Personally, we wish the NFC Forum and Bluetooth SIG behaved like the elder robots of Chapek 9, controlling the world from an underground bunker. Instead, the two industry bodies ensure interoperability and standards of their respective technologies. Now they've gotten 'round the table and hammered out the dryly titled "Bluetooth secure simple pairing using NFC," a guide for developers to ensure hassle-free hook-ups 'twixt smartphone and device. The paper includes breakdowns on ensuring the kit will team up pedometers, headsets, car dashboards and push content from your phone to your TV -- something we've been told we watch too much of, given our Futurama fantasies.
Senate Democrats accepted a provision Friday forcing a decision in two months on the Keystone XL oil pipeline as part of the must-pass payroll tax cut package, leaving the White House on the brink of a meltdown with environmental groups.
"It's bulls?-," said Sierra Club President Michael Brune. "This is no way to run a government. We've got Republicans in Congress who are willing to hold the entire government hostage simply to give a Christmas present to industry."
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GOP and Democratic sources told POLITICO that the White House swallowed the House Republican-written pipeline rider in order to get a deal to extend the tax holiday, jobless benefits and the Medicare reimbursement rate into February.
For greens, the fact that the Keystone pipeline was back on the table five weeks after Obama had seemingly punted it until 2013 is causing considerable heartburn with an administration that hasn't been as green as they once wished.
Their initial win looked even better because it came just days after thousands circled the White House at a weekend protest that drew celebrity faces like actor Mark Ruffalo. But now Obama's environmental allies again face the question of whether to withhold support for his reelection campaign.
?I think everyone will try to take a breath and see what the language is and what the State Department can do,? said Bill McKibben, the organizer of the November anti-Keystone protest. ?But I think everyone will also feel really upset. Profoundly upset.?
?People literally put their bodies on the line and they thanked the president when they took him seriously,? McKibben added. ?And the president said he was acting on principle and that it was important and if that resolve lasts five weeks and that?s it, if all it takes is Newt Gingrich getting up and expostulating San Francisco and environmental extremists for him to turn around, that?s really sad.?
Jabe Blumenthal, a 2008 Obama donor and former Microsoft executive, said Republicans may end up giving the president the "perfect opportunity" to reject the pipeline if it ends up in the final payroll tax bill.
But Blumenthal, the Seattle-based co-president of Climate Solutions, also had a warning. "If he caves and supports the pipeline, it?s game over for both the climate and my support of the president," he said.
Earlier this week, Blumenthal and Betsy Taylor, a philanthropic adviser to several climate donors and foundations, helped organize a letter to the White House and Obama's Chicago campaign headquarters from more than 85 donors and volunteers from the 2008 campaign urging the president to lead on climate change. Taylor said Obama has a chance to prove his chops.
"If the president waffles on this or fails to act decisively, it will send a huge chill through the community," she said. "Will people vote for him? Yes. Will they work for him, raise money for him and activate their networks for him? Not likely."
While environmentalists applauded the White House for twice rolling out tough new fuel economy limits, it also let them down by embracing offshore drilling just weeks before the BP oil spill. Failing to get a global warming bill through Congress in 2009 has effectively put on ice a idea that had successfully been building momentum for more than a decade. And it didn't help when Obama bailed this summer on long-promised ozone standards.
Brune said earlier this fall before Obama's decision that his group could shift resources to congressional races rather than the White House contest if it didn't approve of the Keystone decision. In an interview Friday, Brune wasn't ready to talk about the political fallout of the payroll tax debate.
Obama has "shown strong leadership" on Keystone over the last month culminating with a recent pledge to reject the House GOP bill if it had the pipeline language, Brune said earlier Friday, before the deal was announced, adding, "We expect him to keep his word."?
A senior Obama official noted Friday after the Senate deal was announced that the Keystone pipeline permit likely won't be approved because it forces the State Department to conduct its review at a faster pace than is possible. The official added the Senate deal does not mandate construction of the pipeline.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) ? NATO closed its seven-year training mission in Iraq on Saturday, at the same time as U.S. troops withdraw from the country after the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
The alliance said on Monday it would end its mission after talks with Iraqi officials to extend the programme failed, due to disagreements over legal framework covering NATO forces in Iraq.
"We respect the decisions of a sovereign Iraq and salute the fact that Iraqi is fully responsible for directing its own path," NATO training mission commander Lieutenant General Robert Caslen said at the closing ceremony.
The decision followed U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement in October that U.S. troops would go home at year-end after talks to keep thousands in Iraq as trainers fell apart over Washington's demand for legal immunity for troops.
American forces signed over their last military base to Iraqi officials on Friday following a formal ceremony to end nearly nine years of war in Iraq.
NATO started its training mission in Iraq in 2004, although unlike in Afghanistan, its Iraq operation has been small and largely under the radar.
The alliance has provided expertise in areas like logistics and policing for Iraqi security forces, with around 100 troops training more than 5,000 military and 10,000 police in Iraq.
In 1887, Julius Petri invented a simple pair of nesting glass dishes, ideal for keeping specimens of growing bacteria sterile?the 'Petri dish.' Science historian Howard Markel recounts the history of this ubiquitous lab supply, and the serendipitous discovery of the stuff in it, agar.
Who needs to make a successful tablet, or even a successful tablet OS when you can just make a tablet-compatible keyboard? That seems to be the thinking over at Microsoft these days–the company has just announced a portable Bluetooth keyboard called the Mobile Keyboard 5000. As is usually the case with Microsoft peripherals, the 5000 looks [...]
In efforts to find new treatments for Parkinson's Disease (PD), researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have directly reprogrammed astrocytes, the most plentiful cell type in the central nervous system, into dopamine-producing neurons. PD is marked by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain. Dopamine is a brain chemical important in behavior and cognition, voluntary movement, sleep, mood, attention, and memory and learning.
"These cells are potentially useful in cell-replacement therapies for Parkinson's or in modeling the disease in the lab," says senior author John Gearhart, PhD, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine (IRM) at Penn. The team reports their findings in PLoS One.
"Our study is the first to demonstrate conversion of astrocytes to midbrain dopaminergic neurons, opening the door for novel reprogramming strategies to treat Parkinson's disease," says first author Russell C. Addis, PhD, a senior research investigator with IRM.
A Different Approach
Parkinson's affects different areas of the brain but primarily attacks the dopamine-producing section called the substantial nigra. Cells in this region send dopamine to another region called the striatum, where it is used to regulate movement. The chemical or genetic triggers that kill dopamine neurons over time is at the heart of understanding the progressive loss of these specialized cells.
As many as one million people in the US live with PD, according to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. Symptoms include tremors, slowness of movements, limb stiffness, and difficulties with gait and balance.
Limited success in clinical trials over the last 15 years in transplanting fetal stem cells into the brains of Parkinson's disease patients has spurred researchers to look for new treatments. Using PET scans, investigators have been able to see that transplanted neurons grow and make connections, reducing symptoms for a time. Ethical issues about the source of embryonic stem cells; the interaction of cells with host cells; the efficiency of stems cells to reproduce, and their long-term viability and stability are all still concerns about trials using dopaminergic cell transplants to treat Parkinson's.
First Steps
In the first step towards a direct cell replacement therapy for Parkinson's, the team reprogrammed astrocytes to dopaminergic neurons using three transcription factors ? ASCL1, LMX1B, and NURR1 ? delivered with a lentiviral vector.
The process is efficient, with about 18 percent of cells expressing markers of dopaminergic neurons after two weeks. The next closest conversion efficiency is approximately 9 percent, which was reported in another study.
The dopamine-producing neurons derived from astrocytes showed gene expression patterns and electrophysiolgical properties of midbrain dopaminergic neurons, and released dopamine when their cell membranes were depolarized.
The Penn team is now working to see if the same reprogramming process that converts astrocytes to dopamine-producing neurons in a dish can also work within a living brain ? experiments will soon be underway using gene therapy vectors to deliver the reprogramming factors directly to astrocytes in a monkey model of PD.
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University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine: http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/
Thanks to University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine for this article.
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Using powerful MRI to track iron levels in brain could be new way to monitor progression of MSPublic release date: 15-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Raquel Maurier raquel.maurier@ualberta.ca 780-492-5986 University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a new way to track the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) in those living with the disease, by using a powerful, triple strength MRI to track increasing levels of iron found in brain tissue.
The researchers discovered that iron levels in MS patients are increasing in grey matter areas of the brain that are responsible for relaying messages. High iron levels in a specific "relay area" were noted in patients who had physical disabilities associated with MS. Iron is very important for normal function of the brain and the amount of iron is a tightly controlled system by the brain tissue. The discovery suggests there is a problem with the control system. Too much iron can be toxic to brain cells and high levels of iron in the brain have been associated with various neurodegenerative diseases. But to date, no tests have been able to quantify or measure iron in living brain.
Alan Wilman and Gregg Blevins, co-principal investigators from the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, used a new MRI method to quantitatively measure iron in the brain to gain a better understanding of what the disease is doing in the brains of those who were recently diagnosed with MS. Twenty-two people with MS took part in the study, along with 22 people who did not have the condition.
"In MS, there is a real desire and need to get a good idea of the state and progression of the disease," says Blevins, who is both a practising neurologist and a researcher from the Division of Neurology.
"When patients with MS currently get an MRI, the typical measures we look at may not give us a good idea of the nature and state of MS. Using this new MRI method would give physicians a new way to measure the effectiveness of new treatments for patients with MS by watching the impact on iron levels. This opens up the idea of having a new biomarker, a new way of looking at the disease over time, watching the disease, seeing the progression or lack of progression of the disease, a new way to track it."
Wilman, a researcher and physicist in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, says the new MRI method may be a better gauge for disease progression than strictly looking at number and frequency of relapses.
"This is a new quantitative marker that gives us more insight into MS. We can get a better handle on where patients are at. In terms of clinical symptoms, they may be fine for quite awhile, then they have a relapse, then they're fine for quite awhile. Well, the time when they are actually fine, they may not actually be alright.
"The disease may be progressing, but there is just no marker right now that shows that. We think the biomarker we have discovered could be an answer. People in the medical research community are very excited about this discovery, because it could be a new way of looking at the disease."
The new MRI method, which uses a machine that is 90,000 times the strength of the earth's magnetic field, will give physicians more detail and information about the impact of MS on the brain, insight that doctors and researchers didn't have before.
"This could be a very early marker of MS. We'd like to see this new method used with all patients who have MS. Ultimately, this discovery is a great example of translational research."
The researchers hope to see this new MRI method used in clinical trials for patients with MS within the next one to two years, then to be regularly used by physicians within five years.
Blevins and Wilman both credit the MS patients who took part in the study. "If patients weren't so willing to help, we couldn't do any of this," said Wilman.
###
*This discovery is not a confirmation of CCSVI because this discovery looks at iron existing in brain tissue, not iron from the blood.
The research study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and the Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and the University of Alberta Hospital Foundation.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Using powerful MRI to track iron levels in brain could be new way to monitor progression of MSPublic release date: 15-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Raquel Maurier raquel.maurier@ualberta.ca 780-492-5986 University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a new way to track the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) in those living with the disease, by using a powerful, triple strength MRI to track increasing levels of iron found in brain tissue.
The researchers discovered that iron levels in MS patients are increasing in grey matter areas of the brain that are responsible for relaying messages. High iron levels in a specific "relay area" were noted in patients who had physical disabilities associated with MS. Iron is very important for normal function of the brain and the amount of iron is a tightly controlled system by the brain tissue. The discovery suggests there is a problem with the control system. Too much iron can be toxic to brain cells and high levels of iron in the brain have been associated with various neurodegenerative diseases. But to date, no tests have been able to quantify or measure iron in living brain.
Alan Wilman and Gregg Blevins, co-principal investigators from the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, used a new MRI method to quantitatively measure iron in the brain to gain a better understanding of what the disease is doing in the brains of those who were recently diagnosed with MS. Twenty-two people with MS took part in the study, along with 22 people who did not have the condition.
"In MS, there is a real desire and need to get a good idea of the state and progression of the disease," says Blevins, who is both a practising neurologist and a researcher from the Division of Neurology.
"When patients with MS currently get an MRI, the typical measures we look at may not give us a good idea of the nature and state of MS. Using this new MRI method would give physicians a new way to measure the effectiveness of new treatments for patients with MS by watching the impact on iron levels. This opens up the idea of having a new biomarker, a new way of looking at the disease over time, watching the disease, seeing the progression or lack of progression of the disease, a new way to track it."
Wilman, a researcher and physicist in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, says the new MRI method may be a better gauge for disease progression than strictly looking at number and frequency of relapses.
"This is a new quantitative marker that gives us more insight into MS. We can get a better handle on where patients are at. In terms of clinical symptoms, they may be fine for quite awhile, then they have a relapse, then they're fine for quite awhile. Well, the time when they are actually fine, they may not actually be alright.
"The disease may be progressing, but there is just no marker right now that shows that. We think the biomarker we have discovered could be an answer. People in the medical research community are very excited about this discovery, because it could be a new way of looking at the disease."
The new MRI method, which uses a machine that is 90,000 times the strength of the earth's magnetic field, will give physicians more detail and information about the impact of MS on the brain, insight that doctors and researchers didn't have before.
"This could be a very early marker of MS. We'd like to see this new method used with all patients who have MS. Ultimately, this discovery is a great example of translational research."
The researchers hope to see this new MRI method used in clinical trials for patients with MS within the next one to two years, then to be regularly used by physicians within five years.
Blevins and Wilman both credit the MS patients who took part in the study. "If patients weren't so willing to help, we couldn't do any of this," said Wilman.
###
*This discovery is not a confirmation of CCSVI because this discovery looks at iron existing in brain tissue, not iron from the blood.
The research study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and the Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and the University of Alberta Hospital Foundation.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 15-Dec-2011
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