Author Archives: Fredricko

Albemarle native earns top medical school scholarship – Stanly News & Press

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An Albemarle native has been awarded the most prestigious scholarship available at East Carolina Universitys Brody School of Medicine.

Lindsey Burleson is one of three students in the medical schools Class of 2021 chosen for the Brody Scholar award, valued at approximately $112,000.

She will receive four years of medical school tuition, living expenses and the opportunity to design her own summer enrichment program that can include travel abroad. The award will also support community service projects she may undertake while in medical school.

Burleson is a 2016 graduate of Western Carolina University Honors College, where she earned a degree in chemistry. She was a student athlete on the WCU Womens Basketball team for four years and a recipient of the Curtis and Enid Meltzer Endowed Scholarship.

Burleson was involved in multiple WCU medical research efforts and volunteered at Blue Ridge Health (formally known as Jackson County Good Samaritan Clinic) throughout her undergraduate education and subsequent gap year.

Burleson has known she wanted to work in healthcare since she was young. During her time at WCU she was given opportunities to explore the clinical and laboratory research side of medicine and credits the experience for helping her make the decision to attend medical school.

She plans to become involved in more research with clinical implications during her time at Brody.

In addition to her love for research, Burleson has another focus when it comes to healthcare.

I am particularly passionate about providing healthcare to women in underserved populations, said Burleson. I someday hope to be able to dedicate a portion of my career to providing free care for women and educating populations on healthcare disparities in rural communities.

Being named a Brody Scholar is a huge honor and I feel blessed to have the support of the Brody Family and their commitment to the students and future physicians of North Carolina, Burleson added. As someone who has attended North Carolina public schools for my entire life, I am consistently blown away and inspired by the willingness of North Carolina residents to educate and mentor their students.

In its 35th year, the Brody Scholars program honors J.S. Sammy Brody. He and his brother, Leo, were among the earliest supporters of medical education in eastern North Carolina. The legacy continues through the dedicated efforts of Hyman Brody of Greenville and David Brody of Kinston. Subsequent gifts from the Brody family have enabled the medical school to educate new physicians, conduct important research and improve health care in eastern North Carolina.

Since the program began in 1983, 137 students have received scholarships. About 70 percent of Brody Scholars remain in North Carolina to practice, and the majority of those stay in eastern North Carolina.

In her spare time, Burleson enjoys cooking and baking and stays active by running and continuing to play basketball.

She is the daughter of Jeff and Kathy Burleson and a graduate of North Stanly High School.

B. J. Drye is editor of The Stanly News & Press. Contact him at (704) 982-2121 ext. 25, bj@stanlnewspress.com or PO Box 488, Albemarle, NC 28002.

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Albemarle native earns top medical school scholarship - Stanly News & Press

Stimulating Stem Cells to Encourage Hair Growth – Anti Aging News

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Scientists have discovered a new way to stimulate the stem cells in the hair follicle to make hair grow, opening the door to the development of new drugs for those with baldness or alopecia.

UCLA researchers have revealed a new way to activate stem cells within hair follicles that stimulate hair growth. The hope is this discovery will lead the way to the development of drugs that allow bald individuals and those with alopecia to once again grow hair. The research was led by scientists William Lowry and Heather Christofk of UCLA's Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research. The details of theirfindings were recently published in Nature Cell Biology.

About Hair Follicle Stem Cells

Hair follicle stem cells are best described simply as older cells within hair follicles that are present in human skin. They generate hair across an individual's lifetime. These cells are quiescent, meaning they are typically dormant yet they can activate quite rapidly in a new hair cycle when the growth of new hair occurs. The hair follicle stem cells' quiescence is regulated by an array of factors. In some instances, they do not activate and hair loss occurs.

Study Details

The researchers determined the metabolism of hair follicle stem cells is unique from other skin cells. Cellular metabolism occurs when nutrients necessary for cell division break down, create energy and react to their environment. The metabolism process makes use of enzymes that changenutrients to generate metabolites. Hair follicle stem cells gradually consume a form of sugar, known as glucose, from the body's bloodstream. The glucose is processed to gradually create a metabolite known as pyruvate. The cells subsequently send pyruvate to the mitochondria (the portion of the cell that generates energy) or convert pyruvate to another metabolite referred to as lactate.

The researchers blocked the generation of lactate in mice. This prevented the activation of hair follicle stem cells. The UCLA team worked with University of Utah Rutter lab academicians to boost lactate production in mice. This hastened the activation of hair follicle stem cells, causing an increase in the hair cycle. Prior to this, no one knew boosting or decreasing lactate would make an impact on hair follicle stem cells. Now that the researchers have determined how changing lactate production in mice changes hair growth, they can attempt to identify drugs that can be applied to the skin to produce the same effect.

Drugs of Note

The research groups identified a couple drugs that alter hair follicle stem cells in specific ways to boost lactate production when applied to mice skin. One of the drugs, RCGD423, triggers a cell signaling pathway referred to as JAK-Stat that transmits information from outside cells to the cell nucleus. Research shows JAK-Statactivation causes an increase in the generation of lactate. This spurs the activation of hair follicle stem cells and results in faster hair growth.

The second drug of note, UK5099, stops pyruvate from entering mitochondria. This forces the generation of lactate within the hair follicle stem cells, boosting the rate at which hair grows in mice. These experimental drugs were strictly used during pre-clinical testing. They have not been tested in human beings. Nor have these drugs been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe or effective for humans.

Why the Study Matters

This study is important as it provides plenty of insight into the many ways in which stem cells are activated. The idea of using drugs to catalyze hair growth by way of hair follicle stem cells is quite promising considering the millions of individuals who are bald or going bald. The researchers' findings will help improve the understanding of how metabolism affects hair growth as well as stem cells.

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Brian Mark Weber: The ‘Brave New World’ of Down Syndrome … – Patriot Post

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Brian Mark Weber Aug. 18, 2017

In the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, readers are presented with a dystopian vision of the future in which the whole process of conception and birth is delegated to the scientific community. Parents have no emotional connection to their children, and motherhood itself is considered embarrassing and obscene.

The novel, written in 1931, seemed far-fetched at the time. Yet it wasnt long after Huxley penned his dark and frightening tale that science and politics began to consider the implications, and the possibilities, of playing God with human reproduction in order to bring about desired results.

Columnist David Harsanyi writes, [Negative selection eugenics] was the rationalization behind the coerced sterilization of thousands of mentally ill, poor, and minorities here in America. It is why real-life Nazis required doctors to register all newborns born with Down syndrome. And the first humans they gassed were children under three years old with serious hereditary diseases like Down syndrome.

But why wait? Aborting unborn children with Down syndrome is gaining acceptance once again, and the latest wave of news is from Iceland. Yet the childs suffering or the elimination of a human life doesnt seem to be part of the conversation, nor does the post-abortion health of the mother.

Whats interesting is that, according to Kevin Burke in the Washington Examiner, About 80 percent of parents facing the same diagnosis, who were provided with the option of perinatal hospice care for the child and family, chose to carry their disabled child to term. Apparently, most parents planning to abort their children dont receive this advice.

Burke adds, Those who advocate for routine screening to detect fetal disabilities also fail to advise parents of the potential for serious post-abortion reactions. The fallout from this loss can place a tremendous strain on couples as they struggle with the shock and pain that can follow the abortion. Some abortion advocates may concede that some women suffer symptoms of depression and grief immediately after termination of disabled babies, but they see this as a short-term condition. Research, however, confirms that women often suffer symptoms of emotional trauma and complicated grief years after such procedures.

Sadly, and just like the people in Brave New World, Icelanders no longer seem to value human life. Parents who fail to think of their unborn child as human are less likely to keep their child when the options are presented to them.

As Helga Sol Olafsdottir, a counselor at Landspitali University Hospital, helpfully explains, We dont look at abortion as a murder. We look at it as a thing that we ended. We ended a possible life that may have had a huge complication preventing suffering for the child and for the family.

A thing? If children are considered things, then it cant be long before countries like Iceland start passing their own version of Nazi Germanys Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring.

How far away is it when people like Princeton University professor Elizabeth Harman say, Some early fetuses will die in early pregnancy due to abortion or miscarriage. And in my view that is a very different kind of entity. Thats something that doesnt have a future as a person and it doesnt have moral status.

While those on the Left may rush to defend a program that frees parents from the burden of raising a disabled child, they should seriously think about the implications of going down this path.

The situation is not much better in the United States, where nearly two-thirds of American women whose prenatal screening tests reveal Down syndrome choose to have an abortion. Fortunately, theres still some resistance at the political level.

Harsanyi notes, A number of U.S. states have passed or want to pass laws that would ban abortions sought due to fetal genetic abnormalities, such as Down syndrome, or because of the race, sex, or ethnicity of a fetus. Such a U.S. House bill failed in 2012. Most Democrats involved claimed to be against sex-selective abortion, but not one gave a reason why. Probably because once you admit that these theoretical choices equate to real-life consequences, like eugenics, you are conceding that these are lives were talking about, not blobs.

And what if science develops to the point where we can identify other traits in humanity that parents may find undesirable: a genetic heart condition or a low IQ or, where it would really hit home for leftists, homosexuality? Gender-based abortions of girls are already the norm in Communist China. When society reaches the point where only desirable children are allowed to enter this world, are we still a civilization? And if a free society lacks the moral compass to speak out against this practice, how can we oppose another government that one day might decide that Jews, Africans or Christians are a problem?

These are the questions that should be asked before science allows us to discover even more undesirable traits in unborn children, and before the political class yields to social and cultural decay. Lets face it: Were living in a Brave New World today. But unlike the society in Huxleys novel, we must summon the courage and decency to end the ghastly practice of eugenics.

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Brian Mark Weber: The 'Brave New World' of Down Syndrome ... - Patriot Post

Nanotechnology gives green energy a green color – Phys.org – Phys.Org

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Left: The nanopatterned module appears green, independent of the angle.Right: Schematic of silicon nanoscatterer arrays on top of a sapphire cover slide, integrated into a commonly used solar panel design. Credit: Neder et al.

Solar panels have tremendous potential to provide affordable renewable energy, but many people see traditional black and blue panels as an eyesore. Architects, homeowners and city planners may be more open to the technology if they could install green panels that melt into the landscape, red panels on rooftops and white ones camouflaged as walls.

A new study published this week in Applied Physics Letters brings us one step closer to a future of colorful, efficient solar panels. Researchers have developed a method for imprinting existing solar panels with silicon nanopatterns that scatter green light back toward an observer. The panels have a green appearance from most angles yet only show about a 10 percent power reduction due to the loss of absorbed green light.

"Some people say 'why would you make solar cells less efficient?' But we can make solar cells beautiful without losing too much efficiency," said Verena Neder, a researcher at AMOLF and lead author of the paper. "The new method to change the color of the panels is not only easy to apply but also attractive as an architectural design element and has the potential to widen their use."

Most research on solar cells has focused on increasing efficiency and reducing cost. Currently, the solar panels sold to consumers can ideally turn up to 22 percent of the sun's light into usable energy. Colored solar panels are already on the market, but the dyes and reflective coatings that give them their color greatly reduce efficiency.

Neder and colleagues created their efficient, green solar panels through soft-imprint lithography, which works somewhat like an optical rubber stamp to imprint a dense array of silicon nanocylinders onto the cell surfaces. Each nanocylinder is about 100 nanometers wide and exhibits an electromagnetic resonance that scatters a particular wavelength of light. The geometry of the nanocylinder determines which wavelength it scatters and can be fine-tuned to change the color of the solar cell. The imprint reduces the solar panel's efficiency by about 2 percent.

"In principle, this technique is easily scalable for fabrication technology," said Albert Polman, a scientific group leader at AMOLF and senior author on the paper. "You can use a rubber stamp the size of a solar panel that in one step, can print the whole panel full of these little, exactly defined nanoparticles."

Unlike existing colored solar panels, the nanopatterns give a consistent appearance from different angles. "The structure we made is not very sensitive to the angle of observation, so even if you look at it from a wide angle, it still appears green," Neder said.

The nanopatterns also could be useful in making tandem solar cells, which stack several layers, each designed to absorb certain parts of the spectrum, to achieve efficiencies of greater than 30 percent.

Next, the researchers are designing imprints to create red and blue solar cells. Once they master these three colors, the primary colors of light, they can create any color, potentially even white. "You have to combine different nanoparticles, and if they get very close to each other they can interact and that will affect the color," Polman said. "Going to white is a really big step."

Explore further: Solar scientists rough up silicon panels to boost light capture

More information: "Efficient colored silicon solar modules using integrated resonant dielectric nanoscatterers," Applied Physics Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1063/1.4986796

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Growth in Nanomedicine market-2017 trends, forecasts, analysis … – satPRnews (press release)

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The report firstly introduced the Nanomedicine basics: definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain overview; industry policies and plans; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures and so on. Then it analyzed the worlds main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, capacity utilization, supply, demand and industry growth rate etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.

Download sample pages of this report: http://www.kminsights.com/request-sample-1892

Nanomedicine is a branch of medicine that applies the knowledge and tools of nanotechnology to the prevention and treatment of disease. Nanomedicine involves the use of nanoscale materials, such as biocompatible nanoparticles and nanorobots, for diagnosis, delivery, sensing or actuation purposes in a living organism.

The ongoing market trends of Nanomedicine market and the key factors impacting the growth prospects are elucidated. With increase in the trend, the factors affecting the trend are mentioned with perfect reasons. Top manufactures, price, revenue, market share are explained to give a depth of idea on the competitive side.

Each and every segment type and their sub types are well elaborated to give a better idea about this market during the forecast period of 2017respectively.

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About Us:Key Market Insights is a stand-alone organization with a solid history of advancing and exchanging market research reports and logical surveys delivered by our numerous transnational accomplices, which incorporate both huge multinationals and littler, more expert concerns.

Contact:sales@kminsights.com+1 (888) 278-7681

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How robotics, artificial intelligence and nanotechnology will affect your career – The Times

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Get ready for the fourth industrial revolution. It may offer you more opportunities and earlier than you might think

What do the inventions of steam power, electricity and computers have to do with your career? Well, they were the basis for the first three industrial revolutions and students are now preparing for the fourth: an age of robotics, artificial intelligence and nanotechnology.

You will be entering work at a time when traditions such as nine-to-five jobs and careers for life are challenged. The future workplace is expected to be more fluid and flexible. Agile working is more likely to be the norm, so people can balance work with hobbies and family life; job satisfaction is expected to have higher priority than titles; and it will become common for people to have more than one career in their working lives.

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What can genetic testing really tell you? – Popular Science

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Once difficult and expensive even for the most technologically advanced labs, genetic testing is fast becoming a cheap and easy consumer product. With a little spit and 200 dollars, you can find out your risk for everything from cystic fibrosis to lactose intolerance.

But its important to remember that not all genetic tests are created equal. And even the best clinical genetic test, carried out in a medical lab under a doctor's supervision, isn't perfectgenes are important, but they don't seal your fate.

Genetic tests are diagnostic, so anyone who is curious about their health can get one done. But they're more informative if you think you might be at risk for a genetic disorder.

Heavy-duty genetic tests have been used as a clinical tool for almost half a centurylong before 23andMe and Ancestry.com began offering direct-to-consumer tests. Lets say that many women in your family have had breast cancer. You can get a genetic test to see if you may have inherited an abnormal version of the BRCA gene, known to increase your risk for breast cancer.

Heidi Rehm, associate professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School, is the director of the Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, where patients get tested for diseases that can be traced to specific genetic roots. She says it is most common for people to get tested when they either suspect or know that they have a genetic disease; it may have affected multiple people in their family or they could show symptoms of something widely known to be genetic, like sickle cell anemia. For these people, genetic tests can provide a much-needed explanation for an illness and help doctors determine the best course of treatment. Babies are often tested for genetic diseases, either while they are still fetuses or shortly after birth.

Others get genetic tests if they and their partner both have family histories of an inherited diseaseeven if they dont have the disease themselves. For example, cystic fibrosis is linked to one particular gene, but you have to inherit the abnormal version of the gene from both your parents to get the disease. If you only inherit one copy, you may never knowyou wont display any of the symptoms. But if you and your partner both carry one copy of the faulty gene, your child could still inherit two copies. Genetic tests can forewarn you of that possibility.

But Rehm says there has been a recent trend of healthy people getting tested to predict whether theyll get certain diseases. I do think there are settings where predictive genetic testing is incredibly important and useful, Rehm says; for example, knowing that youre at risk for breast cancer gives you the opportunity for early intervention (remember when Angelina Jolie got a double mastectomy upon finding out she had a mutated BRCA gene?)

But Rehm also points out that genetic tests may not be as straightforward as they seem. For example, some genes are thought to increase risk of getting a certain disease, but it might only happen if you have specific family history, or you might be able to reduce your risk with lifestyle changes. So remember that a genetic test isnt the final verdictthere are other factors at play too.

Not entirelyits scope is limited. For starters, not all diseases are caused by genes. Plenty of conditions stem from environmental and lifestyle factors; they may interact with your genes, but the external factors are the real trigger.

But even if a disease is caused solely by faulty instructions written in your genes, you wont necessarily be able to test for it. Thats because genetic tests are mainly used for diseases that are penetrant, a term that scientists use to describe a strong connection between having a certain gene (or multiple genes) and getting a disease.

Genetic tests are surprisingly simple on the surface. All thats required of you is a small sample of cells, like a blood sample or saliva (which doesnt have DNA itself, but picks up cheek cells during its journey out of your mouth). It get sent to a lab where sequencing machines match up small pieces of synthetic DNA with your DNA to figure out the overall sequence.

Once they have your sequence, geneticists can compare it with "normal" or disease-causing sequences. In the end, they might give you a yes or no answer, or sometimes youll get a probabilitya measure of how much your genes increase your risk of developing the disease. Then, its up to your doctor to figure out what these genes (in combination with your lifestyle, family history and other risk factors) mean for your health.

With penetrant diseases, theres a very, very high ability to explain the disease, Rehm says. For example, the breast cancer-related gene BRCA1 can give you a 60 percent chance of getting breast cancer (in Jolies case, with her family history, the risk was 87 percent.)

This makes genetic tests better at detecting so-called rare diseases, says Steven Schrodi, associate research scientist at the Marshfield Clinic Research Institutes Center for Human Genetics, but theyre less useful when it comes to more common diseases, like heart disease or diabetes. Genetics can increase your likelihood of getting these disease, but scientists still dont know quite how much. Part of the problem is that there may be dozens or hundreds of genes responsible for these diseases, Schrodi says.

We have an incomplete understanding of why people get diseases, Schrodi says. A large part of it hinges on how we define diseases. Perhaps physicians have inadvertently combined multiple diseases together into a single entity.

Consumer genetic teststhe ones where you send in samples from homesometimes claim to test for these more complex traits, but be careful: Their results might not be very medically relevant, Rehm says. If they tell you that your genes make you twice as likely to develop diabetes, for example, that's a marginal increase that doesn't significantly affect your risk, especially when you take into account lifestyle factors.

Genes do seem to play a role in determining lifespan. After all, some family reunions stretch from great-great-grandparents all the way down to infants. Scientists have studied centenarianspeople who lived to be 100 years oldand found that people with certain versions of genes involved in repairing DNA tend to live longer.

This makes sense because aging leaves its mark on your DNA. Environmental factors can damage DNA, and even the routine chore of replicating cells can introduce errors as the three billion units of your DNA are copied over and over. Long-lived individuals have different sequences that seem to make their cells better at keeping DNA in mint condition.

But figuring out your expiration date is more complex than just testing for a few genes, says Jan Vijg, professor of genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In theory, you could design a test that looks at specific genes that might measure your risk for developing Alzheimers Disease or other age-related diseases, or your risk for aging quickly. To some extent, yes: Biomarkers will tell you something about your chances of living a long life, Vijg says. Still, that will only work if you live a careful life. And that means no accidents, infections, or cancers.

Aging also affects the exposed ends of your DNA, called "telomeres." DNA is stored as chromosomes, those X-like structures that you may have seen in biology textbooks. The most vulnerable parts of the chromosome are the chromosomes tips, which get shorter as you age because they arent properly replicated. But while telomere length might let you compare your DNA now with your DNA from a decade ago, you cant compare your own telomeres with other peoples telomeres. Theres a lot of variation between individuals, Vijg says. Some of us are just old souls (on the genomic level, that is.)

The methylation test, which looks at how the presence of small chemical groups attached to your DNA changes as you age, might be a better bet. A study at UCLA showed that changes were slower in longer-lived people. But Vijg is hesitant: I would not put my hopes on that as a marker to predict when exactly youre going to die.

For now, just enjoy your life, because you cant predict death. And if you decide to unlock the secrets of your DNA with an at-home test, don't take those results for more than their worth.

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Army Vet Who Lost Both Legs to a Roadside Bomb Is Accepted to Harvard Medical School – PEOPLE.com

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A wounded Army veteran is close to achieving his dream of becoming a doctor after earning admittance to the prestigious Harvard Medical School.

GregGaleazzi, 31, lost both of his legs and part of his right arm when a roadside bomb exploded in May 2011 during his deployment to Afghanistan. Since then, he has endured dozens of surgeries and hundreds of hours of physical therapy, which he called a nightmare. But through all the trauma he experienced,Galeazzi held on to his dream of one day becoming a doctor.

Not only did I still want to practice medicine, but it strengthened my resolve to do it, he toldABC News.

Galeazzi took 18 pre-med courses over two years at the University of Maryland, before finishing in May 2016. It was in those classes that Galeazzi met his future fianc,Jazmine Romero, who he plans to marry next year.

Around that time, Galeazzi studied for six months to prepare for the hours-long Medical College Assessment Test, and after passing it, he sent applications to 19 medical schools on the East Coast. While he was accepted to many, Galeazzi announced in a blog poston August 5 that he had chosen to attend thetop-ranking medical institution in the world, Harvard Medical School, where he will study for the next four years.

It is tough to explain just how thrilled I was to simply be invited to interview at Harvard, let alone be accepted, Galeazzi wrote in his announcement. Mostly, it came as an immense relief to know that my hard work in pre-med and MCAT preparation paid off; and it reminded me just how grateful I am to have survived my injuries, and still have talents to share with the world.

Galeazzi is still deciding what type of medicine hellpractice, but hes leaning toward primary care, he told ABC News. In the end, Galeazzi said, he just wants to be a good doctor.

While Ive overcome some pretty harrowing life challenges, medical school is going to be an entirely different struggle, so please wish me luck! he wrote. Then again, I recognize that this is a wonderful challenge to have, and I am happy and eager to take it on!

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Army Vet Who Lost Both Legs to a Roadside Bomb Is Accepted to Harvard Medical School - PEOPLE.com

WSU medical school to focus on rural health care, leadership – The Spokesman-Review

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The day before Washington State Universitys inaugural class of medical students arrives on campus, Dean John Tomkowiak sat in his office signing books.

The result was a stack of 60 copies of Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, a popular business book destined for the first-year students at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine who arrive on campus this week.

Its an early gesture designed to introduce them to the colleges unique approach to medicine, which places a premium on developing skills to work in teams to provide care in underserved areas.

Culture is a really important piece of a medical school, particularly when youre taking care of patients, Tomkowiak said. The future of health care, especially in areas with a shortage of providers, is team-based, which means good doctors also need to be good leaders.

Because its a land-grant university, WSU leaders want its medical school to contribute to serving the parts of Washington that most need doctors.

The Washington state Department of Health keeps a list of medically underserved areas, based on the number of providers, the number of elderly residents and infant mortality rates. The map includes all of Pend Oreille, Ferry, Okanogan, Douglas, Columbia, Garfield, Asotin, Franklin and Yakima counties, as well as much of Stevens County.

Its really important we do everything we can to meet that need, Tomkowiak said.

That focus is baked into the college, starting with the entrance requirements for new students and continuing through all four years of medical curriculum.

Prospective students must either live in Washington or be from the Evergreen State. Being born here isnt enough. Applicants need to show three of four possible ties: birth in Washington, a current parent resident, proof of living in state during childhood, or graduation from a Washington high school.

Nine of the incoming students are from rural Washington counties, and together the class hails from 15 counties across the state. Future classes should have a higher proportion of rural students, because the college only had one month to solicit applications after receiving its initial accreditation last fall.

From the first day of class, students will learn about telemedicine and technology in medicine, topics that rural providers need to be comfortable with. Theyll focus on caring for patients in a team setting and encouraging students to question processes and look for ways to improve care.

Part of that means supporting students so they dont burn themselves out. WSU has a full-time financial adviser whos contacted each student individually to talk about debt, budgeting and other financial skills.

The first week of curriculum also talks about provider wellness, and activities like mindfulness and exercise are integrated into the curriculum.

Weve tried to think proactively about what are the things theyre going to be stressed about, Tomkowiak said.

In addition to the regular slate of anatomy and pharmacology classes, students will take four graduate-level leadership classes to hone their ability to work in and lead teams.

All classes are graded pass-fail, rather than on a letter-grade system or using a curve. Thats something about 30 to 40 percent of medical schools now do, Tomkowiak said, and its meant to encourage students to learn together and support each other.

At this point in their training, its not a competition against each other, Tomkowiak said. We want to foster this system of teamwork.

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Listening for the Public Voice – Slate Magazine

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On Aug. 3, the scientific article in Nature finally gave us some facts about the much-hyped experiments that involved editing the genomes of human embryos at the Center for Embryonic Cell and Gene Therapy at Oregon Health and Science University. The story had broken in late July in Technology Review, spurring profuse hand-wringing and discussion. But until we saw the scientific paper, it was not clear what cells and methods were used, what genes were edited, or what the results were.

Now we know more, and while the paper demonstrates the possibility of genome editing of human embryos, it raises more questions than it answers. It is a useful demonstration of technical promise, though not an immediate prelude to the birth of a genome-edited baby. But the process by which the news emerged is also an ominous harbinger of the discombobulated way the debate about genetically altering human embryos is likely to unfold. We need open, vigorous debate that captures the many, often contradictory, moral views of Americans. Yet what we are likely to get is piecemeal, fragmented stories of breakthroughs with incomplete details, more sober publication in science journals that appear later, news commentary that lasts a few days, and very little systematic effort to think through what policy should be.

The science underlying this news cycle about human genome editing builds on a technique first developed six years ago by studying how bacteria alter DNA. CRISPR genome editing is the most recent, and most promising, way to introduce changes into DNA. It is faster, easier, and cheaper than previous methods and should eventually be more precise and controllablewhich is why it may one day be available for clinical use in people.

Though headlines about the study discussed designer babies, researchers prefer to emphasize how these techniques could help stop devastating genetic disorders. The Oregon experiments with human embryo cells corrected disease-associated DNA variants associated with heart muscle wasting that can cause heart failure. The treated embryos were alive for only a few days and were never intended to become a human baby. They were, however, human embryos deliberately created for the research.

U.S. guidance in this area is sparse and reflects the lack of societal consensus. In 1994, when the federal government was contemplating funding for research involving human embryos, the NIH Embryo Research Panel concluded that just this kind of experiment was ethically appropriate. But within hours of that reports release, then-President Bill Clinton announced he did not agree with creating embryos in order to do research on them.

The United States currently has just two policies relevant to genomic editing of human embryos. The first blocks federal funding: On April 28, 2015, Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, stated, NIH will not fund any use of gene-editing technologies in human embryos. This is not embedded in statute or formal executive order, but members of Congress are fully aware of it and it is, in effect, a federal policy. NIH can (and does) fund genome editing of nonembryonic cells that might be used to treat cancer and for other possible therapeutic purposes, but not embryonic cells that would have their effect by creating humans with germline alterations.

Second, Congress has prohibited the Food and Drug Administration from reviewing research in which a human embryo is intentionally created or modified to include a heritable genetic modification. This language comes from a rider to FDAs annual appropriations. Yet use of human embryonic cells for treatment should be subject to FDA regulation. So this language in effect means alterations of embryonic cells cannot be done in the United States if there is any intent to treat a human being, including implantation of an altered embryo into a womans uterus. This will remain true so long as the rider is included in FDAs annual appropriations. The federal government thus has two relevant policies, both of which take federal agencies out of the action: One removes NIH funding, and the other precludes FDA oversight of genome-edited human embryos.

This leaves privately funded research that has no direct therapeutic purpose, such as with the Oregon experiments. The funding came from OHSU itself; South Korean Basic Research Funds; the municipal government of Shenzhen, China; and several private philanthropies (Chapman, Mathers, Helmsley, and Moxie). The research complies with recommendations to study the basic cellular processes of genome editing, keeping an eye on possible future clinical use but only so long as the work does not attempt to create a human pregnancy.

By coincidence, on the same day the Nature paper came out, the American Journal of Human Genetics also published a thoughtful 10-page position statement about germline genome editing from the American Society for Human Genetics endorsed by many other genetic and reproductive medicine organizations from all over the world. It reviews recommendations of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, several international and U.S.-based organizations and commissions, and makes several recommendations of its own, concluding it is inappropriate to perform germline gene editing that culminates in human pregnancy, but also there is no reason to prohibit in vitro germline genome editing on human embryos and gametes, with appropriate oversight and consent from donors, to facilitate research on the possible future clinical applications. Indeed, the statement argues for public funding. Finally, it urges research to proceed only with compelling medical rationale, strong oversight, and a transparent public process to solicit and incorporate stakeholder input.

So is there a problem here? It is truly wonderful that medical and scientific organizations have addressed genome editing. It is, however, far from sufficient. Reports and scientific consensus statements inform the policy debate but cannot resolve it. All of the reports on genome editing call for robust public debate, but the simple fact is that embryo research has proven highly divisive and resistant to consensus, and it is far from clear how to know when there is enough thoughtful deliberation to make policy choices. Its significant that none of the reports have emerged from a process that embodied such engagement. The Catholic Church, evangelical Christians, and concerned civic action groups who view embryo research as immoral are not likely to turn to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the American Society for Human Genetics, the Hinxton Group, the Nuffield Council on Bioetics, or other scientific and medical organizations for their primary counsel. They may well listen to scientists, but religious and moral doctrine will get greater weight. Yet religious groups highly critical of embryo research are part of the political systemand whether we embrace this sort of genome editing in the United States is a political question, not a purely technical one.

Reports and scientific consensus statements inform the policy debate but cannot resolveit.

Addressing the political questions will be extremely difficult. The U.S. government is poorly positioned to mediate the policy debate in a way that recognizes and addresses our complex moral pluralism. NIH and FDA are two of the most crucial agencies, but current policies remove them from line authority, and with good reason, given that engaging in this debate could actually endanger the agencies other vital missions. International consensus about genome editing of human embryos remains no more likely than about embryo research in general: Some countries ban it while others actively promote and fund it. Private foundations dont have the mandate or incentive to mediate political debate about a controversial technology that rouses the politics of abortion. What private philanthropic organization would willingly take on such a thankless and politically perilous ta
sk, and what organization would be credible to the full range of constituencies?

So who can carry out the public engagement that everyone seems to agree we need? The likely answer is no one. This problem occurs with all debate about fraught scientific and technical innovations, but its particularly acute when it touches on highly ossified abortion politics.

The debate about genomic editing of human embryos is unlikely to follow the recommendations for systematic forethought proposed by illustrious research bodies and reports. Given the reactions weve seen to human embryonic stem-cell research in the past two decades, we have ample reason for pessimism. Rather, debate is more likely to progress by reaction to events as researchers make newsoften with the same lack of information we lived with for the last week of July, based on incomplete media accounts and quotes from disparate experts who lacked access to the details. Most of the debate will be quote-to-quote combat in the public media, leavened by news and analysis in scientific and medical journals, but surrounded by controversy in religious and political media. It is not what anyone designing a system would want. But the recommendations for robust public engagement and debate feel a bit vacuous and vague, aspirations untethered to a concrete framework.

Our divisive political system seems fated to make decisions about genomic editing of human embryos mainly amidst conflict, with experts dueling in the public media rather than through a thoughtful and well-informed debate conducted in a credible framework. As the furor over the Oregon experiments begins to dissipate, we await the event that will cause the next flare-up. And so it will continue, skipping from news cycle to news cycle.

History shows that sometimes technical advances settle the issues, at least for most people and in defined contexts. Furor about in vitro fertilization after Louise Brown, the first test tube baby, was born in 1978 gave way to acceptance as grateful parents gave birth to more and more healthy babies and welcomed them into their families. Initial revulsion at heart transplants gave way in the face of success. Anger about prospects for human embryonic stem-cell research might similarly attenuate if practical applications emerge.

Such historical examples show precisely why reflective deliberation remains essential, despite its unlikely success. Momentum tends to carry the research forward. Yet at times we should stop, learn more, and decide actively rather than passively whether to proceed, when, how, and with what outcomes in mind. In the case of genome editing of human embryos, however, it seems likely that technology will make the next move.

This article is part of Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

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Listening for the Public Voice - Slate Magazine

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Jesse Williams Accused Of Violent Rages By Ex – Daily Beast

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Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams has been labelled a rage-fuelled individual with poor parenting skills who maintains a 'revolving door' of women and exposed his children to a terrifying road rage incident in which he threatened to kill a neighbor.

The allegations are contained in explosive court documents obtained by dailymail.com.

The allegations against Williams, 36, come from his ex-wife, Aryn Drake-Lee, 34, who divorced him in April.

The allegations are the latest salvo in a bitter custody battle over their children, aged three and one.

Drake-Lee also claims that the actor has cynically started posting photographs of his children on social media to bolster his brand.

Drake-Lee claimed the road rage incident happened on July 18. Drake-Lee claims that following argument with a neighbor, Williams 'aggressively pursued him in his car with their two children inside and allegedly threatened to kill him.

I was so alarmed that Jesse exposed our children to danger, Drake-Lee says in the filing, in which she is seeking sole custody of the children after their 14-year relationship broke down.

Drake-Lee claims Williams has had a revolving door of intimate partners since the divorce and has made no effort to keep knowledge of his multiple girlfriends from their children.

In previously filed court documents Williams set out to prove he was a doting dad by listing his kid's nicknames and favorite foods.

Drake-Lee is also unhappy that Williams now regularly posts photos of their children on social media to promote an image of himself: Jesse, a story teller by profession, appears to be trying to create some sort of fairytale parenting scenario that does not tell the complete story, the real story of parenting, she says in the filing, according to dailymail.com.

Drake-Lee is asking the court for a full-day mediation session to determine a 'path forward' between her and Williams.

When the former couple's divorce first hit the headlines, it was reported that Williams cheated on Drake-Lee with multiple women while they were married and he's been linked with his one-time co-worker, actress Minka Kelly.

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Williams has denied the cheating claims saying he always 'loved' Drake-Lee during their marriage.

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'Grey's Anatomy' Star Jesse Williams Accused Of Violent Rages By Ex - Daily Beast

Mangaluru: Striding forward in biotechnology – Yenepoya University awarded grant – Daijiworld.com

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Daijiworld Media Network Mangaluru (ANK)

Addressing media persons here on Wednesday August 16 he said, "MultiOMICS is a highly interdisciplinary subject which includes genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and proteogenomics. Yenepoya University is one among the 18 institutions in Karnataka selected for the programme. This is the only centre to offer BiSEP course in multiOMICS technology, as it houses state-of-the-art facilities and scientists who are specialists in cutting edge technologies to undertake such training programmes.

"Centre for systems biology and molecular medicine has an advanced mass spectrometry facility with the latest generation high resolution mass spectrometer, one of the only three available in India. The trainers of this course have extensive experience in the field of OMICS technology and over the years have conducted several workshops and training sessions for researchers. Students trained by the course co-coordinators are placed in biotechnology companies such as Syngene, Thermo, Lupin and Pierian Dx and renowned institutes in countries including USA, Australia, Norway, Isreal and Singapore, he added.

Dr Arun, Dr Keshav Datta and others were present.

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Mangaluru: Striding forward in biotechnology - Yenepoya University awarded grant - Daijiworld.com

Puma Biotechnology Inc (PBYI) Shares Needle Moving 1.99% – Morgan Research

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Shares ofPuma Biotechnology Inc (PBYI) is moving on volatility today1.99% or 1.60 from the open.TheNASDAQ listed companysaw a recent bid of82.15 on627761 volume.

There are various factors to examine when looking at what spurs growth in the stock market. Many investors will monitor macro-economic factors that influence the price of shares. Some of these factors include the overall condition of the economy and market sentiment. Following the macro factors, investors may employ a top down approach when viewing the equity markets. This may include starting with a sector poised for growth and filtering down to specific stock that meet the investors criteria. Another way to approach the stock market is to view the micro-economic factors that influence stocks. This may include studying company profits, news, and the competence of overall management. Investors will often try to piece together all the different information available in order to select stocks that will have a positive impact on the long-term strength of the portfolio.

Digging deeping into the Puma Biotechnology Inc (PBYI) s technical indicators, we note that the Williams Percent Range or 14 day Williams %R currently sits at -59.16. The Williams %R oscillates in a range from 0 to -100. A reading between 0 and -20 would point to an overbought situation. A reading from -80 to -100 would signal an oversold situation. The Williams %R was developed by Larry Williams. This is a momentum indicator that is the inverse of the Fast Stochastic Oscillator.

Puma Biotechnology Inc (PBYI) currently has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of -34.06. Active investors may choose to use this technical indicator as a stock evaluation tool. Used as a coincident indicator, the CCI reading above +100 would reflect strong price action which may signal an uptrend. On the flip side, a reading below -100 may signal a downtrend reflecting weak price action. Using the CCI as a leading indicator, technical analysts may use a +100 reading as an overbought signal and a -100 reading as an oversold indicator, suggesting a trend reversal.

Currently, the 14-day ADX for Puma Biotechnology Inc (PBYI) is sitting at 40.95. Generally speaking, an ADX value from 0-25 would indicate an absent or weak trend. A value of 25-50 would support a strong trend. A value of 50-75 would identify a very strong trend, and a value of 75-100 would lead to an extremely strong trend. ADX is used to gauge trend strength but not trend direction. Traders often add the Plus Directional Indicator (+DI) and Minus Directional Indicator (-DI) to identify the direction of a trend.

The RSI, or Relative Strength Index, is a widely used technical momentum indicator that compares price movement over time. The RSI was created by J. Welles Wilder who was striving to measure whether or not a stock was overbought or oversold. The RSI may be useful for spotting abnormal price activity and volatility. The RSI oscillates on a scale from 0 to 100. The normal reading of a stock will fall in the range of 30 to 70. A reading over 70 would indicate that the stock is overbought, and possibly overvalued. A reading under 30 may indicate that the stock is oversold, and possibly undervalued. After a recent check, the 14-day RSI for Puma Biotechnology Incis currently at 45.59, the 7-day stands at 47.11, and the 3-day is sitting at 67.10.

Shares ofTiffany & Co (TIF) aremoving on volatility today1.35% or 1.19 from the open.TheNYSE listed companysaw a recent bid of 89.30 and626967shares have traded hands in the session.

Stock analysis typically falls under the two main categories of fundamental and technical. Fundamental analysis involves diving into company financials. Fundamental analysts study how the company is performing in order to determine whether or not the stock is ready to run. With this type of analysis, investors will be looking at balance sheet strength and gauging how much money the company is giving back to shareholders. After crunching all the numbers, investors can use the information to calculate ratios to help determine if the company is properly valued and worth adding to the portfolio. Technical analysis relies on charting historical stock prices in order to define trends and patterns. The buying and selling of stocks using only technical analysis typically removes any concern for how the company is fairing or even what it actually does. Some indicators that technical analysts use can be super simple and others can be highly complex. Many investors will attempt to study both technicals and fundamentals with the goal of gaining greater knowledge of where the stock has been, and where it might be going.

Taking a deeper look into the technical levels ofTiffany & Co (TIF), we can see thatthe Williams Percent Range or 14 day Williams %R currently sits at -75.72. The Williams %R oscillates in a range from 0 to -100. A reading between 0 and -20 would point to an overbought situation. A reading from -80 to -100 would signal an oversold situation. The Williams %R was developed by Larry Williams. This is a momentum indicator that is the inverse of the Fast Stochastic Oscillator.

Tiffany & Co (TIF) currently has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of -111.90. Active investors may choose to use this technical indicator as a stock evaluation tool. Used as a coincident indicator, the CCI reading above +100 would reflect strong price action which may signal an uptrend. On the flip side, a reading below -100 may signal a downtrend reflecting weak price action. Using the CCI as a leading indicator, technical analysts may use a +100 reading as an overbought signal and a -100 reading as an oversold indicator, suggesting a trend reversal.

The RSI, or Relative Strength Index, is a widely used technical momentum indicator that compares price movement over time. The RSI was created by J. Welles Wilder who was striving to measure whether or not a stock was overbought or oversold. The RSI may be useful for spotting abnormal price activity and volatility. The RSI oscillates on a scale from 0 to 100. The normal reading of a stock will fall in the range of 30 to 70. A reading over 70 would indicate that the stock is overbought, and possibly overvalued. A reading under 30 may indicate that the stock is oversold, and possibly undervalued. After a recent check, Tiffany & Cos 14-day RSI is currently at 39.93, the 7-day stands at 36.60, and the 3-day is sitting at 42.24.

Currently, the 14-day ADX for Tiffany & Co (TIF) is sitting at 20.66. Generally speaking, an ADX value from 0-25 would indicate an absent or weak trend. A value of 25-50 would support a strong trend. A value of 50-75 would identify a very strong trend, and a value of 75-100 would lead to an extremely strong trend. ADX is used to gauge trend strength but not trend direction. Traders often add the Plus Directional Indicator (+DI) and Minus Directional Indicator (-DI) to identify the direction of a trend.

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Puma Biotechnology Inc (PBYI) Shares Needle Moving 1.99% - Morgan Research

Tracking Trends in Biotechnology – Markets Insider

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LAS VEGAS, August 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The healthcare sector is made up of several different industries, from pharmaceuticals to biotechnology to health insurance. Making predictions in this sector can be difficult as there are many variables working with and against each other at one time. It's important to track both negative and positive trends in healthcare companies. Investors who track these trends, make the best out of their predictions.

Certain trends in healthcare an investor should track include: the aging population and their healthcare needs, personalized medicine, the global reach of certain diseases, obesity and diabetes epidemic, and of course, technological advances. All of these trends mean different things in healthcare stock. Biotech companies are working tirelessly to address specific trends in human health, identifying the companies who are working with healthcare trends is key.

Some such companies include: Endonovo Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC: ENDV), Juno Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JUNO), Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIO), Genocea Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNCA), and TherapeuticsMD, Inc. (NYSE: TXMD)

Endonovo Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCQB: ENDV)

Market Cap: $7.3M, current share price: .028

ENDV is an innovative biotechnology company implementing a bioelectronic approach to regenerative medicine. They are addressing several healthcare trends with their electroceutical platform, which is a non-invasive, non-implantable device for treating inflammatory conditions in vital organs. Through the innovative research at ENDV, they are addressing most of the major healthcare trends by developing therapies to treat the aging population and addressing obesity and the complications that it entails, such as peripheral artery disease, heart disease, diabetic kidney disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Additionally, ENDV is working to address global diseases, kidney disease, and organ failure.

Tracking ENDV and their work in research and development (R&D) is something anyone interested in healthcare or biotech stocks should do. As their research correlates and ebbs and flows with healthcare trends. Some highlights regarding ENDV's R&D are below:

As ENDV moves forward and inches closer to announcing the results of their pre-clinical studies across their diverse technology platform, you'll want to stay up-to-date with their successes.

Other healthcare and biotech companies to review

Juno Therapeutics, Inc. (JUNO)

Market Cap: $3.021B, current share price: 28.30

JUNO, a clinical-stage cell immunotherapy company focused on revolutionizing medicine by re-engaging the body's immune system to treat cancer, has achieved recent milestones with its collaboration with Editas Medicine, Inc. (EDIT) This collaboration began over two years ago, the two companies are pursuing three research programs that aim to combine Editas Medicine's genome editing platform with Juno's CAR and TCR technologies.

Their most recent achievement relates to the improvement in the ability of T cells to overcome the tumor microenvironment. Editas Medicine will receive $2.5 million for achieving this milestone.

Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc. (EBIO)

Market Cap: $35.2M, current share price: 1.425

EBIO is a late-stage clinical oncology company advancing a broad pipeline of novel product candidates based on its Targeting Protein Therapeutics (TPTs) platform. They announced this week that they'll be hosting a live conference call to announce their Q2 financial results.

This is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. ET on Monday, August 14, 2017. To access the conference call, please dial (844) 831-3025 (domestic) or (315) 625-6887 (international) at least five minutes prior to the start time and refer to conference ID 63779857.

Genocea Biosciences, Inc. (GNCA)

Market Cap: $112.74M, current share price: 3.955

Similarly to JUNO and EDITS collaboration on moving research forward regarding T cells, GNCA's lead candidate is a novel T cell-directed immunotherapy for genital herpes. Today marks a horrible day for GNCA's performance on the stock market. GNCA's shares closed down 7.42% on Thursday with a little over 600,000 shares traded. The company reported second quarter financial results this week and reported a loss of $15.4 million.

On a per share basis, this was a loss of 54 cents while Wall Street was only expecting a loss of 46 cents. Keep a lookout for this stock as its performance is expected to continue to plummet.

TherapeuticsMD, Inc. (TXMD)

Market Cap: $1.15B, current share price: 5.630

TXMD, an innovative women's healthcare company, just received a formal General Advice Letter from the FDA stating that an initial review has been completed and requesting that the Company submit the additional endometrial safety information to the NDA for TX-004HR on or before September 18, 2017.

This is great news for TXMD although they've been ranked negatively in the HealthCare Sector. Investors who seek profit from falling equity prices should target TXMD. Short interest is extremely high for TXMD with more than 20% of shares on loan.

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EPA Rule on Nanotechnology Reporting Is Good News – Natural Resources Defense Council

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Some good news from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency!

EPA issued a Working Guidance for its Final Nanotechnology Reporting and Record-keeping Requirements Rule, which become effective this week, on August 14, 2017. This important rule establishes one-time reporting and record-keeping requirements for certain chemical substances when they are manufactured or processed at the nanoscale.

In early January 2017 EPA issued the Final Rule with many improvements that we had asked for in our public comments to the EPA docket (see my earlier blog for a summary).

EPA closed the loophole in the proposed rule that would have exempted nanoclays, zinc oxide, and nanocellulose from reporting requirements. This means EPA and the public will now have more information to make informed regulatory decisions about these materials.

EPA rejected industry arguments for a volume cut off below which no reporting would have been required. Such a threshold may have exempted many nanomaterials which are, of course, notoriously low volume due to their extremely small size.

EPA rejected industrys request to exempt naturally occurring nanomaterials from reporting requirements.

EPA closed the loophole that would have exempted chemical substances manufactured as part of a film on a surface.

Maybe most importantly, EPA rejected all industry argument that EPA does not have the authority to issue this rule. EPA asserted its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 8(a).

This ruleparticularly with the above improvementsis a win for scientific transparency and public disclosure. However, it is not regulations or restrictions. Therefore, EPA must use the information it collects under this rule to inform policies that will protect human health and the environment from harmful exposures to these small-sized chemicals.

More about the rule is on EPAs website. See my earlier blog on the loopholes.

EPA first started working on this rule in 2009, and, although the Rule has moved slowly through the regulatory process, nanotechnology has not. In the last decade (since 2005) EPA has received and reviewed over160 applicationsfor new nanomaterials, including the carbon nanotubes that look and act much like asbestos (seereportby U Mass Lowell, 2014).

Nanoscale chemicals (nanomaterials) are in products from all commercial sectors ranging from sports equipment to agrochemicals to clothing. Increased concern for potential health and environmental impacts of chemicals, including nanomaterials, in consumer products is driving demand for greater transparency regarding potential risks. To that end, we published the results of our research using the GreenScreen hazard assessment method to show both hazards and data gaps for conventional silver and nanosilver approved by EPA for commercial uses (Sass et al 2016). The ability to conduct hazard assessments like the GreenScreens we published depends on reliable and publicly available information. EPAs Rule is an important tool to gather relevant data on nanomaterials to inform hazard assessment, regulatory decisions, and industrial product design and development.

NCI National Cancer Institute

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EPA Rule on Nanotechnology Reporting Is Good News - Natural Resources Defense Council

EC Publishes NanoData Landscape Compilation Reports – Nanotechnology News

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Home > Nanotechnology Columns > Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. > EC Publishes NanoData Landscape Compilation Reports

Abstract:On June 8, 2017, the European Commission (EC) published eight NanoData Landscape Compilation reports.

August 16th, 2017

On June 8, 2017, the European Commission (EC) published eight NanoData Landscape Compilation reports. See https://publications.europa.eu/en/search-results?p_p_id=portal2012searchExecutor_WAR_portal2012portlet_INSTANCE_q8EzsBteHybf&p_p_lifecycle=1&p_p_state=normal&queryText=NanoData+landscape+compilation&facet.collection=EULex,EUPub,EUWebPage,EUSummariesOfLegislation&language=en&startRow=1&resultsPerPage=10&SEARCH_TYPE=SIMPLE& The EC states that the reports offer a snapshot of the environment for nanotechnology in different application fields:

- NanoData Landscape Compilation: Health: This report offers a snapshot of the status of the environment for nanotechnology in the context of health. Analysis of that environment, trends in the data, and the effects of European policies and actions on health nanotechnology will be reported in the NanoData Health Impact Assessment and are therefore not included in this report;- NanoData Landscape Compilation: Manufacturing: This report offers an overview of policies and programs for nanotechnology manufacturing in the European Union (EU), publications, patenting, research and innovation, industry, products and markets, and the wider environment;- NanoData Landscape Compilation: Information and Communication Technologies: This report offers a snapshot of the environment for nanotechnology in the context of information and communication technologies (ICT). It gives an overview of policies and programs for nanotechnology and ICT in the EU, publications, patenting, research and innovation, industry, products and markets, and the wider environment;- NanoData Landscape Compilation: Transport: Transport is defined here as a sector based on vehicles for transporting people and/or goods via the air, rail, road, water, and space, and is here divided into two main areas, vehicles and infrastructure. The industry generates about five percent of European employment and seven percent of European gross domestic product (GDP). Transport is also responsible for the emission of nearly 25 percent of greenhouse gases in the EU, however;- NanoData Landscape Compilation: Energy: Nanotechnology has the potential to contribute to energy sustainability by reducing consumption, improving the infrastructure for energy generation, transmission, and use, and offering new methods for energy production. To achieve this, the field of nanotechnology and energy needs to have a solid research base; routes for new developments in energy technology to be further advanced and commercialized; and a market open to nanotechnology energy products, in the context of appropriate regulation and standards. The European Energy Strategy is seeking to tackle that challenge through measures to improve energy efficiency, increase the share of renewable energy, and reduce greenhouse gases. This report looks, from a research, development and deployment (market) perspective, at the role of nanotechnology in achieving those energy goals and at the overall landscape in Europe for nanotechnology and energy;- NanoData Landscape Compilation: Construction: This report offers a snapshot of the status of the environment for nanotechnology in the context of construction. The construction industry covers the building, maintaining, and repairing of buildings and infrastructures for living, working, and transport, including providing materials for those purposes. The sector is a major consumer of raw materials, chemicals, energy and intermediate products such as electrical equipment, as well as services;- NanoData Landscape Compilation: Environment: This report offers a snapshot of the status of nanotechnology in the context of the environment. Nanotechnology is one of the emerging technologies that can help to prevent or remediate environmental degradation and improve monitoring (direct effect), or lead to reduced energy and resource consumption (indirect effect). Introducing new substances, such as nanomaterials and nanoparticles with unknown characteristics, into the environment may have negative environmental and health effects, however. Aspects of nanotechnology both for and in the environment are covered in this report; andNanoData Landscape Compilation: Photonics: Nanoscale effects impact on photonics, e.g., in the surface quality of waveguides and optical fibers. The focus here remains as closely as possible on photonics as it relates to nanotechnology, e.g., where nanotechnology enhances photonics and vice versa.

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Nanotechnology Gives Green Energy a Green Color – Futurism

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Green Panels

Solar panels have tremendous potential to provide affordable renewable energy, but many people see traditional black and blue panels as an eyesore. Architects, homeowners and city planners may be more open to the technology if they could install green panels that melt into the landscape, red panels on rooftops and white ones camouflaged as walls.

A new study published this week inApplied Physics Lettersbrings us one step closer to a future of colorful, efficientsolar panels. Researchers have developed a method for imprinting existing solar panels with silicon nanopatterns that scatter green light back toward an observer. The panels have a green appearance from most angles yet only show about a 10 percent power reduction due to the loss of absorbed green light.

Some people say why would you make solar cells less efficient? But we can make solar cells beautiful without losing too much efficiency, said Verena Neder, a researcher at AMOLF and lead author of the paper. The new method to change the color of the panels is not only easy to apply but also attractive as an architectural design element and has the potential to widen their use.

Most research on solarcellshas focused on increasing efficiency and reducing cost. Currently, the solar panels sold to consumers can ideally turn up to 22 percent of the suns light into usable energy. Colored solar panels are already on the market, but the dyes and reflective coatings that give them their color greatly reduce efficiency.

Neder and colleagues created their efficient, green solar panels through soft-imprint lithography, which works somewhat like an optical rubber stamp to imprint a dense array of silicon nanocylinders onto the cell surfaces. Each nanocylinder is about 100 nanometers wide and exhibits an electromagnetic resonance that scatters a particular wavelength of light. The geometry of the nanocylinder determines which wavelength it scatters and can be fine-tuned to change the color of the solar cell. The imprint reduces the solar panelsefficiencyby about 2 percent.

In principle, this technique is easily scalable for fabrication technology, said Albert Polman, a scientific group leader at AMOLF and senior author on the paper. You can use a rubber stamp the size of a solar panel that in one step, can print the whole panel full of these little, exactly defined nanoparticles.

Unlike existing colored solar panels, the nanopatterns give a consistent appearance from different angles. The structure we made is not very sensitive to the angle of observation, so even if you look at it from a wide angle, it still appears green, Neder said.

The nanopatterns also could be useful in makingtandem solar cells, which stack several layers, each designed to absorb certain parts of the spectrum, to achieve efficiencies of greater than 30 percent.

Next, the researchers are designing imprints to create red and bluesolar cells. Once they master these three colors, the primary colors oflight, they can create any color, potentially even white. You have to combine different nanoparticles, and if they get very close to each other they can interact and that will affect thecolor, Polman said. Going to white is a really big step.

This article was provided by American Institute of Physics. Materials may have been edited for clarity and brevity.

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Nanotechnology Gives Green Energy a Green Color - Futurism

Monta Vista grad wins gold at International Chemistry Olympiad – The Mercury News

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Although Steven Liu is relatively new to the study of chemistry, the Monta Vista High School graduate is now the proud owner of the chemical AU.

Steven and his teammates earned gold medals from the 49th International Chemistry Olympiad. The recent Monta Vista High School graduate in Cupertino was one of four members of the U.S. team to compete in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.

Stevens teammates hailed from Lexington, Massachusetts; Carmel, Indiana; and Hinsdale, Illinois. The U.S. team tied with Taiwan as the top-performing countries.

The team competed July 6-15 against 293 students from 75 countries. The competition consisted of exams and lab work, with time set aside for athletics and sightseeing over those 10 days.

The International Chemistry Olympiad was founded in 1968 in Poland, and the first U.S. team competed at the event in 1984, winning a silver and two bronze medals.

Steven said he first became interested in chemistry in eighth grade after watching chemistry experiments on Youtube, but didnt start to really become serious about the subject until his junior year at Monta Vista. The year prior, he served as an alternate on the American Olympiad team, but this year his hard work earned him a lead spot.

My preparation started with reading a general chemistry book, followed by an introductory organic chemistry book. After reading these books, I practiced with some national Olympiad level problems, and found myself in the U.S. top 20 list, he said in an email to this newspaper.

Steven attended the Olympiad training camp at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he was chosen from 20 finalists for the U.S. team.

I read through two more organic chemistry books, followed by an analytical chemistry book, two inorganic books and two physical chemistry books, he said. Then I just practiced with old international-level problems.

Steven said he was drawn to chemistry because of the overlap in fields such as organic and physical chemistry.

The way that small molecular building blocks can combine to create lifesaving drugs is beautiful, he said.

He added that the intensive and repetitive studying required for the competition started to drain some of the passion hes had for the subject.

For now, he is happy with his teams accomplishments and glad to have had the experience no matter what the future holds. He will be attendingMassachusetts Institute of Technology.

Im still debating on what to major in. Im leaning toward a double major in chemistry and biology, but I may consider majoring in electrical engineering and computer science, he said.

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Monta Vista grad wins gold at International Chemistry Olympiad - The Mercury News

New Study Confirms Why Doctors Abandon Conventional Practices … – PR Newswire (press release)

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NORTHAMPTON, Mass., Aug. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --The first-ever Integrative Physician Market Landscape study, conducted by Pure Branding, addresses a lack of market intelligence about the rapidly growing practice of integrative medicine among Medical Doctors (MD) and Doctors of Osteopathy (DO).

"I have never seen such a rigorous and insightful study of the integrative physician community," said Leonard A. Wisneski, MD, FACP, professor of medicine at Georgetown University, George Washington University and University of Colorado. "For anyone wishing to understand and engage with the field of integrative medicine, this research study and its insights will be invaluable."

A rapidly growing number of doctors are exploring integrative approaches to clinical care as a solution to perceived inabilities to offer better healthcare options to their patients through conventional medical practices.

The study provides a consensus on the definition of integrative medicine, with respondents identifying the top five factors as:

"Anyone distressed about the state of healthcare in America need look no further than this inspiring community of integrative physicians for hope," says Yadim Medore, founder and CEO of Pure Branding. "These cutting-edge doctors are at the forefront of a paradigm shift in medicine, that will significantly impact the value chain from healthcare systems and payers to medical schools and suppliers."

Key Findings:

This research study included 1,133 integrative MDs and DOs from 49 states, the largest pool of currently practicing integrative physicians ever surveyed for a landscape report. Lists were provided by association and media partners including Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine (AIHM), Academy of Integrative Pain Management (AIPM), American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM), American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (AAMA), Functional Forum and Today's Practitioner, and numerous commercial sponsors.

"The findings in this report are representative of the integrative medical community as a whole, with a confidence level of 95% and the margin of error at +/-2.9%," said Mr. Medore.

Informationabout the study can be found at: http://www.purebranding.com/integrative-physicians

About Pure BrandingPure Branding is a strategic consulting, market research and brand development agency for health and wellness companies. Since 1999, they have helped global clients build loyalty and grow market share through innovative research and actionable insights. For more information: http://www.purebranding.com

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New Study Confirms Why Doctors Abandon Conventional Practices ... - PR Newswire (press release)