Weather Pristine for Private Rocket Launch to Space Station Friday

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Update: This story was updated at 10:15 a.m. ET (1515 GMT) on Feb. 28.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The weather looks promising for the planned Friday launch of a privately built robotic space capsule to the International Space Station, NASA says.

The unmanned Dragon space capsule, built by the private spaceflight company SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., is slated to launch toward the space station Friday (March 1) at 10:10 a.m. EST. Weather forecasts predict a 80 percent chance of favorable conditions for launch. NASA and SpaceX officials gave the scheduled mission a final "go" for launch.

"The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the International Space Station," NASA officials said in a mission update. "It will mark the third trip by a Dragon capsule to the orbiting laboratory, following a demonstration flight in May 2012 and the first resupply mission in October 2012."

SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to provide 12 unmanned cargo deliveries to the space station. Another company, Orbital Sciences Corp. based in Virginia, has a $1.9 billion contract for eight mission using its own Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft.

The Dragon spacecraft is expected to deliver 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) worth of supplies to the six international crewmembers on board the station. The capsule is scheduled to return to Earth with 2,300 pounds (1,043 kg) of material from the space station when it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California on March 25.

SpaceX conducted asuccessful rocket engine test, known as a "static test fire" on Monday (Feb. 25). The rocket's 9 Merlin engines were fired for a few seconds while the rocket was held down on the launch pad.

NASA is relying on SpaceX, Orbital Sciences and other private companies to develop new private spacecraft to supply the International Space Station with cargo and ultimately ferry American astronauts into and from low-Earth orbit.

With the retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2011, NASA has been dependent on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to fly astronauts to the space station, and use unmanned cargo ships built by Russia, Japan and Europe to deliver supplies to the orbiting laboratory.

The space agency is also developing a new rocket and spacecraft, the Orion space capsule and its Space Launch System mega-rocket, for future deep-space exploration missions to the moon, asteroids and Mars.

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Weather Pristine for Private Rocket Launch to Space Station Friday

SpaceX on verge of 3rd supply run to space station

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) The International Space Station is about to get another commercial shipment.

The California company known as SpaceX is set to launch its unmanned Falcon rocket on Friday morning, hoisting a Dragon capsule containing more than a ton of food, tools, computer hardware and science experiments.

There won't be any ice cream, though, for the six-man station crew. The freezers going up are filled with mouse stem cells, protein crystals and other research items. On the previous Dragon delivery in October, chocolate-vanilla swirl was tucked inside.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said snacks straight from the orchard of an employee's father are on board and not just apples.

"It's a little bit healthier, I think, than the one that NASA sent last time," she told reporters on the eve of the flight.

Forecasters put the odds of good weather at 80 percent. Launch time is 10:10 a.m.

This will be the third space station visit for SpaceX, or more formally Space Exploration Technologies Corp., the creation of Elon Musk of PayPal and Tesla electric carmaker fame.

NASA is paying the company to supply the orbiting lab; the contract is worth $1.6 billion for 12 delivery runs.

If launched Friday, the Dragon should arrive at the space station on Saturday morning. Astronauts will use the station's robot arm to grab the Dragon and attach it to the orbiting complex.

A variety of plant life is going up, including 640 seeds of mouse-ear cress, a small flowering weed used in research. Other experiments involve paint; high school students want to see how it will adhere and dry in space.

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SpaceX on verge of 3rd supply run to space station

NASA’s Van Allen Probes Discover a Surprise Circling Earth – Video

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NASA #39;s Van Allen Probes Discover a Surprise Circling Earth
http://www.thesuntoday.org - Since their discovery over 50 years ago, the Earth #39;s Van Allen radiation belts have been considered to consist of two distinct zones of trapped, highly energetic charged particles. Observations from NASA #39;s Van Allen Probes reveal an isolated third ring in the outer radiation belt. Read More at http Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Join us at Facebook, Google+ (gplus.to and Pinterest at thesuntoday.

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NASA Now Minute: Inspiration and Education: Building a Career at NASA – Video

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NASA Now Minute: Inspiration and Education: Building a Career at NASA
Be sure not to miss this episode of NASA Now, when three experts who work in very different fields at NASA discuss their jobs, responsibilities and what they enjoy most about their work. They also talk about what inspired them to pursue their careers and offer career advice to students. NASA Now Minutes are excerpts from a weekly current events program available for classroom use at the NASA Explorer Schools Virtual Campus located at: explorerschools.nasa.gov.

By: NASAExplorerSchools1

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NASA Now Minute: Inspiration and Education: Building a Career at NASA - Video

NASA would take a hit with sequestration

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NASA / Kim Shiflett

The Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, Dragon spacecraft with solar array fairings attached, stands inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Sequestration could put SpaceX launches at risk.

By Dan LeoneSpace.com

WASHINGTON To deal with the nearly $900 million budget hit NASA will absorb if automatic spending cuts known as sequestration are allowed to take effect March 1, the U.S. space agency would slow development work on commercially operated astronaut taxis, delay or cancel space technology programs and postpone the launch of some small science missions.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden outlined the space agencys sequestration plansin a Feb. 5 letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who released it following a Feb. 14 hearing.

NASAs overall budget would drop to $16.9 billion, down from the $17.8 billion Congress approved last year.

Spending on the commercial crew program NASA is using to subsidize development by Boeing, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Sierra Nevada of competing human spaceflight systems would be reduced to $388 million $18 million less than it is currently spending and $441.6 million less than the agency had been planning to spend in 2013. [What NASA's 2013 Budget Pays For (Video)]

NASA, like all federal agencies, has had its funding frozen at 2012 levels under a stopgap spending measure known as a continuing resolution that expires March 28. NASAs sequestration plan assumes that the continuing resolution will be extended through Sept. 30, the end of the U.S. governments 2013 fiscal year.

Bolden said NASAs commercial crew partners would feel a funding pinch as soon as July.

Among the commercial crew activities planned for later this year that NASA would not be able to fund after sequestration are:

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NASA would take a hit with sequestration

NASA Solicitation: Educator Professional Development

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Synopsis - Feb 25, 2013

General Information

Solicitation Number: NNL13ZB1002L Posted Date: Feb 25, 2013 FedBizOpps Posted Date: Feb 25, 2013 Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No Original Response Date: Mar 11, 2013 Current Response Date: Mar 11, 2013 Classification Code: U -- Education and training services NAICS Code: 611310

Contracting Office Address

NASA/Langley Research Center, Mail Stop 12, Industry Assistance Office, Hampton, VA 23681-0001

Description

The following is a Request for Information (RFI) or Sources Sought Notice. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and does NOT constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP). It is issued under the authority of FAR 15.201("Exchanges of information before receipt of proposals").

NASA Langley Research Center is conducting market research in order to identify potential sources that have the academic resources, capabilities, and experience to assist in the implementation of NASA's "Educator Professional Development" (EPD) Line of Business.

NASA's education mission is to advance high quality Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education utilizing NASA's unique capabilities. NASA's attention to professional development for educators spans more than 50 years as various related models, projects, and activities at all ten NASA field centers have been implemented to introduce and integrate the agency's unique educational STEM resources into formal and informal learning environments locally and nationally. The NASA EPD Line of Business has been established to consolidate these diverse components into a focused agency-wide effort to ensure operational efficiency while optimizing strategies, methods, and technologies that promote educators' use of NASA-related content. NASA's EPD incorporates four integrated delivery mechanisms: Facility Face-to-Face (F2F) Institute, Partner-Delivered, Online EPD, and Community-Requested EPD. The overall objective of EPD is to utilize the four components in concert with NASA-related content to enhance the professional development of STEM educators.

The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice/Market Research is to identify sources with the academic expertise needed to implement a range of requirements designed to enhance the professional development of STEM educators. Interested parties are asked to submit a written capability statement that demonstrate the following: (1) Experience in designing and developing research based educator professional development with a STEM focus; (2) Accreditation by a certified higher education governing board; (3) Ability to perform robust evaluations related to educator professional development; (4) Ability to scale up and down to meet changing geographic and budget requirements; (5) Ability to conduct face-to-face workshops at various geographical locations simultaneously; (6) Ability to respond to community requested opportunities; (7) Ability to plan, prepare, and produce high quality, synchronous and asynchronous STEM EPD sessions, courses, and learning modules for delivery through an online environment, and (8) Ability and success in utilizing in distance learning tools and social networking structures to effectively enhance educator professional development.

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NASA Discovers New Radiation Belt Around Earth

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A ring of radiation previously unknown to science fleetingly surrounded Earth last year before being virtually annihilated by a powerful interplanetary shock wave, scientists say.

NASA's twin Van Allen space probes, which are studying the Earth's radiation belts, made the cosmic find. The surprising discovery a new, albeit temporary, radiation belt around Earth reveals how much remains unknown about outer space, even those regions closest to the planet, researchers added.

After humanity began exploring space, the first major find made there were the Van Allen radiation belts, zones of magnetically trapped, highly energetic charged particles first discovered in 1958.

"They were something we thought we mostly understood by now, the first discovery of the Space Age," said lead study author Daniel Baker, a space scientist at the University of Colorado.

These belts were believed to consist of two rings: an inner zone made up of both high-energy electrons and very energetic positive ions that remains stable in intensity over the course of years to decades; and an outer zone comprised mostly of high-energy electrons whose intensity swings over the course of hours to days depending primarily on the influence from the solar wind, the flood of radiation streaming from the sun. [How NASA's Twin Radiation Probes Work (Infographic)]

The discovery of a temporary new radiation belt now has scientists reviewing the Van Allen radiation belt models to understand how it occurred.

Radiation rings around Earth

The giant amounts of radiation the Van Allen belts generate can pose serious risks for satellites. To learn more about them, NASA launched twin spacecraft, the Van Allen probes, in the summer of 2012.

The satellites were armed with a host of sensors to thoroughly analyze the plasma, energetic particles, magnetic fields and plasma waves in these belts with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution.

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NASA Discovers New Radiation Belt Around Earth

NASA's Van Allen Probes reveal a new radiation belt around Earth

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Feb. 28, 2013 NASA's Van Allen Probes mission has discovered a previously unknown third radiation belt around Earth, revealing the existence of unexpected structures and processes within these hazardous regions of space.

Previous observations of Earth's Van Allen belts have long documented two distinct regions of trapped radiation surrounding our planet. Particle detection instruments aboard the twin Van Allen Probes, launched Aug. 30, quickly revealed to scientists the existence of this new, transient, third radiation belt.

The belts, named for their discoverer, James Van Allen, are critical regions for modern society, which is dependent on many space-based technologies. The Van Allen belts are affected by solar storms and space weather and can swell dramatically. When this occurs, they can pose dangers to communications and GPS satellites, as well as humans in space.

"The fantastic new capabilities and advances in technology in the Van Allen Probes have allowed scientists to see in unprecedented detail how the radiation belts are populated with charged particles and will provide insight on what causes them to change, and how these processes affect the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science in Washington.

This discovery shows the dynamic and variable nature of the radiation belts and improves our understanding of how they respond to solar activity. The findings, published February 28 in the journal Science, are the result of data gathered by the first dual-spacecraft mission to fly through our planet's radiation belts.

The new high-resolution observations by the Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT) instrument, part of the Energetic Particle, Composition, and Thermal Plasma Suite (ECT) aboard the Van Allen Probes, revealed there can be three distinct, long-lasting belt structures with the emergence of a second empty slot region, or space, in between.

"This is the first time we have had such high-resolution instruments look at time, space and energy together in the outer belt," said Daniel Baker, lead author of the study and REPT instrument lead at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado in Boulder. "Previous observations of the outer radiation belt only resolved it as a single blurry element. When we turned REPT on just two days after launch, a powerful electron acceleration event was already in progress, and we clearly saw the new belt and new slot between it and the outer belt."

Scientists observed the third belt for four weeks before a powerful interplanetary shock wave from the sun annihilated it. Observations were made by scientists from institutions including LASP; NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M.; and the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

Each Van Allen Probe carries an identical set of five instrument suites that allow scientists to gather data on the belts in unprecedented detail. The data are important for the study of the effect of space weather on Earth, as well as fundamental physical processes observed around other objects, such as planets in our solar system and distant nebulae.

"Even 55 years after their discovery, the Earth's radiation belts still are capable of surprising us and still have mysteries to discover and explain," said Nicky Fox, Van Allen Probes deputy project scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. "We thought we knew the radiation belts, but we don't. The advances in technology and detection made by NASA in this mission already have had an almost immediate impact on basic science."

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NASA's Van Allen Probes reveal a new radiation belt around Earth

NASA Deep-Space Missions Take Aim at Mars

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CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. The announcement today of an ambitious new project to launch the first private manned mission to Mars in 2018 may suggest to some that NASA has lost a step in the pursuit of deep-space exploration. But the U.S. space agency is forging ahead with plans for a flexible new spaceship and rocket to send astronauts deeper into space than ever before.

The nonprofit Inspiration Mars Foundation unveiled plans for a private Mars flyby mission today (Feb. 27) that calls for a January 2018 launch of a two-person crew a man and woman, possibly a married couple on a 501-day trip to the Red Planet and back. The mission would not land on Mars but bring a capsule and inflatable module within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of the Martian surface before zooming away back to Earth.

Just one hour after the Inspiration Mars Foundation announcement in Washington, D.C., NASA officials here at the Kennedy Space Center briefed reporters about the agency's own plans for deep-space missions, including an eventual Mars trek.

"We know we're eventually going to Mars, and there are multiple destinations between here and Mars," Dan Dumbacher, NASA's deputy associate administrator for exploration systems, said in a briefing that did not address the private Mars project.

To do that, NASA is developing the new Orion deep-space capsule, the agency's first manned spacecraft since the space shuttle program ended in 2011. Orion is expected to launch on a new mega-rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). [See Photos of NASA's Deep-Space Vehicles]

Project Orion

Orion and the SLS form the core of NASA's deep-space exploration program. In 2010, President Barack Obama set a lofty goal for NASA's future send astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, then take aim at a manned Mars mission in the 2030s.

The aerospace company Lockheed Martin is building the four-person Orion capsule for NASA, with the European Space Agency providing the service module for the spacecraft. Orion's first test flight, called Exploration Flight Test 1, is slated to launch in 2014, and parts of the space capsule are being assembled at the Kennedy Space Center now.

Once the computers are in place sometime this summer, NASA scientists will power on the test capsule for the first time and check its systems on the ground, Orion project manager Mark Geyer said.

The NASA team plans to launch the capsule atop a Delta 4 rocket, sending it 3,000 miles (4,828 km) above Earth's surface. The main goal is to test the heat shields tasked with protecting crewmembers during Orion's manned missions, the first of which is slated to launch toward lunar space in 2021.

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NASA Deep-Space Missions Take Aim at Mars

What is Nanotechnology | Introduction to Nanotechnology | Nanotechnology Documentary – Video

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What is Nanotechnology | Introduction to Nanotechnology | Nanotechnology Documentary
Uploaded for educational purposes only; Thank you for taking the time to watch this! If you enjoy this video and think it would be of some benefit or interest to others please share it! Join Facebook : http://www.facebook.com Subscribe us : http://www.youtube.com

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Nanotechnology to preserve cultural treasures

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Experts to use nanotechnology to preserve works of art and other cultural treasures,

News | by IANS/EFE

MEXICO CITY: Experts from nine countries have come together to promote the use of nanotechnology to preserve works of art and other cultural treasures, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said.

The techniques pioneered by the NANOFORART Project are applicable to structures, paintings and books, the institute, known as INAH, said in a statement.

Piero Baglioni, a researcher and professor at the University of Florence in Italy, has been using the techniques for three decades.

Baglioni and Rodorico Giorgi, also of the University of Florence, travelled to Mexico earlier this month to preside over a conference on Nanotechnology applied to cultural heritage, INAH said.

The project includes specialists from Italy, Spain, Britain, France, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovenia and Mexico and is coordinated by the CSGI center at the University of Florence.

NANONFORART is set to conclude in December 2014 with the "validation of the technology and the methods developed, as well as training activities", INAH said.

Until now, preservation of cultural treasures has been carried out using conventional materials that are often incompatible with the works and can, over time, alter the appearance of the object.

Baglioni has worked with INAH personnel to clean and restore pre-Columbian murals at the Cacaxtla, Cholula, Tlatelolco, Mayapan, El Tajin, Monte Alban and Teotihuacan sites.

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Nanotechnology to preserve cultural treasures

The Art of Medicine – Linda Lam, DO, Family Medicine – Video

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The Art of Medicine - Linda Lam, DO, Family Medicine
Throughout the Saint Alphonsus Health System, we believe there #39;s more to medicine than just medicine. Compassion, quality, teamwork, skill, passion, commitment and faith all represent the critical difference in the care we provide to our patients and their families.

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The Art of Medicine - Linda Lam, DO, Family Medicine - Video

Concierge medicine comes to West Texas

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Dr. Summer Merritt never intended to introduce a new kind of medical practice to Midland, or go into business for herself, or even stay in West Texas.

"I thought I would practice medicine (in Midland) for a few years, and then go back to Dallas," Merritt said. That was before a patient told her about the concierge physician she used while living part time in California. Merritt would take a full year to research the idea of concierge medicine before deciding to open her own practice in March of 2011.

During her year of research, Merritt talked to other physicians who were practicing concierge medicine, read blogs and journal articles. Out of all the information she gathered, Merritt began to form a plan for her own kind of practice which would be "a hybrid of several types of concierge medicine." Rather than working through HMOs, Medicare and insurance, Merritt's customers directly pay an annual fee to keep her on retainer. Merritt also limits the number of her clients, which allows her to spend more time with each patient than doctors in traditional practices. "The big thing is I am more available...Patients feel they have more time and relationship, and the physician becomes their healthcare advocate," Merritt explained.

"I had previously been employed in group settings for three years, but I wanted to try out a different type of practice," Merritt said. In medical school she had been told that practicing medicine would be about personal interaction with patients and attending to their well-being. Once Merritt began practicing medicine, though, she realized that the patient loads she was expected to maintain prohibited her from spending enough time with her patients. "The way traditional medicine is set up, doctors normally have...seven minutes of personal contact with each patient."

The solution for Merritt, and many like her, was to change the way she practiced medicine. Concierge medicine is a trend that is, according to Merritt, about 800 practitioners strong nationwide. Doctors and patients are both unsatisfied with the current medical system and are quickly migrating away from traditional medicine. Merritt's practice has grown more quickly than she expected; her practice is full and she is working with a waiting list.

Although Merritt has seen that there is a demand for this kind of practice in West Texas, she is unsure about expanding her practice. "I haven't determined if I'm going to add another physician or keep it like it is." Merritt presently has only one employee, which helps her keep overhead low and maintain a very personal atmosphere. If she does add a doctor to her practice, Merritt said, it wouldn't be soon, but it is difficult for her to know if it will happen at all.

Merritt attributes her success, at least in part, to the peculiarly innovative and fiercely independent attitude of West Texans. "Business people in West Texas appreciate innovation and different ideas," Merritt said. Midland is a particularly good place for concierge medicine, she explained, because from her home she can get to the hospital in two minutes and to any client's house in less than 30 minutes.

For Merritt, Midland has the additional appeal of being a good place to raise her son, and her patients have become a part of the family. "I take my son to house visits, and the patients get disappointed when he's not there," she said. This kind of personal success is what drives Merritt, and the idea of concierge medicine, while professional success comes second.

The motivation behind Merritt's concierge practice has, from the outset, been caring for patients. The idea of concierge medicine is to treat the whole person and focus on wellness, rather than simply treating patients once they become sick. For Merritt, the individual, rather than the sickness or the treatment, becomes the focus. Because Merritt's primary concern is not for the kind of treatment, she treats whole families, and even provides hospice care, spending time with patients when they're sick or dying.

The practice of concierge medicine is a growing trend, of which Dr. Summer Merritt is glad to be a part. It is a practice that is shifting the focus of medicine to people and patient care, rather than illnesses. It comes as no surprise that such a personalized medical practice is thriving in the fiercely independent atmosphere of West Texas. Beyond any local sense of independence, though, she believes that health is always an issue that requires individualized attention. "Health is a precious asset, and requires personal investment from people."

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Concierge medicine comes to West Texas

Sernova and Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine Partner to Treat Chronic Diseases

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TORONTO, ONTARIO and LONDON, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb 28, 2013) - The Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) is pleased to announce the addition of Sernova Corp. ("Sernova" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:SVA) to its member-based industry consortium. Sernova''s combination of immuno-protective technology and therapeutic cells for the treatment of chronic diseases advances CCRM''s goal of developing innovative cell-based product.

"Sernova''s technology for transplanting therapeutic cells into an implanted medical device for the treatment of diabetes and other chronic diseases goes hand-in-hand with our strategy of translating cell-based medical discoveries into commercial products and therapies," says Dr. Michael May, CEO of CCRM. "Sernova''s expertise in the area of cell therapy will bring great value to CCRM''s core development platforms and to other consortium members."

CCRM is working with its industry consortium to address real-life bottlenecks in cell-based product pipelines. Its industry consortium now numbers over 20 members. These companies represent the key sectors of the industry: therapeutics, devices, reagents, and cells as tools.

"Becoming a member of CCRM offers the opportunity for further validation for our technology and demonstrates our company''s commitment to the advancement of our Cell Pouch System as an effective, safe, long-term and convenient therapeutic option for the treatment of chronic diseases," says Dr. Philip Toleikis, President and CEO of Sernova Corp. "We will work together with the other consortium members to achieve CCRM''s objectives in treating and managing devastating diseases such as diabetes."

CCRM has built three core development platforms:cell reprogramming and engineering; cell manufacturing; and, biomaterials and devices to carry out projects commissioned by academia and industry. CCRM has a fully resourced, 6,000 square foot development facility where all development work takes place.

Please visit http://www.ccrm.ca/industry-consortium to see a complete list of CCRM''s members.

About the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM)

CCRM, a Canadian not-for-profit organization funded by the Government of Canada''s Networks of Centres of Excellence program and six academic partners, supports the development of technologies that accelerate the commercialization of stem cell- and biomaterials-based technologies and therapies. A network of academics, industry and entrepreneurs, CCRM aims to translate scientific discoveries into marketable products for patients. CCRM launched in Toronto''s Discovery District on June 14, 2011.

About Sernova

Sernova Corp. is a clinical stage health-sciences company focused on commercializing medical technologies. Sernova is currently developing a platform technology for a number of serious disease indications, starting with a novel treatment for insulin-dependent diabetes, using the novel Cell Pouch System for transplantation and long-term survival of therapeutic cells and its patented Sertolin cell technology, which can provide an immune-protected local environment for therapeutic cells.

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Sernova and Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine Partner to Treat Chronic Diseases

Tongue Cover Blocks Bitter Taste to Help the Medicine Go Down

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- We may have Siri in our iPhones, and may soon be driving smart cars running on algorithms, but we still drink bitter medicine today the way we used to a century ago. Most people simply take liquid medicine with water or sugared drinks to quickly get rid of the bitterness. That may not be the case anymore, thanks to Tongue Cover, the first product to solve the problem of bitter medicines not by masking or diluting them, but by blocking the taste altogether.

"This is going to forever change the way we take medicine," says Haris, the inventor, who spent a year planning and prototyping the Tongue Cover after completing an MBA in International Business in Phoenix, AZ. The product acts as a latex protective barrier, forming a sheath over the tongue, thereby blocking and protecting the tongue from the bitter taste of liquid medicines, health drinks, herbal teas, vitamin solutions or pills. "Pharmaceutical companies have long focused on sugar-coating pills or diluting liquid medicines to make them more bearable," he says, "but I envision the Tongue Cover to be the standard with every bottle of medicine in a couple of years from now."

That vision has already found support in some scientific quarters. Former Advisor to WHO for Eastern Mediterranean Region, Dr. Mohammad Waseem-ul-Islam, is a believer. "What motivates me to support this product is the scope of its potential social impact," he says. "This could fundamentally change the way 7 billion people take medicine, and everybody falls sick at some point. This is not just a particular demographic segment of society we're talking about. This would be about everybody; this is for everybody."

Crowdfunding

The patent-pending product is now available for pre-order on Indiegogo, the international crowdfunding website. The site, similar to Kickstarter, is known to have funded some of the most creative and edgy inventions in the recent past.

As is the fast-growing trend these days, venture capitalists and angel investors were largely ignored. "I want to put this product directly in people's hands, be it patients, doctors or distributors, so they can try it for themselves while helping us grow, developing its commercial appeal and keeping costs low," he says. "We are ideally looking to raise $125,000 for our first production run to achieve true economies of scale."

Pre-orders range from $1 for a single Tongue Cover sample to large wholesale packages. For more information or to place a pre-order, go to http://www.indiegogo.com/Tongue-Cover.

Contact details: Haris Ayoubi tonguecover@gmail.com +1 (623) 565-8473 +971 (55) 822-7356 XA 04, Jebel Ali Freezone Dubai, U.A.E. 17305

Links: http://www.indiegogo.com/Tongue-Cover http://www.tonguecover.com

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Tongue Cover Blocks Bitter Taste to Help the Medicine Go Down

USA Today Exciting Feature on Quality Medical Education at Avalon University School of Medicine

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YOUNGSTOWN, OH--(Marketwire - February 28, 2013) - Avalon University School of Medicine (AUSOM) is a growing leader in medical education. Avalon University School of Medicine focuses on quality medical education and training in order to ensure medical licensure and residency placement for international medical students and graduates.Avalon University School of Medicine is situated on Curacao; which is a highly developed and safe country with a supportive and pro-education government.Avalon University offers programs in Pre-Medicine, Doctor of Medicine and Clinical Sciences. Avalon University's curriculum is designed to prepare medical students for the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) exams.

"A recent Graduate Of Avalon University has this to say"

"Hi. My name is Dr. Carolyn Sok and I am a graduate of Avalon University School of Medicine. I am currently completing residency in Pathology at Metro Health, one of Cleveland's top trauma centers. It has been my experiencethat the education that I received at Avalon has thoroughly prepared me for a career in the competitive field of medicine.I was able to complete Basic Sciences in Curacao in only 16 months away from home, and then I was able to return to the United States to complete clinical rotations in ACGME green book teaching hospitals.I completed rotations right alongside US medical students.

"The education at Avalon University is top notch -- it has prepared me for the most important exams, the USMLE I, and it also provided me with clinical exposure to make me a more competitive candidate for securing a US residency position.

"For me personally, the faculty at Avalon made all the difference!The education was personal and they made sure that I understood the material being taught. As nervous as I was to enter medical school, Avalon made it very personal, comfortable and provided all the necessary tools to become a successful US practicing physician.

"Choosing a career in medicine is very challenging, but more important is choosing the right medical school. My decision to attend Avalon was one of the best decisions I have ever made.It not only made my dreams come true, but also fulfilled the dreams of my family as well."

For more information about AUSOM top Caribbean medical school, visit the AUSOM website.

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USA Today Exciting Feature on Quality Medical Education at Avalon University School of Medicine

New York Medical School Widens Nontraditional Path For Admissions

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Should students who want to attend medical school have to slog through a year of physics, memorize the structures of dozens of cellular chemicals or spend months studying for the MCAT? Not necessarily.

There are a few nontraditional paths into medical school. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, for example, has admitted a quarter of its incoming students for the last 25 years through a program that gave early admittance to humanities students who didn't have to take the full premed slate of science classes.

"It was designed to attract humanities majors to medicine who would bring a different perspective to education and medical practice," says Dr. Dennis Charney, dean of the school. And it worked so well, he says, that the school expanded the program on Wednesday.

By 2015, about half the incoming class will be admitted through the new FlexMed program, which will accept students of any educational background, including those in computer science and engineering.

"We're really looking for students that are innovative, that think out of the box," Charney says, "the [Mark] Zuckerbergs of the world that would go into medicine instead of [creating] Facebook."

Prospective students won't have to take the MCAT. But the program doesn't eliminate science entirely. Students, who will be admitted during their sophomore year, will have to take a year of biology or chemistry before applying, and then a few more science and math classes before graduation, as well as maintain a 3.5 GPA.

And students who didn't take enough advanced science as undergraduates will have to go to summer school to learn cell biology, biochemistry and genetics.

Charney says the students will be tracked through medical school and their careers to see if there are differences in the types of fields they go into, the research they perform or the leadership positions they attain.

"If we show that we attract a really innovative group of students," he says, "then I think [other medical schools] will follow our lead."

The traditional med school requirements have been in place for a century, but even when they were first instituted some objected, saying they excluded many excellent potential recruits to the medical profession.

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New York Medical School Widens Nontraditional Path For Admissions

Study authors: On medical school conflict of interest policies, more enforcement needed

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By Chelsea Conaboy, Globe Staff

Students at Brown Universitys Alpert Medical School are prohibited from accepting gifts or meals from pharmaceutical companies and drug salespeople. Yet, when she was training in a primary care clinic, student Reshma Ramachandran said drug salespeople stopped by often -- sometimes four times each week -- bringing lunch for the staff. The realities of practice clashed with her schools policy.

The preceptor would encourage us -- and it was kind of a weird pressure -- to go and sit with the sales rep or to sit with them as they talked to the sales reps, said Ramachandran, who is a fellow with the American Medical Student Association, partly focused on conflict of interest polices at medical schools.

Many schools have adopted policies restricting drug salespeople from working on campus and requiring professors to avoid or at least disclose their ties to industry. But even at institutions with the strictest rules, many doctors-to-be are exposed to pharmaceutical marketing throughout their training, according to study published this week by the Journal of General Internal Medicine and led by researchers at Harvard Medical School.

Researchers surveyed 1,610 first- and third-year medical students and 739 residents. Among first-year students, one-third reported receiving gifts from pharmaceutical companies and 17 percent said they had talked with a pharmaceutical representative in the prior six months.

Those percentages were significantly higher for third-year students. Nearly four in five reported receiving gifts, which could include food, trinkets such as pens and paper, drug samples, or financial support. Forty-four percent said they had interacted with drug reps. The rates for residents were somewhat similar.

Those students who attend schools with more comprehensive policies, measured on the medical student associations scorecard, were no less likely to have those contacts with salespeople, the study found.

Having the policy on the books is one thing, said senior author Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, a Brigham and Womens physician and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Making sure that its implemented and isnt being skirted around with off-campus interactions and interactions at hospitals which the medical students might then go to is also important.

Blaming her schools policy, Ramachandran would politely decline the chats with drug salespeople. But, she said, it was difficult for some classmates to reject invitations, sometimes to fancy pharma-sponsored dinners, from supervisors who were responsible for grading their performance.

One-third of first-year and most third-year students reported observing physicians or residents interact with a sales representative. Kirsten Austad, a fourth-year medial student at Harvard and lead author on the paper said medical school is a process of socialization, and doctors learn what is ethical and appropriate not just from what they are taught but in how they see physicians behave.

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Study authors: On medical school conflict of interest policies, more enforcement needed