Community News: New principal named at Georgetown High School; Power outage interrupts STAAR test

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TRAVIS COUNTY

AUSTIN

Professor presents latest in self-diagnosis

University of Texas biochemistry professor Dr. Andrew Ellington is hosting a free lecture highlighting how low-cost technology can help with medical self-diagnosis at 7 p.m. Thursday at the universitys Student Activity Center, located on Speedway near 21st Street.

Ellington will describe how low-cost, personalized diagnostics can help people with little or no medical background detect ailments such as viruses. He will also describe how advances in biotechnology are being made to help us gain a better understanding of our own physiology.

The event is part of the universitys Hot Science-Cool Talks outreach series of lectures that allow leading researchers to share their discoveries with the general public.

For those who cannot attend in person, a live broadcast of the lecture as well as broadcasts of previous lectures can be viewed at http://www.hotsciencecooltalks.org.

Wes Gardner, American-Statesman

PFLUGERVILLE

Master Gardeners discuss oak-wilt treatment

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Community News: New principal named at Georgetown High School; Power outage interrupts STAAR test

Q & A

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Hello sir,

I am a graduate of biochemistry with little knowledge about the business world.

I believe in being self-employed and, in view of this, I have this idea about investing in the auto industry. However, I have been having headaches on how to develop a business plan for this. I will be grateful if you can give me a guideline or highlight some key points on how I can come up with a business plan. I have already noted some points you made in the last two paragraphs of your article in The PUNCH of Wednesday, March 27. Thank you.

Adesanya A.

Dear Adesanya,

You will need an experienced hand to help you do a good business plan; as it is not a document that is done anyhow because the business plan is meant to serve as the template for the business. My advice is that when you find the person to help you do the business plan, please dont look for free service. Since you need useful information to make money from, you should be willing to exchange it for value. Also, the fee a good consultant may charge you may not be that cheap, therefore, you should be prepared to pay. It is part of your investment, which you want to make profit from. Regards.

Emmanuel

Dear Ola,

I agree 100 per cent with your view on economies of scale to attain a global brand model hinged on applying laws of leverage, co-operative, alliance, and synergy like the restless ants that ride on economies of scale.

Kowontan O.

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Q & A

Seahorse Bioscience Launches First Product from the Partnership with Baystate Medical Center and UMass Amherst

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BILLERICA, Mass., April 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --Seahorse Bioscience, the world leader in instruments and assay kits for measuring cell metabolism recently launched the XF Plasma Membrane Permeabilizer (PMP), a reagent that enables scientists to measure the biochemistry and mechanisms of mitochondrial dysfunction, without the need for mitochondrial isolation or detergent-based permeabilization methods.

XF PMP was developed in partnership with the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute (PVLSI), a joint venture of Baystate Medical Center and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with the dual missions of biomedical research and economic development. The technology was exclusively licensed to Seahorse Bioscience by UMass Amherst and Baystate Health, the parent organization of Baystate Medical Center.

XF PMP can be used with the Seahorse XFe Extracellular Flux Analyzer, an instrument for measuring cell metabolism, in real-time, in a microplate. The reagent was developed for XF technology in part by Dr. Nagendra Yadava, the John Adams Investigator at PVLSI; and Dr. Alejandro Heuck, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UMass Amherst.

"In the development of this potent new tool in biomedical analysis, we see the tremendous potential of collaborations between clinical and academic researchers and ingenuitive companies like Seahorse," said Richard Friedberg, M.D., Ph.D., chair of Pathology and chair of the Intellectual Property Committee at Baystate Health, who represented Baystate in working with Seahorse and UMass to establish the licensing agreement.

XF PMP creates pores in the cell plasma membrane, and delivers a degree of precision and ease-of-use that has not been available to scientists researching cell metabolism. A key element of XF PMP is the ability to assess mitochondrial function in adherent monolayers of permeabilized cells without damaging the mitochondrial membrane. By doing so, XF PMP enables metabolic substrates, compounds, and small proteins that otherwise would not cross the plasma membrane to reach the mitochondria.

"Seahorse's new XF Plasma Membrane Permeabilizer [PMP] enabled us to demonstrate that clinically-relevant concentrations of thiazolidinediones, a class of insulin sensitizers that includes Actos, specifically inhibited the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier, a protein at the hub of cellular metabolism. The simplicity and reliability of XF PMP made it easy to interrogate the mitochondrial function of small clinical samples and genetically modified cells without mitochondrial isolation, experiments that are traditionally difficult or impossible. Our work is providing a new understanding of the mechanism of action of an important class of drugs, and opens a new avenue for the development of drugs to treat diseases including type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative disease, and heart failure," stated Anne N. Murphy, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pharmacology at University of California, San Diego.

About Seahorse Bioscience

Seahorse Bioscience provides industry-leading analytical instruments, cell-based assay kits, and consumable labware products for biological research and drug discovery. Scientists worldwide use these tools to advance their research in understanding the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in cancer, neuroscience, immunology, obesity, diabetes, ageing, cardiovascular function, and safety toxicity. Seahorse is headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts; has its manufacturing facilities in Chicopee, Massachusetts; and regional headquarters in Copenhagen and Shanghai. For more information visit: http://www.seahorsebio.com.

About Baystate Medical Center

Baystate Medical Center is an academic, research and teaching hospital that serves as the western campus of Tufts University School of Medicine. It is the major referral care center and only Level 1 trauma center for western Massachusetts, and is home to one of New England's busiest emergency rooms. One of Thomson Reuters/Truven Health Analytics' top 50 U.S. hospitals for cardiovascular care and top 100 U.S. hospitals, Baystate Medical Center is also designated a Leapfrog Top Hospital for quality and safety, is a Magnet hospital for nursing excellence, and is a six-time winner of the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence. http://www.baystatehealth.org/bmc

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Seahorse Bioscience Launches First Product from the Partnership with Baystate Medical Center and UMass Amherst

Dr. Ghislaine Beilin to Present Hybrid Energy Technology at the Upcoming Anti – Aging Medicine Congress in Monte Carlo

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Dr. Beilin, Vice President of the Federation of Aesthetic Medicine and Anti-Aging (Fdration Syndicale des Mdecines Esthtiques et Anti-Age), will present her findings with Hybrid Energy Technology, an emerging advancement in fractional radio frequency technology that works with the bodys natural mechanisms to deliver natural volume refilling, wrinkle reduction, skin rejuvenation and acne scars treatment without surgery, discomfort or downtime.

(PRWEB) April 02, 2013

Hybrid Energy Technology, was specifically developed to work with the bodys natural mechanism to promote wrinkle reduction, skin volumizing and acne scars improvement without the need for surgery. Treatment is virtually painless and suitable for all skin types and colors. Hybrid Energy treatments deliver significant dermal enhancement and skin renewal while minimizing the epidermal visible response so procedure can be performed in a convenient walk in-walk out session.

In a recent clinical evaluation Hybrid Energy demonstrated significant skin refilling, reduction of wrinkles as well as an improvement of skin texture, minimization of pores and volume increase.

The key advantage of Hybrid Energy (HE) Technology is the combination of Hot and Electrical Invisible Micro Ablation (IMA) which is administered via a disposable tip comprised of an array of micro pins.

Hot IMA facilitates smooth and painless penetration of the micro pins to target the mid dermis. Electrical IMA then selectively affects the target area using safe non-thermal energy. This creates direct dermis stimulation and triggers the bodys natural response mechanism in a safe process, with none to minimal pain and virtually no down time. As a result, while epidermal visible response is minimized, a significant effect is generated in the Dermis that delivers Auto-production of Hyaluronic Acid, Collagen Regeneration and Elastin Growth.

Dr. Beilin:

The new novel Hybrid Energy (HE) Technology delivers hot and electrical energies to create controlled micro ablation points penetrating up to the mid dermis. HE treatments promote a natural fractional healing process for dermal volume refilling and skin renewal. In my findings HE treatments demonstrated skin refilling effect along with improvement of skin texture and irregularities. No significant adverse effects were detected and treatments were well tolerated by patients with none to minimal pain and no down time.

Hybrid Energy Technology is available through Surgen- a cutting-edge platform which also integrates TriFractional Technology - an advanced anti-aging 3 pulse radio frequency procedure that enables effective fractional skin resurfacing and is suitable for enhancing the Hybrid Energy treatment. The Surgen platform has a user friendly touch screen with pre-programmed but adjustable parameters for each treatment type.

Mr. Amichai Bar-Nir CEO of Pollogen: We are very excited that the distinguished Dr. Beilin will be presenting Hybrid Energy at the Anti-Aging Conference in Monte Carlo. Pollogen is continuously listening to the demands of the market to deliver solutions for superior aesthetic results. The innovative Hybrid Energy Technology with Hot and Electrical Invisible Micro Ablation, provides a breakthrough answer for volume refilling, wrinkle reduction and skin rejuvenation all with a simple, virtually painless walk in walk out procedure. We are confident that it will quickly become an industry gold standard.

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Dr. Ghislaine Beilin to Present Hybrid Energy Technology at the Upcoming Anti - Aging Medicine Congress in Monte Carlo

Murphy’s Story: Stem cell therapy at Bridgewater Veterinary Hospital

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Bridgewater Veterinary Hospital has been offering stem cell therapy treatment since 2010. We are now proud to announce the addition of Dr. Spencer Silvers to our veterinarians certified to perform this innovative procedure.

Chronic pain can lead to a significant decrease in your pets quality of life over time. Often, this pain can be managed through medications, dietary supplements, and/or physical therapy. However, in cases where these methods are not possible or the pet is unresponsive, stem cell therapy is a highly recommended alternative.

Owners are looking for a different approach to helping ease their pets pain and Vet-Stem Cell therapy is a new answer for some animals.

Vet-Stem Cell therapy is a procedure that uses an animals own stem cells to promote regeneration of new cells in the damaged tissue. It can be used in cases of arthritis in the knee, hip, and elbow. It can also be used in repairing partial ligament tears or to strengthen surgical repair of complete ligament tears.

The technology used in Vet-Stem Cell therapy has been commercially available since 2003. Eighty percent of dogs will have improvement after the Vet-Stem regenerative cells are implanted. Improvement can range from mild to dramatic. After Stem cell therapy, it is common for dogs to be able to either decrease their use of Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs or discontinue use completely.

Stem cell therapy in animals has no connection to the controversy sparked by the use of embryonic stem cells as in humans. The therapy uses your own animals natural healing cells, similar to the way human adult stem cells are used in bone marrow transplants.

Murphy, a beautiful four year old black Laborador Retriever, was introduced to Bridgewater Veterinary Hospital about five months ago with torn cruciate ligaments in both knees as well as hip dysplasia.

To manage her chronic pain and to improve her quality of life, BVH performed a surgical repair of the ligament and injected her own isolated stem cells from her fat tissue into all of her painful joints on March 21, 2013. Her recovery was remarkable and you can continue to follow her story on our Facebook page.

For more success stories or to learn more about stem cell therapy, please contact Bridgewater Veterinary Hospital at 908-704-6700 or visit us at bridgewatervet.com and vet-stem.com.

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Murphy’s Story: Stem cell therapy at Bridgewater Veterinary Hospital

Astronauts take record-breaking six-hour express ride to space station

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RAW VIDEO: A crew of two Russians and one American arrives on the International Space Station. The incoming crew plans to spend five months on board.

A new Russian-American crew arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday after a fast-track trip from Earth of under six hours, the swiftest ever manned journey to the orbiting laboratory.

A NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts opened the hatches of their Soyuz-TMA spaceship and floated into the ISS to a warm welcome from the three incumbent crew, live pictures broadcast on Russian television showed.

Russia's Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin and American Chris Cassidy are now expected to spend the next five months aboard the station after their hitch-free launch and docking.

The International Space Station crew member US astronaut Chris Cassidy reacts after donning a space suit before the launch. Photo: Reuters

Their record-breaking trip from blast-off at Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to docking with the ISS lasted less than six hours, slashing the usual travel time by some 45 hours.

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Previously, trips to the ISS had taken over two full days as spaceships orbited the Earth 30 times before docking with the space station.

However, under a new technique now employed by the Russian space agency with the help of new technology, the Soyuz capsule this time only orbited Earth four times before docking.

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Astronauts take record-breaking six-hour express ride to space station

Astronaut Catches Alien on Space Station in April Fools’ Prank

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When an alien parked a flying saucer at the International Space Station to say hello, astronaut Chris Hadfield turned to Twitter to report the earthshaking news. And if that sounds too good to be true that's because it is. Hadfield, it turns out, is a prankster.

Hadfield had a ball with April Fools' Day in space today (April 1), with the UFO stunt just one of his pranks. Earlier, the Canadian astronaut used his Twitter handle @Cmdr_Hadfield to post a photo of himself with space "grenades" he found on the station. It turns out, there were just harmless air sampling devices.

Over the course of seven hours, Hadfield wrote five posts on Twitter slowly revealing his elaborate April Fools' Day joke.

"The view from where we fly the Canadarm2, with some orbital debris off in the distance," Hadfield wrote. [7 Ways to Create a UFO Space Hoax]

The picture he posted to accompany that post shows him posing with a flying saucer-like object off in the distance.

His second photo is a little clearer, showing the UFO placed high above the Earth and on its way toward the space station.

"Orbital debris seems to be on a course moving a bit faster than ISS," Hadfield wrote. "I'll try to take more pictures if it swings by."

And "take" more pictures he did. The Canadian astronaut posted a photo of the flying saucer off in the distance with the orbiting laboratory's robotic arm in the foreground four hours after his initial post.

"Wow, what a huge piece of debris! Maybe I can grab it with the Canadarm2," Hadfield wrote.

Hadfield's grand finale showed the terrified looking commander holding a small green alien away from him with both hands.Quickly after that, Hadfield wrote: "The object appears to be coming closer to the Station. I think it might be trying to board us!"

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Astronaut Catches Alien on Space Station in April Fools' Prank

TopCoder and NASA Tournament Lab Champion High Value Output-Based Challenges, Now Look to Bring Sight Capability to …

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GLASTONBURY, Conn., April 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --TopCoder, Inc., the world's largest open innovation platform and competitive community of 470,000 digital creators, today announced two new marathon competitions hosted through the NASA Tournament Lab (NTL) that will look to continue delivery of output-based high value returns in the most cost-effective and measurable software development process currently available to government agencies. The competitions will center on NASA's famous space robot Robonaut 2 aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The initial challenge will focus on enabling Robonaut 2 to interact visually with different types of input devices the astronauts use on the Space Station.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130401/NY86625)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080820/NYW078LOGO )

Successfully completed projects for NASA on NTL's open and transparent environment for sophisticated technology development include the recent Longeron Shadowing Optimization Challenge, a $30,000 open innovation competition to make the energy-gathering solar arrays of the Space Station more efficient which attracted a pool of more than 4,000 registrants and delivered 459 competitors who produced 2185 unique solutions in less than two weeks, the Space Med Kit competition which delivered a 360 x improvement over the existing NASA algorithm and garnered 2,833 distinct code submissions from 1,095 participants at a cost of $24,000, and thePlanetary Data System Idea Challenge, an open innovationchallenge in deployment and future use mode which found novel ideas for new applications to help general users to search, display and understand the more than 100 terabytes of recorded space images, telemetry and models from 30 years of planetary missions. Additionally, the Food Intake Tracker (FIT) iPad App Conceptualization and Voice Command Idea Generation competitions recently finished with architecture competitions beginning soon. The ISS-FIT competition program is creating new dietary tracking applications for use by astronauts.

"We at TopCoder are thrilled to be again working with Harvard and NASA to provide creative and inventive support of NTL's mission todeliver critical solutions while recognizing the need to return high taxpayer value," said Rob Hughes, President and COO of TopCoder, Inc. "We feel that our collective efforts on Robonaut 2, along with our successful Longeron, PDS and FIT programs have exposed the exciting prospect that game changing solutions can be created at reasonable cost by a new generation of engineers, programmers and technologists which is critical to innovation in the public sector and beyond."

About the Robonaut 2 CompetitionsCompetitors from around the world are welcome to register at http://community.topcoder.com/longcontest/?module=ViewActiveContests . Each phase will run three weeks from start to finish.

This first phase of the two competitions is to enable Robonaut 2 to recognize the state and location of several buttons and switches on a dashboard fitted with LED lights. Contestants will be tasked to work with different sets of imagery from NASA's lab on earth and on the Space Station, as well as in a simulator. The successful algorithm application must work with each of several different camera systems and varying lighting conditions within each environment.

A second contest will ask competitors to use the "seeing" algorithm produced in the first challenge in order to write an algorithm that actually controls the robot's motion. The algorithm will need to "see" an object, recognize it, and correctly operate and interact with it in the most efficient and safe manner possible.

A long term goal is to further develop the capabilities of robots to interact with input devices and move closer to enabling them to one day perform repetitive, monotonous tasks in place of astronauts. Full details are available at http://www.topcoder.com/iss/robonaut/.

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TopCoder and NASA Tournament Lab Champion High Value Output-Based Challenges, Now Look to Bring Sight Capability to ...

How NASA wants to use video games to make us all ‘Space Invaders’

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Yannick LeJacq , NBC News contributor 4 hrs.

You are the space invaders, NASA manager Jeff Norris declared last week to a packed audience at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.

It was a dramatic ending to a surprise talk scheduled at the last minute into a conference usually packed with the most arcane and theoretical pieces of trade information game developers swap with one another over a week at San Franciscos Moscone Convention Center. Gamers and developers alike may have been confused to see real-world space exploration suddenly creep into a flurry of conversations about virtual worlds, but, as Norris explained during his presentation, NASAs projects have often overlapped with the work of game designers.

To start, theres the hallowed ground of the living room, where viewers first witnessed the legendary Apollo 11 landing, which Norris said was the most watched television broadcast at the time in history.

The living room is a place we'd like to be again, Norris said.

While the aerospace organization may still be working on its giant leap into peoples consoles, NASA has already made its way back to the living room with a series of small steps. Last June, NASA released the Kinect-based game Mars Rover Landing in collaboration with Microsofts Xbox 360 team to give players a chance to control the Curiosity rover during its precipitous landing on the surface of the red planetwhich was, uncharacteristically for video games, not peopled with tons of scary Martians, demons, and gateways to hell for once (Sorry, id.)

Norris acknowledged the Mars Rover Landing game along with a small handful of other interactive initiatives that NASA has attempted in the past. But for the future of space exploration, NASA is thinking bigger than a standalone Kinect game. Indeed, Norris and his colleague Victor Luo, a NASA human interface engineer, said that NASA is now working with game controller developers like Microsoft and Leap Motion to come up with new ways to control robots of all shapes and sizes.

Norris and Luo showed GDC a few early prototypes for this new technology, remotely controlling a massive six-limbed spider-like robot referred to as ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer, we have a weird fetish for acronyms, they joked) with the palm of one of Luos hands as footage was live-streamed to the conference through a Google Hangout.

The two admitted that the current examples were more simulations than video games per se, calling them part game, part not game. But Luo joked that the thought of moving a one-ton robot with my hand was probably every gamer geek space fan boys dream. This quasi-gameplay was the cool stuff, the hardcore gameplay, the stuff that made us NASAand, therefore, the stuff that NASA was hoping would reignite our curiosity for government-funded space exploration.

But Norris and Luo didnt stop there. Instead, they laid out a bold and science fiction-drenched vision for the future of NASA and space exploration more generally.

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How NASA wants to use video games to make us all ‘Space Invaders’

Lack of NASA Outreach Is a Setback to US Science

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Laura Woodmansee is a writer based in Southern California. She holds an M.S. in Journalism from USCs Annenberg School for Journalism and is the author of the books "Women Astronauts," "Women of Space: Cool Careers on the Final Frontier," and "Sex in Space." She contributed this piece to LiveSciences Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

By now, I hope youve heard that NASA has put into suspended animation many of its educational and non-media public outreach, including their STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) educationprograms. This is until it can review all of those programs.

It sounds like an April Fools' Day joke, doesnt it? Believe me, its real. If you hadnt heard about all this, its probably because the various news media havent covered it much. It seems to me that the American people (and the world) ought to know what's happening.

I understand that NASA was forced to make some cuts in order to abide by the sequester. But, Id never have thought our space agency would even consider pausing or deleting so much of something so important to the future of NASA and of the United States as education and outreach.

I hope that these cuts are temporary, a way to force Congress into repealing the sequester for NASA. If it's not, and these cuts are made permanent, the world will lose something special that NASA magic. [Petition Asks White House to Reverse NASA Outreach Sequester Cuts]

If you think this doesnt affect you, think again. NASAs educational and public outreach programs are the key to letting the public know about space science. What comes out of those programs inspires a whole new generation of scientists and engineers, and even artists and writers like myself. By cutting education and public outreach, NASA is shooting itself in the foot.NASA outreach works hard to let the public know just what the space agency does without information, what public interest there is in NASA will fade away.

NASA outreach also inspires kids each year via thousands of school events, conferences, tours, robot tournaments and other fun educational activities. By cutting outreach, NASA risks being responsible for millions of kids and adults not being interested in science, technology, engineering and math. What inspired at least two generations of Americans and others worldwide will be gone. Will kids be aware of what is going on in space science? Probably not. There will be no cool space cards handed out at school by a NASA scientist, engineer or astronaut; no science experiment fun sheets courtesy of NASA outreach and STEM programs. In the long term, if fewer people are interested in space science, there may be no space program at all.

Cutting back, or even halting, NASAs educational outreach programs amounts to sacrificing the future for a bit of a financial break today. It is the scourge of our times. In the United States, optimism for the future used to be our defining characteristic.At one time, NASA embodied the future. Now, we are stuck in the present and unable to imagine a future where economics will again seem, well, good.

So the sequester is hitting NASA hard, at its heart. Sure, some education and outreach programs have been added to the exempted list, and the situation doesnt look quite as bleak as it did when the memo first came out on March 22. But, many good programs are still in danger.

You may think "what can I do?" I suggest you share this news, or this article, with your friends, family and acquaintances who have any sort of interest in space, engineering or technology. You can also contact your congressional representative. With enough people contacting the NASA directors office and congressional representatives, then perhaps we can change things for the better.

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Lack of NASA Outreach Is a Setback to US Science

Next ‘Star Trek’ Film Gets NASA Video Trailer In Crowdfunding Project

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A NASA video announcement highlighting the agency's space exploration efforts could be coming to a theater near you when the next "Star Trek" film warps onto the big screen in May.

The Aerospace Industries Association, a private organization that represents more than 350 manufacturers involved in spaceflight, has raised more than $42,000 to help place a NASA advertisement in 59 movie theaters for eight weeks across the U.S. The NASA video ad will run before "Star Trek Into Darkness" the next chapter in the rebooted "Star Trek" franchise when it debuts on May 17.

After setting up a campaign on the crowdfunding website IndieGoGo.com on March 26, officials from the AIA met their initial $33,000 goal in six days with the help of more than 1,000 backers.

"By backing this 30-second trailer in the top movie theater markets around the United States, you can show our students and young people that we're in an exciting new era of space exploration," officials from the AIA wrote on the campaign page. "Now is the time to reach them to remind them that an inspiring space program awaits, one that is worthy of their ambition." [See Photos of the "Star Trek Into Darkness"]

The 30-second spot will be a cut-down version of a 2.5 minute video called "We are the Explorers" produced by NASA last year. Narrated by Peter Cullen the voice of Optimus Prime in the "Transformers" movie series the video details the past and possible future of the space agency.

"Right now men and women are working on the next steps to go farther than we have ever gone before," Cullen said in his narration. "New vessels will carry us, and new destinations await us."

This campaign comes on the heels of a March 22 announcement that NASA outreach activities will be scaled back because of sequestration. Due to the series of across-the-board budget cuts, NASA officials have suspended many of the agency's public outreach programs in place to get children and adults involved in the space program.

The AIA seems to be trying to pick up where NASA left off. Officials with the space agency are not legally allowed to use NASA funds to buy advertisement time, but the AIA, as a private organization, is under no such obligation.

"By funding this campaign, we can remind students and the general public that our nation's space agency is working hard on the next era of exploration," AIA officials wrote in the campaign statement. "Keeping the public informed of NASA's activities is a key element of sustaining the health of our space program."

While the campaign has met its initial goal, AIA officials have set a new funding goal they hope to reach before the end of the month. If the campaign raises $94,000 or more, the NASA advertisement will be placed in 750 theaters in the U.S.

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Next 'Star Trek' Film Gets NASA Video Trailer In Crowdfunding Project

Jay Kipper and Sean Murphy on nanotechnology in oil and gas production

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Nanotechnology that is, working with matter at the scale of atoms and molecules shows great promise for meeting challenges involved in understanding and utilizing the harder-to-reach oil and gas reservoirs of today. Thats according to scientists at the Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC), a research organization that develops micro- and nano-sensors to transform understanding of subsurface oil and natural gas reservoirs. The University of Texas at Austins Bureau of Economic Geology at the Jackson School of Geosciences manages the AEC. Two AEC scientists, Jay Kipper and Sean Murphy, spoke with EarthSky about how the success of nanomaterials in diverse fields such as medicine and automotives is being applied to petroleum science.

Lets begin with some basics. What is nanotechnology?

Jay Kipper: The prefix nano, from the Latin word nanus for dwarf, means something very small. When were using it in metric terms, a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Think about that! Take a strand of hair and put at it between your fingers. The width of that hair is 100,000 nanometers. If you put three atoms of gold side-by-side, thats a nanometer in width. A nanometer is about how much your fingernail grows every second. So a nanometer is really small. It was IBM in the late 1980s that invented the scanning tunneling microscope needed to image individual atoms that really initiated the field of nanoscience. Today, you might say nanotechnology is the application or use of nanoscience to manipulate, control and integrate atoms and molecules to form materials, structures, components, devices and systems at the nanoscale the scale of atoms and molecules.

Why is the oil and gas industry interested in nanotechnology?

Jay Kipper: There are a couple of answers to that question. First, looking at it from the perspective of science, whats really intriguing and fundamental about nanomaterials and nanotechnology is the size of the materials that were studying. The incredibly small size of these nanoscale materials creates opportunities for them to be injected into oil and gas reservoirs.

Microscope slide of the oil-bearing Frio Sandstone from Liberty County, Texas at a depth of 5040 feet. The pink grains are quartz particles, the blue material is a dye which highlights the volume of open pore space through which oil and brines flow freely. Photo courtesy of Bob Loucks, Bureau of Economic Geology, Univ. of Texas.

As readers know, oil and gas is commonly found in rocks that are buried thousands of feet underground. These rocks are constructed like sponges. Even though a rock might look like its solid, it really has many pathways for fluids to flow through freely. The spaces between these sand grains and cemented grains are called pore space and pore throats by geoscientists. Geoscientists have analyzed enough of these oil-bearing sandstones to establish that the pore throat openings commonly range between 100 and 10,000 nanometers in width. Thats large enough for fluids like water, brines, and oil and gas to flow through relatively freely. So if we could put nanoscale tracers or sensors down a hole, they would be small enough to flow through these pores, and we could gain a bunch of valuable information about the rock and the fluid environment where the oil and gas is found.

Whats exciting about nanoscale materials is that, chemically, they behave differently from bulk materials. Theyre sort of magical in many ways. For example, dropping metal powders into water results in all the particles sinking to the bottom or floating to the top, but stable nanoparticles stay in suspension in the fluids, and thats very different from what one might expect. Industries take advantage of these different properties. Nanoparticles in tennis rackets and snow skis enhance their strength. We use nanoparticles of zinc oxide or titanium dioxide in sunscreen to more effectively absorb the ultraviolet light rays and protect the skin. Nanoscale silver is an effective antibacterial agent and is woven into fabrics and clothes to keep them from smelling.

Tell us more about the use of nanotech in the oil and gas industry.

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Jay Kipper and Sean Murphy on nanotechnology in oil and gas production

Will Safety Concerns Slow Nanotechnology Drug Delivery Market Growth? Forecasts Predict 84.79% Growth in US, 73.97 …

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FARMINGTON, Conn., April 1, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Research activities in healthcare have changed significantly in recent years. There has been a paradigm shift away from blockbusters drugs to a more personalized medicine approach. The focus is being placed increasingly on formulating drugs based on the individual's unique genome and immune response. Personalized medicines have gained significant popularity because they enable the medical profession to provide customized treatment to patients. Customized treatment is based on the genetic as well as medical profile of a patient. Increasing knowledge about the molecular causes of diseases is increasing the demand for more targeted and effective nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery therapies.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130401/CG86396)

Research analysts at Infiniti Research predict that the nanotechnology drug delivery market in the U.S. will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 84.79 percent through 2016. One of the most important applications of nanotechnology in medicine currently being developed involves employing nanoparticles to deliver drugs to specific types of cells (such as cancer cells). Nanotechnology drug delivery helps in delivering drugs directly to diseased cells, which allows direct treatment of those cells. This technique helps to avoid damage to healthy cells within the human body. Hence, drug delivery technology helps to increase the overall market success of a particular drug.

A new report, "Nanotechnology Drug Delivery Market in the US 2012-2016" finds that one of the main challenges is the increasing safety concerns. Studies have revealed that the use of various nanomaterials may cause a variety of toxic effects. Lack of FDA directives is another major factor hampering the growth of the Nanotechnology Drug Delivery market in the US.

Learn more about the US nanotechnology drug delivery market and the key vendors dominating this space including Alkermes plc, Celgene Corp., Novartis AG, and SkyePharma at http://www.giiresearch.com/report/infi265388-nanotechnology-drug-delivery-market-us.html

The global nanotechnology drug delivery market is expected to grow at a 73.97 percent CAGR through 2016. Report details and free sample pages for the global edition of the nanotechnology drug delivery market are available at http://www.giiresearch.com/report/infi264464-global-nanotechnology-drug-delivery-market.html

In the smart pill technology market, one of the key drivers in this market forecast to grow at 6.9% - is the significant rise in the number of people suffering from GI disorders, which is mainly a result of changing lifestyles and food habits. Consequently, there has been an increase in the diagnosis and treatment of GI disorders.

According to "Global Smart Pill Technology Market 2012-2016", the prevalence of GI diseases such as colorectal cancer and esophagitis has increased over time, leading to the need for screening procedures as many such diseases can be cured when detected early. It is estimated that colorectal cancer accounts for more than 10 percent of the total number of cancer cases worldwide. The increased need for screening for various GI diseases increases the scope for the usage of endoscopy devices. Moreover, since many healthcare institutions prefer endoscopes and smart pills for screening procedures for GI disorders, the growth of the market is expected to increase during the forecast period.

For more information and to view free sample pages, please visit http://www.giiresearch.com/report/infi265384-global-smart-pill-technology-market.html

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Will Safety Concerns Slow Nanotechnology Drug Delivery Market Growth? Forecasts Predict 84.79% Growth in US, 73.97 ...

Discussion: How to Improve Accountability in Medicine ?

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An estimated 1 million or more patients are harmed in America's hospitals every year. Join doctors and patient safety advocates for a discussion on accountability and spurring improvement.

by Blair Hickman ProPublica, Apr. 1, 2013, 3:20 pm

More than 1 million patients suffer harm each year while being treated in the U.S. health care system. Even more receive substandard care or costly overtreatment.

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine released a report suggesting a strategy to combat death due to preventable medical errors and set a goal of cutting preventable errors in half over the next five years.

Nearly 15 years later, several problems cited in the report are still an issue. The publicdoesntknow if deaths due to preventable errors have decreased, because noone agency tracks them (which was actually a recommendation in the report). And to complicate matters, deaths due to preventable error are just a subset of the problem: an estimated 1 million people or more are harmed in the hospital every year, from infections to injuries to surgical mistakes.

So why does the patient harm problem persist? Is it bad systems, or are individuals also responsible? And how can health care providers and the public promote accountability? Join ProPublica for a discussion this Friday, April 5, at 1 PM ET with Dr. Marty Makaryof Johns Hopkins, SorryWorks! founder Doug Wojcieszak, UCLAs Dr. Clifford Ko and health care journalist Marshall Allen.

You can tweet questions for our panel in advance with the hashtag #MedErrorsChat, or leave them in the comments below.

As social media producer, Blair Hickman leads ProPublica's health care, financial and education communities.

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Discussion: How to Improve Accountability in Medicine ?

Action sought against ‘suitcase traders’ of medicine

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A senior official at the Saudi Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) has said that its administration has identified 11 outlets out of a total of 33 that act as legitimate portals for medicine into the country.

The SFDA aims to regulate the entry of medicine into the Saudi market by blocking counterfeit products into pharmacies, the official said, adding that the 11 outlets are staffed with qualified pharmacists who take samples for testing to ensure product safety.

The SFDA monitors each and every drug-type entering the Saudi market via an electronic system that allows medicine to pass through, said Dr. Saleh bin Abdullah Bawazir, vice president of the Drug Sector at the SFDA.

He explained that the system records whether medicine is produced locally or imported, as well as recording their serial numbers and the party responsible for authorization of their entrance into the country.

Qualified pharmacists at the SFDA ensure the quality of any imported drug at every outlet, as well as their compliance with registration terms, added Bawazir. In addition, the SFDA conducts field inspection tours at all warehouses across the Kingdom.

An annual project will be established to check all counterfeit medicine throughout the country. The task of monitoring and inspecting private pharmacies is still the responsibility of the Health Ministry, he said.

Bawazir said that SFDA does not have the power to block the marketing of any medicine in the private sector. Nevertheless, there are strict regulations that demand all pharmacies to keep vouchers that display the country of origin for each medicine in their possession.

He said that the SFDA intends to establish a special department to fight counterfeiting, cheating and drug-related complaints.

The process of importation, storage and selling is confined to licensed agents who then distribute them to pharmacies with the coordination of SFDA inspectors, he added.

Selling medicine online is prohibited in the Kingdom as per the SFDA. There are special procedures and regulations that govern the process of speedy shipment of medicine, he said.

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Action sought against ‘suitcase traders’ of medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine to be regulated in Ontario, registration needed

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TORONTO - Patients receiving acupuncture, herbal remedies or other forms of traditional Chinese medicine in Ontario will soon gain some reassurance that those treating them are qualified to do so.

The College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario will begin regulating traditional Chinese medicine on April 1.

The passing of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Act in 2006 created the self-regulatory body which will now demand that every practitioner register with the college after passing a series of tests or displaying that they have equivalent experience after having seen at least 2,000 patients in the last five years.

The college will also handle complaints from the public.

Practitioners had to have their registration forms submitted by March 19th in order to be able to practice on April 1.

Emily Cheung, the college's registrar, said the new regulations will allow the public to be assured that every practitioner treating them has met certain standards.

"Right now, there are no rules or policies and individuals can practice however they choose," said Cheung. "The public does not know whether a person is qualified or not because anyone can call themselves a traditional Chinese medicine doctor."

The new rules make Ontario one of just two provinces in Canada to regulate traditional Chinese medicine. British Columbia put its own set of rules in place in April 2003.

Traditional Chinese medicine is an ancient treatment that focuses on acupuncture, herbal remedies, proper nutrition and Chinese massage to balance the yin and yang or contrary forces in one's system.

Not all practitioners study in a school setting as learning the treatments from ancestors is a frequent practice in China.

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Traditional Chinese medicine to be regulated in Ontario, registration needed

Traditional Chinese medicine now regulated in Ontario

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Beginning today, patients receiving acupuncture, herbal remedies or other forms of traditional Chinese medicine in Ontario will have some reassurance that those treating them are qualified to do so.

The College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario will begin regulating traditional Chinese medicine today.

Acupuncturist Mable Cheung of Windsor, Ont., said the changes are in the best interest of the public.

"A lot of times, people are Googling acupuncture, and Chinese medical practitioners and blindly choosing someone hoping theyre licensed," she said.

One of Cheung's patients, Denise Jacobs, has been receiving acupuncture treatment for her insomnia. She thought the industry was already government regulated and welcomes the change.

"I never put any thought into it, actually," she said. "I think its quite a good thing. Its very important youre guided in the right direction."

The passing of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Act in 2006 created the self-regulatory body which will now demand that every practitioner register with the college after passing a series of tests or displaying that they have equivalent experience after having seen at least 2,000 patients in the last five years.

The college will also handle complaints from the public.

Practitioners had to have their registration forms submitted by March 19 in order to be able to practice on April 1.

Emily Cheung, the college's registrar, said the new regulations will allow the public to be assured that every practitioner treating them has met certain standards.

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Traditional Chinese medicine now regulated in Ontario