IP CYbOrg – Internet Protocol Cybernetic Organism

A cyborg, short for cybernetic organism, is a being with both organic and artificial parts. See for example biomaterials and bioelectronics. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space.[1] D. S. Halacys Cyborg: Evolution of the Superman in 1965 featured an introduction which spoke of a new frontier that was not merely space, but more profoundly the relationship between inner space to outer space a bridgebetween mind and matter.

The beginning of Cyborg creation began when HCI (human-computer interaction) began. There is a clear distinction between the human and computerized technology in HCI, which differs from cyborgs in that cyborgs act out human functions.

The term cyborg is often applied to an organism that has enhanced abilities due to technology,[3] though this perhaps oversimplifies the necessity of feedback for regulating the subsystem. The more strict definition of Cyborg is almost always considered as increasing or enhancing normal capabilities. While cyborgs are commonly thought of as mammals, they might also conceivably be any kind of organism and the term Cybernetic organism has been applied to networks, such as road systems, corporations and governments, which have been classed as such. The term can also apply to micro-organisms which are modified to perform at higher levels than their unmodified counterparts. It is hypothesized that cyborg technology will form a part of the future human evolution.

Fictional cyborgs are portrayed as a synthesis of organic and synthetic parts, and frequently pose the question of difference between human and machine as one concerned with morality, free will, and empathy. Fictional cyborgs may be represented as visibly mechanical (e.g. the Cybermen in the Doctor Who franchise or The Borg from Star Trek); or as almost indistinguishable from humans (e.g. the Terminators from the Terminator films, the Human Cylons from the re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica etc.) The 1970s television series The Six Million Dollar Man featured one of the most famous fictional cyborgs, referred to as a bionic man; the series was based upon a novel by Martin Caidin entitled Cyborg. Cyborgs in fiction often play up a human contempt for over-dependence on technology, particularly when used for war, and when used in ways that seem to threaten free will. Cyborgs are also often portrayed with physical or mental abilities far exceeding a human counterpart (military forms may have inbuilt weapons, among other things).

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IP CYbOrg - Internet Protocol Cybernetic Organism

David Friedman – Legal Systems Very Different From Ours …

Full credit to the Seasteading Institute. Source: http://www.seasteading.org/2009/11/da...

David Friedman's website: http://daviddfriedman.com

At the 2009 Seasteading Conference, David D. Friedman customized his academic seminar entitled Legal Systems Very Different from Our Own as the basis for his presentation, narrowing in on the two possible high-level legal situations for a seastead: one arising from existence inside the territorial waters of an existing state, and one emergent of a clearly independent existence out on the high seas.

There are theoretically endless legal configurations possible, but it can be difficult for residents of ostensibly monolegal systems countries in which only one system of legality applies to all citizens in all places to imagine how polylegalities could arise and be of benefit to a seastead. Friedman uses examples from history and the actuality of legal process in modern life (particularly tort law versus criminal law in the United States) to demonstrate that polylegal states have been far from marginal in human societies and may strongly inform the formation of certain seasteading configurations.

Friedman's perspective draws from a staggeringly colorful variety of historical legal systems and anthropological situations, from modern gypsies to saga-period Iceland to classical Athens, and many more. Will the first Seasteads arise first from, as David Friedman puts it, "a sort of a collection of different kinds of nuts" in a polylegal agglomeration, or from situations far more homogenous and uniform? Listen to his talk and envision the possibilities!

See the article here:

David Friedman - Legal Systems Very Different From Ours ...

How One Photographer Is Bringing Attention To Redheads Of …

Yasss, to embracing our beautiful redheaded kings and queens!

It looks like finally our ginger-haired cousins are getting some love and are no longer being considered the redheaded stepchild (pun intended) on the color wheel. In other words, its not just our paler counterparts who rock naturally fiery tresses; people of colorcan have pigmented hair that doesnt require purchasing a box of Dark & Lovely.

London-based photographer, Michelle Marshall, is one of many creatives breaking down the traditional mold and myths of beauty by exploring the many faces of Afro-Caribbean communities who have been born with the MC1R geneone of several proteins that produces the pigment melanin and regulates hair coloror who are simply known as, redheads. Through her visual documentations, Marshall hopes to bring about awareness that the gene isnt limited to those of Celtic descent.

In speaking with The Huffington Post, she says that she initially set out to capture varying manifestations of freckles, but changed the direction of the project after experiencing random encounters with beautiful Afro-Caribbean boys and girls, men and women. Marshall began to shift the course of her visual census as she called her latest project. Through her work, the woman behind the lens aims to alter peoples perspectives of who is, or who can be, a redhead. In her amazing head shots of 10 individualspeople of color who naturally have beautiful copper-colored hairMichelle Marshall aesthetically tackles race and individuality.

As we struggle with issues of immigration, discrimination, and racial prejudice, Mother Nature, meanwhile, follows its own course, embracing societys plurality and, in the process, shaking up our perceptions about origins, ethnicity, and identity, she told Mic.

And Mother Nature does a damn good job as evident in the portraits. While all of the participants have striking red hair, some have their faces genetically decorated with freckles in all sizes, ranging from very faint and small, to widely spread throughout their facial palette.

With their striking and beautiful features, each and every one of my subjects are challenging the very parameters of race and identity and the idea that skin color informs ones heritage and provenance.

Let us knowyour thoughts on Michelle Marshalls MC1R project!

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How One Photographer Is Bringing Attention To Redheads Of ...

Alabama Eugenics

Alabama

Number of victims

There were 224 people who were sterilized, of whom approximately 58% were male. All of the sterilized were deemed mentally deficient. In terms of the total number of people sterilized, Alabama ranks 27th in the United States. Of the 32 states that had sterilization laws, Alabama is the state with the 5th lowest number of sterilizations.

Period during which sterilizations occurred

The period was 1919 to 1935 (Paul p. 246)

Temporal pattern of sterilizations and rate of sterilization

After the passage of the sterilization law in 1919, the number of sterilization appears to have been low. Gosney/Popenoe (p. 194; see data sources) report no sterilizations yet at the end of 1927, but the number for the end of 1929 was 44. After that year, the number of sterilizations increased. The last sterilizations occurred in June 1935 (Paul, p. 246). Between 1930 and 1935, the annual number of sterilization was about 30. The rate of sterilization per 100,000 residents per year was about 1.

Passage of law(s)

According to Edward Larson, Alabama began its long flirtation with eugenicsbefore any other state in the Deep South (Larson, p. 50). At the 1901 meeting of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama (MASA), Dr. William Glassell Sommerville, Trustee of the Alabama Insane Hospitals, declared it a proven fact that the moral disposition for good and evil, including criminal tendenciesare transmitted fromone generation to anotherand is as firmly believed by all scientific men as the fact that parents transmit physical qualities to their children (Dorr, Defective or Disabled?,pp. 383-4). At that same meeting, John E. Purdon stated that it was a proven fact that criminality, insanity, epilepsy, and other alleged manifestations of degraded nerve tissue were hereditary (Larson, 50). He emphasized that [i]t is essentially a state function to retrain the pro-creative powers of the unfit (Larson and Nelson, p. 407). He suggested that the use of sterilization would benefit the race by saying, [e]masculation is the simplest and most perfect plan that can be adapted to secure the perfection of the race (Larson, p. 50). Finally, Purdon explained his belief that the goodness, the greatness, and the happiness of all upon the earth, will be immeasurably advanced, in one or two generations, by the proposed methods (Larson and Nelson, p. 407), and, based on his belief thatweakness begets weaknessfeared that humanitarianism would assist the imperfect individual to escape the consequences of his physical and moral malformation (Dorr, "Honing Heredity," p. 29).

Over the next decade, MASA was encouraged by many authorities such as physicians and Birminghams medical society to draft a bill to legalize the sterilization of the unfit. In 1911 at the annual MASA meeting, Walter H. Bell of Birmingham declared that any person who would produce children with an inherited tendency to crime, insanity, feeblemindedness, idiocy, or imbecility should be sterilized (Larson, p. 51). He believed that sterilization was an easy, safe and practical method of prevention with no restrictions or punishment attached (Larson and Nelson, p.410).

The MASA, however, continued to delay taking action until 1914 when it created a committee of physicians who would research needful data in regard to defective children, with a purpose to urge upon the state legislature the proper provision for the care of such defectives (Larson, , p. 60). During the 1915 MASA meeting, C.M. Rudolph suggested the formation of a home for mentally ill children. He stressed the importance of segregating the unfit youth because he believed it shrewd to [s]egregate the defectives of one generation to prevent the multiplication of their kind in the next (Larson, p. 60). In this same meeting it was decided that an Alabama Society for Mental Hygiene (ASMH) would be formed and led by William Partlow as a liaison with the National Committee for Mental Hygiene (NCMH) and to survey Alabamas defectives (Larson, p. 60). That year, MASA collectively agreed to support eugenic sterilization (Dorr, Defective or Disabled?, pp. 386-87).

In 1919, the MASA and the ASMH reached their goal. In the next regular session of the State legislator, a bill was passed to create the Alabama Home (Larson and Nelson, p. 413). Buried within the law was a clause granting permission to the superintendent of the Home for the Feeble-Minded in Tuscaloosa, to sterilize its patients. This was the first law passed in Alabama that supported sterilizations (Paul p. 239).

In 1934, Partlow wanted permission to sterilize all discharged patients from the Home (a procedure he was already practicing as superintendent) (Dorr, "Eugenics in Alabama"). Partlow proposed a bill that gave the superintendent of any state hospital for the insane complete power to sterilize any or all patients upon their release. The bill also proposed the creation of a board with three doctors who would have the right to sterilize a larger group of people. Finally, the anticipated bill granted permission for county public health committees to sterilize anyone in a state or local custodial institution (Larson and Nelson, p. 418). Although Partlows bill was passed in both the House and the Senate, the bill was vetoed by Alabamas Governor, Bill Graves after consulting with the Alabama Supreme Court on the bills constitutionality (Larson and Nelson, p. 422). In 1935 the Alabama State Supreme Court viewed the bill and deemed it unconstitutional because it violated the Due Process Clauses of the state and federal constitutionsa sterilization victim would not have the right to appeal to a court against his or her sterilization (Larson and Nelson, p. 422). A second version of the bill was drafted and, similarly, passed in both houses but was vetoed by the Governor (Larson and Nelson, pp. 422-23). Soon after this second veto, Partlow discontinued the practice of sterilization (Larson and Nelson, p. 424).

Partlowsbill, however, was unsuccessfully reintroduced in 1939 and again in 1943. In 1945, legislation was created that asked for the right to sterilize every inmate or person eligible for entrance in the states insane asylums. This bill was passed by the senate but was rejected by the house (Larson and Nelson, p. 426).

Groups identified in the law

In the 1919 law, William Partlow included in his draft the permission for the superintendent of the Home for the Feeble-Minded to sterilize any inmate (Larson, p. 84). Inmates were any person confined in a poor house, jail, an orphanage, or a boarding school in the State (Larson, pp. 48-49). In the 1935 bill, it was proposed that any sexual pervert, Sadist, homosexualist, Masochist, Sodomist, or any other grave form of sexual perversion, or any prisoner who has twice been convicted of rape or imprisoned three times for any offense be sterilized. It was also suggested granting permission to county public health committees to sterilize anyone in a state or local custodial institution (Larson and Nelson, p. 418).An expansion of the law, proposed by Alabama State Health Officer Dr. James Norment Baker, called for the sterilization of anyone committed to state homes for the insane and feebleminded, reformatories, industrial schools, or training schools, , as well as any sexual pervert, Sadist, homosexual, Masochist, Sodomist (Dorr, "Protection," p. 173) as well as anyone convicted of rape twice. The bill was considered unconstitutional and vetoed by Governor Bill Graves.

Process of the law

In the 1919 law, the superintendent of the Alabama Home for the Feeble-Minded was given the authority to sterilize any inmate (Larson, pp. 48-49). This law held only one limitation on sterilization in the Alabama Home. The superintendent of the Alabama Insane Hospitals had to agree upon the sterilization of the inmates from the Alabama Home for the Feeble-Minded (Larson, pp. 105-06). This absence of safeguards for inmates in the law made it possible for William Partlow to sterilize every inmate of the Home. This law was drafted by Partlow and was the only sterilization law passed in Alabama. Although this law passed, Partlow continued to try to strengthen the power to sterilize in Alabama through other bills. All of his attempts, however, failed.

Precipitating factors and processes

The entire Southern region in general was more hesitant to adopt eugenic ideals for many reasons. One of the most important Southern values was its traditional emphasis on family and parental rights, which eugenics challenged (Larson, p. 8). The Southern sense of family also encouraged relatives to take responsibility for individuals who might otherwise be subject to eugenic remedies in state institutions (Larson, p. 9). Most immigrants in the South came from the British Isles, the same area most Southerners originated from. Subsequently, a community existed in the South including many immigrants, unlike the North and West where Americans focused their eugenic ideas on ethnically diverse immigrants (Larson, p. 9). The strength of Southern religion also played a role in the overall rejection of eugenics in Alabama. Religion lent itself to conceptions of congregations as extended families and many people in the South accordingly apposed segregating the unfit (Larson, pp. 13-14). In comparison with the rest of the United States, Progressivism in the South was relatively weak due to the comparatively small size of its typical carriers, secular groups, urban professional middle classes, and the more educated (Larson, p. 17). Moreover, the Deep South was lagging other regions in biological research programs, as well as scientists and education, which shifted the advocacy of eugenics to state mental health officials and local physicians (Larson, pp. 40-44). The MASA and leaders such as William Partlow were extremely important to the eugenics movement in Alabama. Without the organizations and leaders that were produced from the MASA, Alabama may have never started eugenic practices.

Overall, Alabama was not in favor of sterilization, which is reflected in the comparatively low number of sterilization victims. In general, the people of Alabama were more in favor of segregation of the unfit than sterilization (Larson, pp. 60-63). However, inadequate funding of such facilities for segregating the feeble-minded as well as over-crowding seems to have facilitated a push toward sterilization (Larson, pp. 90-91). Even though mental health surveys placed Alabamas feeble-minded population at more than 7,000 persons, the new facility could accommodate only 160 residents, and was filled within two months of it opening (Larson, p. 90).

Groups targeted and victimized

Among those targeted were males, including some of the delinquent boys who[m] we fear might escape (Larson, p. 106),the poor, mental deficien[ts] and the feebleminded (Larson, p. 151). People who could be committed to the state mental health hospital included people in prison, a poor house, and orphanage, or a state boarding school (Larson, pp. 48-49).

While Alabama never established a facility for feebleminded blacks (see Dorr, Defective or Disabled?,p. 387), Gregory Dorr has argued that the absence of such a facilty should not lead observers to conclude that eugenics in Alabama lackedracist elements, for the limitation ofeugenicsto the sterilization of whites (in contrast to Virginia) reflected the belief that the "betterment" of theblack "race" could not be achieved by such measures. In fact, by the timethe wall of segregation had started to come to down in the 1970s and no longer assured second-class citizenship of Blacks, African Americans had become the targets of extra-institutional and extra-legal sterilizations, reflective of a more general southern racist view that it was necessary"to further protect the white race itself from black folks" (Dorr, "Defective or Disabled?," p. 383; see also Dorr, Segregation's Science).

The Relf case

The cause of forced sterilization in Alabama was not helped by the Relf case. By 1973, the focus had moved away from sterilization of the mentally deficient and those imprisoned, to the use of sterilization as birth control. The Relf family was on welfare, and living in a public housing project in Montgomery, Alabama. Two Relf sisters, Minnie Lee, age 14, and Mary Alice, age 12, had been receiving shot of Depo-Provera as a form of long term birth control (Rossoff, p. 6). When the use of the drug was no longer allowed, the mother was mislead into signing a consent form allowing the sterilization of her daughters. Mrs. Relf was unable to read or write, so she signed the form with an X, without any physicians explaining the conditions to her (Roberts, p. 93, Carpia, p.78, Caron, p. 211, Southern Poverty Law Center). She thought she was signing a form consenting to additional shots, when she was actually consenting to sterilizations (Tessler, p. 58). A third daughter, Katie Relf, also received the birth control shots, but refused to open the door to her room when the official came to get the three girls to be sterilized. Because she was 17, she could not be sterilized without her own consent. (Larson and Nelson, p. 440) Later, when Mrs. Relf realized that her daughters had been sterilized, she sued the surgeons and other associated groups for $1,000,000 (Rosoff, p. 6). As a result, a moratorium was placed on federally funded, coerced sterilizations until a decision was reached by the Department of Justice.

Other restrictions placed on those identified in the law or with disabilities in general

In 1919, Alabama passed legislation that made it the first state in the Deep South that made it illegal for people with venereal diseases to marry (Larson, p. 88).

Feeder institutions and institutions where sterilizations were performed

(Photo origin: http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=TL&Date=20110305&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=110309845&Ref=AR&MaxW=600&border=0)

The Alabama Home for the Feeble-Minded opened in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1919 as a result of the law in favor of a home for the feeble-minded.Two months after the Alabama Home for the Feeble-Minded opening, the institution was completely full of people from poor houses, jails, orphanages, and boarding schools (Larson, pp. 48-49, 90). In 1927, this school was renamed the Partlo State School for Mental Deficients (Larson, p. 106). The school is now known as the Partlow State School and Hospital. Its closure has been announced in 2011 ("W.D. Partlow Developmental Center to close").

Opposition

Although the original bill went largely unnoticed by the population (Paul, pp. 239-40), the movement did meet considerable opposition in Alabama. Chief among these objectors were the Catholics, who were entirely against eugenics and any form of birth control in general. Alabama Catholicswrote legislators and spoke out at public hearings in response to their bishops plea to use every means at our disposal to help defeat this bill (Larson, p. 151). Protestants were similarly concerned. A Baptist claimed that he found in the Bible all the warrant he required to vote against the bill (Larson and Nelson, p. 420). Trade unions were also against expanding the sterilization law. As one laborer anxiously said, theres nothing in the bill to prevent a labor man from being railroaded into an institution where he could be sterilized on suspicion of insanity or feeble-mindedness (Larson, p. 141). Similarly, Alabamas Governor, Bill Graves was extremely important to the opposition of eugenics because of his decision to veto the 1935 bill and its revision. He claimed [t]he hoped for good results are not sure enough or great enough to compensate for the hazard to personal rights that would be involved in the execution of the provisions of the Bill (Larson and Nelson, p. 422).

Overall, however, the population in Alabama was perhaps not as supportive of eugenic sterilization laws as in other American states.

Bibliography

Carpia, Myla F. Thyrza. 1995. "Lost Generations: The Involuntary Sterilization of American Indian Women." Master's Thesis, Department of American Indian Studies, Arizona State University.

Dorr, Gregory M. 2006. Defective or Disabled?: Race, Medicine, and Eugenics in Progressive Era Virginia and Alabama. Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era 5, 4: 359-92.

-------. 2008. Segregation's Science: Eugenics and Society in Virginia. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.

Dorr, Gregory M. 2011. "Protection or Control: Women's Health, Sterilization Abuse, and Relf v. Weinberger." Pp. 161-90 in A Century of Eugenics in America, edited by Paul Lombardo. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Larson, Edward. 1995. Sex, Race, and Science: Eugenics in the Deep South. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Larson, Edward J., and Leonard J. Nelson.1992. Involuntary Sexual Sterilization of Incompetents in Alabama: Past, Present, and Future. Alabama Law Review 43: 399-444. Noll, Steven. 1995. Feeble-Minded in Our Midst: Institutions for the Mentally Retarded in the South, 1900-1940. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

-------.2005. The Public Face of Southern Institutions for the Feeble-Minded. The Public Historian 27, 2: 25-42. Paul, Julius. 1965. 'Three Generations of Imbeciles Are Enough': State Eugenic Sterilization Laws in American Thought and Practice. Washington, D.C.: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

Relf Original Complaint. Available at <http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/Relf_Original_Complaint.pdf>

Roberts, Dorothy E. 1997. Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty. New York: Pantheon Books.

Rosoff, Jeannie I. 1973. The Montgomery Case. The Hastings Center Report 3, 4:6.

Southern Poverty Law Center. Relf v. Weinberger. Available at <http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/case-docket/relf-v-weinberger>

Tarwater, James S. 1964. The Alabama State Hospitals and the Partlow State School and Hospitals. New York: Newcomer Society in North America.

Tessler, Suzanne. 1976. Compulsory Sterilization Practices. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 1, 2: 52-66.

"W.D. Partlow Developmental Center to close." Tuscaloosa News 4 March 2001. Available at <http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110305/NEWS/110309845>

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Alabama Eugenics

Astronomy: Pictures, Videos, Breaking News

Coincidences, coincidences, coincidences. It's all coming together on Sunday for THE astronomical event of the year.

Why is it that we are not further along with 'space travel' despite over 60 years of steady effort? It's very simple! For interstellar travel we have dreams but no technology, while for interplanetary travel we have technology but no dreams!

Jeff Sullivan

Photographer, author, astrophotographer and insomniac. Restless traveler and incurable explorer.

The problem, as with most astronomical phenomena, is the huge timescales in which things happen. We therefore rely on supercomputers to feed them data and get simulations which show us what happens in thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, or billions of years.

So this brings us to the Blue Moon. What is it and how does it effect us? This occurs when there are two full moons in a single month. There was a full moon July 1 and there will be one on July 31. This calendar occurrence does not happen every year.

Summer is here and all over the world, people take the roads, airways, exploring the world around them. But our travels aren't just limited to terrestrial destinations this year. Exploration, be it of space or thought is one of the great natural human impulses. It can lead us anywhere, often with the help of mathematics.

Dan Rockmore

William H. Neukom '64 Professor of Computational Science, Director of the Neukom Institute for Computational Science, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, at Dartmouth College, Santa Fe Institute External Faculty

Scientists at Caltech have confirmed the distance of the furthest galaxy known in the Universe as of today. The light from this very early celestial comes just 570 million years after the Big Bang.

The first impressions you glean from the released New Horizons high-resolution images is that Pluto is vastly different from its dwarf planet cousin Ceres. Ceres lives in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and its surface has been pummeled by asteroids, leaving behind thousands of craters from meters to tens of kilometers across.

How can we help often fractured and segregated communities come together? One way is to foster organic interactions through innocuous shared experiences. Public astronomy is one way of giving every type of person a chance to connect and better understand each other.

Viva Dadwal

Visiting Scholar at Johns Hopkins University

Next week on July 14, the NASA spacecraft New Horizons will have completed its nine-year journey to Pluto. There is no telling what we will discover when we get there, but it will certainly be both alien and exciting!

Much to the delight of scientists and technicians, the frigid sky over the snow-covered Siberian fields and villages remained clear as dawn approached.

Mark Boslough

Physicist; Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

The Big Rip, the Big Crunch, the Big Freeze, it pretty much sounds like a list of 'big' Hollywood B-movies. Funny as they may sound, these are some of the most fundamental theories for the beginning and the ending of the Universe.

What are those two bright stars on the West after sunset? They are actually planets, Venus and Jupiter coming into conjunction, in other words, near each other as seen from Earth.

You've probably seen them in the evening: two suspiciously bright lights in the western sky. What are they? Planes? UFOs? No, they're the two brightest planets and they're heading for a dramatic conjunction Tuesday night.

Don't call them planets.This year two unmanned spacecrafts are taking us to worlds we have never seen up close. The Dawn mission has been in orbit around Ceres, the largest asteroid in the solar system since March, and the New Horizons spacecraft will make a close fly-by of Pluto on July 14.

Could it be that no one is out there? Are we now free to declare ourselves the acme of brain power in this part of the cosmos, and certify that everything out to 50 million light-years is Klingon-free?

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Astronomy: Pictures, Videos, Breaking News

Astronomy /r/Astronomy – reddit

Everything to do with Astronomy:

A hobby of humanity since the dawn of time, and the scientific study of celestial objects.

"Astronomy compels the soul to look upward, and leads us from this world to another."

"We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."

Looking for your first telescope?

Here are a few articles to help you make an informed decision:

More helpful information

What to view tonight

What Was That Bright Object Flying Over My House?

Sister Sub-Reddits

Fair Warning:

Rage/Meme Comics, Spam links and disrespectful comments will be removed.

Repeat and/or serious offenses will earn you a ban.

The downvote button is disabled until further notice. Too many newcomers were having their posts downvoted into oblivion. If a post doesn't belong here (rage/meme comics, blog spam, etc.), please use the "report" button.

Please avoid multiple exclamation marks, excessive CAPS, or editorialize in your submission titles. Nine times out ot ten, the actual article title is perfectly usable.

If you plan to post a pic, ask yourself "Would this appear in an Astronomy Magazine?" If the answer is no, submit to /r/pics instead. What this means is that your self-taken photos of stars, planets, etc are welcome, but refrain from posting pics that are tangentially related to astronomy, at best.

Remember, keep looking up!

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Astronomy /r/Astronomy - reddit

Rutgers Astronomy: Serin Observatory Public Nights

; Robert A. Schommer Astronomical Observatory Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Next Public Open Night Thursday, 08 October 2015, 08:30 p.m. EDT to 10:30 p.m. EDT

Status (as of 25 September 2015, 02:45 a.m. EDT): Will be held, weather permitting. If you have any questions, please call 732-735-5483 and leave a message. Your call will be returned.

For general information, please call 848-445-8973 or 848-445-8785 (08:30 a.m. to 04:30 p.m.).

October 2015 second Thursday (the 08th): M13, Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, Neptune, and Uranus (near opposition) third Thursday (the 15th): M13, Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, Neptune, and Uranus (near opposition) fourth Thursday (the 22nd): M13, Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, Neptune, Uranus, and the Moon (waxing gibbous)

November 2015 second Thursday (the 12th): Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Neptune, and Uranus third Thursday (the 19th): Vega, Deneb, Albireo, M57, M11, M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Neptune, Uranus, and the Moon (first quarter) fourth Thursday (the 26th): Thanksgiving Day (we will not be open)

December 2015 second Thursday (the 10th): M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius, Neptune, and Uranus third Thursday (the 17th): M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius, Neptune, Uranus, and the Moon (first quarter) fourth Thursday (the 24th): Christmas Eve (we will not be open)

January 2016 second Thursday (the 14th): M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius, Uranus, and the Moon (waxing crescent) third Thursday (the 21st): M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius, Uranus, and the Moon (full) fourth Thursday (the 28th): M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius, and Uranus

February 2016 second Thursday (the 11th): M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius, Uranus, Jupiter, and the Moon (waxing crescent) third Thursday (the 18th): M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius, Uranus, Jupiter, and the Moon (waxing gibbous) fourth Thursday (the 25th): M31, Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius, Uranus, Jupiter, and the Moon (waning gibbous)

March 2016 second Thursday (the 10th): Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius, and Jupiter (near opposition) third Thursday (the 17th): Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius, Jupiter, and the Moon (waxing gibbous) fourth Thursday (the 24th): Almach, NGC 457, h & χ Persei, M45, M42, Betelgeuse, Sirius, Jupiter, and the Moon (full)

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Rutgers Astronomy: Serin Observatory Public Nights

Behavioral Science | The University of Chicago Booth …

Behavioral science focuses on how people use information and make decisions and how they interact with one another in dyads, groups, and organizations. Studies in this area draw on theory and research from cognitive and social psychology, economics, and other related fields.

Behavioral science applies these disciplines to the study of human behavior relevant to a range of different managerial contexts. Examples include:

Students may design their research based on their intellectual interests in business and other areas, as well as on their career intentions. Behavioral science students take courses in other departments such as psychology, sociology, public policy, and economics, depending on what is most relevant to their research.

The Behavioral Science program also offers theJoint Program in Psychology and Business,which is run jointly by the behavioral science dissertation area at Chicago Booth and theDepartment of Psychology in the Division of theSocial Sciences at the University of Chicago.

For more details about the PhD Program in behavioral science at Chicago Booth, see General Examination Requirements - By Area in the PhD Program Guidebook (PDF).

To learn more about the research being done by current PhD students, please view alisting of proposals and defenses across dissertation areas.

Meet the Faculty Explore research interests, publications, and course offerings of Behavioral Science Dissertation Area faculty.

Christopher Bryan Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Psychological influence, behavioral decision-making, and political psychology with a particular interest in psychology as it relates to social and public policy Faculty Profile

Eugene Caruso Associate Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Social judgment, group decision making and negotiation, egocentrism, perspective taking, and ethics Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Nicholas Epley John Templeton Keller Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: The experimental study of social cognition, perspective-taking, and intuitive human judgment Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Ayelet Fishbach Jeffrey Breakenridge Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing

Research Interests: Social psychology, with specific emphasis on motivation, emotion, and decision making Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Reid Hastie Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Judgment and decision making (managerial, legal, medical, engineering, and personal), memory and cognition, and social psychology Faculty Profile

Christopher Hsee Theodore O. Yntema Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing

Research Interests: The interplay among psychology and economics, happiness, marketing, and cross-cultural psychology Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Ann McGill Sears Roebuck Professor of General Management, Marketing, and Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Consumer and manager decision making, with special emphasis on causal explanations, differences in judgments in public and private, and the use of imagery in product choice Faculty Profile

Ed O'Brien Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Social cognition and hedonic processes Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Devin Pope Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science and Robert King Steel Faculty Fellow

Research Interests: Behavioral economics, with special interest in empirically testing the impact of psychological biases in economic markets Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Jane Risen Associate Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Judgment and decision making, belief formation, magical thinking, stereotyping and prejudice, and managing emotion Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Anuj Shah Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science and Neubauer Family Faculty Fellow

Research Interests: How decision makers deal with limited resources Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Thomas Talhelm Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: How culture affects the way we behave Faculty Profile

Richard Thaler Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science Economics Faculty Director, Center for Decision Research

Research Interests: Behavioral economics and finance; the psychology of decision making Faculty Profile | Personal Website

Bernd Wittenbrink Robert S. Hamada Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: Experimental social psychology, specifically the influence of stereotypes on social judgments Faculty Profile | Personal Website

George Wu John P. and Lillian A. Gould Professor of Behavioral Science

Research Interests: The psychology of individual, managerial, and organizational decision making; decision analysis; and cognitive biases in bargaining and negotiation Faculty Profile | Personal Website

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Behavioral Science | The University of Chicago Booth ...

The B. F. Skinner Foundation Behavioral Science

Book Publication

The B. F. Skinner Foundation began as a publisher of behavioral books, mostly those written by Skinner. Recently we have begun to convert Skinner Books into eBook format that can be read on cell phones, tablets, Nooks, Kindles, and, of course, on computer screens. The Foundation is also exploring support for reprinting Skinners three volume autobiography with additional photos, notes, and (in an electronic version) video or audio clips. In 2013, the Foundation submitted a grant to the National Endowment for the Humanities to support that work.

As the population ages, many archival materials run the risk of being inadvertently discarded. Those in personal possessions may degrade from lack of proper storage. The Foundation is a recipient of many historical materials. We have a good relationship with the Harvard University Film Archives. Harvard stores the originals of films, videotapes, and other moving footage formats in the proper temperature and humidity. Professionals and students can access the footage, and the Foundation can borrow the originals to make professional quality Digi-beta copies when requested by television producers. An mp4 copy of each item is available at the Foundation office. A comprehensive data-base is under construction to help locate specific topics discussed and shown.

Each quarter, the Foundation sends its newsletter, Operants, to subscribers. This publication provides information on current work, interviews of professionals in the United States and elsewhere, analyses of important articles and topics, and a brief description of Foundation activities. It is written in an informal journalistic style to be as interesting, as possible. There is no cost to receive Operants.

See the article here:
The B. F. Skinner Foundation Behavioral Science

Liberty Flames College Football Clubhouse – ESPN

6d

Josh Woodrum threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns, Damian King threw a touchdown pass on a trick play, and Liberty defeated Montana 31-21 on Saturday night.

13dJake Trotter

West Virginia continues to play good defense, and young receivers Shelton Gibson and Jovon Durante continue to impress in a win against Liberty.

13d

Skyler Howard threw three touchdown passes and Wendell Smallwood scored twice, leading West Virginia to a 41-17 victory over Liberty on Saturday.

16d

No more scheduling FCS opponents. That's the message West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen is sending to his fellow FBS programs.

20d

Josh Woodrum connected with Darrin Peterson on a pair of touchdowns as Liberty defeated Delaware State 32-13 in a season opener for both teams on Saturday night.

147d

Ron Brown, the former Nebraska assistant who took a job under Bo Pelini at Youngstown State in January, is leaving the Penguins to become associate head coach and receivers coach at Liberty.

293d

Villanova comeback tops Liberty 29-22 in FCS

300d

Liberty outlasts James Madison 26-21

307d

Liberty edges Coastal Carolina 15-14 to win title

314d

Charleston Southern hangs on to tip Liberty, 38-36

321d

Abnar carries Liberty past Monmouth, 34-24

328d

Liberty rolls over Presbyterian 28-7

335d

Abnar leads Liberty past Gardner-Webb 34-0

349d

Liberty edges Appalachian State 55-48 in OT

More here:

Liberty Flames College Football Clubhouse - ESPN

Genetic Testing Clinical Reference For Clinicians …

GENETIC TESTING TIME TOOLA Resource from the American College of Preventive Medicine

CLINICAL REFERENCEThe following Clinical Reference Document provides the evidence to support the Genetic Testing Time Tool. The following bookmarks are available to move around the Clinical Reference Document. You may also download a printable version for future reference.

Human genomics, the study of structure, function, and interactions of all genes in the human genome, promises to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. The proliferation of genetic tests has been greatly accelerated by the Human Genome Project over the last decade. [1]

Meanwhile, practicing physicians and health professionals need to be trained in the principles, applications, and the limitations of genomics and genomic medicine. [2]

Over 1,500 genetic tests are now available clinically, with nearly 300 more available on a research basis only. The number of genetic tests is predicted to increase by 25% annually. [3] There is a boom in the development of genetic tests using the scanning technology from the Genome Project, but questions remain regarding the validity and usefulness of these newer tests.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of the individual; the characterization of the genes. [6]

Phenotype: The observable properties of an individual that are the product of interactions between the genotype and the environment. [6] Nucleotides: The monomeric units from which DNA or RNA polymers are constructed. They consist of a purine or pyrimidine base, a pentose sugar, and a phosphate group. [6]

Oligonucleotide: A relatively short single-stranded nucleic-acid chain usually consisting of 2 to 20 nucleotides that is synthesized to match a region where a mutation is known to occur, and then used as a probe. [6]

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP): A single nucleotide variation in a genetic sequence that occurs at appreciable frequency in the population. [6]

Penetrance: The probability of developing the disease in those who have the mutation. [6]

Analytic validity: A tests ability to accurately and reliably measure the genotype of interest, and includes measures of analytic sensitivity and specificity, assay robustness, and quality control. [6]

Clinical validity: The ability of the test to accurately and reliably identify or predict the intermediate or final outcomes of interest; usually reported as clinical sensitivity and specificity. [6]

Clinical utility: The balance of benefits and harms associated with the use of a genetic test in practice, including improvement in measureable clinical outcomes and usefulness/added value in clinical management and decision-making compared with not using the test. [6]

Personalized medicine: A rapidly advancing field of healthcare that is informed by each person's unique clinical, genetic (DNA-based), genomic (whole genome or its products), and environmental information. [7]

Genomic medicine: The use of genomic information and its derivatives (RNA, proteins, and metabolites) to guide medical decision making. It is an essential component of personalized medicine. [8]

Genetic tests look for variations in a person's genes or changes in proteins coded for by specific genes. Abnormal results could mean an inherited disorder, or an increased risk for a disease. [1]

Gene tests analyze DNA taken from a person's blood, body fluids or tissues.

Genetic tests can be ordered by a primary care doctor, specialist, medical geneticist, or a genetic counselor with MD oversight. [9]

Acquiring a sample for most tests is simple and low risk-- most require only a sample of blood, hair, or skin. There is higher risk for prenatal testing which requires a sample from the amniotic fluid or chorionic villus during pregnancy. [9]

DNAmicroarrays have many thousands of DNA oligonucleotides to detect SNPs.[9]

Development of Genetic Testing Genetic testing for Mendelian disorders such as cystic fibrosis, Huntington's disease, familial breast cancer, and phenylketonuria, among others, was widely available prior to the genomic era. The genetic basis for complex disease remains unclear. [10]

Association Studies Association studies look for an increased frequency of a particular genotype at a candidate gene locus in cases compared with controls. In these studies, the candidate genes must be known a priori and are therefore limited by understanding of the genes that contribute to a particular disease.

Genetic association studies have been limited by their lack of reproducibility. Even though the contribution of these types of association studies remains uncertain, it has been suggested that common genetic variants may contribute to common diseases, supporting the role for continued association studies. [12]

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) SNPs (pronounced "snips) are the most common type of genetic variation among people. [14]

Each SNP represents a difference in a single DNA building block, called a nucleotide. For example, a SNP may replace the nucleotide cytosine (C) with the nucleotide thymine (T) in a certain stretch of DNA. [14]

SNPs can also influence responses to pharmacotherapy and whether drugs will produce adverse reactions. The development of new drugs can be made far cheaper and more rapid by selecting participants in drug trials based on their genetically determined response to drugs. [15]

Technology Recent advances in molecular technologies have resulted in the ability to screen hundreds of thousands of SNPs and tens of thousands of gene expression profiles. While these data have the potential to inform investigations into disease etiologies and thereby advance medicine, the question of how to adequately control both false positive and false negative rates remains. [16]

Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) Genome-wide association studies are a relatively new way for scientists to identify genes involved in human disease. This method searches the genome for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in any gene that occur more frequently in people with a particular disease than in people without the disease. [17,18]

Many common diseases, including diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease, have strong genetic influences but the interactions are complex. [19]

Clinically applicable genetic tests may be used for: [20]

Newborn Screening Newborn screening programs are usually legally mandated and vary from state to state. [21]

In 2005, a federal advisory committee recommended that the number of disorders in state newborn screening programs be expanded from 9 to 29. [22]

Diagnostic Testing [20]

Carrier Testing [20]

Prenatal Testing Offered when there is an increased risk of having a child with a genetic condition due to maternal age, family history, ethnicity, or suggestive multiple marker screen or fetal ultrasound examination. [20]

Preimplantation Testing (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, or PGD) Generally offered to couples with a high chance of having a child with a serious disorder. Preimplantation testing provides an alternative to prenatal diagnosis and termination of affected pregnancies. [20]

Predictive Testing Two types: presymptomatic (eventual development of symptoms is certain when the gene mutation is present, e.g., Huntington disease) and predispositional (eventual development of symptoms is likely but not certain when the gene mutation is present, e.g., breast cancer). [20]

Pharmacogenomic Testing This is another form of testing that is sure to become more common in the future. It involves the study of how genes affect a persons response to drugs -- combines pharmacology (the science of drugs) and genomics (the study of genes and their functions) to develop effective, safe medications and doses tailored to a persons genetic makeup. [23]

Within the past decade several pharmacogenetic tests have emerged to aid clinicians in predicting efficacy or toxicity for some drugs. But, knowledge gaps still impede widespread use in the clinical setting. [24]

Examples: Genetic technology has led to some very important therapeutic innovations, including the use of imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) in BCR-ABL chronic myeloid leukemia and of trastuzumab (Herceptin) in Her2-positive breast cancer, but the much anticipated explosion of new effective treatments has been more modest than expected. [26,27]

SSRI response Treatment resistance and intolerance are common with SSRI treatment. [28]

Personalized medicine uses the patient's genetic composition to tailor strategies for patient-specific disease detection, treatment, or prevention. [30]

It promises to use molecular markers to signal the risk of disease or its presence before clinical signs and symptoms appear. [31]

Already having an impact DNA-based risk assessment for common complex disease, molecular signatures for cancer diagnosis and prognosis, and genome-guided therapy and dose selection are important examples for how genome information is already enabling more personalized health care along the continuum from health to disease. [8]

It is also hoped that genetic testing will lead to: [32]

Slow but steady progress The expected transformation toward genomics-based medicine will occur gradually; each new test must be proven, and as proven effective will be incorporated into practice. Currently there are hundreds of tests in the pipeline; some will be found to be useful; many will not. [2]

The ongoing discoveries being made about our genome cause us to question reviews declaring that "personalized medicine is almost here" or that "individualized drug therapy will soon be a reality." [33]

The full application of genomic and personalized medicine in health care will require dramatic changes in regulatory and reimbursement policies as well as legislative protections for privacy for system-wide adoption. [8]

For most diseases, many pieces of the genetic puzzle remain to be discovered, along with how those pieces interact with lifestyle and environmental factors. That means today's tests may falsely reassure people with undiscovered risk factors and needlessly alarm those with undiscovered protective factors. [1]

An important limitation is the lack of a sufficient evidence-based rationale for an association between the genotype and the phenotype. [34]

Genetic cancer screening has been limited to high-risk individuals with a strong hereditary predisposition to cancer. [35]

Genetic testing for susceptibility to common diseases based on a combination of genetic markers may be needed because the effect size associated with each genetic marker is small. [36]

Common diseases such as type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease result from a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors. [37]

New gene discoveries from genome-wide association studies will certainly further improve the prediction of common diseases, but it is another question if this improvement will enable personalized medicine. [37]

Although single gene analyses may help elucidate underlying mechanistic pathways, they do not take into account all of the variation in the human genome. [38]

Genome-wide association studies have been limited by the use of thousands of markers when actually hundreds of thousands are required, and by the use of hundreds of individuals when thousands are required.

Technological progress has improved the detection rate in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia.

There are high expectations about the capabilities of pharmacogenetics to tailor psychotropic treatment and "personalize" treatment. [41]

Prospective cohort studies are costly and time consuming but are necessary to show the clinical utility of genetic testing; they are the best means for understanding how genes interact with environmental risk factors to cause disease. [42]

There are two major sources of evidence-based recommendations for genetic testing in the U.S.:

EGAPP was launched to establish a systematic, evidence-based process for evaluating genetic tests and other applications of genomic technology as they are translated from research into clinical practice. [43]

USPSTF Recommendations:

1. BRCA1 and 2 testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. [44]

2. Hemochromatosis [45]

3. Fecal DNA testing for colorectal cancer screening. [46]

EGAPP Recommendations:

1. CYP450 testing for the treatment of depression [48]

2. Lynch Syndrome [49]

3. UGT1A1 genotyping in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer [50]

4. Tumor gene expression profiles for women with early-stage breast cancer [51]

SUMMARY

1. Two tests for which widespread use is recommended:

2. Another test for which use is not recommended:

3. A test for which use is discouraged:

4. Three tests for which evidence is insufficient to make a recommendation:

Evidence Reports: CDC-funded evidence-based reports that guide genomic testing and diagnostic strategies include: [52]

Genetic Testing for Alzheimers Disease: Alzheimers is the object of intense genetic research. Researchers have identified four variants of genes associated with the disease.

The fourth gene, APOE-e4 on chromosome 19, is linked to a greater risk of developing late-onset Alzheimers, the more common form of the disease.

Genetic testing for Alzheimers is not recommended at this time, but, If performed, should be done with pre- and post-test counseling, which includes a full discussion of the implication of the test and all information necessary to make an informed decision. http://www.alz.org/national/documents/topicsheet_genetictesting.pdf

PROS [1,53] People in families at high risk for a genetic disease have to live with uncertainty about their future and their children's future.

Pharmacogenetic testing can help to identify the best medicine or dose of a medicine; can help reduce adverse effects. [1]

The physical risks associated with most genetic tests are very small, particularly if only a blood sample or buccal smear (a procedure that samples cells from the inside surface of the cheek) is required.

CONS Prenatal testing carries a small but real risk of losing the pregnancy (miscarriage) because it requires a sample of amniotic fluid or tissue from around the fetus. [54]

Many of the risks associated with genetic testing involve emotional, social, or financial consequences of the test results. [54]

A serious issue in genetic testing is the "worried well" those who believe their genetic predisposition places them at higher risk than they really are. [55]

The possibility of genetic discrimination in employment or insurance is also a concern, even though there are laws to prevent these practices. [54]

Genetic tests can only provide limited information about an inherited condition; they cannot determine if or when a person will show symptoms of a disorder, how severe the symptoms will be, or whether the disorder will progress over time. [54]

OTHER ISSUES Impact of knowing positive carrier status The impact of carrier status on risk perspectives is not well understood.

Overall, predispositional genetic testing has been shown to have no significant impact on psychological outcomes or changes in perceived risk, and little effect on behavior. [56]

Stigmatization regarding mental disorders An optimistic view is that information on the genetic risk for mental disorders will reduce blame and social stigma in individuals living with mental disorder. [57]

Ethical issues Individuals have a moral obligation to communicate genetic information to their family members. Genetic health professionals should encourage individuals to communicate this information to their family members, and genetic health professionals should support individuals throughout the communication process. [58]

Health care professionals have a duty to inform patients about the potential genetic risks to their relatives. [58a]

Concerns about testing The integration of pharmacogenetic testing into routine care depends upon both patient and physician acceptance of the tests. [59]

Primary care physicians represent the front line of screening for inherited disease risks. [60]

Clinicians need to learn how to read and interpret the results of genetic tests, and to understand when to refer patients to specialists and ask for second opinions and reinterpretation of genetic information. [63]

All health care professionals ought to be prepared to address the complex personal, cultural, theological, ethical, legal, and social issues associated with genetic testing and other genetic issues commonly encountered in clinical practice. [63a]

A qualitative study using focus groups examined family physicians' experiences in dealing with genetic susceptibility to cancer. Participants anticipated an expanding role for family practices in risk assessment, gate-keeping, and ordering genetic tests. They were concerned about the complexity of genetic testing, the lack of evidence regarding management, and the implications for families. [63c]

Patient Needs Patient interest in genetic testing for susceptibility to both heart disease and cancer is high. [63d]

When patients want to make informed decisions about genetic testing, they require genetic knowledge, and they prefer to get this information from their primary care doctor. [64]

Need to allay fears of discrimination Though the US passed the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act, many questions remain of how individuals confronting genetic disease view and experience possible discrimination. Discrimination can be implicit, indirect and subtle, rather than explicit, direct and overt; and be hard to prove. Patients may be treated "differently" and unfairly, raising questions of how to define "discrimination", and "appropriate accommodation". [66a]

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Genetic Testing Clinical Reference For Clinicians ...

Science-Based Medicine

Posted by Scott Gavura on September 24, 2015

Low dose aspirin is now recommended to prevent heart disease and cancer.

Despite the remarkable advances in medicine over the past 20 years, cardiovascular disease and cancer will still kill half of us. Beyond the deaths, millions survive heart attacks, strokes and cancer, but many are left with disability and a reduced quality of life. While lifestyle changes can improve our odds of avoiding these diseases, they do not eliminate our risk. Finding ways to medically prevent these diseases before they occur, a term called primary prevention, is a holy grail in medicine. Primary prevention can be a tough sell, personally and medically. It means taking medicine (which may cause side effects) when youre well, with the hope of preventing a disease before it occurs.

The US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) released draft guidelines on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer last week. The USPSTF is now recommending daily aspirin use in those at average risk of cardiovascular disease. This isnt the first guideline thats recommended aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, but it is the first major guideline to endorse aspirin to prevent colorectal cancer. Given these recommendations will apply to millions of people, they have attracted considerable controversy. Is this strategy going to reduce deaths and disability? Or are we about to start medicalizing healthy people inappropriately? (more)

A recent segment on NPR is an excellent representation of some of the mischief that promotion of unscientific medical treatments can create. The title is a good summary of the problem: To Curb Pain Without Opioids, Oregon Looks To Alternative Treatments.

The entire segment is premised around a false dichotomy, between excess use of opioids and unproven alternative treatments. It is clear that the reporters didnt even speak to a pain specialist who relies upon science-based treatments, or if they did the specialist was completely ignored because a SBM approach did not fit into the narrative of the report.

The problem addressed by the segment is real the current technology of pain control is limited. I dont want to sell pain management short, we have an array of powerful and effective treatments. There are limitations, however, and many patients are inadequately treated.

(more)

Lets not change the eagle into a duck

AMVETS has joined with The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians in seeking to promote natural, non-pharmacological approaches to treating patients suffering from chronic pain. They are petitioning Congress and the VA to authorize bringing licensed NDs into the VA system. As a veteran myself, a retired Air Force Colonel and an MD, I find this appalling. During my twenty years service in the U.S. Air Force as a family physician and flight surgeon, I took pride in the high-quality science-based medical care my colleagues and I were able to provide. This proposal would jeopardize the welfare of our veterans by exposing them to substandard care with irrational, untested, and potentially harmful treatments. Letting naturopaths into the VA would be a grave mistake. (more)

Republican candidates Ben Carson and Donald Trump during the CNN Republican presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015

Ive been writing about vaccines and the antivaccine movement since the turn of the millennium, first in discussion forums on Usenet, then, beginning in 2004, on my first blog (a.k.a. the still existing not-so-super-secret other blog), and finally right here on Science-Based Medicine (SBM) since 2008. Vaccines are one of the most important, if not the most important, topics on a blog like this because (1) arguably no medical intervention has prevented more deaths and suffering throughout history than vaccines; (2) few medical interventions are as safe and effective as vaccines; and (3) there is a vocal and sometimes effective contingent of people who dont believe (1) and (2), blaming vaccines for all sorts of diseases and conditions to which science, despite many years of study, has failed to link them. The most prominent condition falsely linked to vaccines is, of course, autism, but over the years Ive written about a host of others, including sudden infant death syndrome, shaken baby syndrome, autoimmune diseases, and even cancer. In a similar vein, antivaccine activists will try to claim that vaccines are loaded with toxins or even tainted with fetal parts or cells because some vaccines manufacturing process involves growing virus in two cell lines that were derived from aborted fetuses many decades ago. Even the Catholic Church doesnt say that Catholics shouldnt use these vaccines, but that doesnt prevent some antivaccine groups from portraying vaccines as virtually being made by scientists cackling evilly as they grind up aborted fetuses to make vaccines. (I exaggerate, but not by much.)

On a strictly scientific, medical level, antivaccine claims such as the ones described above are fringe, crank viewpoints. There is no serious scientific support for any of them and lots of scientific evidence against them, particularly the most persistent myth, namely that vaccines cause autism. It also used to be the case that, politically, antivaccine views tended to be those of the fringe. Unfortunately, in the current election cycle, those fringe views seem to be coming to the fore among prominent candidates for the Republican Presidential nomination. This was most evident at the second Republican Presidential debate last week, where Donald Trump spewed antivaccine tropes and neither of the two physicians also running for the Republican nomination mounted a vigorous defense of vaccines. Even candidates who have previously issued strong statements defending vaccines (Senator Marco Rubio and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal) remained silent.

(Video of the exchange can be found here.)

How did we get to this point? And why is it that antivaccine views, which in the past were stereotypically associated with crunchy lefties in the mind of the public, seem now to have found another comfortable home among small government conservatives, including the man who currently appears to be the frontrunner for the Republican nomination? In the days that followed the debate, there have been many discussions of Donald Trumps antivaccine views, but none that take the long view. All seem to flow from the idea that its mainly just Donald Trump and his wacky views, rather than Trump being part of a more widespread phenomenon. Ive frequently said that antivaccine beliefs tend to be the pseudoscience that knows no political boundaries, occurring with roughly equal frequency on the left and the right. However, its virtually inarguable that right now, in 2015, the loudest political voices expressing antivaccine views (or at least antivaccine-sympathetic views) are in the Republican Party. Yes, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is back in a big way, partying like its 1999 with Bill Maher over thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism, but neither he nor Bill Maher holds public office or is currently running for office. The ber-liberal website The Huffington Post might have been promoting antivaccine propaganda since its inception, but its writers are not running for office, either, and of late it seems to be much less antivaccine than before. (more)

Tags: AB 2109, antivaccine, Autism, Ben Carson, Bobby Jindal, Carly Fiorina, CNN, Donald Trump, Jake Tapper, Marco Rubio, Patrick Colbeck, Rand Paul, Republican debate, Republican Party, SB 277, Scott Walker, Ted Cruz, Vaccines

Posted in: Neuroscience/Mental Health, Politics and Regulation, Vaccines

A rare double-face palm, so you cant see the tears

I run across a lot of information in my feeds that I need to save for further evaluation. The study Does additional antimicrobial treatment have a better effect on URTI cough resolution than homeopathic symptomatic therapy alone? A real-life preliminary observational study in a pediatric population, I saved with the file name, jaw droppingly stupid.

The worst homeopathy clinical trial ever doesnt spring full formed like Athena from the head of Zeus. No. The worst homeopathy clinical trial ever started with a seed. The seed is Homeopathic medicine for acute cough in upper respiratory tract infections and acute bronchitis: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, which is a standard lousy homeopathic study. (more)

Massage therapy? Pranic healing? Polarity therapy? Zero balancing?

Back in my days of practicing law, one of my escapes from reality was a good massage. It was a great treat, exchanging the high-octane atmosphere of the law office for the soothing music, subdued voices and pastel tones of the treatment room. I could have stayed on that table for hours.

Little did I know just how much an escape from reality massage therapy would soon become.

About 15 years ago, when I called to book an appointment with my favorite therapist, a recorded message offered something called ray-kee at least, that is how it was pronounced. I assumed it was just a form of massage and didnt think anything about it. Then, at one session, while my feet were being rubbed, my massage therapist an RN, no less suggested I would be surprised at how often a sore spot actually correlated with a medical problem. She was talking about reflexology, of course.

Fast forward a few years. A new massage therapist and a new location, this time a health center (actually, a gym) owned by a local hospital. The massage therapist inquired whether Id like to try cranial sacral therapy. Whats that? I asked. Oh, she said, it would be hard to explain. (She got that right.) She then proceeded to inform me that she had actually used it in one of our sessions. This alerted me to the possibility that informed consent was not part of the massage therapy protocol.

A few more years went by. Another therapist (also an RN), another location. I was pleased with her because I thought she did a good job and she also taught me some simple stretching exercises. To my surprise, in one session, she started pressing on the space between my toes because, she said, it corresponded with the (something, something I didnt get this part) of my neck. Reflexology again. (Are they now teaching reflexology in nursing school? I am beginning to wonder.) (more)

Tags: Energy Medicine, massage, polarity therapy, pranic healing, Reflexology, regulation, vitalism, zero balancing

Posted in: Acupuncture, Energy Medicine, Health Fraud, Politics and Regulation

You read that headline correctly.

Stephanie Seneff first came to skeptical attention when she published a study claiming that vaccines were linked to autism. She trolled through the VAERS database and, as David Gorski noted, tortured the data until it confessed. Last year she published a paper in which she claimed glyphosate caused autism, claims which I addressed almost a year ago. Gorski also deconstructed this paper, noting, In fact, if you look at the slides for Seneffs talks (e.g., this one, available at her MIT web page), youll find a tour de force of confusing correlation with causation

Seneff is a computer scientist who apparently is anti-vaccine and anti-GMO. In a stunning example of the Dunning-Kruger effect, she feels she can take her computer expertise and export it to biology. She nicely demonstrates that expertise is not so easily transferable.

Last year she also published a paper, which escaped my attention until it was recently pointed out to me, claiming that glyphosate, GMOs, and other modern lifestyle factors are responsible for the recent increase in concussions. Her co-author on the paper is Wendy Morely, who is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist specializing in the nutrition of concussion. Neither author has any neuroscience background.

(more)

Its not clear who first quipped Id rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy, but its not just a joke. Almost anything would be preferable to a frontal lobotomy. It was a barbarous procedure with catastrophic consequences, and yet it was once widely accepted and even earned a Portuguese doctor a Nobel Prize. In the annals of medical history, it stands out as one of medicines biggest mistakes and an example of how disastrously things can go wrong when a treatment is put into widespread use before it has been adequately tested.

A new book by Janet Sternburg, White Matter: A Memoir of Family and Medicine, puts a human face on the suffering of mentally ill patients and their families, and helps us understand why they agreed to lobotomies. It is the affecting story of how her relatives made the difficult but misinformed decision to lobotomize two of her mothers five siblings, one for schizophrenia and the other for depression, and the consequences of that decision. (more)

FTC vs. homeopathy: Cage match?

Well, Im back.

OK, returning from London isnt nearly as epic as Sam Gamgees final words in The Lord of the Rings returning to his wife and daughter after having accompanied Frodo, Gandalf, Bilbo, and key elves of Middle-Earth to the Grey Havens, there to say goodbye to them as they boarded a ship to the undying lands. I just love the quote. It says something to me returning home after a long journey, even if it was just a vacation to J.R.R. Tolkiens native land. It also suggests a bit of the exhaustion after a long day of traveling, complete with a long-delayed flight, a late arrival, and a state of utter exhaustion that accompanied it, plus an unfortunate lower gastrointestinal issue.

All of this is a way of saying that this post might actually be relatively brief for a post by meno epics this week. [Addendum: Nope. Even lower GI annoyances and exhaustion couldnt keep me from going over 2,000 words. At least I didnt hit 3,000.] In its nearly eight year history, Ive never missed more than one week at SBM, and I dont intend to start now. Specifically, with the FTC workshop on homeopathy rapidly approaching, one week from today, I couldnt resist adding my 2 pence to the mix, now that the agenda and list of participants have been announced. (more)

As a pediatrician working in a relatively sCAM-inclined region, it is not uncommon to find myself taking care of patients who are also being followed by so-called alternative medicine practitioners. This often creates a major obstacle to providing appropriate care and establishing an atmosphere of mutual trust in the provider-patient/parent relationship. It usually makes me feel like Im battling invisible serpents in a sea of sCAM.

While these double-dipping parents utilize a variety of sCAM providers, including naturopaths, homeopaths, chiropractors, and a smattering of holistic healers, most are taking their children to one of a few wellness centers near my practice where they are seen by actual medical doctors practicing so-called integrative medicine. Many of these children have vague, chronic, usually non-specific complaints that are difficult to explain and thus to treat. Some have behavioral and mental health problems, or neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism for which parents are seeking explanations and treatments.

What I find to be a common theme with these patients is that they and their parents are summarily taken advantage of by their alternative care providers when they are given a fictitious diagnosis and treated with a variety of useless potions, elixers, and false hopes. Often, parents bring their children to these providers because they are frustrated by their childs chronic complaints of fatigue, pain, or other somatic issues that have eluded a satisfactory diagnosis or treatment. Invariably, the diagnosis that has remained so elusive to me is quickly found and treated by these much more holistic and open-minded providers. In fact, I have never seen a consultation note from one of these providers indicating any uncertainty as to diagnosis or treatment regimen. Typically a large battery of expensive, inappropriate, and sometimes outright fraudulent lab tests is ordered, often from equally questionable laboratories. Again, there are invariably interesting findings prompting tailored and bizarre treatments. In typical red-flag sCAM fashion, some of these providers have their own supplement store, available online only to their patients, prominently displayed on their website. These providers are perceived as being more holistically informed about health and wellness then conventional doctors like myself, as if there are two distinct ways of treating illness and maintaining healthas if there is truly such a thing as alternative medicine.

It can be very difficult to manage patients who are being simultaneously treated by such providers. Sometimes the treatments complicate or confuse the picture, but it always indicates a failure of trust in the conventional method of practice, which is science and evidence based, and in science itself.

Below are a few examples of patients cared for by my practice and simultaneously followed by alternative medicine practitioners. They provide a good picture of just how problematic these co-practitioners can be. No names or identifying information are revealed. (more)

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Science-Based Medicine

What Medicines Are and What They Do

You're sitting in the doctor's office, feeling crummy and hardly able to swallow. You watch and listen as the doctor grabs her prescription pad and says to your parent, "The test came back, and he's got strep throat. I've seen a lot of kids with it this week. Give him this medicine, make sure he finishes all of it, and he should be well enough to go back to school soon." So you go home and start taking your medicine. Sure enough, you quickly get better.

But what was in the medicine? How did it work to make you better? And how did the doctor know to give you that medicine instead of one of thousands of others?

Medicines aren't really a mystery keep reading and you'll learn more.

One medicine might be a pink liquid, another medicine might come in a special mist, another might be a blue pill, and still another might come out of a yellow tube. But they're all used for the same purpose to make you feel better when you're sick.

Most medicines today are made in laboratories and many are based on substances found in nature. After a medicine is created, it is tested over and over in many different ways. This allows scientists to make sure the medicine is safe for people to take and that it can fight or prevent a specific illness.

Many new medicines actually are new versions of old medicines that have been improved to help people feel better quicker.

Sometimes a part of the body can't make enough of a certain substance, and this can make a person sick. When someone has type 1 diabetes (say: dye-uh-BEE-tees), the pancreas (a body organ that is part of the digestive system) can't make enough of an important chemical called insulin, which the body needs to stay healthy.

If your body makes too much of a certain chemical, that can make you sick, too. Luckily, medicines can replace what's missing (like insulin) or they can block production of a chemical when the body is making too much of it.

Most of the time when kids get sick, the illness comes from germs that get into the body. The body's immune system works to fight off these invaders, but the germs and the body's natural way of germ fighting, like getting a fever, can make a person feel ill. In many cases, the right kind of medicine can help kill the germs and help the person feel better.

People take medicines to fight illness, to feel better when they're sick, and to keep from getting sick in the first place.

When deciding which medicine to give a patient, a doctor thinks about what is causing the patient's problem. Someone may need to take more than one type of medicine at the same time one to fight off an infection and one to help the person feel better, for example.

When it comes to fighting illnesses, there are many types of medicines. Antibiotics (say: an-ty-by-AH-tiks) are one type of medicine that a lot of kids have taken. Antibiotics kill germs called bacteria, and different antibiotics can fight different kinds of bacteria. So if your doctor found out that streptococcal bacteria were causing your sore throat, he or she could prescribe just the right antibiotic.

But while the antibiotic is starting to fight the bacteria, you might still feel achy and hot, so the doctor might tell your parent to also give you a pain reliever. Pain relievers can't make you well, but they do help you feel better while you're getting well.

You have taken other medicines that soothe symptoms if you've ever taken cold medicine to dry up your runny nose or sucked on throat drops for a scratchy throat. Cream that helps a bug bite stop itching is another example. Your cold had to go away on its own, just like the bug bite needed to heal on its own, but in the meantime, these medicines helped you feel less sick or itchy.

Many people also take medicines to control illnesses that don't completely go away, such as diabetes, asthma, or high blood pressure. With help from these medicines, people can enjoy life and avoid some of the worst symptoms associated with their illnesses.

Finally, there are important medicines that keep people from getting sick in the first place. Some of these are called immunizations (say: ih-myoo-nuh-ZAY-shunz), and they are usually given as a shot. They prevent people from catching serious illnesses like measles and mumps. There is even an immunization that prevents chickenpox, and many people get a flu shot each winter to avoid the flu. Although shots are never fun, they are a very important part of staying healthy.

What does medicine mean to you? Do you picture a pill or a spoonful of purple liquid? Those are two ways medicine can be given, but there are others. Medicines are given in different ways, depending on how they work best in the body.

A lot of medicines are swallowed, either as a pill or a liquid. Once the medicine is swallowed, the digestive juices in the stomach break it down, and the medicine can pass into the bloodstream. Your blood then carries it to other parts of your body.

But some medicines wouldn't work if the stomach's digestive juices broke them down. For example, insulin is given as a shot under the skin and then it can be absorbed into the bloodstream.

Other medicines would take too long to work if they were swallowed. When you get an IV in the hospital the medicine gets into your blood quickly. Other medicines need to be breathed into the lungs where they work best for lung problems, like some of the medicines used to treat asthma.

Still others work best when they are put directly on the spot that needs the medicine like patting ointment on an infected cut or dropping ear drops into a clogged-up ear.

So medicines sound like a pretty good thing, right? In many cases they are as long as they are used correctly. Too much of a medicine can be harmful, and old or outdated medicines may not work or can make people sick. Taking the wrong medicine or medicine prescribed for someone else is also very bad news.

You should always follow your doctor's instructions for taking medicine especially for how long. If your doctor says to take medicine for 10 days, take it for the whole time, even if you start to feel better sooner. Those medicines need time to finish the job and make you better!

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD Date reviewed: January 2014

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What Medicines Are and What They Do

Medicine Home – University of Mississippi Medical Center

The University of Mississippi School of Medicine offers a course of study leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine. The four-year course leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

The School of Medicinestrives tooffer an excellent, comprehensive and interrelated program of medical education, biomedical research and health care. Through these programs, the ultimate goal of the School is to provide quality and equitable health care to all citizens of Mississippi, the region and nation. A core value of this mission is respect for the multiple dimensions of diversity reflected in all people.

In support of this mission, the School of Medicine (SOM) offers an accredited program of medical education that trains a diverse, skilled, compassionate and respectful physician workforce in numbers consistent with the health care needs of Mississippi, professionals who are responsive to the health problems of the people, aware of health care disparities and committed to medical education as a continuum which must prevail throughout professional life.

In addition,the School of Medicine seeks to expand the body of basic and applied knowledge in biomedical sciences for the state, nation and the world, and to improve systems of health care delivery and demonstrate model patient care for all members of our diverse community.

The School of Medicine is proud to be part of Mississippi's only academic health science campus. Fulfillment of the school's mission requires student, faculty, administration and staff respect for and appreciation of the rich cultural heritage and growing diversity of the citizens of Mississippi, including their:

Diversity, inclusion and cultural humility enrich the teaching and learning environment; students think more vigorously and imaginatively, enhancing their preparation as citizens and professionals committed to providing all patients, including those from underserved populations, access to quality and equitable health care that can ameliorate the health care disparities of Mississippians and the nation through medical education, biomedical research and patient care.

- Approved by the Executive Faculty Committee, Jan. 24, 2011

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Medicine Home - University of Mississippi Medical Center

College of Medicine – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE BEGINS HERE

One of four campuses that make up one of the largest public medical schools in the U.S., the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign has served the area for over 40 years, educating more than 250 students annually, nearly 20 with NIH fellowships, and 45 residents at its 14 hospital affiliates.

Reception immediately following

This is an optional workshop open to all students.

This is part of the Careers Exploration Series. During these events, students will explore the core areas of medicine including: Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Surgery.

This particular program will focus on Pediatrics.

Join the Social Justice in Medicine group in a viewing of Unnatural Causes (Episode 1: In Sickness and in Wealth).

Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Initiative (IHSI) Director Neal Cohen will introduce the initiative, explaining how it catalyzes health research, connects investigators and labs with clinical partners, provides research support, and engages the communities in participatory health sciences research and outreach. The goal of the meetings is for Illinois investigators to learn how they can take advantage of the resources and services IHSI provides to help build health sciences research on the Urbana campus. Time will be allotted for questions, and IHSI staff will be available to discuss specific health sciences program areas.

(coffee and a light breakfast will be available)

Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Initiative (IHSI) Director Neal Cohen will introduce the initiative, explaining how it catalyzes health research, connects investigators and labs with clinical partners, provides research support, and engages the communities in participatory health sciences research and outreach. The goal of the meetings is for Illinois investigators to learn how they can take advantage of the resources and services IHSI provides to help build health sciences research on the Urbana campus. Time will be allotted for questions, and IHSI staff will be available to discuss specific health sciences program areas.

(light refreshments will be available)

Join the Social Justice in Medicine group in a viewing of Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare

This is part of the Careers Exploration Series. During these events students will explore the core areas of medicine including: Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Surgery.

This particular program will focus on Family Medicine.

As we welcome fall we also welcome the opportunity to vaccinate against the upcoming flu season.

Flu season usually ramps up between December and February, but cases of influenza can appear as early as October, making now the perfect time to get your flu shot.

Stay tuned for further details!

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College of Medicine - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Department of Medicine: University of Maryland School of Medicine

The Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art patient care and improving treatment through clinical research and education. Department of Medicine physicians provide care to thousands of patients annually at the University of Maryland Medical Center, the Baltimore VA Medical Center and the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center.

Since 1807, the Department of Medicine has trained physicians of the highest caliber, including more than half of the physicians currently practicing medicine in Maryland. With 340 full-time faculty members, the Department of Medicine is the largest department in the School of Medicine and is responsible for the training of 140 residents and 89 fellows. Stephen N. Davis, MBBS, is the Theodore E. Woodward Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine.

Our current active research funding exceeds $180 million, over half of which comes from NIH and other federal agencies. With nearly 100 funded investigators, the department has an extensive research base in both the basic and clinical sciences. Our research training programs are extensive and include basic, clinical and translational research training awards. The Department of Medicine also supports and conducts research internationally, with considerable infrastructure in such geographically diverse areas as South America and Africa.

The Department of Medicine is administered by the Chairman's Office, the Education Office and Administration.

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Department of Medicine: University of Maryland School of Medicine

Genetics – Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program

DNA

Through news accounts and crime stories, were all familiar with the fact that the DNA in our cells reflects each individuals unique identity and how closely related we are to one another. The same is true for the relationships among organisms. DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the molecule that makes up an organisms genome in the nucleus of every cell. It consists of genes, which are the molecular codes for proteins the building blocks of our tissues and their functions. It also consists of the molecular codes that regulate the output of genes that is, the timing and degree of protein-making. DNA shapes how an organism grows up and the physiology of its blood, bone, and brains.

DNA is thus especially important in the study of evolution. The amount of difference in DNA is a test of the difference between one species and another and thus how closely or distantly related they are.

While the genetic difference between individual humans today is minuscule about 0.1%, on average study of the same aspects of the chimpanzee genome indicates a difference of about 1.2%. The bonobo (Pan paniscus), which is the close cousin of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), differs from humans to the same degree. The DNA difference with gorillas, another of the African apes, is about 1.6%. Most importantly, chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans all show this same amount of difference from gorillas. A difference of 3.1% distinguishes us and the African apes from the Asian great ape, the orangutan. How do the monkeys stack up? All of the great apes and humans differ from rhesus monkeys, for example, by about 7% in their DNA.

Geneticists have come up with a variety of ways of calculating the percentages, which give different impressions about how similar chimpanzees and humans are. The 1.2% chimp-human distinction, for example, involves a measurement of only substitutions in the base building blocks of those genes that chimpanzees and humans share. A comparison of the entire genome, however, indicates that segments of DNA have also been deleted, duplicated over and over, or inserted from one part of the genome into another. When these differences are counted, there is an additional 4 to 5% distinction between the human and chimpanzee genomes.

No matter how the calculation is done, the big point still holds: humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos are more closely related to one another than either is to gorillas or any other primate. From the perspective of this powerful test of biological kinship, humans are not only related to the great apes we are one. The DNA evidence leaves us with one of the greatest surprises in biology: the wall between human, on the one hand, and ape or animal, on the other, has been breached. The human evolutionary tree is embedded within the great apes.

The strong similarities between humans and the African great apes led Charles Darwin in 1871 to predict that Africa was the likely place where the human lineage branched off from other animals that is, the place where the common ancestor of chimpanzees, humans, and gorillas once lived. The DNA evidence shows an amazing confirmation of this daring prediction. The African great apes, including humans, have a closer kinship bond with one another than the African apes have with orangutans or other primates. Hardly ever has a scientific prediction so bold, so out there for its time, been upheld as the one made in 1871 that human evolution began in Africa.

The DNA evidence informs this conclusion, and the fossils do, too. Even though Europe and Asia were scoured for early human fossils long before Africa was even thought of, ongoing fossil discoveries confirm that the first 4 million years or so of human evolutionary history took place exclusively on the African continent. It is there that the search continues for fossils at or near the branching point of the chimpanzee and human lineages from our last common ancestor.

Due to billions of years of evolution, humans share genes with all living organisms. The percentage of genes or DNA that organisms share records their similarities. We share more genes with organisms that are more closely related to us.

Humans belong to the biological group known as Primates, and are classified with the great apes, one of the major groups of the primate evolutionary tree. Besides similarities in anatomy and behavior, our close biological kinship with other primate species is indicated by DNA evidence. It confirms that our closest living biological relatives are chimpanzees and bonobos, with whom we share many traits. But we did not evolve directly from any primates living today.

DNA also shows that our species and chimpanzees diverged from a common ancestor species that lived between 8 and 6 million years ago. The last common ancestor of monkeys and apes lived about 25 million years ago.

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Genetics - Smithsonian's Human Origins Program

Center for Gene Therapy :: The Research Institute at …

The mission of the Center for Gene Therapy is to investigate and employ the use of gene and cell based therapeutics for prevention and treatment of human diseases including: neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases, lysosomal storage disorders, ischemia and re-perfusion injury, neonatal hypertension, cancer and infectious diseases.

Learn about our areas of focus and featured research.

The National Institutes of Health has designated the Center for Gene Therapy as a Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center (MDCRC). MDCRCs promote basic, translational and clinical research and provide important resources that can be shared within the national muscle biology and neuromuscular research communities.

The MDCRC will allow Nationwide Children's researchers to further develop methods to overcome immune barriers to gene correction for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

The Center for Gene Therapy and the Viral Vector Core are home to a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) production facility for manufacture of clinical-grade rAAV vectors.View the Viral Vector Core & Clinical Manufacturing Facility site.

Investigators with the Center for Gene Therapy currently are conducting numerous clinical research studies, especially for neuromuscular disorders.

The OSU and Nationwide Children's Muscle Group brings together investigators with diverse research interests in skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and neuromuscular biology.

Learn how the 24 labs within OSU/Nationwide Children's Muscle Group are working to improve approaches to treat muscle injury and disease. Read about how their collaborations are changing the way we treat neuromuscular diseases.

Hosted by Kevin Flanigan, MD, "This Month in Muscular Dystrophy" podcasts highlight the latest in muscular dystrophy and other inherited neuromuscular disease research. During each podcast, authors of recent publications discuss how their work improves our understanding of inherited neuromuscular diseases, and what their work might mean for treatment of these diseases.

Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, an advocacy group founded by parents and family members of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, recently submitted the first-ever patient-initiated guidance to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for pharmaceutical companies to help expedite drug development for Duchenne.Kevin Flanigan, MD, principal investigator in the Center for GeneTherapy at The Research Institute, specializes in inherited muscular disorders and their potential therapies, and chaired one of seven working groups on the steering committee that drafted the guidance.

Read the full story on Pediatrics Nationwide.

LivLife Foundationrecently donated $30,000 to Nationwide Childrens Hospital to support the collaborative MPS III biomarker research in the laboratories of Dr. Haiyan Fu and Dr. McCarty in the Center for Gene Therapy at The Research Institute. Dr. Fu said, We truly appreciated the support from the MPS III community through LivLife. It comes at a critical moment. As we are moving our MPS IIIA and B gene therapy approaches forward towards clinical trials in patients, lack of biomarkers has become a challenge for the evaluation of therapeutic outcome.

LivLife is a private foundation started by Mr. and Mrs. Jake and Kelly Hubert, in honor of their daughter Livia who suffers from MPS IIIA (Sanfilippo syndrome A), a devastating neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disease. LivLife has made great progress in raising public awareness about MPS III and raising funds to support MPS III research.

Results from a clinical trial of eteplirsen, a drug designed to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, suggest that the therapy allows participants to walk farther than people treated with placebo and dramatically increases production of a protein vital to muscle growth and health. The study, led by a team in The Research Institute at Nationwide Childrens Hospital, is the first of its kind to show these results from an exon-skipping druga class of therapeutics that allows cells to skip over missing parts of the gene and produce protein naturally.

Ive been doing this for more than 40 years and this is one of the most exciting developments weve seen, says Jerry Mendell, MD, lead author of the study and director of the Center for Gene Therapy at Nationwide Childrens. It offers great hope to patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and their families.

Read more.

Center for Gene Therapy investigators Doug McCarty, PhD, and Kevin Flanigan, MD, were recently quoted in a Wall Street Journal article, "Families Push for New Ways to Research Rare Diseases." Our researchers will soon launch a study related to the rare disorder, Sanfilippo Syndrome, a disease where the child is missing or has insufficient amounts of one of four enzymes needed to break down sugar molecules. Children with Sanfilippo Syndrome will ultimately lose their ability to walk, talk and eat.

Read the article here.

Results from a Phase IIb extension trial of the drug eteplirsen show an increased ability to walk in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

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Investigators in the Center for Gene Therapy have developed an approach to newborn screening for the life-threatening genetic disorder, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and potentially other muscular dystrophies.

Read more

Using tissue samples collected from patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, scientists have created a new in vitro model for the disease that is providing insights into the mechanism of the disorder. Findings appear in Nature Biotechnology.

Access the study abstract

Access the JAMA commentary

Access a summary of this study

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Center for Gene Therapy :: The Research Institute at ...

Pennsylvania Beaches, Lake Erie, Presque Isle, State Park …

MAIN Beaches US Pennsylvania Beaches

Beaches? In Pennsylvania?

Normally, Philadelphians will usually just head to Cape May and the Jersey Shore for the summer. Head west, however, and you'll soon discover some of the East Coast's best shorelines in Pennsylvania.

From Pocono Mountain beaches to the beautiful seven mile stretch of shoreline in Presque Isle State Park (pictured).... the Keystone State has a lock on summer fun.

Near the state's other big metro area, Pittsburgh, Raccoon Creek State Park is an hour away with a lakefront beach that's open all summer long. Head north from Pittsburgh, and Moraine State Park encompasses one of the state's best lake beaches, Lake Arthur, offering 42 miles of shoreline to help beat the heat.

Of course, these are only a couple of mentions to start your summer fling in the Keystone State. Just up ahead, find lots more information on where to cool down when temperatures begin to rise in Pennsylvania.

Have fun!

DID YOU KNOW? Pennsylvania beach fun facts:

The Pocono Mountains are home to 150 lakes, some with sandy beaches. Some of the most popular include Beltzville State Park in the southern foothills, Gouldsboro Lake and Tobyhanna Lake, and Mauch Chunk Lake Park.

Due to the gentle Lake Erie surf that washes the coast, the seven miles of beachfront on Presque Isle are often dubbed the state's only natural "seashore".

Camelback Mountain isn't just for Pennsylvania skiing anymore. If you can't get to the beach, Try the Camelbeach Mountain Water Park, the largest water park in the state.

also see -> Pennsylvania tourism | PA campgrounds

More about Pennsylvania beaches around the Web:

- Read this USA Today guide for a good overview of where to go in summer with information on places to cool off in the Poconos, Hills Creek State Park, and Pine Grove Furnace State Park.

Best Pennsylvania Beaches - The best beaches to head for at Presque Isle with great overviews of Budny Beach and Pine Tree Beach.

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Pennsylvania Beaches, Lake Erie, Presque Isle, State Park ...

Pennsylvania Beaches, Lake Erie – EPA

Presque Isle is a curved sand peninsula jutting into Lake Erie and is home to the only surf beach in Pennsylvania. There are twelve permitted public bathing beaches along Pennsylvania's Lake Erie shoreline. Eleven of those are located on Presque Isle State Park which is managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). The one other permitted beach is located in and managed by North East Township, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of State Parks, operates the beaches on Presque Isle while the health and safety conditions of the beaches are regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Each beach has three sampling stations. The eleven Presque Isle State Park beaches are sampled twice a week during the swimming season which is from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. The beach in North East Township is sampled once a week during the swimming season.

If the E. coli level in a water sample is greater than or equal to 235 cfu/100ml, but less than 1,000 cfu/100ml, the beach will be posted with a swimming advisory. Swimming will be permitted and the public will be informed that the E. coli level exceeds standards and what precautions to take if they choose to enter the water. If the E. coli is equal to or greater than 1,000 cfu/100 ml, the beach will be posted with a swimming restriction and swimming will not be permitted. When an E. coli level drops below 1,000cfu/100ml but remains above 235 cfu/100ml, the beach will be posted as an advisory. Advisories will be lifted only when resampling indicates a bacteria level below 235. If an advisory or a restriction is posted, only the posted beaches will be re-sampled for three consecutive days.

Studies have been conducted looking for the sources of bacterial contamination at the beaches. It has been determined that the bacteria comes from both human and animal sources. And, since levels tend to be considerably higher during and after wet weather, it appears that a major source is storm water runoff from the land.

Additional studies are being conducted to better determine the sources of contamination. In addition, scientists are working to develop a model to predict when bacterial levels will be high based on rainfall, wind, stream flow, etc.

Presque Isle State Park

Scott White (c-swhite@state.pa.us) Erie County Department of Health 606 W. 2nd St. Erie, PA 16507 814-451-6758

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Pennsylvania Beaches, Lake Erie - EPA