Monthly Archives: October 2012

Freedom Autosport claim 2nd in CTSCC driver, team championship at Lime Rock

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LAKEVILLE, Conn.Freedom Autosports season finale at Lime Rock Park wrapped up a year of consistency and hard work that earned the team second in both the Street Tuner team and driver championships in GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.

#25 Freedom Autosport Mazda MX-5: Tom Long, Derek Whitis

Photo by: Luis Betancourt

For most of the race, the team was poised to do just that. After starting on the pole, Whitis was never out of the top two and led the race during his stint. After a quick pit stop, Long took over and was also running up front. As the race progressed, though, a misfire developed that slowed lap times.

Eventually, Long crossed the finish line in tenth. Although it wasnt enough for a championship, both Whitis and Long are quick to note that the finish caps off a season with no DNFs for the No. 25 Mazda. In fact, they won the Continental Tire Driving Confidence Award for completing the most ST miles during the season.

Whitis comments, I couldnt be prouder of all the Freedom Autosport folks who put us on the track with the fastest and most dependable Mazda possible. All of our success this year is due to their work and their efforts. Thanks to Mazda, the amazing Freedom crew, and most of all, the veterans and troops who make it all possible.

The Freedom Autosport crew really proved themselves with the new cars they built this year, says Long. They are the reason weve had such consistency and reliability all season, and theyve given so much hard work and dedication this year: in the shop, at the track, and especially in pit stops.

The No. 25 Freedom Autosport Mazda MX-5 took second in the Street Tuner team championship with 226 points, just three points behind the leader. The same points spread gave Whitis and Long second in the driver championship. Freedom Autosport also helped Mazda finish the season with second in the manufacturer championship.

In addition to racing, Freedom Autosport also hosted Liam Dwyer throughout the weekend. Dwyer was injured in Afghanistan while serving in the Marines, and hes not only a race fan but a track day enthusiast. He has even rigged up a system so he can drive with his prosthetic leg.

On Saturday night, Dwyer was Freedom Autosports guest at the championship banquet, where he was introduced and received a standing ovation from the series teams.

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Freedom Autosport claim 2nd in CTSCC driver, team championship at Lime Rock

Black ‘Human Zoo’ Fury Greets Berlin Art Show

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A performance-art show with half- naked black people thats touring Europe has drawn protests during its visit to Berlin.

White stage director Brett Baileys Exhibit B features museum-style installations of living models in static poses designed to highlight the troubled history of European colonialism in Africa.

Black activists demonstrated at the Kleiner Wasserspeicher, which is showing the work as part of the Foreign Affairs Festival, after acclaimed stagings in Brussels and Grahamstown, South Africa.

This is the wrong way to discuss a violent colonial history, said Sandrine Micosse-Aikins, a member of Buehnenwatch, the organization which instigated the protest.

In one piece, a black woman sits above a cooking pot, holding a skull and a shard of glass. A plaque describes how Namibian women in concentration camps had to boil and scrape clean the skulls of their menfolk so that they could be sent to Germany for scientific examination in the early 20th century.

In another display, photographs of severed black heads stuffed and skewered on metal prongs recall the work of Eugen Fischer (1874-1967), the German professor of anthropology and eugenics whose theories of racial hygiene guided the Nazis.

Below them, the heads of four living Namibian singers seem to float above plinths. They sing beautiful Herero songs about genocide, in counterpoint to the grisly displays.

Contemporary asylum seekers are on show alongside a supine representation of Angelo Soliman, an 18th-century Nigerian philosopher and confidant of Maria Theresa and Emperor Joseph I. Upon his death in 1796, Solimans body was stuffed and displayed in a glass case alongside wild animals.

An earlier version of the show, Exhibit A, opened at Viennas Festwochen in 2010 and went on to Braunschweig, Germany, and Helsinki.

On Oct. 2, a post-performance public debate took place in Berlin below the photographs of Fischers severed heads.

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Black ‘Human Zoo’ Fury Greets Berlin Art Show

Eco-friendly Move by Chesapeake – Analyst Blog

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US gas giant Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) is planning to develop a 100% green mixture of fluids for fracturing oil and gas formations underground. In line with this move, it is experimenting with hydraulic-fracturing fluids prepared entirely from eco-friendly materials in wells.

According to management, the current frac fluid formulations frequently contain risky components like hydrochloric acid or diesel fuel. Environmentalists believe that these components create a threat to water supplies.

Chesapeake is analyzing numerous environment friendly methods in several shale formations. The details of these shale formations have not been disclosed. The company is apprehensive of the fact that drilling a well costs about $4 million to $6 million. Meanwhile, if an untested frac system is pushed down a well it would damage the reservoir, resulting in wastage of resources.

Therefore, Chesapeake is testing the green fracking fluids to curtail threats from surface leak of drilling sites close to lakes, creeks and rivers. It would also help in reducing workers' contact with potentially dangerous substances.

Another process developed by Halliburton uses ultraviolet light that destroys bacteria in the fracking fluid, combining the technology with a recycling process called CleanWave that uses an electrical charge to detach contaminants and clean the water.

The efforts by Chesapeake will go a long way in helping the company to grow in the rising environment friendly surroundings.

Chesapeake carries a Zacks #3 Rank, which is equivalent to a Hold rating for a period of one to three months. Longer term, we maintain our Neutral recommendation.

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Eco-friendly Move by Chesapeake - Analyst Blog

Eco-friendly Move by Chesapeake

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US gas giant Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) is planning to develop a 100% green mixture of fluids for fracturing oil and gas formations underground. In line with this move, it is experimenting with hydraulic-fracturing fluids prepared entirely from eco-friendly materials in wells.

According to management, the current frac fluid formulations frequently contain risky components like hydrochloric acid or diesel fuel. Environmentalists believe that these components create a threat to water supplies.

Chesapeake is analyzing numerous environment friendly methods in several shale formations. The details of these shale formations have not been disclosed. The company is apprehensive of the fact that drilling a well costs about $4 million to $6 million. Meanwhile, if an untested frac system is pushed down a well it would damage the reservoir, resulting in wastage of resources.

Therefore, Chesapeake is testing the green fracking fluids to curtail threats from surface leak of drilling sites close to lakes, creeks and rivers. It would also help in reducing workers contact with potentially dangerous substances.

Chesapeake is not the only company, which is working on means of providing more environment friendly fluids. The worlds largest fracking company Halliburton Co. (HAL) also offers CleanStim. This is effective in suppressing the growth of subterranean bacteria that can create a thick slime and hinder oil and gas flow.

Another process developed by Halliburton uses ultraviolet light that destroys bacteria in the fracking fluid, combining the technology with a recycling process called CleanWave that uses an electrical charge to detach contaminants and clean the water.

The efforts by Chesapeake will go a long way in helping the company to grow in the rising environment friendly surroundings.

Chesapeake carries a Zacks #3 Rank, which is equivalent to a Hold rating for a period of one to three months. Longer term, we maintain our Neutral recommendation.

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Eco-friendly Move by Chesapeake

Beaches At Shinnecock Will Be Rebuilt With Sand From Inlet

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Contractors working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and New York State will dredge about 300,000 tons of sand from Shinnecock Inlet beginning next month and pump it onto beaches west of the inlet that were severely eroded during the passing of Hurricane Irene last year.

The project officially has a dual purpose: bolstering the beaches decimated by Irenes waves and clearing the navigation channel leading from the Atlantic Ocean into Shinnecock Bay, home to the states second-largest commercial fishing port.

The project will be funded jointly by the Army Corps and the state and conducted by a private contractor hired by the Army Corps, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co.

U.S. Representative Tim Bishop announced this week that the project bids for the federal portions had come in well under budget. The dredging is officially slated to begin on or about November 1 and will be completed by mid-January 2013, according to Mr. Bishops office.

In June, the Army Corps appropriated some $5.1 million for the project, but the accepted bid for the work by Great Lakes was just under $3.9 million. The additional money will be held in reserve in case of any unexpected contingencies and would then be reassigned to other Army Corps emergency projects. Mr. Bishop said he will push for the money to be redirected to other Long Island projects.

I fought for a strong federal response to mitigating the damage from Tropical Storm Irene, and this vital project will protect the more than 500 jobs that rely on the small businesses and marine infrastructure located west of Shinnecock Inlet and will also ensure continued safe access to New Yorks second-busiest fishing port, the congressman said this week. We should all applaud the fact that the bid for the project was lower than expected and that taxpayers can expect extra bang for their buck with the federal-state partnership on this work.

The federal portion of the project will dredge 128,000 cubic yards of sand13,000 dump truck loadsfrom the main fairway of the inlet that will be pumped onto the quarter-mile stretch of badly eroded beach and dunes immediately to the west of the inlet.

The state portion of the project will fund the removal of another 115,000 cubic yards of sand from the navigation channel leading to and from the inlet. That sand will also be deposited along the beach near the inlet.

In late 2009 and early 2010, the Army Corps dredged more than 500,000 tons of sand out of the inlet and channel and pumped it onto beaches in western Hampton Bays and East Quogue. That project was funded with money from the federal stimulus package known as the American Recovery and Investment Act.

The beaches west of the inlet have suffered from chronic erosion for decades, the ill effects of the stone jetties that were used to stabilize the inlet in the 1950s. The jetties interrupt the sand that flows naturally from east to west along the shoreline, redirecting it offshorealso forming a long offshore sandbar that creates recurring hazardous navigation problems for boats entering and leaving the inlet.

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Beaches At Shinnecock Will Be Rebuilt With Sand From Inlet

Beaches Still Closed After Sewage Spill

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The city of Long Beach, pictured from just outside the breakwater, closed all beaches in Alamitos Bay after a Sunday sewage spill.

An expanded beach closure in the Long Beach's Alamitos Bay that remained in effect Wednesday following a weekend sewage spill will likely keep the beaches shut down for at least two more days.

A private sump pumpthat serves a residentialcommunity nearthe Cerritos Channel failed on Sunday, spilling sewage that flowed in Alamitos Bay,city public health officials said.

Initially, the spillonlyprompted the closure of Mother's Beach. But on Tuesday, Long Beach health officials said bacteriological test results had induced the cityto close all other recreational beaches in Alamitos Bay.

"Out of an abundance of caution, the beaches will remain closed to water contact until testing confirms that the results are within state standards," Long Beach City Health Officer Dr. Mitchell Kushner said in a press releaseTuesday.

Water-quality test results on Wednesday morning showed continued "moderate to heavy" exceedance of state standards for bacterial limits, according to Nelson Kerr, head of the environmental health bureau in the city's health department.

Kerr said the city wants to see two clean samples in a row at each of its four sampling locations in the bay. Samples are taken once per day and results are available the next day, so the earliest the beaches could reopen would be Friday.

It's uncertain how much sewage has entered the bay, Kerr said.

Ocean-facing beaches in Long Beach have remained open to the public.

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Beaches Still Closed After Sewage Spill

Davis Aerospace High School Showcased in Statewide Aviation Event as host of 2012 Michigan Air Tour – Video

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27-09-2012 22:40 Davis Aerospace was the only school-based program to host this year's Michigan Aviation Association Michigan Air Tour on September 21, 2012. In recognition of the remarkable aviation programs that Davis Aerospace offers, the school was selected as the starting point of the 2012 Michigan Air Tour. Nearly 30 pilots from across the state and Canada landed personal aircrafts on the grounds of Davis Aerospace. The tour also held stops in Marshall, Adrian, Battle Creek, Cadillac and Alpena. A presentation was held honoring the Davis Aerospace Flight Training Program for being only one of few flight programs available to public school students in the United States that allows students who successfully complete all flight-training requirements to achieve their Private Pilot license prior to graduation. The students also provided school tours to the visiting pilots of the MAA.

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Davis Aerospace High School Showcased in Statewide Aviation Event as host of 2012 Michigan Air Tour - Video

Vitamin D deficiency increases risk in MS and the elderly: Study

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Low levels of vitamin D could be responsible for more severe multiple sclerosis symptoms and an increased risk of death in the elderly, according to the findings of two new studies.

The new studies look into how low levels of vitamin D often referred to as the sunshine vitamin affect health and risk factors for disease.

Published in the Annals of Neurology and the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism(JCEM) the research papers suggest that battling deficiencies in elderly populations and people with multiple sclerosis (MS) could help to improve health and quality of life.

MS hope

In the first study, published in Annals of Neurology, researchers from Johns Hopkins University, USA, reveal that low blood levels of vitamin D are associated with an increased number of brain lesions and signs of a more active disease state in people with MS.

However the team, led by Dr Ellen Mowry, caution that more research is needed before across the board mega-doses of vitamin D are recommended for MS patients

"Even though lower levels of vitamin D are associated with more inflammation and lesions in the brain, there is no evidence that taking vitamin D supplements will prevent those symptoms," she says."If we are able to prove that through our currently-enrolling trial, it will change the way people with multiple sclerosis are treated."

The full study can be found by clicking here .

Elderly risk

The second study, published in JCEM, suggests that low levels of the sunshine vitamin in combination with high levels of parathyroid hormone are associated with increased mortality in African American and Caucasian older adults.

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Vitamin D deficiency increases risk in MS and the elderly: Study

Improved Stroke Care with Aquilion ONE Presented at ASHNR

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TUSTIN, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Dr. Ken Snyder, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Radiology and Neurology at State University of NewYork at Buffalo, will discuss how his institution used the AquilionTM ONE from Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. to diagnose stroke during a Lunch & Learn Symposium titled Acute Stroke Triage Using Whole Brain CT Perfusion. The presentation will take place Thursday, October 4, at noon ET, at the American Society of Head and Neck Radiologys (ASHNR) annual meeting, October 3 7, in Miami Beach, Fla.

Aquilion ONE acquires whole brain perfusion images, showing dynamic blood flow for better visualization and more accurate diagnoses, said Satrajit Mistra, senior director, CT Business Unit, Toshiba. The systems fast acquisition and whole-brain coverage enable clinicians to develop treatment plans quickly, which is critical in stroke situations.

About Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.

With headquarters in Tustin, Calif., Toshiba America Medical Systems (TAMS) markets, sells, distributes and services radiology and cardiovascular systems, including CT, MR, ultrasound, x-ray and vascular equipment, and coordinates clinical diagnostic imaging research for all modalities in the United States. For more information, visit the TAMS website at http://www.medical.toshiba.com.

About Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation

Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation is a leading worldwide provider of medical diagnostic imaging systems and comprehensive medical solutions, such as CT, X-ray and vascular, ultrasound, nuclear medicine and MRI systems, as well as information systems for medical institutions. Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation has been providing medical products for over 80 years. Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba.

About Toshiba

Toshiba is a world-leading diversified manufacturer, solutions provider and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products and systems. Toshiba Group brings innovation and imagination to a wide range of businesses: digital products, including LCD TVs, notebook PCs, retail solutions and MFPs; electronic devices, including semiconductors, storage products and materials; industrial and social infrastructure systems, including power generation systems, smart community solutions, medical systems and escalators & elevators; and home appliances.

Toshiba was founded in 1875, and today operates a global network of more than 550 consolidated companies, with 202,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing 6.1 trillion yen (US$74 billion). Visit Toshiba's web site at http://www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm.

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Improved Stroke Care with Aquilion ONE Presented at ASHNR

With topics like Immunization, HIV and STDs, Hypertension, Depression, PNL, and Influenza, Audio-Digest Foundation …

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Audio-Digest Foundation, the largest independent publisher of Continuing Medical Education in the world, is releasing free written summaries of its anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family practice, gastroenterology, general surgery, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics/gynecology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, otolaryngology, pediatrics, psychology, and urology programs via Amazon Kindle.

Glendale, CA (PRWEB) October 03, 2012

Anesthesiology Continuing Medical Education: Guidelines For 2010 to improve management of anesthesia through adherence to guidelines and protocols for noncardiac surgery and perioperative care.

Emergency Medicine Continuing Medical Education: Chest Pain to improve the management of chest pain in adults and children.

Family Medicine Continuing Medical Education: Immunization Update: What's New, What's True? to improve management of influenza and infections in older adults.

Family Practice Continuing Medical Education: Family Practice 2009: All Issues to improve screening for and treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in primary care settings.

Audio-Digest Gastroenterology Continuing Medical Education: Pediatric Liver Disease to improve the management of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers.

Audio-Digest General Surgery Continuing Medical Education: General Surgery to improve the surgical management of gastrointestinal cancers.

Audio-Digest Internal Medicine Continuing Medical Education: Gastroenterology Update to improve the management of hypertension (HTN) and to improve the prevention of stroke.

Internal Medicine Continuing Medical Education: Law And Order For The Internist to improve the management and prevention of pressure sores and the treatment of sepsis.

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With topics like Immunization, HIV and STDs, Hypertension, Depression, PNL, and Influenza, Audio-Digest Foundation ...

With topics like Celiac Disease, Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome, Lung Cancer, and PTSD, Audio-Digest Foundation …

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Audio-Digest Foundation, the largest independent publisher of Continuing Medical Education in the world, is releasing free written summaries of its anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family practice, gastroenterology, general surgery, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics/gynecology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, otolaryngology, pediatrics, psychology, and urology programs via Amazon Kindle.

Glendale, CA (PRWEB) October 03, 2012

Anesthesiology Continuing Medical Education: Endocrine Management/Perioperative Heart Failure to improve the management of stress-induced adrenal insufficiency and hyperglycemia, and perioperative heart failure.

Emergency Medicine Continuing Medical Education: Hiv Update to improve the management of HIV-associated conditions and side effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Family Medicine Continuing Medical Education: Critical Care Issues In Older Adults to improve diabetes education and management.

Family Practice Continuing Medical Education: Fyi On Stds to improve management of common gastrointestinal (GI) disorders.

Gastroenterology Continuing Medical Education: Gastrointestinal Cancer: Part I to improve the management of celiac disease (CD).

General Surgery Continuing Medical Education: Ethical And Legal Conflicts In Medicine to improve management of bowel injuries, and to review medical and legal issues in the determination of brain death.

Audio-Digest Internal Medicine Continuing Medical Education: Issues In Neurology to improve the management of sleep-disordered breathing and treatment of the patient with obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS).

Internal Medicine Continuing Medical Education: Diagnostic Imaging to improve the management of the patient with abnormal liver tests, and the evaluation and treatment of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

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With topics like Celiac Disease, Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome, Lung Cancer, and PTSD, Audio-Digest Foundation ...

NANO Connect Offers International Perspective With South Korean Nanotechnology Education Leader

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SKOKIE, IL--(Marketwire - Oct 3, 2012) - Wheeling High School, a recognized Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, announced today that Dr. WeonBae Ko, a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Sahmyook University in Seoul, South Korea, and the leader of the Korean Nanotechnology Researchers Society's Nanotechnology Education Committee, will give a presentation on the state of nanotechnology education in South Korea at its upcoming NANO Connect forum.

NANO Connect is a forum aimed at demystifying the rapidly emerging field of nanotechnology and demonstrating how nanotechnology education can be integrated into traditional high school science curriculums.It is sponsored by NanoProfessor, the global leader in hands-on undergraduate nanotechnology education, which has been chosen to serve as the foundation for undergraduate hands-on nanotechnology education by over twenty institutions in five countries.

"We are honored to have Dr. Ko speak at our inaugural NANO Connect forum and enlighten us on the state of nanotechnology education in South Korea," said Dr. Lazaro Lopez, Principal of Wheeling High School."Dr. Ko's presence at NANO Connect speaks to the growing importance of nanotechnology education both locally and internationally."

"I want to thank Dr. Lopez for inviting me to speak at NANO Connect, which will be a great opportunity to exchange ideas about nanoscience education," said Dr. Ko."South Korea is aiming to become one of the world's top three nations in global nanotechnology competitiveness by 2015.To do this, we are focusing on research and development, research infrastructure, and manpower cultivation, all of which start with education."

The NANO Connect forum will be held at Wheeling High School on Tuesday, October 9 from 8 a.m. to noon and will also feature keynote addresses from Illinois Congressman Bob Dold; Gayle E. Woloschak, Ph.D., Professor at Northwestern University; and Ted Fetters, Director of Program Management for the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition.The NANO Connect forum is open to students, educators, and those working in the nanotechnology field.In addition to the keynote addresses, graduate students from Northwestern University's International Institute for Nanotechnology will give hands-on demonstrations to Wheeling High School students, showcasing nanotechnology and its applications.

The event will also feature a display of the state-of-the-art, nano-focused instrumentation contained within the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program, including NanoInk's NLP 2000 Desktop Nanofabrication System, the first desktop nanofabrication system allowing students to quickly and easily build custom-engineered nanoscale structures with a wide variety of materials from metal nanoparticles to biomolecules using NanoInk's proprietary Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN).Local companies working in the nanotechnology industry will be in attendance, as well.More information about NANO Connect, including registration, is available at: http://whs.d214.org/academics/nano_conference.aspx

Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately one and 100 nanometers (nm), where unique phenomena enable novel applications which are not feasible when working with bulk materials.A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter.Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering, and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter at the nanoscale.A study funded by the National Science Foundation projects that six million nanotechnology workers will be needed worldwide by 2020, with two million of those jobs in the United States.However, as of 2008, there were only 400,000 estimated workers worldwide in the field of nanotechnology, with an estimated 150,000 of those in the United States.

Wheeling High School is a public, four-year comprehensive high school with a STEM focus that opened in 1964 and graduated its first class in 1966.It serves Wheeling and sections of Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Mount Prospect, Northbrook, and Prospect Heights and is one of the six schools in Township High School District 214.In the fall of 2010, Wheeling High School was officially rededicated as a STEM school and admitted as an institutional member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science, and Technology -- one of only three in Illinois.More information is available at: http://whs.d214.org.

About the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program The NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program aims to advance undergraduate nanotechnology education and address the growing need for a skilled, nano-savvy workforce.The NanoProfessor Program, including instruments, an expert-driven curriculum, and student/teacher support materials, is available for high schools, community colleges, technical institutes, and universities worldwide.More information is available at: http://www.NanoProfessor.net or (847)679-NANO (6266).You can also like NanoProfessor on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NanoProfessor1 and follow on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nanoprofessor1.

NanoInk, NanoProfessor, Dip Pen Nanolithography, DPN, and the NanoProfessor logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of NanoInk, Inc.

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NANO Connect Offers International Perspective With South Korean Nanotechnology Education Leader

Scientists Invited To Submit Proposals For Biological Research In Space

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October 3, 2012

Image Caption: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide, Expedition 33 flight engineer, services the Nano Step payload in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

NASA announced it is inviting scientists from all over the world to submit proposals to perform biological research aboard the International Space Station.

NASAs Research Opportunities in Space Biology opened up for proposals on Sunday, challenging scientists to submit their experiments that could provide answers to questions about how life adapts and responds to microgravity.

Investigators will have the opportunity to take advantage of new cell, plant and animal research facilities being developed for the space station.

NASA said proposals submitted by the scientists should demonstrate benefits to astronauts living and working in the harsh environment of space during long-duration missions. The space agency also said they should improve medicine and health care for humans on Earth as well.

NASAs Research Announcement (NRA) focuses on ground-based research designed to lead to new space biology investigations aboard the space station.

The space agency said the investigations should use microgravity and other characteristics of the space environment effectively to enhance our understanding of basic biological processes and develop the scientific and technological foundations for a safe, productive human presence in space.

The investigations should also be able to be applied to help improve the United States competitiveness, education and quality of life, according to NASA.

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Scientists Invited To Submit Proposals For Biological Research In Space

Genia Technologies Collaborates with Professors Jingyue Ju at Columbia and George Church at Harvard to Develop a …

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Genia Technologies, Inc. today announced a collaboration with investigators at Columbia University and Harvard University to develop a nanopore-based sequencing system that will accelerate the use of DNA sequencing in the clinic. The three-way collaboration focuses on the development of a single molecule sequencing system combining Genia's standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit, Professor George Church's novel protein constructs with Columbia's unique Tag-based sequencing chemistry approach. Genia has recently entered into an exclusive license agreement with Columbia University for use of its Tag-based sequencing technology. By combining standard protein nanopores with the tag sequencing chemistry (NanoTag) and semiconductor technology, the Genia chip will be more accurate, faster, and affordable than current commercially available technologies. This integrated circuit platform is designed for decentralized deployment, ease of use, and less upfront sample preparation, at a size and price ideal for diagnostics in the clinical setting.

"We believe DNA sequencing will dominate molecular diagnostics in the future," said Stefan Roever, CEO of Genia. "We have been working to fully operationalize a nanopore-based sequencing approach, and this chemistry will be the catalyst that helps us finally bring affordable, easy-to-use genomic diagnostics into everyday medical care."

"The Genia platform combines the single molecule detection capabilities seen in nanopore-based platforms with true semiconductor scalability," Roever continued. "We are thrilled to collaborate with Professor Jingyue Ju, Professor George Church, and their teams to develop the NanoTag sequencing chemistry on our platform and believe this Tag-based approach overcomes the inherent accuracy issues you have with trying to pull native DNA through the pore. We believe this will be the winning chemistry for nanopore-based sequencing."

This transformational platform, based on the innovative electronic Nano-SBS system developed by Dr. Ju and his team at Columbia's Engineering School in an academic collaboration with Dr. John Kasianowicz and his group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, uses a robust sequencing-by-synthesis approach to determine DNA sequences electronically at the single molecule level, without requiring amplification or optical detection. The technology identifies DNA sequences not by detecting the nucleotides themselves with the nanopore, but by measuring the current changes caused by the passage of each of four different tags that are released from the incorporated nucleotide during the polymerase reaction. On September 21, 2012, Dr. Ju, Dr. Kasianowicz, and their groups published an article in the peer-reviewed journal, Scientific Reports (Nature Publication group), "PEG-Labeled Nucleotides and Nanopore Detection for Single Molecule DNA Sequencing by Synthesis" (2, 684;DOI:10.1038/srep00684), that successfully demonstrates proof of principle of the Nano-SBS system.

"We are very fortunate to have partnered with Genia Technologies. We are very impressed with their chip capabilities and are excited to work with them and take our novel tag sequencing chemistry to commercialization. Our published research with Dr. Kasianowicz represents the first step in further development of this novel sequencing technology. By scaling with a nanopore integrated circuit, the commercial implications and the impact on biomedical research and clinical diagnostics are very exciting," said Dr. Ju, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Pharmacology at Columbia University.

Genia's technology combines a nanopore array integrated on a standard CMOS chip. Software on the chip controls the insertion of the nanopores into the lipid bilayers and allows for active control of individual sensors on the array. Genia has strong IP around their analog electronic circuitry, which at the heart, controls each sensor of the array and allows for operationalizing the overall nanopore-based platform. In addition, Genia's patented protein construct and methodology solve the diffusion, capture rate, and translocation speed issues faced by alternative exonuclease-based approaches.

To make NanoTag sequencing a reality, a fusion protein is needed to position the polymerase near the nanopore's vestibule, so that the tags can be easily captured and detected in the barrel of the pore. As part of the Genia collaboration, George Church and his group will provide the protein constructs which are integral to the overall Tag-based approach.

"DNA sequencing is the future of molecular diagnostics and finding a platform that can be deployed straight into the clinic and enable rapid, easy to interpret results will be the way to truly achieve personal genomes worthy of precision medicine," said George Church, Professor of Genetics, at Harvard University. "The Genia integrated circuit combined with the NanoTag sequencing chemistry, seems to have a winning formula that makes it ideal for clinical care and may be the platform that finally moves DNA sequencing into the doctor's office to ensure earlier diagnostics, treatment, and better patient outcomes.

The first version of Genia's CMOS chip is in-house and is currently being used to further develop and test the NanoTag sequencing chemistry. The company expects to ship its first devices to customers for beta testing by the end of 2013 and expects to have a commercial product, on the market in 2014.

About Genia Technologies:

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Genia Technologies Collaborates with Professors Jingyue Ju at Columbia and George Church at Harvard to Develop a ...

Children's Medical Center School Has New — And It Hopes, Permanent — Home

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NEW BRITAIN

Inside a room that was part kitchen, part classroom, Mason Weldon, 16, was working with his teacher, Cindy Smith, on a batch of chocolate chip cookies. On the other side of the room, a classmate, Carlon Dudley, 19, filed student time cards.

Weldon and Dudley are taking part in the life skills curriculum offered by the Connecticut Children's Medical Center School. The school is for students 5 to 21 years old with severe emotional, cognitive and behavioral problems and require intensive help.

Run by the Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, the school has had something of a transient existence and has wandered through the central Connecticut region since it was established in the 1940s. School officials hope that its new home, a former clothing warehouse on John Downey Avenue, will be a permanent one.

"It's much better," said Mason, taking time out from cooking duties. He's been a student at the school for the last seven years. "We've got more space. We've got a gym now."

Mason's comments reflected what a lot of people were saying at Tuesday's ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new facility, which has been in session since last month..

Its last location in Wethersfield was always considered a temporary one.

"It was too small, too old," said Barbara Brown, senior director of the school. Brown has been with the CCMC School for about 30 years. In that time, the school has been at four locations.

It's mission and scope has changed significantly since it was founded as an in-house school to continue the education of children staying in the hospital for long periods. Newington Children's Hospital moved to Hartford in 1996 and changed its name to Connecticut Children's Medical Center.

Around the 1970s and early 1980s, the school shifted its focus to educating children with mental disabilities and behavioral problems. Now, 20 to 25 percent of the children at the school are on the autism spectrum. It's not so much a student's diagnosis that qualifies for entry to the school, but whether his or her condition causes them behavioral problems. They're referred to the CCMC School by their local school district, which pays for the student's tuition.

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Children's Medical Center School Has New — And It Hopes, Permanent — Home

Medical Academy Charter School in Catasauqua opens doors to first students

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Medical charter school opens doors to first students

While jobs are in short supply in many industries, that's not the case in the medical field.

A new charter school in Lehigh County is now trying to address that need. The Medical Academy Charter School in Catasauqua is the first of its kind in the Lehigh Valley. It's goal is to better steer kids into the field of health care.

Between the algebra and history of the Jamestown settlement is an art class teaching students how drawing can turn to healing for the sick.

"This is an example of a Zen tangle art therapy method that psychotherapists may use to draw out emotions in patients," said teacher Carol Traynor.

The new school is using the promise of a career in health care to draw students in.

"This is where the jobs are going to be now and in the near future. It's ever growing," said Joanna Hughes, CEO and principal of the school, which opened in September to 9th and 10th graders.

The school, which will expand to 11th and 12th graders, infuses health care sciences into the general curriculum, Hughes said.

"We will provide the children with opportunities so that they can be an x-ray tech or a phlebotomist or someone who works in the office doing billing," Hughes said.

Taylor Fullin, who wants to be anesthesiologist, transferred from Northampton Area High School.

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Medical Academy Charter School in Catasauqua opens doors to first students

QU's new medical school approved

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HAMDEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- Quinnipiac University's new medical school has received it's accreditation, and will be ready for the next crop of students looking to become doctors.

The University will be recruiting its first class for the fall of 2013 after earning two important endorsements from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and the State Board of Education.

Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine is named in honor of the noted surgeon and prolific medical illustrator.

"Adding a medical school to Quinnipiac's existing schools of law, health sciences, nursing, communications, education, business and engineering and College of Arts and Sciences will continue Quinnipiac's transformation into a major national university," Quinnipiac President John. L Lahey said in a statement. "When the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine enrolls its first medical students in the Fall of 2013, Quinnipiac will join fewer than 100 universities in America that have both law and medical schools."

The medical school will become the third in Connecticut, making St. Vincent's Medical Center of Bridgeport their primary clinical partner. This collaboration will give the residents in the state's largest city more access to health care. The medical school is also affiliated with MidState Medical Center in Meriden and Middlesex Hospital in Middletown.

"Applicants to our school can be assured that they will receive a high quality medical education that will prepare them for the contemporary practice of medicine," said Dr. Bruce Koeppen, the founding dean of the medical school.

The first class at the medical school will have 60 students and is expected to grow to 125 students per class by 2017.

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QU's new medical school approved

Can Genetically Modified Cows Produce Allergy-Free Milk?

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Got milk allergies? Then New Zealand may have a Franken-cow thats right for you!

Researchers at the University of Waikato say they have come up with a way to tinker with bovine DNA and engineer cows to produce hypoallergenic milk, according to ABC News.

The scientists essentially selected for genes that would cause the cows to make less BLG, a protein in cow milk that 23 percent of the general population is allergic to.

Milk allergies are, of course, far more serious than your garden-variety lactose intolerance. For those who are allergic to milk, reactions can range from hives to difficulty breathing, vomiting and diarrhea. (Milk allergies mostly affect young children, who typically outgrow them by age 3.)

MORE: 18 Companies That Oppose GMO Food Labeling

Dont expect hypoallergenic milk to appear in your local dairy aisle anytime soon, however. Stateside critics of the Kiwis work point out that while the GMO cows did produce far less BLG, thats probably not even the protein that causes milk allergy sufferers the most trouble in the first place.

Casein, actually, is the major milk protein that we believe causes most of the severe milk allergies, Dr. Scott Sicherer, a professor and researcher at the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, tells ABC.

And, in fact, as BLG levels dropped in the cows milk, levels of casein actually rose.

Of course, the mutant Kiwi cows are only the latest headline-maker in the controversial scientific quest to genetically engineer better cows and frankly, theyre not even the creepiest.

That dubious honor probably goes to Chinese researchers, who last year announced they had created a mutant herd of 300 dairy cows capable of producing human milk. (Air quotes abound in trying to write about genetic engineering.)

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Can Genetically Modified Cows Produce Allergy-Free Milk?