arrival of NASA’s Juno space probe, which has begun its trip around the gas planet. Meanwhile, back here on terra firma, we meet the Livermore Lab’s Jonathan Allen – a bioinformatics scientist who has been tapped to join a national panel to study the relationship between ‘built environments’ and the microbiome.

"So, everywhere we go, our skin is contacting surfaces and shedding bacteria on building surfaces and then also it’s coming from the natural environment, plants and the outdoor environment."

To hear these and other episodes about the latest University of California research, subscribe to UC Science Today on iTunes or follow us on Facebook. Thanks for listening. Until next time, I’m Larissa Branin.

Subscribe to Science Today on iTunes: apple.co/1TQBewD

Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ucsciencetoday

Stories mentioned in this roundup:

https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/radiation_education

https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/jupiter_map

https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/built_environment

What if researchers could turn a diseased cell into a healthy one by simply reprogramming its genes? Using a type of adeno-associated virus, a popular tool in gene therapies, a team at the University of California, San Francisco was able to transform cirrhosis-causing liver cells into normal ones within the body of a mouse. Study leader Milad Rezvani says that adding healthy cells to a diseased liver is not an easy task, so the prospect of gene therapy offers a safe and possibly more efficient alternative.

"Diseased livers are actually not a good target for cells to be transplanted – they don’t engraft well."

A gene delivery vehicle like a virus provided a way to do this without surgery or cell transplantation.

"They can be used because they are safe. These are so-called adeno-associated viruses, which are gene vehicles packaged in viruses that do not integrate into the host genome. As a matter of fact, there are ongoing clinical trials using the kind of virus that we used."

What if researchers could turn a diseased cell into a healthy one by simply reprogramming its genes? Using a type of adeno-associated virus, a popular tool in gene therapies, a team at the University of California, San Francisco was able to transform cirrhosis-causing liver cells into normal ones within the body of a mouse. Study leader Milad Rezvani says that adding healthy cells to a diseased liver is not an easy task, so the prospect of gene therapy offers a safe and possibly more efficient alternative.

"Diseased livers are actually not a good target for cells to be transplanted – they don’t engraft well."

A gene delivery vehicle like a virus provided a way to do this without surgery or cell transplantation.

"They can be used because they are safe. These are so-called adeno-associated viruses, which are gene vehicles packaged in viruses that do not integrate into the host genome. As a matter of fact, there are ongoing clinical trials using the kind of virus that we used."

By probing down into Jupiter’s cloudy atmosphere, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have created the most detailed radio map of the largest planet in our Solar System. Astronomer Imke de Pater and her team used an observatory in New Mexico to take the images.

"So we were able to produce this map at radio wavelengths because the Very Large Array in New Mexico had undergone upgrades and improved by a factor of 10 in sensitivity."

Since the planet rotates every 10 hours, past radio maps would end up smeared. But thanks to the upgrade, this new map shows detailed layers of ammonia gas welling up and sinking down in Jupiter’s atmosphere.

"We could see just all kinds of different features. For example, the Great Red Spot, and other little ovals and storm systems on Jupiter."

de Pater says the next step is to collect more data and probe deeper into the cloud layers. Researchers hope these findings will help explain the atmospheres of other planets as well.

By probing down into Jupiter’s cloudy atmosphere, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have created the most detailed radio map of the largest planet in our Solar System. Astronomer Imke de Pater and her team used an observatory in New Mexico to take the images.

"So we were able to produce this map at radio wavelengths because the Very Large Array in New Mexico had undergone upgrades and improved by a factor of 10 in sensitivity."

Since the planet rotates every 10 hours, past radio maps would end up smeared. But thanks to the upgrade, this new map shows detailed layers of ammonia gas welling up and sinking down in Jupiter’s atmosphere.

"We could see just all kinds of different features. For example, the Great Red Spot, and other little ovals and storm systems on Jupiter."

de Pater says the next step is to collect more data and probe deeper into the cloud layers. Researchers hope these findings will help explain the atmospheres of other planets as well.