Saliva technique \nto replace blood, urine drug tests\nWASHINGTON -- Illegal drug users now have a new reason to keep their mouths shut.\nIn light of new techniques, researches predict analyzing saliva may replace blood and urine tests in the future as methods to detect users of illegal drugs and people with diseases. \nWhile some law enforcement agencies in Europe already are turning toward the saliva test as a way to detect drivers on drugs, the idea is now gaining more popularity in the United States, said Edward Cone, a Maryland researcher developing equipment for using oral fluids to screen for drug abuse. Cone said some experiments have shown spit can be more reliable than urine tests for drug screening. \nAn average person produces more than a fourth of a gallon of saliva a day. Researchers have found this saliva accurately mirrors the proteins found in blood and urine. In other words, a person's spit could provide opportunities to test a person without the use of needles or the ever-popular urine test.\nIn the future, doctors may also use this same technique to detect evidence of infection of oral cancers, the HIV virus and bacteria similar to anthrax.
Researchers unveil learning, walking 'toddler' robot\nWASHINGTON -- Robots walking among humans may no longer seem so far-fetched.\nAt the national meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Thursday, researchers unveiled a new robot that "learns" to walk just like a toddler.\nThe machine uses "passive-dynamic design" to mimic how humans walk using gravity and muscle-like springs and motors. The robot uses its curved feet and motorized ankles to move its legs forward and swing its arms with each step.\nOne of the robots, named "Toddler," uses sensors to measure the machine's motion, tilt and rate to simulate human movement. According to its designer, Russ Tedrake of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the robot can learn to walk in 20 minutes. \nJust like a toddler learning to walk, the robots fall and catch themselves as they move. Once the robot masters walking, it can adjust itself to walk on sand, pavement and on a treadmill. It also can learn to walk backwards.
IU research finds a place in cyberspace\nFaculty and staff at IU now have a new place online to gain information about grant opportunities, compliance procedures and research policies with the revamping of IU's research Web site at http://research.indiana.edu.\nThe site connects all eight IU campuses as a commemoration of research and also as a recruitment and public relations tool. The IU community also can use the site as a way to find information about IU's many research centers, institutes and museums, events, scholarly publications and contact information for the University's faculty and staff.
