Monthly Archives: August 2012

External payloads delivered to station by Japanese vessel

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The International Space Station's robotics systems, under manual and remote control by astronauts and ground controllers, have transferred a cache of experiments from a Japanese resupply craft to external platforms aboard the orbiting outpost.

The barrel-shaped spacecraft, nicknamed Kounotori 3, reached the complex July 27, flying in formation below the station while astronauts unlimbered the lab's robotic arm to snare the HTV resupply craft from space.

Kounotori means "white stork" in Japanese.

The space station crew opened the hatch to the HTV's pressurized cargo module July 28 to begin unloading more than 7,000 pounds of equipment, including food and clothing, an aquatic habitat to study how microgravity impacts marine life, a remote-controlled Earth observation camera, a critical part for the lab's water regeneration system, and a Japanese cooling water recirculation pump, according to NASA.

The cargo craft also delivered five small CubeSat satellites and a Japanese-built deployer apparatus. The CubeSats will be released outside the space station beginning this fall.

Two payload packages mounted on an external platform inside the HTV required removal by the station's Canadian and Japanese robotics systems.

The Canadian and Japanese robot arms transferred the HTV's exposed pallet to a connecting port on the space station's Kibo laboratory Aug. 6. The outpost's Dextre robotic handyman, operating on commands from the ground, on Aug. 7 moved NASA's Space Communications and Navigation Testbed to its operating location on the space station truss.

Developed by NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, the SCAN Testbed payload includes three experimental next-generation radios capable of being updated with fresh software in flight.

Future space missions could use similar radios for communications and navigation functions. Ground controllers could install new software to alter the radio's capabilities, reducing the time and money needed to ensure spacecraft radios meet a mission's changing needs.

"The ability to change the operating characteristics of the radio's software after launch allows missions to change the way a radio communicates with ground controllers, and offers the flexibility to adapt to new science opportunities and increased data return," said a fact sheet posted on a NASA website.

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External payloads delivered to station by Japanese vessel

NASA Pilots Capture Perseid Meteor Dust at 65,000 Feet

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Photo: NASA

Many astronomy fans are focused on the Perseid meteor showers this week and pilots at NASAs Dryden Flight Research Center are no different. But rather than waiting for nightfall and simply watching the streaks of light across the sky, the pilots are flying a Cold War-era spy plane on several missions this week to capture samples of the cosmic dust as it settles through the stratosphere.

The airplane is a civilian version of the Lockheed U-2 spy plane known as an ER-2 (Earth Resources). The aircraft have been used by NASA as a high-altitude science platform for decades, which is actually one of the cover stories used by the airplane maker and CIA when the airplane was originally being developed. This week one of NASAs ER-2s will fly three separate eight-hour missions at more than 65,000 feet to collect dust from the Perseid meteor showers.

The airplane is equipped with collectors under each wing (the collectors are not in the picture above) and have clam-shell doors that can be controlled by the pilot. Once at altitude the pilot opens the doors, which exposes surfaces that have been coated with a sticky, sterile silicon oil that collects material hopefully Perseid meteor dust from the lower stratosphere.

Once the mission is complete, the doors on the samplers are closed and the ER-2 descends through the atmosphere, making its way back to Edwards Air Force Base in southern California where the Dryden Flight Research Center is located. The samples are sent to the Johnson Space Center in Houston where they are identified and cataloged. Perseid samples collected by the ER-2 are then made available to scientists around the world.

The ER-2 Perseid flights have been taking place since the 1980s. The NASA aircraft have also participated in a wide range of scientific missions including a wide range of remote sensing and mapping projects around the world, hurricane research and other atmospheric sampling programs including some of the original ozone depletion measurements over Antarctica.

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NASA Pilots Capture Perseid Meteor Dust at 65,000 Feet

NASA: Mars rover Curiosity brain surgery complete (+video)

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After a four-day software upgrade, NASA's Curiosity is ready to continue its 2-year search for Martian microbes. In about a week, the rover will go for its first test drive. Once it begins moving, it will be able to travel about the length of a football field daily.

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has survived its four-day "brain transplant" in fine shape and is now gearing up for its first Red Planet drive, scientists announced today (Aug. 14).

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Engineers upgraded Curiosity's flight software over the weekend, switching the rover's main and backup computers from landing mode to surface mode. The four-day overhaul temporarily halted Curiosity's science and instrument-checkout work, which had begun almost immediately after therover touched downinside Mars' Gale Crater on the night of Aug. 5.

But those activities can resume later today, on the rover's ninth full Martian day or Sol 9, in mission lingo becauseCuriosity's brain surgerywent well, researchers said.

"It came off pretty much without a hitch," Curiosity mission systems manager Mike Watkins, of NASA'sJet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., told reporters today. "All four days went as planned, so we're now 'go' to continue our checkout activities."

As part of the checkout process, Curiosity's handlers hope to turn the rover's wheels for the first time in the next week or so, Watkins added. [Gallery: Curiosity's 1st Photos of Mars]

"We're going to test the steering actuators on Sol 13, and then we are going to take it out for a test drive here probably around Sol 15," Watkins said. "We're going to do a short drive of, you know, a couple of meters, and then maybe turn and back up."

Curiosity is the centerpiece of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL), which seeks to determine if the Red Planet could ever havehosted microbial life. To get at this question, Curiosity will analyze Martian rocks and soil with 10 different science instruments for the next two years or more.

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NASA: Mars rover Curiosity brain surgery complete (+video)

Scott Rickert, Nanofilm CEO, Addresses Global Polymer Innovation Expo on Fast-Tracking Commercialization of …

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Dr. Scott Rickert, President and CEO of the nanotechnology company Nanofilm, will speak at the Global Polymer Innovation Expo in Columbus, Ohio, August 26-29, 2012, Columbus Convention Center, Battelle Hall, in Columbus, Ohio.Valley View, OH (PRWEB) August 15, 2012 Dr. Scott Rickert, President and CEO of the nanotechnology company [Nanofilm, will speak at the Global Polymer Innovation Expo in ...

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Scott Rickert, Nanofilm CEO, Addresses Global Polymer Innovation Expo on Fast-Tracking Commercialization of ...

How Nanotechnology Is Changing How You Eat And Taste

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Israels Shemen Industries introduced a product it calls Canola Active Oil, which it claims can reduce the bodys cholesterol intake by upwards of 14%. How does it do this? Using a technology it calls nano-sized self-assembled liquid structures (NSSL), which help to keep cholesterol from jumping from the digestive tract to the bloodstream. NSSLs, or nanodrops, as the company calls them, are added to the oil to create a water-soluble bubble of sorts that allows the healthier phytosterols that are abundant in plants and their oils to outcompete cholesterols to move into the bloodstream, thereby fighting against the causes of heart disease.

SlimShake-Chocolate, once marketed by Texas-based RBC Life Sciences (the product seems to have been discontinued since its nowhere to be found on the manufacturers site), featured an innovation called called Nanoclusters. These clusters were tiny structures that are 100,000th the size of a grain of sand. The company coated them with cocoa to form CocoaClusters, which, because of their greater surface area relative to their mass, delivered more chocolate taste, eliminating the need for excess sugar that makes these drinks bad for you.

The gloriously named Shenzhen Become Industry & Trade Co. Ltd., has developed a technique called ball-milling, which it uses to pulverize plants into particles that are fewer than 100 nanometers in diameter. The NanoTea made from this process allows for the release of 10 times as much selenium, a naturally occurring element that has antioxidative effects in the body.

A technology developed at the U.K.s University of Nottingham is another example of a nanofood exploiting the surface-area-to-mass ratio of a nanoparticle to deliver more flavor with less product. In the case of SODA-LO, the product is salt. By creating smaller salt crystals, SODA-LO, according to a press release from the company, enables added salt levels to be reduced by up to 30% in foods such as bread, pizza bases, pastry, savory pie fillings, cheese, and baked snacks.

First developed in the mid-1990s, FANTESK is a simple technology: Its essentially an oil trapped in a starch. That encapsulated oil, however, is distributed evenly in the starch giving it a uniform taste and allowing for the creation of many low fat items containing FANTESK, from soft-serve to cheddar cheese. Recently, scientists at the Agricultural Research Services National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois, have put a FANTESK mixture of cooking oil with no trans-fats and wheat flour into cake mixes and frostings. The result: Delicious buttercream with only half the fat.

Food isnt just the end product where these nano-developments end up. In some cases, food itself enables the technology. In 2005, two Dutch researchers revealed a method for creating a nanotube out of a protein found in milk called alpha-lactalbumin. The proteins ability to be coaxed into forming such a structure means it could well serve as a vehicle for encapsulated molecules, such as for example vitamins and enzymes, the researchers wrote in Trends in Food Science and Technology, which would allow scientists to easily fortify your breakfast cereal with more essential nutrients.

Scientists at Norwichs Institute of Food Research in the U.K. are working on a method for developing low-fat food that tastes good. They are specifically targeting emulsions, such as mayonnaise (which are simply oil suspended in proteins). Low-fat mayo is made by taking out half the yummy fat and replacing it with water. The researchers are hoping that by creating nano-droplets of water, they can suspend them in the oil, so an eater is greeted with that signature mayo taste with the water hidden within, instead of the current version, which tastes like watery mayo.

Writing in the journal Appetite, a group of researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich discussed the risks associated with applying nanotechnology to the food industry. Among the topics mentioned in the report were so-called individually modifiable foods, which would employ various encapsulated ingredients so that heating an item in a microwave in a certain way could alter properties like its color or taste. Sure enough, there have been reports, such as this possibly tounge-in-cheek one in The Guardians Observer magazine, about programmable wine where one day a prospective buyer could decide at the absolute last minute (relatively speaking) whether he or she preferred white or red. Well believe this one when we see it.

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How Nanotechnology Is Changing How You Eat And Taste

Sadler & Company, Inc. Announces Specialized Nanotechnology Coverage For Small To Medium Manufacturers, Distributors …

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Sadler & Company, Inc. Announces Specialized Nanotechnology Coverage For Small To Medium Manufacturers, Distributors and ImportersColumbia, SC (PRWEB) August 15, 2012 Sadler & Company, Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of a specialized insurance program for small to medium manufacturers, distributors and importers of nanotechnology products. Sadler & Company, Inc. is commited to providing ...

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Doctor gets grant for osteoarthritis research

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The section chief of molecular medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Dr. Richard Loeser Jr., has received a $1.89 million federal grant for his research.

The Method to Extend Research in Time grant comes from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

The funding will be applied to Loeser's research in osteoarthritis, providing for five years of research funding, with the potential for up to five additional years of funding.

The grants support "investigators whose research competence and productivity are distinctly superior and who are highly likely to continue to perform in an outstanding manner," according to the institute's website. Candidates are identified by program staff and members of the relevant institute's section as research grant applications are being reviewed.

"Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of chronic disability in older adults, but treatments to slow the progression of the disease are lacking," Loeser said.

"The results from this project will provide new information about basic mechanisms relevant to cartilage breakdown in osteoarthritis. We need this information in order to discover new targets and develop new therapies for slowing or stopping the progression of the disease."

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Doctor gets grant for osteoarthritis research

New England Journal of Medicine Publishes Results From Phase 3 AFFIRM Trial of Enzalutamide

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA and TOKYO--(Marketwire -08/15/12)- Medivation, Inc. (MDVN) and Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo:4503) today announced the publication in the New England Journal of Medicine of the results from the Phase 3 AFFIRM trial, an international, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study of enzalutamide (formerly MDV3100) in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have been previously treated with docetaxel-based chemotherapy. The paper, "Increased Survival with Enzalutamide in Prostate Cancer After Chemotherapy," appears in the August 15 online issue of the Journal.(1)

"The AFFIRM data represent an important body of clinical evidence on enzalutamide, a novel oral androgen receptor signaling inhibitor, as a potential new treatment that can prolong the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer. The achievement underlines the importance of integrating clinical observations and basic research to significantly improve patient outcomes and bring therapies to patients faster. It is extremely gratifying to share these results with the medical community," said Howard I. Scher, M.D., chief, Genitourinary Oncology Service at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the co-principal investigator and lead author of the AFFIRM study paper.

In the AFFIRM trial, the data showed that enzalutamide exhibited a statistically significant benefit in overall survival compared to placebo. Men treated with enzalutamide had a median overall survival of 18.4 months (95% confidence interval, 17.3 to not yet reached) compared to 13.6 months (95% confidence interval 11.3 -15.8) for men treated with placebo (hazard ratio 0.63; p < 0.0001), representing a 37 percent reduction in the risk of death.

In the Phase 3 AFFIRM trial three most common side effects observed more frequently in enzalutamide as compared with placebo-treated patients included fatigue, diarrhea and hot flush. Seizure was reported in less than 1% of enzalutamide-treated patients. Serious adverse events were lower in the enzalutamide group than in the placebo group.

About Enzalutamide (formerly MDV3100)Enzalutamide is an oral, once-daily investigational agent that is an androgen receptor signaling inhibitor. Enzalutamide inhibits androgen receptor signaling in three distinct ways: it inhibits 1) testosterone binding to androgen receptors; 2) nuclear translocation of androgen receptors; and 3) DNA binding and activation by androgen receptors. Medivation and Astellas announced on July 24, 2012 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted the enzalutamide New Drug Application filing for review and granted Priority Review Designation.

About Medivation Medivation, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the rapid development of novel therapies to treat serious diseases for which there are limited treatment options. Medivation aims to transform the treatment of these diseases and offer hope to critically ill patients and their families. For more information, please visit us at http://www.medivation.com.

About Astellas Pharma Inc.Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceuticals. The organization is committed to becoming a global category leader in Oncology, and has several oncology compounds in development in addition to enzalutamide. For more information on Astellas Pharma Inc., please visit our website at http://www.astellas.com/en.

(1)Scher, HI, et al. Increased Survival with Enzalutamide in Prostate Cancer After Chemotherapy. New Engl J Med. 2012; 367.

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New England Journal of Medicine Publishes Results From Phase 3 AFFIRM Trial of Enzalutamide

REALTIME Medicine Innovates Healthcare

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RealTime Medicine is new service that allows patients to consult with a doctor live and face-to-face through video, phone or email from anywhere!Houston, TX (PRWEB) August 15, 2012 RealTime Medicine is new service that allows patients to consult with a doctor live and face-to-face through video, phone or email from anywhere! This revolutionary way of healthcare delivery provides patients with on ...

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REALTIME Medicine Innovates Healthcare

Chinese medicine enjoys another push

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Mary Ann Benitez and Johnny Lo

Thursday, August 16, 2012

The development of Chinese medicine in the hope of making Hong Kong a herbal hub will not affect the progress of Western medicine, Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man insists.

This comes after the announcement that the public Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei will have at least 50 beds for integrated Chinese and Western medicine in-patient treatment when a two-phase HK$8 billion redevelopment project is completed by 2022.

But the three Hong Kong universities that have schools of Chinese medicine are seeking funds to join in a project to set up a Chinese medicine hospital before then, Ko noted yesterday.

That will not affect development of Western medicine, he said at an Eu Yan Sang Charitable Foundation function.

"On the contrary, the development of Chinese medicine hopefully may help in alleviating some pressure on our public hospital system on the Western medical side, in particular primary care and rehabilitation services."

Ko also told RTHK yesterday that he expects Chinese medicine to help people recovering from strokes, cancer and arthritis after receiving Western treatment and surgery.

He added that "organizations including local universities' schools of Chinese medicine, are raising funds to build a hospital focusing on Chinese medicine."

It is the right time to take Chinese medicine forward, Ko added. There is a legal framework for registration of practitioners and herbal products, and research at public hospitals continues.

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Chinese medicine enjoys another push

Travis Co. Taxpayers Ask To Pay For UT Med School

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Travis Co. Taxpayers Ask To Pay For UT Med School

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Protecting Austin Trees From Drought

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Undocumented Austin Students Begin Deferred Action Process

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Travis Co. Taxpayers Ask To Pay For UT Med School

Harvard pledges changes at primate research center

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BOSTONHarvard Medical School says it plans to follow the recommendations of an independent panel of scientists and veterinarians that reviewed the university's troubled primate research facility in Southborough.

The two-page executive summary of the report, released to The Boston Globe ( http://b.globe.com/NBhlZe) by Deborah Kochevar, dean of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and chairwoman of the committee, calls for establishing a new veterinarian position and appointing a biosafety officer.

The committee did not investigate the specific lapses in animal care and procedures that resulted in death and harm to monkeys.

Many of the recommended changes involve adding layers of oversight and direct reporting to Harvard.

Medical School Dean Dr. Jeffrey Flier said in a statement that the school has started "a timely implementation" of the recommendations.

Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Campbell University's new medical school gets $4 million in gifts, already has 700 applicants

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By Steve DeVane Staff writer

BUIES CREEK - Campbell University's medical school has more than 700 applications for its inaugural class of 150 students, school officials say.

Another 800 students have expressed interest in attending the School of Osteopathic Medicine, which will be the first of its kind in North Carolina when it opens in August 2013.

Campbell officials announced Wednesday that the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust and the Golden LEAF Foundation each gave the school $2 million gifts.

Leaders of the groups said the private university's medical school will provide badly needed primary care doctors for rural communities in North Carolina. The school will eventually have 600 students who will train at the school in Harnett County for the first two years and learn in community hospitals during the third and fourth years.

Campbell's will be the first medical school to open in the state in 35 years. Osteopathic doctors use traditional medical techniques, such as prescription drugs and surgery, but also focus on wellness and disease prevention.

An economist estimated that the medical school will create more than 1,150 jobs and have an estimated economic impact of nearly $300 million in its first 10 years.

The medical school will be in a $60 million, 96,500-square-foot facility that also will be home to Campbell's physician assistant program. The two buildings on U.S. 421 between Lillington and Erwin are about a quarter mile from Campbell's main campus in Buies Creek.

The buildings, which will be connected by a hallway, are taking shape, with workers spraying insulation and laying bricks on the outer walls Wednesday. Inside, metal studs separate where classrooms, offices, the library, study rooms, labs and a cafe will be located.

Dr. John Kauffman, the school's founding dean, said the gifts from the trust and the foundation will allow the school to equip its simulation lab with state-of-the-art high-fidelity robotics.

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Campbell University's new medical school gets $4 million in gifts, already has 700 applicants

Liberty University Fall Convocation schedule announced

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Liberty University Convocation, the largest weekly gathering of Christian students, announced its Fall 2012 schedule of speakers.Lynchburg, Va. (PRWEB) August 15, 2012 Liberty University recently announced its schedule of Convocation speakers for Fall 2012. Convocation at Liberty University is held three times a week in the Vines Center. It is North America's largest weekly gathering of ...

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Liberty University Fall Convocation schedule announced

Liberty Tax’s Fall Tax Classes May Offer Entry into the Tax Industry

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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Liberty Tax (TAX) invites the public to learn tax preparation and work toward IRS registration in its fall tax classes at convenient locations across the country and online. With job growth still weak, and the unemployment rate still hovering around 8.3 percent, many job seekers may be exploring educational opportunities that can help them develop an extra marketable skill. Liberty Tax is planning to staff up at its offices by tax season and fill positions including tax preparers, office managers, office staff, and marketers.

The companys tax schools and other trainings have incorporated steps to assist its tax school students who are interested in becoming professional tax preparers and obtaining a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) from the IRS. The companys ten-week tax school offers the chance to explore personal tax-savings advantages and acquire a new hands-on skill that may lead to certification and flexible employment opportunities in the tax industry. No previous tax preparation experience is required to enroll in the tax course.

Anyone and everyone can take our classes. The main requirement is the willingness to learn individual tax preparation, and apply the tax code to many situations. Its a great way to catch up on the latest tax changes and life changes that affect ones individual taxes, commented John Hewitt, CEO of Liberty Tax Service.

Liberty Tax offers over 11,000 class locations as well as an online class option. Class schedules are flexible with day or evening classes available twice a week for ten weeks. Theres a minimal charge for books and supplies. Liberty Tax Service is actively recruiting bilingual tax school students. To learn more about job opportunities and Libertys series of tax courses, visit http://www.libertytax.com/tax-education.html or call 1-800-658-1042.

About Liberty Tax Service

Liberty Tax Service is the fastest-growing retail tax preparation company in the industrys history, founded in 1997 by CEO John T. Hewitt, a pioneer in the tax industry. A tax school opportunity was the entry point for Hewitts start in the tax industry in 1969. The Company has over 4,100 offices in the United States and Canada, with the majority owned by franchisees.

JTH Holding, Inc. the parent company of Liberty Tax Service (TAX), listed shares of Class A Common Stock on the NASDAQ Global Market on July 2, 2012. The Give Me Liberty! magazine contains more Liberty company news and information.

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Liberty Tax’s Fall Tax Classes May Offer Entry into the Tax Industry

Judge Jim Gray, Libertarian Vice Presidential Candidate, for Limited Gun Control

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Given his libertarian political views and the U.S. Constitution, retired Orange County judge James P. "Jim" Gray believes every American has the right to own a gun.

What kind of gun can be subject to debate, he adds. "I don't think people should own a bazooka, for example," said Gray in a recent Illinois radio interview. "You know, you can own a Sherman tank but can you have a 22 millimeter gun on it? So there's a discussion that should be had on that, of course."

His comments were in the context of the recent shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin, incidents that naturally spark the gun-control debate, according to Gov. George Deukmejian 1989 appointee to the Orange County Superior Court bench.

OC Weekly Judge James P. Gray archives

Since retiring in January 2009, Gray has become a national spokesman for liberalizing drug use and possession. Someone in the Illinois listening audience may have wondered if he'd smoked something before answering whether he thought he and Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson can win in November.

Noting their platform includes balancing the budget, bringing the troops home and repealing the income tax, Gray said, "We need to be polling well enough. And if we are, we're absolutely convinced that we will merit people's votes. We think the rules will change, people will see us as viable, and voters will flock to Governor Gary Johnson."

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Judge Jim Gray, Libertarian Vice Presidential Candidate, for Limited Gun Control

Thousands evacuated from Canary Islands

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Wildfires raging on the Spanish Canary Islands of La Gomera and Tenerife have forced the evacuation of more than 4700 people in two days, officials say.

Firefighters battling the blazes on the islands off Morocco were up against "high temperatures, low humidity and wind" that fanned the flames, said regional economy minister Javier Gonzalez Ortiz.

A pitiless heatwave originating from north Africa that follows Spain's driest winter in seven decades has shown no sign of letting up, and fires were also raging in the Galicia region.

On La Gomera, the most devastating fires in a decade have ravaged some 3000 hectares of land, including about a tenth of the Garajonay nature reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

About 2500 people from 13 villages in the island's west and southwest were evacuated as a precaution, the regional government said in a statement on Saturday.

On the other Canaries island of Tenerife, more than 2200 people were moved from their homes.

"The fires are still burning on three fronts," an emergency services spokesman said earlier. "There is no positive change for the moment."

Water-dropping aircraft again flew missions on Saturday as blazes erupted anew in the Garajonay reserve, home to rare subtropical forests which boasts 450 plant species, including eight found only in the park.

Ventura del Carmen Rodriguez, the island's environment secretary, said last week it would take 30-40 years for Garajonay's burned areas to recover.

Three more villages were evacuated after 300 people fled their homes to safety on Friday, as roads leading to the affected areas were cut off.

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Thousands evacuated from Canary Islands