Media for Liberty Award Announces 2013 Jury Panel

Posted on by

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Liberty Media Corporation ("Liberty Media") (Nasdaq: LMCA, LMCB) today announced the 2013 Media for Liberty Award jury panel. The Media for Liberty Award was established in 2009 to acknowledge published works that explore the relationship between economic and political liberties.

Eligible works must be originally published or transmitted via print or electronic media during the 2012 calendar year, and received by Liberty Media no later than January 7, 2013. There is a $50,000 prize for the winning entry. The call for entries for year four is currently open.

The distinguished Media for Liberty panel represents thought leaders in the world of journalism and media:

The Media for Liberty Award is open to journalists worldwide whose original works shed new light on societal issues, news events, economies, political structures and cultures either prospering or struggling in their pursuit of free markets and civil liberties uninfluenced by government agenda.

Submitted works will be reviewed by a jury panel and evaluated based on the degree to which the theme is addressed, inspirational and educational value, relevance to the public discourse, and mastery of media format.

The finalist for the 2012 Media for Liberty Award was A Darkness Visible: Afghanistan, a film by VII Photographer Seamus Murphy and MediaStorm. Prior year's finalists were "How a New Jobless Era will Transform America, an essay published in The Atlantic, and the CBS 60 Minutes segment "Congo Gold. View winners here.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible media outlets, including newspapers, magazines, journals, radio, television and websites, must be generally recognized in their markets and accessible to a broad audience in the United States.

The winner will be notified in February 2013. An awards ceremony will be held in the Spring of 2013 in Washington, D.C.

More:

Media for Liberty Award Announces 2013 Jury Panel

Breitbart Writer Begs Libertarians To Vote Romney — Sorry, It Ain’t Going To Work

Posted on by

In a two-part column over at Breitbarts Big Government, Kurt Schlichter practically begs libertarians to support our Constitution and vote for Mitt Romney this November in order to avoid not only the destruction of this country by way of a second Obama term, but also to avoid the destruction of libertarianism by way of the Libertarian Party becoming a pariah.

The begging will not work, especially when it comes with the usual platitudinous overtures to America and the Constitution being at stake; and the suggestion that not supporting Romney is to selfishly disregard of the Constitution in the name of ideology. No matter how you dice the logic, a committed Republican accusing libertarians of not supporting the Constitution is nothing short of laughable.

Schlichters misunderstanding of the libertarian mentality doesnt help, either. The first and most obvious mistake he makes is to conveniently overlook the fact that small-L libertarians are truly unconcerned with the Libertarian Party. Remember the Greens? he ominously asks libertarians, alluding to the fact that following the Green Partys role as spoiler in Al Gores 2000 presidential bid, the Greens died off and became a punchline.

He naively assumes libertarians actually care what happens to the party that, for years, has been mismanaged and run by glibertarians like Wayne Allyn Root, a birther who only recently realized its time to give up the act and join the GOP. For many libertarians, the party already is a punchline. And looking at this years none of the above incident at the Libertarian National Convention, can you blame them?

Schlichter makes the case that libertarians will sure-as-Hell never find a home in the Democratic Party, what with the partys free this, free that, bailouts this, bailouts that spectacle at the 2012 DNC. He rightfully points out that the Dems only occasionally make attempts to reach out to libertarians, but are happy to eliminate that support at the drop of a hat. This is probably true. But dedicated libertarians find themselves politically homeless mostly because the corrupting forces of party politics are inherently in conflict with remaining ideologically principled. For many libertarians, a functioning political party to call home is not the desired end-game.

Schlichters blind partisanship is unlikely to convince libertarians either. Whats most insulting about the column is how he lectures libertarians about how President Obama is on an unstoppable path of trampling the Constitution and Bill of Rights, one amendment at a time. He notes in terribly overwrought language that Obamas spent nearly four years trampling the First Amendment, and that the Second Amendment is just one Supreme Court vote from being snatched away. Look, its no secret that the Obama administration has a seeming disregard for the Constitution. Schlichter suggests that, therefore, libertarians who are truly dedicated to the age-old document need to support Romney and the Republican Party because they are different they will save the Constitution and end the madness.

But hey, guess what? Many of President Obamas constitutional abuses are simply extensions of the ones initiated under President George W. Bush you know, that other unsupportable Republican that we libertarians were all told to shut up and vote for in 2004.

It was the Republican Party that rammed through the PATRIOT Act that Obama reauthorized last year. It was the Republican Party that set the precedent for the use of indefinite detention, torture, executive overreach, and the crackdowns on government whistleblowers. It was the Republican Party that heightened the crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries operating legally under their states laws. It was the Republican Party that voted for Bushs spending spree and expansion of federal powers under Medicare Part D, the No Child Left Behind Act, etc.

Schlichter points to the administrations recent rousting of the Innocence of Muslims filmmaker as an Obama First Amendment abuse. The presidents handling of this entire movie-causing-riots debacle was, indeed, frustrating to libertarians. And so we libertarians should support Romney because hes dedicated to the First Amendment, right?

Not quite. This is the same candidate who pledged to vigorously fight the scourge that is all forms of adult pornography. Oh, and under the last Republican president, we saw an increase of pointless federal prosecutions of porn-makers like John Stagliano, who film consenting adults doing consensual things you know, the kind of stuff Republicans hate when it involves sex, drugs, or gambling.

More:

Breitbart Writer Begs Libertarians To Vote Romney — Sorry, It Ain’t Going To Work

Possible new Libertarian Party leader speaks at UT

Posted on by

To view our videos, you need to enable JavaScript. Learn how. install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now. Then come back here and refresh the page.

Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson is on the ballot in 47 States as a Libertarian candidate for president.

Johnson's speech brought a young crowd to UT's Hogg auditorium. His visit comes a few months after Ron Paul drew hundreds to the same spot.

With Paul stepping down, many are describing this as a passing of the torch for the Libertarian Party.

"I have been given the opportunity. I am trying to make the most of it, and these are messages that are too important, Johnson said. We have a growing police state in this country, we find ourselves in continual war in this country, and we continue to have unsustainable debt and spending."

The former governor says the "broad brush" of values for a Libertarian is being socially accepting and fiscally responsible.

According to his own website, Johnson is pro-choice, anti-big government, pro-immigration and he is an outspoken critic of the war on drugs and favors legalizing marijuana.

This is his only stop in Texas, but he says Austin is a hub for forward-thinking politics. He heads to Berkley, California next.

Read the original post:

Possible new Libertarian Party leader speaks at UT

Documentary: Why Does US Health Care Cost So Much? – Video

Posted on by

24-09-2012 19:07 "Money and Medicine," a documentary set to air Sept. 25 on PBS, investigates some of the most notorious drivers of US health care costs. Ray Suarez speaks with Roger Weisberg, the producer and director of the film, about some of the reasons these costs are driving the nation toward financial crisis -- while still producing relatively mediocre medical results. For the full story, visit

Read more:

Documentary: Why Does US Health Care Cost So Much? - Video

Sabra Health Care Acquires Asset – Analyst Blog

Posted on by

Sabra Health Care REIT Inc. (SBRA), a real estate investment trust (REIT), recently acquired a 48-unit memory care facility in Aurora in the Denver Metropolitan area in Colorado. The facility was acquired from an affiliate of New Dawn Holding Company for $16.0 million. The transaction was funded with available cash.

In addition to the deal, Sabra Health Care also entered into a triple-net lease agreement with the affiliates of New Dawn, under which the tenant will pay all taxes, insurance, and maintenance for the property, in addition to rent. The 10-year lease includes a fixed annual rent escalation of 3.0% and two five-year renewal options. Sabra Health Care was also granted a right of first refusal for the acquisition of a new memory care facility being built in Sun City West, Arizona.

The strategic move is aimed to extend its presence in the senior housing memory care segment. The acquired facility provides high quality services and targets a population which has a demand for newly developed technologies. The company's strategy of diversifying its portfolio is backed by a dedicated management team. During the six months ended June 30, 2012, the company acquired six skilled nursing facilities for $55.6 million.

Sabra Health Care currently retains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating. We also have a long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock. One of its competitors, Health Care REIT, Inc. (HCN) also holds a Zacks #3 Rank.

Original post:

Sabra Health Care Acquires Asset - Analyst Blog

Health care workers under pressure to come to work sick – poll

Posted on by

VANCOUVER, Sept. 24, 2012 /CNW/ - Polling released today by the Hospital Employees' Union shows one out of three health care workers (33.6 per cent) report coming to work while experiencing cold or flu symptoms because of pressure from their boss not to access sick days.

The poll raises serious questions about the government's recent measures to combat the spread of influenza in B.C.'s health facilities.

Last month, government announced it would require health care workers to wear surgical masks for the entire flu season if they do receive the annual flu vaccine.

The government release also notes that health employers are taking other measures to prevent the spread of influenza to vulnerable populations including "asking staff to stay home when ill."

But that approach, says HEU secretary-business manager Bonnie Pearson, is at odds with the actions of a number of health authorities, which have put "attendance management" programs in place that penalize sick workers for accessing sick leave.

"B.C.'s health employers are using increasingly coercive methods to reduce the use of sick leave with predictable consequences," says Pearson. "And those practices contradict other public health initiatives intended to reduce the spread of the flu virus."

Health authorities' attendance management programs penalize workers who are deemed to have above-average sick time usage through a range of measures such as denying access to overtime hours, reducing their hours of work, and threatening them with dismissal.

HEU is grieving the practice at an arbitration hearing in October on behalf of the multi-union Facilities Bargaining Association. The outcome will have industry-wide application.

"Employers can't have it both ways. The first line of defense in reducing the spread of influenza in health facilities needs to be encouraging workers to stay home when they are sick - not punishing them for accessing sick leave."

The telephone poll conducted by Viewpoints Research Ltd. sampled 800 HEU members employed in B.C.'s publicly-funded hospitals, residential care facilities and other health care sites across the province. The poll was in the field from August 1322.

The rest is here:

Health care workers under pressure to come to work sick - poll

SBAC and SimpleHx to Resubmit Loan Application for Private Health Insurance Cooperative

Posted on by

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - Sep 24, 2012) - After attaining authorization for health care cooperatives in Illinois to stabilize health care costs for small business, the Small Business Advocacy Council (SBAC) and SimpleHx, along with the Coalition for Cooperatives, are now seeking approval for a federal loan to fund the cooperative.

The Affordable Care Act creates a program to help create new, private nonprofit health insurers, called Consumer Oriented and Operated Plans, or "CO-OPs."The CO-OP program offers low-interest loans to eligible private, nonprofit groups to help set up and maintain health plans.CO-OPs are directed by their customers and designed to offer individuals and small businesses additional affordable, consumer-friendly and high-quality health insurance options.

"The cost of health insurance is debilitating for small business owners, and as a result, many small businesses cannot afford to provide health insurance for their employees," said Elliot Richardson, SBAC President. "For the sake of our business owners, their employees and the Illinois economy, we need a health insurance cooperative that is governed by small business owners and operated by medical and insurance professionals dedicated to stabilizing insurance costs."

Representatives from the SBAC and SimpleHx, a group made up of doctors, surgeons and business leaders, recently presented their vision for an Illinois Health Insurance Cooperative and requested a startup loan in order to operate and maintain adequate reserves.The groups were recently asked to resubmit the application with additional information, and will resubmit by the October 1, 2012 deadline.

The SBAC is a non-partisan, member driven organization that promotes the success of small business through political advocacy, support services and educational programs. The group was established in 2010 and currently represents over 550 businesses in the Chicagoland area.

"As a leading consultant to small businesses, the number one issue they raise is the unpredictable annual increases passed on to them from the current insurance carriers," said Ken Olson, Division President of Horton Insurance. "The timing is now perfect for a new model in Illinois."Horton Insurance has played a major role in bringing a cooperative to Illinois.

The SBAC launched the Coalition for Cooperatives, made up of business and consumer organizations across Illinois, to promote small business support of health cooperatives across the state. Current coalition members include:

"As a small business owner for over 15 years, I've seen my insurance rates increase exponentially year after year with little explanation," said Steve Banke, SBAC Health Care Committee Chair and owner of 3-Points, a technology company in the Chicagoland area. "Health care CO-OPs provide an excellent opportunity for small businesses to control health care costs while lowering operating costs and encouraging economic growth."

Read more here:

SBAC and SimpleHx to Resubmit Loan Application for Private Health Insurance Cooperative

Study: Estonia, U.S. have most Internet freedom

Posted on by

Estonian flag

Residents of Estonia have the most freedom to do what they want on the Internet, with the U.S. ranking second among 47 countries examined by a group that pushes for democratic freedoms worldwide.

However, residents of several countries have experienced attacks on bloggers, politically motivated surveillance, government manipulation of Web content and regulations focused on online speech, said Freedom House, which issued a report on Internet freedoms Monday.

Twenty of the 47 countries have less Internet freedom now than they did in January 2011, with Bahrain, Pakistan, and Ethiopia seeing the greatest declines, according to the report.

"We are seeing an increasing number of governments trying to limit free speech online," Sanja Kelly, project director of the study, said during a forum in Washington, D.C.

A number of governments in the Middle East have restricted Internet freedom since the Arab Spring movement that began in late 2010, she said. "They saw what kind of consequences can happen when people organize with social media," Kelly said.

In 14 countries, the governments are hiring people to comment online and drown out unpopular posts. This is one of the more "worrying trends" the study found, Kelly said.

The study found new laws or directives passed since January 2011 in 19 of the 47 countries to restrict online speech, violate user privacy, or punish people who post content deemed objectionable or undesirable.

In 26 countries, at least one blogger or Internet user has been arrested for content posted online or sent by text messages. In 19 countries, a blogger or Internet user was tortured, beaten or has disappeared apparently in response to their online posts, the study said. In five countries, an activist or citizen journalist was killed in retribution for posting information that exposed human rights abuses.

But the study reports what Kelly called a positive development in Internet freedom. In several countries, Internet activists and technology companies have fought against restrictive laws, she said.

Read more here:

Study: Estonia, U.S. have most Internet freedom

Here's how you can help cleanup beaches today

Posted on by

Three beach fronts will be ready for cleaning Saturday and Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson promises fun while helping keep Texas beaches clean.

The 26th Annual Texas General Land Office Fall Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at Sea Rim State Park, McFaddin Beach and near the Chambers County beach at Texas 124 and 87.

"A right not exercised is a right that will be lost," Patterson said in a prepared statement. "Join us Saturday, Sept. 22 for a fun time and a great cause, exercising your rights and keeping Texas beaches trash-free."

Volunteers should wear shoes, a hat and sunscreen and will be given data cards, gloves, pencils and trash bags. Most sites along the coast conclude the day's cleanup with cold drinks and hot food.

Volunteers may register on-line at http://www.TexasAdoptABeach.org or become a fan of the Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach program on Facebook. Texans who can't make it to the beach but still want to support the effort can make a tax-deductible donation at http://www.TexasAdoptABeach.org. Sponsorship levels range from $25 to $25,000.

In 26 years, 430,000 Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have picked up more than 8,300 tons of trash from the Texas Gulf Coast. Shell Oil Company is the statewide sponsor for the 26th Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach Fall Cleanup. Other sponsors include Apache Corporation, AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry LLC, Cheniere Energy, Halliburton and the Ocean Conservancy.

For more information about how you can get involved, call 1-877-TXCOAST or visit our Web site at http://www.texasadoptabeach.org.

Adopt-A-Beach Fall Cleanup check-in sites in the Beaumont area:

n Sea Rim State Park

Check-in: Park entrance, 10 miles west of Sabine Pass on Highway 87 South

Original post:

Here's how you can help cleanup beaches today

Hyderabad’s aerospace hub bets on first-mover advantage

Posted on by

Hyderabad, Sept 24:

The countrys first aerospace and precision engineering special economic zone (SEZ) is taking shape at a location close to the Hyderabad international airport.

This emerging aerospace manufacturing cluster at Adibatla will focus on defence equipment, commercial aircraft components, testing and calibration labs, a commercial MRO and flying training hub. It will also include design and development of satellites.

According to S. Ramadorai, Chairman of Tata Elxsi and Vice-Chairman of Tata Consultancy Services, the Tata initiative that has brought international presence here can trigger a larger developmental advantage for this whole area as an Aero Cluster, he feels.

Tata Advanced Systems, in partnership with Lockheed Martin, has built a top-notch facility from where it has begun deliveries of the centre wing box to be used in planes.

From no employee in 2009, this unit now has 700 aerospace professionals, meeting all aerospace technical standards.

You will be amazed that the average age of the employees in three Tata facilities is only 23 years. An academy has been set up to train young engineers and mechanics to global standards of aerospace, adding to the national talent pool, Ramadorai says .

Although traditionally one would associate aircraft clusters with Montreal, Seattle, Toronto and Toulouse, international outsourcing has produced spillovers and created new poles of growth, mainly in Southeast Asia.

With India spending as much as $36 billion (data for 2009) on its defence needs among the top 10 globally Hyderabad is well placed for defence and aerospace activities, since the city provides an ecosystem for the sector. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd already has an Avionics Division, there are several defence laboratories, and active defence equipment and component manufacturers here.

Global leaders in aerospace have also set up their technology and engineering service support centres in Hyderabad. With over 700 engineering colleges and technical institutes, talent supply is not a constraint , according to Ramadorai.

Read more from the original source:

Hyderabad’s aerospace hub bets on first-mover advantage

Scientists engineer novel DNA barcode

Posted on by

Researchers have created a new kind of barcode that uses DNA origami technology. Colored-dots can be arranged into geometric patterns or fluorescent linear DNA barcodes, and the combinations are almost limitless -- substantially increasing the number of distinct molecules or cells scientists can observe in a sample. Credit: Chenxiang Lin, Ralf Jungmann, Andrew M. Leifer, Chao Li, Daniel Levner, George M. Church, William M. Shih, Peng Yin, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard Medical School

Much like the checkout clerk uses a machine that scans the barcodes on packages to identify what customers bought at the store, scientists use powerful microscopes and their own kinds of barcodes to help them identify various parts of a cell, or types of molecules at a disease site. But their barcodes only come in a handful of "styles," limiting the number of objects scientists can study in a cell sample at any one time.

Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have created a new kind of barcode that could come in an almost limitless array of styleswith the potential to enable scientists to gather vastly more vital information, at one given time, than ever before. The method harnesses the natural ability of DNA to self-assemble, as reported today in the online issue of Nature Chemistry.

"We hope this new method will provide much-needed molecular tools for using fluorescence microscopy to study complex biological problems," says Peng Yin, Wyss core faculty member and study co-author who has been instrumental in the DNA origami technology at the heart of the new method.

Fluorescence microscopy has been a tour de force in biomedical imaging for the last several decades. In short, scientists couple fluorescent elementsthe barcodesto molecules they know will attach to the part of the cells they wanted to investigate. Illuminating the sample triggers each kind of barcode to fluoresce at a particular wavelength of light, such as red, blue, or greenindicating where the molecules of interest are.

Enlarge

Researchers have created a new kind of barcode that uses DNA origami technology. Shown here are the color combinations resulting from attaching just three colors to a DNA nanotube using origami technology -- underscoring the potential of this new method. Credit: C. Lin, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University

Here's how it works: DNA origami follows the basic principles of the double helix in which the molecular bases A (adenosine) only bind to T (thymine), and C (cytosine) bases only bind to G (guanine). With those "givens" in place, a long strand of DNA is programmed to self-assemble by folding in on itself with the help of shorter strands to create predetermined formsmuch like a single sheet of paper is folded to create a variety of designs in the traditional Japanese art.

To these more structurally complex DNA nano-structures, researchers can then attach fluorescent molecules to the desired spots, and use origami technology to generate a large pool of barcodes out of only a few fluorescent molecules. That could add a lot to the cellular imaging "toolbox" because it enables scientists to potentially light up more cellular structures than ever possible before.

This video is not supported by your browser at this time.

Follow this link:
Scientists engineer novel DNA barcode

Posted in DNA

Breast Cancer DNA Study Yields New Targets for Therapy

Posted on by

By Ryan Flinn - 2012-09-24T04:01:00Z

Genetic mapping of hundreds of breast cancer tumors confirmed there are four main subtypes and discovered that one closely resembles ovarian cancer, suggesting the two may be attacked with similar therapies.

The study, in which the genomes of 825 breast tumors were sequenced, was the most comprehensive of its type involving the disease. It is part of a U.S. research project into the genetics of 20 types of cancers. Earlier this month, the group, called the Cancer Genome Atlas project, released a similar report on new DNA mutations affecting a type of lung malignancy.

The breast cancer findings were published yesterday in the journal Nature. They support the expanding medical view that cancers should be categorized by their genetic origins, rather than where theyre found on the body. The link between breast and ovarian cancer gives scientists added leverage to compare treatments and outcomes across both tumors.

There are certain mutations you can find across cancers in different organs, said Eric Topol, a professor at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, who wasnt involved in the research. This is a real transition point, and we have to move toward more sequencing to give patients the best shot toward curing their cancer.

The personalized medicine approach has fueled a move among drugmakers to identify treatments targeting genetic mutations, such as Roche Holding AGs (ROG) Zelboraf and Pfizer Inc.s Xalkori.

For years, doctors have classified breast cancers according to measures such as how they invade other tissues, their cellular variability, and their appearance when stained with certain chemicals, said Paul Billings, a geneticist who is medical director Life Technologies Corp. (LIFE), a maker of DNA sequencers in Carlsbad, California.

Thats the old world, Billings said. The new world is a diagnostic system that will be based on targetable DNA mutations present in breast cancer.

In the breast cancer study, a computer analysis suggests the form known as basal-like, named for its resemblance to basel skin cells, may be treatable with drugs that either cut off the tumors blood supply, prevent blood vessel growth or chemotherapy, according to a statement from the National Cancer Institute.

The research released yesterday backed up earlier work segmenting breast cancer into four groups according to genetic markers: HER2-enriched, Luminal A, Luminal B and basal-like.

View original post here:
Breast Cancer DNA Study Yields New Targets for Therapy

Posted in DNA

Human brains outpace chimp brains in the womb

Posted on by

The image shows a 3D ultrasound of a chimp in the womb. Credit: Current Biology, Sakai et al.: Fetal brain development in chimpanzees versus humans

Humans' superior brain size in comparison to their chimpanzee cousins traces all the way back to the womb. That's according to a study reported in the September 25 issue of Current Biology that is the first to track and compare brain growth in chimpanzee and human fetuses.

"Nobody knew how early these differences between human and chimp brains emerged," said Satoshi Hirata of Kyoto University.

Hirata and colleagues Tomoko Sakai and Hideko Takeshita now find that human and chimp brains begin to show remarkable differences very early in life. In both primate species, the brain grows increasingly fast in the womb initially. After 22 weeks of gestation, brain growth in chimpanzees starts to level off, while that of humans continues to accelerate for another two months or more. (Human gestation time is only slightly longer than that of chimpanzees, 38 weeks versus 33 or 34 weeks.)

This video is not supported by your browser at this time.

This movie shows a pregnant chimpanzee undergoing an ultrasound imaging procedure to explore brain growth in her fetus. Credit: Current Biology, Sakai et al.: Fetal brain development in chimpanzees versus humans

The findings are part of a larger effort by the research team to explore differences in primate brains. In another Current Biology report published last year, they compared brain development in chimps versus humans via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of three growing chimpanzees from the age of six months to six years (see this article).

"Elucidating these differences in the developmental patterns of brain structure between humans and great apes will provide important clues to understand the remarkable enlargement of the modern human brain and humans' sophisticated behavior," Sakai said.

The researchers say they now hope to explore fetal development in particular parts of the brain, including the forebrain, which is critical for decision making, self-awareness, and creativity.

More information: Sakai et al.: "Fetal brain development in chimpanzees versus humans" Current Biology, 2012.

Read more:
Human brains outpace chimp brains in the womb

District Three students excel in Clemson merit exam

Posted on by

By: From Local Reports | SCNow Published: September 24, 2012 Updated: September 24, 2012 - 11:43 AM

Middle and high school students who participated in the Clemson University Biology Merit Exam last spring were recognized by the Florence County School District Three Board of Trustees at its regular monthly meeting Thursday, September 20.

Students from Lake City High School, J. Paul Truluck Middle School and Ronald E. McNair Middle School joined nearly 200 other students from high schools and middle schools across the state to participate in the 33rd annual Biology Merit Exam at Clemson University on April 20.

Middle school students receiving first honorable mention for scoring in the top three percent were Haileigh Altman and Rustie Welch of J. Paul Truluck Middle School and Nicholas Boyington of Ronald E. McNair Middle School.

Middle school students receiving second honorable mention for scoring in the top 10 percent included Jacob Malasky of J. Paul Truluck Middle School and William Durnan and Shartari Dunmore Ronald E. McNair Middle School.

Rustie Welch of J. Paul Truluck Middle School also won third place for Division I Middle Schools in the Biology Bowl.

Alex Luna of Lake City High School was awarded Division III Honorable Mention and third place for Division III in the Biology Bowl.

This exam is designed for middle school and high school students to recognize and reward outstanding student achievement and promoting further interest in the life sciences.

The Merit Exam consists of 40 multiple-choice questions of varying degrees of difficulty that are distributed among the major content areas of biology. Also offered is the Biology Bowl, patterned after the TV show "Jeopardy", where students compete against others in their own division to answer questions on the following topics: general biological principles, genetics, molecular biology, ecology, cell biology, taxonomy, plant structure and function, and animal structure and function. The top three individuals in each division receive awards.

While attending the Exam at Clemson, students also have an opportunity to acquaint themselves with the education and research facilities available on campus and are able to interact with scientists in the various biological and agricultural disciplines.

The rest is here:
District Three students excel in Clemson merit exam

A “Royal” recognition for Dal scientists

Posted on by

Its a most regal honour for an academic.

On November 17, Oceanography Professor John Cullen and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Professor Andrew Roger will become fellows of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). Induction into the RSC represents a distinguished career in research the cumulative accomplishments of an academic life. Fellows are considered top intellectuals, persons who provide thought leadership for the betterment of Canada and the world.

This honour comes for Dr. Cullen after years of presenting solid research on significant global challenges. Just one example is his work on human-caused stratospheric ozone depletion, a hot-button issue in the 1980s and 90s. Although at the time scientists knew increased ultraviolet radiation from ozone depletion would harm marine organisms, they didnt know by how much.

I worked with Dr. Patrick Neale at the Smithsonian Institute and Richard Davis in my lab to develop new ways to measure the effects of ultraviolet radiation on photosynthetic plankton, explains Dr. Cullen. We discovered that UV radiation would cause significant but not catastrophic impacts and in doing so we developed a sound scientific foundation for making those assessments.

Dr. Roger has spent much of his career piecing together the Tree of Life. His group has shown that much of lifes diversity comprises five-to-six super-kingdom level groups that diversified more than 1 billion years ago. In collaboration with Alastair Simpson's Biology group, Rogers team assembled the first evidence for a large super-kingdom group called the Excavata.

Clarifying the deepest 'structure' of the Tree of Life is realizing many biologists dreams since Darwin proposed the theory of evolution, says Dr. Roger. We can now map major evolutionary transitions that gave rise to diversity and better understand mechanisms that control evolution.

Drs. Cullen and Roger agree that their success stems from an unwavering dedication to uncovering the truth.

Dr. Cullen emphasizes reporting results honestly and clearly, reiterating, A scientists job is to help people understand nature, not to impress people with accomplishments.

Dr. Roger draws on collaborations with other academics, postdoctoral researchers and students to find the truth behind lifes mysteries. He credits much of his success to seeking out academics with complementary skills and getting the right trainees for his projects.

Ive been fortunate to work with excellent colleagues and trainees, says Dr. Roger. Ive also strived to create a comfortable intellectual environment and provide the financial support and guidance for my trainees to explore their scientific interests.

Excerpt from:
A "Royal" recognition for Dal scientists

UCSB Professors Receive National Chemistry Awards

Posted on by

Two UC Santa Barbara professors have been named recipients of the American Chemical Societys 2013 national awards for professionaladvancement. Peter C. Ford, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Craig J. Hawker, also a professor in the Department of chemistry and Biochemistry,professor of materials, and director of the Materials Research Laboratory, have been named among the 64 award winners from across the country

In only one other year, 1996, did UCSB have more than one winner of theAmerican Chemical Society (ACS) awards. The awards will be presented at the nationalACS meeting in New Orleans in April.Ford is the recipient of the ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry. This award recognizes individuals who haveadvanced inorganic chemistry by significant service, in addition to performingoutstanding research. It is sponsored by StremChemicals.

I am of course very pleased and honored to have received this award from my colleagues in the American Chemical Society, saidFord.

Since this is largely in recognition of the body of work generated by my graduate and postdoctoral students and collaborators over my tenure at UCSB, I consider it an award to my research group collectively as well as another testament to the high regard in which this campus is nowheld. I am proud to be aGaucho.

Hawker has been named recipient of the ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry. Thecitation states that Hawker was nominated for transforming the field of polymer chemistry through the clever adaptation of synthetic organic chemistry concepts and theadvancement of macromolecular engineering. ExxonMobil Chemical Company sponsored thisaward.

I am thrilled with the award and the recognition that it brings to my students, collaborators, and co-workers, as well as to the unique research environment at UCSB, said Hawker. The sustained success of cross-disciplinary research has been a key driver in reinforcing UCSBs international standing in the materials chemistry arena. I am grateful for the enormous benefits that this proud tradition has bought to myresearch.

Ford joined the faculty at UCSB in 1967 after earning his Ph.D. at Yale and completing a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship with Nobel laureateHenry Taube at Stanford University. He is a Fellow of the American Association for theAdvancement of Science and was a Senior Fulbright Fellow. His awards include a Dreyfus Foundation Teacher-Scholar Award in 1972; the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Senior U.S. Scientist Award in 1992; the Richard C. Tolman Medal of theACS in 1993; and the Inter-American Photochemical Society Award in Photochemistry in2008.

Hawker received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, and then completeda postdoctoral fellowship with Jean M. J. Frchet at Cornell. In 2004, he moved from theIBM Almaden Research Center to join the faculty at UCSB. Some of his recent awardsinclude the 2012 Centenary prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry; the 2011 Arthur C. Cope Scholar from the American Chemical Society; and the 2008 DSM PerformanceMaterials Award from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. In 2010,he was named a Fellow of the RoyalSociety.

Here is the original post:
UCSB Professors Receive National Chemistry Awards

Study Shows Optiferrin™ Recombinant Human Transferrin Is Comparable to Serum-Derived or Mammalian-Expressed Transferrin

Posted on by

FORT COLLINS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Optiferrin, a recombinant human transferrin (rhTF) protein produced by Ventria Bioscience using ExpressTec, has been shown to be biochemically and structurally similar to human transferrin (hTF) molecules derived either from human serum or a recombinant mammalian expression system, according to a paper published today in the Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry.1 Optiferrin is sold commercially by InVitria, the bioreagents division of Ventria Bioscience, for use in cell culture applications.

Recombinant human transferrin used in cell culture media supplements is available from a number of commercial sources, but characterization of these products rarely goes beyond a crude assessment of purity by gel electrophoresis, said Dr. Anne B. Mason, Research Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Vermont (Burlington, Vt.) and the senior author on the study. Functional validation by more thorough and quantitative methods such as ours is essential for either analytical purposes or for pharmaceutical development.

The paper, titled Biochemical and Structural Characterization of Recombinant Human Serum Transferrin from Rice (Oryza sativa L.), was the result of a collaboration between researchers at the University of Vermont College of Medicines Department of Biochemistry; the University of Massachusetts at Amhersts Department of Chemistry, (Amherst, Mass.); Ventria Bioscience; and InVitria. The research team used a battery of biochemical and biophysical techniques to compare the functional properties of Optiferrin to either native hTF purified from human serum, or a reference form of recombinant N-His-tagged nonglycosylated human transferrin (referred to as N-His hTF). As authorities on the biochemical properties of proteins involved in iron metabolism, Dr. Masons group had previously developed and characterized the mammalian expression system used to produce the N-His hTF protein and mutant variations and also developed many of the biophysical techniques used in this study as part of their ongoing research.

The in-depth biochemical and structural characterization analysis included techniques such as peptide mapping and capillary liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry; circular dichroism spectrometry; ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy; determination of molar absorption coefficient for iron; steady-state tryptophan fluorescence; relative transferrin-receptor binding affinity; and iron release under simulated endosomal conditions. The results demonstrated that Optiferrin is biochemically and structurally similar to hTF, exhibiting the tight but reversible binding to iron (Fe3+) that is a hallmark of transferrin function.

Human transferrin, either purified from human blood serum or biomanufactured using various recombinant protein expression systems, is widely used in biomedical research and the biotechnology industry as a supplement to support mammalian cell growth in serum-free cell culture media. It also has potential therapeutic uses in the treatment of thalassemia, atransferrinemia, and age-related macular degeneration, and as an anti-cancer drug delivery molecule. However, hTF sourced from serum poses the risk of transmission of blood-borne pathogens, while current systems for recombinant expression are difficult to scale in a cost-effective manner for biopharmaceutical applications. Thus a cost-efficient production method is desirable. The authors of the present study performed a basic economic analysis of current rhTF biomanufacturing methods (Table S1) and found that rhTF produced using Ventria Biosciences ExpressTec technology is dramatically more cost effective than other commercial methods, including yeast, immortalized human cell lines (HEK293), or wheat germ.

While we have long known that Optiferrin supports optimal cell growth in serum-free media, this study provides further validation that recombinant human transferrin produced using our ExpressTec technology functions similarly to its endogenous counterpart, said Scott Deeter, president and CEO of Ventria Bioscience. These results will support our future efforts toward developing a cost-effective, biopharmaceutical-grade human transferrin product.

1 Full citation: Steere AN, Bobst CE, Zhang D, Pettit S, Kaltashov IA, Huang N, Mason AB. Biochemical and structural characterization of recombinant human serum transferrin from rice (Oryza sativa L.). J Inorg Biochem. 2012;116:37-44. doi: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2012.07.005.

About InVitria

InVitria develops, manufactures and markets a portfolio of animal-free cell culture supplements that improve performance, cost effectiveness and consistency of cell-based biomanufacturing systems. InVitria is a division of Ventria Bioscience. For more information, visit http://www.invitria.com.

The rest is here:
Study Shows Optiferrin™ Recombinant Human Transferrin Is Comparable to Serum-Derived or Mammalian-Expressed Transferrin

Newly discovered molecule could deliver drugs to treat diseases

Posted on by

Public release date: 24-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: John Tomich jtomich@k-state.edu 785-532-5956 Kansas State University

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Kansas State University researchers have discovered a molecule that may be capable of delivering drugs inside the body to treat diseases.

For the first time, researchers have designed and created a membrane-bounded vesicle formed entirely of peptides -- molecules made up of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. The membrane could serve as a new drug delivery system to safely treat cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

A study led by John Tomich, professor of biochemistry at Kansas State University, has been published in the journal PLOS ONE in September, and a patent for the discovery is pending.

The peptides are a set of self-assembling branched molecules made up of naturally occurring amino acids. The chemical properties of a peptide create a vesicle that Tomich describes as a bubble: It's made up of a thin membrane and is hollow inside. Created in a water solution, the bubble is filled with water rather than air.

The peptides -- or bubbles -- can be made in a solution containing a drug or other molecule that becomes encapsulated as the peptide assembles, yielding a trapped compound, much like a gelatin capsule holds over-the-counter oral remedies. The peptide vesicles could be delivered to appropriate cells in the body to treat diseases and minimize potential side effects.

"We see this as a new way to deliver any kind of molecule to cells," Tomich said. "We know that in certain diseases subpopulations of cells have gone awry, and we'd like to be able to specifically target them instead of attacking every cell, including healthy ones."

The finding could improve gene therapy, which has the potential to cure diseases by replacing diseased cells with healthy ones. Gene therapy is being tested in clinical trials, but the biggest challenge is how best to deliver the genes.

Methods include cells with a virus being injected into the body, and liposomes -- fatty compounds -- carrying the genes. However, these methods may present some problems.

Read the original here:
Newly discovered molecule could deliver drugs to treat diseases