Hail finally gets its scientific due, and busting up tumors with ultrasound
Sep 12, 2024
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Join news intern Hannah Richter, who delves into the underexplored world of hailstorms. She discusses the financial impact of hail, new predictive technologies, and international research initiatives addressing climate change effects. Also featured is Meaghan O’Reilly, a biomedical ultrasound expert. She reveals how ultrasound techniques are revolutionizing cancer treatments, from disrupting tumors to enhancing drug delivery and even stimulating immune responses. This episode highlights groundbreaking research that could change the future of weather prediction and medical therapies.
Recent research emphasizes the urgent need for improved hailstorm prediction and understanding, driven by the substantial economic impact of hail damage, with new technologies being deployed for better insights.
Ultrasound technology is advancing beyond imaging, as researchers explore its potential for non-invasive tumor disruption and enhancing drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier.
Deep dives
The Growing Focus on Hail Research
Recent research highlights an increasing interest in studying hailstorms, particularly due to the substantial economic impact they cause. In 2023 alone, hail damage in the U.S. amounted to $46 billion, which represents a significant portion of severe weather losses. A collaboration known as Ice Chip has emerged, involving around 100 researchers across multiple countries and funded by the National Science Foundation with over $11 million allocated for hail studies. This initiative aims to investigate the frequency and severity of hailstorms, especially in light of climate change, which could potentially alter the dynamics of hail events.
Innovative Approaches to Studying Hail
To tackle the challenges of studying hailstorms, researchers are deploying advanced technologies that were not available during previous decades of research. Techniques such as high-speed videography, drones, and mobile radars will be used alongside novel instruments called hail-sondes that simulate hailstone behavior during storms. Isotopic analysis will also provide insights into the formation and movement of hailstones through the atmosphere. This comprehensive approach aims to enhance the understanding of hail formation processes and improve prediction methods.
New Applications of Ultrasound in Medicine
Ultrasound technology is evolving beyond traditional imaging techniques and is now being harnessed for therapeutic purposes. Researchers are exploring methods like histotripsy, which utilizes focused sound waves to mechanically disrupt tumors, allowing for non-invasive treatment options. Additionally, ultrasound's ability to enhance the permeability of the blood-brain barrier is being studied to improve drug delivery in treating brain conditions. These advancements may lead to more effective treatments for various medical conditions, while also minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissues.
Why don’t we know what is happening with hail? It’s extremely destructive and costs billions of dollars in property damage every year. We aren’t great at predicting hailstorms and don’t know much about how climate change will affect them, but scientists are working to change that. News Intern Hannah Richter joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss deploying new technologies in this long-neglected area of research.
Next on the show, ultrasound—it’s not just for looking inside the body anymore. Meaghan O’Reilly is a senior scientist in physical sciences at the Sunnybrook Research Institute, an associate professor of medical biophysics at the University of Toronto, and is the Canada Research Chair in biomedical ultrasound. She talks about how researchers are using focused sound waves to disrupt tumors, change the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, stimulate the immune system, and more.
This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.