Manti Te?o plays football, and he had a fictitious girlfriend.? President Obama and Commissioner Roger Goodell have fictitious sons who may or may not have been allowed to play football if they, you know, existed.
Recently, Obama said he?d be concerned about letting his son play, if he had a son.? Now, Goodell says he?d have no concerns about letting his son play football, if he had a son.
Goodell told Face the Nation that he?d ?absolutely? let a son play football.
?I couldn?t be more optimistic about it because the game of football has always evolved,? Goodell said, via the Associated Press. ?Through the years, through the decades, we?ve made changes to our game, to make it safer, to make it more exciting, to make it a better game for the players, for the fans, and we have done that in a very calculated fashion.?
He?s right, and the folks who don?t have sons who claim they?d have qualms about letting their sons play football don?t realize that it?s not quite as easy to keep a kid from playing football as it seems.? (Especially when the kid is one of the largest boys in a small Catholic school.)
We worry about everything our children do, and playing football is one of the natural things they do that will cause a certain degree of worry.? But we can?t confine them to a plastic bubble, and we shouldn?t.
The great irony of the comments of our Commander in Chief is that he has the power to send into harm?s way young men and women who signed up for risks far greater than those presented by football.? We remain at a fundamental level a nation of risk takers founded by folks who took the ultimate risk by launching a rebellion against the British.
So do I worry about my son playing football?? Sure.? Would part of me prefer that he not play?? Without question.
Will I ever try to keep him from playing?? Hell no.
Super Bowl I -- Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10
JAN. 15, 1967 (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles) -- Commissioner Pete Rozelle, left, presents the trophy to Green Bay Packers Coach Vince Lombardi after they beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I. (AP Photo, File)
Super Bowl II -- Green Bay Packers 33, Oakland Raiders 14
JAN. 14, 1968 (Orange Bowl, Miami) -- Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi is carried off the field after his team defeated the Oakland Raiders, 33-14. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl III -- New York Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7
JAN. 12, 1969 (Orange Bowl, Miami) -- Jets quarterback Joe Namath gives his father a big hug in the locker room after leading his underdog team to a 16-7 win over the Baltimore Colts. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl IV -- Kansas City Chiefs 23, Minnesota Vikings 7
JAN. 11, 1970 (Tulane Stadium, New Orleans) -- Kansas City Chiefs Coach Hank Stram is carried from the field after his team defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl V -- Baltimore Colts 16, Dallas Cowboys 13
JAN. 17, 1971 (Orange Bowl, Miami) -- Baltimore Colts quarterback John Unitas loosens his throwing arm before the start of Super Bowl V against the Dallas Cowboys. (AP Photo/Steve Starr)
Super Bowl VI -- Dallas Cowboys 24, Miami Dolphins 3
JAN. 16, 1972 (Tulane Stadium, New Orleans) -- Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach (12) tries to escape the grasp of Miami Dolphins defender Jim Riley (70) during Super Bowl VI in New Orleans. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl VII -- Miami Dolphins 14, Washington Redskins 7
JAN. 14, 1973 (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles) -- Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula lets out with a roar as the gun sounds to give his Dolphins a 14-7 Super Bowl victory over the Washington Redskins. (AP Photo/File)
Super Bowl VIII -- Miami Dolphins 24, Minnesota Vikings 7
JAN. 13, 1974 (Rice Stadium, Houston) -- Miami Dolphins running back Larry Csonka races through the Minnesota Vikings' defensive line during Super Bowl VIII (AP Photo)
Super Bowl IX -- Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Minnesota Vikings 6
JAN. 12, 1975 (Tulane Stadium, New Orleans) -- NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, left, presents The Vince Lombardi Super Bowl IX trophy to Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl X -- Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Dallas Cowboys 17
JAN. 18, 1976 (Orange Bowl, Miami) -- Pittsbugh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw walks off the field after he was injured during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl X. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl XI -- Oakland Raiders 32, Minnesota Vikings 14
JAN. 9, 1977 (Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.) -- Coach John Madden, left, and owner Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders display the Super Bowl trophy after the Raiders' 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl XII -- Dallas Cowboys 27, Denver Broncos 10
JAN. 15, 1978 (Superdome, New Orleans) -- Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach calls out the signals at the line of scrimmage as he prepares for the snap in Super Bowl XII against the Denver Broncos. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl XIII -- Pittsburgh Steelers 35, Dallas Cowboys 31
JAN. 21, 1979 (Orange Bowl, Miami) -- Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Lynn Swann jumps through the air to catch touchdown pass from quarterback Terry Bradshaw in thefourth quarter of Super Bowl XIII. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl XIV -- Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Los Angeles Rams 19
JAN. 20, 1980 (Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.) -- Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll shows off Super Bowl XIV trophy to a crowd of about 1,000 at the Pittsburgh airport. The Steelers beat the Rams 31-19. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl XV -- Oakland Raiders 27, Philadelphia Eagles 10
JAN. 25, 1981 (Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans) -- Oakland Raiders managing general partner Al Davis talks with sportscaster Bryant Gumble after receiving the Super Bowl XV trophy in New Orleans. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl XVI -- San Francisco 49ers 26, Cincinnati Bengals 21
JAN. 24, 1982 (Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Mich.) -- San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana reacts after throwing a touchdown pass to running back Earl Cooper in the second quarter of Super Bowl XVI against the Cincinnati Bengals. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl XVII -- Washington Redskins 27, Miami Dolphins 17
JAN. 30, 1983 (Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.) -- Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann (7) holds game ball as he signals No. 1 at the end of Super Bowl XVII. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl XVIII -- Los Angeles Raiders 38, Washington Redskins 9
JAN. 22, 1984 (Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Fla.) Coach Tom Flores gestures to members of the Los Angeles Raiders as they carry him off the field after their 38-9 victory over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl XIX -- San Francisco 49ers 38, Miami Dolphins 16
JAN. 20, 1985 (Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto, Calif.) -- San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh holds up ball in front of team in the locker room following the 49ers victory over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl XX -- Chicago Bears 46, New England Patriots 10
JAN. 26, 1986 (Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans) -- Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka reaches to shake hands with New England Patriots Coach Raymond Berry after the Bears won Super Bowl XX. (AP Photo)
Super Bowl XXI -- New York Giants 39, Denver Broncos 20
JAN. 25, 1987 (Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.) -- Head coach Bill Parcells of the New York Giants gets carried off the field following a Super Bowl XXI victory. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XXII -- Washington Redskins 42, Denver Broncos 10
JAN. 31, 1988 (Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego) -- Tight end Clint Didier #86 of the Washington Redskins catches a touchdown pass during Super Bowl XXII against the Denver Broncos. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XXIII -- San Francisco 49ers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 16
JAN. 22, 1989 (Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami) -- San Francisco 49ers center Randy Cross (51) holds the Vince Lombardi trophy next to wide receiver Jerry Rice after a 20-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII (AP Photo/NFL Photos/Paul Spinelli) JAN. 15, 1967 (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles) -- Commissioner Pete Rozelle, left, presents the trophy to Green Bay Packers Coach Vince Lombardi after they beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I in Los Angeles. (AP Photo, File)
Super Bowl XXIV -- San Francisco 49ers 55, Denver Broncos 10
JAN. 28, 1990 (Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans) -- Wide receiver Jerry Rice #80 of the San Francisco 49ers counts his Super Bowl record three touchdown receptions as he poses for a photo in Super Bowl XXIV. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XXV -- New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 19
JAN. 27, 1991 (Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Fla.) -- New York Giants head coach Bill Parcells is paraded around on the shoulders of players Lawrence Taylor #56 and Carl Banks #58 after winning Super Bowl XXV (Photo by Getty Images)
Super Bowl XXVI -- Washington Redskins 37, Buffalo Bills 24
JAN. 26, 1992 (Metrodome, Minneapolis) -- Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien, right, and teammate Earnest Byner celebrate with their Vince Lombardi trophy after defeating the Buffalo Bills. (AP Photo/Greg Gibson)
Super Bowl XXVII -- Dallas Cowboys 52, Buffalo Bills 17
JAN. 31, 1993 (Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.) -- Emmitt Smith #22 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates on the sidelines during the Superbowl XXVII against the Buffalo Bills (Mike Powell /Allsport/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XXVIII -- Dallas Cowboys 30, Buffalo Bills 13
JAN. 30, 1994 (Georgia Dome, Atlanta) -- Quarterback Troy Aikman #8 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates their victory over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XXIX -- San Francisco 49ers 49, San Diego Chargers 26
JAN. 29, 1995 (Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami) -- Quarterback Steve Young #8 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates following their Super Bowl XXIX (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XXX -- Dallas Cowboys 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
JAN. 28, 1996 (Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Ariz.) -- Dallas Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer (L) has Gatorade dumped on him by players late in the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. (J. DAVID AKE/AFP/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XXXI -- Green Bay Packers 35, New England Patriots 21
JAN. 26, 1997 (Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans) -- Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre gets hugged by quarterback Drew Bledsoe of the New England Patriots (JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XXXII -- Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24
JAN. 25, 1998 (Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego) -- Quarterback John Elway #7 of the Denver Broncos gives the thumbs up after the Broncos defeated the Green Bay Packers 31-24 to win Super Bowl XXXII (DOUG COLLIER/AFP/Getty Images).
Super Bowl XXXIII -- Denver Broncos 34, Atlanta Falcons 19
JAN. 31, 1999 (Pro Player Stadium, Miami) -- John Elway #7 of the Denver Broncos talks to reporters after Super Bowl XXXIII against the Atlanta Falcons (Rick Stewart / Allsport / Getty Images)
Super Bowl XXXIV -- St. Louis Rams 23, Tennessee Titans 16
JAN. 30, 2000 (Georgia Dome, Atlanta) -- St. Louis Rams head coach Dick Vermeil (L) and quarterback Kurt Warner (R) embrace after the Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XXXV -- Baltimore Ravens 34, New York Giants 7
JAN. 28, 2001 (Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.) -- Baltimore Ravens' head coach Brian Billick holds aloft the Vice Lombardi Trophy after the Ravens defeated the New York Giants (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images).
Super Bowl XXXVI -- New England Patriots 20, St. Louis Rams 17
FEB. 3, 2002 (Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans) -- New England Patriots players reach out to touch the Vince Lombardi Trophy after they beat the St. Louis Rams. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Super Bowl XXXVII -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48, Oakland Raiders 21
JAN. 26, 2003 (Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego) -- Mike Alstott #40 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers scores on a two-yard touchdown run against the Oakland Raiders. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XXXVIII -- New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29
FEB. 1, 2004 (Reliant Stadium, Houston) -- Quarterback Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates after defeating the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XXXIX -- New England Patriots 24, Philadelphia Eagles 21
FEB. 6, 2005 (Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla.) -- Tom Brady holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy as he stands on the podium after The New England Patriots defeated The Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XL -- Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Seattle Seahawks 10
FEB. 5, 2006 (Ford Field, Detroit) -- Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher reacts after being doused with water after the team's 21-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Super Bowl XLI -- Indianapolis Colts 29, Chicago Bears 17
FEB. 4, 2007 (Dolphin Stadium, Miami) -- Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning is interviewed after defeating the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XLII -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14
FEB. 3, 2008 (U. of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.) -- New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning celebrates during Super Bowl XLII against the New England Patriots. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images) JAN. 15, 1967 (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles) -- Commissioner Pete Rozelle, left, presents the trophy to Green Bay Packers Coach Vince Lombardi after they beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I in Los Angeles. (AP Photo, File)
Super Bowl XLIII -- Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23
FEB. 1, 2009 (Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.) -- Santonio Holmes #10 of of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy as team owner Dan Rooney and head coach Mike Tomlin look on. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XLIV -- New Orleans Saints 31, Indianapolis Colts 17
FEB. 7, 2010 (Miami Gardens, Fla.) -- Quarterback Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints celebrates after his team defeated the Indianapolis Colts. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XLV -- Green Bay Packers 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 25
FEB. 6, 2011 (Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas) -- Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers celebrates with the trophy after the Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
Super Bowl XLVI -- New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17
FEB. 5, 2012 (Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis) -- Eli Manning #10 of the New York Giants celebrates after winning Super Bowl XLVI against the New England Patriots. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Allegations that Chinese hackers infiltrated the computers of two leading U.S. newspapers add to a growing number of cyber attacks on Western companies, governments and foreign-based dissidents that are believed to originate in China, experts say. | | | | | | | _________
Feb. 1, 2013 ? According to a study in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, the use of volume-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) to deliver intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to prostate cancer patients results in an overall reduction in treatment time of approximately 14 percent. The study was performed at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta.
Treatment with IMRT is increasingly standard for prostate cancer. However, although the benefits of IMRT in the treatment of prostate cancer are ample, it remains a complex and time-consuming treatment modality that requires numerous gantry positions, a large number of monitor units and considerable daily treatment time commitments by patients.
"Given the time requirement by patients for daily prostate cancer treatment, we aimed to measure the true efficiency of VMAT treatment compared with IMRT using custom institutional software to record the actual in-room times," said William A. Hall, MD, author of the study.
Custom institutional software was used to mine the treatment times from the record-and-verify database. The in-room time (the time between patient entry and exit) was computed for each patient. Average room time was compared between VMAT patients and IMRT patients. Subgroup comparisons (1-arc or 2-arc VMAT, 5-field or 7-field IMRT, and electromagnetic transponder [Calypso] or gold-marker tracking) were performed.
Average room time was significantly shorter for all VMAT versus DMLC IMRT procedures. The average room time for all DMLC IMRT patients was found to be 14.69 ? 4.36 min, and the average room time for all VMAT patients was found to be 12.6 ? 2.62 min. Room time was longer for Calypso versus gold seed patients, but VMAT reduced treatment time in Calypso patients. This resulted in Calypso VMAT patients' having similar treatment times to non-Calypso DMLC IMRT patients.
"With an aging population and rapidly rising rates of prostate cancer, the ability to determine the most efficient modality by which patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate should be treated is critical. It seems from our analysis that 5-field IMRT and VMAT are the most efficient modalities by which to deliver prostate IMRT," said Hall.
"Furthermore, our analysis shows that if more advanced methods of IMRT delivery are used, localization devices can be incorporated without any statistically significant differences in the overall treatment time. This may provide important information to prostate cancer practices looking to improve their efficiency while maximizing the quality of their radiation therapy delivery," said Hall.
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One of my favorite tech thought leaders, Marc Andreessen (co-founder Netscape), predicts the following:
... Andreessen expects this wave to keep building and high drama to come by the end of the decade. ?Retail guys are going to go out of business and e-commerce will become the place everyone buys. You are not going to have a choice,? he says. ?We?re still pre-death of retail, and we?re already seeing a huge wave of growth. The best in class are going to get better and better. We view this as a long term opportunity.?
It's worth noting that Andreessen is on the Board of eBay.? His final comment in the article worth highlighting:
?My core theory is that the best software companies will win at retail, so it?ll become increasingly important for these companies to have the best software programmers in the world.And there are a lot more of them in the Valley.?
Read the entire story here.
Small businesses, start your global e-commerce engines!
Read this post (2010) as it relates to the death of certain 'local' businesses: Go Global or Your Business Will Die
Prevention is better than cure. Also for Alzheimer's disease!Public release date: 1-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kris Van der Beken kris.vanderbeken@vib.be 32-473-783-435 VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology)
Leuven, 1 February 2013. On Monday 4 February, Dennis J. Selkoe and five other "brain teasers" will receive an honorary doctorate from the KU Leuven. The promoters for this honorary doctorate VIB-KU Leuven professors Bart De Strooper and Wim Robberecht will honor Dennis J. Selkoe for his scientific insights, but also for his relentless search for new medicines to treat Alzheimer's Disease and other conditions that cause severe damage in the brain.
"The search for a treatment of Alzheimer's Disease is slow", admits KU-Leuven honorary doctorate and Harvard professor Dennis J. Selkoe. "However, I remain convinced that we are making progress." He questions whether we will ever be able to cure the disease entirely. "But preventing Alzheimer's should be feasible."
Selkoe honorary doctorate, lecture for all
On Tuesday 5 February 2013 at 19:00, Dennis J. Selkoe will give the presentation "Preventing Alzheimer's disease" in the Large Auditorium ("Grote Aula") of the Maria Theresia College. He will focus on the progress and obstacles in current research into Alzheimer's disease and the development of preventative medication. The lecture will be held in English. Please register via www.vib.be/dennisselkoe. Participation is free of charge.
Alzheimer icon
The seventy-year-old neurologist Dennis J. Selkoe is the most cited Alzheimer scientist in the world. He is Vincent and Stella Coates Professor of Neurologic Diseases at the prestigious Harvard Medical School (Boston, USA) and has dedicated his entire career to unraveling the molecular mechanisms behind Alzheimer's disease. With his work, Selkoe has had a fundamental effect on opinion about essential cell biology processes such as protein transport an about neurodegenerative conditions including Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia.
"It is important to strike before the brain starts to degenerate", according to Dennis J. Selkoe. "And according to the most recent data, for patients with Alzheimer's disease this can be as early as 20 to 25 years before the first memory problems are confirmed." Therefore, according to Selkoe, it is not surprising that the most recent clinical studies on people with mild to moderate dementia did not result in the anticipated breakthrough: in these studies, we only start treatment once the brain has already suffered irreparable damage.
The fruits of 30 years of research
"Thirty years of Alzheimer's research has taught us a lot", according to Selkoe. "We have unraveled a complex network of dozens of bio-molecules and cell components that are involved in one way or another in the development and the evolution of Alzheimer's Disease. A field of research that still provides new elements and new insights every day." It is as if the scientists are completing a complex puzzle. Each new piece gives a better insight into the whole of the puzzle. To date we have succeeded in placing hundreds of pieces of the puzzle, but nobody knows exactly how big the whole puzzle will be. They started 30 years ago with laying just two pieces: the ?-amyloid protein (involved in the formation of the Alzheimer's plaques) and the tau protein (the important component of Alzheimer's tangles).*
Medicines
The pharmaceutical industry has tested roughly eighty Alzheimer medicines. Some in more advanced phases of study than others. There has been no significant breakthrough yet. However, Selkoe feels that these studies have taught us a lot. "The failures have resulted in disappointment for patients, their families, doctors and scientists. However, these efforts are not lost. On the contrary, they have taught us what might work and what will not and the steps that we need to take from here. Based on these studies, we can set out new directions to target this condition."
Much earlier diagnosis and treatment
For atherosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries") or high blood pressure, we expect nothing less than treatment at the earliest possible stage in order to prevent further problems. We advise these people to stop smoking, eat more healthy food, exercise more and we give them statins or beta-blockers. All in order to prevent them from suffering a heart attack or a stroke. According to Selkoe, we need to adopt the same strategy in order to be successful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: to act when the neurodegeneration has only just started. Perhaps we should switch from talking about "treatment" to talking about "prevention". Just as we currently use statins and beta-blockers to prevent a heart attack or stroke. We should treat neurodegeneration in the same manner in order to prevent loss of memory and other cognitive problems.
"We have the diagnostic instruments available for this", according to Selkoe. "Using biochemical tests, we can detect the early phases of neurodegeneration specific to Alzheimer's disease in the cerebrospinal fluid. This can also be done using a PET scan of the brain. These changes can be detected years possibly even decades before the first functional limitations occur."
Prevention trials
"This paradigm shift necessitates a thorough revision of the clinical research into Alzheimer's disease", according to Dennis J. Selkoe. "Although it will require significant efforts, prevention studies into Alzheimer's Disease are possible. Provided the studies are set up correctly and the patient population is chosen correctly. For example, by including people with a high genetic risk of the condition who are still in the pre-clinical phase."
Unfortunately, according to Selkoe, there is no new therapy on the immediate horizon for the current generation of Alzheimer's patients. But we have an obligation to continue the search. The obligation to say to healthy people in their thirties, forties and fifties and particularly to their children that we are doing everything we can to find a treatment for Alzheimer's disease for their generations. "We have no choice", concludes Selkoe. "The patients and their families who I see every day remind me of Winston Churchill's incitement: ' never, never, ever quit!'".
###
*The plaques and tangles are typical (microscopic) lesions that occur in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's Disease and were described by the German neurologist Alos Alzheimer more than 100 years ago. The protein composition of these plaques and tangles was discovered during the mid 1980s.
[ | 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.
Prevention is better than cure. Also for Alzheimer's disease!Public release date: 1-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kris Van der Beken kris.vanderbeken@vib.be 32-473-783-435 VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology)
Leuven, 1 February 2013. On Monday 4 February, Dennis J. Selkoe and five other "brain teasers" will receive an honorary doctorate from the KU Leuven. The promoters for this honorary doctorate VIB-KU Leuven professors Bart De Strooper and Wim Robberecht will honor Dennis J. Selkoe for his scientific insights, but also for his relentless search for new medicines to treat Alzheimer's Disease and other conditions that cause severe damage in the brain.
"The search for a treatment of Alzheimer's Disease is slow", admits KU-Leuven honorary doctorate and Harvard professor Dennis J. Selkoe. "However, I remain convinced that we are making progress." He questions whether we will ever be able to cure the disease entirely. "But preventing Alzheimer's should be feasible."
Selkoe honorary doctorate, lecture for all
On Tuesday 5 February 2013 at 19:00, Dennis J. Selkoe will give the presentation "Preventing Alzheimer's disease" in the Large Auditorium ("Grote Aula") of the Maria Theresia College. He will focus on the progress and obstacles in current research into Alzheimer's disease and the development of preventative medication. The lecture will be held in English. Please register via www.vib.be/dennisselkoe. Participation is free of charge.
Alzheimer icon
The seventy-year-old neurologist Dennis J. Selkoe is the most cited Alzheimer scientist in the world. He is Vincent and Stella Coates Professor of Neurologic Diseases at the prestigious Harvard Medical School (Boston, USA) and has dedicated his entire career to unraveling the molecular mechanisms behind Alzheimer's disease. With his work, Selkoe has had a fundamental effect on opinion about essential cell biology processes such as protein transport an about neurodegenerative conditions including Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia.
"It is important to strike before the brain starts to degenerate", according to Dennis J. Selkoe. "And according to the most recent data, for patients with Alzheimer's disease this can be as early as 20 to 25 years before the first memory problems are confirmed." Therefore, according to Selkoe, it is not surprising that the most recent clinical studies on people with mild to moderate dementia did not result in the anticipated breakthrough: in these studies, we only start treatment once the brain has already suffered irreparable damage.
The fruits of 30 years of research
"Thirty years of Alzheimer's research has taught us a lot", according to Selkoe. "We have unraveled a complex network of dozens of bio-molecules and cell components that are involved in one way or another in the development and the evolution of Alzheimer's Disease. A field of research that still provides new elements and new insights every day." It is as if the scientists are completing a complex puzzle. Each new piece gives a better insight into the whole of the puzzle. To date we have succeeded in placing hundreds of pieces of the puzzle, but nobody knows exactly how big the whole puzzle will be. They started 30 years ago with laying just two pieces: the ?-amyloid protein (involved in the formation of the Alzheimer's plaques) and the tau protein (the important component of Alzheimer's tangles).*
Medicines
The pharmaceutical industry has tested roughly eighty Alzheimer medicines. Some in more advanced phases of study than others. There has been no significant breakthrough yet. However, Selkoe feels that these studies have taught us a lot. "The failures have resulted in disappointment for patients, their families, doctors and scientists. However, these efforts are not lost. On the contrary, they have taught us what might work and what will not and the steps that we need to take from here. Based on these studies, we can set out new directions to target this condition."
Much earlier diagnosis and treatment
For atherosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries") or high blood pressure, we expect nothing less than treatment at the earliest possible stage in order to prevent further problems. We advise these people to stop smoking, eat more healthy food, exercise more and we give them statins or beta-blockers. All in order to prevent them from suffering a heart attack or a stroke. According to Selkoe, we need to adopt the same strategy in order to be successful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: to act when the neurodegeneration has only just started. Perhaps we should switch from talking about "treatment" to talking about "prevention". Just as we currently use statins and beta-blockers to prevent a heart attack or stroke. We should treat neurodegeneration in the same manner in order to prevent loss of memory and other cognitive problems.
"We have the diagnostic instruments available for this", according to Selkoe. "Using biochemical tests, we can detect the early phases of neurodegeneration specific to Alzheimer's disease in the cerebrospinal fluid. This can also be done using a PET scan of the brain. These changes can be detected years possibly even decades before the first functional limitations occur."
Prevention trials
"This paradigm shift necessitates a thorough revision of the clinical research into Alzheimer's disease", according to Dennis J. Selkoe. "Although it will require significant efforts, prevention studies into Alzheimer's Disease are possible. Provided the studies are set up correctly and the patient population is chosen correctly. For example, by including people with a high genetic risk of the condition who are still in the pre-clinical phase."
Unfortunately, according to Selkoe, there is no new therapy on the immediate horizon for the current generation of Alzheimer's patients. But we have an obligation to continue the search. The obligation to say to healthy people in their thirties, forties and fifties and particularly to their children that we are doing everything we can to find a treatment for Alzheimer's disease for their generations. "We have no choice", concludes Selkoe. "The patients and their families who I see every day remind me of Winston Churchill's incitement: ' never, never, ever quit!'".
###
*The plaques and tangles are typical (microscopic) lesions that occur in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's Disease and were described by the German neurologist Alos Alzheimer more than 100 years ago. The protein composition of these plaques and tangles was discovered during the mid 1980s.
[ | 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.
The largest solar sail ever constructed is headed for the launch pad in 2014 on a mission to demonstrate the value of "propellantless propulsion"? the act of using photons from the sun to push a craft through space.
Dubbed Sunjammer, the giant?solar sail measures about 124 feet (38 meters) on a side and boasts a total surface area of nearly 13,000 square feet (1,208 square m, or one-third of an acre). The project is under the wing of NASA's Space Technology Program, within the agency's Office of the Chief Technologist.
NASA has contracted with a team of high-tech "solar sailors" at L'Garde Inc. of Tustin, Calif., to build Sunjammer.
L'Garde is no newcomer to novel space structures. The company has worked with the space agency on several projects, including the creation of inflatable structures for radio frequency antennas and solar arrays. In 1996, the company flew the Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) aboard the space shuttle Endeavour's STS-77 mission. [Photos: Solar Sail Evolution for Space Travel]
Programmatic milestone
"We took the name Sunjammer from an Arthur C. Clarke short story, a fictional yacht race in the heavens using solar sails," said Nathan Barnes, L'Garde's chief operating officer and executive vice president, as well as Sunjammer's project manager. Permission to use the name came from the Clarke estate, he told SPACE.com.
Work on Sunjammer this year includes a programmatic milestone ? a critical design review ? along with a variety of ground demonstration tests and qualification of components, Barnes said. The flight of the solar sail, he said, is set for the end of 2014, to be sent spaceward atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
"With this sail, we?re targeting our end goal somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,864,114 miles (3 million kilometers) distance from the Earth," Barnes said.
A number of test objectives are to be checked off within the first couple months of flight, he added. These include deployment of the sail, demonstration of vector control using sail-tipped vanes, navigation with accuracy and, finally, maintenance of the spacecraft's position at a gravitationally stable location called Earth-Sun Lagrange Point 1.
Sunjammer won't be the world's first solar sail mission. NASA launched NanoSail-D, whose sail covered just 100 square feet (9.3 square m), in November 2010. And Japan's Ikaros probe deployed?its solar sail in June 2010, becoming the first craft ever to cruise through space propelled only by sunlight.
Neat, clever, exotic orbits
Sunjammer is potentially applicable to an advanced space weather warning system, which could provide more timely and accurate notice of solar flare activity.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is collaborating with NASA and L?Garde on the upcoming demonstration flight, which will cruise to a spot that provides an interesting view of the sun.
"It will be us flying to a place that a customer actually wants to fly a solar sail to," Barnes said. "There are neat, clever, exotic orbits you can do with the solar sail that would permit viewing different portions of the sun that we can?t normally." [The Sun's Wrath: Worst Solar Storms in History]
One-quarter the size of a football field, Sunjammer will produce a whopping maximum thrust of approximately 0.01 newton, Barnes said ? roughly equivalent to the weight of a sugar packet.
Thinner sail
Kapton is the solar sail material of choice. The mission team worked with chemical company DuPont to produce a special layer of Kapton for Sunjammer just 5 microns thick.
"Thinner is always better," Barnes said.
When collapsed, the Sunjammer solar sail is the size of a dishwasher and weighs just 70 pounds (32 kilograms).
There are a number of control techniques involved in successfully unfurling the sail, said Billy Derbes, L?Garde?s chief engineer for Sunjammer.
"The highest risk is in the deployment," Derbes said. A camera attached to the sail will capture the unfurling process.
Game-changing capabilities
NASA is keen to infuse solar sail technology into other potential game-changing mission capabilities.
Barnes said that possibilities include the collection and removal of orbital debris, deorbiting spent satellites, providing a direct communications link to Earth?s south pole, as well as for deep space propulsion.
Barnes said nongovernment, entertainment-oriented uses of solar sails are also being explored by L?Garde.
"All space travel right now is limited by expendables," Derbes said. "If you show a technology not limited by expendables ? and Kapton is a long-lasting film material ? what new applications will people think up? We?re opening up a whole new kind of thinking about how you do things in space."
'Star Trek' passengers
Also to fly onboard Sunjammer are the cremated remains of individuals, a service provided by Celestis, Inc., an affiliate company of Space Services, Inc., a Houston-based aerospace firm.
Celestis flight capsules and modules will be carried by Sunjammer on its voyage through deep space. Already part of that payload are the ashes of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry and his wife Majel Barrett Roddenberry, often called the "first lady" of the sci-fi series.
"Celestis is pleased to offer our first-ever Voyager deep space memorial spaceflight aboard the Sunjammer mission," said Celestis CEO Charles Chafer.
"Since 1997, Celestis has conducted a dozen memorial spaceflights, and this solar sail mission will mark our most ambitious flight ever. We are excited to be a part of the Sunjammer team," Chafer told SPACE.com.
'Green' space propulsion
Sunjammer?s success is the key to enabling several science and exploration missions that can only be accomplished with a solar sail, said Les Johnson, deputy manager of the Advanced Concepts Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Along with better sun-watching and warning tasks, NASA recently studied the use of a solar-sail-propelled spacecraft for visiting multiple near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), Johnson said.
"We found that a Sunjammer-derived sail could visit up to six NEAs within six years of being launched. This would be impossible with chemical rockets and might not be achievable by electric propulsion. And it?s all because the sail uses no propellant ? deriving its thrust from sunlight, making it a very ?green? space propulsion system," he said.
Johnson is co-editor with Jack McDevitt of "Going Interstellar" (Baen Books, 2012), a unique blend of science fact and science-fiction writings on interstellar voyaging.
"For me, I?m most excited about using a solar sail unfurled close to the sun, inside the orbit of Mercury, and using the increased solar pressure there to accelerate a large solar sail to speeds that will allow it to reach well beyond the edge of the solar system and into interstellar space within my lifetime," Johnson said.?
Doing so, Johnson said, "would be the first ?baby step? in a series of increasingly large sails that might one day enable us to reach the stars. This is one of the few ways nature has provided for us to travel between the stars."
Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is former director of research for the National Commission on Space and a past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society's Ad Astra and Space World magazines. He has written for SPACE.com since 1999.?Follow SPACE.com on Twitter?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.?
Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Public release date: 1-Feb-2013
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