Top Nanotechnology Expert Joins UVA

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Charlottesville, VA (PRWEB) February 27, 2014

Recognizing the potential of microscopic nanotechnology to revolutionize the field of medicine, the University of Virginia has recruited one of the nations top experts to serve as co-director of the Institute for Nanoscale and Quantum Scientific and Technological Advanced Research (nanoSTAR). In his new role, Mark Kester, PhD, will seek to foster cutting-edge interdisciplinary research at UVA that will produce important medical breakthroughs and transform how medicine is practiced in the 21st century.

Kesters hiring will bolster the School of Medicines involvement in nanoSTAR, a pioneering program that brings together researchers from across the university, including the School of Engineering & Applied Science, the Curry School of Education, the Darden School of Business and the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Stu Wolf, PhD, director of nanoSTAR, said Kesters arrival will advance the groups mission of using nanotechnology to accomplish the previously impossible. As the new co-director of nanoSTAR, Dr. Mark Kester brings a key new dimension to our institute, Wolf said. His connection to nano-medicine and the medical school will enable nanoSTAR to move forward on many new fronts of great importance to nanoscience, nanotechnology and of course UVA.

Transforming Cancer Care Kesters work focuses on the use of nanotechnologies to deliver drugs for cancer treatment. By coating microscopic amounts of drugs or molecular agents in nontoxic wrappers, treatments that would otherwise be harmful or deadly to a patient can be administered and directed to just where theyre needed.

Nanos allow us to protect and package the therapeutic and deliver it stealthily, Kester said. Basically, I design FedEx trucks. Theyre designed to deliver on time, all the time, to the tumor.

Past and Future Kester comes to UVA from the Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, where he was the G. Thomas Passananti Professor of Pharmacology and the inaugural director of the Penn State Center for NanoMedicine and Materials. He has founded several companies devoted to the development of what he calls nanoSolutions. Hes also co-author of the lauded Integrated Pharmacology textbook.

In his new role at nanoSTAR, Kester said, he aims to expand the research interactions between engineers and scientists, while also fostering collaborations with the College of Arts & Sciences, Darden, the Curry School and the School of Law. These collaborations would explore the many ethical, legal, commercial and intellectual issues associated with nanotech. He also intends to enhance the role of nanotechnology applications in the School of Medicines curriculum.

In addition to his role with nanoSTAR, Kester will serve as a professor of pharmacology at the School of Medicine.

For Reporters: Kester will be available for interviews this morning. To arrange an interview, contact Josh Barney at 434.906.8864 or jdb9a(at)virginia(dot)edu.

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Top Nanotechnology Expert Joins UVA

Concise Analysis of the International Biochips and Microarrays Market

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DUBLIN, Feb. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets

(

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2cs339/biochips_and

) has announced the addition of a new report

"Concise Analysis of the International Biochips and Microarrays Market"

to their offering.

(Logo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130307/600769)

This report is an analysis of biochip/microarray markets based on technologies and applications. The report starts with a description of technologies as a basis for estimation of markets. Technologies include array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), copy number variation (CNV), DNA methylation, ChIP-Chip, RNA splice variants, and microRNA. Separate chapters are devoted to protein biochips/microarrays, microfluidics and nanobiotechnology-based nano-arrays.

Various applications of biochips and microarrays are described throughout the report. Areas of application such as point-of-care, genetic screening, cancer, and diagnosis of infections are included. Separate chapters are devoted to applications in drug discovery and development as well as personalized medicine

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Concise Analysis of the International Biochips and Microarrays Market

Contractors complete steel structure on Quad-C of Nano Utica project

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MARCY Construction crews have completed the steel structure ahead of schedule in the construction of the $125 million computer-chip commercialization center (Quad-C). The office of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo today acknowledged it in a news release as a key moment in the first phase of Cuomos $1.5 billion Nano Utica initiative.

The State University of New York College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (SUNY CNSE) and the SUNY Institute of Technology (SUNYIT) are spearheading the effort.

Nano Utica is the public-private partnership that Cuomo announced last October thats intended to bring more than 1,500 jobs to the region.

Its also meant to further define New York as the global leader in nanotechnology-based research and development, Cuomos office said in the news release.

Not only will this project create over a thousand new high-skilled, high-paying jobs, but it marks New Yorks emergence as a world leader in the nanotechnology sector. Quad-C will be the catalyst for nanotechnology innovation, education, and economic development in New York. The project is ahead of schedule and exciting things lay ahead, Cuomo said in the news release.

Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy presided over the ceremony in Marcy.

With great thanks to Gov. Cuomos strategic vision for growth, the past three years have proven to be enormous for the nanotechnology industry in many regions of the state. The latest announcement here today in Utica, that construction on the Quad-C facility is ahead of schedule, helps to ensure the continued development and utilization of everything that the Mohawk Valley has to offer, Duffy said in the news release.

Crews will complete construction on Quad-C by the end of 2014, Cuomos office said.

The 253,000-square-foot facility will include 56,000 square feet of Class 1 capable clean-room space stacked on two levels.

An annual operating budget of over $500 million will support 1,500 high-tech jobs and the establishment of academic programs and cutting-edge workforce training opportunities.

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Contractors complete steel structure on Quad-C of Nano Utica project

Uganda: Uganda's Cheap Bike Problem

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The Nano is a small, cheap car manufactured by Indian multinational Tata. At a cost equivalent to US$2,000, it promised to offer personal transport to Indians who previously couldn't afford it. Though that may be true, last month The Guardian reported that the vehicle achieved a zero-star rating in crash tests conducted by Global NCAP, a UK-based safety assessor.

Overall, the article suggested that the car's poor performance may have been due to its 'frugal engineering'. This approach, intended to keep costs down, meant the vehicle had no air bags and "poor structural integrity".

Joseph Magoola, currently studying for a master's degree in public health at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, writes a regular blog on road safety in his country. He says that cheap, badly designed vehicles are causing deaths and misery in his country. But rather than cars, he singles out the motorbike taxis known as boda-bodas as his particular worry.

People use the bikes because they are designed to be affordable, fuel efficient and easy to manoeuvre through the city's traffic jams, Magoola tells me. But little attention is paid to safety, he says, either when the bike was designed, or by the police and government who should have implemented safety measures.

"They are totally not safe," he says. "The riders are reckless. They are not trained on how to use the bikes. There is nobody that regulates them, so whoever can buy one can use it on the roads."

Boda-bodas are becoming the leading cause of crashes on Kampala's roads, Magoola says. And he points me to research showing that more than 62 per cent of the surgery budget at the city's Mulago hospital is consumed treating people who have been in boda-boda accidents. [2]

Magoola says there have been several politically initiated safety campaigns in recent years, but none has been backed up by a "proper, long-term policy".

"We know what needs to be done: measures like speed humps, wearing helmets and separating pedestrians and motorbikes," he says. But, so far, politicians have failed to formalise a policy to put these ideas in place.

To try and put pressure on them, Magoola regularly takes to his keyboard. "The thinking behind my blog is to use it as an advocacy tool," he says.

References

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Uganda: Uganda's Cheap Bike Problem

Why Ssangyong does not believe in frugal engineering

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And aspires to be a premium brand in the SUV space across the world

February 27, 2014:

Yoo II Lee shakes his head when the topic veers around to frugal engineering. The President & CEO of SsangYong Motor Company clearly does not subscribe to this concept which has become some sort of a style statement in the automobile industry.

Frugal engineering is something I do not agree with because you cannot compete globally with this concept. Low cost from the point of savings is fine but this should not mean a low quality car, Lee told Business Line at the Delhi Auto Expo earlier this month.

As he puts it, frugal engineering may be accepted by very low-income groups. The SsangYong chief then brings up the example of China where one can only find top-end brands. Likewise, people in India are also looking for big cars like BMW and Audi. They want good performance, not cheap cars.

Origins

Frugal engineering became a fashionable term thanks to Carlos Ghosn, the charismatic CEO of Renault-Nissan. The roots perhaps go back to the time of the Tata Nano which hit the headlines nearly eight years ago with its unbelievable price tag of Rs 1-lakh. Ghosn made no bones about his admiration for this initiative and believes frugal engineering holds the key for automakers success quotient in emerging markets where price plays a big role in the buying decision.

Clearly, Lee is not on the same page and wants SsangYong to remain in a premium space with its SUVs. Its owner, Mahindra & Mahindra which acquired the company three years ago, focuses on a more realistic price spectrum since its home base, India, is one of the cost-competitive auto markets in the world.

Yet, the two have been working towards a successful partnership which saw 2013 register one of the best years for SsangYong with sales of nearly 1.5 lakh units. The target is to double this by the end of 2016 a remarkable turnaround for this Korean automaker which was literally in the dumps not-so-long ago.

Yet, there are critical gaps which need to be filled quickly if SsangYong has to emerge a lot stronger in the coming years. The one thing we do not have is auto transmission which we are buying from outside. This remains our weakest point. Mahindras should consider having its own auto transmission plant in Korea which will help SsangYong become a complete automaker, he adds.

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Why Ssangyong does not believe in frugal engineering

The data cure: The changing science of biology and its impact on your health care

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Molecular biologist and science policy leader Professor Keith Yamamoto discusses the current revolution in biological sciences and the emerging field of precision medicine.

SHANE HUNTINGTON Im Dr Shane Huntington, thanks for joining us. Scientists have long laboured to understand life and its complex processes. Their work through the centuries has brought us all enormous benefit, from the development of drugs to treat once incurable diseases, to an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the ecological impact of human activities on the planet. As we expand our investigations into data rich fields like genomics and personalised healthcare, biology is becoming a field populated not just by biologists but also by mathematicians, physicists and statisticians. Biology as a result is changing. Naturally these changes bring the promise of better healthcare standards for people with a cancer or other life threatening conditions, as well as preventative measures to keep people well in the first place. But are we really prepared for this revolution in biology? Do we need to adjust their educational models to make sure we equip health researchers with the right skills? How will this affect the type of healthcare systems we'll have in the coming decades? To answer these questions and discuss the broader implications of a new view of biology, we are joined on Up Close by molecular biologist Professor Keith Yamamoto, Vice Chancellor for Research, Executive Vice Dean of the School of Medicine and Professor of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco. Keith is in Melbourne as a guest of the ICT For Life Sciences forum. Welcome to Up Close Keith.

KEITH YAMAMOTO Thank you, it's nice to be here.

SHANE HUNTINGTON The field of biology has changed dramatically since you began your research career in the 1970s. Can you give us an idea of the main differences in how biology is practised now compared to back in those days?

KEITH YAMAMOTO We're at a very interesting time in biology and in science in general. Biological research at the time that I started in the 1970s as you said, was very much a descriptive field. We'd look through microscopes and examined cells, took pictures of them, did experiments in biochemistry where we would break down specific cellular components and look for the presence and absence of a signal. That descriptive period was a wonderful one. Ones where we gained immeasurably in our understanding of the components that are players in biological processes and understanding the framework - an outline - of the way that those biological processes work. Today things have changed a lot because we have realised that if we're going to move forward from collection of information, naming the players that are involved in the play to actually understanding those processes. Understanding them in ways that we can intercept them or modify them then we have to become a quantitative field. We have to understand things in numerical detail. And to do that biology needs to invite into the field - and it's doing this progressively successfully - scientists who practice their work in a different way. People who are doing physics and chemistry and math and computation and engineering, who'd bring a different way of thinking about problems, as well as working on them. So that's the transition; it's a remarkable one that we're just in the midst of right now.

SHANE HUNTINGTON Now I have to dig a little bit there when you refer to biology as a quantitative field in the current day and in the future, how do you define that relative to what it's done in the past? Certainly I think a lot of biologists would assume they were doing a quantitative version of a research.

KEITH YAMAMOTO Right. So we were able to infer biological processes and even the ways that those processes and even the ways that those processes worked with descriptive means, looking in a microscope to look at the change and the shape of a cell for example. Or the cells that a particular cell would choose to interact with; maybe even merge with and fuse with. Those kinds of descriptions carried us a long way in making theories about exactly how those processes worked. But they don't actually tell us how the processes work. So now the next step is to understand those processes using quantitative methods of engineering and chemistry and physics that will bring us the real numbers behind those observations. It's those numbers that turn out to give us the mechanistic detail to be able to carry forward. The real test of understanding something in a sense is being able to reproduce it yourself - by putting the pieces together and the steps together - the [imagines] working. So we're getting an outline of the players but don't know how to put them together well enough. We don't know whether when we put together a reaction in a descriptive mode whether when it looks like it's working whether it's working the same way that it works in the cell. But getting the numbers behind it all will tell us that. That level of understanding is crucial for doing some of the things that you talked about in your introductory statement where we have the chance to be able to understand them well enough to be able to intercept disease mechanisms and things of that sort.

SHANE HUNTINGTON This presumably will mean that we have to look at our education models - especially at university level - for training biologists. Is the current version adequate to deal with this new biology that you speak of? Or do we have to go back to the drawing board and start redescribing the way in which a biologist will go about their day?

KEITH YAMAMOTO I think we have to go back to the drawing board. But it's going back to the drawing board in I think exciting ways that are going to extend further back from the graduate period of training into undergraduate and even earlier and that is finding a common language for all of these different scientists to speak. The work has gone forward in ways that have taken us to more and more hyper-specialisation. So there are biologists who speak different languages and really can't communicate well with each other. You can imagine what happens when we begin to try to interact with engineers and physicists. So we're at a stage where finding that common language will have a huge payoff; it's going to be very exciting. And we can begin doing that early on. One of the things that we're doing in the University of California, San Francisco UCSF where I work is to begin bringing our first year graduate students together in teams in which the team members - four or five people - come with different backgrounds. Some have been training in physics, some have been training in molecular biology, some have been training in computer science. Bringing them together in teams and then having them to go through a series of so-called boot camp courses - very short intensive courses - intended to bring everyone up to a common level of literacy. And they see immediately the different languages, but somebody on the team understands the language and other people don't and they begin interacting with each other and teaching each other right away. You can see that that can be done any time, it doesn't have to wait until graduate school. So we think that that kind of model can actually get us to where we need to go, not only painlessly but in a way that's fun and interesting.

SHANE HUNTINGTON In that model you're not just talking about retraining the language skills of the biologists, but the other fields as well - the physicists. So it's a two way process isn't it?

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The data cure: The changing science of biology and its impact on your health care

ReVu.Me collects team input on the fly

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Its a common scenario: you have a document on which you need to get input from a team. After circulating it via email or the cloud, you gather comments piecemeal from various email threads, copy revisions, and maybe even phone calls. By the end you need a flowchart to keep it all straight.

ReVu.Me, a new cloud app from the web-based project management service Volerro, makes it easy to gather feedback on all sorts of documents from stakeholders while they chat or converse via an integrated teleconferencing service. Its a potentially useful tool for people who need inputbut not actual edits or changesfrom multiple team members.

Free for single documents (a Pro version supporting multiple documents in a single session, useful for complex projects, costs $3.99), ReVu.Me is a snap to set up on the fly. Simply upload a document (by dragging and dropping it or navigating to it), enter your email address and the addresses of collaborators, and youre in business. You can also simply email a document. ReVu.Mes invitation to collaborators includes a link to the document within the service.

ReVu.Me enables collaborators to provide feedback on a document in real time.

The service supports not only Microsoft Office and Adobe documents, but popular image and video formats. Creating a note is as easy as highlighting text or dragging the cursor to outline an area in red. Both actions produce a pop-up window in which you type a comment.

Comments are then saved in a right-hand pane, and links underneath a comment allow the comment creator to edit or remove the note. Other links support replying to a note (creating a thread underneath it) or assigning tasks based on the notea reminder of ReVu.Me parent Volerros robust project management service, a paid offering with calendars, screen sharing, a dashboard for accessing ReVu.Me documents, and other features.

A toolbar above the document and notes panes has buttons that let you zoom in or out of the document or fit it to the window size. Other buttons let you hide (or unhide) notes, print or email the document with notes, download the annotated document, or replace it by uploading a new version. The service supports versioning so you can see earlier incarnations of documents.

Collaboratorsanyone invited to create notesappear in small circular icons above the document and note panes; hovering over an icon shows whether the individual is online or not. Other buttons let you create chat windows or set up a conference bridge line, also free.

What you cant do in ReVu.Me is actually edit a document. The documents author must make any changes offline and then upload the revised document if further feedback is required. Thiscan be annoying if youre dealing with a lot of small edits that could be dealt with on the spot.

There are, of course, many situations in which document authors dont want others to be able to make changes, they just want or require feedback and/or signoff. For these scenariosmarketing teams come to mindReVu.Me provides a great, feature-rich platform for gathering input from a large number of concerned parties. That its free is the icing on the cake.

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ReVu.Me collects team input on the fly

How full-time YouTube users are making profit

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MANILA There are a lot of things YouTube users can do to maximize their own channels.

This is what the speakers from the popular video-hosting website YouTube said during a workshop held at the Mind Museum in Bonifacio Global City on Thursday.

The first ever Philippine YouTube Pop-Up Workshop aims to explain to YouTube users how they can effectively attract more subscribers and make a living just by uploading videos on their channels.

YouTube Philippines Content Partnerships Manger Trixie Canivel said that YouTube is a great platform for Filipinos because it is accessible to everyone.

Anyone can be on YouTube. A lot of people get on Youtube because they want to create videos about doing stuff that they love, she said.

Canivel cited the story of now-popular YouTuber Lloyd Cadena, whose series of video blogs online has attracted more than 175,000 subscribers. Cadenas videos prominently tackle topics related to romance, schooling and the local lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender community, among others.

She also said that what YouTube users do not know is that they can actually make profit just by posting videos on their channels.

What a lot of people dont know is that actually, you can turn that [your videos] into a business by turning ads on and monetizing your videos and working with sponsors to be able to really turn it to a viable opportunity for you, Canivel said.

An example of YouTube users who have enjoyed the monetizing feature of the website is real-life couple Jamvhille Sebastian and Paolinne Michelle Liggayu or more popularly known as Jamich. During the workshop, the couple admitted that during a one-month period, they are able to make a six-digit revenue out of the videos they upload.

Canivel, meanwhile, stressed that in order for YouTubers to attract more subscribers, they must work on developing their channels. For starters, YouTubers must establish authentic and unique channels which should be maintained on a regular basis. This, according to Canivel, is a sure way to build a strong fan base.

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How full-time YouTube users are making profit