UC Berkeley Extension announces free and low-cost public events for Spring 2010
Programs to highlight green chemistry, technology in education, the Obama administration, and interior design
The newest developments in green chemistry, the impact of technology on education, an in-depth analysis of President Obama’s first 15 months in office, and the latest trends in working with color are the subjects of this spring’s public lecture series from UC Berkeley Extension. These free and low-cost public programs are part of how UC Berkeley Extension fulfills its mission to bring the educational excellence of the University of California, Berkeley, to the community.
Can We Achieve a Sustainable Future? The Role of Green Chemistry
Discover the latest developments in green chemistry, a growing field that is reducing and eliminating the use of hazardous substances in the environment. Join Dr. Robert Peoples, director of the American Chemistry Society’s Green Chemistry Institute, for a lively dialogue about green chemistry’s role in weaning the public off petroleum and tackling the challenges of global sustainability.
Thursday, March 25, 6:30-8 p.m.; UC Berkeley campus, 105 Stanley Hall; free
The 29th Annual Panel on the Presidency: Obama Settles In
During his first 15 months in office, President Obama has faced a series of political challenges: an economic crisis, record-breaking unemployment, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and health care reform. Join political experts and commentators for a lively discussion of the president’s performance and what may lie ahead. Presented by the Institute of Governmental Studies and UC Berkeley Extension.
Monday, April 12, 6:30-8 p.m.; UC Berkeley campus, 155 Dwinelle Hall; free
How Technology Is Transforming the World of Education
Collaborative technology and interactive media are dramatically changing education in the classroom and how students learn. Join Chris Walsh, director of innovation and design for New Tech Network, for an inside look at the major trends in the use of Web 2.0 — from e-learning to professional development — as he outlines important steps that educators, parents, and students can take now to prepare for the changes ahead.
Saturday, April 17, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; UC Berkeley campus, 160 Kroeber Hall; free
The Power of Color
This fast-paced lecture offers insight into working with color, including how to use color indexes, how to pick colors for any space, and how to understand the latest trends in color. Through in-class exercises, learn how seeing and vision are distinguished, how light influences color, and how pigments are harmonized.
Saturday, May 1, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.; UC Berkeley Extension Art and Design Center, 95 Third St.; $10
For more information or to reserve a seat for any of these events, visit: extension.berkeley.edu/prog/public.html
2010 Carnegie Science Awardees announced
Carnegie Science Center announced the winners of its 2010 Carnegie Science Awards, sponsored by Eaton Corporation.
Carnegie Science Center established the Carnegie Science Awards program in 1997 to recognize and promote outstanding science and technology achievements in western Pennsylvania. Celebrating its 14th year, the Carnegie Science Awards have honored the accomplishments of more than 250 individuals and organizations that have improved lives through their commitment and contributions in science and technology.
“This is Eaton’s thirteenth year as a sponsor and we are proud to be associated with a program that recognizes corporations and individuals devoted to science and technology,” said Jerry Whitaker, president of the Americas for Eaton Corporation’s Electrical Sector. “These regional assets have an impact that expands far beyond their local footprint into the global marketplace.”
The Carnegie Science Awards program helps fund Science Center exhibits and educational programs that reach thousands of young people to broaden their perspective about careers in the fields of science and technology,” said Ron Baillie, Henry Buhl, Jr. Co-Director of Carnegie Science Center. “And through our Science Connections mentoring program, many of the awards recipients engage young people in the real-world practice of the sciences.”
“Each year the Carnegie Science Awards shines the spotlight on extraordinary researchers, entrepreneurs, and educators working in science and technology fields,” said Ann Metzger, Henry Buhl, Jr. Co-Director of Carnegie Science Center. “Our region generates amazing talent and cutting-edge technology and advances in science-related industries. The Awards program recognizes the best and the brightest the region has to offer.”
Awardees will be honored during a formal celebration at Carnegie Music Hall on May 7, 2010. Keynote speaker for the ceremony is Chris Carmichael, founder and CEO of Carmichael Training Systems, Inc. (CTS) and personal coach to cancer survivor and seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.
2010 Carnegie Science Award recipients include:
Chairman’s Award
Thomas E. Starzl, MD, PhD
Advanced Manufacturing Award
C. Edward Eckert, PhD
Apogee Technology, Inc.
Advanced Materials Award
Di Gao, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
Analysis & Reporting Award
Luis Fabregas
Andrew Conte
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Catalyst Award
Allegheny County Health Department
Corporate Innovation Award
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Elementary Educator Award
Beth Cooper
Butler Area School District
Middle Level Educator Award
Arlynn Adamerovich
Ligonier Valley Middle School
High School Educator Award
Jeanne Campbell Suehr
Yough School District
School District Award
Franklin Regional School District
University / Post-Secondary Educator Award
Alison Slinskey Legg, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
*Special Achievement in Environmental Education Award*
Laura Branby
Wendy Kedzierski
Jim Palmer
Creek Connections, Allegheny College
University/Post-Secondary Student Award
Bryan Brown
University of Pittsburgh
Emerging Female Scientist Award
Charleen T. Chu, MD, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
Start-Up Entrepreneur Award
Razi Imam
Landslide Technologies, Inc.
Entrepreneur Award
Lalit Chordia, PhD
Thar Technologies, Inc.
Environmental Award
Devra Davis, PhD
Environmental Health Trust
Information Technology Award
Luis Von Ahn, PhD
Carnegie Mellon University
Life Sciences Award
Andrew Schwartz, PhD
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
2010 Carnegie Science Award Honorable Mentions include:
Analysis & Reporting Award
Jeff Fraser
Pittsburgh Quarterly
Catalyst Award
Terrence Collins, PhD
Institute for Green Chemistry
Corporate Innovation Award
Plextronics, Inc.
Elementary Educator Award
Daniel Arnold
George C. Marshall Elementary School
High School Educator Award
Evelyn Breitigan
Avella Area Junior/Senior High School
High School Educator Award
Jade Leung
Shaler Area High School
University / Post Secondary Educator Award
Thad Zaleskiewicz, PhD
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg
Start-Up Entrepreneur Award
Patrick Daly
Cohera Medical, Inc.
Emerging Female Scientist Award
Kacey Marra, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
Emerging Female Scientist Award
Alison Barth, PhD
Carnegie Mellon University
Environmental Award
Gregory Lowry, PhD
Carnegie Mellon University
*New Award for 2010*
Source: Carnegie Science Center
Study: Era of rapid growth in biomedical research over
After a decade of remarkable growth, total annual funding for biomedical research in the U.S. has decelerated and may have even fallen when adjusted for inflation. That is the conclusion of a study today published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“The era of rapid expansion in biomedical research funding that began in the 1990’s has ended,” said Ray Dorsey, M.D., a neurologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center and lead author of the study. “Looking back at this period, one of the striking observations is that while research funding increased, the number of novel treatments entering the market remained steady. If research funding levels are to return to a phase of growth, we should examine funding priorities, particularly in health services research, and barriers to the development of new therapies.”
The authors compiled data from government sources, trade organizations, and industry financial reports to create a profile of biomedical research funding from 2003 to 2007. Over the five year period, annual research funding increased from $75.5 to $101.1 billion. Adjusted for inflation, funding grew by an average annual rate of 3.4% over the period. Using incomplete data, the authors estimated research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and industry for 2008 at $88.8 billion, which, when adjusted for inflation, represents a decrease in funding.
The study is a follow-up to a similar analysis published in 2005 by the same authors that showed that biomedical research funding from all sources had tripled in nominal value and doubled when adjusted for inflation between 1994 and 2003. The annual growth rate in funding over the period was more than twice as fast at 7.8%.
This deceleration in funding, if unchanged, has a significant potential impact for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries and academic research institutions that rely on government and private funding. As has been noted in other reports, the flat-lining of federal funding for biomedical research in particular has a cascading effect on the national academic research enterprise, leading to scientists spending more of their time chasing funding, influencing career choices of new graduates, discouraging higher risk research, and curtailing the establishment of new scientific programs and construction of new research facilities.
The growth in research funding that began in the 1990s fueled a significant expansion in academic research and many universities became engines for economic growth in their communities. Consequently, the deceleration in research funding could have a profound effect on communities where academic research, health care, and biotechnology have become major economic players.
Approval of New Drugs and Devices Stagnant
While funding has generally increased over the period examined, this growth has not been accompanied by an increase in the number of new drug and device approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For example, the number of new molecular entities, essentially drugs that have not been marketed in the U.S. previously, approved by the FDA in 2003 was 21 and in 2008 was 17. Similar trends were observed for new biologics, as measured by biologic license applications, and devices, as measured by device pre-market application approvals.
“The relative lack of new therapeutic advances has been a decade-long problem that continues to persist despite previous large investments in research funding,” said Dorsey. “The current model is not working well if the desire is to approve new novel therapies to improve health. We need to modify incentives to reward risk and increase support for companies pursuing early stage and innovative research.”
Increasingly, the model for drug development has the pharmaceutical industry devoting a large portion of its spending for late-stage clinical trials as opposed to drug discovery research. The large pharmaceutical companies have largely abdicated the role of early stage research and development to smaller companies that often serve as the bridge between academic research and the market. These smaller companies, in turn, then develop relationships (either through partnerships or acquisitions) with larger companies once they have proven they have a viable product. However, these smaller firms, with limited resources and capital, face considerable risk and increasing pressures to generate promising results in short time frames from impatient markets. The model currently creates little incentive for investors to put capital into companies who are engaged in research that may be innovative, but has a higher risk of failure.
Biomedical vs. Health Services Research
The analysis also reveals that health services research represents a fraction of the nation’s $2 trillion in annual health care spending. This research – which is funded by foundations and federal agencies such as the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NIH, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services – is intended to improve health care quality and access and control costs by examining the impact of financial, social, technological, and organizational factors on public health.
The study’s authors contend that, in the context of the ongoing national debate over how to control growth in health expenditures, which now exceed $2.3 trillion in the U.S., and impending legislation in Congress that will dramatically increase the number of people with health insurance, spending on health services research, which was $2.2 billion in 2008, is inadequate.
“We spend almost $5 for every $100 in national health expenditures on biomedical research, but we spend less than a dime on ensuring those treatments reach the right people and the right time,” said Dorsey. “Given the massive changes in health care that may occur in the very near future, we need to dedicate more resources to understanding the most effective and efficient ways of delivering care.”
Industry Funding Up, NIH Funding Shrinks
Industry – pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device firms – supplies the largest proportion of total research spending at 58%, followed by the federal government at 33%. Industry research and development funding increased by 25% between 2003 and 2007 with growth in research activity by medical device (59%) and biotechnology companies (41%) significantly outpacing pharmaceutical companies (14%).
The study found that funding from the National Institutes of Health – which is by far the single largest supporter of biomedical research – decreased by 12% between 2003 and 2008 when adjusted for inflation. Total federal funding for biomedical research increased by 0.7% over the period, that is in contrast to the period between 1994 and 2003 when federal research funding increased by 100%.
Additional authors include: Christopher Beck, Ph.D., Jason Reminick, Benjamin George, Zachary White-Stellato all with the University of Rochester; Jason de Roulet, M.D. with University Hospitals Case Medical Center; Joel Thompson, M.P.H. with the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; and Hamilton Moses III, M.D. and Ashley Thai with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Moses is also with the Alerion Institute. The study was funded with support from the National Center for Research Resources, part of the National Institutes of Health.
For more information about the initiative, visit: http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/index.cfm?id=2736
Source: University of Rochester Medical Center
NASA selects New Jersey teacher Peloquin to inspire next generation explorers
Corey Peloquin, Coleman Middle School teacher in Tampa, N.J., has been awarded a fellowship with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Endeavor Science Teaching Certificate Project was created to allow teachers an opportunity to carry back to the classroom a greater understanding of NASA discoveries to inspire a next generation of explorers, scientists, engineers and astronauts.
“Through the program, educators learn how to deliver cutting-edge science into the classroom, promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics education,” said Joyce Winterton, assistant administrator for education at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This includes proven NASA and NASA-sponsored educational resources to meet specific learning goals.”
The program provides workshops and online graduate courses with NASA content and materials with a focus towards students in K-12 classrooms. NASA is also working in partnership with state departments of education to ensure program participation is accredited towards state certification requirements.
Project fellows will earn graduate credit and a certificate of completion in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) from Teachers College, Columbia University, N.Y.
The project is administered by the U.S. Satellite Laboratory Inc., of Rye, N.Y. Funding for the program is provided through the NASA Endeavor Teacher Fellowship Trust Fund, in tribute to the dedicated crew of the space shuttle Challenger.
For additional information about the Endeavor Science Teaching Certificate Project and other NASA education programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/education
Source: NASA
Black carbon deposits on Himalayan ice threaten Earth’s Third Pole
Black soot deposited on Tibetan glaciers has contributed significantly to the retreat of the world’s largest non-polar ice masses, according to new research by scientists from NASA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Soot absorbs incoming solar radiation and can speed glacial melting when deposited on snow in sufficient quantities.
Temperatures on the Tibetan Plateau — sometimes called Earth’s “third pole” — have warmed by 0.3°C (0.5°F) per decade over the past 30 years, about twice the rate of observed global temperature increases. New field research and ongoing quantitative modeling suggests that soot’s warming influence on Tibetan glaciers could rival that of greenhouse gases.
“Tibet’s glaciers are retreating at an alarming rate,” said James Hansen, coauthor of the study and director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City. “Black soot is probably responsible for as much as half of the glacial melt, and greenhouse gases are responsible for the rest.”
“During the last 20 years, the black soot concentration has increased two- to three-fold relative to its concentration in 1975,” said Junji Cao, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and a coauthor of the paper.
The study was published December 7th in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Fifty percent of the glaciers were retreating from 1950 to 1980 in the Tibetan region; that rose to 95 percent in the early 21st century,” said Tandong Yao, director of the Chinese Academy’s Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research. Some glaciers are retreating so quickly that they could disappear by mid-century if current trends continue, the researchers suggest.
Since melt water from Tibetan glaciers replenishes many of Asia’s major rivers — including the Indus, Ganges, Yellow, and Brahmaputra — such losses could have a profound impact on the billion people who rely on the rivers for fresh water. While rain and snow would still help replenish Asian rivers in the absence of glaciers, the change could hamper efforts to manage seasonal water resources by altering when fresh water supplies are available in areas already prone to water shortages.
Researchers led by Baiqing Xu of the Chinese Academy drilled and analyzed five ice cores from various locations across the Tibetan Plateau, looking for black carbon (a key component of soot) as well as organic carbon. The cores support the hypothesis that black soot amounts in the Himalayan glaciers correlate with black carbon emissions in Europe and South Asia.
At Zuoqiupu glacier — a bellwether site on the southern edge of the plateau and downwind from the Indian subcontinent — black soot deposition increased by 30 percent between 1990 and 2003. The rise in soot levels at Zuoqiupu follows a dip that followed the enacting of clean air regulations in Europe in the 1970s.
Most soot in the region comes from diesel engines, coal-fired power plants, and outdoor cooking stoves. Many industrial processes produce both black carbon and organic carbon, but often in different proportions. Burning diesel fuel produces mainly black carbon, for example, while burning wood produces mainly organic carbon. Since black carbon is darker and absorbs more radiation, it’s thought to have a stronger warming effect than organic carbon.
To refine this emerging understanding of soot’s impact on glaciers, scientists are striving to gather even more robust measurements. “We can’t expect this study to clarify the effect of black soot on the melting of Tibetan snow and glaciers entirely,” said Cao. “Additional work that looks at albedo measurements, melting rate, and other types of reconnaissance is also needed.”
For example, scientists are using satellite instruments such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the NASA satellites Terra and Aqua to enhance understanding of the region’s albedo. And a new NASA climate satellite called Glory, which will launch late in 2010, will carry a new type of aerosol sensor that should be able to distinguish between aerosol types more accurately than previous instruments.
“Reduced black soot emissions, in addition to reduced greenhouse gases, may be required to avoid demise of Himalayan glaciers and retain the benefits of glaciers for seasonal fresh water supplies,” Hansen said.
For more information and related images, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/carbon-pole.html
Effort to regenerate injured spinal cords turns to a new model
For more than 400 years, scientists have studied the amazing regenerative power of salamanders, trying to understand how these creatures routinely repair injuries that would usually leave humans and other mammals paralyzed — or worse.
Now, fueled by a highly competitive National Institutes of Health Grand Opportunity grant of $2.4 million, a multi-institutional team of researchers associated with the University of Florida McKnight Brain Institute’s Regeneration Project has begun creating genomic tools necessary to compare the extraordinary regenerative capacity of the Mexican axolotl salamander with established mouse models of human disease and injury.
Researchers want to find ways to tap unused human capacities to treat spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain injury and other neural conditions, according to Edward Scott, Ph.D., principal investigator for the GO grant and director of the McKnight Brain Institute’s Program in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.
“The axolotl is the champion of vertebrate regeneration, with the ability to replace whole limbs and even parts of its central nervous system,” Scott said. “These salamanders use many of the same body systems and genes that we do, but they have superior ability to regenerate after major injuries. We think that studying them will tell us a lot about a patient’s natural regenerative capacities after spinal cord injury and nerve cell damage.”
The issue of what controls organ regeneration was named among the top 25 major questions facing scientists in the next quarter century by Science magazine in 2005, Scott said. With medical science continually adding years to the human lifespan, the importance of “rebuilding and restoring” old tissues and organs is growing. But science had to enter the 21st century to fully explore the use of the highly regenerative axolotl as a model for human disease.
“Only now have new genetic, molecular and cellular technologies as well as scientific knowledge of the salamander, mouse and human genomes and ‘regeneromes’ risen to a level where scientists can compare systemwide responses to injury,” according to Dennis A. Steindler, Ph.D., executive director of UF’s McKnight Brain Institute and a co-investigator on the grant.
“I am extremely hopeful with the discoveries being made in comparative regenerative biology that the questions surrounding cell and tissue regeneration in the human following injury or disease are going to be answered,” Steindler said. “It is going to take broad, multidisciplinary collaborations across a number of scientific fields, but we are making that happen. I think the GO grant shows that these efforts are recognized and valued on a national level.”
GO grants are funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and are intended to support research with high short-term impact and a high likelihood of enabling growth and investment in biomedical research and health-care delivery.
“NIH Grand Opportunity grants support high-impact projects, which lay the foundation for whole new fields of investigation,” said Naomi Kleitman, Ph.D., repair and plasticity program director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. “This important model of regeneration is one of several being developed in organisms that can repair themselves, using genetics to find links to mammals. We’ll continue to watch the progress of these exciting studies to ensure that discoveries of genes that promote regeneration are one day applied to improving human health.”
The Regeneration Project is also supported by private foundations such as the Thomas H. Maren Foundation and the Jon L. and Beverly A. Thompson Research Endowment, the UF Office of the Vice President for Research, and an anonymous donor, Steindler said. Enhancing the discovery process are Regeneration Project research fellows — scientists who work across institutes and universities to advance discoveries in tissue and organ regeneration to the clinic.
Even without help, people are capable of a certain degree of regeneration. Humans can regrow fingertips and even more than half of their liver. But they cannot replace whole limbs and restoring parts of their brain and spinal cord is a daunting challenge.
“The axolotl is the highest, most complex organism that can still do this clever trick of completely reconstructing a whole body part in adulthood,” said Arlene Chiu, Ph.D., a scientific adviser for the Regeneration Project and director of New Research Initiatives at Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope. “I like to think of it in construction terms where we need both the materials such as bricks and beams and the architect’s plans. In regenerative medicine, can we learn where the biological blueprint resides, and understand the basis of restoring and reorganizing many different types of lost cells and tissues? Muscles, bones, nerves and blood vessels all have to be reconstructed at the right time and in the right place, all in perfect coordination with the original biological master plan.
“It may sound like science fiction, but the reality is the salamander is able to do all of these things,” she said. “We are not so far removed that we can’t relate to them, learn from them and try to apply their secrets to improve our capacity to regenerate.”
As discoveries are made, more researchers will begin using the axolotl as a model for exploring regenerative techniques, according to S. Randal Voss, director of the Salamander Genome Project at the University of Kentucky.
“We’ve analyzed genes in common between the axolotl salamander and humans, and found out we share about 90 percent of our genes in a one-to-one sense,” Voss said. “It could be that small but important changes in the way these genes function in an injury environment affect the repair process, but somehow the salamander is able to use these genes for regeneration, while people are not.”
The team has already referenced human and mouse genes with axolotl counterparts.
“We started this with a list of genes in humans and mice that are involved in repair processes and matched them with their counterparts in the axolotl genome,” Scott said. “Ultimately, what makes the axolotl a great model for regeneration is that the model systems we are most familiar with — mice and humans — do not regenerate very well. By comparing how a mammal and a salamander respond to injuries, we can identify genes or proteins that we can now add back to the mammalian system to make it regenerate better.”
Source: University of Florida Health Science Center
NASA Global Precipitation Measurement mission passes major review
NASA’s effort to deploy the first satellite mission to advance global precipitation observations from space moved closer to this goal when agency officials approved critical elements for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission on Dec. 2.
NASA gave GPM the green light to proceed to the mission implementation phase in a review meeting chaired by NASA’s Associate Administrator Christopher Scolese.
Building on the success of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), a joint project between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), GPM will usher in a new generation of space-based observations of global precipitation, a key element of the Earth’s climate and also the primary source of freshwater. GPM is an international collaboration that currently includes NASA and JAXA, with anticipated contributions from additional international partners.
“This joint NASA/JAXA mission is scientifically important and stands as a prime example of the power of international cooperation in Earth observations,” said NASA’s Earth Science Division director Michael Freilich. “GPM’s global precipitation measurements will advance our abilities to monitor and accurately predict precipitation on a global basis. GPM builds on the strong scientific and technical collaborations developed between NASA and JAXA. GPM instruments will also provide key calibration references to allow measurements from a wide variety of other satellite missions, including those from other U.S. and international organizations, to be combined to provide accurate predictions and global data sets.”
The heart of the GPM mission is a spaceborne Core Observatory that serves as a reference standard to unify and advance measurements from a constellation of multinational research and operational satellites carrying microwave sensors. GPM will provide uniformly calibrated precipitation measurements globally every 2-4 hours for scientific research and societal applications. The GPM Core Observatory sensor measurements will for the first time make quantitative observations of precipitation particle size distribution, which is key to improving the accuracy of precipitation estimates by microwave radiometers and radars.
The GPM Core Observatory will carry a Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and a multi-channel GPM Microwave Imager (GMI). DPR will have greater measurement sensitivity to light rain and snowfall compared to the TRMM radar. GMI uses a set of frequencies to retrieve heavy, moderate, and light precipitation from emission and scattering signals of water droplets and ice particles.
GPM is the cornerstone of the multinational Committee on Earth Observation Satellites Precipitation Constellation that addresses one of the key observations of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems.
NASA is responsible for the GPM Core Observatory spacecraft bus, the GMI carried on it, the Core Observatory integration, launch site processing, mission operation and science data processing and distribution. NASA is also responsible for the development of a second GMI to be flown on a partner-provided Low-Inclination Observatory (LIO) and the Instrument Operational Center for the LIO. The GPM Core Observatory is scheduled for launch in July 2013 from JAXA’s Tanegashima launch site on an H-IIA rocket.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the GPM mission on behalf of the Earth Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. Goddard oversees the in-house Core Observatory development and the GMI acquisition from Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation of Boulder, Colo. The GPM project life cycle cost is $978 million.
For information about the Global Precipitation Measurement mission on the Web, visit: http://gpm.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Source: NASA
NASA to spotlight shrinking Arctic Sea ice and unprecedented glacier study at Copenhagen
NASA will take its Earth science research and educational programs before a world-wide audience Dec. 7-18 during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. NASA is one of several U.S. government agencies supporting the first-ever U.S. Center, an outreach initiative housed in Copenhagen’s Bella Conference Center.
Organized by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Center will host more than 60 events during the conference. The center’s meeting room is a 100-seat auditorium where U.S. and international leaders in the fight against climate change will headline presentations on a wide range of critical initiatives, policies, and scientific research. The center’s reception room serves as a welcome area where visitors can learn more about U.S. climate actions and programs.
The reception room will feature displays and videos using data from U.S. satellites, including NASA’s fleet of Earth-observing research spacecraft. Some of this imagery will be shown on the “Science On a Sphere” projection system, a six-foot, computer-driven globe that displays animated images of the Earth’s land, oceans, and atmosphere. NASA scientists also will be on hand to discuss agency research and programs with visitors.
The U.S. Center, which is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time daily, is located in Hall C5 of the Bella Conference Center. NASA is sponsoring the following presentations during the Copenhagen conference:
State of the Science: Earth’s Changing Polar Ice Cover
The presentation will feature the latest observations and research findings on shrinking Arctic sea ice and the rapidly changing ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. Speaker: Waleed Abdalati, University of Colorado (Dec. 7, meeting room).
Climate Change Impacts on Civilizations: Lessons from Space Archaeology
NASA is pioneering the use of satellite observations to read the clues of how ancient civilizations reacted to changes in climate. Speakers: Tom Sever, University of Alabama; Ron Blom, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Dec. 7, meeting room).
“Extreme Ice” Multimedia Presentation
See images from the most wide-ranging glacier study ever conducted using ground-based, real-time photography. Speaker: James Balog, Extreme Ice Survey (Dec. 7, meeting room; Dec. 9 and 16, reception room).
Student Climate Research Campaign
This is a showcase of research projects by secondary school students from around the world conducted through the NASA-sponsored Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program. Speaker: Donna Charlevoix, University of Colorado (Dec. 8, reception room).
International Global Climate Change Observation from Space
NASA plays a leadership role in the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites. The committee’s international member agencies operate and plan missions to measure critical components of climate change. Speakers: Jack Kaye, NASA’s Earth Science Division; Makoto Kajii, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Dec. 11, meeting room).
The World’s Forests as Carbon Sinks and Sources
This presentation will feature the latest scientific knowledge on how forests absorb and release carbon, and how human activities have changed that balance. Speaker: Jeffery Masek, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (Dec. 11, meeting room).
Many of the meeting room events will be webcast live on the State Department conference Web site. For a complete schedule of events, visit: http://cop15.state.gov/
Regular updates on events during the conference will be posted at: http://www.facebook.com/usdos.cop15
Source: NASA
Biological H1N1 Vaccines: Too little, too late
Lethality of H1N1 Virus Drops to “Non-Epidemic Resting Levels” in Current Cycle – Virus’ Infectivity Remains Increased; New Faster-Developed Synthetic Replikin Vaccines Found Effective, FluForecast(R) Gives Advance Warning of Strain-Specific Outbreaks and Cessation
Biotech firm Replikins Ltd., which has analyzed the H1N1 virus’ genomic data from the 1918 pandemic through the prediction, outbreak, and progress of the current H1N1 pandemic, today issued its latest biochemical analysis of the virus. The new data shows that the lethality of the H1N1 (“Swine Flu”) virus has dropped from its peak of 3.7 (s.d. 4.5) during the virus’s current outbreak in the spring of 2009 to resting non-epidemic levels this week of 2.0 (s.d. 0.1). The H1N1 virus’ infectivity count, however, remains increased.
The new data shows changes in the Replikin Count*, a measure of a virus’s ability to rapidly replicate. A decrease in Replikin Count has signaled the end of each of the three influenza pandemics of the last century (H1N1, H2N2, and H3N2), the end of the SARS outbreak in 2003, and the end of the H5N1 (Avian Flu) outbreak in humans in 2008 (refs).
The company issued an interim advance report of this decrease in lethality on September 30, 2009 (refs). That report has now been confirmed by the current additional Replikins data and by the recent CDC epidemiological reports of declining total hospitalizations and deaths, and declining pediatric deaths from H1N1 (refs). In April 2008, Replikins issued a warning of an impending H1N1 influenza epidemic when the virus’ Replikin Count reached levels not seen since the last H1N1 pandemic in 1918.
Without advance warning, the current biological methods of vaccine production cannot possibly meet the growing needs of a human population that today exceeds 6.7 billion. The current H1N1 Pandemic demonstrates the inherent limitations of biological vaccines, which simply do not permit the timely delivery of vaccine in sufficient quantities before a “hit-and-run” emergent viral disease like H1N1 has come and gone.
The best intentions and efforts of governments, pharmaceutical firms, and public health authorities cannot overcome the absence of advance warning, and the many months required from outbreak to delivery of the vaccine. It is becoming universally acknowledged that new vaccine technologies and methods for providing advance warning of viral outbreaks must be found.
At a meeting of the Influenza Congress USA in Washington, DC on November 19-20, 2009, Replikins chairman Dr. Samuel Bogoch presented new confirmatory evidence of two of its Replikins-based products that offer promise for advance warning of a viral outbreak and for the timely production and delivery of safe and effective vaccines. The first, called FluForecast(R), is software that has correctly provided advance warning of two flu epidemics — H5N1 (Avian Flu) and H1N1 (Swine Flu) — by counting the increase in the number of Replikins in the virus’ genes over time. For the current H1N1 pandemic, the company issued an advisory in April 2008 that forewarned its arrival one year later. With advance warning, scientists, public health officials and the pharmaceutical industry can develop, test and distribute the appropriate vaccine with enough time to avert the worst effects of emerging diseases.
Replikins Ltd. has successfully tested a second promising technology that allows for the faster development and deployment of safe and effective influenza vaccines. The company has now produced completely synthetic vaccines based on both new and conserved Replikin structures, which exclude all biological components and any contact with them. The process eliminates unwanted side effects from contaminants and the need for preservatives such as thimerosol. Synthetic Replikin vaccines made in seven days, given orally or intranasally, recently have been found independently to be effective in blocking emergent viruses including H5N1 in chickens, where it totally blocked virus excretion and thus potentially, virus reservoir formation (refs).
When asked at the Influenza Congress about the goals of Replikins Ltd., Dr. Bogoch replied: “Current biological vaccine technologies for emergent diseases are expected to provide, albeit ‘too little and too late’, approximately 125 million vaccine doses for people worldwide this fall (Klaus Stohr, Influenza Congress USA, Washington, DC, Nov. 19-20, 2009). Replikins synthetic vaccines are targeting emergent diseases in the unserved global population of over six billion people, and selected animal populations, and FluForecast(R) can give advance warning of outbreaks.
“The company has announced the formation of WorldVaccines(TM) Ltd to test and distribute these new Replikins technologies, and invites all interested public health, pharmaceutical, financial, and other institutions to join it in testing and distributing FluForecast(R) and Replikins’ synthetic vaccines against emerging diseases.”
References:
1) US Patent Office publications on Replikins 2002-2009; 2) BogochS, Bogoch,ES. Replikins: the Biochemistry of Rapid Replication, Begell House, New York, 2005; 3) Website <replikins.com> Replikins Press 2006-2009; 4) CDC Weekly Reports website (google “FluView”); 5) Betsy McKay, Wall Street Journal, page A3, November 21-22, 2009; 6) Jackwood, M. et al. Efficacy of a Replikin Peptide Vaccine Against Low Pathogenicity Avian Influenza H5 Virus. Avian Diseases, Publication Online, doi:10.1637/8892-042509-Res. Note.1; Hard copy Article In Press. July 2009.
Source: Replikins Ltd.
NASA’s Fermi Telescope peers deep into a microquasar
NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has made the first unambiguous detection of high-energy gamma-rays from an enigmatic binary system known as Cygnus X-3. The system pairs a hot, massive star with a compact object — either a neutron star or a black hole — that blasts twin radio-emitting jets of matter into space at more than half the speed of light.
Astronomers call these systems microquasars. Their properties — strong emission across a broad range of wavelengths, rapid brightness changes, and radio jets — resemble miniature versions of distant galaxies (called quasars and blazars) whose emissions are thought to be powered by enormous black holes.
“Cygnus X-3 is a genuine microquasar and it’s the first for which we can prove high-energy gamma-ray emission,” said Stephane Corbel at Paris Diderot University in France.
The system, first detected in 1966 as among the sky’s strongest X-ray sources, was also one of the earliest claimed gamma-ray sources. Efforts to confirm those observations helped spur the development of improved gamma-ray detectors, a legacy culminating in the Large Area Telescope (LAT) aboard Fermi.
At the center of Cygnus X-3 lies a massive Wolf-Rayet star. With a surface temperature of 180,000 degrees F, or about 17 times hotter than the sun, the star is so hot that its mass bleeds into space in the form of a powerful outflow called a stellar wind. “In just 100,000 years, this fast, dense wind removes as much mass from the Wolf-Rayet star as our sun contains,” said Robin Corbet at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Every 4.8 hours, a compact companion embedded in a disk of hot gas wheels around the star. “This object is most likely a black hole, but we can’t yet rule out a neutron star,” Corbet noted.
Fermi’s LAT detects changes in Cygnus X-3’s gamma-ray output related to the companion’s 4.8-hour orbital motion. The brightest gamma-ray emission occurs when the disk is on the far side of its orbit. “This suggests that the gamma rays arise from interactions between rapidly moving electrons above and below the disk and the star’s ultraviolet light,” Corbel explained.
When ultraviolet photons strike particles moving at an appreciable fraction of the speed of light, the photons gain energy and become gamma rays. “The process works best when an energetic electron already heading toward Earth suffers a head-on collision with an ultraviolet photon,” added Guillaume Dubus at the Laboratory for Astrophysics in Grenoble, France. “And this occurs most often when the disk is on the far side of its orbit.”
Through processes not fully understood, some of the gas falling toward Cygnus X-3’s compact object instead rushes outward in a pair of narrow, oppositely directed jets. Radio observations clock gas motion within these jets at more than half the speed of light.
Between Oct. 11 and Dec. 20, 2008, and again between June 8 and Aug. 2, 2009, Cygnus X-3 was unusually active. The team found that outbursts in the system’s gamma-ray emission preceded flaring in the radio jet by roughly five days, strongly suggesting a relationship between the two.
The findings, published today in the electronic edition of Science, will provide new insight into how high-energy particles become accelerated and how they move through the jets.
NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is an astrophysics and particle physics partnership, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, along with important contributions from academic institutions and partners in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the U.S.
Source: NASA