Monthly Archives: May 2010

Politics Responsible for Fossil Fuel Disasters

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FriendsoftheEarthUS — May 05, 2010 — We have better energy choices. It’s time to stop offshore drilling. An ad released by Friends of the Earth US.

Let’s get real. The people in the United States who do not want us to have a better energy policy, one that emphasizes renewable energy, are the Republicans and the DINOs. We need to get them out of office. They have done more than enough damage to the country and now they are standing in the way of energy and climate change legislation.

The re-focus of our energy on fossil fuels began in earnest with the Bush administration. Vice President Cheney held closed-door energy policy meetings with Big Coal and Big Oil. What went on in those meetings is still not known, but FOIA requests have been filed for years. One day we will find out what sort of deals were made in the last administration. We already know we have to never allow this type of favoritism for fossil fuel energy companies again. We will not have a bi-partisan energy and climate bill this year because of Republicans.

The reality is, Republicans do not want us off fossil fuels. Their policies are the reasons we use so much dinosaur fuel in the 21st century. Their policies are the reasons we have coal mine and oil rig disasters. Their unwillingness to give up the massive donations they get, and money they make personally from fossil fuel companies, are the reasons we still use fossil fuels, long after it has been known that we have clean alternatives. Are you fed up with all of this yet? Call Congress and tell them we are tired of waiting for them to make the laws on energy and climate change that we need. We do not have to tolerate any more oil rig or coal mine disasters and we can’t afford to wait until they have figured out immigration reform, to work on the climate and energy bill we need right NOW.

gravitation

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why do bodies released from an orbiting space ship or satellite also follow the same trajectory as satellite and also why do the body have same velocity as that of satellite????

Juniper Jairala

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Juniper is an EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity) Hardware Test Engineer supporting NEEMO through the Crew and Thermal Systems Division at NASA Johnson Space CenterJuniper Jairala once built international theme parks (while secretly performing in samba shows by night). Now she develops space hardware (while fire dancing by night).

Juniper grew up in Chicago, Illinois, Del Mar, California, and Quito, Ecuador. She recevied a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University, and then went to build theme parks with Universal Studios and Warner Brothers in Japan and Spain (while samba dancing by night). Juniper's next adventure was working at NASA's Dryden Flight Research center with experimental aircraft, test pilots, and scientists.

However, Juniper's main passion was for human spaceflight, so she next earned a master's of science in aerospace engineering and bioastronautics from CU-Boulder. She worked in various private human spaceflight companies before coming to Johnson Space Center. Her current position has her scuba diving with astronauts, flying on the parabolic aircraft, developing space suits, bouncing on treadmills, and testing out new components of the International Space Station from an EVA perspective. By night, she performs with two Houston fire troupes, Zion's Flame and Luminosity.

A fluent Spanish-speaking Latina with immigrant parents, Juniper also loves encouraging kids - especially girls and minorities - to pursue technology fields. She volunteers as a mentor to middle and high school students in math, science, and engineering through the Society of Hispanic Engineers, and several Houston programs. She likes showing kids how cool and easy it is to be a geek, and how achievable it is to work at places like NASA, where you get to do cool stuff like NEEMO!

Juniper's primary role on NEEMO 14 will be as a support diver for the aquanauts as they collect data regarding the effects of suit design on their performance in reduced-gravity environments (like those on the moon or Mars).

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NASA Captures Night Infrared View of Gulf Oil Spill

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The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft captured this nighttime image of the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on May 7, 2010.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
› Full image and caption

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft captured this nighttime image of the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on May 7, 2010. On April 20, an explosion destroyed the Deepwater Horizon oil platform operating in the Gulf 80 kilometers (50 miles) offshore, resulting in substantial loss of life and releasing 5,000 barrels of oil per day into the water. The huge oil slick was being carried towards the Mississippi River Delta, and small amounts of oil had reached the Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi shores by May 3.

This thermal image from ASTER covers an area measuring 60 by 240 kilometers (37 by 147 miles), most of it over the Gulf of Mexico. The coldest surfaces appear dark, and the warmest appear white. The city of Pascagoula, Miss., is visible in the upper right corner; at night the land is colder (darker) than the Gulf waters. Offshore islands below Pascagoula also appear dark compared to the surrounding ocean. The black dots and patches over the Gulf waters are small clouds, particularly in the southern half of the image. The thickest parts of the oil spill appear as dark grey, filamentous masses in the southern part of the image, extending off the bottom. Other dark-light swirl patterns are water currents where different temperature water masses are visible.

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Stem Cells Versus Parkinson's Disease Again

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A number of past studies have shown improvement in Parkinson's disease with stem cell transplants. Here is another: "Endometrial stem cells injected into the brains of mice with a laboratory-induced form of Parkinson's disease appeared to take over the functioning of brain cells eradicated by the disease. The finding raises the possibility that women with Parkinson's disease could serve as their own stem cell donors. Similarly, because endometrial stem cells are readily available and easy to collect, banks of endometrial stem cells could be stored for men and women with Parkinson's disease. ... In the current study, the researchers generated stem cells using endometrial tissue obtained from nine women who did not have Parkinson's disease and verified that, in laboratory cultures, the unspecialized endometrial stem cells could be transformed into dopamine-producing nerve cells like those in the brain. The researchers also demonstrated that, when injected directly into the brains of mice with a Parkinson's-like condition, endometrial stem cells would develop into dopamine-producing cells. ... stem cells derived from endometrial tissue appear to be less likely to be rejected than are stem cells from other sources."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100506141608.htm

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Stem Cells Versus Parkinson’s Disease Again

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A number of past studies have shown improvement in Parkinson's disease with stem cell transplants. Here is another: "Endometrial stem cells injected into the brains of mice with a laboratory-induced form of Parkinson's disease appeared to take over the functioning of brain cells eradicated by the disease. The finding raises the possibility that women with Parkinson's disease could serve as their own stem cell donors. Similarly, because endometrial stem cells are readily available and easy to collect, banks of endometrial stem cells could be stored for men and women with Parkinson's disease. ... In the current study, the researchers generated stem cells using endometrial tissue obtained from nine women who did not have Parkinson's disease and verified that, in laboratory cultures, the unspecialized endometrial stem cells could be transformed into dopamine-producing nerve cells like those in the brain. The researchers also demonstrated that, when injected directly into the brains of mice with a Parkinson's-like condition, endometrial stem cells would develop into dopamine-producing cells. ... stem cells derived from endometrial tissue appear to be less likely to be rejected than are stem cells from other sources."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100506141608.htm

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Restoring Memory Function in Old Mice

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From the New Scientist: "when young mice are learning, a molecular fragment known as an acetyl group binds to a particular point on the histone protein that DNA wraps itself around - with the result that the cluster of learning and memory genes on the surrounding DNA ends up close to the acetyl group. ... This acetyl "cap" was missing in the older mice that had been set the same tasks. From this, the team concludes that the cap acts as an "on" switch for the cluster of learning and memory genes: removing the cap switches off the genes. Next, by injecting an enzyme known to encourage caps to bind to any kind of histone molecule, [researchers] artificially flipped the switch to the on position in old mice. The acetyl group returned to the histone molecule and the mice's learning and memory performance became similar to that of 3-month-old mice. ... it is still not clear why the switch flips off as we get older. One possibility is that it might help us cope with other cellular assaults that come with ageing, such as oxidative stress, [which] would mean that switching it on might have damaging side effects."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18870-gene-switch-rejuvenates-failing-mouse-brains.html

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

High-risk profession: Suicide rate of U.S. doctors is one per day

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More than a quarter of primary care doctors reported being "burnt out," in part due to worsening time pressures and a chaotic work pace, which were "strongly associated with low physician satisfaction."

300-400 doctors in the United States kill themselves every year, or roughly 1 per day. Male doctors have suicide rates 1.4 times that of the general population, while female doctors have twice the rate of depression and 2.3 times the suicide rate when compared with women who are not physicians.

References:

Help for Today's Tense, Frustrated Doctors. Medscape, 2009.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/710904
Image source: Vincent van Gogh's 1890 painting At Eternity's Gate. Wikipedia, public domain.

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How to Subscribe to "What’s New" Specialty Page of UpToDate? No Feed, No Problem for Google Reader

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35% of UpToDate topics are updated every four months. The editors select a small number of the most important updates and share them via "What's new" page. These selections are changed with each major release of UpToDate, in March, July and November. See these updates by clicking on the specialty you are interested in.

The page does not provide RSS feed for the different specialties. One solution is to copy/paste the URL address of each subspecialty page you are interested in the Google Reader "Add a subscription" field (top left corner). Google Reader will automatically create a RSS feed from this "feedless" page.

References:
UTD Contents: What's New

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Tonight!!! "The Saddest Object in the World," An Illustrated Meditation, Observatory

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Tonight! Evan Michelson on "The Saddest Object in the World," as experienced at this years Congress for Curious People.

Full details follow; hope to see you there!

The Saddest Object in the World
An Illustrated Meditation by Evan Michelson, Obscura Antiques and Oddities, Morbid Anatomy Library Scholar in residence
Date: TONIGHT! Friday, May 7th
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Location: Observatory

“The Saddest Object in the World” is a meditation on one particular artifact; an exercise in Proustian involuntary memory, aesthetic critique, and philosophical bargaining.

Sometimes objects have consequences.

Evan Michelson is an antiques dealer, lecturer, accumulator and aesthete; she tirelessly indulges a lifelong pursuit of all things obscure and melancholy. She currently lives in another place and time.

You can find out more about this presentation here. You can get directions to Observatory--which is next door to the Morbid Anatomy Library (more on that here)--by clicking here. You can find out more about Observatory here, join our mailing list by clicking here, and join us on Facebook by clicking here.

A high-throughput transient gene expression system for switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) seedlings

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Background:
Grasses are relatively recalcitrant to genetic transformation in comparison to certain dicotyledons, yet they constitute some of the most important biofuel crops. Genetic transformation of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) has previously been reported after cocultivation of explants with Agrobacterium and biolistics of embryogenic calli. Experiments to increase transient gene expression in planta may lead to stable transformation methods with increased efficiency.
Results:
A high-throughput Agrobacterium-mediated transient gene expression system has been developed for in planta inoculation of germinating switchgrass seedlings. Four different Agrobacterium strains were compared for their ability to infect switchgrass seedlings, and strain AGL1 was found to be the most infective. Wounding pretreatments such as sonication, mixing by vortex with carborundum, separation by centrifugation, vacuum infiltration, and high temperature shock significantly increased transient expression of a reporter gene (GUSPlus, a variation of the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene). The addition of L-cysteine and dithiothreitol in the presence of acetosyringone significantly increased GUS expression compared with control treatments, whereas the addition of 0.1% surfactants such as Silwet L77 or Li700 decreased GUS expression. 4-Methylumbelliferyl beta-D-galactopyranoside (MUG) assays showed a peak of beta-glucuronidase (GUS) enzyme activity 3 days after cocultivation with Agrobacterium harboring pCambia1305.2, whereas MUG assays showed a peak of enzyme activity 5 days after cocultivation with Agrobacterium harboring pCambia1305.1.
Conclusion:
Agrobacterium strains C58, GV3101 and EHA105 are less able to deliver transfer DNA to switchgrass seedlings (cultivar Alamo) compared with strain AGL1. Transient expression was increased by double or triple wounding treatments such as mixing by vortex with carborundum, sonication, separation by centrifugation, and heat shock. The addition of thiol compounds such as L-cysteine and dithiothreitol in combination with acetosyringone during cocultivation also increased transient expression. The combination of multiple wounding treatments along with the addition of thiol compounds during cocultivation increased transient expression levels from 6% to 54%. There were differences in temporal GUS expression induced by pCambia1305.1 and pCambia1305.2.

Prostate cancer therapy can increase risk of heart disease and death

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A new report published in the American Cancer Society journal, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and in the American Heart Association journal, Circulation, reveals that androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT), a type of prostate cancer treatment (http://www.dreddyclinic.com/findinformation/cc/prostatecancer.htm), can increase heart risk factors and possibly lead to heart attack (http://www.dreddyclinic.com/findinformation/hh/heartattack.htm) or cardiac death.

A writing group of experts from the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Urological Association, and the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology published their findings that indicate that ADT leads to increased fat mass, increased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the "bad" form of cholesterol, and blood sugar abnormalities. Read more...

Ayurstate for Prostate Care

Florida Beaches Not Under Immediate Threat From Oil

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Currently, the beaches along the Florida coast are not under immediate threat from the BP oil spill. The further from the spill, the lower the threat. Western panhandle beaches are on high alert, but as yet, no oil is threatening them. So don’t let what is happening hundreds of miles away keep you away from [...]

Wardens edge nine goal thriller

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The winning Farne Team

Boatmen team

Warden's discuss tactics

Wardens attacking
Boatman man of the match - Peter Dawson
Farne Island Wardens 5 – 4 Seahouses boatmen
Kick-off was slightly delayed but eventually the eagerly anticipated wardens Vs boatmen clash kicked-off. The wardens were looking for revenge following last season’s double defeat and the opening exchanges brought some good attacking football by the wardens. The hard work soon paid off as Steel poached from close-range but all was undone moments later, when dangerman Craig brought the scores level.

As the game ebbed and flowed, Moss hit a stunning volley to put the islanders ahead but once again, the boatmen quickly hit back as Craig looped home an equaliser. However the warden team upped the tempo and raced into a two goal lead, with Duncan stabbing home a well worked move before Moss made it 4-2 with a thumping header past the despairing keeper. The wardens had chances to increase their lead, but at half-time, remained 4-2 and were well worth their lead.

As with two previous games last season, the boatmen rallied and if the wardens dominated the first, then the boatmen took control in the second. Their inspirational captain Pringle, lead by example, firing in from close-range before drawing the game level with an impressive turn and shot on the run. The wardens, rattled by the fight back, started to find form and the game began to ebb and flow with chances going begging for both sides.

However just as the game was heading for an impressive draw, the islanders grabbed a deserved winner. Breaks, who’s impressive display won him the man of the match award, picked up a loose ball and drove past two defenders before crashing home a shot into the top left corner, whilst coming under a hail of challenges. It was a cracking goal and one which sparked jubilant scenes amongst the warden team. The final twelve minutes saw a stiff rearguard action from the islanders but the wardens held on to claim a suburb 5-4 victory and to claim the first bragging rights of the season. It won’t be long before we have the re-match but until then, its nice to have the first win under our belts.

Warden man of the match: Mark Breaks

Boatman man of the match: Peter Dawson