DNA in 1980 Maine murder case shown to match defendant

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Posted: 10:50 PM Updated: 12:44 AM Samples from the body of Rita St. Peter match the DNA profile of Jay Mercier, an expert says.

By DOUG HARLOW/Morning Sentinel

SKOWHEGAN DNA samples taken from the body of Rita St. Peter in 1980 match the DNA profile of Jay Mercier of Industry, the man who is charged with sexually assaulting and killing her, a state witness said in court Monday.

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Murder defendant Jay Mercier looks around the courtroom on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 during his trial in Somerset County Superior Court for the death of Rita St. Peter 32 years ago..

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Rita St. Peter in an undated file photo. She was 20 at the time of her death when her body was found off the Campground Road in Anson on July 5, 1980.

"Unless you have an identical twin, there is no one else in the world with your DNA," Kathy MacMillan, a forensic DNA analyst with the state police crime lab, told the jury in Somerset County Superior Court.

MacMillan said the possibility that DNA samples taken from St. Peter's body didn't come from Mercier is one in a trillion.

MacMillan's testimony came on the third day of the murder trial for Mercier, who was 25 when St. Peter's body was found off Campground Road in Anson on July 5, 1980.

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DNA in 1980 Maine murder case shown to match defendant

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Former Alabama professor gets life in prison

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Former Alabama biology professorAmy Bishop avoided a death sentence by pleaded guilty to killing three colleagues and wounding three others in a 2010 shooting rampage at the University of Alabama at Huntsville.

A former Alabama biology professor who pleaded guilty to killing three colleagues and wounding three others in a 2010 shooting rampage was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Monday after a jury convicted her in a shortened trial.

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Amy Bishop, avoided a death sentence by admitting earlier this month to gunning down her colleagues during a biology department staff meeting at the University of Alabama at Huntsville.

Alabama law requires a jury to decide the punishment and confirm a guilty plea for a capital murder charge.

Bishop's defense attorneys did not contest the facts of the case during the abbreviated proceedings on Monday.

"She has admitted she did these terrible things," defense attorney Robert Tuten said in his opening statement.

Bishop, a Harvard-trained biologist and mother of four, was accused of shooting her colleagues execution-style in February 2010. Colleagues believed Bishop was angry that the school had denied her tenure.

The trial on Monday took less than two hours and featured only two witnesses. One was Bishop's former colleague Debra Moriarity, who recalled how she tried to take Bishop down after the woman started firing during the meeting.

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Former Alabama professor gets life in prison

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Study Supports Power of Subtyping Breast Cancer by PAM50

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SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

On September 23, researchers published online in the journal Nature a study of the molecular biology of breast cancer, using the intrinsic subtypes as defined by the PAM50 gene signature as an organizing framework for analyzing genomic and proteomic aberrations. This landmark study both underscores the emergence of the intrinsic subtypes as a powerful taxonomy of breast cancer in research, and PAM50s role as the gold standard for categorizing breast cancer by subtype.

This study, titled Comprehensive molecular portraits of human breast tumours, represents the most complete description of breast cancer biology to date. The study was an outcome of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Initiative, a comprehensive and coordinated effort to accelerate our understanding of the molecular basis of cancer through the application of genome analysis technologies. The study involved the analysis of tissue from 800 breast cancer tumors by a total of six technology platforms, covering genomics, epigenetics, and proteomics.

Intrinsic subtype by PAM50 was used as a primary organizing framework for the analysis and presentation of the data. The research concluded that diverse genetic and epigenetic alterations converge phenotypically into the four main breast cancer subtypes defined by PAM50 Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-enriched, and Basal-like.

NanoString Technologies, Inc., a privately held provider of life science tools for translational research and developer of molecular diagnostics, is developing a PAM50-based in vitro diagnostic test for breast cancer. NanoString announced in December 2010 that it had secured an exclusive worldwide license for the PAM50 gene signature from Bioclassifier, LLC to develop in vitro diagnostic and research products for breast cancer on its nCounter Analysis System.

This research advances our understanding of the molecular architecture of breast cancer, and reinforces the emergence of intrinsic subtypes by PAM50 as a powerful description of breast cancer biology, said NanoString President & CEO Brad Gray. We congratulate the authors on this seminal contribution to our understanding of breast cancer, and look forward to the day when analysis of breast cancer tumors by PAM50 will be available to patients worldwide.

The nCounter Analysis System is a fully automated, multi-application digital detection and counting system with a very simple workflow currently intended for research use only. The nCounter system has been employed in basic and translational research since it was first introduced in 2008. NanoString provides assays for gene expression, miRNA analysis and copy number variation.

About NanoString Technologies, Inc.

NanoString Technologies is a privately held provider of life science tools for translational research and developer of molecular diagnostics. The companys nCounter Analysis System is the first and only technology platform to deliver highly multiplexed, direct profiling of individual molecules in a single reaction without amplification. The nCounter Analysis System offers a cost-effective way to easily profile hundreds of gene transcripts, copy number variations, or miRNAs simultaneously with high sensitivity and precision. The companys technology enables a wide variety of basic research and translational medicine applications, including biomarker discovery and validation. NanoString is also developing the technology for use in molecular diagnostics.

The NanoString Technologies design logo, NanoString, NanoString Technologies and nCounter are registered trademarks of NanoString Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

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The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Study Supports Power of Subtyping Breast Cancer by PAM50

Research of alligator blood could one day help humans

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Researchers at McNeese State University believe alligators could hold thekey to healing humans.

At the helm of the study is Dr. Mark Merchant, professor of biochemistry.

Merchant saidhis interest with gators began at an early age.

"I grew up in the marshes of Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas hunting and fishing and I am still in the marsh a lot pursuing those activities. I've been around alligators most of my life," Merchant said.

Merchant said he realized a long time ago that there was something special about the immune systems of theseprehistoric animals.

"Alligators and crocodiles are very territorial and they fight andat times, inflict great injury on one another butthe fact is it seems they heal rather rapidly despite the fact they live in an environment wherethere are lots of potentially infectious microbes such asbacteria and fungi and things that can infect these massive wounds," Merchant said.

When his research began 11 years ago, Merchantwas able to prove the blood of alligators could kill pathogens. Since then, he has learned more howalligator blood kills bacteria, fungi and viruses, specifically white blood cells.

"What we have found in the last four or five years is that the white blood cells from alligators can and other crocodilians around the world make these tiny peptides that have tremendous antibacterial and antifungal activity," explained Merchant. "We have just recently isolated the small peptides or proteins and are working to determine the exact structure. So we think we potentially may have not only a new antibiotic, but a whole new class of antibiotics for human and veterinary use."

Merchantsaid there is still a lot of researchbeforethe antibioticcan be produced inlabs.

"It could be tomorrow. It could be next month or it could be in 10 years. I hope it is sooner rather than later," he said.

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Stem cells revolutionizing veterinary medicine

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(WGBA/NBC) - It is a story that gives hope to pet owners all over the country stem cell therapy for animals suffering from problems like arthritis or hip displaysia.

Stem cells are taken out of the dog's fatty tissue are harvested then injected into problem areas leaving the dogs completely healed.

"We couldn't take him on walks, he just laid around a lot," said Keith Nosowiak, Deniro's owner.

"We'd hear whimpering overnight, she'd take a few steps and she would sit down," said Luther Kortbein, Shadow's owner.

Until two months ago, Deniro suffered from severe arthritis, Shadow from hip displaysia.

Deniro's owner thought he may even have to put his German shepherd down.

"We felt we had a decision to make with his quality of life and being in pain we didn't want him to be in pain," Noskowiak said.

Shadow's owner was willing to try anything to cure her.

"Whatever the cost needed to get this done we were willing to do," Kortbein said.

Then Packerland Veterinary Center offered them stem cell therapy by using the dogs own stem cells and then injecting them back into the bloodstream joints.

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Stem cells revolutionizing veterinary medicine

Spiritual artwork displayed at Beverly church

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BEVERLY The creative expression of spirituality is the theme of an exhibit being hosted by St. Stephens Episcopal Church.

Through Oct. 7, the public is invited to view 45 pieces of religious artwork displayed in the parish hall. The selection features digital photographs, watercolors, oils, sketches, acrylics and pastel drawings submitted by 20 artists from the region.

The church worked in cooperation with the Burlington County Arts Guild to plan the juried exhibit, which is in its fourth year.

Its an opportunity for artists who dont have (a venue) for religious art to be displayed, said show organizer Jean Wetherill, a former mayor who serves on the school board.

Dozens gathered for an opening reception Sunday evening. The show was judged by Ruth Councell, wife of Bishop George Edward Councell of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey.

First place went to Jesus Before the Sanhedren, an oil painting by late Cinnaminson native Carmen Altopiedo. Formerly a commercial artist, he devoted his time to fine art when he retired in 1985 and was a member of the Willingboro Art Alliance, said his daughter, Donna Altopiedo.

She and her brother inherited their fathers collection after he died in August 2010 at age 83 and have been submitting them to various area exhibits.

The posthumous honor was a first for the artist, who never exhibited or sold his paintings, his daughter said.

All he wanted to do was paint. That was his love, his passion, said Altopiedo, of Ambler, Pa.

The Gathering, a digital photography collage by Richard Montemurro of Runnemede, Camden County, won second place, and Good Morning America, a watercolor by Joyce McAfee of Medford, came in third.

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Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield launch to space station pushed back two weeks

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The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

By: Peter Rakobowchuk, The Canadian Press

24/09/2012 5:42 PM | Comments: 0

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Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield speaks to reporters at a news conference Monday, September 24, 2012 in Saint-Hubert, Que. Hatfield blasts off for the International space station from Russia in December.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

LONGUEUIL, Que. - Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield plays coy when asked whether his upcoming six-month visit to the International Space Station will be his last trip into the cosmos.

"Never, say never," he said in an interview at the Canadian Space Agency on Monday.

The veteran astronaut is due to launch on a Russian spacecraft with NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko on Dec. 19 two weeks later than planned.

The three were originally scheduled to blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Dec. 5.

Hadfield says a Russian Soyuz will be visiting the space station in a couple of weeks and that trips by a couple of resupply ships are also planned.

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Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield launch to space station pushed back two weeks

Space History Photo: Scientists in Training

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In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, Dr. Mary Johnston, Carolyn Griner and Dr. Ann Whitaker (left to right), scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center in 1974, complete a training session in the MSFCs Neutral Buoyancy Simulator, a facility used to simulate weightlessness. The scuba diving is part of special training the three took to better qualify them for their duties of designing experiments on materials processing in space.

The training increased their understanding of the problems associated with doing experiments in space, such as aboard Spacelab. Dr. Johnston specializes in metallurgical engineering, Carolyn Griner in materials sciences, and Ann Whitaker in lubrication and surface physics. Carolyn Griner continued her career at MSFC, serving as the director of the Mission Operations Laboratory. In 1994 she was appointed as Deputy Director of MSFC, and for 9 months in 1998 served as acting Director. She retired from NASA in December 2000.

Over a 16-year period Dr. Ann Whitaker served at NASA as chief of the Physical Sciences Branch, the Engineering Physics Division, and the Project and Environmental Engineering Division. In 1995 she served in several leadership positions in Marshalls Science and Engineering Directorate. In September 2001, Dr. Whitaker was named director of the Science Directorate at MSFC.

Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).

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Space History Photo: Scientists in Training

First two James Webb Space Telescope flight mirrors delivered to NASA

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ScienceDaily (Sep. 24, 2012) The first two of the 18 primary mirrors to fly aboard NASA's James Webb Space Telescope arrived at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

The mirrors are going through receiving and inspection and will then be stored in the Goddard cleanroom until engineers are ready to assemble them onto the telescope's backplane structure that will support them.

Ball Aerospace, Boulder, Colo., under contract to Northrop Grumman, is responsible for the Webb's optical technology and lightweight mirror system. On September 17, 2012, Ball Aerospace shipped the first two mirrors in custom containers designed specifically for the multiple trips the mirrors made through eight U.S. states while completing their manufacturing. The remaining 16 mirrors will make their way from Ball Aerospace to Goddard over the next 12 months as they await telescope integration in 2015.

"These first two completed flight mirror assemblies arriving at Goddard are an important first step leading towards the integration of the mirrors onto the flight structure," said Lee Feinberg, NASA Optical Telescope Element Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "These delivered flight mirrors meet their requirements, which is great news for Webb telescope being able to fulfill its scientific potential."

One of the Webb's science goals is to look back through time to when galaxies were young. To see such far-off and faint objects, Webb needs a large mirror. A telescope's sensitivity, or how much detail it can see, is directly related to the size of the mirror area that collects light from the objects being observed. A larger area collects more light, just like a larger bucket collects more water in a rain shower than a small one.

Webb's scientists and engineers determined that a primary mirror 6.5 meters (21 feet 4 inches) across is what was needed to measure the light from these distant galaxies. Each of the 18 hexagonal-shaped mirror assemblies that make up the primary mirror measures more than 1.3 meters (4.2 feet) across, and weighs approximately 40 kilograms, or 88 pounds.

The Webb will be the first space astronomy observatory to use an actively-controlled, segmented mirror. The Webb is critical for future infrared observations. The Webb will be the premier observatory of the next decade. It will study every phase in the history of our universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of stellar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System. It is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

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Space Shuttle Endeavour' s Final Flight as Seen From Space

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The Space Shuttle Endeavours final flight last week was likely one of the most photographed plane flights in history. Riding piggyback on a specially adapted Boeing 747, Endeavours farewell tour took it from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Los Angeles International Airport, cruising over cities including New Orleans, Houston and San Francisco along the way, creating photo ops everywhere it went for professionals and amateurs alike.

The flight was even captured by Digital Globes satellite as it flew overWhite Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in the image above that was highlighted today on Google Earth Blog. This great image is an interesting, almost sad reversal of the photos we are used to seeing of the shuttle heading away from Earth toward space.

The odd blue shadow beneath the planes is not a shadow, but a discoloration. Google Earth Blog has this explanation from Digital Globe: In this image, the color offset of the aircraft occurs when a fast moving object is imaged by the satellite as the panchromatic image is collecting just slightly before the color image of the same location. When the image is merged together to make a color high resolution image, there is a slight offset on fast moving objects.

The planes real shadow can be seen in the image below. Google Earth Blog also has a .kml file with the shuttle image that you can download and view in Google Earth.

Images: Digital Globe/Google via Google Earth Blog

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Space Shuttle Endeavour' s Final Flight as Seen From Space

Red Lions battle Cardinals

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Cebu Daily News

Games today:

Subic Bay Freeport

4 p.m. San Beda vs. Mapua

6 p.m. Perpetual vs. Lyceum

THE REIGNING champions San Beda Red Lions will try to stay ahead in the standings while the Perpetual Help Altas try to inch closer towards a spot in the Final Four when the 88th NCAA mens basketball tournament heads over to Zambales in out-of-town games at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The Red Lions take on the Mapua Cardinals in the curtain-raiser as they try to push ahead with their 13-2 (win-loss) record.

Mapua is in seventh place as of the moment with a 6-9 card.

In the second game, the Altas aim to solidify their hold of fourth place and the last ticket to the semifinal round when they battle the undermanned and bottom-dwelling Lyceum Pirates.

The Altas are coming off a 71-74 loss to the Cardinals last week, which dropped them to 9-6./Correspondent Jonas Panerio

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Red Lions battle Cardinals

NASA Implementing New And Old Technologies For Crew Access Arm

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September 24, 2012

Computer-rendered image of NASA's crew access arm on its Mobile Launch tower. Credit: NASA/Boeing

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

NASA engineers in Florida are coalescing traditional and new technologies to design a crew access arm on a mobile launcher at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) that will be used for the space agencys Orion spacecraft, reports Linda Herridge, correspondent for NASAs KSC.

Engineers with the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at KSC are working diligently to design and develop the 60-foot hydraulic arm that will be similar to the one used during the Apollo missions. Kelli Maloney, a mechanical design engineer for the centers Engineering Directorate, said the arm will have two levels and incorporate hardware from both the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs.

Orion will be the most advanced manned spacecraft ever developed by NASA. It is being designed to be able to carry astronauts farther into space than any craft has ever done before. The Space Launch System (SLS) is also designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for both crew and cargo missions, and will expand humans presence across the solar system. Orion is scheduled to make its first launch in 2017.

The crew access arm will include a new White Room on the upper level. This area will provide access to the Orion crew module and will contain a six-foot-long access platform, nicknamed the diving board, that will extend from Orion to the crew module. A lower-level walkway will provide access to two panels on the spacecrafts service module.

Engineers will use design technology from the inflatable dock seal on the space shuttles orbiter access arm, as well as storage cabinets and safety equipment from the shuttle-era White Room, according to Maloney.

Apollo-era hinges will be used to rotate the access arm out to the crew module, she added. These hinges will be retrofitted with new digital encoders to accurately obtain the arms position. This information will be fed back to the Program Logic Controllers in an electrical room on the Mobile Launcher tower in order to achieve precise control of arm position, Maloney said.

Its a challenge, because you have to think about every detail, Maloney added. Its very diverse.

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NASA's Global Hawk and satellites see tropical storm Nadine turning around

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The fifth science flight of NASA's Global Hawk (green line) concluded when the aircraft landed at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. on Sunday, Sept. 23 after flying over Tropical Storm Nadine in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. The HS3 scientists changed the flight path (the original plan is in blue) during the GH flight to be able to overfly Nadine's center. Measurements from dropsondes found wind speeds greater than 60 knots at lower levels above the surface during that adjusted flight leg. Despite the large distance of Nadine from the U. S. East Coast, the Global Hawk was able to spend about 11 hours over the storm. The image shows the Global Hawk (red dot) returning to Wallops. Credit: NASA Wallops

Tropical Storm Nadine is turning around in two ways. When NASA's Global Hawk flew over the storm it learned that the storm was not transitioning into an extra-tropical storm. Now, NASA satellites see that Nadine is physically turning its direction, and heading back to the west-northwest and away from land.

The fifth science flight of NASA's Global Hawk concluded when the aircraft landed at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. on Sunday, Sept. 23 after flying over Tropical Storm Nadine in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. The Hurricane and Severe Storms Sentinel (HS3) mission scientists changed the flight path during the Global Hawk flight to be able to overfly Nadine's center.

"Measurements from dropsondes found wind speeds greater than 60 knots at lower levels above the surface during that adjusted flight leg," said Scott Braun, HS3 Mission Principal Investigator from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "Despite the large distance of Nadine from the U. S. East Coast, the Global Hawk was able to spend about 11 hours over the storm."

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 24 at 03:23 UTC, and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument captured an infrared image of Tropical Storm Nadine's cloud top temperatures. The infrared data indicated the strongest thunderstorms and heaviest rainfall were to the northeast of the center of circulation. Those cloud top temperatures exceeded -63 Fahrenheit (-52 Celsius). Wind shear from the southwest has pushed the bulk of clouds and showers to the northeast.

This infrared image was captured by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. The image shows Tropical Storm Nadine struggling in the eastern Atlantic Ocean about 455 miles (735 km) south of the Azores Islands. The image was taken on Sept. 24 at 03:23 UTC. Purple areas indicate the strongest thunderstorms and heaviest rainfall. Credit: NASA JPL, Ed Olsen

The Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) is a five-year mission specifically targeted to investigate the processes that underlie hurricane formation and intensity change in the Atlantic Ocean basin. HS3 is motivated by hypotheses related to the relative roles of the large-scale environment and storm-scale internal processes.

Provided by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

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NASA sees 'gateway' for space missions

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Published: Sept. 24, 2012 at 7:29 PM

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- NASA has proposed a candidate for its next major mission, a "gateway" spacecraft on the far side of the moon as a staging base for moon and Mars missions.

The spacecraft would hover in orbit on the far side of the moon, support a small permanent crew and function as "stepping stone" for missions to the lunar surface and possible flights to Mars.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden briefed the White House earlier this month on details of the proposed "gateway," but it was unclear if any administration support for the mission was forthcoming, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The NASA outpost, which would probably utilize parts left over from the $100-billion International Space Station, would be located at a point known as the Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2, a spot about 38,000 miles from the moon where the combined gravities of the Earth and moon are equal in strength, allowing an outpost to "stick" at that point with very little power needed to keep it in place.

The giant rocket and space capsule NASA is developing as a replacement for the retired space shuttles, scheduled for a first flight in 2017, would be the vehicle for delivering the "gateway" spacecraft, space agency documents show.

The price tag -- about which NASA has said nothing -- could be a stumbling block, as it's unlikely NASA in coming years will get any more than its current budget of $17.7 billion and could, in fact, face further cuts in the name of deficit reduction, the Times said.

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Southern Connecticut State University Expands Leadership in Nanoscience Education With NanoProfessor Program

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SKOKIE, IL--(Marketwire - Sep 24, 2012) - NanoProfessor, the global leader in hands-on undergraduate nanotechnology education, announced today that Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) will expand its leadership in nanotechnology education by implementing the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program.This advance was made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) supporting the Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena (CRISP), a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at Yale University and SCSU.NanoProfessor's curriculum and NanoInk's NLP 2000 Desktop NanoFabrication System will be housed within the newly established Connecticut State University System Nanotechnology Center located in the Physics Department at SCSU.

"We are excited for the opportunity to enhance our students' understanding of the nanoscale through hands-on work with NanoInk's NLP 2000 Desktop Nanofabrication System, which operates without the need for a cleanroom and allows students to quickly and easily build custom-engineered nanoscale structures using Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN)," said Christine Caragianis Broadbridge, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Physics at SCSU and Education Director for CRISP."NanoProfessor's curriculum will complement our existing curriculum by engaging students with cutting-edge, hands-on, nano-focused experiments designed to teach them important scientific concepts about the nanoscale."

"We are delighted to have Southern Connecticut State University be the first college in the Northeast to implement our NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program into its curriculum," said Dean Hart, Chief Commercial Officer of NanoProfessor."SCSU is a recognized leader in nanotechnology education and research and we are honored that it has chosen the NanoProfessor Program to broaden its students' understanding and experience in working at the nanoscale."

Southern Connecticut State University is a flourishing community of more than 11,000 students located less than three miles from downtown New Haven.Founded as a teachers college in 1893, SCSU has evolved into a comprehensive university offering 114 graduate and undergraduate programs.More than 1,000 faculty members lead students through a wide range of studies and research specialties.More information on Southern Connecticut State University is available at: http://www.southernct.edu.

In just over 24 months, the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program has been chosen to serve as the foundation for undergraduate, hands-on nanotechnology education by over 20 educational programs in five countries.The NanoProfessor Program alternates between classroom lectures and exciting, hands-on nanoscale lab work.The NanoProfessor curriculum includes a textbook authored by leading nanotechnology experts and educators covering the topics of Nanotechnology Instrumentation, Imaging and Nanofabrication techniques, Nanophysics, Nanochemistry, Nanobiology, and perspectives on Environmental, Health, and Safety within nanotechnology.In conducting the hands-on lab experiments, students learn the fundamentals for building custom-engineered nanoscale structures while working with state-of-the-art, nano-centric instrumentation including NanoInk's NLP 2000 Desktop NanoFabrication System, a student-friendly atomic force microscope (AFM), a best-of-class fluorescence microscope, and an advanced nanoparticle characterization instrument.

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 six million nanotechnology workers will be needed worldwide by 2020, with two 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 the NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program The NanoProfessor Nanoscience Education Program aims to advance undergraduate nanotechnology education and address the growing need for a skilled, nano-savvy workforce.The NanoProfessor Program, including state-of-the-art instruments, an expert-driven curriculum, and student/teacher support materials, is available for high schools, community colleges, technical institutes, and universities worldwide.More information is available at http://www.NanoProfessor.net or (847)679-NANO (6266).You can also like NanoProfessor on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NanoProfessor1 and follow on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nanoprofessor1.

NanoInk, NanoProfessor, and the NanoProfessor logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of NanoInk, Inc.

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Southern Connecticut State University Expands Leadership in Nanoscience Education With NanoProfessor Program

Japanese Pharmaceutical Company Announces Transfer of Global Manufacturing for New Epilepsy Medicine to the UK

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HATFIELD, England, September 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Globalsoliddose manufacturing forEisai'snew epilepsy medicine Fycompa (perampanel) to start at 100 millionUKbased,purpose built,EMEA research and commercial regional headquarters

Eisai has announced that their UK production facility has received its licence for solid dose manufacturing for their new first in class partial epilepsy treatment, Fycompa (perampanel). Discovered and developed in the UK and Japan, Fycompa was launched first globally in the UK on 12 September 2012. Manufacturing will take place at the company's European, Middle-East, Africa (EMEA) and Russia headquarters, situated in Hatfield, UK, representing a significant boost to both the local economy and the wider UK life-sciences environment.

The investment is linked to a comprehensive neurosciences research and development (R&D) programme focusing on illnesses affecting the brain such as dementia and epilepsy. In addition to bolstering the company's product discovery, packaging and supply infrastructure, the increased investment will support a host of partnership initiatives between the NHS, UK academic institutions and commercial partners. Eisai recently presented phase I data for Alzheimer's Disease modifying treatment, the UK/Japan discovered BACE inhibitor E2609, confirming proof of mechanism for preventing amyloid beta by inhibiting BACE. This is added to the continuing development of novel monoclonal antibody BAN2401, also a disease modifying treatment for Alzheimer's Disease targeting amyloid beta protofibrils. Today's announcement further cements the UK's role as a major centre of this Japanese pharmaceutical company's commercial growth strategy and its continuing commitment to dementia and neuroscience research. Eisai has one of the largest private dementia research units in the UK. Around 200 out of 500 employees are currently employed in R&D related positions across multiple therapeutic areas at Eisai's Hatfield site.

Gary Hendler, President and CEO, Eisai EMEA &Russiaexplained: "This exciting announcement reaffirms Eisai's commitment to and recognition of the unique Life Sciences environment present in the UK today. Manufacturing Fycompa in Hatfield bucks a general trend of decline for pharmaceutical manufacturing in this country." He continued, "It has now become unusual for a company to discover, develop, manufacture and launch a new medicine in the UK. If we want to reverse this trend there is an increasing need for the NHS to embrace these new therapies, encouraging better patient outcomes, and faster uptake of new medicines. Commercial and competitive price freedom around a new product's launch is vital to tackle traditionally low and slow patient access to innovative medicines."

The announcement marks the initiation of the commercial manufacture of Eisai's new medicine in the UK for the treatment of partial epilepsy, Fycompa (perampanel), at the company's EMEA Knowledge Centre (EKC) in Hatfield UK. It represents an exciting milestone for both the product and the company, marking the first time Eisai has manufactured the global supply of a medicine outside of its home country. David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, formally opened the production facility for this medicine on Monday morningas part of an official visit to the Eisai site.

Discussing the milestone announcement, Rt Hon.David Willetts commented: "In the Strategy for UK Life Sciences the Government set out ambitious plans for the UK to be the best place in the world for companies to invest in innovation. This move by Eisai is an excellent example of the continued success of the UK's life sciences industry and will support hundreds of highly skilled jobs. New investments of this nature greatly improve discovery, development and uptake of innovative new medicines in the UK, bringing benefits for patients and driving long-term, sustainable growth."

Sales of Fycompa are expected to top 500 million US dollars by 2015, rising to $1bn in the years beyond that. As a result of Eisai's increased investment and the subsequent production of medicines at company's purpose built Hatfield plant, the company has already announced and is recruiting for additional quality control and production engineering colleagues to support their up-scaled activities.

With four marketed anti-epileptic drugs, Eisai currently market more epilepsy products in Europe than any other company and are aiming to be the number one epilepsy company by sales by 2015.

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Japanese Pharmaceutical Company Announces Transfer of Global Manufacturing for New Epilepsy Medicine to the UK

Competitive Handbook towards Personalized Medicine in Prostate Cancer

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NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

Competitive Handbook towards Personalized Medicine in Prostate Cancer

http://www.reportlinker.com/p0980851/Competitive-Handbook-towards-Personalized-Medicine-in-Prostate-Cancer.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Drug_and_Medication

Personalized medicine is very much about fitting target profiles of drugs towards disease mechanism(s). This report is a new and unique way of stratifying and analyzing the global prostate cancer pipeline towards personalized medicine and presents actionable analysis which allows you to discover:

* Where the competition is; Which targets, compound types and companies are setting the path?

* How much R&D effort has gone towards different targets and what is known about the target?

* Which pathways are targeted, by what and how?

* What is truly new and unique in the prostate cancer pipeline?

* How new and unique your target strategy really is

* What overlapping competition you have from other companies and compound types towards your therapeutic targets

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Competitive Handbook towards Personalized Medicine in Prostate Cancer

Free Weekly Clinic Run by Medical Students Helps Patients Get Essential Care

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Students gain skills & understanding while serving uninsured patients under supervision of faculty doctors

Newswise ANN ARBOR, Mich. Uninsured residents of rural Livingston County, Mich. and surrounding areas who need health care have a new option to turn to every Saturday afternoon: a free medical clinic run entirely by University of Michigan Medical School students.

The students, and U-M faculty physicians, volunteer their time to provide free primary care each week at a storefront clinic in Pinckney.

The U-M Student Run Free Clinic, as it is called, uses the same location as the Faith Medical Clinic, a free-care site for patients without insurance that offers appointments on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings. On the afternoon of Oct. 6, the team will hold an Open House to welcome the community.

For the U-M students, the free clinic is not just a chance to give back to the community its also a chance to get to learn more about opportunities to care for the uninsured and to know the administrative and business side of medicine.

Students plan for and handle all the details and challenges of running the clinic, and deal with everything from appointment scheduling and interviewing new arrivals, to entering information into a computerized medical record system. The U-M Medical School Deans office is providing funding, as is Michigan Central Student Government.

Already in the clinics pilot period, the students and their faculty supervisors have seen patients with everything from simple ailments to chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and shoulder joint issues.

The students handle all aspects of the visit except for those that require a licensed physician -- a role filled by a faculty physician from the Medical School. Patients who need more advanced care receive a referral and help in finding low-cost or free options, including through the U-M Health Systems own charity care program.

The U-M Student Run Free Clinic gives our students a real sense of all the moving parts that must be aligned to create a well-run clinic, the issues facing the uninsured and the importance of caring for all in our communities, says Hari Conjeevaram, M.D., M.Sc., an associate professor of internal medicine who is the lead faculty advisor to the clinic team and medical director of the clinic. Although health care reform should give more uninsured Americans access to care over the next few years, services like the Faith Clinic and our student-run clinic provide a vital safety net for non-emergency and preventive care.

The experience of running the clinic and taking patients vital signs and medical histories is especially important for the first- and second-year medical students, whose classroom studies dont yet bring them into contact with patients.

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Free Weekly Clinic Run by Medical Students Helps Patients Get Essential Care

Plan for new Case Western Reserve University medical school deserves support: editorial

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Case Western Reserve University's plan to build a spacious, modern facility to house its excellent medical school is good news in and of itself.

The school, already considered to be among the nation's best, is certain to improve its standing with accreditors at the Association of American Medical Colleges once its professors and medical students take possession of a 160,000-square-foot building that will stand on East 105th Street, at the former site of the Mt. Sinai Medical Center.

The new school will have room for more students -- a plus as the nation enters an era during which a greater need for primary care doctors is a certainty -- and will offer a greatly improved learning environment.

What makes news of the project even better is the support it enjoys from two major local foundations. The Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation and the Cleveland Foundation will each contribute $10 million to its support -- a record for each foundation.

With the Cleveland Foundation's declaration of support came the added pledge that the contribution toward the new medical school would be the first of a number of large grants to be announced as the foundation approaches its centennial in 2014. The promise of a burst of extraordinary activity by Cleveland's charitable colossus is welcome indeed.

In announcing their backing for the new medical school, both foundations recognized the impact that improvements at the medical school can have on the entire region. Solidifying Northeast Ohio's growing reputation as a national center of medical and biomedical expertise is of vital importance.

Plain Dealer editorials express the view of The Plain Dealer's editorial board -- the publisher, editor and editorial-writing staff. As is traditional, editorials are unsigned and intended to be seen as the voice of the newspaper.

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Plan for new Case Western Reserve University medical school deserves support: editorial

Opponents raise questions over proposed UT medical school

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by MARK WIGGINS / KVUE News and photojournalist SCOTT MCKENNEY

kvue.com

Posted on September 24, 2012 at 6:25 PM

Updated today at 6:41 PM

AUSTIN -- Posters popping up across town urge passers-by to "stop the bleeding." They are signs that opposition to a new University of Texas medical school and teaching hospital in Austin is organizing.

"We say that the way to keep Austin healthy is to 'stop the bleeding,'" said Don Zimmerman, founder and treasurer of the Travis County Taxpayers Union, a political action committee (PAC) dedicated to opposing a tax increase to fund the project. The committee is a counterpart to Keep Austin Healthy, a PAC created by supporters of the project.

Zimmerman argues a five-cent increase proposed by Central Health, equivalent to about $100 a year on a $200,000 home, is too much to ask of a community that has seen property taxes steadily rise.

"We're dying a death by a thousand cuts," said Zimmerman. "Each one of these taxes and each one of the tax increases by itself doesn't drive you out of your home, but when you add up all the property taxes and all the increases, people are literally being taxed out of their homes."

Along with investment from the University of Texas and Seton Healthcare Family, State Senator Kirk Watson (D-Austin) says the $35 million contributed by Austinites through a tax increase would be matched by more than $86 million in federal Medicaid funds.

Watson contracted TXP, Inc., an Austin-based consulting firm specializing in economic analysis, to study the impact of the project. Speaking with KVUE in August, president and founder Jon Hockenyos provided a detailed breakdown of economic data predicting a gain of 15,000 jobs and roughly $2 billion in economic activity as a result of the project.

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Opponents raise questions over proposed UT medical school