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Ebola-Fighting Robots And Fishing-Line Muscles: Top Breakthroughs Stories Of 2014

UT Dallas
UT Dallas researchers showed how ordinary sewing thread can have superhuman power.

This year in Breakthroughs, we’ve reported on everything from Ebola-fighting robots and high-tech fall prevention to an academic rehab program for concussions. Here's a best of 2014 stocking stuffer for the New Year.

 

How Robots Could Help Beat Ebola: One reason Ebola hasn’t taken off more widely in the United States and elsewhere is that it’s spread only by direct human-to-human contact involving bodily fluids. What if technology could create distance between the virus and the health care worker – remove the human touch?

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The KERA radio story.

The Broken Hip: Preventing The Fall: In 2011, more than 60,000 Texans older than 50 were hospitalized for falls. And 95 percent of hip fractures are the result of falls. Those who do fall are afraid of falling again. High-tech gear is helping some people get over their fear of falling -- and helping others prevent future falls. 

The_Broken_Hip_Chapter_3_Preventing_The_Fall_mp3.mp3
The KERA radio story.

Artificial Muscle Spun From Fishing Line And Thread: Ordinary sewing thread can have superhuman power. That’s according to researchers at UT Dallas who discovered fishing line and sewing thread can be cheaply converted to powerful artificial muscles — no Rumpelstiltskin required.

 

 

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The KERA radio story.

Lauren Silverman was the Health, Science & Technology reporter/blogger at KERA News. She was also the primary backup host for KERA’s Think and the statewide newsmagazine  Texas Standard. In 2016, Lauren was recognized as Texas Health Journalist of the Year by the Texas Medical Association. She was part of the Peabody Award-winning team that covered Ebola for NPR in 2014. She also hosted "Surviving Ebola," a special that won Best Long Documentary honors from the Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI). And she's won a number of regional awards, including an honorable mention for Edward R. Murrow award (for her project “The Broken Hip”), as well as the Texas Veterans Commission’s Excellence in Media Awards in the radio category.