boston – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

A new approach to spinal muscular atrophy?

By Guest PostMay 1, 2013Healthals drug, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, anne hart, boston, brown university, caenorhabditis elegans worm, children hospital, doctors for riluzole, maria dimitriadi, model of sma, neuromuscular disease, new therapy, normal cells, protein, riluzole, sk2 channels, sk2 potassium channels, sma treatment, smn, spinal muscular atrophy, survival motor neuron, united states, worm neurons

Spinal muscular atrophy is a debilitating neuromuscular disease that in its most severe form is the leading genetic cause of infant death. By experimenting with an ALS drug in two very different animal models, researchers at Brown University and Boston Children’s Hospital have identified a new potential mechanism for developing an SMA treatment.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — There is no specific drug to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a family of motor neuron diseases that in its most severe form is the leading genetic cause of infant death in the United States and affects one in 6,000 people overall. But a new multispecies study involving a drug that treats amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has pinpointed a mechanism of SMA that drug developers might be able to exploit for a new therapy. (more…)

Sail Far and Wide from New York City

By Guest PostFebruary 9, 2013Holidays 'n Travelsamerican, ancestor routes, beautiful autumn colors, bermuda, boston, canada, cape town, city, cruise to caribbean, cruise travel, cruise web team, eastern coast, Europe, far and wide, focal point, full of sunshine, halifax, new england, new york, new york city, North America, norwegian breakaway, norwegian cruise line, panama canal, passengers, quebec city, sail, South Africa, that never sleeps, transatlantic cruise, tropical breezes

New York is a hub. This city has served as a focal point for so many things American, from fashion to publishing to bagels and so much more. Now the “city that never sleeps” is becoming a hub for cruise travel. You can now cruise around the world, right from New York.

Here are four major destinations that you can discover on a cruise from New York.

Europe – Set sail for a European adventure on a transatlantic cruise. This sailing has old world charm, as you cross the ocean like many immigrants did generations ago, to experience the new world and embark upon a new life. You can trace back your ancestor’s routes and see the precious places they came from. (more…)

A Career of Thriving on ‘Impossible Projects’ – Including Kinect for Xbox 360

By Guest PostJune 12, 2012Technologyalex kipman, algorithmic security agency, ben sugden, boston, brazil, career, chase bank, cirque de soleil, curitiba, galen center, gaming system, impossible projects, inflection point, j p morgans, jaron lanier, jeffrey margolis, katie stone perez, kinect, los angeles, Microsoft, microsoft called, microsoft campus, microsoft technology, microsoft visual studio, msbuild, new york, peter loforte, rsa security, sao paulo, seattle, software, tablet pc, Technology, tv screen, unix, virtual machine, vm, windows vista, xbox 360, young boy

Alex Kipman, leader behind Kinect, on making technology ‘disappear.’

REDMOND, Wash. – June 12, 2012 – In June 2010, Alex Kipman sat in Los Angeles’ Galen Center as Cirque de Soleil performers helped introduce the world to Kinect. Acrobats, musicians and 10-foot tall puppets filled the sports arena, where 3,000 people watched a boy onstage discover Microsoft’s new controller-free gaming system.

“Hi, Alex,” a narrator said to the boy. “Welcome home.”

Kipman claims the name was coincidence, but he could be forgiven for making the connection, having led the development team that spent several years building Kinect. Sitting in the darkened arena, he reflected on the journey that began with a question: Can we make technology disappear? (more…)

A NASA Weather ‘Eye in the Sky’ Marks 10 Years

By Guest PostMay 7, 2012Environment, Scienceairs, amsu a, atmosphere, atmospheric infrared sounder, bae systems, boston, carbon dioxide, climate change, climate research, earth, energy cycle, eric fetzer, eye, global water, greenhouse gases, hyperspectral sounding, instrument, jet propulsion laboratory, model, monster, moustafa chahine, NASA, sky, tom pagano, water vapor, weather forecasting, weather satellites

For 10 years, it has silently swooped through space in its orbital perch 438 miles (705 kilometers) above Earth, its nearly 2,400 spectral “eyes” peering into Earth’s atmosphere, watching. But there’s nothing alien about NASA’s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, or AIRS, instrument, a “monster” of weather and climate research that celebrates its 10th birthday in orbit May 4.

AIRS, built by BAE Systems, Boston, under the direction of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., is one of six instruments flying on NASA’s Aqua spacecraft as part of NASA’s Earth Observing System. AIRS, along with its partner microwave instrument, the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU-A), has faithfully measured our planet’s atmospheric temperature, water vapor, clouds and greenhouse gases with unprecedented accuracy and stability. Over the past decade, AIRS and AMSU-A have improved our understanding of Earth’s global water and energy cycles, climate change and trends and how Earth’s climate system is responding to increased greenhouse gases. (more…)

Study Amplifies Understanding of Hearing in Baleen Whales

By Guest PostApril 21, 2012Nature, Science3d visualization, anatomy, auditory system, baleen whale, boston, computerized tomography, csi, ct, darlene ketten, dolphins, evolutionary origin, julie arruda, magnetic resonance imaging, massachusetts, maya yamato, minke whale, mri, scott cramer, sound wave, toothed whale, whoi, zooplankton

For decades, scientists have known that dolphins and other toothed whales have specialized fats associated with their jaws, which efficiently convey sound waves from the ocean to their ears. But until now, the hearing systems of their toothless grazing cousins, baleen whales, remained a mystery.

Unlike toothed whales, baleen whales do not have enlarged canals in their jaws where specialized fats sit. While toothed whales use echolocation to find prey, baleen whales generally graze on zooplankton, and so some scientists have speculated that baleen whales may not need such a sophisticated auditory system. But a new study by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), published April 10, 2012, in The Anatomical Record, has shown that some baleen whales also have fats leading to their ears. (more…)

Aquatics Center: Brown Dives into Solar Energy

By Guest PostFebruary 12, 2012Environmentaquatics center, boston, brown, chris powell, electricity from sunlight, environmental initiative, generate, glycol, hudson, hybrid, hybrid panels, hybrid solar panels, katherine moran coleman aquatic center, michael intrieri, photovoltaic strip, power, renewable energy, rhode island, roof, solar energy, solar installation, sundrum solar, sunlight solar energy, sustainable energy, thermal energy, thomas p, tip o neill, united states

The 168 rectangular panels on the roof of the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatic Center will generate enough power to keep the lights on and enough thermal energy to heat the million-gallon pool. The center, due to open April 13, will be Rhode Island’s first hybrid (heat and power) solar installation — also the largest in the nation and the first on a college campus.

Brown is diving into solar energy. (more…)

Study of Death Penalty in North Carolina Shows That ‘Race Matters’

By Guest PostJuly 26, 20101 commentGeneral, Politicsboston, death sentences, fbi, glenn pierce, law review, michael radelet, north Carolina, northeastern university, professor, race matters, racial justice act, school of criminology and criminal justice, sociology, supplemental homicide reports, university of colorado at boulder, us supreme court

A new study examining death sentences in North Carolina over a 28-year period ending in 2007 shows that among similar homicides, the odds of a death sentence for those who are suspected of killing whites are approximately three times higher than the odds of a death sentence for those suspected of killing blacks.

(more…)

Tag Archives: boston