Feature Channels: Travel and Transportation

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Researchers have developed new software to aid in the development, evaluation and demonstration of safer autonomous, or driverless, vehicles. Called the Vehicle-in-Virtual-Environment (VVE) method, it allows the testing of driverless cars in a perfectly safe environment.

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Michael McCall, Hilton Hotels Fellow in the top-ranked School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University, discusses how the travel industry has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic and shares tips for an enjoyable travel experience.

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A study analyzing wildfire smoke exposure across the continental U.S. from 2007-2019 found that increases in smoke exposure cause significant decreases in earnings and employment outcomes for U.S. workers across a wide variety of sectors, including manufacturing, crops production, and transportation.

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The recent tragic loss of the Titan submersible in the depths of the North Atlantic has brought the fascinating (and very dangerous) world of Oceanography and Marine Science to the forefront. Below are some recent stories that have been added to the Marine Science channel on Newswise, including expert commentary on the Titan submersible.

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Working with Western Michigan University and other partners, Oak Ridge National laborator engineers are placing low-powered sensors in the reflective raised pavement markers that are already used to help drivers identify lanes. Microchips inside the markers transmit information to passing cars about the road shape to help autonomous driving features function even when vehicle cameras or remote laser sensing, called LiDAR, are unreliable because of fog, snow, glare or other obstructions.

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Philadelphia work commuters and vacationers heading to the City of Brotherly Love or the Jersey shore are nearly a week into grappling with and sitting in stand-still traffic after a tanker truck fire collapsed part of a I-95 bridge in the northern part of the city. The fire also heavily damaged the southbound lane of I-95. How all this stress and time-waste affects commuters and their workday performance and/or their behavior at home after the commute is part of larger phenomenon that psychologists call “commuting spillover.

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FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers are helping to mitigate problems with temporary blindness from sun glare by examining what drivers are likely to do when faced with this problem. Their work was published in Transportation Research Record.

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As we enter the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere and the possibility of extreme heat becomes more common, it’s important to stay up-to-date on the science of heat waves and take measures to protect ourselves from this growing public health threat.

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In prior studies, explained senior author Dr. Rachel Issaka, transportation was cited as one of the main barriers to completing a colonoscopy. Issaka directs the UW Medicine/Fred Hutch Population Health Colorectal Cancer Screening Program and is an assistant professor of medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

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Researchers at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) have developed photocatalytic concrete that can effectively remove fine particulate matter on roads.

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“Simply put, the officer starts off with a command rather than a reason in escalated stops.” Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, the peer-reviewed research also found that Black men could often predict a stop’s outcome simply by listening to those same 45 words, which generally spanned less than 30 seconds.

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A stroll through international statistics about walking reveals the grim reality of foot travel in the United States. “People walk less in the United States because it’s more dangerous to walk here and walking conditions are worse compared to other countries,” said Ralph Buehler, professor of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech.

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A new report co-authored by George Peridas of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Benjamin Grove of the Clean Air Task Force examines the economic viability of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in California and finds that several classes of projects are viable today.

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Using fiber-reinforced concrete (FAC) to replace rebar in construction projects reduces time, costs and worker safety issues.

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Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, was fined a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) and ordered to stop transferring data collected from Facebook users in Europe to the United States. Find the latest research and expert commentary on privacy issues and controversial business practices in the Business Ethics channel.

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The Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) research team developed a material that heals scratches on the sensor of an autonomous vehicle.

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Extreme environments in several critical industries – aerospace, energy, transportation and defense – require sensors to measure and monitor numerous factors under harsh conditions to ensure human safety and integrity of mechanical systems.

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BETO Bioprocessing Separations Consortium spotlights projects from three-year work period.

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Skin cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer in the United States, with over 5 million cases diagnosed annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that melanoma alone accounts for more than 8,000 deaths each year. Thankfully, skin cancer is highly preventable, making it crucial to prioritize protection. Below are some of the latest headlines in the Dermatology channel.

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Title 42, the United States pandemic rule that had been used to immediately deport hundreds of thousands of migrants who crossed the border illegally over the last three years, has expired. Those migrants will have the opportunity to apply for asylum. President Biden's new rules to replace Title 42 are facing legal challenges. Border crossings have already risen sharply, as many migrants attempt to cross before the measure expires on Thursday night. Some have said they worry about tighter controls and uncertainty ahead. Immigration is once again a major focus of the media as we examine the humanitarian, political, and public health issues migrants must go through.

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Researchers from the University of California, Irvine have found that exposure to traffic-related air pollution in Irvine led to memory loss and cognitive decline and triggered neurological pathways associated with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

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Imagine you could travel to only 1% of the city where you live – areas that were easily accessible to other residents. That’s the situation for manual wheelchair users traveling by public buses in Columbus, a first-of-its-kind study finds.

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Researchers have developed an algorithm that can “eavesdrop” on any signal from a satellite and use it to locate any point on Earth, much like GPS.

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Researchers at Argonne have published a series of reports that look at how production of electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries for cars are reshaping the transportation sector, with impacts ranging from job creation to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

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A collaboration between UC San Diego Health and 211 San Diego will help patients with transportation barriers get to follow up appointments.

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The center will focus on “Preserving the Environment,” to support the U.S. DOT’s climate solution and sustainability goals. The center will promote transit access, multimodal infrastructure, compact and efficient land use patterns, as well as resilience and climate mitigation and adaptation.

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An Oak Ridge National Laboratory-developed advanced manufacturing technology, AMCM, was recently licensed by Orbital Composites and enables the rapid production of composite-based components, which could accelerate the decarbonization of vehicles, airplanes and drones.

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Argonne research is informing smart infrastructure that can support the electric grid.

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For millions of Americans that suffer from seasonal allergies (pollen and mold), climate change is exacerbating an earlier, longer, and overall worse allergy season.

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The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) tapped Jerry Hendrix as the new UAH Rotorcraft Systems Engineering and Simulation Center (RSESC) Director to replace departing David Arterburn, who recently retired after serving the center as director since 2013. Hendrix brings a wealth of expertise to his new role, along with a wide-ranging familiarity of the needs and mission of the center, thanks to his previous position as director of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) programs for the same group over the past four years.

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In APL Energy, researchers developed a proof of concept for a superconducting highway that could transport vehicles and electricity, cooling the necessary superconductors with a pipeline of liquid hydrogen. Most magnetic levitation designs feature the superconductor inside the vehicle, which is suspended above a magnetic track. The authors decided to flip that arrangement upside down, putting the superconductor on the ground and giving each vehicle a magnet. The result is a system with multiple uses, placing it within the realm of affordability.

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SAE International has awarded Oak Ridge National Laboratory Buildings and Transportation Science Division Director Robert Wagner with the SAE Medal of Honor for his dedication and support of the organization’s mission of advancing mobility solutions.

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Researcher will discuss the study which involved a sleeping aid known as suvorexant that is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for insomnia, hints at the potential of sleep medications to slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

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To transform the way we commute and live, the University of Miami College of Engineering launched the Miami Engineering Autonomous Mobility Initiative (MEAMI), a consortium of world-class academic, industry, and government partners.

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Researchers at Cornell University are using sound to help autonomous vehicles navigate complex social situations, like communicating with people in traffic. After testing multiple scenarios, they discovered the timing of a sound, rather than the type of sound, was most important.

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Today’s electric vehicles can drive about 300 miles per charge. Lithium-sulfur batteries have the potential for a driving range of more than 400 miles with practical capacities of up to 500 watt-hours per kilogram at the pack level, twice that of lithium-ion batteries. That has made it a prime target for researchers.

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The Virginia Tech media relations office has the following experts available for interviews surrounding the environment, energy, and sustainability. To schedule an interview, please contact [email protected]. Rising seas threatens U.S. coastlines and cities A recently released report from the U.N. on climate change found that rising sea levels are "unavoidable for centuries to millennia due to continuing deep ocean warming and ice sheet melt, and sea levels will remain elevated for thousands of years.

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In the digital age, an increased desire for constant online connection has created safety hazards for drivers on the road. It’s especially top of mind during the month of April, which is Distracted Driver Awareness Month, but Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) researcher, Charlie Klauer says that technology can also be part of the solution.

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The Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University today announced the launch of a new joint battery center at SLAC. It will bring together the resources and expertise of the national lab, the university and Silicon Valley to accelerate the deployment of batteries and other energy storage solutions as part of the energy transition that’s essential for addressing climate change.