HLV BAA Released

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NASA MSFC Internal Email: Procurement Sensitivity for Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) NNM10ZDA001K

"The BAA NNM10ZDA001K will be released to industry in the near future for the Heavy Lift and Propulsion Technology Systems Analysis and Trade Study acquisition at NASA/MSFC. Effective immediately, all MSFC employees will cease communications with industry concerning this procurement. This 'blackout' period of communication with industry will continue until proposals have been received and evaluated, the contract is awarded, and the BAA Evaluation Team is released from its responsibilities."

NASA Issues Broad Agency Announcement For Heavy Lift Studies

"NASA has issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) seeking proposals and industry input on heavy-lift system concepts and propulsion technology."

Oops. Looks Like Elon Musk Isn’t Broke After All ;-)

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Tesla Motors shares surge in 1st day of trading, Business Week

"Shares of Tesla Motors Inc. surged in their first day of trading on Tuesday, gaining more than 20 percent after the company raised more than expected in its initial public offering of stock. Investors snapped up shares of the electric car maker even as the broader markets took a beating. Tesla shares were up $4.10, or 24 percent, to $21.10 in afternoon trading after hitting a high of $21.50 earlier in the session. Tesla's performance was a feat in a sour market that has forced many companies looking to raise funds through IPOs to accept lower prices to get deals done. The IPO came on a day when U.S. stocks fell more than 2 percent -- following Asian and European markets lower -- on worries that the economy is slowing. The offering appealed to investors, raising $226.1 million after selling 13.3 million shares for $17 apiece. It had earlier expected to price 11.1 million shares at $14 to $16 per share.

Congress on CxP: Lots of Talk But No Real Action

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House spending panel punts on NASA policy, Orlando Sentinel

"A key congressional committee today sidestepped a potential vote on NASA's future, opting to take "no position" on White House plans to scrap NASA's moon rocket program and replace the space shuttle with commercial rockets. The House subcommittee with oversight of NASA's budget did, however, agree unanimously to withhold funding for the agency's human exploration program until Congress authorizes a plan for the agency -- a move that normally could cause headaches for the administration. But because Congress is unlikely to move this spending bill -- or any 2011 spending bill -- until after election season, the prohibition essentially is rendered moot. With that procedure aside, much of the rest of the two-hour hearing turned into a debate about NASA should do after the shuttle era."

Aderholt's bill tells NASA to stop Constellation cuts, Huntsville Times

"Aderholt's bill, titled the Protecting Human Spaceflight Act of 2010, would require NASA to stop downsizing or canceling Constellation projects. It was introduced in the House shortly after 5 p.m. CDT Monday. The legislation would also require the space agency to spend 90 percent of the remaining funds appropriated for Constellation this year."

iPhone 4 review: Apple’s latest is much more than an upgrade – Chicago Sun-Times

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Washington Post
iPhone 4 review: Apple's latest is much more than an upgrade
Chicago Sun-Times
The iPhone 4 is 4.4 times faster than its predecessor when uploading. That's a high enough increase that I insisted that the iPhone 4 submit to an immediate ...
Apple's iPhone 4 is 'the one to beat'IDG
iPhone 4 ReviewSlashGear (blog)
iPhone 4 review: hands on with FaceTime, display, camera and moreBeatweek Magazine

all 201 news articles »

Exercise Helps Reduce Falls in Young and Old

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(HealthDay News) -- Regular exercise reduces the risk of falls in both young and old, a new study shows.

Falls are a major hazard in the United States, with about 19,000 people dying from them each year and an estimated 8 million seeking treatment in emergency rooms annually.

The protective effect of exercise was documented by University of Pittsburgh researchers, who analyzed data from people taking part in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study from 1970 to 1989 and in a follow-up survey conducted in 1990. The survey asked whether they had fallen within the previous year and, if so, what they were doing when they fell.

Participants also took a treadmill test and answered questions about how many minutes of aerobic exercise they got each week.

Twenty percent of the 10,615 participants, aged 20 to 87, reported falling in the previous year. Of those, 15 percent fell while walking.

In general, people need about two hours of exercise a week to reduce the risk of falls, the researchers found.

Women were 2.8 times more likely than men to fall while walking, but the women's fitness levels appeared to make little difference. Fitness levels in men were important, however: Men with low fitness levels were 2.2 times more likely to fall than men with high fitness levels. Read more...
Anti aging supplement

Aurora Interactive and PLUS Diagnostics Enters Into a Deal to Power Pathology Labs With Digital Communications Technology

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MONTREAL, QUEBEC, Jun 29, 2010 (Marketwire via COMTEX) --

Aurora Interactive, a world leader in digital pathology communications announced today the company has signed a sales agreement for its mScope Clinical communication platform and viewer with U.S.-based PLUS Diagnostics Inc. The platform has many applications; including the Aurora Interactive mScope Clinical platform and viewer to support PLUS Diagnostics laboratories and their professional staff to continually exceed their clients' quality expectations.

"Our company is dedicated to providing our clients with outstanding service supported by state-of-the-art technology. Our goal is to ensure they have the latest advancements in technology that will help them achieve better outcomes on behalf of their patients. The addition of the mScope to our laboratory infrastructure supports us in achieving this goal," said David Pauluzzi, President and Chief Operating Officer of PLUS Diagnostics.

Pierre Le Fevre, President and CEO or Aurora Interactive stated: "We are proud to have been chosen by PLUS Diagnostics, a laboratory industry technology leader to boost their online connectivity solutions utilizing leading-edge technologies that deliver anywhere, anytime, access to information that healthcare professionals require to make decisions about patient care." Since 2008, Aurora Interactive has broadened its market penetration to Austria, France, Portugal and Spain for its mScope Education platform; and Canada, Holland and the United States for its Clinical platform.

About Aurora Interactive Ltd.

Aurora Interactive has developed the leading web based software platform (mScope) for simplification, productivity and ease of communications. mScope's Universal Web Viewer has collaborative tools to view medical slides and images anytime, anywhere, regardless of file format. The software has three applications to aid digital pathology web based communications needs: mScope Education, mScope Clinical, and mScope Universal Viewer. Aurora's mission is to improve patient outcomes and help members of the medical community achieve their full potential by eliminating the learning, diagnostic and collaborative restrictions imposed by time and space. http://www.aurorainteractive.com

About PLUS Diagnostics

PLUS Diagnostics is a leading national anatomic pathology company that provides a full range of multi-specialty services, including extensive diagnostic procedures and specialist consultations. Accredited by the College of American Pathologists, PLUS Diagnostics has long been recognized for exceptional service and quality. The company currently focuses on a broad base of specialty pathology services, including urology, gastroenterology and hematology/oncology. For more information, visit, http://www.plusdx.com.

SOURCE: Aurora Interactive Ltd.

NASA’s TRMM Satellite Predicts Heavy Rainfall in Hurricane Alex

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Hurricane Alex is generating some very heavy rainfall, and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite known as TRMM has been scheming it from its orbit in space.

As predicted by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida, Alex intensified immediately it entered the warm waters of the southwest Gulf of Mexico.

At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., scientists produced an analysis of Alex's rainfall using data captured by the TRMM satellite on June 29, 2010 at 1350 UTC (9:50 a.m. EDT). At that time the continuous winds around Alex were estimated to be 60 knots (~69 mph). Alex continued to reinforce and was classified as a hurricane early on 30 June 2010. This made Alex the first hurricane in the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season.

The rainfall analysis used TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) data and TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) data. The TMI data showed that a intense band of precipitation (some areas showed rain falling at more than 2 inches per hour) was spiraling into the center of Alex's increasing circulation. The precipitation analysis was overlaid on visible and infrared data from TRMM's Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). In this image a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES East) visible image was used to fill in locations not viewed by the TRMM satellite.

Lyot Crater on Mars

The TRMM satellite's data on June 29, 2010 at 9:50 a.m. EDT showed some heavy rain (red) falling at up to 2 inches per hour, spiraling toward Hurricane Alex's center. The yellow and green areas indicate moderate rainfall between .78 to 1.57 inches per hour. Credit: NASA, Hal Pierce

Alex is expected to continue to be a big rainmaker when it makes landfall. Rainfall accumulations are anticipated between 6 and 12 inches, with isolated amounts of 20 inches.


Tropical Storm-force winds are expected to reach coastal areas in the counsel areas this afternoon, while hurricane-force winds will reach the coast tonight. In addition, the National Hurricane Center noted "a hazardous storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 3 to 5 feet above ground level along the immediate coast to the north of where the center makes landfall."

By 11 a.m. EDT, Alex was still a category one hurricane with maximum persistent winds near 80 mph. Alex was located about 145 miles (235 km) east of La Pesca, Mexico and 190 miles (310 km) southeast of Brownsville, Texas. That makes Alex's center near 23.8 North and 95.5 West. Alex is moving northwest at 7 mph (11 km/hr), and has a least central pressure near 961 millibars.

Satellite data show that Alex is a large hurricane and the hurricane force winds expand outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 200 miles (325 km) mainly to the northeast of the center.

The National Hurricane Center noted today that "Given such a low minimum pressure...the existing satellite presentation and a complimentary environment for intensification...the winds should amplify today and Alex could reach category two before landfall."

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2010/h2010_alex.html

It sounds so “nutritionous”

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Dietitians are a critical part of modern medicine. In the hospital, dieticians not only educate patients on dietary treatment of diseases such as diabetes and heart disease; they also evaluate the nutritional status of critically ill patients and develop nutrition plans that may involve tube feeding or intravenous feeding. This is complicated, and takes into account a patient’s nutritional needs, medical conditions, etc. They are highly trained professionals.

If you want to see a dietitian lose it, call them a “nutritionist”. “Dietitian” is a specific profession governed by specific educational and licensing requirements. A dietitian can call themselves a nutritionist, but so can just about anyone else. As with other health care professions, dietitians have good reason to protect their profession. Protecting their profession protects their patients. Dietary fads are among the most prolific of medical scams and good information can be hard to find. Registered dietitians explicitly strive to utilize evidence to guide their practice. And critically, they have a published Code of Ethics.*

As is not uncommon, there are those who, in the name of “health freedom” (and profit), object to the dietitian “monopoly” on nutritional therapy.   One way they have done this is to claim the title “nutritionist” and set up a certification system. Once this structure is in place, it’s easier to get states to approve them as licensed professionals.  In this second area—state licensing—they are enlisting allies that comprise many of  ”the usual suspects”.

Clinical Nutritionists

One group that is attempting to create an alternative path to nutritional therapy is the Clinical Nutrition Certification Board. Upon first learning of “clinical nutritionists” my first question was why would anyone want a second, parallel route to dietary science?  What’s wrong with the system we already have in place?

First let’s review the basic qualifications for registered dietitians (RDs):

  • Earned a bachelor’s degree with course work approved by ADA’s Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education. Coursework typically includes food and nutrition sciences, foodservice systems management, business, economics, computer science, sociology, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology and chemistry.
  • Completed an accredited, supervised practice program at a health-care facility, community agency or foodservice corporation.
  • Passed a national examination administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration.
  • Completes continuing professional educational requirements to maintain registration.

The requirements for the clinical nutrition board look superficially similar.  But looking a little deeper reveals some disturbing trends.  For example, rather than the real-world training program required for an RD, they require online coursework.   And they explicitly court naturopaths, a group of doctor-wannabes who claim to be “integrative” but who actually practice magic rather than medicine, including in their practices such nonsense as homeopathy and reiki.  And as we’ve seen time and time again, once you open the door on one disproved or implausible practice, anything can (and will) walk through.

It would appear that the CNCB is not only encouraging fake doctors to apply, but also explicitly requiring “training” in fake medicine.   In the description of their examinations, they require:

Knowledge of alternative evaluation techniques (i.e., homeopathic interrogation, acupuncture meridian interrogation, kinesiology, chelation therapy, Herbology, reflexology, allergic food provocation testing electromagnetic frequency challenge) as related to nutritional assessment

Any certification process that requires a knowledge of  ”electromagnetic frequency challenge” without mentioning it as a wallet-emptying magic trick is not worthy of official recognition.

But official recognition is exactly what they want.

State Licensing

The state of Michigan is currently working on regulations for the licensing of dietitians and nutritionists.  A Michigan naturopath is rather concerned about this process and is helping campaign on behalf of the “Michigan Nutrition Association”.

Our mission is to serve the interests of the public and Michigan professionals who incorporate human nutrition in their practice and patient care. We envision a vibrant community of CNS, CCN, CNC, CN, DACBN, Pharmacists, Medical Doctors, Nurses, Chiropractors, Naturopathic Doctors and many other professionals working in the interest of public health.

What this essentially means is that they are lobbying to allow pseudo-professionals such as chiropractors and naturopaths to be “licensed dietitians and nutritionists”.  In addition to giving them a patina of legitimacy (but no more than a patina), it might allow them to order laboratory tests (and there is no shortage of profit to be found in these).

This tactic of seeking legal rather than professional legitimacy is a growing and disturbing trend.  Hopefully, the legal process will be informed more by evidence than by the lobbying of pseudo-professionals, but I’m not terribly optimistic.

_________________

*This code is much more sophisticated and transparent than that offered by the CNCB, and includes this statement:

6. The dietetics practitioner does
not engage in false or misleading
practices or communications.
a. The dietetics practitioner does
not engage in false or deceptive
advertising of his or her
services.
b. The dietetics practitioner promotes
or endorses specific goods
or products only in a manner
that is not false and misleading.
c. The dietetics practitioner provides
accurate and truthful information
in communicating
with the public.
6. The dietetics practitioner does
not engage in false or misleading
practices or communications.
a. The dietetics practitioner does
not engage in false or deceptive
advertising of his or her
services.
b. The dietetics practitioner promotes
or endorses specific goods
or products only in a manner
that is not false and misleading.
c. The dietetics practitioner provides
accurate and truthful information
in communicating
with the public.


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Wanna Buy an Island?

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Chris Krolow, CEO of Private Islands Inc., recently sat down with the Toronto Sun to discuss all things private islands.

According to the Sun island fever has been growing in the country due to a record breaking jack pot in the countries lottery. Krolow discussed the plethora of celebrities who own or have owned private islands including John Lennon, Johny Depp and Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. Krolow was careful to note that Chris Krolow, CEO of Private Islands Inc. and publisher of Private Islands Magazine, says celebrities make up a small percentage of island owners, with many buyers being business people looking for cottages.

There are islands to be had off Nova Scotia for under $100,000. And he can probably round something up in Georgian Bay for around $300,000.

To read the full article visit the Toronto Sun

Cool Cars: 1959 Troy-Chevrolet

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The specials and sport customs of the 1950s are always fascinating, if not for the racing history and the various personalities that built the cars, then for the can-do attitude embodied in the cars. Sure, Chevrolet had the Corvette, and plenty of British and other European roadsters were avai