Hey, you need a lab coat when you come in here...

U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins hosted a visit from President Barack Obama. On 30 September, the final day of the 2009 fiscal year, the president chose NIH as the place to highlight the first year of spending from his 2-year, $787 billion economic stimulus package. The $5 billion disbursed by NIH to more than 12,000 grants is "the single largest boost to biomedical research in history," Obama said.

Obama came into the lab and said this place is boring. Is NIH losing its lustre ? Where's all the cures for all the diseases ? Is this really cutting-edge science ? Cancer research still continues to get the big bucks but is it worth it ? Is the trend gonna start going towards cancer prevention or still looking for the cure ?

Burma is not Vietnam (in case you didn't know)

Kurt M. CampbellAssistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs gave testimony at a Senate hearing for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee chaired by Senator Jim Webb.Dirksen Room 419 was packed. Never seen so many people for Burma hearing. Senator was greeted by tee shirts that read "Burma is not Vietnam"... I guess that needed clearing up... Next week there will be a full committee hearing on the House side. Let's see who shows up.( see the video of hearing here... )http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1705667530?bctid=42844450001

Low carbon emitting hair style...

The AAAS-Hitachi "Science & Society" lecture was held in Washington, DC on Oct. 14 and the speaker was good ole Ernie Moniz - the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, Director of the Energy Initiative, and Director of the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has served on the faculty since 1973. Professor Moniz served as Under Secretary of the Department of Energy from 1997 until January 2001 and, from 1995-97, as Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President.

The title of the talk was - "Energy Technology for a Low Carbon Future". He used a cool term "technology optimism" meaning we got the science to take care of the problems... but he added, we need to back it up with the appropriate public policy. He said he doesn't advocate any particular energy source as long as it is low on the carbon emission...

Japan's centenarians top 40,000 - Honorable Oldies

The number of Japanese centenarians has doubled in the past six years to a record high of more than 40,000, with women dominating the list of those whose lives have spanned more than a century, the government said on Friday.Japan will have 40,399 people aged 100 or older this month, surpassing the previous record of 36,276 last year, the Health and Welfare Ministry said in an report marking a September 21 national holiday honoring the elderly. More than 86 per cent are women. ( as of January 2008, the USA had 96,548 centenarians ).

ISS - "We need milk, eggs, toilet paper"

HTV/H-IIB Successfully Launched!! The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) Demonstration Flight aboard the H-IIB Launch Vehicle Test Flight (H-IIB TF1) at 2:01:46 a.m. on September 11, 2009 (Japan Standard Time, JST) from the Tanegashima Space Center. The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and, at about 15 minutes and 6 seconds after liftoff, the separation of the HTV Demonstration Flight was confirmed. Speedy was there !!! Well, not there, there in Japan, but in the JAXA Washington DC Office. For more info - http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/h2bf1/index_e.html

“The report of NSF funding system”

Takakuni Ikeda is the hardest working man in Japan. In the Japanese government actually. And now he is the hardest working man in America. He is here in the USA as a NSF Fellow. I am always impressed by the high level of service the Japanese civil servant brings to his nation. They work late into the night and get back to work in the wee hours of the morning.
O-tsukarasama-desita Japan! Mr. Aso, are you listening? Either give everyone a raise or let them go home at 5:00 pm! God bless, America and Japan. Read his special report "The report of NSF funding system"

http://www.zam.go.jp/pdf/00000321.pdf(It helps if you can read Japanese)

The boring title was forced on Speedy by Mr. Ikeda. And also, this story is behind the times, as Aso is no longer PM ... the Alien is' bout to become PM.

Elephant Man...

This is the research work of up and coming scientist, Josh Plotnik at Emory. He sent Speedy his story. Check it out. And check out the videos on his homepage.

Most people have rather set, morning routines. Wake up, use the toilet, take a shower, stare blankly into a mirror while brushing your teeth, applying make-up, fixing your hair, etc. Clearly, all of the latter, mirror-guided behaviors are based on the fact that the person using the mirror recognizes that the image is simply a reflection of self. You don't quickly cover yourself when you walk past the mirror in the morning, or wonder why the strange person in the mirror seems to be imitating your every move, because you long ago became aware that mirrors are good for self-reflection. This capacity for what we scientists call "mirror self-recognition" or MSR, is actually quite rare in the animal kingdom. Chimpanzees are very good at it, as are most of the Great Apes (including chimps, orangutans, gorillas and bonobos). Recently, dolphins and magpies, of the corvid bird family, also demonstrated it. But all other species, including monkeys, dogs and cats, fail this test. In fact, when presented with a mirror, they indefinitely seem to identify the mirror-reflected individual as a stranger, threatening it, looking away from it, or simply ignoring it. Our research group at Emory University recently tested Asian elephants, who passed the mirror test and seemed to clearly recognize themselves in the mirror. Using a test first developed for chimpanzees, we first watched to see whether or not the elephants would show self-directed behavior (humans brush their teeth or fix their hair, chimpanzees inspect parts of their bodies they can't see without a mirror for instance)....the elephants would do similar things, like inspect their ears or the inside of their mouths, or bring food to the mirror to watch themselves eat. We then conduct a test called the mark test, where we mark the elephants on their heads to see whether or not, in front of the mirror, they reach up and touch the mark. One of our elephants, Happy, actually tried to wipe the mark off in front of the mirror....if Happy did not recognize herself, we might expect her to wonder why the strange elephant in the mirror had a mark of paint on her face and try to wipe it OFF THE MIRROR. What most interests us, however, is the fact that all of these MSR species seem to be highly empathetic, and/or highly social animals. What's the link between recognizing yourself in a mirror and caring for others' needs? We're not entirely sure yet, but these questions form the basis for our future research on elephants and other highly cognitive animals.
For more on this work and videos: http://www.emory.edu/LIVING_LINKS/elephants.html

What the FAFSA are you doing ?!!

More students took out private loans in 2007-8 borrowing less than they could have in federal Stafford Loans—which is way up from just four years ago, according to theU.S. Education Department data released by the Project on Student Debt. That group includes students who did not apply for federal financial aid, as well as those who did apply but either did not borrow a Stafford Loan or borrowed less than they were eligible for. In 2003-4, 48 percent of students who took out private loans did not exhaust their Stafford Loan eligibility.

What's up with that ? Folks in the financial aid office need to work harder. Actually, Speedy has found that nearby here in the Northern Virgiania, Montgomery, and Howard County Community Colleges, the financial aid officers are very helpful. Speedy found the most helpful officers were at CUNY in New York City. They're just giving out money.

The report says the proportion of students taking out private loans grew from 5 percent in 2003-4 to 14 percent in 2007-8. The analysis also looked at the characteristics of students who took out such loans. It found that 63 percent of them attend colleges charging $10,000 or less in tuition and fees. It also notes that for-profit and private nonprofit four-year institutions have a disproportionate share of students taking out private loans. Hmmm, someone pitching something ? Speedy smells a money trail.... and by the way, FAFSA application is not difficult to fill out... if you cant fill out an 8 page (online) document, don't go to college.

( read more... )

http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/

and

http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/files/pub/private_loan_facts_trends_09.pdf

"Myanmar is for Lovers"

Impressive... yes, Senator Webb said he got this "impression" that Suu Kyi wants to lift sanctions. "It was my clear impression from her that she is not opposed to lifting some sanctions," Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) told journalists on Monday. The Judson Observer told you months ago ( see May 11 post ) that Webb was weaving something. Yettaw is a pawn of the regime and the regime asked Webb to come get him. Nobody knew Webb was going. Did the US Embassy in Myanmar know ? Did the Myanmar Embassy in DC know - nope. Only General Than Shwe can approve this level meeting and allow a meeting with Suu Kyi. And everyone knows Webb is anti-sanctions, so Than Shwe let him visit her. And knew he'd come out with the "impression" not a quote that Suu wants to lift sanctions. Nice. Regime voodoo is working well.