Why did NASA delay its Jupiter-bound craft's maneuver? (+video)

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NASA engineers are delaying a second engine firing in its Jupiter-bound spacecraft in order to check out the propulsion system. The craft, Juno, is on a mission tomap Jupiter's magnetic and gravity fields.

NASA says it has postponed a maneuver planned for the Jupiter-bound spacecraft Juno.

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The decision comes a week after Juno successfully fired its main engine. The second engine firing was slated for Tuesday but was delayed to Sept. 14.

After the last maneuver, engineers noticed higher-than-expected pressure in the propulsion system and wanted time to check it out.

The back-to-back burns are needed to put the spacecraft on course to fly by Earth next year and use the planet's gravity to accelerate to the outer solar system.

The space agency says the delay will not affect Juno's arrival atJupiter, scheduled for 2016.

Juno was launched last year. It's on a mission to peer throughJupiter'scloud cover and map its magnetic and gravity fields.

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Why did NASA delay its Jupiter-bound craft's maneuver? (+video)

Emergency Medicine Apps palmEM and palmPEDi Are Updated

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palmER Worldwide today announced updates to their award winning point-of-care emergency medicine applications, palmEM: Emergency Medicine Essentials Quick Reference Guide and palmPEDI: Pediatric Emergency Medicine Tape.Wilmington, DE (PRWEB) September 06, 2012 palmER Worldwide today announced updates to their award winning point-of-care emergency medicine iOS and Android applications, palmEM and ...

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Emergency Medicine Apps palmEM and palmPEDi Are Updated

Liberty 87, Mercury 59

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UpdatedSep 5, 2012 10:45 PM ET

New York jumped out to a big lead and coasted to a needed win against the injury-plagued Phoenix Mercury. The Liberty were also able to rest their starters and give the reserves some valuable playing time.

Plenette Pierson scored 17 points on 8-for-13 shooting to lead New York's balanced offense and the Liberty beat the Mercury 87-59 Wednesday night.

Kara Braxton and Alex Montgomery added 12 points each, Nicole Powell had 11 and Cappie Pondexter 10 to help New York (11-16) move a half-game ahead of Chicago for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Liberty host the Sky on Friday night.

''We talked about Phoenix is out of the race, so two things could happen,'' New York coach John Whisenant said. ''We could let them go out and play loose ... or we could attack them defensively early and try to get them down, and that's what we did. I thought our players maintained their intensity pretty much throughout.''

The Liberty got off to a fast start and led 21-5 less than 6 minutes into the game. After Phoenix cut the deficit to 10 by the end of the first quarter, New York took control with a 10-0 run that doubled the lead to 33-13 less than 3 minutes into the second. The lead was 22 at halftime and swelled to 32 in the third.

New York finished shooting 47 percent (36 for 76) from the field, including 9 for 22 (41 percent) from 3-point range. The Liberty outrebounded the Mercury 40-34 and finished with a season-high 27 assists - led by Pondexter's eight.

The Liberty have won two of three on their six-game homestand. After facing Chicago, they host Los Angeles on Sunday and Washington next Wednesday. The Liberty then have three road games before finishing at home against Tulsa on Sept. 22.

''We're trying to make a playoff push and our focus right now is to win the home games that are coming up, Pondexter said. ''We did a great job tonight. We came out in the game, everyone had an opportunity to play and everyone scored. It was a great team effort.''

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Liberty 87, Mercury 59

Pierson scores 17 as Liberty cruise past Mercury

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NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- New York jumped out to a big lead and coasted to a needed win against the injury-plagued Phoenix Mercury. The Liberty were also able to rest their starters and give the reserves some valuable playing time.

Plenette Pierson scored 17 points on 8-for-13 shooting to lead New York's balanced offense and the Liberty beat the Mercury 87-59 Wednesday night.

Kara Braxton and Alex Montgomery added 12 points each, Nicole Powell had 11 and Cappie Pondexter 10 to help New York (11-16) move a half-game ahead of Chicago for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Liberty host the Sky on Friday night.

''We talked about Phoenix is out of the race, so two things could happen,'' New York coach John Whisenant said. ''We could let them go out and play loose ... or we could attack them defensively early and try to get them down, and that's what we did. I thought our players maintained their intensity pretty much throughout.''

The Liberty got off to a fast start and led 21-5 less than 6 minutes into the game. After Phoenix cut the deficit to 10 by the end of the first quarter, New York took control with a 10-0 run that doubled the lead to 33-13 less than 3 minutes into the second. The lead was 22 at halftime and swelled to 32 in the third.

New York finished shooting 47 percent (36 for 76) from the field, including 9 for 22 (41 percent) from 3-point range. The Liberty outrebounded the Mercury 40-34 and finished with a season-high 27 assists - led by Pondexter's eight.

The Liberty have won two of three on their six-game homestand. After facing Chicago, they host Los Angeles on Sunday and Washington next Wednesday. The Liberty then have three road games before finishing at home against Tulsa on Sept. 22.

''We're trying to make a playoff push and our focus right now is to win the home games that are coming up, Pondexter said. ''We did a great job tonight. We came out in the game, everyone had an opportunity to play and everyone scored. It was a great team effort.''

DeWanna Bonner scored 20 points for the Mercury (6-20), who fell into a tie with the Shock for last place in the West. Diana Taurasi and Alexis Hornbuckle added 10 points each.

''We're going to have to do a better job on every side of the basketball,'' Taurasi said. ''If you have bad possessions, you try to get back on defense. If defensively you don't get rebounds, it's hard to get a good offense going. It's a combination of things so hopefully we do a better job of that.''

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Pierson scores 17 as Liberty cruise past Mercury

Liberty Market in Gilbert in the running for best-restroom title

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by Srianthi Perera - Sept. 5, 2012 10:26 PM The Republic | azcentral.com

The restrooms at the bustling Liberty Market in Gilbert's Heritage District are candidates in another kind of national election as they vie with nine others across the country for the title of best restroom in the U.S.

People can vote for Arizona's only entry in the 2012 Cintas' America's Best Restroom Contest until Oct. 26.

Liberty Market restrooms | Best bathrooms in Valley

"I think it's a tiny thing for the state of Arizona. But it would be a nice thing if we won," said Gilbert restaurateur and entrepreneur Joe Johnston, one of four partners of the restaurant.

Once a grocery store that played a major role in the town when Gilbert was called "the alfalfa-hay shipping capital of the United States," the Liberty Market is now an urban bistro that blends retro with modern. Its espresso bar, dessert case with multilayered cream cakes, pizza oven and full kitchen draw the crowds. Liberty Market is open 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday.

The five restroom stalls -- four of them unisex -- also see a lot of traffic, but they remain very clean.

"We clean them very, very frequently," Johnston said. "They were designed first of all to be very clean and maintainable."

Johnston, his partners and his older son James each got a crack at designing the stalls with their own creativity.

Johnston's design incorporates his love of Vespa scooters and the native Italian lifestyle they represent. There's a Vespa tire on the wall and behind the door is a photoshopped picture of his wife, Cindy, and his son riding a Vespa on a street in Italy.

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Liberty Market in Gilbert in the running for best-restroom title

Liberty rip Mercury, move into playoff spot

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The Liberty jumped out to a big lead and coasted to a needed win against the injury-plagued Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday night. The Liberty were also able to rest their starters and give the reserves some valuable playing time.

Plenette Pierson scored 17 points on 8-for-13 shooting to lead a balanced attack as the Liberty beat the Mercury 87-59.

Kara Braxton and Alex Montgomery added 12 points each, Nicole Powell had 11 and Cappie Pondexter 10 to help the Liberty (11-16) move a half-game ahead of Chicago for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Liberty play host to the Sky on Friday night.

We talked about Phoenix is out of the race, so two things could happen, Liberty coach John Whisenant said. We could let them go out and play loose ... or we could attack them defensively early and try to get them down, and thats what we did. I thought our players maintained their intensity pretty much throughout.

The Liberty got off to a fast start and led 21-5 less than six minutes into the game. After Phoenix cut the deficit to 10 by the end of the first quarter, the Liberty took control with a 10-0 run that doubled the lead to 33-13 less than three minutes into the second. The lead was 22 at halftime and swelled to 32 in the third.

The Liberty finished shooting 47 percent (36 for 76) from the field, including 9 for 22 (41 percent) from 3-point range. The Liberty outrebounded the Mercury 40-34 and finished with a season-high 27 assists led by Pondexters eight.

The Liberty have won two of three on their six-game homestand. After facing Chicago, they play host to Los Angeles on Sunday and Washington next Wednesday. The Liberty then have three road games before finishing at home against Tulsa on Sept. 22.

Were trying to make a playoff push and our focus right now is to win the home games that are coming up, Pondexter said. We did a great job tonight. We came out in the game, everyone had an opportunity to play and everyone scored. It was a great team effort.

DeWanna Bonner scored 20 points for the Mercury (6-20), who fell into a tie with the Shock for last place in the West. Diana Taurasi and Alexis Hornbuckle added 10 points each.

Were going to have to do a better job on every side of the basketball, Taurasi said. If you have bad possessions, you try to get back on defense. If defensively you dont get rebounds, its hard to get a good offense going. Its a combination of things so hopefully we do a better job of that.

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Liberty rip Mercury, move into playoff spot

Liberty Interactive Corporation to Present at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2012 Media, Communications …

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

Liberty Interactive Corporation (Nasdaq: LINTA, LINTB, LVNTA, LVNTB) announced that Greg Maffei, President and CEO of Liberty Interactive Corporation, will be presenting at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2012 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference on Wednesday, September 12th at 4:00 p.m., Pacific Time at The Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills, CA. During his presentation, Mr. Maffei may make observations regarding the company's financial performance and outlook.

The presentation will be broadcast live via the Internet. All interested persons should visit the Liberty Interactive Corporation website at http://www.libertyinteractive.com/events to register for the webcast. An archive of the webcast will also be available on this website for 30 days.

About Liberty Interactive Corporation

Liberty Interactive Corporation operates and owns interests in a broad range of digital commerce businesses. Those interests are currently attributed to two tracking stock groups: Liberty Interactive Group and Liberty Ventures Group. The Liberty Interactive Group (Nasdaq: LINTA, LINTB) is primarily focused on digital commerce and consists of Liberty Interactive Corporations subsidiaries Backcountry.com, Bodybuilding.com, Celebrate Interactive (including Evite and Liberty Advertising), CommerceHub, MotoSport, Provide Commerce, QVC, Right Start, and Liberty Interactive Corporations interests in HSN and Lockerz. The Liberty Ventures Group (Nasdaq: LVNTA, LVNTB) consists of Liberty Interactive Corporations non-consolidated assets, including interests in AOL, Expedia, Interval Leisure Group, Time Warner, Time Warner Cable, Tree.com (Lending Tree), TripAdvisor and various green energy investments.

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Liberty Interactive Corporation to Present at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2012 Media, Communications ...

Letter: Point this way

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Jo Vaccarino, Naples

Point this way

Both Republicans and Democrats are turning Libertarian?

The strangest thing is happening in America today. Democrats like John Mackey from Whole Foods are turning Libertarian. Drew Carey picked up Reason magazine one day and realized he's a Libertarian.

At the same time, Republicans like Glenn Beck and Ron Paul claim libertarianism too.

Amid what appears to be the greatest polarization between the two parties in U.S. history, how can folks from purportedly opposite political platforms both decide to embrace libertarianism?

There is actually a simple answer. Libertarians are fiscally conservative and socially accepting. So is the average American live and let live.

Opportunity is America's theme. We are the land of it or we were. But now, even Americans who don't know what crony capitalism is are feeling the effects of an excess of it going on today. They know that somebody in the government is turning favors for somebody else at the expense of taxpayers.

The two major parties will point the finger at each other, even though both are hideously guilty. But Americans are catching on to this.

The libertarian principle of minimal government, maximum freedom fits Main Street America, almost 40 percent of whom have detached from the parties and registered independent or NPA (no party affiliation).

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Letter: Point this way

Human Genetics and Genomics: The Science for the 21st Century – Video

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06-09-2012 00:11 Google Tech Talk July 12, 2012 Presented by Ewan Birney. ABSTRACT Since the publication of the human genome in 2001, there has been a fundamental shift in molecular biology research from small scale, hypothesis focused science to larger scale hypothesis generating science. I will describe some of the key components of the last decade's research in this area, including Genomewide Association, the 1000 genomes project and the ENCODE project and the way these projects draw on cutting edge statistics and algorithm processes. I will then describe the current excitement in applying this to medical issues, with speculation about how the next decade will develop in genome medicine. About the Speaker Dr. Birney is Associate Director of the EMBL-EBI. Before taking up his current post, he developed a number of databases (such as Ensembl), and worked on specific genomics projects, ranging from the Human Genome sequencing in 2000 through to the ENCODE project. For ENCODE he coordinated the analysis for both the 1% Pilot (published in 2007) and the scale up (likely to be published in 2012). As Associate Director, Dr Birney takes a strategic oversight role of the EBI services alongside Rolf Apweiler (the other Associate Director of the EBI). This ranges from genome sequences through proteins, small molecules, macromolecular structures to networks, pathways and systems. Dr Birney still runs a research group which focuses on genomic algorithms and studying inter individual differences, in ...

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Human Genetics and Genomics: The Science for the 21st Century - Video

Unraveling the Human Genome: 6 Molecular Milestones

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In a milestone for the understanding of human genetics, scientists just announced the results of five years of work in unraveling the secrets of how the genome operates. The ENCODE project, as it is known, dispensed with the idea that our DNA is largely "junk," repeating sequences with no function, finding instead that at least 80 percent of the genome is important.

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Unraveling the Human Genome: 6 Molecular Milestones

Congressman Dent talks to health care reform

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Congressman Dent talks to health care reform

Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent says if he's re-elected he'll push to change the nation's new health care law.

Dent made the pledge Wednesday to members of the Lehigh Valley Coalition for Health Care Reform.

Congressman Dent said the new law will result in loss of jobs, higher taxes and less medical innovation. While he agrees people should have insurance, Dent is looking at another way to provide it.

There are a lot of people with a lot of questions about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

"We decided to have these meetings to try and present more to the public about how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care act will affect people directly," said Dr. Christine Bongiorno, chair of the Lehigh Valley Coalition for health care reform.

The Lehigh Valley Coalition for health care reform invited Pennsylvania Congressman Charlie Dent to address some concerns.

Dent says if the bill stays the way it is written Americans could have a lot more problems.

"The law as written is going to explode cost in healthcare, it's going to kill numerous jobs according to the congressional budget office, 800,000 by their estimate," said Dent. "It will add cost, there are over 20 taxes new or higher taxes in the law."

Outside the meeting supporters of the new health care law tried to get people to understand that reforming the law would leave a lot of people without insurance.

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Congressman Dent talks to health care reform

Clyburn defends, promotes president's health care reform law

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South Carolina Congressman James "Jim" Clyburn speaks during a South Carolina delegate breakfast for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC, Wednesday morning, 9-5-2012.

South Carolina's only Democrat in Congress implored the party faithful Wednesday to defend and promote President Obama's health care reform law.

"Do not be afraid to use the term Obamacare,' " said Rep. Jim Clyburn of Columbia. "You should be proud of Obamacare. I don't care what folks say."

Clyburn addressed South Carolina Democrats in Charlotte Wednesday, the day after other speakers at the party's national convention also used and celebrated Obamacare.

Republicans have long used "Obamacare" as a derogatory term for the president's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

But Democrats sought to reclaim that word at their national convention, embracing the term and making yet another push to popularize the law Obama signed in March, 2010.

First lady Michelle Obama made the case for health care reform in her speech Tuesday night.

"When it comes to the health of our families, Barack refused to listen to those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day, another president," she said. "He didn't care whether it was the easy thing to do politically. No, that is not how he was raised. He cared that it was the right thing to do."

Speaking after Clyburn, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt's grandson also touted Obamacare.

"I love to call it Obamacare," said Jim Roosevelt. "It is something we should be taking credit for."

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Clyburn defends, promotes president's health care reform law

Oil from BP spill turns up on Gulf beaches after Hurricane Isaac; company to clean it up

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NEW ORLEANS Waves from Hurricane Isaac uncovered oil previously buried along Gulf Coast beaches, exposing crude that wasn't cleaned up after the BP spill in 2010.

Since Isaac made landfall more than a week ago, the water the storm has receded and tar balls and oil have been reported on shores in Alabama and Louisiana, where officials closed a 13-mile stretch of beach Tuesday.

BP said Wednesday some of that oil was from the spill, but said some of the crude may be from other sources, too.

"If there's something good about this storm it made it visible where we can clean it up," BP spokesman Ray Melick said.

BP still has hundreds of cleanup workers on the Gulf Coast after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded, killing 11 workers and leading to the nation's largest offshore spill.

Melick said the company was working with the Coast Guard, state officials and land managers to clean up the oil on the Fourchon beach in Louisiana. He said crews would be there Thursday.

Isaac made landfall near Fourchon on Aug. 28 as a Category 1 storm, pummeling the coast with waves, wind and rain. Seven people were killed in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Ed Overton, a chemist and oil spill expert at Louisiana State University, said the exposed oil was weathered and less toxic, though it could still harm animals such as crabs, crawfish and bait fish.

He said the storm helped speed up natural processes that break down oil and it might take several more storms to stir up the rest of the oil buried along the coast.

"We don't like to say it, but hurricanes are Mother Nature's way of taking a bath," he said.

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Oil from BP spill turns up on Gulf beaches after Hurricane Isaac; company to clean it up

Winners of European Astronomy Journalism Prize Announced

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The winner of the first European Astronomy Journalism Prize, designed to help inspire the next generation of researchers, has been announced today (5 September 2012) at a reception in the House of Commons. Katia Moskvitch from the BBC was announced as the winner and awarded a trip to Chile, by a panel of judges representing the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) who ran the competition, together with the Royal Astronomical Society and the Association of British Science Writers. The aim of the prize was to increase media coverage of astronomy, a means to promoting the wonders of astronomy -- a subject regularly cited as a key reason for students opting to take up careers in science. The judges chose Katia as the winner, for her remarkable series on ESO's Very Large Telescope located in Paranal Observatory, Chile [1].

Katia's prize was announced at a reception primarily held to celebrate the UK's involvement in the Large Hadron Collider after the discovery of a particle consistent with the Higgs Boson last month (http://www.stfc.ac.uk/About+STFC/39278.aspx). The UK plays a lead role in both particle physics and astronomy and is ranked number one in the world for astronomy*.

Katia said: "As a technology journalist at the BBC, I don't get to write about astronomy very often. That's why I really loved my time in Chile, reporting about the telescopes in ESO's observatories, and learning a lot of new things about space and technology. After I had written my features, I received really good feedback from readers, and a colleague urged me to enter this competition. I was quite surprised but very happy when I found out I won!"

A special prize for excellence also went to Robin McKie from the Observer newspaper for his work on British involvement in the search for gravitational waves. [2]. The judges highly commended Maggie McKee from Boston, Massachusetts, for an article in New Scientist on European involvement in the study of the Transit of Venus. [3].

Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts said: "Media coverage is an important way of conveying the wonder of science to the public and making complex research easier to understand. It's great to see such high quality, engaging journalism being recognized today. I have no doubt it will have played some part in encouraging the next generation to take up astronomy, helping to maintain the UK's leading position in this field."

Katia Moskvitch will be ESO's guest at the inauguration of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in the Chilean Atacama desert next March 2013.

Robin McKie will take up his prize of a visit to the Very Large Telescope later this year and Maggie McKee's prize is a trip to the UK from the US where she is based -- visiting some of the UK's leading science facilities including STFC's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Discovery Center.

Professor John Womersley, STFC Chief Executive said: "The media are vital partners in spreading the inspirational message of astronomy -- and of other science fields -- and it's in all our interests to work together with the media to encourage more, and higher quality, coverage. The quality of the journalism being acknowledged here today is exceptional -- we need more like this, to help inspire the next generation of much needed future scientists".

Lars Lindberg Christensen, Head of the Education and Public Outreach Department at ESO said: "We would like to congratulate all participants and especially the winners for their outstanding work of promoting European astronomy. We hope such recognition will stimulate more coverage of Europe's leading contributions to the field of astronomy and bring these results closer to the public."

Due to the success of the competition it will run again next year. Details will be announced on the STFC and ESO websites in due course: http://www.stfc.ac.uk/astroprize http://www.eso.org/public/astroprize

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Winners of European Astronomy Journalism Prize Announced

Space Station Saved by a Toothbrush?

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A $100 billion space station saved by a simple $3 toothbrush? It was the brainstorm of astronauts Sunita Williams and Akihido Hoshide and NASA engineers on the ground: a tool to clean a bolt that gave them so much trouble during a marathon 8-hour spacewalk last week.

They were trying to replace an electrical switching unit, but on Thursday they couldn't bolt it to the outside of the station.

What to do if there is no hardware store in the neighborhood and the next supply ship is months away? Build it yourself -- so they attached a simple toothbrush to a metal pole and voila! They were able to clean out the bolt's socket today and finish the job. Shades of Apollo 13 -- when engineers threw parts on a table and brainstormed a solution, which saved the crew.

Spacewalking is incredibly difficult -- the astronauts wear space suits that fight every move they make. Williams wrote about last week's spacewalk in her blog.

"You don't just 'go outside,'" she said. "Usually that is the fun and easy part of the entire thing -- suit sizing, tool gathering and preparation, equipment gathering and preparations, studying new procedures, reviewing and talking through how to get us suited and how to get the airlock depressed, reviewing the tasks we will do with each other and with the robotic arm, talking about cleaning up, and then talking thru a plan to get back into the airlock, and any emergencies that can come up -- loss of communications, suit issues, etc.

"Yes, that took a lot of our time leading up to Thursday last week. Even planning when to go to sleep and what to eat are important. Remember, you are in that suit usually about 8 hours for a 6 hour EVA.

"To my surprise, the most intense part for this EVA happened to be outside when we encountered our 'sticky' bolt.

"That resulted in a long EVA, and over 10 hours in the suit. No bathroom and no lunch."

Williams and Hoshide accomplished their major tasks on today's spacewalk, and earned champagne when they got back inside the space station -- but, alas, there is no alcohol on the orbiting outpost.

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Space Station Saved by a Toothbrush?