Monthly Archives: October 2012

BioShock Infinite devs jump ship to Microsoft

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Following reports in August that two of Irrational Games' top developers--director of product development Tim Gerritsen and 13-year studio veteran and former art director Nate Wells--had left the company, it now appears that the BioShock Infinite studio may have lost another two of its team members.

According to Superannuation and Kotaku, Irrational Games combat design director Clint Bundrick and artificial intelligence lead Don Norbury had both left the studio earlier this month to join, as detailed by their individual LinkedIn accounts (here and here).

Following the departure of Gerritsen and Wells in August, Irrational announced that the original BioShock art director, Scott Sinclair, would fill Wells' role amid reports of multiplayer cancellations. Irrational later brought in Epic Games production director Rod Fergusson to help complete the game.

BioShock Infinite was announced in 2010, and was originally scheduled to be launched this month. In the run up to the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo--at which it was not present-- it was announced that the game would be delayed to February 2013.

When BioShock Infinite does ship, it will do so with great sales expectations. In August 2011, one analyst suggested that the game would be a significant financial boon for Take-Two, saying that it could ship 4.9 million copies.

BioShock Infinite is set in a chaos-plagued airborne metropolis called Columbia. Gamers assume the role of Booker DeWitt, a former member of the feared Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which was the nation's largest security company in the late 19th century.

For more on BioShock Infinite, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

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BioShock Infinite devs jump ship to Microsoft

Vigilent Optimizes Data Center Uptime with Next Generation of Dynamic Cooling Control

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EL CERRITO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Vigilent, the leader in intelligent energy management systems, advanced the state of dynamic cooling control today with the latest release of its sophisticated cooling platform for data centers, telcos and buildings. The new release Version 5 expands automatic cooling control with a new generation of artificial intelligence-based technology that contributes to risk mitigation, delivers even greater energy savings, and adds extensive, automated reporting and visualization capabilities.

Built on a foundation of self-learning, patented artificial intelligence, the Vigilent system uses Intelligent Analytics technology to enhance the resiliency of a facilitys cooling infrastructure while optimizing it for maximum energy efficiency, minute-by-minute. Fortune 500 companies worldwide are incorporating Vigilent systems as an essential component of their Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) strategy. The new releases expanded control and operational insights directly reduce cooling costs and offer extended ride-through and warning time should any unusual events occur essential to protecting uptime and availability.

The size and complexity of data centers have grown beyond the capacity of humans to effectively manage them for maximum uptime, safety, and efficiency, said Christopher Kryzan, Vice President of Marketing for Vigilent. Even the newest, most energy-efficient data centers can only operate at maximum cooling efficiency until something changes. The Vigilent system automatically and intuitively responds to changes in cooling requirements, predicts potential issues, and acts to mitigate risk giving operators much needed warning and time to respond to larger risk events.

Enhancements to the Vigilent artificial intelligence engine and resulting controls are based on the year-over-year acquired knowledge and best practices of millions of square feet of data centers already controlled by Vigilent systems. Users gain more granular monitoring and control of all cooling resources, and an improved user interface for comprehensive and instantaneous visibility into cooling and airflow status. The advantage of such precise monitoring is that the amount of cooling delivered in a given moment is the actual amount of cooling required at that moment.

By matching cooling capacity to actual IT load in real-time, you not only reduce energy costs, you gain a better understanding of how much available cooling capacity you have at any given time, said Andrew Lawrence, Vice President of Research for Datacenter Technologies and Eco-Efficient IT at 451 Research. This is a much more intelligent operation than just blasting cold air all the time; it is a dynamically changing system that produces a lot of data, which can be fed back to help improve availability as well as efficiency.

New features include:

Advanced Cooling Controls

User-configurable, Built-In Reports

Enhanced Trending

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Vigilent Optimizes Data Center Uptime with Next Generation of Dynamic Cooling Control

Futurist's Cheat Sheet: Artificial Intelligence

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There is no more powerful concept in futurist writings then the notion of artificial intelligence. The ability for humans to create machine-based life that thinks on its own and acts on its own has the potential to make our lives dramatically better - or worse, depending on what kind of science fiction you read. But getting there won't be easy.

Artificial intelligence has long been a pipe dream of scientists and science fiction writers. In reality, though, we are nowhere near the practical application of artificial intelligence. True artificial intelligence implies a conscious machine with subjective experiences and thoughts; self-aware, sentient (with the ability to feel) and the capacity for wisdom (sapience).

Apples Siri voice-activated personal assistant and Googles search algorithms are examples of the current state of artificial intelligence. Neither acts on its own nor perceives intentions. You can have a conversation with Siri by interacting with a collection of pre-loaded answers, but there is no intelligence behind it. Siri merely uses a set of rules to select the most appropriate canned answer to your question.

Siri and Google search are examples of what is called weak artificial intelligence - or machine intelligence not intended to match the capabilities of human beings. A weak AI engine could recognize characters, play chess or drive a car. But a machine performing intelligent actions is not necessarily acting intelligently. There is a difference between a smart machine (one that can take various inputs and act accordingly) and one that has its own cognitive capabilities. A smartphone can know many things about its surroundings, but does it know to call Mom when your fiance dumps you?

Strong AI lies on the other end of the spectrum. Strong AI presupposes that a machine can match or exceed the intelligence of a human. It can think on its own and perform intelligent calculations as well or better than a human could. Strong AI, as defined by engineering researchers and philosophers, does not currently exist. To find strong AI you need to turn to the science fiction realm of The Terminator, The Matrix or Isaac Asimovs I, Robot.

AI combines the theoretical with the philosophical before even getting into the nuts and bolts of how it can be achieved. How do you quantify the theoretical capabilities of a sentient computer when one does not yet exist?To even think about achieving artificial intelligence, one must first answer a very old and still very confusing question: exactly what is intelligence?

Humans consider themselves intelligent because they have the capacity to make sense of the world through a series of brain functions. The human mind integrates many different kinds of sensory information and performs computations to create assertions and judgments.

Take a look at the person closest to you. What do you see?

In your mind you see Dick or Jane - because your brain tells you that the person is Dick or Jane. What you are actually seeing is a variety of agents and individual components that your mind associates with Dick or Jane. Your brain makes instant, complicated computations that define what you see - and then more calculations to decide how to react to that object, perhaps to communicate with it. The neural network that is the human brain works in a complicated web to determine the world around it.

In the realm of artificial intelligence, the classic way to determine intelligent behavior is via the Turing test. Developed by early AI pioneer Alan Turing, the Turing test is designed to see if a machines capability for intelligent behavior makes it indistinguishable from that of a human: If you were having a conversation with an entity behind a curtain, could you tell if it was a machine or a human?

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Futurist's Cheat Sheet: Artificial Intelligence

FAA Grants Second Safety Approval for Spaceflight to the National Aerospace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center:

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Southampton, PA, USA. October 16, 2012 - The NASTAR Center, the premier commercial aerospace training and research center in the world, earned its second safety approval from the FAA for the center`s Falcon 12/4 Altitude Chamber. This safety approval meets the Crew Qualification and Training Requirements of 14 CFR 460.5 for Commercial Spaceflight and allows the NASTAR Center to conduct altitude chamber operations from zero (0) feet up to 100,000 feet to support commercial space launch activities, including research, testing, and training pre and post-flight. Rapid decompression events up to equalization altitudes of 30,800 feet are also approved.

This safety approval (SA 12-004) is the second received by NASTAR and one of only four that the FAA Office for Commercial Space Transportation has granted to date. In April 2010, NASTAR Center was the first recipient of an FAA safety approval for its Space Training System: Model 400 (STS-400), a high performance training simulation system capable of replicating the acceleration G forces, vibrations, and visuals associated with suborbital space flight.

The altitude chamber safety approval from the FAA adds to NASTAR`s credibility as a leading provider of Commercial Spaceflight Training. Parent company ETC`s CEO Mr. William Mitchell stated, "The addition of this FAA safety approval is a testament to the dedication NASTAR Center has to providing the best possible training experience for commercial space training participants. The ability of NASTAR Center to provide realistic demonstrations in a reduced oxygen environment is a vital part of any training program. We are proud that we have demonstrated to the FAA that, not only do we manufacture the best altitude chambers in the world, but also provide the best training possible while upholding the strict safety guidelines required by the FAA."

So far, the NASTAR Center has trained over 250 people for upcoming commercial spaceflights in its NASTAR Space Training Programs, including 115 future Virgin Galactic `Astronauts,` 45 scientists from Universities around the country who plan to conduct research on commercial space flights, and 70 Accredited Space Agents (ASA`s).

### About NASTAR Center The National AeroSpace Training And Research (NASTAR) Center is a unit of ETC. The NASTAR Center is a state-of-the-art aerospace training, research, and educational facility dedicated to improving the health and safety of humans in extreme conditions. NASTAR Center serves military aviation (fixed and rotary wing), civil aviation (fixed and rotary wing), space travel (government and private), and provides research support for component and human factors testing. For more information about NASTAR Center, visit http://www.nastarcenter.comor contact Brienna Henwood at Tel: 215-355-9100 x1504 or email bhenwood@nastarcenter.com.

About ETC Environmental Tectonics Corporation or ETC (ETCC) designs, manufactures and sells software driven products and services used to recreate and monitor the physiological effects of motion on humans and equipment and to control, modify, simulate and measure environmental conditions. These products include aircrew training systems (aeromedical, tactical combat and general), disaster management systems, sterilizers (steam and gas), environmental testing products and hyperbaric chambers and other products and services that involve similar manufacturing techniques and engineering technologies. ETC`s unique ability to offer complete systems, designed and produced to high technical standards, sets it apart from its competition. ETC is headquartered in Southampton, PA. For more information about ETC, visit http://www.etcusa.com or contact CFO Bob Laurent at Tel: 215-355-9100 ext. 1550 or email blaurent@etcusa.com.

Forward-looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are based on management`s current expectations and are subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances. Words and expressions reflecting something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. The Company`s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in "Risk Factors" included in the Company`s most-recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: ETC via Thomson Reuters ONE HUG#1649289

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FAA Grants Second Safety Approval for Spaceflight to the National Aerospace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center:

Bizjet Engine MRO Activity One Focus for GKN Aerospace at NBAA 2012

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The GKN Aerospace activity on booth C7127 at NBAA, in Orlando, FL, from 30th October to 1st November, 2012, will include its newly acquired business jet engine support activity as well as the companys performance enhancing winglets and aerostructures operations, its engine nacelles, market-leading cockpit and cabin windows and ice protection technology.

GKN Aerospace completed the acquisition of Volvo Aero on 1st October, 2012, creating GKN Aerospace Engine Systems - an operation that takes its place among the leading three aero engine component suppliers globally and includes an established OEM authorised facility. Since 1982, this facility has provided servicing for the complete range of Honeywell TFE731 turbofan engines - which equip aircraft such as the Bombardier Learjet, Dassault Falcon, Raytheon Hawker and Cessna Citation.

Expertise in business jet engine nacelles is represented on the NBAA booth by an inlet for the nacelle system for Honeywell Engines HTF7000 series turbofan engine. As well as manufacturing this multi-application nacelle system, GKN Aerospace undertakes full integration with the aircraft engine, delivering the complete HTF7500E propulsion system, podded into the nacelle, direct to the end customers airframe assembly line.

The companys NBAA display will also feature front windscreens supplied for King Air, Learjet and Cessna aircraft. Recently announced new customers for both cockpit and passenger cabin windows are the Global 7000* and 8000*. These ultra-long range business aircraft will also be equipped with the companys composite winglets and ailerons. A composite winglet, designed and manufactured by GKN Aerospace for another Bombardier aircraft, the CSeries regional jet, will form a centrepiece of the show display.

The extent of the companys expertise in composite design and manufacture is evident in the award, late in 2011, of a production contract for the composite, light-weight, bonded fuselage for the HondaJet advanced light business jet. This activity is supported by on-going development programmes aimed at bringing new composite damage detection and composite repair technologies to the market, to automate and speed the maintenance and repair process.

In metallics design and manufacture, the companys broad base of expertise has recently led to the award (June 11) of a contract to design and produce the metallic wing moveable surfaces for Dassault Aviations next generation business jet platform. A metallic business jet wing spar will be on display at NBAA.

In the drive to extend performance and endurance, effective de-icing is a significant concern. GKN Aerospaces electro thermal de-icing technology will be represented on the NBAA booth with the Boeing 787 wing de-icing slat structure. These are created by applying a Spraymat coating to composite component to form a lightweight, rugged smart structure. An electronic control system is then added, providing highly controllable electro-thermal ice protection.

Mike McCann, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Strategy at GKN Aerospace comments: Across all our areas of expertise we are finding growing application in the business aviation sector, where range, speed and reliability are the dominant drivers. The recent extension to our engine systems activity, with its associated MRO operation, only adds to the breadth and depth of our commitment to this sector.

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Bizjet Engine MRO Activity One Focus for GKN Aerospace at NBAA 2012

Rotomolding Aerospace Division Expands Product Line

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Rotomolding leader Granger Plastics expansion into the Aerospace Industry continues to grow.  On the heels of the recent launch of Granger Aerospace Products and the revolutionary LD-2 container reveal, comes yet another container offering of ease and savings to the Aerospace, Air Cargo and Airline Industries.  Granger Aerospace Products announces the addition of the LD-8 to its line of air ...

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Rotomolding Aerospace Division Expands Product Line

Personalized genomic medicine: How much can it really empower patients?

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ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2012) Personalized genomic medicine is hailed as a revolution that will empower patients to take control of their own health care, but it could end up taking control away from patients and limiting their treatment choices, concludes an article in the Hastings Center Report. A commentary responding to the article, by the editorial director of Health and Family at Consumer Reports, also appears in the journal.

Genomic science provides two categories of data, the authors write: pharmacogenomic information and genomic susceptibility information. Pharmacogenomic information forecasts how an individual might respond to a particular therapy. Genomic susceptibility testing predicts a patient's chances of warding off or succumbing to an environmental threat or disease.

Genomic medicine's stakeholders -- including direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies, private research centers, and the National Institutes of Health -- are deeply invested in promoting how this information will benefit patients. The authors call this "empowerment rhetoric." And yet the added knowledge that comes from both pharmacogenomic information and genomic susceptibility information could have a negative impact on how much power a patient really has.

The results gleaned from pharmacogenomic information could pressure patients to comply with physicians' recommendations, the authors suggest, because molecular profiling would allow doctors to give orders with more authority. "In fact, because genomic medicine generates more risk information and makes that information the key lens for approaching health and disease, patients may actually find that they have less ability to influence health care decisions and treatments," the authors state.

The virtues of genomic susceptibility information could also go awry. First, because disease prevention relies heavily on lifestyle changes, responsibility is shifted from doctor to patient. Patients who don't make the "right" choices could be deemed irresponsible, the article says. Second, genomic information can for the time being only reveal the health risks of groups of people. Rather than provide individualized assessments, it classifies people into "genetic superfamilies." The authors argue that "population classification schemes based on racial and ethnic categories can be actively disempowering for individuals, by encouraging potentially prejudicial associations between their group affiliations and health care risks."

Patient empowerment is marketed as a paradigm shift because it puts medical data in the hands of the consumer, not just the doctor. But the authors conclude that the focus on empowerment could clash with the reality of what patients are willing or able to do with the information they receive. "The idea of patient empowerment may run up against not only the limits of patients' control over their health, but also the limits of patient control over health care systems," the article says.

The authors are Eric T. Juengst, director of the Center for Bioethics and professor in the Departments of Social Medicine and Genetics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Michael A. Flatt, a doctoral candidate in sociology at Case Western Reserve University; and Richard A. Settersten, Jr., professor of social and behavioral health sciences and endowed director of the Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University.

In a commentary on the article, Ronni Sandroff, editorial director of Health and Family at Consumer Reports, acknowledges that pharmacogenomics could take control away from a patient if a health insurance company opted not to cover a medicine that was shown to work infrequently in people with a particular genetic makeup. But even an increase in patient empowerment can have downsides if it shifts the responsibility for health care to patients and stigmatizes people who do not, or cannot, make the "right" health choices. Sandroff notes that the greatest challenge in preventive medicine is getting people to eat less, exercise more, and reduce stress. Whether or not genetic susceptibility information will actually empower patients by propelling them toward healthier lifestyles is unknown. "This is a question that needs more serious study," she writes.

Still, Sandroff says that consumer participation in genetic health research -- "a new and growing factor" -- could help advance scientific knowledge. "That makes it something that professionals should be wondering how to enhance and encourage, rather than fear," she writes.

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ASA Presents Peter Nagele, M.D., M.SC. with 2012 Presidential Scholar Award

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DR. NAGELE RECOGNIZED FOR FORMATIVE RESEARCH AND CLINICAL WORK

Newswise Washington, D.C. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today presented Peter Nagele, M.D., M.Sc. with its 2012 ASA Presidential Scholar Award. Dr. Nagele, well known for his translational research in the area of perioperative pharmacogenomics and myocardial infarction, received the award at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2012 annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Nagele received his medical education at Leopold-Franzens University in Innsbruck, Austria. He then completed his residency in anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the University of Vienna, Austria.

As a resident, Dr. Nagele was an investigator on the first human safety and efficacy study examining xenon as an anesthetic in humans. He then spent two years with C. Michael Crowder, M.D., Ph.D. at Washington University in St. Louis to research how to use genetic techniques to study mechanisms of anesthetic action in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans).

After his residency, Dr. Nagele returned to Washington University in 2005 to continue his interest in translational research under the advice and guidance of Dr. Crowder and Evan D. Kharasch, M.D, Ph.D., recipient of the 2011 ASA Excellence in Research Award.

In 2008, Dr. Nagele received a FAER mentored research training grant to study the influence of nitrous oxide on postoperative myocardial infarction. The results of this important clinical trial were presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2012 annual meeting.

On behalf of Anesthesiology, we are pleased to present Dr. Nagele with the 2012 ASA Presidential Scholar Award, said James C. Eisenach, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of Anesthesiology. We recognize Dr. Nageles many achievements as a clinical anesthesiologist so early on in his career. We look forward to his many additional contributions to come.

Dr. Nagele currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at Washington University. In addition to his major research interests, Dr. Nagele continues to be actively involved in the specialty of trauma anesthesiology and is the head of the departments section on trauma anesthesiology.

The American Society of Anesthesiologists Anesthesiologists: Physicians providing the lifeline of modern medicine. Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists is an educational, research and scientific association with 48,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and improve the care of the patient.

For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists website at asahq.org. For patient information, visit LifelinetoModernMedicine.com.

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ASA Presents Peter Nagele, M.D., M.SC. with 2012 Presidential Scholar Award

Plaque Build-Up in Your Brain May Be More Harmful Than Having Alzheimer's Gene

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Newswise MINNEAPOLIS A new study shows that having a high amount of beta amyloid or plaques in the brain associated with Alzheimers disease may cause steeper memory decline in mentally healthy older people than does having the APOE 4 allele, also associated with the disease. The study is published in the October 16, 2012, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Our results show that plaques may be a more important factor in determining which people are at greater risk for cognitive impairment or other memory diseases such as Alzheimers disease, said study author Yen Ying Lim, MPsych, with the University of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. Unfortunately, testing for the APOE genotype is easier and much less costly than conducting amyloid imaging.

For the study, 141 people with an average age of 76 who were free of any problems in memory and thinking underwent PET brain scans and were tested for the APOE gene. Their memory and thinking was then tracked over the following year and a half, using a set of computer-based cognitive assessments that were based on playing card games and remembering word lists.

The study found that after a year and a half, people who had more brain plaques at the start of the study had up to 20 percent greater decline on the computer based assessments of memory than did those who had fewer brain plaques. The study also found that while carriers of the APOE 4 allele also showed greater decline on the memory assessments than those who did not have the allele, carrying the 4 allele did not change the decline in memory related to the plaques.

Our finding that brain plaque-related memory decline can occur while people still have normal memory and thinking shows that these plaque-related brain changes can be detected and measured while older people are still healthy. This provides an enormous opportunity for understanding the development of early Alzheimers disease and even a sound basis for the assessment of plaque-targeting therapies, said Lim.

The study was supported by the Australian Commonwealth Scientific Industrial and Research Organization, Edith Cowan University, Mental Health Research Institute, Alzheimers Australia, National Aging Research Institute, Austin Health, CogState Ltd., Hollywood Private Hospital, Sir Charles Gardner Hospital, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the Dementia Collaborative Research Centers Program and the Science and Industry Endowment Fund.

To learn more about Alzheimers disease, visit http://www.aan.com/patients.

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 25,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimers disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinsons disease and epilepsy.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.

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Plaque Build-Up in Your Brain May Be More Harmful Than Having Alzheimer's Gene

Alzheimer's tech spray being developed

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A nanotechnology nasal spray is being developed that could transform the early detection and treatment of Alzheimer's.

The device shoots tiny magnetic particles into the nose which enter the bloodstream and are carried to the brain.

Each particle is fused to an antibody that targets and binds to rogue molecules believed to play an early role in the disease.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect both the particles and the molecules.

To date scientists have only tested the technique in the laboratory on human brain tissue cultures.

But if it can be shown to work in human patients it could lead to a major leap forward in managing Alzheimer's.

Scientists believe the changes that lead to Alzheimer's begin decades before the first symptoms appear.

By the time a patient is diagnosed the disease is already far advanced, and experts suspect that is the main reason why a number of promising drugs have failed in patient trials. Identifying the disease much earlier could make it far easier to treat.

Details of the new research were presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in New Orleans, US.

Lead scientist William Klein, from Northwestern University, Chicago, said: "We have created a probe that targets a unique marker of Alzheimer's disease. This technology is a promising tool for early AD diagnosis and for evaluating the efficacy of investigational new drugs at early stages of the disease."

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Alzheimer's tech spray being developed

Nanotechnology – 'All about doing more with less'

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David Johnson, a chemistry professor and nanotechnology expert with the Center for Sustainable Materials Chemistry, displays a mobile communications device that has more information stored on it than some computers on college campuses in the 1980s. With Johnson is Andy Bedingfield, the centers director of outreach and education. BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH - The Observer

Professor visits region in effort to help Ore. companies create better products for digital marketplace

Struggling to explain the science of nanotechnology for a completely science-ignorant newspaper reporter last week, David Johnson held up a mobile communications device that fit neatly in the palm of his hand.

Theres more information stored on this than there was in the huge computers you found on college campuses in the 1980s, Johnson said. Nanotechnology is all about doing more with less.

Then he gave another example.

Think about what TVs were like 30 or 40 years ago. It used to take three people just to lift one, he said.

Johnson, a lead chemistry professor at the Corvallis-based Center for Sustainable Materials Chemistry, spent last week on the road, staging a series of Science Pubs in Eastern Oregon communities including La Grande.

He was spreading the word about the centers research and its efforts to help Oregon companies especially start-up companies make better products for todays digital marketplace.

Electronic circuits are built on a nano-scale, so those products are smaller and lighter than anything people might have imagined decades ago. Thats good for businesses, and good for consumers.

But according to Johnson, its only one part of nanotechnologys benefit.

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Nanotechnology - 'All about doing more with less'

Penn State receives $4.2 million for nanotechnology career development

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Public release date: 15-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michael Bezilla mxb13@psu.edu 814-865-9481 Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State will receive $4.2 million over the next three years from the National Science Foundation to continue the work of the National Nanotechnology Applications and Career Knowledge Network (NACK Network), founded at the University with a four-year grant from the NSF in 2008.

The NACK Network provides national coordination of workforce development programs and activities on behalf of NSF in an effort to meet industry needs for skilled micro- and nanofabrication workers.

"The continuation of NSF support reflects the successes the NACK Network has achieved in working with industry and educational institutions in finding ways to meet the growing needs for highly trained personnel," said Stephen Fonash, NACK Network director and Kunkle Chair Professor of Engineering Sciences.

The market value of U.S. products incorporating nanotechnology will total $1 trillion by the year 2020, according to an NSF report, and nanotechnology's share of the gross domestic product (GDP) will be 5.0 percent. The nation in 2020 will require 2 million people in the primary workforce engaged in nanotechnology production.

"Jobs in nanotechnology demand advanced skills and critical thinking, and offer the opportunity for so many 'gee whiz' moments that can excite students, even in secondary schools," Fonash said. "To have faculty and teachers who understand nanotechnology's workforce impact and who can create these eye-opening moments, they must be trained and have educational materials and equipment resources in hand, including web-accessed and web-operated tools. NACK's objective is to create and sustain these resources and to develop pathways from high school to skilled manufacturing careers across the country."

The NACK Network is a working, productive nanotechnology workforce development partnership involving educational institutions across the U.S. The network's mission is to enable core-skills nanotechnology education at two-year community and technical colleges and four-year universities and colleges through partnerships with research universities. It emphasizes broad student preparation and fosters sharing of such resources as course lecture information and lab materials, workshops for curricular development and faculty preparation, and industry-developed workforce skill standards.

The NACK Network currently has hubs built on this concept of nanotechnology education partnerships between a research university and other post-secondary institutions in place in seven states and Puerto Rico. Its Pennsylvania hub, for example, involves more than 30 undergraduate institutions and Penn State. Educators from all 50 states have accessed and used NACK Network materials and services, which are available at http://www.nano4me.org. A report by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recently cited NACK's success in "bringing meaningful core-skills nanotechnology workforce education to technical and community colleges across the nation."

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Penn State receives $4.2 million for nanotechnology career development

Fake student prompts medical school review

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Auckland University's medical school is carefully reviewing its practices after a man pretended to be a medical student for two years.

The student failed to gain entry into the medical school in 2010 but has since attended classes and taken part in a number of school activities, including the study of human cadavers.

He was detected when a group assignment with his name on it was submitted which didn't match any name on the class list.

Professor John Fraser says the school has no evidence the students interacted with any patients, but they were still concerned he was able to pretend he was a student for two years.

"Obviously there are areas, particularly in the medical programme, where we do need to tighten up our procedures on entry and access," he told a media conference.

"This student went to some considerable length to hide the fact that he wasn't eligible, and although we are very, very concerned that he was able to get away with that, I would like to tell the public that our university operates on the highest possible standards."

Associate Professor Warwick Begg said the school's hospital partners had all been in touch trying to see if the fake student had any contact with patients.

"As far as we know we have not been able to find any evidence to date that he did interact with a patient."

Prof Fraser said the fake student's family weren't aware of his scam.

He said the fake student was in some distress, and they were concerned for his wellbeing.

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Fake student prompts medical school review

Trespass notice issued to fake medical student

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By Tom McRae

The University of Auckland medical school still can't rule out a man posing as a student didn't have direct contact with patients.

An investigation is underway and the man has been issued with a trespass notice after he went to great lengths to pose as a medical student for two years.

Watched closely by security, students today filed into their 8am lecture. Many are shocked at the deception by someone they thought was a fellow student.

[Theyre] not surprisingly very upset and hurt, and [there is] some degree of anger, says Medical and Health Sciences dean Professor John Fraser.

The imposter studied biomedical science in 2010 but failed to get into medical school. So for two years he faked it, continuing to attend classes.

He doesn't give a good explanation, says head of the universitys medical programme Dr Warwick Bagg. What we need to understand with this individual is he's in great distress. His family is in great distress and we're quite concerned for his wellbeing.

The man took part in dissecting dead bodies, and as a third-year student he was eligible to attend hospital site visits and interact with patients one-on-one.

Our investigations to date show that he has not had interaction with patients on the wards, says Dr Bagg.

But a student who wanted to remain anonymous says he did have access to confidential patient information while at the hospital. The class is also concerned he was able to carry out medical procedures on other students.

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Trespass notice issued to fake medical student

Modern humans found to be fittest ever at survival, by far

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Modern humans have gotten incomparably good at survival, doing more to extend our lives over the last century than our forebears did in the previous 6.6 million years since we parted evolutionary ways with chimpanzees, according to a new study.

In fact, humans in societies with plentiful food and advanced medicine have surpassed other species used in life-extending medical research in stretching our longevity and reducing our odds of dying at every point along our ever-lengthening life spans, the study finds.

The research, published online Monday by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, touches upon the hotly debated question of whether an upper limit to longevity is inscribed in our genes. It makes clear that life extension begins at birth, with a child born in the last four generations standing a better chance of being alive during infancy, adolescence, the reproductive years and after than in any of the 8,000 human generations that came before.

The study authors, from Germany's Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, began by comparing people who have lived or now live in primitive hunter-gatherer societies around the globe in which life spans have been well documented with citizens of industrialized countries in Europe and Asia. A typical Swede, for instance, is more than 100 times more likely to survive to the age 15 than a typical hunter-gatherer. And a hunter-gatherer who has reached the ripe old age of 30 is about as likely to die in the following year as the world's champion of longevity a 72-year-old woman in Japan.

In evolution's actuarial table, the researchers wrote, "72 is the new 30."

The bulk of that progress has been made since 1800, when the average life span of a Swede at birth was 32. That is roughly on a par with the 31 years that the average hunter-gatherer can expect to live today.

By the year 1900, the average life span in Sweden had reached 52, and today it stands at 82 an increase of more than 150% in just over 200 years.

That puts to shame efforts to extend the lives of laboratory animals, the study authors noted. By inducing genetic mutations in various species, scientists have boosted the longevity of nematode worms by more than 100%, of fruit flies by about 85% and of mice by roughly 50%. Experiments in caloric restriction have also extended the lives of lab animals, but they also fall short of humans' real-world gains.

No species dramatizes the breathtaking rate of humans' life extension more than chimpanzees, mankind's closest relative. At any age, the life expectancy of a human in a hunter-gatherer society is closer to that of a chimp in the wild than it is to a modern-day resident of Japan or Sweden, according to the study.

The authors wrote that the rapid improvements in human survival could only be accounted for by environmental changes, including better nutrition and medical advances; changes in the genome accumulate far too slowly to explain the progress.

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Modern humans found to be fittest ever at survival, by far

Olympic Silver Medalist Rachelle Viinberg Cuts Ribbon to Officially Open Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre (OICC)

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Great Big Sea's Murray Foster debuted and dedicated his new song "Open Arms" to patients of the OICC; The OICC is a new cancer care and research centre focused on prevention and improving quality of life for those living with cancer

OTTAWA, Oct. 15, 2012 /CNW/ - The Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre held a ribbon cutting ceremony at noon today, to mark the official grand opening of the first integrative cancer care and research centre in Eastern Canada. Rachelle Viinberg, 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist, Dr. Colin Carrie, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, and Paul Dewar, MP for Ottawa Centre cut the ribbon. Great Big Sea's Murray Foster debuted his new song "Open Arms", dedicated to the OICC and its patients.

Community leaders, partners and patients were among the ceremonial speakers, including Linda Eagen, President & CEO of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, Rabbi Dr. Reuven Bulka, Dr. Shailendra Verma, Medical Oncologist of The Ottawa Hospital, Dr. Bob Bernhardt, President & CEO of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, OICC patient Colleen Kanna, and Tamara Levine, OICC patient and published author of But Hope is Longer.

"As the first integrative cancer care and research centre of its kind in Eastern Canada, I am proud of what has been accomplished," said Parliamentary Secretary of Health, Dr. Colin Carrie, on behalf of the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health. "The positive impact that Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre practitioners have on improving the quality of life of those touched by cancer cannot be overstated."

"Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada and is a severely debilitating disease that needs better management," said Dugald Seely, Naturopathic Doctor, Founder & Executive Director of the OICC. "We must put more focus on research for prevention as many cancers are in fact preventable. Furthermore, by integrating complementary, whole-person care into the overall cancer research and health care process, much more can be done to help improve the quality of life for people living with cancer, as well as prevention of recurrence. When complementary cancer care therapies are applied in an integrative manner alongside conventional treatment, patients can better cope with side effects associated with chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. The OICC is committed to bridging the gap between conventional and complementary cancer care and research."

"It's about time that we looked at complementary therapies and practitioners as part of the health care process and system," said Dr. Shailendra Verma, Medical Oncologist of The Ottawa Hospital. "It's absolutely exciting for me as a practitioner of conventional oncology to have this option for patients to consider."

Olympic Silver Medalist Rachelle Viinberg Shared Her Mother's Story at Grand Opening

In the final 18 months leading up to the 2012 Olympics, Rachelle's mother, June de Jong, was diagnosed with colon cancer. Rachelle and her mother had a pact. She would make the Olympic team, and her mother would be in the stands to watch her. With those two goals in mind, they communicated daily to discuss their journey, as June went through conventional and complementary treatment in Fort Langley, B.C. "The support integrative cancer care gave my mother minimized the side effects of chemotherapy, and I believe helped her go into full remission," said Rachelle Viinberg, Naturopathic Doctor and Silver Medalist, 2012 Summer Olympic Games. "It has allowed both of us to achieve our goals. I won an Olympic medal, and she was in the stands to watch me."

Tamara Levine, Newly Published Author of "But Hope is Longer" Shared Her Personal Experience of Straddling both Conventional and Complementary Systems of Care

"I feel so fortunate I was able to encounter what complementary medicine had to offer me very early in my cancer journey," said OICC Patient and Book Author, Tamara Levine. "It's been an incredible journey of straddling both systems, and I feel, getting the most out of what each had to offer." Tamara's healing journey conveyed in But Hope is Longer takes the reader from the devastation of a breast cancer diagnosis through treatment and recovery, with a unique addition of commentary from her "dream team" of health care providers from both traditional and complementary medicine.

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Olympic Silver Medalist Rachelle Viinberg Cuts Ribbon to Officially Open Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre (OICC)

Additive effect of small gene variations can increase risk of autism spectrum disorders

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Public release date: 15-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Anita Srikameswaran 412-578-9193 University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 15, 2012 An increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) could result from an accumulation of many small, common genetic variations rather than large-effect, rare changes in the genetic code, according to a multicenter team led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Their findings, published today in Molecular Autism, provide new insights into the genetic factors that underlie the neurodevelopmental condition.

Scientists have debated about the genetic contributions that lead to ASD in families where only one individual is affected, called simplex, versus those that have multiple affected family members, called multiplex, said senior author Bernie Devlin, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

"Our team compared simplex, multiplex and unaffected families using sophisticated quantitative genetic techniques," he said. "In families where only one child has an ASD, 40 percent of the risk is inherited while in families with more than one affected child, the risk rises to 60 percent."

For the project, the team examined thousands of DNA samples from families in the Simons Simplex Collection, in which one child but no parent or sibling had an ASD; the Autism Genome Project, in which more than one child had an ASD; and unaffected families enrolled in the HealthABC Program.

In addition to reviewing nearly 1 million gene variations, called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), to look for inheritance patterns associated with ASD, they also ran computer simulations to plot family trees using 1,000 SNPs that appear to impact the risk of ASD.

"These small gene changes can add up even though individually they do little harm," Dr. Devlin said. "This might explain why parents who do not have autism traits can have children who do."

Other research has shown that autism and related disorders also can arise from spontaneous variations in parental genes prior to conception as well as rare mutations of larger effect that are passed on, he noted. The multiple inheritance patterns could help explain the range of symptoms in the disorder.

The team included researchers from Yale University, the University of Michigan, University of California Los Angeles, Emory University, Harvard University and others. The effort was funded by grants from the Simons Foundation and National Institutes of Health grant MH057881.

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Additive effect of small gene variations can increase risk of autism spectrum disorders

Why Emily Owens, M.D. Is Grey's Anatomy 2.0

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Mamie Gummer, Ellen Pompeo

From the moment Emily Owens, M.D. begins, one thought will surely cross your mind: This feels very familiar.

That's because The CW's new medical dramedy is pretty similar to ABC's stalwart Grey's Anatomy from the titular protagonists' names to the voiceovers and even the characters, the tone of Shonda Rhimes' medical drama is present.

Emily Owens stars Mamie Gummer (The Good Wife, Off the Map) as a first-year intern who, while working alongside her best friend/crush (Justin Hartley) and her childhood nemesis (Aja Naomi King), must learn the hard way that hospitals are a lot like high school.

VIDEO: Watch the premiere of The CW's Emily Owens, M.D. online now!

"I think that every medical show now is going to be compared to Grey's," Gummer tells TVGuide.com. "I did a show called Off the Map and it was set in a jungle and everyone was comparing it to Grey's. It's sort of inevitable. Grey's has gotten a little gray. It has more somber notes generally than we do, but Grey's is a great show and it's been running forever, so obviously they're doing something right."

What they're doing right is exactly what Emily creator Jennie Snyder Urman probably hopes to capitalize on considering archetypes from the Shondaland flasgship series can be found in the CW show. Let's take a look at the characters to see how similar they really are:

Emily Owens (Mamie Gummer) is Meredith Grey: Both docs came to their respective hospitals wide-eyed and hoping to make a difference, but where Mer went dark and twisty, Emily is still hoping to hang on to her bright and shiny side, which offers a lot of awkward comedy as she navigates the waters of residency. "She's generally awkward," Gummer says. "She's lacking in social graces, but she's very well-intentioned. She's smarter and has more depth than she's given credit for or that she's aware of. She's a kind of geeky character." And although both characters use voiceover narration, expect more from Emily than what you're used to from Grey's.

Will Rider (Justin Hartley) is Derek Shepherd: Like Derek was to Meredith, this is ultimately the heartthrob that you and Emily will be rooting for her to end up with. No random one-night stands here, though, as the duo went to medical school together and she's been harboring a longtime crush on her pal. "You learn that they have a real friendship founded on a lot of shared experience and true affection," Gummer says. "It's not just a girlish crush that she has." And just like Grey's dragged out the will-they-won't-they tension for MerDer, so too will Emily as Gummer says they're still working through that in episodes they're currently filming.

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Realizing the potential of stem cell therapy

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Public release date: 15-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kat Snodgrass 202-962-4090 Society for Neuroscience

NEW ORLEANS New animal studies provide additional support for investigating stem cell treatments for Parkinson's disease, head trauma, and dangerous heart problems that accompany spinal cord injury, according to research findings released today. The work, presented at Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health, shows scientists making progress toward using stem cell therapies to repair neurological damage.

The studies focused on using stem cells to produce neurons essential, message-carrying cells in the brain and spinal cord. The loss of neurons and the connections they make for controlling critical bodily functions are the chief hallmarks of brain and spinal cord injuries and of neurodegenerative afflictions such as Parkinson's disease and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Today's new findings show that:

Other recent findings discussed show that:

"As the fields of developmental and regenerative neuroscience mature, important progress is being made to begin to translate the promise of stem cell therapy into meaningful treatments for a range of well-defined neurological problems," said press conference moderator Jeffrey Macklis, MD, of Harvard University and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, an expert on development and regeneration of the mammalian central nervous system. "Solid, rigorous, and well-defined pre-clinical work in animals can set the stage toward human clinical trials and effective future therapies."

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This research was supported by national funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, as well as private and philanthropic organizations.

Todd Bentsen, (202) 962-4086

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Realizing the potential of stem cell therapy

Definiens closes funding round for digital pathology expansion

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Definiens, a Munich-based developer of image analysis techniques and specialists in the growing field of digital pathology, recently closed a private funding round worth 10 million.

The funds will primarily be used for commercial expansion of its current business, as well as development and commercialization of products for use in clinical digital pathology procedures.

Gilde Healthcare Partners, a new investor, led the funding round, which also saw participation from existing investors and Definiens management.

Digital pathology involves the acquisition, management, and interpretation of pathology information generated from digitized tissue specimens and scanned microscopy images. As pathologists embrace digital workflows, digital pathology is rapidly becoming an essential technology for increasing productivity and improving treatment decisions and patient care, according to Definiens.

"Digitization of data is increasing across the whole field of medicine," noted Markus Rinecker of Definiens speaking to Optics.org. "Most pictures in radiology are digitized; MRIs and CT scans all are digital; the same is becoming true for the patient records and other kinds of visual information. Pathology has been one of the remaining 'analog islands'."

One reason for that has been the formidable demands on the hardware involved, since digitizing pathology images with a high enough resolution to allow meaningful analysis leads to very large files.

"The images can be enormous, with single files in the gigapixel or gigabyte arena," agreed Rinecker. "And you are unlikely to have one single picture per patient, so a patient's complete data set can easily total 1 terabyte of data. This is one reason why the field has taken a long time to evolve. Only in the last three years or so have digital scanners able to perform the task become available, from vendors such as Leica and Hamamatsu. Philips has introduced its own scanner, GE is likely to do the same and are investing heavily in the field, so big companies are starting to chase this market."

A developing value chain Once adequately scanned pathology images are available, whether from standard or confocal microscopy or other sources, Definiens digital pathology image analysis is designed to detect regions of interest. These can include specific morphologies, rare events, cells, and sub-cellular components.

"Our approach is completely different from our competitors," said Rinecker. "We analyze the pictures in a similar way to how a human being would look at it, examining objects in context, rather than strictly looking for pixels and patterns and matches. This makes the image analysis much more robust, and Definiens holds patents relating to this approach."

Cancer diagnosis is a particular focus, and an area singled out for mention in the announcement of the recent funding. "Digital Pathology combined with the right image analysis tools has the potential to transform cancer diagnosis," commented Janke Dittmer, partner at Gilde Healthcare Partners, at the time. Dittmer has now joined Definiens' supervisory board following the investment round.

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Definiens closes funding round for digital pathology expansion