Julia Lane Elected AAAS Fellow in Recognition of Her Scientific Leadership

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Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) December 01, 2014

Washington, D.C. Dr. Julia Lane, an internationally recognized economist and Institute Fellow at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), has been elected by her peers at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) as a Fellow. The honor recognizes her contributions to innovation, education and scientific leadership.

Lane, an expert in science and innovation policy, joined AIR after directing the Science of Science and Innovation Policy Program at the National Science Foundation (NSF). She led the multi-agency, multi-university Science and Technology for Americas Reinvestment: Measuring the EffecTs of Research on Innovation, Competitiveness and Science (STAR METRICS) program, a partnership between science agencies and research institutions to publicly document the outcomes of science investments.

Election as a Fellow of AAAS, a tradition begun in 1874, is an honor bestowed upon members for meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications.

AAAS, an international organization dedicated to advancing science for the benefit of all, will host an event honoring its Fellows during the groups annual meeting February 14, 2015 in San Jose, Calif.

About AIR Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education and workforce productivity. For more information, visit http://www.air.org.

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Julia Lane Elected AAAS Fellow in Recognition of Her Scientific Leadership

The New Science Of Adolescence

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Larry Steinbergs latest book is Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence. (rromer/Flickr)

We generally think of adolescence as ending at about age 18. But Larry Steinberg, a professor of psychology at Temple University, says new brain science is starting to reveal why teenagers seem to stay teenage through their mid-twenties.

Steinberg joins Here & Nows Jeremy Hobson to discuss the findings in hislatest book, Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence (excerpt below)

He also explains why the adolescent years are so developmentally crucial, and what parents can do to raise happier and more successful kids.

On adolescence lasting longer

If we look at the average of age of puberty now in the United States, girls are starting puberty around 11 or 12 years old. If you look at when young women are getting married in the United States, the average age is 27 or 28 years old. So were talking about a pretty long span of time and the same time interval lengthwise for boys as for girls. We know that when people go through puberty the sex hormones associated with that affect the brain as well as the rest of the body. We can mark the beginning of adolescence in one way by looking at when thats happening, so that really is determined when someone goes through puberty. On the other hand, we can look at the end of adolescence in terms of when the brain is not maturing so much anymore and that seems to be going on until people are in their mid-20s or so. Roughly speaking, we can look at this period and bracket it as going from age 10 to age 25.

Onhow education should change in light of this

One thing that we should do in school is to focus more on what experts are referring to as non-cognitive skills and that would include things like perseverance, determination and grit. If you think about the challenge about becoming an adult now, you need to be able to stay in school for a very long time. You need to be able to stay in school through the completion of a four year college degree to get a decent-paying job, and that requires that we help young people develop the capacity to delay gratification and to persevere, even at tasks that theyre maybe not so crazy about.

On the opportunityof adolescents malleable brain

One of the main themes of the book is that were discovering that the brain during adolescence is very malleable or very plastic. What that means is that the brain has a heightened capacity to change in response to experience. That cuts both ways: on the one hand it means that the brain is especially susceptible to toxic experiences that can harm it, but on the other hand it means that the brain is also susceptible to positive influences that can promote growth. Thats the kind of opportunity that I think we need to think about in relation to adolescence and its an opportunity I think were squandering.

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The New Science Of Adolescence

Study: Different species share a 'genetic toolkit' for behavioral traits

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

1-Dec-2014

Contact: Diana Yates diya@illinois.edu 217-333-5802 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign @illinois_alma

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The house mouse, stickleback fish and honey bee appear to have little in common, but at the genetic level these creatures respond in strikingly similar ways to danger, researchers report. When any of these animals confronts an intruder, the researchers found, many of the same genes and brain gene networks gear up or down in response.

This discovery, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that distantly related organisms share some key genetic mechanisms that help them respond to threats, said University of Illinois cell and developmental biology professor Lisa Stubbs, who led the research with animal biology professor Alison Bell and entomology professor and Institute for Genomic Biology director Gene Robinson. Bell and Stubbs also are IGB faculty.

"We knew that a variety of animals share genes for some common physical traits. Now it appears that different organisms share a 'genetic toolkit' for behavioral traits, as well," Stubbs said.

The team used comparative genomics to look at changes in brain gene expression in the house mouse (Mus musculus), stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and honey bee (Apis mellifera) in response to intrusion by a member the same species.

"One of the striking findings is that elements of the brain gene-expression response to a territorial intrusion were common to all three species, despite vast differences in brain anatomy among the three," Bell said. "This is meaningful because it suggests that molecular similarities run deeper than brain structural similarities."

All three species saw changes in the expression of genes that regulate hormones and neurotransmitters that are known to influence behavior. Other shared responses involved genes that contribute to brain developmental processes; metabolic genes; genes related to muscle contraction and blood supply; and genes associated with the formation of synapses, the growth of neurons and the differentiation of glial brain cells.

"To find common sets of activated genes, in species that evolved their behavioral responses to intruders hundreds of millions of years apart from each other, gives hope that scientists will be able to make use of comparative genomics to better understand how the behaviors of different species relate to each other, and to ourselves," Robinson said.

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Study: Different species share a 'genetic toolkit' for behavioral traits

Dr. Alex Khadavi Formulated Revivogen Line Is Now Being Offered Exclusively By Advance Dermatology and Laser Medical …

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(PRWEB) November 30, 2014

Dr. Nita Patels Advance Dermatology and Laser Medical Center are utilizing cutting edge anti-aging solutions for both men and women in Marina Del Rey, California. ADLM is proud to announce that they are now able to offer a natural hair loss treatment to its patients to treat thinning hair and genetic hair loss.

Revivogen, which will now be carried in Advanced Dermatology exclusively, is the premiere cutting edge natural hair loss solution treatment that targets the cause of genetic hair loss at the root. The line of products was formulated by board-certified dermatologist Dr. Alex Khadavi, M.D., who recognized an under-served market of men and women who were seeking ways to treat their hair loss without the use of harsh chemicals. Dr. Patel is now the first in Marina Del Rey to offer this product to its patients as a natural treatment option for male pattern and female pattern hair loss.

About Dr. Nita Patel, M.D.:

Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Nita Patel, M.D. specializes in the treatment of skin, hair and nails - including dermatological problems, laser treatments and cosmetic procedures. Advance Dermatology and Laser Medical Center offers treatments in dermatology, laser treatments and laser surgery and general anti-aging treatments Dr. Patel is a graduate of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA who also completed her dermatology residency at the UCLA and West VA Medical Centers. She is internationally-known for her studies and work with the latest technologies in the field of lasers.

About Revivogen:

Revivogen is an all-natural topical thinning hair treatment developed by board-certified dermatologist Dr. Alex Khadavi, founder and CEO of Advanced Skin and Hair. Revivogen was formulated for both men and women suffering from thinning hair who are seeking an effective all-natural solution without any side effects. Revivogen's Scalp Therapy Treatment is proven to offset the effects of male and female pattern hair loss by addressing its root cause.

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Dr. Alex Khadavi Formulated Revivogen Line Is Now Being Offered Exclusively By Advance Dermatology and Laser Medical ...

Russian Baltics Air Incursions: NATO scrambles jets more than 100 times over Russian air activities – Video

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Russian Baltics Air Incursions: NATO scrambles jets more than 100 times over Russian air activities
NATO seeks to fill gaps in the alliance #39;s land, air and sea defenses since Russia #39;s annexation of Crimea. NATO warplanes around the Baltics had to scramble m...

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Russian Baltics Air Incursions: NATO scrambles jets more than 100 times over Russian air activities - Video

NATO Chief Breedlove: Russian troops provide ‘backbone’ for insurgents in Ukraine – Video

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NATO Chief Breedlove: Russian troops provide #39;backbone #39; for insurgents in Ukraine
Russian soldiers are operating in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have made that statement and so has NATO. Some reports suggest 5000 Russian regular a...

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NATO Chief Breedlove: Russian troops provide 'backbone' for insurgents in Ukraine - Video

2nd Amendment lovers boost Black Friday: Report

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Apparel and electronics are far from being the only things consumers seek out on Black Fridaymany really like firearm deals as well.

Second amendment enthusiasts sent gun sales surging on Friday, according to a report from CNN.com. The federal government was on track to process more than 144,000 background checks for the purposes of gun ownership, a new record and the equivalent of 3 investigations per second, the report added.

A Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman told the news organization that approximately 600 FBI and contract call center employees sift through thousands of requests within a 3 day span. Traditionally, Black Friday is a peak day for volume, but Friday likely topped last year's requests of 144,758.

Gun sales have been on the rise since at least late 2012, when the Sandy Hook massacre stoked new fears that the federal government could tighten access to firearms. Those concerns proved unfounded, however, as efforts to pass new restrictions have repeatedly failed to pass stiff Congressional opposition.

Of the number of Black Friday requests, approximately 3,000 of them will not be completed because of the need for more information, the spokesman told CNN.com. The agency usually denies around 500 background checks per day due to incomplete applications.

The full report can be found at CNN.com

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2nd Amendment lovers boost Black Friday: Report

Homeless woman's stun gun spurs 2nd Amendment case – Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports

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By DENISE LAVOIE AP Legal Affairs Writer

BOSTON (AP) - Jaime Caetano was beaten so badly by her ex-boyfriend that she ended up in the hospital. So when a friend offered her a stun gun to protect herself, she took it.

Caetano, who is homeless, never had to use it but now finds herself at the center of a contentious Second Amendment case headed to the highest court in Massachusetts.

The Supreme Judicial Court is being asked to decide whether a state law that prohibits private citizens from possessing stun guns infringes on their right to keep and bear arms. In an unusual twist, the court is also being asked to examine whether the Second Amendment right to defend yourself in your own home applies in the case of a homeless person.

Arguments before the court are scheduled Tuesday.

Police found Caetano's stun gun in her purse during a shoplifting investigation at a supermarket in 2011. She told police she needed it to defend herself against her violent ex-boyfriend, against whom she had obtained multiple restraining orders.

During her trial, Caetano, 32, testified that her ex-boyfriend repeatedly came to her workplace and threatened her. One night, she showed him the stun gun and he "got scared and left me alone," she said.

She was found guilty of violating the state law that bans private possession of stun guns, devices that deliver an electric shock when pressed against an attacker.

In her appeal, her lawyer, Benjamin Keehn, argues that a stun gun falls within the meaning of "arms" under the Second Amendment. Keehn wrote in a legal brief that the state's ban "cannot be squared with the fundamental right to keep and bear arms." He also argues that self-defense outside the home is part of the core right provided by the Second Amendment.

Massachusetts is among only five states that ban stun guns and Tasers for private citizens, said Eugene Volokh, a constitutional law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has written extensively about Second Amendment issues. The devices are used by law enforcement agencies around the country.

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Homeless woman's stun gun spurs 2nd Amendment case - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports

PREVIEW: Ex-CBS Reporter: Spineless Media Bosses Eroding Our First Amendment | Politicking – Video

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PREVIEW: Ex-CBS Reporter: Spineless Media Bosses Eroding Our First Amendment | Politicking
PREVIEW: Ex-CBS Reporter: Spineless Media Bosses Eroding Our First Amendment | Politicking SUBSCRIBE to Larry King #39;s YouTube Channel:http://bit.ly/131HuYM Fo...

By: Larry King

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PREVIEW: Ex-CBS Reporter: Spineless Media Bosses Eroding Our First Amendment | Politicking - Video

Kitchen Table Theology – Episode XIII – Workplace Persecution – Video

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Kitchen Table Theology - Episode XIII - Workplace Persecution
Got Rights? A "Bill" of Rights, maybe? Just what does the First Amendment provide for us, anyway? Is it freedom of speech, or freedom from speech? Freedom of religion, or freedom from...?

By: KitchenTableTheology

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Kitchen Table Theology - Episode XIII - Workplace Persecution - Video

Justices weigh limits of free speech over Internet

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WASHINGTON (AP) Anthony Elonis claimed he was just kidding when he posted a series of graphically violent rap lyrics on Facebook about killing his estranged wife, shooting up a kindergarten class and attacking an FBI agent.

But his wife didn't see it that way. Neither did a federal jury.

Elonis, who's from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was convicted of violating a federal law that makes it a crime to threaten another person.

In a far-reaching case that probes the limits of free speech over the Internet, the Supreme Court on Monday was to consider whether Elonis' Facebook posts, and others like it, deserve protection under the First Amendment.

Elonis argues that his lyrics were simply a crude and spontaneous form of expression that should not be considered threatening if he did not really mean it. The government says it does not matter what Elonis intended, and that the true test of a threat is whether his words make a reasonable person feel threatened.

One post about his wife said, "There's one way to love you but a thousand ways to kill you. I'm not going to rest until your body is a mess, soaked in blood and dying from all the little cuts."

The case has drawn widespread attention from free-speech advocates who say comments on Facebook, Twitter and other social media can be hasty, impulsive and easily misinterpreted. They point out that a message on Facebook intended for a small group could be taken out of context when viewed by a wider audience.

"A statute that proscribes speech without regard to the speaker's intended meaning runs the risk of punishing protected First Amendment expression simply because it is crudely or zealously expressed," said a brief from the American Liberties Union and other groups.

But so far, most lower courts have rejected that view, ruling that a "true threat" depends on how an objective person perceives the message.

For more than four decades, the Supreme Court has said that "true threats" to harm another person are not protected speech under the First Amendment. But the court has been careful to distinguish threats from protected speech such as "political hyperbole" or "unpleasantly sharp attacks."

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Justices weigh limits of free speech over Internet

Cryptocurrency exchange EXMO.COM

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Bitcoin is a digital currency created in 2009. The main difference of bitcoins from other types of digital currency is its total openness: its source code is open for public perusal and has been repeatedly verified by security experts. There is no central authority that issues new bitcoins or controls money operations: all the transactions are available for tracking by all bitcoin users and are verified automatically. Despite that, one can preserve the anonymity of payment by not using the real personal information but only bitcoin addresses.Bitcoin is a digital currency created in 2009. The main difference of bitcoins from other types of digital currency is its total openness: its source code is open for public perusal and has been repeatedly verified by security experts. There is no central authority that issues new bitcoins or controls money operations: all the transactions are available for tracking by all bitcoin users and are verified automatically. Despite that, one can preserve the anonymity of payment by not using the real personal information but only bitcoin addresses.

As theres no central controlling body, your account cannot be blocked if you keep bitcoins on your computer, what is considered one of the major system advantages. Nobody is able to prevent you from sending or receiving money transfers. At the same time transactions are completed almost immediately and are charged with minimum fees or are free. You can forget about bank working hours, non-working days or money transfers that take days to be executed. You can manage your funds any day, at any time and in whatever way you see fit. In this manner the reliability of a bank or a bitcoin account keeper is stipulated by the verified mathematical algorithms and cryptography mechanisms.

You may not worry about your funds because in contrast to other currencies there cannot be issued an indefinite number of bitcoins, and thats why inflation and consequent decrease of the purchasing power of your savings are totally excluded. There can only exist a certain number of bitcoins, and once 21 million bitcoins have been issued, their mining will stop.

The way of creating new bitcoins is of a special interest: bitcoins are equally distributed among those who support the Bitcoin network with their computing power, verifying and protecting users transactions. Everyone can take part in this process, but in order to do this a very powerful computer hardware is required.

Bitcoins success drew great attention to it and there started to emerge new digital currencies that partially or totally copied the essence of Bitoin, sometimes bringing to the market new interesting possibilities. Nevertheless, Bitcoin is still the most known and popular cryptocurrency.

If on some web or in a shop you see written Bitcoin accepted here or just a Bitcoin sign, it means that at that place you can pay for requested services, goods or make a donation using bitcoins. You can also accept bitcoins as a payment for your services or products. Bitcoins are easily exchanged for other currencies (e.g. roubles or dollars) on special exchange platforms or exchange bureaus, as well as on this page.

If you want to get a deeper understanding of how Bitcoin functions or of its technical features, we recommend you to take a look at our F.A.Q. about Bitcoin and read the specialized article on Wikipedia.

In order to buy bitcoins or other cryptocurrency, please replenish your account making a deposit in roubles (or in any other currency that you wish to give for Bitcoin).

You can do this quite easily just clicking on Refill my account below the exchange field and choosing from the dropdown list the currency, the method (the payment system) and the desired amount.

After that you will be able to buy bitcoins or any other cryptocurrency.

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Cryptocurrency exchange EXMO.COM