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The iPhone Is a Part of Human Anatomy – NYU Washington Square News

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Henry Cohen, Staff Writer April 17, 2017

Human dependency on the smartphone has become an accepted part of life in the first world. iPhone Separation Anxiety is a very real effect of being deprived of your smartphone for extended periods of time. Trivial as it may sound, not having your phone within reach can result in higher blood pressure, increased heart rate, worsened anxiety and poor cognitive performance, according to Psychology Today.

In a CBS Newsinterview, addictive behavior psychologist Dr. Harris Stratyner said that many people subconsciously treat smartphones as an extension of their bodies. We can literally feel almost as if we are disembodied from an extension of ourselves, Stratyner said, We dont feel the same ability to be individuals that we are with our iPhone, because we have become so dependent on that being a part of our knowledge base. Smartphones have become a huge part of how as much as 77 percent of American adults, according to a Pew Research Center 2017 study, interact with the world. They perfect our perception of time, give us full access to the wealth of human knowledge that is the internet, remind us of appointments, communicate with anyone, anywhere, at any time they can even tell us what the weather is going to be tomorrow at 3 p.m. In short, they are enhancements to our human abilities that manifest themselves in a slim block of metal and glass.

It may be difficult to see the iPhone as a true part of the human anatomy, but it is no different than a prosthetic leg or glass eye. It is always at hand, not physically a part of us but rarely apart from our person in much the same way that a prosthetic leg can be removed but is a part of the body when it is attached. Both the leg and smartphone serve to make up for some deficiency in the person who uses them. In the case of the prosthetic, it is the lack of a leg, while in the case of the phone, it is mans inability to naturally perform tasks such as taking photos and playing music wherever they are.

Transhumanist thinkers like Zoltan Istvan and Daniel Dennett have long advocated for and predicted the rise of a new brand of humanity, one enhanced by technology such that we can effectively accelerate our own evolution. While some outspoken critics like Francis Fukuyama have decried the dangers of transhumanism, this process is clearly already underway. Is having all earthly knowledge at our fingertips comparable to having a superpower? What about a human who can participate in a dozen text conversations at once spanning hundreds of miles in an instant? The smartphone represents the first and most successful step towards an entirely new variety of human, one that is almost a different species from those that came before and is capable of anything.

Opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of WSN, and our publication of opinions is not an endorsement of them. A version of this article appeared in the Monday, April 17 print edition.

Email Henry Cohen at [emailprotected]

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The iPhone Is a Part of Human Anatomy - NYU Washington Square News

The Daily Pennsylvanian | How Penn Medicine and people from … – The Daily Pennsylvanian

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Penn Medicines new Center for Digital Health will serve as a connection between technology, social media and healthcare.

Astudy led in part by Penn scientistsexamined the DNA of over10,500 Pakistanis in order to guide research on treatments for heart disease.

Many drugs developed to lower heart disease havetargeted a gene linked to arterial plaque, Science Magazine explained. But this study found that the absence of this gene may not greatly affect one's risk for heart disease.

Instead, the study found that the absence of a different gene called APOC3 might help.

Penn professor Danish Saleheen and other researchers searched Pakistan for individuals missing a functional copy ofthe gene. Many Pakistanis marry their first cousins, so parents more frequently pass on identical copies of a gene to their children meaning that they're also more likely to pass on two nonfunctional copies.

People with these deficient copies of agene are known as genetic knockouts, Philly.com explained. Scientists can deliberately breed animals to produce knockouts, but they must survey large numbers of peopleto find them in humans.

The researchers found a man,woman and their nine children in Pakistan who were all APOC3 knockouts.

When they consumed a high-fat meal, study participants without functioningAPOC3 genes did not experience elevated levels of plasma triglycerides, according toPenn Medicine. Higher levels of triglycerides are abiomarker of heart disease risk.

The family seemed healthy otherwise, which could suggest that missing the function of the APOC3 gene could help treat heart disease without other, harmful effects, Science Magazine noted.

Saleheen told Penn Medicine that these were the worlds first APOC3 knockouts found. Hes been working in Pakistan for over 10 years, amassing as many blood samples as possible, to identify different genetic knockouts so far hes found over 1,300 in over 70,000 participants, a figure he hopes will eventually surpass 200,000 as the work continues.

The study was led by Penn's Perelman School of Medicine, the Center For Non-Communicable Diseases in Pakistan, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the University of Cambridge.

Co-senior author of the studySekar Kathiresan told Science Magazine that he hopes this work will lead to a "Human Knockout Project," similar in caliber to the Human Genome Project, in order to aggregate data on knockouts.

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The Daily Pennsylvanian | How Penn Medicine and people from ... - The Daily Pennsylvanian

Blue Jays’ Jarrod Saltalamacchia: Developing chemistry with Marco Estrada – CBSSports.com

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Saltalammachia received high praise from Saturday's batterymate, Marco Estrada, and the two have developed productive chemistry that could lead to more playing time for the catcher, Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star reports.

Saltalamacchia, who signed with the Jays in the offseason, has started just two of the team's first 13 games while amassing a measly 10 at-bats. However, the door may be open to increased plate appearances after Estrada -- who struggled last time out -- pointed to the 31-year-old's influence as a key to the pitcher's seven scoreless innings. "It was the way Salty called the game. I was just trying to follow him, elevated a lot of fastballs and had them swinging at it," said the right-hander. As of now, Saltalamacchia is unworthy of a fantasy roster spot. But, if he settles in as Estrada's routine catcher, then the veteran could turn up as a nice value play in daily leagues on occasion.

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Chemistry and Biochemistry Symposium to Feature NASA Speaker and Poster Session – Seton Hall University News & Events

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Tuesday, April 11, 2017

By Nicholas Snow

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is proud to present its 22nd annual departmental symposium and poster session in conjunction with the Petersheim Academic Exposition on Tuesday evening April 18, 2017.

The symposium will include a lecture in the Rose Mercadante Seminar Series by Dr. Melissa G. Trainer of the Robert Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration entitled "Chemistry on Mars: The Search for Habitable Environments with Curiosity" at 5:45 PM in the Helen Lerner Amphitheater, McNulty Hall, Science and Technology Center, Seton Hall University.

Following the lecture, a poster session featuring the research of 50 undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry will be held at 7:00 PM in the Mary Ann and Pat Murray Atrium in McNulty Hall. All members of the University Community and friends of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry are welcome to attend the lecture and poster session.

Following on decades of exploration of Mars, our knowledge of our neighboring planet has advanced well beyond observations of canals to the comprehensive characterization of surface topology and regional mineralogy. There are clear lines of evidence for past liquid water and a complex climate history. Yet some of the fundamental questions remain: Was there ever life on Mars? Could there have been life on Mars? The Curiosity rover carries the most advanced analytical laboratory sent to another planet, and over the past four and half years the mission has performed a detailed in situ investigation of Gale Crater. The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite in particular has quantified geochemical indicators that demonstrate the environment could have supported life, and has achieved detection of the first organic molecules on Mars. Atmospheric measurements by SAM have identified signatures of planetary change over billions of years and monitored modern activity. This presentation will recount the most important findings on the chemistry of Mars to date, and will discuss the implications for our understanding of whether the red planet was ever habitable.

Dr. Trainer is a Research Space Scientist in the Planetary Environments Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, with research interests in the composition of planetary atmospheres and the production of organic organic molecules and aerosols via atmospheric synthesis.

Dr. Trainer has spent more than a decade characterizing the properties of Titan and early Earth aerosol analogs. Her publications on this topic include chemical, optical, and isotopic characterizations of these analogs produced via electric discharge and photochemical irradiation, with recent emphasis on the elemental composition, nitrogen activation, and the influence of trace species such as benzene.

Dr. Trainer is a science team member on the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) experiment aboard the Mars Science Laboratory Mission's Curiosity Rover, with a focus on the compositional measurements of the Mars atmosphere. She has led the campaign to conduct the first in situ multi-year study of the seasonal variations of the composition of the Mars atmosphere through surface mass spectrometry measurements. She also worked with the SAM team to make the first measurements of the full suite of xenon isotopes in the Mars atmosphere as well as the inventory of other noble gases.

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry offers BS, MS and PhD degrees with specializations in all areas of chemistry. Our unique research environment, including traditional full-time students and part-time students is designed to foster collaborations with industry and colleagues in other disciplines. The Rose Mercadante Seminar Series is named for Rose Mercadante, the departmental secretary for over 40 years, in honor of our alumni, her "boys and girls".

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Chemistry and Biochemistry Symposium to Feature NASA Speaker and Poster Session - Seton Hall University News & Events

Here’s Another Way CRISPR Is Changing Medicine – TIME

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Gene editing, through a technology called CRISPR , can edit DNA almost as easily as a word processor edits text. Now that system is being used to diagnose the presence of cancer and to create on-the-spot tests for infections like Zika virus , according to a new report published in the journal Science from researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

CRISPR-cas9, first described in 2012, gives scientists the genetic equivalent of a word processing cursor, allowing them to home in on specific parts of a genome to delete, insert, copy, cut or paste DNA at will. In the current paper, Feng Zhang , associate professor of biological engineering and brain and cognitive sciences at MIT and a member of the Broad Institute, and his colleagues modified the CRISPR system so that it recognized the products churned out by genes as well. They used CRISPR to recognize specific substances that bacteria and viruses make. Picking up even the slightest whisper of these products can alert doctors that an infection is active.

The system, dubbed SHERLOCK, could accurately distinguish between Zika virus and dengue virus from blood, urine and saliva samples. SHERLOCK could also provide the answer more quickly than current tests. Now, it takes several days for doctors to culture microbes like bacteria or viruses in order to confirm that they are present. SHERLOCK, says Zhang, could identify a bacteria or virus in 30 minutes to an hour.

MORE : CRISPR Technology Scientists on Their Gene Editing Tool

In Zhangs tests, SHERLOCK also provided a way to measure how much virus was there, giving doctors a better sense of how entrenched the infection might be.

SHERLOCK could also pick up mutations present in tumors from patients blood. Such blood-based tests for cancer, or liquid biopsies , are a promising area of cancer research, and having a CRISPR-based tool like SHERLOCK could speed their development.

Zhang anticipates that the technology could also be critical in the fight against antibiotic resistance; SHERLOCK could determine if a persons bacterial infection is already resistant to certain antibiotics, for example, which would help doctors to avoid those drugs. It could also pick up when a persons infection starts to become resistant to the drug so doctors can switch a patients antibiotic to better fight the bacterial infection.

MORE : 5 Common Myths About Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

This new CRISPR based platform has the potential to be developed as a point of care diagnostic that could be as easy to use as an at-home pregnancy test, says James Collins, member of the Broad and professor of engineering at MIT.

The CRISPR system just requires a kit designed to recognize the bacteria, virus or cancer mutation in question, and those are relatively cheap and accessible. Zhangs team predicts some tests could cost less than $1. That could make it a mainstay in lower-resource countries when infectious like Zika or even Ebola emerge, by helping people to get treatment sooner so that the breadth of the outbreak is contained.

We want to deploy this in an area where it can make a real difference, says Zhang.

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Here's Another Way CRISPR Is Changing Medicine - TIME

Consensus Study on Human Gene Editing – National-Academies.org

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Consensus Study

Background

With the conclusion of the International Summit on Human Gene Editing, the second component of the Human Gene-Editing Initiative began: a comprehensive study of the scientific underpinnings of human gene-editing technologies, their potential use in biomedical research and medicine -- including human germline editing -- and the clinical, ethical, legal, and social implications of their use.

A multidisciplinary committee of expertsbegan its information-gathering process at the summit, and over the past year performed its own independent and in-depth review of the science and policy of human gene editing by reviewing the literature and holding data-gathering meetings in the U.S. and abroad to solicit broad input from researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the public. The committee also monitored for the latest scientific achievements of importance in this rapidly developing field.

While informed by the statement issued by the organizing committee for the international summit, the consensus study committee had broad discretion to arrive at its own findings and conclusions. The committee's report represents the official views of NAS and NAM.

Moreabout the study| Info onpublic meetings | Answers tofrequently asked questions

Human Genome Editing: Science, Ethics, and Governance

Genome editing is a powerful new tool for making precise alterations to an organisms genetic material. Recent scientific advances have made genome editing more efficient, precise, and flexible than ever before. These advances have spurred an explosion of interest from around the globe in the possible ways in which genome editing can improve human health. The speed at which these technologies are being developed and applied has led many policymakers and stakeholders to express concern about whether appropriate systems are in place to govern these technologies and how and when the public should be engaged in these decisions.

In Human Genome Editing: Science, Ethics, and Governance, a new report from the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine, an expert committee considers important questions about the human application of genome editing including: Balancing potential benefits with unintended risks, governing the use of genome editing, incorporating societal values into clinical applications and policy decisions, and respecting the inevitable differences across nations and cultures that will shape how and whether to use these new technologies. The committee sets forth criteria that must be met before permitting clinical trials of heritable germline editing, provides conclusions on the crucial need for public education and engagement, and presents seven general principles for the governance of human genome editing.

A Report Highlights brief is available:

The following one-pagers are also available:

Watch the archived video webcast of the report release briefing, held Feb. 14, 2017.

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WSU sleep researchers discover why some people may toss and turn more than others – The Spokesman-Review

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UPDATED: Fri., April 14, 2017, 10:04 p.m.

Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine assistant research professor Jason Gerstner leads the research team studying fruit flies brains and sleep patterns. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)

A research team led by a Washington State University biochemist could help scientists shed light on why we need to sleep, and why some people have an easier time resting than others.

Jason Gerstner, a research assistant professor at WSUs Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, found that mutations in a sleep gene in the brain can cause humans, mice and fruit flies to have less restful sleep.

The results of the study were published in a peer-reviewed article in the journal Science Advances earlier this month.

It might sound odd, but scientists still arent sure why sleep is necessary. One theory is that sleep helps with memory formation and the brains growth and change: what scientists call neuroplasticity. Other theories maintain that sleep is restorative for the body and that it lowers metabolism, helping to conserve energy.

We still dont fully understand what biological function sleep is serving, Gerstner said. One of the ways we can get at answering that question is through examining neurobiological pathways.

Much of Gerstners research has focused on a particular gene, FABP7, thats been linked to sleep function. In previous research, Gerstner saw the genes expression cycles naturally during the day in mice, mirroring sleep-wake cycles.

For this study, Gerstners team looked at a sleep study of Japanese men, some of whom had a naturally occurring mutation in their FABP7 gene. Men with the mutation slept about as long as men without it, but their sleep was more fitful, with more bouts of time spent awake during the night.

Men with the mutation also reported more symptoms indicating clinical depression on an assessment, though neither group scored high enough to meet the criteria for depression. Gerstner said that suggests either the gene mutation itself or sleep disturbance might be linked to depression in some way.

There were no significant differences in health, age or sleepiness between the two groups of men.

The study showed similar restlessness in rats that had their FABP7 genes knocked out and in genetically engineered fruit flies with the same gene mutation. Because the mutation works the same way across species, its a promising finding for future research, and even for treatment of sleep disorders.

The FABP7 mutation causes the gene to create a different protein sequence. That affects which other proteins in the brain the sequences bind to, which in turn can influence a broad range of functions, like gene expression, inflammation and other brain functions.

The researchers also found the specific part of the brain, a star-shaped cell called an astrocyte, where FABP7 plays a role in sleep.

Previously, those cells were thought to be support cells for neurons, Gerstner said. Now, scientists are learning theyre important in their own right.

This is some of the earliest evidence that astrocytes really play a role in sleep, said Isaac Perron, a doctoral student in neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania who worked with mice in the experiment.

Perrons interest is in sleep and nutrition. Because the proteins coded by FABP7 bind with fatty acids like omega-3s, he thinks the gene might be a link in showing how the fatty acids we eat can influence brain functions, including sleep.

Jerry Yin, a professor of genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who worked on the fruit fly portion of the research, said finding a common pathway like FABP7 helps people looking at medications or gene therapies target their treatments.

Knowing FABP7 works in astrocytes helps researchers tailor their focus, since those cells are where youre likely to have an effect manipulating this gene, Yin said.

Testing a therapy or medication is also easier because the FABP7 impact on sleep works in fruit flies and mice, both of which are commonly used in research.

Since weve narrowed down particular protein expressed within astrocytes, it underscores the importance of these cells in regulating complex behavior across species, Gerstner said.

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WSU sleep researchers discover why some people may toss and turn more than others - The Spokesman-Review

Recent advances in experiment and study of prostate cancer targeted therapy – Benzinga

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A recent study from Dr. Song on the topic of research progress on treatment of cancer with Compatibility of Traditional Chinese Medicine establishes that the targeted gene therapy can be effective.

Xiangtan, China (PRWEB) April 15, 2017

Cancer is one of the major life-threatening diseases that people often worry about. People suffering from cancer often undergo traditional treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, such treatments could have harmful side effects.

Research from Dr. Song(Dr. Xinping Song) was recently conducted aimed at studying traditional Chinese medicine compatibility with respect to treating prostate cancer. The study reveals that the targeted gene therapy can be an effective way.

The study also points out the targeted gene therapy can be combined with other therapies for a more effective result. However, this therapy is also not mature enough to address all health issues related to the prostatic cancer. In such a scenario, Dr. Song's 3D Prostate Targeted Treatment emerges as an innovative treatment for prostate cancer. The research revealed that the therapy can be combined with local targeted injections. The technique makes the therapy effective and increases its killing effect on cancer cells.

Dr. Song's treatment is based on the direct injection technique of the traditional Chinese medicine system. Dr. Xinping Song acknowledges the findings of the research and also the anti-cancer extract compatibility of the traditional Chinese medicine. In this prostate cancer treatment, patients are given small targeted injections in the affected areas of the prostate to help eliminate causative pathogens and clear the blockage. The injections carry herbal extracts only.

Dr. Song believes that the traditional Chinese anticancer medicine can better interpose with the symptoms of cancer patients. Dr. Song's prostate cancer treatment that follows the principles of traditional Chinese medicine is a clinical breakthrough. This innovative treatment brings more advantages in patients and their family's lives.

At Dr. Song 3D Urology and Prostate Clinic, patients can undergo all types of prostate care and treatment, including the treatment for the prostate cancer. This natural treatment method saves the cost and also meets the patient's requirements. With a non-surgical and quality treatment, patients can gradually improve their health and get rid of their pain and sufferings. To know more about Dr. Song's 3D prostate treatment, one can visit the website http://www.prostatecancer.vip/.

About 3D Urology and Prostate Clinic

The 3D Urology and Prostate Clinic is a premier prostate treatment clinic. The clinic specializes in treating various types of prostate diseases and complications, such as prostatitis, enlarged prostate, benign prostatic hyperlasia (BPH), prostate cancer, seminal vesiculitis, epididymitis,cystitis, prostate blockage and calcification, and chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS), etc. The clinic is a medical clinic, licensed and approved by the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China.

For Media Enquiry Contact Person: Alisa Wang Telephone: 86-186-7321-6429 WhatsApp: + 86 -186-73216429 Email: prostatecure3d@gmail.com Website: http://www.prostate-3dcure.com

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/Dr-Song/04/prweb14247467.htm

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Recent advances in experiment and study of prostate cancer targeted therapy - Benzinga

Gene-editing alternative corrects Duchenne muscular dystrophy – Science Daily

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Science Daily
Gene-editing alternative corrects Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Science Daily
... of the Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is caused by a mutation to one of the longest genes in the body. When there is a DNA error in the dystrophin gene, the body doesn't make the protein dystrophin, ...

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Gene-editing alternative corrects Duchenne muscular dystrophy - Science Daily

Separation Systems for Commercial Biotechnology Market 2017 … – Business Wire (press release)

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DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Separation Systems for Commercial Biotechnology" report to their offering.

The market for bioseparation systems is growing rapidly across all regions. Bioseparation purifies biological products on a large-scale. The report focuses on the global market of bioseparation systems and provides an updated review, including basic design and its applications, in various arenas of biomedical and life science research.

The bioseparation techniques that are covered in this report are chromatography, centrifugation, electrophoresis, membrane filtration, flow cytometry, microarray, lab-on-a-chip, biochip, and magnetic separation. Among chromatography techniques, liquid chromatography is the most active market.

Also included in the report are relevant patent analysis and comprehensive profiles of companies that lead the bioseparation systems market. Key players include Thermo Fisher Scientific, Agilent Technologies Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories, Danaher Corp., Qiagen N.V., Merck KGaA GmbH, and Waters Corp. among others.

Key Topics Covered:

1: Introduction

2: Summary and highlights

3: Overview

- History of biotechnology

- Classification of biomolecular separation systems in biotechnology

- New methods of biomolecular separations

- Molecular classes of biomolecular separation

- End users of biotechnology separation systems

4: New Developments

- Mergers and acquisitions

5: Market Analysis

- Market by type

- Market by region

6: Industry Structure

- Chromatography

- Centrifugation

- Electrophoresis

- Membrane filtration

- Flow cytometry

- Magnetic separation

- Microarrays

- Biochip

- Lab-on-a-chip

7: Patent Analysis

- Patents by year

- Patents by type

- Patents by company

- Patents by country

- Patents by assignee

8: Current Situation

- Factors affecting bioseparation system market

- Market opportunities

9: Company Profiles

- 3M Company

- Abaxis Inc.

- Abtech Scientific Inc.

- Agilent Technologies Inc.

- Alfa Laval Group

- Alfa Wassermann Separation Technologies

- Arrayit Corp.

- BD BioSciences (Becton, Dickinson and Company)

- Biocept Inc.

- Biodot Inc.

- BioMerieux SA

- Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc.

- Boston Microfluidics

- Customarray Inc.

- Danaher Corp.

- DNAmicroarray Inc.

- Falcon Genomics Inc.

- Flottweg Separation Technology

- GE Healthcare Life Sciences

- Hitachi Koki Co. Ltd.

- Illumina Inc.

- Luminex Corp.

- Merck KGaA

- Microarray Inc.

- Nanostring Technologies Inc.

- Novasep Inc.

- PerkinElmer

- Qiagen Gmbh

- Randox Laboratories Ltd.

- Sartorius Corp.

- Shimadzu Scientific Instruments

- Spectrum Chemical Manufacturing Corp.

- Sysmex Partec Gmbh

- Thermo Fisher Scientific

- W. R. Grace & Company

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/npn5zk/separation

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Separation Systems for Commercial Biotechnology Market 2017 ... - Business Wire (press release)

Funding From Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation Advances M3 Biotechnology Toward Human Trials – GlobeNewswire (press release)

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April 13, 2017 20:00 ET | Source: M3 Biotechnology

SEATTLE, April 13, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the first investor in M3 Biotechnology, the Alzheimers Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) helped validate the therapeutic potential of M3s drug candidate for Alzheimers disease. With a second investment of $1.4 million, the ADDF is now providing key funds to support the launch of human trials this year.

While current drugs for Alzheimers disease only provide symptomatic relief, M3s small molecule therapeutics have the potential to be truly disease-modifying. By re-establishing lost connections between brain cells, these therapies may halt the course of the disease. M3 is now in the process of planning a first-in-humans Phase 1a clinical trial for its lead candidate, NDX-1017, to evaluate its safety and determine optimal dosing range.

ADDFs first investment spurred others, including many private investors and Washington state-based venture groups W Fund and WRF Capital. These investments evidenced the faith in our potential, which helped us make it past the valley of death for drug development and raise nearly $14 million in additional funding, said Leen Kawas, M3s CEO.

The most noteworthy new investor in M3 is Dolby Family Ventures, which invests in technology and life sciences. The fund makes early stage investments in the most promising Alzheimer's-specific therapeutics which require funding for the critical phase of translating successful animal therapies to human clinical trials. The fund honors the late inventor, Ray Dolby, who died in 2013 and who lived with Alzheimer's disease.

The relationship with the ADDF has been vital to our progress as they have fostered a dynamic, collaborative biotech ecosystem, Kawas said. By providing early funding and connecting us with potential partners and investors, the ADDF has helped us reach the clinic.

Howard Fillit, MD, Founding Executive Director and Chief Science Officer of the ADDF, says, We are excited by the promising therapeutic approach of Dr. Kawas and her team at M3 Biotechnology. By helping neurons survive, NDX-1017 may restore cognitive function for Alzheimers patients. The ADDF looks forward to the results from this first human trial.

Alzheimers Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) Founded in 1998 by Leonard A. and Ronald S. Lauder, ADDF is dedicated to accelerating the discovery of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimers disease. The ADDF is a public charity solely focused on funding the development of drugs for Alzheimers, employing a venture philanthropy model to support research in academia and the biotech industry. Through the generosity of its donors, ADDF has awarded over $100 million to fund more than 500 Alzheimers programs in 18 countries.

M3 Biotechnology, Inc. M3 Biotechnology is a therapeutics company with a novel platform of disease-modifying regenerative small molecules, particularly relevant to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers. M3s lead asset is being advanced as a first-in-class, disease-modifying treatment with the potential to restore lost connections between brain cells, turning degeneration into regeneration. Total financing of $14M to-date is used to prepare for and conduct Phase I clinical trials.

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Funding From Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation Advances M3 Biotechnology Toward Human Trials - GlobeNewswire (press release)

Deaf student trail-blazing her way to a chemistry degree – Colorado State University News (press release)

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Evie Bangs was 5 years old when she started to lose her hearing. At age 8, her hearing plummeted, and she could no longer understand her teachers.

Now shes about to graduate from Colorado State University. And shes gotten here not by dwelling on what she has lost, but focusing on what she could gain and soon, that will include a degree in chemistry from the College of Natural Sciences.

Bangs may be CSUs first deaf chemistry major at least in anyones institutional memory. Its taken Bangs an extra year to finish her degree, in part because of the uniquely time-consuming way she must absorb challenging course material, with the help of sign language interpreters.

When Im in my classes, its kind of overwhelming, said the Estes Park native. I realized that in order to do well grade-wise, I needed to take fewer credits.

Bangs has also spent that extra time working toward an American Chemical Society-certified degree, which requires additional training and lab work. Bangs aspires to attend graduate school, and become a professional chemist.

For every class, as well as for group projects, Bangs is accompanied by two American Sign Language interpreters and one class transcriber from CSUs Resources for Disabled Students (RDS). Her teachers joke that Bangs has an entourage.

The two interpreters are necessary due to the complexity of the material; sometimes, while one is working with Bangs to quickly make up signs for words like stoichiometry or adiabatic process, the other is continuing to listen to the instructor, so that Bangs misses as little as possible. Halfway through class, they switch roles. Its called teaming, says RDS interpreter Dede Kliewer, and through the years of working with Bangs, everyone including the interpreters has learned a lot about chemistry.

Like many deaf people, Bangs can read lips, but even the best lip-readers catch 60 percent or less of whats being said. She can get by one-on-one, but in groups or lectures, sign language and notes transcribed after the fact have been Bangs primary modes of learning.

RDS, part of the Division of Student Affairs, has eight sign language interpreters and 26 class transcribers, says Kliewer, who interpreted for her when Bangs was a freshman. The office also employs about 30 student notetakers. In Kliewers 24 years at CSU, she cant recall another chemistry major, although theyve had biology majors, and a chemical engineering graduate student.

It was a high school teacher who first encouraged Bangs to study chemistry in college. As a CSU freshman, Bangs enjoyed Professor Alan Van Ordens General Chemistry for Majors course. I remember he said on the first day, Welcome to chemistry the study of stuff! And I thought, I dont care how hard chemistry is going to be. Im sticking to it!'

Besides Van Orden, Professor Nancy Levinger was a memorable teacher for Bangs. She helped me out a lot, Bangs said. Levingers door was always open to Bangs for extra help. She took the time to write detailed lecture material on the board. And when Bangs interpreters were switching roles mid-class, Levinger would pause to let them catch up. It wasnt harming the other students, but in a way, Dr. Levinger was taking care of me, Bangs said.

Bangs holds a denuder train, an instrument for active sampling of ambient ammonia, nitric acid and PM (particulate matter) 2.5.

Professor Delphine Farmers class on environmental chemistry sparked in Bangs an interest in atmospheric research. In her junior year, Bangs became an undergraduate research assistant in the lab of Professor Jeff Collett, chair of the Department of Atmospheric Science. Shes involved in two projects now, supervised by research scientist Katie Benedict, in passive and active sampling of atmospheric ammonia all over northeastern Colorado. Recently, she co-authored a paper on the role of dew as a nighttime ammonia reservoir her first academic publication.

Bangs says her family, teachers, classmates and friends have played active roles in her journey. But perhaps most of all, the RDS interpreters have helped her succeed as a student. They were a bright spot on the bad days, she says. Sometimes I was not looking forward to class, but I looked forward to seeing my interpreters.

Bangs also learned to keep lines of communication open with her professors introducing herself at the start of the semester, and taking advantage of office hours.

If their door was cracked, I was knocking on it, Bangs says. She added, Everywhere I go, here at CSU, people have filled in the gaps for me. They made it so that I could be successful.

Between working in Colletts lab and keeping up with classes, Bangs found time to volunteer in some of Kliewers American Sign Language courses. Last semester, she visited a local elementary school, where she met a fifth-grade boy whose little brother had just been born deaf. The interaction moved her to be more open about her experiences.

While being deaf sometimes requires special assistance, it is only part of a bigger story, she says.

Im not remarkable, Bangs insists. I am just like everyone else. My story is just a little different; being deaf is a tribulation that I had to get over. My cards were dealt, and others have their own challenges that they need to get over, too. Deafness, anxiety, anything at all everyone has a story.

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Deaf student trail-blazing her way to a chemistry degree - Colorado State University News (press release)

UOG will hold Chemistry Forum – Pacific Daily News

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The University of Guam will hold a Chemistry Forum on April 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the CLASS Lecture Hall.

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Pacific Daily News , news@guampdn.com Published 3:03 p.m. ChT April 14, 2017 | Updated 9 hours ago

High school students participate in the University of Guam's annual Chemistry Titration Competition in March.(Photo: Courtesy of UOG)

The University of Guam's chemistry program will host a Chemistry Forum from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.April 19 in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences'Lecture Hall.

Guest speaker Frank Ishizaki will tellhis island chemistry story, according to a UOG news release. Ishizaki is one of the universitys 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award winners and was the first Triton to graduate from UOG with a chemistry degree.

Ishizakiis a retired FBI special agentand has served as chief of police, Guam Homeland Security adviserand the director of the Department of Corrections.

The forum also will provideinformation on updates for UOGs chemistry program. A panel of chemistry professionals will discuss opportunities for graduates of the program, the news release stated.

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*13 Reasons Why* and *Grey’s Anatomy* Collide in This Bonkers Theory About Clay Jensen – Glamour

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13 REASONS WHY

PHOTO: Beth Dubber/Netflix

13 Reasons Why has been on Netflix for only two weeks, but Reddit's already flooded with fan theories. (It's truthfully astounding fans can even write theories after experiencing the show's gut-wrenching finale. I could barely think after watching the thirteenth episode.) Today's favorite hypothesis connects the Netflix sensation with a show that's been on the air since the Stone Age: Grey's Anatomy. Fans already know the obvious connection between these shows: Kate Walsh (who plays Hannah's mom on 13 Reasons Why) had tenures on both Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice as Dr. Addison Montgomery. But they may not remember the other 13 Reasons Why actor who appeared on Grey's: Dylan Minnette, who plays Clay Jensen. He's the subject of our theory.

In a season four episode of Grey's Anatomy, Minnette plays a young kid named Ryan with hearing disabilities. Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) takes Ryan's case on and builds him a pair of ears that substantially improves his hearing. Now, 10 years later, Minnette stars as Clay Jensen on 13 Reasons Why, a character whose entire storyline is contingent on him listening intently to Hannah's 13 cassette tapes. The connection is obvious to some Twitter users: Because Dr. Sloan built Ryan/Clay a pair of ears back in the day, he can now hear Hannah's tapes and seek justice for her.

"Meredith Grey helped Clay Jensen get ears so he could listen to tapes left by Addison Montgomery's daughter," one Twitter user wrote.

"Good thing Mark Sloan gave this kid ears so he could listen to Hannah's tapes," wrote another.

Admittedly, this theory is a bit far-fetchedClay and Ryan are two different characters. The fact that hearing is crucial to both of their storylines is coincidental, but you have to love the Internet for making this connection. (It's almost as good as the one about Grey's taking place in the Marvel Universe.) Almost.

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*13 Reasons Why* and *Grey's Anatomy* Collide in This Bonkers Theory About Clay Jensen - Glamour

TV Ratings Thursday: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ stays low, ‘The Blacklist: Redemption’ ticks up – TVbytheNumbers

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Broadcast primetime live + same-day ratings for Thursday, April 13, 2017

The numbers for Thursday:

CBS led the night once again in the Thursday ratings this week, with The Big Bang Theory scoring a 2.4 rating in adults 18-49. This was two-tenths of a point lower than its 2.6 in the week before, but still well above anything else in the night. Also on CBS, The Great Indoors (1.2), Mom (1.3), and Life in Pieces (1.1) were all down from their previous numbers, while The Amazing Race held steady with a 0.9.

ABC nabbed the second-highest spot of the night with Greys Anatomy though it tied its series low for the second week in a row with a 1.7. Scandal (1.4) was up one-tenth and The Catch was even with its previous 0.7 on the network.

On NBC, both Powerless (0.6) and Chicago Med (1.0) held steady. With its season finale episode as well, The Blacklist: Redemption ticked up from last weeks season low to a 0.7.

Supernatural (0.5) and Riverdale (0.3) continued to perform as expected on The CW, with both maintaining their previous numbers. FOX rounded out the rest of the night with Masterchef Junior (0.9) and Kicking and Screaming (0.5).

Network averages:

Late-nightmetered market ratings (adults 18-49, households):

11:35 p.m.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon R: 0.5/3, 1.6/4

Jimmy Kimmel Live: 0.5/3, 2.0/5

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert R: 0.4/2, 1.8/5

12:35 a.m.

Nightline: 0.3/2, 1.3/4

Late Night with Seth Meyers R: 0.2/2, 0.8/3

The Late Late Show with James Corden R: 0.3/2, 0.9/3

Definitions: Rating: Estimated percentage of the universe of TV households (or other specified group) tuned to a program in the average minute. Ratings are expressed as a percent. Fast Affiliate Ratings: These first national ratings are available at approximately 11 a.m. ETthe day after telecast. The figures may include stations that did not air the entire network feed, as well as local news breaks or cutaways for local coverage or other programming. Fast Affiliate ratings are not as useful for live programs and are likely to differ significantly from the final results, because the data reflect normal broadcast feed patterns. Share (of Audience):The percent of households (or persons) using television who are tuned to a specific program, station or network in a specific area at a specific time. Time Shifted Viewing:Program ratings for national sources are produced in three streams of data Live, Live +Same-Day and Live +7 Day. Time-shifted figures account for incremental viewing that takes place with DVRs. Live+SD includes viewing during the same broadcast day as the original telecast, with a cut-off of 3 a.m. local time when meters transmit daily viewing to Nielsen for processing. Live +7 ratings include viewing that takes place during the 7 days following a telecast.

Source: The Nielsen Company.

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TV Ratings Thursday: 'Grey's Anatomy' stays low, 'The Blacklist: Redemption' ticks up - TVbytheNumbers

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Fans’ Sex Theory About the Show’s Newest Couple Will Disturb You: Read the Tweets! – Us Weekly

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Step down. Greys Anatomy's Thursday, April 6, episodesuggested a potential romance between Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) and Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams), which seemed cute at first until fans had the shocking realization that the two are in fact step-siblings. Also, let's not forget that plenty of fans will forever be on Team Japril, so Jackson and Maggie potentially taking things to a new level was troubling for a number of reasons.

Totally Wrong?

During Thursdays episode, Jackson helped Maggie cope with the loss of her mother by showing her photos the dying woman gave him. You and I are kind of like family, he said.

While the moment seemed touching and super flirty at first, fans were quick to point out that the two characters really are family, as Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.)is Maggie's biological father and Jackson's stepdad.

Japril Forever

Of course, it also goes without saying that many Grey's fans are diehard Japril supporters who were feeling quite optimistic when Jackson and ex April Kepner (Sarah Drew) finally reconnected at a hotel a few episodes ago. The pair have had their relationship tested multiple times and now have a young child together, so plenty of fans want the couple to finally figure things out.

See what fans had to say on Twitter about the unconventional connection from Thursdays episode.

Tell Us: Do you think Jackson and Maggie will hook up?

Greys Anatomy airs on ABC Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET.

Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox!

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Sioux Falls makes cameo on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ – Sioux Falls Argus Leader

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Sioux Falls made a cameo appearance Thursday night in the latest episode of the medical drama "Grey's Anatomy."

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GREY'S ANATOMY - "Hope for the Hopeless" - Richard performs his 10,000th surgery on a pair of bickering sisters (Nia Vardalos and Peri Gilpin) who come into the hospital for a liver transplant; Derek and Lexie take on a neuroblastoma case that has been previously deemed inoperable; Teddy and Cristina cross the line when they go against Owen's orders and try to steal a case from Alex and Dr. McQueen; Ellis Grey's shadow looms as Meredith searches for a specialty; meanwhile Adele is brought into the hospital after she is found wandering the streets, on Grey's Anatomy, THURSDAY, JANUARY 19 (9:00-10:02 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (Photo by Colleen Hayes/ABC via Getty Images) JAMES PICKENS JR., CHANDRA WILSON, ELLEN POMPEO(Photo: Colleen Hayes, ABC via Getty Images)

Sioux Falls made a cameo appearance Thursday night in the latest episode of the medical drama "Grey's Anatomy."

Without going into too much detail so as to not spoil the episode for those who've yet to watch, a pair of characters ends up at Joe Foss Field after a cross-country flight takes an unexpected turn.

"I don't even know what town we're in," one character says, standing on the tarmac with Sioux Falls police and fire vehicles in the background.

"Sioux Falls apparently," another replies.

Actress Ellen Pompeo, who plays Meredith Grey, tipped off fans that the show would feature South Dakota's biggest city in November. She posted an Instagram photo that led some to wonder whether they'd walk into a scene with Pompeo or creatorShonda Rhimes.

Local authorities and hospital spokespeople said the filming was done in Hollywood, not on location at Sioux Falls Regional Airport.

Follow Dana Ferguson on Twitter @bydanaferguson, call (605) 370-2493 or email dferguson@argusleader.com

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Global Awareness for Lutronic Continues to Build Momentum with … – PR Web (press release)

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Dr. Matteo Clementoni Speaks to a full room during AMWC Symposium

GYEONGGI-DO, KOREA (PRWEB) April 14, 2017

Lutronic, a leading innovator of aesthetic laser and energy-based technology, announced today the successful events during two major international shows featuring the latest emerging Lutronic aesthetic technology in the booth and symposiums at Aesthetic & Anti-aging Medicine World Congress (AMWC) annual, Monaco, and at the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS), United States. As we achieve our 20th year in business we are very excited about the turn out for our multi-venue events, said Haelyung Hwang, CEO Lutronic, These educational symposiums are the cornerstone for presenting our new technology, and the high attendance is a direct symbol of our continued expansion in the US and European regions.

In Monaco, to a standing room only crowd, our global panel discussed the latest clinical findings; Eric Sarfati, MD, France, R. Glen Calderhead, Phd., Korea, and Matteo T. Clementoni, MD, Italy. Dr. Sarfati shared his latest clinical findings using the easy to use enCurve* for non-touch circumferential reduction; this non-invasive device allows the user to maximize outcomes for outstanding results. He shared the latest clinical findings that demonstrate impressive reductions to the abdomen and flanks. While Dr. Calderhead discussed how the advanced Picoplus* provides the user power and versatility for advanced treatments and mastery over difficult cases, showing how the combination of pulse, power, and wavelengths are critical for treating larger range of difficult cases. Finally Dr. Clementoni provided updates on Infini, a High Intensity Focused RF device for skin tightening and laxity, discussing his latest cases and results using this industry-leading device.

While half a world away, in San Diego California, USA, another renowned panel from the US which included Gilly Munavalli, MD, Melanie Palm, MD, and Jason Pozner, MD, who discussed their latest clinical experience to another packed room. Dr. Palm discussed Spectras advanced applications including some difficult to treat cases of melasma, PIH and more. Sharing the latest clinical findings using Infini gen 1.2 was Dr. Pozner who discussed some of the pioneer treatments and their results. Lastly, Dr. Munavalli discussed Claritys ease in treating multiple applications and announced LaseMD, the newest edition to the US family, an advanced thulium non-ablative lasers recently submitted for clearance to the US FDA.

Both shows featured booths at their respective events that received a steady stream of visitors interested in learning about these and other Lutronic devices. In addition during AMWC, key opinion leaders shared their candid experience during one-on-one filmed interviews, which will be released next month.

The increased attendance and attention at these two critical global aesthetic events shows Lutronics continued growth in Europe and the US that are two key markets, and is a direct result to their ongoing commitment to the clinical efficacy of all their devices.

About PICOPLUS* The Picoplus platform offers both pico- and nanosecond modes with the performance of four wavelengths (1064, 532, 595 and 660 nm) to provide you with more options than ever before to address everything from standard treatments, to those hard to treat cases resistant to other Nd:YAG approaches. This CE marked device delivers the customized power, pulse-width, wavelength and fluence you need for the outstanding outcomes your patients want, all from one premium platform.

About enCurve* EnCurve utilizes a specialized frequency (27.12 MHz) to selectively target and heat adipocytes in order to cause denaturation of cells, leading to the programmed death of the targeted adipocytes. This CE marked device has smart features such as, Personalized Impedance Synchronization Application (PISA) and Air Mode, enCurve is the easy and comfortable way to reduce adipocytes through apoptosis-inducing radiofrequency.

About LASEMD Lasemd is a winning combination of technology and science to provide fast and safe treatments. This cutting edge, design forward, non-ablative thulium laser combines best in class performance that looks as good as it performs. Pending FDA clearance, this CE marked device is already making waves across Europe and Asia as a top performing system for skin rejuvenation and pigment. Its variety of complimentary and specially developed highly pure ampoules ensure that treatments are maximized.

About INFINI gen 1.2 Infinis proven design delivers improved wrinkle reduction through High Intensity Focused RF which provides 3-dimensional energy delivery to volumize tissue and deliver improved outcomes. Now with greater energy homogenization delivered via insulated gold-coated microneedles Infini creates precise and controllable fractionated coagulation zones within a specific layer of dermis. This FDA cleared and CE marked device has adjustable depth control allows for customized and reproducible treatments of delicate areas and is safe on all skin types.

About CLARITY Clarity is one of the most versatile dual-wavelength platforms on the market, with multiple indications for top aesthetic laser physicians worldwide. This FDA cleared and CE marked device boasts two workhorse wavelengths, 755 nm Alexandrite and long-pulsed 1064 nm Nd:YAG, in one easy-to-use device, physicians may gently remove pigmented lesions, unwanted hair and ameliorate the appearance of vascular lesions.

About LUTRONIC Lutronic, a leading innovator in advanced aesthetic and medical laser and related technology, was established over 20 years ago to bring intuitive, robust, versatile devices that are affordable and efficacious to the worldwide medical community. Committed to improving medicine, Lutronic partners with key opinion leaders to advance science and ensure the efficacy of its systems. All systems are versatile and offer multiple setting and treatment options for customized treatments, which optimize outcomes for a wide variety of conditions and treatments including melasma, tattoo removal, soft tissue incision, vascular lesions, hair removal, wrinkle reduction, rejuvenation, body/face contouring, chronic pain, healing and more.

With a focus on physician needs and patient outcomes, Lutronic dedicates time and funding toward the development of devices that offer features and improvements not found in todays market. Devoting more than 20% of revenues to R&D, Lutronic holds more than 200 current and pending patents worldwide. With more than 270 employees worldwide, Lutronic has offices in the US, Korea, China, and Japan, a world-wide network of distributors, focused R&D centers in Korea, and is ever expanding.

*Picoplus and enCurve do not have FDA clearance and are not available for sale in the United States.

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Global Awareness for Lutronic Continues to Build Momentum with ... - PR Web (press release)

Students to compete in national Chemistry Olympiad – Arkansas Online

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Searcy High School juniors Anna-Catherine King and Michael Kidd were among 80 students from around the state to compete in the Chemistry Olympiad, taking home first- and second-place honors, respectively.

The test took place last month at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where King and Kidd will return this month for the national exam. They also are invited to an awards banquet April 22 at UALR.

According to the American Chemical Society, which has sponsored the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad since 1984, the program is a chemistry competition for high school students.

The purpose of the competition is to stimulate young people to achieve excellence in chemistry, the organizations website states.

The Searcy students chemistry teacher, Brandon Renuard, said if they do well enough on the National Chemistry Olympiad, they will travel to Washington, D.C., for a training camp to prepare for and take the International Chemistry Olympiad in Thailand.

They are both amazing students, Renuard said. They can be fairly quiet, especially Anna-Catherine, but she is also very competitive. Michael is a little more talkative and is likely to ask interesting, thought-provoking questions pertaining to math and science.

The students will also take the Advanced Placement chemistry and the AP environmental-science exams in May, Renuard said.

They are not enrolled in an environmental-science course, but I have been coaching them for that test as well. I fully expect them to pass both AP exams.

King realized her interest in science last year during her pre-AP chemistry course, she said.

I like applying math to solve problems and learning things. I like how new the knowledge was.

She most looks forward to the lab practical section at the national Olympiad exam on April 22.

It will be different from any other Ive taken, and I like a challenge, she said.

When shes not applying her math or science skills, King said, she enjoys history, Spanish, and her favorite class is English. After high school, she said, she plans to attend the honors college at the University of Arkansas and major in psychology with a minor in Spanish.

Kidd said he discovered his interest in science during his physical-science class his freshman year.

I always enjoyed doing the labs. Particularly, the flame test lab made me really enjoy chemistry, he said. By using different compounds, we were able to change the color of flames, and each chemical created a unique color.

He said he became interested in the Chemistry Olympiad test when Renuard provided his students with a practice version.

It was just as challenging as the real test, but I scored high in my class, Kidd said. I thought that if I could do it again, I would have a good chance of winning. The afternoon before the test, we looked over one from a previous year and analyzed every question until we finally finished, three hours after school ended.

At the national competition, Kidd said, he also looks forward to the lab practical portion of the test.

Normally, when I enter the lab, I know exactly what I will be doing. I think it is going to be interesting to go into the lab without a plan or present procedure to follow.

Kidd also enjoys math in school and plans to pursue an engineering degree in college, he said. In addition to math and science, he enjoys playing chess, he noted, and he has been on the schools bowling team since he was a freshman.

Wherever he lands in life, Kidd said, hell always be grateful for the advantages Searcy High School has provided him.

Searcy is a great school; there are many classes that you can take based on your interests. When Mr. Renuard teaches, he always tells us extra little pieces of information about the topic. Even though they are unlikely to be on the AP test in May, it is always enjoyable to learn a little fact that few other people would hear.

King added that having a teacher like Renuard has helped her excel. He stays after school for review sessions and helps us prepare. He really goes the extra mile.

None Jillian McGehee can be reached at .

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Students to compete in national Chemistry Olympiad - Arkansas Online

Supercomputing Gets Neural Network Boost in Quantum Chemistry – The Next Platform

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April 13, 2017 Nicole Hemsoth

Just two years ago, supercomputing was thrust into a larger spotlight because of the surge of interest in deep learning. As we talked about here, the hardware similarities, particularly for training on GPU-accelerated machines and key HPC development approaches, including MPI to scale across a massive number of nodes, brought new attention to the world of scientific and technical computing.

What wasnt clear then was how traditional supercomputing could benefit from all the framework developments in deep learning. After all, they had many of the same hardware environments and problems that could benefit from prediction, but what they lacked were models that could be mapped to traditional HPC codes. In that short amount of timemostly in the last yearthere has been a big push in many traditional HPC areas to do just thatto find ways to make supercomputing simulations more streamlined by training on datasets to predict properties, filter through noise, and make broad connections that would take power-hungry simulations long periods to chew through.

Also just a few years ago, the real traction in deep learning was focused on image, video, and speech recognition and analysis, often for consumer-facing services. However, as we have described in detail, there is a new wave of applications for neural networks that could upend the way we think about scientific and technical computingthose traditional realms of supercomputing.

One of the emerging areas cited in the above review of recent work in scientific computing areas that are being altered by deep learning is in molecular and materials science. While the work here is still in the early stages, Google Brain researchers are among those making strides in applying deep learning to solve more complex materials science and molecular interaction problems in quantum chemistry. The goal is to build complex machine learning models for chemical prediction that can learn from their own featuressaving a great deal of computational time and cost over traditional simulations.

The issue here is not just about increasing efficiency or performance of quantum chemistry simulations. The computational resources freed up by applying learning methods can allow for larger and more fine-grained analysis of molecular structures. However, traditional quantum chemistry architectures are having trouble keeping up with the vast data volumes generated from high-throughput experiments, and condensing much of this via training makes sense from a problem scalability standpoint.

As the Google Brain team that built out a machine learning alternative to traditional simulation-based quantum chemistry explains, the time is ripe to apply more powerful and flexible machine learning methods to these problems, assuming we can find models with suitable inductive biases. They note that the symmetries of atomic systems suggest neural networks that operate on graph structured data and are invariant to graph isomorphism might also be appropriate for molecules. Once these are isolated, a new playing can open for some of the most large-scale and pressing problems in materials, chemical, and drug discovery areas.

At the heart of this work is what the Google Brain team calls Message Passing Neural Networks, which takes traditional approaches to quantum chemistry, refits them into neural networks, and shows rather impressive efficiency, performance, and complexity gains over established supercomputing simulation results. Finding models that could mapped to a supervised learning approach took time and effort, but using this approach, the Google Brain researchers were able to make more efficient use of datasets fed from simulation and loop those back in for better resultsor more comprehensive simulations where much of the legwork had already been done.

Quantum chemistry lends itself well to the argument that more development into neural networks for scientific computing should happen. Just as in areas like weather and astronomy, for example, there is high computational cost on some of the worlds most power-hungry and expensive machines doing filtering, classification, or noise removal work that can be automated by learning algorithms in advance or post-simulation.

Such developments would not mean that exascale-class supercomputers would no longer be necessary, but further additions of neural network components in traditional application areas would mean more efficient use of those resourcesfreeing them up to do more complex, high-resolution, or large-scale simulations.

Categories: HPC

Does Googles TPU Investment Make Sense Going Forward? ARM Pioneer Sophie Wilson Also Thinks Moores Law Coming to an End

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Supercomputing Gets Neural Network Boost in Quantum Chemistry - The Next Platform