Tracking killer comets before they strike

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JUDY WOODRUFF: Now a different kind of space mission, finding asteroids and other large objects before they get close to Earth.

This Sunday, a comet will be making an unusually close fly-by near Mars. In fact, it will be coming closer to Mars than any other comet has come near Earth in recorded history. Its also a moment when scientists are assessing our own risk from such objects.

Science correspondent Miles OBrien has our report.

MILES OBRIEN: Traveling 40 times faster than a speeding bullet, it is a menacing messenger from the very distant past. The comet known as Siding Spring, a dirty snowball packed with four-billion-year-old leftovers from the dawn of our solar system, will streak ever so close to Mars and NASAs armada of spacecraft, for scientists, an unprecedented bonanza, for all of us, a stark reminder.

Jim Green is the space agencys director of planetary science.

JIM GREEN, NASA: Theres not only the scientific interest of where these objects fit in, in the origin and evolution of our solar system, but indeed ignorance is not bliss. We cant, in all consciousness, expect us to ignore the near-Earth population.

MILES OBRIEN: By that, he means the millions of comets and asteroids that come close enough to Earth that they could collide with the planet.

Don Yeomans runs the Near-Earth Object Program at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

DON YEOMANS, NASA: Its just a matter of time before a large one is on an Earth-threatening trajectory. The only question then is, will we discover it well ahead of time and do something about it?

MILES OBRIEN: We humans got a stunning shot across the bow in February of 2013, when a 60-foot-wide asteroid exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia. Equivalent to 30 atomic bombs, it shattered windows, injuring about 1,500.

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Tracking killer comets before they strike

psoriasis treated by Dr. Rajesh Khandelwal at Astha clinic (best treatment for psoriasis in India) – Video

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psoriasis treated by Dr. Rajesh Khandelwal at Astha clinic (best treatment for psoriasis in India)
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New Study Finds Link Between High Blood Pressure And Psoriasis

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October 18, 2014

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Patients with moderate to severe psoriasis are also more likely to have uncontrolled hypertension than those not suffering from the common skin condition, according to new research appearing in the October 15 online edition of the journal JAMA Dermatology.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in Bethesda, Maryland examined the effect of psoriasis and its severity on blood pressure control among patients diagnosed as having hypertension.

The study authors recruited 1,322 patients with psoriasis and hypertension and 11,977 controls with hypertension but without psoriasis. They discovered a significant positive dose-response relationship between uncontrolled hypertension and psoriasis severity as objectively determined by the affected body surface area, meaning that the likelihood of uncontrolled blood pressure increased along with the severity of the skin condition.

As such, they reported that the likelihood of uncontrolled hypertension was the highest in patients suffering from moderate to severe psoriasis, defined by the researchers as three percent or more of the body surface area affected by the condition. The results held true even when controlled for age, sex, body mass index and other factors, and suggest the need for more effective blood pressure management in psoriasis patients.

Over the last several years, studies have shown that psoriasis, specifically severe psoriasis, is an independent risk factor for a variety of comorbidities, putting patients suffering with this common skin disease at an increased risk for other conditions such as heart attack and stroke, Junko Takeshita, co-first author of the new study, explained in a statement Thursday.

Knowing that psoriasis is tied to other health conditions, its vital that we have a better understanding of the systemic effects it has on other areas of the body so that we can more closely monitor these patients and provide better and preventative care, added Takeshita, a clinical instructor in the Penn Medicine department of dermatology.

For the purposes of the study, the researchers defined uncontrolled hypertension as blood pressure measured as at least 140/90, and examined data from a random sample of psoriasis patients included in a UK-based electronic medical database known as The Health Improvement Network (THIN). Takeshita said that the psoriasis diagnostic code in the THIN database had been validated through several research studies analyzing the condition.

To our knowledge, ours is the first study to evaluate the effect of objectively determined psoriasis severity on blood pressure control, Takeshita said. While the research has found a strong correlation between hypertension and psoriasis, it does not prove whether psoriasis could cause hypertension or whether the opposite is true. However, she noted that this new study is a good launching pad for future studies probing that issue.

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New Study Finds Link Between High Blood Pressure And Psoriasis

Well-heeled travelers eye Latin America and Africa

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CHINA - Chinese tourists aren't just traveling the world - they're redefining global travel.

The world's largest outbound tourism market is "dictating the international tourism map", according to Xu Jing, the UN World Tourism Organisation's Asia-Pacific director.

Some have even booked trips beyond the planet - on private space flights.

Ten per cent of the customers for XCOR Aeronautics' space flights are Chinese. The company is one of two offering viable flights within the next three years. US arms laws ban Chinese from Virgin Galactic flights.

The Antarctic and Arctic rank No 2 on a three-year wish list among China's "super travelers".

These are defined as people who take at least 18 trips a year and spend a minimum of $25,000 (S$31,874.25) on at least one excursion, according to Hurun's The Chinese Luxury Traveler (2014) report. Seven per cent of the 203 super-rich surveyed want to visit space in the next three years, the report says.

These trends, as well as the decline in Chinese travel to Southeast Asia, have dominated recent headlines.

The No 1 and No 3 destinations on the super-rich travelers' three-year wish list are Latin America - especially Bolivia - and Africa.

"When asked about their 'must-achieve' travel plans for the next three years, Bolivia took 36 per cent of the vote and topped the list, followed by polar trips with 34 per cent, while Africa ranked third and Mexico and Cuba tied for fifth place," the report says.

Trends in Chinese outbound travel are being shaped by the 98 million Chinese who headed overseas this year, an increase of nearly 18 per cent compared with last year, according to the report.

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Well-heeled travelers eye Latin America and Africa

Valedictory Session 4th International Festival on Yog Culture and Spirituality At Dsvv 06 Oct. 2014 – Video

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Valedictory Session 4th International Festival on Yog Culture and Spirituality At Dsvv 06 Oct. 2014
Valedictory Session | 4th International Festival on Yog Culture and Spirituality At Dsvv 06 Oct. 2014.

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Valedictory Session 4th International Festival on Yog Culture and Spirituality At Dsvv 06 Oct. 2014 - Video

After son's birth boss brings spirituality into workplace

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LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A for-profit company in Louisville is doing something a little different. It is bringing spirituality into the workplace.

At Signature Healthcare there is a prayer circle in the morning, a prayer room in the building and a company-wide prayer chain with 600 people. Bible verses are written on the walls and yoga is offered during lunch hour.

The company's founder, Joe Steier, came up with the concept after his son Luke was born.

Luke was born 12 weeks early, weighting 3 lbs, 2 oz. He also had a level 3 brain bleed out of 4.

There's this initial feeling when you realize you're alone and can't handle it and this incredible humanity embraces you, Steier said. "You start realizing you're not alone. You start seeing power of all these people Baptist leaders, Jewish leaders, different religions, praying with you and your family. Coming together in your darkest hour."

He said those prayers helped him and his family get through and Luke, who is now 9, healed miraculously.

Steier now goes to the nursing homes owned by his father's company and prays with the residents.

He took it further in the nursing homes, adding chaplains and spiritual programs, then added programs in the corporate office.

"At the end of the day people are looking for a more meaningful workplace. I think especially healthcare where so difficult these days, Steier said.

Dianne Timmering, a vice president of spirituality, is a part of Steier's staff.

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After son's birth boss brings spirituality into workplace

WRAP UP! Day20: Juice Detox Fast for Nutrition,Weightloss,Spiritual Enlightenment – Video

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WRAP UP! Day20: Juice Detox Fast for Nutrition,Weightloss,Spiritual Enlightenment
Wrapping it up (so ready) here are a few things I learned this detox! um "cheers" to Chicago, NYC and LA for partying with me so hard this summer and making ...

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FINISHED! Day21: Juice Detox Fast for Nutrition,Weightloss,Spiritual Enlightenment – Video

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FINISHED! Day21: Juice Detox Fast for Nutrition,Weightloss,Spiritual Enlightenment
Finished! All I can do is dance and sing -- and tomorrow EAT - I usually go 14 days so 21 was definitely a little challenge - but an accomplishment. I feel g...

By: Lynnette Astaire

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FINISHED! Day21: Juice Detox Fast for Nutrition,Weightloss,Spiritual Enlightenment - Video