HEALTH Better CPR a heartbeat away? . . .

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) could get a beneficial jolt because of an ORNL study that has produced some startling results. Researchers found that the direction and magnitude of the flow depends upon the frequency of the forcing function. During CPR, its not known whether the heart acts as a pump or as a passive conduit for valveless pumping. This research, which uses computational fluid dynamics, could help scientists and the medical profession better understand the mechanism of blood flow during CPR. That knowledge could lead to the development of more effective CPR techniques. [Contact: Chuck Romine]

TRANSPORTATION Safer skies . . .

Air travel could become even safer in the future because of work being done by researchers at ORNL and the National Transportation Research Center. In one project, researchers are applying work done to make the nuclear industry safer to identifying precursors to airline accidents. By studying and coding the chains of events that contribute to or cause aviation accidents, researchers hope to prevent similar accidents in the future. In another project for the Federal Aviation Administration, researchers are identifying situations that could lead to accidents during landings. By using radar data obtained from "black boxes," they hope to develop a tool that would help pilots avoid approaching the runway too fast or at the wrong angle. [Contact: Terri Rose]

ENVIRONMENT Oceans biology under spotlight . . .

For the first time, scientists have a clear picture that shows regions of the ocean where limited iron dust deposition may be influencing ocean biological activity. Its significant because scientists know that adding iron to the diet of marine plants has been shown to boost the amount of carbon dioxide-absorbing phytoplankton. Oceanic phytoplankton remove nearly as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year as all land-based plants, so a better understandin
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Contact: Ron Walli
wallira@ornl.gov
865-576-0226
DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
23-Jan-2001