After four years and many failed attempts the group saw success, which may mean more access to materials Americans use on a daily basis.

Mike Free, U of U professor of metallurgical engineering, said even though you may not have heard of solar cells, they are used every day.

“Some of these quantum dots are in use in LED monitors, screens,” he said. “These photoable tape materials are designed to be used in solar cells, and people can generate power from the sun, so there’s some very practical applications for these materials.”

Free said experimentation led to a breakthrough.

“Trying new things no one else has tried, so we’ve come up with, he’s really come up with a way to make these nanoparticles of these solar cell materials using a microwave,” he said. “It’s fascinating in simplicity, and also it helps to speed up the process.”

Research associate Prashant Sarswat said he and his team conducted more than 100 experiments before achieving success.

Sarswat and his research team discovered after years of work they could literally cook these solar cells in a microwave, which paves the way for easier and more practical ways to produce the useful materials.

“It is just beginning,” Sarswat said. “We got devices working, but we need to improve them. So this is kind of beginning where we have to proceed further.”

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Diabetes is a chronic disease where the body has trouble regulating blood sugar as well as producing or using insulin.

There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 is caused by the destruction of the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Type 2 is a condition caused when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body resists insulin.

Ethan Erickson, 13, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was four years old.

“I was peeing a lot and drinking a lot, and my parents thought I that had a bladder infection, and they took me in to get checked, and the doctor said we had to go to Primary Children’s because I had Type 1 diabetes,” he said.

Doctor Hayley Miller works with the University of Utah Endocrinology Center, and she has diabetes.

“Another way to look at it is: Insulin is the key to get into the house, and the house is the cell, and with Type 1 you don’t have the key, you just can’t find the key to get into the house,” she said. “There are zero keys to get into the house. Whereas with Type 2, you have a full ring of keys, but none of them quite fit into the door, so they can’t let you into the house.”

Miller said the terms adult-onset and juvenile-onset diabetes are no longer used, as diabetes can occur at any age.

“It’s no longer stratified with where you’re young you have Type 1, you’re old you have Type 2, or if you are on insulin you’re Type 1, and [if you’re on] pills you’re Type 2,” she said. “Type 2 can be on insulin. Type 1 can be diagnosed when you’re old and vice versa.”

Miller said there are no known ways to prevent Type 1 diabetes, but she said there are preventative measures people can take when it comes to Type 2 diabetes. She said Type 2 tends to run in families, and she said living a healthy, active lifestyle can prevent Type 2 diabetes.

Ethan said diabetes can make life difficult, but he doesn’t let it control his life.

“I don’t let diabetes stop me,” he said. “I have a bike ride coming up here in a month that is 235 miles, and it’s a 30 person riding team, and I’m the only kid on the team, and we are going to ride from a camp in Boston to a camp in New Jersey.”

In addition to Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, there is also a disease called gestational diabetes, which usually develops during pregnancy and is characterized by high blood-glucose levels.

Sgt. Spencer Cannon, Utah County Sheriff’s Office, said sheriff’s deputies were assisting wildlife officers in trapping the bear. The incident was handled by the Department of Wildlife Resources.

Cannon said the bear had been spotted in the neighborhood multiple times in the last few days, and when it appeared on Sunday night authorities responded.

Officers said they considered using a tranquilizer dart on the bear, but they decided against it as the bear was in a tall tree and could have been injured.

Sgt. Chad Bettridge, Division of Wildlife Resources, said setting bait for the bear was their next step.

“We put a trap out here with some dog food in it,” he said. “The bear will be attracted to the trap, and we’ll move it out of this location and put it someplace else.”

The bear was in a tree on private property near 1400 East Spring Dell Drive, which is in Provo Canyon. Authorities planned to trap the bear and relocate it.

SALT LAKE CITY – Some Salt Lake City residents were without power Sunday morning after a van crashed into a light pole.

The crash happened just before 8:30 a.m. on California Avenue near Glendale Drive.

Police said a van was headed westbound on California Avenue when a dog ran out in front of the van.The driver swerved to avoid hitting the dog and ended up crashing into a light pole, which knocked out power for several homes in the area.

“Luckily he didn’t get hurt, no one else around the accident was injured but uh, just kind of one of those things you never know when something is just going to pop out in front of you,” said Lt. Scott White of the Salt Lake City Police Department.

The surrounding area was without power for 3 to 4 hours after the accident.

By Dana Ford

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Naim Keith Labaki, 43, reportedly fired a single shot in front of a residence at about 2 p.m. Saturday, according to a press release from the Evanston Police Department. He was gone when police arrived.

Labaki went into a sporting goods store on Front Street in Evanston shortly after that, where he demanded an additional weapon. When he was refused, Labaki got into his vehicle and pulled in front of the store. He fired a single shot into the building. No one was injured.

Roy Landes works at a liquor store across the street, and he saw the whole thing.

“I saw him pull up right here in this yellow section, and he jumped out,” he said. “Left it running. Ran in Sport World. And I told everybody he’s going to rob sports world. About 2 minutes later he runs out, jumps in the truck, slung the gun out: boom.”

Ray Fruits works at Sports World, and he spoke with Labaki when he came in.

“He said, ‘I need a fully automatic pistol and some ammunition,’ kind of waving his gun at me,” Fruits said. “He was pointing it directly at our face. He said, ‘I need a fully automatic pistol now. The government and everybody is after me. Hurry up.’”

Personnel with Evanston Police Department and the Uinta County Sheriff’s Office found Labaki traveling south on Highway 150 at 2:39 p.m. The officers saw Labaki holding a rifle above the steering wheel, and the man pointed the rifle at one of the officers as they passed him going the opposite direction.

Labaki lost control of his vehicle while traveling at high speed where Highway 150 intersects with I-80, and he hit the sidewalk, which spun his vehicle in the opposite direction.

An unmarked police car struck the rear of Labaki’s vehicle and disabled it. When the vehicle stopped Labaki pointed the rifle at an officer. An officer with Evanston police and a deputy with the Uinta County Sheriff’s Office shot the suspect at that time, according to the press release.

Labaki was taken to the Evanston Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

According to the press release, all officers directly involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation, which is standard policy.

Police said Labaki had a long criminal history, and friends of his told Fox 13 Labaki was a meth addict who was trying to get help but lost control.

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GRANTSVILLE, Utah — Five people were hospitalized after a rollover accident in Tooele County early Sunday morning, and only one of the victims was wearing a seat belt.

The crash occurred around 6:30 a.m. on Interstate 80 near mile marker 88.

According to a press release from the Utah Department of Public Safety, it appears the driver of the vehicle, A 19-year-old woman, began to drift left before overcorrecting and going to the right, and then to the left again. The vehicle rolled multiple times before coming to a rest on its wheels. The vehicle’s speed was estimated at 90 mph.

Three of the five people in the vehicle were ejected as the vehicle rolled, and one person was thrown from the driver’s seat to the middle seat. The victim wearing a seat belt was the only one to remain in her seat. The three males who were ejected were seriously injured. .

I80 was closed for about 45 minutes while three medical helicopters landed on the interstate and transported the victims. All five victims were taken to a hospital.

As of Sunday at 4:30 p.m., all of the victims were in stable condition

The Utah Department of Public Safety urged Utahns to wear seat belts.

“No one should ever be without a seat belt in a moving vehicle. Seat belts save lives and protect you from serious injury,” officials said in a press release.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah — Six people were injured and State Route 73 was closed near Saratoga Springs for several hours after an accident involving three vehicles occurred around 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

A pickup truck traveling westbound on SR 73 crossed over the center lane and into oncoming traffic, where it first struck a min-van and then an SUV, according to a press release from the Saratoga Springs Police Department.

The mini-van was occupied by two people, and it rolled following the wreck. The driver of the vehicle was ejected during the crash. Both the passenger and driver of the mini-van were transported by ground to a hospital with serious injuries.

There were three people in the SUV, including a child who was restrained in a safety seat. The child was transported by LifeFlight to a pediatric hospital with serious injuries. The other two occupants of the SUV were taken to a hospital by ground with non-life threatening injuries.

The driver of the truck, a young adult male, was pinned inside the cab of the truck for a short time. After he was extricated, the driver was taken by AirMed to a local hospital with critical injuries.

A total of six patients were transported to hospitals following the crash.

Members of the Saratoga Springs Police Department and their Major Accident Investigations Team investigated the cause of or any contributing factors to the accident. State Route 73 was closed for nearly 4 hours as the crash was investigated.

Officials said the scene of the crash is very complex, so it may take several weeks to fully understand what happened.

“It’s unbelievable the love we’ve seen. Our yard was a disaster, it’s just beautiful now,” Jim Towse said.

Friends have been helping out at the house since Tuesday, when Towse received word that his son, Army Private First Class Cody Towse, was missing in Afghanistan.

“The chaplain and another officer came to the house, about 11:30, and knocked on the door,” Towse said. “We were in bed ,and my son goes, ‘There’s a couple of guys from the Army out there.’ I just knew. I didn’t want to go to the door.”

Towse was informed that an IED had exploded where Cody was working in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan, killing at least three others.

On Saturday night the Towse family got the rest of the story. Because Cody was a medic, he was sent on every foot patrol. There was an initial explosion that injured members of the patrol. Cody rushed toward the first soldier wounded in the explosion, and a second device exploded and killed him.

Jim Towse said it doesn’t surprise him his son died helping someone else. He said that’s the way his son has always been.

“That was Cody,” he said. “He just, I know he never thought about himself. He loved his guys. His guys loved him. I’m sure he didn’t even think twice.”

Jim Towse said losing Cody has been incredibly difficult for him and his family.

“Nothing compared to losing a child,” he said. “It’s just, I never knew I could feel so much pain and emotion, but you know, he was a great kid.”

Before even joining the army almost two years ago, Cody had already found a way to serve.

Towse said: “He actually became an EMT when he was in high school. I think you had to be 18, and I think the day after he turned 18 he took the test to become an EMT and got one of the highest scores in the state.”

Today, he was an Army medic, well-known and liked even in another part of the world.

“He went to save lives, and that’s what he did,” Toswe said. “That was his mission in life.”

It was only days after turning 21 on May 8 that his dream was cut short.

“Every time you think of something you’re crying,” Towse said. “I didn’t know I could cry so much. I’m not an emotional person, but Cody was my buddy.”

But even without his son here at home, the memories live on.

“Every time when I drive down the road and see a flag at half mast, it just touches my heart,” Towse said. “We need to respect them, and honor them and fly a flag for them. That’s going to be my mission in life from now on.”

Cody’s family has set up a memorial fund under his name at Wells Fargo. Jim Towse said he hopes to use any money donated to build a park in his son’s name.

John Stuart Branham, 37, allegedly stole about $500 that had been collected as donations to the American Cancer Society.

Surveillance video from the morning of the crime shows a man walking into the store and looking around before leaving. A few moments later the same man returns to the store, grabs the jar of donations and leaves.

Branham was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of business burglary, felony theft and failure to register as a sex offender.

Branham’s bail is set at $1,500, and police say restitution will be sought in the theft.

The 26-year-old man was returning from Oakland, California where he was attending art school to his home in Colorado when he got off the train during a 3 a.m. stop in Salt Lake City. His mother, Cindy Putnam, said the 10 months since then have been terrible.

“I would just love to see him walk up the driveway,” she said. “It’s the most horrible thing I can imagine: to not know where my kid is.”

Robin Putnam has been listed by police as a missing and endangered person due to possible mental health issues. Cindy and her husband Doug spent most of last summer searching the streets of Salt Lake City for their son, but with no luck.

Now the couple is turning to social media, where they are using the page “Find Robin Putnam” to do what they can to bring their son home.

“I’m posting a lot of work from his teenage years and then a lot of the sketches from his journals,” Putnam said.

Putnam said she thinks Robin’s artwork may be the key to finding him. She said that no matter where Robin ended up, or in what state of mind he might be in, he would still be creating art.

“He could be sketching really interesting architecture and selling it on the streets,” she said. “When he lived in the Bay Area he would ride his bike around the Bay Area and set up an easel and paint China Town and Union Square.”

Cindy Putnam said she worries about her son and the possibility he is still suffering from anxiety.

“I wish he’d come home and paint again,” she said.

For more information about the search, visit the Find Robert Putnam Facebook page.

Aspen Gardner is 9 years old, and she started skating when she was 4 years old. Aspen has been rehearsing for months for her part in “Rock the Jukebox,” and with a little help from her coach and her friends she was able to play a part despite the tumor.

Maggie Clarke, vice president of Centennial Park Figure Skating Club, said after the discovery of a large malignant brain tumor a few months ago, Aspen had to undergo multiple surgeries. But that didn’t keep her out of the program.

“She’s had two surgeries and is still able to come out and be a part of the show tonight, even though it’s not quite what we expected,” Clarke said.

Aspen is recovering from her surgeries, but not without some costs. Aspen is deaf in her left ear, and she struggles with her balance as well as paralysis on her left side.

“I can’t skate now because they’re just worried that I’ll hit my head if I do like jumps or spins, or if I fell,” Aspen said.

The Centennial Park Figure Skating Club wanted to make sure Aspen was still a part of the show.

“We have a portion of our show dedicated to Aspen,”  Clarke said.

Before the show, Aspen said she was excited to get on the ice.

“I get to go out there in a wheelchair, and my coach is gonna push me, and I get to be in the finale, and I get to dance on my wheelchair,” she said.

And after it was all over, Aspen had fun despite the complications that almost kept her from being on the ice with her friends.

“It was awesome and pretty cool, and it was really fun when Olivia and Maddie, they were dancing with me, and I was like this, and it was so much fun,” she said.

Tooele County Sheriff’s Department officials said the 7-year-old boy was leaning on a screen and watching his dad mow the lawn when he fell out of the one-story window and into the window well below.

The fall happened sometime around 7 p.m. Saturday. The boy was transported to Primary Children’s Medical Center. Officials said the boy had significant head trauma but would not give more specifics regarding the child’s condition.

Amy Meyer was arrested in February over video she shot of the Dale T. Smith and Sons Meat Packing Company, which she said shows evidence of animal cruelty. Charges were dropped after it could not be determined conclusively if Meyer was trespassing.

Protesters lined the sidewalk near that same meat packing company, and they said they believe Utah lawmakers did their constituents a disservice by passing the “Ag-Gag” law that Meyer was arrested under.

Meyer said the law should be struck down.

“The Ag-Gag law should not be on the books because they have no legitimate reason to expect that much of a right to privacy, just like there might be a private day care, but we still believe that the public should be able to see what’s happening inside that day care,” she said. “If they passed a law that said you can’t film inside our day care, the public would be outraged, just like we are with Ag-Gag.”

Dale T. Smith and Sons Meat Packing Co. issued a press release, which included the following statement:

“The public is being misled about our business by the protesters. Keeping animals free of stress and injury is in any meatpacking company’s best interest. At Dale T. Smith and Sons our animal handling and treatment practices are humane and responsible.”

SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake City police are seeking an armed suspect who robbed a bank on Friday afternoon.

The suspect entered a Chase Bank at 1295 S. Redwood Road at about 12:40 p.m. Friday. The armed man approached the teller and demanded money, according to a press release from the Salt Lake City Police Department.

The teller complied, and the suspect fled eastbound on foot with an undisclosed amount of money. There were no injuries.

The suspect is described as a 6-foot tall black male with a slender, athletic build. He was last seen wearing a dark hooded jacket, black pants, a face mask and white shoes.

Anyone with information about the suspect or the robbery is encouraged to call police at 801-799-3000.