Lost on campus? There's an app for that (Edmonton) The University of Alberta is going mobile. A new app for iPhones, iPods and iPads is available for free download from the iTunes store that can help make life a little easier for students as they start the new school year. Offering aid in everything from finding your way across campus to navigating through the maze of assignment due dates and class schedules, the U of A app was developed by students for students. Three third-year computing science students, Joel Kravets, Sahir Memon and Clinton Pahl, spent the summer working with the campus Academic Information and Communication Technologies office to craft the program. "The only thing we added was a bit of structure—having a project plan, having tentative timelines, methodologies—things we could do to support their innovation," said Mike Chow from AICT about working with the students. "No one other than a student can truly understand what other students need and where this app can help minimize a bit of the pain and suffering." "We studied what other institutions were offering in this type of app, to give ourselves a sort of baseline," said Memon. "We also looked at what we did on a day-to-day basis and tried to decide what we would want to see on this app if we're using it," added Kravets. With about 3000 people already using the app, including some from the greater Edmonton community who find the transit information useful, feedback has been positive and helpful, said ...

(Edmonton) Mussels, those ancient little bivalves, may be turning their bothersome behaviour of clinging in huge numbers to just about any surface into a positive use for human health care. Hongbo Zeng, a University of Alberta chemical and materials engineering researcher, is taking a close look at the adhesion process of the mussel's foot, the body part it uses to attach itself to an underwater surface. Mussels latch onto natural surfaces like rocks and wooden piers and even slick, man-made surfaces like the hulls of ships, in such great numbers that they slow the speed of the vessel. In fact, some Canadian municipalities have declared war on mussels because they establish colonies that clog water intake pipes. "It's their ability to attach to surfaces underwater that makes the chemistry of mussels a possible breakthrough for use for bio-medical applications," says Zeng. He explains that an adhesive that mimics the protein action on the surface of the mussel's foot could produce a naturally biodegradable glue to replace stitches for minor cuts and could be used by surgeons on internal organs. Zeng's mussel research could also lead to super-glue for industrial use in a saltwater environment. "The cuticle of the mussel's foot has a self-healing chemical process through the interactions between metal ions and proteins," says Zeng, who envisions a day when a mussel inspired bio-material, integrated into a common product like a rubber hose, will give it the feature of self ...