It's clear that Apple's bound for the cloud, but as a company known for withholding features until they're just right, many questions remain. Boy Genius reports that a massive cloud push, including wireless syncing and streaming media, is coming soon. More »
Streaming media - Apple - Broadcasting - IPhone - Service Providers
The Carrie Secrist Gallery is pleased to announce our next exhibition, Tehom, a solo show by Italian artist Angelo Musco. Two years in production, the show includes Musco’s photo installation Hadal, which was shown in the 53rd Venice Biennale last summer.The title piece, Tehom, an underwater world populated with tens of thousands of nude bodies, will cover the main wall of the gallery stretching 12 x 48 feet wide. The dialogue between classic art forms and contemporary expressions is one of the main themes of Musco’s photographic work. Using mosaic type panels and photo pieces allows the artist to make the entire gallery a unique underwater world experience.
WHO: Angelo Musco
WHAT: Tehom
WHEN: May 1 – July 10, 2010
WHERE: Carrie Secrist Gallery, 835 W. Washington Blvd. Chicago IL 60607, USA
No-one's biting, but the audacity. The audacity! It's even worse that Apple trying to get away with flogging a piece of plastic for $30. [eBay via 9to5Mac] More »
EBay - IPhone - Apple - Smartphone - Handhelds
After years of thinking about this, I have come up with a term that can describe the thoughts I have had about the new, 'good' type of deflation that is evading the notice of almost all of the top economists in the world today. This changes many of the most fundamental assumptions about economics, even as most economic thought is far behind the curve.
First, let us review some events that transpired over the last 2 years. To stave off the prospect of a deflationary spiral that could lead to a depression, the major governments of the world followed 20th-century textbook economics, and injected colossal amounts of liquidity into the financial system. In the US, not only was the Fed Funds rate lowered to nearly zero (for now 18 months and counting), but an additional $1 Trillion was injected in.
However, now that a depression has been averted, and the recession has ended, we were supposed to experience inflation even amidst high unemployment, just like we did in the 1970s. But alas, there is still no inflation, despite a yield curve with more than 3% steepness, and a near-0% FF rate for so long. How could this be? What is absorbing all the liquidity?
In The Impact of Computing, I discussed how 1.5% of World GDP today comprises of products where the same functionality can be purchased for a price that halves every 18 months. 'Moore's Law' applies to semiconductors, but storage, software, and some biotech are also on a similar exponential curve. This force makes productivity gains higher, and inflation lower, than traditional 20th century economics would anticipate. Furthermore, the second derivative is also increasing - the rate of productivity gains itself is accelerating. 1.5% of World GDP may be small, but what about when this percentage grows to 3% of World GDP? 5%? We may only be a decade away from this, and the impact of this technological deflation will be more obvious.
Most high-tech companies have a business model that incorporates a sort of 'bizarro force' that is completely the opposite of what old-economy companies operate under : The price of the products sold by a high-tech company decreases over time. Any other company will manage inventory, pricing, and forecasts under an assumption of inflationary price increases, but a technology company exists under the reality that all inventory depreciates very quickly (at over 10% per quarter in many cases), and that price drops will shrink revenues unless unit sales rise enough to offset it (and assuming that enough unit inventory was even produced). This results in the constant pressure to create new and improved products every few months. Yet, high-tech companies have built hugely profitable businesses around these peculiar challenges, and at least 8 such companies have market capitalizations over $100 Billion. 6 of those 8 are headquartered in Silicon Valley.
Now, here is the point to ponder : We have never had a significant technology sector while also facing the fears (warranted or otherwise) of high inflation. When high inflation vanished in 1982, the technology sector was too tiny to be considered a significant contributor to macroeconomic statistics. In an environment of high inflation combined with a large technology industry, however, major consumer retail pricepoints, such as $99.99 or $199.99, become more affordable. The same also applies to enterprise-class customers. Thus, demand creeps upwards even as cost to produce the products goes down on the same Impact of Computing curve. This allows a technology company the ability to postpone price drops and expand margins, or to sell more volume at the same nominal dollar price. Hence, higher inflation causes the revenues and/or margins of technology companies to rise, which means their earnings-per-share certainly rises.
So what we are seeing is the gigantic amount of liquidity created by the Federal Reserve is instead cycling through technology companies and increasing their earnings. The products they sell, in turn, increase productivity and promptly push inflation back down. Every uptick in inflation merely guarantees its own pushback, and the 1.5% of GDP that mops up all the liquidity and creates this form of 'good' deflation can be termed as the 'Techno-Sponge'. So how much liquidity can it absorb before saturation?
At this point, if the US prints another $1 Trillion, that will still merely halt deflation, and there will be no hint of inflation at all. It would take a full $2 Trillion to saturate the techno-sponge, and push consumer inflation to even the less-than-terrifying level of 4% while also generating substantial jumps in productivity and tech company earnings. In fact, the demographics of the US, with baby boomers reaching their geriatric years, are highly deflationary (and this is the bad type of deflation), so the US would have to print another $1 Trillion every year for the next 10 years just to offset demographic deflation, and keep the techno-sponge saturated.
A techno-sponge that is 1.5% of GDP might be keeping CPI inflation at under 2%, but when the techno-sponge is 3% of GDP, even trillions of dollars of liquidity won't halt deflation. Deflation may become normal, even as living standards and productivity rise at ever-increasing rates. The people who will suffer are holders of debt, particularly mortgage debt. Inflating away debt will no longer be a tool available to rescue people (and governments) from their errors. The biggest beneficiaries will be technology companies, and those who are tied to them.
But to keep prosperity rising, productivity has to rise at the maximum possible rate. This requires the techno-sponge to be kept full at all times - the 'new normal'. Thus, the printing press has to start on the first $1 Trillion now.
Related :
“We’re not just trying to kill everything in the Gulf of Mexico, but everything that flies over it as well”.
Those are the words of the videographer, “Hurricane Creekkeeper John Wathen”, the man who made this video. He is associated with the Waterkeeper Alliance. Please spread this video around and make sure people see it. Even the most hardened oil fanatics might be stunned at the damage to everything this oil leak — still a gusher — is doing to the wildlife, the air, the marshes, the water. This is the biggest crime, or act of war, ever done to this country by anyone.
This video shows dolphins struggling and wildlife deaths towards the end — hundreds of dolphins and at least one whale, that are dying as they swim in the oil in the Gulf. Imagine their panic when they realize the sky is burning and the water, their habitat, has been totally poisoned. There is no where they can escape to. It’s just heartbreaking to imagine what they must be going through. Dolphins and whales are very intelligent animals and they are suffering and dying for our oil addiction. This is BP, murdering dolphins, whales, pelicans and sharks and everything else in the Gulf that used to live and thrive there. They have used so much dispersant to break up the oil to cover their own butts it’s not even clear whether most of the oil can ever be collected. It must be harder and harder for even the cheerleaders of oil to justify the use of it, given how dangerous getting it has become.
John Wathen says, “There has to be something better than putting all of this toxic smoke into the atmosphere”. He’s right. Why are they burning it, and why aren’t there ships collecting it to dispose of it? Because they want to sell it, and the price of oil is too low to make it worth BP’s while to actually collect it. Besides, if they did collect it, refine it and sell it, it would end up in the atmosphere anyway. That’s the life cycle of oil, polluting from the beginning to the end.
In my opinion, this oil “accident” and its aftermath is no less than an act of hostility, an act of war on the part of British Petroleum, than if they had bombed Louisiana outright.
It’s time for retaliation on the part of the United States. We should seize their corporation, and seize all their assets before they can hide any more of them. Seize their equipment, every last boat and skimmer, and force their engineers and rig workers to stop the leak and fix this problem. That would be so much more justified than the war in Iraq ever was.
Whoever posted the link for this video wrote:
This was the most emotionally disturbing video I have ever done!
A flight over the BP Slick Source where I saw at least 100 Dolphins in the oil, some dying. [...]
Researchers are gathering evidence to suggest that stem cells from the old are less useful when transplanted - which means that some form of repair or other manipulations may need to be included in future stem cell therapies for the degenerative conditions of aging: "Clinical trials of cardiac cell therapy have indicated limited benefits in aging patients, even though preclinical studies using young animals consistently reported significant improvements. Animal studies have demonstrated reduced efficacy of donor cells isolated from older individuals. Here, we evaluated the effects of donor age on the function of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in the context of cell therapy for ischemic cardiomyopathy. ... The regenerative capacity of hMSCs was significantly influenced by age. Transplanting young hMSCs improved functional outcomes after an MI by preventing matrix degradation and promoting angiogenesis. The clinical implication is that aged patients require an optimized source of stem cells for treatment."
View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20583954
Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/
Crayfish species, like lobsters, appear not to age in any easily measurable way. As for the study of other long-lived species, perhaps there is something to be learned here: "The marbled crayfish is an emerging laboratory model for development, epigenetics and toxicology that produces up to 400 genetically identical siblings per batch. It is easily cultured, has an adult size of 4-9 cm, a generation time of 6-7 months and a life span of 2-3 years. Experimental data and biological peculiarities like isogenicity, direct development, indeterminate growth, high regeneration capacity and negligible senescence suggest that the marbled crayfish is particularly suitable to investigate the dependency of ageing and longevity from non-genetic factors such as stochastic developmental variation, allocation of metabolic resources, damage and repair, caloric restriction and social stress. It is also well applicable to examine alterations of the epigenetic code with increasing age and to identify mechanisms that keep stem cells active until old age. As a representative of the sparsely investigated crustaceans and of animals with indeterminate growth and extended brood care the marbled crayfish may even contribute to evolutionary theories of ageing and longevity. Some relatives are recommended as substitutes for investigation of topics, for which the marbled crayfish is less suitable like genetics of ageing and achievement of life spans of decades under conditions of low food and low temperature. Research on ageing in the marbled crayfish and its relatives is of practical relevance for crustacean fisheries and aquaculture and may offer starting points for the development of novel anti-ageing interventions in humans."
View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20582627
Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/
The following is an excerpt from the June 29, 2010 Breakthrough Technology Alert, published by Agora Financial. Agora Financial is a fully independent publisher and has no financial connections to companies listed below. Breakthrough Technology Alert’s editor is industry expert Patrick Cox. Patrick is renowned for his innovative forecasts and keeping readers “ahead of the story”.
For more information about Patrick Cox and Breakthrough Technology Alert please visit http://www.agorafinancial.com
Q&A with ISCO
International Stem Cell Corp. (OTCBB: ISCO) has also been the target of rumor campaigns. ISCO, incidentally, recently announced further positive IP news. Specifically, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (ACT) was just issued U.S. Patent Number 7736896 covering a method for producing retinal pigment epithelial cells. ISCO, however, had previously acquired rights to this technology from ACT, so the award solidifies their position in stem cell eye therapies.
ISCO's corneal research also got an unexpected boost last week, though it's not clear how many people know it yet. A stem cell breakthrough from Italy made quite a few headlines. The article that provoked the coverage was in the June 23 online version of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Specifically, it featured clinical research from professor Graziella Pellegrini et al. titled "Limbal Stem-Cell Therapy and Long-Term Corneal Regeneration." A helpful video by ABC News can be viewed here.
The coverage of the journal article is, however, incomplete. So let me put it in perspective.
The procedure made use of the well-established practice of extracting and cultivating limbal stem cells. Each of the patients, in effect, had stem cells removed from at least one eye. Once the adult stem cells were multiplied in the lab, they were applied to the cornea. There, they regenerated the corneal epithelium (the outermost thin layer of the cornea), restoring sight.
This is wonderful proof of the power of stem cells, but it doesn't represent a breakthrough in terms of basic science or investment possibilities. This is because the cost of extracting these surviving stem cells is very high. So is multiplying and reattaching them. The only reason the experiments were even allowed to proceed is that all the cell materials come from the subjects of the procedures. They would not have been allowed if, for example, scientists wanted to use the stem cells from one patient to treat another patient. Nor is it clear to what extent, if any, a company can patent these procedures.
On the other hand, the Italian procedures were most successful when they were combined with the implantation of replacement corneal structures. Those replacement corneas cannot be regenerated from limbal stem cells. In fact, they came from cadavers.
ISCO, however, is now able to grow them in the lab to produce cheaper, safer corneas. ISCO is involved in discussions with various companies to commercialize those parthenogenic corneal structures.
For most patients, who have enough of their own stem cells to regenerate the corneal epithelium, ISCO's corneas are all that are required to recover sight. Eventually, in fact, I suspect that ISCO will also have off-the-shelf limbal stem cells that will regenerate the corneal epithelial too. These cells would be from each of ISCO's cell bank lines. Now being established, it will include 50-100 cell lines that immune match most of the world's population. No other company has this ability to provide inexpensive stem cells for the masses.
Now allow me to debunk some of the rumors currently being spread about ISCO. Normally, as you know, I don't like to dignify these attacks, but I do make exceptions when it's important. I'm doing this, by the way, in a question-and-answer format that board chairman Ken Aldrich was kind enough to answer. The questions deal with some of the unfounded rumors circulating. If these don't concern you, feel free to skip them. Q1. Did ISCO close its financing?
A1. Yes, they did a $10 million financing, and then used $2.5 million as part of a balance sheet cleanup that removed approximately $15 million of 10% preferred stock and still left them with an additional $7.5 million in cash on the balance sheet, in addition to whatever cash was already there.
Q2. Doesn't Socius hold a lot of preferred stock that will be a future burden to ISCO?
A2. No, all of that has been retired as part of the capital restructuring announced in an 8-K filed June 11, 2010. As a result, Socius and its predecessor company, Optimus, hold no preferred shares of ISCO at all.
Q3. Is the company running out of money?
A3. Based on the monthly "burn" rate of about $550,000 for the last 15 months ($562,000 for the last quarter), the proceeds of the company's most recent financing of $7.5 million after the repayment of the outstanding preferred stock of Socius and Optimus would give the company at least 12 months of "runway," even without any additional revenues from operations, licensing or partnerships.
I could go on, but this is pretty long. Next week, I'll have more updates.
For transformational profits,
Patrick Cox
To learn more about Patrick Cox and Breakthrough Technology Alert please click here. © 2010 by Agora Financial, LLC. 808 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means or for any reason without the consent of the publisher. The information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
The following is an excerpt from the June 29, 2010 Breakthrough Technology Alert, published by Agora Financial. Agora Financial is a fully independent publisher and has no financial connections to companies listed below. Breakthrough Technology Alert’s editor is industry expert Patrick Cox. Patrick is renowned for his innovative forecasts and keeping readers “ahead of the story”.
For more information about Patrick Cox and Breakthrough Technology Alert please visit http://www.agorafinancial.com
Q&A with ISCO
International Stem Cell Corp. (OTCBB: ISCO) has also been the target of rumor campaigns. ISCO, incidentally, recently announced further positive IP news. Specifically, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (ACT) was just issued U.S. Patent Number 7736896 covering a method for producing retinal pigment epithelial cells. ISCO, however, had previously acquired rights to this technology from ACT, so the award solidifies their position in stem cell eye therapies.
ISCO's corneal research also got an unexpected boost last week, though it's not clear how many people know it yet. A stem cell breakthrough from Italy made quite a few headlines. The article that provoked the coverage was in the June 23 online version of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Specifically, it featured clinical research from professor Graziella Pellegrini et al. titled "Limbal Stem-Cell Therapy and Long-Term Corneal Regeneration." A helpful video by ABC News can be viewed here.
The coverage of the journal article is, however, incomplete. So let me put it in perspective.
The procedure made use of the well-established practice of extracting and cultivating limbal stem cells. Each of the patients, in effect, had stem cells removed from at least one eye. Once the adult stem cells were multiplied in the lab, they were applied to the cornea. There, they regenerated the corneal epithelium (the outermost thin layer of the cornea), restoring sight.
This is wonderful proof of the power of stem cells, but it doesn't represent a breakthrough in terms of basic science or investment possibilities. This is because the cost of extracting these surviving stem cells is very high. So is multiplying and reattaching them. The only reason the experiments were even allowed to proceed is that all the cell materials come from the subjects of the procedures. They would not have been allowed if, for example, scientists wanted to use the stem cells from one patient to treat another patient. Nor is it clear to what extent, if any, a company can patent these procedures.
On the other hand, the Italian procedures were most successful when they were combined with the implantation of replacement corneal structures. Those replacement corneas cannot be regenerated from limbal stem cells. In fact, they came from cadavers.
ISCO, however, is now able to grow them in the lab to produce cheaper, safer corneas. ISCO is involved in discussions with various companies to commercialize those parthenogenic corneal structures.
For most patients, who have enough of their own stem cells to regenerate the corneal epithelium, ISCO's corneas are all that are required to recover sight. Eventually, in fact, I suspect that ISCO will also have off-the-shelf limbal stem cells that will regenerate the corneal epithelial too. These cells would be from each of ISCO's cell bank lines. Now being established, it will include 50-100 cell lines that immune match most of the world's population. No other company has this ability to provide inexpensive stem cells for the masses.
Now allow me to debunk some of the rumors currently being spread about ISCO. Normally, as you know, I don't like to dignify these attacks, but I do make exceptions when it's important. I'm doing this, by the way, in a question-and-answer format that board chairman Ken Aldrich was kind enough to answer. The questions deal with some of the unfounded rumors circulating. If these don't concern you, feel free to skip them. Q1. Did ISCO close its financing?
A1. Yes, they did a $10 million financing, and then used $2.5 million as part of a balance sheet cleanup that removed approximately $15 million of 10% preferred stock and still left them with an additional $7.5 million in cash on the balance sheet, in addition to whatever cash was already there.
Q2. Doesn't Socius hold a lot of preferred stock that will be a future burden to ISCO?
A2. No, all of that has been retired as part of the capital restructuring announced in an 8-K filed June 11, 2010. As a result, Socius and its predecessor company, Optimus, hold no preferred shares of ISCO at all.
Q3. Is the company running out of money?
A3. Based on the monthly "burn" rate of about $550,000 for the last 15 months ($562,000 for the last quarter), the proceeds of the company's most recent financing of $7.5 million after the repayment of the outstanding preferred stock of Socius and Optimus would give the company at least 12 months of "runway," even without any additional revenues from operations, licensing or partnerships.
I could go on, but this is pretty long. Next week, I'll have more updates.
For transformational profits,
Patrick Cox
To learn more about Patrick Cox and Breakthrough Technology Alert please click here. © 2010 by Agora Financial, LLC. 808 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means or for any reason without the consent of the publisher. The information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
Low-back pain is a common and costly problem. This study estimated the effectiveness of a group cognitive behavioural intervention in addition to best practice advice in people with low-back pain in primary care.
Over 1 year, the cognitive behavioural intervention had a sustained effect on troublesome subacute and chronic low-back pain at a low cost to the health-care provider.
References:
Posted at Clinical Cases and Images. Stay updated and subscribe, follow us on Twitter and connect on Facebook.
This infographic-approached design by Jade Jariya, is a modern and simple way to portray the consequences of eating disorders, as well as highlighting body image statistics. The full poster has a strange colorized effect but the true color is reflected in the close-ups above. A much prettier design than most posters in doctor’s offices!
 Brisbane Times | Minister rejects Jamie Oliver approach to health The Associated Press ... told the British Medical Association that the chef's campaign to improve nutrition among students did not result in more children eating school meals. ... Jamie Oliver health approach "doesn't work"Reuters UK Health Minister Gives Jamie Oliver's School Lunch Program an 'F'AOL News Jamie Oliver hits back at health secretary over school meals 'insult'The Guardian WebMD.Boots.com -Independent -The Press Association all 205 news articles » |
KHON2 | Big Island physician training gets $140K Bizjournals.com “With the growing physician shortage we face in Hawaii, this is a crucial step forward,” Jerris Hedges, dean of the medical school, said in a prepared ... Funding to help relieve shortage of Hawaii doctorsHonolulu Star-Advertiser Physicians struggle to survive doctor shortageHawaii News Now |
St. Laurent spiritual centre expands The Suburban ... which will go towards the non-denominational Spiritual Enlightenment Centre's overhead and its new seniors program and future humanitarian projects. ... |
 Telegraph.co.uk | Homeopathy is a bitter pill for the taxpayer Telegraph.co.uk The cost, however, has never really been the issue; rather, as Dr Dolphin put it, this is about the Enlightenment. Ten23, and other sceptics, see homeopathy ... |
Erik Voeten: David Brooks, Epiphanies, and Social Science History News Network I can pick a few ancient insights into humanity that Brooks wouldn't be too pleased about. Anyway, I thought that the Enlightenment had taken care of all ... David Brooks: If you're trying to change behavior, be ready to failDayton Daily News |
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Discipline helps surmount challenges Indian NewsLink We should also train our senses to withdraw from killing animals for food and focus on achieving enlightenment. It would be futile to heal our life without ... |
Our choices of the spiritual books of 2010 that best explore the quest for meaning and purpose, wholeness and healing, commitment and community, contemplation and social activism.
