Minister Vivian Balakrishnan visits Sisters’ Islands Marine Park – Video

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Minister Vivian Balakrishnan visits Sisters #39; Islands Marine Park
Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan paid a visit to the Sisters #39; Islands Marine Park, where the last of the corals from Semakau landfill were being relocated. Video...

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Minister Vivian Balakrishnan visits Sisters' Islands Marine Park - Video

Srie Minecraft Floating Islands Ep 3 – Une Mystrieuse mine abandonn ! – Video

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Srie Minecraft Floating Islands Ep 3 - Une Mystrieuse mine abandonn !
Yo les gens c #39;est et aujourd #39;hui et un grand jours car c #39;est le commencement d #39;une grande aventure minecraft qui nous attend mais cette aventure se feras sur des les et oui le but tant...

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Srie Minecraft Floating Islands Ep 3 - Une Mystrieuse mine abandonn ! - Video

Northumberland islands see record seal births

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He said: "There are two types of seal in the UK - the grey and the common or harbour seal. There has been a large increase in the grey numbers while the common seals have not done so well.

"I would guess the greys are thriving up here because there is plenty to eat and that has also helped our puffins which also had an excellent year too.

"They also benefit because the Farne Islands are isolated and they don't have any predators - I haven't seen a killer whale out there in all my 25 years on the cruises.

"Of course it is great news for businesses like ours because people visiting the islands want to see puffins and seals and they were not disappointed last year."

The Farne Islands boast one of the biggest seabird colonies in England with 23 species to be spotted, including about 37,000 puffin pairs. National Trust rangers monitor both the seals and birds, tracking and recording numbers.

Historically, the islands have strong links with Celtic Christianity and St Cuthbert, who lived there in the 7th Century.

There is also a medieval pele tower and Victorian lighthouse, plus a visitor centre and easy access boardwalk.

Many of the islands are underwater at high tide.

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Northumberland islands see record seal births

Aran Islands skipper describes crews rescue off Scottish coast

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Five crew members from an Aran Island fishing vessel were rescued after the twin-rig trawler began taking water and sank off the Scottish coast. Video: British Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

The British Maritime and Coastguard Agency deployed a rescue helicopter from Stornoway to save the five-man crew after the 23-metre wooden vessel Ida Naofa started taking water on Monday. Screengrab: British Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Aran Islands skipper Mairtn 20 Conghale is delighted to be marking a big birthday next week - all the more so after spending some unscheduled minutes earlier this week in heavy seas off the Scottish Outer Hebrides.

She fought it to the last, but she was gone under within 35 seconds, Conghale (63), of Inis Mr, says of his 23-metre wooden vessel Ida Naofa, which sank about 48 miles north of the Butt of Lewis on Monday morning.

They often say its good to be above ground, but we are also very lucky to be above water, Conghale, from Kilmurvey on Inis Mr, told The Irish Times, speaking from a ferry to Ullapool.

Conghale and crew were forced to jump clear of their vessel, so quickly did the Atlantic take it.

Taking water

The skipper had notified Malin Coast Guard some 90 minutes before, when the vessel began taking water, affecting two generators and cutting out power. Winds at the time were southerly force 6, with turbulent seas.

We left Rossaveal [Co Galway] at the weekend, and we had a good trip with a boat full of mackerel, he explained.

I was really looking forward to a trip through the islands and back to land in Derry, he says.

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Aran Islands skipper describes crews rescue off Scottish coast

Mary Lyon obituary

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Mary Lyon's research advanced the understanding of X-linked inherited diseases such as haemophilia. Photograph: Adrian Ford

Mary Lyon, who has died aged 89, was one of the foremost geneticists of the 20th century. She used the mouse as a powerful genetic tool to gain fundamental and profound insights into mammalian genetics and the genetic bases of disease.

Perhaps her greatest achievement was to propose in 1961 the theory of X chromosome inactivation, in which she suggested that one of the two X chromosomes in the cells of female mammals is randomly inactivated during early development. This process is now sometimes referred to as Lyonisation, and the theory has had a fundamental impact on research into mammalian genetics and human medical genetics.

Marys work greatly advanced the understanding of X-linked inherited diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy and haemophilia, and explained why women who are carriers of these diseases can display symptoms. It was an early example of an epigenetic phenomenon, whereby changes in the expression of genes are caused not by alterations in the DNA itself but by non-genetic factors. The theory of X chromosome inactivation provided a compelling insight into the mechanisms of genetic regulation and Marys discovery still resonates with contemporary research into how genes are regulated as we develop and grow.

Born in Norwich, to Louise (nee Kirby), a schoolteacher, and Clifford Lyon, a civil servant working for the Inland Revenue, Mary was the eldest of three children. Because of her fathers job, the family moved around the country, to Yorkshire, then Birmingham, and, at the outbreak of the second world war, to Woking, Surrey. It was the prize that Mary won for an essay competition at King Edward VI grammar school in Birmingham, a set of books on wild flowers, birds and trees, that first sparked her interest in biology.

In 1943, she went on to read zoology, physiology and biochemistry at Girton College, Cambridge. Zoology was her main subject, but she became interested in the concept that genes underlie all embryological development, a relatively new idea at the time. Before 1948 women were not official members of the university, so Mary graduated in 1946 with a titular degree.

She began a PhD in genetics with the eminent geneticist and statistician Sir Ronald Fisher at Cambridge, but completed her research under the supervision of Douglas Falconer in Edinburgh, where she had access to better facilities. On completion of her PhD in 1950, she was offered a position in the group of Toby Carter at Edinburgh to conduct research into the genetic hazards of radiation.

In 1954, Carters group and Mary moved to the Medical Research Council Radiobiological Research Unit at Harwell, Oxfordshire. Reflecting wider concerns about the need to understand the mechanisms of radiation damage in the atomic era, a genetics division was established at MRC Harwell under the leadership of Carter, to assess genetic risks based on the incidence and types of genetic damage caused by radiation.Mary and her colleagues made significant contributions to our understanding of mutagenesis mechanisms. However, given Marys fascination with the genetic variants and anomalies that mutagenesis can produce, it seems inevitable now that she would establish an interest in the mouse mutants arising from these radiation studies.

It was her curiosity and fascination with the humble mouse and the extraordinary collection of mouse variants generated at Harwell that led her to the many discoveries that transformed our understanding of mammalian genetics. She recognised the advantages to biomedical science of cryopreservation of mouse mutants and strains; and the archive of frozen mouse embryos at Harwell, which provides such an important repository for biomedical science worldwide, is testament to her foresight.

Mary took over the stewardship of the genetics division from Carter in 1962. She stepped down in the mid-1980s, and officially retired in 1990, but continued to come to the unit several times a week to do academic work and to attend scientific lectures right up to 2012.

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Mary Lyon obituary

Tel Aviv University's professor Yosef Shiloh Receives first Olav Thon Foundation Prize

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Norway's largest charitable foundation bestows cash prize for TAU cancer geneticist's research on cell survival and DNA stability

IMAGE:This is professor Yosef Shiloh of Tel Aviv University. view more

Credit: American Friends of Tel Aviv University (AFTAU)

Norway's largest charitable organization, the Olav Thon Foundation, which invests heavily in medical research, awarded its first international research award in the medical and natural sciences to Tel Aviv University's Prof. Yosef Shiloh and Prof. Judith Campisi of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, California. The prize money, NOK 5,000,000 (approximately $660,000), was split between the two winners.

Prof. Shiloh, the Myers Professor of Cancer Genetics and Research Professor of the Israel Cancer Research Fund at TAU's Sackler School of Medicine, was recognized for his pioneering research on the mechanisms that maintain the survival of human cells and the stability of human genetic material.

A member of the Israel National Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Prof. Shiloh was a recipient of the prestigious Israel Prize (considered "Israel's Nobel") in Life Sciences in 2011, the 2011 American Association of Cancer Research G.H.A. Clowes Award, and the 2005 EMET Prize in Life Sciences.

"A prize means scientific recognition," said Prof. Shiloh. "Scientists do not work in order to get prizes or any other monetary benefits, but the award of a prize means that our work is recognized by our colleagues, and this is probably the true reward of a scientist."

Unraveling the genome

Prof. Shiloh has spent much of his career investigating the processes that maintain genome stability and the defense mechanisms against substances that damage our DNA. He has investigated how the harmful effects of such substances can be countered and offered insights into how mammalian cells react to DNA damage produced by environmental factors, such as radiation and carcinogenic chemicals.

According to the Foundation, "The laureates have provided us with new insights into the molecular basis of aging, aging-related diseases, and cellular degenerative processes."

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Tel Aviv University's professor Yosef Shiloh Receives first Olav Thon Foundation Prize

Experimenting with science

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Some of Morgan Hills brightest young minds were under the same roof Thursday evening displaying their projects to family, friends, classmates, public officials, elected board members and business owners at the fifth annual citywide science fair held inside the Oakwood School gymnasium.

They seem to get smarter every year, said Morgan Hill City Councilwoman Marilyn Librers, who co-chairs the science fair committee of the Chamber of Commerce, which organized the Jan. 15 event. This is by far the most successful one weve had.

This year, 130 high school and middle school student projects broken into four categories (behavioral science, chemistry, biology and physics/engineering) were judged by a panel of community members, including microbiologist Mike Cox, founder of Anaerobe Systems in Morgan Hill.

First, second and third place winners were selected in middle school and high school divisions.

Two of the blue ribbon winners were sisters Roos and Eva Devries, both students at Oakwood.

Were in different categories, said Roos, an 18-year-old senior, dispelling any sibling rivalry between the two. We just did it because we like science.

Roos took top honors in the physics/engineering category with her Development of Straight Line Linkages, in which she analyzed two-dimensional mechanisms throughout history. Her 16-year-old sister Eva bested the chemistry category by introducing and experimenting with the substance ferrofluid, a liquid composed of tiny magnetic particles.

I thought that Roos would win because between the two of us shes more (into) science and math so I was kind of surprised that I won, Eva admitted.

I didnt think that at all, interjected Roos, giving props to her younger sister for her scientific prowess. Im extremely proud of Eva.

Oakwood, a private college preparatory school for preschoolers through 12th grade, had student competitors in the high school and middle school divisions. Morgan Hill Unified School District was represented by its student participants from Britton and Martin Murphy middle schools.

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Experimenting with science

Lack of health care in 2014 results in tax return penalty – Jan 19th, 2015 – Video

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Lack of health care in 2014 results in tax return penalty - Jan 19th, 2015
For more, visit http://kobi5.com - Copyright KOBI-TV. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated. This material may not be downloaded, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without...

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Lack of health care in 2014 results in tax return penalty - Jan 19th, 2015 - Video

New Privacy Concerns Over Government’s Health Care Website – Video

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New Privacy Concerns Over Government #39;s Health Care Website
The government #39;s health insurance website is quietly passing along consumers #39; personal data to outside websites, just as President Barack Obama is calling for stronger cybersecurity protections....

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New Privacy Concerns Over Government's Health Care Website - Video

October 14, 2014 Discussing Ebola with Michael Cooperstock, MD – Video

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October 14, 2014 Discussing Ebola with Michael Cooperstock, MD
Oct. 14, 2014: Michael Cooperstock, MD, medical director of MU Health Care #39;s Infection Control Department, discusses Ebola. Learn more at http://www.muhealth.org/news/missouri-medical-focus/ .

By: MU HealthSystem

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October 14, 2014 Discussing Ebola with Michael Cooperstock, MD - Video