What about IVF?

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The news last week that Robert Edwards won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for his work on the in vitro fertilization of human eggs may have seemed a little surprising to some observers: IVF has become so mainstream that we hardly see it as an innovative technology anymore.

It has also stayed largely out of the headlines, with little of the moral controversy that surrounds other reproductive issues, such as abortion and embryonic stem cell research. Since its introduction, IVF has been widely embraced across the religious and political spectrum. This is particularly notable in the evangelical movement, whose leaders have kept abortion and stem cells on the political front burner, but have staked out a variety of compromise positions that allow them to accept this scientific form of family-building.

Behind IVF and embryonic stem cell research, however, lie the same sort of technology, the kind Edwards and his late colleague Dr. Patrick Steptoe developed. Both depend on embryos created in a lab by fertilizing an egg extracted from a woman. And both practices generally result in the destruction of embryos--in the case of stem cells, for research; in the case of IVF, as a common side effect of creating more embryos than a woman ultimately chooses to implant.

Should evangelical Christians accept IVF so easily? No, says Jennifer Lahl. The director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network in San Francisco, Lahl has become a lone voice for a message that many of her fellow evangelicals are uncomfortable hearing: If embryos are human lives, she argues, then it is time for Christians to be consistent about their moral objections and unite against IVF.

For Lahl, the regular destruction or freezing of human embryos that occurs during the course of most IVF cycles amounts to ending human lives. And she suggests that the whole process is undermining human dignity. The minute the egg comes out of body, it is graded, the sperm is graded, then the embryo is graded, she says. In addition to determining which sperm and which eggs are most likely to produce a viable embryo, doctors often use a procedure called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to sort out which embryos may have defects. I see the whole enterprise as being highly eugenic, says Lahl.

To make her case, Lahl travels the country, testifying in favor of legislation that would restrict IVF, or at least regulate it more heavily. She speaks to religious groups and secular ones. And now she has put a part of her message on film. This week, Eggsploitation, a movie that Lahl produced to describe the medical dangers of egg donation, will be shown at Harvard Law School and Tufts University.

In her campaign against IVF, Lahl has found herself with little company among evangelicals. Despite her efforts, most of her coreligionists view IVF as acceptable for couples in need of a doctors help to start a family, even as they may fight to stop abortion or embryonic stem cell research. But beneath that broad consensus lies a wide range of often conflicting positions on how science should and shouldnt be allowed to affect conception.

Where evangelicals stand on IVF, and how much Lahl can influence them, matters not only because evangelicals possess plenty of political power when they do agree, but also because it shows how difficult it can be for a religious community to reach consensus on such complex bioethical issues at all.

It was 32 years ago that the first infertile couple conceived a baby with an egg and sperm in a test tube. Lesley Brown had tried for years to have a baby with her husband, John. Edwards and Steptoe, pioneers at the time in the emerging field of infertility medicine, found her fallopian tubes were blocked. In other words, while she could make eggs, her husbands sperm could not get to them. The doctors took eggs from Lesleys ovaries and fertilized them in a dish with Johns sperm; today their baby, Louise, is healthy and married and has had a child of her own. (The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Carr, today works for Boston.com and also recently had a baby of her own.)

The technology brought immediate worries: Scientists were concerned about severe birth defects; others were concerned that IVF children would have to live with a social stigma. Neither came to pass, and by scientific and social standards, the technology has grown into a smashing success. As of 2006, 3 million babies had been born worldwide using this technology.

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What about IVF?

Monta Vista, Lynbrook seniors among finalists in Intel Science Talent Search

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(photo by Jacqueline Ramseyer/SVCN/January 27, 2014) The three Intel finalists from the Fremont Union High School District are, from left, Monta Vista senior Vishnu Shankar, Lynbrook senior Angela Kong, and Monta Vista senior Natalie Ng.

Three seniors from the Fremont Union High School District are headed to Washington, D.C. to showcase their scientific discoveries and possibly walk away with some serious cash.

Natalie Ng and Vishnu Shankar from Monta Vista High School and Angela Kong from Lynbrook High School are finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search. The annual pre-college science competition seeks to honor and find the most promising high school seniors in the realms of math and science.

The finalists are among a group of 40 seniors who will convene in the nation's capitol March 6-12 to compete for $630,000 in prizes, including a grand prize of $100,000.

Natalie's project is titled "Advancing Precision Medicine: MicroRNA Prognostic Signatures and Prediction Models for Distant Metastasis Free Survival in Breast Cancer." Vishnu's project is called "3D Structure of Human DP Prostaglandin G-protein Coupled Receptor Bound to Selective Antagonists from GEnSeMBLE Predictions," and Angela's project is "Transcription Factor Bcl11b Regulates Mammary Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Quiescence Partially Through Cell Cycle Progression Inhibitor CDKN1a/p21."

The Intel Science Talent Search encourages students to tackle scientific questions and develop skills to help solve some of the world's greatest challenges, according to contest officials. Students will undergo a rigorous judging process, interact with renowned scientists, display their research for the public at the National Geographic Society and meet with national leaders.

Numerous finalists have gone on to do big things after high school. Between them, talent search alumni have won eight Nobel Prizes, two Fields Medals, five National Medals of Science, 11 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships and even an Academy Award for best actress, according to Intel.

Entrants are judged on the originality and creativity of their scientific research projects as well as their achievements and leadership both inside and outside the classroom.

The competition is put on in tandem with the Society for Science and the Public, a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education. It has owned and administered the Science Talent Search since its inception in 1942.

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Shootout Unkind to Comets

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January 29, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Comets forced their third straight game to overtime, but failed to extend their winning streak to five games as they dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Lake Erie Monsters.

Utica forward Benn Ferriero improved his scoring streak to nine games with a goal and an assist, while Patrick Mullen also lit the lamp for the Comets. AHL Player of the Week Joacim Eriksson turned aside 34 of 36 shots as he earned his team a point for the eighth time in his past nine starts.

The Comets got off on the right foot as they struck first for the nineteenth time this season. Mullen made his return to the lineup known in a big way, as he buried a Ferriero feed at the back post for a power-play goal at the 10:40 mark of the first. Cal O'Reilly also picked up a helper on the play. The assist extended Ferriero's point streak to nine games, still an active AHL high. Ferriero is four games shy of the league best this season, held by Syracuses' Vladislav Namestnikov.

Lake Erie answered exactly one minute later as Mark Olver scored his tenth goal of the season. With the marker, Olver extended his team high point total to 29 points to date. Forward Andrew Agozzino picked up the lone assist on the play, his 18th helper of the season.

The Comets regained the lead at the 14:44 mark of the period, as Ferriero redirected home a Peter Andersson shot from the point to make it 2-1. Ferriero's goal gives him six goals over his past six games, while Andersson now has points in four of his last five. Alex Biega picked up the secondary assist, his tenth point of the season.

Lake Erie collected the only goal of the second period as Guillaume Desbiens beat Eriksson just five seconds after a tripping minor to Benn Ferriero had expired. Colin Smith and Stefan Elliott each collected assists on the play and for the third time this season, the Comets and Monsters would head to the third period tied at two.

Despite an active third period that saw a total of 27 shots on net, neither team was able to score and the Comets would play more than the scheduled 60 minutes for the third game in a row. Ferriero was not able to create deja, deja vu for Utica as he was unable to find an overtime game winner for the third straight game.

After Lake Erie scored on each of their first two shots in the shootout, courtesy of Colin Smith and Joey Hishon, Cal O'Reilly rifled one off the crossbar that bounced straight downward but failed to cross the goalline. After a pair of Eriksson saves, Pelletier failed to extend the shootout as he hit the right post and the Comets fell to 1-3 in shootouts this season.

Utica remains undefeated in regulation when they lead after the first period, moving to 6-0-1-3 in those situations. Utica defenseman Peter Andersson remains hot as he extended his point streak to three games with an assist on Ferriero's goal. The Kvidinge, Sweden native amassed a positive rating for the fifth straight game and now leads the team at +7 on the season.

The Comets look to make it six straight games with a point as the Syracuse Crunch make the short trip down the Thruway for a Friday night encounter at The AUD. Friday is Pink The Rink night for the Comets and the team will be wearing specially themed jerseys in support of breast cancer. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.

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Shootout Unkind to Comets

Comets Corner with Kent Huskins

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January 28, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets Last week, we sat down with Cal O'Reilly, one of the more recent additions to the Comets roster, and someone who has made a noticeable impact since joining the team. Today, we'll transition from learning about a key forward to a key defenseman, Kent Huksins, who has stood his ground on the blue line this season, serving as a key facet of the Comets defensemen.

While Huskins may not be tallying goals and assists game after game, he has, without a doubt, made an impact since signing with the Comets on November 4th. Huskins brings a level of depth and experience to a relatively young group of Comets defensemen. A native of Almonte, Ontario, Huskins was a member of the 2007 Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks and has played over 300 games at the NHL level, recording 68 total points (13-55-68). "Being on the cup-winning Ducks team in 2007 was undoubtedly the highlight of my hockey career," Huskins said. "I'll always be extremely thankful to the Ducks organization for the opportunity to be a part of that team...the experience was truly surreal."

With rookies such as Henrik Tommernes and Frank Corrado serving as key forces of the Comets defense, it is without a doubt that Huskins serves as a role model for a lot of the younger guys on the team. "Frank's a great player and definitely has a very bright future in the NHL ahead of him," Huskins explained. "I've actually been really impressed with all of our defensemen. I wouldn't be surprised to see all of them in the NHL one day." When asked if the guys do see him as a role model, Huskins replied modestly, "I don't know about a role model. They definitely joke a lot about me being an "old man" though."

Even though the Comets are currently riding a four-game winning streak, the road hasn't always been easy. "I think the biggest challenge we faced in the first half of the season was frustration from working extremely hard and not seeing much in terms of immediate results," Huskins explained. "There were a lot of games where we felt like our levels of effort and execution were really high, but we kept coming up short on the losing end. Through all the tough losses though, the coaches have done a great job of teaching and the guys have stuck together and continued to work, so hopefully that continues to serve us well in the second half." Despite the ups and downs, Huskins has enjoyed his experience thus far in Utica, thanking the fans for always staying loyal, patient and supportive.

As the Comets enter the heart of the second half of the season, they will look to Huskins to stay solid on the blue line and continue to feed off of his experience and knowledge on the ice.

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Comets Corner with Kent Huskins

Comets’ Eriksson selected as AHL player of the week

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UTICA The American Hockey League announced Monday that Utica Comets goaltender Joacim Eriksson has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for his accolades last week.

In three starts, Eriksson went 3-0-0 with a 1.31 goals-against average, a .953 save percentage and one shutout to help the Comets extend their winning streak to a team-best four games.

After a two-week stint in the National Hockey League with the parent Vancouver Canucks franchise, Eriksson returned to the Utica lineup last Tuesday night and stopped 22 of 23 shots as the Comets edged visiting Chicago, 2-1. Utica then headed west for a two-game series in Abbotsford, and Eriksson was outstanding in Friday nights 1-0 overtime victory, stopping all 36 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season. He then made 23 saves on Saturday night as the Comets earned another overtime win, 4-3 over the Heat.

Eriksson has won seven of his last eight decisions (7-1-0, 1.72, .940) and is now 11-11-1 with a 2.63 GAA and a .911 save percentage in 24 appearances on the season. A 23-year-old native of Gavle, Sweden, Eriksson is in his first season of play in North America after winning a Swedish league championship with Skelleftea in 2013. Signed as a free agent by Vancouver on June 17, 2013, Eriksson made his NHL debut with the Canucks on Jan. 15.

In recognition of his achievement, Eriksson will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Comets home game.

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Comets’ Eriksson selected as AHL player of the week

Can Super Micro Computer (SMCI) Run Higher on Strong Earnings Estimate Revisions? – Tale of the Tape

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Medical Products manufacturer Super Micro Computer, Inc. ( SMCI ) could be an interesting play for investors. That is because, not only does the stock have decent short-term momentum, but it is seeing solid activity on the earnings estimate revision front as well.

These positive earnings estimate revisions suggest that analysts are becoming more optimistic on SMCI's earnings for the coming quarter and year. In fact, consensus estimates have moved sharply higher for both of these time frames over the past four weeks, suggesting that Super Micro Computer could be a solid choice for investors.

Current Quarter Estimates for SMCI

In the past 30 days, two estimates have gone higher for Super Micro Computer while no downward movement of estimates was observed during the same time period. The trend has been pretty favorable too, with estimates increasing from 21 cents a share 30 days ago, to 23 cents per share today, an improvement of 9.5%.

Current Year Estimates for SMCI

Meanwhile, Super Micro Computer's current year figures are also looking quite promising, with 2 estimates moving higher in the past month, while none moved lower. The consensus estimate trend has also seen a boost for this time frame, increasing from 88 cents per share 30 days ago to $1.02 per share today, an improvement of 15.9%.

Bottom Line

The stock has also started to move higher lately, adding 26.3% over the past four weeks, suggesting that investors are starting to take note of this impressive story. So investors may definitely want to consider this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock to profit in the near future.

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SUPER MICRO COM (SMCI): Free Stock Analysis Report

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Can Super Micro Computer (SMCI) Run Higher on Strong Earnings Estimate Revisions? - Tale of the Tape

Supermicro® Shipping Complete Line of A+ G34 Server Solutions Optimized for New Low …

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-- Single, Dual and Quad Socket Solutions Deliver up to 27% Better Performance per Watt per Dollar with Latest AMD 12 and 16-Core "Warsaw" CPUs

SAN JOSE, Calif., -- Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI), a global leader in high-performance, high-efficiency server, storage technology and green computing announces it is shipping new single, dual and quad socket G34 motherboards and server solutions with the latest AMD Opteron(TM) 6300 series processors built on 32nm "Piledriver" microarchitecture.

Supermicro A+ motherboards, server and SuperBlade(R) solutions maximize energy efficiency with airflow optimized designs for best thermal operation and high efficiency power supplies. Combined with new low power (99W TDP) Opteron(TM) 6338P (12-Core) and 6370P (16-Core) processors, Supermicro's A+ G34 platforms deliver up to 27%* better performance per watt, per dollar when compared with higher end 6300 series solutions. These new server solutions complement existing high-performance Opteron-based product lines with a new cost-effective, energy efficient range of G34 server platforms. Highlights of the new G34 server solutions include 1U single processor servers for the SMB and Enterprise (AS-1012G-MTF( http://www.supermicro.com/Aplus/system/1U/1012/AS-1012G-MTF.cfm )), 1U/2U/Twin architecture, dual processor servers (AS-1122G-URF4+, AS-2022G-URF4+( http://www.supermicro.com/Aplus/system/2U/2022/AS-2022G-URF4_.cfm ), 2U Twin Series( http://www.supermicro.com/products/nfo/AMD_G34.cfm?pg=SS#twin ) AS-2022TG/2122TG) for high-density, scalable data center, cloud and virtualization applications and quad processor 1U/2U/4U/Tower/Blade systems (AS-1042G-TF( http://www.supermicro.com/Aplus/system/1U/1042/AS-1042G-TF.cfm ), AS-2042G-TRF( http://www.supermicro.com/Aplus/system/2U/2042/AS-2042G-TRF.cfm )/-72RF4( http://www.supermicro.com/Aplus/system/2U/2042/AS-2042G-72RF4.cfm, AS-4042G-72RF4( http://www.supermicro.com/Aplus/system/Tower/4042/AS-4042G-72RF4.cfm ), SBA-7222G-T2( http://www.supermicro.com/Aplus/superblade/module/SBA-7222G-T2.cfm )) for high performance computing (HPC) clusters.

"Supermicro is unrivaled in the industry, offering the strongest line of Data Center, Cloud and HPC optimized single, dual and quad socket motherboard, server and blade configurations supporting AMD's new lower power Opteron 6338P/6370P processors," said Don Clegg, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Supermicro. "With an amazing 27% boost in performance per watt, per dollar, our extensive selection of Warsaw-based server building block solutions provides customers with a new range of energy efficient server options to lower their overall TCO."

"Our new AMD Opteron 6338P and 6370P processors were designed to deliver optimized performance per watt per dollar, and to address the complex data center and cloud computing challenges customers face today," said Suresh Gopalakrishnan, corporate vice president and general manager, Server Business Unit at AMD. "With Supermicro's strong suite of server solutions shipping with our new AMD Opteron 6300 processors, customers can immediately deploy cost-optimized solutions tailored for their specific applications and take complete advantage of low power and high density without a compromise in performance."

A+ AMD Opteron(TM) 6000 (G34) Series Servers( http://www.supermicro.com/products/nfo/AMD_G34.cfm?pg=SS ), Motherboards( http://www.supermicro.com/products/nfo/AMD_G34.cfm?pg=MOBO ) and Blades( http://www.supermicro.com/Aplus/superblade/module/index.cfm )

New Generation Opteron(TM) 6000/4000/3000 family based platforms, download the latest A+ Server Brochure( http://www.supermicro.com/manuals/brochure/brochure_aplus.pdf )

Visit http://www.supermicro.com for the widest selection of end-to-end server, storage, networking and data center management solutions.

* 27% higher performance per watt, per dollar determined by SPECfp(R)

Follow Supermicro on Facebook( https://www.facebook.com/Supermicro ) and Twitter( http://twitter.com/Supermicro_SMCI ) to receive their latest news and announcements.

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Supermicro® Shipping Complete Line of A+ G34 Server Solutions Optimized for New Low ...