AIA makes pitch for more NASA funding – Washington Technology (blog)

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AIA makes pitch for more NASA funding

Granted the Aerospace Industries Association has a vested interest in seeing NASAs budget increase but they still make a compelling argument for more funds for the space agency.

Since 1991, NASAs budget has dropped by an inflation adjusted 22 percent, according to AIAs report, Funding Our Future. The agency has $4.3 billion less to spend in its annual budget.

The report lists unfunded priorities in areas of planetary science, astrophysics, heliophysics, Earth science, and human exploration.

The industry group argues that the United States is seeing its space leadership erode and over time that will weaken the nations competitive position.

There also are a technological advances to be gained such as environmentally friendly supersonic flight and a next generation air traffic control system. More NASA spending will also fuel more science and technology education, aka STEM, and there are long term benefits to that.

The arguments are compelling especially if you believe as AIA says that the United States is a spacefaring nation.

AIA said the report was inspired in part by the tradition of the Defense Department presenting a list of unfunded priorities to congressional appropriators.

AIA President and CEO David Melcher said that DODs testimony about these priorities often made a difference come appropriations time. NASA and other civilian agencies arent granted the luxury of that kind of testimony.

Fortunately, industry is not so constrained, and we are free to seek additional resources for NASA to do great things, he wrote in the report. We have some good objective ideas for how best to spend additional NASA dollars.

Unfortunately, AIA might be tilting at windmills in todays budget environment and given the priorities of the Trump administration. But still the promise of space can be very alluring.

Posted by Nick Wakeman on Feb 28, 2017 at 1:51 PM

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Home – Center for Molecular and Translational Medicine

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The Center for Molecular and Translational Medicine at Georgia State University meets healthcare needs by converting significant research findings into diagnostic tools and medicines to improve the health of individuals. The center is designed to help millions of people suffering from heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses. The current research focus of the center is to dissect molecular insights of cardiovascular remodeling in obesity and obesity related diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases, and stroke, with special emphasis on the regulation of these processes.

Read more about the center

Ming-Hui Zou, an internationally recognized researcher in molecular and translational medicine and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Molecular Medicine and associate vice president for research at Georgia State University, is the founding director of the Center for Molecular and Translational Medicine at Georgia State.

An independent investigator of the National Institutes of Health, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, and the American Diabetes Association, and a National Scientist Development and National Established Investigator awardee of the American Heart Association, Zou has used these (and many other awards) to make scientific observations in fields with great potential for immediate clinical relevance.

We effectively transform information gained from biomedical research into knowledge improving the state of human health and disease.

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Home - Center for Molecular and Translational Medicine

Molecule stops fatal pediatric brain tumor – Northwestern University NewsCenter

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Northwestern Medicine scientists have found a molecule that stops the growth of an aggressive pediatric brain tumor. The tumor is always fatal and primarily strikes children under 10 years old.

Every year, about 300 children under the age of 10 years old in the U.S. develop a tumor referred to as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).

This tumor kills every single kid who gets DIPG within one year. No one survives, said the studys first author, Andrea Piunti, a postdoctoral fellow in Ali Shilatifards lab in biochemistry and molecular genetics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

The study will be published February 27 in Nature Medicine.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the most effective molecule so far in treating this tumor, said senior author Shilatifard, the Robert Francis Furchgott Professor of Biochemistry and Pediatrics and the chair of biochemistry and molecular genetics at Feinberg. Every other therapy that has been tried so far has failed.

No children suffering from DIPG have survived longer than one year. Northwestern scientists believe a new molecule may be able to buck that trend.

Radiation therapy only prolongs patients survival by a few months, he noted.

Shilatifards lab previously identified the pathway via which this mutation causes cancer in studies with fruit flies, which was published in Science a few years ago.

He and colleagues believed the pathway would be a good target to thwart the tumor and pushed forward with their molecular studies. Shilatifard and Piunti collaborated with C. David James, Dr. Rintaro Hashizume, Dr. Craig Horbinski, Dr. Rishi Lulla and Dr. Amanda Saratsis at Northwestern Medicine. Lulla, a pediatric neuro-oncologist, and Saratis, a pediatric neurosurgeon, respectively, are also at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago.

The scientists also are members of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

In a study with Hashizumes group, they demonstrated mice in the experiment, which had the drug delivered through their abdomen, had an increased survival of 20 days, which is a long time in the life of a mouse, Piunti said. Now the team at Northwestern Medicine and Lurie Childrens is working on delivering the drug to the brain stem to see if the effect will be more potent and effective.

To test the molecule, scientists took tumor cell lines from a pediatric patient that was untreated and injected those cells into the brain stem of a mouse. The human tumor engrafted in the brain of the mouse. The mouse was then treated with the molecule while scientists monitored the tumor. The molecule stopped the growth of the tumor cells and forced them to turn into other types of cells, known as differentiation, thereby halting its growth.

This discovery is the perfect example of how we take basic science discoveries and translate them to cure diseases at Northwestern Medicine.

This molecule detaches proteins, known as bromodomain proteins, from their binding to a mutant protein, the histone H3K27M, which is present in more than 80 percent of these tumors.

While the molecule itself is not yet available commercially, another similar class of molecules, BET inhibitors, is being tested in clinical trials for pediatric leukemia and other types of tumors. These could be used in a clinical trial for the pediatric tumor, Piunti said.

The collaborative environment at Northwestern made the discovery possible, Shilatifard said.

This work could not have been done anywhere in the world except Northwestern Medicine, because of all the scientists and physicians who have been recruited here during the past five years and how they work together to link basic scientific research to the clinic, Shilatifard said. This discovery is the perfect example of how we take basic science discoveries and translate them to cure diseases at Northwestern Medicine.

Shilatifards other Northwestern collaborators are Marc Morgan, Elizabeth Bartom, Stacy Marshall, Emily Rendleman, Quanhong Ma, Yoh-hei Takahashi, Ashley Woodfin, Alexander Misharin, Nebiyu Abshiru and Neil Kelleher.

The research was supported by grants RO1NS093079 and R35CA197569 from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

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Paul’s Challenge – CBN UK (press release) (blog)

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May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule to the Israel of God. Galatians 6:14-16

I read this verse recently while browsing on social media, and I was hit with an immediate challenge. It is something which I must admit, is one of those things that is far easier to say (or type) then actually do. To only boast in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not my own strength, my own skills, my good deeds, my fantastic organisational contribution to an event or my cooking skills, but only in that amazing act of love which paved a way for a relationship with Father God.

Even as Christians, I think we sometimes struggle with pride (we are only Human after all!), and social media makes that struggle even harder. Simply loading Facebook or Instagram, often floods your mind with posts from people that are trying to grab your attention and people who are sharing every small success, in the hope that your opinion of them might improve.

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Augmented Empire Mixes X-COM With Mass Effect – UploadVR – UploadVR

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Strategy gamers have to keep on their toes. You need a keen tactical mind to prevail in RPGs like XCOM and the original Fallouts, thinking two steps ahead of the enemy at all times, or suffering the consequences. Thats why its important to play lots of them, to keep your mind sharp and your wits about you. If youve been playing VR for the past year, then, your brain might need a little warming up.

Fortunately, Augmented Empire is just what the doctor ordered.

This is the latest VR effort from Esper developer Coatsink, and an Oculus Studios title thats exclusive to Gear VR. The team has been busy porting their past titles and Boneloafs Gang Beasts [Review: 7/10] to the Oculus Rift recently, but teased to us last year that its working on bigger and better things. I went to visit the Sunderland-based studio earlier this month and, based on what I saw, bigger and better is the right terminology.

In more ways than one, Augmented Empire is a vision of the future. In terms of story, the games set in a seedy, neo-noir city named New Savanna, located on a man-made island in the North Atlantic. Its streets are divided into three tiers, and where you live depends on how valuable its government rates you. High class citizens live life up in the fancy districts, while the lower class scrambles around in grimy alleyways and rainy sidewalks. Coatsink CEO Tom Beardsmore describes it as Hunger Games-esque, or like an episode of Black Mirror, and the links between 1984 and other Orwellian media arent hard to spot either.

Youre not just playing as one character here, but two. Your first protagonist is a mysterious figure that enjoys a cozy office space. But heres the really interesting bit; Augmented Empire lives up to its name by simulating futuristic mixed reality within VR. The second character, a female protagonist, appears in an augmented diorama, which is where youll embrace the games strategy elements. Its sort of like pulling a HoloLens from the future over your eyes.

My demo of the game on display at GDC this week focuses on the tactical side of things. I play an early mission that introduces me to the basics, but anyone thats played the most recent two XCOM games will find this like slipping on a pair of comfy slippers, with the caveat that the slippers might break your ankle if you make even the slightest foot wrong.

A group of militant-like enemies has picked a fight with me, and the first order of business is a golden rule to any SPRG: find cover. The maps split into tiles that are highlighted in blue, looking very XCOM-ish. Moving around is as simple as looking at a tile thats within my movement limit and tapping on the Gear VRs touchpad to move there (gamepad support will be integrated too). Once Im firmly rooted behind some barriers, I look at an enemy and tap to attack, but I dont see the usual percentage meter above him, telling me how likely I am to hit. Curious.

Instead of that tried and true system, Empire is going with something a little riskier. As I select attack, a slider comes up and rapidly makes its way from left to right on a meter. To successfully land my shots, I have to tap once when the slider is over a dark blue section of the meter. If it tap in a smaller light blue section next to it, Ill score a critical hit. If I tap either side those sections, Ill miss.

Just how large those blue sections are depends on how good of an angle and distance you are from the enemy. Its still essential to flank and find good vantage points, as it will give you a much bigger opportunity to land a successful attack. This same system is also used to give you the chance to dodge incoming fire.

Im immensely interested to see how SRPG fans react to this tweak on the established formula. Beardsmore says it came about after talking with Oculus about finding ways to keep the player engaged in every second of the action and not just watching your attacks. Based on my time, I think its a good alternative, though I do wonder if players will be able to find their rhythm and game the system so to speak, making it too easy.

That might be the case, but the punishing side of the SRPG genre is still alive and well when it comes to stats. In a second battle, in which I recruit someone to help fight with me, Im nearly wiped out with my back against the wall and the enemy pressing the attack. Each of their hits carves out chunks of my health, and its only thanks to the second characters rifle that Im able to hold them off.

Coatsink says there will be six characters in your team, and youll be able to take three out on missions at a time. Recruitment is a big aspect, Beardsmore says, shifting towards the non-combat side of the game. While Empires battles may be influenced by XCOM, the developer likens its character interactions and side-missions to an RPG favorite: Mass Effect 2.

The thing I loved about Mass Effect 2 was those missions where you were finding your team, he says. They were just glorious with how each one was different and displayed a different aspect of the game. The team is taking that on board here. Youll be able to choose your dialogue lines with characters, and your choices will affect the games ending, while missions can be tackled in an order of your choosing.

Coatsink also wants to replicate the presentation of Biowares epic here, with fully voiced characters that will have their own stories and varied missions. How were going to load that onto Gear VR at the moment were not sure because its a big package, Beardsmore explains, reassuring that the team is looking into ways to do it.

In fact, its an ambitious game for mobile VR all round; wouldnt the Oculus Rift have been a safer bet? Gear VR is many people heres favorite VR platform, because the limitations allow you to build real quality within them, Beardsmore says, adding that he believes that Augmented Empire will be viewed as a great game regardless of platform, and says there arent any plans for a Rift port yet.

Overall Coatsink is aiming to offer around nine hours of gameplay here, and theres a lot left to see. The first-person element will play a big role too, but Coatsink is keeping tight-lipped on what it might entail.

We really want to keep pushing the boat out and keep trying new things while also appeasing our own creative desires to build these kind of games, Beardsmore concludes. If youve been calling out for this type of content, then I suggest you keep an eye on Augmented Empire.

Tagged with: Augmented Empire, Coatsink, GDC, gear vr, Strategy RPG

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GDC 2017: The Mage’s Tale Dungeon Crawler RPG Hands-on – UploadVR

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As a big fan of RPGs, The Bards Tale is dear to me. It was a game I would play on the Apple IIe in study hall back in the day when teachers thought any kid using a computer was learning something; little did they know all I was learning about was where I could find a lucrative quest and get a stiff ale on the tough streets of Skara Brae.

While not fully 3D, early dungeon crawlers like The Bards Tale used a clever pseudo-3D, tile-based sprite system which was a good facsimile of 3D rendering. It was effective at the time, but it didnt really matter since all I saw in my minds eye as I played was my party of stalwart adventurers traipsing through sewers, castles and towers slaying miserable kobolds and giant, fire-breathing dragons. The vision I had of walking down the wet, stone walls of Bards Tales dungeons were as real to me as walking down the hallways of my high school, even though they were just primitive computer graphics.

Now nearly 30 years later, we have a powerful new platform that can put you right into those dungeons without having to use any additional imagination. VR dungeon crawling is what the 12-year old boy still inside me has wanted for years, so I was giddy when I finally had a chance to play inXiles The Mages Tale set in the sewers, catacombs and tunnels beneath Skara Brae. And you know the lore is going to be true as inXile studio head Brian Fargo was also one of the designers behind The Bards Tale all those many years ago.

The events of The Mages Tale take place between 1988s Bards Tale 3 and Bards Tale 4, acting as a bridge and lead-in to the upcoming game. The evil wizard Gaufroi is holding Alguin, your mentor in the magical arts, and its up to you to find and rescue him.

My playthrough started with me descending into the depths atop a humongous hand, peering up at an even more colossal statue, which gave a dramatic sense of scale as I looked up, down and all around at the fantastic world in which I was now a player.

Im used to teleportation-style locomotion in VR games, so it was easy to hop off the hand and into the dungeon proper using the thumbstick on the Oculus Touch, but I was also happy to find out you could use a more direct style of locomotion. With the other thumbstick you can hop forward, backward, left and right, and it really felt like moving through the old 10-foot by 10-foot tile-based Bards Tale games back in the day, only I could look around and pivot my body with the other stick. It was all very intuitive, I picked it up within seconds and the tiny hops turned out to be the movement style I preferred.

Keeping with the design of the previous games, The Mages Tale features both combat and plenty of environmental puzzles. Some you have to solve to progress through the levels, but others you can completely skip, although youll be missing out on precious treasure and experience if you do.

As youre a mage, your primary assets are your spells, mostly based around the elements of fire, wind, ice and electricity. Many of the puzzles also require the use of your elemental arcanery, so you might burn down a wooden wall with a fireball or zap an energy crystal with a lightning bolt so it becomes charged and opens a door elsewhere in the level.

Combat itself is very intuitive, and you can bring up a mystic shield (I assume this is Ybarras Mystic Shield, but I neglected to ask) to block incoming projectiles while hurling fireballs, lightning bolts and ice javelins at your foes. Aim is handled by looking at the opponent you wish to target, pulling the trigger on the right Touch controller and flicking your wrist. I personally like chucking my fireballs granny-style to demoralize the incoming goblin hordes to the fullest. And while I only played through the first level today, I did fight a massive giant boss at the end of the level, so I imagine there will be more of those types of encounters in the full game.

As you progress through The Mages Tale, youll find a variety of components and spell recipes that you can toss into the mouth of your astral amphibian buddy (I call him Astromordius J. Frog), who will teleport back to your alchemy lab for you to use later. Step up to the cauldron, drop in a few components and stir to make new spells.

It wouldnt be a Bards Tale-style game if it took itself too seriously, and one of the spells I ended up crafting combined fire, bounce, triple shot and a bottle simply labeled party to create an elastic tri-blast that exploded into confetti when it hit my intended target, complete with accompanying party horn noises. All in all there are 30 different ingredients you can find in the game, so that adds up to a lot of different combinations and enhancements to the original four base elements.

Like any good role-playing game, you level up as you gain experience, and while the leveling system is pretty basic, you can pick to improve aspects such as your health, shield power and magic recharge rate as you progress. You can even reach behind your back and pull out your spell book to see which upgrades youve acquired, each marked with a sexy red wax signet seal.

inXile and old-school Interplay have never been afraid to reference their other games or tie together game worlds, and The Mages Tale is no exception. While exploring just the first level I spotted a skull on the ground that spouted several of Mortes best lines from Planescape: Torment. I also ran across a magic mouth upon a wall during one of the puzzles, found Roscoes Energy Emporium and stumbled upon a group of 99 berserkers behind a secret door. Although I didnt personally hear it during my demo, Brian Fargo also told me that there are some places where you can hear a faint drone of Charlie Mops Beer Song coming from the tavern above. Speaking of songs, the game also features several authentic Gaelic melodies performed by artists such as the MacKenzie Sisters and Peigi Barker, the voice of young Merida in Brave.

All in all I was very happy with what I played today, and although I just spent 30 or so minutes under Skara Brae, the full experience should be about 10 hours long spread out over 10 cavernous levels. I cant wait to jump in for more! Luckily that wont be long as The Mages Tale should be out sometime this summer for Oculus Rift with Touch, and on other platforms sometime in the future.

Tagged with: action rpg, GDC, oculus touch, the mage's tale

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COLUMN: LinkedIn is the new Facebook – Indiana Daily Student

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For years, LinkedIn has rightfully prided itself on being the worlds largest professional network and continues to increase its appeal to the college student demographic every day.

With new professionals joining at the accelerating rate of more than two new members per second according to LinkedIns website, its no surprise that students and recent college graduates are flocking to LinkedIn. LinkedIn provides a superior professional outlet for young people to communicate compared to other social networking sites.

In fact, in an About Us press release, LinkedIn says this group of students and grads is its fastest-growing demographic and makes up 40 million of its users.

While that may seem like a lot, it only makes up a small portion of the ever-increasing 465 million users that make up the member population.

For those who arent familiar with the website, LinkedIn is a professional network that works somewhat similarly to Facebook.

The creators of this brilliant tool definitely seemed to have college students in mind when they decided to make it free to register.

That means at no cost to them, any student has the ability to easily connect with other students, business professionals and companies.

These connections, similar to Facebook friends, can easily navigate to a users profile and view his or her skills, work history, education, volunteer work, publications and more.

Not only does LinkedIn match users with these possible connections based on profile, but the website can also match you with jobs based on your qualifications and job search history.

Once matched with a job, some businesses even let you apply directly from a LinkedIn account. This option makes it easy and fast to apply for a position in a matter of seconds.

If you arent quite ready to apply or your rsum still needs some fine-tuning, LinkedIn has cleverly added in a save feature so you can save the job to your account and go back later to find it.

Arguably one of the best features of the job tool is customizing your job search. If you go to job preferences on the jobs page, you can customize the locations you are looking for, what experience you have, certain job levels, what size you want the company to be and you can even opt to turn on the recruiter option and according to LinkedIn let your next job find you.

Also similarly to Facebook, you can update your status, post photos or upload articles to your news feed for your connections to see, comment on, like or share.

Unlike the memes, family photos, or updates in relationship status that you might see on a Facebook newsfeed, LinkedIn users generally tend to use this feature to post important breaking news, updates on job openings, relevant articles, tips on interviewing and rsum-building or professional accomplishments.

LinkedIn has all the bases covered and has catered to virtually any need that a college student, graduate or professional might have.

With its increasing technology and updates as a networking tool to students and recent graduates, LinkedIn is sure to become an even more valuable asset to young professionals in the future.

kkmeier@umail.iu.edu

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COLUMN: LinkedIn is the new Facebook - Indiana Daily Student

GDC 2017: From Other Suns is a Procedurally Generated Multiplayer Starship Simulator – UploadVR

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From Other Suns, a brand new VR title by Gunfire Games, draws heavy inspiration from several existing concepts and combines them all together, effortlessly, into a fresh and shinypackage. Its got the ship and crew management of games like Star Trek: Bridge Crew and FTL, its got the cooperative first-person shooter elements of games like Onward and Borderlands, with tons of loot to gather and gear to acquire, and its got the crazy ragtag crew antics of something like Guardians of the Galaxy you can watch the trailer below to catch all of the vibes.

Even though its designed primarily as a three-player cooperative multiplayer game,the first time I played From Other Suns at GDC 2017 this week I was on my own. The other two demo stations were occupied by players also playing alone so Id be rolling solo for my first mission. It was like my own private trial by galactic fire, as it were.

Everything began aboard my starship as the onsite Gunfire Games developer walked me through the controls and movement systems. On my wrists are a couple of buttons I can press with my opposite hand to pull up things like the options window or a map screen. The Oculus Touch controller face buttons toggle an inventory and an equipment display.

The default, more comfortable, movement system was a bit unique. You start by pressing forward on the left analog stick and then as you move around you watch your avatar from a third-person perspective.

Once you let go of the analog stick, you immediately teleport back into your body as youre standing still. It feels almost like an out of body experience, but is a good option for those sensitive to motion sickness. It seemed to be a decent stop-gap solution, but I cant imagine someone playing the entire game this way. Its just wonky and feels like an inferior way of experiencing it.

For me, I preferred the full locomotion movement. It worked very similarly to Onward, allowing me to freely move around the world with fewissues.

Once I got that down, it was time for my mission briefing. I headed to the bridge and looked down at my star map. After I selected a space station that was in trouble, my commander informed me that robots had overtaken the vessel and killed everyone on board. Because of course they did.

I made my way back to the chamber with the teleportation pad and inspected the guns on the wall. My starting pistol was good, but not great. Each of the guns had different fire rates, magazine sizes, and damage output. One functioned like an energy rifle, another shot lighting bolts, and then another was sort of like a short range shotgun. Plenty of diversity with options for every situation.

Once my loadout was set I stepped onto the pad and beamed down onto the ship. The developers told me that in the real game, maps like this would be procedurally generated from tilesets. This means that no two mission will ever be the same due to randomization, but it wont be as lifeless as a truly randomized area.

Knowing that killer robots were on the loose, I was much more cautious than when freely roaming my own starship. I slowly edged around corners, poked my head out from cover to sneak a look, and made sure to stay mobile.

Eventually I encountered my first enemy, a robotic adversary that resembled the droids from the Star Wars prequels a bit. He was flanked by two similar robots, so I started by poking out from around the corner, gunning for headshots with my pistol. Soon, I swapped to the automatic rifle and peppered the chest of the closest one until it dropped. Once they got too close I switched to the shotgun and blasted their heads off. It felt extremely satisfying, especially with full locomotion.

Upon death, the robotsdropped a few glowing items. One was a shield, which I could hold in one hand and squeeze the trigger to activate if it got hit too many times itd break and need to recharge. The second glowing item was green and I found out it was a syringe, which I could stab myself with to heal. Stocking up on those saved me a few times later in the mission.

When I came came back to the booth at a later time I was able to hop into a multiplayer session with UploadVRs own Senior Editor, Ian Hamilton. While exploring the starship I quickly realized that I could hear him just fine over voice chat, but he couldnt hear me. It was just a minor hardware issue. I decided to use this to my advantage.

While this was technically a cooperative multiplayer game, the folks at Gunfire didnt want to cut any corners. This is a hardcore game about manning a starship and trying to survive. Friendly fire happens. I learned this by opening fire on Ian as he was still trying to find his way around the ship; I could even hear the booth attendees talking to him over the microphone.

One thing led to another and I killed him in cold blood before the mission even started. I didnt need him slowing me down, but he just respawned and joined me anyway.

While we were down there, team dynamics started to emerge. Whoever had the shield could walk in front, drawing fire and keeping enemies busy, while someone else headed up the rear taking aim with more powerful and precise weapons.

The inclusion of thrown weapons like EMP blasts to stun robots or grenades to blow apart large groups would be a welcomed addition if the developers decided to add them. Later on, large robots with rocket launcher weapons could demolish a fully charged shield in a single blow, making it clear this wouldnt be an easy game when it finally releases.

During our time with the game, Gunfire also mentioned a suite of features that werent available in the demo we tried. For starters, while aboard your ship, you can actually engage other ships in combat. Gameplay during these moments would consist of sending crew members to repair parts of the ship and actively rerouting power to shields or guns during a fight.

Ultimately, even though I was more successful and actually beat the mission on my own before joining forces with Ian, playing as a team was rewarding and exciting. Perhaps with a more competent partner things wouldnt have broken down so quickly.

I ended up killing him again out of pure spite before the demo was over. It didnt make me feel any better.

From Other Suns is in development by Gunfire Games as an Oculus Rift with Touch exclusive, currently slated for Fall 2017. Even though its being built with three player co-op in mind, its still playable in single player as well.

Tagged with: borderlands, from other suns, ftl, GDC, gunfire games, star trek

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GDC 2017: Arktika.1 Shows Off Deep Story and Amazing VR Visuals – UploadVR

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Im cold. I can see the flurries of snow outside and the thin coat of ice on my hummers windshield and I feel cold. This wouldnt be all that notable except for the fact that a moment ago I was feelingquite warm inside the busy Oculus demo hall at GDC 2017. But Ive been transported somewhere else since then, transported to the freezing, incredible world of Arktika.1.

Ifirst had the chance to preview Artika.1 an exciting new collaboration between Oculus Studios and the 4A Games (Metro: Last Light) atOculus Connect 3 last year. The brief demo Isaw there was enough to convince methat this was a game to watch in 2017. The extended GDC experience that 4A brought to GDC, however, has convinced me that Arktika.1 is the game to look out for this year. It really is that good.

As soon as the new demo began I knew that this time around the studio was focusing on showing off the deep narrative and thoughtfully constructed world of Arktika.1 rather than the more combat heavy slice from OC3. The first 5 minutes or so of the preview I was simply sitting in a heavily armored car.

I was being driven through the frozen landscape by an NPC whos narration provided story hints at every turn. I wont spoil them for those looking forward to the game but generally Arktika.1 takes place in the midst of a second ice age. You are a mercenary hired by the last remaining humans in Russia to protect them from marauders, banditsand something even worse. Heres the official synopsis from 4A:

Nearly a century in the future in the aftermath of a silent apocalypse the planet has entered a new ice age. Only the equatorial regions remain habitable, yet pockets of humanity still manage to survive in small numbers all over the planet. These small regions of civilization sit on resource-rich, highly desirable territories to the north and south. As a mercenary hired by Citadel Security, your job is to protect one of the last colonies in the wastelands of old Russia from violent raiders, marauders, and horrifying creatures. Be the savior. Give humanity a second chance.

Getting past a guard with a pass card

When my car finally broke through the blizzard I saw on the horizon where exactly the name Arktika.1 comes from: a massive, heavily secured compound. The last refuge for a dying human race.

As I drove up to the survivor citys gates I was struck by how beautiful this game is. 4A is building Arktika.1 using its proprietary engine and it is able to produce the most striking visuals Ive ever seen in a VR game. A good portion of that too is owed to the art design. Much like the Metro series before it, Arktika.1s story oozes out of every carefully crafted assetyoull come across in its richly developed environments. Theres more detail inevery frame of Arktika.1 than youll probably even take the time to notice. That commitment to world-building through design, coupled with the amazing visual fidelity, makes this a game that sticks in your mind long after the headset comes off.

A snowy battle at the airfield

In addition to amazing visuals, 4A is also doing some interesting mechanical things that are exciting to see from a bleeding-edge VR title. For example, during my car ride I could interact with certain elements inside the vehicle. I could role the window down at will by pressing a button. I did so and immediately the sound changed. I could hear the engine and the wind more clearly than before. The voice of my companion also got more difficult to hear but when I closed the window again the sound reset and the noises inside the car got much crisper. Little touches like this make a good VR experience a great one and Arktika.1is packed to the frozen gills with them.

Apart from the world-building moments, the GDC demo also took me through a completely new combat mission as well. Things began similarly to the OC3 demo. I went to the armory and picked out my weapons. After that, however, I was taken into a simulated training room to honemy skills against digital opponents. From there, I was taken to a nearby airfield that had fallen to the icey cold and notorious bandits. My job was to eliminate them. Im good at my job.

Arktika.1s combat is all about cover. You need to use it well in order to survive. The levels are designed creatively enough that your cover points always feel interesting and strategic rather than frustrating or overly simplistic. The guns themselves are interesting as well, with enough variable ammo types and firing options to keep you experimenting for hours. 4A also showed us a secret gun hidden behind a hotkey in the demo.

Picking a weapon and the mod-gun (left)

This new weapon is modablewith different options for the chamber, barrel and ammunition. Swapping these around created a completely different weapon for each configuration. Mods like this seem to be a staple of what 4A is building here and they are a very welcome addition to the world of VR shooters, where loadouts are often pre-determined and limited.

Between the deliciously ambient world, the pulse-pounding combat and the innovative VR mechanics, its safe to say for me at least that Arkitka.1 is the game to look forward to in 2017 on any platform. Its currently set to release in Q3. Until then, stay warm out there.

Tagged with: 4A Games, arktika.1, GDC, preview

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PhRMA Sets In Motion Massive Campaign Launching New Era In Medicine – Forbes

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It's an opportunity to showcase the brains behind the breakthroughs, who are working in every facet of medicineMS, Alzheimer's, cancer, rare diseases, immunotherapy, ALSthe list goes on, said Andrew Powaleny, director of Public Affairs at ...

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Florida woman accused of practicing medicine without license calls it misunderstanding – Fox News

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A Florida woman who is accused of practicing medicine without an active, valid health care license told a Jacksonville news station that the alleged crime was a misunderstanding and denied she ever provided medical care to her company's clients.

However, investigators revealed Amy Suzanne Pohlman, who was arrested Monday and released after posting $50,000 bond, signed a do-not-resuscitate-order (DNR) and performed a physical exam on an applicant while employed by Ponte Vedra Home Care, News 4 Jax reported.

Deputies told the news outlet that 48-year-old Pohlman claimed to be a registered nurse, to have a Ph.D., and to be an advanced registered nurse practitioner when she was hired by the company as a nurse administrator in October 2015. Pohlman reportedly provided documents alleging she had a nursing license, and her job duties included writing patient care plans, visiting clients and assisting with marketing, News 4 Jax reported. Her accusers allege Pohlman began offering medical care to patients as her client base grew.

The auspices under which I worked, as well as my agreement with my partners, was completely legal nothing hidden or not discussed from the beginning, Pohlman told News 4 Jax.

Pohlman is charged with performing a physical exam on an applicant of the home care company, and detectives investigating her case said she did not obtain a doctorate degree, did not have any degree in nursing or any record of a medical license, News 4 Jax reported. Detectives also said an award displayed in her office from Mayo Clinic trustees was falsified.

The inception of this entire disagreement is about the partnership, and it is over money, Polman told News 4 Jax. It was a come after the partner first. So its unfortunate that it was something that became personal. It shouldnt have.

Polhman told News 4 Jax she is cooperating with investigators. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact authorities at 904-209-2161.

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3 Hospitalized Following Yale School of Medicine Haz-Mat Situation … – NBC Connecticut

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NEWSLETTERS Receive the latest local updates in your inbox

(Published Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017)

Three people have been transported to the hospital following a haz-mat situation at Yale, a fire chief tells NBC Connecticut.

New Haven Fire Department were called to Yale's School of Medicine and found three people who were lightheaded, dizzy and experiencing other flu-like symptoms, the Dep. Chief Orlando Marcano with the New Haven Fire Dept.said.

Two of the victims were unconscious, but were awake by the time first responders arrived, Marcano said.

All three people were transported to the hospital and are expected to be discharge shortly.

Officials have not determined the cause for the illness.

Al three people reportedly drank from the same coffee machine, however, it is not clear if that is the root of the illness, Marcano said.

Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) said they were requested to come on the scene and took air and other material samples of the incident to help determine what may have caused the people to become unconscious.

Published at 5:02 PM EST on Feb 28, 2017 | Updated at 6:20 PM EST on Feb 28, 2017

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Medicine Mounds fueled centuries of speculation – Times Record News

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Four dolomite hills in eastern Hardeman County fascinated early settlers

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Bridget Knight , Wichita Falls 1:00 a.m. CT March 1, 2017

Two of the four Medicine Mounds in eastern Hardeman County.(Photo: TRN archives)

Medicine Mounds, a geologic formation south of U.S. 287 near Chillicothe, have fueled centuries of speculation as to their origin and the source of their name.

No, they are not extinct volcanoes, although their conic shape does call them to mind. They are dolomite hills that represent masses of harder rock left when erosion claimed surrounding soil.

Legend has it that the hills provided herbs and medicinal plants favored by the Native Americans, leading to their name, although modern visitors claim the hills are distinctly lacking in anything they would call herbs.

The four Medicine Mounds once had a namesake town, complete with doctors, dry goods stores, barber shops, grocery stores and churches that sprang up in 1907 as railroad construction boomed. Most of the town was destroyed by fire in 1933 or 1934, although its school survived until 1954, when it faded into dust as part of a wave of consolidation.

Even with little in the way of population, Medicine Mound - the town - continued to proclaim its existence with events like an annual Medicine Mound Chili Cookoff, although by 1980, the popular culinary competition had been renamed the Chillicothe Chili Cookoff at Medicine Mound.

Today, Medicine Mounds are surrounded by private farms where some evidence of the town and its Indian inhabitants can still be found by those who receive permission to climb the hillsides.

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UNLV medical school, grant expansion discussed in Legislature hearing – Las Vegas Review-Journal

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College of Southern Nevada President Michael Richards on Tuesday called the 15-credit requirement for the states first need-based grant a straitjacket for students.

Richards asked members of the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Committee on Finance, to consider offering Silver State Opportunity Grant funds, on a sliding scale, to students who take at least nine credits.

We were touched by the emotional adversity theyre facing as they try to fulfill educational goals, Richards said. What were advocating is to make it a little more flexible, make it a little more humane, and meet students where they are.

Richards believes providing larger awards to students who enroll full-time might incentivize students to take more credits. Additionally, CSN has had students lose the scholarship in their final semester because they needed fewer than 15 credits to graduate, he said.

State Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Reno, however, said he was concerned that lowering the credit requirement would decrease graduation rates.

If we dont use it in a way that gives students the greatest chance of success, I think were selling them short, Kieckhefer said.

Education officials advocated for this, and other key parts of the Nevada System of Higher Education budget, to members of both committees. The request is to increase funding for the program to $10 million over two years.

Also Tuesday, UNLV medical school Dean Barbara Atkinson said the university received 910 applications for the first class of 60 students, with 400 applicants being from Nevada or having close ties to the state.

Atkinson, however, said that the key to keeping students in Nevada might rely on available residency programs. Atkinson said she would like the Legislature is to add specialty and sub-specialty residencies that, including urology and radiology.

The meeting ended after the two committees heard from several people in support of merit-based pay increases for faculty as opposed to the yearly 2 percent cost of living adjustment in Gov. Brian Sandovals budget proposal.

Merit is a critical component of retaining the best faculty, said Glenn Miller, University of Nevada, Reno chapter president for the Nevada Faculty Alliance. The cost of living adjustments are appreciated, but its not a substitute for merit raises.

NSHE submitted a request for $31 million in merit raises in the next biennium.

If theyre not merit, the best and brightest will go, Miller said, adding that attracting high-level faculty is necessary to boosting the UNLV and UNRs reputations as research institutions.

Contact Natalie Bruzda at nbruzda@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3897. Follow @NatalieBruzda on Twitter.

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UNLV medical school, grant expansion discussed in Legislature hearing - Las Vegas Review-Journal

Greater Cincinnati lands another medical school – Cincinnati Business Courier

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NKU is proud to have the opportunity to partner with the University of Kentucky and St. Elizabeth Healthcare to leverage our individual strengths and the power of our brands to bring professional medical education to Northern Kentucky, NKU president ...
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UB Medical School adds 12 new faculty – The Buffalo News – Buffalo News

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The University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine has hired 12 new faculty members.

The new faculty members are part of a surge in hiring planned as the university moves itsmedical school downtown where it will be the gateway of the medical campus from its south campus on the Amherst border. The new hires are joining five departments within the medical school.

Many of the new faculty are within the general medicine department, while other hires are in family medicine, biomedical informatics, pathology and anatomical sciences and surgery.

The School of Medicine will opena $375 million state-of-the-art building on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus later this year, with the first group of students taking classes there next January. As it moves into an expanded educational space, the medical school has increased the size of itsstudent body. The incoming medical school class is up by 25 percent, puttingenrollment at 180 students.

The number of full-time medical school faculty is expected to grow to 860 by 2020, up from 778 faculty members in December 2015. The university has sought to attract top faculty from across the nation.

Medical School Dean Dr. Michael E. Cain, vice president for health sciences, has previously cited a steady rise in faculty members since 2011:

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Williams’ near-triple-double leads Liberty Christian past Southern Wells – The Herald Bulletin

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GASTON Ronny Williams, Tournament Edition made his annual appearance for Liberty Christian Tuesday Night at Wes-Dels Richard E. Johnson Gymnasium.

Williams, who was sensational in the Lions run to the state title last season averaging 17.7 points in Liberty Christians seven postseason games was electric once again in their 2016-17 sectional opener Tuesday against Southern Wells, nearly earning a triple-double in the Lions 73-45 romp over the Raiders.

He really controlled the game, Liberty Christian head coach Jason Chappell said of Williams, who had 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while also adding a game-high-tying four steals, on Tuesday night. He was very poised, just throughout the whole game it wasnt just down the stretch it was throughout the whole game.

Williams actually came into the game nursing a sore ankle, which had mostly kept him out of practices since the Lions regular-season finale against Indianapolis Manual on Feb. 21, but he appeared fresh and ready to go from the start on Tuesday against Southern Wells (12-11), helping lead a pressure-filled defensive charge that forced eight first-quarter turnovers.

By the end of the first period, Williams had 10 points and the Lions were already out to a 14-7 lead. That would become a 30-19 lead by halftime, and ballooned to 48-26 by the end of the third quarter.

In all, the Raiders turned the ball over 19 times on Tuesday, compared to just 11 turnovers for the Lions, who had 17 assists on the night, as well as 13 offensive rebounds.

Not helping matters for Southern Wells was its 8.3-percent shooting clip from 3-point range; in fact, the Raiders missed their first 11 attempts from deep before finally connecting on their first and only 3-pointer with 43 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Chappell said he was proud of the way his team rallied without the full services of usual starter Joshua Tufts, who has been battling flu-like symptoms and came off the bench to score four points and grab four rebounds in 16 minutes and 41 seconds of action on Tuesday.

"A lot of people dont know this: Josh Tufts has been sick as a dog," Chappell said. "He wasnt even going to play tonight, but we let him play in spurts."

Without normal contributions from Tufts the teams second-leading scorer and rebounder throughout the season the Lions saw major contributions from junior Dallas Burko, who scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, while he also grabbed five rebounds and collected two steals.

Burko also drew two first-half charges on the defensive end, which, Chappell said, really got him going.

You look at him, and just throughout the course of the year, hes really turning into a player from a role player into a player, Chappell said of Burko. And Im really, really proud of him. His enthusiasm is always great; hes always really passionate about everything. He played a great game.

Sophomore Trey Davis also added 10 points for Liberty Christian.

Junior Jordan Bower had 18 points and six rebounds for the Raiders, while senior Elijah Barkell had 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Liberty Christian advances to Friday nights sectional semifinal matchup against Cowan (7-14). That game will follow Wes-Del/Daleville semifinal matchup, which tips off at 6 p.m.

Theyve got some shooters, Chappell said of the Blackhawks, who drew a first-round bye. Theyre young, but theyre going to be a very tough team to play in sectionals on a Friday night. The thing Im glad about is weve got a game under our belt, so thats always a good thing.

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Boys Basketball: Selby beats buzzer again with a 3 for Liberty – Carroll County Times

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In final moments of the fourth overtime in the game that just didn't seem to want to end, Liberty made a play that will be remembered.

The Class 2A West Region Section 2 semifinal with visiting Francis Scott Key was deadlocked at 76, and the Lions had possession. The same thing happened at the end of regulation, and the first three overtimes, but Liberty couldn't finish the job in any of those circumstances.

This time, the ball got knocked loose near the top of the key before Steven Goetz corralled it. He quickly flipped the ball to Jack Selby, and Selby drilled a 3-pointer as time ran out to give Liberty a wild 79-76 victory over Key on Tuesday night.

Liberty (14-9) advances to the sectional final on Thursday at Century. The Knights beat Oakland Mills in the other section semifinal Tuesday.

This game appeared as if it might last until Thursday. The Lions beat Key (12-12) in both regular-season meetings, but this one remained close the whole way. Liberty missed on shots in those final seconds of regulation and the first three OTs before Selby made his second game-winning shot of the season he did it earlier against South Carroll.

"[Goetz] picked it up, and he got it to me," said Selby. "I just tossed it up. I didn't know what to think."

The winning shot came from the right side, and Liberty's game-long patience finally paid off. Key liked to push the pace, drive to the basket and cause trouble. The Eagles finished with 36 free throws, several of which came during the overtimes.

However, the Lions remained patient with their motion offense, eating up large chunks of time in the fourth quarter plus all four overtimes and repeatedly making good passes and plays.

"They just refused to lose," Liberty coach Brian Tombs said. "We found opportunities to make plays and [win]."

Tombs said, with a smile, that he agreed with Selby on the game-winning 3 neither was 100 percent sure the ball was heading into the basket.

But they were hoping.

"I thought it had a chance," Tombs said. "I was praying it would go in."

Justin Brookhart led Liberty with 23 points, including 10 in a third quarter when the game's pace really picked up after the Lions ended a sloppy first half with a 19-18 lead. Goetz helped with 17 points while Selby finished with 16.

Amir Cole led the Eagles with 23 points, and Drue Giles added 20. Both players proved tough for the Lions to stop. Giles, a guard, repeatedly drove through traffic, got the basket and gave Key many offensive chances.

But Liberty answered that with that patient motion offense it used throughout much of the game. The Lions simply ran the clock down over and over.

Key's only real chance late in an overtime came near the end of the third extra period when Giles tried to slice through the lane but lost control of the dribble with around 20 seconds left, and Liberty got the ball back before missing a shot at the buzzer.

After that, though, Liberty took care of business in that fourth overtime. Key coach Ryan Kimble said several of his players were upset afterward. But he took a lot of pride in how hard they played throughout.

"I've got no complaints," Kimble said. "That's what high school basketball should be; our kids dug in each time at the [end of the periods] and got a stop, but that last time Jack just got off a really good shot."

Then he gave a sad smile.

"Four overtimes? You know, I don't think my heart could have taken a fifth one."

Francis Scott Key (76): Josh Brown 3, Drue Giles 20, Anthony Murray 8, Greg Horrocks 3, Noah Vipond 8, Amir Cole 25, Rashad Giles 7, Grant Stanton 2.

Liberty (79): Nick Tilson 4, Jack Selby 16, Ronak Morgan 3, Ben Brown 7, Justin Brookhart 23, Tristan Kent 9, Steven Goetz 17.

Halftime: Liberty, 19-18.

Regulation: Tied. 55-55.

1OT: Tied, 63-63. 2OT: Tied, 68-68. 3OT: Tied, 72-72.

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‘Moonlight’ Providing a Beacon of Hope for Liberty City – NBC 6 South Florida

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While the world was watching the Academy Awards ceremony, "Moonlight" director Barry Jenkins and story writer Tarell McCraney delivered a shout-out to their roots.

"Two boys from Liberty City up here on the stage representing 305," McCraney said after Moonlight had won the award for best adapted screenplay.

This did not go unnoticed in Liberty City.

"The first thing that come out of your mouth, this for everybody in Liberty City, that's epic to me," said Luther Campbell, the rap music impresario and Liberty City native.

As just about everybody knows, "Moonlight" tells the story of kids who grew up in Liberty City. Jenkins filmed part of the movie where he lived as a child, at the Liberty Square housing project, which is unfortunately known as a crime-infested place.

"Shooting, violence, killing, seen it all," said Crystal Corner, who lives in the complex and is the president of the Liberty Square Community Center.

For people who live and work in the area, the Liberty City connection to a film which won numerous awards, including Best Picture, is a source of immense pride. It also sends a message.

"We have kids that have talent in the projects, too, the public housing," Corner said.

Barry Jenkins played running back at Northwestern High School. Ronnie Jones was his quarterback. Jones remembers Jenkins as the kid who always had a joke to tell, and a student who was all business academically.

"He's very smart, very smart, I mean everybody knew he was gonna make it, be something, 'cause football, he played football but he always had higher goals than just playing football," Jones said.

To understand the magnitude of "Moonlight," one has to consider the history of he neighborhood. the riots of the early 1980's drove businesses away, drug dealers and gang members took over, and despair became an enduring problem.

"So now the community is left totally abandoned," Campbell said.

Luther Campbell is somewhat of a Liberty City legend. He knows the streets and people here as well as anyone, and says Jenkins and McCraney made more than a movie. They've provided a beacon of hope.

"They get it, they understand the struggle and they understand through what they're doing they're helping others, they're helping other kids aspire to be something better," Campbell said.

What about the merits of the movie itself? None of the people we spoke to have actually seen "Moonlight," but they all say they're going to watch it now.

Published at 6:47 PM EST on Feb 28, 2017

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'Moonlight' Providing a Beacon of Hope for Liberty City - NBC 6 South Florida