Scientist Recommends Research Method Change For Evolutionary Biology

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April Flowers for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Shozo Yokoyama, a biologist at Emory University, says evolutionary biologists need to shift their focus from present-day molecules to synthesized, ancestral ones to truly understand the mechanisms of natural selection.

Yokoyama presented evidence to support his claim at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) meeting in Boston this week.

This is not just an evolutionary biology problem, its a science problem, says Yokoyama, a leading expert in the natural selection of color vision. If you want to understand the mechanisms of an adaptive phenotype, the function of a gene and how that function changes, you have to look back in time. That is the secret. Studying ancestral molecules will give us a better understanding of genes that could be applied to medicine and other areas of science.

Yokoyama notes positive Darwinian selection has been studied for years almost exclusively using comparative sequence analysis of present-day molecules, an approach fueled by increasingly fast and cheap genome sequencing techniques. Faster and easier, says Yokoyama, are not always best if you want to arrive at a true, quantitative result.

If you only study present-day molecules, youre only getting part of the picture, and that picture is often wrong, he says.

Studying fish and other vertebrates, Yokoyama has spent two decades teasing out secrets of the adaptive evolution of vision.

There are five classes of opsin genes that encode visual pigments. They are also responsible for dim-light and color vision. Since the available light at various ocean depths is well quantified, fish provide valuable clues for how environmental factors can lead to vision changes. For example, the common vertebrate ancestor possessed ultraviolet vision, suited to both shallow water and land.

As the environment of a species sinks deeper in the ocean, or rises closer to the surface and moves to land, bits and pieces of the opsin genes change and vision adapts, Yokoyama says. Im interested in exactly how that happens at the molecular level.

Molecular biologists construct a specific visual pigment by taking DNA from an animal, isolating and cloning its opsin genes, then using in vitro assays to create the pigment that can then be manipulated by changing the positions of the amino acids. This allows the scientists to study the regulation of the genes functions.

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Scientist Recommends Research Method Change For Evolutionary Biology

Intrexon and AquaBounty to Collaborate on Leveraging Synthetic Biology to Increase Productivity Across the Aquaculture …

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Exclusive Channel Collaboration Driven by Need to Meet Growing World Food Demand

Intrexon Proposes to Invest Up to $6.0 Million in AquaBounty

GERMANTOWN, Md. and MAYNARD, Mass., Feb. 15, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intrexon Corporation, a synthetic biology company that utilizes its proprietary technologies to provide control over cellular function, and AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (AIM:ABTX.L), a biotechnology company focused on enhancing the productivity in aquaculture, today announced the formation of an exclusive channel collaboration (ECC) to enhance productivity in aquaculture and develop products that decrease the time to market and address growing environmental issues.

As part of the ECC, Intrexon has proposed investing up to $6 million in AquaBounty to fund its operations and research. The investment is subject to shareholder approvals including the waiver of pre-emptive rights.

Thomas Kasser, President of Intrexon's Animal Science Division, said, "Today's developing world population is faced with increasing demand across a broad spectrum of markets including food, fuel and healthcare. Intrexon's mission is to apply its synthetic biology expertise and know how to provide solutions to these major global issues. Our agreement with AquaBounty demonstrates this commitment and focus in the food arena.

"The ECC with AquaBounty places Intrexon in strong position to revolutionize the aquaculture industry with faster growing, environmentally friendly products to meet the strong and growing demand for finfish. Our priority will be to develop the next generation of AquaBounty's existing product, AquAdvantage(R) Salmon, and to identify other products where our synthetic biology can implement leading edge technology to advance the sustainability and efficiency of fish production. AquAdvantage(R) Salmon is capable of reaching marketable size in about half of the conventional time, reduced from approximately 28 to 36 months to 18 months, with a 30% reduction in feed required to reach market weight. The FDA has published a draft Environmental Assessment and a preliminary draft of a Finding of No Significant Impact as one of the last steps in the approval process. The public comment period for these documents will close on April 25, 2013."

Ron Stotish, Chief Executive Officer of AquaBounty commented, "This collaboration with Intrexon is a transformative event for AquaBounty by providing access to one of the most innovative genetic sciences in the world today. It allows us to produce the next generation of existing products and new finfish products that meet today's demand for global consumption and environmental challenges."

Under terms of the agreements:

AquaBounty also announced the appointment to its board of directors of three individuals designated by Intrexon. The appointed board members are Thomas Barton, Managing Partner, White Rock Capital Management, L.P., Thomas R. Kasser, Ph.D., President of Intrexon's Animal Sciences Division, and James C. Turk, Jr., Partner, Harrison & Turk, P.C.

About Intrexon Corporation

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Intrexon and AquaBounty to Collaborate on Leveraging Synthetic Biology to Increase Productivity Across the Aquaculture ...

Dr. McCord – The Scientist Behind Protandim – Video

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Dr. McCord - The Scientist Behind Protandim
Dr. McCord - The Scientist Behind Protandim- Chronic Fatigue - Scientific review and http://www.lifevantage.com The future of nutrition. Call Dr. Ed Noa at 707-718-2036. http://www.doctornoa.com. Get Dr. Noa #39;s new book - Doctor You - Overcoming the Sick Tired Styndrome FFID Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, IBS Depression. Amazon - Kindle http://www.amazon.com 2441 Imola Napa Cal 94558 Dr. Joe Milton McCord, PhD. was born March 3, 1945. He is an internationally known biochemist who as a graduate student, he and his senior professor, Dr. Irwin Fridovich Ph.D, were the first discover the enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase. Dr. McCord is involved with LifeVantage Corporation - makers of Protandim, TrueScience and Canine Health since 2006. Dr. McCord received his BS degree in chemistry from Rhodes College (graduated in1966) and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Duke University (graduated in 1970). Dr. McCord has held biochemistry faculty positions at Duke University Medical Center, University of South Alabama, and the University of Colorado Denver. http://www.ucdenver.edu Protandim is an all natural product is scientifically proven to decrease the oxidative stress of an adult by an average of 40% (Free Radical Biology, 2006), that of an infant. 14 peer-reviewed scientific studies (go to PubMed (www.pubmed.org) and write in Protandim), 4 patents and a Nrf2 activator. The ingredient synergy is proven. A proprietary blend of 5 herbs - green tea, tumeric, milk thistle, ashwaganda and bacopa that is 18 ...

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Christian Petersen’s hydroponics with ocean water Singularity university application – Video

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Christian Petersen #39;s hydroponics with ocean water Singularity university application
The idea behind this project is to get community participation in the production of their own food using dilute concentrations of ocean water as the fertilizer. This idea is based on the work of Maynard Murray "sea energy agriculture" is the name of his book. Ocean water contains every known (92) trace minerals. When plants are grown in mineral deficient soils they are unable to acquire those minerals. This means those plants have not me their genetic potential, they are mineral deficient. Growing plants in ocean water provides them with every known mineral. Those plants uptake what they need and are in a sense "perfected". They are less susceptible to disease, grow faster and often times require no chemical pesticides or herbicides, as their innate immune systems are able to ward off environmental attacks. Seawater is easily accessible and free which keeps the cost of production low, making it a great fertilizer. Hydroponic food production systems are the most sustainable way of growing food as they recycle the water and fertilizer. Unlike conventional farming, hydroponically produced fruits and vegetables aren #39;t as susceptible to damage from the extremes of the environment or pests such as birds and beetles. The crop yield is also much higher than conventional produce. The idea is to get communities, schools and councils to set up hot houses for food production using ocean water. Growing food locally and supplying it to the community cheaply (cheaper than the ...

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Christian Petersen's hydroponics with ocean water Singularity university application - Video

New TopCoder Challenge: Create an iPad App to Help NASA Track Astronauts’ Diets

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Multi Phase Open Innovation Project with NASA Tournament Lab Seeks New Ideas and Functionality for Nutritional Biochemistry Lab

TopCoder(R), Inc., the world's largest open innovation platform and competitive community of digital creators, today launched the first two of a series of open innovation challenges to create a new dietary tracking application for use by astronauts in an International Space Station (ISS) -type environment. The ISS FIT (Food Intake Tracker) iPad App Conceptualization and Voice Command Idea Generation and other competitions are now open on the ISS FIT Challenge home page (TopCoder and TopCoder Studio registration required).

These are the first two of multiple phases of the challenge which will build a fully functioning iPad application from concept to deployment using TopCoder's open innovation Community and process. The complete challenge series is sponsored by NASA through its NASA Tournament Lab (NTL), an online virtual facility that harnesses the capabilities of the TopCoder Community to create innovative, efficient solutions for specific, real-world challenges being faced by the space agency.

"We at TopCoder are delighted to be working on a new challenge with NASA and the ISS, following so closely behind the Longeron Challenge which was a highly specialized algorithmic contest," said Rob Hughes, President and COO of TopCoder, Inc. "This challenge will appeal to a broader set of digital creators and will span all areas of idea generation, prototype, develop and delivery through open innovation."

NASA's Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory, in the Human Health and Performance Directorate at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, is seeking an open innovation solution on the iPad platform that monitors the dietary intake of crews during missions to prevent the possibility of crewmembers in an ISS-type environment not consuming enough calories and to prevent nutrient deficiencies and various health risks.

The benefits of using nutrition and dietary patterns as countermeasures to prevent negative conditions associated with spaceflight include the low risks for side effects, low costs, and minimal crew time required during flight. Research in other areas (for example, cardiovascular, muscle, bone, immunology, and radiation) has highlighted nutrition as integral to their success and indicated where additional efforts are required. These efforts will contribute to the safe human exploration of space.

The ISS FIT (Food Intake Tracker) iPad App challenge follows in quick succession to the recently completed Longeron Shadowing Optimization Challenge, a $30,000, open innovation competition to make the energy-gathering solar arrays of the International Space Station (ISS) more efficient by eliminating the shadows it casts upon itself at different points during orbit. More than 4,000 individuals registered for Longeron with 459 competitors producing 2,185 unique solutions in less than three weeks.

About NASA Tournament Lab

NASA and Harvard University have established the NASA Tournament Lab (NTL), which, with the enabling capabilities of the TopCoder community, allows for competitions to create the most innovative, most efficient, and most optimized solutions for specific, real-world challenges being faced by NASA researchers. The NTL provides an online virtual facility for NASA researchers with a computational or complex data processing challenge to "order" a solution, just like they would order laboratory tests or supplies. Learn more at the official NTL Website.

About TopCoder, Inc.

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New TopCoder Challenge: Create an iPad App to Help NASA Track Astronauts' Diets

Cancer Patients Finding New Treatments are Just as Effective and Less Toxic than Traditional Methods

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The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine supports new innovative cancer treatments that cause less harm to the body than chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and other methods

Boca Raton, FL (PRWEB) February 15, 2013

Aetna.com explains that over 1.4 million new cancer cases are diagnosed every year in the United States, 650,000 of which seek chemotherapy (amgen.com). 550,000 people die from cancer each year according to nanomedicinecenter.com. With side effects and death rates from chemo being so extreme, medical experts have turned to other possible methods when threating cancer patients. NCBI.com states that 40 percent of cancer patients turn to complementary and alternative medicine.

Mark Rosenberg MD. has a personal relationship to the disease that jump started vigorous research for a new treatment method. After his mother died from lung cancer, Rosenberg decided to dedicate his time and resources to finding healthier, more innovative methods of cancer treatment.

Rosenbergs innovative treatments consist of immunotherapy, which stimulates the innate immune system. Glycolytic inhibitors prevent cancer cells from utilizing sugar within the body, and inhibit the release of tissue that destroys enzymes.

For over 70 years, chemotherapy has been used to treat cancer. According to an article written by Dr. Rosenberg, chemo adds two or three months onto the estimated survival time. While this method does extend the life expectancy when used in vitro, chemotherapy takes an aggressive toll on a patients internal organs while treated inside the body. Rosenberg developed several methods of new integrative treatment that he found has a more positive effect on the bodys overall well- being as opposed to chemotherapy and radiation.

According to the Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M), Traditional cancer treatment is efficacious for early stage cancer. Unfortunately, in the U.S., we have made little progress in the treatment of advanced stage cancers in the past twenty years. A study was published in the British journal, "Clinical Oncology," in December, 2004, entitled, "The Contribution of Cytotoxic Chemotherapy to 5-Year Survival in Adult Malignancies." The authors, one medical oncologist and two radiation oncologists, analyzed the results of all randomized clinical trials performed in the U.S. and Australia, that reported a statistically significant increase in 5-year survival due to the use of chemotherapy in adult malignancies. The trials that were analyzed were performed between 1990 and 2004. Overall survival benefit of less than 5% has been achieved in the adjuvant treatment of breast, colon, and head and neck cancers. Clearly, the need for an alternative form of cancer treatment is great and imminent.

On the contrary, I have extended both quality of life and lifespan. Most patients who make their way to my office have already failed chemotherapy and have been told to go home and enjoy their last few months. There is no greater satisfaction than crying with a beautiful forty year-old woman because her metastatic breast cancer to hips and spine is no longer seen on bone scan; or a vibrant sixty seven year-old man with metastases from his kidney to liver, lung, spine, and rib enters remission, after being told by his oncologist that he has perhaps 2 months to live. And this happens over and over, outside of the standard of care, stated Rosenberg.

While traditional cancer treatments do have positive long term effects on some patients, new age innovative treatment methods may be a new option for others who are not so lucky.

A4M hosts one of the first fellowships in integrative cancer therapies. The program is designed to start improving your cancer patients quality of life and survival rates through innovative therapies.

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Cancer Patients Finding New Treatments are Just as Effective and Less Toxic than Traditional Methods

XGear World Travel Charger II – Video

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XGear World Travel Charger II
If you travel with your laptop or other personal electronic devices featuring universal power sockets, this is the power converter for you. Not only can it directly power most electronic devices, but you also have a standard universal socket and dual USB charging ports. (USB cables not included) For added convenience and safety it even features twist lock outlets. Buy this and other Charging accessories here: store.imore.com Part# A3656 Mnf# WTC-3

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XGear World Travel Charger II - Video

Embracing Our Transhuman Future

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As time passes, pieces of us will be replaced by artificial elements. Insulin pumps, pacemakers, artificial joints and limbs, exoskeletons, and cochlear implants. Neurochemical enhancement represents another way that we transform ourselves. Technology has made ustranshuman.

This is from The Techno-Human Condition by Braden Allenby and Daniel Sarewitz:

Until now, some are saying, our application of technology to enhancing our capabilities was largely external: we constructed tools that we could wield to increase our capacity to do things, but as wielders we were essentially fixed in our capabilities. We controlled our external environment, not our internal selves. Even when we did things to enhance our inner capabilities, we did them with external interventionseyeglasses, education, and the like. Now, we are told, with powerful new genetic technologies on the horizon, with the increasing fusion of human and machine intelligence, and with neuropharmaceuticals, artificial body parts, and stem cell therapies, we are beginning the business of transforming ourselves from the inside out, of exerting explicit and conscious control over our existing selves and our evolving selves in ways that create new opportunities, new challenges, and new ways of thinking about who we are and where we are going. The very notion of what it means to be human seems to be in play. For some people this is a thrilling and wonderful prospect indeed, while others are filled with dread and despair.

Let us differentiate between two separate dialogs about transhumanism. One involves the ways in which living humans use technologies to change themselves, for example through replacement of worn-out knees and hips, or enhancement of cognitive function through pharmaceuticals.The second dialog positions transhumanism as a cultural construct that considers the relations between humanness and social and technological change. Many people are excitedly talking and writing about the prospects for the technological enhancement of human brains and bodies and a transition to new versions of humanness. The most avid and optimistic of these people call themselves transhumanists. The meaning of transhumanism sounds obviousbetween states of humannessyet is remarkably difficult to specify. A significant part of the ambiguity arises from ones notions about what it means to be human. This, of course, is contentious cultural territory; after all, without agreement on the meaning of humanness one cannot specify when the technology-enabled leap to transhumanism occurs.

We dont like the concept of thetranshuman. Im not sure if its the term or the concept. I suspect its both. Either way, we need to get over the idea that machines will do bits of us better than we can or in ways that our bodies no longer can.We have a hard time seeing assistive technology beyond the shallow context of 20th century science fiction. Ultimately our repulsion of the man-machine reflects a level of hypocrisy and arrogance. We celebrate the purity of our humanness but cling desperately to the technology that keeps us going.

Of course if a machine can replace something that we do, perhaps what we did was never that human to begin with.

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Tagged as: human, machine, transhuman

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Embracing Our Transhuman Future

Pioneers Stem Cell Therapy Poland veterinary dogs orthopedics, neurology, nefrology.wmv – Video

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Pioneers Stem Cell Therapy Poland veterinary dogs orthopedics, neurology, nefrology.wmv
Lubelskie Centrum Ma #322;ych Zwierz #261;t Using 10 years of knowledge in small animal Stem Cell Therapy in USA from one of the leading Referral Specialists Veterinary Clinic Pioneers of Stem Cell Therapy in Nefrology (with hemodialysis units) Orthopedics Neurology in Poland Any contact at komorkimacierzyste@lcmz.pl Each case is treated individually in terms of stem cell therapy. If there is any contraindication to the use of the therapy it wont be given.

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Shen Yun’s Spirituality Highly Praised

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WATERBURY, Conn.Classical Chinese dance and traditional culture came alive in Connecticut on Thursday afternoon, as Shen Yun Performing Arts performed at Waterburys Palace Theater.

Carol Edinger, a garden grooming business owner, and her husband Chuck Edinger, a retired Bible teacher, lauded Shen Yunnamely the performances use of color as well as the spirituality found throughout it.

It just flows. The colors and the design the designs that were made as they were dancing had a gracefulness to it, Mrs. Edinger said.

Shen Yun aims to revive traditional Chinese culture through performing arts, music, and other means, the companys website states. Classical Chinese dance, an ancient system that embodies traditional Chinese culture, is the main medium of expression employed by the performers.

Mr. Edinger said Shen Yun has a great deal of spirituality in it, too, referring to many of the legends and stories passed down throughout the Chinese civilization.

The company says that Chinese culture has been deeply influenced by Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, and the performance depicts the heavens as well as the Yellow Emperor, who is credited with creating Chinese culture.

The spirituality that came through the praise to the creator impressed him, said Mr. Edinger.

Mrs. Edinger said that the show also provided a spiritual connection with the universe.

Wynn and Linda Eberhard attend the matinee Shen Yun Performing Arts performance in Waterbury on Feb. 14. (Stephanie Lam/The Epoch Times)

Wynn and Linda Eberhard, both Mormon missionaries from Colorado similarly praised Shen Yun.

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Shen Yun’s Spirituality Highly Praised

Where Sexuality and Spirituality Combine

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Visiting activist Joshua Moon Johnson presented the lecture Beyond Surviving: A Discussion on Sexuality and Spirituality on Tuesday night at Peeler Art Center.

Johnson discussed the issues presented in his new book Beyond Surviving: From Religious Oppression to Queer Activism, which focuses on Christian college-aged individuals of the LGBT community and their struggles with balancing their sexuality and religious beliefs.

The lecture was open to those of all faiths and affiliations and included an anonymous Q&A at the end in which audience members could text a question to a phone number, without having their identities attached. The lecture was sponsored by LGBT Services, United DePauw, Center for Spiritual Life & AAPI Initiative.

United DePauw Co-President Laila Howard emphasizes the importance of having healthy outlets for LGBT individuals and how college can be an opportune time for students who may be struggling.

With spirituality and sexualitythe intersection of these two are particularly difficult for some people, and for LGBT students it can create an inner turmoil that really needs to be talked about, Howard said.

Johnson, the Director of LGBT Services at the University of California-Santa Barbara, began his lecture by providing information about his own background as a queer Asian-American who grew up in a Christian home. It was not until his mid-twenties that he had his first same-sex relationship. During this time of his life, he struggled with how his sexuality collided with the faith he grew up with.

Junior Maryclare Flores recognizes the value in having LGBT services and organizations like United DePauw and Code Teal on campus. However, she thinks that is it important to have models like Johnson to remind students to not only accept individuals for their sexuality but that accepting them for all aspects of their identity, especially their religious beliefs, is something we should want to achieve, too.

Johnson continued to discuss how many Christian LGBT individuals have felt rejected from their family or their church community because of their sexuality. Such feelings can lead to self-hatred, doubt and depression. Johnson explained that these themes of helplessness are illustrated throughout his book in interviews with LGBT students. Some interviews reflect instances where the individual felt he or she had to lie about his or her beliefs to fit in or felt that his or her relationship with God was strained.

As one Catholic interviewee said about mixing her religion with her sexuality: You cant have a relationship with God or that faith if you are queer.

Suicide is a common theme in the book as well since it can be a theme in LGBT communities.

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Where Sexuality and Spirituality Combine

Churches offer ‘spirituality forum’ in Caldwell during Lent

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CALDWELL Faith Quest 2013, an Adult Spirituality Forum, will be held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, Feb. 27 through March 20, at St. Aloysius Church, 219 Bloomfield Ave.

Faith Quest began in 2007 as part of the Archdiocese of Newarks New Energies Initiative, in which the four cluster parishes of West Essex St. Aloysius, Caldwell; Notre Dame, North Caldwell; Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, Roseland; and St. Thomas More, Fairfield collaborated to develop an adult education and information program during the Lenten season.Major topics are Prayer and Spirituality, Understanding Sacred Scripture, and Faith in Practice.

The presenters for Prayer and Spirituality are:

Feb. 27SisterVivien Jennings, Order of Preachers (OP). Former Prioress of the Congregation, president of Caldwell College and holding a doctoratefrom Fordham University, Sister Jennings will present Dominican Spirituality and reflect on the global influence of the Dominican Order history, social justice and unique spirituality); a spirituality that has influenced the Church and the world since the early thirteenth century.

March 6: The Rev. Thomas A. Dente, director , Office of Divine Worship, with advance degrees in Divinity and Liturgical Studies from Immaculate Conception Seminary and Notre Dame University. Author, professor and editor of the Work on Worship newsletter, he will present Vatican II, Fiftieth Anniversary of the Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy. Hear how in some ways this first document revolutionized how Catholics worship while restoring ancient ways of praying. Father Tom will explore some of the notable points of the document.

March 13: Zeni Fox, recipient of the Wisdom and Service Award, St. Johns University, and the Servant Leader Award from the College of St. Elizabeth. Author of New Ecclesial Ministry: Lay Professionals Serving the Church, and with a masters in religious education and doctoratein Theology from Fordham University, will presentFull and Active Participation: Catholic Laity Today. The history of the laity in the church in the last 50 years, since Vatican II, could be told as a summary of developments throughout the church and in the parishes. This evening will provide an opportunity to look back, to assess the present, and to dream the future.

March 20: Father James Manos, pastor of St. Thomas More. Born into the Greek Orthodox Tradition, taught by the Caldwell Dominicans and the Jesuits, he became a Roman Catholic in 1980 and was ordained in1996, serving as parochial vicar in Newark, Union and Ramsey and as prior pastor of St. Vincent de Paul in Bayonne. He will present, The History of the Eucharist in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Traditions Are They the Same? This presentation will try to sketch the Catholic/Orthodox Tradition of the Eucharist, to describe how we keep the Lords supper in His memory.

Presenters for Understanding Sacred Scripture are:

Feb. 27: Dr. Catherine Martin, professor of Theology, College of St. Elizabeth. She is author of A Conspiracy to Create Joy: Circus Spirituality Beyond the Center Ring; is parishioner and catechist in Notre Dame Parish and has 21 years of ministry in religious formation in St. Raphael, Livingston. She will present, How Did the Bible Come to Be the Bible? How did the ancient sacred writings come into being and become part of our Bible? How do the Jewish Scriptures and New Testament connect to one another?

March 6: Mary Bertani, pastoral minister, licensed therapist, experienced presenter on adult spirituality and formation, with advance degrees in ministry and therapy from Fordham and Seton Hall, will present, Parables: The Most Familiar Part of the Scripture, or Are They? We may discover that for all our familiarity with the parables, we have never really heard or understood them. Jesus told these seemingly simple stories to change his hearers basic assumptions about self, neighbors, the world and God.

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Churches offer ‘spirituality forum’ in Caldwell during Lent

Space Station 13 (SS13) – Part Twenty-Seven – Mole Holes [HD] – Video

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Space Station 13 (SS13) - Part Twenty-Seven - Mole Holes [HD]
In this episode Link and Luke head back to base to give the lawyer his diamonds. The lawyer happily receives and runs off leaving us empty handed. They both ask science if they need resources, and are told they need glass, so they head off to go dig some holes and ruin the landscape of the asteroid. Whilst mining Link decides to take an alien artefact previously found when mining and bring it onto the space station.

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Space Station 13 (SS13) - Part Twenty-Seven - Mole Holes [HD] - Video

Amazing Views of the World's Volcanoes From the International Space Station

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Few people have seen as many volcanoes as the astronauts that inhabit the International Space Station. Not only does their imaging of the Earth's surface capture volcanism action, but it can provide remote sensing information on volcanoes that geologists cannot visit with any regularity. In honor of the thousands of volcano images that have been taken from the ISS, I present a gallery of some of the best shots I found, including some volcanoes that most people don't even know exist!

Above:

To start our tour of volcanoes seen from the International Space Station, we can start with one of the most recent shots. Commander Hatfield captured this image of two Ethiopian volcanoes in the morning light -- Adwaon the left with the large summit caldera and Ayelu, an older stratovolcano, on the right. One of the advantages of space-borne imaging is that we can monitor volcanoes that in remote locations, like the East African Rift valley of Ethiopia. As the eruption of Nabro in 2011 shows, sometimes these distant volcanoes can produce eruptions with far-reaching significance.

Image: Commander Chris Hadfield, CSA / Taken February 8, 2013.

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Amazing Views of the World's Volcanoes From the International Space Station

Next Dragon space station launch: March 1

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NASA TV

The private Dragon capsule built by SpaceX is seen at the end of the International Space Station's robotic arm during its undocking on Oct. 28, 2012, in this camera view. The Dragon made the first commercial cargo delivery to the space.

By Mike WallSpace.com

The next private cargo mission to the International Space Station is slated to blast off March 1, NASA announced Thursday.

The unmanned Dragon capsule, built by California-based firm SpaceX, will launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 10:10 a.m. EST on March 1 and arrive at the orbiting lab a day later.

Dragon will carry about 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) of supplies and scientific experiments to the station, NASA officials said. It will return to Earth on March 25, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California with about 2,300 pounds (1,043 kg) of experiment samples and equipment onboard.

The flight will be SpaceX's second contracted cargo mission to the station for NASA and third visit overall. Dragon first arrived at the orbiting lab on a historic test flight last May, then made its initial bona fide supply run this past October.

SpaceX holds a $1.6 billion deal with NASA to make 12 such flights with Dragon and its Falcon 9 rocket. The agency also signed a $1.9 billion contract with Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. for eight cargo flights using the company's Antares rocket and Cygnus capsule. Orbital plans to fly a demonstration mission to the station later this year.

The contracts are part of a NASA effort to encourage American private spaceships to fill the cargo- and crew-carrying void left by the retirement of the space shuttle fleet in July 2011.

Dragon is in the running to ferry astronauts as well. In its latest round of commercial crew awards, NASA granted SpaceX funding to continue developing a manned version of Dragon. Boeing also got money for its CST-100 capsule, as did Sierra Nevada Corp. for its Dream Chaser space plane.

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Next Dragon space station launch: March 1

Next Private Spacecraft Launch to Space Station Set for March 1

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The next private cargo mission to the International Space Station is slated to blast off March 1, NASA announced today (Feb. 14).

The unmanned Dragon capsule, built by California-based firm SpaceX, will launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 10:10 a.m. EST (1510 GMT) on March 1 and arrive at the orbiting lab a day later.

Dragon will carry about 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) of supplies and scientific experiments to the station, NASA officials said. It will return to Earth on March 25, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California with about 2,300 pounds (1,043 kg) of experiment samples and equipment onboard.

The flight will be SpaceX's second contracted cargo mission to the station for NASA and third visit overall. Dragon first arrived at the orbiting lab on a historic test flight last May, then made its initial bona fide supply run this past October.

SpaceX holds a $1.6 billion deal with NASA to make 12 such flights with Dragon and its Falcon 9 rocket. The agency also signed a $1.9 billion contract with Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. for eight cargo flights using the company's Antares rocket and Cygnus capsule. Orbital plans to fly a demonstration mission to the station later this year.

The contracts are part of a NASA effort to encourage American private spaceships to fill the cargo- and crew-carrying void left by the retieement of the space shuttle fleet in July 2011.

Dragon is in the running to ferry astronauts as well. In its latest round of commercial crew awards, NASA granted SpaceX funding to continue developing a manned version of Dragon. Boeing also got money for its CST-100 capsule, as did Sierra Nevada Corp. for its Dream Chaser space plane.

NASA hopes at least one of these vehicles is ready to fly astronauts to and from the space station by 2017. Until such homegrown private spaceships come online, the United States is dependent on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to provide this orbital taxi service.

NASA is inviting 50 social media users to attend the March 1 launch; you can register here: http://www.nasa.gov/social

The deadline for international applicants is 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT) Friday (Feb. 15); for U.S. citizens, it's exactly one week later.

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Next Private Spacecraft Launch to Space Station Set for March 1