Monthly Archives: August 2012

Follow the Next Breakthrough Drug Makers with Biotechnology ETFs

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Biotechnology stock pickers have to meticulously comb through a lot of startup businesses to finally land on a diamond in the rough. On the other hand, investors may also consider biotech exchange traded funds as a way to gain a diversified position for the overall sector.

According to Paragon Report, the recent FDA Amendment Act of 2007 has forced the biotech sector to accept more strict standards for approvals on new drugs, including mandatory risk evaluation and mitigation strategies.

Consequently, pharmaceutical firms have shifted from primary care driven blockbuster drugs to specialized, niche products targeting oncology, immunology and inflammation, where the need is so high that prices are more easily accepted by regulators, according to a IMAP Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology report. [Biotech ETFs in Multiyear Breakout]

Kaul, the portfolio manager of Fidelity Advisor Biotechnology Fund, draws similarities between the biotech industry and Silicon Valley circa 1984 when startups began their 25 year boom.

My long-term view is that the next five, 10, 15, 20 years for the [biotech] industry will be one of the most promising places to be in the world, Kaul said in a Bank Investment Consultant article.

The quality of drugs in the pipeline should improve, which, he believes, would fuel future growth.

The biotech industry has one of the best business models in the world, with high barriers for entry, high margins and long copyright protections.

Kaul, though, cautions that investors have to be conscious of minimizing the risk of blow-ups and disappointment in the labs, highlighting the difficulty in discovering a workable and potentially lucrative wonder drug.

Investors, though, may gain broad exposure to the overall sector and limit their risks to individual holdings through ETF products.

The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) is the largest biotech ETF, with $2.21 billion in assets and a 0.48% expense ratio. IBB is up 29.0% year-to-date.

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Patrick Dempsey Tweets 'Grey's Anatomy' Eric Dane spoiler

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Patrick Dempsey Tweeted a potential "Grey's Anatomy" spoiler, regarding Eric Dane.

In the photo posted on July 30, which Dempsey later took down at ABC's request, Dane is shown unconscious in a hospital bed. In July, it was announced that the actor would be leaving the medical series next season, after six years of portraying Dr. Mark "McSteamy" Sloan.

Dane's character will reportedly to survive a plane crash seen in the season finale in May, according to TV Line, but his on-again-off-again girlfriend Lexie Grey did not. But Executive Producer Shonda Rhimes said that fans shouldn't assume anything about the upcoming season.

"When we start the season, we are ahead enough in time where we see the outcome of lots of things. And in the second episode of the season, there's rewind - we go backwards - to where they're still in the forest," told Entertainment Weekly. "So you see what happened and in the next episode, you see how we get there."

Dane has been a part of the series since its second season. Dane will reportedly be back for a number of episodes on the series' ninth season this fall to finish out the character's story arc.

"I am extremely grateful to everyone at 'Grey's,' ABC and Shondaland for the experience and memories I have had over the course of this run," the 39-year-old actor told TV Line. "It has been wonderful to work alongside and learn from a creative force such as Shonda Rhimes."

Dane is married to actress Rebecca Gayheart and the couple has two daughters together. Dane has also had roles in "Burlesque," "Valentine's Day," "Marley & Me" and "X-Men: The Last Stand."

In addition to Dane's exit, it was previously reported that Kim Raver will not return to the series next season either. Chyler Leigh, who portrayed Lexie Grey on the series, was killed in the season finale.

Season 9 of "Grey's Anatomy" premieres on September 27.

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Patrick Dempsey Tweets 'Grey's Anatomy' Eric Dane spoiler

‘Doctor Who’: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ creator Shonda Rhimes talks about her ‘psychotic’ love for the Time Lord

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How much does Greys Anatomy and Private Practice creator Shonda Rhimes love the British sci-fi show Doctor Who? I feel the two highlights of my past five years are I got to meet (former Who executive producer) Russell Davies and I got to meet the star of (Who spin-off show) Torchwood, John Barrowman, who was in one of our pilots, reveals the prolific TV showrunner. Indeed, an episode from the most recent season of Greys Anatomy featured a Who fan who lost his ear at a fan convention while rushing to get a model TARDIS signed by Davies.

Rhimes talked about her love for the show in last weeks Entertainment Weekly Doctor Who cover story (see above). But she had much, much more to say about the 49-year-old TV institution whose new season debuts on BBC America later this summer as you can read below.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So, are all the writers on Greys Anatomy fans of Doctor Who?SHONDA RHIMES: Were psychotic Doctor Who fans. Im always talking about Doctor Who over there. Even the people who dont watch Doctor Who at Greys know about Doctor Who because its all we talk about in the writers room. When we were doing that episode, it was supposed to be the all-male show, and we were talking about the things that we could never do in an episode that was geared towards the women and one was a comic convention. Then we were like, Well, if were going to do Comic Con, whats really interesting to us? And for me it was Doctor Who. We loved the idea of people fighting over a TARDIS signed by Russell Davies. We wrote it as real fans, which was great.

How did viewers react to that show? It was interesting. There were some viewers who loved it. Some of our guy viewers were like, This is great, this is exciting. And then there were some of our girl viewers who had just never seen Doctor Who and were like, I dont get it. And I would just say, Well, you have to watch it. Because its got all the good stuff in it.

When did you start watching Doctor Who? Id never seen the original, old-timey Doctor Who. Id heard about it but Id never seen it. I probably picked it up around season 2 [after its 2005 relaunch] and then went back and watched season 1 and really loved it and have been an avid fan ever since. I own all the DVDs and I own the books that Russell wrote about it. I got up in arms about Matt Smith [replacing David Tennant] and then fell in love with Matt Smith, just like everybody else.

Image Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

So many TV shows have referenced Doctor Who recently. Is it a show which is generally beloved by TV writers.I think it is. I mean if you have any feelings for sci-fi, you know the show and you love it. Im not even a giant sci-fi watcher. I liked Buffy and I liked Angel and I liked Battlestar butI hate to say this because Ill probably get some lettersIve never seen episode of Star Trek. But if you are at all interested in television thats taking chances then, yeah, I think you like it.

Its completely different from anything thats on network television here, or even on cable. Im not even sure it can exist on American television in the way it exists on British television. I think there is a freedom of storytelling and a leap of logic that Russell is willing to take and Steven is willing to take that Im not sure network studios here would get on board with. I think thered be a lot of questions. Doctor Who travels through time? It would just get strange for them.

Steven Moffat told me that he felt one of the big differences between the new Doctor Who and the old one is that the new version is more emotional and is thus more female-friendly.I dont know if its more female-friendly but Steven Moffats Doctor Who feels like its told from Amy Ponds point of view, which is a departure from the way Russell did it. I think its interesting and I think it works. Youre sort of rediscovering the Doctor all over again.

You know Karen Gillans leaving the show, right? I know. Im very upset. When I heard she was leaving I tried to hire her. I think shes really, really talented. But apparently shes doing a movie next, so we couldnt get her.

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This week's online religious reads raise questions about "biblical standards for marriage" (they might surprise some readers), whether the Internet is a blessing or curse when it comes to spirituality, the growth in the global middle class and its implications for social justice.

Esther J. Hamori, an associate professor of Hebrew Bible at Union Theological Seminary in New York, argues that a careful reading of what's often called the Old Testament yields some surprises about marriages and divine attitudes toward them.

"While the traditional view is that the Bible sets standards, and cultures either follow these standards or don't, the Bible itself shows us that cultural norms and biblical positions shifted in tandem," she writes in The Huffington Post.

This does not mean that anything goes; it's simply what we see in the biblical texts themselves. It does not mean that there are no standards; there were always incest taboos, for example, but what counts as incest is culturally dictated, and our society does not embrace many biblical perspectives on this (e.g., the ideal of marrying one's first cousin). It does not mean that God is a pushover; it shows, if anything, a God who will engage people in the world in which they live.

The marriage between the Internet and spirituality looks like it's going to last, according to the Rev. Paul Raushenbush, formerly of Princeton University and now religion editor of The Huffington Post. In a lecture recounted in The Chautauquan Daily, he observed:

In 2000, 21 percent of Internet users went online to find religious or spiritual information; in 2001, the percentage jumped to 25; and by 2004, 64 percent of Internet users were utilizing the Web to discover information about religion.

According to a poll administered by Pew Research Center in 2011, 79 percent of religiously active Americans use the Internet. Ninety-three percent of online community members said the Internet helps them stay informed about social issues.

And speaking of social issues, the middle class, threatened some say in the United States, may be growing from a global standpoint.

The National Intelligence Council projects that poverty "will be virtually eliminated by 2030" and the global middle class will grow to 2 billion people, according to an Associated Press story. What are the implications?

Governance will be increasingly difficult in countries with rising incomes . . . . middle-class people have middle-class values and aspirations for greater individual empowerment and are now armed with social media and other technological tools to bring that about, including the overthrow of repressive governments," an official said.

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Russian space craft docks in record time

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An unstaffed Russian spacecraft is reported to have docked with the International Space Station after making the trip from Earth in record time.

A new approach manoeuvre allowed the Progress M16-M vessel to reach the space station, 350 kilometres above the Earth, after fewer orbits, taking six hours instead of the usual two-plus days.

The cargo ship took off on board a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying 2.6 tonnes of supplies, fuel, scientific equipment and gifts for the space station's crew.

It docked successfully on Thursday after four orbits round the Earth, several reports in Russian media quoted mission control as saying.

After further testing, the new approach could be used for crewed Soyuz capsules, cutting time and expense.

'If you can get the crew to orbit in six hours and onboard the International Space Station, that could be a tremendous benefit over the two-plus days it takes today,' Dan Harman, NASA's space station manager of operations and integration, told reporters last week.

The station has crew from Russia, the US and Japan.

It is also hosting two other cargo vessels, Japan's H-II Transfer Vehicle-3 and Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle-3, or Edoardo Amaldi.

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Russian space craft docks in record time

Cargo spaceship makes superspeed trip to space station

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An unmanned Russian cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station Wednesday, less than six hours after it launched into orbit. The successful maneuver marked the first time a same-day docking has ever been accomplished at the massive orbiting outpost.

The robotic Progress 48 cargo freighter automatically parked to the Pirs docking compartment on the Russian segment of the complex slightly ahead of schedule, at 9:19 p.m. EDT (0119 GMT Aug. 2), as both spacecraft flew over the Pacific Ocean. In addition to delivering fresh supplies to the space station, the spacecraft also tested the novel same-day rendezvous and docking procedure.

According to NASA officials, the docking test proceeded smoothly and the Progress vehicle's systems responded flawlessly throughout the shortened flight to the space station.

The Progress 48 launched into orbit atop a Soyuz rocket earlier today, at 3:35 p.m. EDT (1935 GMT), from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in central Asia. Roughly six hours later, the spacecraft arrived at the orbiting outpost.

- space station flight director Chris Edelen

Russia is aiming to eventually implement this same-day docking plan for future manned flights of Soyuz space capsules to the International Space Station.

"They're looking to eventually take this into the Soyuz phase," Dan Harman, NASA's space station manager of operations and integration, said in a news briefing last week. "If you can get the crew to orbit in six hours and onboard the International Space Station, that could be a tremendous benefit over the two-plus days it takes today." [Photos: Russia's 1st Same-Day Cargo Ship Flight to Space Station]

Shortening the orbital chase

Progress and Soyuz vehicles typically spend two days chasing the space station in orbit after launch. A quicker arrival to the orbiting complex could cut down the overall amount of consumables such as food, water and fuel needed for the onboard crew.

Docking to the station within hours of launch also minimizes the amount of time the astronauts spend inside the small Soyuz capsule, which could improve the comfort of the spaceflyers, said space station flight director Chris Edelen.

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FAA: Commercial Space Flight Lifting Off

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August 1-The opportunity to travel into space may be here sooner than many people thought according to a study the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Space Florida released today. Based on a market forecast for reusable suborbital rockets, more than 10,000 commercial opportunities may be available in the next decade for a person to experience weightlessness through space travel and to see the curvature of the earth.

Suborbital Reusable Vehicles (SRVs) are rockets designed to travel into space without achieving orbit. To date, existing types of suborbital vehicles have taken hundreds of component and test flights. Already, five new designs are being developed, with initial operations planned to begin in 2013 and 2014.

The FAA is responsible for licensing, regulating and inspecting SRVs. To help the industry, the FAA and other government agencies meet future SRV market demand, the "Ten Year Forecast of Suborbital Reusable Vehicles" analyzes emerging SRV markets and identifies drivers of growth.

The study includes three scenarios of demand for the SRV market based on modest, decreased and significant growth. Looking at the most favorable "Growth Scenario," the study finds the number of available seats would increase from 1,096 seats in the first year to 1,592 seats in the 10th year. The study also indicates that over a 10-year period, SRV flights could bring in an estimated $300 million to more than $1.6 billion in economic impact.

Based on the market study, SRVs have the potential to offer more than just opportunities for space tourism. Although the leading market is expected to be commercial human space flight, the study also shows that other potential markets include: aerospace technologies testing and demonstrations; educational opportunities; basic applied research; media and entertainment; as well as, small satellite deployment. In fact, one day SRVs may also help in earth imagery and point to point transportation.

A fact sheet on the study is available at http://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=13792

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Stephen Colbert offers a tip of the hat to NASA's Mars Rover (+video)

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NASA administrator and veteran astronaut John Grunsfeld appeared on the Colbert Report on Wednesday, where he discussed the planned landing of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, which is scheduled to land on the Red Planet on Sunday night.

Even TV comedian Stephen Colbert isn't immune to the excitement surrounding the historic upcoming landing of NASA's newest rover on Mars.

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The huge Mars Science Laboratory, also known as theCuriosity rover, is slated to touch down on the Red Planet on Aug. 5 at 10:31 p.m. PDT (1:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 6; 0531 GMT). The rover's thrilling descent through the Martian atmosphere is so complex that it has been nicknamed "theseven minutes of terror."

John Grunsfeld, a former veteran astronaut and NASA's associate administrator for science missions, spoke to Colbert about the Curiosity rover's landing Wednesday (Aug. 1), during an appearance on Comedy Central's hit late-night faux-conservative news show "The Colbert Report."

With the help of an animated video of Curiosity's landing, Grunsfeld detailed the steps involved in the rover's harrowing journey to the surface of Mars.

"As it enters the atmosphere, it will start slowing down," Grunsfeld explained. "It will reach about 10 Gs of acceleration."

Before setting its wheels down on the Red Planet, a supersonic parachute, followed by a rocket-powered sky crane, will help slow the rover's speed from more than 13,000 mph (21,000 kilometers per hour) to zero in only seven minutes. [Photos: Stephen Colbert Visits NASA]

"That's not science fiction that's really going to happen on Monday," Colbert said following the animation.

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Stephen Colbert offers a tip of the hat to NASA's Mars Rover (+video)

Stephen Colbert offers a tip of the hat to NASA's Mars Rover

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NASA administrator and veteran astronaut John Grunsfeld appeared on the Colbert Report on Wednesday, where he discussed the planned landing of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, which is scheduled to land on the Red Planet on Sunday night.

Even TV comedian Stephen Colbert isn't immune to the excitement surrounding the historic upcoming landing of NASA's newest rover on Mars.

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

The huge Mars Science Laboratory, also known as theCuriosity rover, is slated to touch down on the Red Planet on Aug. 5 at 10:31 p.m. PDT (1:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 6; 0531 GMT). The rover's thrilling descent through the Martian atmosphere is so complex that it has been nicknamed "theseven minutes of terror."

John Grunsfeld, a former veteran astronaut and NASA's associate administrator for science missions, spoke to Colbert about the Curiosity rover's landing Wednesday (Aug. 1), during an appearance on Comedy Central's hit late-night faux-conservative news show "The Colbert Report."

With the help of an animated video of Curiosity's landing, Grunsfeld detailed the steps involved in the rover's harrowing journey to the surface of Mars.

"As it enters the atmosphere, it will start slowing down," Grunsfeld explained. "It will reach about 10 Gs of acceleration."

Before setting its wheels down on the Red Planet, a supersonic parachute, followed by a rocket-powered sky crane, will help slow the rover's speed from more than 13,000 mph (21,000 kilometers per hour) to zero in only seven minutes. [Photos: Stephen Colbert Visits NASA]

"That's not science fiction that's really going to happen on Monday," Colbert said following the animation.

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Stephen Colbert offers a tip of the hat to NASA's Mars Rover

Will NASA's $2.5 billion Mars rover crash on Sunday? (+video)

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NASA's Curiosity Mars rover faces a terrifying seven-minute plunge through the Red Planet's atmosphere using a first-of-its-kind landing system involving a supersonic parachute and a 'sky-crane' that will lower the rover to the Martian surface.

Day by day, hour by hour, the tension is building. NASAs mega-mission to Mars and delivery of the Curiosity rover could be a smashing success or just smashing.

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The Mars Science Laboratorys 1-ton Curiosity rover is factory-equipped with science gear to delve into whether Mars ever was or might be today an eco-friendly setting able to sustain microbial life.

A seven-minute, terrorizing plunge through the planets atmosphere awaits the spacecraft. MSLs Curiosity rover is scheduled to touch down at Gale Crater at 10:30 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5 (1:30 a.m. EDT, 0530 GMT, Aug. 6).

At that moment, NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is to attempt imaging the final seconds of the robot's death-defying high dive.

"We will indeed be imaging the spot MSL is predicted to be about 60 seconds prior to landing, but the odds of capturing it are estimated at 60 percent," said Alfred McEwen at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is principal investigator of the orbiter's super-powerful High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). [Mars Rover Curiosity's Daring Landing in Pictures]

"The chips are really down on this one," said Robert Zubrin, president of the Mars Society, which is dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of Mars.

"If it succeeds, it will be far and away the best Mars mission ever. It will make extraordinary scientific discoveries and fire the public's imagination with the vision of exploring another world," he told SPACE.com.

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Will NASA's $2.5 billion Mars rover crash on Sunday? (+video)

Will NASA's $2.5 billion Mars rover crash on Sunday?

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NASA's Curiosity Mars rover faces a terrifying seven-minute plunge through the Red Planet's atmosphere using a first-of-its-kind landing system involving a supersonic parachute and a 'sky-crane' that will lower the rover to the Martian surface.

Day by day, hour by hour, the tension is building. NASAs mega-mission to Mars and delivery of the Curiosity rover could be a smashing success or just smashing.

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

The Mars Science Laboratorys 1-ton Curiosity rover is factory-equipped with science gear to delve into whether Mars ever was or might be today an eco-friendly setting able to sustain microbial life.

A seven-minute, terrorizing plunge through the planets atmosphere awaits the spacecraft. MSLs Curiosity rover is scheduled to touch down at Gale Crater at 10:30 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5 (1:30 a.m. EDT, 0530 GMT, Aug. 6).

At that moment, NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is to attempt imaging the final seconds of the robot's death-defying high dive.

"We will indeed be imaging the spot MSL is predicted to be about 60 seconds prior to landing, but the odds of capturing it are estimated at 60 percent," said Alfred McEwen at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is principal investigator of the orbiter's super-powerful High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). [Mars Rover Curiosity's Daring Landing in Pictures]

"The chips are really down on this one," said Robert Zubrin, president of the Mars Society, which is dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of Mars.

"If it succeeds, it will be far and away the best Mars mission ever. It will make extraordinary scientific discoveries and fire the public's imagination with the vision of exploring another world," he told SPACE.com.

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Will NASA's $2.5 billion Mars rover crash on Sunday?

NASA Marking Historic Mars Rover Landing with Flurry of Events

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NASA's car-size Curiosity rover is days away from its high-stakes landing on Mars, and a host of planned events will allow people to follow along as the spacecraft makes its thrilling journey to the surface of the Red Planet.

After traveling through space for about 8.5 months, Curiosity (also called the Mars Science Laboratory) is scheduled to touch down on Mars on Aug. 5 at 10:31 p.m. PDT (1:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 6; 0531 GMT).

The rover will descend to the surface attached to a rocket-powered sky crane, which will be used to slow the spacecraft's speed from more than 13,000 miles per hour (21,000 kilometers per hour) to zero as it flies through the Martian atmosphere. This unprecedented landing is so complex that it has been nicknamed "the seven minutes of terror."

"The Curiosity landing is the hardest NASA robotic mission ever attempted in the history of exploration of Mars, or any of our robotic exploration," John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science missions, said in a recent news briefing.

Curiosity is equipped with a suite of 10 instruments to investigate whether Mars is, or ever was, a suitable place to host microbial life. The rover's nail-biting landing on Mars, coupled with its intriguing mission, could garner wide interest in the $2.5 billion endeavor, NASA officials said. [Photos: How Mars Rover Curiosity's Landing Works]

It also helps that the high-profile landing happens to fall during a time when more people, particularly students, are able to pay close attention, Grunsfeld said.

"Given that we are in the heart of summer, there's a real opportunity to achieve tremendous broad public engagement on this adventure on Mars," he said.

NASA is planning a host of events for educational outreach and to build awareness about the mission among the public.

"We're going to engage summer camps, science centers, our NASA centers," Grunsfeld said. "In fact, all around the world, people will be following the Mars Science Laboratory landing and the subsequent adventures of the Curiosity rover."

The agency is hosting its first-ever multi-center social media event tomorrow (Aug. 3). The simulcast event will connect seven NASA centers, including the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., the mission control epicenter for the Mars Science Laboratory mission.

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European researchers identify materials at the nanoscale

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Spanish and German researchers have made a new instrumental development that solves a key materials science and nanotechnology question: how to chemically identify materials at the nanometre scale.

One of modern chemistry and materials science's main goals is to achieve the non-invasive chemical mapping of materials with nanometre-scale resolution.

Although a variety of high-resolution imaging techniques currently exist, such as electron microscopy or scanning probe microscopy, their chemical sensitivity cannot meet the demands of modern chemical nano-analytics. And despite the high chemical sensitivity offered by optical spectroscopy, its resolution is limited by diffraction to about half the wavelength, thus preventing nano-scale-resolved chemical mapping.

But now the European team has come up with a new method called Nano-FTIR, as they explain in the journal Nano Letters.

Nano-FTIR is an optical technique that combines scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) and Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.

The team illuminated the metallised tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM) with a broadband infrared laser, and analysed the backscattered light with a specially designed Fourier Transform spectrometer. This meant they could demonstrate local infrared spectroscopy with a spatial resolution of less than 20 nanometres.

Lead study author Florian Huth from Spanish research centre nanoGUNE, based in San Sebastin, comments: 'Nano-FTIR thus allows for fast and reliable chemical identification of virtually any infrared-active material on the nanometer scale.'

To boot, nano-FTIR spectra match extremely well with conventional FTIR spectra. The spatial resolution is increased by more than a factor of 300 compared to conventional infrared spectroscopy.

Rainer Hillenbrand, also from nanoGUNE, says: 'The high sensitivity to chemical composition combined with ultra-high resolution makes nano-FTIR a unique tool for research, development and quality control in polymer chemistry, biomedicine and pharmaceutical industry.'

For example, nano-FTIR can be applied for the chemical identification of nano-scale sample contaminations.

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European researchers identify materials at the nanoscale

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers Goes to Penn Medicine Researcher

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PHILADELPHIA A physician from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has received the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. Peter Reese, MD, MSCE, assistant professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for "innovative work on ethical approaches to expanding access to organ transplantation."

"I feel very grateful to receive this award. I owe a great deal to my mentors and collaborators at Penn for their support," said Dr. Reese. "I hope that the award will direct attention to the pressing need to increase organ donation and reduce waiting times for transplants."

Dr. Reese, who takes care of kidney transplant recipients and living kidney donors, received the PECASE award for his efforts to develop effective strategies to increase access to kidney and liver transplantation. He uses tools from epidemiology, biostatistics, health services research and medical ethics to describe disparities in transplantation and methods to overcome them. Through policy development work with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), his work helps to translate clinical research into effective national policy.

Dr. Reese's research was among the first to examine the practice and ethical implications of accepting live kidney donors with risk factors for kidney disease. He has written specifically about barriers to live donor transplantation, the use of kidneys from deceased donors at increased risk of HIV and other blood-borne viral infection, and the implications of proposed organ allocation systems for the elderly.

Dr. Reese's research efforts have been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the American Society of Transplantation, a T. Franklin Williams Award in geriatric research (co-sponsored by the Association of Specialty Professors and the American Society of Nephrology), and the Leonard Davis Institute.

For more information on the award, please see the press release from The White House.

###

Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine is currently ranked #2 in U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $479.3 million awarded in the 2011 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

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Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers Goes to Penn Medicine Researcher

Vet medicine supplier fined

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A VETERINARY medicine supplier, Ceva Animal Health (formerly Nature Vet), was convicted last week on two counts under Australias agvet chemical laws for supplying veterinary antibiotics contrary to their permit conditions.

Under permit, Ceva was allowed to sell a combination of two antibioticsrifampicin and erythromycinunder very strict conditions to minimise the risk of antibiotic resistance developing. Both these antibiotics are important in human as well as animal medicine, with rifampicin being regarded as high importance in treating bacterial infections that are resistant to other antibiotics.

The APVMA uncovered the permit breaches through a compliance audit, following some irregularities identified through routine internal screening, said APVMAs Compliance Manager, Dr Jan Klaver.

Following Cevas guilty plea in the NSW Local Court, the court found the offences proven.

Ceva was convicted and fined $5000 for supplying the antibiotics contrary to requirements of Section 78 (1) of the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994.

The company was also convicted and fined a further $3000 for wrongfully supplying these antibiotics beyond their use-by date. Costs were also awarded to the APVMA.

The APVMA is actively monitoring compliance of agvet chemicals and their supply with relevant manufacturing, registration and permit conditions, Dr Klaver said.

We make no apologies for taking strong action against companies who take chances with these products and even more so when we are dealing with products that are so important to human medicine as well.

The combination of erythromycin and rifampicin is a treatment of choice for Rhodococcus equi infectionan important cause of pneumonia in foalswhich may become established as an endemic disease at breeding facilities.

Immuno-compromised people, such as transplant patients or those with HIV-AIDS may also be at risk of contracting R. equi infections.

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Commonwealth Medical college names new leader

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The Commonwealth Medical College has named a new leader.

Steven J. Scheinman, M.D., professor of medicine and pharmacology at SUNY Upstate Medical University, will become the second permanent president and dean of the region's only medical school.

Dr. Scheinman's appointment comes less than two months after the school received provisional accreditation and as the college continues to seek an affiliation with a hospital or another college to ease financial difficulties. He will also be charged with seeing the school's first class of students through their fourth year, with the college's first medical-degree graduation this spring.

He begins Sept. 10.

After the school's founding dean and president Robert D'Alessandri, M.D., abruptly resigned in April 2011, Lois Margaret Nora, M.D., served as interim president for one year. Robert Wright, M.D., has served in the interim role since the end of June.

Dr. Scheinman previously served as SUNY Upstate Medical University's senior vice president and dean of the College of Medicine. He earned international prominence for his research into the genetics of inherited kidney diseases and kidney stones, according to TCMC. He has been on the faculty at Upstate for nearly 30 years, during which he served as chief of the nephrology division in the department of medicine for 10 years where he doubled the size of the faculty and grew the dialysis program.

He received his medical degree with honors from Yale University and is board-certified in internal medicine and nephrology.

"After an extensive national search, Dr. Scheinman emerged as an exceptional leader with a strong and broad vision to advance the college's educational, administrative, and research activities in exciting new ways," Louis DeNaples, chairman of the college's board of trustees said in a statement from the school. "TCMC is extremely fortunate to have recruited a leader with Dr. Scheinman's outstanding talents and breadth of experience in medical education. His character is consonant with TCMC's mission and values."

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Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com

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Commonwealth Medical college names new leader

Lawsuit: Corpse was too fat for med school

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Published: Aug. 2, 2012 at 12:01 PM

NEW YORK, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- A New York family's lawsuit against a hospital alleges a medical school rejected a man's corpse for being too large.

The family of George Cardel filed a lawsuit after the 59-year-old man, who weighed about 300 pounds, was pronounced dead at Long Island Jewish Medical Center after suffering a heart attack Dec. 29, 2011, the New York Daily News reported Thursday.

The lawsuit alleges Cardel's last request was for his body to be donated to science, but the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine at Hofstra University rejected the corpse for being too large and the hospital took 13 days to return the body, resulting in heavy decomposition that led to the body needing to be cremated.

"We thought everything was taken care of until 13 days later," said Cardel's sister, Maryann O'Donnell.

Officials at the hospital said they attempted to donate the corpse to multiple medical schools, but there were no takers.

The lawsuit alleges "grave humiliation."

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Lawsuit: Corpse was too fat for med school