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Signals from Andromeda may indicate presence of mysterious dark matter – The Siasat Daily

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

Washington: A signal detected from the neighboring Andromeda galaxy may indicate presence of the mysterious dark matter the elusive substance that is believed to make up most of our universe NASA said on Wednesday.

The signal is similar to one seen by the NASAs Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy in 2014.

Gamma rays are the highest-energy form of light, produced by the universes most energetic phenomena.

They are common in galaxies like the Milky Way because cosmic rays, particles moving near the speed of light, produce gamma rays when they interact with interstellar gas clouds and starlight.

Surprisingly, the latest Fermi data shows the gamma rays in Andromeda also known as M31 are confined to the galaxys centre instead of spread throughout.

To explain this unusual distribution, scientists are proposing that the emission may come from several undetermined sources. One of them could be dark matter, an unknown substance that makes up most of the universe.

We expect dark matter to accumulate in the innermost regions of the Milky Way and other galaxies, which is why finding such a compact signal is very exciting, said Pierrick Martin, an astrophysicist at the National Centre for Scientific Research and the Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology in France.

M31 will be a key to understanding what this means for both Andromeda and the Milky Way, said Martin.

Another possible source for this emission could be a rich concentration of pulsars in M31s centre. These spinning neutron stars weigh as much as twice the mass of the sun and are among the densest objects in the universe.

One teaspoon of neutron star matter would weigh a billion tons on Earth. Some pulsars emit most of their energy in gamma rays. Since M31 is 2.5 million light-years away, it is difficult to find individual pulsars.

To test whether the gamma rays are coming from these objects, scientists can apply what they know about pulsars from observations in the Milky Way to new X-ray and radio observations of Andromeda.

Now that Fermi has detected a similar gamma-ray signature in both M31 and the Milky Way, scientists can use this information to solve mysteries within both galaxies.

We dont fully understand the roles cosmic rays play in galaxies, or how they travel through them, said Xian Hou, an astrophysicist at Chinese Academy of Sciences.

M31 lets us see how cosmic rays behave under conditions different from those in our own galaxy, said Hou.

The similar discovery in both the Milky Way and M31 means scientists can use the galaxies as models for each other when making difficult observations.

While more observations are necessary to determine the source of the gamma-ray excess, the discovery provides an exciting starting point to learn more about both galaxies, and perhaps about the still elusive nature of dark matter.

The study was published in The Astrophysical Journa.

PTI

NASA weighs manning spacecraft to go farther than humans have ever flown – USA TODAY

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

An artist rendering of NASA's Space Launch System launching into the clouds. NASA is studying the costs and risks of flying astronauts in an Orion capsule launching atop the first flight of the Space Launch System rocket.(Photo: NASA)

NASA expects to have a better idea by next month whether it will put astronauts aboard a new rocket planned to launch in 2018.

The agency started a feasibility study as to whether it is possible to put humans on the test flight Exploration Mission-1 when it launches from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.On Friday,the agency's associate administrator of human explorations William Gerstenmaier said he expects preliminary results in about a month.

The EM-1is an ambitious three-week mission that NASA boasts will "launch on the most powerful rocket in the world and fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown." The spacecraft is expected to orbit the moon, collect data, and return to Earth while layingthe groundwork for a trip to Mars.

As it stands now, the EM-1 flight is unmanned. Adding astronauts to the mission, if that's what is decided, would add time and money to the process. However, adding astronauts to the EM-1 would advance a manned space flight by years. The plan currently is forastronauts to boarda second flight, EM-2,which has a tentative launch date of August 2021.

After conversations with President Trump's transition team, acting NASA administrator Robert Lightfootlast week announced the feasibilitystudy to examine the risks and rewards of moving up a manned launch.

NASA to study flying crew on first flight of SLS rocket

Gerstenmaeirdenied the agency was being pushed to man the Orion sooner rather than later because of Trump's administration, which has shown support for advancing a space mission. He said the agency wasn't provided funding or time guidelines.

"There's not pressure to go do this," Gerstenmaier said. "This is something we're going to evaluate ... We'll see what the results look like coming out the other side."

The data, Gerstenmaier stressed, will lead NASA to its decision.The question for the agency, he said, relies on weighing the safety risks associated with the launch versus the benefits. The benefit of an early launch, he explained, is the ability "to testsystemsin a rigorous way withcrewon board."

NASA's Aerospace Safety AdvisoryPanel has urged caution at the prospect of a manned EM-1. The advisory panel stressed NASA needs a "compelling" reason for risking the lives of astronauts.

Gerstenmaier said he's assembled a team to explorethe additional funding and time needed to put a man on the EM-1. He also appeared open to pushing the mission back, asking the team to keep itstimeframe to no later than 2019.

William Hill, NASA's deputy associate administrator for exploration systemsdevelopment, said a crew on EM-1 expands the possibilities of what can be done on EM-2.

Hill or Gerstenmaier didn't give a hard timeframe as to when the study would be complete, but added it wouldn't slow down the current plan for EM-1. Gerstenmair said there wouldn't be a firm recommendation at the end of the study. The final decision, he said, will come after an agency wide discussion that includes astronauts.

"We'll go through all the activity to make sure we understand the risks associated with this flight," Gerstenmaier said. "We need to look at what do we really gain by putting crew on this flight."

Follow Sean Rossman on Twitter: @SeanRossman

James Dean at Florida Today contributed to this story.

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NASA weighs manning spacecraft to go farther than humans have ever flown - USA TODAY

Weekly Roundup: Uber responds to sexual harassment claim, NASA discovers Earth-like planets – TechCrunch

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

Tech news was heavy this week. Uber is facing a sexual harassment claim as well as a lawsuit from Google, NASA discovered planets with what could prove to be Earthlike conditions, and more information was revealed about Apples new Apple Park campus. These are the top stories of the week.

1.Last week, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler accused the company of sexual harassment and human resources negligence in a blog post.In response, Uber CEO Travis Kalanickhas tapped former US Attorney General Eric Holder and Tammy Albarran, partners at law firm Covington & Burling, to independently investigate the accusation.Uber board member Arianna Huffington also came on to take part in the review. Other female engineers at Uber have responded to Kalanicks addressing of the situation by noting that Uber as a company has a systemic problem with sexismembedded into its culture. Lets be real though, Uber isnt the only tech companythat mishandles sexual harassment claims. This is a larger issue within the tech community.

2.NASA discovered seven Earthlike planets outside of our solar system about 40 light-years away.These new planets all inhabit another solar system and orbit a star called TRAPPIST-1. So far, we know that theplanets have awarm climateand rocky terrain, promising signs forwater and therefore life.

3.In addition to a sexual harassment claim, Uber is facing a lawsuit from Waymo, the Google-owned self-driving tech company. Waymo has filed suit against the Uber-owned self-driving trucking company Otto, on the accusation thatUber misappropriated trade secrets, and infringed upon its patents.

4.Apples new campus now has a name and an opening date. Apple Park will open in Cupertino in April of this year and provide work space for 12,000 Apple employees.In addition to the new office space, Apple Park is also going to have a big theater with a thousand seats called the Steve Jobs Theater.

5.Getting hacked is costly. After the disclosure of two massive data breaches, Yahoo and Verizon finally confirmednew terms forthe sale of Yahoo to Verizon. Verizon will pay $350 million less than originally planned, knocking the price down to$4.48 billion to acquire Yahoo.

6.After a first failed attempt due to a GPS error, SpaceXs Dragon spacecraft successfully docked at the International Space Station. The supply shipis filled with 5,500 pounds of supplies and materials for the crew of the ISS.

7.Content delivery networkCloudflare revealed a serious bug in its software that caused sensitive data like passwords, cookies, authentication tokens to spill in plaintext from its customers websites. The announcement is a major blow for the company, which offers enhanced security and performance for more than 5 million sites. The leak could have allowed anyone to collect a variety of typically encrypted personal information.

8.Facebook is closing in on Snapchat from all sides. Facebook-owned WhatsApp launched Status, an encrypted Snapchat Stories clone. The new tab lets you share decorated photos, videos and GIFs that disappear after 24 hours.

9.Snap wants to prove to investors pre-IPO that Spectacles were more than a branding stunt and could actually make money for the newly proclaimed camera company. Snap began selling its video-recording Spectacles sunglasses online for $130 in the U.S. at Spectacles.com. Prior to the online launch, you could only get Spectacles from pop-up Snapbot vending machine dispensers and its NYC store.

10.Airbnb finalized thedeal to buy social payments startup Tilt. Airbnb, which has a valuation of $30 billion, has been on a sort of buying spree as of late.

11.Last month,Atlassian bought Trello for $424 million the companysbiggest acquisition yet. Now, more details have emerged, and it looks like the whole acquisition went pretty smoothly.

12,Mark Zuckerberg released a 5,000 word product road map for Facebook last week, in which he outlined the companys humanitarian efforts. Another chunk of the piece was an ask to users to define content guidelines for what theyfeel is offensive or not. However the question may bewhether or not any additional data Facebook gathers from users witha content threshold setting will becomeanother way for Facebook to receivemore data tohelp it target ads.

13.Instagram wants you to share more photos in your feed.Instagram launched the ability to share a mix of up to 10 photos or videos as a single carousel post that friends can swipe through, kind of like an Instagram album.

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Weekly Roundup: Uber responds to sexual harassment claim, NASA discovers Earth-like planets - TechCrunch

NASA transcripts confirm a hot dog is indeed a sandwich – SB Nation

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

Is a hot dog a sandwich? Its one of the internets greatest debates. Stalwarts of both sides have been arguing for years about whether tube meat in a bun is indeed a sandwich, but what we all failed to realize is that NASA settled this back in 1970 during the Apollo 13 mission.

This back-and-forth commentary from April of 1970 is being discussed on Reddit, but few are realizing the huge ramifications of a simple lunch in space. On a week NASA unveiled the discovery of seven earth-like planets, this might be the greatest revelation of all.

It should be mentioned that this conversation is absolutely, 100 percent real. It can be found on page 115 of a 930 page transcript held in NASAs archives. It clearly, and in no uncertain terms, shows one of the crew telling ground control in Houston he enjoyed a hot dog sandwich.

We absolutely must accept this to be an objective reality. I personally never believed a hot dog to be a sandwich, but none of us can be so fastened to our beliefs that we refuse to budge when someone clearly more intelligent than us shatters our reality.

NASA astronauts are some of the smartest people on the face of the earth. They understand engineering, astrophysics science the likes of which mortal humans rarely dabble. If they say a hot dog is a sandwich, then darn it a hot dog is a sandwich.

Those in the not sandwich camp will continue to cling to the 2015 ruling by the National Hot Dog and Sausage council that a hot dog is categorically NOT a sandwich, but trying to hold that argument up against a freaking astronaut is a fools folly.

There are moments in this life where we must all accept our reality has been torn asunder. This is one of those moments. Kudos to the believers in the definitely a sandwich camp, because you were right. The rest of us have been proven false prophets.

NASA, thank you for keeping this historical record, but you really could have saved the internet a lot of time by settling this years ago.

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NASA transcripts confirm a hot dog is indeed a sandwich - SB Nation

NASA Plans for Space-Based Observation of Snowpack – Voice of America

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, COLORADO SPRINGS

In dry northern regions, the melting from winter snowpack is crucial for filling reservoirs, irrigating crops and providing drinking water. In northern Colorado, communities get 80 percent of their water from snowpack, so knowing the water content of snow helps them plan ahead.

But, unlike other weather data about rainfall and storms - gathered from orbiting satellites - the dazzling, reflective nature of snow makes it hard to measure the depth of a snowpack from space. In fact, NASA weather scientists report that currently, worldwide estimates of the water stored in snow may be off by 30 to 50 percent. So NASA is launching an ambitious project to create a new snow satellite.

Ground measurements

The traditional way to measure snow depth and water content involves shovels. U.S. Forest Service scientist Frank McCormick says researchers tromp through the snow to selected areas, then do some serious digging.

To measure snowpacks, researchers dig snowpits down to bare ground.

Theyll dig a snow pit down to bare ground so that they can take very detailed measurements everything from temperature to water thats in the snow," he said.

Mountain snowpack can be so heavy, snow pits can be more than five meters deep. After theyre completed, scientists take careful measurements that accurately reveal that locations snowpack levels and water content.

But on a global scale, McCormick says, digging snow pits isnt practical, noting, We would need thousands upon thousands upon thousands of sites throughout the world.

Measurements from space

Thats why NASA launched SnowEx, a five-year project to design a satellite that will accurately measure snowpack while orbiting the earth. This means the satellite will someday measure snowpack everywhere.

When deployed, the SnowEx satellite will be able to measure snowpack depth and water content, even through trees.

SnowEx Project Leader Edward Kim says knowing snowpacks water content, when its likely to melt and so on, could help over a billion people. [For] one out of every six people in the world," he points out, "the majority of their water, that they use for drinking and agriculture and industry, comes from snow.

To design the satellite, 100 SnowEx scientists are teaming up to figure out the best ways to remotely measure snowpacks depth, its water content, how surface dust and temperature affect snow, and more. As a first step, theyre putting snow sensors above the earth though not as high as a satellite, yet.

At busy, noisy Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Kim points over his shoulder at a big propeller plane. The plane has an unusual bumpy nose and pointy tale. He says that's because the plane is equipped for measuring snow.

The airplanes carry the sensors of the same type that would eventually be on a satellite, he said.

Inside the plane, half a dozen scientists are fine-tuning 10 kinds of weather sensors, including microwave and laser. They stay on board, monitoring their instruments, as pilots fly over pre-selected snowy mountains, and high, snowy mesas. Theyre seeking accurate snow measurements, even when craggy peaks mean snow is at different levels in the peaks and the valleys. Even when trees and forests hide the snow.

Get the data

To fine-tune their airborne measurements, the SnowEx team will compare them with traditional snow pit data. SnowEx scientist Charles Gatabe says fitting it all together will require complex calculations, but at its hearts, the goal is simple: Get the data, look at the data, and say what the data is telling us.

Researchers currently gather snow data the old-fashioned way - in the field.

Theres so many people dependent on snow, he stresses, adding, and given this changing climate, who knows what happens? So if we can get a very good handle how to predict, you know, the changing snow, and the changing climate, I think its going to benefit a lot of people.

NASAs SnowEx team plans to use this data from this five-year project to make better predictions about snowpack around the world, including someday through a snow satellite. And they share their data in open access, to help people around the world, wherever there is snow.

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NASA Plans for Space-Based Observation of Snowpack - Voice of America

NASA wind tests ‘the new Concorde’ as space agency aims to launch revolutionary supersonic passenger jet in 2020 – Mirror.co.uk

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

NASA is wind tunnel testing its revolutionary new supersonic passenger jet dubbed 'the new Concorde.'

The US space agency is working with Lockheed Martin to develop the project, officially titled, Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST).

This week developers reportedly began testing a scale model of the design in a wind tunnel.

NASA aims to create a low boom quiet jet that can break the sound barrier, potentially revolutionising air travel and allowing passengers to cross the Atlantic in half the time it takes a conventional aircraft.

Administrator Charles Bolden says the project is the first in a series of X-planes (experimental aircraft) in NASA's New Aviation Horizons initiative.

NASA is working hard to make flight greener, safer and quieter all while developing aircraft that travel faster, and building an aviation system that operates more efficiently, said Bolden.

Read more: NASA admits there's 'a chance' that asteroid COULD smash into Earth

To that end, its worth noting that it's been almost 70 years since Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 as part of our predecessor agency's high speed research.

"Now were continuing that supersonic X-plane legacy with this preliminary design award for a quieter supersonic jet with an aim toward passenger flight."

They aim to build an aircraft that can fly at supersonic speeds, but create a supersonic "heartbeat" - a soft thump rather than the disruptive boom currently associated with supersonic flight.

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Developing, building and flight testing a quiet supersonic X-plane is the next logical step in our path to enabling the industry's decision to open supersonic travel for the flying public," said Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator for NASAs Aeronautics Research Mission.

Lockheed Martin will receive about $20 million over 17 months for QueSST preliminary design work.

The New Aviation Horizons X-planes will typically be about half-scale of a production aircraft.

NASA hopes the prototype will fly by 2020, depending on funding.

Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued flying for the next 27 years until it was retired in 2003. The plane could reach Mach 2 and cross the Atlantic in three and a half hours.

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NASA wind tests 'the new Concorde' as space agency aims to launch revolutionary supersonic passenger jet in 2020 - Mirror.co.uk

NASA snaps pics of the world’s largest solar farm from space – New Atlas

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

With renewable energy on the rise, it makes perfect sense for the title "world's largest solar plant" to change hands pretty quickly. In 2014 for example, the 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm held the title, to be toppled in November by a 648 MW plant in Kamuthi India. At this point in time, China's Dam Solar Park has risen above them all with 850 MW of capacity. Sound like a lot? Here's some NASA satellite imagery to help put things into perspective.

The images were taken by NASA's Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8, the satellite behind Google Earth's new high-res imagery that launched in 2013. This satellite is capable of snapping images in greater detail, truer colors and at almost double the rate of its predecessor, Landsat 7.

NASA has released two images of Dam Solar Park in China's Qinghai province, one taken in April 2013 and the other on January 5 of this year, that show the rapid expansion of the farm over the four years in between. When the second photo was snapped, the plant covered 27 km sq (10 sq mi) and consisted of almost four million solar panels (the Kamuthi plant has 2.5 million).

China is leading from the front so far as solar power is concerned. Its total installed capacity doubled to 77 GW in 2016, surpassing Germany, the US and Japan to become the world's largest producer of solar power. This followed a big jump in 2015, where its installed solar capacity went from 15 GW to 43 GW. The comparison of these two photos below offers a useful perspective on what this kind of approach to solar power looks like when put into action.

Dam Solar Park as seen from space on in April 2013(Credit: NASA)

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NASA snaps pics of the world's largest solar farm from space - New Atlas

Rise of Silica: Nanotechnology Innovation Creates Opportunity for Novel Product Development – R & D Magazine

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

Polymers (plastics) such as polyurethane and polystyrene have been the standard coating materials used in the design and development of products and equipment over the last several decades. We see and touch them numerous times on a daily basis. These coatings, while functional, have several deficiencies. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes photooxidative degradation, resulting in the breaking of polymer chains. We have all likely witnessed the destruction of these types of transparent coatings, often within a remarkably few years or months of application, despite all of the modern science of additives, designed to prevent the negative effects of UV light on polymers. Polymer coatings also have low resistance to abrasion, chemicals and extreme heat. In addition, these coatings have mediocre light transmission properties and often suffer from solarization and browning.

In stark contrast, the new breed of silica-based coatings represents an evolutionary advance over polymer-based offerings. Because silica is the primary material in glass, it shares the qualities of glass superior transparency and toughness yet has the flexibility and versatility normally associated with commonplace polymer coatings. These silica-based coatings also are highly resistant to UV degradation.

Silica-based coatings are also durable enough to be applied in thicknesses that would be far too low for any polymer to be effective. Although these coatings are glass based, their ultra-thin dimensions make them quite flexible, eliminating the main concern with glass, namely its fragility. Silica coatings have better light transmission, thermal properties, and acid resistance than traditional polymer coatings. Consistent with efforts by researchers worldwide to use eco-friendly materials, these coatings are also non-toxic and contain no fossil fuel elements, unlike their oil-based polymer counterparts. Silica coatings can also be tuned to provide a multitude of other benefits, such as abrasion resistance, omniphobicity, oleophobicity, and anti-reflectivity, to name a few.

Research and development divisions can leverage silica coatings ability to act as a durable and resilient host for functional materials, which when added to the surfaces of existing products, creates a variety of enhanced effects. Such functionality can be a game changer for the creation of products only feasible with this new glass-based coating. Some examples may include copper nanoparticles to reduce barnacle accumulation on nautical vessels and UV-blocking nanoparticles to mitigate radiation for both terrestrial and interstellar uses. For others, the added functionality allows for significant improvements to existing products, making them lighter, stronger and more durable.

Some companies, such as Enki technologies and DSM NV, have developed and used silica-based coatings as anti-reflective and soil-resistant coverings to improve solar photovoltaic panel efficiency. Companies such as Kristall and South Korea-based Ceko make scratch and oil-resistant, silica-based coatings offered to R&D pros within the automobile and cell phone markets, respectively. These R&D pros, in turn, use the coating to re-engineer a number of pieces used in the manufacture of these products. Other silica-based offerings also laud their hydrophobic and graffiti-resistant abilities.

U.S.-based MetaShield has created a silica-based coating that employs leading-edge nanotech principles to provide toughness and durability to a variety of substrates. Its 1 micron thick MetaShield coating meaningfully increases the mechanical strength of ordinary glass without adding size, weight or visible distortion. The company is in advanced-stage collaborations with major glass suppliers and mobile device companies to implement their glass strengthening technology in cell phones and other electronic devices.

As silica-based coatings gain acceptance, they enable research engineers and product developers worldwide to utilize materials that would otherwise not be practical due to their weak external durability. In the end, the main question is: How do plastic coatings compare with the new, nano-enabled glass coatings? Simply put, silica based coatings herald a significant disruption in the coatings market that has been dominated by waterborne polymers for the last half century.

About the Authors: Martin Ben-Dayan is CEO, and co-founder of MetaShield, along with William Bickmore who also serves as the companys Chief Technology Officer.

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Rise of Silica: Nanotechnology Innovation Creates Opportunity for Novel Product Development - R & D Magazine

Research Positions in Nanotechnology – Times Higher Education (THE)

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

1 PhD position and 1 post doc position in Anti-icing surfaces

1 post doc position in modelling and surface design for dropwise condensation (IV-78/17)

The Department of Structural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering (IV) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) announces one vacant PhD and one vacant post doc position in the field of anti-icing surfaces. Both positions are for a period of three years. The PhD position is financed by the Research Council of Norway FRINATEK program via the project titled Towards Design of Super-Low Ice Adhesion Surfaces (SLICE) while the post-doctoral position is financed by the Research Council of Norway PETROMAKS II program via the project Durable Arctic Icephobic Materials (AIM).

We also announce one vacant post doc position in the field of modelling and surface design for CO2 condensation. The position is for a two years period and financed by the Research Council of Norway CLIMIT program via the project titled Superlyophobic surfaces for efficient separation and droplet condensation of CO2 (NanoDrop). The project is coordinated by SINTEF energy.

The PhD candidate and the post doc fellows will work at NTNU Nanomechanical Lab (NML), which is a sub-research group at Department of Structural Engineering at NTNU. NML currently has 2 professors, 17 PhD students, 2 post docs and 1 visiting PhD student, working on diverse topics related to materials, energy and nanotechnology. Recent publications, highlights and research activities can be found from the homepage http://www.ntnu.edu/nml. We offer multicultural, multidisciplinary and stimulating working environment with weekly Friday seminars given by either internal team members or international speakers, as well as well-established national and international scientific and industry network.

The PhD position in anti-icing surfaces (P1)

The primary objective of the SLICE project is to establish and evaluate design principles towards super-low ice adhesion surfaces, by developing models which couple the ice-solid interactions at atomistic scale to the interface crack initiation at macroscopic scale. Preventing the accretion of ice on exposed surfaces is of great importance for renewable energy, electrical transmission cables in air, shipping and many other applications. Active de-icing involving chemical, thermal and mechanical methods are currently used to remove the ice that has already accumulated. These techniques, however, require periodic applications and high energy consumption, and have major detrimental effects on both the structures and environment. More information about the SLICE project can be found http://www.ntnu.edu/nml/slice. The task of this PhD candidate in the SLICE project is to experimentally realize super-low ice adhesion surfaces such that the eventually formed ice can fall off automatically by its own weigh or natural wind.

Applicants for the PhD position require a Masters degree or equivalent in nanotechnology, material science, surface science, or related fields. The successful applicants are motivated and ambitious students with excellent grades. Proficiency to carry out goal-oriented work, good skills to deliver oral and written presentation of research results, and good cooperation abilities will be emphasized.

The post doc position in anti-icing surfaces (P2)

The primary objective of the AIM project is to develop and test bio-inspired robust icephobic materials, which can survive multiple harsh environmental cycles and impacts. More information about the AIM project can be found http://www.ntnu.edu/nml/aim. The main focus of the AIM project is durability of the coatings. The task of the postdoctoral candidate is to synthesize materials with certain ice adhesion but strong durability.

In order to be considered for the postdoctoral position, the applicant must hold a PhD degree within nanotechnology, material chemistry, material physics or relevant research areas. Relevant research experience and publication record will be emphasized. Good communication capability both in written and oral English is a prerequisite.

The post doc position in modelling and surface design for dropwise condensation (P3)

The ultimate goal of the project NanoDrop is to accelerate the process necessary for reaching full-scale CO2-capture by reducing cost and increasing energy-efficiency. The specific tasks to be carried out by the postdoctoral fellow aim to understand/model the fundamental CO2 condensation mechanisms, to study the effect of nanoscale solid surface features on the condensation of saturated CO2 and to provide guidance the selection, design and optimization of substrate surfaces.

In order to be considered for the postdoctoral position, the applicant must hold a PhD degree within physics, chemistry, material technology, computational mechanics or relevant research areas. Candidates with strong experience in molecular and continuum simulations or designing surface superhydrophobicity will be preferred. Good communication capability both in written and oral English is a prerequisite.

Conditions

The appointment of the Postdoctoral fellows will be made according to Norwegian guidelines for universities and university colleges and to the general regulations regarding university employees.

Postdoctoral candidates are remunerated in code 1352, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 485,700 per annum before tax. There will be a 2% deduction to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund from gross wage.

Engagement as a PhD Candidate is done in accordance with Regulation concerning terms and conditions of employment for the posts of post-doctoral research fellow, research fellow, research assistant and resident, given by the Ministry of Education and Research of 19.07.2010. The goal of the positions is to obtain a PhD degree. Applicants will engage in an organized PhD training program, and appointment requires approval of the applicants plan for a PhD study within three months from the date of commencement.

See http://www.ntnu.edu/ivt/phd for more information.

PhD Candidates are remunerated in code 1017, and are normally remunerated at gross NOK 430,200 before tax. There will be a 2 % deduction to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund from gross wage.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants. The positions adhere to the Norwegian Government's policy of balanced ethnicity, age and gender. Women are encouraged to apply.

In case of questions, please contact Professor Zhiliang Zhang, zhiliang.zhang@ntnu.no, +47 73592530; Associate Professor Jianying He, jianying.he@ntnu.no, +47 73594686. No application should be directly sent to these email address.

The application

The application including a CV, the project sketch, grade transcripts (courses with grades) from the undergraduate as well as graduate studies, recommendation letters, certified copies of academic diplomas and certificates, and other enclosures should be sent electronically via this webpage at https://www.jobbnorge.no. Mark the application with IV-78/17 and specify which position you intend to apply.

Application deadline: 03. April, 2017

According to the new Freedom of Information Act, information concerning the applicant may be made public even if the applicant has requested not to be included in the list of applicants.

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Research Positions in Nanotechnology - Times Higher Education (THE)

New nano approach could cut dose of leading HIV treatment in half – Science Daily

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

New nano approach could cut dose of leading HIV treatment in half
Science Daily
The healthy volunteer trial, conducted by the collaborative nanomedicine research programme led by Pharmacologist Professor Andrew Owen and Materials Chemist Professor Steve Rannard, and in collaboration with the St Stephen's AIDS Trust at the ...

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New nano approach could cut dose of leading HIV treatment in half - Science Daily

Micro-Optics and the World of Nano 3D Printing – ENGINEERING.com

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

When zoomed into the nanoscale, its possible to see that tiny universe as just as immense and complex as the universe of planets, galaxies and other macro phenomena. And, while many in the 3D printing industry may be focused in our day-to-day lives on the macro, there are those like Nanoscribe who work to advance 3D printing at the nanoscale.

Microscopic lenses 3D printed using Nanoscribes technology. (Image courtesy of Nanoscribe.)

Nanoscribe has developed a unique method for 3D printing photopolymers that can be leveraged to create the tiniest objects for some of the most breakthrough applications, including optics, electronics and medical device manufacturing. Piqued by a recent breakthrough in the use of Nanoscribes technology to create nano-optics, ENGINEERING.com spoke with the companys CEO, Martin Hermatschweiler, and head of Sales & Marketing, Andreas Frlich, to learn more.

After about six years of research, Nanoscribe was spun out of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany in 2007. It was at KIT that foundations for a process called two-photon polymerization was developed.

Two-photon polymerization is similar to more familiar types of photopolymerization like stereolithography and digital light processing, in that a light-sensitive photopolymer is selectively cured using a light source. The difference with Nanoscribes technology, however, is that it is capable of very fine details.

This is possible through the use of a high-powered laser, which directs two photons of near-infrared light in ultrashort pulses at a photocurable resin. Piezo-driven actuators and focusing optics, combined with this laser technology, enable the process to print details finer than 200 nm (7.9 in).

Two-photon polymerization was commercialized through the Photonic Professional GT 3D printing systems. Hermatschweiler pointed out that, though the companys machines are capable of printing tiny objects, they are not limited to such small details.

Today, Nanoscribe offers 3D printers for the nano-, micro- and mesoscale as well as photoresists and process solutions tailored to specific application areas, Hermatschweiler said. [Our] high-tech company has established itself in this field as the technological and global market leader with its laser lithographic processes underlying the technique of two-photon polymerization.

As one might guess, the applications for such a technology are highly specialized, leaving its primary use for those in the research field. Our primary customers are universities and research facilities in science and industry investigating a vast variety of applications often in multiuser environments. Worldwide, more than 560 users work with our systems, Hermatschweiler explained.

Increasingly, researchers are using the ability to 3D print at the nanoscale to create tiny medical devices for targeted drug delivery. Scientists at the University of California, San Diego, for instance, were able to 3D print nanoscopic fish-shaped objects with platinum loaded onto their tails for propulsion. Coated with iron oxide on their tips, these swimmers could be magnetically directed to a specific spot to perform toxic cleanup.

Nanoscribes facilities. (Image courtesy of Nanoscribe.)

Hermatschweiler mentioned some of the other work that is being achieved in the biomedical field. [R]esearchers of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) described how the reproduction of the natural biological microenvironment in vitro should improve the understanding of cell behavior for exploiting cell functions in various health-care applications. They 3D printed bone trabeculae obtained by -CT scans of a biopsy from the human femoral neck, Hermatschweiler said.

Less tangible applications include the creation of nearly invisible sculptures, something that artist Jonty Hurwitz did with Nanoscribes platform. Unfortunately for Hurwitz, however, these sculptures are only visible under a microscope, and a breath of air caused them to be blown away, where they became lost among the dust particles of the surrounding room.

Hermatschweiler spoke further on the exact use cases for the technology. The multitude of applications is ranging from optics and photonics, to complex structures for the microfluidics, 3D templates for cell migration and stem cell differentiation studies up to the fabrication of micro machines for life sciences. As disruptive technology, 3D laser lithography is an enabler for novel applications and will provide solutions for a broad range of industrial applications, e.g., in fields of optical interconnections, micro-sized parts or in the fabrication of micro-optical elements.

The creation of micro-optical elements is one of the latest breakthroughs achieved with Nanoscribes technology. Due to the ability to 3D print free-form objects at such a small scale, the Photonic Professional GT has proven ideal for 3D printing microscopic optical lenses for a new generation of microchips.

Researchers from the University of Stuttgart 3D printed doublet lenses directly onto CMOS image sensors to create a high-performance and compact imaging system. Printed as an array 1 square centimeter in total and semispheres with a height of 150 m, the lenses have a shape accuracy that is better than 1 m and a surface roughness that is better than 10 nm Ra.

Microscopic lenses of different sizes are grouped together in bundles of four to replicate the mechanics of the fovea. (Image courtesy of Science Advances.)

Frlich explained the implications of the research, Micro-optical components are pretty much commonplace in a lot of devices ranging from optical instrumentation to consumer electronics. However, it is not an easy task to get master-shapes for their cheap and reliable production, for example, by injection molding. Our high-precision 3D printing solutions enable the micro-optics industry to innovate by additive manufacturing. Masters can be fabricated as well as a broad range of almost arbitrary micro-optical shapes, including standard refractive micro-optics, freeform optics, diffractive optical elements or even multiplet lens systems, can now be printed in a one-step process.

The images above demonstrate the type of image that the foveated lenses can capture. (Image courtesy of Science Advances.)

The lenses mimic foveated vision, a type of vision that enables predators to focus on a single object within a wide field of view made possible by a small area of color-sensing cones, called the fovea, located at the back of the eye. The fovea is the only part of the eye where light hits the cones directly, making that area of vision clearer than the lower resolution areas surrounding it.

To replicate this ability, the researchers used a set of four different sized lenses, some that see from a wide angle and others that have a more focused view. The various images are then combined digitally. In addition to foveated vision, the camera developed by the Stuttgart team is extremely small, which is necessary for the increasingly small world of electronics, as well as the world of medical devices.

[R]esearchers at the University of Stuttgart demonstrated that Nanoscribes 3D printers have the potential to pave the way for the construction of novel and extremely small endoscopes which are suited for the smallest body openings or machine parts that can be inspected, Frlich said.

As researchers like those at the University of Stuttgart forge ahead with their research, so too will Nanoscribe according to Frlich. We continuously work on expanding our capabilities in micro-optics. The next step will be to make our in-house developed know-how about microlens mastering using the two-photon polymerization technology available in the form of a solution that can be used with our Photonic Professional GT printers.

To learn more about Nanoscribes work and technology, head to the companys website.

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Nano-sized hydrogen storage system increases efficiency – Phys.Org

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

February 24, 2017 by Anne M Stark Hydrogenation forms a mixture of lithium amide and hydride (light blue) as an outer shell around a lithium nitride particle (dark blue) nanoconfined in carbon. Nanoconfinement suppresses all other intermediate phases to prevent interface formation, which has the effect of dramatically improving the hydrogen storage performance. Credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore scientists have collaborated with an interdisciplinary team of researchers including colleagues from Sandia National Laboratories to develop an efficient hydrogen storage system that could be a boon for hydrogen powered vehicles.

Hydrogen is an excellent energy carrier, but the development of lightweight solid-state materials for compact, low-pressure storage is a huge challenge.

Complex metal hydrides are a promising class of hydrogen storage materials, but their viability is usually limited by slow hydrogen uptake and release. Nanoconfinementinfiltrating the metal hydride within a matrix of another material such as carboncan, in certain instances, help make this process faster by shortening diffusion pathways for hydrogen or by changing the thermodynamic stability of the material.

However, the Livermore-Sandia team, in conjunction with collaborators from Mahidol University in Thailand and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, showed that nanoconfinement can have another, potentially more important consequence. They found that the presence of internal "nano-interfaces" within nanoconfined hydrides can alter which phases appear when the material is cycled.

The researchers examined the high-capacity lithium nitride (Li3N) hydrogen storage system under nanoconfinement. Using a combination of theoretical and experimental techniques, they showed that the pathways for the uptake and release of hydrogen were fundamentally changed by the presence of nano-interfaces, leading to dramatically faster performance and reversibility. The research appears on the cover of the Feb. 23 edition of the journal Advanced Materials Interfaces.

"The key is to get rid of the undesirable intermediate phases, which slow down the material's performance as they are formed or consumed. If you can do that, then the storage capacity kinetics dramatically improve and the thermodynamic requirements to achieve full recharge become far more reasonable," said Brandon Wood, an LLNL materials scientist and lead author of the paper. "In this material, the nano-interfaces do just that, as long as the nanoconfined particles are small enough. It's really a new paradigm for hydrogen storage, since it means that the reactions can be changed by engineering internal microstructures."

The Livermore researchers used a thermodynamic modeling method that goes beyond conventional descriptions to consider the contributions from the evolving solid phase boundaries as the material is hydrogenated and dehydrogenated. They showed that accounting for these contributions eliminates intermediates in nanoconfined lithium nitride, which was confirmed spectroscopically.

Beyond demonstrating nanoconfined lithium nitride as a rechargeable, high-performing hydrogen-storage material, the work establishes that proper consideration of solid-solid nanointerfaces and particle microstructure are necessary for understanding hydrogen-induced phase transitions in complex metal hydrides.

"There is a direct analogy between hydrogen storage reactions and solid-state reactions in battery electrode materials," said Tae Wook Heo, another LLNL co-author on the study. "People have been thinking about the role of interfaces in batteries for some time, and our work suggests that some of the same strategies being pursued in the battery community could also be applied to hydrogen storage. Tailoring morphology and internal microstructure could be the best way forward for engineering materials that could meet performance targets."

Explore further: Carbon-free energy from solar water splitting

More information: Brandon C. Wood et al. Nanointerface-Driven Reversible Hydrogen Storage in the Nanoconfined Li-N-H System, Advanced Materials Interfaces (2017). DOI: 10.1002/admi.201600803

A Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist and collaborators are fine tuning the mechanisms to generate hydrogen from water and sunlight.

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6 things to know: New University of Arizona research building in … – AZCentral.com

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

The newest addition to the Phoenix Biomedical Campus includes cancer and pediatric research.

The Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building opens Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix.(Photo: Tom Tingle/The Republic)

The latest addition to the downtown Phoenix Biomedical Campusopened Thursday to house labs forcancer, molecular medicine and other health research.

The University of Arizona helda ceremony Thursday nightto officially open its $136 million Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building on Seventh and Fillmore streets. The glass-and-copper structure adds to the universitys College of Medicine-Phoenixprograms downtown.

Phoenix designated about 30 acres of land for the campus, to draw innovative research and industry to the urban core. Arizonas three state universities already have facilities there with plans to build more.

UA President Ann Weaver Hart said the building captures what's necessary today for health solutions: collaboration between people who make discoveries and those who can help implement them into daily life.

"It means that we're in this together," she said.

UA's new site includes five labs to start, with more to come. Here are sixthings to know about the building:

The 10-story building is covered with 325,000 pounds of recycled copper panels, according to the university,that sparkle on Seventh Street. The look will change as thatcoppertarnishesover time, said Jennifer Andrews, assistantdirector of capital projects at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.

Construction required more than 5 million pounds of steel.

The 245,000 square feet of space includewet and dry laboratories, offices and seminar rooms. Bond funding approved by the state Legislature nearly a decade ago paid for the construction.

A walkway dubbed the Grand Canyon connects the new tower to the universitys neighboring Health Sciences Education Building.

One lab will focus on treatments to disrupt a protein critical for most cancers to survive. Dr. William Cance, deputy director of the UA Cancer Center, recently moved his research to Arizona from Buffalo, N.Y.

Cance focuses on a protein he said is made by about 80 percent of cancers, called human focal adhesion kinase. Research focuses on developing therapeutics to target it.

In his lab, researchers can determine how a drug will interact with the protein, then test it. The team of three will soon hire additional people, Cance said.

The building is named for biomedical sciences partnerships. That means researchers will collaborate across fields and sectors to develop solutions to health problems.

The layout of the building will help with that, Cance said. His lab is next to other researchers, and open space means it's easy to bump into people to share information.

Thats where you find what other people are doing, Cance said. The laboratory culture is really one of sharing.

Andrews said the design of the building puts people from different departments who are studying similar topicstogether on the same floor.

One of the building's first tenants, the Center for Applied NanoBioscience and Medicine, has worldwide partnerships with universities and industry.

The team of about a dozen people is not a conventional academic group, Director Frederic Zenhausern said. Their diverse backgrounds guide the goal of designing technology that goes from discovery to marketplace, he said.

Research ranges from creating tools to monitor radiotherapy at a personalized level to developing new instruments to collect blood.Collaborators throughout the center include universities, organizations and companies in the U.S., Singapore, Italy and Japan.

Two tenants include partnerships with the Phoenix Childrens Hospital. The Ronald A. Matricaria Institute of Molecular Medicine examines genetic information to see what makes a patient susceptible to diseases like pediatric cancer. Researchers then create a personalized therapy.

The Pediatric Infectious Disease Research Laboratory focuses on pediatric vaccines.

Two floors of the building are completed to house the first five research labs. Other spaces are ready for more tenants and offices.

The next phase of construction includes more offices and temporary"hotel" work space for physicians working at the campus. The university expects that project to continue another year.

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How World War I Revolutionized Medicine – The Atlantic

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

When World War I broke out in France, in August 1914, getting a wounded soldier from the battlefield to a hospital required horse-drawn wagons or mules with baskets on either side. Incapacitated soldiers would be taken to a railway station, put in the straw of a cattle-car, and sent towards the nearest city with a hospital. No bandages, no food, no water. One of those trains had dumped about 500 badly wounded men and left them lying between the tracks in the rain, with no cover whatsoever, recounted Harvey Cushing, the head of the Harvard Unit of volunteer doctors at the American Ambulance Hospital of Paris.

Such pitiful conditions immediately beset the Battle of the Marne in early September, leaving a thousand wounded French soldiers lying in the straw in a village near Meaux. To rescue them, U.S. Ambassador Myron T. Herrick called all his friends with cars, particularly those on the board of the American Hospital, a small expatriate facility that had just refurbished a school building as a military hospital. This impromptu fleet brought back 34 wounded on the first run, and returned for more. It made the difference between life and death, amputation and healing, and it signaled the start of the motor-ambulance corps.

Medicine, in World War I, made major advances in several directions. The war is better known as the first mass killing of the 20th centurywith an estimated 10 million military deaths alonebut for the injured, doctors learned enough to vastly improve a soldiers chances of survival. They went from amputation as the only solution, to being able to transport soldiers to hospital, to disinfect their wounds and to operate on them to repair the damage wrought by artillery. Ambulances, antiseptic, and anesthesia, three elements of medicine taken entirely for granted today, emerged from the depths of suffering in the First World War.

In the early stages of the war, especially within six weeks, 300,000 French soldiers were woundedand as competent surgeons were not to be had for more than a minority, an appalling number of needless amputations were made. In strictest confidence, Tuffier told me with tears in his eyes that more than 20,000 amputations had been made, George Crile, a volunteer physician from Clevelands Lakeside Hospital, wrote in his diary in January 1915.

The key dilemma was that doctors had no effective antiseptic to kill the rampant bacteria, such as Clostridium perfringens, which causes the rapid necrosis known as gas gangrene. The soldiers lived in the filth of the trenches, and if they were wounded, their injuries were immediately corrupted with it. Thodore Tuffier, a leading French surgeon, testified in 1915 to the Academy of Medicine that 70 percent of amputations were due to infection, not to the initial injury.

Professor Tuffier stated that antiseptics had not proven satisfactory, that cases of gas gangrene were most difficult to handle, Crile wrote. All penetrating wounds of the abdomen, he said, die of shock and infection. He himself tried in fifteen instances to perform immediate operations in cases of penetrating abdominal wounds, and he lost every case. In fact, they have abandoned any attempt to operate penetrating wounds of the abdomen. All wounds large and small are infected. The usual antiseptics, bichloride, carbolic, iodine, etc., fail.

Help was on the way from the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York. The French physician Alexis Carrel, who had been working at the Rockefeller Institute before the war, had signed up with the French army and was given an abandoned chteau in Compigne, near the front, to renovate into a military hospital. He demanded an X-ray machine and laboratories for analysis. When the French Service Sanitaire declined to provide them, Carrel turned to the Rockefeller Institute. They sent equipment, and most important of all, they sent Henry Dakin, a British biochemist who had perfected a solution of sodium hypochlorite, which killed the dangerous bacteria without burning the flesh. Carrel took the new antiseptic and insisted on opening up wounds to thoroughly irrigate them. The technique, which became known as the Carrel-Dakin Method, was adopted by doctors across Europe during the war.

Over at the American Ambulance Hospital, meanwhile, George Crile was introducing doctors to a method of anesthesia he and a nurse named Agatha Hodgins had developed in Cleveland. In January 1915, their Lakeside Unit had begun a series of three-month rotations in Neuilly. Crile had brought with him 18 large cylinders3,000 gallonsof nitrous oxide. He gave surgical demonstrations using a nitrous oxide-oxygen mixjust enough to put a patient to sleep, but not into a state of shockfor Carrel, Dakin, and other French surgeons.

As to nitrous oxid [sic] the progress of opinion among the doctors has been to first scorn, then wonder and admire. Miss Hodgins gave it by special request to one of Dr. Du Bouchets patients who underwent a prolonged nerve operation. He was delighted at the result. Todaya final triumphshe was asked to give it for the French service, Amy Rowland, chief nurse of Lakeside Unit, wrote in a letter in January 1915.

Antiseptics and anesthesia saved lives once they arrived at the hospital, but without motor ambulances and hospital trains to get them there, wounded soldiers stood little chance. From the impromptu rescue of soldiers from Meaux in September 1914, the American Ambulance Field Service grew to number more than 100 ambulances by the end of the first year of the war. Philanthropists such as Anne Harriman Vanderbilt bought cars, as did civic groups from cities around the United States. The Ford Motor Company donated 10 Model-T chassis to be converted into ambulances.

Volunteer drivers arrived from 48 American universities, and the ranks of the ambulance service grew to some 2,500 by the end of the war. Harvard had 55 men in France in 1915, driving in the pitch night on gutted roads to pick up soldiers from field stations just behind the lines. While saving others, 21 of these Harvard men lost their own lives. Richard Hall was the first, struck by a mortar on Bitschwiller Road near Moosch on Christmas Eve, 1915. His fellow driver Tracy Putnam described having driven past the wreck earlier in the evening and not realizing it was Halls ambulance.

[The mortar] struck Dick Halls car just behind the front seat; it must have been quite a big one, for it blew the car completely off the road, bent in the frame, smashed to match-wood the light body, flattened out the tins of petrol. Dick was wounded in three places, the head, the side and the thigh, and killed at once. His body lay there, among the wreck of his car, all night. Our merry convoy passed without seeing it. I saw one of the gasoline cans by the side of the road, and stopped to pick it up, wondering who dropped it.

The service of the drivers, along with the doctors, nurses and social workers who brought the number of American volunteers to the thousands, did not go unnoticed by the French. One of the volunteers, a driver named Leslie Buswell, based at heavily bombarded Pont--Mousson in 1915, wrote in a letter home that the stoicism of the wounded French soldiers was remarkable. When they are unloaded it is a common thing to see a soldier, probably suffering the pain of the damned, make an effort to take the hand of the American helper. I tell you tears are pretty near sometimes.

What inspired these major advances in medicine? There was a deep need, and people stepped up to find solutions. The new technology of warheavy artillery, long-range cannons, barrage shelling, and machine gunsrained devastation at unprecedented levels. Medicine had to try to keep up. One good example of this evolution is in facial reconstruction surgery. Soldiers survived having jaws and noses shattered by artillery fragments, so surgeons at the American Hospital and Val-de-Grace Hospital pioneered maxillofacial techniques, and at the same time, brought dentistry into the medical sciences in France.

Just before he sailed back to the United States in March 1915, George Crile organized a day-long conference at the American Hospital for 100 physicians and diplomats to show them the new techniques and methods that had been developed. Alexis Carrel gave a talk entitled: Science has perfected the art of killing: Why not that of saving? That evening, at dinner at the Hotel Ritz, doctors gathered from France, Britain and the United States whose work was doing just that, from developing a vaccine for typhoid to figuring out how to defeat sepsis. The war had drawn a framework of urgency around such medical questions, and the doctors stepped up to answer them.

Mary Merritt Crawford, the only woman doctor at the American Hospital during the war, later noted that war brought death and destruction, yet also opened the path to progress: A war benefits medicine more than it benefits anybody else. Its terrible, of course, but it does.

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Syrian Doctors And The American Dream: Practicing Medicine In A New Immigration Landscape – Health Affairs (blog)

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

Becoming a physician is a lifelong dream for many. Having the opportunity to train in the United States is also a deeply held ambition for countless aspiring doctors around the globe.

We are living out that dream. We came to the U.S. from Syria, a war-torn country in the Middle East, with the same goal: to attain highly specialized training at the best U.S. institutions. We had the idea that the U.S. had the best medical and research universities and hospitals in the world. Later, when we all made it here and started our journeys, our experiences came to confirm our initial impressions. Many great countries are on the frontiers of science, technology, and medical practice. However, the United States stands out from the crowd in that it attracts individuals with great passion for and high skills in what they do. Indeed, being a hub for the brightest and most talented minds has contributed immensely to U.S. strength in so many domains and for more than two centuries.

Some of us came into the U.S. more than a decade ago while others only a few years ago. All of us, however, share the profession of medical practice and research. We have studied and worked at some of the nations most reputable institutions across the U.S. We all have a strong passion and drive in different fields of biomedical, translational, and clinical research. Many of us also provide medical care for many patients across clinical disciplines. Some of us also provide that patient care in underserved areas.

Syria was one of the countries specified in President Trumps January 27 executive order (EO) on immigration. This EO was issued to protect the U.S. and Americans from potential terrorists. It detailed a ban on legal immigrants as well as non-immigrant visas from seven countries for 90 days, a 120-day ban on admitting refugees, and an indefinite ban on admitting refugees from Syria. For days after the order was announced, any individual with a legal visa from these countries was prevented from entering the United States regardless of their qualifications, skills, or expertise.

The executive order drew rapid litigation and on February 3, a federal judge temporarily prohibited the government from enforcing the order on equal protection grounds and due process guarantees. The Trump administration, however, has signaled it intends to rewrite the order, and on February 21 it issued new directives to the Department of Homeland Security to deport unauthorized immigrants. This will likely not be the final say on the matter, however, and the potential for blocking immigrants and refugees from Syria and other Middle Eastern countries from coming to the U.S. is still very real.

This EO had grave ramifications for thousands of people holding legal status and visas all across the U.S., those flying in, and those who were outside. It also had great personal impact on many of us, our families, friends, and colleagues. From our experience, we believe that the orders impact would be deeply felt across the medical professions. Any ban citing a persons national origin, religion, race, or ethnicity is very counterproductive to keeping and attracting international expertise into the U.S. health care system.

Even before the EO, Syrian medical students and graduates who wanted to continue their training in the US faced significant obstacles. For example, International Medical Graduates must first receive a visa to come to the US in order to be present for the USMLE Step2 CS exam as well as for interviews, both of which are necessary to be matched with a residency program. In September 2016, we conducted a brief survey of 106 Syrian medical students and graduates currently applying to be matched with a US residency program. Of our survey participants, more than 50 percent had to apply twice or more to be approved for a visa to the US and some even had to apply five times or more. What is more, all of them also had to visit a US embassy outside of Syria in order to apply for that visa that is because the U.S. embassy in Syria closed in February 2012. More than a quarter (28 percent) of those surveyed said they had to travel to two or more countries to apply for a visa. It is no wonder that many respondents reported declining interest among their peers in pursuing medical training in the U.S. That has not always been the case: As recently as 2014 University of Damascus, Syria, was among the top ten medical schools from which international medical graduates currently licensed in the US, had graduated. We fear that is likely to change.

After arriving in the U.S. and joining clinical training, research, or graduate degree programs, we found the U.S. system to be just and merit-based. When we came in, most of us had either a student or a work visa. What we found was that the educational opportunities spurred and surrounded those who worked hard, regardless of their background. A clich, but it has never been truer for us. This system, although not perfect, is one of Americas greatest points of strength.

When we look back at the diverse backgrounds of the many wonderful mentors and educators we had in the U.S., we cannot help but think how deficient our training would have been without them. We grew personally and professionally. And as our expertise expanded, our contributions to the U.S. communities that welcomed us expanded as well. Collectively, we have written hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, advanced medical science, and educated myriad of clinical and research personnel. Most importantly, since anti-immigrant rhetoric started to appear in the political arena during and after the election, we were told many heartwarming and empathic words of support from our patients and colleagues. We draw much strength and resolve from their support as we struggle to continue our lives and careers here in the U.S.

The views expressed in this article are of the authors only and do not represent the views of their employers.

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Syrian Doctors And The American Dream: Practicing Medicine In A New Immigration Landscape - Health Affairs (blog)

Canada Today: South Korean Hockey, Biking to the Border and Medicine Hat’s Money – New York Times

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

New York Times

Canada Today: South Korean Hockey, Biking to the Border and Medicine Hat's Money
New York Times
Medicine Hat, Alberta, is one of the last cities in North America to own its energy resources. It has about 4,000 gas wells and its own gas-fired power plant, and it is a leader in municipally owned renewable energy, with a wind farm and a solar ...
Improvements to Seniors and Community Housing Coming to Medicine HatMarketwired (press release)

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Canada Today: South Korean Hockey, Biking to the Border and Medicine Hat's Money - New York Times

Food: Powerful Medicine to Defend Against Cancer – Environmental Working Group

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

Food: Powerful Medicine to Defend Against Cancer
Environmental Working Group
WASHINGTON What we eat is strongly and intricately linked to our health. No food or nutrient is a panacea against disease, but eating right can help prevent many serious diseases, including heart disease, diabetes and several types of cancer. To help ...

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Nurse allegedly stole boy’s medicine, his death ruled a homicide – KXAN.com

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

KXAN.com

Nurse allegedly stole boy's medicine, his death ruled a homicide
KXAN.com
ALLEGAN, Mich. (WOOD) Detectives are investigating a caregiver after a 4-year-old boy with disabilities died, alleging she stole some of the medicine that was meant to keep him alive, according to the boy's autopsy report. Ryley Maue of Allegan died ...

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Medical school brings a virtual touch to anatomy studies – NewsTimes – Danbury News Times

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS - In this Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, photo, Dr. Jeffrey Fahl, chair of the anatomy department at UNLV, shows the Review-Journal how a virtual anatomy table works at UNLV's School of Medicine in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP) less ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS - In this Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, photo, Dr. Jeffrey Fahl, chair of the anatomy department at UNLV, shows the Review-Journal how a virtual anatomy table works at UNLV's School of ... more Photo: Rachel Aston, AP ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS - In this Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, photo, Dr. Jeffrey Fahl, chair of the anatomy department at UNLV, shows the Review-Journal how a virtual anatomy table works at UNLV's School of Medicine in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP) less ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS - In this Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, photo, Dr. Jeffrey Fahl, chair of the anatomy department at UNLV, shows the Review-Journal how a virtual anatomy table works at UNLV's School of ... more Photo: Rachel Aston, AP ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS - In this Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, photo, Dr. Jeffrey Fahl, chair of the anatomy department at UNLV, shows the Review-Journal how a virtual anatomy table works at UNLV's School of Medicine in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP) less ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS - In this Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, photo, Dr. Jeffrey Fahl, chair of the anatomy department at UNLV, shows the Review-Journal how a virtual anatomy table works at UNLV's School of ... more Photo: Rachel Aston, AP

Medical school brings a virtual touch to anatomy studies

LAS VEGAS (AP) Dr. Neil Haycocks twists and turns the 3-D image to review the head and neck CT scan from a variety of angles.

Even without being a doctor, it's easy to tell from the clear, virtual image that the man has suffered a serious injury.

"I don't know exactly what happened to this person, but my guess is that they were struck with some sort of blunt object," Haycocks said as he pointed out a fractured mandible and a depressed bone.

As he sliced through the patient's skull to further examine his injuries, Haycocks demonstrated a crucial benefit to the virtual anatomy tables at University of Nevada Las Vegas's new School of Medicine the ability to examine a patient without destroying vital organs.

With a touch of a button, the skull was whole again.

The touchscreen tables, which replace cadavers that would be found in a traditional anatomy lab, are just one example of the innovative curriculum the first class of 60 students will encounter when they set foot in the school on July 17.

THE BACKBONE

UNLV won't be the first school to use anatomy tables, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal (http://bit.ly/2kIQvIS).

But it's the school's commitment to teaching the subject that sets it apart, according to Dr. Ellen Cosgrove, vice dean for academic affairs and education.

"We've decided to make the virtual anatomy the backbone and the framework of our anatomy instruction," she said.

Haycocks, who learned human anatomy in a traditional lab, said cadaver dissection is limited in its educational benefits.

"You spend hours cutting through tissues, trying to find this or that," Haycocks said. "Sometimes it's well preserved, and sometimes it isn't. Sometimes you accidentally destroy whatever it is you're looking for, and sometimes you're just lost you never find out what's going on. It's a very lengthy and time consuming process."

Haycocks previously taught at a college where he oversaw a cadaver lab. He said that he loved working with the students and seeing their reactions as they cut open a human body.

"That's enjoyable for me at least, but it's really inefficient," he said.

The technology can display images of the body from a variety of perspectives and angles, including 2-D cross-section and 3-D rotation.

With a slight tap, Haycocks lit up the screen with millions of tiny blue channels, illustrating a patient's veins.

And in terms of instruction, virtual anatomy is beneficial because everyone gets the same information. It's also less time consuming and costs much less than a traditional cadaver lab, which runs upward of $10 million.

"If you talk to most people who teach anatomy nowadays, they would agree, perhaps grudgingly, that in well under 100 years, nobody is going to cadaver dissection anymore," Haycocks said.

COMBATING INERTIA

Haycocks sees several benefits from a curriculum standpoint, but he also points out a few flaws to the system.

"For me, the main disadvantage is that you don't have that first patient experience with a real human body," he said.

Given that a first patient often resonates with students, others in the medical community might also question the virtual anatomy approach.

"A lot of education in general, and medical education in particular, there's a lot of inertia," Haycocks said. "Things have been done a certain way for the last 150 years, and by God, the faculty had to do it a certain way so they're going to make the students do it a certain way."

Haycocks said a fourth-year elective is in the works that would give students the opportunity to learn at a month-long boot camp to become an autopsy technician.

"If you want to practice cutting human tissue without any of the rules of surgery, it's hard to beat someone who died the day before," Haycocks said.

Cosgrove said it might take a student in a traditional lab an hour of dissection to view a particular nerve and what path it takes.

At UNLV, students will be able to go through several virtual anatomy stations that have specific learning objectives with problems for them to solve.

"At the end of the two hours, you emerge from that experience with a wealth of information," she said.

___

Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com

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Medical school brings a virtual touch to anatomy studies - NewsTimes - Danbury News Times

Those Caribbean medical schools are looking more and more attractive – Washington Post

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Danzig

February 24 at 6:00 PM

Why the United States is no longer turning up its nose at Caribbean medical schools

Usha Lee McFarling at statnews.com

When Tavinder Singh took the MCAT, the California native dreamed of going to medical school. And then his scores came back too low for him to get in anywhere in the United States. So he packed his bags for the island of Dominica and enrolled at the Ross University School of Medicine.

Ross is one of the dozens of for-profit medical schools scattered throughout the Caribbean that market themselves mostly to folks in Singhs position. These schools have often come in for criticism, what with their hefty price tags, large class sizes and high dropout rates, writes Stat Newss Usha Lee McFarling. Even their mere location can be a negative for students. Theyve heard all the jokes about studying anatomy on the beach with Mai Tais in hand, McFarling notes.

But a massive physician shortage is transforming those views, McFarling writes in a recent article that tackles Why the United States is no longer turning up its nose at Caribbean medical schools. Their graduates typically have a tough time landing a residency, a credential thats required to practice medicine in the United States. So theyre eager to take positions anywhere, including in poor, rural, and underserved communities, McFarling says.

Once someone is wearing that white coat, school names dont come up much. Patients tend to be more interested in how theyre being treated, says McFarling, who highlights the example of Moazzum Bajwa, a Ross graduate and a second-year resident at the Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley, Calif.

Over the course of an hour-long appointment, retired carpenter Jos Luis Garcia, 69, doesnt just get the exam he was expecting. Bajwa also draws him a detailed diagram to explain how blood sugar levels work. They discuss thanks to Bajwas fluent Spanish whats causing stress in Garcias life, including his wifes recent brain surgery. At the end, Bajwa offers a hug.

This is a very great doctor, Garcia tells McFarling. Normally, I dont feel important.

Vicky Hallett

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Those Caribbean medical schools are looking more and more attractive - Washington Post

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