Daily Archives: February 25, 2014

NASA Seeks US Industry Feedback On Options For Future Space Station Cargo Services

Posted: February 25, 2014 at 8:46 pm

February 24, 2014

Image Caption: International Space Station in orbit. Credit: NASA

NASA

Over the past two years, NASA and its American industry partners have returned International Space Station resupply launches to U.S. soil, established new national space transportation capabilities and helped create jobs right here on Earth. More than 250 miles overhead, hundreds of science experiments not possible on Earth are being conducted by an international team of astronauts, enabled by these new cargo delivery and return services.

In January, the Obama Administration announced plans to extend the life of the space station through at least 2024 marking another decade of discoveries to come that will benefit Earth while increasing the knowledge NASA needs to send astronauts to an asteroid and Mars.

NASA has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking industry feedback on options to meet the future needs of the International Space Station for cargo delivery of a variety of new science experiments, space station hardware and crew supplies.

View the Request For Information

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and makes research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station has had crew members continuous on board since November 2000. In that time, it has been visited by more than 200 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft. The space station remains the springboard to NASAs next great leap in exploration, including future missions to an asteroid and Mars.

Source: NASA

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Missouri and Pennsylvania Students to Talk Live with Space Station Crew

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Crew members of Expedition 38, currently aboard the International Space Station, will make space-to-Earth connections with students and faculty in Pennsylvania and Missouri this week to share what it is like to live and work in space.

Both calls will be broadcast on NASA Television and live-streamed on the agency's website.

Students from Temple University's School of Media and Communication and College of Engineering will speak with NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata at 11:50 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 27.

On Friday, Feb. 28, Mastracchio and Hopkins will talk with students and teachers at Hopkins' alma mater, School of the Osage, in Osage Beach, Mo., at 10 a.m. EST.

Media are invited to cover both events. Journalists interested in covering the event at Temple University should contact Paul Gluck at 215-204-2807 or pageone@temple.edu. The event will take place at the TUTV-Temple University Television Studios located at 2020 N.13th Street in Philadelphia.

To attend the event at School of the Osage, members of the media should contact Bryce Durbin at 573-348-0115 or durbinb@osage.k12.mo.us. School of the Osage is located at 636 Hwy. 42 in Osage Beach, Mo.

Linking students directly to space station astronauts provides them with an authentic experience of space exploration, scientific studies and the possibilities for future human space exploration. NASA activities have been incorporated into classes at the schools in preparation for these conversations.

These in-flight education downlinks are part of a series with educational organizations in the United States to improve science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), teaching and learning. It is an integral component of NASA's Teaching From Space education program, which promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of space and NASA's human spaceflight program.

To keep up with Hopkins' research and life on the ISS through Twitter, follow:

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Packing Of Mars – Video

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Packing Of Mars
Packing Of Mars. . . . . mars colonization, mars human exploration, mars exploration curiosity, mars exploration timeline, mars exploration missions, mars ex...

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Mars Exploration – Video

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Mars Exploration
Mars Exploration. . . . . . .mars colonization, mars human exploration, mars exploration curiosity, mars exploration timeline, mars exploration missions, mar...

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Leading Texan Democratic Senate Candidate Compares Obama to Hitler

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In what has to be a blow for Democratic partisans who were convinced that state Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) can single-handedly turn the Lone Star State blue in November, the Texas Democratic Party appears to be on the verge of tarnishing its reputation. According to a poll conducted by the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune, the frontrunner to face likely incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in November is Kesha Rogers. She is also somewhat unhinged.

Originally flagged by HotAirs Guy Benson, the poll shows Rogers leading her nearest opponent in the race to face Cornyn, Dallas area dentist David Alameel, by 8 points outside the polls 6.04 percent margin of error.

But Democrats might be careful what they wish for

As an acolyte of perennial presidential fringe candidate Lyndon LaRouche, she believes the U.S. economy is secretly controlled by a cabal of London financial institutions, wrote Dallas Morning News reporter Nick Swartsell in December. Shes paraded around Houston with a giant picture of Obama sporting a Hitler mustache and compared the Affordable Care Act to 1930s-era Nazi eugenics policies.

Thats right. Her campaign even features a video on her website comparing President Barack Obama to Narcissus and advocating for his removal from office.

SuperEgoGenocidal-NarcissistPsychosis! from Kesha for Congress on Vimeo.

Rogers has also made a central plank of her campaign platform the colonization of Mars and the funding to prepare NASA to use nuclear missiles to intercept potential earth-impacting asteroids.

The Democratic message in 2014 might be slightly undermined by a candidate who compares the leader of her party to Hitler and suggests the ACA is the successor to the legacy of Josef Mengele.

[h/t HotAir] [Photo via Michael Stravato/Texas Tribune]

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Far Cry (1) PC Gameplay | High Definition – Video

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Far Cry (1) PC Gameplay | High Definition
Far Cry is a first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek and published by Ubisoft on March 23, 2004, for Microsoft Windows. Far Cry sold 730000 unit...

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New study finds concussion-related health problems in retired football players

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

25-Feb-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, February 25, 2014Repeated concussions and mild brain trauma can result in reduced levels of growth hormone, gonadotropin, and testosterone, causing disorders such as metabolic syndrome and erectile dysfunction and overall poor quality of life. The results of a new study of retired professional football players that compares number of concussions sustained during their careers and health problems associated with hormonal deficiency is published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Neurotrauma website at http://www.liebertpub.com/neu.

In the article "Prevalence of pituitary hormone dysfunction, metabolic syndrome and impaired quality of life in retired professional football players: a prospective study," the authors report that more than 50% of the retired players evaluated for growth hormone deficiency, hypogonadism, and quality of life had suffered at least three concussions during their careers in the National Football League. Repeat concussion is common in the NFL.

John T. Povlishock, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Neurotrauma and Professor, Medical College of Virginia Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, notes that "although as emphasized by the authors, this study awaits further confirmation with expanded sample sizes and a more critical linkage to a history of concussion intensity and intervals between the concussive injuries, the findings are of considerable interest. Importantly, this study moves us away from the singular focus that repetitive concussive brain injuries ultimately lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy to the premise that such injuries can elicit pituitary dysfunction and metabolic syndrome that may be significant contributors to a poor quality of life in a subset of professional athletes."

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Vicki Cohn Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 914-740-2100 vcohn@liebertpub.com

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Exclusive David Gancberg article in Human Gene Therapy

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

24-Feb-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, February 24, 2014Over the past three funding stages, the European Commission has invested nearly $475 million in 100 projects in the gene transfer and gene therapy field. David Gancberg, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission (Brussels), describes the substantial opportunities for funding to support basic and clinical research in gene and cell therapy to find new treatments for chronic and rare diseases and novel regenerative medicine approaches in a Commentary article in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Human Gene Therapy website.

Dr. Gancberg and co-author Ruxandra Draghia-Akli state, "More than ever, the European Union offers to the gene and cell therapy sectors the possibilities of financial support to bright and innovative consortia ready to develop, possibly in collaboration with industry, new therapeutic applications to be tested in clinical trials, or novel products for the market, and build sustainable networks of expertise in the field," in their article "Gene and Cell Therapy Funding Opportunities in Horizon 2020: An Overview 2014-2015."

"Funding for gene therapy provided by the European Commission over the last decade has been critical to the current success we are seeing in the clinics. The commentary provided by doctors Gancberg and Draghia-Akli describe exciting new programs." says James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Human Gene Therapy, and Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.

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About the Journal

Human Gene Therapy, the official journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online. Human Gene Therapy presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to the gene transfer in humans. Its sister journals, Human Gene Therapy Methods, published bimonthly, focuses on the application of gene therapy to product testing and development, and Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, published quarterly, features data relevant to the regulatory review and commercial development of cell and gene therapy products. Tables of content for all three publications and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Human Gene Therapy website.

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Is previous hypoglycemia a risk factor for future hypoglycemic episodes?

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

24-Feb-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, February 24, 2014The automatic "threshold suspend" (TS) feature of an insulin pump helps prevent life-threatening hypoglycemic events when the device's sensor detects blood glucose concentrations below the preset threshold. However, in individuals with type 1 diabetes who have had previous episodes of hypoglycemia the TS feature may be less effective at preventing subsequent events, according to important new results from the ASPIRE study published in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT), a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the DTT website at http://www.liebertpub.com/DTT.

In the article "Hypoglycemia Begets Hypoglycemia: The Order Effect in the ASPIRE In-Clinic Study," Editor-in-Chief of Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics Satish Garg, MD (Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver) and coauthors compared the effects of an automatic insulin pump with TS at a preset sensor threshold to those of continued basal insulin delivery in adults with type 1 diabetes following induced hypoglycemia via overnight fasting and exercise.

The different outcomes seen between the two insulin delivery methods in this crossover study design led the authors to conclude that "By mitigating the duration of hypoglycemic episodes, automatic pump suspension may help to preserve the normal autonomic response to hypoglycemia in patients with type 1 diabetes."

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About the Journal

Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT) is a monthly peer-reviewed journal that covers new technology and new products for the treatment, monitoring, diagnosis, and prevention of diabetes and its complications. Led by Editor-in-Chief Satish Garg, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver, the Journal covers topics that include noninvasive glucose monitoring, implantable continuous glucose sensors, novel routes of insulin administration, genetic engineering, the artificial pancreas, measures of long-term control, computer applications for case management, telemedicine, the Internet, and new medications. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT) website at http://www.liebertpub.com/DTT. DTT is the official journal of the Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes (ATTD) Conference.

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ASK DOCTOR K: Progress in genetics will lead to better diagnosis

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Dr. Anthony Komaroff/Universal Uclick

In last week's column, a reader asked whether she should be tested for genes linked to Alzheimer's disease. Today, I thought I'd give you my view on the larger question: Will studies of our genes change the practice of medicine and improve our lives?

My answer: During my career, progress in human genetics has been greater than virtually anyone imagined. However, human genetics also has turned out to be much more complicated than people imagined. As a result, we have not moved as rapidly as we had hoped in changing medical practice.

I graduated from medical school in the late 1960s. We knew what human genes were made of -- DNA -- and we were beginning to understand how genes work. We had even identified a handful of genes that were linked to specific diseases. We assumed that disease resulted from an abnormality in the structure of a gene.

If I had asked any biologist on the day I graduated, Will we ever know how many genes we have, and the exact structure of each gene? I'll bet the answer would have been: Not in my lifetime, or my children's lifetime.

They would have been wrong. Today we do know those answers. Indeed, some diseases are caused by an abnormality in the structure of genes. In fact, sometimes it is very simple: one particular change at one particular spot in just one particular gene leads to a specific disease. Sickle cell anemia is an example.

Unfortunately, with most diseases it's far from that simple. The first complexity: Most diseases are influenced by the structure of multiple genes, not just one. Examples are diabetes and high blood pressure.

The second complexity: Many diseases are explained not by an abnormal gene structure, but by whether genes are properly turned on or off. Most cancers fall into this category.

What do I mean by that? Every cell in our body has the same set of genes. Yet, a cell in our eye that sees light is different from a cell in our stomach that makes acid. Why? Because different genes are turned on in each type of cell.

Similarly, if a gene with a normal structure is not properly turned on or off, a cell can malfunction -- it can become diseased. Whether a gene is turned on properly is proving to be a more important cause of disease than we once imagined.

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