Goldman Sachs Chief Technician Predicts Bitcoin Will Rise to $3600 – Futurism

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In Brief While Bitcoin has been suffering some hard knocks of late, Goldman Sach's senior Sheba Jafari has reassured clients by referring to a 1938 economic theory that sees turbulence as a necessary aspect of growth.

It is a turbulent time for Bitcoin the cryptocurrency has risen to highs of $2,850 and sunk to lows of $1,836 just in July alone. But now, an influential voice has entered into the equation Goldman Sachs, whose chief technician Sheba Jafari has claimed, in a report to clients on Monday, that soon Bitcoin will rise to $3,600.

Jafari wrotethat anything above 3,000 (June 13th high) will suggest potential to have already started wave V, which again has a minimum target at 2,988 and scope to reach 3,691.

Wave V refers to the Elliott Wave theory, described in his 1938 book The Wave Principle, which is a means of technically analyzing financial cycles using stages of growth and fluctuation. Wave V indicates the final period of growth in which news is almost universally positive and everyone is bullish.

Despite Bitcoins variable month, which also involved asevere hackand a potentialcrypto civil war being avoided, 2017 has been an astonishingly successful year for the cryptocurrency and cryptocurrencies as a whole, for that matter.

Bitcoin has risen from $997 to todays rate of $2,512, which is an increase of 151 percent. Correspondingly, it is being used ever more for real world applications. It is now accepted as a legal form of tenderin 260,000 stores in Japan, and many countries,such as South Africa, are now considering how to regulate it which is a testament to the cryptocurrencys growth and potential legitimacy.

Disclosure: Several members of the Futurism team, including the editors of this piece, are personal investors in a number of cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.

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Goldman Sachs Chief Technician Predicts Bitcoin Will Rise to $3600 - Futurism

Professional futurists converge on Seattle to pick up hints about what lies ahead – GeekWire

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Glen Hiemstra, the Seattle-based founder of Futurist.com, basks in the red glow of a corridor at the Seattle Public Library during the Association of Professional Futurists gathering. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle)

Professional futurists are gathering in Seattle, for the second time in 15 years. But dont expect to recognize them by their business cards.

Many modern-day futurists tend to call themselves something else for example, foresight specialist, which is Jonelle Simunichs title at Arup, an engineering and consulting firm based in San Francisco.

I tell people Im a futurist, and they say, So, what, youre like a psychic?' Simunich told GeekWire today during the 15th-anniversary gathering of the Association of Professional Futurists.

The annual gathering isstructured as a series of seminars for about 40 futurists, rather than your typical trade convention. The group that became APF had its first gathering in Seattle in 2002. It didnt even have a name yet, Cindy Frewen, who chairs the associations board.

This year marks the first time we have ever been in the same place twice, Frewen told attendees at the Seattle Central Library.

One of the Seattle-based organizers of the event, Glen Hiemstra, isnt shy about the futurist job description. In fact, he owns the internet domain name for Futurist.com. Hiemstra acknowledges that APFs members use a wide variety of job titles, but he insists that being a futurist has a special cachet.

The simple way to describe it is, No. 1, help people anticipate the future, and second, help them design and envision the future. Hiemstra told GeekWire. People call futurists when they want to look further ahead than they usually do.

But when it comes to looking further ahead, even futurists need a little help sometimes. Thats the aim of this weeks gathering:

Tom Frey, founder of the Colorado-based DaVinci Institute, said being a futurist isnt just an exercise in navel-gazing. We spend a lot of time being thinkers and doers, and not just talking about it, he said.

For example, Frey has been working a concept for micro-colleges to train workers for high-tech jobs ranging from coding to drone maintenance in a matter of months. The first such micro-college, DaVinci Coders, has been in operation for five years.

So whats the future of futurism? One clear trend is the synergy of entangled trends for example, how pandemics could be made worse by climate change. That is one of the things that is actually going to make this harder, said Sarah Chesemore, the Gates Foundations senior portfolio officer for vaccine delivery.

Another example has to do with the rise of autonomous vehicles and its potential effect on the health care system. Frey said his calculations suggest that self-driving cars could reduce health care expenses by more than 15 percent. Thats half a trillion dollars that now gets spent repairing people after car accidents, he said.

The rise of big data is another biggie. Traditionally, futurists have not used a lot of algorithm-based forecasting, Hiemstra said. But todays bigger data sets have so much predictive power, for issues ranging from crime patterns to disease outbreaks, that theyll have to become part of the futurists toolkit.

And what about the future of Seattle? At GeekWires urging, Hiemstra took a swing at predicting the future of whats currently a tech boomtown.

Its hard to imagine this boom continuing beyond 10 years, but its very clear were going to be a denser and still an economically vibrant place, he said. Thats going to mean that we have to be not just environmentally sustainable, but environmentally productive as a city. What that means is, moving from sustainable buildings to buildings that produce more energy than they use.

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Professional futurists converge on Seattle to pick up hints about what lies ahead - GeekWire

NASA Developed an X-Plane that Can Go Supersonic Without a Boom – Futurism

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In Brief NASA has bought supersonic aircrafts a step further by completing the preliminary design review for a Quiet Supersonic Transport. It is one of many projects that could herald a second golden age of flight. A Thump in the Flight

NASAs Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) an experimentalX-plane the organizationhas been developing with Lockheed Martin to decrease the strength of sonic booms has passed an initial design review. It flew successfully in an 2.5-meter by 2-meter (eight-foot by six-foot) supersonic wind tunnel at NASAs Glenn Research Center.

Theplane is the first stage in NASAs wider plan to make the Low Boom Flight Demonstration (LBFD) airplane, and it completed its objective comfortably. A NASA statement said the QueSST design is capable of fulfilling the LBFD aircrafts mission objectives, which are to fly at supersonic speeds 1.4 times the speed of sound but create a soft thump instead of the disruptive sonic boom associated with supersonic flight today.

The next stages in the plan are to hire a contractor to build the piloted, single-engine plane, with initial flight testing ideally occurring in 2021. The next test will focus on ascertaining the consequences the atmosphere has on supersonic speed and quantifying the effect the plane will have on people on the ground through a combination of measurement and survey findings.

NASAs experimental plane is one of many test aircraft that are looking to push the boundaries of aviation in different directions.

In terms of pure speed, Lockhead Martin hasconfirmed that the SR-72 reportedly capable of mach 6 speeds will be made for surveillance purposes, while British-based Skylonis planning to use a 5.4 mach plane to deliver payloads into space.

Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen is also looking to apply planes to cosmic ends, but has developed the biggest plane ever rather than one of the fastest. After testing is complete, the Stratolaunch will be used to ferry spacecraft into orbit where they will require less energy to reach space when compared to a ground take off.

Eviation Aircraftwill target the green aviation industry by producing an all-electric prototype which could be the first stage in decreasing the carbon footprint of the aircraft industry. The plane is produces zero-emissions and is capable of flying 965 km/h (600 mph).

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NASA Developed an X-Plane that Can Go Supersonic Without a Boom - Futurism

Neuroreality: The New Reality is Coming. And It’s a Brain Computer Interface. – Futurism

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The Virtual World

With the release of theOculus Riftin March 2016, the age of virtual reality (VR) truly began. VR techhad been generating buzz since the 1990s, but the Rift was the firsthigh-end VR system toreach the consumermarket, andearly reviews confirmed that it delivered the kind of experience users had been hoping for.

Virtual reality was finally real.

Research into VR exploded in this new era, and experts soon started to find innovative ways to make virtual experiences more immersivemore real. To date, VR technologies have moved beyond just sight and sound. Weve developed technologies that let userstouch virtual objects, feel changes in wind and temperature, and even taste foodin VR.

However, despite all this progress, no one would mistake a virtual environment for the real world. The technology simply isnt advanced enough, and as long as we rely solely on traditional headsets and other wearables, it never will be.

Before we cancreate a world that is truly indistinguishable fromthe real one, we will need to leave the age of virtual reality behind and enter a new era the era of neuroreality.

Neuroreality refers to a reality that is drivenby technologies that interface directly with the human brain. While traditional VR depends on a user physically reacting to external stimuli (for example, swinging a controller to wield a virtual sword on a screen)a neuroreality systeminterfaces directly with the users biology through abrain-computer interface (BCI).

Notably, this technology isnt some far-flung sci-fi vision. Its very real.

To rehash the basics: BCIs are a means of connecting our brains to machines, and they can be either invasive (requiring an implant of some sort) or non-invasive (relying on electrodes or other external tech to detect and direct brain signals). Experts have predicted that advances in BCIs will lead to a new era in human evolution, as these devices have the potential to revolutionizehow wetreat diseases,learn,communicatein short, they are set to utterly transform how we see and interact with the world around us.

In fact, some companies arealreadyinnovating in the newly emerging field of neuroreality.

Founded by physicistDan Cook in 2013, EyeMyndsgoal is to create a VR system that allows the user to navigate a virtual world simply by thoughtno immersion-breaking controller required.

When youre in the virtual worldwhether youre playing a game or something elseyou dont want to have to keep thinking about what youre doing with your hands, Cook told Digital Trendsin November. Its much better to have pure brainwave control. It will be a much more satisfying experience and will allow for a much greater level of immersion. You can forget about your live human body, and just focus on whats going on in front of you.

Cook likens the experience to dreaming. In a dream, you can run around without moving your physical legs. That dreaming and imagining creates brain signals that we can read,he toldThe Guardian. With what we want to do, you wont need eyeballs to see, or ears to hear, or hands and feet. We can bypass all of that.

EyeMynds system is non-invasive, meaning it wouldnt require the user to undergo any sort of device implantation. Instead, they would wear a headset that includes EEG sensors to track their brainwaves.

Cooks isnt the only company exploring the use of brainwave-detecting external tech to make the VR experience feel more seamless.Boston-based startup Neurable, bioinformatics company EMOTIV, and social networking giant Facebook are all working on non-invasive devices that would allow users to navigate the virtual world through thought alone.

However, as Joy Lyons, chief technology officer of audio tech startupOSSIC, told Vice at the 2016 VRLA Summer Expo, the ideal hardwarefor creating a new reality isnt an external headset, no matter how advanced. Its a chip in the brain.

Earlier this year, serial entrepreneur Elon Musk founded Neuralink, a company with the goal of developing cutting-edge technologythat connects a persons brain to the digital world through an array of implanted electrodes. Shortly before Musks announcement, Braintree founder Bryan Johnson announced a similar venturethat he is investing $100 million to unlock the power of the human brain and make our neural code programmable. Johnsons company,Kernel, is working to create the worlds first neuroprosthesis

Musk himself has predicted that well eventually be able to create computer simulations that are indistinguishable from reality, and if these brain interfaces come to fruition, they could act as the platform through which we experience those simulations, allowing us to not only see a realisticworld but touch it and trulyfeel it.

In a detailed report announcing the launch of Neuralink, Tim Urban described the potential impact of this proposed tech on our understanding of reality. Instead of relying on external hardware like goggles, gloves, and headphones to trickour senses into believing that what we encounter in the virtual world is real, we could program realities that trigger the same parts of our brains that would be engaged if the experiences actually were real.

There would be no more need for screens of course because you could just make a virtual screen appear in your visual cortex. Or jump into a VR movie with all your senses, asserted Urban. Youll be able to actuallyexperiencealmost anything for free.

The same part of your brain that is stimulated when you taste pizzacould be triggered to engage when you bite into a slice in this new reality, and the same part that lets you smell the ocean air in reality could be simulated and provide that feeling while standing on the shore of a virtual Atlantic ocean.

The difference between the real world and the virtual one would be undetectable. For all intents and purposes, a difference would not exist.

Figuring out the tech to actually make this happen wont be easy, and overcoming the non-tech related obstacles will present an additional challenge (such as developing a comprehensive map of the human brain and all our neurons). Elective brain surgery is an extremely controversial subject, and past experiments havent yielded such promising results. Neuralink and like-minded companies will need toengage in years of research before their devices will be ready for human implantation, and even then, theyll have regulatory hurdles to overcome.

Still, BCI research is progressing rapidly, so while asystem of electrodes that can effectively project an entirely new world directly into our brains might seem like a sci-fi pipe dream, it really shouldnt. After all, just two decades ago, the virtual reality experience delivered today by the Rift felt woefully out of reach, and now, anyone with $600 can bring it home with them (and the price is dropping at a remarkable rate).

AsCooktoldThe Guardian, we arent as far as we may think from the day when navigating virtual worlds using just our thoughts is the norm:Ten years from now, this will seem obvious.

Disclosure: Bryan Johnson is an investor in Futurism; he does not hold a seat on our editorial board or have any editorial review privileges.

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Researchers Just Achieved One of the Major Requirements for … – Futurism

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In BriefNew research reveals that ultracold molecules could be thevehicles through which the qubits needed for quantum computers arecreated. A team from the MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms(CUA) was able to store information hundreds of times longer thanever before using these molecules, and an array of 1,000 of themcould carry out calculations far beyond the capabilities ofexisting computers. Ultracold Molecules Qubits, the building blocks of quantum computers, are, for the most part, still a work in progress. Researchers have many different theories as to how they can be created, and theyve attempted to do so using various kinds of molecules, individual neutral atoms, ions held in ion traps, and superconducting materials all with varying degrees of success.

Now, a team from the MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms (CUA)has just brought the world one step closer to quantum computing by creating qubits that are able to retain the information they store hundreds of times longer than anyone has previously achieved.

The CUA teams research utilizes very simple two-atom molecules made of potassium and sodium, which were cooled to temperatures just a few ten-millionths of a degree above absolute zero. The team was able to perfectly control the molecules, achieving the lowest possible state of rotation, vibration, and nuclear spin alignment. This control, combined with the chemical stability of the molecules, helped make a second-long period of coherence possible.

We have strong hopes that we can do one so-called gate thats an operation between two of these qubits, like addition, subtraction, or that sort of equivalent in a fraction of a millisecond, MIT professor of physics Martin Zwierlein said in anMIT News brief. If you look at the ratio, you could hope to do 10,000 to 100,000 gate operations in the time that we have the coherence in the sample. That has been stated as one of the requirements for a quantum computer, to have that sort of ratio of gate operations to coherence times.

The most amazing thing is that [these] molecules are a system which may allow realizing both storage and processing of quantum information, using the very same physical system, added Columbia University assistant professor Sebastian Will.That is actually a pretty rare feature that is not typical at all among the qubit systems that are mostly considered today.

If the team is right, an array of 1,000 of these molecules could carry out calculations so complex, no computer existing today could verify them. In theory, such a computer could factor massive numbers very rapidly, the difficulty of which provides the foundation for theencryption systems that protect todays financial transactions.

The researchers emphasize that their discovery is an early step on the path to quantum systems and that creating actual quantum computers using this technology could take a decade or more of development. However, theyre already looking ahead to the next milestones in the process.

The next great goal will be to talk to individual molecules. Then we are really talking quantum information, Will said in the brief. If we can trap one molecule, we can trap two. And then we can think about implementing a quantum gate operation an elementary calculation between two molecular qubits that sit next to each other.

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Freedom Caucus blasts Senate GOP’s ‘failure’ to pass Obamacare repeal – Politico

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Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, speaks to reporters on March 23 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP

'Unquestionably the leadership at the top is responsible. The buck stops there,' says Rep. Mo Brooks.

By LOUIS NELSON

07/28/2017 10:36 AM EDT

House Freedom Caucus members lashed out Friday morning at the Senates dramatic failure to move forward on an Obamacare repeal bill, complaining that their colleagues on the other side of Capitol Hill let the American public down.

Let's be clear about what's happened over the last 24 hours in the United States Senate. It was an abject failure of the United States Senate to do what America needs doing, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), a member of the conservative House group, told CNNs New Day Friday morning. He urged his Senate colleagues not to leave for August recess without making progress on health care and suggested that perhaps a change in Senate Republican leadership might be in order.

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If they're going to quit, well then by God, maybe they ought to start at the top with Mitch McConnell leaving his position and letting somebody new, somebody bold, somebody conservative take the reins, Brooks said. It's not necessarily anything bad about Mitch McConnell himself personally, but he's got a job to do, and if he can't do it, then as The Apprentice would say, you're fired. Get somebody who can.

McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate majority leader, and the rest of the GOP leadership team had worked furiously this week to shore up support for legislation that could advance the Republican goal of repealing and replacing Obamacare. After previous efforts at compromise failed to garner the necessary votes, Republicans settled early Friday morning on a skinny repeal intended to advance legislation out of the Senate such that negotiations on a final repeal bill could begin in a conference committee with House members.

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But in a dramatic vote Friday morning, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined with the Senates 48 Democrats in voting against the skinny repeal, defeating the measure and leaving Republicans without a clear path forward that does not include cutting a deal with the minority. It was McCains vote just after 1:30 a.m., cast with a dramatic thumbs-down gesture from the well of the Senate, that struck down the skinny repeal and sent an audible gasp through the chamber.

Brooks, in his interview with CNN, noted that House Republicans had successfully negotiated a compromise on health care, but not without great gnashing of teeth and a lot of intense emotion. He called the Senates Friday morning vote a failure from the newest member Luther Strange at the bottom to the very top with Mitch McConnell as majority leader, specifically name checking the Alabama senator whose seat he will attempt to take beginning with next months Republican primary.

Other GOP House members were similarly disappointed but sought to deliver an optimistic message that their partys repeal-and-replace efforts were not dead. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), flanked by three other conservative members, said Friday morning on Fox News Fox & Friends that the Senate vote was certainly disappointing and not what we promised the American people but that President Donald Trump had already begun reengaging on the issue.

Appearing with Meadows on Fox News was his predecessor as Freedom Caucus chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who called for a little bit of a shift in how we approach health care. He said efforts by some Republicans in the House to force a vote on a so-called clean repeal that does not include a replacement would put pressure on the Senate to act.

I'm optimistic we can still get it done. People are losing faith but I can tell you we are still staying in, Meadows told Fox & Friends, adding that he spoke with Trump by phone Friday morning after the vote. I can tell you who is staying in: the president is staying in on this fight. He is going to deliver. He made it clear this morning.

Meadows and Jordan both expressed frustration that they and their House colleagues were likely to be sent home for August recess next month with health care left unfinished. Meadows told Fox News that it blows my mind that were probably not going to be here in August.

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), in his own Fox & Friends interview, said his vision for transformational health care reform would require the cooperation of at least some Democrats.

If you're going to fail, fail doing what you really fundamentally believe, said Gowdy, who is not a member of the Freedom Caucus. It's not going to get done with 24 hour's notice and a bill that has the word skinny in it. It's hard to persuade people.

Brooks suggested that a failure on healthcare could spell doom for much of the rest of the presidents ambitious conservative agenda, a list that includes an overhaul of the tax code, a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and a major infrastructure package. Health care was placed first in line, Brooks recalled, because an Obamacare repeal would make subsequent goals easier to attain. Without an undoing of former President Barack Obamas signature legislation, Brooks asked, how will the rest of Trumps agenda get done?

Unquestionably the leadership at the top is responsible. The buck stops there. That's why you take on that kind of responsibility, he said. And if Mitch Mcconnell cannot get the job done on this, how is he going to get the job done on the rest of President Trump's agenda over the next three-and-a-half years. As I see it right now, this is a killer.

Jake Lahut contributed to this report.

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5 faith facts about Sam Brownback: Political champion of religious freedom – STLtoday.com

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WASHINGTON Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, President Donald Trumps nominee for international religious freedom ambassador, describes religious freedom as the choice of what you do with your own soul.

If confirmed, the 60-year-old, two-term Republican governor, former U.S. senator and onetime presidential candidate would be the first politician confirmed as the ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Previous ambassadors were religious or nonprofit leaders, and Brownback would follow a rabbi and a Protestant minister.

Religious Freedom is the first freedom, he said in a tweet responding to Trumps announcement. I am honored to serve such an important cause.

Here are five faith facts about this Methodist-turned-Catholic politician:

1. He was a key sponsor of the legislation that created the office he may lead.

As senator, he supported the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, which also created the ambassadorial post.

During his two terms as governor, his actions on international religious freedom would be minimal, said Rabbi David Saperstein, the most recent international religious freedom ambassador. But Brownbacks support of the State Department office while he was senator, and his efforts to end the South Sudan civil war, were noteworthy, Saperstein said.

2. He is a Catholic convert but attends evangelical churches with his family.

Brownback has been a bit of a Christian church hopper. He grew up a Methodist but converted to Catholicism in 2002. Today he attends Topeka Bible Church, said Teresa Jenkins, a spokeswoman for the nondenominational evangelical church with an average weekly attendance of 1,400.

Sometimes, he rises early for Mass before joining his family at the church, calling the routine, according to author Jeff Sharlet, a great mixture of the feeding.

Sharlets book,The Family, about a secretive Christian group to which Brownback belonged, said the governor was baptized not in a church but in the Catholic Information Center, a Washington chapel run by Opus Dei, another secretive group.

3. He has supported religious liberty issues and rallies with conservative Christians.

In 2016, he joined a Rally for Religious Freedom alongside Catholic bishops, the lead pastor of Topeka Bible Church and Barronelle Stutzman, a Washington state florist who was sued after she cited her religious beliefs in refusing to create an arrangement for a gay wedding. I have never seen a bigger rally at this statehouse than this one, Brownback told the demonstrators, according to a Catholic diocese website. It is fantastic.

When then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry, now U.S. energy secretary, invited 49 other governors to attend The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis in Houston in 2011, Brownback was the only other governor who showed up in person. (One other sent a video.)

In 2012, he was criticized by church-state separationists for promoting a ReignDownUSA.com prayer event for which he said, Weve been favored like no nation in history and yet too often weve forgotten God.

4. His nomination has been hailed by a range of evangelicals.

The National Association of Evangelicals called Brownback a strong candidate. Faith and Freedom Coalition declared help is on the way after dozens of reports of Christian persecution abroad in the last month alone. Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore noted Brownbacks dealing with AIDS in Africa and advocating on behalf of persecuted religious minorities. Focus on the Family founder James Dobson called him a man of deep personal faith.

5. He signed legislation allowing religious campus groups to restrict membership.

The 2016 bill allows religious organizations to establish religious belief as qualification for membership, he said at that time.

The ACLU, reacting to his nomination, said, In Gov. Brownbacks view, religious freedom has meant issuing a license to discriminate against others, especially against LGBT Kansans.

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Freedom Caucus chairman predicts October CR, clean debt ceiling hike – The Hill

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House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) believes Congress will adopt a continuing resolution (CR) instead of passing spending bills for 2018 by October and that a clean debt ceiling hikewill pass with Democratic support, contrary to the wishes of conservative Republicans.

September is going to be a very difficult month. I mean, obviously all of this is coming into play right away, all the fiscal issues and deadlines are going to make it extremely difficult to get everything done in a piece-by-piece basis, Meadows saidFridaymorning.

Were almost anticipating a bigger bill with a whole bunch of things put together that would maybe bring a whole lot of Democrats on board and pass with less than a majority of the majority.

That omnibus policy package or a similar piece of legislation, he predicted, would include a clean debt ceiling lift with mostly Democratic support.

I think they end up passing it with some reauthorization to get Democrats on board and 40 or 50 Republicans and get it done, he said.

On appropriations, Meadows said that the timeline was simply too short to reach a deal by the end of September, when funding will run out.

I think that there is no way to work quick enough to do a normal appropriations process, so a CR will be the result, because of inactivity in the Senate, Meadows saidFriday.

A CR would keep current spending levels in place while averting a government shutdown. But administration officials have spoken unfavorably of a CR, as it would put off increases to military spending and impose a series of restrictions on government functioning.

Just dont have the next showdown in late December, Meadows pleaded.

What I dont believe it needs to be is one that comes due right before Christmas. Either we do a 30-day or a 45-day or we do something that gets us on the other side of Christmas, because Christmas decisions are not good decisions when theyre fiscal, he said. Lets face it, it makes everybody make bad decisions.

President Trump and members of his White House have in recent months floated the idea of a good shutdown, in which funding would lapse for government operations absent a new spending deal or a CR.

Meadows said it seemed unlikely.

I dont see government shutdown as a real risk, he said.

On Wednesday, Republican Study Committee Executive Director Scott Parkinson also said he expects a CR in the autumn. The RSC is another conservative caucusand includes more thanhalf of House Republicans.

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Acquitted Wife-Killer Asks For Smart Phone, Later Curfew, Freedom To Travel In State – Hartford Courant

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David Messenger, acquitted by reason of insanity in the 1998 beating death of his pregnant wife in their Chaplin home, has progressed so far in his treatment that he should be allowed to travel anywhere in the state except Windham County, have a smart phone, and stay out until midnight on weekends.

That was the testimony Friday of a forensic psychologist and the supervisor of Messenger's release in the community at a hearing before the Psychiatry Security Review Board.

Messenger had asked for the phone, a later curfew, and the ability to travel beyond Hartford County. Initially committed in 2001, Messenger has been living in a supervised apartment and receiving treatment at a regional mental-health center in Hartford since 2015, with no violations, according to testimony.

Assistant States Attorney Andrew Slitt, who works out of the Windham office, peppered psychologist Fred Storey and release-manager Archer Bridgeforth with questions about whether a further expansion of Messenger's freedoms would heighten the risk to the public. Both said it would not.

The Psychiatric Security Review Board, which supervises 150 people who were acquitted of crimes by reason of mental disease or defect, will vote on this new request by Aug. 25.

Ellen Lachance, who supervises the staff that supports the board, said it's common for community mental-health teams to ask for additional privileges for patients who are responding well to treatment in part so they can gauge how the person will do when he or she is no longer under any supervision.

In the early years of his commitment, Messenger was confined in the maximum security Whiting Forensic Division at Connecticut Valley Hospital. He has steadily gained freedom which has been unsettling to the family of Heather Messenger, who was 42 when Messenger beat her to death with a fireplace poker. The couple's son, then 5, witnessed the attack on his mother.

"We don't think a killer deserves any privileges and of course wonder how and why he can already have so many and yet ask for more," Hannah Williamson, Heather Messenger's sister, said Friday in an email from Michigan.

"We still believe he should be in jail. After all, Heather was the victim and she is still dead," Williamson said. "He seems to have more freedom than any other 'acquittee.'"

Messenger's 20-year commitment expires in 2021. A Superior Court judge would decide whether to grant a discharge. The prosecution can file a request for continued commitment.

Messenger's long push toward freedom hasn't been lost on Middletown officials. When they learned in 2006 that Messenger at that point was making trips into Middletown escorted by staff, then-Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said he would have a police officer "stapled to his butt" as soon as he left the hospital grounds. CVH in June 2006 voluntarily decided not to let Messenger go on any unsupervised visits. But that order has long since been lifted.

He still is not allowed to drive a car (he has no driver's license). He cannot leave Connecticut, and he must continue to wear his GPS device so his whereabouts can be monitored. He lives in a supervised residence in Hartford, which has a curfew of 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends. Messenger's curfew had been 10 p.m.. He is now asking for permission to abide by the later curfew of the residence.

Heather Messenger's family has argued that Messenger should not have been released to the community because he has access to significant amounts of money that he could use to track them down.

"Our position has been well stated, and we regret the decision that was made and, in doing so, we fear for the people in Hartford who may inadvertently run into the killer," Daniel Williamson, Heather's brother, said in 2013.

Williamson and his wife, Melody, have raised Heather Messenger's son, Dane, from boyhood at their home in Illinois.

The Courant has reported that Messenger has access to nearly $2 million in property, bank accounts and investments, including an island house in Maine.

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Letter: On freedom and dignity – Arizona Daily Star

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Re: the July 28 column "What do we really have a 'right' to? Think principles, not entitlements."

In this guest column that identifies rights as "freedom of ACTION," we witness a common self-serving conservative philosophy. When rights are limited to liberties, the hard facts of life are ignored. What good is a liberty in a world where economic power determines access? People are free to be malnourished, homeless and sick without medical care. Human dignity is the necessary enrichment of rights as freedoms.

Freedom and dignity are the very foundations for a humane philosophy of human rights. It spares the human community from the raw capitalism of conservative politics, demonstrates awareness of the realities of the human situation and strives to create a truly civilized society.

The writer's invocation of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as a support for his minimalistic view of rights ignores this brave American's indefatigable struggle for poor people's right to decent jobs and meaningful benefits. Sorry, but King believed in the right to education, a job and health care!

Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.

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Letter: On freedom and dignity - Arizona Daily Star

The Health Care Freedom Act Hits The Senate Floor – The Atlantic

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The Senate is hurtling towards some resolution in the weeks-long saga of Obamacare repeal, and after several failed votes and amendments, the final draft is finally in view. At around 10 p.m. Thursday evening, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell unveiled the text of the Health Care Freedom Act, the more dignified official title for the skinny repeal.

The legislation, which was reportedly finalized over lunch today in the Senate, broadly resembles the details that have leaked out about the secret plan over the past week. It would repeal Obamacares individual mandate, and would repeal the employer mandate until 2025, where presumably that mandate would come back or would have to be re-repealed by Congress.

The skinny repeal extends a repeal of the medical-device tax through 2020 and defunds the Prevention and Public Health Fund. It would also more than double the limits of contributions to health-savings to allow people with HSAs more flexibility in paying for deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. This provision is somewhat significant, because it would decrease federal revenues and would need a score from the Congressional Budget Office going forward in the process.

Although provisions in the original Senate Obamacare replacement bill to defund Planned Parenthood and allow states the ability to waive essential health benefits for some insurance plans on the exchanges were rejected under the Senate reconciliation rules by the parliamentarian, this bill devotes much of its language to creative rewrites to get around those rejections.

To start, the Health Care Freedom Act still bans funding from a number of different federal sources to public providers that provide abortionsa direct stab at Planned Parenthoodbut made those provisions more general. Originally, the Better Care Reconciliation Acts attempts to defund Planned Parenthood targeted all entities that received over $350 million in federal and state reimbursements, which would have only ensnared Planned Parenthood, because of its size. But this bill lowers that threshold to $1 million, which would presumably be less hyper-targeted, and only extends the ban for a year.

This bill also adds over $400 million to community health centers. Although that amount is not specified in the bill as an offset to defunding Planned Parenthood, the two were linked in the formal introduction of the bill to the floor by McConnell.

The second parliamentary-skirting action comes on the issue of state waivers. The BCRA attempted to give states wide flexibility to essentially ignore certain Obamacare rules for exchange plans (those sold in state insurance marketplaces set up by the law), including its requirements that plans cover certain services. It did that through expanding Obamacares existing State Innovation Waivers program, which allows states to create insurance programs that modify rules about plan benefits and the exchanges. Under that program, however, Obamacare implements guardrails specifying that these state waiver programs would have to still provide coverage that is as comprehensive and affordable as comparable exchange plans.

The BCRA plan to give states much more flexibility essentially violated those guardrails, but the skinny repeal bill keeps them in place. But theres a bit of a poison pill: Once states get the waiver, it appears their programs cant be revoked under law under the eight-year waiver window, which means states would be rather free to ignore guardrail rules for almost a decade at a time.

Reportedly, these tweakswhich clearly maintain at least some of the spirit of previous attempts to defund Planned Parenthood and allow insurers to offer less comprehensive coverageare enough to satisfy the parliamentarian and pass with a 50-vote majority.

According to a Congressional Budget Office score obtained by Senate Democratic staff, the effects of this bill are about what has been expected: 16 million more uninsured people and just under $200 billion in federal deficit savings. Although premium estimates were not part of the CBOs score tables, it appears this law will have comparable effects to a proto-skinny-repeal scored Wednesday, and will increase premiums by around 20 percent over the next decade.

Thats the gist of what Senate Republicans will vote on, and what could very well end up on President Trumps desk, should House Republicans not follow through on Speaker Paul Ryans lukewarm commitment to add more provisions in conference.

The so-called skinny repeal is not as skinny as expectedit repeals the mandates, and includes provisions like a restriction of Planned Parenthood and some insurance deregulationsand its effects on coverage and premiums would be significant. And soon, it could very well be the law of the land.

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The Health Care Freedom Act Hits The Senate Floor - The Atlantic

Sen. Rand Paul: Health care debate about ‘freedom,’ not ‘actuarial … – CNN

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"I guess what disappoints me most about the Republicans who said they were for repeal, voted for it, and then no longer are, is that they've sort of forgotten," Paul said on the "Sean Hannity Show." "They think this is about actuarial tables and insurance, and all this stuff. No, this is about freedom. This is about whether we as Americans should be free to buy what kind of insurance we want. What's best for us and our families. And it's about whether the individual knows best or government knows best. Are we too stupid that President Obama has to tell us what kind of insurance? Does he think Americans are too dumb to make their own decisions?"

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated an additional 22 million people will become uninsured by 2026 under the proposed replacement for Obamacare which the Senate voted down this week (and which Paul voted against). The CBO estimated that 32 million would be uninsured under a bill to partially repeal Obamacare without an immediate replacement that Paul voted for but which also failed to pass the Senate this week.

"Are we gonna give up our freedom and say to the government you decide what kind of insurance I get and what it covers," continued Paul. "It's a freedom issue. It really isn't about actuarial tables. It isn't about all the ins and outs. We have always taken care of those who are sick in our country. We have never, ever turned anyone away. I'm a physician. I've operated in hospitals for 25 years. I have never, ever seen anyone turned away who needed care."

"But the people who are saying thousands of people are gonna die," said Paul. "That is such hyperbole and ignorance and over-the-top statements that I think they lose credibility by saying things like that. No one is going to die in America, we haven't let people die in America for hundreds of years because doctors take care of and hospitals take care of all comers."

He later added, "So it hasn't happened in generations and in fact even before Medicare and Medicaid people did not die in our country for lack of care."

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Sen. Rand Paul: Health care debate about 'freedom,' not 'actuarial ... - CNN

Modern-day eugenics? Prisoners sterilized for shorter sentences – Salon

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This article originally appeared on AlterNet.

A Tennessee county has greenlit a modern-day eugenics program under the guise of offering prisoners a better future. Judge Sam Benningfield of White County issued an order in May that reduces jail sentences for inmates who agree to undergo birth control procedures. For male inmates, a credit of just 30 days is offered in exchange for vasectomies, which are permanent. Women who sign up for the program receive a Nexplanon implant, which is effective for up to four years.ABC 15reports that 32 women and 38 men have enrolled in the program.

I hope to encourage them to take personal responsibility and give them a chance, when they do get out, not to be burdened with children, Judge Benningfield told local outletNewsChannel5. This gives them a chance to get on their feet and make something of themselves.

The program is described as voluntary, though it stretches the definition of that term, basically putting inmates in the position of bartering their fertility for sentencing reductions. Considering that prison sentences are often the collateral damage of life issues from poverty to addiction to crime, it seems callous to ask already vulnerable people to forego a basic human right to shave time off their sentences. The ACLU argues that pretending the program gives prisoners real options is deceptive and perhaps unconstitutional.

Offering a so-called choice between jail time and coerced contraception or sterilization is unconstitutional, Tennessee ACLU head Hedy Weinberg wrote in astatement. Such a choice violates the fundamental constitutional right to reproductive autonomy and bodily integrity by interfering with the intimate decision of whether and when to have a child, imposing an intrusive medical procedure on individuals who are not in a position to reject it.

Theres also the matter of the programs resemblance to the eugenics programs that populate American history. The Equal Justice Institutenotes thatsterilization programs in the United States date back to the 1920s, when many states authorized forced sterilization of thousands of undesirable citizens people with disabilities, prisoners and racial minorities on the theory that, as the Supreme Court put it in upholding Virginias forced sterilization law in 1927, three generations of imbeciles are enough.

In recent years, groups likeProject Preventionhave paid drug-addicted women as little as $300 to be sterilized. (One ad advises potential enrollees, Dont let a pregnancy ruin your drug habit.) NPR points to a previous Tennessee state effort that penalized pregnant women who used drugs under a fetal assault law. The legislation was abandoned after officials realized that women avoided prenatal care so they wouldnt face jail time.

Judge Benningfield told NewsChannel5 that he launched the program with input from the Tennessee Department of Health, though the agency has distanced itself from the effort in news coverage.

Neither the Tennessee Department of Health nor the White County Health Department was involved in developing any policy to offer sentence reductions to those convicted of crimes in exchange for their receiving family planning services, Shelly Walker, the agency spokesperson, told theWashington Post. We do not support any policy that could compel incarcerated individuals to seek any particular health services from us or from other providers.

Judge Benningfield seems surprised by the outrage his program has been met with.

It seemed to me almost a no-brainer, he told NewsChannel5. Offer these women a chance to think about what theyre doing and try to rehabilitate their life.

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Modern-day eugenics? Prisoners sterilized for shorter sentences - Salon

Mapping the Canadian AI Ecosystem jfgagne

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UPDATE June 13, 2017: Last week I posted V1 of our Map of the Canadian AI Ecosystem, and since then Ive been inundated with additions. While its still incomplete, I thought it was important to update the map currently being sent around and reinforce the idea that this ecosystem is in constant flux. Already, our list has mushroomed from about 160 startups to over 550. Goes to show how much is happening just below our attention.

Ive been putting together a map on Canadas AI ecosystem, which I first revealed last week in my keynote on C2 Montreals main stage. As promised, Im publishing that map at the bottom of this post.

Given the speed at which the industry is progressing, this map is constantly evolving, so Ill be sharing updates as we add them. If you have an addition to make, drop me a line!

The talent pool for AI research is tiny; at the office, weve tracked about 5600 researchers globally who are making an impact in the field. This size makes it critical that the industry players build relationships and share knowledge, to create an ecosystem that helps facilitate progress in AI so that were able to better specialize.

In the last couple of years, the Canadian AI ecosystem was pretty fractured, each cluster trying to win the race and get ahead of the pack. Cities like Montreal, Vancouver or Toronto would announce how their city was the place to be: great quality of life, financial incentives, a flourishing venture capital scene, some of the best researchers in the world, etc. The message tended to be that we have the ingredients to be the next hot spot.

Up until recently Canada was not a heavyweight in the artificial intelligence market. The United States dominated (some even calling it a strategic monopoly), with China and Japan holding second and third place. Where Canada shined was fundamental research. Thanks to the Canadian governments willingness to invest in long, difficult pursuits, our universities are the source of some of the big breakthroughs that lead to deep learning and reinforcement learning, two of the most important innovations in AI up to now. Having some of the best universities also means that we train some of the best artificial intelligence specialists in the world. But, without much serious competition here in Canada, much of that talent went south to the tech giants in Silicon Valley.

This is where the new influx in research funding from Ottawa as well as Ontario and Quebeccomes into play. All three governments have chosen to offer massive support for the artificial intelligence scene, giving $125M, $50M and $100M, respectively, to keep this research engine running. Indeed, Edmonton received $35M from Ottawa while Vancouver received none of that federal money, despite having 5x the number of startups that Edmonton has.

The reason is that Edmonton is home to Richard Suttons lab, Amii, where hes done a lot of very influential research in Reinforcement Learning. Meanwhile, its been no secret that Vancouver is just too expensive for a research professor, causing many to leave for other universities or companies. The balance of funding will soon be leaning towards building up tech companies, but those are built on the solid research coming out of our Universities. Edmonton has a great opportunity to build their startup ecosystem before the venture funding really kicks in.

For now, research is what gave Canada its edge and its important we dont lose that before our startup ecosystem matures. But if we want to go beyond research and become big players in the AI market, research is not enough. Thats why we didnt want to ignore Vancouver in our map as the startup scene heats up, and they have historical economic links to East Asia where a lot of the action is for the AI industry.

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Mapping the Canadian AI Ecosystem jfgagne

A nurturing social enterprises ecosystem can address multiple problems in India – YourStory.com

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Social startups aim to address not only the various problems which plague the country, but also provide employment and support women empowerment.

In the last one decade, India has seen a considerable amount of growth in social enterprises. Though the word social entrepreneur saw the limelight only in 1981, their insurmountable contribution has reflected in health care, employment, education, and the uplifting of the marginalised sections of the society. With startups and corporate social responsibilities (CSR) activities hustling the possibilities, the way ahead for social enterprises is promising. Having said that, one cannot deny the challenges faced by the sector.

India is the youngest country in the world with approximately two-thirds of the population aged below 35. Despite being the second fastest growing economy after China, India is home to 40 percent of the worlds poor with over 30 percent of the population living below the poverty line.

Given the scale of illiteracy, malnutrition and poor health care dominating the list of woes in the country, the onus of solving these issues lies both on the citizens and the government. Further, with the increasing digital presence and initiatives such as Digital India and Start-up India, social enterprises have become an integral part of solving and helping the communities battle various problems.

While the social sector is experiencing growth every day, there are several incubators that mentor and advise the younger venturers to manage manpower, resources, and act as knowledge hubs. Few of them include UnLtd India, Villgro, Deshpande Foundation, IKP Knowledge Park, Center for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship, among others. And more importantly, they help navigate the key challenge faced by this crucial sector, i.e. funding.

Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, Chairman and CEO at the IKP Knowledge Park at the SIGMA Accelerator launch programme for social startups, says that knowledge of the available market is the first step to build a successful social startup. She said:

For a social entrepreneur to be successful, market access is very important. Startups are not able to scale after idea validation from few customers in India. Hence, we need a channel for startups to sell their products and services.

Discussing the various other problems surrounding this ecosystem, Ramamurthy Badrinath from Ericsson which works primarily in the SmartAgri projects said, Startups always have major constraints in doing the pilot. As a suggestion, he said that the stakeholders for a particular product should also include end-customers and they should be kept informed while developing the product. Focus on the problem is very important while building any product, he added.

With CSR becoming an integral part of MNCs, funding routed through incubators can provide a boost to the social startups ecosystem. Startups can get the velocity and corporates will get the weight; both of them will create the momentum needed to make an impact. We have a win-win relationship, says Harsha Muroor, CEO of Teslon Technologies, who was part of the CiscoLaunchPad Accelerator in 2016.

The social enterprises in India have a huge mandate to cater to the vast problems of 1.3 billion Indians. Along with funding and access, there is a need for these startups to evolve in an environment of enabling policies. Companies can bring technology for social ideas to scale and the government can create policy for a thriving social startup ecosystem. Data accessibility is more important than availability, Ramamurthy adds.

Leading the way for government intervention, Karnataka State has partnered with NASSCOM and 91Springboard to enable incubation. Gaurav Gupta, the Principal Secretary to the governments Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, says:

Because of startups, Government of Karnataka changed the way they were managing investments, and started with the ambitious goals of having more than 20,000 startups in Karnataka in the span of five years. The government has started Idea to Proof of concept for startups, in which they provide assistance to startups without equity.

A thriving social startups ecosystem, apart from addressing its own solutions, is contributing to employment generation. Almost two-third of these firms provide employment to the marginalised groups.The state of social enterprise in Bangladesh, Ghana, India and Pakistan, a report by the British council, further highlighted that over 24 percent women leaders are spearheading these enterprises as against 8.9 percent of women in the mainstream companies.

India already boasts 2 million social enterprises till date; with more support through government policies and corporate funding, VCs and social angels, the startups can grow exponentially and address the various problems faced by India.

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A nurturing social enterprises ecosystem can address multiple problems in India - YourStory.com

Life-saving treatment shows why Houston needs medical-startup ecosystem – Houston Chronicle

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Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff

Anna Cole, left, and Charlotte Rivas work in the lab at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Anna Cole, left, and Charlotte Rivas work in the lab at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Research assistant Markia Smith works in the lab at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Research assistant Markia Smith works in the lab at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Graduate student Suite ASukumaran works in the lab at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Graduate student Suite ASukumaran works in the lab at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Student researcher Moriah Chermak works in the lab at Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Student researcher Moriah Chermak works in the lab at Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Manik Kuvalekar works in the lab at Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Manik Kuvalekar works in the lab at Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Cell samples are prepared at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Cell samples are prepared at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Student researcher Moriah Chermak works in the lab, counting cells, at Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Student researcher Moriah Chermak works in the lab, counting cells, at Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Student researcher Moriah Chermak works in the lab, counting cells, at Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Student researcher Moriah Chermak works in the lab, counting cells, at Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Life-saving treatment shows why Houston needs medical-startup ecosystem

Imagine completing a difficult transplant only to acquire a viral infection that fills your bladder with blood and causes abdominal pain.

Such infections are common among patients with suppressed immune systems, and until recently, doctors could do little about them. But a Houston-based startup will soon supply hundreds of transplant patients across the country with a new immunotherapy treatment for these potentially deadly infections, ameliorating suffering and saving millions in medical costs.

ViraCyte's T-cell therapy has shown amazing promise with five viruses and could potentially treat many more. But getting this revolutionary product from the lab to doctors outside Houston reveals the importance of creating an ecosystem that nurtures companies like ViraCyte and shows how a stronger system is needed in Houston.

The basic research that led to ViraCyte began more than 20 years ago with funding from the National Institutes of Health, said Ann Leen, an immunology professor at Baylor College of Medicine and the chief scientific officer at ViraCyte. Since then, researchers have worked to harness the body's natural defense system against viral infections, focusing primarily on those that afflict vulnerable transplant patients.

"What we've been doing in the lab is figuring out where this cell therapy could work, against what viruses, and figuring out how healthy people control different viruses," Leen said. "And then figuring out how can we create an immune response in the lab."

To read this article in one of Houston's most-spoken languages, click on the button below.

A healthy person's immune system has cells that fight viruses. ViraCyte identifies the parts of a virus that trigger these protective cells to act. They then mix those bits with parts of a healthy person's blood to grow protective cells in the lab.

"It's almost like gardening," Leen said.

A few years ago, researchers could grow protective cells in three months to help one person fight one virus. That kind of research is typically done at research centers like Baylor College of Medicine using state, federal and private grant money.

But a three-month process to help a single person with a single virus is not commercially viable. Leen knew she needed to develop an off-the-shelf, easy-to-manufacture therapy that could help almost any patient. Coming up with a commercial therapy, though, is beyond the purview of academia, and many promising ideas never make it past this stage because researchers don't have the financial support, the expertise or the business knowledge to form a company.

"We can accommodate our own patients, and we've done that for many years, but there are many patients across the country and worldwide," Leen said. "It's hard to get funding to continue to provide that to patients because there is little research to do. We had to move to the next stage."

That's when Leen and her co-founders started ViraCyte. Using their own money, and with help from family and friends, Leen and her team applied for more grant funding and applied to business incubators to help build a company and to offer a commercial therapy.

JLABS, a medical technology incubator in the Texas Medical Center sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, accepted ViraCyte, offering office and laboratory space as well as business advice.

"It was important to be in the Medical Center, but to have a separate footprint outside of academia," Leen said. "Before JLABS, there were not a lot of options within the Medical Center."

ViraCyte has made major strides and licensed the intellectual property from Baylor. The company has developed Viralym-M, an off-the-shelf treatment that can help almost all transplant patients fight the five most common viruses that infect them.

The company is moving Viralym-M into Phase III clinical studies at health centers across the U.S., the most crucial step in the Food and Drug Administration approval process. Dr. Bilal Omer, a pediatric oncologist at the Baylor College of Medicine who led the successful Phase II study, said the treatment is already savings lives.

"For the first time, we have a treatment where you can go to a freezer, take out some cells, you infuse these cells, and the patient often improves within a few days. Sometimes within a week the patient is back to baseline, feeling good," he said. "I'm getting daily emails from all over the country asking if they can get these cells."

Meanwhile, ViraCyte has reduced the cost of growing the cells to $100,000 for 300 doses. While expensive, the therapy is cheaper than patients spending weeks or months in the hospital at $8,000 a day. Despite the progress, the company will need to raise money for commercial production and to develop cells to treat more viruses, such as HIV, hepatitis or even Zika.

"We've started looking at new targets," Leen said.

ViraCyte could not have happened without financial backers, professional advisers and JLABS, Leen said, but Medical Center researchers still need more such programs that help researchers turn their ideas into companies, and that means more investments and business expertise.

"There are so many things going on in the Medical Center that are really ready for prime time, but people just don't quite know how to move forward," she said.

Houston needs a complete ecosystem beginning with academic research institutions leading to business incubators and angel investors and venture capitalists. For this, we need business leaders and corporations to put as much attention into science as they do into oil and gas.

The life sciences offer an opportunity to diversify Houston's economy - if we create the right environment.

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Life-saving treatment shows why Houston needs medical-startup ecosystem - Houston Chronicle

Cris Cyborg doesn’t think Ronda Rousey beef was personal, willing to talk to her – MMA Fighting

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LA MIRADA, Calif. Dana White and Cris Cyborg seem to have reconciled. Could the Cyborg-Ronda Rousey beef be squashed someday, too?

Theres a possibility, Cyborg seemed to intimate Thursday at UFC 214 open workouts at UFC Gym.

We can talk, I never met her before, Cyborg said. But I think she did great things for womens MMA. She said a lot of things about me, but I think she used that time for growing her. I think she used it like a business. I think its nothing personal, because I never met her. We dont know each other. Nothing. I dont have anything against her.

Rousey and Cyborg had one of the more heated rivalries in MMA for years, but it has subsided recently, especially in Rouseys absence from the sport. Rousey went as far as once calling Cyborg an it, because of her past steroid use. Cyborg slammed Rousey for putting a pillow over her head in the Los Angeles airport after her knockout loss to Holly Holm in 2015.

The two went back and forth and both made ugly comments about each other, going back to their days in Strikeforce. Many fans and pundits thought a fight between the two best female fighters in the world would one day happen, but it never did and probably never will. Cyborg cannot make womens bantamweight, Rouseys division in the UFC, in a healthy manner and Rousey will likely never fight again. Even if Rousey did, who knows if shed go to 145 or 140 for a Cyborg fight after two straight knockout losses.

For a time, Rousey vs. Cyborg was the biggest fight the UFC could put on. But even White has acknowledged publicly that Rousey will likely retire after a first-round KO loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 in December.

Rousey is the former Strikeforce and UFC womens bantamweight, who has successfully crossed over to Hollywood with multiple movie and television roles. Rowdy was once the biggest name in MMA history and the highest paid fighter in the UFC. Since her loss to Holm, though, she has not been as visible in the MMA world and would not do any MMA-centric media leading into UFC 207.

Cyborg, meanwhile, is in the UFC and finally fighting for a title at 145 pounds. Shell meet Tonya Evinger for the featherweight belt at UFC 214 on Saturday night in Anaheim, Calif. Cyborg, 32, has been a pro fighter since 2005 and this will be her first shot at gold at the highest level. Cyborg has knocked out every opponent since 2008 and has not lost a bout since her MMA debut.

Last month, White admitted in an interview with MMAjunkie that he and the UFC made mistakes in dealing with Cyborg. White and Cyborg have had a rocky relationship for years, but Cyborg said shes willing to forgive him.

Its really nice when someone says they did a mistake and say that, Cyborg said Thursday. A lot of people dont say anything. I respect that. I think I can forgive him, but there are consequences he cannot delete.

I have a lot of things that people say about me on the internet. I have bad things that I dont want to remember now. Its hard to delete.

Cyborg (17-1, 1 NC) said shes operating under the assumption that Rousey was just talking trash to promote herself and didnt actually mean all the things she said. Rousey, for a long time, harped on Cyborgs past drug-test failure.

Now, it seems as if its water under the bridge. Cyborg even said shed be willing to sit down with Rousey and talk and she made it clear that she respects what she has done for the sport.

Maybe one day, she said.

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Cris Cyborg doesn't think Ronda Rousey beef was personal, willing to talk to her - MMA Fighting

Weekend Fight Odds: Jones, Woodley, ‘Cyborg’ Favored at UFC 214 – Sherdog.com

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With one of the biggest fights in the history of the UFC looming less than two days away on a card loaded with excellent matchups, its no surprise that a litany of props bets are available for UFC 214.

Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will finally get his chance to even up the score against hated rival Jon Jones when they lock horns in the UFC 214 main event. Theres no question the two combatants despise each other and their showdown should be epic. The question is: how can a bettor make some coin off that fight and the others on the marquee?

As it stands now, Jones is the prohibitive favorite going in, as Bovada.com has him at -270. Cormier, meanwhile, resides as a +210 underdog. The odds are leaning toward the main event going the allotted five rounds at -170 ,while a stoppage of some sort is a slight underdog at +120. For those looking to score big on a wild option, the odds that the duel winds up being a draw are massive at 50/1.

Tyron Woodley will put his welterweight title on the line against jiu-jitsu savant Demian Maia in the co-feature ,and the American holds as a favorite at the moment at -210. Maia is a decent underdog at +170.

In the cards third title fight, Cris Cyborg Justino will lock horns with former Invicta featherweight champ Tonya Evinger for the vacant UFC womens 145-pound crown. As expected, the Brazilian bomber is a monumental favorite as Cyborg stands at -1200. Evinger isnt expected to last long in the fight as shes a huge +700 underdog; the odds of a stoppage are -1600.

UFC 214 Prop Bets: Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier Jon Jones -270 (10/27) Daniel Cormier +210 (21/10)

Will the fight go the distance? Yes -170 (10/17) No +120 (6/5)

Total Rounds Over 4.5 Rounds -170 (10/17) Under 4.5 Rounds +120 (6/5)

Method of Victory - 5 Rounds Jon Jones wins inside distance 11/5 Jon Jones wins by 5 round decision 1/1 Daniel Cormier wins inside distance 4/1 Daniel Cormier wins by 5 round decision 19/4 Draw 50/1

Method of Victory Jon Jones wins by decision or technical decision 1/1 Jon Jones wins by KO, TKO or DQ 17/4 Jon Jones wins by submission 9/2 Daniel Cormier wins by decision or technical decision 19/4 Daniel Cormier wins by KO, TKO or DQ 6/1 Daniel Cormier wins by submission 19/2 Draw or Technical draw 50/1

Round Betting - 5 Rounds Jon Jones in Round 1 7/1 Jon Jones in Round 2 17/2 Jon Jones in Round 3 10/1 Jon Jones in Round 4 15/1 Jon Jones in Round 5 22/1 Jon Jones on points 1/1 Daniel Cormier in Round 1 12/1 Daniel Cormier in Round 2 14/1 Daniel Cormier in Round 3 16/1 Daniel Cormier in Round 4 22/1 Daniel Cormier in Round 5 28/1 Daniel Cormier on points 19/4 Draw 50/1

Tyron Woodley vs Demian Maia Tyron Woodley -210 (10/21) Demian Maia +170 (17/10)

Will the fight go the distance? Yes +240 (12/5) No -375 (4/15)

Total Rounds Over 2.5 Rounds +105 (21/20) Under 2.5 Rounds -145 (20/29)

Method of Victory - 5 Rounds Tyron Woodley wins inside distance 4/5 Tyron Woodley wins by 5 round decision 4/1 Demian Maia wins inside distance 9/4 Demian Maia wins by 5 round decision 13/2 Draw 75/1

Method of Victory Tyron Woodley wins by decision or technical decision 4/1 Tyron Woodley wins by KO, TKO or DQ 5/6 Tyron Woodley wins by submission 16/1 Demian Maia wins by decision or technical decision 13/2 Demian Maia wins by KO, TKO or DQ 12/1 Demian Maia wins by submission 5/2 Draw or Technical draw 75/1

Round Betting - 5 Rounds Tyron Woodley in Round 1 7/2 Tyron Woodley in Round 2 9/2 Tyron Woodley in Round 3 7/1 Tyron Woodley in Round 4 11/1 Tyron Woodley in Round 5 18/1 Tyron Woodley on points 4/1 Demian Maia in Round 1 13/2 Demian Maia in Round 2 17/2 Demian Maia in Round 3 12/1 Demian Maia in Round 4 20/1 Demian Maia in Round 5 28/1 Demian Maia on points 13/2 Draw 75/1

Cristiane Justino vs Tonya Evinger Cristiane Justino -1200 (1/12) Tonya Evinger +700 (7/1)

Will the fight go the distance? Yes +600 (6/1) No -1400 (1/14)

Total Rounds Over 1.5 Rounds +180 (9/5) Under 1.5 Rounds -260 (5/13)

Method of Victory - 5 Rounds Cristiane Justino wins inside distance 1/8 Cristiane Justino wins by 5 round decision 7/1 Tonya Evinger wins inside distance 8/1 Tonya Evinger wins by 5 round decision 14/1 Draw 75/1

Method of Victory Cristiane Justino wins by decision or technical decision 7/1 Cristiane Justino wins by KO, TKO or DQ 1/6 Cristiane Justino wins by submission 17/2 Tonya Evinger wins by decision or technical decision 14/1 Tonya Evinger wins by KO, TKO or DQ 16/1 Tonya Evinger wins by submission 12/1 Draw or Technical draw 75/1

Round Betting - 3 Rounds Cristiane Justino in Round 1 4/7 Cristiane Justino in Round 2 4/1 Cristiane Justino in Round 3 9/1 Cristiane Justino in Round 4 15/1 Cristiane Justino in Round 5 25/1 Cristiane Justino on points 7/1 Tonya Evinger in Round 1 20/1 Tonya Evinger in Round 2 25/1 Tonya Evinger in Round 3 30/1 Tonya Evinger in Round 4 40/1 Tonya Evinger in Round 5 50/1 Tonya Evinger on points 14/1 Draw 75/1

Jimi Manuwa vs Volkan Oezdemir Jimi Manuwa -185 (20/37) Volkan Oezdemir +150 (3/2)

Will the fight go the distance? Yes +250 (5/2) No -400 (1/4)

Total Rounds Over 1.5 Rounds +130 (13/10) Under 2.5 Rounds -180 (5/9)

Method of Victory - 3 Rounds Jimi Manuwa wins inside distance 4/5 Jimi Manuwa wins by 3 round decision 9/2 Volkan Oezdemir wins inside distance 2/1 Volkan Oezdemir wins by 3 round decision 7/1 Draw 75/1

Method of Victory Jimi Manuwa wins by decision or technical decision 9/2 Jimi Manuwa wins by KO, TKO or DQ 10/11 Jimi Manuwa wins by submission 12/1 Volkan Oezdemir wins by decision or technical decision 7/1 Volkan Oezdemir wins by KO, TKO or DQ 12/5 Volkan Oezdemir wins by submission 10/1 Draw or Technical draw 75/1

Round Betting - 3 Rounds Jimi Manuwa in Round 1 8/5 Jimi Manuwa in Round 2 6/1 Jimi Manuwa in Round 3 11/1 Jimi Manuwa on points 9/2 Volkan Oezdemir in Round 1 4/1 Volkan Oezdemir in Round 2 8/1 Volkan Oezdemir in Round 3 15/1 Volkan Oezdemir on points 7/1 Draw 75/1

Robbie Lawler vs Donald Cerrone Robbie Lawler -160 (5/8) Donald Cerrone +130 (13/10)

Will the fight go the distance? Yes +115 (23/20) No -160 (5/8)

Total Rounds Over/Under 2.5 Rounds

Method of Victory - 3 Rounds Robbie Lawler wins inside distance 5/2 Robbie Lawler wins by 3 round decision 7/2 Donald Cerrone wins inside distance 3/2 Donald Cerrone wins by 3 round decision 13/5 Draw 50/1

Method of Victory Robbie Lawler wins by decision or technical decision 7/2 Robbie Lawler wins by KO, TKO or DQ 3/2 Robbie Lawler wins by submission 16/1 Donald Cerrone wins by decision or technical decision 13/5 Donald Cerrone wins by KO, TKO or DQ 5/1 Donald Cerrone wins by submission 11/2 Draw or Technical draw 50/1

Round Betting - 3 Rounds Robbie Lawler in Round 1 15/4 Robbie Lawler in Round 2 11/2 Robbie Lawler in Round 3 9/1 Robbie Lawler on points 7/2 Donald Cerrone in Round 1 6/1 Donald Cerrone in Round 2 17/2 Donald Cerrone in Round 3 12/1 Donald Cerrone on points 13/5 Draw 50/1

Alexandra Albu vs Kailin Curran Alexandra Albu -165 (20/33) Kailin Curran +135 (27/20)

Aljamain Sterling vs Renan Barao Aljamain Sterling -135 (20/27) Renan Barao +105 (21/20)

Andre Fili vs Calvin Kattar Andre Fili -360 (5/18) Calvin Kattar +275 (11/4)

Drew Dober vs Josh Burkman Drew Dober -350 (2/7) Josh Burkman +260 (13/5)

Jarred Brooks vs Eric Shelton Jarred Brooks -155 (20/31) Eric Shelton +125 (5/4)

Renato Moicano vs Brian Ortega Renato Moicano -150 (2/3) Brian Ortega +120 (6/5)

Jason Knight vs Ricardo Lamas Jason Knight -130 (10/13) Ricardo Lamas EVEN (1/1)

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Weekend Fight Odds: Jones, Woodley, 'Cyborg' Favored at UFC 214 - Sherdog.com

The 10 absolutely best beaches in Michigan – Detroit Free Press – Detroit Free Press

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Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Published 7:12 a.m. ET July 28, 2017 | Updated 7:18 a.m. ET July 28, 2017

Five of the best places to bask and bathe that you can find in Michigan. Grab the sunscreen and get going. Wochit

Camping experiences in Michigan's state parks include the all-beach environment at Grand Haven State Park.(Photo: Madelyn Hastings / Associated Press)

If you want a good beach this summer, skip the ocean and stay inMichigan.

The state has 11,000 inland lakes and 3,300 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, more than the salt-water coastlines of Florida, California, Maryland and South Carolina combined.

And not a single shark.

All that water means there are plenty of places to bake on the sand and go for a cooling swim. The eastern shore of Lake Michigan alone has hundreds of miles of clean sand and clear water, and hundreds of places where you can go to enjoy both.

We chose what we believe are the best of the Lake Michigan beaches, and then roamed farther afield to include beaches on four other bodies of water.

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Clean water was a primary criterion. Weconsultedwater-quality data on 1,222beachescompiled by theMichigan Department of Environmental Quality, and eliminated those with persistent water-cleanlinessproblems. We alsomade use of state-park attendance data provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

What we're offering, then, are 10 of the best places to bask and bathe that you can find. Grab the sunscreen and get going.

On Lake Michigan at Grand Haven

The beach at Michigan's Grand Haven State Park.(Photo: Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

Big sand, clean water and lots of company this isa classic summer beachthat comprises the bulk ofa 48-acre state park. It gets bonus points for its picturesque red lighthouse anda pleasant boardwalkthat leads into the heart of town just a mile away. Anotherrunning-riding trailtakes you 20 miles along the shoreline to Holland, a larger, busier lakeside city.

The beach, one of the most heavily used in the state, has full amenities. Thestate parkfeeis $9/day for out of state residents, $11/year for in-state.

On Lake Michigan near Glen Haven in the Sleeping Bear National Seashore

An out-of-the-way gem at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore.(Photo: Leslie Orr)

Thistreasured national seashorein northwest Michigan has many marvelous beaches, butSleeping Bear Point may be the best: Great sand, great vistas, plenty of space to stretch out or to wander along the water line looking for rocks. National Geographic named it one ofthe 21 best beaches in the world.

The beach is reached bya half-mile walk through lovely dunes. The uphill return walk can be strenuous. The parking area has restrooms, as doesnearby Glen Haven. Thepark feeis $15 for 7 days per vehicle.

On Lake Michigan in Muskegon

Pere Marquette Beach in Muskegon, Michigan.(Photo: City of Muskegon)

A full 2.5 miles of sandy public shoreline connects this popular city park to smaller Kruse Park. It'san active but laid-back beach, and a swimmers delight Pere Marquette was once honored for the quality of its water. Don't tell anyone, but the southernmost stretch of beach near Kruse welcomes dogs as well as their owners.

Food, restrooms and other amenities are located near the parking area. Entry is free.

On Lake Superior in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising

Twelvemile Beach in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior. n(Photo: National Park Service)

Aspectacular long stretch of white sandand crystal-clear water set amid the Pictured Rocks, one of the most amazing locations on all the Great Lakes. Sure, Lake Superior can be chilly at times, but that's part of the allure. There's plenty to see here in the 73,000-acre federal park, which has 42 miles of Lake Superior shoreline.

Parking, outhouses and a campgroundare located a short walk fromthe beach, which is lightly used on most days. Entry is free.

On the Detroit River in Detroit

Belle Isle Beach on the Detroit River in Detroit.(Photo: David Kenyon/Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

No other Michigan beach has a view like this a wide river backstopped by the Detroit skyline.The beach is small at 1,500 feet, but the sand and water are inviting. Thehistoric island, the states most-visited park, has many other attractions (including an informal hipster beach).

The beach has full amenities. It can get crowded.Thestate parkfeeis $9/day for out of state residents, $11/year for in-state.

On Lake Michigan in the village of Empire

Public beach on Lake Michigan in the village of Empire.(Photo: Empire Chamber of Commerce)

This isa peach of a public beach small but family-friendly, noted for good waves and great views of the dunes and bluffs of Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. On the back side of thefive-acre park is access to awarm inland lake, and thecute little village of Empire is just a block away.

Restrooms are located in the parking lot. The lot, which can be crowded on weekends, costs $1 an hour. Beach entry is free.

On Lake Huron near Rogers City

Hoeft State Park on Lake Huron.(Photo: Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

Thisoft-overlooked, lightly used state parkin the northeastern Lower Peninsulsa has a mile of sandy beach fronting on the clear, crisp waters of Lake Huron in some waysthe best public beach on the U.S. side of the lake.Trails lead for many more milesalong the shoreline. It's an excellent ship-watching spot as well.

The 300-acre park has a campground, and the parking area near the beach has restrooms. Thestate parkfeeis $9/day for out of state residents, $11/year for in-state.

On Lake Michigan in Ludington

A couple watches the sunset at Stearns Park Beach as people walk back and forth between the breakwater lighthouse in Ludington, Mich., Friday, Jun. 23, 2017. Josh Clark/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin(Photo: Josh Clark/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

A half-mile of soft sand and lovely clear water adornsthe public beach in this port city, whose busy downtown is just a few blocks away. A shady section of park provides respite from the sun.

Plenty of parking and amenities are available at the beach, which can be crowded at times. Entry is free.

On Kent Lake inKensington Metropark, Milford

Martindale Beach on Kent Lake in Kensington Metropark in Milfird.(Photo: Huron-Clinton Metroparks)

A good, old-fashioned public beach on a large inland lake with shallow sandy-bottomed water. Kensington,the largest of the regional Huron-Clinton Metroparks, is the northwestern suburbs of Detroit. It can be crowded on weekends, but thats half the fun. A splash pad and water slides at the beach are a bonus.

The beach has a full array of amenities. The metroparks entry fee is $10/dayor$35/year.

On Lake Michigan, just north ofSaugatuck

The beach at Saugatuck Dunes State Park on Lake Michigan.(Photo: Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

A beautiful 2-mile-long sandy beach,less developed and more lightly usedthan others in this part of Michigan. Much of the narrow beach is lined with sand dunes, and 1,000-acre park includes numerous trails. Saugatuck,one of the trendiest of the Lake Michigan beach towns, is three miles away.

A half-mile wooded path leads from the parking area to the beach. Toilets are located at the parking lot. Thestate parkfeeis $9/day for out of state residents, $11/year for in-state.

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The 10 absolutely best beaches in Michigan - Detroit Free Press - Detroit Free Press

Wollaston Beach remains closed due to high bacteria levels – WCVB Boston

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WOLLASTON, Mass.

High bacteria levels from storm runoff over the past week that closed 12 beaches on the South Shore have subsided, leaving only Wollaston Beach closed.

The Patriot Ledger reports all five ocean beaches in Marshfield, Lighthouse and Humarock beaches in Scituate and Town Beach in Hingham passed followup testing in water samples collected on Thursday.

White Horse Beach in Plymouth, originally listed by the state as closed, is open.

All four sections of Wollaston Beach remain posted, although followup tests showed negligible bacteria levels.

The other 61 salt-water beaches on the South Shore passed bacteria tests this week and are open for swimming.

For more on Quincy beaches, call 617-376-1288, or visit tpl-beaches. For more on Wollaston Beach, call 617-626-4972.

HOW BEACHES ARE TESTED

Sixty-five beaches on the South Shore are tested for intestinal bacteria found in humans and animals.

High levels indicate the possible presence of disease-causing microbes that are present in sewage but are more difficult to detect. Bacterial colonies are filtered from three ounces of water and placed on a gel infused with nutrients and chemicals designed to promote growth.

Left in an incubator, the single cells isolated on the filter grow explosively, forming colonies visible to the naked eye. After one day, the colonies are counted and if they exceed 104 colonies, the beach is closed to swimming.

If the past five samples have a mean exceeding 35 colonies, the beach must also be closed to swimming.

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Wollaston Beach remains closed due to high bacteria levels - WCVB Boston