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Thursday, February 28, 2013
This Is a Totally Free Coffeemaker For Trying Out Bougie Coffee
The Surprising Truth About Baby Boomer Health | Care2 Healthy ...
From Woodstock, to women?s rights, Baby boomers have made a name for themselves by being unpredictable, off-beat pioneers; rejecting society?s norms and labels.
But this time, the label they?re rejecting?that of the ?healthiest generation??may, in the long run, do them more harm than good.
In spite of having access to groundbreaking medical advancements and record amounts of wealth, the baby boom generation is sicker and more impaired than their parents were at the same age, according to a new article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Baby boomer life expectancy does exceed that of previous generations, but their overall health is not better, study authors noted.
And they know it too.
Only 13 percent of baby boomers feel that their overall wellness is, ?excellent,? compared to 32 percent of people in the prior generation who gave their health top marks.
Here are a few specific findings from the report:
The positives: Baby boomers are less likely to smoke or have already had a heart attack than their parents were.
The negatives: Baby boomers are much less likely to exercise on a regular basis?a whopping 52 percent said they get no regular physical activity. Consequently, they are also much more likely to be obese (39 percent of boomers versus 29 percent of the previous generation), have high cholesterol (74 percent versus 34 percent), and suffer from diabetes (16 percent versus 12 percent), than their parents.
When they were their age, about nine percent of baby boomer parents had problems carrying out daily tasks, such as getting around the house and doing chores. Thirteen percent of boomers report currently having similar problems.
Seven percent of boomers have to use a cane (or similar device) to get around, versus three percent of their parents at the same age.
Make an action plan for healthy aging
Aging baby boomers, even those who don?t feel in tip-top shape, shouldn?t view aging as a life-sentence of inevitable decline. There are steps you can take to help yourself age successfully.
?You may not be able to regain the health that you had at age 20 or 30, but you can always improve your physical and mental health,? says Larry Matson, Ed.D., co-author of the book, ?Live Young, Think Young, Be Young?at Any Age.?
He suggests taking small, manageable steps to regain control over the common issues of aging that affect your physical and mental health.
Set a goal to go for a 15 minute walk each day. Replace your daily diet soda with a glass of water, or all-natural juice. Eat a piece of fruit in place of dessert. Pay attention to and manage your stress levels by making an action plan to calm yourself down.
?The power of a different mindset about aging is the key,? Matson says. ?Raise your expectations and take it day by day. We?re all going to die, eventually, but even small changes can result in positive adaptations?no matter how old you are.?
Discover more tips on how to incorporate better health habits into your daily routine:
Baby Boomers Blaze New Trail as ?Unhealthiest? Generation originally appeared on AgingCare.com.
Source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-surprising-truth-about-baby-boomer-health.html
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Linux Gaming: Open-Source Is Better For Everyone - Features ...
The open-source operating system has long been the exclusive domain of programmers and other DIY computer nerds, but big players like Valve have recently begun making real progress in supporting Linux for heavy-duty gaming. Here's why you should cheer for those efforts rather than laughing them off or feeling like they threaten your existing PC gaming domain.
You can't throw a virtual rock on the Internet without hitting a game developer commenting on how dealing with platform holders takes time, effort, and money away from making better games. The additional coding required to conform to standards that affect a tiny portion of their audience in order to pass Microsoft certification comes at a cost. The thirty percent or so (an extremely vague figure, as it varies from game to game and platform to platform) of revenues that platform holders take off the top make it harder for developers to profit from their work. The requirements and restrictions of a platform's exclusive marketplace can make some ideas impossible to bring to life - witness the lack of MMOs on Xbox despite a strong network infrastructure. Finally, onerous burdens like having to pay a platform holder to patch your game make games like Minecraft and Team Fortress 2 lag far behind their PC versions.
With an open-source platform like Linux, there is no platform holder to deal with. Nobody can stop you from making and distributing whatever Linux software you like, charge you a fee for it, or tell you what you can and can't do with a Linux game. That has been the advantage of PC gaming since its inception, and it's done wonderful things for creativity, flexibility, and pricing over the years. With Microsoft pushing Windows in the direction of being a closed platform with Windows 8 (ARM-based tablets running Windows 8 can only run Microsoft-approved programs, and only software sold through Microsoft's digital storefront can access the full suite of Metro UI features), this massive advantage that PC gaming holds could be lost. Linux's open-source nature prevents it from ever being pushed down a similar road.
Valve's Steam service (which recently launched in a Linux incarnation) shares many of the downsides of closed platforms like consoles, iOS, or the Windows Marketplace. However, Valve doesn't control your hardware and cannot prevent any games or content from working on your machine whether it runs Windows, Linux, or Mac. Lacking that stick, Valve and competing companies (including GameStop, which owns Game Informer) must resort to carrots like seamless patching, community features, sales, and other ways to add value in order to attract games and players to their services. Many developers are happy to give Valve and other retailers their cut of a game's sale price in exchange for the visibility and marketing they receive in return, and others prefer using the pre-fab solutions for anti-piracy measures, community/online integration, and other developer-focused added value that Steam in particular offers.
Though Steam and similar services share some downsides with closed platforms like consoles, the key ingredient is choice. If a company doesn't like the way Valve does business, or doesn't think that Steam's positives outweigh its negatives, they're free to ignore it and release their game through other channels. NCsoft and ArenaNet probably didn't need any additional exposure for Guild Wars 2, and obviously decided to avoid losing the revenue that using a reseller like Valve takes off the top. Nonetheless, Guild Wars 2 is available to all PC gamers who own the requisite hardware. Blizzard sticks with its own Battle.net service. EA and Ubisoft insist on annoying players with their own proprietary Origin and Uplay systems. Hundreds of indie developers sell games through their own websites. The PC gaming ecosystem is wider and more diverse than closed platforms by orders of magnitude, and it's all due to its open nature. Game development on Linux will remain open to all business models, types of content, and services, forever.
Finally, a Linux gaming machine will by definition cost around $100 less than the same machine running Windows. Not having to pay Microsoft for its operating system is a huge boon, particularly at the lower end of gaming-capable PC building like Valve's "SteamBox" initiative. A high-end $1,900 machine going up to $2,000 isn't that big of a deal, but bringing a $600 box down to $500 is huge.
As glorious as a Linux-centric PC gaming future would be, there are a number of hurdles that must be cleared for any serious Linux development to take root. Come back Friday for a look at those, and leave your thoughts in the comments section below in the meantime.
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Wednesday, February 27, 2013
A Short Guide to Bad Oscar Hosts | dagblog
Seth MacFarlane hosted a slow-motion catastrophe of an Oscars broadcast Sunday night. His terrible performance immediately sparked two internet conversations: one about what a terrible Oscars host Seth MacFarlane was, and a second about who had, if anyone, been an even more terrible Oscars host. Many people were insulted by MacFarlane's sexist hostility. And I was, too. But I was also insulted by MacFarlane's obvious laziness and lack of professionalism. MacFarlane's shtick is built on contempt, which is why he's so witlessly insulting. But it was his obvious lack of effort, his confidence that his bush-league material was good enough for the likes of us, that betrayed his total contempt for the audience.
Many of MacFarlane's apologists bring up the awful James Franco/Anne Hathaway show of two years ago. But that's a different question. Franco and Hathaway failed because they are not comedians (which is no more an insult than it is to point out that they are not acrobats). They simply do not have the skill set that hosting such a program requires; they could not have succeeded no matter how hard they tried. MacFarlane does have the requisite skills. It's clear that he has sufficiently effective comic delivery and he has a long track record as a head comedy writer. He knew his job. He just didn't bother to do it. That is insulting.
Don't get me wrong: hosting the Oscars is a nightmare gig. The host has to perform roughly 30 to 45 minutes of original and completely untested standup material, in front of both a national television audience and nearly every power broker in Hollywood. Most stand-up comedy that you see on TV has been tested and tweaked in dozens, or often hundreds, of live club performances. Any comedy bit that hasn't already been performed in front of a live crowd is at best a hit-or-miss proposition and at worst a bomb that can blow up in your face. (The few minutes of standup by the hosts on late-night shows are untested material of this kind, which is why those jokes are so uneven.) Doing half an hour or more of completely untested material in front of Steven Spielberg is terrifying.
Add to that the problem that you have two very different audiences to please, neither of them easy, and each with very different tastes: the room full of Hollywood luminaries in front of you and the vast TV audience somewhere beyond. To succeed, you need to bond with both audiences. Playing exclusively to one instead of the other is automatic death. And worse yet, the last ten or fifteen years have set up an expectation that the Oscar-night host will fail, which can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. (Potential hosts know this: Queen Latifah was asked before the show if she would consider hosting, and replied that the organizers would have to both "back up the Brinks truck" and get her the world's best publicist to repair her image after the show.) So all in all, an ugly seven-headed monster of an assignment.
But if you're going to accept that terrible gig, there's no excuse for giving less than your best effort. Sometime after 11 Eastern, MacFarlane was waving off his own bits with excuses like "It's late." But that's a lie. The material was not weak because MacFarlane was tired (at something like 8:15 local time). That could only be true if MacFarlane were making up the material as he went. The material was weak because MacFarlane, given months to prepare, had prepared a script full of weak and threadbare material. "It's late," is really MacFarlane saying, "I did not bother to put together enough quality material for an entire show. So you're just going to have to take whatever I give you from here on out."
This particular expression of contempt for the audience went unnoticed among MacFarlane's more blatant expressions of disregard for women, gays, Jews, ethnic minorities and people with mild Spanish accents. But all of MacFarlane's contemptuous misbehavior is rooted in that basic act of contempt for the audience, his refusal to put in the effort required to create enough A-level material.
The boorish "I saw your boobs" song actually might have been funny if it had taken only ten seconds. A lightning-quick snippet of MacFarlane singing "I saw your boobs," would be a perfectly good joke, and harmless because it would come at MacFarlane's expense.? (The context for the I-saw-your-boobs song was a "warning from the future" that MacFarlane was going to be disastrously offensive. If the audience then saw and heard him singing the words "I saw your boobs," just once, they would get the point: MacFarlane is an ignorant churl. It didn't get funnier the second time.) Instead, MacFarlane stretched that single, weak joke into a couple of minutes of material, requiring him to actually be a boor and then double and triple down. He didn't need the routine to be so long; it was pre-taped, so he could show as much or as little as he liked. But MacFarlane was trying to fill time, getting three minutes from a premise that only had one joke. He did the same thing with his next bit, stretching out a sock-puppet re-enactment of Flight to excruciating lengths. MacFarlane consistently tried to milk single jokes into longer sequences, because otherwise he would have had to come up with more jokes.
What he did write was lazy. The offensive lines weren't just politically incorrect. They were comically incorrect. Several of them were badly constructed. All of them were based on cliches. (A female CIA operative didn't get over 9/11 because "women never give up on anything?" Really? That's all you've got?)
Saying that MacFarlane was too "edgy" is absurd. MacFarlane is not an edgy comic. That was not Pryor, Carlin, or Lenny Bruce up there. There are comedians who can get away with material far more transgressive, and subjects far more taboo, than anything MacFarlane dreamed about. MacFarlane wouldn't have the stomach to do any five minutes of Bill Hicks's act, or Sarah Silverman's. Even Robin Williams, who all-too-desperately wants the audience's love, is far more of a painful truth-teller than MacFarlane. But all of those comedians get around the audience's inhibitions by breaking down cliches. Listening to them is liberatory, not because the material is difficult but because the execution is original. MacFarlane, who is lazy, prefers to build his act on as many cliches as possible. Of course, that's easier. It just doesn't work.
If someone tells you MacFarlane's detractors are being uptight, remember that MacFarlane got major blowback from a joke about John Wilkes Booth. That is not cutting-edge material. People have been telling jokes about the Lincoln assassination for many decades. ("Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln ....") But MacFarlane actually managed to offend people with that moldy chestnut of a premise, because the joke he told was constructed so poorly. The punch line wasn't set up strongly enough to feel natural, so MacFarlane sounded like he was straining to drag in Lincoln's murder. It's the strain that made the joke off-putting. That's a spectacular failure of technique. He could have gotten away with a Booth joke, easily, if he had taken the effort to write a better joke. But then, that would have required work. And MacFarlane had clearly decided that none of us were worth that much effort.
Source: http://dagblog.com/arts-entertainment/short-guide-bad-oscar-hosts-16259
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PFT: Mathieu runs a fast 40? |? But bench is weak
APRecently, we explained that NFL teams are curious as to whether Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te?o is gay.? Somehow, this reality was misinterpreted by some as being an official PFT position that this is a legitimate question, for Te?o or anyone else.
It isn?t.
But the NFL is a unique industry, both in good ways and in bad.? When it comes to outdated, intolerant views regarding the sexuality of its players, the NFL?s difference is that it doesn?t embrace diversity.
Case in point:? Colorado tight end Nick Kasa was asked a stream of questions that touched on sexual preference at the Scouting Combine.
?They ask you like, ?Do you have a girlfriend??? Are you married??? Do you like girls??? Kasa told ESPN Radio Denver on Tuesday.? ?Those kinds of things, and you know it was just kind of weird.? But they would ask you with a straight face, and it?s a pretty weird experience altogether.?
It?s more than weird.? It?s troubling.? While on one hand teams try to throw players off the prepared answers that make them seem as complex as a cardboard cutout, on the other hand that effort should be undertaken without touching on inappropriate subject matter.
The league should be troubled, too.? And the league should contact Kasa immediately, with a very specific follow-up question:? ?Which team(s) asked you that??
Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/26/tyrann-mathieu-runs-a-4-43-on-his-first-40/related/
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Clues to climate cycles dug from south pole snow pit
Feb. 25, 2013 ? Particles from the upper atmosphere trapped in a deep pile of Antarctic snow hold clear chemical traces of global meteorological events, a team from the University of California, San Diego and a colleague from France have found.
Anomalies in oxygen found in sulfate particles coincide with several episodes of the world-wide disruption of weather known as El Ni?o and can be distinguished from similar signals left by the eruption of huge volcanoes, the team reports in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published the week of February 25.
"Our ability to link of reliable chemical signatures to well-known events will make it possible to reconstruct similar short-term fluctuations in atmospheric conditions from the paleohistory preserved in polar ice," said Mark Thiemens, Dean of the Division of Physical Sciences and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, who directed the research and dug up much of the snow.
Thiemens, graduate student Justin McCabe and colleague Joel Savarino of Laboratoire de Glaciologie et G?ophysique de l'Environnment in Grenoble, France, excavated a pit 6 meters deep in the snow near the South Pole, with shovels.
"At an elevation of 10,000 feet and 55 degrees below zero, this was quite a task," Thiemens said. Their efforts exposed a 22 year record of snowfall, a pileup of individual flakes, some of which crystallized around particles of sulfate that formed in the tropics.
Atmospheric sulfates form when sulfur dioxide -- one sulfur and two oxygen molecules -- mixes with air and gains two more oxygen molecules. This can happen a number of different ways, some of which favor the addition of variant forms of oxygen, or isotopes, with and extra neutron or two, previous work by Thiemens's group has shown.
Unlike polar ice, which compresses months of precipitation so tightly that resolution is measured in years, relatively fluffy snow allowed the team to resolve this record of atmospheric chemistry on a much finer scale.
"That was key," said Robina Shaheen, a project scientist in Thiemen's research group who led the chemical analysis. "This record was every six months. That high resolution made it clear we can trace a seasonal event such as ENSO."
ENSO, the El Ni?o Southern Oscillation, is a complex global phenomenon that begins when trade winds falter allowing piled up in the tropical western Pacific to slosh toward South America in a warm stream that alters marine life crashing fisheries off Peru and Chile, and disrupts patterns of rainfall leaving parts of the planet drenched and others parched.
The warmed air above the sea surface lifts sulfur dioxide high into the stratosphere, where it's oxidized by ozone, which imparts a distinctly different, anomalous pattern of oxygen variants to the resulting sulfate particles.
In the Antarctic snow samples, the chemists found traces of these oxygen anomalies in sulfates trapped within layers of snow that fell during strong El Ni?o seasons.
Volcanoes too can shoot sulfur compounds high into the atmosphere where they react with ozone to produce sulfates with oxygen anomalies. Three large volcanoes, El Chich?n, Pinatubo and Cerro Hudson, erupted over the course of this time sample, which stretched from 1980 to 2002 and encompassed three ENSO events as well.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - San Diego.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- S. Chakraborty, T. L. Jackson, M. Ahmed, M. H. Thiemens. Sulfur isotopic fractionation in vacuum UV photodissociation of hydrogen sulfide and its potential relevance to meteorite analysis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1213150110
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/~3/LfVdYx0ik8Q/130225153126.htm
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Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Judd, Hamill, Hughley and more to go 'Dancing'
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Dorothy Hamill, D.L. Hughley and Wynonna Judd are among the stars ready to go "Dancing."
By Ree Hines, TODAY contributor
In just three weeks, glitz, glam and a whole lot of spray tan return to prime time as "Dancing With the Stars" kicks off its 16th season. The battle for the mirror-ball trophy will see 11 stars -- or reasonable facsimiles -- face off for ballroom bragging rights. But which 11 stars?
ABC teased the first star Sunday night -- Super Bowl champ and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones. As for the rest of the cast, they were revealed Tuesday on "Good Morning America."
Here are the stars and pro partners who'll soon get ready to rumba:
- Wynonna Judd will dance alongside Tony Dovolani.
- Dorothy Hamill will learn some ballroom basics from Tristan MacManus.
- D.L. Hughley is set to perform with pro dancer Cheryl Burke.
- Lisa Vanderpump will partner with new pro Gleb Savchenko.
- Victor Ortiz will try out his fancy footwork with first-timer Lindsay Arnold.
- Andy Dick will hit the floor with some help from yet another new pro, Sharna Burgess.
- Zendaya is set to step out with Val Chmerkovskiy.
- Aly Raisman and pro Mark Ballas will vie for the mirror ball together.
- Kellie Pickler will waltz with Derek Hough.
- Ingo Rademacher will perform with Kym Johnson.
- And as for Jones, he'll be joined by pro Karina Smirnoff.
See how well all of the hoofer hopefuls perform when the new season of "Dancing With the Stars" kicks off March 18 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
What do you think of the cast? Take our poll below and then share all your thoughts about the new batch of ballroom beginners on our Facebook page.
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Top 10 ways biotechnology could improve our everyday life
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Public release date: 25-Feb-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Lan Yoon
hlyoon@kaist.ac.kr
82-423-502-295
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Daejeon, Republic of Korea, February 25, 2013The Global Agenda Council on Biotechnology, one of the global networks under the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is composed of the world's leading experts in the field of biotechnology, announced today that the council has indentified "ten most important biotechnologies" which could help meet rapidly growing demand for energy, food, nutrition, and health. These new technologies, the council said, also have the potential to increase productivity and create new jobs.
The ten technologies were initially proposed at the WEF's Summit on the Global Agenda 2012 held on November 12-14, 2012 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and later confirmed at the World Economic Forum that took place in Davos, Switzerland, on January 23-27, 2013.
"The technologies selected by the members of the Global Agenda Council on Biotechnology represent almost all types of biotechnology. Utilization of waste, personalized medicine, and ocean agriculture are only a few examples of the challenges where biotechnology can offer solutions," said Sang Yup Lee, Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Biotechnology and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). He also added that "the members of the council concluded that regulatory certainty, public perception, and investment are the key enablers for the growth of biotechnology."
These ideas will be further explored during "Biotechnology Week" at the World Economic Forum's Blog from Monday, 25 February, 2013. The full list follows below:
Bio-based sustainable production of chemicals, energy, fuels and materials
Through the last century, human activity has depleted approximately half of the world's reserves of fossil hydrocarbons. These reserves, which took over 600 million years to accumulate, are non-renewable and their extraction, refining and use contribute significantly to human emissions of greenhouse gases and the warming of our planet. In order to sustain human development going forward, a carbon-neutral alternative must be implemented. The key promising technology is biological synthesis; that is, bio-based production of chemicals, fuels and materials from plants that can be re-grown.
Engineering sustainable food production
The continuing increase in our numbers and affluence are posing growing challenges to the ability of humanity to produce adequate food (as well as feed, and now fuel). Although controversial, modern genetic modification of crops has supported growth in agricultural productivity. In 2011, 16.7 million farmers grew biotechnology-developed crops on almost 400 million acres in 29 countries, 19 of which were developing countries. Properly managed, such crops have the potential to lower both pesticide use and tilling which erodes soil.
Sea-water based bio-processes
Over 70% of the earth surface is covered by seawater, and it is the most abundant water source available on the planet. But we are yet to discover the full potential of it. For example with halliophic bacteria capable of growing in the seawater can be engineered to grow faster and produce useful products including chemicals, fuels and polymeric materials. Ocean agriculture is also a promising technology. It is based on the photosynthetic biomass from the oceans, like macroalgae and microalgae.
Non-resource draining zero waste bio-processing
The sustainable goal of zero waste may become a reality with biotechnology. Waste streams can be processed at bio-refineries and turned into valuable chemicals and fuels, thereby closing the loop of production with no net waste. Advances in biotechnology are now allowing lower cost, less draining inputs to be used, including methane, and waste heat. These advances are simplifying waste streams with the potential to reduce toxicity as well as support their use in other processes, moving society progressively closer to the sustainable goal of zero waste.
Using carbon dioxide as a raw material
Biotechnology is poised to contribute solutions to mitigate the growing threat of rising CO2 levels. Recent advances are rapidly increasing our understanding of how living organisms consume and use CO2. By harnessing the power of these natural biological systems, scientists are engineering a new wave of approaches to convert waste CO2 and C1 molecules into energy, fuels, chemicals, and new materials.
Regenerative medicine
Regenerative medicine has become increasingly important due to both increased longevity and treatment of injury. Tissue engineering based on various bio-materials has been developed to speed up the regenerative medicine. Recently, stem cells, especially the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), have provided another great opportunity for regenerative medicine. Combination of tissue engineering and stem cell (including iPS) technologies will allow replacements of damaged or old human organs with functional ones in the near future.
Rapid and precise development and manufacturing of medicine and vaccines
A global pandemic remains one of the most real and serious threats to humanity. Biotechnology has the potential to rapidly identify biological threats, develop and manufacture potential cures. Leading edge biotechnology is now offering the potential to rapidly produce therapeutics and vaccines against virtually any target. These technologies, including messenger therapeutics, targeted immunotherapies, conjugated nanoparticles, and structure-based engineering, have already produced candidates with substantial potential to improve human health globally.
Accurate, fast, cheap, and personalized diagnostics and prognostics
Identification of better targets and combining nanotechnology and information technology it will be possible to develop rapid, accurate, personalized and inexpensive diagnostics and prognostics systems.
Bio-tech improvements to soil and water
Arable land and fresh water are two of the most important, yet limited, resources on earth. Abuse and mis-appropriation have threatened these resources, as the demand on them has increased. Advances in biotechnology have already yielded technologies that can restore the vitality and viability of these resources. A new generation of technologies: bio-remediation, bio-regeneration and bio-augmentation are being developed, offering the potential to not only further restore these resources, but also augment their potential.
Advanced healthcare through genome sequencing
It took more than 13 years and $1.5 billion to sequence the first human genome and today we can sequence a complete human genome in a single day for less than $1,000. When we analyze the roughly 3 billion base pairs in such a sequence we find that we differ from each other in several million of these base pairs. In the vast majority of cases these difference do not cause any issues but in rare cases they cause disease, or susceptibility to disease. Medical research and practice will increasingly be driven by our understanding of such genetic variations together with their phenotypic consequences.
###
[ | 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.
Public release date: 25-Feb-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Lan Yoon
hlyoon@kaist.ac.kr
82-423-502-295
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Daejeon, Republic of Korea, February 25, 2013The Global Agenda Council on Biotechnology, one of the global networks under the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is composed of the world's leading experts in the field of biotechnology, announced today that the council has indentified "ten most important biotechnologies" which could help meet rapidly growing demand for energy, food, nutrition, and health. These new technologies, the council said, also have the potential to increase productivity and create new jobs.
The ten technologies were initially proposed at the WEF's Summit on the Global Agenda 2012 held on November 12-14, 2012 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and later confirmed at the World Economic Forum that took place in Davos, Switzerland, on January 23-27, 2013.
"The technologies selected by the members of the Global Agenda Council on Biotechnology represent almost all types of biotechnology. Utilization of waste, personalized medicine, and ocean agriculture are only a few examples of the challenges where biotechnology can offer solutions," said Sang Yup Lee, Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Biotechnology and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). He also added that "the members of the council concluded that regulatory certainty, public perception, and investment are the key enablers for the growth of biotechnology."
These ideas will be further explored during "Biotechnology Week" at the World Economic Forum's Blog from Monday, 25 February, 2013. The full list follows below:
Bio-based sustainable production of chemicals, energy, fuels and materials
Through the last century, human activity has depleted approximately half of the world's reserves of fossil hydrocarbons. These reserves, which took over 600 million years to accumulate, are non-renewable and their extraction, refining and use contribute significantly to human emissions of greenhouse gases and the warming of our planet. In order to sustain human development going forward, a carbon-neutral alternative must be implemented. The key promising technology is biological synthesis; that is, bio-based production of chemicals, fuels and materials from plants that can be re-grown.
Engineering sustainable food production
The continuing increase in our numbers and affluence are posing growing challenges to the ability of humanity to produce adequate food (as well as feed, and now fuel). Although controversial, modern genetic modification of crops has supported growth in agricultural productivity. In 2011, 16.7 million farmers grew biotechnology-developed crops on almost 400 million acres in 29 countries, 19 of which were developing countries. Properly managed, such crops have the potential to lower both pesticide use and tilling which erodes soil.
Sea-water based bio-processes
Over 70% of the earth surface is covered by seawater, and it is the most abundant water source available on the planet. But we are yet to discover the full potential of it. For example with halliophic bacteria capable of growing in the seawater can be engineered to grow faster and produce useful products including chemicals, fuels and polymeric materials. Ocean agriculture is also a promising technology. It is based on the photosynthetic biomass from the oceans, like macroalgae and microalgae.
Non-resource draining zero waste bio-processing
The sustainable goal of zero waste may become a reality with biotechnology. Waste streams can be processed at bio-refineries and turned into valuable chemicals and fuels, thereby closing the loop of production with no net waste. Advances in biotechnology are now allowing lower cost, less draining inputs to be used, including methane, and waste heat. These advances are simplifying waste streams with the potential to reduce toxicity as well as support their use in other processes, moving society progressively closer to the sustainable goal of zero waste.
Using carbon dioxide as a raw material
Biotechnology is poised to contribute solutions to mitigate the growing threat of rising CO2 levels. Recent advances are rapidly increasing our understanding of how living organisms consume and use CO2. By harnessing the power of these natural biological systems, scientists are engineering a new wave of approaches to convert waste CO2 and C1 molecules into energy, fuels, chemicals, and new materials.
Regenerative medicine
Regenerative medicine has become increasingly important due to both increased longevity and treatment of injury. Tissue engineering based on various bio-materials has been developed to speed up the regenerative medicine. Recently, stem cells, especially the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), have provided another great opportunity for regenerative medicine. Combination of tissue engineering and stem cell (including iPS) technologies will allow replacements of damaged or old human organs with functional ones in the near future.
Rapid and precise development and manufacturing of medicine and vaccines
A global pandemic remains one of the most real and serious threats to humanity. Biotechnology has the potential to rapidly identify biological threats, develop and manufacture potential cures. Leading edge biotechnology is now offering the potential to rapidly produce therapeutics and vaccines against virtually any target. These technologies, including messenger therapeutics, targeted immunotherapies, conjugated nanoparticles, and structure-based engineering, have already produced candidates with substantial potential to improve human health globally.
Accurate, fast, cheap, and personalized diagnostics and prognostics
Identification of better targets and combining nanotechnology and information technology it will be possible to develop rapid, accurate, personalized and inexpensive diagnostics and prognostics systems.
Bio-tech improvements to soil and water
Arable land and fresh water are two of the most important, yet limited, resources on earth. Abuse and mis-appropriation have threatened these resources, as the demand on them has increased. Advances in biotechnology have already yielded technologies that can restore the vitality and viability of these resources. A new generation of technologies: bio-remediation, bio-regeneration and bio-augmentation are being developed, offering the potential to not only further restore these resources, but also augment their potential.
Advanced healthcare through genome sequencing
It took more than 13 years and $1.5 billion to sequence the first human genome and today we can sequence a complete human genome in a single day for less than $1,000. When we analyze the roughly 3 billion base pairs in such a sequence we find that we differ from each other in several million of these base pairs. In the vast majority of cases these difference do not cause any issues but in rare cases they cause disease, or susceptibility to disease. Medical research and practice will increasingly be driven by our understanding of such genetic variations together with their phenotypic consequences.
###
[ | 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.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/tkai-ttw022513.php
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If My Phone Falls Down The Seat Crevice Again I?ll Lose It. Please Redesign Meatspace.
The physical world wasn't built for $500 devices we need every other minute. This is never more obvious than when I strain my back and curse like a sailor because my phone has fallen into the gap beside my car or plane seat. As tech companies obsess over usability, the thoughtlessness that mars the meatspace comes into painfully sharp relief.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/pt2zFGb3aHA/
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Monday, February 25, 2013
Blizzard pounds Colorado, slows air traffic
(Reuters) - A powerful winter storm threatened the U.S. southern plains states on Monday, promising a mix of rain and snow that was likely to bring heavy snowfall to southeastern Kansas and central Missouri from Monday night to Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service said.
"Heavy snowfall rates in excess of an inch per hour will be possible in some locations," the service said. "Gusty northeast to north winds will result in considerable blowing and drifting of snowfall.
"Significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous," it said.
The same storm had blanketed eastern Colorado with snow on Sunday, prompting the cancellation of 200 flights in and out of Denver International Airport.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper ordered all non-essential state workers to report to work two hours later than scheduled on Monday to give Denver snow plow drivers more time to clear city streets.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colorado-snowstorm-triggers-blizzard-warnings-slows-air-traffic-093034534.html
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Sunday, February 24, 2013
Falcon Pro for Android Reaches its Twitter Token Limit
Falcon Pro, one of the best Twitter applications for Android, has run into a significant problem. The app can no longer authenticate new users because it reached the 100,000 token limit that Twitter imposes on all third-party applications. This restriction requires any new Twitter application to only have a maximum of 100,000 users at a time.?
The token limit took Falcon Pro developer Joaquim Verg?s?by surprise. He knew the limit would be reached eventually, he just didn?t expect it to happen so soon.
?For the numbers, Play Store tells me 40k users,? Verg?s wrote?on the Falcon Pro Twitter page. ?Piracy is unstopabble, nothing I can do to prevent that.?
Users have suggested possible solutions such as adding license checks, creating additional tokens and creating a new build of Falcon Pro, but?Verg?s doesn?t believe any of these will work in the long term. Therefore, he decided to create a petition in an effort to convince Twitter to raise the token limitation for Falcon Pro. There are currently 1,313 signatures on the petition.
Twitter users can also help out by revoking access to the Twitter applications they don?t use. To revoke access to an app that connects to Twitter, log in to Twitter on the web, go to settings, click on apps and revoke access to any app you don?t use anymore. Doing this won?t ultimately save Falcon Pro, but at least it?ll free up some space for someone who wants to try the app.
Source [Twitter]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gadgetell/~3/mV_znFttMZU/
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U.S. Justice, Gulf states crafting BP spill settlement
(Reuters) - The U.S. government and Gulf Coast states are considering offering BP Plc a deal under which it pays $16 billion to settle civil suits stemming from the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
The deal would cover the company's potential penalties under the Clean Water Act and payments under the Natural Resources Damage Assessment, the newspaper said, citing sources familiar with the discussions.
It was unclear if the deal has been formally offered to BP. The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment.
A settlement could avert a bruising courtroom battle over the worst ever U.S. offshore oil spill slated to start on Monday in New Orleans, although the trial may begin as the terms of the deal are hammered out.
A settlement would also put a solid number on BP's costs under the Clean Water Act, which range from $4.5 billion to $17.5 billion, as well as potential natural resources damage assessments to the states under the Oil Pollution Act.
"BP doesn't talk about possible offers or negotiations, but I can tell you we are ready for trial and looking forward to the opportunity to present our case starting Monday," BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said when contacted by Reuters.
BP has spent or committed $37 billion on cleanup, restoration, payouts, settlements and fines. That includes an estimated $8.5 billion deal with most plaintiffs and a record $4.5 billion in penalties, and a guilty plea to 14 criminal counts to resolve criminal charges from the Justice Department and civil claims from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
BP has said it would settle on "reasonable terms," but was prepared to go to trial if the demands were "excessive and not based on reality."
(Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by Vicki Allen and Gunna Dickson)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-justice-gulf-states-crafting-bp-oil-spill-165813510--finance.html
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Tremonti sees instability after Italian vote
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's national election this weekend will produce a weak, unstable and probably short-lived government, former economy minister Giulio Tremonti said on Friday.
Tremonti, who is running at the head of a small party of his own, said that even if the centre left led by Pier Luigi Bersani confirmed its opinion poll lead and won a majority, it would be too small and fragile to produce an effective administration.
"Italy's economic problems are huge, and you cannot solve huge problems with a small majority," said Tremonti, who served as economy minister under former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
The euro zone's third largest economy has posted six consecutive quarters of contraction, its longest recession for 20 years, and its huge public debt, the second highest in the euro zone after Greece's, is continuing to climb.
Tremonti has formed his own party to contest the election, called "Work and Freedom". It is allied with the pro-devolution Northern League for whom he is the official candidate for prime minister.
He said that the outcome many investors would favor, an alliance between the centre left and outgoing technocrat Premier Mario Monti, might get off the ground but ideological and policy differences were too great for it to last long.
"You don't just have to muster a majority after the election, you have to keep that majority and use it to make difficult decisions day after day," he said. "It's impossible that the centre left will be able to do that."
BERLUSCONI SURPRISE?
Tremonti was widely praised for keeping a tight rein on public finances during the global financial crisis from 2008 to 2011, before frictions with Berlusconi sparked the first rise in Italy's bond yields in the summer of 2011.
Those yields then spiraled out of control and led to Berlusconi's downfall at the end of that year, to usher in former European Commissioner Monti at the head of an unelected technocrat administration.
Italy should have gone to the polls after Berlusconi's fall, said Tremonti, a university professor and former tax lawyer who is in favor of much tighter regulation of financial markets.
"Bersani would have won but it would have been a democratic solution," he said. "If we had voted then, (anti-establishment candidate Beppe) Grillo would have got 4 percent, now it looks like he could get close to 20 percent."
Relations are now icy between Tremonti and Berlusconi but he cautioned that his former boss might do better in the elections than polls suggest.
"Centre-right voters are disappointed with Berlusconi, but they still see him as the only way to stop the left and I think many of those who say they won't vote for him will change their minds in the ballot box," he said.
Tremonti has been a fierce critic of Monti and took evident delight in polls suggesting his centrist bloc will come a lowly fourth behind Bersani, Berlusconi and Grillo, whose 5-Star Movement has been making rapid gains.
"Monti thought he could get 40 percent and he is going to get less than 10, markets bet on Monti and they are going to get Grillo," he said.
(Editing by Andrew Roche)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tremonti-sees-instability-italian-vote-171032603.html
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Saturday, February 23, 2013
Leaked photos allegedly show Retina display Apple iPad mini 2 with color options
3. PapaSmurf posted on 0 2
$349 if anything, but I get your sarcasm.
5. fanboy1974 posted on 1 0
Why would Apple want to sale a $349 mini with the same resolution as it's big brother at $499? Haven't you looked at the stock prices lately? I see it between $400 to $500 dollars just because their hurting the 9.7" model at the $329 starting price.
2. PapaSmurf posted on 1 0
I would def. buy an iPad Mini if it had a Retina display at the same price with a A6X chip. This would be the first thing I would buy from Apple since 2006 (iPod Classic 30GB).
7. Aeires posted on 3 1
Only if iOS7 was a total rebuild, and then it'd still be a maybe.
16. taz89 posted on 1 1
agree if ios7 is a huge improvement then i can see myself getting the new mini
6. tedkord posted on 0 0
Where were the color choices?
8. gmracer1 posted on 5 1
Different colors to choose from!?!?!?!?!?!?! zOMG this is a total game-changer!!!!!!!!!!!!
20. hepresearch posted on 0 0
Apple takes a page out of Nokia's play book? Creepy...
22. Lucas777 posted on 0 0
anddd the glorification of apple
9. mas11 posted on 1 0
As long as people are willing to overspend Apple will continue to make up crazy prices. The iPad mini should be no more than $249 imho.
21. KingKurogiii posted on 0 0
even $299 would be acceptable being that it's so well made but it would also have to be more than a recycled iPad 2 which it isn't.
10. InspectorGadget80 posted on 5 1
Why is color options such big news? they just spray paint it u can do that at home too
15. BackHandLegend posted on 0 0
He's right... lol really dude?
13. BadAssAbe posted on 1 0
Spray paint, bluff, clear coat, then wax. Way more complex LOL ;)
11. darkkjedii posted on 0 6
Should b another great device. Solid and fluid.
17. taz89 posted on 1 1
agree hardware and fluidity wise it will be awesome, just hope ios 7 is a huge improvement and not imo a small update like ios 6...for me i want to be able to set my own default apps and just drag and drop files instead of having to sync everything...for me those 2 are the most important
19. darkkjedii posted on 0 1
I'm with u on that. After the ribbing apples taken this past year, it should b a big update. I think it will b
14. nnaatthhaannx2 posted on 1 0
I have a feeling Apple would never have a blue logo like that.
It just doesn't look right.
18. nikenturd posted on 1 0
This will be a good compliment to my Note 2....hope its well within the $329 range
23. kozza3 posted on 0 0
i personally loved the form factor of the mini but it's an ipad and therefor useless to me
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White House to give senators Benghazi documents
WASHINGTON (AP) ? A congressional aide says the White House has agreed to give the Senate Intelligence Committee documents related to the attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Republicans had demanded the documents as a condition of voting on the nomination of John Brennan to be CIA director.
The congressional aide says the documents include emails between top national security officials showing the debate within the administration over how to describe the attack and other documents the committee had been asking for.
The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
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Friday, February 22, 2013
'Green' homes save money but can trap air pollution indoors
Public release date: 21-Feb-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Adam Dormuth
dormutha@njhealth.org
303-398-1082
National Jewish Health
National Jewish Health expert describes potential health hazards of energy efficient homes
SAN ANTONIO, TX- February 21, 2013 -- In an effort to protect the environment and save on energy costs, we are in the midst of a "green" home boom in this country. While that may bode well from an energy-efficiency standpoint, the trend certainly doesn't have everyone breathing easier.
Nathan Rabinovitch, MD, an asthma specialist at National Jewish Health, will describe the potential health hazards "green" buildings pose to people with asthma, during a symposium, Monday, February 25, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology in San Antonio.
"For every solution, there's a problem," said Nathan Rabinovitch, MD, an asthma specialist at National Jewish Health in Denver. "Energy efficiency is really, really important, but at the same time, with the homes that we are building today, allergens getting into the house, are staying in the house."
That includes things like smoke, mold, bacteria and pet dander. For the nearly 26 million Americans who suffer from asthma, that's causing a wide range of problems.
"It used to be when homes were built, a lot of air would come out through the roof and through the windows," said Dr. Rabinovitch, "but now we've become so efficient at sealing off those areas that everything is getting trapped inside the house, and that's making a lot of people sick."
Rabinovitch says the movement to build more energy-efficient homes began in the 1970s, after the nation's first energy crisis. Since then, concerns about the environment and a downturn in the economy have all converged to make energy efficiency much more of a priority in the housing industry.
But something else happened during that same timeframe: asthma rates started going up. In fact, since 1970, the number of Americans who have asthma has nearly tripled.
That's not a coincidence, says Dr. Rabinovitch. "The problem is, a lot of the air pollution in our home is actually in the carpet or on the soft furniture. If someone walks on the carpet or sits on the couch, they end up getting this kind of personal exposure," he said, "and with little ventilation in homes today, that pollution has nowhere to go, so it settles into our lungs."
To see just how much air pollution we may be exposed to in our homes, Rabinovitch conducted a study in which he asked school children to carry air monitors with them for several weeks. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, those monitors collected air samples in the children's homes and as they walked to and from school. Samples were also collected as the children played outside, and as they studied in the classroom.
After analyzing the data, Dr. Rabinovitch found that air quality was worst where you might expect it least.
"For many of these kids, the amount of air pollution that they were being exposed to was often higher inside the home than outside the home," he said.
That doesn't surprise Hope Duncan. Her 13-year-old son, Jack, suffered a near-fatal asthma attack in 2008, and since then, Duncan says she has learned a lot about triggers that are hidden around her home.
"They can be anywhere," said Duncan. "You never know what's underneath the carpet that has accumulated from pets or from water damage. There may be things in the couch or behind the walls that you simply don't know about," she said.
Because of that, Duncan and her family take strict precautions to protect her son. "We change our air filter often, and vacuum and dust constantly," she said. The Duncans have also installed an air purifier in Jack's room and insist that he shower each night before he goes to bed, instead of in the morning, like many people do.
"He spends most of his time in his room, and at least nine hours a night sleeping in there," said Duncan. "After spending the day outside, collecting all these allergens in his hair and on his body, we just want to make sure he gets all that off of him before he goes to sleep."
But it's not just natural allergens like mold and pollen that can trigger asthma attacks. Some of the biggest problems are caused by choices we make.
"Pet dander and cigarette smoke are probably two of the most dangerous triggers there are," said Dr. Rabinovitch. "I always tell my patients that if there are smokers in the house or pets that are causing problems, those have to be addressed before anything else."
Rabinovitch also offers some simple advice to anyone who will listen. "The best way to control indoor air pollution is to look outdoors," he said. "Simply opening your windows more often will ventilate your house and will help dry out and clear out many of the things that could be making you sick."
It's a concept that raises a lot of eyebrows in this era of super energy-efficient homes.
"Homes were built 50 years ago in a way where there was ventilation, so I don't think it's difficult to go back to that," said Dr. Rabinovitch. "But the question is: How do we do that and at the same time keep our energy efficiency? We don't want to solve one problem and then end up with another."
###
Dr. Nathan Rabinovitch, a nationally recognized asthma specialist from National Jewish Health is available for interviews. Contact Adam Dormuth at 303-398-1082 or Shannon McCormick at 614-477-2719.
B-ROLL, SOUND BITES, WEB ELEMENTS & HI-RES STILL PHOTOS - Including HD video available for free/unrestricted use by the news media: http://bit.ly/TakVf2
Courtesy: National Jewish Health
For assistance in downloading, or if you have any questions contact: shannon@mediasourcetv.com or by calling the mobile phone number: 614-477-2719.
National Jewish Health is known worldwide for treatment of patients with respiratory, cardiac, immune and related disorders, and for groundbreaking medical research. Founded in 1899 as a nonprofit hospital, National Jewish Health remains the only facility in the world dedicated exclusively to these disorders. Since 1998, U.S. News & World Report has ranked National Jewish Health the number one respiratory hospital in the nation.
[ | 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.
Public release date: 21-Feb-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Adam Dormuth
dormutha@njhealth.org
303-398-1082
National Jewish Health
National Jewish Health expert describes potential health hazards of energy efficient homes
SAN ANTONIO, TX- February 21, 2013 -- In an effort to protect the environment and save on energy costs, we are in the midst of a "green" home boom in this country. While that may bode well from an energy-efficiency standpoint, the trend certainly doesn't have everyone breathing easier.
Nathan Rabinovitch, MD, an asthma specialist at National Jewish Health, will describe the potential health hazards "green" buildings pose to people with asthma, during a symposium, Monday, February 25, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology in San Antonio.
"For every solution, there's a problem," said Nathan Rabinovitch, MD, an asthma specialist at National Jewish Health in Denver. "Energy efficiency is really, really important, but at the same time, with the homes that we are building today, allergens getting into the house, are staying in the house."
That includes things like smoke, mold, bacteria and pet dander. For the nearly 26 million Americans who suffer from asthma, that's causing a wide range of problems.
"It used to be when homes were built, a lot of air would come out through the roof and through the windows," said Dr. Rabinovitch, "but now we've become so efficient at sealing off those areas that everything is getting trapped inside the house, and that's making a lot of people sick."
Rabinovitch says the movement to build more energy-efficient homes began in the 1970s, after the nation's first energy crisis. Since then, concerns about the environment and a downturn in the economy have all converged to make energy efficiency much more of a priority in the housing industry.
But something else happened during that same timeframe: asthma rates started going up. In fact, since 1970, the number of Americans who have asthma has nearly tripled.
That's not a coincidence, says Dr. Rabinovitch. "The problem is, a lot of the air pollution in our home is actually in the carpet or on the soft furniture. If someone walks on the carpet or sits on the couch, they end up getting this kind of personal exposure," he said, "and with little ventilation in homes today, that pollution has nowhere to go, so it settles into our lungs."
To see just how much air pollution we may be exposed to in our homes, Rabinovitch conducted a study in which he asked school children to carry air monitors with them for several weeks. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, those monitors collected air samples in the children's homes and as they walked to and from school. Samples were also collected as the children played outside, and as they studied in the classroom.
After analyzing the data, Dr. Rabinovitch found that air quality was worst where you might expect it least.
"For many of these kids, the amount of air pollution that they were being exposed to was often higher inside the home than outside the home," he said.
That doesn't surprise Hope Duncan. Her 13-year-old son, Jack, suffered a near-fatal asthma attack in 2008, and since then, Duncan says she has learned a lot about triggers that are hidden around her home.
"They can be anywhere," said Duncan. "You never know what's underneath the carpet that has accumulated from pets or from water damage. There may be things in the couch or behind the walls that you simply don't know about," she said.
Because of that, Duncan and her family take strict precautions to protect her son. "We change our air filter often, and vacuum and dust constantly," she said. The Duncans have also installed an air purifier in Jack's room and insist that he shower each night before he goes to bed, instead of in the morning, like many people do.
"He spends most of his time in his room, and at least nine hours a night sleeping in there," said Duncan. "After spending the day outside, collecting all these allergens in his hair and on his body, we just want to make sure he gets all that off of him before he goes to sleep."
But it's not just natural allergens like mold and pollen that can trigger asthma attacks. Some of the biggest problems are caused by choices we make.
"Pet dander and cigarette smoke are probably two of the most dangerous triggers there are," said Dr. Rabinovitch. "I always tell my patients that if there are smokers in the house or pets that are causing problems, those have to be addressed before anything else."
Rabinovitch also offers some simple advice to anyone who will listen. "The best way to control indoor air pollution is to look outdoors," he said. "Simply opening your windows more often will ventilate your house and will help dry out and clear out many of the things that could be making you sick."
It's a concept that raises a lot of eyebrows in this era of super energy-efficient homes.
"Homes were built 50 years ago in a way where there was ventilation, so I don't think it's difficult to go back to that," said Dr. Rabinovitch. "But the question is: How do we do that and at the same time keep our energy efficiency? We don't want to solve one problem and then end up with another."
###
Dr. Nathan Rabinovitch, a nationally recognized asthma specialist from National Jewish Health is available for interviews. Contact Adam Dormuth at 303-398-1082 or Shannon McCormick at 614-477-2719.
B-ROLL, SOUND BITES, WEB ELEMENTS & HI-RES STILL PHOTOS - Including HD video available for free/unrestricted use by the news media: http://bit.ly/TakVf2
Courtesy: National Jewish Health
For assistance in downloading, or if you have any questions contact: shannon@mediasourcetv.com or by calling the mobile phone number: 614-477-2719.
National Jewish Health is known worldwide for treatment of patients with respiratory, cardiac, immune and related disorders, and for groundbreaking medical research. Founded in 1899 as a nonprofit hospital, National Jewish Health remains the only facility in the world dedicated exclusively to these disorders. Since 1998, U.S. News & World Report has ranked National Jewish Health the number one respiratory hospital in the nation.
[ | 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.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/m-hs022113.php
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