China plans new supercomputer for June 2018 – Neowin

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To put it frankly, China has been absolutely killing the competition in the TOP500 supercomputer rankings for the last couple of years. Its Sunway TaihuLight has been sitting at the top of the pile well ahead of the Tianhe-2, another Chinese supercomputer. Now, the country is saying that it has a new computer which will be ready in 12 months.

The new Sunway exascale computer being developed by the National Supercomputer Center (NSC) and the National Research Center of Parallel Computer Engineering and Technology (NRCPC) will be able to execute a quintillion calculations per second, making it eight times faster than the Sunway TiahuLight, which scored 93 petaflops to make first place on the TOP500 list.

The new supercomputer has already gone into production in Jinan. Once completed, the new computer will support further research and scientific applications in fields including marine environments, biological information, aviation, and aerospace. As we get better supercomputers, computationally intensive tasks such as predicting the weather and climate change will become easier to perform and the results will be more accurate.

In November, we reported that Japan would be gunning for the top spot on the supercomputer rankings. The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry had planned to spend $173 million on developing a new supercomputer called ABCI or AI Bridging Cloud Infrastructure. The country hopes that it can edge in front of China by scoring 130 petaflops on the Linpack benchmark. With the latest news from China, Japan might not have the opportunity to move ahead after all.

Source: CGTN

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IBM, Air Force to collaborate on brainy supercomputer — Washington … – Washington Technology

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EMERGING TECH

IBM and the Air Force Research Laboratory have partnered to develop an artificial intelligence-based supercomputer with what they call abrain-inspired, neural network design.

Based on a 64-chip array, the company and AFRL are designing the newIBM TrueNorth Neurosynaptic System to recognize patterns and carry outintegrated sensory processing functions. IBM first developed a TrueNorth platform for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program in partnership with Cornell University.

Both IBM and AFRL envision TrueNorth as able to convert data such as images, video, audio and text from multiple, distributed sensors into symbols in real time. AFRL seeks to combine that so-called "right-brain" function with "left-brain" symbol processing capabilities in conventional computer systems.

The goal is to enable multiple data sources to run in parallel against the same neural network and help independent neural networks form an ensemble to also run in parallel on the same data.

Once complete, the new TrueNorth platform's processing power would aim to equal that of 64 million neurons and 16 billion synapses as the processor component consumes energy equal to that of a 10-watt light bulb.

AFRL is investigating potential uses of the system in embedded, mobile and autonomous settings where limitations exist on the size, weight and power of platforms.

About the Author

Ross Wilkers is a senior staff writer for Washington Technology. He can be reached at rwilkers@washingtontechnology.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rosswilkers. Also find and connect with him on LinkedIn.

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IBM, Air Force to collaborate on brainy supercomputer -- Washington ... - Washington Technology

AFRL Taps IBM to Build Brain-Inspired AI Supercomputer – insideHPC – insideHPC

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Today IBM announced they are collaborating with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) on a first-of-a-kind brain-inspired supercomputing system powered by a 64-chip array of the IBM TrueNorth Neurosynaptic System. The scalable platform IBM is building for AFRL will feature an end-to-end software ecosystem designed to enable deep neural-network learning and information discovery. The systems advanced pattern recognition and sensory processing power will be the equivalent of 64 million neurons and 16 billion synapses, while the processor component will consume the energy equivalent of a dim light bulb a mere 10 watts to power.

AFRL was the earliest adopter of TrueNorth for converting data into decisions, said Daniel S. Goddard, director, information directorate, U.S. Air Force Research Lab. The new neurosynaptic system will be used to enable new computing capabilities important to AFRLs mission to explore, prototype and demonstrate high-impact, game-changing technologies that enable the Air Force and the nation to maintain its superior technical advantage.

IBM researchers believe the brain-inspired, neural network design of TrueNorth will be far more efficient for pattern recognition and integrated sensory processing than systems powered by conventional chips. AFRL is investigating applications of the system in embedded, mobile, autonomous settings where, today, size, weight and power (SWaP) are key limiting factors.

The IBM TrueNorth Neurosynaptic System can efficiently convert data (such as images, video, audio and text) from multiple, distributed sensors into symbols in real time. AFRL will combine this right-brain perception capability of the system with the left-brain symbol processing capabilities of conventional computer systems. The large scale of the system will enable both data parallelism where multiple data sources can be run in parallel against the same neural network and model parallelism where independent neural networks form an ensemble that can be run in parallel on the same data.

The evolution of the IBM TrueNorth Neurosynaptic System is a solid proof point in our quest to lead the industry in AI hardware innovation, said Dharmendra S. Modha, IBM Fellow, chief scientist, brain-inspired computing, IBM Research Almaden. Over the last six years, IBM has expanded the number of neurons per system from 256 to more than 64 million an 800 percent annual increase over six years.

The system fits in a 4U-high (7) space in a standard server rack and eight such systems will enable the unprecedented scale of 512 million neurons per rack. A single processor in the system consists of 5.4 billion transistors organized into 4,096 neural cores creating an array of 1 million digital neurons that communicate with one another via 256 million electrical synapses. For CIFAR-100 dataset, TrueNorth achieves near state-of-the-art accuracy, while running at >1,500 frames/s and using 200 mW (effectively >7,000 frames/s per Watt) orders of magnitude lower speed and energy than a conventional computer running inference on the same neural network.

The IBM TrueNorth Neurosynaptic System was originally developed under the auspices of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencys (DARPA) Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics (SyNAPSE) program in collaboration with Cornell University. In 2016, the TrueNorth Team received the inaugural Misha Mahowald Prize for Neuromorphic Engineering and TrueNorth was accepted into the Computer History Museum. Research with TrueNorth is currently being performed by more than 40 universities, government labs, and industrial partners on five continents.

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Texas gives green-light for experimental stem-cell therapies – BioEdge

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The government of Texas will allow clinics across the state to market unapproved stem-cell therapies, in a move that has met with criticism from bioethicists.

Last week Governor Greg Abbott signed off on the new legislation that allows clinics to by-pass FDA approval for investigational stem cell treatments for patients with certain severe chronic diseases or terminal illnesses. Like right to try laws in other States, the Texas legislation will give desperate patients access to therapies that provide hope after traditional medical treatments have failed.

Currently, most patients wishing to have stem-cell therapy have to travel out of the country to receive it. The new law will allow people with severe chronic or terminal illness to be treated at a clinic that purports to isolate therapeutic stem cells from adult tissuesuch as a patients own fatif their doctor recommends it after considering all other options, and if its administered by a physician at a hospital or medical school with oversight from an institutional review board (IRB). It also requires that the same intervention already be tested on humans in a clinical trial.

The law sanctions a much broader set of therapies than federal rules, which already exempt certain stem cell interventions from FDAs lengthy approval process, provided the cells are only minimally manipulated and perform the same function they normally have in the body.

Bioethicists have expressed their concern at the move, which they say puts patients at risk of the effects of dangerous, untested therapies.

University of Minnesota bioethicist Leigh Turner said he was sceptical about whether the clinics would be adequately monitored, while NYU Langone Medical Center bioethicist Beth Roxland said it was insufficient to have the therapies tested in clinical trials while by-passing FDA approval. You could gain access to something [as long as its] being studied in a human somewhere on the planet, Roxland told Science, which in the stem cell area makes it really very scary.

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A 10000 Year History Of Marijuana And Spirituality – The Fresh Toast

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This is an excerpt from Cannabis and Spirituality edited by Stephen Gray:

Cannabis has been a character in the human drama for at least the past ten thousand years, and very likely much longer. She, the genus Cannabis, has been seen and felt as a being, or a deity, in multiple cultures.

I say she because both historically and right now in Western culture, that is the gender that so many of us experience when we engage with cannabis.

Eight thousand years ago, cannabis seeds were used as food in China. Six thousand years ago, the Chinese were cultivating an ancestor of Cannabis sativa for its stem fibers, as hemp for making cordage and weaving into textiles. We know the Chinese were employing parts of the cannabis plant as medicines for various ailments five thousand years ago.

At least three thousand years ago, across Central Asia and perhaps farther, the seeds were widely used in rituals as offerings in invocations and also left with flowers in graves. Cannabis was widely used as incense that could affect anyone who breathed its ambient smoke.

Meanwhile, Cannabis indica had become well established in the Indian subcontinent, where both ritual and medicinal uses took root. Twenty-five hundred years ago, cannabis species and seeds were introduced to northern Europe from Asia.

Travelers on Asias Silk Road must have traded and transported everything from the plants myths to its medicine. From the 1500s up until a mere eighty years ago, cannabis was much appreciated here in North America as an exceptional herbal medicine and totally useful fiber source.

Then the tables were turned. The governments medical and legal establishment officially demonized the plant, and we are only now emerging from this absurd century of prohibition of the gifts of nature.

We know that the medicine, nourishment, and pungent incense of cannabis were valued during the past several millennia, but we dont know so much about her history of personification in the many ethnic regions across Asia and Africa. There were smoky group rituals, soothing oils, and effective medicinal teas. There were stories and songs about her, surely. There are some ancient literary references to how she was perceived.

In ancient China, Ma was the name of the deity resident in hemp, the extremely useful fiber that comes from the cannabis stem. Both the male and female plants are depicted in the pictogram for hemp (at left), sitting inside a built shelter or home. (Cannabis species are dioecious, meaning they produce male and female flowers on separate plants. Wind is the pollinator that allows male pollen to fertilize the females.)

Hemp has been a plant of fundamental utility to hundreds of generations of humans. Ma was therefore the spirit of she who grows, she who clothes us, she who binds, she who ties it all together. Textile and cordage species are essential to human cultures, and hemp has been appreciated as that most utilitarian of species since the days when everything grew wild and we were all nomadic.

Hemp was still crucial to our materials when the great European sailing ships set out to seek the worlds riches, but by then, sixteenth-century Europeans, mostly Christian, were not so interested in the natural deities resident in the plants that grew the fibers for their ropes, sails, and flags.

A name in folk etymology often signifies long-term respect and the gender that a culture recognizes in a plant. Cannabis was the name given by the seventeenth-century taxonomist Linnaeus, because canvaswas what common people called the fabric that hemp made.

The origins of the name marijuana are controversial. There are so many powerful plants in Latin America, some with folk names that are versions of Mary, Maria, or the Virgin, some with the title Santo or Santa, which means holy or sainted. Hispanic cultures were of course originally indigenous peoples of the Americas, layered with a syncretic blend of European Catholicism and some African animist influence.

Cannabis was an Old World species that was introduced to the Americas in the early days of colonization by the Spanish and Portuguese, and/or by the African slaves on their ships.

Native peoples of the Americas had a long-standing relationship to smoking, as they had domesticated various tobacco species, and early on invented the folk technology of the pipe or cigar. Tobacco is traditionally a highly spiritual plant that absolutely manifests as various types of resident entities, both male and female, who may be called upon in prayer. It would be natural for those who smoked tobacco as prayer medicine to recognize the spiritual potential of cannabis when smoked, and to feel the presence of someone in there whom we can speak to. Someone who shows up and helps us understand the vicissitudes of life, and who perhaps helps us to find joy in the moment.

Forty years ago, on the west coast of Mexico, I hung out with indigenous coastal people, some of whom smoked cannabis. At the end of a long day, the young fishermen would take a few sips of smoke, sigh, and lay back to rest on the sand, saying Ay, gracias, estoy hasta la Madre. This translates as I have reached the Mother, I am high, I am in her embrace. That was when I began to think of the female entity in marijuana, of who cannabis is, and what she provides.

Kathleen Harrison is the cofounder and director of Botanical Dimensions, a nonprofit whose mission is to collect, protect, propagate and understand plants of ethno-medical significance and their lore. This is an excerpt from Who is She? The Personification of Cannabis in Cultural and Individual Experience in Cannabis and Spirituality: An Explorers Guide to an Ancient Plant Spirit Ally edited by Stephen Gray 2016 Park Street Press. Printed with permission from the publisher Inner Traditions International.

This story first appeared on Project CBD.

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Dalai Lama begins two-day Boston visit with joy and blessings – The Boston Globe

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Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

The Dalai Lama greets Jampa Phunkhang of Medford after arriving at the Hyatt Regency Boston in Boston on Saturday.

Saturday was a day of joy for Buddhists from across the region, as the Dalai Lama arrived in Boston and greeted the faithful who had gathered on the street outside his hotel.

More than 400 people, most of them affiliated with the Tibetan Association of Boston, packed sidewalks along Bedford and Chauncy streets, where Boston police and private security agents cordoned off the intersection and kept the crowds behind barriers as they waited for the spiritual leader.

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We are so happy and fortunate that he visits Boston, said Sonam Doma, 43, a Malden resident who was born in India to Tibetan parents.

Like many of those present, Doma wore a traditional Tibetan garment, in her case a colorful chupa that she said was characteristic of the capital city of Lhasa.

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It means a lot, because it is a blessing, Doma said of the Dalai Lamas visit. Tibetan people believe he is a living Buddha.

The spiritual leader greeted the faithful who had gathered on the street outside his hotel.

After arriving about 4 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency, where he will stay during his surprise two-day visit to Boston, the Dalai Lama emerged from the hotels parking garage and walked up to the barricades to greet followers and bless silk scarves and prayer beads brought by the crowd.

He paused for a long moment to speak with 93-year-old Jampa Phunkhang of Medford, who in his youth had been a monk in the Dalai Lamas personal entourage, serving his meals and joining him in the flight from Tibet to India in 1959, according to his daughter, Langze Phunkhang.

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The Dalai Lama had previously told Jampa Phunkhang that he should write his autobiography. When the men spoke Saturday, the Dalai Lama asked if Phunkhang had written the book. He replied that he had, and then gave the Dalai Lama a copy, his daughter said.

The Dalai Lama will remain in the city until Monday, giving a speech Sunday morning at the Sheraton Boston Hotel that is expected to attract about 2,000 and meeting in the afternoon with members of the nonprofit Mind & Life Institute, an organization that works to bridge science and spirituality.

His stay in Boston concludes a visit to the United States that included a speech at the University of California, San Diego, a stop that was met with opposition on a campus where about 13 percent of students hail from China. The Chinese government has accused the Dalai Lama, who advocates for greater Tibetan autonomy from China, of being a separatist and sowing discord.

In Boston on Saturday, no protesters were visible, and most greeted the Dalai Lama with smiles and open arms.

What he says rings true. Its the universal truth, said Annette Kramer, 55, a Buddhist from Brimfield. And then if you go deeper into his teachings, it guides you on the spiritual path toward ultimate enlightenment.

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Here’s all you need to know about the King of Puri – Odisha Sun Times

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Bhubaneswar: Chief servitor of Lord Jagannath, Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingh Deb is a reserved and private person. He comes to limelight mostly during the grand festival of Ratha Jatra.

Odisha Sun Times brings to you some lesser known facts about the king of Puri:

2. Originally named Kamarnaba Dev, he was the eldest son of king Birakishor Deb and queen Suryamani Pata Mahadei.

3. His father Gajapati Birakishor Deb died in the middle of the car festival in the year 1970 and Dibyasingh Deb had to ascend the throne on that fateful day itself.

4. The king of Puri is not allowed to participate in any cremation ceremony. A brahmin boy is adopted by the royal family who discharges these duties on the kings behalf.

5. His schooling was from Convent School (1957-1959), Puri and Rajkumar College (1959-1968), Raipur in Chhattisgarh. He then went on to pursue his graduation in History from the prestigious St. Stephens College (1969-1972), then LLB from Law Faculty from University of Delhi (1971-1975). His last degree was an LLM from the reputed North Western University of Law (1975-1976), Chicago.

6. Amidst all his studies, he used to dispense his duties as the chief servitor annually during Rath Yatra, except the year when he was abroad in 1975-76.

7. In spite of having served the Lord for so many years he realised that he was not completely spiritually awakened. After completing his masters in the field of law, he faced a dilemma of choosing between his responsibility of being the king and the tempting profession of being a lawyer.

8. According to Dibyasingh Deb, he attained religious and spiritual enlightenment because of three reasons: Saat grantha,Saatguru and Saatsanga.

9. Reading theBhagavad Gitamade him realise how futile his education was. He said to himself, Everything else is secondary, serving the lord is primary. All his scruples were cleared gradually and he acquired mental peace.

10. His encounter with two spiritual gurus namely Swami Chidananda Saraswati Maharaj and Chinmayananda Saraswati Maharaj introduced him to the world of meditation, yoga and pranayama. This is how he gained heightened consciousness about his true purpose in this world.

11.From being a Stephanian to having studied abroad, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingh Deb has now metamorphosed into a traditional, spiritually en-kindled human being whose whole life is dedicated to the service of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.

(Information source: Paurusa magazine)

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Yoga is more than just hitting the mat – DailyO

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The practice of yoga has swept the world with an enthusiasm never seen before. Yoga has achieved the status of a mass cultural phenomena, evident from the fact that there are around 300 million yoga practitioners in the world and it is an 80-billion-dollar market.

As the fourth fastest growing industry in the USA, it generates 30 billion dollars annually (16 billion from yoga facilities and 10 billion from yoga mats and other yoga props).

To start with, these numbers are indicative of a sudden surge in the business of this ancient philosophical tradition of India. Few of the other ancient arts of world civilisations have survived, sustained and soared to the heights that yoga has.

The credit for this goes to its applicability to every age that the human species has survived. Yoga is one of the rarest of the rare sciences, to have lived through scientific revolutions, technological innovations, and modernisations.

The fact that yoga is recognised and revered in a world progressing towards evidence-based, result-oriented and relational practices makes it a science par excellence.

The prodigious popularity and the overwhelming universal adoption of the Indian discipline demands a special celebratory day to mark the significance of its health benefits (on both mental and physical levels) for common humanity and hence, World Yoga Day has been celebrated annually on June 21, since it was conceived in 2015.

An international day for yoga was announced by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 11, 2014.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested the date because it is the longest day of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the day of summer solstice, which marks the journey of the sun towards the south, a period of six months which is most favourable for spiritual practices, according to certain scriptures. 175 nations, including the USA, Canada, and China co-sponsored the resolution of World Yoga Day.

It had the highest number of co-sponsors ever for any UNGA Resolution of its nature.

More recently, Yoga has been associated with incredible health benefits (like weight loss, blood pressure control, cholesterol lowering, cardiac health, diabetes management, metabolism regulation, promotion of flexibility and endurance, muscle strengthening, sight and height improvements, et al) and that has contributed to the sudden love for the routines and physical postural regiments in every part of the world.

Undoubtedly, yoga does serve the purpose of keeping the body in shape as well as balanced, but there is much more to it than just the physical aspect.

Live beyond the mat

It is important to live beyond the mat! Posture-simulated yoga is just a fraction of the 5000-year-old philosophical wisdom which is buried under the huge popularity of the yoga-sticks of the modern world.

The yoga known to the world today is what has been reinvented in the past 150 years by various yogis and markets, keeping in mind the demands of the time.

It is imperative to know the other aspects of yoga in order to understand how it results in physical fitness.

Not just about the sutras

Sage Patanjali is considered to be the father of the yogic system. Patanjali organised the teachings into 196 short aphorisms or sutras known as the "Yoga Sutra" in the second century.

This text describes the path of Raja Yoga, often called "classical yoga". Yoga arrived in the West in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when yoga masters began to travel to the West for the first time, introducing the yogic wisdom and its relation to spiritual attainments.

A special mention goes to the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago, when Indian Philosopher Swami Vivekananda amazed the attendees with his lectures on yoga and the universality of the world's religions, thereby introducing and popularising the heritage of yogic wisdom to the common people of the West.

In contemporary times, the business of yoga is progressing towards style, convenience, and amusement, rather than the classical purpose of spiritual enlightenment with the help of physical balance and control.

Today, there are some very strange forms and derivations of Yoga practised in various fanciful studios, such as the Co-Ed Completely Nude Vinyasa Yoga (practice yoga in nude), Hot Yoga (studios are heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and 40 per cent humidity), dogs (doing yoga while holding your dog in various positions), Yoga (yoga with "vogueing," or dancing/enjoying popular music), Snowga (yoga in the snow), and Laughter Yoga, to name a few.

These techniques are inventions for making yoga fit your preferences of workout style, but they lack the very attitude and spirit of the science which was predominantly devised for spiritual empowerment in its inception.

Spirituality is one of the most fundamental aspects of yoga and this aspect has been overshadowed by the progression of the physical aspect of yoga.

Volumes of texts on yoga sutras provide an insight into millions of questions about human sense and sensibilities, human sufferings and human connectedness to the world.

Yoga philosophy incorporates the senses, the intellect, the ego and the body into one whole reality.

From wisdom about coping with the stress of everyday life to attaining emancipation from worldly desires and attaining the highest form of spiritual self by following various paths recommended by yoga, this humongous science has so much to offer.

According to a popular legend, a renowned sage named Vyasa once sent his son Shuka, a perfect being in every sense, to King Janaka.

Janaka was a great king and was called "Janaka Videha" which means "without a body".

Although a king, he had entirely forgotten that he had a body; he felt that he was a spirit all the time.

When Shuka arrived at the palace, no one noticed him and he was treated like an ordinary insignificant being who received no attention, even being the son of one of the most-renowned sages.

The guards made him sit for three days and nights without speaking with him or serving him.

The next day was a game changer when suddenly, Shuka was bestowed with the best honours and treats, adorned with perfumes and accessories, along with other royal luxuries.

Having lived for a few days in extreme pleasure, Shuka was brought to King Janaka for the first time. The king asked Shuka to hold a full cup of milk and walk seven times around the hall without spilling a drop.

While Shuka walked the hall, he met beautiful women dancing, playful music and beautiful arts, but Shuka remained unaffected and walked impeccably with the milk, not dropping any.

When he brought the milk back to the king, he said: "What your father has taught you, and what you have learned yourself, I can only repeat. You have known the Truth; go home."

This is the spirit of yoga!

Our contemporary times and troubles are overwhelming in a way that taking care of the body but neglecting the spirit does not work in favour of balanced living. When once asked, "What is misery?"

Vivekananda answered: "To every action, there is an equal reaction. If a man strikes me and wounds me, it is that man's actions and my body's reaction. Suppose I have so much power over the body that I can resist even that automatic action."

Can such power be attained? The ancient Indian philosophy says "yes you can".

"However If you stumble on [it], it is a miracle. If you learn it scientifically, it is Yoga."

Yoga philosophy incorporates the senses, the intellect, the ego and the body into one whole reality. It suggests that our misery and our happiness are our own productions.

No situation is either good or bad, but our reaction makes it so.

Everything is in the senses. It is the touch of the senses that creates pleasure or pain. If we can control our senses and order what we shall feel, without letting them control and have command over us, if they become our servants, then the problem is solved.

Our senses make us experience the world and mastery over them is the key to successful living, which can happen with mindfulness attained by yoga.

This leads you to gain the union with your own self. You are not the body, but the universal soul! You learn to control, rather than being controlled, and this is the magic of the science of yoga.

Make you mind your means to salvation by attaining freedom from being affected by the life conditions which are neutral in themselves.

Also read:Virat Kohli must take blame for Team India coach Anil Kumble retiring 'hurt'

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Yoga is more than just hitting the mat - DailyO

Goal Of Fasting During Holy Ramadan OpEd – Eurasia Review

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By Dr. Abdul Ruff

The spiritual well-being of humans is the major thrust of fasting during the Holy month of Ramadan. As Muslims stay away from food, water, etc during the day for whole month, they also keep themselves away from bad thoughts and wrong life patterns as well. They are supposed to be kind to others and never think of hurting their feelings or make them suffer. Muslims cultivate healthy habits and positive thinking and completely overcome narrow mentally. Thus they indeed become true humans, real Muslims as envisaged by Islam and prescribed in the holy Quran.

Once again the Holy Ramadan month has come to purify the minds of Muslims as the chief blessings of Allah (Arabic world for God) to help the humanity of believers live much better than now and after the holy month and safe-land in the Hereafter life. As the Holy month is coming to end Muslims should ponder over the meaning of the Holy month and its spiritual value. This helps us to gauge the change that may have happened in our lives and our very perceptions of life.

Muslims are under intense surveillance and attacks globally while many Muslims deliberately harm fellow Muslims and bring a bad name to Islam by their foolish misbehavior even against Muslims. It is because they have no faith in God or Islam. Whether they fast sincerely or not, they live for themselves, their focus being on scheming and material profits, even work against Islam and Muslim community. These Muslims harm Muslims and others, and they are using Islam and community for their own upliftment; they are a shame to Islam and the Muslim community. But those who observe fasting and offer prayers should be on guard from evils of all kinds. There are precautions that could help Muslims to overcome that and attain spiritual heights the Ramadan fasting is meant for.

Muslims should realize that fasting during the holy Month is not a formality. Attaining self-purification through spirituality is a major goal of Islamic fasting-worship, especially in the month of Holy Ramadan, although unfortunately Muslims fast for certain material benefits.

The entire global nation of over 2 billion people, men and women, young and old, rich or poor all together, for a whole month not eating, not drinking and not having intimate relations, during the daylight hours. This describes the month of Ramadan.

Fasting as a spiritual practice is found not just in Islam but in all religions but there are fundamental differences as Islam prescribes clear cut norms- from dawn to dusk every day for full month of Ramadan. Fasting in Islam does not just consist of refraining from eating and drinking, but from every kind of selfish desire and wrong-doing. The fast is not merely of the body, but essentially that of the mind and spirit as well. The physical fast is only a symbol and outward expression of the real, inner fast.

The founders of various other faiths (Buddha, Moses, Jesus, others) practiced quite rigorous fasting as a preliminary to attaining their first experience of spiritual enlightenment and communion with God. However, it is not that only Holy prophets fast but also all believers also do so, and they all do so not as a mere formality but with a spiritual purpose useful for the human lives. Islamic fasting, especially in Ramadan month, is significant for its content and length from dawn to dusk without food or drink.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar which is a month of blessed, month of revelation of the Holy Quran, and month to achieve Jannah, and therefore the best month in a year Muslims look forward each year to fulfill their spiritual duties. Fasting is one of Islams five main pillars. The other pillars are the belief in one God and the Prophet Mohammed as His Messenger, praying five times a day, completing the pilgrimage to Mecca for those who are able and giving charity or zakat.

Though fasting is mandatory for all Muslims upon reaching puberty, as long as they are mentally and physically sound, it should not be observed as a mere formality. Those elderly and chronically ill are exempt from fasting; however, it is incumbent upon them to feed the poor instead if they possess the financial means. Concern for less privileged and poor is the thrust of Islamic fasting.

While fasting, Muslims are expected to reflect upon good and bad things that have happened to them in the past, especially the last Ramadan month. Those Muslims who have been Islamic, positively religious, upright with truth, who avoid ill speech, arguments, loss of temper and malicious behavior, who have served the cause of Islam and Muslims, helped fellow Muslims and others in difficult positions, who have kept the word given to others are the blessed ones especially those who undertook the fasting and did only good things, thought only of good positive tidings! Remember, Allah warns us of consequences for each of our good or bad actions and we would be held accountable for everything we do or refuse to do.

It is quite possible that Allah does not punish quickly enough those who commit hypocritical errors or crimes but that does not mean we can justify everything we do.

The Holy Quran informs the believers, the Muslims, that fasting, like other Islamic duties, is prescribed for them. O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard against evil. (Holy Quran, 2:183) Allah says: And when My servants ask you (O Prophet) about Me, surely I am nigh. I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should hear My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way. (ibid, 2:186) And swallow not up your property among yourselves by false means, nor seek to gain access thereby to the authorities so that you may swallow up other peoples property wrongfully while you know. (ibid., 2:188) He who does not give up uttering falsehood and acting according to it, God has no need of his giving up his food and drink. (Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAS). Prophet Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights, and explained it by saying: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:2-4.) Prophet Moses also had fasted forty days and forty nights (Exodus 34:28).

Purpose of fasting in Islam as practiced by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAS) include (a) develop and strengthen our powers of self-control, so that we can resist wrongful desires and bad habits, and therefore guard against evil. In fasting, exercising our ability of self-restraint, so that we can then apply it to our everyday life to bring about self-improvement; (b) to attain nearness and closeness to Almighty Allah (God) so that He becomes a reality in our lives. The rigors of fasting purely for the sake of following a Divine commandment, knowing and feeling that He can see all our actions however secret, it intensifies the consciousness of God in our hearts, resulting in a higher spiritual experience; (c) to learn to refrain from usurping others rights and belongings. In fasting we voluntarily give up even what is rightfully ours; how can then we think of taking what is not ours but someone else? (d) Charity and generosity is especially urged during Ramadan. We learn to give, and not to take. The deprivation of fasting makes us sympathize with the suffering of others, and desirous of alleviating it; and it makes us remember the blessings of life which we normally take for granted.

The object of fasting is that a person should abstain from the food which nourishes the body and obtain through fasting the other religious food which satisfies and brings solace to the soul. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad said: People are unaware of the true nature of fasting.. Fasting is not just the state of remaining hungry and thirsty. Its nature and effect can only be discovered by experience. The human makeup is such that the less food is consumed the greater is the purification of the soul and the development of the powers of inner vision. Gods purpose is that you should reduce one kind of food (physical) and increase the other kind (spiritual). The person fasting must remember that the aim is not simply to remain hungry; he should be engrossed in the remembrance of God so as to attain severance from worldly desires.

Fasting a full month with Islamic commitment would make the believers strong spiritually. Those who truly fast for the sake of attaining to God and not merely as a custom or formality- should be absorbed in the praise and glorification of God, and in meditating upon His Unity. Maulana Muhammad Ali said: The real purpose of fasting is to attain righteousness. A person who undergoes hunger and thirst, but does not behave righteously, has done nothing. If someone is told the aim and object of doing a certain duty, and he does that duty but does not attain the required aim and object, it is as if he has not done that duty. The Maulana used very strongly to urge the members of the Muslim community to say the tahajjud prayers during the month of Ramadan: You have to rise early in any case to begin the fast; rise even earlier, by half an hour or an hour, and say tahajjud prayers.

Many people have tried different kinds of fasting. Some will drink only juice for a day, or eat only fruit, or stay away from any sugar or starches, or leave alcohol for a period of time. Yet, it seems strange to most folks, the idea of Muslims fasting in the month of Holy Ramadan. What is the significance of Ramadan? Isnt it a very harsh practice? Is it just a time when Muslims sleep and fast and hardly work all day; and eat, drink, enjoy and stay awake all night? What really is the spirit of Ramadan?

Islamic fasting is not just about staying away from food alone and doing all devilish things 24 hours. There are as many levels of fasting as there are facets to being human. Proper fasting should encompass all dimensions of human existence for it to have the divinely intended effect. The following are some of the major levels of fasting: Ritual level of fasting requires that the basic rules for fasting be fulfilled, which are avoiding food, drink and sexual intercourse between dawn and sunset for 29 or 30 days each year. On this level, one is basically following the letter of the laws regarding fasting without particular consideration for the spirit of fasting. It is the entrance level which must be fulfilled for the fast to be islamically correct, but the other levels must be added for the fast to have any real impact on the fasting person. Fasting on this level alone will not benefit one spiritually, except from the perspective of submission to divine instructions, if one chooses to follow the ritual consciously and not merely according to tradition. Thus, by itself, the ritual level will not purify one of sin or atone for sin.

Fasting on the physical level causes the fasting person to experience the pangs of hunger and thirst when the prophetic (Sunnah) way of fasting is observed. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to consume a very light meal before the dawn (suhur) and moderate meal (iftar) to break the fast at sunset, while scrupulously avoiding filling his stomach. He is reported to have said, The worst container a human being can fill is his stomach. A few morsels of food to keep a persons back straight are sufficient. The Prophet (peace be upon Him) used to break his fast with a few fresh or dried dates and a glass of water just before beginning the sunset prayer. This level allows the fasting person to experience the pangs of hunger and thirst and thereby develops sympathy in him or her for those starving and dying of thirst in other parts of the world.

Islamic fasting cum prayers lead the faithful from the ritual, psychological and physical levels to spiritual level to help live as enlightened Muslims. On the physical level, some chemicals in the brain that transmit messages and create feelings, called neurotransmitters, are affected by fasting. Fasting encourages the endorphin neurotransmitter system, related to the feeling of well being and euphoria, to produce more endorphins and, in fact, makes the true believers feel better. This is similar to the effect of exercise but without the physical work. It has also been noted by medical experts that fasting improves the physical health in numerous ways. For example, during the fast the body uses up stored cholesterol (fat) that is often deposited in the blood system, as well as in other fatty areas of the body. So, we find it does help keep the body firm and minimizes the danger of heart attacks.

The difference between the ritual level and the physical level is, a person doing only ritual fasting may eat large meals prior to beginning the fast and immediately upon ending the fast, and not feel any hunger or thirst throughout the whole month. However, like level one, if the fasting person does not incorporate the other levels of fasting, the fast will only be physically exhausting. The Holy Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) said, Maybe a fasting person will gain nothing but hunger and thirst from fasting.

The sexual instinct and drives are harnessed on this level of fasting. In these times where the media continually plays on sexual desires to promote and sell products, the ability to control these powerful desires is a plus. Fasting even physically reduces sexual desires and the fact that the fasting person has to avoid anything which could stimulate him psychologically helps to further lower the libido. But committed fasting makes the believers derive all spiritual benefits as well.

Prophet Muhammad (SAS) said, O youths, whoever among you is able to marry let him do so, for it restrains the eyes and protects the private parts. He who is unable to marry should fast, because it is a shield. By restraining from sexual acts, even though they are permissible, the fasting people make it easier for themselves to restrain from forbidden sexual acts when they are not fasting.

Fasting on physical level involves controlling the many negative emotions which simmer in the human mind and soul. For example, among the most destructive emotions is anger. Fasting helps bring these emotions under control. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) said: When one of you is fasting, he should abstain from indecent acts and unnecessary talk, and if someone begins an obscene conversation or tries to pick an argument, he should simply tell him, I am fasting. So, on this level, whatever negative emotions challenge the fasting person must be avoided. A person has to abstain from lewd conversation and heated arguments. Even when one is in the right, it is better to let that right go and keep ones emotional fast intact. Likewise, the negative emotion of jealousy is reduced, as every fasting person is reduced to the common denominator of abstinence; no one is externally superior to another in this regard.

In true fasting, humans realize several levels of meanings of life. The psychological level helps the fasting person psychologically to control evil thoughts and trains him or her, to some degree, how to overcome stinginess and greed. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, Allah has no need for the hunger and the thirst of the person who does not restrain himself from telling lies and acting on them even while observing the fast. In this age of immediate gratification, when the things of the world are used to fulfill human needs and desires almost as soon as they have them the ability to delay gratification is an important skill. What is between immediate gratification and delayed gratification is patience. During the fast, the believers learn patience and the benefits of it.

Fasting gives one the opportunity to overcome the many addictions which have become a major part of modern life. Food, for many people, provides comfort and joy and the ability to separate oneself from it gives the fasting people the psychological benefit of knowing that they do have some degree of control over what they do and what they do not do. From a psychological perspective, it is good to be somewhat detached from the things of the world. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a good and full life in fact, one can and should expect that. However, it is important that Muslims are able to detach ourselves from material things so that they do not become the most important part of their lives to determine our faith.

In Islam, in order to establish the final spiritual level the highest and most important level of fasting, the level of Allah-consciousness, Prophet Muhammad SAS (peace be upon Him) made the renewal of the intention for fasting a requirement before every day of fasting. He was reported to have said, Whoever does not intend to fast before Fajr (the dawn) will have no fast. The daily renewal of intention helps to establish a spiritual foundation of sincerity essential for the spiritual cleansing effects of fasting to operate. Sincere fasting purifies and atones for sin, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, Whoever fasts Ramadan out of sincere faith and seeking his reward from God, his previous sins will be forgiven. He was also reported to have said, From one Ramadan to the next is atonement for the sins between them.

Fasting, like other Islamic requirements like daily prayers and holy Hajj is not a mere formality to be completed somehow as a burden but it has a spiritual significance attached to it and hence it needs to be performed with utmost sincerity and complete commitment.

Islamic fasting is not simply about denying our body food and water. It also involves arguably the more taxing challenge of avoiding ill speech, arguments, loss of temper and malicious behavior. When combined with the previous levels of fasting, the spiritual level transforms a person from within. It restores, revives and regenerates the fasting persons spirituality and radically modifies his or her personality and character. These are the precious products of a heightened state of God-consciousness. A successful fasting enables us become pure in thoughts and deeds.

Fasting is primarily between the person and God, as no one can be sure that any person is actually fasting. Because of this intimate aspect of fasting, Allah was quoted by the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying. Every act of Adams descendants is for themselves, except fasting. It is meant for Me alone, and I alone will give the reward for it.

Self-purification as the central part of spiritual development is the goal of fasting during Holy Ramadan. It is obviously wrong to presume that just fasting without any spiritual commitment in the Holy month of piety and compassion would add more wealth to us. Fasting is performed as a duty of Muslims for Allahs kindness toward us.

Self-purification could be attained only by performing the fasting cum prayers at all its levels. If Muslims fast with ill-feelings intact and just for dirty money or similar other favors, they do not seek self-purification, On the contrary, by such selfish or negative motives in fasting they refuse to be self purified in spiritual form. These Muslims care nothing about the Hereafter life.

Truth and truthfulness, kindness and compassion are the foundations of self purification. Whether they fast or not, if Muslims do not tell lies or at least avoid telling lies they could be sure of reaching the truth zone. But if they decide to continue to avoid lies, they indirectly approach the spiritual domain. However, if upon the close of holy fasting, Muslims resume all bad habits, including telling lies, they in fact directly kick the holy fasting month.

If humans- Muslims have not changed their life patterns, even after fasting 30 days year after year it could only signify hopelessly permanent hollowness in humans! That also may mean Muslims systemically refuse to accept the importance of arrival of Holy Prophets to the world to guide the humanity.

Importantly, Muslims could perform fasting, prayers and other religious duties not merely as a formality for favors from God or people. Spirituality and self-purification have got much to do with this notion. If Muslims have fooled, deceived or harmed anyone, deliberately or otherwise, they need to repent.

Sincere fasting brings one closer to Allah and earns a special reward. The Prophet (peace be upon him) informed that there is a gate in paradise called Rayyan reserved for those who fast and he also said, When Ramadan comes, the gates of Paradise are open.

Patience and mercy are the important virtues we all need in these harried times to live as good humans. Month of Ramadan is viewed as a month-long school where graduates leave with a developed sense of self-control in areas including diet, sleeping and the use of time. The degree to be obtained by the believers could be called as Self-purification.

For this to happen, let bad, cunning or negative thoughts leave your mind and good thoughts enter your mind system in order to help you make a better and purposeful spiritual life. Holy month of Ramadan is the best time for that auspicious endeavor.

Simply put, in saying that we have observed Ramadan fasting, we should also mean we are now purified with divine thoughts, away from selfish, hypocritical, corrupt malicious motives of ordinary life.

As Ramadan fasting is sort of preparation for the enlightened life as well as life Hereafter, Muslims need to ensure that they would be qualitatively different purified in body, mind, heart, thoughts, soul at least partially to begin with- when Holy Ramadan month arrives next year.

Let us make Holy Ramadan purposeful. Let us continue throughout year with whatever good tidings we practice during the Holy Ramadan. Let us be away from mischief and sins.

May Allah protect all Muslims from devilish eyes, from sinful destructive designs of enemies of Islam! May God save the globe and humanity from getting destroyed by the threatening nuclear or conventional or just terror wars by big powers to showcase their newly developed high precision weapon systems for prospective regional arms merchants.

May God grant true faith, peace, happiness and prosperity for entire humanity!

Did you find this article informative? Please consider contributing to Eurasia Review, as we are truly independent and do not receive financial support from any institution, corporation or organization.

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Climate refugees: the hidden crisis – Green Left Weekly

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There are countless reports from NGOs, scientists and government agencies on climate refugees.

For example, last year more than 2 million people had to gather their possessions and flee as floods hit the Yangtze River in China. But, despite this becoming one of the worlds greatest issues there is very little activism around climate refugees in the developed world.

As refugee rights groups focus on ending the barbaric practice of governments locking out people fleeing war and persecution and climate campaigners fight the latest coalmine, the lack of collaboration between the two is startling.

A September 2015 statement by 350.org in the lead up to the Paris climate talks, titled Why (we as) climate activists stand with refugees is an exception. It looks at the role climate change played in triggering the Syrian conflict and how the governments that are the worst climate offenders are also at the forefront of persecuting refugees. It speaks of the need to unite civil and environmental struggles against the powers-that-be.

However, it is only a statement. The movement needs to raise the plight of people whose island nations are becoming submerged under rising sea levels. A look at the climate crisis and refugee crisis shows the two are now more interconnected than ever before.

A report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre found 24.2 million people last year were internally displaced by natural disasters such as floods and storms natural disasters that are either caused or worsened by climate change. This included two typhoons hitting the Philippines that displaced about 5 million people and floods in Bihar, India, that displaced more than 1.6 million people.

There are also many island nations in the Pacific Ocean, such as Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Carteret Islands, that are rapidly becoming uninhabitable due to rising sea levels as temporary sea walls are washed away. The Carteret Islands population has begun resettling on nearby Bougainville. Scientists have already concluded that five islands in the Pacific Ocean have become submerged.

The Environmental Justice Foundation says over the next 40 years 150 million people will be forced to leave their homes due to droughts, extreme weather events and rising sea levels.

A report by the Global Humanitarian Forum Geneva showed that 99% of the deaths from climate change disasters are in the worlds least-developed countries, which account for 1% of global emissions.

People fleeing climate change have done the least to cause it. Countries such as Australia and the US, which created their wealth on the back of the exploitation of the Third World and climate vandalism, are locking people out in the interests of protecting their way of life.

Just as Western countries turn back people fleeing their wars, they do the same to people suffering the worst effects of climate change.

Australia, the worlds highest per capita emitter of carbon emissions, has refused all requests by the people of the Carteret Islands for aid and relocation to Australia.

The Australian government claims it is because people fleeing climate change are not classed as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). While that is technically true (the UNHCR does not have a category for climate refugees), this is hardly the reason.

The UN itself recognises climate refugees as a major world crisis. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: Climate change [is] now found to be the key factor accelerating all other drivers of forced displacement. These persons are not truly migrants, in the sense that they did not move voluntarily. As forcibly displaced is not covered by the refugee protection regime, they find themselves in a legal void.

There are organisations doing worthwhile advocacy work campaigning for the UNHCR to include a category for climate refugees. But they often face opposition from the West, including Australia.

Some interesting technological solutions to the crisis have been put forward, such as the Seasteading Institutes proposal to construct floating cities where Islands are becoming submerged. The first floating island pilot project is due to begin development in French Polynesia next year.

However, what is needed for a crisis that encompasses millions of people across the globe is a political alternative to the actions of rich countries. We have seen US police shooting people trying to flee the poor suburbs of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and immigration agents deporting people to countries the US continues to bomb.

The Australian government locks up people in offshore detention centres who are fleeing wars it is involved in and denies refugee status to people fleeing environmental disasters from which Australia has profited.

There are countless examples across Europe of walls, inhospitable camps and armed forces being deployed to keep people out of the countries that have destroyed their homes. An alternative is needed.

The climate and refugee crises are fundamentally crises of capitalism. Rich countries and corporations have been colonising and environmentally vandalising poorer countries in the pursuit of profits, leaving them vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Rich countries have a responsibility to help resettle people displaced by climate change. This should be part of paying an ecological debt to the Third World countries they have pillaged.

To achieve climate justice for the millions who will be affected by climate change, complete system change is needed.

Dealing with climate change and the refugee crisis requires an internationalist approach, where borders are opened for people fleeing the effects of climate change.

Finding ways of uniting the two struggles is crucial to achieving this. Together, another world is not only possible, it is necessary for our collective survival.

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NASA is finally bringing on new astronauts including this cool chick – New York Post

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On May 25, a bleary-eyed Jasmin Moghbeli, 33, had just arrived in North Carolina on a red-eye flight from Arizona to attend her friends wedding. As she was juggling her bags and trying to open the door to her hotel room, her cellphone rang in her back pocket.

She knew exactly who was calling, and that it could potentially have her seeing stars.

I answered it as calmly as possible, said Moghbeli. But my hands were shaking,

The voice at the other end of the line asked: Are you still interested in joining us here at NASA?

The Baldwin, LI, native now laughs at the question. Of course I [was]! Who says no to that?

Moghbeli who is a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps, stationed at Air Station Yuma in Arizona was one of 12 pilots, scientists and engineers chosen to train as astronauts.

Its the first class since 2013, and there were a record 18,353 applicants. Five of the 12 are women.

Moghbeli has dreamed of being an astronaut since the sixth grade, when she did a book report on Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space.

I dressed up as her in school. From then on [being an astronaut] was something that I wanted to do, said Moghbeli, who also idolized astronaut Mike Massimino, a native of Oceanside, Long Island.

As a kid, Moghbeli who was born in Germany and moved to Queens as a baby even attended space camp in Huntsville, Ala.

Her life wasnt all in the clouds, however: I loved going to Broadway shows. That was my favorite thing to do in the city growing up, she said. I really like The Lion King.

The road to stardom has been paved with blood, sweat and math, including an MIT diploma and three Marine deployments.

After graduating from Baldwin Senior High, Moghbeli headed to MIT and trained with the Marine Corps Platoon Leadership Program during college.

She entered the Marines as a second lieutenant with the intention of becoming a jet pilot but fell in love with the AH-1W Whiskey Cobra attack helicopter during flight school.

Three deployments later including one to Afghanistan, one on a ship in the Middle East and a tour in Asia she is now flying Cobras on reconnaissance and air support.

But that will all change in August, when Moghbeli, who is single, reports to Johnson Space Center in Houston for an intensive two-year astronaut-training process.

Despite the culmination of the shuttle era in 2011, Moghbelis spirits are still high.

There are a lot of jobs on Earth to be done by astronauts, she said.

And shes already started bonding with her classmates; after meeting at an announcement ceremony, theyve been texting each other.

Once she settles into her pad in Houston, Moghbeli can hang the picture of herself dressed as Tereshkova as a reminder of how far she has come.

Although she noted with a laugh, It doesnt look quite as cool as I remember.

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House legislation would provide out of this world investments for NASA – Santa Clarita Valley Signal

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Aiming to add to NASAs funding and stability, Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) introduced the Aeronautics Innovation Act on Friday morning.

Coauthored by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), House Bill 3033 would mature and demonstrate new aeronautics technologies.

This bill will support our team here in the United States so we can continue to compete with international innovation and remain on top of the curve, Knight said in a statement.

By supporting NASA in these projects for innovation, we can ensure the United States remains the leader in transforming the aircraft industry that will also strengthen our military capabilities.

The bill would ensure support for NASAs Aeronautics Research Mission Directorates Strategic Implementation Plan by setting authorization levels for the next five years.

From 2018 to 2022, funding for each fiscal year would equate to $790 million, $880 million, $924 million, $946 million and $980 million, respectively.

Additionally, the bill would establish a national policy for aeronautics research.

According to Rep. Kaptur, NASA produces both ideas and careers which contribute to local economies and bring about national knowledge.

The work NASA does should always enjoy bipartisan support in Congress, Kaptur said. Investments in NASA and science are investments in jobs and a better quality of life.

H.R. 3033 has several supporters, including the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation, NASA Aerospace Support Team, the Antelope Valley Board of Trade, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the Small UAV Coalition and the Palmdale Chamber of Commerce.

President of NASA Aerospace Support Team Delma C. Freeman expressed the associations support of the legislation.

The Aeronautics Innovation Act properly invests in the critical NASA research that allows our aerospace industry to continue as the global leader in aeronautics research and technology development, Freeman said in a statement.

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Hacktivist group says NASA could soon reveal alien life – Mirror.co.uk

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Hacktivist group Anonymous has released a YouTube video in which it claims NASA could soon announce the discovery of alien life.

Anonymous is known around the world for its work. In the past, it's taken on the likes of Isis, Donald Trump, and Westboro Baptist Church the small American religious group that campaigns against homosexuality.

In its latest video, Anonymous states that a NASA spokesperson called Professor Thomas Zurbuchen told a recent US Science, Space, and Technology committee meeting that extraterrestrial life could soon be proven.

"Our civilisation is on the verge of discovering evidence of alien life in the cosmos," Zurbuchen supposedly said.

"Taking into account all of the different activities and missions that are searching for alien life, we are on the verge of making one of the most profound, unprecedented discoveries in history."

Anonymous has also written about alien life on its website.

It said: "The evidence sure seems to imply that something is going on in the skies above.

"It would cost a lot for spaceships and a continuous flow of taxes and black budget dollars could imply a rational that there is more than meets the eye and or that of public knowledge."

Obviously, this is speculation. At present, there's no evidence at least none we know of that proves the existence of alien life. But many think it's a possibility.

Last week, NASA discovered 219 new planets, ten of which are rocky planets possibly not all that dissimilar to Earth.

Although these planets are in the solar system's 'Goldilocks Zone,' which means they're too hot or cold to be habitable.

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Hacktivist group says NASA could soon reveal alien life - Mirror.co.uk

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Photographed from Space by Orbiter – PetaPixel (blog)

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Trundling along the rocky terrain of lower Mount Sharp, the lonely Curiosity rover was recently photographed from space by NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter using the most powerful telescope ever sent to Mars.

The 9.8-foot-long (3m) rover appears as a (somehow cute) tiny blue spot amongst the coppery-colored surroundings of Mount Sharp. Curiosity had been exploring Mars Gale crater, which has Mount Sharp as its central peak.

The image was taken on June 5 using the 143lb (65kg), $40 million High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. According to NASA, HiRISE has been imaging Curiosity about every three months, to monitor the surrounding features for changes such as dune migration or erosion.

Curiosity appears bluer than it really is to the human eye because of the way HiRISE exaggerates color in order to show the difference in surface materials on Mars for study. The camera uses three different color filters: red, blue-green, and near-infrared. By combining the images taken with the different color filters, false color images are created that emphasize textures.

If youd like to take a closer look, the full-resolution JPG is available from NASA here, and the TIFF can be downloaded here.

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Nano eraser developed at SIU Carbondale could fix microchip errors – The Southern

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CARBONDALE Watching his young daughters painstaking efforts to master the ability to write letters got Punit Kohli to thinking in the way that only scientists tend to think.

The act of writing information down lithography is as ancient as civilization. But in modern times, lithography has been taken to extremes: as in extremely small. In fact, lithography at the nanoscale a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter is used in applications such as microchips and making certain types of sensors.

As Kohli, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, watched his daughter struggle to learn how to write, she often would have to erase what she did and try again. Thats when he realized there was a huge need for the ability to erase mistakes in lithography at the nanoscale, too.

She was 5 years old and Id watch her write and erase, Kohli recalled. But correcting errors at the nanoscale, thats very difficult and there really wasnt a good way to do it at that time.

So Kohli took up the challenge in his lab, working with Pradeep R. Rajasekaran, a doctoral student at the time, on the idea. After years of hard work and a series of National Science Foundation grants, Rajasekaran, now a post-doctorate researcher at the Institute of Systems Research at the University of Maryland, would perfect the idea he began working on at SIU Carbondale.

The journal Science Advances, issued by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, published his work in early June. Scientists from GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany also contributed.

Just as in handwriting, one needs an instrument to make a mark. Usually, it is pointed, like a pencil. In the tiny world of nanoscale, erasers need to take on that conical shape, as well.

The writing part has been understood for some time, at least since the early 2000s. In some sense, it often worked like one of the oldest writing instrument used by humans: a quill. Hard, pointed nanostructures are dipped into whatever ink was needed and then moved across a substrate as directed.

But the hurdle Rajasekaran and Kohli had overcome was making a conically shaped structure that did the opposite of the writing instrument: erasing. Current materials and technology at the time did not lend themselves well to this function. So the secret, it turned out, was all in the material used to create tiny, conically shaped erasers: Something soft, porous and sponge-like instead of hard and solid.

One of the three NSF grants funding the research provided $490,000 for an electron microscope, which allowed the researchers to actually see with their own eyes the nature and textures of the materials they were creating and testing. Rajasekaran recalled a moment when everything changed as he examined newly created erasers made from agarose, a cousin of cellulose.

When I first glanced at those beautiful conical nanostructures, which were porous, filled with water and flexible, I was extremely excited about the potential, he said. I realized that this material looked exactly like a sponge. So it could be potentially used for soaking up and releasing any kind of material.

The porous material making up the erasers can hold any type of liquid material and can clean or erase a nanoscale surface the way people typically use wet sponges to clean a surface in their kitchens. The liquid also acts as a lubricant, allowing the sponge to slide along that surface free of friction while also soaking up byproducts and debris left over from the cleaning process. And, just as a painter utilizes a sponge paint roller to transfer paint to walls, conical nano-sponges in this process can also deposit any material on any surface.

Another key was the ability of the researchers to maneuver the materials with a piezo-electric motor while monitor the movement live through a microscope, Rajasekaran said.

It just made me think of the limitless places it could be used, from the semiconductor industry to biotechnology, he said. As a scientist, I was very happy that I was able to make some real and significant contribution to the scientific community.

Miniaturization has revolutionized the world, Rajasekaran said, which means efficiently making small structures is among the most important missions scientists have today. Being able to correct errors in this environment, therefore, has become even more important.

Reza Ghodssi, who holds the Herbert Rabin Distinguished Chair of Engineering and is the director of the Systems Research Center at the University of Maryland, said the technology could have a tremendous impact on a variety of applications.

For instance, it could potentially hold very small regents and samples in a clinical setting for high throughput, programmable screening of bio-markers of different diseases in the future." Ghodssi said.

Ryan D. Sochol, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, said the technology provides a promising route to fix manufacturing errors for micro3D printing applications.

In particular, the ability to integrate their nanoporous probe with micro3D printers and or bioprinters could allow researchers to erase printing mistakes during print runs, he said. Such developments could greatly extend the capabilities of today's micro3D printers.

Rajasekaran said he hopes the process will revolutionize the semiconductor industry, leading to the development of high-tech devices and gadgets previously thought impossible because of the limitations of fabrication.

Another way it might be exploited is in medical sensors that might, for example, be able to diagnose multiple conditions or diseases using a microscopic drop of blood, increasing patient care, comfort and efficiency in treatment. The agarose material can handle sample quantities at the picoscale one one-trillionth of a meter/liter.

This would allow us to run multiple diagnostic tests with very low sample volumes and very low reagent needs, Rajasekaran said. That in turns would bring down the cost of laboratory tests, allow for simultaneous testing for multiple conditions and also use less blood or other fluids in the process.

Kohli said the findings are just the beginning, and more work is needed to bring the process into play in an industrial setting.

It could have a great impact on the society and the everyday life of people, he said.

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Nano eraser developed at SIU Carbondale could fix microchip errors - The Southern

UVU receives prestigious grant to add new nanotechnology class – Daily Herald

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It has long been said that the world is getting smaller. The inventions of the automobile and air travel vastly decreased the time it takes to get from one place to another. Todays technology provides opportunities for instant communication with most other places in the world, bringing people together even if their locations are distant.

Not only is the world getting smaller, but the technology that makes it seem that way is also smaller, much smaller. Its called nanotechnology. Utah Valley University recently received a $700,000 National Science Foundation grant that is allowing the creation of a new course in nanotechnology.

There is only a three to five percent chance of getting money from the NSF, said Reza Kamali, associate professor of computer engineering at UVU. We are very pleased. We are going to make a state of the art new course.

The students in that course will learn the field of nano-microfabrication, or creating items on that small scale. They will design and produce nano sensors on a variety of media that can be used by millions around the world.

Every electronic device in production today has nanotechnology as an integral part of it, Kamali said. This grant will help provide the resources for students to learn the necessary skills to make a huge impact for companies here in Utah County, especially Silicon Slopes. Our graduates already have multiple job offers, but this will truly give them a huge advantage in nearly every technology industry. This grant is just a wonderful thing for everyone who lives in Utah.

It will affect many who live in Utah, along with multiple departments at UVU. The class will be a collaboration between digital media, engineering, computer science, computer engineering and physics.

This should be something by which the entire university is benefited, Kamali said.

The class wont start until 2019, but the plans are already coming together. It will have three components. One is the material presented in class lectures. The second is hands-on laboratory practices and the third is educational games.

We decided to have those educational games so students could practice how to use the tools, Kamali said. As they pass levels in those games, they go on to real-world experiments.

The fabrication devices used in nanotechnology are expensive, so it is good for the students to get as much actual practice as possible, he said.

Part of the funding will go to help digital media students create virtual reality modules. Nanotechnology students will be able to use those without actually having to be in the laboratory.

Five professors will be working directly on the project, along with others who will be indirectly involved. Eight students will be directly involved.

Many of the uses of nanotechnology are in the biomedical field. Kamali said one example was tools to measure a persons glucose levels. Another is a probe, about one-thousandth the size of a human hair, which can detect signs of early DNA damage that can lead to cancer.

Some nanotechnology-created biomaterial is used in tissue engineering as it closely mimics the properties of native human tissue. They can be used to repair damaged heart walls, blood vessels and skin, among other uses. Human bodies use natural nano-sized materials, including proteins and other molecules, to control its systems.

Scientists at MIT have been researching the use of nanotechnology in minuscule wires to create a new way of producing electricity, according to Nature Materials.

The uses are many and appear to be wide-spread, just as wide as the technology is minute.

I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of this outstanding grant, said Marty Clayton, assistant professor of digital media at UVU. This will allow our students to positively utilize the engaged learning aspect that we promote here at UVU as they develop VR modules for this new class. I fervently believe that virtual reality learning is a major portion of the future of higher education.

This is the future, Kamali said.

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UVU receives prestigious grant to add new nanotechnology class - Daily Herald

We Are At The Dawn of a New Era of Innovation. Will You Still Be Able to Compete? – Inc.com

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I recently appeared as a guest on Wharton Professor David Robertson's radio show, Innovation Navigation. David is an old pro and recently published an excellent new book on innovation, The Power of Little Ideas, so it was an interesting, wide ranging discussion that covered a lot of ground.

One of the subjects we touched on was the new era of innovation. For the past few decades, firms have innovated within well understood paradigms, Moore's Law being the most famous, but by no means the only one. This made innovation relatively simple, because we were fairly sure of where technology was going.

Today, however, Moore's Law is nearing its theoretical limits as are lithium-ion batteries. Other technologies, such as the internal combustion engine, will be replaced by new paradigms. So the next few decades are likely to look a whole lot more like the 50s and the 60s than the 90s or the aughts, in which value will shift from developing applications to fundamental technologies.

As Thomas Kuhn explained in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, we normally work within well established paradigms because they are useful for establishing the rules of the game. Specialists within a particular field can speak a common language, advance the field within well understood parameters and apply their knowledge to solve problems.

For example, Moore's Law establish a stable trend of doubling computing power about every 18 months. That made it possible for technology companies to know how much computing power they would have to work with in the coming years and predict, with a fairly high level of accuracy, what they would be able to do with it.

Yet today, chip manufacturing has advanced to the point where, in a few short years, it will be theoretically impossible to fit more transistors on a silicon wafer. There are nascent technologies, such as quantum computing and neuromorphic chips that can replace traditional architectures, but they are not nearly as well understood.

Computing is just one area reaching its theoretical limits. We also need next generation batteries to power our devices, electric cars and the grid. At the same time, new technologies, such as genomics, nanotechnology and robotics are becoming ascendant and even the scientific method is being called into question.

Over the past few decades, technology and innovation has mostly been associated with the computer industry. As noted above, Moore's law has enabled firms to bring out a steady stream of devices and services that improve so quickly that they become virtually obsolete in just a few years. Clearly, these improvements have made our lives better.

Still, as Robert Gordon points out in The Rise and Fall of American Growth, because advancement has been contained so narrowly within a single field, productivity gains have been meager compared to earlier technological revolutions, such as indoor plumbing, electricity and the internal combustion engine.

There are indications that's beginning to change.These days, the world of bits is beginning to invade the world of atoms. More powerful computers are being used for genetic engineering and to design new materials. Robots, both physical and virtual, are replacing human labor for many jobs including high value work in medicine, law and creative tasks.

Yet again, these technologies are still fairly new and not nearly as well understood as traditional technologies. Unlike computer programming, you can't take a course in nanotechnology, genetic engineering or machine learning at your local community college. In many cases, the cost of the equipment and expertise to create these technologies is prohibitive for most organizations.

In the 1950s and 60s, technological advancement brought increased scale to enterprises. Not only did mass production, distribution and marketing require more capital, but improved information and communication technologies made the management of a large enterprise far more feasible than ever before.

So it would stand to reason that this new era of innovation would lead to a similar trend. Only a handful of companies, like IBM, Microsoft, Google in the tech space and corporate giants like Boeing and Procter & Gamble in more conventional categories, can afford to invest billions of dollars in fundamental research.

Yet something else seems to be happening. Cloud technologies and open data initiatives are democratizing scientific research. Consider the Cancer Genome Atlas, a program that sequences the DNA inside tumors and makes it available on the Internet. It allows researchers at small labs to access the same data as major institutions. More recently, the Materials Genome Initiative was established to do much the same for manufacturing.

In fact, today there are a wide variety ways for small businesses to access world class scientific research. From government initiatives like the manufacturing hubs and Argonne Design Works to incubator, accelerator and partnership programs at major corporations, the opportunities are endless for those who are willing to explore and engage.

In fact, many large firms that I've talked to have come to see themselves as essentially utility companies, providing fundamental technology and letting smaller firms and startups explore thousands of new business models.

Innovation has come to be seen as largely a matter of agility and adaptation. Small, nimble players can adapt to changing conditions much faster than industry giants. That gives them an advantage over large, bureaucratic firms in bringing new applications to market. When technologies are well understood, much of the value is generated through the interface with the end user.

Consider Steve Job's development of the iPod. Although he knew that his vision of "1000 songs in your pocket" was unachievable with available technology, he also knew that it would only be a matter of time for someone to develop hard drive with the specifications he required. When they did, he pounced, built an amazing product and a great business.

He was able to do that for two reasons. First, because the newer, more powerful hard drives worked exactly like the old ones and fit easily into Apple's design process. Second, because the technology was so well understood, the vendor had little ability to extract large margins, even for cutting edge technology.

Yet as I explain in my book, Mapping Innovation, over the next few decades much of the value will shift back to fundamental technologies because they are not well understood, but will be essential for increasing the capability of products and services. They will require highly specialized expertise and will not fit so seamlessly into existing architectures. Rather than agility, exploration will emerge as a key competitive trait.

In short, the ones that will win in this new era will not be those with a capacity to disrupt, but those that are willing to tackle grand challenges and probe new horizons.

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We Are At The Dawn of a New Era of Innovation. Will You Still Be Able to Compete? - Inc.com

Canadian team helps find way to break through armour of dangerous biofilms – CTV News

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CTVNews.ca Staff Published Saturday, June 24, 2017 10:00PM EDT Last Updated Saturday, June 24, 2017 10:01PM EDT

Not many Canadians have ever heard of "biofilms," but doctors and infectious diseases experts know them well. The slimy, glue-like sheets of bacteria or fungi can grow on tissues or wounds, forming a protective layer around themselves that make it difficult to kill the infections.

Now Canadian researchers say they may have found a way of fighting biofilms by breaking up their protective coatings.

Not all biofilms are dangerous; there is likely a biofilm of plaque on your teeth right now, if it's been a while since you last brushed.

But some biofilms are dangerous and can progress into serious infections, says Dr. Don Sheppard, the director of the division of Infectious Diseases at the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal.

"They can attach to skin and wounds. They can attach to prosthetic devices, like IV catheters, urinary catheters, the artificial hips that we put inside people. And they can adhere to those surfaces with a strength that exceeds that of crazy glue," he says.

Because biofilms work together to form a kind of armour around themselves, colonies of bacteria or fungi can easily fight off immune system attacks, and even high doses of antibiotics. That leaves doctors with little in their arsenal to fight them, says Lynne Howell, a senior scientist in in molecular medicine at SickKids Hospital in Toronto.

"The fact we don't have any way to prevent or treat them is a major problem," she said.

In fact, it's estimated that more than 70 per cent of hospital-acquired infections are associated with biofilms.

Scientists around the world have been struggling to design new weapons against biofilms. Now, Canadian researchers think they've found a way of breaking through a biofilm's protective coating, using enzymes.

Powell, who was part of the team working on the new approach, says the enzymes help to "bust up" a biofilm's shell, or matrix, creating holes that allow antibiotics or the immune system to kill the bacteria or fungi.

What's more, the enzyme technology can also prevent biofilms from forming at all.

"This is the first time we have taken a big step forward in getting a new therapy based on something that we didn't know existed five years ago," says Sheppard.

Sheppard and Howell's team conducted their research over four years, focusing on two of the most common organisms responsible for serious lung infections: a bacterium called Pseudomonas aeruginosa and a fungus called aspergillus fumigatus.

They discovered that enzymes called glycoside hydrolases could eat through all the sugar molecules that glue biofilms together.

Results of their research are available in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers are now beginning to test the enzymes in animals before beginning testing in patients.

With a report from CTV medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip

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Canadian team helps find way to break through armour of dangerous biofilms - CTV News

Scheetz & Warren: We Are Dartmouth Too – The Dartmouth

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Graduate students deserve a place on campus.

by Nick Warren and Perry Scheetz | 6/23/17 2:15am

This spring saw significant discussion on the state of graduate and undergraduate education at Dartmouth. An opinion column published by The Dartmouth editorial board suggested that formation of the new School of Graduate and Advanced Studies engendered an alleged decline in the quality of undergraduate education and the satisfaction reported by the undergraduate community.In response, Graduate Student Council President Kyla Rodgers argued that graduate students improve undergraduate education by providing greater access to research opportunities and facilities, creating interdisciplinary spaces and being effective role models. This conversation continued among the graduate student population and was a primary discussion point at a lunch with President Hanlon and several graduate student leaders.President Hanlon assured the graduate student leaders that our community would not be exploited for the benefit of undergraduate education.

However, due to an unexpected overabundance of newly accepted undergraduates for the class of 2021, the only option for on-campus graduate student housing has been eliminated. Graduate students are again discussing the level of acceptance we have among the wider Dartmouth community. A petition was created and unanimously supported through a resolution by the Graduate Student Council for people to voice their support of on-campus graduate housing; The petition garnered 411 signatures.The administration failed to consult with the graduate student community about this move before making a decision, but has since explained their reasoning to graduate student leaders. The solution for the undergraduate housing crisis appears to benefit the undergraduate community at the expense of the graduate community. We recognize that this decision did not come from the undergraduate community and continue to support the growth and education of our undergraduates. We simply wish that graduate students be considered an equal part of the wider Dartmouth community, not just from an administrative standpoint, but also a cultural one.

In 2016, the graduate community welcomed 40 undergraduate students into North Park, again an overcrowding issue, to support the Colleges new housing initiative. Our community openly embraced the prospect of creating a stronger Dartmouth community and sacrificed 40 of our 110 housing spaces, with the assumption that construction for new undergraduate dorms would begin shortly. In a meeting with Provost Dever, she described early plans to build a new undergraduate dormitory, but the implementation is years away. The board of trustees recently authorized $200,000 in spending for feasibility and planning for new undergraduate housing, which will hopefully kick start this process. Further complicating the housing situation, there is an agreement between the City of Hanover and the College to allow no more than 10 percent of the undergraduate population to live off-campus. Lacking any easy and cost-effective alternatives, commandeering the remaining rooms in North Park was viewed as the most viable solution.

North Park was built in2004as a housing unit specifically for first year graduate students and has since become a cherished part of the graduate student community. North Park is so central to the graduate student community that many departments provide tours of the facilities during recruitment processes. North Park is especially important to international graduate students who do not have their own means of transportation and generally arrive to campus with only a suitcase. The advanced transit bus routes are nice for people without cars, but they do not run at night or on the weekends, when we often have to do research or go grocery shopping. Forcing first year graduate students off campus would greatly disadvantage incoming graduate students, especially students without cars or drivers licenses. Additionally, international students may be unfamiliar with leasing agreements in the U.S. and inexperienced with finding potential living spaces. Having a year of college-provided housing removes those hurdles to attend Dartmouth. Being in rural New Hampshire, we need policies and practices that actively promote diversity. Convenient housing options are key to attracting international students with unique and necessary perspectives. The College has said they are committed to increasing the diversity on campus through the inclusive excellence initiative.By sacrificing the ability to house graduate students in North Park, the College loses an enormous recruitment draw for bright minds from across the globe.

While the administration has promised to find housing for the graduate students who already signed leases for next year, they will not be living in a tight-knit on-campus community. Additionally, the extra 70 students who applied for the housing lottery were turned away without any compensation. Starting graduate school can be a very lonely experience, not just for international students. Living off-campus puts us at a distance from social and academic events organized by the Graduate Student Council, as well as undergraduate-focused organizations such as the Programming Board. This physical distance disincentivizes us to participate in campus activities. Since the buses do not run on the nights or weekends when these events are generally held, many graduate students are deterred from participating. This is arguably the single largest reason for why graduate students do not feel or are not perceived to be as connected to the Dartmouth community as its other members. In contrast, proximity breeds interaction. Living adjacent to the campus social life helps first year students integrate into Dartmouth culture. As was discussed at the lunch with President Hanlon, graduate student leaders are trying to form stronger connections between the graduate and undergraduate communities to enrich both of our experiences. The decision to remove our presence from campus housing exacerbates feelings of disconnection and encumbers integration efforts following the One Dartmouth initiative.

Leaders of the graduate student community understand that the administration must often make difficult decisions. However, removing graduate students from North Park appeared to be particularly detrimental to our community for the benefit of another. We have been reassured by Provost Dever that our input will be welcomed in future discussions about issues affecting the graduate community and that the College is committed to supporting graduate education. Committing to return on-campus graduate housing in the future would be a powerful message of support that the administration could give to the graduate community. In the meantime, the College should help make it as easy as possible for first year international students to find housing in Hanover and become a part of Dartmouth. We look forward to helping the effort to improve graduate and undergraduate education at Dartmouth. As President Hanlon told the graduate student leaders during lunch at his house in May, I see graduate and undergraduate education as co-beneficial. The Colleges policies and solutions to difficult problems should continue to reflect that sentiment.

Nicholas Warren is a PhD candidate in the Program in Experimental and Molecular Medicine. He also serves as a representative on the Graduate Student Council.

Dr. Perry Sheetz recently defended a PhD in Chemistry. She also has served on the Graduate Student Council Executive Board as the North Park Activities Coordinator for the past 3 years.

A shortened version of this article was published in print.

The Dartmouth welcomes guest column submissions. We request that guest columns be the original work of the submitter. Submissions and questions may be sent to either opinion@thedartmouth.com and editor@thedartmouth.com. Submissions will receive a response within three business days.

Correction Appended (June 24, 2017): This column was updated to correct a misspelling in an author's name.

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Scheetz & Warren: We Are Dartmouth Too - The Dartmouth

Matthew Petrozelli has been accepted into the Forbes Finance Council, and other hires and promotions – Allentown Morning Call

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MATTHEW PETROZELLI

Petrozelli, Valley National Financial Advisors executive vice president and chief operating officer, has been accepted into the Forbes Finance Council, an invitation-only community for executives in accounting, financial planning, wealth and asset management and investment firms.

Petrozelli joins other Forbes Finance Council members to become part of a curated network of successful peers and get access to a variety of exclusive benefits and resources, including the opportunity to submit thought leadership articles and short tips on industry-related topics for publishing on Forbes.com.

Forbes Councils combines an innovative, high-touch approach to community management perfected by the team behind Young Entrepreneur Council with the extensive resources and global reach of Forbes. As a result, Forbes Council members get access to the people, benefits and expertise they need to grow their businesses and a dedicated member concierge who acts as an extension of their own team, providing personalized one-on-one support.

DONALD M. BERNHARD and THE REV. BOB STEVENS

The Trustees of The Century Fund have appointed Bernhard and Stevens to succeed John Leh II and Grant E. Harrity as trustees.

Donald M. Bernhard is Eexecutive director of the Downtown Allentown Community Development Initiative, an initiative aimed at revitalizing Center City Allentown neighborhoods. He served as director of community affairs at PPL Corp. from 1996 to 2014. Prior to joining PPL, Bernhard served for 20 years as community development director of Allentown. Bernhard is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and received an master of arts degree political science/public administration from Brown University.

OLAF STARORYPINSPINSPKI/HEALTH NETWORK

The Rev. Bob Stevens has served as senior pastor of Zion's Liberty Bell United Church of Christ in Allentown since 1995. A nationally certified intentional interim pastor, Stevens served on the educational faculty of the Interim Ministry Network, Baltimore, and was a referral consultant for the Alban Institute, Washington, D.C. He is a master's graduate of Moravian Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary, and was an adjunct faculty instructor at both seminaries.

DR. JEFFREY WISOTZKEY

Wisotzkey has joined Health Network Laboratories as clinical laboratory director. Wisotzkey will continue to serve as HNL's Scientific Officer, a position he has held since 2015, leading HNL's diagnostics innovation portfolio in molecular precision medicine.

With more than 25 years of experience leading strategic, scientific and laboratory operations in various clinical settings, including the past two years as Scientific Officer at HNL, Wisotzkey is eager to lead HNL through a future filled with exciting opportunities.

Wisotzkey's vision for the future of testing at HNL originates from the company's longstanding dedication to improving outcomes for patients and reducing costs for healthcare systems. By using tests that are targeted to reveal a patient's individual profile, all the way down to the molecular and genetic levels, HNL's diagnostic testing provides actionable information to caregivers that leads to improved disease screening and prevention strategies, to more appropriate and timely treatments, which all leads to lower costs and better outcomes.

Wisotzkey received his doctoral degree from the University of Houston in molecular biology and completed his postdoctoral training at Pennsylvania State University's Hershey Medical Center. He is a board certified High Complexity Laboratory Director (HCLD), a Clinical Consultant (CC) and the creator and director of one of the first molecular labs in the nation to be established in a community-based teaching hospital The Molecular Diagnostics and Research Laboratory at York Hospital. He previously served as Clinical Laboratory Director at Genomind, and prior to that as Technical Director of Laboratory Operations at the Central Pennsylvania Alliance Laboratory.

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Matthew Petrozelli has been accepted into the Forbes Finance Council, and other hires and promotions - Allentown Morning Call