Spinal ultrasounds seeking why astronauts grow taller in space

Jan. 3, 2013 ? Did you ever wish you could be just a teensy bit taller? Well, if you spend a few months in space, you could get your wish -- temporarily. It is a commonly known fact that astronauts living aboard the International Space Station grow up to 3 percent taller while living in microgravity. They return to their normal height when back on Earth. Studying the impact of this change on the spine and advancing medical imaging technologies are the goals of the Spinal Ultrasound investigation.

"This is the very first time that spinal ultrasound will be used to evaluate the changes in the spine," said Scott A. Dulchavsky, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator for the station study. "Spinal ultrasound is more challenging to perform than many of the previous ultrasound examinations done in space."

Part of the difficulty with imaging the spine is quite simply human anatomy. Using Ultrasound 2, the machine aboard station as a facility for human health studies, astronauts have an advanced tool to view the inner workings of their bodies.

"Today there is a new ultrasound device on the station that allows more precise musculoskeletal imaging required for assessment of the complex anatomy and the spine," Dulchavsky said. "The crew will be able to perform these complex evaluations in the next year due to a newly developed Just-In-Time training guide for spinal ultrasound, combined with refinements in crew training and remote guidance procedures."

The research could help with developing exercises for better crew health and guiding improved rehabilitation techniques when astronauts return to Earth. Understanding how changes to the spine occur in real-time response to life in space also will help crews prepare for future long-duration missions.

Another benefit of this research is that spinal ultrasound could gain clinical acceptance on the ground for medical testing. Dulchavsky points out that this shift could reduce costs and provide a safer imaging option for patients.

"Ultrasound also allows us to evaluate physiology in motion, such as the movement of muscles, blood in vessels, and function in other systems in the body," said Dulchavsky. "Physiologic parameters derived from ultrasound and Doppler give instantaneous observations about the body non-invasively without radiation."

Six crew members will serve as test subjects for these spinal ultrasound scans. The data sessions are scheduled to take place on orbit starting in January 2013. An astronaut will scan the spinal area of a fellow crew member at 30, 90, and 150 days into flight. Researchers will watch in real time from the ground via streaming video downlinks. Ultrasound images will focus on the cervical and lumbar areas of the spine and surrounding tissues. The test subjects will also undergo pre- and post-flight ultrasound and MRI scans on Earth to provide baseline data.

Ultrasound technology is convenient for use not only in space, but also here on Earth. Due to the portability of the machines, the rapid training methods developed by NASA researchers and the repeatability, ultrasound can offer an inexpensive and scalable alternative to MRIs for healthcare needs. Medical personnel already make use of the training methods developed for the space station crews when using ultrasound in remote areas.

"This technique in spinal ultrasound may someday serve as a clinical data source where standard MRI imaging is not available, even if this seems ambitious," Dulchavsky said. "The vast majority of the global population has no access to an MRI. The in-flight tools such as the interactive Spinal Ultrasound guide can also be used to train other complex procedures, albeit medical or otherwise."

So just why do astronauts get taller in space? Researchers are hoping this study will help answer that question, while also growing medical knowledge of the spine and improving ultrasound methods and procedures.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/dUBsBsw1rIk/130103090639.htm

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Not solved yet: GOP wants more cliff spending cuts

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va. leaves a Republican caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. Squarely in the spotlight, House Republicans began deciding their next move Tuesday after the Senate overwhelmingly approved compromise legislation negating a fiscal cliff of across-the-board tax increases and sweeping spending cuts to the Pentagon and other government agencies. Cantor says he opposed the Senate bill. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va. leaves a Republican caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. Squarely in the spotlight, House Republicans began deciding their next move Tuesday after the Senate overwhelmingly approved compromise legislation negating a fiscal cliff of across-the-board tax increases and sweeping spending cuts to the Pentagon and other government agencies. Cantor says he opposed the Senate bill. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

House Speaker John Boehner Ohio walks to his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, as legislation to negate a fiscal cliff of across-the-board tax increases and sweeping spending cuts moves to the GOP-dominated House following a bipartisan, middle-of-the-night approval in the Senate. Boehner is expected to encounter opposition from conservatives within his own party. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Vice President Joe Biden arrives for a closed-door meeting with House Democrats, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, to discuss the fiscal cliff bill passed by the Senate last night that's waiting for a vote in the Republican-controlled House. At left is Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif. Biden who has been shuttling between the White House and Capitol Hill to help negotiate a legislative path to avert the across-the-board tax increases and sweeping spending cuts that could damage the economy. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., center, flanked by Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-NY, left, and Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, to discuss the fiscal cliff bill passed by the Senate last night that's waiting for a vote in the Republican-controlled House. The House Democrats met earlier with Vice President Joe Biden who has been shuttling between the White House and Capitol Hill to help negotiate a legislative path to avert the across-the-board tax increases and sweeping spending cuts that could damage the economy. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio leaves a Republican caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. Squarely in the spotlight, House Republicans leaders shopped a Senate-approved "fiscal cliff" compromise to rank-and-file colleagues on New Year's Day and heard concerns that the accord lacked sufficient spending cuts. Vice President Joe Biden tried rallying House Democrats behind the deal in a separate meeting. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Emergency legislation to avoid the economy-threatening fiscal cliff ran into vehement New Year's Day opposition from House Republicans, casting doubt on the divided government's ability to prevent widespread tax increases and painful, across-the-board federal spending cuts.

"I do not support the bill. We are looking, though, for the best path forward," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., declared after a closed-door meeting of his party's rank and file.

While Speaker John Boehner took no public position, an attempt to add spending cuts was all but certain before the leadership called for a final House vote on the measure that cleared the Senate hours earlier in a pre-dawn vote of 89-8.

Any change in the legislation would require the Senate to re-pass the measure before it could go to President Barack Obama for his signature, and his aides met at the White House to review the bill's prospects.

There was no immediate response to the House Republicans from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., or from Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader who negotiated the final bill with Vice President Joe Biden.

It wasn't the first time that the tea party-infused House Republican majority has rebelled against the party establishment since the GOP took control of the chamber 24 months ago. But with the two-year term set to end Thursday at noon, it was likely the last. And as was true in earlier cases of a threatened default and government shutdown, the brinkmanship came on a matter of economic urgency, leaving the party open to a public backlash if tax increases do take effect on tens of millions.

Economists have warned that without action by Congress, the tax increases and spending cuts that technically took effect with the turn of the new year at midnight could send the economy into recession.

The Senate-passed bill was designed to prevent that while providing for tax increases at upper incomes, as Obama campaigned for in his successful bid for a second term.

It would also prevent an expiration of extended unemployment benefits for an estimated two million jobless, block a 27 percent cut in fees for doctors who treat Medicare patients, stop a $900 pay increase for lawmakers from taking effect in March and head off a threatened spike in milk prices.

At the same time, it would stop $24 billion in spending cuts set to take effect over the next two months, although only about half of that total would be offset with spending reductions elsewhere in the budget.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said the measure would add nearly $4 trillion over a decade to federal deficits, a calculation that assumed taxes would otherwise have risen on taxpayers at all income levels. There was little or no evident concern among Republicans on that point, presumably because of their belief that tax cuts pay for themselves by expanding economic growth and do not cause deficits to rise.

The relative paucity of spending cuts was a sticking point with many House Republicans. Among other items, the extension of unemployment benefits costs $30 billion, and is not offset by savings elsewhere.

"I personally hate it," said Rep. John Campbell of California. "The speaker the day after the election said we would give on taxes and we have. But we wanted spending cuts. This bill has spending increases. Are you kidding me? So we get tax increases and spending increases? Come on."

Others said unhappiness over spending outweighed fears that the financial markets will plunge on Wednesday if the fiscal cliff hasn't been averted.

"There's a concern about the markets, but there's a bigger concern, which is getting this right, which is something we haven't been very good at over the past two years," said Rep. Steve LaTourette of Ohio.

House Democrats met privately with Biden for their review of the measure, and the party's leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, said afterward that Boehner should permit a vote.

"That is what we expect. That is what the American people deserve," she said.

For all the struggle involved in the legislation, even its passage would merely clear the way for another round of controversy almost as soon as the new Congress convenes.

With the Treasury expected to need an expansion in borrowing authority by early spring, and funding authority for most government programs set to expire in late March, Republicans have made it clear they intend to use those events as leverage with the administration to win savings from Medicare and other government benefit programs.

McConnell said as much moments before the 2 a.m. Tuesday vote in the Senate ? two hours after the advertised "cliff" deadline.

"We've taken care of the revenue side of this debate. Now it's time to get serious about reducing Washington's out-of-control spending," he said. "That's a debate the American people want. It's the debate we'll have next. And it's a debate Republicans are ready for."

The 89-8 vote in the Senate was unexpectedly lopsided.

Despite grumbling from liberals that Obama had given way too much in the bargaining, only two Democrats opposed the measure.

Among the Republican supporters were Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, an ardent opponent of tax increases, as well as Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, elected to his seat two years ago with tea party support.

It marked the first time in two decades that Republicans willingly supported higher taxes, in this case on incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples. Taxes also would rise on estates greater than $5 million in size, and on capital gains and dividend income made by the wealthy.

___

Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Larry Margasak and Julie Pace contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-01-Fiscal%20Cliff/id-f82dd30aa0d741c2aa5e31502fbb0224

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How to Use Your Money to Grow Your Small Business - Internet ...

Posted by Internet Marketing Business on January 3rd, 2013Rating 9.0 ?Outstanding

An enterprise is marked as a small business and can also be referred as a Commercial business. Each firm should have proper and effective corporate rules. This can help the firm to succeed and gain profits. One should know how to utilize money in business management tactics or else the ideas, finance would go into drain. Following different strategies, improving your mind set and reducing your risks one can use money to grow small business and thrive. Here are some of the tips:

• Career Growth: Big organizations are not only the platform to prove yourself, think again there are several small scale firms leading towards success and getting good opportunities. Such advancement prospect may help to make progress in your company.

• Track your success: One should have a positive focus on the track shield. Make a list in the morning which includes all the things that you are supposed to do.? Put extra effort until you reach your goal. Such positive directions may help you in fulfilling your desires.

• Employees: We can say that employees are the backbone of the reputed organization. Skilled people are supposed to be hired by the organizer. Represent your company, encourage co-employees and take responsibilities. Give rewards in order to boost up the team mates and motivate them.

• Centralize: Capitalists face some complicated issues in few conditions. Managing such problematic tasks is very important for every entrepreneur. Never get discouraged because of loss or any other concerns. Managing money, reports and records are important and significant in any start-up company.

• Quality and cost: We can expect the same customer back only if the quality and cost is medium. Emphasis on excellence of the work and then it leads to successful business. One can spend money on kits which can give profits in return.

• Marketing and publicity: Let more people know about your company which is considered to be the best way to increase profits. To reach the target of the firm it should increase the sales which can be done with the help of publicity. Use money for advertising campaigns rather than useless methods.

• Online marketing: This is another easy way of growing your firm. With the help of SEO, social networking sites one can give a good propaganda of their trade. With such tactics a commercial can grow constantly.

One can actually notice many changes if the above policies are followed. Your business creeps into triumph and increases the network community. It acts like a smart business guide.

In order to manage and grow a profitable company it is very important that you manage money and time. Performing a task at the right time with usability is preferred.? In any worst condition the business man may be running out of cash, not worry same day payday loans will serve you in need. This is very useful for people who are with bad credits and poor credit history.

About the Author:
The guest post was contributed by Alicia, financial guest blogger from Manchester, UK. Find out more about her finance related blogs @financeport

S. Terms: marketing company Under Topics: S. Terms: marketing company

Source: http://www.internetmarketingbusinessgo.com/2013/01/how-to-use-your-money-to-grow-your-small-business.html

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Freelance Editing for Corporate Customers? - John ... - Writers Weekly

January 02, 2013

| printable version

Managers of businesses, nonprofit organizations and government departments have long complained about the poor written communication skills of many of their employees. Managers are often too busy to edit their reports so they read smoothly. Yet these reports must present a professional image to a company's customers and decision-makers. The answer for a growing number of firms is to hire freelance writers and editors to edit reports for clarity.

Marketing yourself

Having worked in a particular industry or job function can help you get started. For example, my previous employment has provided me with useful contacts in the chemical and oil industries resulting in financially rewarding assignments. Your work experience can give you and understanding of the business writing requirements in different job functions. Secondly, your previous corporate writing projects can give you clients who know you and your writing abilities. So can writing for membership societies and professional societies. For instance, I have written articles for organizations such as Toastmasters International, which helps people working for a wide variety of organizations to improve their public speaking skills. Mention this type of experience in a letter of introduction and they may be interested in you providing editorial services to their organizations.

Third, any experience you have in presenting business writing workshops can result in people knowing your abilities and willing to use your editing services. For example, I have taught r?sum? writing workshops for people at various stages of their careers and also worked one-on-one with professionals to improve their r?sum?s. Sometimes after they find a job, these individuals will ask me to present a business writing workshop to their staff members or edit their business documents.

Promotional materials can be useful in winning new clients. A website and flyers promoting your editing services are two possible strategies to accomplish this. Advertisements in local newspapers and newsletters of professional societies are two other marketing approaches.

Doing the work

I will bill by the hour. Thus the poorer the writer the more time I spend editing the document. I find this method fairer to both me and the client than billing by length of the document or some other method.

After editing a document I will sit down with the writer (or writers) and discuss the changes I made and why. The original writers verify that the document content is still correct. I will explain why I made the changes I did. With each project, the original writer better understand how to write clearly and my editorial changes become fewer thus reducing my bill. Eventually most of the people I work with improve their writing skills to the point where they no longer need my services. However, they often recommend me to coworkers. Thus my business does not disappear.

Previous corporate writing experience is helpful but not necessary. This experience can provide useful contacts with whom you can discuss possible assignments. Writers also can advertise their expertise and services in local business publications and professional magazines. I have used both methods to promote my services and get assignments.

Another method to find new customers is to join your chamber of commerce and discuss your editorial services with their members. This provides exposure to members of smaller and lower profile organizations that otherwise would remain unknown to you.

Articles you write for the publications of trade associations and membership organizations can result in individuals contacting you. They may be interested in using your editorial services or finding someone to edit their documents. If course, you recommend yourself in this last situation!

Your competition

One might expect that your primary competition would be writers' managers who edit a document themselves. However, most tell me that the time they save in not having to edit documents for clarity is well worth my hourly fee. They review the documents but focus on technical correctness. A good job editing for technical clarity makes any problems with accuracy and correctness easier for them to identify.

Related services

Offering editing and writing workshops to corporate clients is a related service that can increase the number of people interested in using your editorial services. I offer two types of workshops to corporate clients. The first is a 3-hour workshop on business writing. I can slant this towards business documents or technical reports based on the client's interests. The second is an editing workshop I call "Editing for Clarity." Again, I can slant this towards a general business audience or a people writing technical reports. I use these workshops to promote my editorial services.

John Borchardt has written more than 1,400 articles published in magazines, newspapers and online. He writes a weekly blog running for Laboratory Management Magazine and frequently blogs for the American Chemical Society.

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Source: http://writersweekly.com/this_weeks_article/007740_01022013.html

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Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office east bank crime reports, Jan. 1 ...

This information reflects initial calls for service reported by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office for the east bank of Jefferson Parish. Locations are approximate due to automated location methods and address inconsistencies, the Sheriff's Office says. Burglar alarm calls are excluded.
8700 block of 33rd Street - Jan. 1, 10:14 p.m., suspicious person.
Addison Street and Monticello Avenue - Jan. 1, 2:10 a.m., suspicious person.
10500 block of Alan Street - Jan. 1, 12:57 a.m., disturbing the peace.
7100 block of Asher Street - Jan. 1, 3:37 a.m., battery.
100 block of Avenue A - Jan. 1, 12:51 a.m., disturbing the peace.
700 block of South Bengal Road - Jan. 1, 9:28 a.m., criminal damage.
2900 block of Blk Andover Street - Jan. 1, 12:20 a.m., illegal discharge of weapon.
7900 block of Blk Monett Street - Jan. 1, 10:58 p.m., suspicious person.
300 block of Blk North Starrett Road - Jan. 1, 12:06 a.m., suspicious person.
4400 block of Blk Veterans Memorial Boulevard - Jan. 1, 3:21 p.m., vehicle wreck.
6600 block of Blk Veterans Memorial Boulevard - Jan. 1, 6:16 p.m., vehicle wreck.
1700 block of Carnation Avenue - Jan. 1, 11:12 a.m., criminal damage.
2700 block of North Causeway Boulevard - Jan. 1, 3:29 p.m., vehicle wreck.
South Causeway Boulevard and Airline Drive - Jan. 1, 8:31 a.m., vehicle wreck.
1200 block of South Clearview Parkway - Jan. 1, 4:13 p.m., battery.
1400 block of South Clearview Parkway - Jan. 1, 9:58 p.m., theft.
1600 block of Clearview Parkway - Jan. 1, 6:17 a.m., vehicle wreck.
4300 block of Clearview Parkway - Jan. 1, 2:30 a.m., suspicious person.
700 block of Clearview Parkway - Jan. 1, 4:10 p.m., theft.
700 block of Clearview Parkway - Jan. 1, 7:25 p.m., theft.
Clearview Parkway and Veterans Memorial Boulevard - Jan. 1, 9:03 p.m., vehicle wreck.
4700 block of Cleary Avenue - Jan. 1, 3:42 a.m., vehicle wreck.
9000 block of Crochet Avenue - Jan. 1, 11:44 p.m., suspicious person.
1600 block of North Cumberland Street - Jan. 1, 2:40 a.m., disturbing the peace.
400 block of Dakin Street - Jan. 1, 1:46 a.m., illegal discharge of weapon.
2500 block of Danny Pk - Jan. 1, 2:22 a.m., vehicle wreck.
1400 block of David Drive - Jan. 1, 12:37 a.m., criminal damage.
David Drive and West Napoleon Avenue - Jan. 1, 7:17 a.m., vehicle wreck.
8700 block of Dunn Street - Jan. 1, 8:35 p.m., residence burglary.
2200 block of Edenborn Avenue - Jan. 1, 8:26 p.m., suspicious person.
100 block of Elmwood Park Boulevard - Jan. 1, 3:09 a.m., suspicious person.
200 block of West Esplanade Avenue - Jan. 1, 6:30 p.m., battery.
West Esplanade Avenue and Clearview Parkway - Jan. 1, 3:35 p.m., vehicle wreck.
5800 block of Flagler Street - Jan. 1, 1:37 p.m., criminal damage.
200 block of Friedrichs Avenue - Jan. 1, 4:36 a.m., battery.
1400 block of Giuffrias Avenue - Jan. 1, 5:55 p.m., suspicious person.
2300 block of Giuffrias Avenue - Jan. 1, 12:14 a.m., illegal discharge of weapon.
7000 block of Glenn Street - Jan. 1, 2:34 a.m., suspicious person.
7000 block of Glenn Street - Jan. 1, 3:11 a.m., disturbing the peace.
1200 block of Green Street - Jan. 1, 12:58 p.m., vehicle wreck.
4500 block of Herrmann Street - Jan. 1, 11:01 a.m., criminal damage.
2300 block of Hickory Avenue - Jan. 1, 10:32 p.m., suspicious person.
500 block of Homestead Avenue - Jan. 1, 2:51 p.m., suspicious person.
2800 block of Houma Boulevard - Jan. 1, 8:42 p.m., robbery.
500 block of North Howard Avenue - Jan. 1, 4:35 p.m., burglary.
Interstate 10 and Clearview Parkway - Jan. 1, 5:39 a.m., vehicle wreck.
Interstate 10 and Veterans Memorial Boulevard - Jan. 1, 6:39 p.m., vehicle wreck.
3900 block of South Interstate 10 Service Road West - Jan. 1, 4:29 a.m., robbery.
300 block of Jefferson Highway - Jan. 1, 6:22 a.m., suspicious person.
5100 block of Jefferson Highway - Jan. 1, 9:37 p.m., suspicious person.
L and A Road and Earhart Exp - Jan. 1, 8:37 a.m., vehicle wreck.
L and A Road and Earhart Exp - Jan. 1, 9:01 a.m., vehicle wreck.
1400 block of Laurel Street - Jan. 1, 8:59 a.m., disturbing the peace.
300 block of North Laurel Street - Jan. 1, 12:15 a.m., illegal discharge of weapon.
Lester Avenue and Mistletoe Street - Jan. 1, 12:10 p.m., suspicious person.
Lynnette Drive and Shirley Street - Jan. 1, 3:02 a.m., suspicious person.
7900 block of Macon Street - Jan. 1, 9:50 a.m., criminal damage.
1400 block of Maine Avenue - Jan. 1, 7:05 p.m., theft.
West Napoleon Avenue and Transcontinental Drive - Jan. 1, 3:38 a.m., disturbing the peace.
2400 block of Neyrey Drive - Jan. 1, 11:03 p.m., theft.
700 block of Richard Avenue - Jan. 1, 12:22 a.m., disturbing the peace.
2100 block of Richland Avenue - Jan. 1, 11:47 a.m., residence burglary.
2400 block of Richland Avenue - Jan. 1, 3:37 a.m., criminal damage.
4700 block of River Road - Jan. 1, 7:04 a.m., suspicious person.
River Road and Pope Street - Jan. 1, 7:37 a.m., criminal damage.
Rue Street Ann and Rue Decatur - Jan. 1, 9:52 p.m., suspicious person.
Sam Lenoux Street and Shrewsbury Road - Jan. 1, 10:45 p.m., suspicious person.
4400 block of Senac Drive - Jan. 1, 5:10 a.m., vehicle wreck.
Severn Avenue and West Metairie Avenue North - Jan. 1, 1:37 a.m., suspicious person.
3400 block of Transcontinental Drive - Jan. 1, 12:10 p.m., disturbing the peace.
Utica Street and Clearview Parkway - Jan. 1, 3:03 a.m., vehicle wreck.
Valerie Avenue and Stewart Place - Jan. 1, 11:47 p.m., illegal discharge of weapon.
4400 block of Veterans Memorial Boulevard - Jan. 1, 12:40 p.m., theft.
4500 block of Veterans Memorial Boulevard - Jan. 1, 7:00 p.m., theft.
4500 block of Veterans Memorial Boulevard - Jan. 1, 7:00 p.m., suspicious person.
6200 block of Veterans Memorial Boulevard - Jan. 1, 3:35 a.m., vehicle wreck.
900 block of Veterans Memorial Boulevard - Jan. 1, 7:17 a.m., disturbing the peace.
Veterans Memorial Boulevard and David Drive - Jan. 1, 2:41 a.m., vehicle wreck.
Veterans Memorial Boulevard and Sena Drive - Jan. 1, 3:31 a.m., vehicle wreck.
100 block of Walter Scott Street - Jan. 1, 5:23 a.m., disturbing the peace.
2500 block of North Woodlawn Avenue - Jan. 1, 3:03 a.m., disturbing the peace.

Source: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2013/01/jefferson_parish_sheriffs_offi_1237.html

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Eulogy to Herschel

Jan. 2, 2013 ? With its 2160 litres of liquid helium about to run out, the Herschel Space Observatory will, by the end of March, become just another piece of space junk.

In January's Physics World, Steve Eales, a University of Cardiff astronomer who leads one of the telescope's largest surveys, explains how this space facility has advanced our understanding of star and galaxy formation.

Sub-millimetre wavelength astronomy -- the kind of astronomy that the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory has been undertaking since blast off in May 2009 -- lets us observe fundamental astronomical events, reaching parts of the universe that optical light cannot.

As Eales writes, "In peering into the big clouds of gas and dust that are the "maternity wards" of stars and then detecting the sub-millimetre light emitted from the dust around the newly formed stars, Herschel is doing much to study star formation, which is one of astronomy's 'big questions'."

Held in place by the gravitational forces between Earth and the Sun, at some 1.6 million kilometres from us, Herschel has been able to detect faint sub-millimetre radiation from 10 billion years back in time.

Eales remarks on the pace at which our understanding of the universe is advancing thanks to the observatory, which was named after the German-born astronomer William Herschel, who discovered infrared radiation and the planet Uranus, with help from his sister Caroline.

Recalling whole nights spent looking for one new galaxy with its sub-millimetre predecessor -- the James Maxwell Space Telescope -- Eales describes how he recently turned up 7000 new galaxies in barely 16 hours using Herschel data.

The 2160 litres of helium that Herschel blasted off with has kept the observatory cold enough to ensure that the heat given off by its own machinery doesn't confuse its readings.

This March, however, the helium will run out and Herschel will be defunct. But, as Eales writes, "the treasure trove of Herschel data will be picked through by astronomers for years to come."

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Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/3NCrZiLzXBk/130102083555.htm

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Scientists sequence genome of pathogen responsible for pneumocystis pneumonia

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii, an advancement that could help identify new targets for drugs to treat and prevent Pneumocystis pneumonia, a common and often deadly infection in immunocompromised patients. The study will be published on December 26, 2012 in mBio?, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The organism cannot yet be isolated and grown for study in the laboratory, so details about Pneumocystis pneumonia, the biology of P. jirovecii, and its pathogenicity are hard to come by. The genome sequence represents a wealth of new information for doctors and researchers tackling this disease.

Pneumocystis pneumonia is an opportunistic infection that strikes most often in individuals with diminished immune systems. The corresponding author of the study in mBio?, Philippe Hauser of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne, in Switzerland, says the disease gained importance in the 1980s.

"Recognized first among malnourished infants, P. jirovecii pneumonia became a public issue with the advent of the HIV epidemic," says Hauser. Today, the disease most commonly affects HIV-infected persons who are unaware of their status as well as solid organ transplant recipients and patients with hemato-oncologic or autoimmune diseases. Since the organism cannot be grown in the lab for study, researchers have long made do with studying P. jirovecii's lab-friendly relatives, species that infect animals and plants, in order to explore the secrets of the human disease.

"It is obviously better to study [P. jirovecii's] genes rather that those of Pneumocystis species from animal models. The genome has both medical and evolutionary interests for the scientific community," says Hauser.

Under normal circumstances, scientists sequencing the genome of a microorganism simply extract DNA from thick cultures of cells they grow in the lab. Since they were unable to grow P. jirovecii cells for their genomic DNA, Hauser and his colleagues took a different approach. They took a sample of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from an individual infected with Pneumocystis pneumonia, then concentrated the P. jirovecii cells using immuno-precipitation and created copies of the DNA in the sample using a technique called random DNA amplification. This mixture of DNA strands, from P. jirovecii, human, and other microbes from the lungs of the infected patient, was then sequenced using high throughput technologies.

According to Hauser and his colleagues, the fact that the sequence data represented DNA from many different species created the biggest challenge they faced. "The major challenge of the study was the in silico sorting of the reads out of a mixture representing the human host and different organisms present in the lung microbiome," he says. This challenge was met through a collaboration with Marco Pagni of the Vital-IT group of the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, who provided indispensable expertise and infrastructure.

Once the sorting task was accomplished, the researchers assembled the sequences into a genome and attempted to identify the functions of P. jirovecii's genes. This is the first time scientists have assembled the genome of a fungus from a mixed pool of DNA from a single source, often called a metagenome. Their analyses reveal a surprising fact: P. jirovecii is a parasite that must live within the human body to survive.

P. jirovecii lacks the genes necessary for creating some of the essential ingredients of life, a hallmark of obligate parasites, organisms that must rely on another creature for sustenance. "It implies that they need their host to provide these molecules. Thus, this has been quite an important finding which implied that human beings represent the reservoir of this pathogen," says Hauser. This is useful information, since it means that people are the only significant source of the organism and that both infected people and healthy carriers represent the only control points for limiting the spread of the disease.

The genome also shows that P. jirovecii apparently lacks the ability to make toxins and virulence factors, molecules that enable a microbe to invade and take advantage of its host. This makes sense, since P. jirovecii does not cause disease in healthy people, but only runs out of control when it is not confronted with an immune response.

In the study of infectious disease, access to the genome of a pathogen provides new information that can be pivotal in combating the diseases is causes. The hope is that the genome of P. jirovecii will lead to new advances in therapies for those suffering from Pneumocystis pneumonia. The current drugs of choice for treating Pneumocystis pneumonia are antifolates, but certain isolates of P. jirovecii have already developed resistance to antifolates, an ability that is very likely to spread. Now that the genome of P. jirovecii is assembled and available to researchers all over the world, scientists can tease out clues about the organism that will help identify targets for some badly needed new drugs.

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American Society for Microbiology: http://www.asm.org

Thanks to American Society for Microbiology for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126090/Scientists_sequence_genome_of_pathogen_responsible_for_pneumocystis_pneumonia

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