Monthly Archives: March 2022

From lab to field: Nanotech gives better crop protection – The Financial Express

Posted: March 4, 2022 at 4:56 pm

A team of researchers at IIT Kanpur has developed novel nanoparticles that can protect agricultural crops from fungal and bacterial infections. The team, led by Santosh K Misra, and Piyush Kumar from the department of biological sciences and bioengineering at IIT-Kanpur has developed the novel nanoparticle-based bio-degradable-carbonoid-metabolite (BioDCM), in collaboration with researchers C Kannan and Divya Mishra from ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, and R Balamurugan and Mou Mandal from the School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad.

This is the second such innovation in the agriculture sector since last year from IIT Kanpur. Last year, out of the 107 patents filed by the institute, one path-breaking invention was the Bhu-Parikshak soil-testing device that significantly reduces the time required for testing soil in the lab.

The latest invention acts as a shield to protect the crops, especially rice crop from infection and diseases. The invention of these novel nanoparticles would lessen the worries of crop infection and give boost to crop yield, said Abhay Karandikar, director of IIT Kanpur.

The technology is a protective biological alternative that can be used to enhance crop protection against various diseases in agricultural field. Some key advantages of the invention are:

*Precise target action

*Can be active at low concentration

*Has similar advantages such as chemical pesticides but safe and biodegradable, unlike them

*Can offer multiple actions, e.g. bio pesticide, phyto-stimulants, etc.Fast in action as it is applied in bioactive forms

*The bio formulation protects the active compound from high temperature.

Natural products are in great demand for plant protection in organic agriculture and export-oriented products. The bio-formulation is of non-toxic nature, eco-friendly, easily degradable and is established to be a potent natural inhibitor in suppressing the growth and development of soil-based plant pathogens, including fungi and bacteria. The novel particle helps the crops to defend themselves by eliciting defence mechanisms and thus ensuring better farm productivity.

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‘Bengaluru India Nano’ summit to be held virtually – Gadgets Now

Posted: at 4:56 pm

Bengaluru, One of the flagship events of the Karnataka government, "Bengaluru India Nano" having "Nano for Sustainable Future" as its theme, scheduled to be held from March 7-9, will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai.

Addressing a press meet on Wednesday, C.N. Ashwath Narayan, Minister for IT/BT and Science & Technology, told that the annual event is being conducted virtually for the first time.

Dr C.N.R. Rao, Bharat Ratna awardee scientist and Honorary Chairperson of State Vision Group for Nano Technology, and Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Union Minister of State for IT/BT will be present, he added.

"The 12th edition of the 'Bengaluru India Nano' summit focuses on nano-medicine, nano-photonics, nano-textiles, hydrogen technology among others. 75 eminent speakers, 2500 delegates, 25 sessions, and over 4000 attendees are expected to participate", Minister Narayan elaborated.

For the first time, programmes like "nanotech quiz" and "nano for young" have been introduced with the objective of sensitising young minds about futuristic nanotechnology.

Around 650 students belonging to 23 states and 5 Union Territories have already registered for the quiz event. Sessions that will be held on the final day are designed in a tutorial model keeping students in mind, he told.

On the occasion, the "Nano Excellence Award" by the Government of Karnataka will be presented to 5 young researchers, who are pursuing a PhD in Nano Technology. During the event, Dr C.N.R. Rao sponsored awards will also be presented.

"This Summit will bring academia, industry, experts, entrepreneurs, startups into one platform. Further, it also allows collaborations with foreign countries and interactions on startups, large industries, MSMEs, Venture Capital, etc are part of the event," Narayan said.

Prof Navakanta Bhat, Chairman, State Vision Group for Nano-Technology, said, the integration of nanotech, life sciences, and health sciences has resulted in revolutionary innovations like mRNA vaccine and many such innovations are in the pipeline to be unleashed.

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TMS treatment for depression: What to know – Medical News Today

Posted: at 4:55 pm

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive treatment that stimulates nerves in the brain with magnetic pulses. If a person has treatment-resistant depression, a doctor may recommend TMS.

During TMS, a person receives short, quick, and repeated bursts of magnetic stimulation. Doctors focus the pulses on parts of the brain associated with emotional regulation.

Research has shown that TMS can be effective in relieving depression symptoms and improving mood. Although scientists do not fully understand how the treatment works, some suggest that it increases synaptic plasticity and enhances functional connectivity.

TMS is a safe, simple procedure that has few side effects. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved it for use in people with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Read on to learn about how TMS works, what to expect, and the possible side effects.

Doctors usually treat depression with medication and therapy. However, if this approach does not relieve a persons symptoms, a doctor may recommend other treatments, such as TMS.

During a TMS session, a healthcare professional places a magnetic coil against a persons scalp or forehead. This coil delivers a magnetic pulse that passes through the skull, stimulating nerves in specific parts of the brain.

When someone has TMS, a doctor administers pulses one after the other in rapid succession. Using this technique produces longer lasting changes in the brain.

The magnetic pulses are the same type and strength as those that an MRI machine emits. A person will not feel them, and they should not cause any pain.

According to the FDA, people receiving TMS for depression should have treatment daily for 46 weeks.

During TMS for depression, doctors focus on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This part of the brain is responsible for various cognitive processes, including memory, mood regulation, and conflict management.

However, it is often dysregulated in people with depression. This dysregulation can make it hard for people to manage their emotions, make decisions, and think clearly.

Researchers believe that stimulating this part of the brain with magnetic pulses changes how nerve cells fire. As a result, it may alleviate some of the symptoms associated with depression.

Moreover, stimulation of the left and right sides of the brain can have different effects. Some researchers believe that low frequency stimulation on the right side is more effective in alleviating depression than high frequency stimulation on the left side.

Although people generally respond well to TMS, its antidepressant effect can wear off over time.

A 2018 review reported that up to 50% of people continued to respond to TMS 12 months after their initial treatment, but more research is necessary to understand how effective it is as a long-term treatment method.

The treatment is an outpatient procedure, which means that it may take place in a hospital or a doctors office, and a person will be able to return home the same day.

Before a person begins TMS treatment, a doctor will ask them to remove any belongings containing metal. These items include coins, some jewelry, and credit cards.

Before treatment starts, a person will also need to put earplugs in to protect their ears from loud sounds.

In the first session, a doctor will measure a persons head for TMS coil placement.

They will also measure motor threshold, which is the minimum amount of power necessary to make a persons thumb twitch. This threshold varies from person to person.

Once a doctor knows a persons threshold, they can deliver the correct amount of energy.

Usually, a person receives five daily treatments over 36 weeks. Doctors aim to deliver 2030 sessions per treatment course.

During treatment, they administer high frequency TMS at about 10 Hertz. This treatment delivers more than 3,000 pulses within about 37 minutes, although the exact session duration may vary.

Due to the high number of pulses, people often refer to TMS as repetitive TMS, or rTMS.

Depression is a complicated condition, and it can be difficult to treat. Usually, the first-line treatment for depression is a combination of medication and therapy. If a medication does not work for an individual, a doctor may change the dosage, type, or both several times.

However, in some cases, this still does not relieve the symptoms, and doctors will determine that the person has treatment-resistant depression.

People who have treatment-resistant depression or cannot take medication for other reasons are good candidates for TMS.

It is not safe for a person to receive TMS if they have any of the following implants in their head:

However, braces and fillings do not stop a person from being a candidate for TMS.

People with risk factors for seizures should also avoid TMS, as seizures are a possible side effect. These risk factors include:

Although TMS is a safe and generally well-tolerated treatment, some people may experience side effects. These can include:

A more serious side effect of TMS is seizures. However, the risk of having a seizure is low.

People with treatment-resistant depression and those who cannot tolerate depression medication are suitable candidates for TMS.

The treatment emits magnetic pulses into specific parts of a persons brain. This can reset patterns of neuronal activity that are common in people with depression.

The FDA has approved TMS as a treatment for depression and OCD.

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An Appleton hospital is treating depression by delivering magnetic pulses to the brain – Post-Crescent

Posted: at 4:55 pm

APPLETON - Waking up each morning and preparing for the day used to feel as difficult as climbing a mountain for Erin Johnson.

The depression she lived with for years made it a struggle to get to her job as a physician assistant, work on thehobby farm she owns with her husband in Greenville and care for her two young children.

She'd been on and off medications to treat her condition since she was a teenager, Johnsonsaid. None produced the results she was looking for, and some brought on unpleasant side effects, like nausea and sweating, that made it hardto continue taking them.

"You think, 'Oh, you can't just deal with sweating?'" Johnson said."But ... you think about sweating, and you sweat. Or you wake up in the middle of the night in a pool of sweat."

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When she heard a presentation at work last year about a new treatment being offered to tackle depression like hers, she wanted to give it a try.

Every weekday for a month and a half, she reported to Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital, where a machine delivered small magnetic pulses to her brain for about 20 minutes. When the treatment ended, her depression symptoms had disappeared.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, has been around for awhile but is less commonly found outside of Wisconsin's urban centers. In the Fox Valley, St. Elizabeth began to offer it in May 2021, and Prevea followed later in the year.

TMS is meant for people like Johnsonwhose clinical depression isn't responding to medication or talk therapy. Patients sit in what looks like a dentist's chair and a magnetic instrument stimulatesthe brain's dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which regulates mood. The pulses help release chemicals like serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, correcting theimbalance that's thought to cause depression.

Johnson described the feeling as "an interesting sensation" that's not quite painful, though she did have some scalp tenderness and a slight headache after her first few visits.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation at St. Elizabeth hospital

Erin Johnson, of Greenville, receives transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment for depression at Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton.

Courtesy of Erin Johnson

Most other TMS patients at St. Elizabethare seeing the same positive results that Johnson did. Of the 46 patients whohave undergone treatment since the program began, 84% have seen their depression symptoms clear, said Dr. Thomas Rowell, an Ascension psychiatrist who oversees TMS at the hospital.

Many insurance providers will cover the treatment, provided the patient proves they'vetried medications and other forms of therapy without relief. At that point, Rowell said, the people he's seeing are "almost at their wit's end."

"They come to us pretty depressed ... they've tried a lot, and they're hoping this is the thing that's going to help them," Rowell said.

Each time a patient comes in for treatment, they fill out a questionnaire about their depression symptoms, he said, rating how often they're experiencingthings like hopelessness, appetite loss, poor sleep, loss of interest in activities and suicidal thoughts. Over the course of treatment, Rowell said, the frequency of those decline "dramatically."

After about three weeks, Johnson said she realized she was able to get up in the morning with ease. She felt more social at workand said her coworkers and family members noticed.

There isn't a definitive answer to how long TMS keeps people's depression at bay. One 2013 study found that, after a year, 68% of people who received the treatment were still experiencing improved symptoms and 45% were in complete remission.

At St. Elizabeth, a TMS patient coordinatorwill follow up with people after their treatment to see how they'refeeling, Rowell said, and may recommend a few more visits if their depression has returned. No one has reported that yet.

Depression can be passed down genetically or be triggered by environmental factors, like trauma or severe stress. TMS works well forpeople whose depression was likely passed down through their family, Rowell said, and it works best when it's paired with an antidepressant.

Rowell was in residency when the treatment was first approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration in 2008. Hesaid it was met with skepticism because doctors thought the data on its efficacy wasn't up to par.

He forgot about it for years, then spoke with a salesperson for the machine who showed him newer, better research results. Within 18 months, St. Elizabethwas able to start offering it.

The treatment is still a new frontier, Rowellsaid. Although research is limited, doctors have begun to examine how it could be used to treat anxiety as well as depression by sending the magnetic pulses to another part of the brain.

Scientists are hoping a new type of TMS, called Stanford neuromodulation therapy, could be approved by the FDA by the end of this year. In that type of treatment, patients receive the magnetic pulses for longer periods of time per day but complete treatment within five days, as opposed to six weeks.

Johnson said one hesitation before starting treatment in October was that she wouldn't be able to commit to going daily if work and life got in the way.

But in the end, she said, six weeks was an easy sacrifice to make for having her symptoms go away.

"It's hard to explain. You feel I don't want to say normal, because what is normal, really?" Johnson said. "But you feel better."

Contact reporter Madeline Heim at 920-996-7266 or mheim@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @madeline_heim.

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Segmented Tire Molds Market Scope and overview, To Develop with Increased Global Emphasis on Industrialization 2029 | MK Technology, SeYoung TMS …

Posted: at 4:55 pm

Segmented Tire Molds Marketreport focused on the comprehensive analysis of current and future prospects of the Segmented Tire Molds industry. It describes the optimal or favourable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period. An in-depth analysis of past trends, future trends, demographics, technological advancements, and regulatory requirements for the Segmented Tire Molds market has been done in order to calculate the growth rates for each segment and sub-segments.

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The top companies in this report include:MK Technology, SeYoung TMS, Shinko Mold Industrial, Wantong, A-Z, Himile, Anhui Mcgill Mould, Quality, Qingdao Yuantong Machine, HERBERT Maschinen, King Machine, Saehwa IMC, Tianyang, Anhui Wide Way Mould, Greatoo, HongChang.

Various factors are responsible for the markets growth trajectory, which are studied at length in the report. In addition, the report lists down the restraints that are posing threat to the global Segmented Tire Molds market. This report is a consolidation of primary and secondary research, which provides market size, share, dynamics, and forecast for various segments and sub-segments considering the macro and micro environmental factors. It also gauges the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, threat from new entrants and product substitute, and the degree of competition prevailing in the market.

The influence of the latest government guidelines is also analysed in detail in the report. It studies the Segmented Tire Molds markets trajectory between forecast periods. The cost analysis of the Global Segmented Tire Molds Market has been performed while keeping in view manufacturing expenses, labour cost, and raw materials and their market concentration rate, suppliers, and price trend.

Global Segmented Tire Molds Market Segmentation:

Market Segmentation: By Type

Top Open Tire Molds, Down To Ground Tire Molds

Market Segmentation: By Application

PCR, TBR, OTR, Others

The research provides answers to the following key questions:

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Regions Covered in the Global Segmented Tire Molds Market Report 2022:The Middle East and Africa(GCC Countries and Egypt)North America(the United States, Mexico, and Canada)South America(Brazil etc.)Europe(Turkey, Germany, Russia UK, Italy, France, etc.)Asia-Pacific(Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Australia)

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Table of Contents

Global Segmented Tire Molds Market Research Report 2022 2029

Chapter 1 Segmented Tire Molds Market Overview

Chapter 2 Global Economic Impact on Industry

Chapter 3 Global Market Competition by Manufacturers

Chapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by Region

Chapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions

Chapter 6 Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type

Chapter 7 Global Market Analysis by Application

Chapter 8 Manufacturing Cost Analysis

Chapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers

Chapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders

Chapter 11 Market Effect Factors Analysis

Chapter 12 Global Segmented Tire Molds Market Forecast

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BrainsWay to Report Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Financial Results on March 9, 2022 – Marketscreener.com

Posted: at 4:55 pm

BURLINGTON, Mass. and JERUSALEM, Feb. 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BrainsWay Ltd. (NASDAQ & TASE: BWAY) (BrainsWay or the Company), a global leader in advanced noninvasive neurostimulation treatments for mental health disorders, today announced that it will report its fourth quarter and full year 2021 financial results as well as operational highlights before the open of the U.S. financial markets onWednesday, March 9, 2022. The Company will host a conference call and webcast at 8:30 AM Eastern Timeto discuss the results and provide an update on business operations.

Conference Call Dial-In & Webcast Information:

The conference call will be broadcast live and will be available for replay for 30 days on the Companys website, https://investors.brainsway.com/events-and-presentations/event-calendar. Please access the Companys website at least 10 minutes ahead of the conference call to register.

About BrainsWayBrainsWay is a global leader in advanced noninvasive neurostimulation treatments for mental health disorders. The Company is boldly advancing neuroscience with its proprietary Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (Deep TMS) platform technology to improve health and transform lives. BrainsWay is the first and only TMS company to obtain three FDA-cleared indications backed by pivotal studies demonstrating clinically proven efficacy. Current indications include major depressive disorder (including reduction of anxiety symptoms, commonly referred to as anxious depression), obsessive-compulsive disorder, and smoking addiction. The Company is dedicated to leading through superior science and building on its unparalleled body of clinical evidence. Additional clinical trials of Deep TMS in various psychiatric, neurological, and addiction disorders are underway. Founded in 2003, with offices in Burlington, MA and Jerusalem, Israel, BrainsWay is committed to increasing global awareness of and broad access to Deep TMS. For the latest news and information about BrainsWay, please visitwww.brainsway.com.

Contacts:BrainsWay:Scott Areglado SVP and Chief Financial Officer617-771-2287SAreglado@brainsway.com

Investors:Bob YedidLifeSci Advisors646-597-6989Bob@LifeSciAdvisors.com

2022 GlobeNewswire, Inc., source Press Releases

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The New Space Race to the Moon Is Really About Going to Mars And Beyond – The Daily Beast

Posted: at 4:54 pm

In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy declared that his nation would be the first to land a man on the moon. That ambitious goal would later be fulfilled as two NASA astronauts took wobbly steps across the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, much to the dismay of Russias own space program leaders.

More than 60 years later, a new space race to the moon has begun, albeit with much higher stakes and brand new players ready to make the 238,855-mile journey. This time, the race to the moon is about much more than just planting a flag on its dusty surface. Getting to the moon first could also mean calling dibs on its limited resources, and controlling a permanent gateway to take humans to Marsand beyond.

Whether its NASA, China, Russia, or a consortium of private companies that end up dominating the moon, laying claim to the lunar surface isnt really about the moon anywayits about who gets easier access to the rest of the solar system.

James Rice, a senior scientist at the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, remembers growing up with the Apollo program and getting bitten by the space bug as he watched the 1969 moon landing unfold on television.

As a kid, I saw that happening and I wanted to be a part of it, Rice told The Daily Beast. Thats basically why Im in this career today.

As Rice reflected on the current space race, he recognized some key differences. Things have really changed dramatically in terms of the technology and the players that are out there, he said. This is not the moon we thought of during the Apollo days. Scientists have learned so much more about the moon through more detailed analysis of lunar samples, as well as several missions that have probed exactly what might be sitting on the moons surface and remain hidden deep underground.

Though we have known for over a decade that the moon is probably teeming with reserves of water ice, NASA announced just last year that it had found the best evidence yet that water trapped in icy pockets were far more spread out across the lunar surface than previously believed. The discovery further fueled the idea of building a permanent base on the moon, which astronauts could then use to reach Mars and other celestial destinations.

Conceptual art for a NASA-led astronaut base involving water ice prospecting and mining.

NASA

Why is this such a big deal? Water is a precious resource for space travelersnot just for astronauts to drink, but also to turn into rocket fuel to use to blast off.

Remember your grade-school science here: Water is made of hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is known to be the most efficient rocket propellant whereas oxygen can be combined by fuel to create combustion. The ability to break down all that water ice on the moon means you have access to both of its constituent elementsan enormous supply of rocket fuel. (And as an added bonus, you can use any excess oxygen as breathable air for astronauts.)

Finding these resources on the moon is much better than transporting them from Earth. Packing resources to space comes at a hefty priceit costs about $10,000 just to launch a payload weighing a single pound into Earths orbit, according to NASA. It could be far less costly to use what the moon has to offer to build a lunar pitstop to cosmic destinations.

I think the moon has been placed as this midpoint, or first step towards Mars, Casey Dreier, senior space policy adviser at The Planetary Society, told The Daily Beast. Its not an end destination.

In other words, going back to the moon is not really about the moon, at least not entirely. Its a gateway to truly larger space ambitions. Thats why ArtemisNASAs new lunar exploration programhas been consistently touted not as simply a redux of Apollo, but rather the initial foundation for a permanent presence on the moon.

Acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk, left, and Rick Gilbrech, director of NASA's Stennis Space Center, right, watch as the core stage for the first flight of NASAs Space Launch System rocket undergoes a second hot fire test in the B-2 Test Stand on March 18.

NASA/Robert Markowitz via Getty

Martha Hess, the director for human exploration and spaceflight at the Aerospace Corporation, a nonprofit for technical guidance on space missions, echoed those sentiments. This time, the moon is a training ground, and Mars is the destination, she told The Daily Beast.

Todays space race is also not merely between competing nations and political ideologies. It also involves private companies trying to pursue profits. We are at a unique point in time where our economy and technology are aligned, allowing for private and commercial investment in space based capabilities, said Hess. This investment takes the pressure off government agencies to sustain the industry.

Private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are also looking beyond the moon. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has an obsessive vision of going to Mars and terraforming the planet to make it suitable for human colonization. Blue Origins Jeff Bezos is looking to be a dominating player in the field of commercial space travel, transporting (probably very wealthy) citizens to the moon or beyond.

Private companies have their own long term goals that exist outside of the national space program, Dreier said. Theyll do whatever NASA asks them to do, they dont care whether NASA is going to the moon or Mars.

Something that will define the upcoming moon race is the fact that not every region on the moon is equal in value. There are limited places to go, and its all about location, Rice said.

Just as the California gold rush of the 19th century was defined by where the gold was found, so too will the water rush to the moon be defined by where the water is stored. The U.S. is looking to build its lunar base at the moons south pole, where there is thought to be a wealth of water ice reserves.

Moreover, the south pole is a wellspring for fulfilling energy needs: Its exposed to more sunshine than anywhere else on the moon, which would fuel solar panels and supply power to the base.

Li Xianhua, China Academy of Sciences academician and Institute of Geology, speaks during a press conference in Beijing on Oct. 19.

Noel Celis/AFP via Getty

And with no clear space laws currently in place over ownership of objects in space, lunar resources may very well come down to whoever calls dibs first.

Who else wants to build a base on the moons south pole? For starters, theres China, which recently announced long-term plans to build a base on the moon with Russia. Its more distant goal, of course, is to send a crewed mission to Mars by the year 2033.

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, or the Change Project, is relatively new to the scene but has already made great strides. In Jan. 2019, the countrys Change-4 lunar probe was the first spacecraft in history to safely land on the far side of the moon. In Dec. 2020, the Change-5 mission returned samples from the lunar surface. Those new moon rocks are already paying off in new scientific revelations. .

Chinas space agency recently approved three more missions to the moon, targetingyou guessed itthe lunar south pole. The nations space program is hoping to land astronauts on the moon by the year 2030. Down the line, we may see Chinese and American astronauts hanging out on the moon at the same time.

Nevertheless, China and Russia dont pose much competition to the U.S. as long as NASA doesnt dawdle on its way back to the moon. China is absolutely working on building up its capability, Dreier said. But Id say theyre at least a decade behind, if not more, compared to the U.S. capability.

First up on NASAs agenda is Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight to the moon that is meant to debut the brand new Space Launch System (the biggest rocket system ever built) and the Orion crew capsule that will eventually take astronauts back to the moon. Launching tentatively in April, Artemis I will simply orbit the moon and come back to Earth. It wont be until Artemis III, set to launch in 2025 (if youre an optimist), that well finally see human boots make it to the lunar surface.

China has the benefit of being able to establish a long-term plan and funding, which allows them the ability to chip away at their 30-50-100 year vision. We dont have that luxury.

Martha Hess

Hess does believe, however, that China has one advantage over the U.S. that it could exploit to make speedy progress.

China has the benefit of being able to establish a long-term plan and funding, which allows them the ability to chip away at their 30-50-100 year vision, Hess said. We dont have that luxury; our plans are good for a presidential term, and our budgets are appropriated annually so our programs start, stop and starve. Long-term exploration of the solar system isnt actually something thats crystallized in U.S. budgets for decades to come.

NASA estimates that the Artemis program will cost $86 billion by 2025. The current U.S. administration has made a $24.8 billion fiscal 2022 budget request for NASA to cover the return to the moon.

During the first space race, the agency spent $28 billion to land the first humans on the moon, which is about $280 billion when adjusted for inflation, according to The Planetary Society.

As the space program for each of the space race participants begins to take shape, policy makers are realizing that they need to update the laws at hand to better govern the new era of space exploration thats about to launch.

Regardless of who gets to plant space boots on the moon next, there is an overarching benefit to human exploration as a whole.

There's more to it than that because there's an inspiration to it that you can't put a price tag on, Rice said. It does something to you when you walk out there and look at the moon and now there are people out there doing something, that just resonates.

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Science fiction: origins and history – The News International

Posted: at 4:53 pm

BOOKSHELF

Science fiction, as a literary genre, explores the impact of scientific technologies on societies. Hard science fiction uses realistic scientific arguments and extrapolates to make a logical argument based on science and its impact on the society. Soft science fiction, conversely, comprises far-fetched stories based on science and the use of futuristic technologies. For instance, Star Trek and Star Wars are interesting stories. However, the concept of time travel, space jump, and humans meeting with alien civilizations are purely fictional narratives. They are stories carved out of our imagination and by the curiosity to know if life exists across the universe and if humans can travel through vast areas in the universe.

When it comes to science fiction novels, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and Arthur C. Clarke are considered as the Big Three of the genre. Their imaginative insights, creative sense, and storytelling have remained unparalleled. Isaac Asimovs The Foundation series is a literary classic that appeared in print as short stories during 194250. The story is about a Galactic Empire, a government set in the future. Hari Seldon is the protagonist who is a mathematician. He determines a theory of psychohistory and forecasts the future of large populations.

Robert A. Heinleins Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) is the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who was raised by Martians. When he returned to Earth, the planet became a strange place for him as he tried to comprehend human customs. Arthur C. Clarkes 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) reveals the presence of a monolith in Africa in the year 3 million B.C. It is placed there by an unseen alien force. The subliminal psychological influence of the monolith endows the humans with the power to develop tools. The story takes the main characters from our solar system into the future and to the unknown alien worlds. While the genre of science fiction was propagated by Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke, their predecessors laid the foundations to the genre. They were Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Hugo Gernsback.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) by Jules Verne is the story of a geologist, Professor Otto Lidenbroc. He goes on a journey into the centre of the Earth to find lost worlds. In 1865, Verne published From the Earth to the Moon, where he discusses three men traveling to the Moon. In 1872, Verne explored the depths of the sea when he published Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. The story is about Professor Pierre Aronnax, who with his two colleagues, tries to hunt a sea monster that turns out to be Captain Nemos futuristic submarine. H.G. Wells in his novel The Time Machine (1895) takes his protagonist across various eras. He explores the advancements of civilizations and criticizes the social structure of his era that holds ground today. In his other novel, The War of the Worlds (1898), Wells uses alien lifeforms attacking humans on Earth as a metaphor to show how the Western nations invaded third-world states for vested interests. It was, however, the Luxembourgian-American inventor, writer, and magazine publisher Hugo Gernsback who first conceived a magazine that published science fiction-related stories. He founded Amazing Stories in 1926. Gernsback is regarded as the Father of Science Fiction.

The magazine itself facilitated the development of the genre. Through this publication, Gernsback brought to fore a concept he called, Scientifiction which was charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision. While regarded as the most influential writer in science fiction, it was not Gernsback but William Wilson who first used the term Science-Fiction in his 1851 book about poetry.

Science fiction as we know of today was once a primitive form of writing. Traces of it are seen as back as during the second century. A True Story written by Lucian of Samosata comprises several sci-fi elements including space travel, alien life, and interplanetary colonization. 1n 1420, an anonymous French writer explored the underwater sea travels of Alexander the Great. Perhaps the first fictional accounts of a man traveling to the moon were shared by Francis Godwin in his book The Man in the Moone published in 1638 - nearly 331 years before Neil Armstrong set his foot on the Moon. The story is about Domingo Gonsales who reaches the moon after traveling across the world. The concept of utopia in science fiction narratives was first shown by Margaret Cavendish in The Blazing World (1666). The novel is considered to be a precursor of science fiction. The satirical story explores an ideal monarch, social hierarchy, and various styles of government.

Speculative fiction a sub-genre of science fiction - was first explored in 1733 when Samuel Madden published Memoirs of the Twentieth Century. Madden explores how the world would be in the 20th century and how the domains of politics and religion would operate in this era. In 1818, Mary Shelley wrote a major work of science fiction when she published Frankenstein. With themes of ambition, family, and alienation, she brought to the fore a concept that redefined the genre. She used galvanism with creativity based on gothic horror to create Frankenstein.

A dystopian-era speculative fiction novel was The Air Battle: A Vision of the Future written by Herrmann Lang in 1859. Langs future had remarkable political implications. He showed a time when the British Empire was no more and the US was divided into smaller states. He set his story in the year 6900 when the African-Americans along with races from South America rule the world.

In 1979, Douglas Adams published a science fiction novel with elements of comedy. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy follows the misadventures of Arthur Dent, the last man who survived the Earths destruction. Dent explores the universe with a weird team including Prefect, a human-like alien who is a writer documenting his voyages across the galaxies for his electronic travel guide.

In Pakistan, science fiction is still an unexplored genre. Sidra F. Sheikhs The Light Blue Jumper (2017) is a science fiction story set in a different era than ours. Zaaro Nian is an alien who confronts the Interplanetary Forces (IPF) after a calamity hits his ship. Mohsin Hamids Exit West (2017) is a sci-fi / speculative fiction story about the refugee crisis and emigration. Seventy Four by Faraz Talat (2020) is a Pakistani science fiction novella set in a dystopian era, during a post-pandemic world. It is a commentary on how humans actions led to their demise. Usman T. Maliks Midnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan (2021) explores various characters in diverse settings through speculative fiction. Pakistani writers including Kehkashan Khalid, Nihal Ijaz Khan, Nur Nasreen Ibrahim, and Sameem Siddiqui have ventured into the genre of speculative fiction. With time, the genre of science fiction will grow. We have creative writers; they will tell stories by creating worlds of their own and they shall take readers on wonderful adventures.

The writer is a fiction writer, columnist and author of Divided Species a sci-fi story set in Karachi

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Science fiction: origins and history - The News International

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A Populist Attack on Big Tech – Econlib

Posted: at 4:51 pm

In my most recent Defining Ideas article, Let Freedom Rein in Big Tech, I made a case against the kind of regulation of Big Tech that many on the right favor. In that article, I promised to lay out the problems with some of the regulations of Big Tech that many on the left favor. One such set of regulations is in the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICO), sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota). My further research surprised me. I had thought that this was a bill favored mainly by the left. But it seems to have populist anti-big-business support from both left and right. Five of the bills co-sponsors are Democrats and six are Republicans. That makes analyzing the bill more, not less, important.

The fact that the words innovation and choice are in the bills title might suggest that the bills sponsors think those are good things. But what the bill would actually do, if implemented, is severely restrict innovation and choice when those innovations are undertaken by the Big Tech firms that are targets of the bill. Just as antitrust laws in the past seemed more designed to protect competitors rather than consumers, so with AICO. Moreover, what the proponents seem not to recognize is that innovation often occurs in unpredictable ways and that the firm with market power today is often, ten years later, the firm that has been displaced by innovative competitors.

This is from David R. Henderson, A Populist Attack on Big Tech, Defining Ideas, March 3, 2022.

I hadnt realized until I started to look into AICO how bipartisan it is.

Another excerpt:

AICO defines a covered platform as one that has at least 50,000,000 United Statesbased monthly active users on the online platform or has at least 100,000 United Statesbased monthly active business users on the online platform. It must also have net annual sales or a market capitalization greater than $550 billion. Why $550 billion? The answer is telling.

Originally, the cutoff in the bill was $600 billion. But on February 8, 2022, the market capitalization of Meta, owner of Facebook, fell below $600 billion for the first time since May 2020. CNBC writer Lauren Feiner thought at the time that the lower market value could help Meta avoid being regulated under AICO. But no such luck. Senator Klobuchar quickly revised the bill to make the threshold $550 billion, which was below, and is still below, Metas market cap. If there was ever any doubt as to one of her targets, Klobuchars revision of the bill removed that doubt.

I also dig into the robber baron issue.

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A Populist Attack on Big Tech - Econlib

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Big Tech companies are harming not helping healthcare – MedCity News

Posted: at 4:51 pm

If there were a graveyard for failed health IT endeavors, it would be cluttered with the tombstones of Big Tech companies like IBM, Google and Amazon.

Big technology companies have often been hailed as the saviors that could free the nation from the problems of our dysfunctional, inefficient and archaic healthcare system. The reality is that these organizations continue to fail in their initiatives, ultimately stifling true healthcare innovation and reducing the markets confidence in technologies that are successfully addressing real market needs.

After wasting time and money on half-baked solutions, organizations eventually give up and wonder if Big Techs motivations for saving healthcare were based more on greed and hubris than actual innovation. Oracles $28 billion acquisition of Cerner is the latest Big Tech investment to generate headlines, and its a deal thats not likely to end well, either.

A quick review of notable Big Tech healthcare failures

As a refresher, lets look back to a few of the more notable Big Tech healthcare debacles of recent years.

Why does this keep happening? Dirty healthcare data

Its easy to understand the appeal that healthcare holds for Big Tech. Its a $4.1 trillion market that is plagued by disorganization and waste. Despite what we in the industry sometimes like to tell ourselves, the reality is that healthcare in America is horrible. Healthcare is more expensive in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world, yet quality is poorer than most developed nations in terms of life expectancy and outcomes.

Why? The foundation of the U.S. healthcare systems is billing codes i.e., financial rather than clinical information. That leads to a host of problems due to the lack of granularity of claims data, which does not account for many important factors, including patients social determinants of health.

One consistent theme that runs through all of these missteps is that Big Tech constantly underestimates the problem that healthcare has with dirty data. Healthcare is not engineering. In healthcare, data is rarely clean or consistent; its more like the Tower of Babel. Healthcare is full of industry-specific terminologies, such as ICD-10, SNOMED, RxNorm and MedDRA.

Indeed, approximately 30% of the worlds data volume is generated by the healthcare industry, according to RBC Capital Markets. By 2025, the compound annual growth rate of data for healthcare is expected to reach 36%, a faster rate of growth than the manufacturing, financial services, and media and entertainment industries.

Patient data may be included in medical histories, diagnoses, observations, lab reports and imaging reports, to name just a few of the many disparate sources. Further, each patient record is unique, and medical data can be complex and confusing.

In addition to its complexity, clinical data is often perplexingly and frustratingly both redundant and incomplete at the same time. Its stored in separate electronic health records systems across various providers, but full of spelling errors and inconsistencies.

Much of the valuable data that healthcare organizations need to improve decision-making is also unstructured. The information is trapped in the notes sections of EHRs or as PDFs and image files, which are difficult for machine-learning algorithms to decipher. It is estimated that about 80% of healthcare data is unstructured.

Big Techs lack of healthcare domain expertise can create conditions that stifle innovation and reduce market confidence in certain types of technology. When organizations spend time and money to implement Big Tech solutions that ultimately dont fix their pain points, many simply give up on the technology even when other innovative solutions are available in the market.

For healthcare, by those with healthcare expertise

Look, I do Google searches and use Big Techs tools just like everybody else. For the most part, theyre good at what they do when they stick to what they do and thats not healthcare.

As weve seen time and time again, Big Tech just cant get healthcare right because they cant overcome the dirty data problems that are endemic to the industry and they are too proud to integrate the third party solutions that do. Everyone (that is to say: the healthcare industry, Big Tech themselves, and oh yeah, patients) would frankly be better off if they stopped trying.

Instead of relying on Big Tech to solve healthcares big problems, stakeholders would be better served to look at solutions that have been developed for healthcare by experienced experts who know and understand the industry.

Photo: pictafolio, Getty Images

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Big Tech companies are harming not helping healthcare - MedCity News

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