February 28

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dailynebraskan.com

friday, february 28, 2014 volume 113, issue 107

Inside Coverage

Friends in new places

Track and field champs

Bands perform together for first time at Vega

NU heads to Big Ten Indoor Championships

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Hoop’s house

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Senior forward Jordan Hooper played in her last home game of the season against Illinois and helped NU take a 72-65 win. photo by andrew barry

Zero gravity

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UNL research team developing a pill that could be used to monitor astronauts’ vitals in space

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Colleen Fell DN

he Microgravity Team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is making strides in producing technology to aid in the health of astronauts – and NASA is taking notice. The team, which is a part of UNL’s College of Engineering, has been working on a non-invasive method of detecting and monitoring human vitals by means of a swallowable pill. Astronauts are currently required to wear a series of cables and wires, which limit their mobility. A team of eight plans to test the pill in May at NASA’s Microgravity University in Houston to see how it holds up in a weightless setting. Piotr Slawinski, leader of the microgravity team, said research for the project began about two years ago when he was an undergraduate student at UNL. “I had been working on the project with Professor (Ben) Terry for a long time,” said Slawinski, a mechanical engineering and applied mechanics graduate student. “We realized one of its applications might be able to be used for zero gravity.” After graduating from the university in December with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Slawinski put together a team of undergraduate students with the help of Terry, an assistant professor of mechanical and material engineering at UNL. The team’s job is to figure how to make the device work in outer space. Before testing it in zero gravity with NASA, the team first had to determine whether it worked at all. Before testing the device on humans, it had to be tested on animals, namely pigs from UNL’s East Campus. The device is swallowed by the pig and ends up in its small intestine. The pill, made of plastic and stainless steel parts, attaches itself with tiny teeth to the intestine. Only the

cara wilwerding | dn

Weston Lewis (left) and Alfred Tsubaki, junior and senior mechanical engineering majors, are part of a team that is designing a swallowable capsule containing a sensor to measure temperature and pH levels in the small intestine. These readings may help detect Crohn’s Disease and certain types of cancer, Tsubaki said. inner part of the capsule remains attached to the intestine, while the outer shell travels through the rest of the body. Originally, the pigs had to be put to sleep before they were given the pill so they wouldn’t feel any pain. The team came up with a more cost-effective way to test the pill without having to kill a pig to do so. “There are so many animals from East Campus that are sold for meat, including pigs, and nobody really wants the intestine,” Terry said.

Using intestines from the sold pigs, the team came up with a machine that contracts them to make them behave like live intestines. “The machine kind of brings it to life,” Terry said. Slawinski said the team uses two tall pressure vessels to cause the contractions of the intestine. Once attached to the intestine, the sensors can measure anything from temperature, to blood pressure as well as check for Crohn’s disease. Terry compared the pill to a space shut-

tle, in that the pill is simply the carrier and detaches itself from the sensors. He said this could lead to more advanced ways of monitoring health issues, such as diabetes. “Imaginably, a blood glucose monitor could be put in,” Terry said. “The sensor would be virtually invisible to other people. You could live your life with it – shower, swim, snowboard, anything.” The sensor still has a ways to go before it’s used by humans. One thing that needs to be changed is the size of the pill. At about 18 mm wide and 28 mm long, Terry said it’s too large

gravity: see page 3

State senator’s bill would ban ‘upskirt’ photos Tyler Williams dn

older than 19 years old and the individual who has his or her picture taken is under 18 years A state senator is trying to make old, the photographer would be required to register on the Na“upskirt” photos illegal. tional Sex Offender Lincoln Sen. Registry. Amanda McGill in“Upskirt” photos troduced a bill that are currently legal would make the act in public places beof taking pictures cause of a loophole: of people’s private Because there’s no areas illegal in pubreasonable expectalic spaces. The bill’s tion of privacy in hearing was Feb. 20. a public place, any Taking the pictype of photography tures without conis legal. sent would result “Basically you in a year in jail or a can photograph anyMcgill $1,000 fine with inthing in public, and creased penalties for what this change further offenses. Distributing the pictures would be does is address the advances in technology that are not covered punishable by 50 years in jail. In addition, if the individual who takes the picture is photo bill: see page 3

Lincoln named top freelance city Melissa Allen dn Lincoln ranks among Los Angeles and Seattle as a habitat for freelance workers, according to a recent Nerdwallet Finance ranking. The website placed Lincoln No. 10 for freelance workers based on 2012 data: 12.1 percent of Lincoln’s households had selfemployment income, and the city’s median rent for freelancers was $595. With local resources such as the Nebraska Entrepreneurship Center in University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Business Administration and FUSE Coworking in the Haymarket District, local freelancers and entrepreneurs have opportunities to consult and collaborate with each other, according to the NerdWallet Finance site. “I believe anytime we can get entrepreneurship activity going, it’s a positive,” said Sam Nelson, associate director of the Nebraska Entrepreneurship Center and assistant professor of practice at UNL’s business college. “Anytime you have folks finding problems in society and coming up with so-

lutions, we see a standard of living improvement.” The Nebraska Entrepreneurship Center helps UNL students with start-up companies and entrepreneurial endeavors. In fall 2012, the center launched the new major management in entrepreneurship. About 500 students are enrolled in entrepreneurshipbased classes through the center. Nelson said he’s seen a lot of startup companies in Lincoln come from UNL alumni. These companies include Hudl, a technology-based company that specializes in sports, which has been listed as the fastest-growing private company in Nebraska by the Inc. 5000. Hudl ranked No. 149 on a national list last year and is the biggest source of internships for UNL, Nelson said. Opendorse is an athletic endorsement marketplace in which three out of the seven team members are UNL alumni, including the CEO and the CIO. Hurrdat, another quickly growing startup in Lincoln, specializes in digital marketing through social media and branding and is located in the Haymarket.

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“There’s a lot of technologybased companies, sports-based businesses,” Nelson said. “When it’s local businesses that get started here, that capital tends to flow here and continue to flow here. My perspective is, if there’s a chance to work at a startup either here or in Omaha, you’ll be headed in the right direction. ” Bob Hinrichs, one of the three partners in FUSE Coworking in the Haymarket, helped found the business a year ago, with Andy Beecham and Matt Westenburg, that focuses on providing a space for freelancers and entrepreneurs to work and collaborate. “There’s a strong trend occurring of people being more independent in the workforce,” Hinrichs said. “The economy is evolving, and it brings more financial circulation in the local economy.” One reason why Lincoln might be a freelancing hub is its geographic location, Hinrichs said. “It’s centrally located, which is an advantage for business people who travel to where they need to go,” he said. “Freelancers might (spend) time in other cities

Top 10 best cities for freelancing 1. Los Angeles 2. Portland, Ore. 3. Miami 4. Austin, Texas 5. Nashville, Tenn. 6. Minneapolis 7. Lexington, Ky. 8. Oklahoma City 9. Seattle 10. Lincoln, Neb. and call Lincoln home.” Lincoln’s low cost of living might be a factor too, he said. “The excellent quality of life that Lincoln offers and the financial value for people that live here,” he said. “It’s a benefit to live here in Lincoln and enjoy the lifestyle as an independent worker.” news@ dailynebraskan.com


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February 28 by Daily Nebraskan - Issuu