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NASA Puts Mars Rover Curiosity on Standby After Solar Flare

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

NASA's Curiosity rover has powered down to wait out a Mars-bound solar blast, complicating efforts to bring the 1-ton robot back from a computer glitch.

Curiosity's handlers put the rover on standby after the sun unleashed a medium-strength flarein the Red Planet's direction Tuesday (March 5). It's the second recent shutdown for Curiosity, which had just come out of protective "safe mode" Saturday (March 2) as engineers work through an issue with its primary computer system.

"Storm's a-comin'! There's a solar storm heading for Mars. I'm going back to sleep to weather it out," NASA officials wrote on behalf of the rover via Curiosity's Twitter feed today (March 6).

The rover team views the shutdown as merely a precaution, as Curiosity was designed to withstand such solar outbursts, the Associated Press reported. But the move could delay the rover's return to science operations, which had been anticipated as early as this weekend.

Curiosity landed inside Mars' huge Gale Crater last August to determine if the area has ever been capable of supporting microbial life. The robot had been operating pretty much flawlessly on the Red Planet until last Wednesday (Feb. 27), when it failed to send recorded data home to Earth and didn't shift into its daily sleep mode as planned. [Curiosity Rover's Latest Amazing Mars Photos]

The mission team determined that a glitch had affected the flash memory on Curiosity's main, or A-side, computer system. So engineers swapped the rover over to its backup (B-side) computer, which spurred Curiosity to go into safe mode on Thursday (Feb. 28).

Since then, the robot's handlers have been working to configure the B-side computer for surface operations and fix the problem with the A-side, which they think may have been caused by a fast-moving charged particle known as a cosmic ray.

Curiosity has been on the road to recovery. The rover came out of safe mode on Saturday and began using its high-gain antenna again a day later. Mission officials have expressed confidence that engineers will fix or troubleshoot the glitch soon, saying Curiosity may resume science operations as early as this weekend if all continues to go well.

The solar flare may now push that timeline back a bit, however.

NASA officials do not expect Tuesday's solar flare to seriously affect any of the agency's other robotic Mars explorers, such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter or Opportunity rover, the Associated Press reported.

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NASA Puts Mars Rover Curiosity on Standby After Solar Flare

NASA Unpacks ‘Trunk’ of SpaceX Cargo Capsule

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

NASA engineers used a robotic arm today (March 6) to unpack the first exterior cargo ever delivered to the International Space Station by an American-built commercial supply ship.

A robotics team at NASA Mission Control in Houston remotely controlled the space station's 58-foot (17 meters) Canadarm2 robotic arm to unload two so-called grapple bars from the unpressurized "trunk" of the privately built unmanned Dragon space capsule. The Dragon's trunk is a cylindrical cargo section beneath the spacecraft's re-entry module.

The Dragon spacecraft, built by the private spaceflight company SpaceX, launched to the space station on Friday (March 1) and arrived two days later to deliver about 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) of supplies to the orbiting lab. The mission is SpaceX's second of 12 commercial cargo deliveries for NASA under a $1.6 billion agreement.

SpaceX launched a demonstration flight to the space station last May, and its first cargo delivery in October. But both of those missions only carried items inside the Dragon's pressurized re-entry capsule, which is accessible to astronauts on the station through a docking hatch. [See photos of Dragon's space station arrival]

Today's robotic arm work marked the first time SpaceX has ever delivered gear meant for the outside of the space station using the Dragon's trunk, company officials have said. SpaceX built the support hardware holding the grapple bars in place on the Dragon capsule, they added.

The six astronauts living aboard the space station unloaded the pressurized cargo section by Monday (March 4), leaving only the grapple bars to be retrieved.

"These bars, which together weigh about 600 pounds [272 kilograms], can be used to remove failed radiators on the stations S1 and P1 truss segments, should that ever be deemed necessary," NASA officials said in a statement.

The grapple bars will be stored in a temporary spot on the International Space Station exterior for now, but will eventually be mounted to a permanent storage point, NASA officials wrote in a statement.

With the Dragon capsule empty, the station crew will soon start loading the capsule with 2,668 pounds (1,210 kilograms) of experiments and unneeded items for the spacecraft's return to Earth on March 25. The Dragon is expected to splash down off Baja California in the Pacific Ocean so it can be retrieved by recovery teams.

Various space agencies are expecting items to return to Earth on board Dragon. For example, stem cells and hair that are currently being used in experiments on the station will be sent down with Dragon for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

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NASA Unpacks 'Trunk' of SpaceX Cargo Capsule

NASA Creates Space Technology Office to Aid Future Missions

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

A new NASA project office is taking a close look at what vital technologies the space agency needs to fulfill its deep-space exploration goals, including sending astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit.

Called the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), the new office aims to produce "new inventions, new capabilities and the creation of a pipeline of innovators aimed at serving future national needs," NASA officials said in a statement. The directorate's research and development efforts will take place within NASA facilities, universities and private companies, and they will involve collaborative projects with international partners, agency officials added.

"A robust technology development program is vital to reaching new heights in space and sending American astronauts to new destinations like an asteroid andMars," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement last week.

President Barack Obama has directed NASA to work toward launching astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, and then take aim at a manned Mars mission in the 2030s. NASA is developing a new spacecraft, the Orion deep-space capsule, and a giant rocket called the Space Launch System to serve as core vehicles for the ambitious space exploration program.

The first Orion test flight will launch in 2014 and be an unmanned mission. The first Space Launch System test is slated for 2017 and could fly a robotic deep-space flight around the moon.

"A top priority of NASA is to invest in cross-cutting, transformational technologies. We focus on collaboration with industry and academia that advances our nation's space exploration and science goals while maintaining America's competitive edge in the new innovation economy," Bolden added.

The STMD will be headed by NASA associate administrator Michael Gazarik, who previously served as the agency's the director of the Space Technology Program within the Office of the Chief Technologist.

Former deputy director of the Space Technology Program James Reuther will join Gazarik, serving as the STMD's the deputy associate administrator for programs. Dorothy Rasco, previously the business manager for NASA's now retired space shuttle program, will become the directorate's deputy associate administrator for management, NASA officials said.

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NASA Mars rover Curiosity on road to recovery

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is out of safe mode and back on active status after computer trouble had sidelined the vehicle for nearly a week.

The space agency reported that Curiosity is now running on its backup computer system, known as its B-side. It's been taken out of its minimal-activity safe mode and ready to return to full operation.

"We are making good progress in the recovery," said Mars Science Laboratory Project Manager Richard Cook in a statement.

"One path of progress is evaluating the A-side with intent to recover it as a backup. Also, we need to go through a series of steps with the B-side, such as informing the computer about the state of the rover -- the position of the arm, the position of the mast, that kind of information," he said.

Jim Erickson, Curiosity's deputy project manager, told Computerworld on Monday that engineers watching the rover's telemetry last week noticed certain applications would terminate mid-sequence. The cause, he noted, appears to be a file corruption.

"We are doing multiple things at the same time," said Erickson. "All we know is the vehicle is telling us that there are multiple errors in the memory. We think it's a hardware error of one type or another but the software did not handle it gracefully. We'd like to have our vehicles withstand hardware trouble and continue to function."

Now that NASA's computer specialists have fully switched the rover over onto its redundant, onboard computer system, they are trying to repair the problem on the main system. They also are attempting to shore up the rover's software so it can better withstand hardware glitches.

At this point, NASA engineers are looking to keep Curiosity running on the B-side system, while repairing the A-side so it can be on stand-by as the new backup.

NASA is on a deadline to get the rover fully functional before April 4, when communication with all Mars rovers and orbiters will end for about a month.

A solar conjunction -- when the Sun will be in the path between the Earth and Mars -- is fast approaching and will keep NASA engineers from sending daily instructions to the rover, or from receiving data and images in return.

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NASA Mars rover Curiosity on road to recovery

NASA Ames Research Center Invites Media to Showcase of Solutions Finalists Announcement

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA's Ames Research Center and Sustainable Silicon Valley (SSV), Santa Clara, Calif., are partnering to showcase game-changing solutions to regional and global sustainability.

Last fall, NASA and SSV invited researchers, inventors and companies to submit their creative solutions for competitive review by a panel of experts from academia, research, business and venture communities. After evaluating more than 100 entries that addressed water management, energy use, and transportation, judges will announce the most compelling entries from 6 - 8:30 p.m. PST Thursday March 7, 2013 at Microsoft Research Silicon Valley, building 4, Mountain View, Calif.

Speakers include Hon. Chuck Reed, mayor, San Jose, Calif.; Daniel Rasky, director and co-founder, Space Portal at NASA Ames; Nancy E. Pfund, managing partner, Double Bottom Line (DBL) Venture Capital Investors, San Francisco, Calif.; and Josh Henretig, director, Environmental Sustainability, Microsoft Corp., Redmond, Wash. Reporters interested in attending the finalist announcement must send requests for media credentials to Kenneth Heiman, kheiman@sustainablesv.org or call 408-230-2304. Reporters also can register at this website: http://showcasefinalists.eventbrite.com/#

"NASA's work in creating and maintaining sustainable human habitats in space pays off for the American taxpayer when the results of this space research and development are applied to create solutions on our home planet," said Steven Zornetzer, associate director for technology at NASA Ames. "This is technology transfer at its best for it may lead to game-changing solutions here on Earth."

Finalists were judged on creativity, approach and game-changing goals. These goals include developing and implementing multiple elements as part of the solution; mitigation, adaptation or scalable strategies; reasonable risk; and a combination of elements that re-enforce one another to create an ecosystem of solutions that generate a positive environmental and economic impact.

At the Showcase of Solutions, attendees can network with others who share their passion and entrepreneurial spirit for global sustainability. Angel investors and venture capitalists also are expected to attend the event. The showcase will provide an opportunity to exhibit impactful ideas and proposed solutions to humanity's grand challenges that highlight the payoff from investing in space technology and the value of tech transfer.

The winning solutions and their inventors and technologists will be present May 23, 2013, at the SSV WEST Summit/ Planetary Sustainability Showcase at the NASA Ames Conference Center, building 152, located in the NASA Research Park, Moffett Field, Calif. The Showcase is open to the public.

"To speed us towards innovative, feasible solutions that we can implement at real scale, we need to encourage and tap our most creative thinkers and inventors to address our planet's unprecedented challenges," said Marianna Grossman, director of Sustainable Silicon Valley.

For more information about the Showcase of Solutions Finalists Announcement, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/X1DRRC

For more information about the Showcase of Solutions Finalists Announcement Event, visit: http://www.sustainablesv.org/content/finalists-announcement

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NASA Ames Research Center Invites Media to Showcase of Solutions Finalists Announcement

NASA Spacecraft Makes 1st Complete Map of Planet Mercury

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

The surface of the planet Mercury has been completely mapped for the first time in history, scientists say.

The closest planet to the sun hasn't received as much scientific attention as some of its more flashy solar system neighbors, such as Mars, butNASA's Messenger spacecraftis helping to close the gap. The probe has been in orbit around Mercury since March 2011, and its team announced Feb. 28 that the spacecraft had finished mapping the planet's surface.

"We can now say we have imaged every square meter of Mercury's surface from orbit," said Messenger principal investigator Sean Solomon of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. "Admittedly, some regions are in permanent shadow, but we're actually peering into those shadows with our imaging systems."

Before Messenger, less than half the surface had been imaged by NASA'sMariner 10 spacecraft, which made several flybys of Mercury in 1974 and 1975. Messenger is the first probe to orbit the planet. In addition to photographing the unseen parts of Mercury, the spacecraft substantially improved on the resolution of existing maps. [Latest Mercury Photos by NASA's Messenger]

"When we set out with the Messenger mission we didn't know if the planet would look like the other half that was seen in the '70s," Solomon told SPACE.com. "There was a great debate over how important volcanism was in the history of Mercury."

Messenger quickly showed that not only didvolcanism occur during Mercury's past, but it might have been widespread.

The spacecraft also revealed never-before-seen types of terrain on the planet, such as surface pockmarks called hollows that scientists suspect are created when volatile materials sublimate off the surface.

"Unstable material is exposed to the temperatures and space environment, and slowly over thousands, maybe millions, of years, it's lost to Mercury's atmosphere and to space, to create a depression or hollow in an area where there are often many such hollows that etch the terrain," Solomon said.

The $446 million Messenger probe (which stands for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) launched in 2004. It made one flyby of Earth, two flybys of Venus and three flybys of Mercury itself before finally entering orbit around its destination planet in 2011.

The Messenger spacecraft's primary mission ran through March 2012, but it was granted a one-year extension to operate until March 2013. Now the Messenger mission science team is hoping NASA will approve a second mission extension for two more years, that would last until the spacecraft runs out of fuel and crashes into Mercury's surface.

NASA ‘s Curiosity rover to be back online next week

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

NASA's Curiosity rover, which has been exploring Mars since it landed to much fanfare last August, should be running at full capacity next week, after a memory glitch set the robot back.

On February 28, controllers put the rover into "minimal activity safe mode," when they switched the machine's operations to a backup computer after detecting malfunctions in the primary computer's flash memory.

"We are making good progress in the recovery," Mars Science Laboratory Project Manager Richard Cook, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement late Monday.

The statement said the rover exited safe mode on Saturday and its high gain antenna went back online on Sunday.

Now controllers are evaluating the once-primary "A-side" computer to see if it can be repaired to act as a back up, while performing diagnostics with the "B-side" computer to get it up to full function.

"We need to go through a series of steps with the B-side, such as informing the computer about the state of the rover -- the position of the arm, the position of the mast, that kind of information," Cook said.

The team has yet to determine what caused the memory problems, NASA said, but emphasized that the rover never lost contact with Earth.

The six-wheeled robot, with 10 scientific instruments on board, is the most sophisticated ever sent to another planet.

The $2.5 billion Curiosity mission, which is set to last at least two years, aims to study the Martian environment and to hunt for evidence of water in preparation for a possible future manned mission.

This image released by NASA on February 7, 2013, taken onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, shows a self-portrait of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. NASA's Curiosity rover, which has been exploring Mars since it landed to much fanfare last August, should be running at full capacity next week, after a memory glitch set the robot back.

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NASA 's Curiosity rover to be back online next week

The Evolution of Nanotechnology Offers Great Hope for Energy Sector

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

By James Burgess of Oilprice.com - the No.1 source for Oil Prices

Clean energy advances are made due to careful research and development in the fields of science and technology, with nanotechnology leading the way as the most exciting area and potentially the most influential breakthrough.

Nanotechnology has slowly evolved over the past century, and will continue to evolve even further in the future. Around 50 to 100 years ago engineers and scientists were able to create devices on a macro-level, but now they reduced the scale substantially to be able to produce devices on a nano-level.

Related article: Will Colombia Become Latin Americas Poster Child for Peak Oil

Carbon nanotubes, for example, are the most conductive material known to man, and can help to increase efficiency of transmission lines; although mass production still remains a problem.

The green energy sector has been the largest beneficiary of nanotechnology. Using nanotechnology to custom build a material that is both strong and light weight will allow turbines to grow in size as their blades can be a lot larger. Nanotechnology can also help solar cells become much more efficient.

Currently in the world nanotechnology is already in use. Altair Nanotechnologies, in conjunction with the University of Hawaii and the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, is using nanotechnology to create a 2 megawatt energy storage system that will have unparalleled efficiency and charging speeds.

Related article: China Decides that South China Sea Oil is a National Asset

Nanosolar, a thin-film solar manufacturer is using nanotechnology to create a solar project in Spain that will provide generate 16,500 megawatt hours per year.

Source: http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/The-Evolution-of-Nanotechnology-Offers-Great-Hope-for-Energy-Sector.html

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The Evolution of Nanotechnology Offers Great Hope for Energy Sector

Denmark joins the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

Public release date: 5-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Lena Raditsch lena.raditsch@embl.de 49-062-213-878-125 European Molecular Biology Laboratory

Today, the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine celebrates two important milestones: the renewal of the partnership agreement for an extended period of 10 years, and the expansion of the Nordic EMBL network with the official opening of the Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience (DANDRITE) at Aarhus University, which will become its Danish node.

The Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine was initiated in 2007 between the University of Oslo, Ume University, University of Helsinki and EMBL. As a result, three nodes were established in Norway, Sweden and Finland, each of which complements the research expertise of the other partners and, working closely with EMBL, aims to rise to challenges in biomedicine and to foster industry collaborations. In the five years since the launch of the partnership, the network has emerged as a strategic player in the molecular understanding of disease mechanisms in Europe, its impact and success recognised with today's signing of a renewed partnership agreement for an extended period of 10 years.

The research alliance is further strengthened by the growth of the partnership through the creation and inauguration of a Danish node. Complementing the research profile of the three existing nodes, DANDRITE will focus on conducting state-of-the-art research in the field of neuroscience. "We're excited to welcome Denmark as the fourth partner in the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine. In a competitive national process, Aarhus University was selected to host the Danish node. The decision was made on the basis of the university's scientific expertise in the neurosciences and its research environment, which offer an excellent base for building a world-class collaborative institute like DANDRITE," says Iain Mattaj, Director General of EMBL.

The establishment of the Danish node was made possible through the Lundbeck Foundation, one of the largest private contributors to natural science research in Denmark, which funds the new centre jointly with Aarhus University. "The partnership with EMBL has arisen from the independent research approach, and DANDRITE has high ambitions, plenty of funding, independence and excellent infrastructure. Our ambition is to be the first with the latest ideas, rather than having to stand on the shoulders of others," says Poul Nissen, Director of DANDRITE and Professor of Protein Biochemistry at Aarhus University.

DANDRITE joins the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM, University of Helsinki), Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway (NCMM, University of Oslo), the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS, Ume University) and EMBL. All nodes benefit from continuous scientific and administrative support from EMBL, as well as from adopting aspects of the EMBL operational model, such as international recruitment, staff-turnover and the external review system.

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Denmark joins the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine

BG Medicine to Announce Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2012 Financial Results and Host Conference Call on Wednesday …

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

WALTHAM, Mass., March 6, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BG Medicine, Inc. (BGMD) today announced that the company will host a conference call and webcast on Wednesday, March 13 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its fourth quarter and year-end 2012 financial results. The call and webcast will follow the release of the fourth quarter financial results before the market opens.

Conference Call Details

To access the live conference call on March 13 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time via phone, please dial (877) 845-1016 from the U.S. and Canada, or (708) 290-1155 internationally. Please dial in approximately ten minutes prior to the start of the call.

To access the live and subsequently archived webcast of the conference call, go to the Investor Relations section of the company's website http://investor.bg-medicine.com/events.cfm. Please connect to the website at least 15 minutes prior to the call to allow for any software download that may be necessary.

About BG Medicine

BG Medicine, Inc. (BGMD) is a diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialization of novel cardiovascular tests to address significant unmet medical needs, improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. The Company has two products: the BGM Galectin-3(R) test for use in patients with chronic heart failure is available in the United States and Europe; and the CardioSCORE(TM) test for the risk prediction of major cardiovascular events will be launched in Europe in the first half of 2013. For additional information about BG Medicine, heart failure and galectin-3 testing, please visit http://www.bg-medicine.com and http://www.galectin-3.com.

The BG Medicine Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=10352

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BG Medicine to Announce Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2012 Financial Results and Host Conference Call on Wednesday ...

Join Us at the Methodist Center for Sports Medicine Open House With the Houston Dynamo, on the Methodist Willowbrook …

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwire - March 06, 2013) - Methodist Willowbrook Hospital hosts an open house event for the Methodist Center for Sports Medicine with a Houston Dynamo Meet & Greet at its Willowbrook Campus Thursday, March 7, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The center is located at 13802 Centerfield Drive.

The Houston Dynamo, cheerleaders and Mascot, Diesel, will be on hand -- kicking off the opening of the new sports medicine center, along with the Willowbrook Primary Care Sports Medicine (PCSM) team.The community is invited to join the teams for refreshments, giveaways, autographs and activities.

The event begins in the parking lot and includes a tour of the center and new state-of-the-art Methodist Human Performance Lab, which helps athletes like the Houston Dynamo create a performance training strategy.

Talk with the senior exercise physiologist, Mark Morrison, and Primary Care Sports Medicine Specialists Scott Rand MD, Gregory Seelhoefer MD, and Christian Schupp MD, who help professional, collegiate and amateur athletes alike reach performance goals.

The PCSM team will reveal the human performance lab equipment used in VO2 max, lactate threshold and metabolic testing -- and discuss how they work together with the orthopedic specialists and rehabilitation therapists to help patients overcome injuries.

The team will also discuss the benefits of the human performance lab for the overweight population -- and their sports medicine approach to weight loss.

The Methodist Center for Sports Medicine is part of Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, which includes orthopedic specialists Plinio Caldera MD, Travis Hanson MD, Korsh Jafarnia MD, Bruce Moseley MD and John Seaberg, MD and the certified athletic trainers and rehabilitation specialists -- providing comprehensive health resources in a single facility.

To register for the event, call 281.737.2500. For more information on the new center and its scope of services, visit http://www.methodistorthopedics.comor call to schedule a consult at 281.737.0999.For the Human Performance Lab, call 281.737.0466. Check us out on Facebook.

Methodist Willowbrook Hospital, a not-for-profit, faith-based hospital, is part of The Methodist Hospital System -- which opened on December 18, 2000. The campus expanded in Northwest Houston to serve the comprehensive healthcare needs of the community.

SCU Showcases North America’s Leading Graduate Curriculum For Ayurvedic Medicine And Certified Massage Therapy At …

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

WHITTIER, Calif., March 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) will hold a special on-campus Preview Day to highlight its comprehensive curriculums for Ayurvedic Medicine and Certified Massage Therapy on Saturday, March 23rd from 10:00am to 1:00pm.

SCU President Dr. John Scaringe will personally welcome visitors and prospective students along with SCU Director of Admissions, Mr. Mario Delgadillo, and other SCU faculty and professors. Tours of the university campus and Health Center will be offered and visitors are invited to also meet with professors from the SCU Departments of Ayurvedic Medicine and Massage Therapy to learn more about the school's curriculum which emphasizes holistic and integrative approaches. SCU offers a robust program including hands on experience, electives, community-based internships and service programs, clinical rotations, and clinical residencies.

Southern California University is located at 16200 E. Amber Valley Drive, Whittier, CA 90604. For additional information, please call (877) 434-7757 or visit: http://www.scuhs.edu/news/articles/52/. Lunch will be provided.

The Southern California University of Health Scienceswas founded in 1911 as one of the first institutions in the United States with a dedicated focus on chiropractic, acupuncture and health sciences. The SCU Ayurvedic Certificate Program was recognized in 2012 by the Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America (AAPNA) with the Nalanda Award of Excellence in Ayurvedic Education. Today, millions of Americans from all walks of life embrace Ayurvedic Medicine, which is founded upon principles of traditional Indian and herbal medicine. More than a quarter of a million Americans have experienced Ayurvedic Medicine and reaped its many benefits.

SCU is a WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) accredited university and offers two levels of authentic Ayurvedic programs based on traditional ayurvedic curriculums developed in India; Ayurvedic Wellness Educator and Ayurvedic Practitioner programs. SCU faculty members are composed of ayurvedic doctors with years of research, clinical and teaching experience. The university also offers students access to an extensive library containing over 9000 health division books and 77 print journals as well as hands-on supervised internship opportunities in the SCU Health Center.

In addition to its Ayurvedic Medicine curriculum, SCU is also widely acclaimed for its Certified Massage Therapy program. Trained Certified Massage Therapists are highly sought after for professional sports teams, orthopedic, chiropractic and acupuncture offices, naturopathic clinics, corporate wellness programs, and in the spa and leisure industry. The University's offered course-work includes Essential Sciences Massage Technique, Theory and Practice of Therapeutic Massage, Fundamentals and Business Practices, Kinesiology, Biomechanics, Advanced Bodywork, Theory and Techniques, and more.

"Our annual SCU Campus Preview Day is an opportunity for our next generation of students to visit the school, meet our wonderful faculty, and learn more about the unique programs and curriculum that we offer," says SCU President Dr. John Scaringe. "Our integrated, evidence-based approach has prepared graduates for successful careers in Ayurvedic Medicine and Massage Therapy. For over a century, SCU has taught the latest practices and we're honored to be one of North America's leading universities for Ayurvedic Medicine and Massage Therapy as well as for Acupuncture, Chiropractic and Oriental medicine and we affirm our continuing mission to educate students as competent, caring and successful healthcare practitioners."

About The Southern California University of Health Sciences For over a century, SCU has prepared men and women for successful and significant careers in patient care. Located on a beautiful 38-acre campus in Whittier, California, about 20 miles Southeast of Los Angeles on the border of Orange County, SCU students enjoy a quiet suburban atmosphere and the advantages of being near a large city. The school offers a dual degree program in Chiropractic and Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. The SCU Los Angeles College of Chiropractic is accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), and the SCU College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine is endorsed by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM). Both programs are also accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). SCU also offers a Diagnostic Imaging residency program, a Chiropractic Sports Medicine residency program, and is also the only school of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in North America to offer an on-campus anatomy lab, radiology lab and extensive hands-on experience. The School of Professional Studies (SPS) at SCU offers two certificate programs Massage Therapy and Ayurvedic Medicine which are also recognized by WASC.

For information on the Southern California University of Health Sciences, please visit: http://www.scuhs.edu.

Media Contact: MediaLab PR Erik Jansen erik@medialab-pr.com / (714) 620-5017

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SCU Showcases North America's Leading Graduate Curriculum For Ayurvedic Medicine And Certified Massage Therapy At ...

Top South Bay and West L.A. Physicians Bring Innovative Hybrid Concierge Medicine Program to Local Patients

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Bucking the trend toward quitting medicine, selling their practice or joining a large healthcare corporation, two of the Southlands top physicians, William Lang, M.D., FACP and Steven Krems, M.D., recently announced they are offering the hybrid concierge model of medicine from industry pioneer Concierge Choice Physicians (CCP) to patients. The two physicians will bring the innovative model that helps physicians stay in practice caring for all patients, while offering a concierge program just to patients whod like enhanced health care services. Through their hybrid program, Dr. Krems, located in Marina del Rey, and Dr. Lang, with offices near LAX, will serve patients from West L.A. to the South Bay, including Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Redondo and Manhattan Beach.

I liked the idea of getting back to practicing medicine the old fashioned way, where I could have lots of time with patients who wanted and needed my attention, said Dr. Krems. I had heard about full model concierge before, but didnt want to say goodbye to my patients who couldnt afford or just didnt want a concierge program. I thought this was a great combination with something for me and all of my patients.

Dr. Lang notes that in the past few years the number of independent medical practices has gone from more than 70% to around 30% and is still shrinking today as more doctors adapt to the new healthcare environment by joining larger groups or sell their practices to corporations. I believe America needs a choice in healthcare options and I believe in finding ways to encourage independent solo and small group physicians. Im glad we have options like hybrid concierge that can help to protect the traditional primary care physician, he says.

In addition to providing options for physicians, hybrid concierge programs offer patients choices. They can join the concierge program and receive enhanced services or they can continue to see their physician as before.

However, unlike traditional full-model concierge programs, where only those patients who can pay a fee can continue to see their physician, Concierge Choice Physicians hybrid models merge traditional and concierge programs and allow physicians to continue to care for all their patients, including those with Medicare or other government or private insurance programs. In a typical program, about three to eight percent of patients choose to join the concierge program and the remainder see their physician as before.

The hybrid concierge model provides medical services not covered under the patients traditional insurance policies. For a modest fee, equal to the cost of a daily latte, concierge patients receive comprehensive preventive care, convenient scheduling, less waiting time, direct access to their physicians through private phone numbers, cell phones, email, and other services.

Concierge patients will also receive a personalized approach to their healthcare needs emphasizing preventive medicine that is based on an in-depth, executive-style physical exam that retails for more than the cost of the annual membership. Health services include fitness, nutrition and supplement counseling and assessments of sleep, cognitive, musculoskeletal, hearing, vision, cardiac and lung function. Physicians also help to coordinate all specialist care and provide direct care coordination to hospitalized patients. Children up to age 25 are covered under their parents program.

Krems and Lang are both active physicians in Los Angeles. Dr. Krems is the team internist for the Los Angeles Clippers. Dr. Lang is also involved in providing healthcare to local athletes and supports a number of charities for homeless and undocumented children as well as Late Night Sports, an organization that gives at-risk youth a safe and secure place to play sports.

For more information on Dr. Krems and his practice, please call 310-578-1062. Dr. Langs office can be reached at 310-536-9262.

Penn Medicine physician: Emphasis on ‘value’ in health care reform sends mixed messages

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

Public release date: 6-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Holly Auer holly.auer@uphs.upenn.edu 215-200-2313 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

PHILADELPHIA - The wide consensus that health care spending poses a threat to the nation's fiscal solvency has led to the championing of "value" as a goal of health care reform efforts. But the divergence of opinions between patients and physicians on the meaning of value presents an obstacle to progress in achieving genuine reform, says Lisa Rosenbaum, MD, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar and cardiologist at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

In a Medicine and Society article published this week the New England Journal of Medicine, "The Whole Ballgame Overcoming the Blind Spots in Health Care Reform," Rosenbaum writes that rather than facing the big-picture reality that spending less will mean sometimes having less, a more hopeful -- but misleading -- emphasis on pursuing high-value health care has emerged as the dominant paradigm. But, notes Rosenbaum, "Value in health care depends on who is looking, where they look, and what they expect to see."

The emphasis on value effectively splits patients and physicians into separate groups. When the focus is on physicians, creating value means reducing overuse, increasing efficiency, and providing incentives to deliver evidence-based care. But when the focus is on patients, creating value means enhancing patients' experience and paying attention to processes and outcomes that matter to them.

The problem, says Rosenbaum is that both concepts of value sound promising in isolation and, to their respective adherents, reinforce the illusion that each can improve health care. But when viewed together, contradictions can arise. For example, Rosenbaum cites patients who ask their physicians for batteries of tests to achieve peace of mind about an illness -- even if there is little or no evidence that doing so delivers better care or produces better results. A patient-centered approach would acknowledge the psychological benefit that patients derive from undergoing such tests; but a physician-centered approach would caution against administering costly tests that have little or no data to support their efficacy. Further complicating this dichotomy are studies showing that, for instance, patients who receive medical imaging, regardless of whether it is truly indicated, are generally more satisfied with their care.

Likening the present-day situation to a psychological phenomenon called inattentional blindness -- the tendency to become immersed in specific stimuli at the cost of missing other things that are right before one's eyes -- Rosenbaum calls for a view that encompasses the perspectives of both patients and physicians. "Patients and physicians are on the same team and the patientphysician dynamic remains central to medical care, decisions about resource use, and our evolving definition of quality," she said. "If we focus on physicians and patients separately, we lose sense of how their goals may or may not match up."

Offering a solution, Rosenbaum offers an example from her own training experience. "A cardiac patient I was seeing had had a number of tests already. But he was still concerned about his condition and asked, 'Isn't there some other test you could do?' My preceptor spent a long time explaining to the patient and his wife the implications of his previous tests, why all the tests he had found on the Internet would probably be of no further value, why he needed to take an additional blood-pressure medication and begin exercising, and how he should change his diet. At the end of the conversation, he and his wife exchanged a look of relief. 'No one has ever explained any of this to me before,' he said."

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Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

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Penn Medicine physician: Emphasis on 'value' in health care reform sends mixed messages

Spitomics: The promise and perils of ‘personalized’ medicine

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

Sam Wood, PHILLY.COM Posted: Wednesday, March 6, 2013, 6:00 AM

There's a genetic testing revolution underway at your local hospital. And it's causing doctors and medical students to confront some very thorny issues.

"Personalized medicine" uses genetic information derived from tests to predict a patient's chances of coming down with diseases and offers ways of tailoring some cures.

Could testing on a fetus show that the person has the potential to be autistic? Gay? If so, what will parents do with the information?

A product of a $30 billion effort to sequence the human genome, the tests until recently have been limited to those wealthy enough to pay up to $10,000. But the tests have dropped to about $1,000.

Dr. Art Caplan, a professor of medical ethics at New York University, brought a host of provocative questions raised by the tests and their use in new treatments to Cooper University Medical School in Camden on Tuesday.

The inaugural speaker of the Berkowitz Family Foundation Lecture, Caplan dismissed most of the consumer-targeted versions of the genetic tests - those that claim to match diet and lifestyle to personal DNA - as "ethically worrisome" and "nonsense added to ridiculousness." Others, including 23andMe and DeCodeMe, are "more legitimate," he said.

Caplan, gregarious with a white mop of hair, also spoke about the developing field of pharmacogenomics, the study of prescribing drugs for patients based on their personal DNA.

"It's great, but it's still the early days," Caplan said.

Prenatal testing will drive most of the upcoming controversy, Caplan said.

BG Medicine Highlights Role of Galectin-3 Testing in Combating Hospital Readmissions at the American College of …

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

WALTHAM, Mass., March 6, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BG Medicine, Inc. (BGMD), a diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialization of novel cardiovascular tests, today announced that company representatives and independent researchers will highlight the clinical utility of galectin-3 blood testing in assessing the prognosis of patients with chronic heart failure through an extensive series of data presentations and company-sponsored events at the American College of Cardiology's (ACC) 62nd Annual Scientific Session & Expo in San Francisco, California.

As part of BG Medicine's presence at the ACC meeting, the company will host an educational symposium chaired by Alan Maisel, MD, Professor of Medicine, UCSD, Director of Coronary Care Unit and Heart Failure Program at the San Diego VA Medical Center, focused on how galectin-3 testing can help hospitals reduce readmissions. Representatives from BG Medicine will also be sponsoring booth N5519 which showcases how galectin-3 can impact the treatment of patients with chronic heart failure through a series of real-life case studies.

Reducing unplanned readmissions for patients continues to be one of the most urgent and pressing issues facing US-based hospitals today, particularly since October 2012, when the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) enacted new rules that impose significant financial penalties on hospitals with excessive 30-day hospital readmission rates. Because heart failure patients with elevated galectin-3 are two-to-three times more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, we believe that identifying these high-risk patients through galectin-3 testing is an efficient, simple and cost-effective tool in a hospital's strategy to reduce unplanned 30-day readmissions, enabling hospitals to better direct their intervention strategies and resources to those who need them most.i, ii,iii

Clinicians and hospital administrators interested in learning more about the unique role of galectin-3 testing as a risk stratification tool in reducing 30-day hospital readmissions can register to attend the BG Medicine dinner symposium From Emergency Department to Discharge: The Role of Biomarkers in Preventing Readmissions at http://www.galectin-3.com. The program will feature scientific and economic data from nationally-recognized experts from the emergency department, laboratory and administrative settings.

"For patients presenting to the emergency department, the initial triage and diagnosis by a clinician can influence the entire course of their care," said W. Frank Peacock IV, MD, FACEP Professor, Associate Chair & Research Director, Baylor College of Medicine and a featured panelist in the symposium. "Having ready access to a patient's galectin-3 level early in the assessment process may help clinicians make more informed management decisions across the spectrum of heart failure patients. Not only does knowledge of a patient's elevated galectin-3 provide valuable information as to which patients are in greatest need of aggressive management and at the highest risk for readmission, a low galectin-3 also identifies the lowest risk patients who may be appropriate candidates for observation or possibly early discharge."

In addition to the company-sponsored activities highlighting the issue of unplanned readmissions, independent researchers will present a range of findings on the role of galectin-3 testing in patients with chronic heart failure, including the following:

903-6 - Coronary Sinus Level of Galectin-3 is a Better Predictor than Peripheral Venous Level of Major Adverse Cardiac Events in Patients with Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

1136-309/309 - Usefulness of Plasma Galectin-3 in Congestive Heart Failure: Relationships with Echocardiographic Parameters and Survival

1265-297/297 - Serial Measurement of Galectin-3 Predicts Chronic Heart Failure Outcomes and Ventricular Remodeling: Results from the ProBNP Outpatient Tailored Chronic Heart Failure Therapy (PROTECT) Study

1265-309/309 - The Incremental Prognostic Power of Novel Biomarkers in Patients with Severe Chronic Heart Failure

BG Medicine Highlights Role of Galectin-3 Testing in Combating Hospital Readmissions at the American College of ...

RAND PAUL, LION OF LIBERTY vs. THE DRONES – Video

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

RAND PAUL, LION OF LIBERTY vs. THE DRONES
SOURCE: http://www.youtube.com I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you #39;re here. You #39;re here because you know something. What you know you can #39;t explain, but you feel it. You #39;ve felt it your entire life, that there #39;s something wrong with the world. You don #39;t know what it is, but it #39;s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I #39;m talking about? MY BACKUP CHANNEL IS http://www.youtube.com PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AS ONE NEVER KNOWS WITH YT. HAVE HAD FOUR OTHER CHANNELS TAKEN DOWN OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. **BUY THE BOOK NINE-TENTHS!! http://www.amazon.com SUBSCRIBE NOW!! http://www.youtube.com AMTV WEBSITE: http://www.amtvmedia.com GREENEWAVE WEBSITE: http://www.greenewave.com MY FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com MY TWITTER: twitter.com -==DONATE LINK==- http://www.greenewave.com 3-6-2013: On today #39;s edition of AMTV News, Topher Morrison covers Rand Paul #39;s filibuster of John Brennen for director of CIA. LINKS: GreeneWave.com AMTVMedia.com

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RAND PAUL, LION OF LIBERTY vs. THE DRONES - Video

Liberty Mutual Insurance Benefits St. Charles Missouri – Video

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

Liberty Mutual Insurance Benefits St. Charles Missouri
greaterstlouisaccidentinjurycenters.com Chiropractors St. Charles Missouri Dr. Mark Holland. Phone 636-946-7777 First Capitol Chiropractic and Rehab 605 First Capitol Dr., St. Charles, MO 63301 Liberty Mutual Insurance Chiropractic St. Charles Missouri, Chiropractors 63301,

By: Mark Holland

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Liberty Mutual Insurance Benefits St. Charles Missouri - Video

Liberty Mutual Insurance Chiropractor St. Charles Missouri – Video

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

Liberty Mutual Insurance Chiropractor St. Charles Missouri
greaterstlouisaccidentinjurycenters.com Chiropractors St. Charles Missouri Dr. Mark Holland. Phone 636-946-7777 First Capitol Chiropractic and Rehab 605 First Capitol Dr., St. Charles, MO 63301 Liberty Mutual Insurance Chiropractic St. Charles Missouri, Chiropractors 63301,

By: Mark Holland

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Liberty Mutual Insurance Chiropractor St. Charles Missouri - Video

Liberty Mutual Insurance Coverage St. Charles Missouri – Video

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Danzig

Liberty Mutual Insurance Coverage St. Charles Missouri
greaterstlouisaccidentinjurycenters.com Chiropractors St. Charles Missouri Dr. Mark Holland. Phone 636-946-7777 First Capitol Chiropractic and Rehab 605 First Capitol Dr., St. Charles, MO 63301 Liberty Mutual Insurance Chiropractic St. Charles Missouri, Chiropractors 63301,

By: Mark Holland

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