New Supercomputer Brings Deep Learning Capabilities to CSIRO … – TOP500 News

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Australias Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has deployed a Dell EMC supercomputer outfitted with NVIDIAs P100 GPUs. The system, known as Bracewell, will nearly double the computational power available to CSIRO researchers.

Source: CSIRO

The new machine was built by Dell EMC for $4 million, and is comprised of 114 PowerEdge C4130 servers hooked together with EDR InfiniBand. Aggregate memory across the entire system is 29 TB. Each server is equipped with four NVIDA P100 GPUs and two Intel Xeon 14-core CPUs. The GPUs alone represent over 2.4 petaflops of peak performance.

From a flops perspective, that would easily make it the most powerful supercomputer in Australia. Before Bracewell came online, the most powerful supercomputer in the country was Raijin, a combined Fujitsu- Lenovo system installed at the National Computational Infrastructure National Facility (NCI-NF), in Canberra. It has a peak performance of 1.875 petaflops (1.676 Linpack petaflops), powered by a combination of Xeon CPUs, Xeon Phi processors, and NVIDIA P100 GPUs.

One of the early CSIROs users of Bracewell will be the CData61 Computer Vision research group working on bionic vision. The team, led by Associate Professor Nick Barnes, developed software designed to help restore sight for people with severe vision loss.

"When we conducted our first human trial, participants had to be fully supervised and were mostly limited to the laboratory, but for our next trial we're aiming to get participants out of the lab and into the real world, controlling the whole system themselves," Barnes said.

"This new system will provide greater scale and processing power we need to build our computer vision systems by optimization of processing over broader scenarios, represented by much larger sets of images, to help train the software to understand and represent the world. We'll be able to take our computer vision research to the next level, solving problems through leveraging large-scale image data that most labs around the world arent able to."

In addition to boosting the bionic vision work, the system will also provide computational support for a number of science and engineering efforts at CSIRO, including research in virtual screening for therapeutic treatments, traffic and logistics optimization, modeling of new material structures and compositions, and machine learning for image recognition and pattern analysis.

Bracewell was installed over a period of just five days spanning the end of May and beginning of June. The system came online in early July.

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New Supercomputer Brings Deep Learning Capabilities to CSIRO ... - TOP500 News

When 5G is here, a wireless supercomputer will follow you around – CNNMoney

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AT&T (T, Tech30) on Tuesday detailed its plan to use "edge computing" and 5G to move data processing to the cloud, in order to better support these new technologies.

"[Edge computing] is like having a wireless supercomputer follow you wherever you go," AT&T said in a statement.

Rather than sending data to AT&T's core data centers -- which are often hundreds of miles away from customers -- it will be sent to the company's network of towers and offices, located closer to users.

Currently, data is either stored in those data centers or on the device itself.

"[Edge computing] gives the option now to put computing in more than two places," Andre Fuetsch, president of AT&T Labs and chief technology officer, told CNN Tech.

For example, let's say you're wearing VR glasses but the actual virtual reality experience is running in the cloud. There could be a delay in what you see when you move your head if the data center is far away.

Related: AT&T to consider splitting telecom, media divisions after Time Warner deal

AT&T aims to reduce lag time by sending data to locations much closer to you. (AT&T has agreed to acquire Time Warner, the parent company of CNN. The deal is pending regulatory approval.)

5G networks will be driving these efforts. Experts believe 5G will have barely any lag, which means a lot of the computing power currently in your smartphone can be shifted to the cloud. This would extend your phone's battery life and make apps and services more powerful.

In the case of augmented and virtual reality, superimposing digital images on top of the real world in a believable way requires a lot of processing power. Even if a smartphone can deliver that promise, it would eat up its battery life.

With edge computing, data crunching is moved from the device to the "edge" of the cloud, which is the physical points of the network that are closer to customers.

Related: AT&T and Verizon halt Google ads over extremist videos

5G will also enable faster speeds and could even open the door to new robotic manufacturing and medical techniques.

AT&T is rolling out edge computing over the "next few years," beginning in dense urban areas.

CNNMoney (New York) First published July 18, 2017: 3:23 PM ET

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When 5G is here, a wireless supercomputer will follow you around - CNNMoney

Trinity Supercomputer’s Haswell and KNL Partitions Are Merged – HPCwire (blog)

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Trinity supercomputers two partitions one based on Intel Xeon Haswell processors and the other on Xeon Phi Knights Landing have been fully integrated are now available for use on classified work in the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)s Stockpile Stewardship Program, according to an announcement today. The KNL partition had been undergoing testing and was available for non-classified science work.

The main benefit of doing open science was to find any remaining issues with the system hardware and software before Trinity is turned over for production computing in the classified environment, said Trinity project director Jim Lujan. In addition, some great science results were realized, he said. Knights Landing is a multicore processor that has 68 compute cores on one piece of silicon, called a die. This allows for improved electrical efficiency that is vital for getting to exascale, the next frontier of supercomputing, and is three times as power-efficient as the Haswell processors, Archer noted.

The Trinity project is managed and operated by Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories under the New Mexico Alliance for Computing at Extreme Scale (ACES) partnership. In June 2017, the ACES team took the classified Trinity-Haswell system down and merged it with the KNL partition. The full system, sited at LANL, was back up for production use the first week of July.

The Knights Landing processors were accepted for use in December 2016 and since then they have been used for open science work in the unclassified network, permitting nearly unprecedented large-scale science simulations.Presumably the merge is the last step in the Trinity contract beyond maintenance.

Trinity, based on a Cray XC30, now has 301,952 Xeon and 678, 912 Xeon Phi processors along with two pebibytes (PiB) of memory. Besides blending the Haswell and KNL processors, Trinity benefits from the introduction of solid state storage (burst buffers). This is changing the ratio of disk and tape necessary to satisfy bandwidth and capacity requirements, and it drastically improves the usability of the systems for application input/output.With its new solid-state storage burst buffer and capacity-based campaign storage, Trinity enables users to iterate more frequently, ultimately reducing the amount of time to produce a scientific result.

With this merge completed, we have now successfully released one of the most capable supercomputers in the world to the Stockpile Stewardship Program, said Bill Archer, Los Alamos Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program director.Trinity will enable unprecedented calculations that will directly support the mission of the national nuclear security laboratories, and we are extremely excited to be able to deliver this capability to the complex.

Trinity Timeline:

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Trinity Supercomputer's Haswell and KNL Partitions Are Merged - HPCwire (blog)

At ClinicalTrials.Gov, Untested Stem Cell Clinics Advertise for Free … – WIRED

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At ClinicalTrials.Gov, Untested Stem Cell Clinics Advertise for Free ... - WIRED

Stem cell ads: Promise much, deliver little – HealthNewsReview.org

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Paul Knoepfler PhD is disturbed and concerned. Heres why.

Knoepfler is a stem cell researcher and professor at the University of California-Davis School of Medicine. Over the past couple of years he has noticed more and more big budget ads for unproven stem cell therapies showing up in major American newspapers, such as these:

From left, clockwise: ads from the San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, and Seattle Times

Perusing a dozen or so of these adsand some are full-page spreadsyou begin to see some common promises, such as

Many of the ads also include coupons or offer free seminars that qualify people for discounted treatments (discount amount stated; full price not stated).

Paul Knoepfler PhD

Most of the clinics advertised promise to treat dozens of very different problems. The three most common include orthopedic issues (pain in every major joint from your ankles up to your neck), neurologic diseases (including Parkinsons, stroke, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS), and a host of autoimmune diseases (like rheumatoid arthritis, Crohns disease, and lupus).

Can a single treatment do all this? (And more, including effective treatment of COPD, blindness, depression, and diabetes, to name a few).

The short answer is no,' says Knoepfler, whos been following the boom of hundreds of stem cell clinics across the country in his blog.

Hypothetically, stem cells of various kinds could help a lot of different conditions. But it doesnt make sense that just one type of stem cell like from fat or bone marrow could treat a variety of conditions from head to toe. Both from a scientific and common sense perspective, how would some fat cells help your vision if they were squirted in your eyeball? The logic and evidence is missing. But you could imagine if you were losing your vision, and were desperate, you might be willing to take more risks.

Jeanne Loring Phd

Jeanne Loring PhD, is a stem cell researcher and professor at the Scripps Research Institute.

She agrees with Knoepfler that, not only are some vulnerable people being preyed upon, but the claims made in the advertising are not backed by science.

Much of what is being injected arent even stem cells. And the ones were told come from fat or bone marrow arent even capable of living in our bodies beyond one day. And they certainly cant turn into heart cells, or neurons, or retinal cells like they may claim.

Whenever I see the people who run these clinics they run away from me. They dont want to talk to real scientists. They dont want to their approaches questioned. Because 99 percent of them know theyre pulling the wool over peoples eyes. This is marketing, not science. Ask yourself: Why are they advertising in the newspaper?

Leigh Turner PhD

And just as important, how are they getting away with it?

Leigh Turner PhD is a bioethicist at the University of Minnesota. It was Turner, along with Knoepfler, who in 2016 documented at least 351 stem cell businesses nationwide pushing unproven stem cell therapies. He says the widely held notion that these stem cell clinics only exist overseas is now clearly outdated.

The central issue in his opinion is: Where is the oversight?

Its not just about desperate people losing lots of money, its about genuine and tangible harms being done. Yet we have this growing market where people can make these dramatic marketing claims about unlicensed and unproven treatments without evidence, without safety data, and without proof of efficacy. Theres a lack of regulatory activity that is basically operating like a green light for these clinics and this kind of advertising to pour into the marketplace. Where is the FDA? The FTC? The consumer protection agencies? And what about the state medical boards?

From an Alaska Airlines inflight magazine

You may be wondering: If these ads are promoting unapproved treatments, then what are stem cells legitimately used for? The FDA has approved stem cells for use in a handful of transplant procedures, some cancers, as well as some immunologic and blood disorders. Unfortunately, as all the researchers I spoke with mentioned, the current hype generated by unproven treatments often draws attention away from legitimate research and advances in stem cell therapy.

But guidance in navigating this complex topic is available. Here are 3 excellent starting points:

And, lest we forget, there are real people at the core of this story. Last week I intervieweda man left permanently blinded by a retinal stem cell procedure that he was told helped 100 percent of people and helped them read at least 2 or 3 more lines on the eye chart.

Now he cant even read the big E at the top of the chart from an arms length away.

That man is George Gibson. And next week, in a special podcast were thinking of calling The Wild West of Stem Cells, youll hear more of Gibsons story, as well as more from the scientists quoted above.

Its the story these advertisements dont tell you.

Only 7 percent of orthopedic surgeons in the United States are women. Dr. Julie Switzer

If you had been in Salt Lake City last month, savoringyour morningcoffee, and watching this

The segment on the WFAA-TV, Dallas, Good Morning Texas program, was headlined "The latest on

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Researchers in Colorado are hoping stem cells can help those with diabetes – 9NEWS.com

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Stem cell research for diabetes

Jaime Berg, KUSA 5:06 PM. MDT July 19, 2017

Courtesy: Holger Russ, Barbara Davis Center Description: Cell clusters floating in culture media during generation of insulin-producing cells from human stem cells.

KUSA - Theres some major diabetes research happening right here in Colorado.

Researchers at the Barbara Davis Center on the University of ColoradoAnschutz Medical campus in Aurora are using stem cells to eventually rid diabetics of having to inject insulin on a daily basis.

For people with Type 1 diabetes, a lack of insulin can be life-threatening.

If someone doesnt have access to insulin, they could die. Its something people with Type 1 diabetes have to think about on a daily basis.

Courtesy: Holger Russ, Barbara Davis Center Description: Immunofluorescence image of a section cut through a cluster.

With work being done at the Barbara Davis Center, the eventual hope is that patients can have an injection of stem cells that do the insulin regulating for them.

According to Holger Russ, an assistant professor at the Barbara Davis Center, people who have to take insulin have to be aware of their levels every day, so this stem cell therapy approach could ultimately change the way they live their lives.

It impacts every day, they always have to have their supplies ready," Russ said. "Its a constant thing on their minds.with the cell therapy approach what we are working on this will be gone.

The end result is still several years in the making, but researchers say theyve started to lay the groundwork and are on their way to creating a better life for Type 1 diabetes patients thats as many as three million Americans.

Testing is underway, but it will take several years for the approach to be approved for use.

Russ says this sort of stem cell therapy is already a decade in the making, and that it could be used within our lifetimes. He says ultimately, his end goal is to prevent Type 1 diabetes and predict it.

To generate functional cells that are better and better, and use the cells in what goes wrong in a person with the disease, and then we can find the drugs to help prevent type one diabetes from occurring in a patient, Russ said.

Research conducted at the Barbara Davis Center is largely supported by the Children's Diabetes Foundation.

2017 KUSA-TV

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News of NoteDodgy stem cell clinics; New CMO for Context; UroGen payday – FierceBiotech

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> In an article published today in the journal Regenerative Medicine, it turns out that the federal clinical-trials database ClinicalTrials.gov has allowed 18 ostensible clinical trials of unregulated stem cell therapies, that patients must to pay to enroll, to go up on its site. The article argues that some stem cell clinics are using the site as a marketing tool, claiming that their unapproved meds could potentially help an array of patients. Author Leigh Turner, an associate professor at the University of Minnesotas Center for Bioethics and School of Public Health, says: Absent meaningful changes, it seems likely that there will be more reports of patients harmed after paying for unapproved stem cell interventions that first came to their attention on ClinicalTrials.gov. Regenerative Medicine article.

> Context Therapeutics has hired Erard Gilles M.D., M.Sc., as its new chief medical officer, leaving his former CMO role at Invivis Pharmaceuticals to join the biotech, which is focused on work for Sigma1-related diseases. Gilles will oversee clinical development while taking the lead of its clinical trial strategy. While at Invivis, he developed an anti-progestin therapy and biomarker that was later licensed by Arno Therapeutics. He has around 30 years in the industry, with stints at J&J and Roche, among others.Release.

> UroGen Pharma has seen its bank balance jump by $7.5 million after a biobucks pay out from partner Allergan. This comes after the pharmas recent submission of an FDA IND app for RTGel, in combo with its Botox med, in overactive bladder disorder. Our licensing agreement with Allergan for the use of our RTGel in combination with Botox continues to be productive with the recent achievement of this important IND submission, said Ron Bentsur, CEO at UroGen. Statement.

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News of NoteDodgy stem cell clinics; New CMO for Context; UroGen payday - FierceBiotech

Old Glory flies where its spirituality is recognized – WND.com

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This past Fourth of July there were at least three homes over which the American flag probably was not proudly flown.

We can be fairly certain one was that of former San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The highly paid professional football player refused to stand when the national anthem was played before his games as he proclaimed he would not stand to show pride in the flag of a country that oppresses black people. Interestingly, although black, while Kaepernick was abandoned by his own parents, he was raised by a most loving white family.

Kaepernickism proved contagious as other minority-group members sought to register similar disgust for America.

Sadly, one was a member of the Armed Forces. Last Sept. 19, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Janeye Ervin refused to stand for the national anthem being played on a military base as the flag was raised for morning colors. Quickly punished for doing so, she, too, undoubtedly, did not fly the flag this past July 4.

Ervin, a reservist on active duty at the time, explained her rationale for disrespecting the flag to an interviewer, claiming she was making a statement about blacks being persecuted. She said, I just didnt want to stand at that moment. I cant stand for this song knowing that the song isnt for me, being black. The song doesnt represent me at all. To be honest, I never really thought about the flag my entire life. I had no reason to. Its just a flag.

The Navy would tolerate none of it. Ervin, an intelligence specialist, was stripped of her military security clearances, which she also needed for her civilian job. While civilians cannot be held to a standard demanding they honor their flag, military personnel, by virtue of having taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, are. After all, we can hardly expect one to protect what one fails to respect.

Yet another house over which our flag did not fly July 4 was occupied by one choosing to disrespect it in a most egregious way that same day.

In the city of love where an iconic symbol of American independence for over two centuries the Liberty Bell hangs today, a young woman in Philadelphia undertook a most despicable act to dishonor the flag. Taking a selfie video, she then posted it on Facebook. In the privacy of her home, it showed the American flag spread out over her toilet as she smilingly urinated upon it. While Facebook eventually pulled the video, this classy lady, Emily Lance, seeking to further inflame those already offended, added the caption: F your nationalism. F your country. F your stupid fing flag.

While Lance provided no insights as to what her particular issue was with a country in which she had the right to perform such a perverted act, she, like Kaepernick and Ervin, obviously enjoyed her 15 minutes of fame, denigrating a symbol of democracy and freedom that the vast majority of us hold near and dear to our hearts.

For the rest of us, the flag is a symbol to which a certain sense of spirituality attaches, not only because of what it represents but due to a deep appreciation for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend it.

A question arises of these anti-flag protesters, now that they have dishonored the flag: What now? While their acts briefly won them the national spotlight they sought, what have they done with it to further promote their cause?

Interestingly, while Kaepernick did eventually return to standing for the national anthem (perhaps recognizing things were not as bad as he initially thought), it appears he, Ervin and Lance have done nothing of a positive nature to help point America in the direction they seek.

It is a sad commentary of our times young people such as these three have opted to demonstrate their personal dissatisfactions by dishonoring a symbol that really should serve as a rallying point for us all. Granted, America is not perfect by any means. But we all belong to the same 326 million-member-strong family. And, just as in the case of ones personal family where a member may test others, we recognize that family bond exists and must be honored not dishonored. Accordingly, we work within it to resolve our differences while not offending the family name.

Earlier this month, Secretary of Defense James Mattis gave the graduation speech at West Point. He pointed out that a few miles outside of Washington, D.C., at the Antietam Battlefield Cemetery, is a statue of a Union soldier, standing at rest, overlooking his comrades graves. The statue is inscribed with the words, not for themselves, but for their country.

Mattis said, How simple that thought. So long as our nation breeds defenders who look past the hot political rhetoric of our day and rally to our flag, that Army tradition of serving our country will never die.

It is standing under our flag that enables us to engage in the hot political rhetoric of our day. But such rhetoric should never cause us to lose sight of the spirituality the flag holds. By dishonoring it, we dishonor not only ourselves but, more importantly, those who gave their all to defend it.

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Old Glory flies where its spirituality is recognized - WND.com

Regina woman says she needed spirituality while in solitary … – CTV News

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Camille Bains, The Canadian Press Published Wednesday, July 19, 2017 4:59PM EDT Last Updated Wednesday, July 19, 2017 9:43PM EDT

VANCOUVER -- A Regina woman who spent 3-1/2 years in solitary confinement cried Wednesday as she recalled how a spiritual ceremony led by a First Nations elder helped her through difficult times at a British Columbia prison.

BobbyLee Worm, 31, was testifying at a B.C. Supreme Court trial launched by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and the John Howard Society of Canada over the use of indefinite solitary confinement.

Worm was sentenced to nearly six years in prison in June 2006 for armed robbery. She served time at the Edmonton Institution for Women before being transferred in July 2008 to the Fraser Valley Institution for Women in Abbotsford, B.C., where she occasionally participated in spiritual ceremonies.

Prison officials limited an elder to certain elements of a spiritual ceremony, she said.

"The elder would still want to see me regardless of how they were telling her how to give me my spirituality because she knows how important it was to me to have that in my life at that time," Worm said through tears.

"It helped me keep grounded and keep myself together in order to get through those times."

Justice Peter Leask stopped proceedings to give Worm a break from testifying about her experiences, which involved long stints in 23-hours-a-day isolation, including one term that lasted almost a year.

Worm told the trial she was handcuffed in her cell while an elder met with her through a food slot.

The constitutional challenge was filed in January 2015. The federal government tried to stop the trial, saying legislation introduced last month would impose a time limit on solitary confinement terms.

However, the two groups say a warden would still have the final say and cases such as the 2007 in-custody suicide of Ashley Smith of Moncton, N.B., could still happen. The judge rejected the government's argument.

Correctional Service Canada maintains that so-called administrative segregation is used when inmates are difficult to manage, their safety may be at risk in the general population, or if there is no reasonable alternative to maintain the safety and security of an institution.

The court heard 50 allegations were made against Worm at the Edmonton prison, stemming from damage to property, possession and dealing of contraband, fights, assaults and uttering threats.

Worm told court she once tried suicide and said in her affidavit dated June 1 that she understood through counselling in prison that her repressed anger led her to assault inmates, leading to more time in isolation.

Her parents were intravenous drug users and she also turned to similar drug use, eventually contracting hepatitis C, she said in the affidavit.

She wanted to complete her Grade 12 education in prison but sometimes refused to participate because she was overwhelmed by trying to learn while being restrained as a teacher spoke to her through a food slot, Worm told court.

When she saw a teacher in another room, Worm said she was led out of her cell in shackles and handcuffs and learning became challenging because her hands were cuffed from behind and she couldn't use a pencil.

"I just got tired of everything that came with it, trying to get that," she said of a high school diploma.

Worm said she eventually earned privileges such as guitar lessons but was handcuffed during that time.

"It would have been a good nightclub act," the judge said, to which Worm responded: "I'll have to keep that in mind."

In 2013, she settled a lawsuit against the federal government, filed on her behalf by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, which said she'd suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of abuse her during childhood and adolescence.

Correctional Service Canada is currently required to release prisoners from administrative segregation at the earliest possible time. The proposed law would establish an initial time limit of 21 days, with a reduction to 15 days once the legislation is law for 18 months.

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Regina woman says she needed spirituality while in solitary ... - CTV News

Religion and Spirituality Events: 7/19 – Cecil Whig

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Low-cost, local events happening this week. To be included, your event must be family friendly, cost less than $25 per person and take place in Cecil County as well as adjoining areas within a 20-minute drive. Please submit the event title, time, address to accent@cecilwhig.com. Once approved by an editor, the event will be listed until its completion date. It will run in the print edition as space allows. You can also submit to a separate online calendar at cecildaily.com.

YOGA, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Painted Turtle Arts Studio, 13 N. Main St., North East. Ongoing $15 drop-in. Multi-level for everyone. Call instructor Laura Hannan at 1-540-421-0296.

CLUTTERERS ANONYMOUS, 6 to 7 p.m. at Janes United Methodist Church, 213 N. Walnut St., Rising Sun. Clutterers Anonymous is a 12-step program to help people solve their problems with clutter/hoarding. There are no dues or fees. Contact Martha H. 443-350-1483.

YOGA, 7 p.m. weekly classes at Cecil County Arts Council, 135 E. Main St., Elkton. Intro class is free. Then pay $10 per class or buy five classes for $45. Classes are designed for new and experienced yogis. Contact class instructor Sarah Mester at smester@comcast.net.

IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH, 7 p.m. at 229 E. Main St., Elkton. Panic, fear, anxiety, depression. Attend a free weekly meeting with Recovery International.

FREE LUNCH, 12 to 1 p.m. every Friday at Elkton Presbyterian Church, 209 E. Main St. provided by Elkton Community Kitchen. All are welcome. For more information contact elktoncommunitykitchen@gmail.com.

SMART RECOVERY, 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Janes UMC in Rising Sun. This meeting is for those recovering from the disease of addiction. This is an open support group that meets every Saturday.

SATURDAY EVENING SERVICE, 5 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 105 N. Bridge St., Elkton. Will recur every week at this time.

PUPPETS AND PEACH ICE CREAM, 6 p.m. at Harts UMC Amphitheater, 3203 Turkey Point Road in North East. Puppets and music performance by Jack Foreaker. Free admission. Refreshments will be on sale, including Harts famous Turkey Point Peach Ice Cream.

BUFFET BREAKFAST,7 to 10 a.m. at Oxford United Methodist Church, 18 Addison St. in Oxford PA. $7 for adults, $3 for children 3-10. Call 610-932-9698 for more information.

OUTDOOR WORSHIP, 9:30 a.m.grain or shine outdoor interdenominational service at Elk Neck State Park hilltop shelter, 4395 Turkey Point Road (Route 272, 9 miles south of NEUMC). Gil Nagle.

PARISH SUNDAY SCHOOL, 9:45 a.m. at Zion UMC in Cecilton. Recurs weekly.

DEBTORS ANONYMOUS, 6 to 7 p.m. at Janes United Methodist Church, 213 N. Walnut St., Rising Sun. Debtors Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who help each other solve their problems with debt. DA is a 12-step program. There are no dues or fees. Contact Martha H. 443-350-1483.

NARANON MEETING, 7 p.m. at Bethel Lutheran Church, North East. Hope and Peace every Monday. Contact Lorri: 443-250-0909.

WOMENS NA MEETING, 7 p.m. at Bethel Lutheran Church, North East.

YOGA 4 SENIORS, 9 to 10 a.m. at Painted Turtle Arts Studio, 13 N. Main St., North East. Pre-registration is required. Call instructor Laura Hannan at 1-540-421-0296. $12 per class if all six are pre-paid or $15 drop-in.

SENIOR MEETING, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Stephens Parish Hall in Earleville. Anyone 55 or older is invited to attend. Come and meet your neighbors. No membership fee. Lunch is served. Come for the fellowship, speaker, see what events we are planning. Questions call 410-275-8150. Recurs weekly.

MENS YOGA CLASS, 11 a.m. at Painted Turtle Arts Studio, 13 N. Main St., North East. Pre-registration is required. Call instructor Laura Hannan at 1-540-421-0296. $12 per class if all six are pre-paid or $15 drop-in.

COMMUNITY ARTS AND CRAFTS, 1 p.m. free instruction at St. Stephens Church, 10 Glebe Road, Earleville. Ongoing drawing and painting classes for beginner or serious artists. bspelled123@gmail.com. http://www.communityartandcrafts.com. Call Jerry at 410-275-2945.

TOPS, 5:30 p.m. at Rosebank UMC, Rising Sun. Nonprofit weight-loss support group, meets weekly. $6 monthly fee. First meeting free. topsrosebank@gmail.com.

NARANON, 7 p.m. every Tuesday at Elkton United Methodist Church. A Nar-Anon adult support meeting for those with addicts in the family.

MEDITATION, 7 p.m. every Tuesday with Three Roots Wellness at Painted Turtle Arts Studio, 13 N. Main St., North East. Learn basics of meditation practices and how to make it useful in your everyday life. Donation based. Registration is required email to angela@threerootswellness.com.

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Religion and Spirituality Events: 7/19 - Cecil Whig

Spirituality, family roots drew THZ’s new rabbi to Mount Holly – Jewish Community Voice

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By JAYNE JACOVA FELD Voice staff

Standing in front of Temple Har Zion were (from left), Joel Berenbaum holding Galya Bracha, Joels mother Myra, and Rabbi Tiferet Berenbaum. Although raised without a strong religious foundation, Rabbi Tiferet Berenbaum knew from an early age that she would grow up to be a person talking about God. The big unknown was which of the world religions she would embrace.

When I was seven, I remember putting on my dads bathrobe, flipping over a table, and giving a sermon to my stuffed animals about God and loving God. I made sure they were quiet because that was the way they were supposed to be for the sermon, recalled the new spiritual leader of Temple Har Zion in Mount Holly. My parents thought I was insane.

Her parents, both black Southern Baptists who had settled with their only child in Brookline, Mass., were spiritual, if not church going. Nonetheless, they were always supportive of their daughters religious journey. By Christmas morning of sixth grade, there was only minimal eye rolling when Berenbaum insisted on giving a prepared sermon before the presents under the tree could be unwrapped.

It was my first full-on Dvar Torah, she said.

Berenbaum discovered Judaism not long after that. That was in middle school when the flood of invitations to her friends bnai mitzvah gave her excuses to go to services.

From the first bat mitzvah I went toit was so mesmerizingI remember wanting all of it, she recalled. I wanted to wear a tallit and to kiss the Torah as it came around. The kid who was behind me, who shall remain nameless, he was like, you arent Jewish; you cant do these things.

Still, Berenbaum wasnt put off for long. Judaism returned to the forefront when the passing of her boyfriends father exposed her to Jewish mourning rituals at age 18.

Saying Kaddish for his father was my first adult experience with Judaism, said Berenbaum, 34. I fell back in love just like I was at the bat mitzvahs. The Torah service was wonderful. The concept of Torah study, and Shabbatthey were all things I had glommed onto myself without actually knowing they were part of Judaism.

By the summer between her freshman and sophomore year at Tufts University, while pursuing a degree in clinical psychology, Berenbaum devoured every book on Judaism in her public library.

Fortunately, coming out to her mother as a Jew turned out to be not such a big deal. I said, Mommy, I think Im Jewish, she said. My mother responded, we always knew you were Jewish.

Back at Tufts, she picked up a second major in Judaic studies and started the process of conversion. From there, Berenbaums story becomes more conventional. She taught Hebrew School in the Boston area for two years before embarking on rabbinic school at the Hebrew College in Newton, Mass. Six years later, in 2012, Berenbaum, the second black woman to be ordained as a rabbi in the United States, took a job as spiritual leader of Congregation Shir Hadash, a small Reconstructionist congregation in Milwaukee.

With the move to Har Zion, self-described as an egalitarian, Jewish Renewal-oriented synagogue in the Conservative tradition, Berenbaum feels a sense of homecoming. Its not just her comfort level with Renewal, a trans-denominational approach to revitalizing Judaism with old and new practices. Both her parents were raised in Burlington Countythey ended up in the Boston area where her father, who was blind, attended the Perkin School for the Blind. Also her husband Joel, who is currently studying to be a special education teacher at Alverno College while staying at home to take care of the couples six-month-old daughter Galya Bracha and lemon beagle Clint, is from Elkins Park, PA.

Replacing Rabbi Richard Simon, who led THZ for 32 years, she said is an awesome responsibility.

I know Im standing on a really strong spiritual foundation, she said. Even just being in the building, I can feel the spiritual footprint he created.

Laura Markowitz, THZs new president, said Berenbaums background, experiences and very essence seemed a great match for the synagogue that mixes traditional liturgy with the incorporation of drums, keyboards, chanting, dancing and meditation.

She just seemed to fit as a person who knows who she is, said Markowitz. Her love of text, of study, of Jewish liturgy and of song came through every time we spoke to her.

As for Berenbaum, she already feels she is surrounded by family at THZ. She looks forward to helping congregants continue their journey and to spread the love of Judaism to all who are open to it.

I fell in love with Judaism; I think its the coolest thing since sliced bread, she said. I just want to be able to show this amazing religion to anyone who lets me. Im really one of those lucky people who gets to do what I love to do.

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Spirituality, family roots drew THZ's new rabbi to Mount Holly - Jewish Community Voice

Chosen Gospel Recovery Ministry Gives Back by Helping God’s Peopl – Lasentinel

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Chosen Gospel Recovery Groupincludes (from left) Briana Barr, Co-PastorCookie Brown, founding PastorDarlene Watley, CFOTami Poindexter andLindsay Lee. (File Photo)

For many years, the Rev. Darlene Watley desired to make a tangible difference in the lives of people, particularly those who affected by substance abuse, homelessness and mental illness.

As a person in recovery, she had first-hand experience in surviving a disease that can swallow your life, destroy your outlook and drown you in depression. But, thanks to the help of others, she turned her life around and wanted to help others achieve that same stability.

So, in 2002, Watley decided to transform her dream into reality by starting Chosen Gospel Recovery Ministries and 15 years later, the nonprofit is changing lives all around South Los Angeles.

ChosenGospelRecovery offers person-to-person outreach to the homeless and addicted, transitional housing for single women & women and children, and spiritual enlightenment to the lost and confused. The groups educational component provides various skill-building training in communication, conflict resolution and eliminating risky behavior.

Describing her fulfillment since founding the ministry, Watley declared, Its a desire of mine to give back to my community and this is the most rewarding thing Ive ever done in my life besides giving birth to my five daughters. To serve others is the most rewarding thing I could have ever accomplished.

Watley, who also serves as pastor of Faithful Zion First Fruits Ministry, utilizes space attached to the church building to run Chosen Gospel Recoverys programs. The campus contains a sanctuary, a daycare and seven rooms attached to the edifice where women and children can reside for up to a year.

We reunify women with their children through our program. We get DCFS cases closed. We educate and empower our women to understand things, like risky behavior, that caused their homelessness. We help them build skills and we work with them hand-in-hand, she explained.

The housing divisions are named Rubys House I, II and III, after a woman with the same name who Watley said took me in during my darkest hour, loved me with the love of Christ and pointed me in the direction of recovery. My program is designed on my experiences with her.

Music is another arm of Chosen Gospel Recovery. Singing gospel recovery songs in a variety of styles, Watley and group members regularly appear at churches and social events around Southern California. Also, every October, they are featured performers on the Wave stage at the Taste of Soul, L.A.s largest family festival.

The music ministry is where we are able to open up the portals of peoples soul to minister to them through songs, many of them that weve written and vocally arranged ourselves, said Watley, who added that Chosen Gospel Recovery recently released a new CD of their music.

In addition, spiritual nourishment takes place via Faithful Zion First Fruits Ministrys Sunday worship services and weekly Bible Study and prayer meeting. Choir rehearsal and liturgical dance practice also occur during the week.

Our members are people that were non-believers, out of the church, from different religions, different cultures, bound up by drugs and alcohol, suffering from mental illness all of the people that society says are throwaways and they were stigmatized by that. But theyre up in here praising God and serving one another. Thats what God wants us to do, she shared.

To keep the all of the ministrys programs operating, Watley credits the assistance of her co-pastor, the Rev. Carolyn Cookie Brown, and Faithful Zion First Fruits ministerial team who share their talents and expertise in several capacities. As for funding, Chosen Gospel Recovery organizes fundraisers as well as accepts financial donations and contributions of items like furniture, blankets, towels and toiletries. Sponsorships and mentorships are available as well to aid youth and college students.

This ministry is the Great Commission in full effect. This is what the Bible tells us to do, said Watley. Our statement of faith is based on Acts 2:42-47. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowshipped to the breaking of bread and prayer. Thats what we really practice here.

Chosen Gospel Recovery Ministries is located at 3939 W. Slauson Ave., in Los Angeles. For information or to volunteer or donate, call (323) 244-6902.

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Chosen Gospel Recovery Ministry Gives Back by Helping God's Peopl - Lasentinel

Evening of classical music and dance – Berea Mail

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Performers from Kala Darshan will take the audience on a spiritual journey of music and dance.

KALA Darshan Institute of classical music and dance will stage Bandish An evening of classical music and dance by students of Kala Darshan on 22 July at the Rajput Hall, 9 Trishula Avenue, Chatsworth (unit 6), at 6pm.

Produced and directed by Guru Shri Manesh Maharaj, Bandish focuses on music and dance as a medium towards spiritual enlightenment. Over 70 classically trained students ranging from the ages of four to 70 years in the fields of Sitar, Harmonium, Tabla, Vocal and Kathak will come together on one stage to create a breathtaking aural-visual experience as they perform to melodious Ragas and pulsating rhythms, at the same time transporting the audience on a spiritual journey of music and dance.

Bandish promises to captivate and enthrall a diverse audience with its rich music score, vibrant choreography and exquisite costumes. Tickets priced at R50 a seat will be available at the door prior to the performance. Part of the proceeds will be donated to various religious organisations. For further information or organisations wishing to raise funds, contact 082 422 6865.

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Evening of classical music and dance - Berea Mail

‘Destiny’ leads Napan to change careers – Napa Valley Register

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Aaron Lockhart said his favorite thing about being a financial adviser at Edward Jones Investments, is the ability to help people worry less.

When you can take some worry out of their future just by educating them. And helping his clients make financial planning decisions, it really is a fantastic feeling, he said.

This year, Lockhart moved his family from Roseville to Napa to join his fathers Edward Jones office.

1. What was your first job?

Grocery bagger at the Shasta View Market in Redding.

2. How did you get into this business/industry?

I am the fourth person in my family to serve the Napa community as an Edward Jones financial advisor.

My father, Bill Lockhart, spent years trying to recruit me, but I had a great career in senior management at Penguin Random House.

Its based in New York but they have a small division thats partly based in Roseville called Prima Games. They published books on video games and popular entertainment. I did all the licensing for them for different franchises like Pokmon and Star Wars. I was there for 10 years. It was a really fun job.

My father will retire next year (and) Im taking over for him. I finally accepted my destiny and made the leap.

3. Your cousin, Robert Lockhart, and his father, Bob Lockhart, (since retired) have an Edward Jones office in Napa. Do people ever get you all mixed up?

Sometimes people come into the wrong office but we try to keep everyone going to the right places.

Its the only partnership left on Wall Street. The firm is owned by the employees.

Its a fantastic career. And we saw how my uncle paved the way and we decided to come along. Its worked out nicely for everyone in the family.

5. Whats a common misconception you get about your work?

I think the biggest thing is that people think they need a certain amount of wealth to be able to work with a financial advisor.

We dont work that way. Its never too late to sit down and work out your plan. Theres plenty of help available.

6. If you could change one thing about your business/industry, what would it be?

We need to find more smart, caring and honest people who want to become financial advisors. Far too many people today are not adequately prepared for unexpected events or retirement and they need our help.

7. Whats on your to-do list?

Travel the world with my family, attain spiritual enlightenment and remodel the bathroom.

8. What is one thing you hope to accomplish in your lifetime that you havent yet?

Play golf without embarrassing myself.

9. Whats something people might be surprised to know about you?

I spent a semester in college in Costa Rica working as a teacher at an elementary school.

10. What was your childhood ambition?

To get to that phase in my life where I have a virtually unlimited amount of quarters to spend in the video arcade. (Ive since updated my life goals.)

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'Destiny' leads Napan to change careers - Napa Valley Register

Goodbye, Age of Enlightenment. Hello, chaos. – iPolitics.ca (subscription)

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One of the pleasures of these high days of summer is sitting in the shade, with a glass of something cool nearby, thinking about the Peace of Westphalia.

Its clear now that the three pillars of modern world the nation state, capitalism and liberalism erected by that set of treaties in 1648 arefast falling apart. The decay has been going on for some time, of course, but some future historians will say with absolute confidence that the Age of Enlightenment came to a conclusive end on November 8, 2016, when the flawed United States electoral system produced its current administration.

It has had a good run.

The primary task of this bundle of treaties signed nearly 400 years ago was to end the Thirty Years War between Catholics and Protestants in the tattered remnants of Europes Holy Roman Empire. In addition, they drew a line under the Eighty Years War of the Dutch Republic seeking independence from Spain.

As they did so, the draughtsmen of these treaties also produced the European concept of the nation state, and created rulers who were increasingly answerable to and, eventually, chosen by their citizens.

In seeking to end the religious wars between Protestants and Catholics, the treaties enshrined freedom of religion into law. The idea was imperfectly applied, as the world knows full well, but it played its part in the later creation of egalitarian societies and, eventually, modern liberalism.

Many historians argue that freeing Protestantism from persecution embedded the concept of individual judgement and responsibility in mainstream society, which led directly to the birth of capitalism. Capitalism is a harsh creed, but it has created vast wealth and extended it across the globe.

Initially, Westphalian values were European values only. But as European countries sought overseas possessions, these values went with them. When those empires collapsed, they remained in the brickwork of the liberated states.

Thats all history now. Every day there are reminders that we live in a Post-Enlightenment age.

There was one stark reminder last week when, for the first time in its history, the association of the 50 state governors of the United States invited the head of a foreign government, Justin Trudeau, to give itskeynote speech.

At the meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, were also senior representatives from Mexico, Japan, China and Vietnam. The clear message was that governors, of whatever political stripe, no longer have confidence in the self-destructive muddle now passing as the Washington establishment being able to function as a national legislature going forward.

The governors now have to defend their own interests, and those of their citizens, by pursuing their own foreign policies. They need to maintain their own strong relationships with Canada and Mexico to try to ensure there is only minimal damage from the ignorant blather coming out of Washington about the North America Free Trade Agreement.

Equally, the governors need to override the protectionism and isolationism of the current Washington administration by making their own overtures to potential investor nations like China and Japan.

These state officials are closer to the concerns of their constituents than the absentee partisans in Washington which explains why many of them are bypassing the federal government and making their own commitments to important international initiatives, like the Paris accord on climate change.

The problems at the root of the dysfunction in the U.S. nation-state run much deeper than the current personalities at the helm. Donald Trump and his fellow-travellers are only the most recent eruptions of symptoms that have been evident for a couple of decades. Federations are always difficult to sustain and manage. Its going to take a major constitutional upheaval to get the U.S. nation state back into working condition.

In Europe, the irony is that the continent already realized the the traditional nation state was incapable of dealing with the challenges of the modern world. Its answer was to go back to before Westphalia for a solution to effectively recreate the Holy Roman Empire.

In theory, the European Union is a secular, non-religious version of that empire, albeit with major territorial additions. But it is evident that common Christian culture even if it doesnt involve the daily devotions of the pre-Westphalian Middle Ages remains a binding European force.

The inability to effectively integrate Muslim immigrants has opened a rift often a violent one in several EU countries. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has for years been outspoken in his objection to Turkey joining the EU. Sarkozy has usually been careful to couch his objection in geographic terms, characterizing Turkey as being more of the Middle East and Asia Minor than of Europe. But the silent subtext behind Sarkozys position was that Turkey is a majority Muslim country.

The legal religious tolerance written into the Treaty of Westphalia is having a rough time worldwide, not just in Europe. Christian Copts are being slaughtered in large numbers in Egypt. Violence between Muslims and Hindus is a fact of daily life in India, as it is between various branches of Islam in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Buddhists and Muslims are at loggerheads in Burma and in southern Thailand.

In contrast, China is embroiled in a new age of spirituality as the quasi-religious Communist Party belief systems crumble under the weight of greed and corruption. But the Party only allows spiritual expressions whether they be Buddhist, Daoist, Muslim, Christian or Confucian over which it has ultimate control.

Chinas 30-year high-velocity ride from peasant economy to imperial oligarchy is also a testament to the limits of the capitalism set loose by the Treaty of Westphalia.

Economic globalization has rushed to its logical conclusion, creating oligarchies in all regions of the world, with most wealth in the hands of a tiny minority. Over much of the world, the disparity between the rich and the rest is approaching levels where social unrest and upheaval become unavoidable.

In this picture, Canada stands out as one of the few remaining sanctuaries of Westphalian values. The Canadian nation state functions reasonably well. Canada remains a tolerant society. And even though Canada has many more oligarchs and much more disparity than in the past, it remains an outpost of functional capitalism.

That still leaves two questions for Canadians especially in the context of the crisis of political legitimacy to the south. How do we sustain those Westphalian values? And who are our allies now?

The views, opinions and positions expressed by all iPolitics columnists and contributors are the authors alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of iPolitics.

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Goodbye, Age of Enlightenment. Hello, chaos. - iPolitics.ca (subscription)

UFO LATEST: Truth about ‘alien mothership’ filmed ‘tracking … – Express.co.uk

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Footage from the ISS livestream, uploaded to YouTube, shows a massive hazy object come into view in the background away from the space station.

Commentators have described it as first appearing as a line of orange lights, before it begins to take on a larger form.

As the clip comes to the end, the lights appear to dim back into space.

The video was released by brothers Blake and Brett Cousins who run YouTube channel thirdphaseofmoon yesterday.

The pair showed an interview with a UFO expert in an effort to identify the mysterious anomaly.

Nasa*YouTube

In the video the expert says: "First, what I was looking at is I dont know exactly what I was looking at.

In the very beginning, you see these orange dots around it and by the end of it the entire thing almost shrinks up a little bit.

Almost as if its a giant mothership for all we know.

There have already been more than 40,000 views of the video.

One viewer said: Looks like the Battlestar Galactica just jumped into orbit.

NASA

1 of 14

ISS Nasa live cam cuts after 'suddenly locking on to mystery glowing UFO'

In the very beginning, you see these orange dots around it and by the end of it the entire thing almost shrinks up a little bit. Almost as if its a giant mothership for all we know.

UFO expert

Another said: Its an interstellar mother ship, watching what NASA is doing, as NASA have lied since the first encounter with UFO.

But a sceptical third said: To me it looks like the ISS filmed a storm in the upper atmosphere.

Thirdphaseofmoon has made it onto a number of UFO website and YouTube channel blacklists by more sceptical investigators, amid claims they use hoax and misrepresented footage.

The brothers deny this and claim to be legitimate researchers.

UFO chasers have reported seeing scores of UFOs on the livestream this year but they have turned out to be nothing more than ice, space debris, or lens flares which is when light refracts inside the camera lens and then is projected on to the still or video image.

Express.co.uk showed the video to Scott Brando, who runs debunking website ufoofinterest.org, who said it was just reflected light coming from the ISS itself, so there was no UFO and nothing was actually there.

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UFO LATEST: Truth about 'alien mothership' filmed 'tracking ... - Express.co.uk

Space station project seeks to crystalize the means to counteract nerve poisons – National Institutes of Health (press release)

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National Institutes of Health (press release)
Space station project seeks to crystalize the means to counteract nerve poisons
National Institutes of Health (press release)
In June of this year, samples of the human AChE enzyme were sent to the International Space Station U.S. Laboratory by a team of CounterACT scientists led by Andrey Kovalevsky, Ph.D., Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Zoran ...
Space station crystals to aid search for better antidotes for chemical ...UPI.com

all 3 news articles »

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Space station project seeks to crystalize the means to counteract nerve poisons - National Institutes of Health (press release)

Space station project seeks to crystallize the means to counteract nerve poisons – Space Daily

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The microgravity conditions of the International Space Station (ISS) may hold the key to improving our understanding of how to combat toxic nerve agents such as sarin and VX. That is the hope of Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) project that is part of an initiative at the National Institutes of Health aimed at developing improved antidotes for chemical agents.

"With increasing worldwide concern about the use of chemical weapons, there is significant interest in developing better counteragents," said David A. Jett, Ph.D., director of the CounterACT program, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a part of NIH.

Organophosphates (OPs), a family of chemicals that includes several pesticides as well as sarin and VX nerve agents, block the activity of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). This enzyme is critical for allowing muscles to relax after they have been stimulated by the nervous system. When the activity of AChE is blocked (for example, by OPs), muscles cannot relax, leading to paralysis and eventually death.

Developing antidotes to this type of poisoning requires detailed knowledge about the structure of the AChE enzyme. Until now, the forces of gravity on Earth have posed a challenge to this area of research. That's where traveling into space comes in.

In June of this year, samples of the human AChE enzyme were sent to the International Space Station U.S. Laboratory by a team of CounterACT scientists led by Andrey Kovalevsky, Ph.D., Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Zoran Radic, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego. Using these samples, astronauts are currently growing large crystals of pure enzyme of a size that cannot be formed on Earth due to interference from gravity.

"By taking advantage of the microgravity conditions of the International Space Station, we hope to grow better, more uniform crystals that we are unable to grow on Earth," said Dr. Kovalevsky.

Once the crystals are grown to a large enough size, they will be returned to Earth and analyzed by a sophisticated imaging method called neutron diffraction that can provide an atomic-level view of the enzyme.

"Using this technique, we will be able to get a closer look at how the enzyme interacts with pesticides and nerve agents and learn about how the bond between the two can be chemically reversed," said Dr. Radic. "This method would not work on the smaller enzyme crystals that can be grown here."

Antidotes to OP exposure reactivate AChE by directly breaking its chemical bond with the OP. However, the speed at which the countermeasures available today are able to do this is too slow to be fully effective. This project will help researchers to develop antidotes that break the AChE-OP bond more quickly and that can also be delivered orally, which is another key to dealing with large-scale exposure to nerve poisons.

"Developing better countermeasures against these sorts of nerve agents is a major thrust of our overall program," said Dr. Jett. "This project is the kind of cutting-edge science we envisioned when we established the CounterACT program."

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Space station project seeks to crystallize the means to counteract nerve poisons - Space Daily

Cute zero-gravity robot is newest member of the International Space Station crew – Mirror.co.uk

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An adorable little robotic camera drone with wide illuminated eyes and a perpetually surprised expression has joined the crew of the International Space Station.

Known as Int-Ball, the bot can be controlled remotely by researchers on the ground, allowing them to capture images and video from aboard the artificial satellite.

Int-Ball contains actuators, rotational and acceleration sensors and electromagnetic brakes, which allow it to move around autonomously in zero gravity.

Developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), it was delivered to the ISS on 4 June 2017, and has already started feeding photos and video back to Earth.

JAXA claims that Int-Ball could eventually replace the need for astronauts to capture photos and record video aboard the ISS - tasks that currently take up about 10% of their time.

It could also enable more cooperative work between astronauts and researchers, as those on the ground would be able to see things from the same perspective as the crew.

During its time on the ISS, JAXA will be take part in experiments both inside and outside the space station, in order to test and improve its performance.

JAXA hopes that it will also help to promote the use of robotics technology in future space exploration missions.

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Cute zero-gravity robot is newest member of the International Space Station crew - Mirror.co.uk

Pioneering probe for gravitational wave observatory ends mission – Spaceflight Now

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Artists illustration of the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft. Credit: ESA

The European Space Agencys LISA Pathfinder spacecraft, now sailing around the sun on a trajectory away from Earth, was deactivated Tuesday after a nearly 18-month mission testing previously-untried lasers, vacuum enclosures, exotic gold-platinum cubes and micro-thrusters needed for a trio of gravitational wave observatories set for launch in the 2030s.

Stefano Vitale, principal investigator of the LISA Pathfinder missions core instruments, sent the long-planned command to passivate the probe at 1800 GMT (2 p.m. EDT) Tuesday from the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany.

The end of LISA Pathfinders mission Tuesday marked another turning point in gravitational wave research, a field of astrophysics reinvigorated in the last two years by two major advances, according to Paul McNamara, the missions project scientist at ESA.

First came the launch of LISA Pathfinder on Dec. 3, 2015. Three months later, scientists announced the first confirmed detection of gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of spacetime produced by the movement of massive objects in space, such as immense supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies.

The gravitational waves, first predicted more than a century ago by Albert Einstein, were discovered by scientists crunching data gathered in September 2015 from a ground-based observatory called LIGO, which has antennas positioned 1,800 miles (3,000 kilometers) apart in Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana.

Gravitational wave research requires huge detectors spread of thousands or millions of miles because the ripples are observed at very low frequencies as they travel through the universe at the speed of flight. Astronomers say the waves, which can be triggered by violent phenomena such as black hole mergers, reveal a new way of studying the cosmos impossible with conventional optical telescopes.

The back-to-back breakthroughs catapulted gravitational waves to the forefront of astronomical journals and space mission planning.

Was it a big step forward? Absolutely, because up to this point there were two doubts, McNamara said in an interview this week with Spaceflight Now. One doubt was gravitational waves dont exist, and then LIGO comes along and detects them.

Then we launched LISA Pathfinder, and we demonstrated the hardware in space, he said. So the two big questions do they exist and can we detect them? both were answered within three months of each other.

LISA Pathfinder was named for a follow-on mission dubbed the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, which was formally selected by ESAs science planning board June 20 to move into the next phase of mission planning after decades of starts and stops.

With the astonishing success of LISA Pathfinder, we now know how to build a mission like LISA, said Vitale, a researcher at the University of Trento and the National Institute for Nuclear Physics in Italy.

Launched from French Guiana aboard a Vega rocket, the hexagonal space probe is about the size of a small car. LISA Pathfinder reached an operating point at the L1 Lagrange point nearly a million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth in January 2016, lurking near a gravitational balance point between in a direction toward the sun.

In March 2016, on the first day LISA Pathfinder was in full science mode, ground controllers confirmed the mission had already met its minimum success requirements.

Two gold-platinum test cubes launched inside the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft were released from their launch restraints, a complicated procedure involving needle-like appendages that carefully pulled away from the cubes each 1.8 inches (46 millimeters) on a side and with a mass of 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) to avoid disturbing them with electrostatic forces.

The crux of the mission was to prove the test cubes could be kept in a constant state of nearly perfect free fall during LISA Pathfinders mission.

Two sets of low-impulse thrusters essentially steered the spacecraft around the free-floating test masses suspended inside two vacuum enclosures placed 15 inches (38 centimeters) apart on the satellite.

Accelerometers aboard LISA Pathfinder precisely tracked its movements, and a control computer sent signals to the low-thrust rocket packs outside the probe to continuously correct to keep the test cubes from contacting the walls of their chambers.

A high-precision laser interferometer constantly measured the range between the two test cubes, and that device also exceeded requirements, measuring the relative motion of the test masses with a precision of a femtometer, or one quadrillionth of a meter.

LISA Pathfinder is 10,000 times more stable than any satellite flown on a previous science mission, officials said, demonstrating that it was possible for the test masses to remain virtually motionless with respect to each other.

ESA said the test masses had a relative acceleration of only ten billionths of a billionth of Earths gravity, an achievement made possible by a tedious accounting of every component of the spacecraft that could influence the floating metallic cubes.

Many of the lessons learned from LISA Pathfinder were not in how to build a space-rated gravitational wave detector, but how to operate it, McNamara said. Even the switch-on of a transponder or star tracker added noise to the instrument beyond acceptable limits.

This is such a sensitive instrument that it responds to anything changing whatseover, NcNamara said. Weve learned that, for LISA, we have to assume if you make any changes on-board its going to take you time to recover back into equilibirium. If you turn any unit on, you turn any heater on, or do anything on the spacecraft to put it in a slightly different orientation, itll take you a week to get back to operational status.

Such precision is needed because gravitational waves have an amplitude of a few millionths of a millionth of a meter over a distance of a million kilometers (621,000 miles). Any larger movement of the test masses would mask the gravitational wave.

The LISA Pathfinder mission cost around $630 million, a figure that includes contributions from ESA, NASA and other institutions scattered across Europe.

LISA Pathfinder was conceived to prove a gravitational wave mission was technically feasible.

People just didnt think it was possible, McNamara said. Thats why LISA Pathfinder came into being. It was just to see could we build an instrument which was quiet enough.

The concept for the LISA mission selected by ESA last month calls for three spacecraft similar to LISA Pathfinder to launch in 2034 into an orbit around the sun that trails the Earth.

The LISA spacecraft will fly in a triangular formation more than 1.5 million miles (2.5 million kilometers) apart, linked by lasers to track the exact distances between the nodes, which will each contain two free-floating test masses. Sensors will watch for tiny variations in the range between the craft as gravitational waves pass through the solar system.

With gravitational waves, its a completely new endeavor were taking on, McNamara told Spaceflight Now. This idea of flying three spacecraft separated by millions of kilometers, and you have to be able to measure the distance to a hundredth the size of an atom.

We have exceeded not only the requirements set for LISA Pathfinder, but also the accuracy required for LISA at all frequencies: we are definitely ready to take the next step, said Karsten Danzmann, a LISA Pathfinder co-investigator, the lead proposer of the LISA mission, and director at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Germany.

ESA expects the LISA mission to cost up to $1.2 billion (more than a billion euros), not including support from NASA.

Paul Hertz, director of NASAs astrophysics division, said Wednesday that the U.S. space agency wants to contribute technology and hardware to the LISA mission roughly equivalent to around 20 percent of the missions total cost.

NASA and ESA originally planned a larger, more ambitious LISA mission, but NASA dropped out of the partnership in 2011 due to budget constraints. ESA pressed on with a scaled-back gravitational wave observatory, which received prioritization from the agency in 2013 ahead of the LISA concepts selection last month.

European officials want ESA to lead the LISA mission to avoid falling victim to another failed partnership, but NASA will still be a significant contributor. After discussions in the last few years for NASA to be a 10 percent partner, the U.S. stake in the LISA mission is now likely to be closer to 20 percent.

We are talking about a more substantial contribution than a 10 percent share, Hertz said. ESA has welcomed us as a very major partner.

NASA might develop lasers and telescopes for the LISA observatory, or the missions charge management system. Another potential U.S. addition to the mission could be the micro-thrusters needed to deftly control each of the LISA spacecraft, which will be assembled in Europe.

LISA is third in ESAs Cosmic Vision line of large-class billion-euro space science missions.

A robotic spacecraft that will orbit Jupiter, and then circle Jupiters largest moon Ganymede, is on schedule for launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket in 2022, followed by liftoff of the Athena X-ray astronomy observatory in 2028.

Then it will be LISAs turn.

Before shutting down LISA Pathfinder, controllers fired its thrusters to nudge it out of its post at the L1 Lagrange point in April to head into a heliocentric orbit around the sun. The maneuver minimized the chance the spacecraft will return to Earths vicinity.

LISA Pathfinders science mission officially ended June 30, and engineers spent the final weeks practicing procedures to recapture the test masses inside their housings, which might be necessary if problems develop on the LISA mission. Other final tasks included monitoring the instruments behavior when the spacecrafts thrusters were turned off, and tracking the test masses response to a coronal mass ejection from the sun.

Scientists were eager to see how the spacecraft responded when it was zapped by ionizing energy from a solar eruption last week. In particular, mission officials wanted to know whether the instrument would still provide useful science data when the test masses were hit by charged particles. Reviews of that data are still ongoing, McNamara said.

The final commands uplinked to LISA Pathfinder turned off the crafts transponder and corrupted the memory files of the probes primary and redundant computers by filling the processors with the names of scientists and engineers who worked on the mission.

This is a celebration, and its certainly not a sad moment, Vitale said moments before sending the order that silenced the spacecraft.

LISA Pathfinder has done everything and more that we could have asked of it, McNamara said. And its allowed LISA to go ahead, so yes, were sad thats going away and its ending, but were very happy LISA is taking off.

Its another 17 years to go before that one launches, so well exercise our patience.

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Pioneering probe for gravitational wave observatory ends mission - Spaceflight Now