In general, we don't like to critique stars' outfits when they're not on a red carpet or clearly working some staged paparazzi photo op. Then again, we firmly believe that...
The rest is here:
Avril Lavigne Heads to Dinner in London Dressed Like This, but No One Else Should
16-10-2012 14:05 Join the NASA JSC co-ops and interns on a journey around the Johnson Space Center. Along the way they highlight manned space flight projects and its future.
Visit link:
Artist's concept of the Kepler space telescope. Credit: NASA
Published: Oct. 16, 2012 at 5:03 PM
MOFFET FIELD, Calif., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Technical problems could keep NASA's Kepler space telescope from its goal of finding Earth-sized planets in habitable zones around other stars, astronomers say.
Launched in 2009, Kepler monitors thousands of stars for dips in brightness, an indication a planet could be passing in front of them. The space telescope needs another four years to complete its exoplanet survey but a critical hardware failure on Kepler this summer has astronomers worried the mission could end at any time, Spaceflight Now reported Tuesday.
One of the spacecraft's four reaction wheels -- spinning masses that control Kepler's orientation in space and keep the telescope locked on to target stars -- stopped July 14 due to increasing friction.
"We have to guide very accurately, and we had four reaction wheels to do this guidance," William Borucki, mission principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., said. "One of those was a spare, and we now have lost one of those four wheels ... The guiding is still great, but they've all had over a billion revolutions. If we lose another one, this mission terminates. We cannot track very well with two. We cannot track well enough to find planets."
Engineers will try to ensure Kepler's three active reaction wheels stay warm and operating by alternating their rotation between clockwise and counter-clockwise directions, Borucki said.
"We're trying to understand how to protect those last three wheels," he said. "People have studied these reaction wheels over the years and never came up with a good answer."
The Kepler mission was intended to last three-and-a-half years, but NASA hopes to keep the telescope operational through 2016, the report said.
Continued here:
The following is a statement about the European Southern Observatory's latest exoplanet discovery from NASA's Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator, Dr. John Grunsfeld.
"We congratulate the European Southern Observatory team for making this exciting new exoplanet discovery. For astronomers, the search for exoplanets helps us understand our place in the universe and determine whether Earth is unique in supporting life or if it is just one member of a large community of habitable worlds. NASA has several current and future missions that will continue in this search.
"An example is NASA's Kepler mission. It was specifically designed to survey a specific region of our Milky Way galaxy to detect Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone -- that region around a star where it is theoretically possible for a planet to maintain liquid water on its surface -- and determine the fraction of the hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy that might have such planets. Kepler works very differently from HARPS. Rather than detecting the wobble in the host star, Kepler detects the slight dimming of a star when a planet passes in front of it.
"NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes have contributed to the study of exoplanets. Using their photometric and spectroscopic sensitivity, these space telescopes have made the first steps in characterizing the atmospheres of planets around other stars. They can only do this when the exoplanets pass serendipitously in front of its star, allowing the space telescope to study light that has filtered through the planet's atmosphere.
"NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will provide a unique facility that will serve through the next decade as the mainstay for characterization of transiting exoplanets. The main transit studies JWST will be able to undertake are: discovery of unseen planets, determining exoplanet properties like mass, radius, and physical structure, and characterizing exoplanet atmospheres to determine things like their temperature and weather. If there are other planets in the Alpha Centauri system farther from the star, JWST may be able to detect them as well through imaging.
"NASA is also studying two medium-class exoplanet missions in our Explorer program, and in the spring of 2013 will select one of them to enter development for flight later in the decade."
For more information about NASA's missions and programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov
Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
The rest is here:
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Media accreditation is open for activities surrounding space shuttle Atlantis' move to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida for permanent public display. Atlantis is scheduled to depart the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center at approximately 7 a.m. EDT on Nov. 2.
The shuttle will embark on a 10-mile journey from the VAB to the visitor complex, stopping along the route for a NASA ceremony at about 9:45 a.m. Following the ceremony, Atlantis will travel to Space Florida's Exploration Park for a viewing opportunity for visitor complex guests before departing for its new home.
Members of the media are invited to cover the ceremony and photograph Atlantis at designated locations throughout the move to Exploration Park. After departing Exploration Park, additional photo locations will be available for media coverage.
Ceremony participants include:
-- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden -- NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana -- Current and former astronauts of Atlantis' final mission, STS-135 -- Chief Operating Officer, Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Bill Moore
MEDIA ACCREDITATION
For international journalists, the deadline to apply for credentials is noon, Oct. 22. For U.S. journalists, the application deadline is close of business, Oct. 30.
All media accreditation requests must be submitted online at: https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
For a schedule of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex media events and to apply for accreditation for coverage of activities at Exploration Park and the visitor complex, news media should contact Andrea Farmer at afarmer@dncinc.com or Catherine Segar at csegar@dncinc.com.
Kennedy Press Site Office Hours for Atlantis Move Activities Times may be adjusted closer to the event.
See the original post here:
NASA Opens Media Accreditation, Announces Events for Shuttle Atlantis' Final Move
An Atlas V rocket that is to carry the New Horizons spacecraft on a mission to the planet Pluto lifts off from launch pad 41 on Jan. 19, 2006, at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
When New Horizons, the unmanned NASA spacecraft en route to Pluto, was originally green lit in 2001, astronomers thought Pluto only had one moon. It was also still considered a planet.
[VIEW:Mysterious Alien Planets]
A lot has changed since then, and new discoveries could put the spacecraft's mission in jeopardy. Pluto, demoted to "dwarf planet" status, now has five known moons and may even have rings similar to Saturn. Those moons act as "debris generators" and could make New Horizons' approach dangerous, scientists from the project said Tuesday.
"Because our spacecraft is traveling so fastmore than 30,000 miles per houra collision with a single pebble, or even a millimeter-sized grain, could cripple or destroy New Horizons," project scientist Hal Weaver said in a statement.
[READ: Earth-Like Planet Found in Nearest Star System]
Launched in 2006, New Horizons passed Mars in April of that year; Jupiter in 2007; Saturn in 2008; and Uranus last year. It is set to reach Pluto in July, 2015 and will monitor it from nearby before heading out of the solar system.
"We're going into some unknown hazards," Alan Stern, principal investigator of the project, says. "The concerns we have are a lot higher than they were a few years ago."
Stern says the team is planning a "backup trajectory" in case New Horizons' projected path seems littered with debris. Currently, it takes about six and a half hours for a signal from Earth to reach New Horizons; by the time it reaches Pluto, it'll take nine hours.
[READ: Researchers Discover Why Water Exists on the Moon]
More:
Synopsis - Oct 16, 2012
UAS AOC draft rules - Posted on Oct 16, 2012 New!
General Information
Solicitation Number: NNH13ZUA001L Posted Date: Oct 16, 2012 FedBizOpps Posted Date: Oct 16, 2012 Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No Original Response Date: Nov 15, 2012 Current Response Date: Nov 15, 2012 Classification Code: A -- Research and Development NAICS Code: 334511
Contracting Office Address
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code 210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771
Description
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Request for Information - Centennial Challenges Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Airspace Operations Challenge, NNH13ZUA001L
AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
More:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Center has released a solicitation entitled "NASA Announcement of Flight Opportunities (AFO) for Payloads Maturing Crosscutting Technologies that Advance Multiple Future Space Missions to Flight Readiness Status." The current solicitation cycle, AFO #6, provides access to flights on parabolic flights, suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles (sRLV), and high-altitude balloons.
Applications are due on or before 11:59 PM Eastern Time December 21, 2012, and selections will be announced in February 2013 (target). The solicitation is available by opening the NASA Research Opportunities home page at http://nspires.nasaprs.com , selecting "Solicitations," then selecting "Open Solicitations," and, selecting "NOCT110 Announcement of Flight Opportunities." To go directly to the solicitation page on NSPIRES click here.
NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT) seeks to mature towards flight readiness status crosscutting technologies that perform relevant environment testing and advance multiple future space missions. To facilitate this goal, NASA is providing access to certain flight opportunities available to the Agency, on a no-exchange-of-funds basis, to entities that have technology payloads meeting specified criteria. The payloads may be exposed to a near-zero or reduced gravity environment by flying on aircraft that provide parabolic flight trajectories and on sRLVs that are potentially capable of flying to altitudes above 100 km. For flight tests that do not require microgravity, but do require the temperature, pressure and atmospheric conditions of high altitudes, balloon flights are available. Refer to https://flightopportunities.nasa.gov/platforms/ for specific information on vehicle and flight characteristics.
This call is open to all individuals and organizations, U.S. and non-U.S. Such organizations may include educational institutions, industry, nonprofit organizations, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, NASA Centers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), other Government agencies, and partnerships between such entities.
Science payloads will not be evaluated under this announcement. Prospective responders with science payloads are encouraged to respond to open solicitations for science from the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and Human Exploration and Operations Research Mission Directorate (HEOMD).
All applications must be submitted electronically through NSPIRES by an authorized organizational representative (AOR). Potential applicants and proposing organizations are urged to access the electronic proposal system well in advance of the application due date to familiarize themselves with its structure and to enter the requested information. Note that it may require several weeks for non-U.S. organizations to obtain the registrations needed to submit a proposal.
Comments and questions may be sent via e-mail to peer-review-afo@nasaprs.com. Responses to inquiries will be answered by e-mail and may also be included in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document located on the NSPIRES page associated with the solicitation; anonymity of persons/institutions who submit questions will be preserved.
Visit us on the web: http://flightopportunities.nasa.gov Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/nasafo Subscribe to our mailing list: https://lists.nasa.gov/mailman/listinfo/flightopportunities-news
Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Read more:
Taking a proactive approach to the possible liability implications of nanomaterials could save manufacturers major litigation trouble down the road.
All signs point toward the industrial and economic impact of nanotechnology getting exponentially bigger in the very near future -- to the tune of $3 trillion by 2015, according to some projections.
This microscopic technology, which utilizes particles and engineered structures as small as one ten-thousandth the diameter of a human hair, has already found practical application in medical technology, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products. It is poised to transform electronics and communications, manufacturing processes and tools, materials development, pollution control, batteries, and other products and industries.
But the health and environmental effects of most nanotechnologies are not well studied or understood, and a growing body of evidence suggests that some types of nanotechnology might be associated with significant adverse effects on human health and the environment.
Some in the insurance industry have already labeled nanotechnology as an emerging risk, and, to compound the uncertainty, complex concerns regarding regulatory oversight are on the rise, not to mention calls to ban nanotechnology outright.
So where does this leave manufacturers, innovators and other businesses whose industries are ready to ride the wave of nanoparticles into the future? Likely facing a host of potential lawsuits at some point for a number of potential reasons.
While no nanotechnology-specific personal injury claims have been brought against manufacturers yet, and no specific human disease or verifiable environmental mishap has been ascribed to nanomaterials, such claims are practically inevitable.
But understanding the potential risks and courtroom implications can help manufacturers and other businesses in the supply chain take proactive steps to manage and minimize their exposure to liability.
See more here:
ScienceDaily (Oct. 16, 2012) The United States may lose its leadership role in space to other countries unless it makes research and development funding and processes -- especially in nanotechnology -- a renewed and urgent priority, according to a new paper from Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
The paper, "NASA's Relationship with Nanotechnology: Past, Present and Future Challenges," investigates how NASA has both guided and defunded cutting-edge nanotechnology development since 1996 at its own research facilities and in its collaborations with university scientists and laboratories. The research was conducted by a team at Rice that included Baker Institute science and technology policy fellow Kirstin Matthews, current Rice graduate student Kenneth Evans and former graduate students Padraig Moloney and Brent Carey. The paper sheds light on a broad field that holds tremendous potential for improving space flight by reducing the weight of spacecraft and developing smaller and more accurate sensors.
This area of research, however, saw a dramatic cutback from 2004 to 2007, when NASA reduced annual nanotechnology R&D expenditures from $47 million to $20 million. NASA is the only U.S. federal agency to scale back investment in this area, the authors found, and it's part of an overall funding trend at NASA. From 2003 to 2010, while the total federal science research budget remained steady between $60 billion and $65 billion (in constant 2012 dollars), NASA's research appropriations decreased more than 75 percent, from $6.62 billion to $1.55 billion.
The authors argue that the agency should restructure, refocus and strengthen its R&D programs.
"The United States currently lacks a national space policy that ensures the continuity of research and programs that build on existing capabilities to explore space, and that has defined steps for human and robotic exploration of low-Earth orbit, the moon and Mars," Matthews said. "With Congress and the president wrestling over the budget each year, it is vital that NASA present a clear plan for science and technology R&D that is linked to all aspects of the agency. This includes connecting R&D, with nanotechnology as a lead area, to applications related to the agency's missions."
The authors said that to effectively engage in new technology R&D, NASA should strengthen its research capacity and expertise by encouraging high-risk, high-reward projects to help support and shape the future of U.S. space exploration
"Failure to make these changes, especially in a political climate of flat or reduced funding, poses substantial risk that the United States will lose its leadership role in space to other countries -- most notably China, Germany, France, Japan and Israel -- that make more effective use of their R&D investments," Matthews said.
"NASA's Relationship with Nanotechnology: Past, Present and Future Challenges" paper: http://www.bakerinstitute.org/policyreport54.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Read more from the original source:
NASA must reinvest in nanotechnology research, according to new paper
Matthews, Evans, Moloney and Carey: Nanotechnology will be critical to future missions
HOUSTON - (Oct. 16, 2012) - The United States may lose its leadership role in space to other countries unless it makes research and development funding and processes -- especially in nanotechnology -- a renewed and urgent priority, according to a new paper from Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
The paper, "NASA's Relationship with Nanotechnology: Past, Present and Future Challenges," investigates how NASA has both guided and defunded cutting-edge nanotechnology development since 1996 at its own research facilities and in its collaborations with university scientists and laboratories. The research was conducted by a team at Rice that included Baker Institute science and technology policy fellow Kirstin Matthews, current Rice graduate student Kenneth Evans and former graduate students Padraig Moloney and Brent Carey. The paper sheds light on a broad field that holds tremendous potential for improving space flight by reducing the weight of spacecraft and developing smaller and more accurate sensors.
This area of research, however, saw a dramatic cutback from 2004 to 2007, when NASA reduced annual nanotechnology R&D expenditures from $47 million to $20 million. NASA is the only U.S. federal agency to scale back investment in this area, the authors found, and it's part of an overall funding trend at NASA. From 2003 to 2010, while the total federal science research budget remained steady between $60 billion and $65 billion (in constant 2012 dollars), NASA's research appropriations decreased more than 75 percent, from $6.62 billion to $1.55 billion.
The authors argue that the agency should restructure, refocus and strengthen its R&D programs.
"The United States currently lacks a national space policy that ensures the continuity of research and programs that build on existing capabilities to explore space, and that has defined steps for human and robotic exploration of low-Earth orbit, the moon and Mars," Matthews said. "With Congress and the president wrestling over the budget each year, it is vital that NASA present a clear plan for science and technology R&D that is linked to all aspects of the agency. This includes connecting R&D, with nanotechnology as a lead area, to applications related to the agency's missions."
The authors said that to effectively engage in new technology R&D, NASA should strengthen its research capacity and expertise by encouraging high-risk, high-reward projects to help support and shape the future of U.S. space exploration
"Failure to make these changes, especially in a political climate of flat or reduced funding, poses substantial risk that the United States will lose its leadership role in space to other countries -- most notably China, Germany, France, Japan and Israel -- that make more effective use of their R&D investments," Matthews said.
-30-
For more information or to schedule an interview with Matthews, Evans, Moloney or Carey, contact Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.
More here:
NASA must reinvest in nanotechnology research, according to new Rice University paper
Newswise NYU Langone Medical Center announced today that Dan R. Littman, MD, PhD, the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Professor of Molecular Immunology, a professor of pathology and microbiology, and a faculty member in the Molecular Pathogenesis program in the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, has been elected a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Seventy new members and ten foreign associates were named during the IOMs 42nd annual meeting on October 15. Dr. Littman is NYU School of Medicines ninth faculty member to be elected into the IOM.
Being elected into the IOM is an extraordinary honor and is evidence of the remarkable and important contributions Dr. Littman has made to science and medicine, said Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean & CEO at NYU Langone Medical Center. We congratulate Dr. Littman on receiving this significant distinction.
A renowned immunologist and molecular biologist, Dr. Littman has made seminal contributions to numerous fields including understanding the molecular basis of immune recognition, HIV pathogenesis, T-cell differentiation and selection and most recently, the role of commensal bacteria in immune system development and regulation. Dr. Littman is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, a member in the National Academy of the Sciences, and is a fellow in both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Microbiology.
Dr. Littman has been a leader in applying molecular biology and mouse genetics to study specification of T lymphocyte lineages and the differentiation of inflammatory T helper cells. Early in his career Dr. Littman isolated the genes for the CD4 and CD8 co-receptors and determined how their expression is regulated and their signaling influences selection of helper and cytotoxic cells. His group subsequently went on to demonstrate that CD4 and CCR5 collaborate as co-receptors for HIV, leading to therapeutic targeting of CCR5 in AIDS, and the demonstration that HIV evades host innate responses by failing to replicate in dendritic cells. In recent work, Dr. Littman discovered that the nuclear receptor ROR-gamma-t regulates differentiation of Th17 cells and lymphoid tissue inducer cells, and identified compounds that inhibit its activity and may be effective for autoimmune disease therapy. He identified a commensal gut bacterium that selectively induces Th17 cells and promotes autoimmunity in mice, which may be relevant for human diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, thought to be influenced by imbalanced microbiota. His work has thus had major impact in both immunology and virology, and is being translated into therapies for multiple diseases.
Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, IOM is recognized as a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on health issues. Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. New members are elected by current active members through a selective process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health.
"The Institute of Medicine is greatly enriched by the addition of our newly elected colleagues, each of whom has significantly advanced health and medicine," said IOM President Harvey V. Fineberg. "Through their research, teaching, clinical work, and other contributions, these distinguished individuals have inspired and served as role models to others. We look forward to drawing on their knowledge and skills to improve health through the work of the IOM."
The newly elected members raise IOM's total active membership to 1,732 and the number of foreign associates to 112. With an additional 84 members holding emeritus status, IOM's total membership is 1,928. IOM's charter ensures diversity of talent among the Institute's membership by requiring at least one-quarter of the members to be selected from fields outside the health professions, such as engineering, social sciences, law, and the humanities.
About NYU Langone Medical Center NYU Langone Medical Center, a world-class, patient-centered, integrated, academic medical center, is one of the nations premier centers for excellence in clinical care, biomedical research and medical education. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU Langone is composed of four hospitals Tisch Hospital, its flagship acute care facility; the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the worlds first university-affiliated facility devoted entirely to rehabilitation medicine; the Hospital for Joint Diseases, one of only five hospitals in the nation dedicated to orthopaedics and rheumatology; and Hassenfeld Pediatric Center, a comprehensive pediatric hospital supporting a full array of childrens health services across the Medical Center plus the NYU School of Medicine, which since 1841 has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history. The medical centers tri-fold mission to serve, teach and discover is achieved 365 days a year through the seamless integration of a culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education and research. For more information, go to http://www.NYULMC.org.
More here:
Dan R. Littman, MD, PhD, Elected Member of Prestigious Institute of Medicine
Public release date: 16-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Deborah Sabalusky Deborah.Sabalusky@nyumc.org 212-404-3567 NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine
NYU Langone Medical Center announced today that Dan R. Littman, MD, PhD, the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Professor of Molecular Immunology, a professor in the departments of pathology and microbiology, and a faculty member in the Molecular Pathogenesis program in the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, has been elected a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Seventy new members and ten foreign associates were named during the IOM's 42nd annual meeting on October 15. Dr. Littman is NYU School of Medicine's ninth faculty member to be elected into the IOM.
"Being elected into the IOM is an extraordinary honor and is evidence of the remarkable and important contributions Dr. Littman has made to science and medicine," said Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean & CEO at NYU Langone Medical Center. "We congratulate Dr. Littman on receiving this significant distinction."
A renowned immunologist and molecular biologist, Dr. Littman has made seminal contributions to numerous fields including understanding the molecular basis of immune recognition, HIV pathogenesis, T-cell differentiation and selection and most recently, the role of commensal bacteria in immune system development and regulation. Dr. Littman is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, a member in the National Academy of the Sciences, and is a fellow in both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Microbiology.
Dr. Littman has been a leader in applying molecular biology and mouse genetics to study specification of T lymphocyte lineages and the differentiation of inflammatory T helper cells. Early in his career Dr. Littman isolated the genes for the CD4 and CD8 co-receptors and determined how their expression is regulated and their signaling influences selection of helper and cytotoxic cells. His group subsequently went on to demonstrate that CD4 and CCR5 collaborate as co-receptors for HIV, leading to therapeutic targeting of CCR5 in AIDS, and the demonstration that HIV evades host innate responses by failing to replicate in dendritic cells. In recent work, Dr. Littman discovered that the nuclear receptor ROR-gamma-t regulates differentiation of Th17 cells and lymphoid tissue inducer cells, and identified compounds that inhibit its activity and may be effective for autoimmune disease therapy. He identified a commensal gut bacterium that selectively induces Th17 cells and promotes autoimmunity in mice, which may be relevant for human diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, thought to be influenced by imbalanced microbiota. His work has thus had major impact in both immunology and virology, and is being translated into therapies for multiple diseases.
Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, IOM is recognized as a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on health issues. Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. New members are elected by current active members through a selective process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health.
"The Institute of Medicine is greatly enriched by the addition of our newly elected colleagues, each of whom has significantly advanced health and medicine," said IOM President Harvey V. Fineberg. "Through their research, teaching, clinical work, and other contributions, these distinguished individuals have inspired and served as role models to others. We look forward to drawing on their knowledge and skills to improve health through the work of the IOM."
The newly elected members raise IOM's total active membership to 1,732 and the number of foreign associates to 112. With an additional 84 members holding emeritus status, IOM's total membership is 1,928. IOM's charter ensures diversity of talent among the Institute's membership by requiring at least one-quarter of the members to be selected from fields outside the health professions, such as engineering, social sciences, law, and the humanities.
###
Go here to see the original:
Dan R. Littman, M.D., Ph.D., elected member of prestigious Institute of Medicine
Setting up your own PR company can be a daunting task. Farzana Baduel , director of Curzon PR, takes you through the key factors you should bear in mind Research and planning are vital when thinking about starting up your own PR company. Putting in some solid groundwork will establish your target market, what key services you will need to provide and what sets you apart in the industry. There ...
See the rest here:
As we celebrate women in science, technology, engineering and maths on Ada Lovelace Day, Wired.co.uk has gathered together a list of websites and apps to avoid, for Ada's sake.
HeTexted Created by Lisa Winning and Carrie Henderson McDermott, HeTexted is a site where you can upload screengrabs of text messages you've been sent. Having done this, other "unbiased" visitors to the site can vote on whether "he's into you" or "he's not into you". If you don't trust their responses, you can "ask a bro", including the "Dude Whisperer" Mason or "kind-of-a-douchebag" Ben; brutally honest Tim, nice guy Chris and "hit-me-up-ladies" Brian.
The site reads like a particularly depressing Carrie Bradshaw column. Highlights include Lostlady who tells her beau "Love you", he responds "awe", she then underlines her love with the astronomically confusing "to the moon and back and around the Milky Way", and he responds with a smiley and "Please bring an iPhone car charger". Lostlady, you don't need a website to tell you that he's not into you.
As for MissyG, you are onto a winner with Matt, whose first text to you after meeting him was "Imax polars narrated by Meryl Streep!!" along with a picture of a polar bear with her cubs.
Rack Stare Ted Nash might be an impressive budding entrepreneur, but he has produced some Ada-antagonising apps. Rack Stare is a game that challenges players to stare at a woman's breasts without getting caught. This is because it's been scientifically proven that "looking at boobs for at least five minutes a day is good for your health". The game's key adversaries are "smoking hot" ladies in tight outfits. Due to the fact that they are attractive and in tight clothes, "your head unavoidably turns in her direction as you're trying your best not to stare too inconspicuously". You have to "please your eyes with her mouth-watering rack" as long as you can without being noticed.
Lady Popular As RockPaperShotgun put it, "Finally! A game for ladies". Lady Popular acknowledges that icky games with guns, exploring and monsters simply aren't doing it for women. Lady gamers want more appropriate gaming mechanics such as unlocking a boyfriend and changing hairstyles. The city it's based in offers thousands of opportunities such as going to the mall, beauty salon or going to parties at clubs to find the perfect guy. The height of ambition is taking part in fashion catwalks to prove you're the most popular. Players can level up by buying items you like from the mall, dying their hair according to the prevailing fashions, keeping their weight in the ideal range, and finding a boyfriend. Boyfriends come in all professions, so make sure you bag a rich one -- car washers will only give you $50 per day, which won't buy you all the things you like in the mall.
Unilad If you aren't already familiar with Unilad, it's where banter goes to die. It's an agonising process: its what happens when Jeremy Clarkson's jeans accessorise themselves with a low-cut v-neck and Homme Wild, before mangling themselves in the engine of a Subaru Impreza. So you don't have to visit the site yourself, the highlights are thus:
Chubby girls: they need loving to "Why do lads pass up the chubster for someone equally unattractive so very often. It is a mystery that continues to plague the conscious of mankind (sic), as the benefits of these lovely young (and occasionally old) ladies are so clear to the sober mind."
Top 5 breakup lines A heartfelt guide to ditching a girlfriend including "you look like shite" and the "witty and truthful" classic, "It's not you, it's me. It's me who fancies your older sister."
The history of priming the vag "The Middle Ages was just a fucking boring time for everyone. The only way a man could entertain himself was priming and penetrating Vag. With so much disease, death and poverty around the only light of hope for men emanated from the hymens of fruitful virgins."
Continued here:
If youre worried about the safety of a file on your PC then uploading it to VirusTotal.com is a great way to get some piece of mind. The site will run it through more than 40 of the top antivirus tools -- GData, AVG, Avira, Kaspersky, theyre all here -- and let you know if any of them have raised a red flag.
There could be a lengthy delay while the file is uploaded, of course. But you dont have to put up with that, becauseVirusTotal Scannerdelivers the same results without having to upload the file at all.
The program is very simple to use. Theres no installation required, just download and unzip it and theres a portable version you can run right away.
Locate the file of interest, drag and drop it onto the program, and click VirusTotal Scan.
And the key point is that VirusTotal Scanner then calculates a hash (a digital fingerprint) for the file. The hash is then sent to VirusTotal, instead of the file itself, and because its just a number this takes almost no time at all.
As an example, we gave the program a 28.7MB executable to check, and within just two seconds it was displaying the usual VirusTotal analysis: its overall detection ratio, the individual verdict for each tool used, and all the other regular site features.
If this is something you want to use regularly, then the program also comes with a handy setup tool. Using this adds a right-click VirusTotal Scanner option to Explorer context menus, making it just a little easier to check any suspect file.
TheVirusTotal Scannerportable option is good enough for us, though: a simple, straightforward tool which can save a little time whenever you need to check a file for malware.
Photo Credit:Sergii Korolko/Shutterstock
See the rest here:
CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - Oct 16, 2012) - The American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation recognizes the incredible efforts of physicians, residents and medical students who go beyond the call of duty to improve public health, provide care for people in need and serve as community leaders.
Each year, the AMA Foundation presents the Excellence in Medicine Awards, in association with Pfizer Inc., to acknowledge the everyday heroes who embody the highest values of the medical profession: altruism, public service and dedication to patient care.
Applications and nominations for the 2013 Excellence in Medicine Awards are now being accepted. Submissions are due November 16, 2012.
The Excellence in Medicine Awards program includes four categories that span the physician lifecycle:
The Excellence in Medicine Awards will be presented at a banquet on February 11, 2013, in Washington,D.C. Award recipients will receive travel expenses to attend the ceremony, and $2,500 grants will be provided to the awarded physicians' organizations.
Biographical videos featuring the 2012 Excellence in Medicine Award recipients can be found on YouTube.
Nominate the outstanding physician in your life, or encourage medical students and residents to apply.Please visit the AMA Foundation website, http://www.amafoundation.org, for more information.
Link:
As health care costs threaten to overwhelm the defense budget, the Navy is increasing efficiency through Web-based care, preventive medicine, joint operations across services and fewer referrals to civilian providers, the services top doctor said Wednesday during a visit to San Diego.
The Defense Department spent about $19 billion on health care in 2001. Last year, the figure climbed to $52 billion.
Were on this trajectory that is non-sustainable, said Vice Adm. Matthew Nathan, U.S. Navy surgeon general.
If the trend continues, by 2020 health care costs will consume the budget for discretionary spending, such as infrastructure, Nathan told the San Diego Military Advisory Council.
We cant provide all medical care at any cost anymore. We cant afford it, we cant sustain it, he said, but neither can the Navy simply stop paying the bill.
We have to figure out, Navy medicine and military medicine, how we can maintain health and do it at lower cost.
The Navy cares for sailors and Marines with a budget of about $6 billion and 65,000 workers. That budget will undoubtedly shrink in coming years as the Corps downsizes by about 20,000, Nathan said. But the needs of wounded service members will continue after the last return home from the war.
If all hostilities ended tomorrow, my current need for trauma support would diminish pretty quickly. But my current need for emotional, psychological support will be a tail that exists for quite awhile, he told San Diego reporters.
To become solvent and sustainable, Navy medicine is adopting a patient-centered medical home model, assigning active duty, retirees and dependents it serves to a cluster of providers and encouraging electronic communication.
Like the invention of antibiotics and anesthesia, I believe the next great panacea of medicine is going to be virtual medicine, the ability to take care of you at your homes, where you can use a smartphone or computer to make appointments, get test results and consult with your doctor, he said. The only time youll have to go see a doctor is when youre really sick and they need to either listen to you, see you or feel whats going on with you.
The rest is here:
Its small but packs a big punch. A medicine ball is a weighted ball used to whip your body into shape, without taking up much space. Its similar to standard weights, but with the medicine ball you only need one in order to get in a full workout.
If youre a fitness newbie, start with a 4-pounder (sold at most sports stores). Advanced fitness junkies may choose to use a 20-pound ball.
Dr. Rick Kattouf, author of Forever Fit, is a triathlon and conditioning coach based in South Carolina. Below, he shares his favorite medicine ball exercises. Do each exercise 10 times. Gradually work up to doing each one 25 times.
SQUAT TO SHOULDER PRESS: Beginning in a standing position, hold the medicine ball at chest level. Squat, trying to drop your buttocks as low as possible, keeping your heels on the ground. Then, stand up and raise the medicine ball directly over your heat. Bring the medicine ball back to your chest and repeat.
Muscles worked: Quadriceps, glutes, triceps and shoulders.
JUMP SQUATS: Stand and hold the medicine ball at chest level. Squat as low as possible while keeping your heels on the ground. Jump off the ground as high as you can. When you land, you want to immediately drop back into the squat position. This is designed to be a very fast-paced, rapid-fire exercise.
Muscles worked: Quadriceps and glutes.
STRAIGHT-LEG DEAD LIFT: In a standing position, lift the medicine ball above your head, keeping your arms extended. Bend forward from your waist as if you are trying to touch your toes. As you bend forward, keep your arms extended while holding the medicine ball and bringing the ball toward your feet. Keep your knees slightly bent the entire time. When the ball hits your feet or the floor, return to your original standing position, maintaining the full extension of your arms overhead.
Muscles worked: Hamstrings and shoulders.
SIT-UP CHEST PRESS: Lying on a mat or a rug on your back, knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hold the medicine ball on your chest. Perform a sit-up. As you get toward the top of your sit-up position, extend the medicine ball in front of you. Then, bring the ball back toward your chest and lower your upper body down to the starting position.
See the rest here:
WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - Oct 17, 2012) - The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), the international organization representing the interests of the regenerative medicine community, announced the publication today of an article on FDA communications to help companies developing cell-based therapies by clarifying the development pathway. The article, entitled "Communications with the FDA on the Development Pathway for a Cell-Based Therapy: Why, What, When, and How?" will be published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine. It is co-authored by representatives from ARM, Janssen R&D, GE Healthcare and Life Technologies, with the lead author from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).
"There are a number of ways cell-based therapy companies can communicate with FDA that will help them navigate the road from the bench to a regulatory submission," said Michael Werner, Executive Director of ARM. "We hope that our combined experience as co-authors, and our attempt to create a single source of guidance on the regulatory process, will help companies bring new cell-based therapies through clinical trials and the regulatory review process more quickly so they can reach patients faster," added Mr. Werner.
Lead author Ellen Feigal, MD, Senior Vice President for Research and Development at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) commented, "Cell-based therapies represent a fundamentally new way to treat or cure disease, but developing a new therapy is costly, time consuming and fraught with uncertainty. Our paper takes a practical approach to clarifying the path to market."
"Communications with the FDA on the Development Pathway for a Cell-Based Therapy: Why, What, When, and How?" provides detailed information on options for communicating with the FDA at different stages; the official communications tied to each stage of development; and the most common reasons regulatory applications are delayed. The article can be accessed at: http://stemcellstm.alphamedpress.org/content/early/recent
About CIRM: CIRM was established in November 2004 with the passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. The statewide ballot measure, which provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions, was overwhelmingly approved by voters, and called for the establishment of an entity to make grants and provide loans for stem cell research, research facilities, and other vital research opportunities. A list of grants and loans awarded to date may be seen here: http://www.cirm.ca.gov/for-researchers/researchfunding.
About ARM: The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine is a Washington, DC-based multi-stakeholder advocacy organization that promotes legislative, regulatory and reimbursement initiatives necessary to facilitate access to life-giving advances in regenerative medicine. ARM also works to increase public understanding of the field and its potential to transform human healthcare, providing business development and investor outreach services to support the growth of its member companies and research organizations. Prior to the formation of ARM in 2009, there was no advocacy organization operating in Washington, DC to specifically represent the interests of the companies, research institutions, investors and patient groups that comprise the entire regenerative medicine community. Today ARM has more than 120 members and is the leading global advocacy organization in this field. In March 2012, ARM launched a sister organization in Europe -- the Alliance for Advanced Therapies. For more information go to http://www.alliancerm.org.
Read more: