What will NASA's Mars rover do when it gets there? (+video)

Posted on by

If NASA's Mars Curiosity rover lands successfully, it will look for signs of habitability. The rover will also keep an eye on the weather.

When NASA's next Mars rover, Curiosity, arrives at the Red Planet next month, it will help pave the way for the humans that might one day follow.

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

In addition to looking for signs of current and past habitability to extraterrestrial life, the rover, due to land Aug. 6, will learn more about whether Mars could be habitable for humans particularly in terms of its weather. The continuous record of Martian weather and radiation Curiosity plans to collect will help future forecasters tell humans should we choose to go how best to protect themselves in the harsh environment, experts say.

That's why NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate paid to include a radiation detector onboard the car-size Curiosity, the centerpiece of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, which is run by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

When we were designing Curiosity, we were going to use it for our habitability investigations as well, said Ashwin Vasavada, MSL's deputy project scientist. But it really is paid for and intended to understand the environment humans will experience on Mars.

The $2.5 billion rover launched Nov. 26, 2011. It is designed to work for at least two years on Mars.

Curiosity will sample the Martian environment every hour through two main instruments: a meteorology station and a radiation detector. The instruments will run even when the rover is sleeping, during the Martian night, to provide a continual stream of data. [Mars Rover Curiosity's Landing Site: Gale Crater (Infographic)]

The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), in fact, began running during Curiosity's eight-month journey to Mars. Radiation from the sun and galactic cosmic rays occur throughout the solar system, meaning that humans would be exposed to elevated radiation from the moment they leave Earth's cradling magnetic field. Understanding how much radiation would bombard the spacecraft is the first step to learning how we can shield humans against it.

Follow this link:

What will NASA's Mars rover do when it gets there? (+video)

What will NASA's Mars rover do when it gets there?

Posted on by

If NASA's Mars Curiosity rover lands successfully, it will look for signs of habitability. The rover will also keep an eye on the weather.

When NASA's next Mars rover, Curiosity, arrives at the Red Planet next month, it will help pave the way for the humans that might one day follow.

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

In addition to looking for signs of current and past habitability to extraterrestrial life, the rover, due to land Aug. 6, will learn more about whether Mars could be habitable for humans particularly in terms of its weather. The continuous record of Martian weather and radiation Curiosity plans to collect will help future forecasters tell humans should we choose to go how best to protect themselves in the harsh environment, experts say.

That's why NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate paid to include a radiation detector onboard the car-size Curiosity, the centerpiece of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, which is run by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

When we were designing Curiosity, we were going to use it for our habitability investigations as well, said Ashwin Vasavada, MSL's deputy project scientist. But it really is paid for and intended to understand the environment humans will experience on Mars.

The $2.5 billion rover launched Nov. 26, 2011. It is designed to work for at least two years on Mars.

Curiosity will sample the Martian environment every hour through two main instruments: a meteorology station and a radiation detector. The instruments will run even when the rover is sleeping, during the Martian night, to provide a continual stream of data. [Mars Rover Curiosity's Landing Site: Gale Crater (Infographic)]

The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), in fact, began running during Curiosity's eight-month journey to Mars. Radiation from the sun and galactic cosmic rays occur throughout the solar system, meaning that humans would be exposed to elevated radiation from the moment they leave Earth's cradling magnetic field. Understanding how much radiation would bombard the spacecraft is the first step to learning how we can shield humans against it.

Read the original post:

What will NASA's Mars rover do when it gets there?

NASA promotes new rover landing with synthetic 'Mars rocks'

Posted on by

NASA is sending synthetic 'Martian' rocks to eight cities in its national 'Get Curious'campaign to promote the Curiosity Mars Rover, which is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet on Aug. 6.

A set of synthetic Mars rocks will be making a national tour next week to promote the upcoming landing of NASA's giant new rover on the Red Planet.

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

The tour is part of a campaign called "Get Curious" that was created to honor the new Curiosity Mars rover, the main element of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, which is due to land on our neighboring world Aug. 6. The $2.5 billion rover is designed to spend at least two years on Mars searching for clues that Mars may have been habitable to life at some point.

"Get Curious" will send large boulders manufactured to look like Martian rocks to eight U.S. cities between July 26 and Aug. 9. No rocks have ever been brought back to Earth from the Red Planet, but these large synthetic constructions are designed to resemble the real thing as closely as possible.

The rocks will visit Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Detroit; Columbus, Ohio; Houston; Indianapolis; and Orlando.

"We are excited that Columbus was designated a 'Mars City,' and that COSI can be a part of the 'Get Curious' campaign," said Joshua Sarver, senior director of experience design and production at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI), the stop location in Columbus, in a statement. "We continually think of ways to captivate our visitors at COSI, and we think the Mars rock in front of the center will attract a lot of attention and pique interest. We are pleased to be able to show our support for the Curiosity rover landing and continue to help raise awareness for scientific discovery and space exploration."

Each ersatz Mars rock will be emblazoned with the URL http://www.GetCurious.com and a QR code plaque directing people to the campaign's website. The project is sponsored by Explore Mars, a Mars exploration outreach nonprofit, and rocket company United Launch Alliance, which built the Atlas V-541 rocket that launched Curiosity toward Mars in November 2011.

"We at Explore Mars look forward to celebrating the Curiosity landing with not only the space community, but also the general public," said Chris Carberry, executive director of Explore Mars. "This mission will give us insights into whether Mars has, or ever had, conditions favorable to microbial life as well as the possibilities of future human exploration on Mars. We hope this and other space exploration initiatives will inspire Americans of all ages to reach further and dream bigger." [Photos: How Curiosity's Nail-Biting Landing Works]

See original here:

NASA promotes new rover landing with synthetic 'Mars rocks'

Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists Expands Internal Medicine Department

Posted on by

Two Internal Medicine Specialists Join Veterinary PracticeBuzzards Bay, MA (PRWEB) July 26, 2012 Internal medicine doctors Tara Lampman and Kenneth Palladino, Jr. have joined Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists (CCVS) in Buzzards Bay, MA. Their expertise will allow CCVS to offer small animal internal medicine services from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. According to Charles Henry, one of ...

Read the original:

Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists Expands Internal Medicine Department

Is personalized medicine a myth?

Posted on by

Personalized medicine involves tailoring medical treatments to individual characteristics of each patient.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Editor's note: CNN contributor Amanda Enayati ponders the theme of seeking serenity: the quest for well-being and life balance in stressful times. Follow @amandaenayati on Twitter or on Facebook.

(CNN) -- Your cell phone rings, and your brow furrows as you glance down at the caller ID.

Hello?

"Hello," responds an automated voice. "There is a 97% likelihood that you will have a cardiac event within the next 12 hours. Please proceed to a hospital as soon as possible."

According to experts like Eric Topol, director and chief academic officer at Scripps Translational Science Institute, technology like this -- and a slew of other medical wonders -- isn't so far-fetched. In fact, some of it is already here.

There are now more cell phones in the world than there are toilets and toothbrushes, Topol said. And these phones, which have become our constant companions and virtual extensions of our bodies, are increasingly being used to track our physiology from moment to moment.

The intersection of technology, science, medicine and design has led to an explosion of apps for monitoring blood pressure, glucose levels and heart rate and measuring how well you sleep, whether you're stressed or relaxed and whether you're eating healthy. We have been able to harness the existing digital infrastructure to get personalized health data we did not have access to before.

How medicine is advancing beyond race

Read the rest here:

Is personalized medicine a myth?

Drinking from a firehose: can research into the human mind help with medical school memorization?

Posted on by

Ive come across many analogies that try to convey the amount of memorization required in medical school. The most popular is drinking from a firehose. One physician writer put it like this: It was like being asked to enter a grocery store and memorize the names of every product in the store, their number and location, every ingredient in every product in the order in which they appear on the food label, and then to do the same thing in every grocery store in the city.

In medical school, we talk in terms of high yield and low yield information. Basically, everyone accepts that it is impossible to know everything or even close to it, so medical school becomes an exercise in figuring out what is most important. For every conversation about memorizing, there are also a couple of self-deprecating quips about forgetting. Ive had times where I studied something, took a short break, and then forgot what I was just reading. Is it sad? Yes. Demoralizing? Can be. But unique? Talking to other medical students, Ive found the answer is a resounding no. The consensus on memorization among my peers is comically Lake Wobegon in reverse: here, everyone is convinced (s)he is below average.

Are we inherently bad at memorizing? Are we just not programmed to be effective at learning everything the modern medical landscape demands from us? I wondered about that. But more so, I wondered about solutions. If we ask for help, most of us rely on casual tips from those who have gone through the process before us, and we try to assemble diverse anecdotes into a feasible personal plan. But research into the human mind and its ability to remember is vast. And that knowledge says that memorization is a skill that can be improved upon with strategy and practice.

What of that knowledge can apply to medical training, specifically? Which techniques can help information stick in ways that are meaningful, relevant, and ultimately useful for patient care?

***

Chunking. Our short-term memory can store and retrieve a limited number of facts and researchers have honed in that number. In 1956, cognitive psychologist George Miller published a paper providing evidence for seven being the magic number, plus or minus two. It was one of the most widely cited psychology papers ever, and Millers figures are ones that many in modern psychology circles still go by. What does that mean if you want to remember more than seven items? The solution involves breaking down or chunking larger sequences into smaller ones. For example, if you want to remember the ten digit sequence 6256493174, you could instead think of it as 6, 256, 493, 174. Or 62, 56, 49, 31, 74. Or some other combination, as long as its in a retainable number of chunks.

We remember chunks better than long sequences. In medicine, chunking is really a way of saying simplify and organize.

Does it work? In medicine, we constantly need to remember facts that relate to a particular umbrella subject. Chunking is useful as a guide in keeping relevant concepts together, within a range that is ideal for memorization. I know, for example, that if I am trying to remember bacteria, it helps to classify them into groups with each group containing facts of nine or fewer items. In that sense, perhaps chunking is little more than a fancy way of saying organizing with the additional recommendation of what size you should organize subjects into to increase your chances of retaining.

One issue is that chunking refers to a technique for short-term memory. In medical training, I care about knowing things for the long term. Can chunking still help? Psychologist opinion seems to say yes: chunking improves the transfer of short-term memory to long-term memory. Some have used the example of language to make this point, in that we regularly use single words or phrases to capture complex meaning and remember it in the long-term. Medicine uses similar principles. That is, whenever we have a medical term for a constellation of symptoms, a disease progression, or a type of treatment, we are actually chunking multiple concepts into a single phrase. Taken in reverse a single medical term connotes multiple ideas. Medical language enables us to memorize better by having us memorize in chunks.

The bottom-line on the usefulness of chunking in medicine is that its a way of thinking consciously about something we tend to do naturally organizing complex ideas into simpler ones. Having that conscious awareness of why condensing works can make the number of facts we are expected to learn in medicine less intimidating.

See the original post here:

Drinking from a firehose: can research into the human mind help with medical school memorization?

A $6.7 million federal grant to UMass Medical to battle health disparities

Posted on by

By Kay Lazar, Globe Staff

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School say they will use a new $6.7 million grant to battle significant health disparities in the region by using a grassroots approach that features patients telling their stories to inspire others.

The school announced Thursday that it was awarded a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish a new Health Equity Intervention Research Center with scientists from UMass Boston.

Low-income patients, and those from certain minority groups, including African Americans and Latinos, often suffer disproportionately higher rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other illnesses. The Umass researchers aim to test various cultural approaches to reduce health disparities.

Lead investigator Dr. Jeroan Allison, vice provost for health disparities research at UMass Medical School, said obesity is one of the most stubborn health problems in the Worcester area, a region with a large low-income population, and that can trigger a cascade of other health issues, such as diabetes and heart problems.

One of three programs the new research center will focus on is helping low-income, new moms lose excess weight after their pregnancies by increasing physical activity and improving their diets. The program will include nutritionists, peer leaders and encouragement from patients who have been successful in losing weight and who will share their stories, Allison said.

When someone looks like you and you see yourself in their world, you sort of enter their world and become more open and receptive to the idea, Allison said. It taps into the community itself as a source of wisdom, as opposed to putting all the authority on the physicans.

The idea of using storytelling comes from Allisons earlier work in Alabama that found that patients could better control their blood pressure if they heard stories from other patients who were successfully controlling their hypertension.

We found story telling to be amazingly effective, often as successful as prescribing a drug, Allison said.

The grant money will also be used to fund two other programs. One, in the Springfield area, will focus on the high rates of teen pregnancies and HIV in the Puerto Rican community by encouraging conversations between mothers and children about sexuality.

Read more:

A $6.7 million federal grant to UMass Medical to battle health disparities

No medical school for Brandon: Study

Posted on by

Enlarge Image

The Brandon Medical Education Study was released Wednesday. (TIM SMITH/BRANDON SUN)

A stand-alone medical school at Brandon University proposal has been deemed ill-advised because western Manitobas population base is too small, according to the Brandon Medical Education Study that was released to the public on Wednesday.

Instead, the report offers a progression of steps, such as offering more residencies to Brandon and other hospitals, eventually leading to a satellite medical school that works in conjuction with the University of Manitoba.

"The study recommends focusing on more rural medical residencies and doctors, when they are in that final stage of their studies, they start making those decisions on where they want to practice and very often thats the point when they start putting down roots in the community," Manitoba Advanced Education Minister Erin Selby said. "Those decisions are often linked to where they want to where they want to practice afterwards."

The study examined how to recruit and retain more doctors to serve in rural Manitoba, and one of the recommendations to create more residencies in Brandon, Steinbach, as well as the Boundary Trails hospital between Morden and Winkler has already started. Ten more residencies are recommended to start next year, with increases of seven positions each year for four years also planned.

"Thats an effective way to encourage more doctors to practice in rural Manitoba because they have already started to develop connections with the community," Selby said.

There were other components to the 10 key recommendations listed in the report, such as ensuring rural students have access to medical school spots and that the University of Manitoba plan for an increase in the number of students wanting to work in rural, remote and underserved areas. Once the residencies are in place, rural clinical teaching units will be set up in Brandon and other communities for third- and fouth-year medical student.

While the 110 spots at the University of Manitoba medical school are considered adequate for the provinces population, plans to increase capacity to 130 students may be required, and its at that point a satellite campus could be considered for Brandon, Thompson, Steinbach, Boundary Trails and/or Dauphin.

"When we came into office, there were 70 seats in the medical school and now there are 110," Selby said. "A population of our size is probably best served with 110 to a maximum of 130, but should we be looking down the road at increasing seats, thats what the study recommends. We have a number of things already in place to help increase the number of doctors practicing in rural Manitoba. We have seen an increase of 100 doctors practicing in rural communities, including 30 more since 1999. The study reinforces some of the things we are already doing."

See more here:

No medical school for Brandon: Study

Liberty Silver Corp. Open Letter to Sennen Shareholders

Posted on by

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -07/26/12)- Liberty Silver Corp. (LSL.TO)(LBSV) issued an open letter to the Sennen Resources Ltd. shareholders regarding the Company's offer to acquire Sennen. The letter follows.

Dear Sennen Shareholder -

We at Liberty are focused on concluding a friendly deal with Sennen that is in the best interest of both Sennen and Liberty shareholders. I'd like to tell you why.

The rationale for a combination of our two companies could not be more compelling at this time. As you are no doubt aware, the capital markets have been very challenging. This is especially true for junior mining companies. Some believe that these difficulties are a part of the normal business cycle and that the junior mining public markets will return to their former health in due course. We are less sure.

Since the mid 1990's, the number of publicly-traded junior mining companies has expanded from the hundreds to the thousands. As a result of this huge increase:

In Liberty's view, the junior mining sector is going through a fundamental transformation.

Consolidation will result in fewer junior miners, each with a multitude of projects guided by the highest quality talent in every aspect of their business, including: governance, risk assessment, capital markets, regulatory requirements, communications, finance, geology, drilling, engineering, quality control, consultants, permitting, environmental, and assaying.

Junior mining companies that rely on traditional financings from the high risk/reward venture markets as a way to drive from exploration to production will be severely challenged. Many will not survive.

The bottom line is that only a small number of high-quality miners with a disciplined approach to risk will benefit from the consolidation. Liberty falls into this category.

I invite you to look closely at our team's resumes on our website. Their experience and capabilities cover a broad spectrum that will allow us the means and credibility to fulfill our mandate.

More:

Liberty Silver Corp. Open Letter to Sennen Shareholders

Bay State Islands Offer Competitive Charm

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.

Theres a healthy rivalry between fans of either Marthas Vineyard or Nantucket. I, for one, am a Vineyard girl at heart. But why choose sides when you can visit both gorgeous Massachusetts islands during the same trip?

Hotelier Mark Snider has it both ways as the owner of the family-friendly Winnetu - steps away from the Vineyards South Beach with its lobster bakes, penny candy and vintage fire truck rides - and The Nantucket hotel and resort, an old hotel made new again.

"I think they share so much in common in terms of natural beauty, location off the mainland, everything is a step slower," Snider says.

Originally built as the Point Breeze in 1891, The Nantucket, located downtown, is the last of the grand dame hotels on the historic whaling island.

"This is a wonderful building filled with whimsy and individuality and we wanted to bring this back as much as possible and make this a year round hotel that is really something special," Snider notes.

With the largest ballroom on the island, The Nantucket features indoor/outdoor dining, and an outdoor pool. A lap pool and spa are still in the works.

Visitors choosing the Two Island Vacation Adventure can decide which island to visit first while island transfers will be tacked on to the room rate so you can leave your car on the mainland.

The tandem package is available through September 8, when the inter-island ferry stops service. After that you can fly between islands, or choose to stay at just one property.

Each resort has hotel rooms, suites and cottages and depending on when you stay, may have nightly minimums.

Read more:

Bay State Islands Offer Competitive Charm

Summer Recess Looming, Questions and Debate Remain over Tax Cuts and Health Care – Video

Posted on by

25-07-2012 21:03 Contentious debates continue between Democrats and Republicans on competing tax cut proposals and the estimated costs of the new health care reform law. Gwen Ifill discusses the shifting sands of Congress with Todd Zwillich, reporter for PRI's "The Takeaway," and Julie Rovner, health care correspondent for NPR.

Link:

Summer Recess Looming, Questions and Debate Remain over Tax Cuts and Health Care - Video

Gov't stepping up fight against health care fraud

Posted on by

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Stepping up their game against health care fraud, the Obama administration and major insurers announced Thursday they will share raw data and investigative know-how on a scale not previously seen to try to shut off billions of dollars in questionable payments.

At a White House event with insurance executives, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the new public-private partnership will allow government programs and the insurance industry to take the high ground against scam artists constantly poking the system for weaknesses.

"Lots of the fraudsters have used our fragmented health care system to their advantage," Sebelius told reporters. "By sharing information across payers, we can bring this potentially fraudulent activity to light so it can be stopped." State investigators are also part of the effort.

Fraud is an endemic problem plaguing giant government programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and a headache also for private insurers. But many of the details of the new partnership have yet to be worked out. It doesn't even have a budget, officials said. However, the goal is to start producing results in six months to a year. Extensive sharing of claims data will take longer because difficult legal and technical issues have to be worked out.

The agreement is unusual because it brings together longtime foes to tackle a common problem. Insurers are grudgingly carrying out the many requirements of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law, even as they continue lobbying to roll back some of its provisions, such as new taxes on the industry and cuts to private plans offered through Medicare. Obama continues to rail against industry "abuses."

Industry leaders stressed that combating fraud is in everyone's interests.

"What's in it for us is that if you have more data, you are going to be able to recognize aberrant patterns more reliably," said Dr. Richard Migliori, an executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group, the nation's largest insurer. "These perpetrators are moving around from one place to another. You are going to have more eyes on them and they are going to feel surrounded.

Attorney General Eric Holder, who took part in the announcement, said insurers and government will "come together as never before to share information while protecting patient confidentiality."

Fraud is estimated to cost Medicare about $60 billion a year, and the Obama administration has beefed up the government's efforts to stop it, bringing in record settlements with drug companies for marketing violations as well as using new powers in the health care law to pursue low-level fraudsters with greater zeal.

Yet, although Medicare is becoming a harder target, it's too early to say if the tide has turned.

Continued here:

Gov't stepping up fight against health care fraud

Health Care REIT, Inc. Announces the Resignation of John T. Thomas as Executive Vice President–Medical Facilities

Posted on by

TOLEDO, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Health Care REIT, Inc. (HCN) announced today the resignation of JohnT. Thomas, Executive Vice PresidentMedical Facilities, effective July25, 2012. Mr.Thomas resigned to pursue new opportunities.

We thank John for his contribution to the growth of our medical facilities portfolio and wish him well in his future endeavors, commented George L. Chapman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Health Care REIT.

Mr. Chapman added, We look forward to the continued growth of our medical facilities platform under the guidance of our experienced and knowledgeable leadership group. Our medical facilities team, including Jeff Miller, Executive Vice PresidentOperations, Scott Brinker, Executive Vice PresidentInvestments and Mike Noto, Senior Vice PresidentManagement Services Group, efficiently manages a portfolio and an acquisition pipeline that are among the strongest and highest quality in the industry. At the same time, our long-standing partner, Frauenshuh Healthcare Real Estate Solutions allows us to develop and fund state-of-the-art medical facilities for leading systems throughout the nation. We have truly built a best in class organization in the medical facilities sector that complements our preeminent seniors housing team.

About Health Care REIT

Health Care REIT, Inc., an S&P 500 company with headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, is a real estate investment trust that invests across the full spectrum of seniors housing and health care real estate. The company also provides an extensive array of property management and development services. As of March31, 2012, the companys broadly diversified portfolio consisted of 956 properties in 46 states. More information is available on the companys website at http://www.hcreit.com.

See the rest here:

Health Care REIT, Inc. Announces the Resignation of John T. Thomas as Executive Vice President–Medical Facilities