China to launch space station core module in 2018 – Space Daily

Posted on by

China will launch a space station core module in 2018 as the first step in completing the country's first space outpost, according to a senior engineer with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC) on Thursday.

The core module of the space station, named "Tianhe-1" according to previous reports, will be launched on board a new-generation Long March-5 heavyweight carrier rocket, said Bao Weimin, director with CASC and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

It will be followed by a series of launches for other components of the space station, including two space labs, which will dock with the core module while in space, in the next four years or so, he said, adding that the space station will be completed around 2022.

Assembly of the core module has already been completed and tests are currently under way, said Bao, who is in Beijing for the annual session of China's top political advisory body.

Earlier reports said the new Chinese space station will initially be much smaller than the current International Space Station (ISS), which weighs 420 tonnes, but could be expanded for future scientific research and international cooperation.

With the ISS set to retire in 2024, the Chinese space station will offer a promising alternative, and China will be the only country with a permanent space station.

Bao said the Chinese outpost will function in orbit for "dozens of years," and that it had been specially designed to be able to handle space debris.

"For the big pieces (of space debris), we could conduct evasive maneuvers, and for those measuring less than 10 cm in size, we just take the hit," Bao said, adding that all key parts of the space station will be serviceable and replaceable.

He went on to say that the next five years will see some exciting advances in China's space program.

In particular, the Long March-5 launch missions have been scheduled this year, including one that will take the Chang'e-5 lunar probe to the Moon in November and return with lunar samples.

Long March-5 is a large, two-stage rocket with a payload capacity of 25 tonnes to low-Earth orbit and 14 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit, the largest of China's carrier rockets. Its carrying capacity is about 2.5 times that of the current main model Long March carrier rockets.

The rocket will also be used in China's planned Mars probes, and possibly future missions to Jupiter and other planets within the solar system, Bao said.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Continued here:

China to launch space station core module in 2018 - Space Daily

Redheads are more likely to develop Parkinson’s – The Marshalltown

Posted on by

Redheads are more likely to get Parkinsons disease, a new study claims.

Scientists have discovered the same gene that gives ginger people a higher risk of skin cancer also sets them up for the debilitating and fatal brain disorder.

It all boils down to the fact that the gene mutation which creates red hair (mc1r), and makes skin more susceptible to sun damage, also affects brain chemicals.

As redheads age, mcr1 limits the amount of dopamine (the love hormone) released into certain parts of the brain and dopamine is essential for attacking toxins that sew the seeds for Parkinsons.

The findings, published today by Massachusetts General Hospital, align with the widely-held understanding that Parkinsons sufferers have a lower risk of all cancers except melanoma. And in turn, melanoma patients have a high risk of Parkinsons.

Analyzing this link between the two condition, Dr Xiqun Chen, focused on how the melanoma-linked gene affects the brain.

The research team honed in on the substantia nigra, a region of the brain commonly referred to as the ground zero for Parkinsons.

Specifically, they were looking at how mcr-1 might affect dopamine-producing neurons, since they are hampered in Parkinsons sufferers.

The scientists found mice who had the melanoma-linked gene had fewer dopamine-producing neurons than control mice.

As they aged, they suffered a progressive decline in movement and a drop in dopamine levels.

They also were more sensitive to toxic substances, which damage dopamine-producing neurons.

Most importantly, this all seemed to exacerbate oxidative stress the natural rusting process that happens to the body over time.

The researchers say the breakthrough discovery could pave the way to a new drug that targets the protein in Parkinsons sufferers.

Dr Chen also said this should inspire redheads to investigate their risk factors though they dont elaborate on how one might do that.

Since MC1R regulates pigmentation and red hair is a shared risk factor for both melanoma and Parkinsons disease, it is possible that, in both conditions, MC1Rs role involves pigmentation and related oxidative stress, Dr Chen said.

Our findings suggest further investigation into the potential of MC1R-activating agents as novel neuroprotective therapies for Parkinsons Disease, and together with epidemiological evidence, may offer information that could guide those carrying MC1R variants to seek advice from dermatologists or neurologists about their personal risk for melanoma and Parkinsons disease.

Excerpt from:

Redheads are more likely to develop Parkinson's - The Marshalltown

Probing Seven Worlds with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope – Astrobiology Magazine (registration)

Posted on by

Credit: NASA

With the discovery ofseven earth-sized planets around the TRAPPIST-1 star40 light years away, astronomers are looking to the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope to help us find out if any of these planets could possibly support life.

If these planets have atmospheres, the James Webb Space Telescope will be the key to unlocking their secrets, said Doug Hudgins, Exoplanet Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. In the meantime, NASAs missions like Spitzer, Hubble, and Kepler are following up on these planets.

These are the best Earth-sized planets for the James Webb Space Telescope to characterize, perhaps for its whole lifetime, said Hannah Wakeford, postdoctoral fellow at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. At Goddard, engineers and scientists are currently testing the Webb telescope which will be able to view these planets in the infrared, beyond the capabilities we currently have.

The Webb telescope will increase the information we have about these planets immensely. With the extended wavelength coverage we will be able to see if their atmospheres have water, methane, carbon monoxide/dioxide and/or oxygen.

When hunting for a potentially life-supporting planet, you need to know more than just the planets size or distance from its star. Detecting the relative proportions of these molecules in a planets atmosphere could tell researchers whether a planet could support life.

For thousands of years, people have wondered, are there other planets like Earth out there? Do any support life? said Sara Seager, astrophysicst and planetary scientist at MIT. Now we have a bunch of planets that are accessible for further study to try to start to answer these ancient questions.

This rendering of the James Webb Space Telescope is current to 2015. Upon request we can provide a high-resolution image without a background. Credits: Northrop Grumman

Launching in 2018, one of Webbs main goals is to use spectroscopy, a method of analyzing light by separating it into distinct wavelengths which allows one to identify its chemical components (by their unique wavelength signatures) to determine the atmospheric components of alien worlds.

Webb will especially seek chemical biomarkers, like ozone and methane, that can be created from biological processes. Ozone, which protects us from harmful ultraviolet radiation here on Earth, forms when oxygen produced by photosynthetic organisms (like trees and phytoplankton) synthesizes in light. Because ozone is largely dependent on the existence of organisms to form, Webb will look for it in alien atmospheres as a possible indicator of life. It will also be able to look for methane which will help determine a biological source of the oxygen that leads to ozone accumulation.

The discovery of the planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system means that Webb will be able to use its immense capabilities on a relatively nearby system. Researchers recently identified three promising planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system e, f and g which orbit in the habitable zone and would make good candidates for Webb to study. Depending upon their atmospheric composition, all three of these Earth-like exoplanets could have the appropriate conditions for supporting liquid water. Because the planets orbit a star that is small, the signal from those planets will be relatively large, and just strong enough for Webb to detect atmospheric features.

Shawn Domagal-Goldman, an astrobiologist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center said, Two weeks ago, I would have told you that Webb can do this in theory, but in practice it would have required a nearly perfect target. Well, we were just handed three nearly perfect targets.

The number of planets in the system will also enable new research in the field of comparative planetology, which uncovers fundamental planetary processes by comparing different worlds.

This is the first and only system to have seven earth-sized planets, where three are in the habitable zone of the star, said Wakeford. It is also the first system bright enough, and small enough, to make it possible for us to look at each of these planets atmospheres. The more we can learn about exoplanets, the more we can understand how our own solar system came to be the way it is. With all seven planets Earth-sized, we can look at the different characterisitics that make each of them unique and determine critical connections between a planets conditions and origins.

NASA is exploring the solar system and beyond to better understand the universe and our place in it. Were looking to answer age-old questions, like how did our universe begin and evolve; how did galaxies, stars, and planets come to be; and are we alone.

Link:

Probing Seven Worlds with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope - Astrobiology Magazine (registration)

NASA Rockets Launch to Unveil Mysteries of the Northern Lights – Space.com

Posted on by

NASA launched two sounding rockets almost simultaneously from the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska at 12:41 a.m. EST (0541 GMT) on March 2. The rockets carried instruments to study the northern lights as part of the Neutral Jets in Auroral Arcs mission.

NASA launched three rockets into the aurora borealis Thursday (March 2) to study what happens to Earth's upper atmosphere when it's bombarded with solar wind, or energetic particles that flow from the sun.

All three Black IX sounding rockets blasted off within a 2-hour time span from the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska. These were the last three launches of NASA's Poker Flat Sounding Rocket Campaign, which has sent a total of fiveBlack Brant IX sounding rockets soaring into active auroras since January.

The five missions carried three different types of instruments for studying various aspects of auroras, which can hold clues about Earth's magnetic field and the ionosphere, a region in Earth's upper atmosphere where atoms and molecules are ionized by solar radiation, creating a shell of electrically charged particles around the planet. [Aurora Photos: Amazing Northern Lights Displays]

A NASA Black Brant IX sounding rocket blasted off on Feb. 22 at 5:14 a.m. EST (1014 GMT) from the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska. The rocket carried an Ionospheric Structuring: In Situ and Ground-based Low Altitude Studies (ISINGLASS) instrument payload examining the structure of an aurora.

On Jan. 19, NASA kicked off the campaign by launching the Polar Night Nitric Oxide (PolarNOx) experiment. "The aurora creates nitric oxide, but in the polar night, there is no significant process for destroying the nitric oxide," principal mission investigator Scott Bailey, of Virginia Tech, said in a statement. "We believe it builds up to large concentrations."

Because nitric oxide can destroy the ozone, Bailey said, this suspected buildup is concerning to scientists; the purpose of PolarNOx is to measure how much nitric oxide is in the atmosphere and where most of it tends to linger.

The last of three sounding rockets aimed at studying auroras blasted off March 2 at 2:50 a.m. EST (0750 GMT) from the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska.

On Feb. 22, a second rocket blasted off, carrying an instrument called Ionospheric Structuring: In Situ and Ground-based Low Altitude Studies (ISINGLASS). This instrument looks at the visible structure of auroras.

"The visible light produced in the atmosphere as aurora is the last step of a chain of processes connecting the solar wind to the atmosphere," Kristina Lynch, ISINGLASS principal investigator, said in a statement. "We are seeking to understand what structure in these visible signatures can tell us about the electrodynamics of processes higher up."

The fifth and final mission that blasted off Thursday also carried the ISINGLASS instrument. Both rockets that launched almost simultaneously 2 hours before that carried payloads for the Neutral Jets in Auroral Arcs mission, which seeks to explain how Earth's magnetic field creates "jets" in the structure of auroras.

Photographer Aaron Priest captured this stunning crown-shaped aurora borealis shining over Maine on Sept.1, 2016.

So far, the mission teams have reported that their instruments successfully collected and transmitted data. Now they're working to review that data, with the aim of unveiling some of the mysteries of this beautiful phenomenon in our northern skies.

"The ability to successfully launch these [final] three rockets is a testament to the capabilities of the range, science and sounding-rocket teams," Phil Eberspeaker, chief of the Sounding Rockets Program Office, said in a statement. "Great coordination is required to institute the complex countdown required to prepare and launch three rockets in a short period. The team did a fantastic job executing these launches."

Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

Read the original:

NASA Rockets Launch to Unveil Mysteries of the Northern Lights - Space.com

Does SpaceX moon plan threaten NASA? – Florida Today

Posted on by

SpaceX says two people have paid to take a lunar trip on a Falcon Heavy by the end of 2018. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

Concept image of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and Dragon capsule launching from Kennedy Space Center.(Photo: SpaceX)

It's late 2018 and a large rocket stands on a Kennedy Space Center pad ready to launch humans around the moon, nearly 50 years after NASA first accomplished thatfeat.

But this time, therocket belongs not to NASA but to SpaceX, and the astronauts are not elite government test pilots but private citizens buying the ride.

The scenario SpaceX outlined last week has created a buzz about a public versus private race to send people back to the moon, with the private sector now appearing to be in the lead.

NASAs more powerful and expensive Space Launch System rocket isnt expected to launch astronauts on a similar loop around the moon before 2019 a schedule whose feasibility is now being studied and possibly not until 2023.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, however, has invited the space agency to bump the private passengers and fly aboard the companys first deep space mission. Should NASA accept the offer?

[More: Schedule of upcoming Florida rocket launches]

[More:Panel urges caution as NASA studies flying crew on first SLS]

My answer is unequivocally yes. Either NASA gets out and gets involved with this, or the message that will be received by the American people is that NASA is irrelevant, said Charles Miller, president of NexGen Space and a commercial space advocate who served on the Trump administrations NASA transition team. SpaceX is going to the moon with or without NASA, so NASA needs to say 'yes'to this offer.

Opinions vary on the significance of SpaceXs announcement and the extent to which it could increase pressure on a NASA exploration program taking its time to produce an exciting mission.

Advisers to President Trumps campaign praised public-private partnerships and indicated a willingness to review whether NASAs giant SLS rocket is needed, or if more affordable commercial alternatives are available.

But the administration has yet to nominate a NASA administrator or show that the space program is a priority, while it is proposingsignificant cuts to non-defense spending.

Congress, meanwhile, has maintained strong support for the SLS rocket and Orion crew capsule as foundations for eventual missions to Mars.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully blasted off from Kennedy Space Center's historic pad 39A on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017. The first stage returned for a successful landing in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

After Musk announced his private lunar mission on Monday, to be flown with a Falcon Heavy rocket and Dragon spacecraft, NASA said in a statement that it commends its industry partners for reaching higher.

Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot saidthe agency needs to leverage both traditional and commercial approaches, not be forced to choose one or the other.

We must work with everyone to secure our leadership in space and we will, he wrote in a memo to employees last month about NASAs decision to study putting a crew on the first SLS launch.

Some commercial space advocates echo that sentiment, calling SpaceXs lunar mission a leap forward for the industry, but not one that necessarily threatens a different NASA mission.

NASA first flew three people around the moon on Apollo 8 nearly a half-century ago, after all, and its next lunar flyby is intended as a baby step testing systems for human and robotic missions farther out in the solar system.

I dont think NASA has anything to be worried about if somebody else can do it 50 years later, said Alan Stern, a former head of NASAscience missions. NASA has much bigger plans and ambitions to explore other worlds with humans than just a figure 8 mission around themoon.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

SpaceXs proposed mission is exciting in and of itself, said Stern, who chairs the Commercial Spaceflight Federations board of directorsbut was not speaking on its behalf during an interview sharinghis personal views.

Its a phenomenal development that in the space of 50 years, more or less one career, we can go from super-power nation states mounting human lunar expeditions to individual corporations capable of doing it, he said.

AndrewAldrin, director of the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, also sees Musks moon mission as important progress for the industry.

But any government transfer of deep space missions to commercial systems, he said, should be a longer-term process based on more deliberation and results.

If they fly, if its successful, if everything about it works out well, then I think the natural progression would be toward a discussion of whether its appropriate to transition lunar crew transportation over to the commercial sector, just as we are transitioning low Earth orbit transportation over to the commercial sector, said Aldrin. We need to make a transition to more commercial participation, but lets just make it sensibly.

Speculation about SpaceX rendering NASAs program obsolete assumes the companys lunar mission flies sometime close to when Musk said it will, and that it is successful.

The company is now rebounding from a second Falcon 9 failure in just over a year, and has not yet flown the Falcon Heavy, which is expected to debut this summer four years after SpaceX initially promised.

The Dragon that is supposed to fly wealthy tourists around the moon will not fly astronauts to the International Space Station until at least next spring, mere months before the planned deep space mission.

Paul Spudis, a lunar scientist who supports a human return to the moon, has been critical both of over-hyped New Space achievements by the likes of SpaceX, and of NASAs vague plans to reach Mars in the 2030s.

Although accustomed to hearing periodic, grand pronouncements by various New Space companies, skepticism continues to grow over their follow-through, as actual accomplishment is sporadic and less certain, Spudis wrote in his Spudis Lunar Resources Blog. I suggest that as with many other New Space public relations extravaganzas, this mission should be taken with a very large grain of salt.

Miller, on the other hand, believes bolder partnerships with SpaceX, Blue Origin and other entrepreneurial firms is a strategy far more likely to produce a permanent human presence on the moon sooner rather than later.

This is an obvious way for America to be great again in space, he said. There are some huge opportunities for NASA here, but it requires NASA to think differently about how it does space.

NASA has been planning to launch a first SLS test flight without a crew by late 2018. The agency will consider adding a crew on that mission if that does not delay the flight much beyond 2019.

Assuming a relatively small slip of SpaceXs moon mission into mid-2019, an optimistic outlook would still put its liftoff close to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, launched from the same KSC pad.

Whatever the flights longer-term implications might be, Aldrin, whose father was the worlds second moonwalker, said that timing would be mind-bendingly cool.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter at @flatoday_jdean.

Read or Share this story: http://on.flatoday.com/2lpG9Oi

Original post:

Does SpaceX moon plan threaten NASA? - Florida Today

40 Years of Voyager: A Q&A With Dr. Ed Stone at NASA JPL – PC Magazine

Posted on by

Almost 40 years after the Voyager mission began, 81-year-old Dr. Ed Stone is still in his role at NASA as chief scientist; we sat down to talk space travel then and now.

On August 20, 1977, at Cape Canaveral, Dr. Edward C. Stone, in his role as chief scientist on the NASA Voyager mission, carried out final checks on Voyager 2 before the Titan-Centaur rocket blast it into space. Days later, on Sept. 5, Voyager 1 joined its twin spacecraft and headed out into the dark beyond.

Almost 40 years later, after its flyby of Jupiter and Saturn, Voyager 1 is now in interstellar space, 20.6 billion kilometers, or 137 Astronomical Units (AU), from Earth. Some 17 billion kilometers from Earth, Voyager 2 took a slightly different route, going past Uranus and Neptune, and is currently in the heliosheath, the outermost layer of the heliosphere where solar wind is slowed by the pressure of interstellar gas. Simply put, both spacecraft have traveled further than any spacecraft has boldly gone before.

Remarkably, Dr. Stone is still in his role as chief scientist, despite having just celebrated his 81st birthday. He has been principal investigator on nine NASA spacecraft missions, co-investigator on five other NASA missions, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) itself from 1991 to 2001, and received many honors, including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and National Medal of Science. He's also a full-time professor at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which manages JPL for NASA.

After a brief stop at NASA JPL Mission Control, where all signals from missions are monitored 24/7 by the Deep Space Networka geek's thrill indeedPCMag met up with Dr. Stone, who talked us through a full-size replica of Voyager 1.

Before sitting down to talk, he pointed out the instruments onboard, which include a Magnetic field instrument, Low energy charged particle instrument, Cosmic ray instrument, Plasma instrument, and Plasma wave instrument (Voyager 1 also has an Ultraviolet spectrometer subsystem). They directly support the five scientific investigation teams participating in the Interstellar Mission: Magnetic field investigation, Low energy charged particle investigation, Plasma Investigation (Voyager 2 only), Plasma wave investigation, and Cosmic ray investigation.

Can you take us back and describe the atmosphere at Cape Canaveral on August 20, 1977? It was a very intense period. Thousands of things have to happen at the right time. You've invested five years in the project, and now, on that day, it's all sitting on top of a large Titan-Centaur rocket. Both of the twin spacecraft were built here, at NASA JPL, then trucked to Florida, roughly three months before launch. That's when I went down there too, and where we put it all back together.

That's also where the team installed the radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) that convert the heat produced from the natural radioactive decay of plutonium into electricity to power the spacecraft, instruments, radio and on-board computers. The spacecraft fly too far from the sun to use solar panels. So, during that period, the entire team moved to Florida, some stayed here at JPL in Operations, but most of us were there in the summer of 1977. It was an amazing time.

What inspired you to study astrophysics and space science in the first place? I went to the University of Chicago in 1956, in the graduate program for physics. I wanted to study nuclear physics as that was the frontier back then. One year later, Sputnik was launched and heralded a new era of explorationand the first major discovery of the Space Agethe Van Allen radiation belts around the Earth. It became apparent there was a lot to learn, if you could build the instruments and get them into space. As part of my work, I had the opportunity to launch scientific instruments looking at cosmic rays on a polar orbiting spacecraft.

So, after your Ph.D., you came to join Caltech in early 1960s, became chief scientist on the Voyager and then director. Did you always know you wanted to return to Voyager after finishing your time as director? I never left the Voyager mission, continued on right through, as chief scientist, while I was director. It was several years later that Voyager 1 reached the first milestone in the Voyager Interstellar Mission: the termination shock of the supersonic wind. Voyager 1 crossed the termination shock in December 2004 at about 94 AU from the Sun while Voyager 2 crossed it in August 2007 at about 84 AU. Then in August 2012, Voyager 1 finally entered Interstellar space.

And they're still out there. It's a long journey. Yes, they're still sending back signals. When Voyager launched, the Space Age was only 20 years old and there was no empirical evidence that spacecraft could last more than a few years. Voyager 1 and 2 have been up there for 40 years now, and we expect they'll deliver us valuable data until ~2030 when their nuclear power sources will no longer supply enough electrical energy to power critical subsystems.

What are the two main questions about the universe that the mission has answered thus far? Before Voyager, we thought the only active volcanoes were on Earth. Suddenly, on Jupiter's moon Io, we found 10 times more volcanic activity, and that's just on a moon. We're no longer as "terracentric" in our view of the bodies in the solar system. Time after time we were surprised by what we discovered. On Triton, a moon of Neptune, where the nitrogen is frozen, we found geysers eruptingat 40 degrees above absolute zero! We know that on Earth, water is present in three different statesfrozen, liquid, and gasand we've now found moons where other substances, like nitrogen and methane, possess similar states. Suddenly, because of Voyager, we realize how complex and interesting the planetary system is.

Is Voyager 2 still on course to go interstellar soon? We don't know exactly when, but the number I keep using is "a few years." But this is space explorationit could be another surprise.

Talking of surprises, both Voyager spacecraft carry the 12-inch gold-plated copper disk which Carl Sagan and his committee put together as a greeting for other life forms. It was actually astrophysicist Frank Drake, on Carl Sagan's committee, that suggested the phonograph record for the Voyager mission, instead of a plaque which was onboard earlier missions: Pioneer 10 and 11.

Have you been disappointed that Voyager hasn't received a response from other interplanetary spacecraft? (Pauses) You mean Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence?

Yes It will be 40,000 years before the Voyagers pass by other stars, so it was never expected there would be a response to the golden record during their operational lifetimes.

Perhaps we've been a bit dull as a prospect to anyone/thing out there? (Laughs) Maybe! [But] intelligent life is really very rare. There are now searches for microbial life, and that's to find the beginning of life. If a planetor exoplanethas the right thermal and geophysical conditions, with the development of scientific instruments it will be possible to study planets and exoplanets for evidence of microbial life, which is the initial step leading to intelligent life.

Back on firmer scientific footing for the final question: The Voyager spacecraft won't ever return to Earth, will they? No, in fact both spacecraft are escaping the solar system at a speed of about 3.6 AU per year. They'll continue communicating to Earth until the power runs out. The radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) have a radiation half-life of 88 years, and the spacecraft could keep going until ~2030.

What will happen then? Then Voyager 1 and 2 will both speed in their orbit around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy every 225 million yearsuntil the Milky Way collides with another galaxy.

Sophia Stuart is an award-winning digital strategist and technology columnist. Voted one of the "Top 21 Social Media Superstars" by Min Online in 2009, Sophia was an executive at Hearst from 2006 - 2013, winning a Webby Award for Cosmo Mobile and an MVA for Cosmo International Digital Strategy. Sophia now lives in Los Angeles and runs TheDigitalCheckUp.com consultancy. She was a judge for both the SheSays global awards (2014) and the Bookmarks, South Africa (2013). She has written for many publications including Esquire Mexico, Harpers... More

More:

40 Years of Voyager: A Q&A With Dr. Ed Stone at NASA JPL - PC Magazine

Ask Ethan: What Surprises Might NASA’s Future Space Telescopes Discover? – Forbes

Posted on by

Forbes
Ask Ethan: What Surprises Might NASA's Future Space Telescopes Discover?
Forbes
When the Hubble Space Telescope launched in 1990, there were a slew of things we knew we were going to measure. We would see individual stars in more distant galaxies than ever before; we would measure the deep, distant Universe in ways that had ...

Read this article:

Ask Ethan: What Surprises Might NASA's Future Space Telescopes Discover? - Forbes

UC Davis licenses novel compound that helps stem cells regenerate bone – HealthCanal.com (press release) (blog)

Posted on by

The University of California, Davis, has reached a licensing agreement with Regenerative Arthritis and Bone Medicine (RABOME) for a class of drugs developed at the university that hold potential for treating diseases associated with bone loss and inflammatory arthritis.

From Left: Fred Tileston (RABOME), Ruiwu Liu, Nancy Lane, Christy Pifer, Wei Yao, Kit Lam (UC Davis Health), and Jiwei Chen (RABOME).

The license, negotiated by the InnovationAccess team within the UC Davis Office of Research, provides the university-affiliated startup with rights to four families of patents and patent applications related to the novel composition of a hybrid molecule, known as LLP2A-alendronate, which has been found to effectively direct mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to induce bone regeneration in animal models. The compound works by guiding transplanted and endogenous MSCs to the surface of the bone where they differentiate into bone-forming cells, thereby increasing bone mass and strength. These cells are also immune-modulating, which helps to reduce inflammation at target sites.

The use of stem cells as therapeutic agents is a growing field, but directing stem cells to travel and adhere to the surface of bone for bone formation has been an elusive goal in regenerative medicine.

There are many stem cells, even in elderly people, but they do not readily migrate to bone, said Wei Yao, co-inventor and associate professor of internal medicine at UC Davis. Finding a molecule that attaches to stem cells and guides them to the targets we need provides a real breakthrough.

Translating discovery into societal and commercial impact

Late last year, RABOME received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin phase I clinical trials to evaluate the safety of the drug in humans. The study sites are currently screening patients for enrollment.

We are pursuing several indications for use, but our initial focus is in developing a treatment for osteonecrosis, a disease caused by reduced blood flow to bones, says Fred Tileston, president and chief executive officer RABOME, which is a California-based company. As many as 20,000 people per year in the United States develop osteonecrosis.

RABOME also plans to pursue other indications for use including fracture healing, osteoporosis and inflammatory arthritis.

We are pleased that this very promising technology is being shepherded by Mr. Tileston, who is an experienced business leader and entrepreneur, said Dushyant Pathak, associate vice chancellor for Technology Management and Corporate Relations at UC Davis. It is exciting to see the teams progress in translating the discovery into commercial and societal impact.

Breaking barriers through cross-discipline collaboration

The development of the novel therapy is the result of a successful research collaboration between two teams at UC Davis: a group of experts on bone health, led by Nancy Lane and Wei Yao from the UC Davis Center for Musculoskeletal Health, and a synergistic group of medicinal chemists led by Kit Lam and Ruiwu Liu from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine.

This research was a collaboration of stem cell biologists, biochemists, translational scientists, a bone biologist and clinicians, said Lane, endowed professor of medicine, rheumatology and aging research, anda principal investigator. It was a truly fruitful team effort with remarkable results.

Lane received a Disease Team Therapy Development research grant in 2012 from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) which, along with federal grants from the National Institutes of Health, supported the preclinical research. CIRM was established in 2004 via California Proposition 71 to fund stem cell research in attempt to accelerate and improve treatments for patients where current needs are unmet.

Conflict of interest disclosure

Because Tileston and Lane are married, UC Davis conducted a conflict of interest review of its licensing agreement with RABOME. The university determined that it did not rise to the level of a financial conflict of interest under NIH rules, which require a finding of a direct and significant impact.

Send email Phone: 916-734-9048

AJ Chelin, Office of Research Send email Phone:530-752-1101

Original post:

UC Davis licenses novel compound that helps stem cells regenerate bone - HealthCanal.com (press release) (blog)

Practice Portal

Posted on by

*Required fields are marked with an asterisk.

Some features may not work properly. Please try again or reload the page. If you continue to experience this problem please contact the system administrator.

Welcome to the Internal Medicine Associates of Dothan Patient Portal

Welcome to Internal Medicine Associates of Dothan. We are an innovative practice located in Dothan, Alabama. At Internal Medicine Associates of Dothan, we strive to offer our patients convenient high-quality care. One of the ways we do this is by offering our patients online health services through our website.

These services include: online appointment scheduling, access to medical records, medication renewals, and more. If you are currently a patient with our clinic and interested in signing up for these services, simply click on the Register link at the top of this page and follow the instructions to sign-up.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a patient with our clinic, please click on the New Patient Enrollment link on the side of this page and follow the instructions for registration. You can contact Internal Medicine Associates of Dothan at either nonclinical@imadhn.com or (334) 793-5074.

Click Here to Click Here to Submit a Request for Submit a Request for an Appointmenta Medication Refill

Click Here to Click Here to Submit a Request forReview/Update Your a ReferralPersonal Information

Click Here to Send a Click Here to Secure Message to Send Computer Files Your Physician to Your Physician

Click Here to Ask Click Here to Questions aboutAsk any other Balance, Payments, etc. General Questions

Read the original:

Practice Portal

Could traditional Chinese medicine help fight HIV? – TRT World

Posted on by

Researchers say a combination of anti-retrovirals and Chinese traditional medicine is more effective at rebuilding the immune system.

Photo by: AFP (Archive)

This picture taken on February 28, 2017, shows a sample of "Ejiao," a form of Chinese traditional medication derived from boiled donkey skin, displayed in factory packaging at a licensed specialised slaughterhouse in Baringo.

There are around 600,000 people infected with HIVin China, but many of those patientsstruggle to access the anti-retroviral medicine they need.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)has long been used to supplement western treatments. China is planning to increase the use of the alternative therapiesto fight AIDS.

According to the researchers, ancient recipes have proven effective in treating illnesses associated with HIV.

But critics say TCM studies haven't been large enough in scale, and lack scientific collaboration between western and Chinese professionals.

The World Health Organization advises caution, saying it only recommends anti-retrovirals for the treatment of HIV. According to the WHO, traditional medicines may only have an adjunct role in improving the patient's overall well-being.

TRT World's DanEpsteinhas more details from Beijing.

South America's largest freshwater lake under threat

Women's summit hopes to bridge gap left by US global gag rule

Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary

Study finds evidence linking obesity to cancer

Tech Week: Return of the old phones, Blackberry and Nokia, and more

SpaceX to fly two tourists around moon next year

Read more from the original source:

Could traditional Chinese medicine help fight HIV? - TRT World

Mystery solved: Addiction medicine maker is secret funder of – Stat – STAT

Posted on by

A

company that sells a new opioid-addiction medication is a secret funder of an advocacy group fronted by Newt Gingrich and Patrick Kennedy that ispushing for more government funding and insurance coverage ofsuch treatments.

Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker and a Trump confidant, andKennedy, a former congressman and son of former US Senator Edward Kennedy, are paid advisors to Advocates for Opioid Recovery. They have generated a flurry of media attention in those roles, including joint interviews with outlets ranging fromFox Newstothe New Yorker.

Gingrich told STAT this week he didnt know who was funding Advocates for Opioid Recovery, and the nonprofit groups officials refused to disclose its financial backers.

article continues after advertisement

The answer, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is Braeburn Pharmaceuticals Inc. The private company, based in Princeton, N.J., won approval last year to market an implant that continuously dispenses the opioid addiction medicine buprenorphine.

Opioid treatment group fronted by Newt Gingrich and Patrick Kennedy keeps its funders secret

In a prospectus filed with the SEC in late January as part of a now-postponed effort to take the company public, Braeburn disclosed it entered into an agreement to make a $900,000 charitable donation to Advocates for Opioid Recovery. The filing indicates the company had paid $675,000 to the nonprofit group as of Sept. 30. It did not specify when the remaining funds would be paid.

The filing indicates Braeburn entered into the agreement to fund the nonprofit group through the private equity fund that owns the drugmaker.

That fund, called Apple Tree Partners, is also an investor inCleanSlate Addiction Treatment Centers. Kennedy has been a member of the board of directors of CleanSlate since 2015. The treatment center is also a sponsor of the Kennedy Forum, a mental health advocacy outfit headed by Patrick Kennedy.

Anne Woodbury, a former Gingrich aide who serves as executive director of Advocates for Opioid Recovery, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A request for comment from Braeburn was also not immediately returned.

Kennedy declined to be interviewed this week, as didVan Jones, the CNN commentator and former Obama aide who is another paid adviser. Earlier this week, Woodbury and a spokesman for the nonprofit refused to say who was funding it, adding thatthe donors wanted to remain anonymous.

Can a pricey implant to treat opioid addiction save lives and money?

While there iswidespread supportin the treatment community for use of the medicines being promoted by the three men, there is growing concern about misuse of the drugs. And some addiction experts have expressed skepticism that the Braeburn implant will be an effective treatment option.There are alternative opioid-addiction treatments that do not rely on medication, including abstinence-based and behavioral therapy programs.

Last month, Braeburn shelved a planned initial public offering, citing poor market conditions. The companys implant drug, branded as Probuphine,relies on four tiny rods implanted under the skin of the upperarm todispense the addiction-treatment drugbuprenorphinefor six months at a time.

David Armstrong can be reached at david.armstrong@statnews.com Follow David on Twitter @DavidArmstrongX Add David on Facebook

Read more:

Mystery solved: Addiction medicine maker is secret funder of - Stat - STAT

As physician well-being falls, rewards of medicine fade – American Medical Association (blog)

Posted on by

Most occupations probably cannot boast that 93 percent of their members find their work rewarding and that 91 percent think it makes the world a better place, as discovered in a recent survey of U.S. physicians. Yet that research also suggests those numbers can drop precipitously when physician burnout increases.

The purpose of the study, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, was to evaluate the association between professional burnout and physicians sense of calling. Researchers found physicians who experience burnout are, indeed, less likely to view medicine as a calling, as measured by true-false responses to six survey items, including I find my work rewarding, My work is one of the most important things in my life, and If I were financially secure, I would continue with my current line of work even if I were no longer paid.

Almost 30 percent of the more than 2,200 respondents reported experiencing some level of burnout. Physician views on calling that varied the least between those who were not burned out and those who were completely burned out were for the item, My work makes the world a better place. More than 83 percent of physicians who were completely burned out responded affirmatively to this item, which was only 14 percent lower than those who reported no burnout.

The calling item with the greatest response difference was I would choose my current work life again if I had the opportunity, to which completely burned-out physicians responded affirmatively less than 32 percent of the time, a difference of 61 percent from those unaffected by burnout. On the I find my work rewarding item, nearly all physician respondents unaffected by burnout98 percentagreed with the statement. In contrast, just 65 percent of completely burned-out physicians said they find their work rewarding.

Given the personal and collective-level consequences of medicine as a calling, concerns have been raised that the changing physician workplace may be eroding such a professional identity, the studys authors wrote. Over the past decade, the rapid adoption of electronic health records and the proliferation of pay-for-performance metrics have markedly altered how physicians experience their everyday work lives.

Although detrimental to the well-being of physicians, professional burnout is also associated with lower patient satisfaction, increased medical errors, poorer health outcomes and higher health care costs, wrote the authors, Andrew J. Jager, Michael A. Tutty, PhD, and Audiey Kao, MD, PhD. Jager and Dr. Kao work in the AMAs Ethics Standards Group, of whom the latter is vice president. Tutty is group vice president of Professional Satisfaction and Practice Sustainability at the AMA.

Given the significance of outcomes linked to burnout, promoting physician wellbeing is seen as an essential element of successful health system transformation, leading some to refer to a quadruple aim that explicitly recognizes the need for physician and care team well-being, they added.

With passage of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, the authors noted, the health care system is poised for transformation, so the time is right to implement system-wide changes that advance the goals of the quadruple aim. At the 2016 AMA Annual Meeting, the House of Delegates adopted policy on the quadruple aim, adding the goal of improving the work-life balance of physicians and other health care providers to the existing triple aim of improving population health and patients care experiences while cutting per capital health care costs.

The AMA also has policy encouraging further studies and disseminating the results of studies on physician and medical student burnout to the medical education and physician community. AMA policy supports programs to assist physicians in early identification and management of stress, focusing on the physical, emotional and psychological aspects of responding to stress in physicians' professional and personal lives, as well as when to seek professional assistance for stress-related difficulties.

In addition, the AMA last year adopted policy supporting strategies to destigmatize mental illness and enable timely and affordable access to mental health services for undergraduate and graduate students. It also supports collaborations among university mental health specialists and local public or private practices to provide a larger pool of resources, such that any student is able to access care in a timely and affordable manner.

The AMAsSTEPS Forward collection of practice improvement strategies helps physicians make transformative changes to their practices. It offers modules onpreventing physician burnout in practice,preventing resident and fellow burnoutandimproving physician resiliency.

The Physician Wellness section of AMA Wire features ongoing coverage of issues related to burnout, including advice from experts in achieving work-life balance.

Go here to see the original:

As physician well-being falls, rewards of medicine fade - American Medical Association (blog)

Splash hopes to tackle med school debt – Crain’s Cleveland Business

Posted on by

Crain's Cleveland Business
Splash hopes to tackle med school debt
Crain's Cleveland Business
Each year 18,000 to 19,000 students graduate from medical school most of them with a disturbing sum of debt. In fact, the average medical school debt balance is now $189,165, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. And while most ...

Read more here:

Splash hopes to tackle med school debt - Crain's Cleveland Business

Liberty Hill breaks through at state, advances to Class 4A final – Austin American-Statesman

Posted on by

SAN ANTONIO

It didnt come easily, but historic accomplishments rarely do.

On Friday at the Alamodome, Liberty Hills girls basketball team advanced to a state championship game for the first time in school history with a dramatic 49-45 victory over Godley in a Class 4A semifinal. Rescued by a closing 11-0 run, the Panthers earned the right to face two-time defending state champion Argyle on Saturday night in a rematch of a 2016 4A semifinal.

For at least a few hours, though, any thoughts about a rematch against Argyle or an emotional reaction to their victory could wait for the Panthers, now 36-2.

Theres no tears after this game, Liberty Hill senior guard Andrea House said. Im saving those for tomorrow after we win.

With less than two minutes to play Friday, it appeared that House and her teammates would be the ones wiping away tears after a sixth consecutive state semifinal loss. The Panthers faced a seven-point deficit entering a timeout, but head coach Chris Lange picked up a good vibe in the huddle.

Id like to say I was nervous, but I wasnt, he said. I felt comfortable and confident; I never felt like we were going to lose. We talked about getting up in their faces, staying positive and attacking. Thats what we did. We stayed positive and kept attacking.

Liberty Hill rediscovered its swarming defense in the final two minutes, and Panthers junior forward Kandyn Faurie rediscovered her shooting touch.

The Panthers forced Godley (35-5) into five turnovers during their game-clinching run, and Faurie scored seven of her 16 points in that span. Her layup off an inbounds play with 58 seconds to go gave Liberty Hill its first lead of the fourth quarter, and junior guard Bethany McLeod clinched the victory with a pair of free throws with 20 seconds to play.

Sedona Prince, Liberty Hills 6-foot-7 junior who has pledged to the Texas Longhorns, led all players with 17 points, scoring on an array of inside moves and turnaround jumpers. She also pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds in 31 minutes on the floor.

Liberty Hills swarming defense dominated the first half. Godley, which topped 60 points in four of its first five playoff games, made just three baskets and committed 10 turnovers in the first two quarters. At one point, the Lady Cats went more than nine minutes without a point as Liberty Hill built a 16-8 lead.

Godley upped the tempo after halftime, though, and put up 18 points in the third period alone. The Lady Cats committed only three turnovers in the second half before the games final two minutes.

We werent getting back in transition and getting out on their 3-pointer shooters, McLeod said. We just gave them too much room to shoot.

Still, Liberty Hill never gave up against a Godley team that shot 50 percent from the floor after the break, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range.

The journey is not over, Lange said. Its always been about one more. One more rep, one more practice, one more game. We have exactly what we wanted.

That means a rematch against Argyle, which beat Liberty Hill 43-32 last year in the Alamodome and 34-26 earlier this season.

They play very well together, and theyve been doing it a while, Lange said of Argyle, which raced past Wharton 71-31 Friday as all-state forward Vivian Gray scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Thats what makes them dangerous. Vivian is an outstanding player, but I have a few of those myself.

UIL GIRLS BASKETBALL: STATE TOURNAMENT

When: Through Saturday

Where: Alamodome, San Antonio

Tickets: A general-session ticket costs $19. (Children 2 and younger are admitted free but may not occupy a seat.)

Parking: Available in Alamodome lots for $15.

THURSDAY

Class A semifinals

Nazareth 63, Slocum 31

Dodd City 59, Garden City 36

Class 3A semifinals

Buffalo 50, Mount Vernon 43

Canadian 76, Goliad 34

Class 5A semifinals

Canyon 66, Barbers Hill 39

Mansfield Timberview 66, Corpus Christi Flour Bluff 41

FRIDAY

Class 2A semifinals

Martins Mill 58, Weimar 50

Panhandle 62, Woden 37

Class 4A semifinals

Argyle 71, Wharton 31

Liberty Hill 49, Godley 45

Class 6A semifinals

Pflugerville (31-6) vs. Cypress Ranch (31-6), late

Duncanville (37-2) vs. Converse Judson (28-6), late

SATURDAY

8:30 a.m. Class A final: Nazareth (34-1) vs. Dodd City (32-3)

10 a.m. Class 3A final: Buffalo (28-4) vs. Canadian (32-3)

1:30 p.m. Class 2A final: Martins Mill (37-2) vs. Panhandle (29-6)

3 p.m. Class 5A final: Canyon (30-3) vs. Mansfield Timberview (37-2)

7 p.m. Class 4A final: Argyle (36-2) vs. Liberty Hill (36-2)

8:30 p.m. Class 6A final

For results of Pflugervilles Class 6A semifinal game Friday night against Cypress Ranch and other high school basketball, go to statesman.com.

Visit link:

Liberty Hill breaks through at state, advances to Class 4A final - Austin American-Statesman

Liberty Christian drops Cowan; advances to sectional title game – The Herald Bulletin

Posted on by

GASTON Liberty Christians Ronny Williams drove hard to the bucket, but his layup rolled off the rim. Fortunately, his teammate Dallas Burko was there to clean up the offensive rebound and put it right back in for two.

But the Lions werent done hustling. As Cowan brought the ball up the court, Williams sprinted over to the Blackhawks ballhandler, poking the ball loose just before halfcourt, diving on the floor, scooping up the ball and calling timeout seemingly all in one motion.

This series of plays with 3:20 left in the fourth quarter was a microcosm of the effort displayed by Liberty Christian on Friday night in its sectional semifinal matchup against Cowan; each play kept the Blackhawks at bay and kept the Lions lead at a comfortable margin.

Liberty Christian advanced to Saturdays sectional final against host Wes-Del, taking care of Cowan, 63-46.

You know what? That second and third quarter, I really didnt feel like we were bringing it, Liberty Christian head coach Jason Chappell said. And (Cowan was) getting some offensive rebounds, but finally, they stepped it up in that span and really, I think, turned the tide of the game.

Despite their coachs dissatisfaction at some points, the game never really was in doubt for the Lions (11-14), who took a 5-3 lead just 1:24 into the ballgame and never was tied or trailed again. Liberty Christian led by eight points at the end of the first quarter (17-9) and took 11-point leads into halftime (30-19) and into the fourth quarter (43-32).

The main challenge for the Lions, particularly on defense, was trying to figure out a way to stop Cowan guard Shea Ingles.

Ingles, who is generously listed at 5-foot-9 in the sectional program, came into the contest as the Blackhawks leading scorer at 17.5 points per game and showed exactly why, displaying no fear as he pulled up from all over the court including from the volleyball line on a few occasions

Cowan, which ends its 2016-17 season with a 7-15 record, works hard on the offensive end without the ball to get Ingles free, Chappell said, and the senior poured in a game-high 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 4-for-8 from 3-point land. He also had a game-best six assists.

They did a good job of screening; we didnt do a very good job of hedging. And so its a combination, Chappell said of the challenge of guarding a slippery player like Ingles. We were satisfied with letting him shoot from the volleyball line, but he hit some big shots, you know? Thats the last game of his career, and kids like that, theyre going to step up, and he had a big night.

Four Lions reached double digits on the scoresheet, led by Williams, who had 21 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while also adding three assists and four steals. He was joined by Burko, who had 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, Trajan Dixon, who had 12 points and nine boards, and Isiah Brees, who had 10 points.

After Tuesdays sectional-opening win over Southern Wells, Chappell alluded to the fact that Burko has turned from a role player into a player. He said the same of Brees on Friday night.

Just like Burko, hes becoming a player. Hes turning from a role player into a player. And weve got some guys stepping up, you know? Chappell said. Some guys didnt have their effort tonight, but some guys stepped up for them. Thats what a team does. Everyones not going to have their best game every night, and so if weve got to take turns, Im OK with that.

Liberty Christian (11-14), playing for its sixth straight sectional title, takes on the host Warriors (17-7) in Saturdays sectional title game. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Richard E. Johnson Gymnasium.

They have a couple good athletes, and theyre in their own gym. So thats a huge advantage, Chappell said. They bring a really good crowd. Theyve had a lot of success this year, and winning ballgames is good for the soul, so well see. It should be a good time tomorrow.

See the original post:

Liberty Christian drops Cowan; advances to sectional title game - The Herald Bulletin

Son arrested for mother’s shooting death in Liberty County – WSAV-TV

Posted on by

WSAV-TV
Son arrested for mother's shooting death in Liberty County
WSAV-TV
According to Liberty County Sheriffs Office Detective, Capt Doug Snider, Nicholas Bacon is accused of shooting and killing his mother Montez Bacon while she was driving towards Hinesville. Witnesses say they saw Montez Bacon signal and turn into the ...
Son arrested for shooting mother in Liberty CountyWJCL News
Son accused of shooting, killing mother while traveling on Leroy Coffer HwyWTOC

all 4 news articles »

Go here to read the rest:

Son arrested for mother's shooting death in Liberty County - WSAV-TV

Auburn softball: No. 2 Tigers open tourney with 2nd straight win vs … – SECcountry.com

Posted on by

AUBURN, Ala. No. 2 Auburn softballs run-rule win over Liberty on Friday night wasnt quite like its last one. Instead of an opening inning that took more than 40 minutes because of the Tigers offensive explosion, they jumped out to a small lead in the early goings.

Then the bombs returned at Jane B. Moore Field from the top of the order. National player of the year favorite Kasey Cooper returned to form with a 3-run shot in the 4th, and the hot-hitting Carlee Wallace added one of her own in the 6th to engineer a 9-1victory over the visiting Flames.

We played well enough to win, Auburn head coach Clint Myers said. We hit a few balls hard. Again, its the same story, just a different day consistency. Were doing some good things. Weve just got to be more consistent with it.

MORE:Clint Myers updates status of ill transfer player Tannon Snow

Auburn (16-2) was never truly threatened by Liberty, which it beat 15-0 on Thursday, in its opening game of the Wilson/DeMarini Classic. But some timely extra-base knocksfrom the 1-2-3 hitters turned a closer-than-expected game to another run-rule rout.

Its a great team to be a part of, Cooper said. When were all on time and all hitting well together, its going to be phenomenal. I think were progressing well as a team. Its going to be something special at the end of the year.

3B Kasey Cooper: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 4 RBI and 1 BB

Auburns star third baseman entered the 2017 season as the best softball player in the country. But her production through the first month didnt quite meet expectations. After bashing a home run Thursday night against Liberty, Cooper did it again Friday night.

Im definitely more comfortable in the box and trusting my swing, Cooper said. The coaches pulled me upstairs and showed me my swing from last year to this year on top of each other. I saw what I needed to correct, and they let me correct it on my own. It feels good. I feel like myself again.

Coopers 3-run homer in the top of the 4th inning one that came with 2 outs broke the game open for the Tigers. She also added an RBI in the1st, tying herleadoff hitter Carlee Wallace for the team lead (19).

Even though Cooper only had one hit, it was the biggest one. Most of therest of her at-bats Friday night were productive, including a sacrifice fly to get things going in the 1st.

I think shes getting to a spot where she needs to be, Myers said. Shes making a habit of quality at-bats. With Fagan hitting behind her and Carlee in front of her, that limits what pitchers can do with her. Shes going to see some good pitches.

C Carlee Wallaces hot streak

Wallace likes seeing the Liberty Flames, obviously. In her two matchups against them, Wallace went 5-for-5 with all 5 hits of the extra-base variety. She also drew a pair of walks on Friday night, coming around to score three times.

Not a bad day, not a bad day, Myers said. That might answer some questions to why we had her as our leadoff hitter. There was a lot of speculation to that. She had a great night.

The junior catchers big moment of the night came in the top of the 6th, when she crushed a 3-run home run to extend Auburns lead to 7.

Wallace, combined with Cooper and senior shortstop Haley Fagan, batted a strong 11-for-16 against Liberty on back-to-back nights. Thats a 1-2-3 punch at the top of the order that Auburn needed to get rolling again before SEC play.

Auburn engineered a two-out rally in the top of the 4th to pad its narrow lead.

The 4th inning looked like it was going to be a sour one for Auburn, as its first two batters struck out looking with full counts. But after Victoria Draper legged out a bunt and stole second base, the Tigers had something cooking.

Carlee Wallace drew a walk, which setup Coopers 3-run bomb. While Liberty pulled a run back in the bottom of the inning, Auburn breathed easier for the rest of the evening and notched a comfortable victory.

The Tigers host a doubleheader on Day 2 of the Wilson/DeMarini Classic.

Auburn gets back-to-back games on Saturday with a matchup against College of Charleston (3:30 p.m. CT) and Texas State (6 p.m. CT). Texas State defeated College of Charleston, 11-3, in 6 innings on Friday.

Neither game will be televised or streamed, so make sure to follow @JFergusonAU on Twitter and stay locked into SEC Country for coverage.

See the original post:

Auburn softball: No. 2 Tigers open tourney with 2nd straight win vs ... - SECcountry.com

Jackson has eyes on Liberty, South Side matchup – Jackson Sun

Posted on by

Michael Odom , USA TODAY NETWORK Tennessee Published 9:02 p.m. CT March 3, 2017 | Updated 15 hours ago

South Side's Tamia Curry goes up for a shot against Crockett County in the Region 7-AA semifinals.(Photo: Pam Dietz/The Jackson Sun)Buy Photo

North Side, Jackson Christian and Jackson Central-Merry have hosted sectional games over the years. University School of Jackson and Trinity Christian Academy hosted sectional/sub-state games this year.

But an all-Jackson sectional hasn't been available for fans to go and watch. But Saturday that is exactly what Jackson basketball fans will get to see at South Side.

Liberty will make short trek down to the Hawks' Nest to try and give South Side its first loss of the season.

"At this point of the season, you will fight, scrape and claw to get a win," South Side coach Brent McNeal said. "It doesn't matter is it is good, bad or ugly, as long as you get a win. We expect to get everything that Liberty can give us on Saturday."

The two teams played twice this season with South Side picking up wins of 30 and 21 points.

"We put no stock into that whatsoever," McNeal said. "Those games were before Christmas. A lot of his kids played soccer and volleyball, so they were a little banged up early. We don't like to think of anything that happened before Christmas."

Liberty Tech's Alexus Smith (21) looks to shoot against Haywood in the District 15-AA championship.(Photo: C.B. SCHMELTER/The Jackson Sun)

There has been a big difference in the Lady Crusaders prior to Christmas and post-Christmas break. Liberty was 1-7 when the Christmas break start, but they are 9-8 since that point with four of those eight losses coming against Haywood.

South Side has won all 26 games that the Lady Hawks' have played in, including five wins in the postseason.

"We have to try to control us on Saturday and play like we have been," McNeal said.

That South Side mentality is defense first and hope that the defensive pressure can create some easy baskets in transition.

The Lady Hawks will look to players like Quanardra Miller, Makayla Transou, Nikindra Taylor and Cheyenne Cunningham to disrupt the Liberty offense.

"We can't get in early foul trouble," McNeal said. "We can't let the emotion of the game get to us, and then we will let the chips fall where they may after 32 minutes."

The South Side fan base has been growing as the postseason has rolled along, so expect a packed house as the Lady Hawks get to play at home to try and earn their first spot in the state tournament since 1994.

Reach Michael Odom at michodom@jacksonsun.com or 731-425-9754. Follow him on Twitter @JSWriterMichael.

Read the rest here:

Jackson has eyes on Liberty, South Side matchup - Jackson Sun

Liberty’s Maloney right at home against regional wrestling tourney’s best – lehighvalleylive.com

Posted on by

Some wrestlers might get spooked a bit at drawing the No. 1 seed on Day 1 of regionals.

Liberty'sMatt Maloney didnt flinch.

The Hurricanes sophomore 106-pounder promptly dispatched of top-seeded Archbishop Woods T.J. England 12-8 and advanced to the semifinals of the PIAA Class 3A Northeast Regional Tournament at Libertys Memorial Gym.

I was confident enough, because our district is so tough, Maloney said. Its probably the best in the state. So coming out of District 11, I was prepared for (England).

Maloney (35-3) dominated England (36-3) with five takedowns and a reversal. The only mistakeMaloney hadwas while leading 12-6 late in the match,England countered a sloppy takedown attempt for twopoints. Ittightened the final score, but not the match itself.

I was going for the major (decision) and I got a little sloppy, said Maloney, who had five takedowns in his 13-8 preliminary round win over David Evans from Tunkhannock. I had a big enough lead that it didnt matter.

English wasn't the only high seed to fall on Day 1 of the tournament.

Delaware Valley's John McCarthy, the top seed at 220, dropped a 9-6 decision to Pocono Mountain West's Greg Bensley in the quarterfinals.

The No. 2 seeds at 106, 113, 120, 126, 138, 160, 170 and 182 were all knocked off in a brutal quarterfinal round for District 2 and District 12 front-runners.

You can appear stronger than your opponent if youre confident, Liberty coach Jody Karam said. (Maloney) is very strong and he was hitting his moves with conviction, and he was confident. I was real confident as well. I think I made somewhat of a coaching mistake there. Not to sound arrogant, but I knew Matt was going to win his match. I was paying attention to the kid he might be wrestling in the semifinals.

Maloney is one five Hurricanes that advanced through the quarterfinals with wins. Hell face Pottsvilles Nick Onea (33-9), who beat him 6-4 in the semifinals last week at the District 11 tournament.

I saw that (English) came in with a big record, like 36-2, but that didnt really faze me since I came through District 11, Maloney said. Now I go against a kid (Onea) that beat me last week and that doesnt mean anything. It gives me incentive to come out and major him this time.

Luke Werner (120), Gunner Anglovich (170), Damen Moyer (182) and Carlo Perugini (195) will all be joining Maloney in the semifinals.

Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.

Read more:

Liberty's Maloney right at home against regional wrestling tourney's best - lehighvalleylive.com