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Climate Change May Already Be Shifting Clouds Toward The Poles  

Scientists who have been tracking cloud patterns over the past two decades say the shifts they're seeing seem to correlate closely with what's predicted by computer models of Earth's changing climate.

 
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John Quincy Adams Scientist of the Day John Quincy Adams, the...  













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John Quincy Adams Scientist of the Day

John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, was born July 11, 1767.  

read more…

 
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Much more Moore's Law: Wonder-stuff graphene transistor trickery  

But this time it's a gardening job

Scientists have developed a way to “chemically grow” transistors that are only a few atoms thick in a bid to give poor old battered Moore's Law another reprieve, according to new research published in Nature Nanotechnology.…

 
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Astronomers detect new worlds unlike any detected thus far  

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Graduate students supported by the National Science Foundation helped helm two separate exoplanet discoveries that could expand researchers' understanding of how planets form and orbit stars. K2-33b, shown in this illustration, is one of the youngest exoplanets detected to date and makes a complete orbit around its star in about five days. These two characteristics combined provide exciting new directions for planet-formation theories. K2-33b could have formed on a farther out orbit and quickly migrated inward. Alternatively, it could have formed in situ, or in place.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt

 
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Ultrashort cell-free DNA reveals health of organ transplants  

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When cells die, whether through apoptosis or necrosis, the DNA and other molecules found in those cells don't just disappear. They wind up in the bloodstream, where degraded bits and pieces can be extracted. This cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is degraded due to its exposure to enzymes in the blood but is nonetheless a powerful monitoring tool in cancer, pregnancy and organ transplantation. One fairly recent breakthrough is prenatal testing for conditions such as Down syndrome, as fragments of fetal cfDNA can be detected in a mother's bloodstream. Now, borrowing a genomics technique used in the study of the ancient past, a Cornell graduate student has come up with a diagnostic tool that can open a window into a transplant recipient's immediate future through the analysis of cfDNA.

Image credit: Sarah Nickerson/Biomedical Engineering

 
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SETI mulls reboot: believing the strangest things, loving the alien  

Radio? Just because we like it doesn't mean ET phones home

SETI (the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) is both exciting and disappointing: exciting because of peoples' eternal wish for someone else to be out there; and disappointing because life proves so hard to find.…

 
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Cormorants watch for trout beneath the mirror surface of the lake  

Watendlath Tarn, Borrowdale At my approach the soot-black, long-necked bird opens its hook-tipped bill, and utters a harsh croak

Watendlath Tarn shines like a burnished mirror. Perfect reflections of the surrounding hills and a Chelsea blue sky are disrupted only by the occasional splash of mallards and greylag geese and jumping trout. Black buzzer flies (chironomids or non-biting midges) on the surface are hatching from the tarn bed.

I think of Judith Paris, the historical novel by Hugh Walpole, which was a bestseller in the 1930s, though little read these days. It is partly set in revolutionary Paris and partly in Watendlath, with tales of passion and murder played out against vivid descriptions of the Cumbrian countryside.

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Long Buried By Bad Reputation, Philistines Get New Life With Archaeological Find  

They're one of the Hebrew Bible's greatest villains, but not much is known about the ancient Philistines. An uncovered cemetery, which researchers say is the first of its kind, could change all that.

 
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Hope Still Races Ahead Of Evidence In Magnet Treatment For Autism  

A few people with high-functioning autism say they've been briefly helped by exposure to transcranial magnetic stimulation. But there's a cost, one mother found, to getting ahead of the science.

 
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The best books for summer 2016  

From Essex serpents to chimpanzees, political satire to the best new thrillers … leading writers reveal which books they will be taking to the beach

I recently reread Anita Brookner's first novel A Start in Life (Penguin), and it left me thinking that maybe all novelists should be forbidden from publishing until they are 53; that way they would already have a finished style and a mature, cogent, individual view of the world. This nearly faultless novel also reflects on the competing truthfulness of Balzac versus Dickens. (Balzac died at 51, so the Brookner rule can't apply to him.) But for the moment I am engrossed in Svetlana Alexievich's extraordinary Second-Hand Time (Fitzcarraldo), an oral tapestry of post-Soviet Russia.

It looks like a good summer for books about America by women, which I hope will serve as a distraction from reality

I love novels that blend fact with fiction, so Jill Dawson's The Crime Writer sounds right up my street

Proxies is a collection of essays on sex by Brian Blanchfield. I dipped into 'Frottage' and am already hot for more

Han Kang's The Vegetarian was dreamy and nightmarish, and easily one of the best books I've read in years

Daisy Johnson's Fen is a collection of short stories set in an eerie fenland landscape: I've had my eye on it for weeks

The Mandibles is a gleeful nightmare, it made me snort with laughter even as I was shuddering

Related: Read it and keep: is it time to reassess the 'beach read'?

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Stem Cell Partnership: Patient Advocates And Scientists At The International Society For Stem Cell Research Convention  
STEM CELL PARTNERSHIP: Patient Advocates and Scientists at the International Society for Stem Cell Research Convention

By Don C. Reed

This year's International Society for Stem Cell Researchers (ISSCR) conference was enormous, three vast floors of San Francisco's magnificent Moscone West convention center.



As a watering hole brings animals together, the ISSCR concentrates the world's top stem cell scientists. From around the world they came, four thousand of them this year, representing almost sixty countries. Interspersed with them were patients and patient advocates, those who would benefit most from scientific advances, and those who make the science possible-- by fighting the endless battles for funding.

For instance, Dr. Henry Klassen of UC Irvine spoke on his struggle to end a form of blindness called retinitis pigmentosa. Klassen is an acknowledged leader in the field.

But what made the condition real for me was Kristin MacDonald, legally blind due to retinitis pigmentosa, who had to be helped up the stairs to the speaker's platform. An articulate speaker, she reminded us all why the fight must go on.



And the money required to do the research?

Klassen is funded by a grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) , the $3 billion stem cell program made possible by patient advocates. Let no one forget; it was a citizen's initiative, Proposition 71, led by patient advocate Bob Klein, which made that money available. Without patient advocates, the CIRM would literally not exist.

Recognizing the importance of patient advocate-scientist partnerships, the ISSCR previously honored Klein with their advocacy award, but also featured patient advocate panelists in their media briefing sessions throughout the conference.



Importantly, the conference offered free admission to a public briefing session, at which several top scientists discussed their breakthroughs in straight-forward, comprehensible terms. (All scientists wishing support from the public-- should keep track of the size of their words!)

A favorite speaker was Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka, who spoke on the ten years since he developed an advanced stem cell research called Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. His talk included some humor, which helped.



But what I remember most about Professor Yamanaka is his personal warmth. Years ago, he was about to speak at the Japanese consulate, when my paralyzed son Roman pulled up in his adapted van. I arranged for some strong people to lift Roman and carry him in, but he would not hear of it. But Dr. Yamanaka came out specifically to meet Roman, outside the non-accessible building. This year, when I saw him in the hallway at the convention, I approached and greeted him. He was polite, but I could tell he was struggling to remember who was this ancient advocate--until I mentioned my son. Then he said, "Ah, Roman Reed, Roman Reed!" His face lit up and he bowed and shook my hand.

Below are a few more of the patient advocates present, along with the disease or condition for which they seek a cure:

Huntington's Disease: Frances Saldana and her husband David, Daniel Medina, and Kim Bailey;

Spinal Cord Injury Paralysis: Richard Lajara and Lane Edwards;

Liver Failure: Bill Remak;

Parkinson's Disease: Bart Narter, Jennifer Raub, Joe and Debbie Burger;

Peripheral Vascular Disease: Arsenia Harrison;

Sickle Cell Anemia: Adrienne Shapiro.

A dinner hosted by the Americans for Cures Foundation (A4C) gave patient advocates the opportunity to get to know one another and think about the future . A4C began as the campaign to pass Proposition 71, leading to the California stem cell program.

Coordinating our presence at the convention was Mary Bass, A4C's hard-working director of Public Policy. Mary comes by her advocacy naturally, being the daughter of famed naturalist/author Rick Bass of Montana.

Americans for Cures is leading a "Report Back to the Public" to share the progress made by the California stem cell program, and our hopes for its future.

For more information, drop an email to info@americansforcures.org.

Pioneering researcher Irv Weissman shared his latest publication--a children's picture book on stem cells! "Stem Cells Are Everywhere" combines accurate science in elementary school language with full color manga illustrations, and is available at Amazon.com:

For scientists interested in biomed commerce, the conference offered: "A Practical Guide to Starting a (Biomed) Company". This presentation included a chance for scientists to practice "pitching" their hoped-for new company in front of experts.

Understanding cancer stem cells, the hard-to-kill "evil twin" of positive stem cells, may provide an answer to the devastating condition. The ISSCR presented the man who may have been first to discover the deadly cancer cells: John Dick of Toronto, Canada's University Health Network.

Want to know "How to Make a Neuron (nerve cell)?" Marius Wernig of Stanford is your man. I remember seeing him at a formal dinner, and he wore a beautiful black tuxedo--and white tennis shoes.

What if the gene that causes sickle cell disease could be removed? Several scientists spoke about gene editing, which aims at removing the dangerous mutations which cause so much pain and suffering.

Aging disorders? Guanghui Liu described a disease (Werner's Syndrome) which imitates the symptoms of aging. Could that be used to make all aging less painful? At age 70, this is of great interest to me!

Nerve stem cells and spinal cord injury? Mark Tuszynski was there, talking about cells which leaped across the gap in a severed spine.

Stem cells and solid cancers? Israeli champion Nissim Benvenisti.

Disease model in a Petri dish? George Daley of Boston's Children's Hospital.

Next year's President of the ISSCR?

Sally Temple-- who is not only a scientist, but a champion patient advocate herself, having raised millions of dollar to build the Neural Stem Cell Institute in New York.



When cures come, it will be from folks like these.

Don C. Reed is the author of "STEM CELL BATTLES: Proposition 71 and Beyond", available from Amazon.com.

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Juno probe spins up its sonic screwdrivers for Jupiter flyby  

It's in the pipe, five by five

NASA is firing up the nine scientific instruments on board the Juno probe orbiting Jupiter ahead of its first data collection mission.…

 
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This Election Cycle, Listen To Science  


In this election cycle, science matters. Though other issues are often taking the stage in a more prominent way, our presumptive party candidates need not forget the one thing that affects every single human being on Earth - climate.

The presumptive candidates obviously hold disparate views on energy and the environment. On one side, we have Clinton, who sees climate change as an existential threat, supporting a cautious, even overly-pragmatic path to clean energy and renewables. On the other hand, we have Trump, who denounces climate change altogether, and was quoted as saying, "I consider climate change to be not one of our big problems...I think it's weather changes." Trump has also said that green energy programs would hurt jobs and business, claiming that they are "really just an expensive way of making the tree-huggers feel good about themselves."

This is a dangerous spot for America to be in. Not only is climate change very real, according to every major scientific society and 97 percent of actively publishing climate scientists, but as it turns out, science is also good for business. According to the MIT Sloan Management Review's 2016 report, Investing for a Sustainable Future, more investors than ever before are paying attention to environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance metrics, as evidence increasingly correlates the financial success of a company over time to sustainability-related activities. The report finds that with greater numbers of investors making investment decisions based on sustainability performance, the time is ripe for corporate leaders to recognize that more and more shareholders are invested in the connection between a company's ESG activities and its financial success. The bottom line: "investors believe that sustainability creates tangible value."

This means it's time to get smart about science and business. To prepare the next generation of business leaders who will advocate for sustainable business practices, it's essential that business students see the value of science and understand the tangible implications that policies have. That's one of the reasons that, as part of an environmental policy class I teach, students work with a policy-focused, Washington D.C.-based nonprofit, acting as consultants to enhance the nonprofit's business strategies. This year, my students teamed up with the American Geosciences Institute, a network of more than 50 earth science associations dedicated to addressing the needs of society, to learn about the barriers that state and federal policy-makers face in accessing geoscience information. Beyond learning the basics of geoscience and policy in the classroom, the practical experience taught them just how much science can impact the decisions made in the business world.

And that's why the presidential election this fall is so important. Will the American public consider our future and seek out new opportunities to harness the power of science to implement and maintain sustainable business practices? Or will we deny evidence and refuse to take a hard look at our scientific resources for new solutions, from issues of climate change to energy production, and neglect to understand how the business and science communities can come together? When we go out to the polls this November, we must consider what's on the line; the future of our planet, and the enormous opportunity we have to lead the charge in creating value and profit from sustainable business practices.

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Bad blood: US govt bans bio-test biz Theranos' CEO for two years  

Board should fire her but can't: She owns controlling stake

It's game over for controversial blood-testing company Theranos with the news that its CEO Elizabeth Holmes will be banned from owning or running a medical laboratory for two years.…

 
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5th Anniversary Of End Of Shuttle  
written with Douglas R. Dechow



Five years ago, on July 8, 2011, the space shuttle Atlantis launched to space from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. No shuttle has launched since, and Atlantis and the other orbiters are now artifacts in museums telling the story of where we've been and who we are. Here, we share from our own photo album of that last-ever shuttle launch five years ago.

At the launch pad







The STS-135 Crew



Godspeed, Atlantis



STS-135 ended on July 21, 2011. Atlantis is now on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, where it tells an important story about space, science, and all of us who grew up with the Shuttle program roaring in the background of our lives.

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The Triabrain And Answers Unleashed  
Have you ever thought about someone and they emailed seconds later? Can thoughts heal your body? Is the brain able to predict new technology? When I first wrote my HuffPost Lucy movie review, people around the globe commented about what I shared regarding the human brain's power. But that article was simply the "tip of the iceberg." I first became knowledgeable about the brain when my mother was in a catastrophic accident, and she required emergency brain surgery to survive. After the surgery, she was tasked with relearning how to eat, walk, talk, and remember again. And I have been by her side ever since. And through years working with neurologists, neurosurgeons and therapists, I discovered how the human brain reshapes and heals itself.

During my mother's major recovery, I was completing my master's degree in mathematics, and I was working as a rocket scientist, helping launch NASA's Space Shuttle and vehicles to distant planets. It took every ounce of my strength and sanity to endure my mother's ordeal while working. Through these life-altering experiences, I realized that Space and the human brain were nearly identical. And as I learned many things about Space that amazed me, I became equally in awe about the brain's phenomenon. The same applications of Chaos Theory mathematics that allowed engineers to find superhighways in space with limited fuel, is the same way that the brain builds superhighways to rewire itself. I was further amazed when I recognized that Albert Einstein's famous Theory of Relativity equation did not just deal with Outer Space. It also deals with our "Inner Space," the true power that we harness within our brains' structure. My epiphany allowed me in helping my mother's brain heal faster. Through it, I discovered a new structure to the brain and how energy is characterized through it.


Image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of the scattered remains of an exploded star. Picture courtesy of NASA.


Image credit: Olympia LePoint

Through my personal experiences, my understanding of mathematics, neuroplasticity, and Einstein's Theory of Relativity, I have discovered the TRIABRAIN, and the Triabrain Theory of Relativity. A Triabrain refers to the brain operating in three main modes. And a person's brain energy from the Triabrain translates itself into both mass and light. Brain energy from its interior particle collisions and neuron synapsis forms both interior and exterior mass structures to the brain, and this is multiplied by the speed of light squared. Light in this case is characterized by the neurons' brain fire in milliseconds, which triggers conscious awareness. I will breakdown this concept with more clarity.

Nearly twelve years after my mother's accident, the unthinkable happened. This May 2016, my older sister went through a medical accident that required emergency brain surgery for her survival. Painful history seemed to repeat itself. However difficult both my mother's and sister's brain surgeries were to witness, I was inspired. These were opportunities to share the life-changing knowledge that I acquired through their ordeals.


The TRIABRAIN: Everyone Has It

The TRIABRAIN is composed of three main sectors. As long as humans are alive, the brain naturally reshapes. But in some, it reshapes faster. It reshapes the fastest when a person consciously uses their full three sectors: the left (scientific logical) side, the right (emotional and creative) side, and a newly discovered third side I call the faith (foreseeing) side that connects itself. Unlike the common knowledge of the left and right side operation, the faith side of the brain is the third sector that connects both the brain's left and right side together, as well as connects itself to the outside world. When the brain is linked through all three sections, the brain reshapes, unleashes answers and regrows. And this faith sector operates independent of the constraints of time and space.

During my sister's ordeal, I was teaching as a college mathematics professor and hosting live on my Radio show Answers Unleashed. The talk show was originally designed to encourage college students to overcome situations by reshaping their brains with science and faith to find the answers in front of them. I share more information about the "The Triabrain" in the first episode. But little did I know that my talk show information would contribute to a new dimension of neuroscience.


Olympia LePoint executive produces and hosts the talk show Answers Unleashed. Picture courtesy of Olympia LePoint and Michelle Manley.

The Triabrain's Faith Sector


The third side of the Triabrain is the faith sector. When people think of the brain, they typically think of a series of connections separated by a left side and a right side. All the connections, pathways and their housings that communion the brain's ability to communicate fully with itself are what I call the faith sector. This part of the brain connects the left and right sides. It helps people overcome major obstacles, and inspires people to create new technology. Plus, it appears to initiate significant body healing.

Image courtesy of Olympia LePoint.

I am witnessing that highly innovative and triumphant people use this third faith side of the brain to do great things, independent of time and space. Let's consider some examples. Olympic athletes often envision themselves winning the gold medal before the games begin. Inventors have visions of new technologies before they are created. People who miraculously heal are often the ones who knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they would recover. And in my TED x talk, I speak of how I overcame life challenges despite every odd against my favor.

For a scientific example, according to the October 27, 2013 Medical Press article, "Neuroscientists discover new 'mini-neural computer' in the brain," dendrites which are the branch-like projections of neurons, were once thought to be passive wiring in the brain. However scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are showing that these dendrites are more powerful than once believed. They relay information from one neuron to the next. They actively process information, multiplying the brain's computing power.

A computer simulated collection of dendrites, the branch-like structures of multiple neurons in the brain. Image credit courtesy of UCL/ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


According to the February 22, 2016 Science New Journal article, "A 'Neuroscience Bombshell' -- Human Brain is Capable of Storing the Entire World Wide Web," the brain with its connections is far more powerful than the web and is far more powerful than scientists have projected. The article states:

"An average human brain contains around 100 billion neurons and each neuron is capable of making around 1,000 connections (synapses) with the other neurons. These 1,000 potential synapses created by each neuron are responsible for data storage inside the brain. Now if we multiply the count of neurons (100 billion) by the number of connections (1000) that each of them can make, then we get a whopping 100 trillion data points -- which can at the very least account for storing about 1000 terabytes or 1 petabyte of information."

From my personal experience supporting my mother in her brain therapy support groups, I witnessed that the people who typically recovered fastest were the people who saw themselves healed before test results returned. Naturally while working with brain specialists, I needed to know the science behind such phenomenon. And I was surprised when I discovered that the brain's reshaping science had yet to be fully understood. So as a scientist, I started applying my own tools of math and science to find answers.

Image of Olympia LePoint and her mother after her mother's surgery. Picture courtesy of Olympia LePoint.

The Science Behind The Triabrain and Brain Reshaping

I am seeing that Space and the human brain are almost identical in its structure through the application of Chaos Theory Mathematics. To fly to distant locations in our solar system with a fixed amount of fuel, a "freeway" through the solar system -- resembling a vast array of virtual winding tunnels and conduits around the Sun and planets -- allowed engineers to fly to distant planets like Mars and Jupiter. With all the crooks and turns used to transport rockets as I describe in my Huffington Post Martian Movie Review by a Rocket Scientist, there are identical unknown crooks and turns in the human brain that are used to transfer knowledge from one area to another faster, igniting the frontal lobes as a result. And these frontal lobes are responsible for creating solutions.


Artist's concept of interplanetary superhighway. Image credit courtesy of NASA/JPL.

According to Dr. Caroline Leaf, a neuroscientist and author specializing in brain neuroplasticity and cognitive therapy, when a person experiences fear or trauma, dark tar-like mass forms in the brain that binds brain tissue together. The mass is like glue. This mass causes cognitive issues and grows with the presence of fear and trauma. It is through my scientific understanding that these masses block the original pathways and forces the interior of the brain to alter its superhighway pathways, creating new crooks and crannies to certain pathways. As a result, massive structures block the physical space and brain's fire. However through my chaos math analysis, the brain fire acts like a rocket traveling in space. The brain information travels on two types of pathways: where information can stall, or where it would accelerate to an intended destination. And unlike brain synapses that consists of a presynaptic ending that contains neurotransmitters, mitochondria and other cell organelles, these brains neurons are specially acting on each other through collisions caused by blockages.

Through the blockage caused by the dark-trauma-mass, neurons form collisions on a miniature scale to us, but it constitutes a large collision in the brain space. And Einstein's Theory of Relativity characterizes their action. Ideally, all neurons are electrically excitable, maintaining voltage gradients across their membranes. And neurotransmitters tell a neuron either to fire, or not.

Calculations and graphics by Olympia LePoint with image credit, iStock Photo.

Neuroplasticity science has yet to incorporate Einstein's Theory of Relativity, gravitational waves, chaos theory mathematics together within understanding how the brain reshapes itself. As a result, through my understanding of the brain, this led to the Triabrain Theory of Relativity, which says that the brain is composed of three sectors and the third sector consists of all the brain connections transferring energy inside and outside of itself using principles of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. In this faith sector, it converts energy to mass in conjunction with light. Light can defined as the way in which a person is consciously aware of the world based on their location in space. Religious officials may call this "c" in the equation the effects of "holy enlightenment." And some energy workers may refer to this "c" as "awareness."


Einstein's theory hinged his proof on the fact that gravitational waves existed, which was recently proven when audio recordings captured two black holes colliding in January 2016. The Scientific American Special Report on February 14, 2016 "The Discovery of Gravitational Waves" gives a detailed account of all The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Observatory (LIGO) gravitational wave discoveries. As a background, gravitational waves are "ripples" in space-time produced by violent events in the cosmos, such as the collisions and mergers of massive black holes. Their existence was predicted by Einstein in 1916, when he showed that accelerating massive objects would shake space-time so much that waves distorted space. Similar to the way two black holes collided in space, brain neurons and dark brain masses collide and merge. These collisions are considered massive in the brain space, thus they exert a force in the brain space, resulting in brain gravitational waves that I call Triabrain Waves.

The brain creates its own gravitational waves, known as 'Triabrain Waves' as depicted in this image. Image credit: Alamy Science Photo Library.

These waves are apart of the brain energy structure that directly builds (or destroys) mass in conjunction with brain light. These waves work to connect the left and right brain together and serve to reshape the brain's interior. The Triabrain Waves are a part of the brain's energy system that also sends waves exterior to the brain. This is the reason why a person may call when you are thinking about him or her. Or friends may know each other's thoughts for a split second. This energy is sensed by all living organisms. These waves reshape the brain and its physical properties are similar to how gravitational waves in space pierce through all matter. But most importantly, I believe these Triabrain Waves are the foundation of all future neuroplasticity science, human intuition studies and is the method in which prayer and faith work to change the exterior world.

For more information about the Triabrain, listen to my Answers Unleashed talk thow episode "Triabrain" by clicking the link.

Olympia LePoint shares how to reshape the brain with science and human experiences. Image courtesy of Olympia LePoint and Michelle Manley.


So instead of looking at my two family members' situations as tragedies, I chose to look at these brain surgeries as blessings. Their recoveries help shed light on our brains' powerful reshaping capabilities, as well as the energy we have yet to fully harness. There is still much for us to understand about the brain. And I welcome other scientists to help in developing this knowledge. And hopefully, this blog is a significant introduction to unlocking a new way of thinking about the brain's true capabilities, outside of a science fiction movie seen in theaters.

Until next time, find me on facebook on facebook.com/OlympiaLePoint and share your thoughts.

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Public Health Research Reduced Smoking Deaths -- It Could Do The Same For Gun Violence  
By Sandro Galea, Boston University and Michael Siegel, Boston University

After the most recent mass shooting in the U.S. at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said:

Other politicians echoed that sentiment. But prayers are not going to fix the fact that each year 30,000 deaths and many more injuries are caused by firearm violence. Recognizing gun violence for the public health problem it is might.

So what does it mean to view firearm violence as a public health problem? And how does that change the debate Americans are having about gun violence?

A public health perspective on firearms

First, and most importantly, viewing firearms violence as a public health problem means declaring that the current situation is unacceptable, and preventable.

We did not successfully tackle the AIDS epidemic until we made it a national health priority, an act marked by the passage of the Ryan White Care Act in 1990. Today this position is reflected by the federal government's commitment to ensure that at least 90 percent of HIV-infected individuals in the U.S. are properly treated by 2020. Federal funding has increased over the course of the epidemic, and the government is spending US$28 billion on domestic HIV prevention and treatment programs during the current fiscal year.

Second, treating firearm violence as a public health problem also means conducting research to identify the underlying causes of the problem and to evaluate potential strategies to address it. For instance, research may reveal common sense structural changes - such as firearm safety features - that limit the potential damage that can be done by guns.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has avoided conducting research on firearm violence since 1996, when Congress passed an appropriations bill barring the CDC from using funds to advocate or promote gun control.

In 2012 President Obama ordered the CDC and other federal bodies to resume research on firearms violence in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting. But Congress has yet to allocate a single dollar for CDC research on firearm violence.

While the the National Institutes of Health is undertaking firearms research, very little funding is allocated for it, on the order of just $2 million over three years. That's not much out of the NIH's nearly $32 billion budget for fiscal year 2016.

Third, a public health perspective on firearm violence means moving beyond blaming individuals and toward societal programs and policies to curb this epidemic. Just as individual smokers are not to blame for the tobacco epidemic, individual gun owners are not to blame for what is a much larger societal problem.

Taking a broad, societal approach is exactly what we have done with other public health problems, such as smoking. Public health research helped identify a proven set of programs and policies that denormalized smoking, such as limitations on smoking in public places and anti-smoking media campaigns. Thanks in large part to these societal-level public health interventions, cigarette smoking prevalence dropped to its lowest level in history last year.

And fourth, a public health approach means the "public" is included in the discussion. This means that we need to listen to concerns across sectors, including gun owners, gun dealers, law enforcement officials and public health advocates. With a public health problem of this magnitude, everyone should be at the table. That might seem impossible now, given the deep polarization on both sides of the gun control debate. However, a lack of willingness to even discuss potential solutions to the problem is simply unacceptable.

A recent collaboration between the public health community and gun dealers to reduce firearms-related suicide in New Hampshire offers an example of what this might look like.

So what does that kind of research look like?

In 2013, Boston University's School of Public Health started to conduct research aimed at understanding social norms about firearms and gun culture. We have also created a dedicated Violence Prevention Research Unit. So what have we found so far?

In a 2013 study, we linked state homicide data from the CDC with data on gun ownership, which revealed a strong relationship between levels of household gun ownership and firearm-related homicide rates at the state level. We found that this relationship is specific to homicides committed by offenders who are known to the victim.

Earlier this year, we published a study that documented a strong link between gun ownership levels and firearm-related suicide rates. These findings suggest that responding to mass shootings by arming teachers and ordinary civilians is not only unlikely to reduce homicide rates, but the resulting increase in the prevalence of firearms might actually increase deaths from both homicide and suicide.

We have also found a strong relationship between the implementation of state laws that require universal background checks for all gun sales and lower rates of firearm-related homicide.

These findings suggest that the loophole in federal law that allows unlicensed dealers to sell guns to any individual without conducting a background check may be contributing toward higher rates of firearm violence. On June 20, the Senate blocked four gun control measures, including a measure to close the loophole for background checks.

Where our research is headed

Our future work will explore the impact of various state firearm policies and identify policies that are specifically effective in reducing urban violence, which disproportionately impacts the African-American community.

Even though much of this work has been done without external funding, it is essential that Congress allow the CDC to do its job and conduct research on gun violence, and that other federal agencies like the NIH increase allocations for research in this area.

Allocating $0 for research, as CDC currently does on a problem that results in more than 30,000 deaths each year, is not how we handle a public health issue.

Sandro Galea, Dean, School of Public Health, Boston University and Michael Siegel, Professor of Community Health Sciences, Boston University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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Does the UK comparatively underinvests in meningitis research?  
Recent research by the UK's Wellcome Trust ¹ suggests that when it comes to infectious disease, the UK is not proportionately investing public funds in meningitis research as much as it should. And it hasn't been for a long time.



In the Research Investments (ResIn) in Global Health report, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, meningitis is shown to be the 5th largest communicable disease killer (303,500 deaths globally in 2013), but only ranks 17th for public investments proportionate to the number of deaths caused by the disease in that same year.

The UK's average spend per infectious disease death is over 10 times higher across all causes than it is for meningitis. We spend only £29 on meningitis compared to an average of £337 for all causes combined.

Total UK research investments from public bodies and research charities into infectious diseases between 1997 and 2013 totalled over £3.7 billion.

Of this, meningitis received just £91m - or 2.4% of the total.

This 2.4% is for a disease that consistently ranks in the UK as the condition parents most want their children vaccinated against.

Our course, this study is only part of the picture. It does not include investments from the private sector - most notably pharmaceutical companies. A total picture would be very useful. But it is a good window into where public and charity money is going now.

Meningitis Research Foundation and our incredible supporters do everything possible to make sure meningitis research is a priority in this country. With their support, we have invested nearly £20 million in research over the past 30 years. But elsewhere in the public domain, I am increasingly worried that meningitis is somehow slipping into the 'job done' category in the UK and nothing could be further from the truth.

Some of my fears will be tested next Monday when we await news from the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation (JCVI) about whether they have recommended the MenB vaccine for extension to under 2 year olds. If it isn't it will be interesting to hear on what grounds.

At the same time we still await detailed plans for the teenage evaluation of the MenB vaccine despite the JCVI recommending this two years ago. And we want to know when the cost effectiveness working party recommendations will be made public so everyone can see and question whether these are fair.

So we're a long way from eradicating this dreadful disease and this is no time for the UK to take its foot off the gas. It's time to put the money, and action, where the facts indicate they should go.

References
¹Research Investments in Global Health: A Systematic Analysis of UK Infectious Disease Research Funding and Global HealthMetrics, 1997-2013, Head et al, 2015, published in EBiomedicine
²Called Investment per mortality observed.

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In the past decade, researchers have attempted to miniaturize photonic technologies for dense integration onto tiny semiconductor chips. To that end, they are seeking to develop even smaller nanolasers, of which plasmonic lasers are the tiniest. Researchers have demonstrated that it is possible to induce plasmonic lasers to emit a narrow beam of light by adapting a technique called distributed feedback. This unique ability of plasmonic lasers makes them attractive for potential applications in integrated (on-chip) optics, for transporting large swathes of data on-chip and between neighboring chips, and for ultrafast digital information processing.

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