Category Archives: Life Extension

Until this week, Aubrey de Grey was best known as the longevity researcher who predicted the first human to live 1,000 years may already be alive. Now, de Grey stands accused of being a sexual predator.

Celine Halioua, who received research funding from de Greys SENS Research Foundation, set out her accusations in a blog post titled Aubrey de Grey is a sexual predator. Laura Deming, founder of life extension VC shop The Longevity Fund, set out separate allegations against de Grey in her own blog post.

Deming wrote: I had one bad experience with him when I was 17he told me in writing that he had an adventurous love life and that it had always felt quite jarring not to let conversations with me stray in that direction given that [he] could treat [me] as an equal on every other level. He sent this from his work email, and Id known him since I was 14.

At the time, Deming said she wrote it off as a mistake. However, in the past few months, in part through conversations with Celine Halioua, Deming has come to believe her experience is part of a serial pattern hes enacted with women over whom hes in a position of power.

The accusations made by Halioua center on a dinner at which she was sat next to de Grey by a SENS executive. I was told to keep him entertained; Aubrey funneled me alcohol and hit on me the entire night. He told me that I was a glorious woman and that as a glorious woman I had a responsibility to have sex with the SENS donors in attendance so they would give money to him, Halioua wrote.

Halioua left that dinner sobbing and said it has taken her years to shake the deep-seated belief that I only got to where I am due to older men wanting to have sex with me. In the post, Halioua accused an unnamed SENS executive of harassing her so severely that she eventually dropped out of my PhD to escape him. Halioua is now CEO of a biotech startup developing drugs to extend dog life span.

De Grey responded to the accusations in a Facebook post. The longevity researcher admitted he inadvisedly wrote the email discussed by Deming and unreservedly regrets having done so. In all other regards, de Grey denies the accusations, which he framed as a setup.

I'm putting it out there right now: if other accusers come forward with supporting evidence, I will step aside a great deal faster than Cuomo just did. But if they don't who's the real culprit here? Hint: in my ever-so-personal view, it's not Celine or Laura. The unequivocally clear conclusion that I draw from the above is that they have been set up, de Grey wrote.

De Grey believes people have deceived Deming and Halioua into the view that I have done many things that I have in fact not done. As to who would orchestrate such a deception and why, de Grey said: I have been vigorously advised to keep my counsel on that question for another day or two but, as they say, watch this space.

SENS has put de Grey on administrative leave. An independent investigation into the allegations, which SENS first learned of in late June, is now underway.

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Leading longevity researcher accused of sexual harassment - FierceBiotech

The global Melatoninemarket is comprehensive and Insightful information in the report, taking into consideration various factors such as competition, regional growth, segmentation, and Melatonine Market size by value and volume. This is an excellent study specially designed to provide you with up-to-date information on important aspects of the Melatonine market. This report presents various market forecasts related to market size, production, revenue, consumption, CAGR, gross profit, price, and other key factors. Created using industry-leading primary and secondary research methods and tools.

TheMajorPlayers Covered in this Report:Life Extension, Jamieson Vitamins, Source Naturals, Pharmavite, Centrum, NOW Foods, Haviland Enterprises Inc., GNC, BY-HEALTH, Nutraceutical Corporation, Nutritional Supplement Manufacturers Inc., Softgel Nutraceuticals, Pharma Resources International LLC, Arnet Pharmaceutical, Van Wankum Ingredients, Spectrum Chemical Mfg. Corp., AIE Pharmaceuticals, Norquay Technology Inc., Action Labs Inc., Gemini Pharmaceuticals, Twinlab Corp., Superior Supplement Manufacturing, The Chemical Co.

In 2020, the global Melatonine market size was million US$ and it is expected to reach a million US$ by the end of 2027, with a CAGR between 2021 and 2027.

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Melatonine market 2021 Global analysis, opportunities and forecast to 2027 | By Top Leading Vendors like Life Extension, Superior Supplement...

No stranger to social media, Nashville plastic surgeon Daniel Hatef, MD relies on the visual tool of Instagram to showcase his practice, communicate with prospective clients, and share some of those oft-secretive, celebrity-treatment shots that even the most dedicated of patients arent always so quick to post.

One thing hes not a fan of: Something he refers to as the on-the-table rhinoplasty before-and-aftersan increasingly popular post he thinks looks amazing on the operating room table but, within a year, looks operated on.

The main reason is that the nose changes over time with healing, shares Dr. Hatef, when pressed on why hes not a proponent of showcasing the storied nose job surgery in this fashion. Classic reductive techniques done in closed rhinoplasty lead to dramatic aesthetic changes on the operating room table, and they are notorious for changing for the worse over time.

While he says his opinion is not to disparage the closed approachbut the classic pinched tips and supratip deformities that we often see with this technique dont show up until six-to-12 months postoperatively, if not longerhe strongly stands by the fact that, in rhinoplasty, you cannot base the favorability of a result based on the immediate postoperative appearance.

The reason: These pictures are typically taken from the profile view, Dr. Hatef explains. While this is fine for social media, when patients are looking for a rhinoplasty surgeon, they should ask to see frontal views as well. Although a change in the profile is almost always desired, this is the easier view to change.

Plus, he explains, plastic surgeons will take the before picture on the operating room table after theyve injected local anesthesia and epinephrine, which isnt necessarily indicative when playing a part in the final result.

We do these injections for pain control and to minimize bleeding, but they can be used to make the nose look biggerand the after result much more dramatic in comparison, he says. I encourage surgeons to post their operative before-and-afters, and I do the same. Its a great way to see how a result changes over time, but they should be taken accurately and before any injection is done.

And patients should know these things so that they can be more discerning in their choices.

Eugene, OR plastic surgeon Mark Jewell, MD backs the above and gives the life extension of our iPhones an equally as bad review.

Its impossible to show accurate outcomes in the operating room from a rhinoplasty, even if theres a discernable change, he says. And a phone picture of a nose taken before-and-after is, in my opinion, poor quality, non-standardized imaging. Rhinoplasty results need at least six months to mature and for swelling to completely resolve.

One case where it may be suitable, says La Jolla, CA plastic surgeon Robert Singer, MD: If it helps ease some post-surgery fears. It may be worthwhile to show the patient what was achieved at surgery during the time they are anxious and have their splint on. It is not, however, an adequate representation of the final result as swelling diminishes.

Encino, CA plastic surgeon George Sanders, MD is also not a fan of any kind of aesthetic result being photographed on the operating table. It is not the final result that is seen after months have passed since surgery, he says. Scar tissue, skin shrinkage, settling of the tissues and resolution of swelling all affect the final result that the patient will have. Granted, it takes time to acquire those long-termbefore-and-after photos, but theseare a much better indicator of the final surgical result than what is seen in the operating room.

Patients should insist on long-term before-and-after photos if they are going to rely on these as an indicator of the surgeons skill.

While she is quick to point out she doesnt do much rhinoplasty work, Pasadena, CA plastic surgeon Lily Lee, MD also stresses the fact that she is not a fan of the showing your immediate post-op work trend.

It is not a great for any part of the body, as so much changes throughout the healing process.

Nevertheless, New York facial plastic surgeon Konstantin Vasyukevich, MD says evaluating before-and-after pictures is still the best way to assess the rhinoplasty results.

However, the importanceof the timing for the after photos can not be overstated, he stresses. Few people realize that our nose is not just a static feature of our face, but rather a very complex mechanical structure. Multiple forces act on the cartilages of the nose simultaneously pulling it in all different directions. When these forces are in equilibrium, the nose will maintain its shape. When the forces acting on the cartilages are out of balance the nose will start changing its shape: becoming longer or shorter or more upturned or deviating to the side.

The art of rhinoplasty is being able to surgically balance all the forces acting on the nose, so the long term result does not differ from the result seen at the end of surgery. Therefore, taking a photo of the nose on the operating table can be quite misleading. If rhinoplasty surgery was expertly performed the nose will look the same in the years to come, alternatively, the nose could potentially look completely different just a few short month down the road.

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Why Plastic Surgeons Say 'On-the-Table' Rhinoplasties Are Not to Be Trusted - NewBeauty Magazine

Ongoing advances in treatment options for patients with lung cancer are spurring patients hopes for life extensions in the face of the nations deadliest cancer. In honor of this years upcoming World Lung Cancer Day, medical oncologist Hamid Mirshahidi, MD, from Loma Linda University Cancer Center, and patient Maribel Padilla spread the word about a type of promising treatment option available to those living with lung cancer.

Though chemotherapy tends to come to mind first as the conventional route for cancer treatment, a slew of targeted therapies perpetually emerging from research and clinical trials are capable of outperforming chemotherapy in groups of patients with specific genetic mutations, Mirshahidi says.

Such was the case for 55-year-old Maribel Padilla, who, before reaching Loma Linda University Health in 2011, was informed she had a year maximum to live with stage four lung cancer that spread to her brain. After undergoing a brain surgery at the initial institution, Padilla transferred to LLU to work with the Cancer Center team and enrolled in three clinical trials. She has celebrated a decade of life since.

Our mindset was to give it a shot because we thought our mom had less than a year to live and we had nothing to lose. Gabriela Castillo

To determine whether Padilla would benefit from targeted therapy, LLU cancer experts conducted a tissue biopsy and analyzed her DNA. Sure enough, Padilla possessed a mutation in the DNA called anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), placing her among the roughly 25% of lung cancer patients with any oncology driver mutation and qualifying her for enrollment in some clinical trials, Mirshahidi said.

Of that 25%, Padilla was among the 5% of patients with ALK specifically a DNA mutation in lung cells that happens when two genes fuse, prompting lung cells to make too many copies of themselves that are cancerous and prone to spread throughout the body.

Padilla and her daughters, Gabriela and Karla Castillo, learned about the clinical trials and ultimately took the leap of faith to enroll. Our mindset was to give it a shot because we thought our mom had less than a year to live and we had nothing to lose," Gabriela said.

Padilla first enrolled in a trial for the drug Crizatinib and experienced minimal side effects. Yet, as lung cancer mutates and moves throughout the body, it may become resistant to one drug and weak to another. Cognizant of this phenomenon, LLU Cancer Centers weekly multidisciplinary team quickly and repeatedly tests for patients mutations and adapts treatment to a new targeted therapy drug.

After about a year on the first drug, Padillas cancer spread to her brain a second time, and her care team promptly enrolled her in a new clinical trial for a drug called Ceratinib. She continued this treatment regimen for years to keep the cancer under control and again experienced minimal adverse reactions relative to what chemotherapy tends to induce.

Ms. Padilla was able to benefit from and prove that those targeted therapy drugs for lung cancer patients with her same mutations are much more beneficial than chemotherapy would have been.Dr. Hamid Mirshahidi

Most recently, Padilla started on Lorlatinib through compassionate use, which occurs when a pharmaceutical company grants a clinical center the ability to provide their patients with a non-FDA-approved drug. Since Padilla completed the clinical trials and started compassionate use, all three targeted therapies have been FDA-approved.

To earn FDA approval, targeted therapies must prove themselves more effective than conventional chemotherapy for a specific group of patients, Mirshahidi said. After one targeted therapy obtains approval, usually a newly created, more potent drug will require another clinical trial, and so on.

Mirshahidi says targeted therapy produces fewer side effects for patients who meet the genetic criteria, proves more thorough and effective for fighting cancer, and offers a better quality of life than traditional chemotherapy. He continues to monitor Padillas response to treatment via various tests like CT scans and MRIs, which show shrinkage of her cancer.

She is now about eight years into treatment with no evidence of recurrence and never tried any conventional IV chemotherapy at LLU, he said. Ms. Padilla was able to benefit from and prove that those targeted therapy drugs for lung cancer patients with her same mutations are much more beneficial than chemotherapy would have been.

Since starting targeted therapy for her lung cancer, Padilla says she has felt grateful to live these past 10 years, during which she met her five newly-born grandchildren and solidified her pre-existing bonds with her other grandchildren.

Meanwhile, advances in targeted therapies forge ahead full-speed while Loma Linda University Heath continues to enhance and hone life-changing treatment plans to optimize lung cancer patients health journeys.

At Loma Linda University Cancer Center, physicians are committed to providing patients with compassionate, comprehensive care that gives them the best opportunity to face and overcome cancer. To learn more about lung cancer care at the Cancer Center, please visit lluh.org/cancer-center/cancer-programs/lung-cancer-care.

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Stage IV lung cancer patient enjoys life extension from targeted therapy treatments - Loma Linda University Health

The new phase II trial, to be funded by The Brain Tumour Charity, will assess whether adding Sativex (an oral spray containing cannabinoids THC and CBD) to chemotherapy could extend life for thousands with a recurrent glioblastoma.

The drug -already used in treating multiple sclerosis -was found to be tolerable in combination with chemotherapy, with the potential to extend survival, in a phase I trial in glioblastomas earlier this year.

The new three-year phase II trial (ARISTOCRAT), led by Professor Susan Short at the University of Leeds and co-ordinated by the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Birmingham, is due to begin recruiting over 230 patients across all UK nations in early 2022, subject to sufficient funds being raised.

Having seen its income drop by over 25% last year due to the pandemic and been forced to pause its regular research grant funding programme, The Brain Tumour Charity has today launched an appeal to raise the 450,000 needed to open the trial as soon as possible.

Experts hope that, should the trial prove successful, Sativex could represent one of the first additions to NHS treatment for glioblastoma patients since temozolomide chemotherapy in 2007.

Glioblastomas are the most common and most aggressive form of brain cancer, with around 2,200 people diagnosed each year in England alone. They are usually fast-growing and diffuse, with poorly-defined boundaries and thread-like tendrils that extend into other parts of the brain.

Almost all glioblastomas recur even after intensive treatment including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and average survival is just 12-18 months from first diagnosis.

Over the last decade, there has been significant global interest within both patient and scientific communities about the activity of cannabinoids in brain tumours, with the view that cannabinoid-based products may not only help relieve symptoms but could also have a positive impact on survival.

Several pre-clinical laboratory studies have suggested that cannabinoids THC and CBD may reduce brain tumour cell growth and could disrupt the blood supply to tumours -however, to date, clinical evidence that they could treat brain tumours has been limited.

In this new phase II trial, researchers will assess whether adding Sativex to the current standard chemotherapy treatment (temozolomide) could offer extra time to live for adults diagnosed with a recurrence of their glioblastoma after initial treatment.

The trial plans to recruit 232 participants across a minimum of 15 hospitals: two thirds of the participants will be given temozolomide plus Sativex, while one third will be given temozolomide plus placebo.

Sativex, manufactured by GW Pharma, is an oromucosal spray containing 1:1 THC (Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol), with the active ingredients being absorbed in the lining of the mouth, either under the tongue or inside the cheek.

Participants will be asked to administer up to 12 sprays per day (or to the maximum dose they can tolerate if fewer than 12) of Sativex or placebo oral sprays.

Participants will then undergo regular follow-up including clinical assessment (every four weeks), blood tests, MRI scans (every eight weeks), and they will complete quality of life questionnaires. This will also be one of the first trials to integrate with The Brain Tumour Charitys app BRIAN.

The trial will measure whether adding Sativex to chemotherapy extends the overall length of patients lives (overall survival), delays the progression of their disease (progression-free survival) or improves quality of life.

In the initial phase I study, the most common side-effects reported were fatigue, headache, vomiting and nausea, which were mostly classed as being mild-moderate in severity.

Stephen Lee, 62 from Leyland in Lancashire, took part in the phase I trial of Sativex in 2015 after his glioblastoma returned following initial treatment. Stephen was first diagnosed in 2010, just a few months after he had very sadly lost his older brother to the same disease. Stephen said:

My diagnosis was very sudden and was one of those days you never forget. Having had to leave work early with a severe headache and a stabbing pain in my right eye, my wife insisted that we go straight to hospital after what my brother had experienced.

I was admitted that same day, had a scan and thats when they identified it was a brain tumour. I had the operation the following week, and beforehand my wife and I agreed that we wanted to stay positive, to keep living our lives and to enjoy however much time we had together.

I joined the early trial of Sativex in the hope that it could improve my quality of life, but I also thought it was important to do so as the chemotherapy and radiotherapy I was having had all been trialled by other people before it could be used safely. I thought it only right and proper that I followed in their footsteps and joined a trial to help prove a new drug which could benefit so many people in the future with a recurring glioblastoma.

I took the oral spray 10 times a day, and it was easy as I could take it wherever we were going, even while out for dinner. While I dont know whether I had Sativex or the placebo, since the trial finished in 2016, all my MRI scans have been clear.

"This new trial is so important as it will give people hope that there could be life beyond a glioblastoma diagnosis and that there are other treatments being trialled to support them to live their lives.

Principal Investigator, Professor Susan Short, Professor of Clinical Oncology and Neuro-Oncology at the University of Leeds, said:

The treatment of glioblastomas remains extremely challenging. Even with surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, nearly all of these brain tumours re-grow within a year, and unfortunately there are very few options for patients once this occurs.

Cannabinoids have well-described effects in the brain and there has been a lot of interest in their use across different cancers for a long time now. Glioblastoma brain tumours have been shown to have receptors to cannabinoids on their cell surfaces, and laboratory studies on glioblastoma cells have shown these drugs may slow tumour growth and work particularly well when used with temozolomide.

Its really exciting that were now at the point where we can run a definitive, well-designed study that will tell us the answer to whether these agents could help treat the most aggressive form of brain tumour. Having recently shown that a specific cannabinoid combination given by oral spray could be safely added to temozolomide chemotherapy, were really excited to build on these findings to assess whether this drug could help glioblastoma patients live longer in a major randomised trial.

Dr David Jenkinson, Interim CEO at The Brain Tumour Charity, which is funding the trial, said:

We hope this trial could pave the way for a long-awaited new lifeline that could help offer glioblastoma patients precious extra months to live and make memories with their loved ones.

With so few treatments available and average survival still so heartbreakingly short, thousands affected by a glioblastoma in the UK each year are in urgent need of new options and new hope.

We know there is significant interest among our community about the potential activity of cannabinoids in treating glioblastomas, and were really excited that this world-first trial here in the UK could help accelerate these answers. The recent early-stage findings were really promising and we now look forward to understanding whether adding Sativex to chemotherapy could help offer life-extension and improved quality of life, which would be a major step forward in our ability to treat this devastating disease.

But we also know that for many, this trial wont come soon enough. In the meantime, while other cannabis-based products may help alleviate symptoms, there is insufficient evidence to recommend their use to help treat brain tumours. For anyone considering using cannabis-based products or other complementary therapies, its vital that you discuss these with your medical team first, as they could interact with other treatments such as anti-epileptic medicines or steroids.

Anyone affected by a glioblastoma can speak to us for support and information on 0808 800 0004 or by emailing support@thebraintumourcharity.org. If you need someone to talk to, were here for you.

Professor Pam Kearns, Director of the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU) at the University of Birmingham, which is co-ordinating the trial, said:

Our mission at the CRCTU is to translate cutting-edge science and research into improved patient care by identifying novel therapies that will save lives. It is vital that trials like this, investigating the role cannabis or the chemicals in it can play treat cancer, are carried out.

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Major UK trial to assess whether cannabis-based drug could extend life for thousands with aggressive brain tumours - The Brain Tumour Charity

Empty vials of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine are seen on a table at a vaccination centre in Ronda, Spain, April 23, 2021. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo/File Photo

July 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food & Drug Administration extended the shelf life for Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) single-shot COVID-19 vaccine to six months from four-and-a-half months, the company said late Wednesday.

The FDA's decision is based on data from ongoing studies, which showed the vaccine is stable at six months when refrigerated at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (3646 degrees Fahrenheit), the drugmaker said. (https://bit.ly/3ypgpTT)

In a letter to the company, the FDA said it had completed the review of data provided by J&J, and based on the information submitted, it concurs with the extension. (https://bit.ly/3zRuTMB)

The agency also said the extension was applicable to batches that might have expired prior to the issuance of the letter provided they were stored at the recommended temperature.

Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Subhranshu Sahu

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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J&J says U.S. FDA agrees to extend shelf life of its COVID-19 vaccine - Reuters

HOUSTON, Aug. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --RESA Power, LLC, a market leader in power systems electrical testing, transformer services and life extension solutions for power distribution equipment, has announced the acquisition of EPIC Energy Solutions, LLC.

Based in Cleveland, OH, EPIC Energy Solutions (EPIC) has been providing electrical testing services for over a decade in Ohio and western Pennsylvania. EPIC specializes in offering preventative maintenance, turnkey operations including power equipment supply and installation, and acceptance testing.

Mark Angus, Chief Growth Officer at RESA Power, commented on the acquisition, "We have been following Garth and his team at EPIC for a long time, and been very impressed with their dedication and commitment to their customers. EPIC Energy Solutions fits nicely into our operational footprint and overlaps very well with our existing service locations in Michigan, New York, and Kentucky. As a result, both RESA's and EPIC's customers will enjoy the benefits of our enhanced combined capabilities."

Garth Paul, CEO and Owner of EPIC Energy Solutions added, "I'm very proud of the hard work and commitment from our team at EPIC over the last decade. We are fortunate to have earned the trust and loyalty of our customers, many of whom have been with us since we started. I'm now very excited about the opportunity to team up with RESA and offer our customers a significantly expanded portfolio of engineered products and NETA testing services."

About RESA Power, LLC

RESA Power, a portfolio company of Blue Sea Capital, is a market leader in power systems services and life extension solutions for power distribution equipment used in mission critical environments. With locations across the United States and Canada, RESA Power is uniquely capable of ensuring our customers' critical power systems are safe, reliable, and operating at peak efficiency. The technicians and engineers at RESA are experts in testing and servicing transformers, relays, breakers and other key components of power distribution and control systems. RESA also provides quick turn-around custom manufactured or retrofit switchgear & breaker solutions and maintains an extensive inventory of obsolete and hard-to-find components. For more information about how to join the RESA Power group, visit https://www.resapower.com

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The Navy League of the United States this week presented Washingtons premier annual exposition of all things maritime.

Called Sea-Air-Space 2021, the three-day event was a reminder that defending the nation is big business.

Over 300 vendors exhibited, and all the available space in the cavernous Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center was sold out.

Viewing the diverse wares being offered and the size of the crowdsthousands every daya casual observer could easily conclude that happy days are here again for the nations sea services.

Does the Navy really need a successor to the Burke-class destroyer? Probably not.

However, the recent pronouncements of Navy leaders suggest otherwise.

On the eve of the exposition, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday observed, We cant really afford to have a Navy bigger than the one that we can sustainBased on our current budget, I believe the analysis shows we can afford a fleet of around 300 ships.

It wasnt so long ago that the Trump administration was talking about building out the fleet to 500 manned and unmanned warships by 2045.

China currently has 360 warships in its own Navy, and looks likely to surpass 400 in the near future.

Chinas maritime aspirations lie mostly close to home, whereas the smaller U.S. Navy is expected to police the entire globe.

If that sounds like an impossible task with barely 300 vessels, the Navys most recent internal budget guidance to the fleet suggests the mismatch between capabilities and strategy will be getting worse in the future.

That guidance states, The Navy cannot afford to simultaneously develop the next generation of air, surface and subsurface platforms and must prioritize these programs balancing the cost of developing next generation capabilities against maintaining current capabilities.

Theres nothing new about the budgetary tension between readiness and modernization, but the guidance seems to indicate that Americas Navy will not be able to stay ahead of China in all measures of military capability.

Something will have to go.

The CNOs assessment that his service cant afford to sustain a fleet of more than 300 warships, meaning manned warships, is a clear signal that force structure will be the first victim of budgetary constraints.

Even with the sizable budget increases of the Trump years and the more recent move of Senate committees to provide a bigger military budget than the Biden White House requested for next year, Americas Navy isnt going to grow much.

So the last administrations plans for a 500-ship Navy were stillborndead virtually from the moment they appeared.

Maintaining a high state of readiness even in a 300-ship fleet will be challenging, but that is the top priority of every U.S. military service, so we can expect operations and maintenance accounts to remain adequately funded going forward.

With force structure more or less static and readiness the highest service priority, that leaves modernizationthe replacement of aging warships and aircraft with new technologyas the big question mark in Navy plans.

The Biden administrations budget request for the fiscal year commencing October 1 was a bit of a shock as far as naval modernization is concerned.

The Navy only requested construction funds for four combat vesselstwo subs, a destroyer and a frigateplus four other ships, while proposing to retire a larger number of vessels, mainly surface combatants.

This move ostensibly would free up money for modernization in future years, but Congress is balking at some of the retirements so when the smoke clears weapons accounts will still be under pressure in the budget.

The Navys budget guidance makes clear that supporting nuclear deterrence will remain its top modernization priority, so the next-generation Columbia ballistic-missile submarine, life extension of its D5 missiles, and a new nuclear command-and-control aircraft are not in danger.

There also seems to be no inclination in the Pentagon or on Capitol Hill to cut the other type of undersea warship, attack subs, below a construction rate of two per year.

So production of the Virginia-class attack sub equipped with a new midship payload module to multiply the vessels cruise-missile capabilities against land and maritime targets will also stay on track.

Thus the cuts, at least as far as warships are concerned, will come in the surface fleet.

Trying to delay construction of aircraft carriers would provoke a firestorm of criticism on Capitol Hill; the Navy only builds one every five years, and large-deck, nuclear-powered carriers remain the signature expression of American military power.

No warship is more useful in an overseas crisis.

Having sent ambiguous signals about its future warfighting plans, the Marine Corps shouldnt be surprised that construction of amphibious vessels looks like a billpayer in Navy plans.

Its also a little hard to understand why the Navy wants to buy frigates that are much less capable than its destroyers for a price-tag that is nearly as high per ship, but having just commenced the Constellation frigate program, the Navy isnt likely to now change its mind.

That leaves the destroyers.

A budgetary competition is emerging between the current class of Arleigh Burke vessels and a proposed next-generation destroyer designated DDG(X).

Congress appears much more favorably disposed to continuing production of the Burkes than embarking on the larger DDG(X).

The Navy says it needs more onboard volume and power generation for future weapons on its destroyers, but so many features of DDG(X) are borrowed from the Burkes that legislators arent so clear on why the Navy needs to pursue all the uncertainties of a new hull design.

So heres my prediction: faced with inadequate funding for modernization, the Navy will decide it can live without a next-generation destroyer.

It will bow to congressional pressure to keep Burke-class destroyers in production, perhaps in a somewhat larger Flight IV configuration, and figure out how to do its job without yet another new warship program.

That is the lowest-risk approach to modernizing the surface fleet, and the path of least resistance in the political system.

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The Navy Says It Cant Afford To Fully Modernize. So What Should It Give Up? - Forbes

At 4 PM EST last Friday, the trade deadline closing bell rang, and when it did, those of us on the outside looking in were glued to Twitter to learn about the trades that had been completed right before the countdown clock hit zero. It usually takes a little while to learn about all the transactions that get completed in those final minutes. Plenty of players found new homes, but the surprise of the afternoon was that when the dust settled, Trevor Story was still a member of the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies are 21 games out of first place in their division. Per our Playoff Odds (and good sense), their chances of reaching the postseason this year are a big fat zero, and have been for some time. They also play in the toughest division in baseball, with the Dodgers and Padres looking like teams that will sit at the top of the National League West standings for years to come. The Rockies need to make drastic changes in order to take on those two powerhouses (and the Giants arent exactly slouches), and those changes should have begun on Friday. Instead, they sat on their hands, losing a golden opportunity to kick-start a return to competitiveness for a franchise that has reached the playoffs just five times in 28 seasons and has still never won a division title.

Colorado did make one trade during deadline week, sending reliever Mychal Givens and his expiring contract to the Reds for a pair of fringe pitching prospects. But thats not starting a re-build or, if that term strikes you as too strong, re-tooling the roster so much as it is taking care of some necessary chores. And while Givens departed, there were other players rumored to be on the move who ended up staying put. Holding on to Jon Gray is a curious decision. The team hasnt earned the benefit of anybodys doubt, but lets give it to them in the case of Gray, who has publicly stated his desire to stay in Colorado. Player comfort leads to better player performance, and if they can sign him to an extension, this makes sense. The jury can still be out on that one. But Daniel Bard still being the teams closer on August 1 is significantly more difficult to explain. Again, there is surely some loyalty here, and the Rockies deserve some credit for getting Bard back on the mound and finding a decent late-inning option in the process, but as a free agent following the 2022 season (a season in which Colorado will almost certainly not contend), the club just squandered Bards peak trade value, and yet another chance to boost a farm system that is among the worst in baseball.

Rockies leadership tries to say the right things (well ignore the clubs strange insistence that this is a very talented team that has simply underperformed), like that they are excited about the young core in their starting rotation, and that they want to spend this winter trying to improve the offense. You know, the offense that could use a guy like Nolan Arenado, who was jettisoned in a move that seemed to be at least somewhat driven by a clash with management just two years after signing a Rockie-for-life extension. Or the offense that would benefit from a contact-driven machine like DJ LeMahieu. At least there, owner Dick Monfort admitted the team erred by allowing LeMahieu to sign elsewhere when he inked a two-year deal with the Yankees prior to the 2019 season that was below industry expectations. But trying to say the right thing hasnt translated to good process or results, and now we can add Trevor Story to the list of playoff-caliber players looking forward to getting out of Denver.

Maybe they really do believe that the compensatory draft pick theyll receive when Story departs in free agency after being tagged with a qualifying offer is better than the deadline offers they had in hand. Storys 2021 performance certainly led to a depressed market for the shortstop. But its nearly impossible to believe that no team was willing to offer a prospect, or a package of prospects, with greater value than a pick in the 30s. Not to mention that that player (or players) would immediately become a Rockie and hopefully begin his path to the big leagues, while the player Colorado gets with a 2022 compensation pick wont even begin his pro career until a year from now, thus further delaying any hope for a return to competitiveness.

Despite their struggles as a franchise, the Rockies have never had a full front office turnover. The people in charge can be traced, family-tree style, to the teams origins. In terms of their strategy, behavior and responsiveness, other clubs have found them somewhere between confusing and frustrating to work with for years. There is nothing wrong with zigging when other teams zag, but at times the Rockies operate with seemingly no understanding of the Major League Baseball rule set, or what must be done within it to build a good roster.

And to be clear, I feel bad for Bill Schmidt, the teams vice president of scouting who currently serves as the interim general manager. With front office personnel departing the organization left and right over the last 12 months, he was put in an exceptionally difficult spot. Hes a well-respected talent evaluator and a well-liked person who was placed in an absolutely untenable situation; its like being made captain of the Titanic, but only after it hits the iceberg. I cant help but think that his activity (or more accurately, unforgivable inactivity) during deadline week rests on the shoulders of Monfort, who at times seems to care more about optics than winning. Those optics took a severe hit when a visibly upset Story expressed his frustration and confusion with the situation, talked about the toll it has taken on his on-field performance, and pulled himself from Fridays lineup.

Bud Black spoke after the deadline about how the team needed to score more runs. Hes certainly not wrong, as the Rockies entered the week 10th in the National League in on-base percentage and ninth in slugging despite playing half of their games at Coors Field. No position player has accumulated as much as 2 WAR on the season; their best qualified hitter has been Brendan Rodgers, who has a wRC+ of 103. The third overall pick in the 2015 draft, at age 24 Rodgers feels like hes begun to turn a corner. His wild approach is now merely aggressive, and the power potential is starting to show up in games. Hes beginning to look very much like a building block kind of player and he doesnt reach free agency until after the 2025 season. But based on what weve seen from the Rockies over the past five years, and their inability to project anything close to a competent organization, chances are much better than hell just become the next disillusioned, talented infielder looking for a way out of the Mile High City.

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The Rockies Went Backwards by Doing Nothing - FanGraphs

within the historic neve tzedek neighborhood of tel aviv, israel, meirav galan architects (MGA) has refurbished a 19th-century residence to accommodate a large family of six. the renovation includes the meticulous restoration of the aged structure, as well as its extension, resulting in a spacious redesigned townhouse with a newly added garden patio.

all images courtesy of gidon levin, unless stated otherwise

the house was one of the first structures built in the picturesque neighborhood at the end of the 19th century and was originally formed as a one-story residence with a flat roof. during the 1930s, the dwelling was extended and architecturally redesigned, adding a second floor with a tiled roof, a gallery balcony, and exterior stairs. however, with the passage of time, the building suffered from neglect.

on my first visit to the house, underneath all the neglect, I could sense the european charm combined with the local mediterranean scent, describes architect meirav galan. I discovered impressive high ceilings, classic european wooden doors and windows, iron detailed balustrades, and a beautiful mediterranean balcony with a parisian touch. I imagined myself reviving the story and interweaving with my clients dreams

the architectural design of the townhouse, spanning over a long rectangle lot, included preservation as required by the municipality law, partial destruction, and new additions that extended the built area from 250 to 580 sqm. the existing two floors were preserved as well as the faades original openings and unique balcony. the large tower that had held a staircase connecting the two levels was demolished and replaced by a new extension, built and redesigned as if it had always been there. meanwhile, the tiled roof was replaced by a rooftop balcony with a sea view and plunge pool.

the front yard that had originally been two meters higher than the street was terraced, creating a new level with a welcoming exterior entrance and a service area on the street level as well as a new lowered yard that brings in natural light and air to the basement. a new staircase was designed and built to lead towards the preserved entrance level.

meanwhile, the southern wing was rebuilt and extended to include two new floors lower than the old wing floors due to preservation heights limitations, and a tiled roof attic with a balcony. the faade, though new, was designed with details similar to the original northern elevation. a garden patio was designed as the heart of the house between the old wing and the new one, providing extra natural light and functioning as an intimate private outdoor space in the middle of a very dense urban fabric. while the street facades preserve the aesthetic character of the original house and of the neighborhood, the patios steel framed windows facades were designed as a contrast entity, emphasizing the new architectural design.

image courtesy of roee dori

project info:

name: neve tzedek patio housearchitects: meirav galan architects (MGA)project management and supervision: bar engineering eran eldor and tomer ben tovimstructural engineering: buky snir interior design: dana oberson garden design: haim kohen lighting design: tzach cohenphotoshoot styling: roni tishler location: tel aviv, israelgross built area: 580 sqmlot area: 246 sqmphotography: gidon levin (after photos), roee dori (before photos)

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom

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garden patio breathes life into 19th-century house renovation by meirav galan in tel aviv - Designboom