Smart Coatings

Visibility problems with display screens on cell phones and PDAs (personal digital assistants), especially when using the devices outdoors in daylight, have long been a persistent gripe of consumers. But Associate Professor of Chemistry Rigoberto Advincula’s potentially groundbreaking work may change the way we see our cell phones. Advincula’s research involves devising new polymers—large strands of synthetic molecules—that would coat the display screens and make them clearer, brighter, and more flexible. “Our team is considered one of the more well-known research groups in polymer coatings, and we owe it to the bright young minds in the lab,” Advincula says. His team of more than two dozen graduate and undergraduate researchers is preparing novel types of polymers that better conduct electricity and emit light, among other commercial applications. In recognition of his work, Advincula was invited to deliver the Technical Focus Lecture—an honor given to the field’s most promising researcher—at the International Coatings Expo, one of the world’s largest coatings conferences. The use of organic coatings to prepare light-emitting diode (LED) display screens is revolutionizing the display industry, according to Advincula. These new polymer coatings can be applied by simply dipping the screen into the polymer solutions or through electrodeposition methods similar to metal plating. His work has received funding from the National Science Foundation and major corporations like Agilent, Dow Corning, and Lintec, a Japanese manufacturer.

Fitness  Game  for  Weight  Loss

Finding a way to motivate the millions of people, who are overweight, to lose the excess pounds can be a weighty task. But Professor of Computer Science Ioannis Pavlidis and his research team might have a NEAT-o idea. NEAT-o games, dubbed Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, are computer games that translate physical activity into video games such as races and logic puzzles. These games can be played on any hand-held PDA (personal digital assistant) with users wearing a lightweight sensor that detects movement like running, walking, bending, or even foot tapping. The movement data is then transmitted to the PDA via a wireless connection, and the player can observe the game avatar moving in real-time to their movements. “When you see the avatar move when you move, you really become connected to the game,” says Pavlidis. “The lack of daily exercise is largely responsible for the world’s obesity epidemic,” according to James Levine, a Mayo Clinic physician and leading authority on obesity. Levine coined the “NEAT” term to cover all physical activity that is not conscious exercise. And these games encourage small daily lifestyle changes such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator. “We hope the games can increase physical activity, and add a dose of NEAT in the modern lifestyle,” says Pavlidis. “We expect an almost ‘addictive’ behavior resulting from this game, much like the habit of playing solitaire during breaks is a ritual for many people.”

Smelling Food Bad?

It’s not just the fat and cholesterol in that sizzling bacon that will kill you. The irresistible aroma might kill you, too.

A published study of fruit flies by UH researcher Gregg Roman raises the possibility that even smelling rich foods may reduce the health benefits of dieting. While it is still too early to draw conclusions, further studies could shed light on how food odors impact human longevity, says Roman, assistant professor of biology.

Scientists have long known that restricted calorie intake extends the lifespan of all sorts of organisms, from flies to mice to primates. Tests also have shown it can improve health in humans. But Roman’s research, featured in Science, one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals, adds a new twist. Working with a group of researchers, he found that food odor can reduce—up to 18 percent— the longevity benefit of calorie restriction in fruit flies.

Because fruit flies only live an average of six to seven weeks, they are ideal for longevity studies, Roman notes. Also, the metabolic process is similar at the cellular level for all organisms, so studies of fruit flies might have implications for humans.