Frank Strieder, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology associate professor, and principal investigator in the CASPAR project joins us to discuss the experiment. CASPAR stands for Compact Accelerator System for Performing Astrophysical Research. The team of researchers will recreate the nuclear fusion processes inside stars and will answer basic questions like How do stars runs? How do they produce energy? How are elements made? CASPAR is located in the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, SD. It’s one of two accelerators in the world. The other is in an underground lab in Italy.
Kurt Griffin, M.D., PhD.- Director of clinical trials for the Sanford Project discusses a clinical trial for type 1 diabetes reaching the halfway point. The project studies the potential of using the body’s own regulatory T cells to help fight type 1 diabetes. So far, 56 of a planned 111 participants have been treated. Results are expected to be announced early next year.
Individuals with type 1 diabetes experience a loss of insulin-producing beta cells. The Sanford Project: T-Rex Study is exploring if expanding the body’s supply of Treg cells can help prevent the immune system from mistakenly destroying insulin-producing beta cells. Participants are randomized to either the treatment or placebo groups. For those randomized to the treatment group, the participant’s own Treg cells are extracted from the body, purified and multiplied and returned to blood circulation.
USD Chemistry Professor Dr. Ranjit Koodali joins us to discuss the latest in research around the country. Dr. K is the Public Relations Chair of the Sioux Valley Section of the American Chemical Society. He provides regular collection of science articles and joins Innovation once a month to talk about what’s happening around the country. Today we discuss Highly elastic binders integrating polyrotaxanes for silicon microparticle anodes in lithium ion batteries.