University of Utah

Pac-10 invites Utah as 12th member

Salt Lake City -- The Pac-10 announced Wednesday it had extended an invitation to the University of Utah to join the conference.

If the university's board of trustees approves the move at its Thursday meeting as expected, the Utes would join Colorado in expanding the conference to 12 schools.

The conference said in a brief statement a news conference would take place at the Utah campus Thursday at 1 p.m. MDT.

The Salt Lake Tribune said the invitation was offered after the Big 12 announced this week it would remain largely intact, eliminating both a vacancy in the Texas-based conference for Utah and the chance that Texas would defect to the Pac-10

Texting more dangerous than talking while driving

New York, December 22 -- Driving and text messaging are widely known not to gel well together. But the new study by psychologists of University of Utah has shed light on why this is dangerous, thus strengthening the earlier studies.

Radio waves track people behind walls

Salt Lake City -- U.S. engineers say they've developed a wireless technology that can track people moving behind solid walls to help in police, fire and border control efforts.

The technology that uses radio tomographic imaging was developed by University of Utah engineers led by Assistant Professor Neal Patwari and doctoral student Joey Wilson.

"By showing the locations of people within a building during hostage situations, fires or other emergencies, radio tomography can help law enforcement and emergency responders to know where they should focus their attention," Wilson and Patwari wrote.

University creates iPhone medical apps

Salt Lake City -- University of Utah researchers say they have created three iPhone applications that are designed to assist scientists, students, doctors and patients.

The researchers said their programs can display and manipulate 3D images of medical scans and can be used to study the human body, evaluate medical problems and analyze other 3D images.

-- AnatomyLab allows students to conduct a virtual dissection by providing images of a real human cadaver during 40 separate stages of dissection. The software, which sells for $9.99, was designed by biology Professor Mark Nielsen and two University of Utah students, including his son.