High school students design device to keep astronauts’ hearts healthy in space

Three high school seniors from Texas have designed an external pacemaker that may help reduce heart atrophy  in astronauts as they orbit the Earth. “After 180 days in space, astronauts’ muscles lose 40% of their capacity for physical work,” writes Camilo Ruiz, a senior at Cinco Ranch High School in Katy, Texas, who designed the “SPacemaker” along with two other Cinco Ranch students.
Ruiz’s team, The Moonwalking Manakins, is one of four that grabbed top honors at the annual Spirit of Innovation Challenge, sponsored by the Conrad Foundation, a non-profit aimed at sparking student interest in science, engineering and entrepreneurship.

for details, http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/budding-scientist/2012/04/04/high-school-students-design-device-to-keep-astronauts-hearts-healthy-in-space/