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Peter Martin (far right) has been conducting research on centenarians and the oldest of old for more than 20 years.

Peter Martin (far right) has been conducting research on centenarians and the oldest of old for more than 20 years.

Iowa State gerontology researcher says six factors can help you lead a longer, better life

Peter Martin, director of Iowa State's gerontology program, is the lead author of a new article summarizing the keys to long life. The article appeared online last week in the Journal of Aging Research as the introduction to a special issue on the behavioral factors of longevity, which Martin edited. He also had three of his related studies published in the special issue, which supports the "Georgia adaption model" that he and a fellow researcher had constructed some time ago.

ISU photo by Bob Elbert

ISU photo by Bob Elbert

Gamers on 3-D mission to save world, just don’t tell them they are learning cell biology

Eve Syrkin Wurtele decided the best way to get the attention of the science-deprived, gamer generation is to take the information out of a text book and put it in a medium that kids crave - video games. So she and her team developed Meta!Blast, which won honorable mention in the 2011 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is featured in the Feb. 3 issue of the journal Science.

ISU family finance expert offers advice to help dig out from New Year's debt

Tim Griesdorn, an assistant professor and state extension specialist in family finance within Iowa State's Department of Human Development and Family Studies, recommends a two-pronged approach for people to become debt free and stay that way.

Iowa State engineer wants to ‘sculpt’ more powerful electric motors and generators

Iowa State University's Dionysios Aliprantis is developing several technologies that could improve the performance of electric motors and generators. And that could make a real difference in building sustainable energy systems.

Intellectual property lawyer to discuss patenting plants at Iowa State on Feb. 16

Edmund Sease, a trial lawyer with more than 30 years of experience litigating intellectual property cases, will speak on "The Case for Patenting New Plants" at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Sease's talk is part of Iowa State's all-day symposium, "Who Owns Life: Intellectual Property in Biotechnology and the Life Sciences." The symposium will present issues of intellectual property protection specific to the plant and life sciences.

Watch Iowa State researchers study the causes and controls of livestock odor

What are Iowa Staters doing to eliminate livestock odors? Watch Modern Marvels: Stink (see 26:00-31:15 and 35:20-38:15). Iowa State's Jacek Koziel: "Yes, definitely, my job stinks, but I love it." And ISU's Stephanie Hansen: "Decreasing the amount of gases cattle produce would certainly be a win-win ..."

ISU's Swander stays active in continuing role as Iowa poet laureate

Gov. Terry Branstad reappointed Mary Swander to a second term as Iowa Poet Laureate last summer and the ISU Distinguished Professor of English is staying busy touring the state giving talks, readings, keynotes, workshops, performances and panels. She's also got some of her own projects coming to fruition.

Exhibition highlights student designs for energy-efficient-buildings

Work by international teams of architecture and landscape architecture students who studied in Berlin last summer is on display through Feb. 3 in the College of Design's Lyle E. Lightfoot Forum. The "adaptive interface - building envelope" exhibition features projects by participants in the ARS Berlin Summer Academy 2011, an intensive five-week program that focuses annually on issues of reorganization and sustainable development within urban environments. Co-led by Ulrike Passe, assistant professor of architecture and director of the ISU Center for Building Energy Research, the program teamed 11 students from Iowa State with students and young professionals from Germany and Italy.