Choreographing the elements Earth, air, fire and water dance on stage in “Cosmogony,” the theatre department’s annual dance show.
PIPE DREAM Tuesday, April 16, 2013 | Binghamton University | www.bupipedream.com | Vol. LXXXIII, Issue 20
"COMPLETE SHOCK"
John Tlumacki and Charles Krupa/AP Photo
Top: Bill Iffrig, 78, lies on the ground as police officers react to a second explosion at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Boston on Monday. Iffrig, of Lake Stevens, Wash., was running his third Boston Marathon and near the finish line when he was knocked down by one of two bomb blasts. Bottom Left: An injured woman is tended to at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday. Bottom Right: Medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon
BOSTON (AP) — Two bombs exploded in the crowded streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing at least three people and injuring more than 140 in a bloody scene of shattered glass and severed limbs that raised alarms that terrorists might have struck again in the U.S. A White House official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still unfolding said the attack was being treated as an act of terrorism. President Barack Obama vowed that those responsible will “feel the full
weight of justice.” As many as two unexploded bombs were also found near the end of the 26.2-mile course as part of what appeared to be a well-coordinated attack, but they were safely disarmed, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the continuing investigation. The fiery twin blasts took place about 10 seconds and about 100 yards apart, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet, shattering windows and sending dense plumes of smoke rising over the street and through the fluttering national flags
Tamar Gaffin-Cahn grew up cheering on the runners of the Boston Marathon as they began the drive up Heartbreak Hill, the hardest part of the race. She remembers sitting and eating ice cream with her grandparents as the runners passed through her hometown, and her family even hosted an Ethiopian runner who came to Boston to beat his own record. The bombings at this year’s marathon took place a block from where Gaffin-Cahn had her high school prom.
Thankfully, her family and friends are safe, but her cousin was at the spot where the bombs went off and left just 20 minutes earlier to get snacks with a friend. “The phones were down for a bit, making it scarier not to be in contact with friends and family at home,” said Gaffin-Cahn, a junior majoring in international social change. “Everyone is safe, thank God.” Gaffin-Cahn said she was inspired by the emergency responders who came to the scene and “didn’t stop helping.” “What gives me hope is the strength of the Boston community.
A Binghamton University student’s unique approach to photosynthesis could make solar technology more effective. The new extraction method is being researched by Yehudah Pardo, a junior majoring in bioengineering. “All organisms undergo photosynthesis, the process which absorbs light and puts it into usable energy,” Pardo said. “My project focuses on capturing the moving electrons during this process, and using them to produce electricity that could power a large scale solar panel.” The conventional method of producing electricity for solar panels is through silicon, a semiconductor which is 30 percent efficient at converting light into electricity. Photosystems, the functional unit of photosynthesis, may be much more efficient. Some parts of a plant’s photosynthetic engine are known to be 95 percent to nearly 100 percent efficient at being able to absorb and convert light. “The main advantage of extracting photosystems is that it is much more efficient than conventional methods of producing electricity,” Pardo said. “On a molecular scale, photosystems are very efficient, and I have been working on a unique extraction process that, if harnessed properly, could be used on a large scale.” Pardo said that his extraction method that he uses is different than those of his predecessors. Older methods involve smashing the cells into pieces and dissolving them with chemicals in order to remove the photosystems from the cells. Pardo’s process, however, uses genetic modification to move the photosystems into the outer membrane. “It has a lot of potential advantages since the photosystem is maintained in the membrane,” he explained. “It is easier to reach, will be more stable, and will degrade slower.” The current stage of Pardo’s research has been focused on the process of extracting the outer membrane vesicles in cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae. “No one has ever studied this for any photosynthetic value, and the hope is to be able to create electricity efficiently through this process and put them in a solar panel,” Pardo said. Pardo generally spends three to four days a week in the lab, working five hours at a time in hopes that