Monthly Archives: October 2012

'Grey's Anatomy' recap: The Tragedy Continues

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ARE YOU MY PERSON? Cristina (Sandra Oh) returned to Seattle Grace after the plane crash in a catatonic, yet combative, state. Even bestie Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) had trouble getting through to her.

Wow. Turns out, that whole It Gets Better campaign is a lie -- at least when it comes to Seattle Grace Mercy West. At TVs craziest fictional hospital, it only seems to get worse for our beloved band of doctors.

What I mean is that just when you thought the deepest depths of tragedy had been reached for the Greys Anatomy crew (see: last weeks harrowing Mark Sloan death episode), Shonda Rhimes and Co. manage to rip open the slowly healing wound yet again. The takeaway from last nights flashback-heavy hour, Remember the Time, was really just this: Last weeks season premiere didnt explain a fraction of what happened after Mays season finale plane crash. There was so much more to all that. So what did happen? So, so much. Lets get into it.

Last weeks season premiere made it seem like the big learnings from the season finale plane crash were first, of course, the (already mostly digested) death of Lexie Grey, but mostly the shocking new revelations over Sloans death and the amputation of Arizonas leg. But there was so many further repercussions, which we learned about finally: the crazed state of Cristina upon return; the friendship breakdown between Cristina and Meredith; the professional breakdown between Arizona and Karev; the full extent of what happened to Derek and his hand; Callies crisis with Arizona; Kepner losing her job; and the list goes on and on. But lets begin with the biggies: Since Arizona is alive and (mostly) well, while Sloan is dead, lets delve into what happened to him.

First off, it was shocking to see the wily plastic surgeon sitting up in a Seattle Grace hospital bed, talking in his typical saucy way, during this episode. I never thought wed see that again except for in flashbacks maybeand, well, last night was technically a flashback episode, so there -- I just ate my words. After last weeks episode, I had (wrongly) assumed that Sloan had been unconscious and on life support ever since he was airlifted out of the forest with the rest of the doctors -- thus, there had never been much hope that he would recover. And that was seemingly the case, but, of course, there was an anomaly to Sloans life support situation: Turns out, he had what the doctors call a surge, just before he really went down. It was this so-called surge that had him up, talking and laughing, and had the doctors -- all of his best pals at Seattle Grace -- hoping that he might be back at em soon.

The surge, it was explained, is a final surge of energy. They get better before they get worse. That was the case for Sloan, who -- after having appropriate moments with all of his most loved, offering advice to Avery and a laugh to Callie, which was a nice way to say goodbye -- went back under and (as we learned last week) passed away after Webber pulled his life support plug. When he did go back into his catatonic state after being so lively, it was difficult to watch -- I've never seen such a TV situation where someones face goes so waxy like that. The one thing I will say about Sloans last few moments on screen is that he looked good. Like, damn good! Even in a hospital bed, not a hair was out of place and -- this may be inappropriate, considering hes dead now -- he continued to look good, even in those scenes where the other doctors were pumping his (chiseled, naked) chest.

NEXT: Sloan speaks some of his final words

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'Grey's Anatomy' recap: The Tragedy Continues

'Grey's Anatomy' Recap: How Did They Survive? (Video)

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[Warning: This story contains spoilers from Thursday's "Remember the Time" episode ofGrey's Anatomy.]

Grey's Anatomy returned to the site of the deadly plane crash Thursday when Meredith, Derek, Mark, Arizona and Cristina re-lived their rescue and the varied healing process for each of the Seattle Grace doctors.

Each of the five mini-stories -- the episode was told Rashomon-style -- helped to reveal how each of the survivors and the late Mark Sloan arrived at their current state depicted in last week season nine premiere.

STORY: 'Grey's Anatomy' Premiere Recap: Dark, Twisty and Deadly

Here are the eight biggest takeaways from the hour.

1. Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) explains why she opted to remain in Seattle, despite the potential to see her dead sister (RIP, Lexie) around every corner, the hospital being the venue where her mother and George died and husband was shot. "This is the place where I fell in love. A place where I found my family. This is where I learned to be a doctor, where I learned how to take responsibility for someone else's life and it's the place I met you, this place has given me as much as it's taken from me. I've lived here as much as I survived here," she tells Cristina (Sandra Oh).

VIDEO: 'Grey's Anatomy' Season 9 Trailer: Sex, Marriage and Arizona's Road to Recovery

2. After surviving the crash, Cristina is experiencing reactive psychosis, where she's awake but in a comatose state and violent when someone gets to close. Eventually discharged, she tells Owen (Kevin McKidd) she has vivid memories of the crash and four days without food that included hearing animals fighting over Lexie's corpse, ridding the bugs from Arizona's leg and trying to keep Mark alive. "I can't get out. Don't you see? I'll never get out," she tells Owen, partially explaining why she wound up moving to Minnesota.

3. Derek (Patrick Dempsey) has a special surgeon: Callie. Initially accepting that his career going forward may only include teaching, Derek asks Callie (Sara Ramirez) to perform her risky surgery on his injured hand that comes with a great reward if successful (full recovery) but a nasty consequence if not (reduced function).

STORY: 'Grey's Anatomy's' Jessica Capshaw on Arizona's Heartbreaking Loss and What's Next

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'Grey's Anatomy' Recap: How Did They Survive? (Video)

Zacks Rank Anatomy of Success: TCBI

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We talk all the time about how the Zacks Rank can get you into the winningest stocks. In this article (and future 'Zacks Rank Anatomy of Success' articles), we'll go beyond just telling you how the Zacks Rank can get you into the best performers, but actually show you, on a chart, so you can see for yourself.

Whether it's a widely known large-cap stock, little known small-cap stock or somewhere in between, the steps to success are the same.

And while the Zacks Rank is a great short-term indicator for finding the most profitable opportunities over a 1-3 month period, you'll also see (as illustrated below) how it can keep you in on the strongest ones for even bigger gains.

Example: Texas Capital Bancshares

Texas Capital Bancshares (TCBI) is a mid-cap blend (growth and value) stock in the Financial Industry. As a regional bank headquartered in Texas, it's not one of those stocks with a national presence or name recognition. In fact, if you didn't live in Texas, you'd be hard pressed to have ever heard of it.

But many of your favorite stocks were likely new to you at some point. The trick is getting these onto your radar screen so you become aware of them. And having the confidence that when they do, they are worthy of taking a position.

One of the best ways to tell if a stock is hot or if it's not is to see if it has a Zacks #1 Rank and rising earnings estimates.

On January 6, 2012, TCBI was identified as one of the hot ones when it received a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy). Even as many investors were still shunning financial stocks, this one distinguished itself from the others and was poised to outperform.

Between 1/6/12, when it was trading at $31.77, and 8/31/12, when it closed at $46.02, TCBI rewarded investors with a 44.85% gain in just 8 short months compared to the market's 10.08%.

During that time, their 12 Month Forward Earnings Estimates climbed from $2.24 to $3.12, which was a 39.28% increase and the clear catalyst for TCBI's commensurately stellar gains.

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Zacks Rank Anatomy of Success: TCBI

'Grey's Anatomy's' Shonda Rhimes: Arizona Will 'Get Her Mojo Back'

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"Grey's Anatomy's" Jessica Capshaw

Grey's Anatomy showrunner Shonda Rhimes defended her creative decision to amputate the leg of a fan favorite character, and vowing that the story line would indeed have a happy ending.

During the ABC medical drama's eighth-season finale, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), Derek (Patrick Dempsey), Cristina (Sandra Oh), Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) and Mark (Eric Dane) were left stranded after their plane crashed heading from Seattle to Boise, with Lexie (Chyler Leigh) failing to make it out alive.

Season nine picked up to flash-forward after the crash, revealing not only that Mark would succumb to the internal injuries sustained in the crash but also that Arizona -- who was left with a severe injury to her leg (bone was exposed) -- would eventually lose the limb after an infection threatened her life.

STORY: 'Grey's Anatomy's' Jessica Capshaw on Arizona's Heartbreaking Loss and What's Ahead

"It felt real to me that Arizona would lose her leg," Rhimes wrote late Thursday on her Shondaland blog. "That someone we love so much would go from being ambulatory to WORKING on being ambulatory, that we would begin to understand what it is like to be differently-abled from watching a person we love BECOME differently-abled."

During Thursday's episode, which flashed back to reveal how the survivors were rescued and fill in the blanks between the crash and the events in the premiere, Arizona asked that her wife Callie (Sara Ramirez) promise that she wouldn't allow her leg to be amputated. However, as Callie is performing surgery on Derek's injured hand, Arizona crashes and Alex -- whom Arizona replaced on the doomed flight -- is forced to cut off Arizona's leg in order to save her life, thus putting Callie on the hot seat with her partner.

"It must be terribly difficult to be Callie right now. To have your partner hate you. To have your sex life taken away. To have your BEST FRIEND taken away," Rhimes wrote. "Arizona has been taken from her and Callie is doing her best to survive that."

STORY: 'Grey's Anatomy' Premiere Recap: Dark, Twisty and Deadly

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'Grey's Anatomy's' Shonda Rhimes: Arizona Will 'Get Her Mojo Back'

Travel Channel Returns to Holiday World this Weekend for New Halloween Coaster Special

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Travel Channel to visit Holiday World Theme Park this weekend to shoot footage for its new "Halloween's Scariest Thrills" show. Costumed visited will be invited to ride The Raven and The Legend - both Halloween-themed wooden coasters - on camera.

Santa Claus, IN (PRWEB) October 05, 2012

Travel Channel is specifically looking for roller coasters with Halloween themes for their Halloweens Scariest Thrills show, says Holiday World President Dan Koch. They were pretty excited to discover our Raven and Legend wooden coasters both fit the bill.

As part of Happy Halloween Weekends' special activities, visitors to Holiday World are welcome to wear family-friendly costumes. Travel Channel is looking for costumed coaster riders to include in their two-day shoot this weekend and will select featured riders from each days visitors.

Halloweens Scariest Thrills will air on Travel Channel next fall.

This is the third Travel Channel production crew to visit Holiday World this year. Over the summer, the park's Mammoth and Wildebeest water coasters were featured in the networks Xtreme Waterparks series and Voyage took top honors in the Splintering Speedsters episode of Insane Coaster Wars.

The Travel Channel is available in nearly 96 million U.S. households.

For more information about Happy Halloween Weekends, visit HolidayWorld.com or call 1-877-Go-Family.

Paula Werne Holiday World & Splashin' Safari 812-937-5209 Email Information

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Travel Channel Returns to Holiday World this Weekend for New Halloween Coaster Special

Survey assesses student sexuality, spirituality

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By Marissa Jones Posted on October 4, 2012 | News | No comment

A faculty-administered survey has found surprising results about the sexual activity of ACU freshmen.

Dr. Jaime Goff, director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic, began conducting an ongoing survey last year that observes how young adults relate sexuality to spirituality.

The survey asked freshmen questions about their sexual attitudes, their dimensions of spirituality, their self-esteem, religious abstinence programs they had participated in and sexual behaviors they had engaged in.

Goff found that 45 percent of freshmen who responded to the survey reported being sexually active.

That was surprising to me, Goff said. But I talked to some youth ministers, and they said that was in line with what they were hearing in their youth groups.

In the 2011 fall semester, freshmen were given a chance to complete a survey in their Bible classes concerning their views of sexuality and religion and how each are related.

As a freshman if you see sexuality completely separate from your spirituality, how might that have either negative or positive effects on your future marriage or relationships? I want to see how this develops over time for people.

Goff also discovered that there didnt seem to be any difference in self-esteem between students who are sexually active and those who werent.

In some ways thats good, Goff said. That means they werent feeling incredibly shameful because we use a lot of shaming techniques I think with Christian young adults and teenagers.

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Survey assesses student sexuality, spirituality

Taiwanese offer long life prayers to the Dalai Lama

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His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaching from the Atishas Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Jangchup Lamdron) on October 4, 2012. (Phayul photo/Norbu Wangyal)

The long life prayers were offered at the Tsug-la Khang, the main temple near the Dalai Lamas exile residence in Dharamshala.

The tenshug was offered at the conclusion of the four-day teachings on Atishas Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Jangchup Lamdron) by the Dalai Lama. The teachings were requested by a group of Taiwanese disciples.

The main long life prayers and supplications to His Holiness were offered by Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, the head of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism.

Born in 1926 in Tibet, Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, is the throne-holder of the Dorje Drak Monastery, and the head of the lineage of the Northern Treasures, the tradition which originated from the treasures of the great tertn Rigdzin Godem. Rinpoche is renowned as a holder of all the great Kama and Terma traditions of the Nyingmapa, as well as being a great exponent of the Rime, or non-sectarian, tradition.

More than 2000 disciples from 61 countries, including 800 Taiwanese attended the teachings and the tenshug ceremony.

According to statistics provided by Taiwans Interior Ministry, Taiwan's Buddhist population has over the years grown from 800,000 in 1983 to 4.9 million in 1995, and to 8 million in 2005.

Speaking to Phayul, Jung Jung Chang, a disciple from Taiwan said that after listening to the 77-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader, he really feels peaceful within.

I really appreciate all the teachings and the services to humanity that His Holiness the Dalai Lama continues to tirelessly render, Chang said. I have learned a lot from his behavior.

The Dalai Lama, after a hectic two-week long trip of the United States, beginning October 8, is scheduled to give three days of teachings on Chapter 24 of Nagarjuna's Fundamental Treatise of the Middle Way (uma tsawai sherab) at the request of a group of Koreans from October 29 to 31 in Dharamshala.

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Taiwanese offer long life prayers to the Dalai Lama

How 'Big Bang's' Howard flew to space

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Howard Wolowitz is still in space.

The fictional aerospace engineer and Expedition 31 crew member was seen floating aboard the International Space Station (ISS) during last week's season premiere of the CBS hit television series " The Big Bang Theory." On this week's episode, airing Thursday night, Wolowitz is still off the planet, 250 miles (400 km) up.

Of course, he is not really on the space station. The real ISS Expedition 31 ended in July. Wolowitz, or rather actor Simon Helberg, was on a sound stage at the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, Calif.

His spacecraft surroundings never orbited the Earth, but they did play previous host to the Energizer Bunny for a Super Bowl commercial and were seen in the 2004 feature film, "The Day After Tomorrow."

But Helberg's, or rather Wolowitz's, crew did include a real life NASA astronaut, Mike Massimino, and, further blurring the lines between art and life, the fictional Expedition 31 crew patch that they wore on the show placed Wolowitz's and Massimino's names side-by-side. [ Photos: TV's "Big Bang Theory" Geek Chic ]

Behind the scenes, the job of delivering Wolowitz to the orbiting outpost didn't fall to a Russian rocket but rather to The Big Bang Theory's production designer John Shaffner, set decorator Ann Shea and their teams.

Scavenging for space parts As it turns out, you can rent a space station.

Last May, when the show's fifth season finale called for Wolowitz to launch onboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, Shaffner went looking for one.

"The first thing that we always do in this business is ask, 'Well, can we rent it? Did somebody make one first?' And unfortunately, we discovered that there weren't any Soyuz replicas to be found," Shaffner told collectSpace.com in an interview.

For the Soyuz, Shaffner and Shea received photos from NASA, turned to a Kansas museum to find dimensions, and scavenged parts from an aerospace junkyard in Los Angeles to piece together a realistic capsule. But in the course of his seeking out the spacecraft, Shaffner found a space station.

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How 'Big Bang's' Howard flew to space

Space Station-Bound SpaceX Dragon Capsule Gets Mission Patch

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The first of NASA's contracted cargo resupply flights to the International Space Station now has its own mission patch, courtesy of the company launching the spacecraft.

Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, revealed its insignia for the launch of its second Dragon capsule to the space station today (Oct. 4). The gumdrop-shape cargo craft is scheduled to liftoff atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday (Oct. 7) at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 Monday GMT) from Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The flight, referred to as Commercial Resupply Services-1 (CRS-1), is the first of a dozen resupply flights for which NASA is paying SpaceX $1.6 billion to fly. The mission follows a demonstration flight in May that made history as the first commercial spacecraft to berth with the station.

The CRS-1 mission patch, which borrows its shape from the Dragon capsule, shows the solar-powered spacecraft grappled by the space station's Canadarm2 robotic arm as it is being brought in to connect with the orbiting outpost's Harmony module. Below the Dragon capsule on the patch is the Earth.

Almost camouflaged with the patch's green-colored North American continent is a four leaf clover. The symbol for luck, the clover has become a regular feature on SpaceX's insignias since the Hawthorne, Calif.-based company's first successful Falcon 1 launch in September 2008. [Photos: SpaceX's Dragon Capsule Set for Cargo Run]

Based on pre-launch photos, the CRS-1 emblem does not appear on the Falcon 9 rocket or the Dragon capsule, but embroidered versions of the patch may fly to the space station and back as part of the mission's Official Flight Kit (OFK) of mementos to be presented to NASA and SpaceX team members for a job well done.

The OFK comprises only 17.6 pounds (8 kilograms) of the 882 pounds (400 kg) of hardware and supplies that the CRS-1 Dragon will deliver to the orbiting lab. Included in the pressurized cargo are food rations, crew clothing and more than 160 science experiments for NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

The CRS-1 mission will span 18 days before returning to a parachute-assisted ocean splashdown. Returning to Earth on the Dragon will be nearly 1,700 pounds (771 kg) of science experiment results, spent hardware and former crew members' spacesuit components.

SpaceX is one of two U.S. companies with contracts to provide unmanned resupply flights to the space station for NASA. The other firm, Orbital Sciences Corp., of Virginia, has a $1.9 billion contract for eight missions using its new Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft. The first Antares rocket was rolled out to its launch pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the Virginia coast on Oct. 1.

While SpaceX's Dragons are the first unpiloted spacecraft to visit the International Space Station, unmanned cargo ships from other countries continue to make deliveries to the orbiting complex. Russia's Progress spacecraft, ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATV) and the H-2 Transfer Vehicles (HTV) from JAXA round out the station's robotic resupply fleet.

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Space Station-Bound SpaceX Dragon Capsule Gets Mission Patch

NASA, Russia eye yearlong space station assignments

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* Mission would help prepare for flights beyond Earth

* Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov spent 438 days in orbit

* Longest flight by U.S. astronaut is 215 days

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Oct 4 (Reuters) - NASA is considering

doubling the amount of time an astronaut spends at the

International Space Station to a year, laying the groundwork for

future missions deeper into space, officials said Thursday.

If approved, a mission likely would begin in 2015, said NASA

spokesman Rob Navias.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported this week that the

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SpaceX encore: 2nd private space station shipment

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) A private company is headed back to the International Space Station.

On Sunday night, SpaceX will attempt to launch another Dragon capsule full of food, clothes and science experiments for the astronauts at the space station. The company hopes to repeat the success of its test flight in May.

Rainy weather could keep the company's Falcon rocket grounded. Forecasters said Thursday there's a 60 percent chance of favorable conditions for the 8:35 p.m. launch from Cape Canaveral.

This is the California company's first official launch under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. The contract calls for 12 deliveries.

The Dragon will spend a few weeks at the space station before being cut loose at the end of October with a full load of science experiments and old equipment. It will parachute into the Pacific.

Among the items going up and coming back on the Dragon are a dozen student experiments that flew aboard the SpaceX capsule in May, but were not properly activated by the station crew. NASA offered this second chance.

NASA is counting on private business to help keep the space station stocked, now that the shuttles are retired. The governments of Russia, Japan and Europe also provide periodic supply runs.

A second company, the Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp., hopes to launch its Antares rocket with a mockup capsule by the end of this year, out of Wallops Island. The first test flight to the space station, by Orbital Sciences, is targeted for early 2013.

SpaceX or Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is run by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, who's also the chief executive officer of the electric car-maker, Tesla Motors. He is working to modify the Dragon capsule in order to carry astronauts back and forth to the space station, within three to five years. Americans currently hitch rides on Russian rockets.

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SpaceX plans historic flight to International Space Station Sunday

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Published October 04, 2012

Associated Press

May 25, 2012: View from the International Space Station of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as the stations robotic arm moves Dragon into place for attachment to the station.NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida A private company is headed back to the International Space Station.

On Sunday night, SpaceX will try to launch another Dragon capsule full of food, clothes and science experiments for the astronauts at the space station. The company hopes to repeat the success of its test flight in May.

This is the California company's first official launch under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. The contract calls for 12 deliveries.

The U.S. space agency is counting on private business to help keep the space station stocked, now that its space shuttles are retired.

Rainy weather could keep the company's Falcon rocket grounded. Forecasters said Thursday there's a 60 percent chance of favorable conditions for the launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX is run by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk.

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SpaceX plans historic flight to International Space Station Sunday

NASA Mars Curiosity rover prepares to study martian soil

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ScienceDaily (Oct. 4, 2012) NASA's Curiosity rover is in a position on Mars where scientists and engineers can begin preparing the rover to take its first scoop of soil for analysis.

Curiosity is the centerpiece of the two-year Mars Science Laboratory mission. The rover's ability to put soil samples into analytical instruments is central to assessing whether its present location on Mars, called Gale Crater, ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. Mineral analysis can reveal past environmental conditions. Chemical analysis can check for ingredients necessary for life.

"We now have reached an important phase that will get the first solid samples into the analytical instruments in about two weeks," said Mission Manager Michael Watkins of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Curiosity has been so well-behaved that we have made great progress during the first two months of the mission."

The rover's preparatory operations will involve testing its robotic scooping capabilities to collect and process soil samples. Later, it also will use a hammering drill to collect powdered samples from rocks. To begin preparations for a first scoop, the rover used one of its wheels Wednesday to scuff the soil to expose fresh material.

Next, the rover twice will scoop up some soil, shake it thoroughly inside the sample-processing chambers to scrub the internal surfaces, then discard the sample. Curiosity will scoop and shake a third measure of soil and place it in an observation tray for inspection by cameras mounted on the rover's mast. A portion of the third sample will be delivered to the mineral-identifying chemistry and mineralogy (CheMin) instrument inside the rover. From a fourth scoopful, samples will be delivered to both CheMin and to the sample analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument, which identifies chemical ingredients.

"We're going to take a close look at the particle size distribution in the soil here to be sure it's what we want," said Daniel Limonadi of JPL, lead systems engineer for Curiosity's surface sampling and science system. "We are being very careful with this first time using the scoop on Mars."

The rinse-and-discard cycles serve a quality-assurance purpose similar to a common practice in geochemical laboratory analysis on Earth.

"It is standard to run a split of your sample through first and dump it out, to clean out any residue from a previous sample," said JPL's Joel Hurowitz, a sampling system scientist on the Curiosity team. "We want to be sure the first sample we analyze is unambiguously Martian, so we take these steps to remove any residual material from Earth that might be on the walls of our sample handling system."

Rocknest is the name of the area of soil Curiosity will test and analyze. The rover pulled up to the windblown, sandy and dusty location Oct. 2. The Rocknest patch is about 8 feet by 16 feet (2.5 meters by 5 meters). The area provides plenty of area for scooping several times. Diverse rocks nearby provide targets for investigation with the instruments on Curiosity's mast during the weeks the rover is stationed at Rocknest for this first scooping campaign.

Curiosity's motorized, clamshell-shaped scoop is 1.8 inches (4.5 centimeters) wide, 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) long, and can sample to a depth of about 1.4 inches (3.5 centimeters). It is part of the collection and handling Martian rock analysis (CHIMRA) device on a turret of tools at the end of the rover's arm. CHIMRA also includes a series of chambers and labyrinths for sorting, sieving and portioning samples collected by the scoop or by the arm's percussive drill.

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NASA Mars Curiosity rover prepares to study martian soil

NASA Prepping Post-Election Moon Base Announcement?

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NASA may be preparing to announce an initiative to begin building a floating Moon base for future deep space missions following the U.S. presidential election next month, Space.com reported this week.

The space agency's rumored plan to construct and position a "gateway spacecraft" that could support a small crew of astronauts and serve as a staging platform for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere in the solar system was first reported last month by the Orlando Sentinel, though NASA contractor Boeing had actually floated a similar plan late last year.

As with the Sentinel report, Space.com cited unnamed sources with insights into NASA's internal plans.

The proposed space station would be situated at what's called a Lagrangian point, or L-Point, a place where the gravitational pull of two large bodiesin this case the Earth and the Moonare at an equilibrium, making it possible to place a spacecraft in a fixed spot in space at relatively little expense. NASA wants to put its base at Earth-Moon L-Point 2, on the far side of the Moon, according to the Sentinel and Space.com.

That would place the spacecraft about 277,000 miles from Earth and about 38,000 miles from the Moon's surface. Though taking advantage of an L-point reduces the power cost of fixing an object in space, the project's costs "would certainly run into the billions of dollars," according to the Sentinel.

NASA is now reviewing methods for building an L2-situated launch platform for missions involving its next-generation, deep-space Orion spacecraft, Space.com reported. These include using "Russian-supplied hardware," which could reference parts salvaged from the modular International Space Station after its decommissioning, as the Sentinel earlier reported, but also mean using "new modules being developed in Russia," like the Multipurpose Laboratory Module and Scientific-Power Module, according to Space.com.

Humans have voyaged around the dark side of the Moon, but a manned trip to the L2 point would take astronauts further from Earth than people have ever ventured.

Following the Sentinel report, NASA did not confirm or deny its contents but did send PCMag the following statement.

"NASA is executing President Obama's ambitious space exploration plan that includes missions around the Moon, to asteroids, and ultimately putting humans on Mars. There are many optionsand many routesbeing discussed on our way to the Red Planet. In addition to the Moon and an asteroid, other options may be considered as we look for ways to buy down riskand make it easierto get to Mars. We have regular meetings with [the White House Office of Management and Budget], [the White House Office of Science and Technology], Congress, and other stakeholders to keep them appraised of our progress on our deep space exploration destinations."

Last December, Boeing proposed the development of what it called an "Exploration Gateway Platform architecture that not only returns man to the lunar surfacevia the use of only one SLS launch to a reusable Lunar Landerbut provides a baseline for pathfinders towards an eventual crewed mission to Mars."

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NASA Prepping Post-Election Moon Base Announcement?

14 New Biomarkers Identified for Type 2 Diabetes -Basis for New Methods for Treatment and Prevention

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05.10.2012 - (idw) Deutsches Institut fr Ernhrungsforschung Potsdam-Rehbrcke

Potsdam-Rehbruecke/Berlin A research team led by Anna Floegel of the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE) and Tobias Pischon of the Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) has identified 14 novel biomarkers for type 2 diabetes. They can serve as basis for developing new methods of treatment and prevention of this metabolic disease. The biomarkers can also be used to determine diabetes risk at a very early point in time. At the same time the markers enable insight into the complex mechanisms of this disease, which still have not been completely elucidated. (Diabetes, A. Floegel et al., 2012; DOI 10.2337/db12-0495)*. Joint press release of the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) and the Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch

The researchers studied the blood of study participants from three different studies with respect to their metabolites (metabolomics). The study was based on data and blood samples of the prospective EPIC-Potsdam** study with more than 27,500 study participants, the Tuebingen family study*** and the KORA study****. The study was conducted in collaboration with the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Metabolomics is still a young research field and serves the understanding of biological systems. It studies the dynamic network of metabolites of an organism and thus provides insight into ongoing biochemical processes. Metabolites have quite diverse functions. For instance, they play a role in cellular communication and regulation, transport energy or are building material for the cells. Changes in metabolite concentrations may therefore directly reflect alterations in metabolism and thereby, shed light on the pathogenesis or presence of disease.

The aim of the current study was to identify metabolites in blood which provide insight into the pathomechanisms of type 2 diabetes and in addition can be used as biomarkers to determine the disease risk. To this end, the researchers studied a total of 4,000 blood samples. About 3,000 of these samples came from the EPIC-Potsdam study, nearly 900 samples from the KORA study in Augsburg and 76 from the study in Tuebingen. At the time the blood sample was taken, none of the study participants suffered from type 2 diabetes: However, during the average follow-up time of seven years, 800 Potsdam study participants and 91 Augsburg participants were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The 76 participants in the Tuebingen study were already classified at the beginning of the study as individuals at high risk for type 2 diabetes. At the time the blood sample was taken, however, they were still healthy.

163 metabolites analyzed per blood sample Jerzy Adamski and his team at the Institute of Experimental Genetics of Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen analyzed the concentrations of 163 metabolites per blood sample. Fourteen of these metabolites exhibited a strong association with the development of type 2 diabetes.

In addition to simple sugars, the 14 identified metabolites include various protein components and choline-containing phospholipids which play a role in the structure of cell membranes and in the transport of blood lipids, said Anna Floegel, lead author of the study. Our findings particularly indicate a previously unknown role of phospholipids in type 2 diabetes development. This is a first clue which should definitely be pursued.

At the same time the metabolites can also be used as biomarkers to precisely determine the risk of diabetes at a very early stage, since the study is based on prospective data, that is data that were collected before the onset of the disease, said Tobias Pischon, who led the study. The results of the new metabolomic analysis thus provide a good basis for developing new treatment and prevention methods."

*Identification of Serum Metabolites Associated with Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Using a Targeted Metabolomic Approach

From the 1Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany; the 2Department of Internal Medicine IV, Divisions of Endocrinology, Diabetology, Nephrology, Vascular Disease and Clinical Chemistry, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany; the 3Research Unit of Molecular Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany; the 4Department of Molecular Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany; the 5Department of Pharmacology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany; the 6Institute of Experimental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany; the 7Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany; the 8Institute of Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center, Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine University, Duesseldorf, Germany; the 9Department of Metabolic Diseases, University Clinics, Duesseldorf, Germany; the 10Hannover Unified Biobank, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany; the 11Molecular Epidemiology Group, Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Berlin, Germany

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14 New Biomarkers Identified for Type 2 Diabetes -Basis for New Methods for Treatment and Prevention

Molecular Imaging, Inc. Adds SPECT Capabilities To Its Broad Suite Of In Vivo Imaging Tools

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ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Molecular Imaging, Inc. has expanded its preclinical nuclear medicine program with the addition of Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) imaging. This decision was driven by the growing industry understanding of the value of in vivo molecular imaging throughout the entire drug development process. SPECT is an exciting preclinical modality that allows researchers to 'tag' potential treatments with a variety of radioactive labels to assess, among other things, biodistribution, and is particularly useful for larger molecules such as biologics. The robust data acquired can help provide better lead optimization, clinically translatable imaging biomarkers, and help mitigate clinical trial risk.

Molecular Imaging acquired the Bioscan NanoSPECT/CT Plus (manufactured by Mediso) four-headed dual modality unit with the assistance of a $2 million capital lease line recently secured from Trinity Capital Investment (TCI) as part of the company's efforts to broaden imaging modalities and prepare for growth. Coupled with the company's rich pharmacology expertise and broad range of imaging capabilities, the addition of SPECT/CT reinforces the company's position as the leader in providing preclinical imaging services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.

Preclinical SPECT is a very flexible method for quantitatively determining biologics biodistribution, kinetics and targeting. Key advantages over other methods to address these needs include:

"We are very excited about increasing access to cutting edge technology for our clients as they look to develop an increasing numbers of biologics in their discovery and development programs. Increased availability to a translational imaging modality that provides clinically relevant and robust data will assist a company's early understanding of a drug candidate and help them make more confident decisions. Furthermore, the challenges facing today's researchers' makes outsourcing of these imaging studies to a specialized CRO an attractive alternative to large capital investments," states Nick Ayers, VP of Sales and Marketing at Molecular Imaging.

Molecular Imaging, Inc. was the first to establish high throughput, quantitative multi-modality imaging protocols relevant to the pharmaceutical industry as a CRO. The addition of SPECT continues that innovative trend.

About Molecular Imaging, Inc. Molecular Imaging, Inc. is a specialty contract research organization (CRO) located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Molecular Imaging employs a wide array of imaging technologies, including MRI, micro-CT, micro-PET, SPECT and optical (two-dimensional and molecular fluorescence tomography) to quantitatively measure response to therapy at anatomical, functional and molecular levels. Molecular Imaging Inc. also conducts applications research to develop and optimize the use of imaging and actively seeks collaborations to further advance imaging in the field of drug discovery.

About Trinity Capital Investment, LLC (TCI) TCI provides both equipment lease and fixed asset finance to early stage and emerging growth companies. Providing flexible and cost effective capital for its customers, TCI helps minimize equity dilution and maximize leverage opportunities on specific assets. Trinity is a principal investor funding transactions ranging from $500,000 - $5,000,000. For more information contact Steve Brown at sbrown@trincapinvestment.com .

Sarah Paris-Mascicki, Marketing Director 732-763-9460 sparis@molecularimaging.com http://www.molecularimaging.com

NanoSPECT/CT Plus is a registered trademark of Bioscan

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Molecular Imaging, Inc. Adds SPECT Capabilities To Its Broad Suite Of In Vivo Imaging Tools

Strateco Resources Inc. and Anderson Energy Ltd. Under Current Evaluation

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Equedia.com and The Equedia Weekly Letter provides research on Canadian companies with a focus on mining and resource stocks. Equedia is continuing research and evaluation on the prospects of Strateco Resources Inc. (TSX:RSC.TO - News) and Anderson Energy Ltd. (TSX:AXL.TO - News). To be further notified of our updates on these companies and special report editions through the Equedia Weekly letter, please obtain your free subscription here:

http://equedia.com/equediaweekly

Many companies previously featured in our special report editions have hit new 52 week highs since the initiation of our coverage and man) y companies under evaluation have made strong gains since being placed under evaluation. To receive these reports, please make sure to subscribe for your complimentary subscription to Equedia Weekly here:

http://equedia.com/equediaweekly

Here is a brief excerpt from one of our latest weekly letter, "Watch the Throne":

September is over and we're now heading into a month where gold has traditionally not performed as well. We've seen gold and silver prices rise over the last few weeks, so it wouldn't shock me that we see a pullback. October is also generally a more volatile month for both gold and stocks.

Keep in mind that central bank buying, investor demand, and mine strikes in Africa could cause supply constraints and force gold higher, even in a month where gold has often been down.

Should gold prices follow historical trends for October along with stocks, it would represent a great buying opportunity. Over the past 40 years, November has generally been one of the best months for gold, second only to September. However, in the last decade

To continue reading and receive your next free edition of Equedia Weekly, please subscribe by going to http://equedia.com/equediaweekly/ and visit http://equedia.com/blog/view.php/Watch-the-Throne for a copy of this edition.

You should also visit http://www.equedia.com to gain access to insider information, analyst ratings, videos, corporate coverage, financials, and in-depth stock charts for the above mentioned companies. Shareholders are also asked to assist our staff by providing us more details on your knowledge of the above-mentioned companies as we put them under evaluation. By registering through http://www.equedia.com, you can upload your findings and attach them to the respective companies under their corporate landing page.

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Strateco Resources Inc. and Anderson Energy Ltd. Under Current Evaluation

Bankers Petroleum Ltd. and Vero Energy Inc. Under Current Evaluation

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Equedia.com and The Equedia Weekly Letter provides research on Canadian companies with a focus on mining and resource stocks. Equedia is continuing research and evaluation on the prospects of Bankers Petroleum Ltd. (TSX:BNK.TO - News) and Vero Energy Inc. (TSX:VRO.TO - News). To be further notified of our updates on these companies and special report editions through the Equedia Weekly letter, please obtain your free subscription here:

http://equedia.com/equediaweekly

Many companies previously featured in our special report editions have hit new 52 week highs since the initiation of our coverage and man) y companies under evaluation have made strong gains since being placed under evaluation. To receive these reports, please make sure to subscribe for your complimentary subscription to Equedia Weekly here:

http://equedia.com/equediaweekly

Here is a brief excerpt from one of our latest weekly letter, "Watch the Throne":

September is over and we're now heading into a month where gold has traditionally not performed as well. We've seen gold and silver prices rise over the last few weeks, so it wouldn't shock me that we see a pullback. October is also generally a more volatile month for both gold and stocks.

Keep in mind that central bank buying, investor demand, and mine strikes in Africa could cause supply constraints and force gold higher, even in a month where gold has often been down.

Should gold prices follow historical trends for October along with stocks, it would represent a great buying opportunity. Over the past 40 years, November has generally been one of the best months for gold, second only to September. However, in the last decade

To continue reading and receive your next free edition of Equedia Weekly, please subscribe by going to http://equedia.com/equediaweekly/ and visit http://equedia.com/blog/view.php/Watch-the-Throne for a copy of this edition.

You should also visit http://www.equedia.com to gain access to insider information, analyst ratings, videos, corporate coverage, financials, and in-depth stock charts for the above mentioned companies. Shareholders are also asked to assist our staff by providing us more details on your knowledge of the above-mentioned companies as we put them under evaluation. By registering through http://www.equedia.com, you can upload your findings and attach them to the respective companies under their corporate landing page.

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Bankers Petroleum Ltd. and Vero Energy Inc. Under Current Evaluation

The Doctor Is In: Complementary and alternative medicine thriving

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Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) continues to thrive as numerous physicians and very credible institutions including the Mayo Clinic embrace many of the therapies.

A surprisingly large number of Americans, estimated as high as 70 percent, have tried CAMacupuncture/acupressure, herb/vitamin therapy, hypnosis, chiropractic/massage, aromatherapy, magnetic therapy and reflexologyto cure their ills. A new termintegrative medicine is now being employed as traditional evidence-based medicine is combined with CAM for better treatment outcomes.

Statistics indicate that more Americans have tried CAM than have visited primary care physicians in recent years. Public awareness and the use of CAM are complex phenomena that have grown extraordinarily this past decade, according to MD Consult, an Internet source of medical information. This public knowledge is easily obtainable online and, when combined with the spiraling upward costs of modern healthcare, the growth of CAM has continued to accelerate.

Advertising and recommendations for CAM products are ubiquitous and pervasive, even though there has been very little support or encouragement from the traditional medical community. Often, patients, their families and friends are very well informed with the currently available information, which they believe is reliable, only to find out subsequently, that new "facts" may question their previous beliefs.

Obtaining evidence-based CAM would be the next major breakthrough for everyonepatients, physicians, and the purveyors of integrative medicine. The question is: How effective are complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies?

The answer isnobody really knows for sure; however, there is definite progress with scientific studies being reported in credible medical journals.

We have indications that some of these therapies may be helpful. Acupuncture, for example, may provide a number of medical benefits, from reducing pain to helping with chemotherapy-induced nausea. But the fact is, we lack any conclusive efficacy data about any of these alternatives.

One thing we do know: CAM therapies are expensivevery expensive. Estimates of the costs of CAM to Americans range $34 to $47 billion every year.

Consequently, the real concern we ought to be addressing is: Can we afford to continue to spend precious healthcare dollars on therapies of questionable scientific value, particularly at a moment when we are trying to control health care costs in general, in order to help the economy recover? We should encourage more resources being directed to proving the efficacy of CAM.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (http://nccam.nih.gov/health/), which has been funded with close to a billion dollars of taxpayer revenue over the past decade or so, brings a scientific approach to CAM. The results, especially for devotees of alternative medicine, are not what they want to believe. For example:

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The Doctor Is In: Complementary and alternative medicine thriving