Massive sun eruption could tower over 20 Earths NASA States
A massive eruption on the surface of the sun this week blasted out a wave of super-hot plasma so high that it could tower over 20 Earths, NASA officials say
By: Johnny D
Here is the original post:
Massive sun eruption could tower over 20 Earths NASA States - Video
This visible image of Tropical Cyclone Dumile over La Reunion Island and Mauritius was captured by the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite on Jan. 3, 2013, at 0650 UTC. Dumile's center was just northwest of Reunion (left) and Mauritius (right). Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team
NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites captured visible and infrared data on Tropical Cyclone Dumile as it slammed into the islands of La Reunion and Mauritius in the Southern Indian Ocean.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of Cyclone Dumile on Jan. 3, 2013 at 0650 UTC (1:50 a.m. EST/U.S.) The image showed Dumile's center was about 85 nautical miles (97.8 miles/157.4 km) northwest of Reunion Island and Mauritius, and the strongest thunderstorms appeared to be southwest of the center of circulation. The image was created at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
The AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured two infrared images of Tropical Cyclone Dumile on Jan. 2 at 2123 UTC (4:23 p.m. EST/U.S.) and Jan. 3 at 0936 UTC (4:36 a.m. EST/U.S.). The coldest, highest clouds with heaviest rainfall formed a ring around Dumile's center on Jan. 2 meaning that the storm's eye had formed. The satellite overpass on Jan. 3 provided a close-up of the most powerful thunderstorms happening over both La Reunion and Mauritius. Infrared imagery on Jan. 3 also showed that Dumile's eye had "closed." AIRS images are created at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Enlarge
The AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured these infrared images of Tropical Cyclone Dumile on Jan. 2 at 2123 UTC, and Jan. 3 at 0936 UTC. The purple areas indicate the coldest, highest clouds with heaviest rainfall. The circular blue area in the middle of the purple area on the Jan. 2 image is Dumile's center. Credit: NASA JPL, Ed Olsen
Warnings are up for La Reunion on Jan. 3. The territory is on red alert and a local advisory is in effect for high winds, heavy rain, high ocean swells and rough surf along the coasts of the island. For updated warnings (in French), please visit: http://www.meteo.fr/temps/domtom/La_Reunion/meteoreunion2/.
Mauritius Meteorological Services issued the following forecast for Jan. 3: Cloudy skies with showers and thunderstorms, some rainfall will be heavy at times. Heavy rainfall may cause ponding of water. A northerly sustained wind is expected up to 30 km/h with gusts of 70 km/h, decreasing gradually. The public is advised not to venture near rivers and other water courses because of rough seas. An improvement in weather is expected on Jan. 4. For updates, visit: metservice.intnet.mu/.
Where is Cyclone Dumile's Center?
On Jan. 3 at 0900 UTC (4 a.m. EST/U.S.) Tropical Cyclone Dumile was centered just 85 nautical miles (97.8 miles/157.4 km) northwest of La Reunion, near 20.3 south latitude and 54.4 east longitude. Dumile's maximum sustained winds were near 65 knots (75 mph/120.4 kph) making it a category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Tropical-storm-force winds extended about 95 nautical miles (109.3 miles/176 km) from the center, meaning that La Reunion island was getting battered by them. Cyclone Dumile is moving southward at 13 knots (15 mph/24 kph) and is churning up very rough seas with wave heights up to 34 feet (10.3 meters).
Excerpt from:
NASA satellites see Cyclone Dumile over La Reunion and Mauritius
NASA is reportedly backing a plan to capture a near-Earth asteroid with an unmanned spacecraft and drag it into lunar orbit for study.
The project, cooked up by scientists at California's Keck Institute for Space Studies, could potentially deliver an asteroid to the vicinity of the Moon by next decade. Keck Institute researchers have confirmed NASA's interest in their cheaper, safer alternative to sending a crewed mission to an asteroid, according to New Scientist.
The idea would be to send a "slow-moving spacecraft, propelled by solar-heated ions" to a small asteroid, perhaps about 7 meters wide, the science journal reported. The robot ship would capture the space rock using a "bag measuring about 10 meters by 15 meters." It would take between six and ten years from the launch of the spacecraft atop an Atlas V rocket to the placement of the asteroid in lunar orbit.
The cost of such a mission would run around $2.6 billion, according to its planners. That's just a bit more than it cost to land NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars earlier this year, New Scientist noted. Once in lunar orbit, the captured asteroid could be studied by robotic probes or possibly even astronauts landing on its surface.
Could the mission prove dangerous if something were to go wrong and the asteroid collided with the Earth instead of settling into orbit around the Moon? Since the plan appears to involve capturing such a small asteroid, probably not terribly so. By comparison, the Tunguska event is believed to have been caused by a space object measuring 100 meters or more across, while the theorized impact that killed off the dinosaurs might have involved a meteor nearly the size of San Francisco.
Interest in visiting asteroids has been heating up in recent years. NASA is working on an unmanned probe called OSIRIS-REx scheduled for a 2014 launch. It's equipped with a robotic arm designed to pluck samples from a near-Earth asteroid designated 1999 RQ36, which the spacecraft is being prepped to reach in 2020.
It's also been reported that NASA is actively training astronauts for manned missions to asteroids that could kick off in about a decade.
Meanwhile, a new private venture called Planetary Resources this year unveiled an ambitious plan to begin mining asteroids for water, rare metals, and other materials in the coming years.
There's also an interesting intersection between the Keck Institute's asteroid-nabbing project and NASA's reported interest in setting up a floating base in fixed orbit near the Moon to serve as a platform for manned missions to both the lunar surface and to more distant destinations like Mars or a near-Earth asteroid.
The proposed space station would be situated at what's called a Lagrange point, or L-Point, a place where the gravitational pull of two large bodiesin this case the Earth and the Moonare at an equilibrium, making it possible to place a spacecraft (or an asteroid?) in a fixed spot in space at relatively little expense. NASA wants to put its base at Earth-Moon L-Point 2, on the far side of the Moon, according to reports.
Read the original here:
WASHINGTON -- NASA scientists will present new findings on a wide range of astrophysics topics next week at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). The meeting takes place Jan. 6-10 at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd, in Long Beach, Calif. Media registration for the event is open.
None of the briefings will be carried on NASA Television, but all will be web-streamed on AAS's website for registered journalists.
NASA's media briefings during the meeting will feature topics such as new video of a rapidly rotating neutron star, the latest images of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, and the most detailed "weather map" of a brown dwarf star. In addition, NASA scientists and their colleagues who use NASA research capabilities will present noteworthy findings during several scientific sessions throughout the week.
For a complete list of NASA-related news briefings, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/aas
The site will be updated throughout the week with additional information about NASA presentations.
For detailed information about the 221st AAS meeting, visit: http://aas.org/meetings/aas221
For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov
Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Read the rest here:
NASA Television will broadcast the annual FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Kickoff event on Saturday, Jan. 5, starting at 10:30 a.m. EST from Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. The event also will be streamed live on NASA's website.
As in past years, NASA plays a significant role by providing public access to robotics programs to encourage young people to investigate careers in the sciences and engineering. Through the NASA Robotics Alliance Project, the agency provides grants for almost 250 teams and sponsors four regional student competitions, including a FIRST regional competition in Washington that will be held March 28-30.
Each year, FIRST presents a new robotics competition scenario where each team receives an identical kit of parts and has six weeks to design and build a robot based on the team's interpretation of the game scenario. Other than dimension and weight restrictions, the look and function of the robots is up to each individual team. This year more than 2,500 teams from 49 states, and 12 countries will participate.
Engineer Dean Kamen founded FIRST in 1989 to help convince American youth that engineering and technology are exciting and 'cool' fields. NASA participation in the FIRST program is provided through the NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For a complete a list of the regional events, corporate sponsors and other details, visit: http://www.usfirst.org/
For more information on the NASA's Robotics Alliance Project visit: http://robotics.nasa.gov
Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Read more from the original source:
NASA Kicks Off 2013 First Robotics Season with Live Broadcast Jan. 5
NASA researchers are testing tiles made out of garbage including plastic water bottles, clothing scraps, duct tape and foil drink pouches in an attempt to turn astronauts' trash into a space missions treasure.
Like their earthbound counterparts, astronauts generate junk in their day-to-day lives, but unlike us, they cant just bag it and leave it on the curb.
"We don't want to contaminate the surface of an asteroid or something just by throwing the trash out the door," said Richard Strayer, a microbiologist working on the project.
"If NASA doesn't do something about it, then the spacecraft will become like a landfill, with the astronauts adding trash to it every day."
To make use of the material, researchers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are running tests on circular tiles made out of compressed trash. The discs, which went through a specialized compactor that melts but does not burn the waste, were created using a recipe based on trash from shuttle missions.
Each tile is just over a centimeter thick, roughly 20 cm in diameter which is a bit larger than a standard compact disk and made from about a days worth of junk.
But before researchers can send the discs on a deep space mission, they must answer several questions: Can they be safely stored on a spacecraft? Can they be sterilized so they are free of microorganisms? Can water be removed from the trash and re-used?
Mary Hummerick, another microbiologist working on the project, sees potential in all the plastic packaging the astronauts discard.
If the plastic content of the disks is high enough, "they could actually shield radiation," she said. NASAs website explains that the tiles could be arranged to shield the astronauts sleeping area or reinforce the spacecrafts "storm shelter."
If all goes as planned, the end product could be especially important for crews living in space for up to two years which is, NASA points out, the expected duration of a Mars mission.
Read the original post:
Synopsis - Jan 04, 2013
General Information
Solicitation Number: NNH13ZDA005L Posted Date: Jan 04, 2013 FedBizOpps Posted Date: Jan 04, 2013 Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No Original Response Date: Feb 15, 2013 Current Response Date: Feb 15, 2013 Classification Code: A -- Research and Development NAICS Code: 541712
Contracting Office Address
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code 210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771
Description
THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, QUOTATION, OR INVITATION TO BID NOTICE.
A. Request Summary
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is seeking ways to provide or develop in situ vicarious calibration instruments, systems, and approaches for a future mission's ocean color instrument. This RFI asks organizations to provide information regarding current instrument capabilities or descriptions of developments that would be needed in order to provide an in situ vicarious calibration capability for maintaining global climate quality ocean color remote sensing reflectances for a multi- or hyperspectral sensor. "Vicarious" calibration for ocean color refers to a final bias adjustment to the calibrated, spectral top-of-atmosphere radiances observed by an ocean color instrument. Responses could consider the PACE Science Definition Team (SDT) report (found at http://dsm.gsfc.nasa.gov/PACE.html ) for details of sample vicarious calibration for ocean color requirements, particularly the details in Section 4.6.1 of the report.
B. Background
See the article here:
NASA Request for Information: Ocean Color Remote Sensing Vicarious in situ Calibration Instruments
WASHINGTON Right before Christmas, a Russian rocket carrying three astronauts one American, one Russian and one Canadian launched from a chilly spaceport in Kazakhstan to begin a five-month mission to the International Space Station.
Unlike many of its predecessors, this crew's job is straightforward: Do science from studying solar rays to investigating how microgravity affects fish and their bones, which could provide insight on why astronauts lose bone density while in space.
"Twenty-thirteen really promises to be a productive one," said Chris Hadfield, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, after arriving at the outpost.
If that's true, NASA will get one step closer toward finally fulfilling the promise of the $100 billion space station that was intended to be a groundbreaking laboratory circling about 220 miles above Earth.
Though critics have questioned why it has taken so long work began on the station in 1998 NASA said the new emphasis on science and the arrival of new equipment mean the future looks bright.
"As the coming year unfolds, NASA will continue to conduct important research on the International Space Station, which continues to yield scientific benefits and provide key information about how humans may live and thrive in the harsh environment of space," NASA leaders wrote in a year-end status report.
Key is the addition of new equipment.
By next fall, NASA plans to send to the station an "Animal Enclosure Module" that will allow scientists to study the effects of weightlessness on rodents which could help doctors develop better medicines for bone and muscle ailments. The 60-pound module had flown 23 times aboard the space shuttle.
Marybeth Edeen, NASA manager of the station's national laboratory, said the rodents could be used to test drugs intended to treat osteoporosis or illnesses that degrade the muscles, such as Lou Gehrig's disease.
"A 30-day-old mouse on the station has the bone and muscle structure of a 60-to-70-year-old woman," said Edeen, adding that rapid changes brought on by weightlessness enable drug companies to quickly assess the results of experimental medicines.
Read the rest here:
NASA says 2013 will be a year of science on the space station
The most obvious sign that there is a lot of junk in space is how much of it has been falling out of the sky lately: a defunct NASA satellite last year, a failed Russian space probe this year.
While the odds are tiny that anyone here on Earth will get hit, the chances that all this orbiting litter will interfere with working satellites or the International Space Station, which dodges pieces of debris with increasing frequency, are getting higher, according to a recent report by the National Research Council. The nonprofit group, which dispenses advice on scientific matters, concluded that the problem of extraterrestrial clutter had reached a point where, if nothing was done, a cascade of collisions would eventually make low-Earth orbit unusable.
"NASA is taking it very seriously," Mason Peck, chief technologist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said. "It is becoming an important issue."
There is a straightforward solution to the problem: Dispose of the space junk, especially the large pieces, before they collide and break into smaller ones. And so researchers are stepping in with a variety of creative solutions, including nets that would round up wayward items and drag them into the Earth's atmosphere, where they would harmlessly burn up, and balloons that would similarly direct the debris into the atmosphere. Also on the table: firing lasers from the ground. Not to blow things up, which would only make more of a mess, but to nudge them into safer orbits or into the atmosphere.
20,000 pieces in orbit
Just last week, researchers at a top Swiss university, the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, announced that they were designing CleanSpace One, a sort of $11 million vacuum cleaner in the sky, that would be able to navigate close to a satellite and grab it with a big claw, whereupon both will make a fiery death dive.
The Swiss have only two satellites in orbit, each smaller than a breadbox, but they are concerned about what to do with them when they stop operating in a few years.
"We want to clean up after ourselves," said Anton Ivanov, a scientist at the institute's space center. "That's very Swiss, isn't it?"
The Air Force currently tracks 20,000 pieces of orbiting space junk, which includes old rocket parts and dead satellites.
For now, the risk is real but manageable. Satellite operators can dodge the big debris and armor their satellites to withstand impact with smaller pieces. But eventually, if not cleaned up, low-Earth orbit would become too perilous for people and satellites.
See the original post:
Does this image taken by Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager show a "Martian flower?" (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)NASA has released a series of new photos taken by its Curiosity rover that appear to show a flower on the surface of Mars.
NBCNews.coms photo blog reports that the photos were taken as part of an effort to capture 360-degree images during Curiositys trek through Mars Yellowknife Bay.
New Jersey-based journalist and photographer Ken Kramer has assembled the Curiosity photographs, adding color to give a realistic view of what the rover is seeing on the planets surface.
But what has really caught peoples attention is a raw image from NASAs photo feed that one reader on Above Top Secret has called a Martian flower. On the posting, the commenter going by the name Arken, writes: The Albedo (or Reflectivity of Sun Light) of this object is very high, and its translucent appearance, the irregular conformation (like pistils) and the 'texture' of its wider areas is smooth, and seem that it is ground attached. This is the SECOND TRANSLUCENT ANOMALY detected by Curiosity in Gale Crater.
NBCs Alan Boyle writes that he at first assumed the flower was actually just a piece of plastic that had fallen off the Curiosity rover. A similar event happened in October. So, Boyle reached out to NASA spokesman Guy Webster. Interestingly, Webster shot down the plastic theory, saying in response, "That appears to be part of the rock, not debris from the spacecraft."
On Wednesday, scientists announced that an ancient rock that traveled from Mars to Earth over 2 billion years ago appears to have interacted with water on the planets surface.
So, what do you think? Does the image show a decayed piece of organic life residing on the surface of Mars?
Link:
NASA’s Curiosity rover finds ‘flower’ on surface of Mars
AUSTRALIAN researchers have made a new material that could revolutionise the electronics market with thinner, faster and lighter gadgets.
Others are using nano-inspired technology to detect cancers, deliver drugs into the bloodstream, explore for oil and gas in an environmentally friendly way, enhance security, purify water and make prosthetics.
Who knows what they could do next?
Australian researchers want to remain among the world leaders of innovation and to snare a hefty share of the global nanotechnology product market that's tipped to be worth $3 trillion by 2020.
Nanotechnology has become a priority area for development and funding in many nations, including China.
And the sector appears to offer endless opportunities for different fields to team up to exploit the fact that seemingly stable materials develop weird and wonderful properties in the nano form.
Gold, for example, has scientists excited and not for its more than $US1600 an ounce price tag.
RMIT University's Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) Suresh Bhargava says for centuries gold has been defined as a noble metal, or a stable one that's resistant to corrosion and oxidisation.
"But the same metal, when it comes to nano forms, is full of fantastic properties," Professor Bhargava says.
Nano sizes can be easier to comprehend when people realise a human hair is about 80,000 times bigger than a nano particle, the molecular biologist says.
Continue reading here:
SKOKIE, IL--(Marketwire - Jan 2, 2013) - Oakton Community College will launch its first hands-on nanotechnology course in January 2013. "Fundamentals of Nanotechnology" introduces the world of nanotechnology to students, including topics in nanophysics, nanochemistry, and nanobiology. Students can apply to Oakton and register for the course, which begins on Monday, January 14, at Oakton's Web site, http://www.oakton.edu.
"The Fundamentals of Nanotechnology class will provide students with a foundation of nano-focused knowledge and skill, and will help prepare them for exciting jobs in the fast growing field of nanotechnology," said Bob Sompolski, Ph.D., Dean of Mathematics and Technologies at Oakton. "We are thrilled to be launching this new course for our students and the Oakton community."
"The nanotechnology course at Oakton launches the Nanotechnology Employment, Education, and Economic Development Initiative (NE3I), a collaborative effort with Oakton, the Village of Skokie, the Illinois Science + Technology Park (IS+TP), and the North Suburban Educational Region for Vocational Education (NSERVE) to bring nanotechnology education to Oakton and area high schools," said Michael S. Rosen, Senior Vice President of New Business Development at Forest City Science + Technology Group, which manages the IS+TP. "This represents an important step for the state of Illinois in creating a nanotech workforce."
According to the 2012 Illinois Nanotechnology Report published in the December 2012 issue of IEEE Nanotechnology, "... the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition identified 74 businesses in Illinois that are directly involved in the nanotechnology industry either through their work on the nanoscale or through their use of nanoenabled products." Many of the companies noted within the report are located in the greater-Chicago area, including geography served by Oakton.
Students can register for Fundamentals of Nanotechnology online at Oakton's Web site, http://www.oakton.edu. The class is listed as PHY 140 050 [CRN 12232]. Students can also register in person at either campus Monday - Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Students with a current application on file may register at https://my.oakton.edu. Prerequisites are MAT 070 or placement into MAT 110, one year of high school biology, and one year of high school chemistry. Starting on Monday, January 14, the class will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 8:50 p.m. On Mondays, students will meet at the Illinois Science + Technology Park (IS+TP), 4901 Searle Parkway in Skokie, for lab work. Lectures will be held on Wednesdays at Oakton's Skokie campus, 7701 North Lincoln Avenue.
Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately one and 100 nanometers (nm), where unique phenomena enable novel applications which are not feasible when working with bulk materials. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering, and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter at the nanoscale. A study funded by the National Science Foundation projects that 6 million nanotechnology workers will be needed worldwide by 2020, with 2 million of those jobs in the United States. However, as of 2008, there were only 400,000 estimated workers worldwide in the field of nanotechnology, with an estimated 150,000 of those in the United States.
About Oakton Community CollegeEstablished in 1969 and accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, Oakton Community College offers more than 80 associate's degree and career certificate programs. At its campuses in Des Plaines and Skokie, the College serves residents and businesses of Illinois Community College District 535, which incorporates Skokie and 16 other suburbs on Chicago's North Shore.
Oakton students choose from more than 2,500 courses, studying everything from accounting, fine arts, and modern languages to nursing, marketing, engineering, computer science, and dozens of other subjects. They can transfer to more than 600 four-year institutions -- or gain the skills they need to find the job of their dreams. Campus resources include two libraries, more than 40 student clubs, athletics, state-of-the-art science and health careers facilities, child care centers, and more.
The College also offers continuing education through its Alliance for Lifelong Learning and Emeritus Program, and a wealth of cultural and educational events open to the general public. Its free Koehnline Museum of Art mounts thought-provoking exhibitions and the Performing Arts Center features a full range of theatrical and musical performances. Nationally- and locally-known speakers, experts, and authors often give free lectures and presentations on campus.
Link:
Oakton Community College to Launch First Hands-On Nanotechnology Course in January 2013
Medicine Man Beat Video #1
Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com Check out my gaming channel: youtube.com
By: ItztheMedicine
Originally posted here:
Medicine Man Beat Video #2
Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com Check out my gaming channel: youtube.com
By: ItztheMedicine
Read more:
After spending the first half of the season in the oldtimer hockey cellar, Medicine Chest has gone on a recent run, surging past the spiraling Tim Hortons squad 6-4 Sunday at Takhini Arena.
Mike Jim had two goals in the win, while Ron Billingsley had a goal and two assists to lead Medicine Chest to victory.
Gord Peterson and Erik von Flotow each had a goal and a helper in the win, while Blaine Demchuk rounded out the scoring.
Peter Johnston and league scoring leader Blayne Monahan each had a goal and assist to pace Tim Hortons. Lyle Dinn and Dave Bakica rounded out the scoring.
With the win, Medicine Chest now sits fifth with 22 points and a 9-10-4 record. Tim Hortons falls to sixth with 19 points and a 8-11-3 record.
AON Flames 5, Kilrich 3
Shawn Kinsella and Adam Green each scored twice, and Rick Smith had four assists as current cellar-dwelling AON Flames bested third-place Kilrich 5-3.
Gregor Gabb added a goal and assist, while both Marcel Barrault and Mark Pike added two assists.
Scoring for Kilrich were Gary Boyd, Bruce Williams and Mike Knutson. Tim Turner Davis had two assists.
Air North 9, Firth Rangers 4
Go here to read the rest:
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
U.S. HealthWorks, one of the largest operators of occupational healthcare centers in the United States, today announced it has acquired the three Advanced Occupational Medicine Specialists (AOMS) healthcare centers in the Chicago area.
The centers, the first in Illinois for U.S. HealthWorks, are located in downtown Chicago and two nearby suburbs, Bellwood and Schiller Park. The acquisitions bring the total number of U.S. HealthWorks medical and worksite clinics to 182 nationwide in 17 states.
The downtown Chicago center is located at 614 West Monroe Street. The Bellwood center is at 2615 West Harrison. The Schiller Park center is located at 4200 North Mannheim Road, five miles from Chicagos O'Hare International Airport.
Terms of the transaction, effective January 1, 2013, were not disclosed.
The facilities will continue to offer a wide range of occupational healthcare services, including diagnosis and treatment for injury and illness, preventive services, pre-employment and post-offer exams and screening, and return-to-work rehabilitative care. The centers feature state-of-the-art facilities and also provide sports medicine expertise.
The Bellwood center is open from 7 a.m. until midnight on Monday through Friday. The downtown facility has weekday hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., while the Schiller Park centers weekday hours are 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. All three centers are open Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.
As a provider of occupational medicine in Chicago for many years, we recognize the innovation and resources U.S. HealthWorks will bring to our patients, said Dr. Raj Khanna, medical director of Advanced Occupational Medicine Specialists. U.S. HealthWorks national network of physicians and health centers are a great match for us. Were excited about becoming an integral part of the U.S. HealthWorks team.
Dr. Khanna and his team have tremendous medical experience and have developed a great reputation in Chicago. We welcome these strong additions to the U.S. HealthWorks family, said Gregory Marotta, senior vice president of national operations for U.S. HealthWorks. The Illinois centers build U.S. HealthWorks presence in the Midwest, joining three centers in Indiana and six each in Ohio and Wisconsin.
About U.S. HealthWorks
See the article here:
U.S. HealthWorks Acquires Advanced Occupational Medicine Specialists’ Three Chicago Centers
Dr David Jones
''Recognition is the first step in legitimisation. There's still other specialists around who say: `Oh, there's no need for that, we look after pain ourselves'.''
Resources for chronic pain - Dr Jones prefers the term persistent - are limited, doctors lack knowledge, and patients often get wrong or contradictory advice.
Awareness of chronic pain had been emerging on the radar of health administrators as the indirect costs of pain were being recognised.
It was a ''long road'' to acceptance by the Medical Council.
''They put us through a fairly tight hoop. There's not been any mateship, I can tell you.
''However, they have a role to protect the public, so they were especially interested that we had adequate processes to ensure maintenance of professional standards for our fellows, an area in which we can all lift our game.''
He hoped recognition was another step on the way to increasing resources for pain medicine.
A key task was educating doctors, both those in practice and those in training.
Pain medicine was given ''one afternoon'' in fifth-year clinical medicine and, for some, a little bit of on-the-job work with anaesthetists.
See more here:
WALTHAM, Mass., Jan. 2, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BG Medicine, Inc. (BGMD), a company focused on the development and commercialization of novel cardiovascular diagnostics, announced today that the first automated version of the BGM Galectin-3(R) blood test has obtained a CE Mark, an important step in the company's commercial strategy.
The BGM Galectin-3 test will be distributed through bioMerieux's VIDAS(R) immunoassay platform which includes about 27,000 installed instruments worldwide. bioMerieux is one of four diagnostic instrument manufacturers partnering with BG Medicine to commercialize automated versions of the BGM Galectin-3 test, and the first to obtain a CE Mark. bioMerieux is preparing a phased launch of the test in Europe and in certain other territories that recognize the CE Mark.
"The BGM Galectin-3 test has the potential to play a major role in improving the management of heart failure," said Eric Bouvier, President and Chief Executive Officer of BG Medicine. "The launch of the first automated version of our test is a watershed and exciting moment for our company. Through its broad CE-marked installed base, bioMerieux is in a position to drive the adoption of the test in Europe. Offering an automated version of the galectin-3 assay is critical for us to obtain broad-based and rapid global adoption. Partnering with bioMerieux, as well as Abbott, Alere and Siemens provides BG Medicine tremendous international coverage to drive commercial adoption over the next several years."
The CE Mark for bioMerieux's automated version of the BGM Galectin-3 test is the latest in a series of steps designed to further BG Medicine's three-pillared business model for the test, which is focused on rapid commercial adoption driven by sales through automated partners, specialized labs and the targeting of US hospitals with high readmissions rates. Recent developments in this commercial strategy have included:
"2013 is poised to be a year of great progress in our commercial strategy for the manual and automated versions of the BGM Galectin-3 test and we are pleased to begin the year with this important development in the execution of this strategy," continued Mr. Bouvier.
About Galectin-3 and Heart Failure
Galectin-3 is a unique carbohydrate-binding lectin, or protein, that binds to carbohydrates called beta-galactosides. Galectin-3 has been implicated in a variety of biological processes important in the development and progression of heart failure, and is believed to be a primary mediator of progressive cardiac fibrosis (abnormal thickening and stiffening of the heart muscle) and adverse remodeling (changes in the structure of the heart). Higher levels of galectin-3 are associated with a more aggressive form of heart failure and 30% or more of mild to moderate heart failure patients will have elevated levels of galectin-3. Heart failure affects an estimated 5.8 million Americans, with approximately 670,000 new cases occurring each year. The direct and indirect cost of heart failure in the United States for 2010 is estimated to be $39.2 billion.
About BG Medicine, Inc.
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
Follow this link:
BG Medicine Announces Obtaining CE Mark and Launching of Automated BGM Galectin-3 Test
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Foundation Medicine, Inc., a molecular information company that brings comprehensive cancer genomic analysis to routine clinical care, today announced that Michael J. Pellini, M.D., president and chief executive officer, will present an overview of the company at the 31st Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco on Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 7:30 a.m. PT.
Dr. Pellini will provide an update on the recent commercial launch of Foundation Medicines first clinical product, FoundationOne, a pan-cancer, fully informative genomic profile designed to help oncologists expand their patients treatment options.
About FoundationOneTM
FoundationOne is a fully informative genomic profile that complements traditional cancer decision tools and often expands treatment options by matching each patient with targeted therapies that may be relevant to the molecular changes in their tumor. Using next-generation sequencing, FoundationOne interrogates all genes somatically altered in human cancers that are validated targets for therapy or unambiguous drivers of oncogenesis based on current knowledge. It reveals all classes of genomic alterations including base substitutions, insertions, deletions, copy number alterations and select rearrangements. Each patients genomic profile is reported to the physician matched with targeted therapies and clinical trials that may be relevant based on the molecular blueprint of their tumor. Results are supported by the latest scientific and medical evidence. FoundationOne has been optimized to fit easily into the clinical workflow of a practicing oncologist. It is available for all solid tumors and clinical grade results can be obtained from as little as 50ng of DNA obtained from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissue samples. FoundationOne is a laboratory-developed test performed at Foundation Medicines CLIA-certified facility and is currently available for all solid tumor types. Please visit http://www.foundationone.com for more information.
About Foundation Medicine
Foundation Medicine is a molecular information company dedicated to a transformation in cancer care in which treatment is informed by a deep understanding of the genomic changes that contribute to each patients unique cancer. The companys initial clinical assay, FoundationOneTM, is a fully informative genomic profile to identify a patients individual molecular alterations and match them with relevant targeted therapies and clinical trials. Foundation Medicines molecular information platform aims to improve day-to-day care for patients by serving the needs of clinicians, academic researchers and drug developers to help advance the science of molecular medicine in cancer. For more information, please visit http://www.foundationmedicine.com.
Foundation Medicine is a registered trademark, and FoundationOneTM is a trademark of Foundation Medicine, Inc.
Follow this link:
Foundation Medicine to Present at the 31st Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference