Monthly Archives: September 2013

Get 25% Upside With This 'Cyborg In The Operating Room'

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Even after the tech-craze and bubble of the '90s, technological leaps still change our lives drastically and offer the most compelling cases for amazing profits.

After researching stocks for my recent series on the "Graying of America," I was well aware of the demographic forces behind the health care industry.

The numbers forecast for the health care industry over the next decade are staggering. Total U.S. health care spending is projected to reach $4.8 trillion in 2021, 84% higher than current spending. More than 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 each day, and life expectancy has reached 79 years. These drivers are going to create a lot of opportunities in the sector, and technology is just beginning to play a part.

That is why I am so excited about one company in particular -- one I like to call the cyborg of the operating room.

Da Vinci Meets 'The Terminator' Long recovery times and hospital stays associated with major surgery are a big contributor to the high cost of health care. The average hospital stay after invasive surgery is up to seven days, with the average cost per day approaching $4,000 in many states.

And the recovery time after hospitalization can take weeks because the only way to do many of these operations is to open up the patient, which leaves the patient at risk of infection and other complications.

That is, until this company invented a revolutionary new machine, one that combines the art of a surgeon's scalpel with 21st-century robotics.

Enter Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq: ISRG) and Da Vinci, a robotic arm that allows surgeons to operate with just a single incision less than an inch in size.

Surgeons no longer need to remove organs to perform an operation, so recovery time is shortened, sometimes to as little as one day. Research has also shown that surgeries using Da Vinci have a lower risk of complications and lower incidence of infection.

There were 2.6 million procedures done last year that could have used the Da Vinci technology, but only 450,000 were done using the apparatus. That amounts to 17% penetration of a market with some strong demographic growth drivers ahead.

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Get 25% Upside With This 'Cyborg In The Operating Room'

AAU urges support for social, behavioral science research

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Concerned that social and behavioral sciences research will be targeted for cuts in federal funding, the Association of American Universities (AAU), comprising 62 research universities in the United States and Canada, including Cornell, released a statement Sept. 17 to member institutions on the importance of the federal investment in such research.

We make this statement now because of a number of disturbing actions indicating that some in Congress seek to relegate such research to a second-class status in federal research funding by imposing restrictions on it, or worse, barring federal funding of such research entirely, said the AAUs executive committee. The AAUs president is Cornell President Emeritus Hunter R. Rawlings III, and Cornell President David Skorton serves on its executive committee.

These actions include new conditions on funding political science studies by the National Science Foundation (NSF), a dropped provision that would have barred economic health research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Congressional questions to the NSF regarding the value of specific social science grants and requesting background information regarding the merit review process by which specific grants were selected.

We understand that there are significant constraints on the discretionary funds that support research and education, and we strongly believe that taxpayer dollars used to fund research should be spent wisely, the statement said. Indeed, AAU has long supported merit-based allocation of federal research funds as the surest means of supporting the best science.

The statement said actions by Congress to defund or stigmatize entire disciplines of research would severely cripple, in principle and practice, the federal governments historically productive commitment to the funding of basic research across all disciplines. These disciplines include anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, linguistics, sociology and others.

Social and behavioral sciences funded by NSF, NIH, the Department of Defense and other federal agencies, the statement said, directly support their missions by advancing fundamental new understanding of business and the economy, of human development and behavior, of groups and organizations, of other nations and cultures, and of our democracy and how it can be strengthened. This research has been important to addressing the nations most pressing challenges in areas such as national security, education, commerce, health, energy, crime and public safety, and transportation.

The AAU statement cites natural disaster preparedness; kidney transplant exchanges; market-based tools for the Federal Communications Commission; tools to educate military personnel on nonverbal communication, critical for troops working with non-English speakers; and longitudinal data in science, innovation, income and other economic indicators, political participation, health, violence and social networks, as examples of social science research that strengthened public safety.

Insights and innovations from the social and behavioral sciences are no less valuable than discoveries in the physical and life sciences, the AAU statement said. Moreover, interdisciplinary research engaging the social and behavioral sciences is producing new knowledge and understanding that would not have emerged from research within single disciplines. In fact, many innovations and new technologies, such as touch screen tablets and mobile phones, rely upon knowledge and discoveries from the physical and life sciences combined with insights from the social and behavioral sciences.

The statement concludes by noting that federal research agencies have been successful through Congressional funding of fundamental research across all disciplines based on proven merit-review processes and refraining from a political process of picking winners and losers among grants or disciplines. We urge Congress and the administration to provide robust funding for federal research agencies without inappropriate restrictions so that they can continue to fulfill their missions of supporting the full range of scientific research across all disciplines.

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AAU urges support for social, behavioral science research

It's time to clean up beaches of the mess

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After 10 days of festivities, the city is gearing up to clean up the beaches. The day after the final immersions, the beaches will see various citizen groups pick up the left overs of the celebrations.

Even if a growing number of people are opting for eco-friendly idols, the beaches will be full of decayed flower garlands, coconut shells, festoons and plastic cups.

The number of immersions this year seem lower as compared to last year so the beaches are much cleaner but litter is still a problem, said Larson Fernandes, founder of Juhu Angels, an NGO. Fernandes, in association dna, will be heading to Juhu beach along with over 300 volunteers, early on Thursday to clean up the beach. Fernandes said the BMC is going to make arrangements to assist the volunteers.

The BMC arranges for trucks, so all the groups that come to the beach just need to fill the garbage into bags. The BMC workers will load it into trucks, said Fernandes. Starting as early as 5am, Fernandes says that the beach will be clean for visitors by around 8am. Over 200 students from Holy Cross School and St. Joseph High School will also volunteer. It is important that students learn to care for the environment so that they act responsibly in the future, said Fernandes.

However, he warns that the volunteers must be careful while performing the clean up. We will be arranging for masks and gloves for every volunteer. Apart from that there will also be a first-aid kit available, he said. With the risk of poisonous sea creatures coming ashore and harming the volunteers, an ambulance will also be stationed to ensure quick medical help.

Operation clean-up Date: September 19

Assembly point: Juhu Beach, Main Entrance Near Juhu Police station, Santa Cruz (West) Reporting Time: 5am

Individual & Group registration can be done at http://www.dnaindia.com/ecoganesha

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It's time to clean up beaches of the mess

Local beaches under attack

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Outsiders are stripping local beaches of shellfish, says one Qualicum Beach resident, and she wants it to stop.

Speaking at Tuesday night's Regional District of Nanaimo meeting, Eileen Becker said she is fed up with seeing people digging up area beaches for shellfish, with little or no oversight.

"Fisheries was cut back and they are hard-pressed to monitor the area," Becker said. "The beaches in this area are very unique, with diverse habitats and species, but they are being plundered by shellfish harvesting, much of it without licenses."

She said shellfish harvesters often leave large, gaping holes behind them, which she said is a death sentence to baby clams.

"They have no respect for limits," she said. "Many areas have seen their marine life devastated. When you remove one species, it affects all the others. In a short time we could have nothing more than a dead beach."

Becker called for the entire beach area to be designated as a provincial park, as she believes it would lead to having at least one park ranger on site, who could make sure the beaches were protected.

"Do we want a dead beach or a living one?" she asked. "There is no enforcement. They are there every day with sacks and buckets."

In response, French Creek director and board chair Joe Stanhope agreed there is a problem.

Ive chased them off my beach more than once while they were carrying five-gallon buckets they expected to fill up, he said.

Bowser-Deep Bay director Bill Veenhof noted the issue is a concern in his area as well. However, he stressed he didnt want to see legal shellfish harvesting eliminated.

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Local beaches under attack

Google Wants Us to Live Forever So We Keep Clicking on their Ads

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Faaame, Im gonna live forever. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Forget fighting off the Grim Reaper with devout attendance at the local New York Sports Club and endless self-quantifying. Thats not moonshotty enough for Larry Page. Luckily, hes got the resources of an enormous American corporation at his disposal, which is how Calico, Googles new anti-aging initiative, came about.

This isnt like living through the prologue of a singularitariannovel, nope, not at all.

Timescored the exclusive, along with an interview with the spotlight-shy Mr. Page. The company will focus on health and aging in particular and be run independently by Apple chairman and former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson. Given the turn medicine is taking toward information science, itd be a fair bet this will involve crunching numbers in search of the best strategies for life extension.

Ideally, if you have more people and more resources, you can do more things, get more things solved. Weve kind of always had that philosophy, Mr. Page explainedthe initiative. And by things solved, it sure sounds like he means death overthrown, or at least held off a lot longer. (And remember, Google also employsnoted death-doubter Ray Kurzweil, and bothSergey Brin and Mr. Levinson are personally involved inthe Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, another scheme to encourage life extension.)

Hey, living forever means looking at Google ads forever. ROI, baby! Not to mention that being a billionaire often breeds the kind of hubris that makes you think hey, why shouldntI be immortal?

For instance, takethis quote:

One of the things I thought was amazing is that if you solve cancer, youd add about three years to peoples average life expectancy, Page said. We think of solving cancer as this huge thing thatll totally change the world. But when you really take a step back and look at it, yeah, there are many, many tragic cases of cancer, and its very, very sad, but in the aggregate, its not as big an advance as you might think.

You know, it would be a cool little lifehack to cure cancer, but why not think BIGGER?

Just spitballing here, but maybe devote some dollars to the comparatively mundane cause ofdeveloping new antibiotics? It doesnt take big data to figure that one outyou just have to pay attention from the CDCs panicky dispatches.

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Google Wants Us to Live Forever So We Keep Clicking on their Ads

Google launches Calico, an anti-aging company led by an Apple executive

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Google is taking another moonshot and getting intohealthcare research,and they're doing it with the help of an extremely high-ranking Apple employee.

Today Google announced it's launching "Calico," a company focused on "health and well-being, in particular the challenge of aging and associated diseases." The initiative will be a long term "moonshot" project involving healthcare and biotechnology (Google basically wants to stop you from dying).

Since the company just launched, there aren't many details yet.The most interesting news is that the man running it isArt Levinson, the current chairman of both Genetech, another biotech company, and Apple. Yes,thatApple.Tim Cook even has a quote in the press release:

For too many of our friends and family, life has been cut short or the quality of their life is too often lacking. Art is one of the crazy ones who thinks it doesnt have to be this way. There is no one better suited to lead this mission and I am excited to see the results.

Levinson will keep his Chairman roles at Genetech and Apple while running Calico. That latter position he took after the death of Steve Jobs. According the Levinson, who just started up a Google+ page, "Calico" is an abbreviation for the "California Life Company."

As healthcare and technology become more and more intertwined, expect more crossover projects like this. Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle, recently started his own anti-aging company called "The Ellison Medical Foundation."There are a lot of very rich people out there that are getting older, and while it may seem like science fiction, "stopping death" is getting more and more money thrown at it. Google's Larry Page also invests in aresearch program through the Voice Health Institute, which is trying to solve his unknown vocal cord condition.

Some people will be alarmed by anything involving "Google" and "medicine" after Larry Page's flippant comments around HIPPA, but for now Calico seems to just be a research company. Plus, it's hard to decry anyone trying to cure diseases and help us all live longer.

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Google launches Calico, an anti-aging company led by an Apple executive

Patrick Pilarski Artificial Intelligence Part I LABMP 590 2013 Sept 12 – Video

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Patrick Pilarski Artificial Intelligence Part I LABMP 590 2013 Sept 12
Patrick Pilarski presents "The Promise and Perils of Artificial Intelligence: Part I Introduction to Machine Intelligence" from theTechnology and Future of Medicine course LABMP 590 at the...

By: Kim Solez

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Patrick Pilarski Artificial Intelligence Part I LABMP 590 2013 Sept 12 - Video

Aerospace Program Reaches New Heights at Touch International

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Austin, TX (PRWEB) September 17, 2013

Touch screen manufacturer Touch International announced today that it has recently been awarded multiple contracts in excess of $100 million to supply leading aerospace providers. The scope of work comprises both in-flight entertainment touch displays and touchscreen cockpit controls for commercial airlines as well as private jets. Individual products include resistive and projected capacitive touchscreens and enhanced displays with a variety of enhancements such as EMI shielding, privacy films, custom graphics, oleophobic coatings, non-flammable substrates and adhesives, and optical bonding.

With a wide range of customization options and a wealth of veteran expertise, Touch Internationals aerospace program continues to partner with industry leaders for in-flight entertainment and cockpit controls. These customer commitments further solidify us as the top manufacturer of aerospace touchscreens and interactive displays, says Chris Gasson, Touch International Aerospace Program Manager. We were pioneers in developing specialized touchscreens for commercial airplanes, and we have continued to adapt to the rapidly growing landscape. Nobody can offer as many custom touchscreen and display enhancement options as us.

Touch International's first aerospace foray in 2002 was the introduction of the all-plastic, fourteen-layer, non-burning 4-wire resistive touch screen. The company was instrumental in expanding from basic touchscreen technology to iPhone and iPad-type projected capacitive technology bonded to enhanced LCD displays to provide the lightest weight, highest readability, and best user experiences, while still meeting strict requirements of Boeing, Airbus and other carriers. A challenge in the transition to multi-touch capacitive technology was the FAA flammability requirements. Basically, we had to build a fire extinguisher into every unit, explains Gasson. Our products must self-extinguish when exposed to flame and will not put off toxic fumes or hold heat. The companys electrical engineering team also played a key role complying with Federal EMI suppression requirements through careful tuning of the touchscreen controllers and implementation of low ohm shielding.

The Austin-based companys aerospace program has grown to meet booming demand for highly customized interactive displays in the military and aerospace industries. All custom touchscreens are developed and extensively tested in the Austin Research & Development facility to comply with strict FAA regulations as well as military specifications. The airline industry has come to expect emphasized comfort and design, and is always looking at innovative ways passenger experience can be enhanced, says Gasson. We are excited to be part of the process, helping our customers make history and continuing to change the experience of flying.

About Touch International

Touch International is the leading manufacturer of specialty touchscreens and display enhancement windows, and is the largest touch producer in North America. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, the company was founded in 2002 by Michael Woolstrum and long-time veteran, Gary Barrett, the companys CTO. The company is world-renowned for its expertise in optically clear touch panels, EMI filter technologies, and custom touchscreen designs for military, aerospace, medical, transportation and retail applications. Touch International was first to produce the Apple iPhone-type projected capacitive touchscreen for business applications and also builds resistive sensors and glass filter products used in touchscreens, display windows, anti-reflective and anti-vandal filters.

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Aerospace Program Reaches New Heights at Touch International

Photo Release — e2v aerospace and defense Announces New Appointment to the Board of Directors

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MILPITAS, Calif., Sept. 18, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- e2v aerospace and defense (e2v a&d), a leading provider of technology solutions, announces the appointment of Mr. Steve Whigham to the board of directors. Mr. Whigham is currently Group Operations & Quality Director, e2v technologies plc, and brings over 25 years of industry experience to the board of directors.

A photo accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=21014

Mr. Whigham joined e2v technologies plc five years ago and has held senior executive level positions with Siemens, Fujitsu, Celestica and JDS Uniphase. "My role at e2v provides exciting challenges to meet the many different requirements of our divisions and to help e2v build strategies to meet rapidly changing market requirements while ensuring customer satisfaction and shareholder return," stated Mr. Whigham at the recent board meeting. "I see my role on the e2v aerospace and defense board as an extension of that charter in service to our company."

"Steve is a veteran executive with extensive experience in operations, manufacturing, and engineering," said Robert Brevelle, Officer, Director of the Board, and President of e2v a&d. "We are pleased to welcome Steve to the board and look forward to leveraging his experience and leadership to help build on our success and to execute on our long term strategic objectives as we expand operations in the US and abroad."

About e2v aerospace and defense, inc.

e2v aerospace and defense, inc. (e2v a&d) is a leading provider of RF power, imaging and hi-rel semiconductor solutions to the North American aerospace and defense industry.

e2v a&d offers a diverse portfolio of products and services, including wideband RF components and sub-systems, high performance imaging sensors and cameras and hi-rel semiconductor products and lifecycle management services to ensure long-term continuity of supply.

Corporate headquarters of e2v a&d are located at 765 Sycamore Drive, Milpitas, CA 95035 USA. For more information, visit http://www.e2v-us.com.

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Photo Release -- e2v aerospace and defense Announces New Appointment to the Board of Directors

Nasco Aerospace and Electronics Receives HUBZone Certification

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Nasco Aerospace and Electronics (NASCO) announced today their certification of the SBA HUBZone designation, which assists the Federal government in ensuring federal contracting and stimulating economic growth while creating new jobs in historical underutilized business zones.

The management team and staff are extremely excited about this important certification and the opportunity it brings to Downtown St. Petersburg. The federal government has a goal of awarding 3% of all federal prime contracts dollars to HUBZone certified small businesses. The are over 8 billion dollars in government contracts earmarked and unaffected by the Sequester.

Nasco has created a Strategic Partnership Program with manufacturers, the program helps Increase participation in government contracts while protecting their intellectual property.

With their new designation and increasing diverse authorized product lines, NASCO is becoming one of a kind in the aerospace and electronics distribution market. NASCO provides an easier avenue for government agencies and their prime federal contractors to work with, thereby assisting them in meeting their diversity goals.

We take pride in our country and look forward in helping our community through diversity. Josephine Bagnasco, CEO

For more information about Nasco (www.nascosales.com) or our Strategic Partnership Program

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Nasco Aerospace and Electronics Receives HUBZone Certification

Southern California Regenerative Medicine Clinics Now Offering Stem Cell Therapy for Degenerative Disc Disease and …

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Orange, CA (PRWEB) September 17, 2013

The top regenerative medicine clinic in Southern California, TeleHealth, is now offering stem cell therapy for back pain due to degenerative disc disease. The treatment has the potential to repair and regenerate damaged spinal discs and is performed as an outpatient procedure. For more information and scheduling, call (888) 828-4575.

One of the most troublesome spinal conditions to treat has been degenerative disc disease. Normally, a spinal disc contains 80% water. However, as it degenerates that percentage decreases and the discs are not great at regenerating themselves. This degeneration may unfortunately happen at a young age due to genetics or post traumatic deterioration.

TeleHealth, the leading stem cell therapy clinic in California, is now offering regenerative medicine treatments for degenerative disc disease. This includes either platelet rich plasma therapy (PRP), bone marrow derived stem cell injections, fat derived stem cell injections or a combination of therapies.

The treatments are on the cutting edge of medicine and have brought home to millions of individuals suffering from degenerative arthritis, disc disease and soft tissue injuries. TeleHealth also provides stem cell injections for osteoarthritis, rotator cuff tendonitis, achilles tendonitis, tennis elbow, ligament sprains and new indications such as hair loss and breast reconstruction after cancer.

The essential problem is that the metabolism of the degenerative disc is too slow and not able to heal itself. Stem cell treatments bring in vital reparative cells to the area along with growth factors to spur healing. The stem cell treatments for degenerative disc disease are not covered by insurance, however, most other treatments are at TeleHealth.

The treatments are all outpatient and offered by Board Certified doctors. For more information and scheduling of stem cell treatments for disc disease, call (888) 828-4575.

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Indian girl, 19, begins master’s in microbiology

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Sushma Verma, 13, is honored as "India's Child Prodigy" in Lucknow, India. (The Associated Press)

LUCKNOW, India In a country where many girls are still discouraged from going to school, Sushma Verma is having anything but a typical childhood.

The 13-year-old girl from a poor family in northern India has enrolled in a program for a master's degree in microbiology, after her father sold his land to pay for some of his daughter's tuition in the hope of catapulting her into India's growing middle class.

Verma finished high school at 7 and earned an undergraduate degree at age 13 milestones she said were possible only with the sacrifices and encouragement of her uneducated and impoverished parents.

"They allowed me to do what I wanted to do," Verma said. She lives with three younger siblings and her parents in a cramped single-room apartment in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.

Having no television and little else at home has advantages, she said. "There is nothing to do but study."

Her older brother graduated from high school at 9, and in 2007 became one of India's youngest computer science graduates at 14.

This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an editing error Sushma Verma's age was misstated in the headline. Verma is 13 years old.

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Indian girl, 19, begins master's in microbiology

Indian girl, 13, begins master’s in microbiology

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Sushma Verma, 13, is honored as "India's Child Prodigy" in Lucknow, India. (The Associated Press)

LUCKNOW, India In a country where many girls are still discouraged from going to school, Sushma Verma is having anything but a typical childhood.

The 13-year-old girl from a poor family in northern India has enrolled in a program for a master's degree in microbiology, after her father sold his land to pay for some of his daughter's tuition in the hope of catapulting her into India's growing middle class.

Verma finished high school at 7 and earned an undergraduate degree at age 13 milestones she said were possible only with the sacrifices and encouragement of her uneducated and impoverished parents.

"They allowed me to do what I wanted to do," Verma said. She lives with three younger siblings and her parents in a cramped single-room apartment in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.

Having no television and little else at home has advantages, she said. "There is nothing to do but study."

Her older brother graduated from high school at 9, and in 2007 became one of India's youngest computer science graduates at 14.

This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an editing error Sushma Verma's age was misstated in the headline. Verma is 13 years old.

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Indian girl, 13, begins master's in microbiology