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Regulator denies Sonic’s full bid for Healthscope

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

Sonic Healthcare's bid to buy Healthscope's pathology businesses across Australia has largely been knocked back, with the competition regulator this morning ruling against Sonic's bid forHealthscope's Queensland pathology business.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission this morning said Sonic's bid for the Queensland business was rejected becauseit was "likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in the market for the supply for community pathology services in Queensland."

This is due to a range of factors, including the reputation, professional relationships, network of collection centres and testing capability it has established in Queensland, supported by its strong position in other pathology markets in Australia.

If Healthscope were removed as a competitive constraint, it is not likely to be replaced in a timely and sufficient way by the new entry or expansion of other pathology providers in Queensland.

The ACCC has approved Sonic's takeover of Healthscope's Western Australian pathology business.

In Western Australia, the ACCC recognised that a number of significant pathology providers will remain following the proposed acquisition, such that the removal of Healthscope is not likely to result in a substantial lessening of competition in that market, ACCC chairman Rod Sims said ina statement.

Last month,Sonic and Healthscope said they were dropping plans for Sonic to buy Healthscope's pathology businesses in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, blaming delays in the ACCC decision-making process. This left just the WA and Queensland businesses for ACCC consideration.

Healthscope chief executive Robert Cook told BusinessDay recently thatit was conducting a strategic review of its pathology business in NSW and ACT, and it hadformed the view it is a long term holder of that business."

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Regulator denies Sonic's full bid for Healthscope

ACCC denies Sonic’s bid for Healthscope

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

If Healthscope were removed as a competitive constraint, it is not likely to be replaced in a timely and sufficient way by the new entry or expansion of other pathology providers in Queensland.

The ACCC has approved Sonic's takeover of Healthscope's Western Australian pathology business.

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ACCC denies Sonic's bid for Healthscope

Sports nutrition experts point way toward provable benefits

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

The marriage of science and ethical, focused marketing can lead the sports nutrition market out of the dark shadows cast by spooky pre-workout products whose labels feature laundry lists of ingredients supposedly derived from rarely-mentioned botanicals, experts say.

In recent discussions with NutraIngredients-USA, formulation experts in the sports nutrition sphere said a new center of the market is forming, and its coming together around a commitment to safety and to demonstrable benefits.

Start with the research. Im an evidence-based practitioner. There has got to be some evidence. The idea that twelve athletes have used this and it makes them feel great may be a great place to start. But it isnt any way to start a business and develop a product and tell people that it works, said Susan Kleiner, PhD, an author and consultant within the sports nutrition sphere. Kleiner consults with multi-level marketing firm USANA on its sports nutrition lines.

I think that its kind of a two way street. I think that the public expects honesty from manufacturers. But it requires that the manufacturers also lead and do the research to show that there is actually some evidence behind their products, she said.

Recent launches typify trend

Two recent entrants in the sports nutrition sphere typify this trend toward the middle. In mid-September, Idaho-based Thorne Research announced a new line of sports nutrition products , followed a week or so later by the launch announcement of Klean Athlete, a line of sports products from Douglas Labs . Not coincidentally, both of these manufacturers have long histories in the health practitioner side of the dietary supplement business.

We wanted to create a line of products that are not so much operating at the fringe of sports nutrition, Tim Monk, senior vice president of marketing for Douglas told NutraIngredients-USA.

We wanted the parents to feel good that if their son comes home from football practice and has a can of the Klean isolate that they are taking whey protein and there is nothing else in that product.

Real world science

In addition to a commitment to purity and safety, Kleiner said, manufacturers need to cleave to science that drives toward real world benefits, rather that seeking to clear statistical significance hurdles that are too arcane for the middle-of-the-market consumer to care about. Kleiner said having experts with real world experience on board can help manufacturers achieve this goal.

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Sports nutrition experts point way toward provable benefits

Longevity Global Inc. Now Launches New Range of Improved and Less Smoke Producing Power Generators

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

Longevity Global Inc. has recently made another revolutionary launch. This time the leading cutting and welding equipment manufacturing company has come up with their new range power generators. There new range includes some phenomenal models of silent diesel generators which are ideal to maintain peace in the environment. Also various other models of powerful yet small generators are amongst the new line product lines of Longevity.

Hayward, CA (PRWEB) October 10, 2012

All the technologically advanced range of generators are easy to install and user friendly in operation. Longevity Global Inc. now also offers cost effective natural gas generators which are highly efficient in fuel consumption compared to other traditional gas generators. It also has a lesser chance in being contaminated from the ground and from its surroundings. A traditional portable gas generator would need to fill it up with fuel. Gas portable generator is beneficial because it does not disperse a lot of fumes. Meanwhile a gas powered generator can as its engine runs. The fumes can smell and they are toxic. Their gas generators powered by natural gas does not at all smell. These generators come in several sizes. They range from the typical small generators to the larger ones meant to last for an extended period of time. Longevity provides generators as per requirements and budget.

For smooth and quiet operation all offered generators of Longevity Global Inc. are enclosed in a steel frame which is very rigid, insulated with sound proof material and isolated by motor mounts. Latest models of our LDG Silent Diesel Generators include full power panel with engine shut off switch, hour meter, voltage selector etc. The idle control feature of these generators saves fuel and reduces noise. Longevity backs its offered quality products with one year or 3000 Hour parts warranty. Wide range of power output of Longevity brand generators can meet all the power backup needs of both residence and business places. Along with the portable generators and higher power output generators of superlative quality offered by Longevity, many best in the class plasma cutters, TIG welders, MIG welders and other accessories at unparalleled price range are also offered at this company.

Longevity Global Inc. is providing dedicated service since 2001. It is growing at a phenomenal pace with high customer satisfaction, innovative products and efficient industrial production. It works in different parts of world with distributors in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, United Kingdom, and multiple other countries. Longevity Global Inc. serve globally with manufacturing facilities with its logistic companies to effectively distribute products in a punctual and effective manner.

To know more visit http://www.longevity-inc.com

Simon Katz Longevity, Inc. 1.877.566.4462 Email Information

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Longevity Global Inc. Now Launches New Range of Improved and Less Smoke Producing Power Generators

DNA leads to arrest in sexual assault of Santa Ana girl

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

A man was arrested Wednesday after he was linked through DNA to the sexual assault of an 8-year-old Santa Ana girl in her bunk bed, police said. The assailant climbed in through an unlocked window of her home.

Damien Anthony Reyes was arrested at his home in the 1300 block of North King Street after detectives were told there was a positive match on the DNA left at the scene of the June attack.

Reyes was booked at the Santa Ana Jail on suspicion of burglary, child molestation by force with enhancements that could lead to a potential life sentence upon conviction. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Authorities did not say how Reyes' DNA got into the state or federal DNA database. In most cases an arrest or conviction leads to a DNA sample being taken.

The noise woke up the girl's 13-year-old sister, who was asleep on the bottom bed, police said. Both girls screamed and woke up their father, who ran to their aid.

Detectives said the man immediately fled the house through the same window and was last seen running south.

Man found with body bags, smoke grenade at LAX investigated

Hazing probe launched after Fresno State fraternity pledge dies

-- Richard Winton

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DNA leads to arrest in sexual assault of Santa Ana girl

Dinos' DNA Demise: Genetic Material Has a 521-Year Half-Life

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

A new analysis confirms the widely held suspicion that DNA from dinosaurs and ancient insects trapped in amber cannot be recovered to make a 'Jurassic Park'-style theme park

By Matt Kaplan and Nature magazine

Palaeogeneticist Morten Allentoft used the bones of extinct moa birds to calculate the half-life of DNA. Image: M. Mhl

Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...

From Nature magazine

Few researchers have given credence to claims that samples of dinosaur DNA have survived to the present day, but no one knew just how long it would take for genetic material to fall apart. Now, a study of fossils found in New Zealand is laying the matter to rest and putting paid to hopes of cloning a Tyrannosaurus rex.

After cell death, enzymes start to break down the bonds between the nucleotides that form the backbone of DNA, and micro-organisms speed the decay. In the long run, however, reactions with water are thought to be responsible for most bond degradation. Groundwater is almost ubiquitous, so DNA in buried bone samples should, in theory, degrade at a set rate.

Determining that rate has been difficult because it is rare to find large sets of DNA-containing fossils with which to make meaningful comparisons. To make matters worse, variable environmental conditions such as temperature, degree of microbial attack and oxygenation alter the speed of the decay process.

But palaeogeneticists led by Morten Allentoft at the University of Copenhagen and Michael Bunce at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, examined 158 DNA-containing leg bones belonging to three species of extinct giant birds called moa. The bones, which were between 600 and 8,000 years old, had been recovered from three sites within 5 kilometres of each other, with nearly identical preservation conditions including a temperature of 13.1 C. The findings are published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

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Dinos' DNA Demise: Genetic Material Has a 521-Year Half-Life

How long can DNA last? A million years

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

In "Jurassic Park," scientists extract 80-million-year-old dino DNA from the bellies of mosquitoes trapped in amber. Researchers may never be able to extract genetic material that old and bring a T. rex back to life, but a new study suggests DNA can survive in fossils longer than previously believed.

The oldest DNA samples ever recovered are from insects and plants in ice cores in Greenland up to 800,000 years old. But researchers had not been able to determine the oldest possible DNA they could get from the fossil record because DNA's rate of decay had remained a mystery.

Now scientists in Australia report they've been able to estimate this rate based on a comparison of DNA from 158 fossilized leg bones from three species of the moa, an extinct group of flightless birds that once lived in New Zealand. The bones date between 600 and 8,000 years old and importantly all come from the same region.

Science news from NBCNews.com

Although Einstein's theories suggest nothing can move faster than the speed of light, two scientists have extended his equations to show what would happen if faster-than-light travel were possible.

Temperatures, oxygenation and other environmental factors make it difficult to detect a basic rate of degradation, researcher Mike Bunce, from Murdoch University's Ancient DNA lab in Perth, explained in a statement.

"The moa bones however have allowed us to study the comparative DNA degradation because they come from different ages from a region where they have all experienced the same environmental conditions," Bunce said.

Based on this study, Bunce and his team put DNA's half-life at 521 years, meaning half of the DNA bonds would be broken down 521 years after death, and half of the remaining bonds would be decayed another 521 years after that, and so on. This rate is 400 times slower than simulation experiments predicted, the researchers said, and it would mean that under ideal conditions, all the DNA bonds would be completely destroyed in bone after about 6.8 million years.

"If the decay rate is accurate then we predict that DNA fragments of sufficient length will preserve in frozen fossil bone of around one million years in age," Bunce said.

But he cautioned that more research is needed to examine the other variables in the breakdown of DNA.

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How long can DNA last? A million years

DNA Brands to Re-Brand and Undertake New Marketing Campaign

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

BOCA RATON, FL--(Marketwire - Oct 10, 2012) - DNA Brands, Inc. ( OTCBB : DNAX ), makers of the great tasting DNA Energy Drink, a favorite of the action sports community and its enthusiastic followers, announced today it is re-branding its entire line of DNA Energy Drinks to be able to reach a greater portion of the ever-growing energy drink market.

Darren Marks, President of DNA Brand, Inc., stated, "The one comment we hear over and over is that energy drinks don't taste good. We were previously selected as the best tasting energy drink by an independent international World Beverage Competition. We intend to get this fact out to the energy drink consumer. Our current graphics were primarily geared to the action sports community. Although we will continue to pursue these same customers, we will do it with new and innovative products geared to better communicate the brand's core identity while appealing to a much broader demographic; active consumers from every walk of life. We are confident that this rebranding will enable us to better position ourselves in a category that continues to re-invent itself and grow at a rapid pace. Energy drink sales increased 17.2% in 2011, the highest growth rate since 2007." In conjunction with the re-branding, Jeff Jonke has been promoted to the Company's Executive Vice-President and General Manger. He will be the driving force behind this new and exciting time for DNA Brands, Inc.

About DNA Brands, Inc.

DNA BRANDS, makers of DNA Energy Drink, the award-winning, best-tasting energy drink at the 2010 World Beverage Competition, is a proprietary blend of quality ingredients in four flavors: Citrus, Lemon Lime, Sugar Free Citrus and CRANRAZBERRY. DNA can be found at independent retailers throughout the state of Florida, as well as national retailers including Walgreens, Race Trac and Circle K. Distribution is primarily through Grass Roots Beverage, the Company's wholly owned subsidiary and select Miller and Anheuser-Bush distributors in select markets.

DNA is a proud sponsor of many action sport teams. True to its action sports roots, DNA BRANDS, INC. has earned national recognition through its sponsorship of the DNA Energy Drink/Jeff Ward Racing team where it competes on a world-class level in Supercross and Motocross, reaching millions of fans. DNA Energy Drink can also be found in other action sports such as Surfing, BMX, Wakeboarding and Skateboarding and its athletes are recognized stars in their own right.

For more information about DNA Energy Drink, its athletes and sponsorships, please visit http://www.dnabrandsusa.com or contact: Darren M. Marks, President (954) 970 3826 darren@dnaenergydrink.com

Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements

To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, including statements as to revenue projections, business strategy, outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals, future financial conditions, future collaboration agreements, the success of the Company's development, events conditioned on stockholder or other approval, or otherwise as to future events, such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made.

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DNA Brands to Re-Brand and Undertake New Marketing Campaign

'Jurassic Park' May Be Impossible, But Dino DNA Lasts Longer Than Thought

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

"If the decay rate is accurate then we predict that DNA fragments of sufficient length will preserve in frozen fossil bone of around one million years in age," Bunce said.

But he cautioned that more research is needed to examine the other variables in the breakdown of DNA.

"Other factors that impact on DNA preservation include storage time following excavation, soil chemistry and even the time of year when the animal died," Bunce said in a statement. "We hope to refine predictions of DNA survival by more accurately mapping how DNA fragments decay across the globe."

The study was published Oct. 10 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

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'Jurassic Park' May Be Impossible, But Dino DNA Lasts Longer Than Thought

DNA decay rate makes 'Jurassic Park' impossible

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

Researchers in New Zealand found that DNA decays far quicker than previously considered, making it impossible to salvage usable genetic material from dinosaurs.

Don't worry, we won't have to worry about this scenario in the future.

Countless childhood dreams dissolved today upon the news that the calculated half-life of DNA figures out to around 521 years, all but invalidating the chances of a real-life "Jurassic Park."

The DNA fact-finding project involved a team of palaeogeneticists testing 158 leg bones belonging to three species of extinct giant moa birds ranging from 600 to 8,000 years old.

After running a series of comparisons between the age of the various bones and DNA degradation within each specimen, the researchers estimated that DNA's half-life works out to about 521 years after being kept in a swamp with an average temperature of 13.1 Celsius (55 Fahrenheit). Even a more ideal preservation temperature of minus 5 Celsius (23 Fahrenheit) would only result in readable DNA from specimens up to 1.5 million years old, meaning there is no possible way we can see a 65-million-year-old T-Rex waving its tiny arms about in this time frame.

DNA breaks down for a variety of reasons, including degradation from external influences such as temperature, water, soil chemistry, and so on. After half a millennium, the researchers assume that DNA continues to degrade as the nucleotide bonds within break in half. Each 521-year segment serves as another chapter of nucleotide structure breakdown and carries on until the bonds no longer exist. However, science has yet to determine the breakdown speed of DNA in environments that are more supportive of preservation, such as permafrost.

Morten Allentoft at the University of Copenhagen and Michael Bunce at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, worked with a large team on the findings, which were published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B science journal.

(Via Nature)

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DNA decay rate makes 'Jurassic Park' impossible

Murder accused's DNA 'on victim'

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

10 October 2012 Last updated at 12:37 ET

DNA representing a one-in-a-billion match to that of a retired teacher and the man accused of her murder was found on her hand, a court has heard.

A "full DNA profile" of Stephen Farrow, 48, was found on a swab taken from the back of Betty Yates's left hand following the discovery of her body.

Farrow denies the murders of Mrs Yates, in Worcestershire, and the Rev John Suddards, in South Gloucestershire.

He claims he saw 77-year-old Mrs Yates two days before she was killed.

She was found stabbed to death in her cottage, in Bewdley, on 4 January, having been killed two days earlier.

Farrow, of no fixed address, claims he saw Mrs Yates on 30 December, but Bristol Crown Court heard the location the DNA sample was found would make it "extremely rare" to get such a strong profile days later.

Forensic scientist Christopher McKenzie told the jury: "The DNA profile obtained showed a mixture of DNA from two people which matched the corresponding DNA profiles of Mrs Yates and Stephen Farrow.

"We found that it is a billion times more likely to have come from Betty Yates and Stephen Farrow than from Betty Yates and someone other than Stephen Farrow."

Mr McKenzie said given the strength of the DNA profile he would expect there to have been either direct physical contact between Mrs Yates and Farrow or for it to have come from a bodily fluid - potentially saliva or sweat.

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Murder accused's DNA 'on victim'

Singing Mice May Join Humans and Songbirds As Vocal Learners

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

My high school biology teacher once told me that nothing was binary in biology except for alive and dead, and pregnant and not pregnant. Any other variation, he said, existed along a continuum. Whether or not the claim is technically accurate, it serves to illustrate an important feature of biological life. That is, very little in the biological world falls neatly into categories. A new finding, published today in PLoS ONE by Gustavo Arriaga, Eric P. Zhou, and Erich D. Jarvis from Duke University adds to the list of phenomena that scientists once thought were categorical but may, in fact, not be.

The consensus among researchers was that, in general, animals divide neatly into two categories: singers and non-singers. The singers include songbirds, parrots, hummingbirds, humans, dolphins, whales, bats, elephants, sea lions and seals. What these species all have in common and what distinguishes them from the non-singers of the animal world is that they are vocal learners. That is, these species can change the composition of their sounds that emanate from the larynx (for mammals) or syrinx (for birds), both in terms of the acoustic qualities such as pitch, and in terms of syntax (the particular ordering of the parts of the song). It is perhaps not surprising that songbirds and parrots have been extremely useful as models for understanding human speech and language acquisition. When other animals, such as monkeys or non-human apes, produce vocalizations, they are always innate, usually reflexive, and never learned.

But is the vocal learner/non-learner dichotomy truly reflective of biological reality? Maybe not. It turns out that mice make things more complicated.

Only in the last hundred years or so have researchers known that mice vocalize as part of their mating process. The reason it eluded scientists for so long is that their vocalizations cant be heard by human ears. But then, in 2005, Holy and Guo argued in a paper in PLoS Biology that the ultrasonic vocalizations produced by mice ought to be thought of as songs rather than calls.

Lots of species produce calls, and those calls serve different purposes. Some are primarily used for mating, others for indicating the presence of food, and still others to notify group members of predators. While some calls may indeed be thought of as musical, scientists tend to distinguish between calls and songs. Unlike calls, which are built of single syllables (sometimes repeated), songs include multiple syllables that are constructed in a specific (non-random) order, often with repeated phrases. Calls tend to be identical across multiple individuals of a given species, while songs tend to differ from singer to singer.

The binary distinction between singers and non-singers might not be as convincing if it were based solely on observable behavior, but it turns out that the dichtomy is reflected in neurobiology. There are special neural circuits in both humans and singing birds that are uniquely associated with vocal learning.

Mice had always been situated firmly in the vocal non-learning group, but if Holy and Guo are right in referring to mouse vocalizations as songs, Arriaga and his colleagues reasoned, then they might show the same neurobiological signature as birds and humans. One of the hallmark neurobiological features of song learners is a circuit that starts in the motor cortex on the top of the brain which projects directly to the part of the brainstem that controls the vocal organ. These circuits have never been seen in any other non-singing species, according to Arriaga, despite over fifty years of effort searching for them, particularly in vocal non-learning birds and non-human primates.

The researchers discovered that mice do have a brain circuit that starts in the primary motor cortex, projects directly to the part of the brainstem responsible for controlling the larynx, and importantly, is active when male mice sing. The difference, when compared with birds and humans, is that the circuit is weaker, more sparse. Its there, its just not as strong.

When this pathway is disrupted in singing birds or humans, they become unable to produce vocalizations that had been learned (songs), but are still able to produce their innate vocalizations (calls). So Arriaga wanted to see what would happen if he chemically disabled those circuits in some mice. While the impaired mice were still able to sing their songs, they didnt sound quite right. Both the pitch and the frequency of their vocalizations had been affected.

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Singing Mice May Join Humans and Songbirds As Vocal Learners

Knox Students Explore Belize's Marine Biology, Culture

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

Ten Knox College students recently snorkeled in the ocean off Belize to examine aquatic life, and they traveled throughout the Caribbean country, interacting with its residents and visiting ancient Mayan sites.

The two-week trip was an extension of a spring term 2012 course about Belize's marine biology. Knox faculty member Linda Dybas taught "Marine Biology: Field Research on the Belizean Barrier Reef" on the Knox campus, and she co-led the Belize trip with Miava Reem, technical assistant in the Department of Biology.

"This course is interdisciplinary," said Dybas, who is Watson Bartlett Professor and chair of the Department of Biology. "I teach mostly about marine biology in Belize, and also a little bit about the politics, the history, the cultural mixes, and economic development in Belize."

Students said that traveling to Belize helped them to expand on their classroom knowledge.

"What I gained from the trip was insight into what work goes into being a marine biologist and (insight into) the other kinds of ecosystems that exist around the world," said Arnold Salgado, a Knox senior from Chicago, Illinois.

"It was really cool seeing the dinner-plate sized jellyfish and the red fire sponges on the swamps, as well as the fire coral around (Tobacco) Caye," added Salgado, a biology major who is minoring in chemistry. "I was particularly interested in studying the organisms and their interactions with each other on a day-to-day basis."

"The coolest thing on Tobacco Caye was snorkeling and being able to see the coral reef and the animals in person," said Zoe Kudla, a senior history major from Ypsilanti, Michigan, with a minor in biology. "I knew it was going to be a great experience, and it exceeded my expectations." (Photo at top of page: Knox students on Tobacco Caye in Belize. Photo at left: Knox students snorkeling just off Tobacco Caye.)

Dybas has taken Knox students to Belize every other year since 2006. She said that Belize is an outstanding place to study marine biology because of its natural features, including mangrove forests, underwater caves, atolls, and the Belize Barrier Reef -- the largest in the Northern Hemisphere.

In addition, she said, "It has almost every eco-system: a high mountain ridge, lower mountains, plains, and the wonderful coastline. Because English is the primary language, Knox students can interact easily with residents of Belize and "have really interesting conversations with people their own age."

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Knox Students Explore Belize's Marine Biology, Culture

Cell signalling work scoops Nobel

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

Stockholm, Oct. 10 (AP): Two American researchers won the Nobel Prize in chemistry today for studies of protein receptors that let body cells sense and respond to outside signals like danger or the flavour of food. Such studies are key for developing better drugs.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka had made ground-breaking discoveries, mainly in the 1980s, on an important family of receptors, known as G-protein-coupled receptors.

About half of all medications act on these receptors, including beta blockers and antihistamines, so learning about them will help scientists to come up with better drugs.

The human body has about 1,000 kinds of such receptors, structures on the surface of cells, which let the body respond to a wide variety of chemical signals, like adrenaline. Some receptors are in the nose, tongue and eyes, and let us sense smells, tastes and light.

"They work as a gateway to the cell," Lefkowitz told a news conference in Stockholm by phone. "As a result they are crucial ... to regulate almost every known physiological process with humans."

Lefkowitz, 69, is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Kobilka, 57, worked for Lefkowitz at Duke before transferring to Stanford University School of Medicine in California, where he is now a professor.

Lefkowitz said he was fast asleep when the Nobel committee called, but he did not hear it because he was wearing ear plugs. So his wife picked up the phone. "She said, 'There's a call here for you from Stockholm,'" Lefkowitz told The Associated Press. "I knew they ain't calling to find out what the weather is like in Durham today."

He said he didn't have an "inkling" that he was being considered for the Nobel Prize.

"Initially, I expected I'd have this huge burst of excitement. But I didn't. I was comfortably numb," Lefkowitz said.

Kobilka said he found out around 2:30am, after the Nobel committee called his home twice. He said he did not get to the phone the first time, but that when he picked up the second time, he spoke to five members of the committee.

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Cell signalling work scoops Nobel

Neural-Behavioral Sciences building set to open in 2016

Posted on October 11, 2012 by ev1

A new home for life sciences at Penn is on track to open by 2016.

The School of Arts and Sciences is moving forward with its plan to construct a new Neural-Behavioral Sciences building, a 76,500-square-foot facility near 38th Street and University Avenue.

The University has already completed the schematic design the initial phase that identifies the size, overall program and cost estimate of the construction process, according to Principal Planner in the Office of the University Architect Mark Kocent. The $68.6 million project is currently near the end of the design development phase, which will likely be finalized within the next year, he added.

The Wistar Laboratories currently reside in one of the buildings that the NBS building will eventually displace. Due to Wistars temporary lease, the earliest that Facilities and Real Estate Services could demolish the site and begin building would be in 2014, according to FRES Executive Director of Design and Construction Mike Dausch.

Once it begins, however, construction will last about two years, giving the NBS building an initial expected occupancy date of spring 2016.

The new building will house the Psychology and Biology departments, as well as the Biological Basis of Behavior program and the Roy and Diana Vagelos Life Sciences and Management program, said Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences Richard Schultz.

We are thrilled to be moving forward with the construction of this building, which will be so important to the future of education and research in the life sciences, SAS Dean Rebecca Bushnell added in an email. It promises to be a vital hub for students and faculty who are committed to exploring new areas in the life sciences and neuroscience.

Though the Universitys design plans are not yet finalized, the NBS building is slated to feature offices, classrooms and small rooms for research labs and clinical testing, among other things. Additionally, the basement level of the site will include a 182-seat auditorium, which other departments within the University will be able to use for large lectures, Dausch said.

The academic departments within the NBS building will generally be split by floor to remain close to their respective labs, but according to Schultz the building will fulfill a dual purpose of consolidating the undergraduate experience and the faculty in the life sciences.

[Today], biology majors have no home where they can hang out, he said. Psychology is scattered all over the place, and BBB also really has no place The main objective is to have a place where Penn undergraduates who are life science majors have a place where they can relate to.

'Grey's Anatomy's' Eric Dane to Star in Michael Bay's TNT Pilot

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Danzig

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Eric Dane

That didn't take long. Less than a week after his final episode of ABC's Grey's Anatomy aired, Eric Dane has lined up his next gig.

The actor formerly known as McSteamy has enlisted in TNT's Michael Bay drama pilot The Last Ship, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

STORY: 'Grey's Anatomy's' Eric Dane Leaving After Six Seasons

Based on theWilliam Brinkleynovel,The Last Shipcenters on a global catastrophe that nearly obliterates the Earth's population, forcing the crew of a naval destroyer to confront the reality of their new existence in a world where they are among the only survivors.

Dane will star in the pilot as Tom Chanler, the commanding officer of the USS Nathan James who's married with two young daughters.

Last Ship hails from Platinum Dunes'Brad FullerandAndrew Form(A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) withHank Steinberg(Without a Trace) andSteven Kane(The Closer) serving as executive producers. Steinberg and Kane co-wrote the pilot, which Bay will produce.

STORY: 'Grey's Anatomy' Premiere Recap: Dark, Twisty and Deadly

TNT picked up the pilot in July.

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'Grey's Anatomy's' Eric Dane to Star in Michael Bay's TNT Pilot

Scream's Neve Campbell Checks Into Grey's Anatomy

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Danzig

Neve Campbell, Patrick Dempsey

Scream reunion!

Grey's Anatomy has enlisted Scream star Neve Campbell to play one of Derek's four sisters, TVGuide.com has confirmed. It's unclear which sister she'll be playing, the psychiatrist Kathleen or the as yet unnamed fourth sister, but we've already met the other two: Embeth Davitz played Nancy and Caterina Scorsone currently plays Amelia on Private Practice.

Exclusive Grey's Anatomy First Look: Will Derek Ever operate again?

Her arrival comes as Derek (Patrick Dempsey) has turned to teaching since his hand isn't fully operational after it was mangled in last season's plane crash. Check out the photos of Professor Derek here. It's a reunion of sorts for Dempsey and Campbell who co-starred in Scream 3. He played a detective who investigates the Ghostface murders and later takes a romantic interest in Sidney (Campbell).

As first reported by TVLine.com, the Party of Five alum will appear in at least two episodes slated to air in December.

Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

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Scream's Neve Campbell Checks Into Grey's Anatomy

Exclusive Grey's Anatomy First Look: Will Derek Ever Operate Again?

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Danzig

Patrick Dempsey

Derek's got a new profession on Grey's Anatomy!

With the prospect of never getting back into the O.R. looming, Derek (Patrick Dempsey) will turn to teaching in the Thursday, Oct. 25 episode, which was directed by Kevin McKidd.

Grey's Anatomy Scoop: Jessica Capshaw discusses Arizona's fate and what's next

As Derek struggles to come to terms with his injury, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) will be there to support him, though she'll refrain from discussing her own surgeries, aware that he may never operate again and that prospect is not looking good.

"I don't know if his hand ever will be fully recovered," Pompeo tells TVGuide.com. "I don't know if he's ever going to do surgery again, or if it's just sort of like, he can't do surgery right now, I'm not really sure."

Grey's Anatomy: Where were we and what's next?

Check out the exclusive first look photos from the episode, "I Saw Her Standing There," along with a behind-the-scenes look at McKidd directing:

Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

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Exclusive Grey's Anatomy First Look: Will Derek Ever Operate Again?

Ex-Massey CEO funds Marshall medical scholarships

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Danzig

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- The former CEO of Massey Energy has given Marshall University's medical school $300,000 to fund scholarships over three years.

Don Blankenship gave the money to the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine in memory of his late mother, Nancy Marie McCoy, according to a Marshall news release. The school received the first $100,000 last month.

"The demographics of Southern West Virginia mean that there will be a continuing and increasing need for high quality local doctors," Blankenship said in the release. "I am fortunate to be able to contribute in a small way toward fulfilling this need, while at the same time honoring my mother's memory, helping my alma mater, and helping these gifted students to achieve their dreams of becoming doctors."

"We are grateful to Mr. Blankenship for his support of the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and specifically his commitment to helping our students," said Linda Holmes, Marshall's director of development and alumni affairs. "His generous gift will go a long way in assisting our students achieve their dreams."

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Ex-Massey CEO funds Marshall medical scholarships

LSU budget slashing could work in our favor, medical school officials tell students

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Danzig

Plans to shift many LSU residency programs to private hospitals will result in a better ratio of patients per resident, medical school officials told students Tuesday. (Photo by Times-Picayune archive)

LSU medical school officials told students and faculty Tuesday night that changes to resident training under way as part of the budget slashing at the state's public hospital system will eventually make the programs more attractive to prospective residents. At a "town hall" meeting at the medical school in New Orleans, Dr. Larry Hollier, chancellor of the LSU Health Sciences Center, said the shrinking of the public hospitals in recent years has led to residents having too few hospitalized patients to treat under the supervision of attending physicians.

But plans to shift many residency programs to private hospitals will result in a better ratio of patients per resident, he said. Hollier said that even before the most recent cuts, which were announced last week, the number of patients in the public hospitals had shrunk to unacceptably low levels. "The only reason that residents still got such good training is because of the work of the faculty," he said.

Hollier said when he was a resident at Charity Hospital, there were 1,500 beds available, but the number of beds hadshrunk to 550 before Hurricane Katrina. With the latest budget cuts, there will be 150 beds at the Interim LSU Public Hospital, better known as University Hospital, whichtook over providing care for the indigent in New Orleans afterthe closure of Charity Hospital following the storm.

The popularity of Louisiana's programs to train new doctors is considered critically important, as many physicians choose to stay in the state where they complete their residencies.

The most recent cuts to LSU's seven hospitals in south Louisiana were the result of a reduction in the federal Medicaid dollars sent to the state. Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration directed a large share of the cuts at the LSU hospitals, which state officials said would provide an opportunity to remake the system that has traditionally provided the health care safety net for the uninsured.

Dr. Frank Opelka, the newly appointed head of the LSU health system, said he and Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein are working on agreements with private hospitals to take over some services that have been reduced or eliminated.

But legislators who learned the details of the $152 million cut last weekhave questioned whether the reductions will result in the most vulnerable uninsured patients going without necessary medical care as hospital beds disappear and some LSU clinics close or limit hours. State officials have provided few details about what the partnerships with private hospitals will look like, saying those plans are largely still in the works.

Hollier said about half of the patients treated by the LSU hospitals and clinics are covered by Medicaid, Medicare or private insurance. As residency programs move to private hospitals, doctors in the LSU-run clinics will have better availability for insured patients needing surgery or other hospital-based care, he said.

Some in the audience asked whether the uninsured would be left out as a result of the budget cuts and more residencies moving to private facilities. "I feel like we are abandoning our population," said one woman, who identified herself as a second-year medical student.

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LSU budget slashing could work in our favor, medical school officials tell students

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