Exoskeleton helps former soldier walk again
Toronto: A former Canadian soldier who survived a debilitating brain injury while on duty in Afghanistan in 2006, can now walk again with the help of a exoskeleton customised by researchers at the Simon Fraser University (SFU). Exoskeletons are typically designed for those with spinal cord injuries as an assistive technology providing lower leg movement. Trevor Greene, who was unable to talk and walk after the attack, demonstrated his progress on Thursday at the SFU’s Surrey campus. Told he would never be able to walk again after the vicious axe attack nine years ago, Greene began working with Ryan D’Arcy, a neuroscientist and SFU professor, in 2009. This is the first time exoskeleton technology has been used for a person with a brain injury, said Carolyn Sparrey, an assistant professor at the university. Today, Greene is able to walk upright with assistance, outfitted with a custom-made exoskeleton from Israel-based company, ReWalk. In the future he plans to walk unassisted. Ultimately, he says his goal is to make it to Everest base camp. (IANS)
Melting Arctic sea ice affects land eco-systems
London: Melting sea ice may have a direct bearing on methane emissions from Arctic tundra, according to a study.”Changes in the Arctic Ocean can affect eco-systems located far away on land,” said study’s lead author Frans-Jan Parmentier from Lund University in Sweden. Bright sea ice reflects most sunlight, while open water absorbs most sunlight. Less sea ice, therefore, leads to more absorbed heat, and higher temperatures throughout the North Pole region. This stimulates the production of methane by micro-organisms in permafrost soils, which also drives the change towards a warmer climate. Parmentier, together with researchers from the United States and the Netherlands, explored the connection between methane emissions and loss of sea ice by using advanced computer models. “Sea ice decline is one of the most visible consequences of climate change, and has a tremendous impact on the Arctic climate. Since the 1990s, the Arctic has been losing sea ice at a tremendous rate – about 14 percent per decade,” the researcher said. (IANS)
1.1 mn yr female elephant skull found in Pak
Lahore: A 1.1 million-year-old skull of a female elephant, that measured twice the size of a jumbo on Sunday, has been discovered during excavation by Pakistani university researchers at a site in Gujrat district of Punjab province. Syed Ghayoor Abbas, a PhD research scholar in the Zoology Department of Punjab University here, along with his team had been excavating the area – Panjan Sher Shahana Pabbi Hills – some 175 kilometres from this eastern city, for the last one- and-a-half-year. The skull was found last week of the female elephant that lived over 1.1 million years in this part of Gujrat which is commonly known as ‘Pabbi Hills’. “The skull of female elephant weighs 120 kilogramme. The scientific name of the elephant is ‘Stegodon’. During the laboratory experiments, it is found that the skull was 1.1 million years old and it belonged to the species of elephants found in Asia, Africa and Europe,” Abbas told reporters. “The skull is 38 centimetre long and 28 centimetre wide, showing this elephant was twice as big as today’s elephants,” he said, adding the skull would be preserved and more research carried out to better understand the species of elephants of that era. The skull would be placed at the Punjab University’s Jehlum Campus for study by local and foreign research scholars. At some later stage, it will be placed at a museum in Lahore, university spokesman Khurram Shahzad said. (PTI)
World’s 1st womb transplant baby celebrates b’day
London: The world’s first baby born through a womb transplant to Swedish parents has celebrated his first birthday. Vincent was born on September 4, a year ago. His parents describe him as a happy, healthy child, not that different from any other one-year-old. In an interview published by Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri (DI) the parents Malin Stenberg and Claes Nilsson, said they are grateful to the 61-year-old woman – the mother of Nilsson’s best friend – who donated her womb for the ten-hour transplant surgery. “How could anyone do this for us? A ‘thank you’ is not enough,” he told the newspaper. Vincent was born two months early by Caesarean section at 21 weeks, after Stenberg developed potentially dangerous pregnancy condition pre-eclampsia. But the baby was healthy at birth, ‘The Local’ reported. Vincent’s mother, who was born without a womb, was one of nine who received a transplant from live donors in a trial led by Mats Brannstrom, the Swedish professor in obstetrics and gynaecology of the University of Gothenburg and Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The trial has seen another tree babies being born in the past year and another woman is currently pregnant. (PTI)
