NASA to Hold News Conference on Astrobiology Discovery - Dec. 2nd
Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov
Cathy Weselby
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-2791
cathy.weselby@nasa.gov
Nov. 29, 2010
MEDIA ADVISORY : M10-110
NASA to Hold News Conference on Astrobiology Discovery
Science Journal Has Embargoed Details Until 11 a.m. PST On Dec. 2
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. PST on Thursday, Dec. 2, to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe.
The news conference will be held at the NASA Headquarters auditorium at 300 E St. SW, in Washington. It will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website at http://www.nasa.gov.
Reporters may view the televised press conference at NASA Ames Research Center in the main auditorium, Bldg. 201 or ask questions by phone. To obtain dial-in information, journalists must send their name, affiliation and telephone number to Steve Cole at stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov or call 202-358-0918 by 9 a.m. PST Dec. 2, 2010.
Participants are:
* Mary Voytek, director, Astrobiology Program, NASA Headquarters, Washington
* Felisa Wolfe-Simon, NASA astrobiology research fellow, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, Calif.
* Pamela Conrad, astrobiologist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
* Steven Benner, distinguished fellow, Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Gainesville, Fla.
* James Elser, professor, Arizona State University, Tempe
To reach NASA Ames, take U.S. Highway 101 to the Moffett Field, NASA Parkway exit and drive east on Moffett Boulevard towards the main gate. The briefing will be held in the main auditorium, Building N-201, at NASA Ames. Building N-201 is located behind the administration building, N-200.
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OUCH!
The monster egg measures a whopping 9cm by 5.7cm (2.2ins) and is more than twice the size of a normal egg. It was laid by Bolt, a 20-week-old chicken from Christchurch, Dorset, who has only been laying for three weeks.
Owner Denise Sloan, a 52-year-old gardener, said she has never seen such a large egg despite owning chickens for 15 years. The egg, which has not been fertilised, is now destined for the dinner plate.
She said of Bolt’s impressive achievement: ‘I don't know what the world record is, but all I can say is she is pretty bow-legged now. It's enormous, bigger than a duck egg.’
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Man's Bizarre Reaction to Parkinson’s Medication
swns - Town councillor Pete Shepherd, 60, was given a new drug called Cabergoline by his GP after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.
The pills relieved the symptoms of the debilitating illness but turned Pete into a high-living, violent, attention-seeking, sex-addicted gambler with delusions of grandeur.
He maxed-out 15 credit cards, exceeded two bank overdraft limits, ran up £400,000 debts and lost his wife, £50,000-a-year IT job and home.
Pete claims he was sent ”mad” by the drugs which twisted his mind so badly he suffered ”compulsions” which made him a sex-addicted gambler.
He received a conditional discharge at Hull Crown Court in November last year when a Judge accepted medication caused him to commit a £45,000 eBay fraud.
Cabergoline is a new form of drug called Dopamine Agent (DA) and can also be used to increase sex drive.
Peter, from Hull, Yorks., said: ”I started to develop a range of strange obsessions, compulsions and interests.
”I became obsessed with gambling, spending, sexual excess and various fetishes.
”I suffered from delusions of grandeur, exhibitionism, paranoia and hallucinations and became violent and suicidal.
”I was out day and night at racecourses, betting shops, casinos and brothels.
”I developed a transvestite tendency and spent tens of thousands of pounds on ladies’ clothing for myself.
”None of this high-living, gambling, hypersexuality, fetishism, violence or attention-seeking made any sense at the time.
”I knew I was behaving oddly but I was totally driven down these paths and unable to control the compulsions whatsoever.
”It went on and on, and I found myself in police stations several times.”
Peter was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2001 but believes he may have suffered from the disease since 1970.
Over the next seven years he ran up £400,000 debts living the high-life including enormous credit card bills at casinos, horse racing, brothels, sex lines and porn websites.
He posed as millionaire on a Caribbean cruise on the QEII and travelled to luxury resorts in New York, Florida, Tenerife, Tunisia, Morocco and Dominican Republic.
Pete hired a helicopter to go to the Grand Canyon and rented Bentleys, Ferraris, Porsches, TVRs and Jaguars and toured Scotland staying in luxury hotels for Hogmanay.
He bought flash cars with personalised number plates got tickets to boxing matches, concerts, Wimbledon tennis finals, and owned executive boxes at two football clubs.
During one week in Las Vegas Pete blew £10,000 on gambling, hotels and flights.
Pete also developed a transvestite tendancy and dressed up in stilettos and tights and hung out in car parks looking for sex.
He finally discovered a link between his compulsions and Cabergoline after searching the internet in 2008 and his life went back to normal when he stopped taking the drugs.
Pete admitted six charges of fraud and one count money laundering in October last year after conning 172 people out of £45,718 for concert tickets which did not exist in an eBay scam.
Two Professors of Neurology spoke on his behalf testifying the drugs had taken over his mind making him unable to know right from wrong.
Recorder Henry Prosser described Peter’s situation as a ”wholly unusual and exceptional case’ which would normally have attracted an immediate prison sentence.
He told Pete that responsibility for his actions was ”very substantially” reduced by the side effects of the drug and gave him a conditional discharge.
Pete now takes different medication to treat his Parkinson’s Disease and has no savings or house.
Dr Kieran Breen, Director of Research & development at Parkinson’s UK, said it was aware of the link between some dopamine agents and compulsive behaviours.
He added: ”Many people with Parkinson’s in the UK are prescribed dopamine agonists, often in conjunction with other drugs, including levodopa, as their standard therapy.
”Research suggests that at least 14 per cent of people on these medications may experience problems with compulsive behaviours, which appear to subside if the drug is withdrawn or changed.
”Some studies have suggested that other types of anti-Parkinson’s medication may also produce similar side effects.
”Parkinson’s UK is currently funding research to identify why these behaviours may occur and how best to treat them.
”We are also working to raise awareness of these issues through our professional education activities and information for people affected by Parkinson’s.
”If people with Parkinson’s think they may be experiencing compulsive behaviours, they should speak to their neurologist or Parkinson’s nurse, rather than suddenly stopping their medication.
”We urge all medical professionals to discuss this side effect with their patients, and to monitor it on an ongoing basis.”
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FTC 'Gone Wild'
UPI - Consumer advocates say the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has asked for trouble by revising rules for collectors chasing debt from people who have died.
The new rules allow for a wider circle of people to be contacted, beyond family members and the legal executor of the estate. There is also the term "spouse" that some advocates say is inaccurate as a marriage ends when one of the partners dies. The Washington Post reported Monday.
Some advocates warn that some debt collectors will press even friends to pay the debts of someone who has died, using a "moral obligation" argument, the Post said.
Robert Hobbs, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center said the FTC should "strengthen protections for grieving families and friends, not open the door to debt-collection efforts."
"Presumably we're dealing with elderly people at the most vulnerable time that you could imagine," said attorney Richard Rubin, a consumer rights advocate in New Mexico.
"The debt doesn't disappear when the person dies. It's still a valid debt, and the collector can still collect it," said Joel Winston, FTC associate director of financial practices, the Post reported.
"We are determined to ensure that the collectors play by the rules," he said.
The FTC has extended the deadline to Dec. 1 for the public to comment on proposed rule changes.
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Japanese Whalers to be Chased by Sea Shepherd's 'Godzilla'
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society today launched its new interceptor vessel Gojira, named after the widely-feared monster of Japanese film known in English as Godzilla.
The non-for-profit organisation's director Jeff Hansen said the Gojira will be a game-changer in this year's fight against illegal Japanese whaling as it can out-run harpoon vessels.
"This vessel can out-run any Japanese vessel, so it means we'll have the element of surprise and we can find the factory ship," Mr Hansen said.
"The factory ship is the one we're after and if we can find it, we can shut down whaling.
"We save 10 to 12 whales a day by blocking the slipway on the factory ship so really this vessel is going to play a huge part in shutting down the Japanese whaling fleet for the entire summer."
The Gojira set off from Fremantle today to join the Steve Irwin and Bob Barker in Hobart before leaving on December 2 to defend the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary. Its captain, Locky MacLean, said having the fast, new vessel combined with Japanese whalers still to leave port, it was anticipated Sea Shepherd would be able to stop all whales from being slaughtered this year.
"If we can get down there before they do we can stop them straight off the bat which would be a big blow to the whaling industry down there," Mr McLean said.
"Last year we followed them for 45 days and during the 45 days they didn't kill a single whale. If we can do that again this year and be there right when they get there, we've got a full quota on our side."
The Gojira is Sea Shepherd's first Australian registered vessel, with Fremantle as designated as home port, and will have Australian citizens on board.
In January the crew of Sea Shepherd's protest boat the Ady Gil claimed they were rammed by a Japanese whaling ship in the Southern Ocean but New Zealand authorities found both vessels were at fault.
Mr Hansen said the Federal Government would be tested in its response if a similar incident occurred with the Gojira.
"We hope the Australian Government, if there's any issues down there, that they will step up and defend a vessel that's named and birthed as a home port in Australia and has Australian citizens on board," he said.
"We hope the Australian Government will have the guts to take on the whalers."
