The Pitt News T h e in de p e n d e n t st ude nt ne w spap e r of t he University of Pittsburgh
City to begin Greenfield Bridge demolition
Jonathan Milligan: Pitt basketball’s late find Page 8 October 14, 2015 | Issue 42 | Volume 106
Lauren Rosenblatt Assistant News Editor
Pittsburgh’s Department of Public Works announced Tuesday it will begin its demolition and reconstruction of the Greenfield Bridge starting Friday. Beginning 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, the city will close the bridge connecting Alger Street in Greenfield to Overlook Drive in Schenley Park, a heavily trafficked route connecting Oakland to Greenfield and Squirrel Hill. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, City of Pittsburgh and the Federal Highway Administration organized the $17.5 million reconstruction, which will not be complete until 2017. The city will rebuild the bridge, originally built in 1921, in the same location, but with new abutments — structures to support the end of a bridge — piers and structural steel. The new bridge will include three travel lanes, for motor vehicles and sidewalks, just like the current one has, and will add a bike lane. While the bridge will close to drivers starting Friday, pedestrians and cyclists can still use the bridge until Sunday, Oct. 18. Mosites Heavy Construction Company will complete the construction. According to Katie O’Malley, assistant communications manager for Mayor Peduto’s office, the city decided to replace the structure of the bridge because it is 94 years old. “The bridge is structurally deficient,” See Bridge on page 5
Dancers don heels Wednesday at Gamma Sigma Sigma’s March In Her Shoes event. Wenhao Wu STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Pitt researchers propose new stem cell method Annemarie Carr Staff Writer
After six years of collaboration, Pitt researchers Ipsita Banerjee and Prashant Kumta, said they can now launch a “very easy and cheap” way to grow stem cells to help cure Type 2 diabetes. With current methods, researchers face high costs and waits of several days to several weeks to make enough stem
cells, which function as “blank slate” cells that scientists and doctors can grow into nearly any human body cell. Banerjee and Kumta have developed a new method that allows them to grow multiple stem cells from a single cell. Banerjee, associate professor of chemical and petroleum engineering and bioengineering, and Kumta, professor of bioengineering, received a $300,000 grant from the National Sci-
ence Foundation on Sept. 15, to mass produce human pluripotent stem cells by placing single cells in a special liquid and allowing the cells to multiply. “I thought someone must have done it, at least with other kinds of cells, but no one has,” Banerjee said. According to Banerjee, the number of available stem cells constrains most clinical studies that hope to use stem See Stem Cell on page 2