Category: News

Bruce V. Bigelow wrote:

Like a scene from a Monty Python skit, a San Diego biotech left for dead has announced plans for a new financing—and says it has revived interest in its experimental drug for treating Lupus of the kidneys. The company halted work on the drug in early 2009.  In a statement yesterday, La Jolla Pharmaceutical disclosed plans to raise as much as $16.3 million to evaluate potential various opportunities, including Riquent, its drug for Lupus nephritis. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports today that La Jolla Pharmaceutical found institutional investors to commit up to $6 million toward efforts to restart its business. The biotech could not get enough shareholders to vote on a liquidation plan last year, and withdrew from a planned merger in March.

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UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

With the rise of new angel investors and early-stage venture funds, the venture capital industry is going through a revival, according to Brad Feld, one of the founders of the Boulder, Colo.-based VC firm, Foundry Group. “It’s back to the basics,” Feld told me during a video interview in which I discovered that both of us love Robert Graham’s somewhat over-the-top shirts. Feld is a great interview subject, mostly because he marches to the beat of a drum that is uniquely his own.

After all, it’s not every day you get to talk to someone whose startup investments spawned esoterically labeled sectors such as “Glue,” “Human Computer Interaction,” “Protocol” and “Disruption” by backing companies such as Oblong, Memeo, PogoPlug, SimpleGeo and Zynga. Foundry also invested in Sling Media, which was subsequently acquired by Echostar for $380 million.

During a 20-minute video chat he talks about his journey from Boston to Boulder and says that while it isn’t important for an investor to be in an early-stage startup’s proximity, it is important to be in the flow of things. His approach is unusual; the conventional wisdom on Sand Hill Road is to invest in companies that are within driving range.

We also discussed the myths of entrepreneurship, notably why sometimes people look at first-time successes such as Mark Zuckerberg and forget that entrepreneurship is a life-long endeavor, not a “two-year game.” We also talked about why fewer and fewer people think about the long term at all, instead focusing just on what’s coming up next.

After our conversation was over, it occurred to me: Feld talks the same way he writes on his blog, Feld Thoughts.

Here are some of the gems from our conversation, which include some great advice for startups and entrepreneurs:

• Focus on doing something you’re passionate about.
• Entrepreneurship is not a two-year game.
• Learn how to do something you’ll apply over and over again.
• A chip on your shoulder can be good
• Break out of the context you’re in and look broader.
• Pick your 2 percent — then own it. (That one comes courtesy of Feld’s dad)

Video shot and produced by Chris Albrecht

The paper reviewed here is ‘From Utopia to Science: Challenges of Personalised Genomics Information for Health Management and Health Enhancement’ by  Hub Zwart, Professor of Philosophy and which is freely available here. I thought it would be interesting to look at this paper because the sequencing of human genomes is becoming increasingly accessible as sequencing technologies improve. Zwart addresses the use of information from the genome and gene therapy. I was particularly interested in the former. Zwart broadens the initial part of his inquiry by examining various forms of biotechnology and referencing Huxley’s classic ‘Brave New World’. He raises some intriguing questions about the evolution of culture and a move away from anthropomorphism. After reading this paper, there were a number of questions that seemed to suggest themselves.

What happens if a person has access to their full genome sequence outside of the medical environment?

Speculating, there are a number of possibilities

– A person will respond appropriately to this knowledge. The appropriate response will vary according to context. Having this level of information is unprecedented and it will take some time to identify what an ‘appropriate’ response is. For instance, it might be usual for a person to have an initial period of focusing on the information followed by a sharp decline in this focus but research will be needed to characterise this response.

– A person might become overly anxious about having this information. Even if they have no known illness disease  related alleles, they might anticipate further information becoming available about their alleles. The information might be incorporated into a prior somatoform disorder. I did a quick medline search combining ‘genetic counselling’ and ‘somatoform’ which produced one reference which didn’t seem too relevant. However a more detailed search might have picked up some relevant papers.

– A person might feel a loss of control if they are found to have a predisposition to a certain illness. Indeed this has been well explored and genetic counselling has been utilised for a number of genetic conditions. Outside of a supportive medical environment if a person learns of newly identified relationships between their alleles and specific diseases they might be unable to judge the appropriate risk.

– There may be a number of reasons why the information may be more complex – genes are differentially expressed in different tissues, there may be small inaccuracies in a genome sequence, the interactions between gene products may be more important than having the disease allele.

How will Health Services respond to Personal Genomics?

While this isn’t the case at the moment, it wouldn’t be too unreasonable to suppose that in 10 years time, a sizeable proportion of the population will have access to their genome sequences. People might approach health services to help them interpret this information. Thus there might be an increasing role for geneticists in managing this aspect of healthcare although this will depend on health service configuration and responses. Additionally primary care may develop specialised services for managing this aspect of healthcare. Within mental health services there may be a role for prevention although any service responses would need to be evidence based. Various studies have identified degrees of risk associated with specific genes but also emphasise the importance of the environment.

How will this impact on culture?

If a person has information to about their genome sequence then one important question is how will this influence their relationship with others? Obviously this will become exceedingly complicated and there will be countless examples that could not have been anticipated. There are a number of broad possibilities. Many people will want to keep this information private as with other aspects of their healthcare information.  Others may advertise this information to others if they think it will be to their advantage and certain self-selected ‘types’ will be known by the genes they do or do not have and it may therefore confer an additional layer of identity.  Many aspects of an emerging genomics culture have been examined in the film ‘Gattaca‘. This information may combine in complex ways with other technologies such as the internet.

One thing is clear and that is that this field will need to be regulated and the ethical implications engaged in ongoing debate.

Call for Authors: If you are interested in writing an article or series of articles for this blog please write to the e-mail address below. Copyright can be retained. Index: An index of the site can be found here. The page contains links to all of the articles in the blog in chronological order. Twitter: You can follow ‘The Amazing World of Psychiatry’ Twitter by clicking on this link. Podcast: You can listen to this post on Odiogo by clicking on this link (there may be a small delay between publishing of the blog article and the availability of the podcast). It is available for a limited period. TAWOP Channel: You can follow the TAWOP Channel on YouTube by clicking on this link. Responses: If you have any comments, you can leave them below or alternatively e-mail [email protected]. Disclaimer: The comments made here represent the opinions of the author and do not represent the profession or any body/organisation. The comments made here are not meant as a source of medical advice and those seeking medical advice are advised to consult with their own doctor. The author is not responsible for the contents of any external sites that are linked to in this blog.

The New York Times writes that the Ford Foundation will spend $200 million over five years on programs aimed at connecting cities and suburbs, with the end-goal of creating “cohesive metropolitan areas.” Investments will then focus on creating metropolitan plans that cut-across cities and suburbs, and also expand access to public transportation systems, affordable housing, and “regional land banks,” which can help redevelop urban brownfields. Current Ford Foundation grants focused on urban revitalization efforts alone will now also be directed towards building more integrated urban-surburban areas.

The foundation will encourage planning and collaboration across city, local, and county districts. This new metropolitan approach means blurring the lines between urban and suburban planning. George McCarthy, director of Metropolitan Opportunity at the Ford Foundation said: “We want to break down the walls that separate leaders who should be working together. We aim to unite policymakers and innovators from across the fields of transportation, housing and land use. When investments in these major systems are planned with an understanding of how they intersect and impact the lives of all people in a region, the result can be transformative.”

The foundation says the new funds will be catalytic. “The new funds will allow Ford to develop and significantly expand successful collaborations and policy innovations that it has supported in communities throughout the country, providing models that can be adopted and adapted in other metropolitan regions.”

The Ford Foundation will strategically target their investments in a few key metropolitan areas that can serve as broader models. Some example investments include:

• “Transformative public transportation projects that connect residents to jobs and other opportunities, including the M1 rail in Detroit, the redevelopment of the Claiborne corridor in New Orleans, and the construction of 25 transit villages along BART in San Francisco’s Bay Area.
• Innovative initiatives to create a stock of permanently affordable housing—in communities including New Orleans and the Bay Area. Through such market-based approaches as “shared equity” homeownership, families receiving a public subsidy to buy a home agree to share the equity they earn with government, which then makes those funds available to another family.
• Programs in metropolitan Detroit; Flint, Michigan; and New Orleans; and other areas to create regional land bank authorities, which enable communities to revitalize blighted areas and increase quality housing opportunities. This includes funding for the Center for Community Progress, a new national resource center for communities that provides training and technical assistance for any metropolitan region that wants to develop its own land bank authority.”

Recently, the Ford Foundation also announced a $100 million commitment to create art spaces across the country, arguing that the arts can also be used to facilitate smart growth development.  The idea is that new arts facilities can serve as tools for community and economic development, particularly in metropolitan areas. One group, the Minneapolis-based Artspace Projects, has already received a grant, and will create mixed-use developments offering low-cost housing for artists. The New York Times said this is the largest amount the foundation will have spent on the development and maintenance of arts facilities. Rocco Landesman, new Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, has also been selling design as an engine of economic growth in communities, using the slogan, “Art Works.”

Learn more about the Ford Foundation’s program.

He’s the best we could get?

Editor, The Times:

After twice challenging for the governorship of Washington, Dino Rossi is supposedly considering running against Patty Murray for senator [“Sources: Rossi’s in, will make it official Wednesday,” page one, May 25].

This raises an interesting question: Is Rossi the only viable Republican candidate in Washington qualified to run for these statewide offices? After losing twice, it would appear a fresh face —and approach —are warranted.

— Glen Kaner, Seattle

In a word: Persistence. Partly the traditional, inspiring, one man against all odds type of persistence, but more the obsessive, borderline insane persistence. But whatever, this dude’s building his own metro, like a CITY, so I should probably shut up. More »










Do it yourself – Business – Recreation – DIY – Home and Garden

Lets be honest

The recent editorial on Referendum 52, the healthy schools and job-creation referendum, left out some important facts [“Be honest with voters,” Opinion, May 24].

The editorial credited R-52 opponents with challenging the measure’s ballot description, but ignored the fact that I, too, have officially requested the attorney general to appeal the title.

As primary sponsor of the legislation, I did that because proponents of R-52 are fully committed to ensuring transparency and clarity, and we are confident that an open and honest debate will result in strong public support for this measure.

By repairing aging and dilapidated schools, R-52 will eliminate mold, fix leaky roofs and create energy savings across our state while creating 30,000 jobs. It will save taxpayers $130 million a year. It raises the total state debt by only 1.5 percent, and the savings will more than cover the debt service. And our kids will have healthier schools and safer learning environments. These are facts.

The editorial’s insinuation that R-52 supporters are trying to be deceptive is simply off base. The editorial also claims voters should be limited in their ability to vote on bonds because the Legislature is limited. But that ability is a constitutional right of the voters and must be respected.

I hope that as we go forward we can have a robust and civil debate about this important measure, free from casting aspersions on the motives of either side.

— Rep. Hans Dunshee, Snohomish

That’s not cloud cover. It’s polar ice on Mars, about 600 miles across and covered with deep etchings. The dark valley on the right, named Chasma Boreale, is about the size of the Grand Canyon.

This riven Martian arctic was a mystery to scientists for over forty years. But data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has given researchers some important clues to how the ice spirals formed. Their findings appear in two papers published in the journal Nature.

Data from Mars now points to both the canyon and spiral troughs being created and shaped primarily by wind. Rather than being cut into existing ice very recently, the features formed over millions of years as the ice sheet grew. By influencing wind patterns, the shape of underlying, older ice controlled where and how the features grew. [NASA]

This image was made using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data. A shaded-relief image, it shows clearly the pole’s gorges. Chasma Boreale is a mile deep in some places.

Related content:
Bad Astronomy: A marvelous night for a Moon (and Mars) dance
Bad Astonomy: Sand dunes march across Mars
Bad Astronomy: Mars craters reveal ice
80beats: Mars Rover Sets Endurance Record: Photos From Opportunity’s 6 Years On-Planet

Image1: NASA/Caltech/JPL/E. DeJong/J. Craig/M. Stetson
Image2: NASA/GSFC

Light rail moves less than 2 percent of 1.1 million drivers on I-5

Recently, in a Seattle Times op-ed, former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels bragged that the Link light-rail system is carrying “thousands of passengers every day.” [“Don’t derail region’s transit gains,” Opinion, May 16.]

This is true. It is also true that back on Feb. 11, 2000, then Metropolitan King County Councilmember Nickels claimed in a similar op-ed that light rail would carry passengers “equal to a 12-lane freeway,” thus “finding [us a solution] to traffic congestion.”

Since the claim was ridiculous, I e-mailed him, asking if he really believed this. He e-mailed me back and said, “Why, yes I do.” He went on to up the ante by claiming that Link light rail would carry the transit capacity of a 16 freeway lanes.

Wow —and I thought it was illegal to smoke that stuff. Anyway, here are the facts. Based on onramp data, I-5 moves more than 1.1 million people per day in the corridor. Link light rail moves less than 2 percent of that amount.

So, is light rail a nifty toy? Sure. Does it move as many people as a crowded urban freeway or do anything noticeable about traffic congestion? Please.

— Donald Padelford, Seattle

So, clearly, this little car is not meant for the mass market of the United States. It resembles a traditional rickshaw, but the Meguru is an electric car made of bamboo, steel and paper. It has a range of 25 miles per charge, and a top speed of 25 mph. It’s lithium battery takes two hours to charge. The frame is made of steel, the floor is bamboo and  the fan-shaped doors are actually made of paper from wood pulp.

Estimated price for this novel form of Asian nostalgia? Less than $10,000.

(more…)

Filed under: Sedan, Videos, Audi, Luxury

There’s a difference between being rich and being downright wealthy. And while the 2011 Audi A8L W12 can only be afforded by anyone who falls into the very top tax bracket, the style, refinement and technology built into Audi‘s newest flagship will make anyone feel like they’re worth a (couple) million bucks.

You thought your S Class made you a high roller? Think again.

Put on your best Italian suit and hand-made cuff links, and follow the jump to watch what the latest twelve-cylinder luxury barge has to offer.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: 2011 Audi A8L W12 reminds us that we aren’t rich enough

Video: 2011 Audi A8L W12 reminds us that we aren’t rich enough originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 May 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kids on race

This is a response to “A child’s view of black and white” [Opinion, May 23].

Lets just set the record straight. My children have felt the disease of racial tension far less than what I felt in the 1970s —and I had felt it considerably less than what my parents felt in the 1940s.

Yes, it has been slow, but there is no denying that we have come much closer to bridging the gap. We could appreciate the humor of our diversity and laugh along with the likes of Chris Rock and Larry the Cable Guy, along with countless others who point out our differences in a fun-loving way. This is America and we are all a little different.

To make some kind of hurtful conclusion based on what shade paper doll a 5-year-old prefers is idiotic. It is like trying to figure out what kind of food children like by showing them pictures of the food. We are talking about people — OK, races of people. But to generalize like that, we are missing a big piece — the essence of each individual. Without that piece, racism is back to square one. I say we have come too far to make that our conclusion.

— Anna Welsch, Indianola

Child mortality in the United States

I suggest something akin to “caveat emptor” when reading “U.S. not keeping up with global gains in child mortality” [page one, May 24] because it lacks information about the definition of child mortality for each country.

The data may have changed, but I looked into this decades ago and discovered that how a country defines child mortality varies. What is meant by the phrase is not as obvious as one would think.

Some countries exclude childbirth deaths. Others exclude childhood deaths within the first month, defining them as birth-related mortality. Others exclude other deaths for other reasons.

Some countries — the United States, for example — include all these causes of death in mortality statistics.

Some countries also have little immigration, thus their populations are relatively stable medically. Nearly all children are part of their population and as such do not have exotic childhood diseases, which immigrant children may bring into the country. In those countries, child mortality is likely lower than countries were immigration is frequent.

Without clarification, stories like this one only result in confusion and strike fear in the heart of parents needlessly. Remember to be skeptical. Look at the details.

— Jeff Wedgwood, Issaquah

Family planning for the developing world

In “Poverty and the pill in Africa” [Opinion, May 22], Nicholas Kristof described the devastating impact of overpopulation in the developing world as well as an “inexpensive” solution: funding worldwide family planning needs for $4 billion.

How could $4 billion be cheap?

To put it in context, this year’s U.S. defense budget is $664 billion, or 41.5 percent of the $1.5 trillion worldwide total military budget. This enormous amount of our taxpayer wealth is invested each year to “keep us safe” by ensuring we are highly capable of killing anyone we deem to have become a threat to us.

For a very small fraction of this cost, 0.6 percent, we could help stabilize global population —a key first step in making our planet healthy, safe and sustainable.

Why do people become a threat to us? Typically, it is when they have no hope for bettering their lives, no matter how desperate they are. That is when violence happens. An adjustment of U.S. priorities slightly more toward investing in global health instead of feeding our military-industrial complex would make our entire world far more stable and safer.

— Dave Gamrath, Seattle

Kill mothers, keep sons planting bombs in Times Square

In the letter “Responding to terrorism” [NWVoices, May 19], Gregg Rice takes issue with “The inevitable blowback of war” [Opinion, May 17], in which columnist David Sirota writes about the possibly hundreds of civilian deaths that are the result of President Obama’s strategy of using remote-controlled warplanes firing missiles to combat the Taliban in Pakistan.

The letter reads: “The U.S. military does not intentionally target civilians. This, however, was the intent of the Times Square bomber and those responsible for the 9/11 slaughter. There is a huge, gaping moral chasm separating these admittedly tragic events.”

However, to the 5-year-old boy whose mother was killed by one of those missiles, it does not matter whether or not she was killed intentionally. All he knows is that his mom is dead, and that the Americans killed her.

As long we keep killing mothers in Pakistan, we would keep having sons planting bombs in Times Square.

— Adam Levine, Seattle

Washington D.C. — The company responsible for producing 44,000 defective helmets for the U.S. Army has suspended its helmet manufacturing and waived its first right of refusal for all future military contracts, according to the office of Congressman Chris Carney from Pennsylvania.

Federal Prison Industries (FPI) was subcontracted by ArmorSource to build the helmets and it employs inmates withing the Federal Bureau of Prisons to assemble them. FPI, one of the nation’s largest military helmet manufactures, made its decision to suspend production just as Congressman Carney introduced an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act that would have forced FPI to use competitive bidding procedures. The amendment, it appears, is no longer needed.

“Our military men and women deserve only the best equipment and it has become clear that Federal Prison Industries cannot meet the standards required in manufacturing helmet,” Congressman Carney said in a statement to Fox News.

The Department of the Army announced earlier this month that the helmets failed to meet standard ballistic tests and that certain parts of the helmets could not protect against multiple rounds of ammunition.

The Army issued a recall for the 44,000 helmets on May 14, admitting that soldiers in combat could be wearing the helmets without knowing it.

“We don’t know where they are,” said Brigadier General Pete Fuller, who oversees equipment contracts for the Army. “So they could be on some soldiers’ head in either Iraq or Afghanistan. They could also be anywhere else in the world.” The Army has already received some returns from soldiers in Afghanistan.

Carney’s office says Federal Prison Industries is already behind on two separate helmet contracts it has with the U.S. military. One contract it has with Army calls for 600,000 helmets and another with the Marines calls for 100,000 lighter weight helmets. Carney says both products have failed to pass first article testing and not a single helmet has been delivered either contract, both at least 18 months overdue.

Jerusalem the only holy city of the Jewish people

“Jews in Arab east Jerusalem defy Obama peace push”[Seattletimes.com, May 20] is distorted and one-sided.

Jerusalem has had a Jewish majority for more than 100 years except for the illegal occupation by Jordan from 1948 to 1967. It is therefore incorrect to describe east Jerusalem as “Arab.”

Israel annexed east Jerusalem when it was recaptured from the Jordanians after the 1967 Middle East war waged by neighboring Arab states.

On May 24, 2007, now-President Obama said Israel is the United States’ most reliable ally and the only established democracy in the Middle East. Israel’s security — which is of vital importance to the United States — could best be guaranteed by reaching negotiated peace agreements with its neighbors. But Israel must have credible partners with whom to negotiate.

At present, Israel does not have credible peace partners.

Israel rightly cannot accept a divided Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel and the Jewish people. It is not “the third holiest city,” as it is for the Muslims. It is the only holy city of the Jewish people. It has been so for more than 3,300 years.

A lasing peace could only be achieved if Hamas and Fatah nullify their charters calling for the total destruction of Israel, renounce violence and end their hate campaign against Israelis and Jews living in their ancestral home.

— Josh Basson, Seattle

‘Uninformed masses’ want illegal immigrants out of Arizona

“The Arizona Syndrome: propaganda and the politics of fear” [Opinion, May 23] suggests that the decline in illegal border crossings should be a reason to negate the new Arizona law. But it does not alleviate the burden Arizona bears from the cumulative effect of past and present volumes.

The column fails to come face-to-face with the truth that the serious illegal immigration problem is a legitimate criticism of the federal government. The “uninformed masses” are the citizen taxpayers and voters, and they want illegal immigrants out of Arizona and the United States.

— Richard Starr, Sammamish

Hatred, violence the result of failed vigilance and scapegoating

Thanks to David Altheide for exposing the tired lies and political opportunism that led to Arizona’s shameful legislation.

The public needs much more light and far less heat in order to deal rationally with the issue of immigration reform. We need to remind ourselves that time and again, when good people have failed to be vigilant and expose this kind of scapegoating, hatred and violence have been the result.

— Lisa Dekker, Seattle

Enforce immigration laws

In his column about Arizona’s statute requiring enforcement of immigration laws, David Altheide said “Fear is driving the legislation and emotions in Arizona these days.” More than two-thirds of Arizonans support the law and perhaps they are driven by fear. As I cannot read minds, I withhold judgment.

In a Zogby Poll in April, John Zogby, who is the son of a Lebanese illegal immigrant, found that 61 percent of Americans polled supported deporting illegal residents or prosecuting the employers who hire them. Thirty-one percent of those polled supported amnesty for illegal immigrants. More about this poll can be read at Forbes.com.

Clearly, whatever motivates voters, most Americans do not support amnesty and they believe that immigration laws should be enforced.

— Linda Thom, Coupeville

[YouTube link]

Another welcome feature uncovered by many of you in Android 2.2 is the ability to work in apps through 270 degrees of rotation. That is, if you turn the phone to the landscape position to the left, it’ll rotate. And it’ll rotate to the right now, as well.

But, wait, there’s more. The car app has gotten smarter. So when you’re using the car dock and need to pull up a contact, you don’t have to turn the phone back to portrait (or worse, tilt your head) just to find whom you’re looking for. We’d prefer that the home screen rotate, too, but custom Froyo ROMs will take care of that soon enough.

(Thanks, Mike B! Though try to turn your caps lock off, m’kay? 🙂 Find a cool new feature in Froyo and want to tell the world about it? E-mail us here and we’ll make you famous!)

This is a post by Android Central. It is sponsored by the Android Central Accessories Store

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The uniformed officers at the top of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, & Air Force have individually written letters to lawmakers on Capitol Hill expressing concerns about the impact of changing the law affecting “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” before a comprehensive review is complete.

“I felt that an organized and systemic approach on such an important issue was precisely the way to develop ‘best military advice’ for the Service Chiefs to offer the President,” Marine Corps Commandant James Conway wrote.

Army Chief of Staff General George Casey expressed a similar view. “I remain convinced that it is critically important to get a better understanding of where our Soldiers and Families are on this issue,” Casey wrote. “I also believe that repealing the law before the completion of the review will be seen by the men and women of the Army as a reversal of our commitment to hear their views before moving forward.”

This letter writing campaign comes after Senate and House proponents of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” reached a compromise that if it passes would eventually allow gays to openly serve in the military. Defense Secretary Gates has wanted a Pentagon review of the impact of a change in policy to be finished before Congress took action. When a deal on Capitol Hill was struck, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said, “With Congress having indicated that is not possible, the Secretary can accept the language in the proposed amendment.” The change is expected to be offered as an amendment to the annual defense spending blueprint known as the Defense Authorization.

Since then, the Service Chiefs have been writing to express their concerns.

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead wrote, “We need this review to fully assess our force and carefully examine potential impacts of a change in the law.”

General Norton Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff, wrote that acting before the review is complete would be “presumptive and reflect an intent to act before all relevant factors are assessed, digested and understood.”