Ergonomics is one of the areas identified by COEH for further development. Of particular interest is the evaluation and control of work activities associated with chronic musculo-skeletal disorders, such as typing on a computer keyboard. Research training is available for a limited number of well-focused students through the joint UCSF/Berkeley Ergonomics Laboratory . Research training is provided in applied and basic research areas. The aim of the applied research is to provide industry and agencies with immediately useful engineering guidelines for the design of hand tools, workstations and hand intensive tasks. These projects have involved agriculture, biotechnology, computer intensive work, and assembly work. More than half of the funding for this research comes from industry. The aim of the basic research is to better understand the biological mechanisms by which repeated body loading leads to harmful effects on cells and tissue structures. Examples of these projects include the effects of hand postures on pressure inside the carpal tunnel, effects of oxygen deprivation on tendon cell gene expression, and effects of vertebral loading on cell death and tissue remodeling. Eventually, this data will inform the applied sciences by identifying the specific harmful components and the levels of repetitive loading of the human body that result in damage. For more details visit the ergonomics web site.