Now, robotic leg with a natural gait
Scientists are developing a new computer-control led bionic leg that can help amputees walk more ‘naturally’. In cooperation with a Mayo Clinic scientist, researchers at Michigan Technological University are working on a microprocessor-controlled ankle-foot prosthesis that comes close to achieving the innate range of motion of an ankle. These computerised artificial legs have pressure-sensitive sensors on the bottom of the foot that detect how the amputee is walking. The sensors instantaneously send signals to a microprocessor, which in turn adjusts the prosthesis to make walking more natural. The microprocessor-controlled prostheses on the market can move an artificial foot in only one direction, toe up and toe down, which is fine if you are marking time on a treadmill, said Mo Rastgaar, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics at MTU. “But in reality, we never walk in a straight line for any length of time. When you walk and reach an obstacle, you have to turn, and there’s always something in our way,” he said. So researchers designed an ankle-foot that can move on two axes, incorporating a side-to-side roll as well as raising the toe up and down. And they moved the power and control mechanism up and away from the leg using a cable-driven mechanism. That lightens the prosthesis, making it much more comfortable and easy to use. (PTI)
Unilever to work for changing handwashing behaviour
On Global Handwashing Day Tuesday, Unilever’s health soap, Lifebuoy has set out to end preventable death of children under five years by teaching people to change handwashing behaviour across 17 countries. “Help a Child Reach 5” campaign was launched in 2013 in Thesgora village of Madhya Pradesh which has the highest rate of diarrhoea in India and is now expanding to 17 countries. “We know handwashing with soap is one of the most effective and low-cost ways to prevent diseases like pneumonia and diarrhoea, responsible for death of 2 million children under five years of age. In the past few years, we have taught 130 million people healthy handwashing habits for life and integrated this into our business model,” said Samir Singh, Libebuoy global brand vice president. The brand ambassador of Lifebuoy and actor Kajol also attended the United Nations General Assembly Week and spoke to world leaders and policy makers about the importance of handwashing with soap as a critical policy to be implemented in the post-2015 development agenda. (IANS)
Cure for cancer being developed from human breast milk
Scientists have claimed that a cure for cancer is being developed from human breast milk. A protein in human milk, lactaptin, was found to destroy diseased cells in tests at a Siberian medical institute, the Daily Star reported. Project leader Valentin Vlasovs said that the two medications are going through the pre-clinical trial now. During analyses of the milk proteins they detected a tiny peptide that affected cancer cells. It destroyed cancer cells and left the healthy ones alive, Vlasovs said. Tests on mice showed the drug works especially well on liver and lung cancers. (ANI)
Why heart rate decreases with age
Researchers have tried to look into the age-old question as to why maximum heart rate (maxHR) decreases with age. According to researchers at the University of Colorado, this decrease in maxHR not only limits the performance of aging athletes but it is also a leading cause for nursing home admittance for otherwise-healthy elderly individuals who no longer have the physical capacity required for independent living. We say we’re just getting old and slowing down, but exactly what is it that is slowing down? Everybody knows that aerobic capacity decreases with age. You know that chart in your gym that shows your target heart rate decreasing as you get older? Well, that’s not a senior discount to let the elderly get off easy on their treadmill workouts. It’s because older hearts simply can’t beat as fast as younger hearts. So the older person who’s doing 120 beats per minute is probably working harder — at a higher percentage of maximum heart rate — than the younger person who is at 150 beats per minute. A new study by a group led by Catherine Proenza, PhD and Roger Bannister, PhD from the University of Colorado School of Medicine reports that one of the reasons for the age-dependent reduction in maximum heart rate is that aging depresses the spontaneous electrical activity of the heart’s natural pacemaker, the sinoatrial node. (ANI)
Air pollution ups risk of underweight babies
A new study has revealed that pregnant women exposed to even low levels of air pollution are at a higher risk of delivering low birth weight babies. The study, drawn from data on 74,000 pregnant women in 12 European countries gathered between 1994 and 2011, showed that air pollutants increases the risk of low birth weight and reduces average head circumference of babies born at term, News.com.au reported. The study led by Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona found that for every increase of five micrograms per cubic metre in exposure to fine particulate matter during pregnancy, the risk of low birth weight in the baby rose by 18 percent. Lead author Dr Marie Pedersen and his team estimated that if levels of fine particulates were reduced to 10 micrograms per cubic metre, 22 percent of cases of low birth weight among term deliveries could be prevented.
The study is published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine. (ANI)