Micron Technology, Applied Materials, and Ultratech have joined the imec industrial affiliation program (IIAP) on GaN-on-Si technology. This multi-partner R+D program focuses on the development of GaN-on-Si (gallium nitride-on-silicon) process and equipment technologies for manufacturing solid state lighting (e.g. LEDs) and next-generation power electronics components on 8-inch Si wafers.
Monthly Archives: July 2010
Olympus America Licenses Digital Pathology Patents to BioImagene
Olympus continues to enter into nonexclusive licensing agreements with other whole slide vendors. The latest announcement is with BioImagene. While the terms were not made public and often are not clearly one can see the value of this rich suite of patents that several vendors have entered into agreements with Olympus for imaging and data handling. I gather more companies will also follow given what Olympus owns in order to continue to move the field.
CENTER VALLEY, Pa., July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Olympus America Inc. has signed a nonexclusive worldwide licensing agreement with BioImagene, Inc. of Sunnyvale, California, allowing BioImagene to access an extensive portfolio of Olympus patents in the field of digital pathology and virtual microscopy. This is the most recent of several licenses that Olympus has granted for the technologies, which are considered critical for developing future digital imaging and data handling systems for pathology.
Digital pathology technology has the potential to change the way doctors review and manage millions of biopsy slides and other pathology specimens now handled using glass slides and traditional optical microscopes. The patents included in the licensing deal cover methods and equipment for creating, storing and delivering virtual microscopy slides. The technology enables pathologists to view and share high-resolution virtual microscopy images over the Internet.
"The digital pathology field is evolving rapidly," said F. Mark Gumz, President and CEO of Olympus Corporation of the Americas, the parent company of Olympus America Inc., "and allowing other companies in this field like BioImagene to license these important patents will help advance the field of pathology, and ultimately promote better access to healthcare for patients around the world."
"Digital pathology is at an important inflexion point, moving very rapidly towards broad-based adoption. We believe that our relationship with Olympus will be a catalyst for this trend," said Ajit Singh, Ph.D., President and CEO of BioImagene. "Olympus has been a pioneer in this field, and their patent portfolio will complement BioImagene's innovations in end-to-end digital pathology."
In the United States alone, $13.2 billion was spent in anatomic pathology testing during 2008, according to a 2010 Laboratory Economics report. The Olympus portfolio enables development of solutions that can streamline the review of pathology slides and improve the speed of reporting, while saving costs and enhancing patient care. Virtual microscope slide technology also has the potential to aid hospitals in moving to comprehensive patient Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems – a transition that is already beginning in some parts of the world.
The companies are not making specific terms and conditions of the agreement public.
About Olympus Scientific Equipment Group
Olympus America Scientific Equipment Group provides innovative microscope imaging solutions for researchers, doctors, clinicians and educators. Olympus microscope systems offer unsurpassed optics, superior construction and system versatility to meet the ever-changing needs of microscopists, paving the way for future advances in life science.
About Olympus
Olympus is a precision technology leader, designing and delivering innovative solutions in its core business areas: Medical and Surgical Products, Life Science Imaging Systems, Industrial Testing Instruments and Cameras and Audio Products.
Olympus works collaboratively with its customers and affiliates worldwide to leverage R&D investment in precision technology and manufacturing processes across diverse business lines. These include:
- Gastrointestinal endoscopes, accessories, and minimally invasive surgical products;
- Advanced research, clinical and educational microscopes and research and educational digital imaging systems;
- Industrial research, engineering, test, inspection and measuring instruments; and
- Digital cameras and voice recorders.
Olympus serves the healthcare field with integrated product solutions and financial, educational and consulting services that help customers to efficiently, reliably and more easily achieve exceptional results. Olympus develops breakthrough technologies with revolutionary product design and functionality for the consumer and professional photography markets, and also is the leader in gastrointestinal endoscopy and clinical and educational microscopes. For more information, visit http://www.olympusamerica.com.
About BioImagene
BioImagene (http://www.bioimagene.com) is the leading provider of innovative and scalable digital pathology solutions for diagnostics. The company's total digital pathology solution is comprised of the Virtuoso™ digital pathology application software, iScan™ family of automated digital slide scanners, and a rich menu of Companion Algorithms™. BioImagene's innovative product line includes a unique image viewing input device called the iSlide™, and a high-performance pathology workstation called Crescendo™. BioImagene is also the platinum sponsor of PathXchange™, a vendor neutral, not-for-profit website for the pathology community.
SOURCE Olympus America Inc.
Auction Report: "The Gallery of Creation, a Museum of Natural History, Created by Joseph Hurt Studio, Inc."
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Video: The Gallery of Creation Adventure of Lion & Lamb
Watch robotic animals discuss the creation of the world from a biblical prospective. Found here.
Regular Morbid Anatomy readers might recall a recent blog post about the a Georgia-based creationist natural history (sic) museum--"The Gallery of Creation, a Museum of Natural History"--being disseminated at public auction. Morbid Anatomy reader Sarah of the blog A Discourse on the Arts and Sciences was curious to know the outcome of that auction; Following is her exclusive investigative report, for your reading pleasure:
While the contemporary art market has struggled over recent months in terms of desirable material entering the market, the antiques market has been blessed. In particular, the genres of natural history, taxidermy and, surprisingly, kitsch have been a virtual goldmine in recent weeks, which have been bolstered even further by interesting provenances as well.
The Australian sale of the Owsten Collection (see report here) sold extremely well, with numerous pieces of highly significant natural history selling well above high estimates. I was particularly in love with the collector’s cabinets, myself.
Another captivating sale which I heard of, via Morbid Anatomy (thank you), was the de-accessioning of the collection of "The Gallery of Creation, A Museum of Natural History" on June 25th and 26th in Social Circle, Georgia (more on that here).
This Creationist natural history museum was founded by William Hurt Studios and catered to church groups, school classes and family outings. I wish I had gotten a chance to see it before it closed.
I have to admit, my first reaction was one of sheer captivation. What a great combo, natural history and that special kind of kitsch which only seems to happen in the South. Maybe my family stopped at too many tourist destinations during my childhood, but I shamelessly confess to a love of this kind of nostalgia. I envisioned lots of big blonde hair waving paddles for--quite simply--one of the oddest assortment of items I have ever come across available for sale in one place.
This particular sale was one of those examples of the sometimes odd attractions collectors can have. It certainly wasn’t about the ‘finest’, or art--it was about the sometimes most determined aspect of our attractions --nostalgia --as well as an occasional appreciation for good old fashioned camp.
In following up to the sale, I found that many of the pieces did sell quite reasonably. Prices do not include buyer’s premiums.
Oil Painting on Canvas of the Ark
8’6” wide x 5’ high
$600
Model of a Velosoraptor
$425
Vitrine Display of Various Skeletons & Skulls
14 feet wide x 9 feet high x 4 feet deep
$4,250
Vitrine Display of Seascape with Animation Features
12 feet wide x 9 feet high x 4 feet deep
$2,600
Vitrine of Mounted Birds, including Peacock, Toucan,
numerous parrots (Sphinx Macaw) and others
13 feet wide x 9 feet high x 4 feet deep
$4,100
Large Animated Vitrine of Lion & Lamb Conversing
$3,750Another upcoming auction item worthy of pangs of nostalgia, as well as camp, is none other than Trigger himself, the trusted companion of Roy Rogers to be sold on July 14th in New York. The dispersal of the Roy Rogers & Dale Evans Museum Collection is being handled entirely by Christies and will take place on July 14th and 15th; more on that here.
TRIGGER (1934-1965)
Estimated $100,000 - $200,000.
Roy Rogers & Dale Evans Museum CollectionEntertaining the masses so thoroughly for over two decades, Roy Rogers and Trigger were one of America's most recognizable duos, becoming instant classics in people's eyes, hearts and imaginations. Trigger also reached legendary status in his own right, and is undeniably one of the most memorable horses that ever lived. Trigger was apparently purchased for $2,500 back in the day.
Thanks so much, Sarah, for the excellent report. More information of the Museum of Creation can be found here. For backstory on the auction, click here. Click here to find out more about the Roy Rogers & Dale Evans Museum Collection auction. Click here to check out guest-poster Sarah's lovely blog A Discourse on the Arts and Sciences.
This Friday at Observatory: Live Human Dissection, Lecture and Book Launch by The Hollow Earth Society
This Friday! At Observatory! Live human dissection, lecture and Book Launch by The Hollow Earth Society; full details follow. Hope to see you there!
Suspicious Anatomy: Lecture, Live Human Dissection, and Book Launch The Hollow Earth Society presents SUSPICIOUS ANATOMY Workbook No. 15: The Human Cranius Lecture, Live Human Dissection and Book Launch Date: Friday, July 16th Time: 8:00 PM Admission: $5
"Not since Galen’s De Elementis has been set in ink a single compendium of medicological knowledge so extensive & practicably useful as SUSPICIOUS ANATOMY Workbook No. 15: The Human Cranius. Having intrinsic value to all persons—piratical, mysterious, upright, or otherwise—The Human Cranius is a PEERLESS GEM of uncanny truth. If you are a living human, you should make frequent, unabashed forays into this field guide to your hideous secondary body—the cranius, an organ-matrix & carnival of fangs which is trying to destroy you even as you read this sentence…"
From the genre-chainsawing minds of the Hollow Earth Society (Ethan Gould and Wythe Marschall) comes “the definitive guide to the horrifying world inside you”—finally available in lush, illustrated paperback!
In the tradition of John Hodgman, David Cronenberg, and H. P. Lovecraft, The Human Cranius explores an alternative anatomy at once mesmerizing and deeply unsettling. Gould and Marschall ask: What do we know about our own bodies? The answer: Very little…
In many ways, the art and human studies of modernity have given us the keys to our unconscious minds, but have left entirely to dry science (fixing plumbing, testing drugs) the workings of our bodies. What does it feel like to have guts? To face disease, age, mutation—in short, a self that is not only not whole but not even on its own side?
The SUSPICIOUS ANATOMY series seeks to address these physio–psychomological imbalances by producing, for your benefit, the entire unconscious of the body, the shadow-self, in words and elaborate images.
The official Human Cranius book launch features a lecture, medicological film snippets, and a live human dissection. Join us!
About the Hollow Earth Society: For over one hundred years, the Hollow Earth Society has probed the world’s most bizarre and pertinent mysteries via an ever-mutating set of handbooks, rogue histories, and practical manuals. The Society is currently led by Colonels Ethan Gould and Wythe Marschall.
Ethan Gould is a Brooklyn-based artist working in drawing, puppetry, writing, and video to exploit the moments when the formerly robust process of perceptual categorization snaps like the fragilest of dry twigs. A graduate of the University of Rochester, he helped to create several development programs at the American Folk Art Museum. His work has appeared in such disparate places as the Ontological-Hysteric Theater, The Assembly Theater Company, The Brooklyn Review, Pomp & Circumstance, and ABC’s Wife Swap.
Wythe Marschall is writer. A graduate of Bennington College and the MFA fiction program at Brooklyn College, where he teaches undergraduate literature, Wythe has published stories and essays in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere. He is the senior editor of the Atlas Obscura and an editor of Pomp & Circumstance, as well as a frequent reader for Electric Literature. His thoughts on letters, postmodernity, and hip hop can be found on his website, chronolect.com.
You can find out more about these 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.
Lungs grown from cells in lab sucessfully working on animals – Mirror.co.uk
 Nature.com (blog) | Lungs grown from cells in lab sucessfully working on animals Mirror.co.uk Harvard Medical School's Dr Harald Ott wrote: "The successful transplantation of a bioengineered lung in an air-breathing mammal implies our approach may ... Artificial Lung "Breathes" in Rats: StudyABC News Stem cell scientists unveil lab-grown lungABC Online Transplantable artificial lung studiedUPI.com The Press Association -Nature.com (blog) all 35 news articles » |
Weight loss food supplements are waste of money and don’t help you lose weight – Metro
 TopNews United Kingdom (blog) | Weight loss food supplements are waste of money and don't help you lose weight Metro ... sufficient evidence that any food supplement can be recommended for reducing body weight,' said experts from the Peninsula Medical School in Devon. ... Weight loss pills do not work, say expertsTherapy Lounge News Slimming supplements useless, research suggestsMirror.co.uk Weight loss pills and supplements are fake, says a studyCelebrities With Diseases TopNews United Kingdom (blog) -NutraIngredients.com -WebMD all 65 news articles » |
UW ethics policy draft set off uproar among doctors – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
UW ethics policy draft set off uproar among doctors Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Officials from the medical school and the foundation declined to respond this week to Journal Sentinel questions about the documents, including whether any ... |
Study Finds Amazon Storm Killed Half a Billion Trees
Trunks of living trees can be seen two years after a powerful 2005 storm toppled many neighboring trees, tearing open the ordinarily closed, green canopy of this stretch of Amazon forest near Manaus, Brazil - Larger image
A single, huge, violent storm that swept across the whole Amazon forest in 2005 killed half a billion trees, according to a original study funded by NASA and Tulane University, New Orleans.
While storms have long been predictable as a cause of Amazon tree loss, this study is the first to really quantify losses from a storm. And the losses are much greater than formerly suspected, say the study's authors, which comprise research scientist Sassan Saatchi of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The work suggests that storms may play a larger role in the dynamics of Amazon forests than previously recognized, they add.
Previous research had attributed a peak in tree humanity in 2005 solely to a severe drought that affected parts of the forest. The new study says that a single squall line (a long line of severe thunderstorms, the kind associated with lightning and heavy rainfall) had a significant role in the tree demise. Research suggests this type of storm might become more common in the future in the Amazon due to climate change, killing a higher number of trees and releasing more carbon to the atmosphere.
Tropical thunderstorms have long been suspected of wreaking havoc in the Amazon, but this is the first time researchers have intended how many trees a single thunderstorm can kill, says Jeffrey Chambers, a forest ecologist at Tulane University and one of the authors of the paper. The paper has been conventional for publication in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.
Previous studies by a coauthor of this new paper, Niro Higuchi of Brazil's National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA), showed the 2005 tree mortality spike was the second largest recorded since 1989 for the Manaus region in the Central Amazon. Also in 2005, large parts of the Amazon forest experienced one of the harshest droughts of the last century. A study published in the journal Science in 2009 piercing to the drought as the single agent for a basin-wide increase in tree mortality. But a very large area with major tree loss (the region near Manaus) was not affected by the drought.
"We can't attribute [the increased] mortality to just drought in certain parts of the basin--we have solid confirmation that there was a strong storm that killed a lot of trees over a large part of the Amazon," Chambers says.
From Jan. 16 to 18, 2005, a squall line 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) long and 200 kilometers (124 miles) wide crossed the whole Amazon basin from southwest to northeast, causing numerous human deaths in the cities of Manaus, Manacaparu, and Santarem. The strong vertical winds connected with the storm, blowing up to 145 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour), uprooted or snapped in half trees that were in their path. In many cases, the stricken trees took down some of their neighbors when they fell.
The researchers used a combination of Landsat satellite images, field-measured tree mortality, and modeling to decide the number of trees killed by the storm. By linking satellite data to observations on the ground, the researchers were able to take into description smaller tree blowdowns (less than 10 trees) that otherwise cannot be detected through satellite images.
Looking at satellite images for the area of Manaus from before and after the storm, the researchers detected changes in the reflectivity of the forest, which they supposed were indicative of tree losses. Undisturbed forest patches appeared as closed, green canopy in satellite images. When trees die and fall, a clearing opens, exposing wood, dead vegetation, and surface litter. This so-called "woody signal" only lasts for about a year in the Amazon. In a year, vegetation re-grows and covers the exposed wood and soil. This means the signal is a good indicator of recent tree deaths.
After seeing disturbances in the satellite images, the researchers established five field sites in one of the blowdown areas, and counted the number of trees that had been killed by the storm; researchers can typically tell what killed a tree from looking at it.
"If a tree dies from a drought, it generally dies standing. It looks very unlike from trees that die snapped by a storm," Chambers says.
In the most affected plots, near the centers of large blowdowns, up to 80 percent of the trees had been killed by the storm.
By comparing their field data and the satellite observations, the researchers determined that the satellite images were accurately pinpointing areas of tree death, and they intended that the storm had killed between 300,000 and 500,000 trees in the area of Manaus. The number of trees killed by the 2005 storm is equivalent to 30 percent of the annual deforestation in that same year for the Manaus region, which experiences relatively low rates of deforestation.
The team then extrapolated the results to the whole Amazon basin.
"We know that the storm was intense and went across the basin," Chambers says. "To quantify the possible basin-wide impact, we assumed that the whole area impacted by the storm had a similar level of tree mortality as the mortality observed in Manaus."
The researchers estimate that between 441 and 663 million trees were destroyed across the whole basin. This represents a loss equivalent to 23 percent of the expected mean annual carbon accumulation of the Amazon forest.
Squall lines that move from southwest to northeast of the forest, like the one in January 2005, are relatively rare and poorly studied, says Robinson Negron-Juarez, an atmospheric scientist at Tulane University, and lead author of the study. Storms that are similarly destructive but advance in the opposite direction (from the northeast coast of South America to the interior of the continent) occur up to four times per month. They can also generate large forest blowdowns (contiguous patches of wind-toppled trees), although it's infrequent that either of these two types of storms crosses the whole Amazon.
"We need to start measuring the forest perturbation caused by both types of squall lines, not only by the ones impending from the south," Negron-Juarez says. "We need that data to estimate total biomass loss from these natural events, which has never been quantified."
Chambers says that authors of preceding studies on tree mortality in the Amazon have diligently collected dead-tree tolls, but information on exactly what killed the trees is often lacking, or not reported.
"It's very important that when we collect data in the field, we do forensics on tree mortality," says Chambers, who has been studying forest ecology and carbon cycling in the Amazon since 1993. "Under a changing climate, some forecasts say that storms will increase in strength. If we start seeing increases in tree mortality, we need to be able to say what's killing the trees."
For more information visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-232
The Gadabout and the Phantom Corsair
Well now this is interesting. Since discussing the plywood cars and hydraulic drive systems of Raymond Russell, we've been in contact with Russell's son, Raymond Benjamin Russell, who sent us a much better photograph of the Gadabout than we could find earlier. The gadabout is a remarkable car i
Snakes: As Pets (Part II) – Common Snake-owning Mishaps
Snakes are fun, but they can occasionally get in trouble.
Nervous Handlers = Nervous Snakes
Never give your snake to someone who is nervous around or scared of snakes. If a friend insists on handling a snake – say, to try to get over his or her
One Day a Tiny Flapping-Wing UAV May Spy on You [Surveillance]
Robot aircraft—UAVs—are going to be big news in the future of warfighting, as the reveal of the U.K.'s new one proves. But have you thought about tiny UAVs for spying? Check out this robot insect to see the future of surveillance. More »
a truck load of pumpkins – Stabroek News
 Stabroek News | a truck load of pumpkins Stabroek News Go here and sign up using the same email address you used to register for Stabroeknews.com then upload your image and confirm it. |
NASA Robot Solves 19-Year-Old Murder Mystery [Crime]
Dawn Sanchez was last seen alive when she stepped into Bernado Bass' car in 1991. Her disappearance and death remained unsolved until recently when—thanks to a little NASA robot—her murderer was sentenced to six years in prison. More »
Bat(man) On Fire [Image Cache]
Who needs the Bat-Signal? Especially when a Canon EOS 7D, a cheapo fireworks sparkler, and a little long exposure trickeration can give you something much, much cooler. More »
Minn. Future Doctors’ first class to begin medical school in fall – Minnesota Daily
Minn. Future Doctors' first class to begin medical school in fall Minnesota Daily They're part of the first group of students to be accepted to medical school after completing the Minnesota's Future Doctors program. ... |
Fan-Powered R/C Shopping Cart Sure Is Ridiculous [DIY]
There are few things more fun than MIT student projects. They're the results of super-smart nerds working in an environment with tons of resources and no pressure to be profitable. Which results in stuff like this fan-powered R/C shopping cart. More »
Yes, Someone Really Made A Robot Shirt With A Built-In Bottle Opener [Geek Fashion]
There's a theory* that geeky shirts, robots, and beer could not be any more awesome than they already are unless somehow combined. Naturally, someone had to test this theory. The result is surprisingly useful. More »
$20,000 Hollandia iCon Bed Is Really Just A Gigantic SNES [Furniture]
Oh, Hollandia. You can say your $20,000 bed is iPad-friendly because of the headboard's speaker system and docking station, but when you combine purple and grey like that, all I see is a gigantic Super NES. [BornRich] More »
Publishing eBooks: Kindle, iPad, Nook, Kobo? [Publishing]
There are many mediums for ebook publishing today. But how does a publisher or author choose which one to use? Or does he or she even have to choose at all? More »
The Free Adam Carolla Network iPhone App Is Available Now [IPhone Apps]
If you can't seem to get enough of Adam Carolla and his complaints about technology then you should consider the free ACE Network iPhone app. It's pretty much the best way to listen to the Adam Carolla podcast and more: More »
