Nobel laureate Stiglitz leads expert discussions on restoring country as rice bowl of Asia
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Government of the Union of Myanmar today held a wide-ranging dialogue aimed at boosting the countrys agricultural sector and to help it reclaim its status as the rice bowl of Asia.
At the invitation of ESCAP, Nobel Prize-winning economist Prof. Joseph Stiglitz and other eminent experts discussed strategies for Myanmar to cut poverty in light of Asias regional and subregional experiences.
It is my hope these ideas and analysis will open a new space for policy discussion and a further deepening of our development partnership, UN Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer said at the event held in Myanmars capital, Naypyitaw.
These development objectives can only be achieved through the successful engagement of local experts and people who know what is happening on the ground. This development partnership, requested by the Government of Myanmar, provides a unique platform for eminent international scholars and local researchers to exchange experiences and ideas with government agencies and civil society, Dr. Heyzer added.
This is the second in a series of events launched by Dr. Heyzer during her visit in July to Myanmar, and was organized by ESCAP with the countrys Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development.
In his presentation, Towards a more productive agrarian economy for Myanmar, Professor Stiglitz noted that Myanmar was well-positioned to learn from other countries in the region that have developed on the back of gains in agriculture. There are large opportunities for improvement. Myanmar should take a comprehensive approach, he said.
He urged the Government of Myanmar to: promote access to appropriate agricultural financing; take measures to boost access to seeds and fertilizers; dramatically boost spending on health and education; and create well-paid jobs in construction of rural infrastructure in order to stimulate development and raise incomes and spending.
Professor Stiglitz also noted that well-functioning institutions were critical to success, and that Myanmar could learn from the mistakes made by other resource-rich countries. Revenues from oil and gas can open up a new era, if used well. If not, then valuable opportunities will be squandered, he said.
Economics and politics can not be separated, Professor Stiglitz added. For Myanmar to take a role on the world stage and to achieve true stability and security there must be widespread participation and inclusive processes. This is the only way forward for Myanmar.
Maj. Gen. U Htay Oo, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation of Myanmar, noted that climate change has had significant effects on the countrys agriculture and livelihood, particularly in the dry zone. To mitigate such pressure we are implementing short-term and longer term measures, such as promoting access to irrigation water to increase productivity, and developing resource-based as well as knowledge-based sustainable agriculture and livelihoods built on existing infrastructures, he said.
We are adopting a holistic approach informed by the human development perspective to address the needs of the most vulnerable, he added. We cannot afford to be complacent thus the tasks for agriculture and rural development must be implemented through mass movement.
The Minister also welcomed and supported the continued close cooperation and collaboration of ESCAP in the development partnership series. I look forward to the joint activities to come in 2010, in particular the regional development programme for sustainable agriculture towards inclusive rural economy development, he said.
Col. Thurin Zaw, Deputy Minister of National Planning and Economic Development, delivered a presentation on Myanmars National development plans and the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The meeting was organized into two segments: The morning roundtable was devoted to expert discussions and included presentations on Recent socio-economic development, by Daw Khin Ma Ma Swe of the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, and on Approaches for agriculture and rural development, by Daw Dolly Kyaw of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation.
There were also presentations on Establishing the virtuous cycle of food security, sustainable agriculture and rural economy development, by U Tin Htut Oo and U Tin Maung Shwe of the Academy of Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Fisheries Sciences, and on Enhancing Myanmars rural economy, by Ikuko Okamoto of the Institute of Developing Economies-JETRO.
The afternoon high-level development forum covered, Economic policies for growth and poverty reduction: lessons from the region and beyond.
On 21 December in Singapore, Professor Stiglitz and Dr Heyzer will hold a press conference about the forum at the Singapore Foreign Correspondents Association. The press conference will take place at the Singapore Management University, Administration Building, from 9am-10am.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Published in "Bone" Journal, Scientific Researches Confirm Peptan(TM) Hydrolyzed Collagen Benefits on Bone Health
Studies Conducted at INRA-AgroParisTech Laboratory Under Pr. Daniel Tomé Supervision and Published* in November 2009, in the Official Journal of the International Bone and Mineral Society "Bone", Reveal new Benefits for Peptan(TM) in Osteoporosis Prevention In response to customer concerns regarding long-term bone health, Rousselot has carried out, for several years now, many studies to demonstrate that an oral intake of Peptan(TM) may have a positive impact on osteoporosis.
Bone is a living dynamic metabolic system that relies on a maintained balance between bone formation and bone resorption. Cells called osteoblasts make bone while cells called osteoclasts resorb it. An imbalance
may lead to osteoporosis, a condition where the density and quality of bone is reduced.
Researchers conducted in vitro studies, and highlighted that Peptan(TM) in bone cell culture induced a better differentiation of osteoblasts. Those positive results have then been confirmed in vivo on ovariectomized mice, used to simulate a postmenopausal osteoporosis, which leads to a lower bone mineral density (BMD).
Animals were divided into three groups: a control group (non ovariectomized), a group of ovariectomized mice, both fed with a normal diet and a group of ovariectomized mice that received a diet containing Peptan(TM). After 12 weeks, the BMD of the group fed with Peptan(TM) is not significantly different from the BMD of control group. On the contrary the BMD of ovariectomized mice not fed with Peptan(TM) is lower.
Confirmation of Peptan(TM) benefits on bone health has been obtained by the measures of Carboxy Terminal Telopeptide (CTX), a usual marker of bone resorption. CTX is significantly lower in mice fed with
PeptanTM indicating that bone resorption is reduced.
Researchers conclude that Peptan(TM) may restore bone density in simulated post-menopausal osteoporosis by stimulating osteoblast growth and differentiation. This demonstrates the interest of Peptan(TM) as a bioactive ingredient to help preventing bone loss during aging.
*Hydrolyzed collagen improves bone metabolism and biomechanical parameters in ovariectomized mice: an in vitro and in vivo study. Guillerminet et al. Bone 2009.
Rousselot, http://www.rousselot.com
Part of VION N.V. (N.L.), Rousselot(R) is the worldwide leader in gelatine and hydrolyzed collagen. VION N.V. is an internationally operating food group that produces high-quality foods and ingredients for
humans and animals (Turnover: EUR 9.6 billion - 31,000 employees worldwide)
Bone is a living dynamic metabolic system that relies on a maintained balance between bone formation and bone resorption. Cells called osteoblasts make bone while cells called osteoclasts resorb it. An imbalance
may lead to osteoporosis, a condition where the density and quality of bone is reduced.
Researchers conducted in vitro studies, and highlighted that Peptan(TM) in bone cell culture induced a better differentiation of osteoblasts. Those positive results have then been confirmed in vivo on ovariectomized mice, used to simulate a postmenopausal osteoporosis, which leads to a lower bone mineral density (BMD).
Animals were divided into three groups: a control group (non ovariectomized), a group of ovariectomized mice, both fed with a normal diet and a group of ovariectomized mice that received a diet containing Peptan(TM). After 12 weeks, the BMD of the group fed with Peptan(TM) is not significantly different from the BMD of control group. On the contrary the BMD of ovariectomized mice not fed with Peptan(TM) is lower.
Confirmation of Peptan(TM) benefits on bone health has been obtained by the measures of Carboxy Terminal Telopeptide (CTX), a usual marker of bone resorption. CTX is significantly lower in mice fed with
PeptanTM indicating that bone resorption is reduced.
Researchers conclude that Peptan(TM) may restore bone density in simulated post-menopausal osteoporosis by stimulating osteoblast growth and differentiation. This demonstrates the interest of Peptan(TM) as a bioactive ingredient to help preventing bone loss during aging.
*Hydrolyzed collagen improves bone metabolism and biomechanical parameters in ovariectomized mice: an in vitro and in vivo study. Guillerminet et al. Bone 2009.
Rousselot, http://www.rousselot.com
Part of VION N.V. (N.L.), Rousselot(R) is the worldwide leader in gelatine and hydrolyzed collagen. VION N.V. is an internationally operating food group that produces high-quality foods and ingredients for
humans and animals (Turnover: EUR 9.6 billion - 31,000 employees worldwide)
TeliaSonera and Huawei Launch World’s Fastest Commercial Mobile Broadband Network with Huawei’s 4G/LTE Solutions
TeliaSonera and Huawei Launch World’s Fastest Commercial Mobile Broadband Network with Huawei’s 4G/LTE Solutions
Huawei, a leader in providing next-generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, and TeliaSonera, the largest telecoms operator in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, today jointly announced the deployment of the world’s first LTE commercial network in Oslo, Norway. These 4G services offer maximum speeds of up to 100 Mb/s and are approximately 10 times faster than existing 3G networks.
TeliaSonera’s customers will be the first in the world to enjoy simultaneous mobile broadband services such as high definition (HD) video conferencing in mobile environments and a variety of HD video programs via multiple terminal devices; applications that cannot be realized in current 3G networks.
Mr. Kenneth Karlberg, President and Head of Mobility Services TeliaSonera, said: “We are very proud to be the first operator in the world to offer our customers 4G services. Thanks to the successful cooperation with Huawei, we can offer 4G to our customers in Oslo earlier than originally planned.”
As a leading provider of end-to-end 4G/LTE solutions, Huawei delivered both network infrastructures and services to TeliaSonera, such as access network, core network, operation support system, and network planning and optimization. Its field proven fourth-generation base stations and SAE (System Architecture Evolution) solution ensure the stability of the network and enable fast deployment.
Yu Chengdong, President of Huawei Europe, said: “In partnership with TeliaSonera, Huawei began this journey eleven months ago to introduce the world’s most advanced mobile broadband technology to the residents of Oslo. This milestone, which was achieved in a short period of time, reflects Huawei’s unwavering commitment towards accelerating the commercialization of LTE/SAE solutions. Operators such as TeliaSonera, are now able to to fully realize economic benefits from the many new applications that can only be made possible with ultra broadband services.”
To date, Huawei has constructed over 25 LTE commercial and trial networks and has made more than 3,300 LTE/SAE contributions to 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project).
About Huawei
Huawei is a leader in providing next generation telecommunications networks, and now serves 36 of the world’s top 50 operators, along with over one billion users worldwide. The company is committed to providing innovative and customized products, services and solutions to create long-term value and growth potential for its customers.
Huawei, a leader in providing next-generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, and TeliaSonera, the largest telecoms operator in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, today jointly announced the deployment of the world’s first LTE commercial network in Oslo, Norway. These 4G services offer maximum speeds of up to 100 Mb/s and are approximately 10 times faster than existing 3G networks.
TeliaSonera’s customers will be the first in the world to enjoy simultaneous mobile broadband services such as high definition (HD) video conferencing in mobile environments and a variety of HD video programs via multiple terminal devices; applications that cannot be realized in current 3G networks.
Mr. Kenneth Karlberg, President and Head of Mobility Services TeliaSonera, said: “We are very proud to be the first operator in the world to offer our customers 4G services. Thanks to the successful cooperation with Huawei, we can offer 4G to our customers in Oslo earlier than originally planned.”
As a leading provider of end-to-end 4G/LTE solutions, Huawei delivered both network infrastructures and services to TeliaSonera, such as access network, core network, operation support system, and network planning and optimization. Its field proven fourth-generation base stations and SAE (System Architecture Evolution) solution ensure the stability of the network and enable fast deployment.
Yu Chengdong, President of Huawei Europe, said: “In partnership with TeliaSonera, Huawei began this journey eleven months ago to introduce the world’s most advanced mobile broadband technology to the residents of Oslo. This milestone, which was achieved in a short period of time, reflects Huawei’s unwavering commitment towards accelerating the commercialization of LTE/SAE solutions. Operators such as TeliaSonera, are now able to to fully realize economic benefits from the many new applications that can only be made possible with ultra broadband services.”
To date, Huawei has constructed over 25 LTE commercial and trial networks and has made more than 3,300 LTE/SAE contributions to 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project).
About Huawei
Huawei is a leader in providing next generation telecommunications networks, and now serves 36 of the world’s top 50 operators, along with over one billion users worldwide. The company is committed to providing innovative and customized products, services and solutions to create long-term value and growth potential for its customers.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Competitive Technologies Announces European Regional Distributor
Competitive Technologies, Inc. (NYSE Amex:CTT) announced today that its Geneva, Switzerland-based distributor, Life Episteme SARL, has established a joint venture, Life Episteme Italia srl, with Florence, Italy-based Hospital Consulting SpA, to distribute CTT's pain therapy medical device, Calmare(R) Therapy Treatment throughout Italy.
"Life Episteme is eager to embark on this joint venture with Hospital Consulting,
which is well known in the Italian healthcare sector," said Life Episteme co-founder
Dr. Domenico Pecorini. "This agreement with Hospital Consulting finalizes the first
of several regional joint ventures we have in negotiation as part of our strategy
for distributing CTT's innovative Calmare(R) Therapy Treatment in the global
marketplace."
"Hospital Consulting has the infrastructure in place, and has extensive experience working with healthcare providers throughout Italy," said John B. Nano, CTT's Chairman, President and CEO. "We're pleased to have them join the distribution team for our Calmare(R) Therapy Treatment, which has already successfully treated more than 3,000 patients in Europe and the U.S.
"Pain treatment is moving to the forefront of medical care, globally. In Italy,
Europe's largest university, La Sapienza of Rome, will prominently feature our
Calmare(R) Therapy Treatment at its newly-established medical school dedicated to
the treatment of pain. Hospital Consulting's recognition of important trends in
healthcare confirms our belief that the ability to help patients with debilitating
pain by using our non-invasive pain therapy treatment device is an attractive
alternative for physicians who may be reluctant to prescribe powerful, addictive
narcotics that have been linked to harmful, potentially fatal, adverse side effects.
"Recently, the University of Chicago Medical Center announced that, '... a growing body of evidence is showing that opiate-based painkillers can stimulate the growth and spread of cancer cells.' This makes the rapid introduction of our Calmare(R) Therapy Treatment into the global healthcare marketplace even more compelling. In
fact, similar to the Hippocratic Oath, a fundamental principle taught to all medical
students is 'Primum Non Nocere,' meaning, 'First, do no harm.'"
The Calmare(R) Therapy Treatment is a prime example of CTT's strategy to connect
clinical science to patient care. Developed in Italy by CTT's client, Professor
Giuseppe Marineo, the device was brought to CTT through the efforts of the Zangani
Investor Community(TM) and with the cooperation of Mr. Guiseppe Belcastro, Legal
Counsel for Professor Marineo. The device, with a biophysical rather than a
biochemical approach, uses a multi-processor able to simultaneously treat multiple
pain areas by applying surface electrodes to the skin. CTT has exclusive worldwide
rights to the Calmare(R) Therapy Treatment which has U.S. FDA acceptance and Medical
Device CE Mark certification from the E.U. allowing sales throughout the U.S.,
Europe and several other countries. CTT partner, GEOMC Co., Ltd. of Korea, is
producing the device commercially for worldwide distribution. Several distribution
agreements, including the one with Life Episteme, are in place covering 45 countries
around the world, accounting for nearly 55% of the world's population. For more information on the device, visit www.CalmareTT.com.
About Hospital Consulting, SpA
Based in Florence, Italy, Hospital Consulting SpA provides advisory, management and organizational services to the healthcare and environment sectors. Hospital
Consulting provides hospitals and other health care providers throughout Italy with
valuable training, facility design and development as well as innovative risk
assessment and information technology solutions. For more information, see Hospital
Consulting's website: www.hospital-consulting.it.
About Life Episteme SARL
The privately held Life Episteme SARL based in Geneva, Switzerland, is a medical
device distribution company. The experience of the co-founders, Dr. Domenico
Pecorini, Vincenzo de Bustis Figarola, and Paolo Pepe, has provided the group with
strong relationships in government, business, and technology spheres in various
countries around the world. Visit Dr. Pecorini's website: www.scienceparkrome.eu.
About Life Episteme Italia, srl
This newly formed Joint Venture will benefit from the know-how and contacts of both Hospital Consulting (HC) and Life Episteme SARL group (LEG). The success of the
operation will be pursued sharing competencies and dedicating high-profile
resources. LEG will bring strong relationships, financial services and
internationalization to the partnership. HC will provide decades of presence,
success and experience in the market. The President of Life Episteme Italia (LEI)
will be Dott.ssa Marisa Giampaoli, Managing Director of Hospital Consulting group,
who is well respected at the highest levels of the Italian public and private health
sector. Umberto Marangoni, the Country General Manager for Hospital Consulting, will
serve as LEI's Managing Director. Before becoming the Country General Manager, he
worked many years in the same positions in Italy and abroad, for Ohmeda and Draeger
Medical, the world leaders in Anesthesia and Critical Care. LEI and the Italian
activities will become fully operational beginning January 1, 2010.
About Zangani Investor Community(TM)
The Zangani Investor Community(TM) was created to facilitate scientific and
commercial relationships between American, European and Chinese entities. Visit
Zangani's website: www.zangani.com.
About Professor Guiseppe Marineo
Professor Guiseppe Marineo is a researcher and bioengineer, who advanced theories to reformulate the concept of disease and the corresponding treatment from a
biophysical rather than a biochemical point of view. He is the founder of Delta R&D,
a bioengineering research center with a unique history. Visit Delta R&D's website:
www.deltard.com/eng.
About Competitive Technologies, Inc.
Competitive Technologies, established in 1968, provides distribution, patent and
technology transfer, sales and licensing services focused on the needs of its
customers and matching those requirements with commercially viable product or
technology solutions. CTT is a global leader in identifying, developing and
commercializing innovative products and technologies in life, electronic, nano, and
physical sciences developed by universities, companies and inventors. CTT maximizes
the value of intellectual assets for the benefit of its customers, clients and
shareholders. Visit CTT's website: www.competitivetech.net.
Statements made about our future expectations are forward-looking statements and
subject to risks and uncertainties as described in our most recent Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2009, filed with the SEC on October 27, 2009,
and other filings with the SEC, and are subject to change at any time. Our actual
results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. We undertake
no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement.
"Life Episteme is eager to embark on this joint venture with Hospital Consulting,
which is well known in the Italian healthcare sector," said Life Episteme co-founder
Dr. Domenico Pecorini. "This agreement with Hospital Consulting finalizes the first
of several regional joint ventures we have in negotiation as part of our strategy
for distributing CTT's innovative Calmare(R) Therapy Treatment in the global
marketplace."
"Hospital Consulting has the infrastructure in place, and has extensive experience working with healthcare providers throughout Italy," said John B. Nano, CTT's Chairman, President and CEO. "We're pleased to have them join the distribution team for our Calmare(R) Therapy Treatment, which has already successfully treated more than 3,000 patients in Europe and the U.S.
"Pain treatment is moving to the forefront of medical care, globally. In Italy,
Europe's largest university, La Sapienza of Rome, will prominently feature our
Calmare(R) Therapy Treatment at its newly-established medical school dedicated to
the treatment of pain. Hospital Consulting's recognition of important trends in
healthcare confirms our belief that the ability to help patients with debilitating
pain by using our non-invasive pain therapy treatment device is an attractive
alternative for physicians who may be reluctant to prescribe powerful, addictive
narcotics that have been linked to harmful, potentially fatal, adverse side effects.
"Recently, the University of Chicago Medical Center announced that, '... a growing body of evidence is showing that opiate-based painkillers can stimulate the growth and spread of cancer cells.' This makes the rapid introduction of our Calmare(R) Therapy Treatment into the global healthcare marketplace even more compelling. In
fact, similar to the Hippocratic Oath, a fundamental principle taught to all medical
students is 'Primum Non Nocere,' meaning, 'First, do no harm.'"
The Calmare(R) Therapy Treatment is a prime example of CTT's strategy to connect
clinical science to patient care. Developed in Italy by CTT's client, Professor
Giuseppe Marineo, the device was brought to CTT through the efforts of the Zangani
Investor Community(TM) and with the cooperation of Mr. Guiseppe Belcastro, Legal
Counsel for Professor Marineo. The device, with a biophysical rather than a
biochemical approach, uses a multi-processor able to simultaneously treat multiple
pain areas by applying surface electrodes to the skin. CTT has exclusive worldwide
rights to the Calmare(R) Therapy Treatment which has U.S. FDA acceptance and Medical
Device CE Mark certification from the E.U. allowing sales throughout the U.S.,
Europe and several other countries. CTT partner, GEOMC Co., Ltd. of Korea, is
producing the device commercially for worldwide distribution. Several distribution
agreements, including the one with Life Episteme, are in place covering 45 countries
around the world, accounting for nearly 55% of the world's population. For more information on the device, visit www.CalmareTT.com.
About Hospital Consulting, SpA
Based in Florence, Italy, Hospital Consulting SpA provides advisory, management and organizational services to the healthcare and environment sectors. Hospital
Consulting provides hospitals and other health care providers throughout Italy with
valuable training, facility design and development as well as innovative risk
assessment and information technology solutions. For more information, see Hospital
Consulting's website: www.hospital-consulting.it.
About Life Episteme SARL
The privately held Life Episteme SARL based in Geneva, Switzerland, is a medical
device distribution company. The experience of the co-founders, Dr. Domenico
Pecorini, Vincenzo de Bustis Figarola, and Paolo Pepe, has provided the group with
strong relationships in government, business, and technology spheres in various
countries around the world. Visit Dr. Pecorini's website: www.scienceparkrome.eu.
About Life Episteme Italia, srl
This newly formed Joint Venture will benefit from the know-how and contacts of both Hospital Consulting (HC) and Life Episteme SARL group (LEG). The success of the
operation will be pursued sharing competencies and dedicating high-profile
resources. LEG will bring strong relationships, financial services and
internationalization to the partnership. HC will provide decades of presence,
success and experience in the market. The President of Life Episteme Italia (LEI)
will be Dott.ssa Marisa Giampaoli, Managing Director of Hospital Consulting group,
who is well respected at the highest levels of the Italian public and private health
sector. Umberto Marangoni, the Country General Manager for Hospital Consulting, will
serve as LEI's Managing Director. Before becoming the Country General Manager, he
worked many years in the same positions in Italy and abroad, for Ohmeda and Draeger
Medical, the world leaders in Anesthesia and Critical Care. LEI and the Italian
activities will become fully operational beginning January 1, 2010.
About Zangani Investor Community(TM)
The Zangani Investor Community(TM) was created to facilitate scientific and
commercial relationships between American, European and Chinese entities. Visit
Zangani's website: www.zangani.com.
About Professor Guiseppe Marineo
Professor Guiseppe Marineo is a researcher and bioengineer, who advanced theories to reformulate the concept of disease and the corresponding treatment from a
biophysical rather than a biochemical point of view. He is the founder of Delta R&D,
a bioengineering research center with a unique history. Visit Delta R&D's website:
www.deltard.com/eng.
About Competitive Technologies, Inc.
Competitive Technologies, established in 1968, provides distribution, patent and
technology transfer, sales and licensing services focused on the needs of its
customers and matching those requirements with commercially viable product or
technology solutions. CTT is a global leader in identifying, developing and
commercializing innovative products and technologies in life, electronic, nano, and
physical sciences developed by universities, companies and inventors. CTT maximizes
the value of intellectual assets for the benefit of its customers, clients and
shareholders. Visit CTT's website: www.competitivetech.net.
Statements made about our future expectations are forward-looking statements and
subject to risks and uncertainties as described in our most recent Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2009, filed with the SEC on October 27, 2009,
and other filings with the SEC, and are subject to change at any time. Our actual
results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. We undertake
no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement.
Collaboration between Genencor and Goodyear results in breakthrough technology for tires made with renewable biomass
Collaboration between Genencor and Goodyear results in breakthrough technology for tires made with renewable biomass
The world’s first Goodyear concept tires made with BioIsoprenea technology arrive in Copenhagen in time for United Nations Climate Change Conference
The world’s first Goodyear concept demonstration tires made with BioIsopreneä technology made their debut in Copenhagen, Denmark, this week. BioIsopreneä is a breakthrough alternative to replace a petrochemically produced ingredient in the manufacture of synthetic rubber with renewable biomass. One Goodyear tire will be on display at a lounge in the common departure area at the Copenhagen International Airport throughout December 21, while the other tire will make appearances at several special events during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP 15) through December. The tires made with BioIsopreneä are the result of a collaboration between Genencor, a division of Danisco, and Goodyear, one of the world’s largest tire companies and a leader in innovation.
“We are literally rolling out an important milestone in our collaboration with Goodyear on a breakthrough biochemical,” says Tom Knutzen, CEO of Danisco. “BioIsopreneä is an excellent example of Danisco’s leadership in industrial biotechnology through our Genencor division.”
“Goodyear’s first concept tire manufactured with BioIsopreneä shows the enormous progress we have made in using a bio-based alternative to the petroleum-derived raw material isoprene in our production process,” says Jesse Roeck, Director, Global Materials Science at Goodyear. “The development of BioIsopreneä could help us reduce industry impact on the environment by applying renewable raw materials in the supply chain and making Goodyear less dependent on oil-derived products.”
BioIsoprene product is derived from renewable raw materials, and represents a significant development within the biochemical and rubber industries. Aside from synthetic rubber for tire production, traditional isoprene is used for the production of a wide range of products, such as surgical gloves, golf balls and adhesives. Thus, the potential for BioIsoprene product is substantial.
Schedule of events for the world’s first Goodyear concept tires made from BioIsopreneä technology in Copenhagen, Denmark:
Through December 21 there will be a tire in the common departure area at The Copenhagen International AirportDecember 12-13 there will be a tire at the Bright Green exhibition in the Danisco boothDecember 17 a tire will be on display at the “Solutions of Industrial Biotechnology” Conference & Showcase, Confederation of Danish Industry (DI)A tire will also be on display in the Danisco headquarters’ reception area through December, please contact Danisco for an appointment (jennifer.hutchins@danisco.com)
Genencor and Goodyear first announced their research collaboration on the technology and integrated production system for BioIsoprene™ product in September 2008. The two organizations collaborate on designing an integrated production system for BioIsoprene™ product, and are on schedule to meet both technological and commercial milestones within the agreement. Commercial availability of the product is planned for 2013.
About Goodyear
Goodyear employs approximately 70,000 people and manufactures its products in more than 60 facilities in 25 countries around the world.
Goodyear’s innovations have set automotive standards for more than 100 years. Goodyear has been the pioneer of the innovative safety technology known as RunOnFlat, which allows a driver to continue on a journey with a punctured tire. Goodyear is the world’s leading manufacturer of RunOnFlat tires, with applications on various BMWs, the award winning Mini, Mercedes-Benz high performance cars, Opel and other brands. Additional Goodyear RunOnFlat fitments are on the horizon, as the company’s designers are working with multiple automobile manufacturers on more than 150 RunOnFlat projects.
The world’s first Goodyear concept tires made with BioIsoprenea technology arrive in Copenhagen in time for United Nations Climate Change Conference
The world’s first Goodyear concept demonstration tires made with BioIsopreneä technology made their debut in Copenhagen, Denmark, this week. BioIsopreneä is a breakthrough alternative to replace a petrochemically produced ingredient in the manufacture of synthetic rubber with renewable biomass. One Goodyear tire will be on display at a lounge in the common departure area at the Copenhagen International Airport throughout December 21, while the other tire will make appearances at several special events during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP 15) through December. The tires made with BioIsopreneä are the result of a collaboration between Genencor, a division of Danisco, and Goodyear, one of the world’s largest tire companies and a leader in innovation.
“We are literally rolling out an important milestone in our collaboration with Goodyear on a breakthrough biochemical,” says Tom Knutzen, CEO of Danisco. “BioIsopreneä is an excellent example of Danisco’s leadership in industrial biotechnology through our Genencor division.”
“Goodyear’s first concept tire manufactured with BioIsopreneä shows the enormous progress we have made in using a bio-based alternative to the petroleum-derived raw material isoprene in our production process,” says Jesse Roeck, Director, Global Materials Science at Goodyear. “The development of BioIsopreneä could help us reduce industry impact on the environment by applying renewable raw materials in the supply chain and making Goodyear less dependent on oil-derived products.”
BioIsoprene product is derived from renewable raw materials, and represents a significant development within the biochemical and rubber industries. Aside from synthetic rubber for tire production, traditional isoprene is used for the production of a wide range of products, such as surgical gloves, golf balls and adhesives. Thus, the potential for BioIsoprene product is substantial.
Schedule of events for the world’s first Goodyear concept tires made from BioIsopreneä technology in Copenhagen, Denmark:
Through December 21 there will be a tire in the common departure area at The Copenhagen International AirportDecember 12-13 there will be a tire at the Bright Green exhibition in the Danisco boothDecember 17 a tire will be on display at the “Solutions of Industrial Biotechnology” Conference & Showcase, Confederation of Danish Industry (DI)A tire will also be on display in the Danisco headquarters’ reception area through December, please contact Danisco for an appointment (jennifer.hutchins@danisco.com)
Genencor and Goodyear first announced their research collaboration on the technology and integrated production system for BioIsoprene™ product in September 2008. The two organizations collaborate on designing an integrated production system for BioIsoprene™ product, and are on schedule to meet both technological and commercial milestones within the agreement. Commercial availability of the product is planned for 2013.
About Goodyear
Goodyear employs approximately 70,000 people and manufactures its products in more than 60 facilities in 25 countries around the world.
Goodyear’s innovations have set automotive standards for more than 100 years. Goodyear has been the pioneer of the innovative safety technology known as RunOnFlat, which allows a driver to continue on a journey with a punctured tire. Goodyear is the world’s leading manufacturer of RunOnFlat tires, with applications on various BMWs, the award winning Mini, Mercedes-Benz high performance cars, Opel and other brands. Additional Goodyear RunOnFlat fitments are on the horizon, as the company’s designers are working with multiple automobile manufacturers on more than 150 RunOnFlat projects.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
NICE Wins 2009 Asia Pacific Frost & Sullivan Growth Strategy Leadership Award in the Call Monitoring Systems Market
Leading analyst firm validates the technological innovation, leadership, and exceptional growth rates of NICE SmartCenter in the region.
NICE Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: NICE), a leading global provider of advanced solutions that enable organizations to extract Insight from Interactions to drive performance, today announced that it has won the Asia Pacific Frost & Sullivan Growth Strategy Leadership Award in the Call Monitoring Systems Market. According to Frost & Sullivan, a leading industry analyst firm, the Call Monitoring Systems Market includes recording, quality management and analytics solutions in the contact center segment
Kiran Kumar, research analyst at Frost & Sullivan, Asia Pacific ICT Enterprise Practice, said, "NICE Systems has grown its Call Monitoring business remarkably in the last year. A well managed acquisition strategy and a robust partner network have driven its continued success in the Asia Pacific region.
In the highly competitive segment of the Call Monitoring market, the vendor has effectively penetrated many countries in the region with notable successes in the financial services sector in China, outsourcing sector in India and the Philippines as well as newer inroads into Malaysia and Singapore markets. Growing at a rate well above the market, NICE systems rightfully claims this award in Growth Strategy Leadership."
NICE's leadership in the Asia Pacific region is based on the success of NICE SmartCenter, a suite of business applications for contact center and enterprise customers. The suite enables organizations to stay on top of growing customer expectations across multiple touch-points and improve the overall customer experience, operational efficiency and compliance with regulations. It includes unique analytics-driven business solutions for addressing specific key business challenges such as first call resolution, average handle time, churn, and improving customer satisfaction. The NICE business solutions help companies around the world, including Asia Pacific, improve contact center performance by enabling them to leverage call recordings for improved agent performance or for improved efficiency. NICE SmartCenter does all this and more by integrating recording, quality management, workforce management and interaction analytics solutions into an end-to-end, integrated suite.
The Frost & Sullivan Award for Growth Strategy Leadership is presented each year to the company that has demonstrated an exceptional growth strategy within the industry. Having demonstrated high growth rates, NICE was chosen as the winner for having bolstered its position in the Asia Pacific market during the
base year and for having a strategy that will have a lasting impact on the market. The award is based on specific criteria, such as technological innovation and leadership, a unique sales strategy, as well as strategic
mergers, acquisitions, or joint ventures to penetrate new markets, and is based on 2008 revenues.
"We are happy to see further validation of the NICE SmartCenter strategy for enabling companies to leverage their contact center call recordings for deploying business applications that help them improve the business performance of their call centers and enterprise," said Doron Ben-Sira, President, NICE APAC. "The Asia Pacific region is an important one for NICE. We are committed to continue working with our business partners in the region on delivering the NICE value-add to our growing base of joint customers."
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's Team Research, Growth Consulting and Growth Team Membership empower clients to create a growth focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements effective growth strategies. Frost &
Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan's Growth Partnerships, visit http://www.frost.com/ .
About NICE Systems
NICE Systems (Nasdaq: NICE) is the leading provider of Insight from Interactions solutions and value-added services, powered by advanced analytics of unstructured multimedia content - from telephony, web, radio and video communications. NICE's solutions address the needs of the enterprise and security markets, enabling organizations to operate in an insightful and proactive manner, and take immediate action to improve business and operational performance and ensure safety and security. NICE has over 24,000 customers in
more than 150 countries, including over 85 of the Fortune 100 companies. More information is available at http://www.nice.com .
Trademark Note: 360 degree View, Alpha, ACTIMIZE, Actimize logo, Customer Feedback, Dispatcher Assessment, Encorder, eNiceLink, Executive Connect, Executive Insight, FAST, FAST alpha Blue, FAST alpha Silver, FAST Video Security, Freedom, Freedom Connect, IEX, Interaction Capture Unit, Insight from
Interactions, Investigator, Last Message Replay, Mirra, My Universe, NICE, NICE logo, NICE Analyzer, NiceCall, NiceCall Focus, NiceCLS, NICE Inform, NICE Learning, NiceLog, NICE Perform, NiceScreen, NICE SmartCenter, NICE Storage Center, NiceTrack, NiceUniverse, NiceUniverse Compact, NiceVision, NiceVision Alto, NiceVision Analytics, NiceVision ControlCenter, NiceVision Digital, NiceVision Harmony, NiceVision Mobile, NiceVision Net, NiceVision NVSAT, NiceVision Pro, Performix, Playback Organizer, Renaissance, Scenario Replay, ScreenSense, Tienna, TotalNet, TotalView, Universe, Wordnet are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NICE Systems Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on the current expectations of the management of NICE Systems Ltd. (the Company) only, and are subject to a number of risk factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in technology and market requirements, decline in demand for the Company's products, inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications, difficulties or delays in absorbing and integrating acquired operations, products, technologies and personnel, loss of market share, pressure on pricing resulting from competition, and inability to maintain certain marketing and distribution arrangements, which could cause the actual results or performance of the Company to differ materially from those described therein. We undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting the company, refer
to the Company's reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
NICE Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: NICE), a leading global provider of advanced solutions that enable organizations to extract Insight from Interactions to drive performance, today announced that it has won the Asia Pacific Frost & Sullivan Growth Strategy Leadership Award in the Call Monitoring Systems Market. According to Frost & Sullivan, a leading industry analyst firm, the Call Monitoring Systems Market includes recording, quality management and analytics solutions in the contact center segment
Kiran Kumar, research analyst at Frost & Sullivan, Asia Pacific ICT Enterprise Practice, said, "NICE Systems has grown its Call Monitoring business remarkably in the last year. A well managed acquisition strategy and a robust partner network have driven its continued success in the Asia Pacific region.
In the highly competitive segment of the Call Monitoring market, the vendor has effectively penetrated many countries in the region with notable successes in the financial services sector in China, outsourcing sector in India and the Philippines as well as newer inroads into Malaysia and Singapore markets. Growing at a rate well above the market, NICE systems rightfully claims this award in Growth Strategy Leadership."
NICE's leadership in the Asia Pacific region is based on the success of NICE SmartCenter, a suite of business applications for contact center and enterprise customers. The suite enables organizations to stay on top of growing customer expectations across multiple touch-points and improve the overall customer experience, operational efficiency and compliance with regulations. It includes unique analytics-driven business solutions for addressing specific key business challenges such as first call resolution, average handle time, churn, and improving customer satisfaction. The NICE business solutions help companies around the world, including Asia Pacific, improve contact center performance by enabling them to leverage call recordings for improved agent performance or for improved efficiency. NICE SmartCenter does all this and more by integrating recording, quality management, workforce management and interaction analytics solutions into an end-to-end, integrated suite.
The Frost & Sullivan Award for Growth Strategy Leadership is presented each year to the company that has demonstrated an exceptional growth strategy within the industry. Having demonstrated high growth rates, NICE was chosen as the winner for having bolstered its position in the Asia Pacific market during the
base year and for having a strategy that will have a lasting impact on the market. The award is based on specific criteria, such as technological innovation and leadership, a unique sales strategy, as well as strategic
mergers, acquisitions, or joint ventures to penetrate new markets, and is based on 2008 revenues.
"We are happy to see further validation of the NICE SmartCenter strategy for enabling companies to leverage their contact center call recordings for deploying business applications that help them improve the business performance of their call centers and enterprise," said Doron Ben-Sira, President, NICE APAC. "The Asia Pacific region is an important one for NICE. We are committed to continue working with our business partners in the region on delivering the NICE value-add to our growing base of joint customers."
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's Team Research, Growth Consulting and Growth Team Membership empower clients to create a growth focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements effective growth strategies. Frost &
Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan's Growth Partnerships, visit http://www.frost.com/ .
About NICE Systems
NICE Systems (Nasdaq: NICE) is the leading provider of Insight from Interactions solutions and value-added services, powered by advanced analytics of unstructured multimedia content - from telephony, web, radio and video communications. NICE's solutions address the needs of the enterprise and security markets, enabling organizations to operate in an insightful and proactive manner, and take immediate action to improve business and operational performance and ensure safety and security. NICE has over 24,000 customers in
more than 150 countries, including over 85 of the Fortune 100 companies. More information is available at http://www.nice.com .
Trademark Note: 360 degree View, Alpha, ACTIMIZE, Actimize logo, Customer Feedback, Dispatcher Assessment, Encorder, eNiceLink, Executive Connect, Executive Insight, FAST, FAST alpha Blue, FAST alpha Silver, FAST Video Security, Freedom, Freedom Connect, IEX, Interaction Capture Unit, Insight from
Interactions, Investigator, Last Message Replay, Mirra, My Universe, NICE, NICE logo, NICE Analyzer, NiceCall, NiceCall Focus, NiceCLS, NICE Inform, NICE Learning, NiceLog, NICE Perform, NiceScreen, NICE SmartCenter, NICE Storage Center, NiceTrack, NiceUniverse, NiceUniverse Compact, NiceVision, NiceVision Alto, NiceVision Analytics, NiceVision ControlCenter, NiceVision Digital, NiceVision Harmony, NiceVision Mobile, NiceVision Net, NiceVision NVSAT, NiceVision Pro, Performix, Playback Organizer, Renaissance, Scenario Replay, ScreenSense, Tienna, TotalNet, TotalView, Universe, Wordnet are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NICE Systems Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on the current expectations of the management of NICE Systems Ltd. (the Company) only, and are subject to a number of risk factors and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in technology and market requirements, decline in demand for the Company's products, inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications, difficulties or delays in absorbing and integrating acquired operations, products, technologies and personnel, loss of market share, pressure on pricing resulting from competition, and inability to maintain certain marketing and distribution arrangements, which could cause the actual results or performance of the Company to differ materially from those described therein. We undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting the company, refer
to the Company's reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
JOHNNIE WALKER SET TO SHAKE UP THE IMPORTED WHISKEY MARKET WITH NEW CAMPAIGN
Invest 200 million Baht to celebrate 10th anniversary of the “Keep Walking” campaign by launching new TVC and marketing effort
Johnnie Walker Black Label, the world’s number one Scotch whisky, has decided to allocate 200 million Baht to a new marketing campaign to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the famous “Keep Walking” campaign. Johnnie Walker is ready to shake up the imported whisky market with its new TVC for 2009-10 called “The Pact 2.0” which will be accompanied by an additional 360-degree marketing effort that will run over the coming year. The aim of this aggressive marketing push from the whisky brand is to reiterate and consolidate the real identity of the brand in the minds of its target. Johnnie Walker Black Label expects to keep strong hold on its market leadership and in fact gain an additional 5% of market share by year-end.
Mr. Isaress Sundravorakul, Marketing Manager of Diageo Moet Hennessy (Thailand) Ltd, said that on the “occasion of the 10th anniversary of the “Keep Walking” campaign as established by Johnnie Walker - responsible for successfully delivering an authentic brand identity and communicating a sense of leadership, a sense of being a pioneer - it is an strategic move for Johnnie Walker to celebrate that achievement through this new campaign which presents that same pioneering spirit of leadership through its marketing and communications initiative.”
The “Keep Walking” campaign came about through the extensive research and study of the Johnnie Walker target consumer. Insights from these studies revealed a deep emotional connection this consumer felt with regards to achieving progress in their lives. Based upon this revelation a communication structure was developed to convey an authentic brand identity. For the last 10 years Johnnie Walker has continued along the same marketing strategy of focusing on progress. But now that concept of progress is being extended from the success of an individual to the success of groups and promoting a sense of social responsibility. The guiding philosophy of the new campaign will still be based upon “Keep Walking”, namely the concepts of leadership and progress, but at the same time the execution will continually be aware of the preferences and needs of the consumer of today.
Television will remain the major channel of communication with the consumer due to its impact and efficiency. Television is able to transmit information to a mass audience unlike any other medium and also allows the consumer to explicitly visualize the essence behind the brand thus creating a close emotional engagement between the target and the brand.
The new campaign direction “The Pact 2.0” will be made up of a series of TVCs, first among which is “Pact Between Men” based upon the central philosophy of “Keep Walking”, this TVC has already enjoyed great success within the Asian region over the last year. The campaign is intended to appeal to the target audiences’ determination to fulfill their dreams but at the same time to focus on their friendships, and in fact to progress together and support each other. This philosophy has received a very positive response from the target customers, hence prompting Johnnie Walker to develop the TVC into a series.
“The Pact 2.0” consists of 2 episodes, wherein the main character Jason, a successful architect, along with his friends is in the midst of taking progressive steps. However, they find a number of obstacles in their path forcing them to find creative and unexpected solutions in order to “keep walking”. This TVC attempts to showcase the values of community and the relationships between individuals. The feedback from previews has been very encouraging. The target audience relates strongly to the characters and their dedication to their friends and community, which in turn reflects the brand identity. The positive feedback assures Mr. Isaress that this TVC will touch a chord with the target audience and be able to successfully communicate the brand image as it stands today.
In addition to the TVC, Johnnie Walker will expand this new conception of “Keep Walking” to encompass a larger campaign that will include additional 360-degree marketing activities including on-premise marketing, PR and a particular emphasis on digital media, which is set to play a major part in campaign activities this year, thanks to its popularity with the target audience. In fact, over the last five years Johnnie Walker has built up its digital base to more than 200,000 customers. The importance of digital to Johnnie Walker’s strategy is even evidenced in the very name of the campaign. “The Pact 2.0” is evocative of the new wave of digital communication which has been branded ‘2.0’.
In previous years the division between budget allocations to traditional media versus digital media was 90:10, but this year it will change to 70:30. This increased budget is intended to improve the structure and capacity of Johnnie Walker’s digital offerings, be it in advertising or other activities, such as new innovative communication tools like digital widgets and engagement games, which have not been used by other brands. It is becoming increasingly important to reach out to the target customer through digital avenues, as it is no longer possible to connect with customers solely through traditional media. This shift in focus also reaffirms Johnnie Walker’s leadership in the field of digital media.
Johnnie Walker believes strongly that this new TVC and marketing push will help reinforce Johnnie Walker Black Label’s image as the no. 1 Scotch whisky and strengthen their market leadership, a coveted position they have held over the last 20 years.
The new Johnnie Walker TVC campaign “The pact 2.0” will be broadcast on national television from Monday 16th November 2009; Check out new digital innovations on www.blackplanetcitizen.com.
Johnnie Walker Black Label, the world’s number one Scotch whisky, has decided to allocate 200 million Baht to a new marketing campaign to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the famous “Keep Walking” campaign. Johnnie Walker is ready to shake up the imported whisky market with its new TVC for 2009-10 called “The Pact 2.0” which will be accompanied by an additional 360-degree marketing effort that will run over the coming year. The aim of this aggressive marketing push from the whisky brand is to reiterate and consolidate the real identity of the brand in the minds of its target. Johnnie Walker Black Label expects to keep strong hold on its market leadership and in fact gain an additional 5% of market share by year-end.
Mr. Isaress Sundravorakul, Marketing Manager of Diageo Moet Hennessy (Thailand) Ltd, said that on the “occasion of the 10th anniversary of the “Keep Walking” campaign as established by Johnnie Walker - responsible for successfully delivering an authentic brand identity and communicating a sense of leadership, a sense of being a pioneer - it is an strategic move for Johnnie Walker to celebrate that achievement through this new campaign which presents that same pioneering spirit of leadership through its marketing and communications initiative.”
The “Keep Walking” campaign came about through the extensive research and study of the Johnnie Walker target consumer. Insights from these studies revealed a deep emotional connection this consumer felt with regards to achieving progress in their lives. Based upon this revelation a communication structure was developed to convey an authentic brand identity. For the last 10 years Johnnie Walker has continued along the same marketing strategy of focusing on progress. But now that concept of progress is being extended from the success of an individual to the success of groups and promoting a sense of social responsibility. The guiding philosophy of the new campaign will still be based upon “Keep Walking”, namely the concepts of leadership and progress, but at the same time the execution will continually be aware of the preferences and needs of the consumer of today.
Television will remain the major channel of communication with the consumer due to its impact and efficiency. Television is able to transmit information to a mass audience unlike any other medium and also allows the consumer to explicitly visualize the essence behind the brand thus creating a close emotional engagement between the target and the brand.
The new campaign direction “The Pact 2.0” will be made up of a series of TVCs, first among which is “Pact Between Men” based upon the central philosophy of “Keep Walking”, this TVC has already enjoyed great success within the Asian region over the last year. The campaign is intended to appeal to the target audiences’ determination to fulfill their dreams but at the same time to focus on their friendships, and in fact to progress together and support each other. This philosophy has received a very positive response from the target customers, hence prompting Johnnie Walker to develop the TVC into a series.
“The Pact 2.0” consists of 2 episodes, wherein the main character Jason, a successful architect, along with his friends is in the midst of taking progressive steps. However, they find a number of obstacles in their path forcing them to find creative and unexpected solutions in order to “keep walking”. This TVC attempts to showcase the values of community and the relationships between individuals. The feedback from previews has been very encouraging. The target audience relates strongly to the characters and their dedication to their friends and community, which in turn reflects the brand identity. The positive feedback assures Mr. Isaress that this TVC will touch a chord with the target audience and be able to successfully communicate the brand image as it stands today.
In addition to the TVC, Johnnie Walker will expand this new conception of “Keep Walking” to encompass a larger campaign that will include additional 360-degree marketing activities including on-premise marketing, PR and a particular emphasis on digital media, which is set to play a major part in campaign activities this year, thanks to its popularity with the target audience. In fact, over the last five years Johnnie Walker has built up its digital base to more than 200,000 customers. The importance of digital to Johnnie Walker’s strategy is even evidenced in the very name of the campaign. “The Pact 2.0” is evocative of the new wave of digital communication which has been branded ‘2.0’.
In previous years the division between budget allocations to traditional media versus digital media was 90:10, but this year it will change to 70:30. This increased budget is intended to improve the structure and capacity of Johnnie Walker’s digital offerings, be it in advertising or other activities, such as new innovative communication tools like digital widgets and engagement games, which have not been used by other brands. It is becoming increasingly important to reach out to the target customer through digital avenues, as it is no longer possible to connect with customers solely through traditional media. This shift in focus also reaffirms Johnnie Walker’s leadership in the field of digital media.
Johnnie Walker believes strongly that this new TVC and marketing push will help reinforce Johnnie Walker Black Label’s image as the no. 1 Scotch whisky and strengthen their market leadership, a coveted position they have held over the last 20 years.
The new Johnnie Walker TVC campaign “The pact 2.0” will be broadcast on national television from Monday 16th November 2009; Check out new digital innovations on www.blackplanetcitizen.com.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Using business technologies to detect fraud
Has your company faced a case of fraud from within? If not, think about the following cases.
An accounts-payable clerk makes fictitious entries to steal money from the company to pay off his debts; a rogue trader creates false entries and counterparty accounts to mainipulate his trading position so as to receive a bigger bonus; or an accounting employee pays expense claims for employees who are not on the employee master file.
These are only three among countless potential fraud situations that could devastate a company, not lonly from a financial perspective, but also in terms of its loss of reputation.
So how do you manage fraud risk proactively - before suspicions are raised? How do you use widely available business technologies to create better anti-fraud programmes or for early identification of suspicious transactions?
Some companies invest heavily in various information-management technologies, such as business intelligence, data warehousing, data mining, customer relationship management, analytics, integration and content management news. These technologies help generate different typres of data used mainly in operational and management processes. They also make report generation more efficient and provide analytical views from existing data. Companies can generate weekly management-information-system data, bi-weekly sales forcasts, or calculate monthly profit margins easily and automatically. new reports or queries can also be generated simply, if data are available.
A number of these information-management technologies can be employed in different ways, one of which is to create a fraud-detection process to highlight suspicious transactions. You can use these technologies to perform in-depth analyses on large volumes of data embedded in your company's key sub-ledgers, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, revenue, inventory, payroll and fixed assets.
To get started, here are few simple steps:
Know what you have. Make an inventory of what systems you have in your environment (reporting tools, business intelligence, extract, transform and load, enterprise resource planning, customer relations managementm identity management and so on).
Undersyand your data. What types of data are generated in your environment? Is the data correct? Is it consistent across systems? If not, what needs to be done to improve the data quality? Is manual reconciliation required? How long will the process take?
Create exception reports for various fraud scenarios. To perform an in-depth analysis, use your information-management technologies to match existing data against fraud scenarios (for example, to identify an employee whose address is similar to a vendor's, or identify payments made to two invoices with the same reference numbers). List the exception reports each management division must monitor. These will highlight abnormal transactions that require investigation. Systems can even be configured to generate alert messages or automaltically send a notification to a supervisor or upper management, to enable prompt investigation of suspicious transactions.
Existing technologies can be used to detect fraud. The key to success is the availability of good-quality data. If such data is not available, it is time to discuss why data that is important to fraud monitoring does not exist in your environment. This will provide good feedback on which to base performance improvement in your operations.
If you take the suggested steps immediately, they will improve your ability to create a robust fraud-monitoring mechanism in your organisation.
An accounts-payable clerk makes fictitious entries to steal money from the company to pay off his debts; a rogue trader creates false entries and counterparty accounts to mainipulate his trading position so as to receive a bigger bonus; or an accounting employee pays expense claims for employees who are not on the employee master file.
These are only three among countless potential fraud situations that could devastate a company, not lonly from a financial perspective, but also in terms of its loss of reputation.
So how do you manage fraud risk proactively - before suspicions are raised? How do you use widely available business technologies to create better anti-fraud programmes or for early identification of suspicious transactions?
Some companies invest heavily in various information-management technologies, such as business intelligence, data warehousing, data mining, customer relationship management, analytics, integration and content management news. These technologies help generate different typres of data used mainly in operational and management processes. They also make report generation more efficient and provide analytical views from existing data. Companies can generate weekly management-information-system data, bi-weekly sales forcasts, or calculate monthly profit margins easily and automatically. new reports or queries can also be generated simply, if data are available.
A number of these information-management technologies can be employed in different ways, one of which is to create a fraud-detection process to highlight suspicious transactions. You can use these technologies to perform in-depth analyses on large volumes of data embedded in your company's key sub-ledgers, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, revenue, inventory, payroll and fixed assets.
To get started, here are few simple steps:
Know what you have. Make an inventory of what systems you have in your environment (reporting tools, business intelligence, extract, transform and load, enterprise resource planning, customer relations managementm identity management and so on).
Undersyand your data. What types of data are generated in your environment? Is the data correct? Is it consistent across systems? If not, what needs to be done to improve the data quality? Is manual reconciliation required? How long will the process take?
Create exception reports for various fraud scenarios. To perform an in-depth analysis, use your information-management technologies to match existing data against fraud scenarios (for example, to identify an employee whose address is similar to a vendor's, or identify payments made to two invoices with the same reference numbers). List the exception reports each management division must monitor. These will highlight abnormal transactions that require investigation. Systems can even be configured to generate alert messages or automaltically send a notification to a supervisor or upper management, to enable prompt investigation of suspicious transactions.
Existing technologies can be used to detect fraud. The key to success is the availability of good-quality data. If such data is not available, it is time to discuss why data that is important to fraud monitoring does not exist in your environment. This will provide good feedback on which to base performance improvement in your operations.
If you take the suggested steps immediately, they will improve your ability to create a robust fraud-monitoring mechanism in your organisation.
Magnificent seven
In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
XID Technologies expands into Asian market
Advanced technologies with commodity standard-based hardware bring expensive face-recognition engineering closer to users as an access control in everyday working life.
The technology developed by XID Technologies, a face-recognition technology company, expands its foothold out of Singapore for the first time.
Jason Chaikin, Vice President World sales, said its patented face synthesis technology combined with commodity hardware and industry standard-based processor which is used in netbooks,brings face recognition-based access control devices to the commercial market.
Currently, most of the major players in facial recognition dominate in homeland security and government markets.Entering the commercial area will open new windows of opportunity.
The XID XS PRO-1000 device enables employees to use their company ID cards to touch the device while looking into a built-in camera and then the system will verify whether the ID information on a database server matches the face on the camera.
All verification processing takes less than three seconds and it is simple to install as a plug-and-play. However, compared with normal fingerprint access control systems on the market the cost of this system is around 30 percent higher but it is more accurate than fingerprint recognition which has an average 10 percent error rate.
In some workplaces which have a lot of employees - such as construction sites or factories - where they have to wait in long queues, if the system slows down it can affect productivity. The system also helps to resolve "buddypunching" time attendance by the em-ployees, which can cause company losses.
Carmelo Pistorio, executive chairman of XiD Technologies, said that it is aiming to make face-recognition a global easy access control by 2012.
Currently, fingerprint recognition dominates the biometric market. According to ABI research, in 2008 the biometric market worldwide reached $561 million while fingerprint recognition was worth $349 million, facial recognition was worth $92 million and iris recognition was worth $47 million. Both fingerprint and facial recognition had a combined growth rate from 2008-2013 forecast at 22 percent and were worth $931 million and $251 million, respectively.
This shows how huge the market is and the company decided to expand it reach into China, Indonesia and Vietnam as well as Thailand after spending six years of research and development in Singapore and using the country as test bed for the product technology which was used in a customer site with over 40,000 workers.
Adisorn Keawbucha, CEO, DataOne Asia (Thailand), the exclusive partner for XID, said the product can complement with its skill in integration and implementation service with existing banking and finance customers.
The solution will help to expand new market customers base that require high security areas like power plants, prisons,pharmaceutical labs and other high security zones or sensitive areas.
The technology developed by XID Technologies, a face-recognition technology company, expands its foothold out of Singapore for the first time.
Jason Chaikin, Vice President World sales, said its patented face synthesis technology combined with commodity hardware and industry standard-based processor which is used in netbooks,brings face recognition-based access control devices to the commercial market.
Currently, most of the major players in facial recognition dominate in homeland security and government markets.Entering the commercial area will open new windows of opportunity.
The XID XS PRO-1000 device enables employees to use their company ID cards to touch the device while looking into a built-in camera and then the system will verify whether the ID information on a database server matches the face on the camera.
All verification processing takes less than three seconds and it is simple to install as a plug-and-play. However, compared with normal fingerprint access control systems on the market the cost of this system is around 30 percent higher but it is more accurate than fingerprint recognition which has an average 10 percent error rate.
In some workplaces which have a lot of employees - such as construction sites or factories - where they have to wait in long queues, if the system slows down it can affect productivity. The system also helps to resolve "buddypunching" time attendance by the em-ployees, which can cause company losses.
Carmelo Pistorio, executive chairman of XiD Technologies, said that it is aiming to make face-recognition a global easy access control by 2012.
Currently, fingerprint recognition dominates the biometric market. According to ABI research, in 2008 the biometric market worldwide reached $561 million while fingerprint recognition was worth $349 million, facial recognition was worth $92 million and iris recognition was worth $47 million. Both fingerprint and facial recognition had a combined growth rate from 2008-2013 forecast at 22 percent and were worth $931 million and $251 million, respectively.
This shows how huge the market is and the company decided to expand it reach into China, Indonesia and Vietnam as well as Thailand after spending six years of research and development in Singapore and using the country as test bed for the product technology which was used in a customer site with over 40,000 workers.
Adisorn Keawbucha, CEO, DataOne Asia (Thailand), the exclusive partner for XID, said the product can complement with its skill in integration and implementation service with existing banking and finance customers.
The solution will help to expand new market customers base that require high security areas like power plants, prisons,pharmaceutical labs and other high security zones or sensitive areas.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
SLOWER, LOWER, WEAKER MODERN MAN IS HISTORY'S LOSER
Today's Olympic stars would be no match for their prehistoric relatives, who were stronger and faster and more athletic
Many prehistoric Australian Aborigines could have outrun world 100 and 200 metres record holder Usain Bolt in modern conditions. Some Tutsi men in Rwanda exceeded the present world high jump record of 2.45 metres during initiation ceremonies in which they had to jump at least their own height to progress to manhood.
Any Neanderthal woman could have beaten former bodybuilder and present California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in an arm wrestle.
These and other eye-catching claims are detailed in a book by Australian anthropologist Peter McAllister entitled Manthropology and provocatively sub-titled The Science of the Inadequate Modern Male .McAllister sets out his stall in the opening sentence of the prologue.
"If you're reading this then you - or the male you have bought it for - are the worst man in history.
"No ifs, no buts - the worst man, period ... As a class we are in fact the sorriest cohort of masculine Homo sapiens to ever walk the planet."
Delving into a wide range of source material, McAllister finds evidence he believes proves that modern man is inferior to his predecessors in, among other fields, the basic Olympic athletics disciplines of running and jumping.
His conclusions about the speed of Australian aboriginals 20,000 years ago are based on a set of footprints, preserved in a fossilized claypan lake bed, of six men chasing prey.
An analysis of the footsteps of one of the men, dubbed T8, shows he reached speeds of 37k/ph on a soft, muddy lake edge. Bolt,by comparison, reached a top speed of 42k/ph during his then world 100 metres record of 9.69 seconds at last year's Beijing Olympics.
In an interview in the English university town of Cambridge where he was temporarily resident, McAllister said that, with modern training, spiked shoes and rubberised tracks,aboriginal hunters might have reached speeds of 45k/ph.
"We can assume they are running close to their maximum if they are chasing an animal,"he said.
"But if they can do that speed of 37k/ph on very soft ground I suspect there is a strong chance they would have outdone Usain Bolt if they had all the advantages that he does.
"We can tell that T8 is accelerating toward the end of his tracks."
McAllister said it was probable that any number of T8's contemporaries could have run as fast.
"We have to remember too how incredibly rare these fossilisations are," he said."What are the odds that you would get the fastest runner in Australia at that particular time in that particular place in such a way that was going to be preserved?"
Turning to the high jump, McAllister said photographs taken by a German anthropologist showed young men jumping heights of up to 2.52 metres in the early years of last century.
"It was an initiation ritual, everybody had to do it. They had to be able to jump their own height to progress to manhood," he said.
"It was something they did all the time and they lived very active lives from a very early age. They developed very phenomenal abilities in jumping. They were jumping from boyhood onwards to prove themselves."
McAllister said a Neanderthal woman had 10% more muscle bulk than modern European man. Trained to capacity she would have reached 90% of Schwarzenegger's bulk at his peak in the 1970s.
"But because of the quirk of her physiology,with a much shorter lower arm, she would slam him to the table without a problem,"he said.
Manthropology abounds with other examples:
* Roman legions completed more than one-and-a-half marathons a day carrying more than half their body weight in equipment.
* Athens employed 30,000 rowers who could all exceed the achievements of modern oarsmen.
* Australian aboriginals threw a hardwood spear 110 metres or more - the present world javelin record is 98.48m.
McAllister said it was difficult to equate the ancient spear with the modern javelin,but added:"Given other evidence of Aboriginal man's superb athleticism you'd have to wonder whether they couldn't have taken out every modern javelin event they entered."
Why the decline?"We are so inactive these days and have been since the industrial revolution really kicked into gear," McAllister replied."These people were much more robust than we were.
"We don't see that because we convert to what things were like about 30 years ago.There's been such a stark improvement in times, technique has improved out of sight,times and heights have all improved vastly since then, but if you go back further it's a different story.
"At the start of the industrial revolution there are statistics about how much harder people worked then.
"The human body is very plastic and it responds to stress. We have lost 40% of the shafts of our long bones because we have much less of a muscular load placed upon them these days.
"We are simply not exposed to the same loads or challenges that people were in the ancient past and even in the recent past so our bodies haven't developed. Even the level of training that we do, our elite athletes,doesn't come close to replicating that.
"We wouldn't want to go back to the brutality of those days, but there are some things we would do well to profit from."
Many prehistoric Australian Aborigines could have outrun world 100 and 200 metres record holder Usain Bolt in modern conditions. Some Tutsi men in Rwanda exceeded the present world high jump record of 2.45 metres during initiation ceremonies in which they had to jump at least their own height to progress to manhood.
Any Neanderthal woman could have beaten former bodybuilder and present California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in an arm wrestle.
These and other eye-catching claims are detailed in a book by Australian anthropologist Peter McAllister entitled Manthropology and provocatively sub-titled The Science of the Inadequate Modern Male .McAllister sets out his stall in the opening sentence of the prologue.
"If you're reading this then you - or the male you have bought it for - are the worst man in history.
"No ifs, no buts - the worst man, period ... As a class we are in fact the sorriest cohort of masculine Homo sapiens to ever walk the planet."
Delving into a wide range of source material, McAllister finds evidence he believes proves that modern man is inferior to his predecessors in, among other fields, the basic Olympic athletics disciplines of running and jumping.
His conclusions about the speed of Australian aboriginals 20,000 years ago are based on a set of footprints, preserved in a fossilized claypan lake bed, of six men chasing prey.
An analysis of the footsteps of one of the men, dubbed T8, shows he reached speeds of 37k/ph on a soft, muddy lake edge. Bolt,by comparison, reached a top speed of 42k/ph during his then world 100 metres record of 9.69 seconds at last year's Beijing Olympics.
In an interview in the English university town of Cambridge where he was temporarily resident, McAllister said that, with modern training, spiked shoes and rubberised tracks,aboriginal hunters might have reached speeds of 45k/ph.
"We can assume they are running close to their maximum if they are chasing an animal,"he said.
"But if they can do that speed of 37k/ph on very soft ground I suspect there is a strong chance they would have outdone Usain Bolt if they had all the advantages that he does.
"We can tell that T8 is accelerating toward the end of his tracks."
McAllister said it was probable that any number of T8's contemporaries could have run as fast.
"We have to remember too how incredibly rare these fossilisations are," he said."What are the odds that you would get the fastest runner in Australia at that particular time in that particular place in such a way that was going to be preserved?"
Turning to the high jump, McAllister said photographs taken by a German anthropologist showed young men jumping heights of up to 2.52 metres in the early years of last century.
"It was an initiation ritual, everybody had to do it. They had to be able to jump their own height to progress to manhood," he said.
"It was something they did all the time and they lived very active lives from a very early age. They developed very phenomenal abilities in jumping. They were jumping from boyhood onwards to prove themselves."
McAllister said a Neanderthal woman had 10% more muscle bulk than modern European man. Trained to capacity she would have reached 90% of Schwarzenegger's bulk at his peak in the 1970s.
"But because of the quirk of her physiology,with a much shorter lower arm, she would slam him to the table without a problem,"he said.
Manthropology abounds with other examples:
* Roman legions completed more than one-and-a-half marathons a day carrying more than half their body weight in equipment.
* Athens employed 30,000 rowers who could all exceed the achievements of modern oarsmen.
* Australian aboriginals threw a hardwood spear 110 metres or more - the present world javelin record is 98.48m.
McAllister said it was difficult to equate the ancient spear with the modern javelin,but added:"Given other evidence of Aboriginal man's superb athleticism you'd have to wonder whether they couldn't have taken out every modern javelin event they entered."
Why the decline?"We are so inactive these days and have been since the industrial revolution really kicked into gear," McAllister replied."These people were much more robust than we were.
"We don't see that because we convert to what things were like about 30 years ago.There's been such a stark improvement in times, technique has improved out of sight,times and heights have all improved vastly since then, but if you go back further it's a different story.
"At the start of the industrial revolution there are statistics about how much harder people worked then.
"The human body is very plastic and it responds to stress. We have lost 40% of the shafts of our long bones because we have much less of a muscular load placed upon them these days.
"We are simply not exposed to the same loads or challenges that people were in the ancient past and even in the recent past so our bodies haven't developed. Even the level of training that we do, our elite athletes,doesn't come close to replicating that.
"We wouldn't want to go back to the brutality of those days, but there are some things we would do well to profit from."
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Highlighting His Majesty's innovations
The "Creative King" project of the Commerce Ministry will bring together all of His Majesty the King's innovative ideas and works on culture, music and inventions.
"We hope that the launch of the creative King project will inspire Thais to concentrate more on creative jobs," Sanya Sathiraboost, adviser to the deputy commerce minster, said yesterday.
The National Creative Economy Policy Committee, chaired by the prime minister, also approved Bt1 billion as a primary budget for "Creative Economy" activities that are scheduled to kick off next year.
The Creative King project will officially unveil the government's "Creative Economy Creative Thailand" policy.
So far, 181 projects worth Bt74.39 billion have applied for funding to the committee.
Of the total, 68 projects with a total budget of Bt23 billion have met the projects' requirements.
These proposals will be forwarded to a screening committee for budget allocation under the government's second economic stimulus package.
The government is setting up the Thailand Creatie Economy Agency to support all participants and government agencies in moving towards a Creative Thailand.
"We hope that the launch of the creative King project will inspire Thais to concentrate more on creative jobs," Sanya Sathiraboost, adviser to the deputy commerce minster, said yesterday.
The National Creative Economy Policy Committee, chaired by the prime minister, also approved Bt1 billion as a primary budget for "Creative Economy" activities that are scheduled to kick off next year.
The Creative King project will officially unveil the government's "Creative Economy Creative Thailand" policy.
So far, 181 projects worth Bt74.39 billion have applied for funding to the committee.
Of the total, 68 projects with a total budget of Bt23 billion have met the projects' requirements.
These proposals will be forwarded to a screening committee for budget allocation under the government's second economic stimulus package.
The government is setting up the Thailand Creatie Economy Agency to support all participants and government agencies in moving towards a Creative Thailand.
Monday, October 12, 2009
SOYUZ BRINGS SPACE CLOWN BACK TO EARTH
The Russian Soyuz capsule carrying Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and two other space travellers landed safely in Kazakhstan yesterday, ending the entertainment tycoon's mirthful space odyssey.
Laliberte, who wore a bulbous clown nose during his stay aboard the International Space Station, was estracted from the cramped Soyuz capsule yesterday morning following its landing in the steppes of northern Kazakhstan.
After the landing, he was carried from the capsule wearing the round red nose.
Laliberte returned with Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and Nasa astronaut Michael Barratt, re-entering the Earth's atmosphere several hours after their capsule left the International Space Station.
Valery Lyndin, spokesman for Russian mission control, said the capsule drifted by parachute to Earth at 10.32am local time.
Russian television showed pictures of Padalka sitting outside the spacecraft, scorched by the searing heat of re-entry, eating an apple and drinking tea as ground crew extracted the other space travellers from the capsule. all of the world's apple trees are descended from those that first grew in Kazakhstan.
Laliberte emerged later, wearing his red clown nose as he reclined in a chair set up near the Soyuz capsule. Returning astronauts must rest after Soyuz landing in order to reacclimate to the Earth's gravity.
Laliberte, who wore a bulbous clown nose during his stay aboard the International Space Station, was estracted from the cramped Soyuz capsule yesterday morning following its landing in the steppes of northern Kazakhstan.
After the landing, he was carried from the capsule wearing the round red nose.
Laliberte returned with Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and Nasa astronaut Michael Barratt, re-entering the Earth's atmosphere several hours after their capsule left the International Space Station.
Valery Lyndin, spokesman for Russian mission control, said the capsule drifted by parachute to Earth at 10.32am local time.
Russian television showed pictures of Padalka sitting outside the spacecraft, scorched by the searing heat of re-entry, eating an apple and drinking tea as ground crew extracted the other space travellers from the capsule. all of the world's apple trees are descended from those that first grew in Kazakhstan.
Laliberte emerged later, wearing his red clown nose as he reclined in a chair set up near the Soyuz capsule. Returning astronauts must rest after Soyuz landing in order to reacclimate to the Earth's gravity.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
SPACE CLOWN AIRS SAVE WATER CAMPAIGN FROM ISS
The first clown in space, Guy Laliberte, has launched a 14-city poetic planetary exrtravaganza to promote clean drinking water, from the International Space Station.
The billionair space tourist and founder of Cirque du Soleil described his journedy as "poetic, social mission".
The two-hour live One Drop show, broadcast online on Friday included guests Al gore, Bono, Salma Hayek, Peter Gabriel, Shakira, Canadian astronaut Julie Payette and a musical theatrical performance by Laliberte's circus troupe.
It kicked off with a reading of a poem by Man-Booker prize-winning author Yann Martel, describing a conversation between the Sun, the Moon and a drop of water.
Throughout the show, several people read bits of the fable.
Former US vice president Gore used charts and video to warn of melting polar ice caps, water pollution, and extreme weather causing droughts and flooding.
"To solve the climate crisis and safe-guard our planet and its beauty ... will require global effort," he said.
Australian Tiffany Speight sang fromthe Sydney opera house.
Inuit singer Elisapie Isaac belted out haunting lyrics in her native language, while rappers Fnaire performed from Morocco.
Throughout the show crowds danced and cheered in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, New York's Times Square and at outdooe concerts worldwide.
The 14 segements were broadcast from South Africa, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Canada, Britain, Japan, France, Indian, Morocco, Australia, and several cities in the United States.
Acrobats swan underwater with whales in the Pacific Ocean, as others swung from a makeshift ship dangling high above a pool at a Las Vegas casino.
In Moscow, ballet students of the State Academic Maliy Theatre splashed in a curtain of rain with Bolshoi Ballet star Nikolai Tsiskaridze.
U2 rocked a stadium crowd in Tampa Bay, Florida as part of what bono described as "an out of this world event."
Between songs, Laliberte spoke with Bono onstage from orbit via a satellite video link.
"Every time I look down at this fantastic planet ... it looks so fragile," he said. at times losing his footing in zero gravity.
Later, Laliberte was shown trying to gulp a drop of water floating in air.
Flanked by the ISS crew who described onboard technology for recycling urine into drinking water that could someday be used to allay a water crisis predicted to be coming in 25 to 50 years, Laliberte touted: "All for water, water for all."
As well, he expressed his wish that a "ripple effect" from the show would spur more people to become water conservation activists.
Critics lamented the eonormous cost of the promotion and Laliberte's own US$35-million (Bt1.2 billion) space voyage aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, suggesting the money would have been better spent digging wells in Africa.
The billionair space tourist and founder of Cirque du Soleil described his journedy as "poetic, social mission".
The two-hour live One Drop show, broadcast online on Friday included guests Al gore, Bono, Salma Hayek, Peter Gabriel, Shakira, Canadian astronaut Julie Payette and a musical theatrical performance by Laliberte's circus troupe.
It kicked off with a reading of a poem by Man-Booker prize-winning author Yann Martel, describing a conversation between the Sun, the Moon and a drop of water.
Throughout the show, several people read bits of the fable.
Former US vice president Gore used charts and video to warn of melting polar ice caps, water pollution, and extreme weather causing droughts and flooding.
"To solve the climate crisis and safe-guard our planet and its beauty ... will require global effort," he said.
Australian Tiffany Speight sang fromthe Sydney opera house.
Inuit singer Elisapie Isaac belted out haunting lyrics in her native language, while rappers Fnaire performed from Morocco.
Throughout the show crowds danced and cheered in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, New York's Times Square and at outdooe concerts worldwide.
The 14 segements were broadcast from South Africa, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Canada, Britain, Japan, France, Indian, Morocco, Australia, and several cities in the United States.
Acrobats swan underwater with whales in the Pacific Ocean, as others swung from a makeshift ship dangling high above a pool at a Las Vegas casino.
In Moscow, ballet students of the State Academic Maliy Theatre splashed in a curtain of rain with Bolshoi Ballet star Nikolai Tsiskaridze.
U2 rocked a stadium crowd in Tampa Bay, Florida as part of what bono described as "an out of this world event."
Between songs, Laliberte spoke with Bono onstage from orbit via a satellite video link.
"Every time I look down at this fantastic planet ... it looks so fragile," he said. at times losing his footing in zero gravity.
Later, Laliberte was shown trying to gulp a drop of water floating in air.
Flanked by the ISS crew who described onboard technology for recycling urine into drinking water that could someday be used to allay a water crisis predicted to be coming in 25 to 50 years, Laliberte touted: "All for water, water for all."
As well, he expressed his wish that a "ripple effect" from the show would spur more people to become water conservation activists.
Critics lamented the eonormous cost of the promotion and Laliberte's own US$35-million (Bt1.2 billion) space voyage aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, suggesting the money would have been better spent digging wells in Africa.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Fossilised pig belongs to new species
A fossilised pig discovered in a sand pit in Nakhon Ratchasima eight years ago has been found to belong to a new species.
And scientists have also named a new species of stingray in the past year.
The developments were revealed yesterday by the Nakhon Ratchasima-based Northeastern Research Institute for Petrified Wood and Mineral Resources, which supports research projects by scientists.
The institute said two new species had been confirmed this year.
The pig fossils were found in the Moon River basin in Nakhon Ratchasima by palaeontologist Rattanaphorn Hanta in 2001.
The discovery was published early this year in a palaeontology journal to confirm it was a new ancient pig species.
The pig, which lived in the lateMiocene period 6 million to 8 million years ago, was named Merycopotamus thachangensis after the Tha Chang village where the fossils were found.
"The pig fossils show the pig had a unique tooth shape pattern which is different from prehistoric pig species,but close to the pig species of present day," Ms Rattanaphorn said.
Judging from the shape of its skull,the pig lived in similar conditions to the hippopotamus. The pig, which is about 800cm tall with short legs, lived in swamps with adjacent grassland.
She found the fossils at a sand pit near the Moon River in Chalerm Phrakiat district,20 metres below the surface.
Fossils of several other species, such as a mammoth and rhinos, were also uncovered.
Her team was waiting for confirmation of two new ancient elephant species also found as fossils at the site, Ms Rattanaphorn said.
Another species given a formal name by the institute this year is a stingray.
Chavalit Vidthayanon, the institute's deputy director, said a stingray of the genus Himantura , found in Songkhla lake in the southern provinces of Songkhla and Phatthalung, had been confirmed as a new species.
Known as pla kraben bua , the fish was well known among local people.
It has a sharply pointed snout and rounded wing. However, scientists do not know how many are left.
"I can't say exactly how many of them still exist.
"But local fishermen catch only 20 or so a year now, down from about five tonnes a year two decades ago, which suggests there are very few left," Mr Chavalit said.
He said the fish was at risk of extinction because of the poor condition of the Songkhla lake.
And scientists have also named a new species of stingray in the past year.
The developments were revealed yesterday by the Nakhon Ratchasima-based Northeastern Research Institute for Petrified Wood and Mineral Resources, which supports research projects by scientists.
The institute said two new species had been confirmed this year.
The pig fossils were found in the Moon River basin in Nakhon Ratchasima by palaeontologist Rattanaphorn Hanta in 2001.
The discovery was published early this year in a palaeontology journal to confirm it was a new ancient pig species.
The pig, which lived in the lateMiocene period 6 million to 8 million years ago, was named Merycopotamus thachangensis after the Tha Chang village where the fossils were found.
"The pig fossils show the pig had a unique tooth shape pattern which is different from prehistoric pig species,but close to the pig species of present day," Ms Rattanaphorn said.
Judging from the shape of its skull,the pig lived in similar conditions to the hippopotamus. The pig, which is about 800cm tall with short legs, lived in swamps with adjacent grassland.
She found the fossils at a sand pit near the Moon River in Chalerm Phrakiat district,20 metres below the surface.
Fossils of several other species, such as a mammoth and rhinos, were also uncovered.
Her team was waiting for confirmation of two new ancient elephant species also found as fossils at the site, Ms Rattanaphorn said.
Another species given a formal name by the institute this year is a stingray.
Chavalit Vidthayanon, the institute's deputy director, said a stingray of the genus Himantura , found in Songkhla lake in the southern provinces of Songkhla and Phatthalung, had been confirmed as a new species.
Known as pla kraben bua , the fish was well known among local people.
It has a sharply pointed snout and rounded wing. However, scientists do not know how many are left.
"I can't say exactly how many of them still exist.
"But local fishermen catch only 20 or so a year now, down from about five tonnes a year two decades ago, which suggests there are very few left," Mr Chavalit said.
He said the fish was at risk of extinction because of the poor condition of the Songkhla lake.
Monday, October 5, 2009
A feared predator, its origin evolving
" L ike a locomotive with a mouth full of butcher knives."That is how a shark expert, Matt Hooper,described Carcharodon megalodon to the police chief in Peter Benchley's novel Jaws . He was referring to the 15m-long, 50-tonne body and enormous 15- to 18cm-long teeth that made the extinct megalodon shark perhaps the most awesome predator that has ever roamed the seas.
Hooper had just received his first glimpse of the massive great white shark that was terrorising the residents of Amity Island. Hooper explained that the Latin name for the great white was Carcharodon carcharias and that "the closest ancestor we can find for it" was megalodon. So maybe, he speculated,this creature wasn't merely a great white,but a surviving sea monster from an earlier era.
Hooper was toying with a simple and long-established idea: that the most feared predator in the ocean today, the great white shark, evolved from megalodon, the most fearsome predator of a few million years ago.
That is how the two species had been viewed, until recently, when new ways of looking at shark teeth, and new shark fossils from a Peruvian desert, convinced most experts that great whites are not descended from a mega-toothed megashark. Rather, they evolved from a more moderate-size, smooth-toothed relative of mako sharks.
If true, then the mouth full of fleshripping razor blades that are the stuff of nightmares, and box office blockbusters,are also a great example of one of the most interesting phenomena in the story of life, convergent evolution - the independent evolution of similar adaptations by different creatures.
The idea of a close relationship between great whites and megalodon started in 1835, when Louis Agassiz, a Swiss palaeontologist and fish expert, formally named the giant species. The huge fossil teeth of megalodon had been known for centuries and were once believed to be the fossilised tongues of dragons.Agassiz, noting that great white shark teeth and the fossil megalodon teeth were both serrated, lumped megalodon into the same genus - Carcharodon (from the Greek karcharos, meaning sharp or jagged, and odous, meaning tooth).
Agassiz was not, however, making an evolutionary judgement. In 1835, a young Charles Darwin was just then visiting the Galapagos Islands. There would be no theory of evolutionary descent for nearly 25 years. In fact, the brilliant Agassiz, who later became a professor at Harvard and the leading figure of natural history in the US, forever resisted Darwin's revolutionary ideas. Rejecting biological evolution, Agassiz defined species as a "thought of God". His classification scheme signified nothing about shark origins.
But over the next century, the idea that great whites evolved from megalodon took hold. Because shark skeletons are largely made of nonmineralised cartilage that isn't preserved in the fossil record, the principal evidence has come from their teeth. Shark teeth are heavily mineralised, preserve well,and sharks may shed thousands of them over their lifetime. Megalodon teeth are highly sought by collectors, so we have lots of their teeth.
Great white teeth reach a maximum size of about 6.3cm. Scary enough, but adult megalodon teeth dwarf them. The most obvious characteristics the species'teeth have in common are their pointed shape and serrations. The points facilitate the puncturing of flesh and grasping of prey. The fine, regularly spaced serrations aid in cutting and ripping it into pieces.
Based primarily on these characteristics and some similarities in specific tooth shapes and roots, many experts supported the idea that great whites were, in effect, dwarf megalodons.
But a small minority had their doubts.It was noted that great white teeth also bore similarities to the teeth of an extinct mako shark, Isurus hastalis, some of which had weak serrations. An alternative proposal for great white origins was offered - that they evolved from an extinct group of mako sharks.
Many debates about interpretations of the appearances of structures in the fossil record boil down to the emphasis on different characters by different researchers, the great white origins debate included. It is often similar to a discussion at a family reunion of which child looks more like one parent or grandparent. It depends upon the feature and the viewer.
Such subjective arguments are hard to settle without more quantitative measures. Kevin Nyberg and Gregory Wray of Duke University and Charles Ciampaglio of Wright State University used new computer-assisted imaging and measurement methods to better assess the similarities and differences among great white, megalodon and extinct mako teeth. They determined that the extinct mako and great white teeth and roots were similar in shape and clearly distinct from megalodon.
Furthermore, high-resolution electron microscopy revealed that the shape and spacing of serrations of great white teeth were markedly different from those in megalodon teeth. The serrations that impressed Agassiz now appear to be just a superficial resemblance. The great white did not inherit its sharp cutting tools from megalodon.
Rather, it appears that great whites evolved from a less ferocious-looking ancestor and independently evolved sharp serrations. A remarkably wellpreserved fossil of what a great white ancestor may have looked like was recently brought to light. The desert region of southwestern Peru is a graveyard of marine animals from the past 40 million years, including spectacularly preserved whales, dolphins, walruses, seals, turtles and sharks. It was there that Dr Gordon Hubbell, a shark expert, collected the four-million-year-old fossil that had not only its jaws intact with 222 teeth, but also 45 vertebrae - both rarities for shark fossils and rare opportunities for shark experts.
The serrations of great white teeth undoubtedly evolved to exploit expanding populations of marine mammals.That adaptation appears to have given the predators an advantage as they, like megalodon in its day, enjoy a broad oceanwide distribution. At least for now.
I say "for now" because the number of great whites is declining along with most shark species, some of which have experienced alarming drops in their numbers in just the past 20 years.
Hooper had just received his first glimpse of the massive great white shark that was terrorising the residents of Amity Island. Hooper explained that the Latin name for the great white was Carcharodon carcharias and that "the closest ancestor we can find for it" was megalodon. So maybe, he speculated,this creature wasn't merely a great white,but a surviving sea monster from an earlier era.
Hooper was toying with a simple and long-established idea: that the most feared predator in the ocean today, the great white shark, evolved from megalodon, the most fearsome predator of a few million years ago.
That is how the two species had been viewed, until recently, when new ways of looking at shark teeth, and new shark fossils from a Peruvian desert, convinced most experts that great whites are not descended from a mega-toothed megashark. Rather, they evolved from a more moderate-size, smooth-toothed relative of mako sharks.
If true, then the mouth full of fleshripping razor blades that are the stuff of nightmares, and box office blockbusters,are also a great example of one of the most interesting phenomena in the story of life, convergent evolution - the independent evolution of similar adaptations by different creatures.
The idea of a close relationship between great whites and megalodon started in 1835, when Louis Agassiz, a Swiss palaeontologist and fish expert, formally named the giant species. The huge fossil teeth of megalodon had been known for centuries and were once believed to be the fossilised tongues of dragons.Agassiz, noting that great white shark teeth and the fossil megalodon teeth were both serrated, lumped megalodon into the same genus - Carcharodon (from the Greek karcharos, meaning sharp or jagged, and odous, meaning tooth).
Agassiz was not, however, making an evolutionary judgement. In 1835, a young Charles Darwin was just then visiting the Galapagos Islands. There would be no theory of evolutionary descent for nearly 25 years. In fact, the brilliant Agassiz, who later became a professor at Harvard and the leading figure of natural history in the US, forever resisted Darwin's revolutionary ideas. Rejecting biological evolution, Agassiz defined species as a "thought of God". His classification scheme signified nothing about shark origins.
But over the next century, the idea that great whites evolved from megalodon took hold. Because shark skeletons are largely made of nonmineralised cartilage that isn't preserved in the fossil record, the principal evidence has come from their teeth. Shark teeth are heavily mineralised, preserve well,and sharks may shed thousands of them over their lifetime. Megalodon teeth are highly sought by collectors, so we have lots of their teeth.
Great white teeth reach a maximum size of about 6.3cm. Scary enough, but adult megalodon teeth dwarf them. The most obvious characteristics the species'teeth have in common are their pointed shape and serrations. The points facilitate the puncturing of flesh and grasping of prey. The fine, regularly spaced serrations aid in cutting and ripping it into pieces.
Based primarily on these characteristics and some similarities in specific tooth shapes and roots, many experts supported the idea that great whites were, in effect, dwarf megalodons.
But a small minority had their doubts.It was noted that great white teeth also bore similarities to the teeth of an extinct mako shark, Isurus hastalis, some of which had weak serrations. An alternative proposal for great white origins was offered - that they evolved from an extinct group of mako sharks.
Many debates about interpretations of the appearances of structures in the fossil record boil down to the emphasis on different characters by different researchers, the great white origins debate included. It is often similar to a discussion at a family reunion of which child looks more like one parent or grandparent. It depends upon the feature and the viewer.
Such subjective arguments are hard to settle without more quantitative measures. Kevin Nyberg and Gregory Wray of Duke University and Charles Ciampaglio of Wright State University used new computer-assisted imaging and measurement methods to better assess the similarities and differences among great white, megalodon and extinct mako teeth. They determined that the extinct mako and great white teeth and roots were similar in shape and clearly distinct from megalodon.
Furthermore, high-resolution electron microscopy revealed that the shape and spacing of serrations of great white teeth were markedly different from those in megalodon teeth. The serrations that impressed Agassiz now appear to be just a superficial resemblance. The great white did not inherit its sharp cutting tools from megalodon.
Rather, it appears that great whites evolved from a less ferocious-looking ancestor and independently evolved sharp serrations. A remarkably wellpreserved fossil of what a great white ancestor may have looked like was recently brought to light. The desert region of southwestern Peru is a graveyard of marine animals from the past 40 million years, including spectacularly preserved whales, dolphins, walruses, seals, turtles and sharks. It was there that Dr Gordon Hubbell, a shark expert, collected the four-million-year-old fossil that had not only its jaws intact with 222 teeth, but also 45 vertebrae - both rarities for shark fossils and rare opportunities for shark experts.
The serrations of great white teeth undoubtedly evolved to exploit expanding populations of marine mammals.That adaptation appears to have given the predators an advantage as they, like megalodon in its day, enjoy a broad oceanwide distribution. At least for now.
I say "for now" because the number of great whites is declining along with most shark species, some of which have experienced alarming drops in their numbers in just the past 20 years.
Disaster plans still not good
Authorities last week showed their best side when they declared an alert for approaching Typhoon Ketsana. While there was never any apparent major threat to the country,the decision to place relief services, including the armed forces, on standby status was a major step forward.
In November 1989, Typhoon Gay swept down on Chumphon province, and lack of foresight left residents to deal with the devastation on their own. Twenty years on, and the improvement is evident. At the same time,disaster planning still has weak spots that need immediate addressing.
The attention paid and the response of the National Disaster Warning Centre (NDWC) to approaching Typhoon Ketsana was positive. Because of geography,Thailand is not generally vulnerable to the brunt of typhoons from the Pacific and South China Sea. By the time the cyclonic storms blast Vietnam and encounter the mountains of Laos, they have lost the power of actual typhoons. But the storms and weather depressions from a dying typhoon continue to dump huge amounts of rain. They also include winds which are potentially deadly even though they are well below the 120 kilometres per hour of an actual typhoon.
The question, rather, is whether typhoons qualify as real "disasters". The storms can be predicted days in advance. One might argue that a true disaster is by definition unpredictable. In general, then, it would be somewhere between difficult and impossible to judge the preparedness of the NDWC. But there are occasional events which reveal whether the disaster planning is really up to confronting an earthquake, an air crash or a tsunami. Here is an example.
A little less than three years ago, and two years after the Dec 26 tsunami that struck southern Thailand and the Indian Ocean rim, authorities launched a buoy in the deep ocean, around 1,100 kilometres off Phuket. It was part of the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART), part of a network installed under the supervision of - and with considerable aid fromthe US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In mid-June, the buoy went off the air; it simply stopped broadcasting. This left Thailand's Andaman Sea coastline almost as vulnerable as in 2004, when it also had no early warning of a tsunami. Two months after it went silent, the buoy began broadcasting again.And again, because no maintenance crew visited the tsunami-warning buoy, no one knew why. Officials now that the buoy is on a backup battery, with a life of about 30 days. Then the warning buoy will definitely stop working again.
Phuket has thus been without a reliable tsunami warning system for four months. There is no actual timetable for the NDWC to repair or replace the defective buoy. The centre has issued a statement saying it will be fixed "as soon as possible".
That is not particularly comforting to the southern region, still nervous about the threat of tsunamis. Clearly,getting to the faraway buoy during the monsoon season is not simple. But neither is any disaster relief planning.By its very nature, it requires quick decisions and fast action to move into the disaster zone.
The National Disaster Warning Centre has clearly made huge strides since Typhoon Gay. It has made even greater progress since the 2004 tsunami. But as the faulty buoy demonstrates, there is still much to be done to protect the country against both natural and man-made disasters.
In November 1989, Typhoon Gay swept down on Chumphon province, and lack of foresight left residents to deal with the devastation on their own. Twenty years on, and the improvement is evident. At the same time,disaster planning still has weak spots that need immediate addressing.
The attention paid and the response of the National Disaster Warning Centre (NDWC) to approaching Typhoon Ketsana was positive. Because of geography,Thailand is not generally vulnerable to the brunt of typhoons from the Pacific and South China Sea. By the time the cyclonic storms blast Vietnam and encounter the mountains of Laos, they have lost the power of actual typhoons. But the storms and weather depressions from a dying typhoon continue to dump huge amounts of rain. They also include winds which are potentially deadly even though they are well below the 120 kilometres per hour of an actual typhoon.
The question, rather, is whether typhoons qualify as real "disasters". The storms can be predicted days in advance. One might argue that a true disaster is by definition unpredictable. In general, then, it would be somewhere between difficult and impossible to judge the preparedness of the NDWC. But there are occasional events which reveal whether the disaster planning is really up to confronting an earthquake, an air crash or a tsunami. Here is an example.
A little less than three years ago, and two years after the Dec 26 tsunami that struck southern Thailand and the Indian Ocean rim, authorities launched a buoy in the deep ocean, around 1,100 kilometres off Phuket. It was part of the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART), part of a network installed under the supervision of - and with considerable aid fromthe US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In mid-June, the buoy went off the air; it simply stopped broadcasting. This left Thailand's Andaman Sea coastline almost as vulnerable as in 2004, when it also had no early warning of a tsunami. Two months after it went silent, the buoy began broadcasting again.And again, because no maintenance crew visited the tsunami-warning buoy, no one knew why. Officials now that the buoy is on a backup battery, with a life of about 30 days. Then the warning buoy will definitely stop working again.
Phuket has thus been without a reliable tsunami warning system for four months. There is no actual timetable for the NDWC to repair or replace the defective buoy. The centre has issued a statement saying it will be fixed "as soon as possible".
That is not particularly comforting to the southern region, still nervous about the threat of tsunamis. Clearly,getting to the faraway buoy during the monsoon season is not simple. But neither is any disaster relief planning.By its very nature, it requires quick decisions and fast action to move into the disaster zone.
The National Disaster Warning Centre has clearly made huge strides since Typhoon Gay. It has made even greater progress since the 2004 tsunami. But as the faulty buoy demonstrates, there is still much to be done to protect the country against both natural and man-made disasters.
Meet the ancestor who walked Earth four million years ago
She stood 1.21 metres tall, but she was no lightweight - her muscular body weighed a little more than 50 kilogrammes. She could climb trees easily with the help of long arms, huge hands and grasping toes, but "Ardi" could also walk fully upright on two legs - the first known human ancestor with a bipedal gait.
With a hairy body and snout-like face,Ardi must have looked more ape than human when she roamed her woodland habitat in East Africa some 4.4 million years ago - except for her bipedalism.But Ardi's uncertain role in the story of human origins has now become clearer following an exhaustive investigation into the 110 fragments of fossilised bones belonging to her species.
It is now clear that Ardipithecus ramidus is the earliest unequivocal member of the long lineage extending to anatomically-modern humans, Homo sapiens, from the last common ancestral species we shared with chimpanzees,our closest living relatives whose DNA is 99% similar to our own.
In addition to the many fragments of bones, scientists have found that a partial skeleton of a female Ardipithecus Ardi, as she is affectionately called - is the oldest, most complete set of fossilised remains belonging to the many ancestors descended from that elusive common ancestor, a so-far undiscovered species that is believed to have lived between about six million and seven million years ago.
Following studies into every aspect of the anatomy and habitat of Ardipithecus, scientists have presented the results of their research, spanning 17 years, in the form of 11 separate scientific papers published in the journal Science .The investigation, involving painstaking fossil collection in the field and sophisticated analysis in the laboratory,has revealed how this early human ancestor bridged the divide between the purely tree-dwelling past of our more distant primate relatives and the grassland savannah habitat of our fully bipedal ancestors.
Among the most surprising finding was that the conventional view of human evolution, that our ancestors must have been knuckle-walking creatures, has been exploded. It is now clear that modernday chimps have diverged from our last common ancestor just as much, and as dramatically, as modern humans.
"Charles Darwin was very wise on this matter. He said that we have to be really careful. The only way we're really going to know what this last common ancestor looked like is to go and find it,"said Professor Tim White of the University of California Berkeley, one of the leaders of the research.
"Well, at 4.4 million years ago we found something pretty close to it. And just like Darwin appreciated, evolution of the ape lineages and the human lineage has been going on independently since the time those lines split, since that last common ancestor we shared," he said.
Ardi may have been bipedal, but the way she walked on her two legs was not exactly the way scientists had imagined bipedalism to have evolved. Prof White once quipped to a colleague that if you want to find something that moved like Ardi must have moved, you had to go to the bar in Star Wars ."Ardipithecus is not a chimp. It's not a human. It's what we used to be. You're seeing a mosaic creature, that is neither chimpanzee, nor it is human.
"It is Ardipithecus," he said.His colleague Professor Owen Lovejoy of Kent State University added:"The novel anatomy that we describe in these papers fundamentally alters our understanding of human origins and early evolution."
The story of Ardipithecus began in December 1992 when a former graduate student of Prof White's called Gen Suwa saw a glint of light coming from a patch of desert scrub near the village of Aramis in the Afar region of north-eastern Ethiopia. It was a reflection from the polished surface of a molar tooth belonging to a hominid - the lineage descended from the last common ancestor.
Within a few years the scientists had amassed a rich collection of fossilised bones belonging to Ardipithecus ramidus and dating showed that at 4.4 million years it was more than a million years older than the previously oldest member of the lineage, a species known as Australapithecus afarensis, whose most famous fossil was "Lucy", found in 1974.
Like Lucy, Ardi had a relatively large brain, not much bigger than a chimp's and about a third of the size of modern man. Ardi's face had a muzzle, but it jutted out less than that of a chimp and she had lost the long, dagger-like canine teeth possessed by apes.
Ardi's cranial base - the distance between the back and the front of the skull - is short, indicating that her head was balanced on top of her spine, like other upright walkers, rather than to the front of the spine as in quadrupedal apes. But whereas Lucy was fully bipedal and had lost the adaptations that allow apes to climb trees easily, such as an opposable big toe, Ardi still retained the anatomical features in its feet and arms that point to a partial tree-dwelling existence.
Her teeth are protected by moderately thick enamel, thinner than the tough enamel seen in later hominids such as Lucy which ate tough, abrasive food,but not as thin as the enamel found in modern-day chimps, which have a diet rich in soft fruits. This finding suggests that Ardi had an intermediate, omnivorous diet of fruit, roots, insects, eggs and perhaps small mammals.
Her hands were capable of grasping objects, which is believed to have been an essential attribute that allowed primates to become so unusually intelligent. It allowed them to pick things up, to manipulate them and, in the case of chimps and humans, to use them as tools.
But it would be another couple of million years before Ardi's descendants developed the large brains and higher intelligence that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. It is now clear that the expansion in brain size came long after the evolution of upright walking on two legs.
With a hairy body and snout-like face,Ardi must have looked more ape than human when she roamed her woodland habitat in East Africa some 4.4 million years ago - except for her bipedalism.But Ardi's uncertain role in the story of human origins has now become clearer following an exhaustive investigation into the 110 fragments of fossilised bones belonging to her species.
It is now clear that Ardipithecus ramidus is the earliest unequivocal member of the long lineage extending to anatomically-modern humans, Homo sapiens, from the last common ancestral species we shared with chimpanzees,our closest living relatives whose DNA is 99% similar to our own.
In addition to the many fragments of bones, scientists have found that a partial skeleton of a female Ardipithecus Ardi, as she is affectionately called - is the oldest, most complete set of fossilised remains belonging to the many ancestors descended from that elusive common ancestor, a so-far undiscovered species that is believed to have lived between about six million and seven million years ago.
Following studies into every aspect of the anatomy and habitat of Ardipithecus, scientists have presented the results of their research, spanning 17 years, in the form of 11 separate scientific papers published in the journal Science .The investigation, involving painstaking fossil collection in the field and sophisticated analysis in the laboratory,has revealed how this early human ancestor bridged the divide between the purely tree-dwelling past of our more distant primate relatives and the grassland savannah habitat of our fully bipedal ancestors.
Among the most surprising finding was that the conventional view of human evolution, that our ancestors must have been knuckle-walking creatures, has been exploded. It is now clear that modernday chimps have diverged from our last common ancestor just as much, and as dramatically, as modern humans.
"Charles Darwin was very wise on this matter. He said that we have to be really careful. The only way we're really going to know what this last common ancestor looked like is to go and find it,"said Professor Tim White of the University of California Berkeley, one of the leaders of the research.
"Well, at 4.4 million years ago we found something pretty close to it. And just like Darwin appreciated, evolution of the ape lineages and the human lineage has been going on independently since the time those lines split, since that last common ancestor we shared," he said.
Ardi may have been bipedal, but the way she walked on her two legs was not exactly the way scientists had imagined bipedalism to have evolved. Prof White once quipped to a colleague that if you want to find something that moved like Ardi must have moved, you had to go to the bar in Star Wars ."Ardipithecus is not a chimp. It's not a human. It's what we used to be. You're seeing a mosaic creature, that is neither chimpanzee, nor it is human.
"It is Ardipithecus," he said.His colleague Professor Owen Lovejoy of Kent State University added:"The novel anatomy that we describe in these papers fundamentally alters our understanding of human origins and early evolution."
The story of Ardipithecus began in December 1992 when a former graduate student of Prof White's called Gen Suwa saw a glint of light coming from a patch of desert scrub near the village of Aramis in the Afar region of north-eastern Ethiopia. It was a reflection from the polished surface of a molar tooth belonging to a hominid - the lineage descended from the last common ancestor.
Within a few years the scientists had amassed a rich collection of fossilised bones belonging to Ardipithecus ramidus and dating showed that at 4.4 million years it was more than a million years older than the previously oldest member of the lineage, a species known as Australapithecus afarensis, whose most famous fossil was "Lucy", found in 1974.
Like Lucy, Ardi had a relatively large brain, not much bigger than a chimp's and about a third of the size of modern man. Ardi's face had a muzzle, but it jutted out less than that of a chimp and she had lost the long, dagger-like canine teeth possessed by apes.
Ardi's cranial base - the distance between the back and the front of the skull - is short, indicating that her head was balanced on top of her spine, like other upright walkers, rather than to the front of the spine as in quadrupedal apes. But whereas Lucy was fully bipedal and had lost the adaptations that allow apes to climb trees easily, such as an opposable big toe, Ardi still retained the anatomical features in its feet and arms that point to a partial tree-dwelling existence.
Her teeth are protected by moderately thick enamel, thinner than the tough enamel seen in later hominids such as Lucy which ate tough, abrasive food,but not as thin as the enamel found in modern-day chimps, which have a diet rich in soft fruits. This finding suggests that Ardi had an intermediate, omnivorous diet of fruit, roots, insects, eggs and perhaps small mammals.
Her hands were capable of grasping objects, which is believed to have been an essential attribute that allowed primates to become so unusually intelligent. It allowed them to pick things up, to manipulate them and, in the case of chimps and humans, to use them as tools.
But it would be another couple of million years before Ardi's descendants developed the large brains and higher intelligence that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. It is now clear that the expansion in brain size came long after the evolution of upright walking on two legs.
Mighty Tyrannosaurus rex was evidently one sick puppy
Tyrannosaurus rex and its close relatives suffered from the potentially life-threatenin disease trichomonosis, which is still carried by pigeons, a study published on Wednesday showed.
Some of the world's most famous T rex specimens, such as "Sue" at the Field Museum in Chicago and the specimen at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, have holes in the lower jaw, which is a classic symptom of trichomonosis, the study by a team of US and Australian researchers showed.
"The holes in tyrannosaur jaws occur in exactly the same place as in modern birds with trichomonosis," says Ewan Wolff, a paleontologist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison who worked on the study.
"The shape of the holes and the way that they merge into the surrounding bone is very similar in both animals."
Trichomonosis is carried mainly by pigeons these days, but they are generally immune to the disease. Birds of prey are particularly susceptible to trichomonosis if they eat infected pigeons.
Palaeontologists previous thought the holes in T rex were caused by tooth gouges or bacterial infections, but according to the study, which was puvlished in the peer-reviewed open-access PLoS ONE, the position and nature of the holes indicate that the dinosaur had a trichmonosis-typre disease.
The disease appeared to be quite common in tyrannosaurs and could have been deadly to those that were infected.
"As the parasites take hold in serious infections, lesions form bone. As the lesions grow, the animal has troble swallowing food and may eventually starve to death," says Steve Salisbury of the University of Queensland.
Researchers have found no other dinosaurs that had the disease, and believe it was spread between tyrannosaurs by biting or even through cannibalism.
Some of the world's most famous T rex specimens, such as "Sue" at the Field Museum in Chicago and the specimen at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, have holes in the lower jaw, which is a classic symptom of trichomonosis, the study by a team of US and Australian researchers showed.
"The holes in tyrannosaur jaws occur in exactly the same place as in modern birds with trichomonosis," says Ewan Wolff, a paleontologist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison who worked on the study.
"The shape of the holes and the way that they merge into the surrounding bone is very similar in both animals."
Trichomonosis is carried mainly by pigeons these days, but they are generally immune to the disease. Birds of prey are particularly susceptible to trichomonosis if they eat infected pigeons.
Palaeontologists previous thought the holes in T rex were caused by tooth gouges or bacterial infections, but according to the study, which was puvlished in the peer-reviewed open-access PLoS ONE, the position and nature of the holes indicate that the dinosaur had a trichmonosis-typre disease.
The disease appeared to be quite common in tyrannosaurs and could have been deadly to those that were infected.
"As the parasites take hold in serious infections, lesions form bone. As the lesions grow, the animal has troble swallowing food and may eventually starve to death," says Steve Salisbury of the University of Queensland.
Researchers have found no other dinosaurs that had the disease, and believe it was spread between tyrannosaurs by biting or even through cannibalism.
CANADIAN BILLIONAIRE LALIBERTE JOINS ASTRONAUTS IN THE ISS
A Russian soyuz spacecraft carrying Canadian billionaire and founder of Cirque du Soleil and two other astronauts yesterday docked with the International Space Station (ISS).
Guy Laliberte,50, who is travelling as a paying "space tourist",docked with the ISS along with US astronaut Jeffrey Williams and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Surayev,a spokesman for mission control in Moscow said.
Laliberte has already entertained his fellow crow members with a soap bubble show during their two-day flight to the ISS and has vowed for further antics once aboard,including tickling his fellow astronauts while they are asleep.
The arrival of the trio has increased the ISS's crew to nine.
Laliberte is due to return to Earth on October 11 alongside Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and Michael Barratt of the US.
Lalibette is planning on October 9 to preside from the ISS over what he has called the first ever artistic mission from space which will take place in a dozen cities around the world and involve music,dancing and images.
The Cirque du Soleil,which Laliberte founded in 1984,fuses acrobatics with haunting music and has made the Quebec native the world's 261st richest man with a fortune of US$2.5 billion (Bt83 billion).
The circus founder,the seventh person to go into space as a tourist,could be the last for some time as seats will be limited aboard the Soyuz once Nasa takes its shuttles out of service from 2010.
Guy Laliberte,50, who is travelling as a paying "space tourist",docked with the ISS along with US astronaut Jeffrey Williams and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Surayev,a spokesman for mission control in Moscow said.
Laliberte has already entertained his fellow crow members with a soap bubble show during their two-day flight to the ISS and has vowed for further antics once aboard,including tickling his fellow astronauts while they are asleep.
The arrival of the trio has increased the ISS's crew to nine.
Laliberte is due to return to Earth on October 11 alongside Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and Michael Barratt of the US.
Lalibette is planning on October 9 to preside from the ISS over what he has called the first ever artistic mission from space which will take place in a dozen cities around the world and involve music,dancing and images.
The Cirque du Soleil,which Laliberte founded in 1984,fuses acrobatics with haunting music and has made the Quebec native the world's 261st richest man with a fortune of US$2.5 billion (Bt83 billion).
The circus founder,the seventh person to go into space as a tourist,could be the last for some time as seats will be limited aboard the Soyuz once Nasa takes its shuttles out of service from 2010.
Scientists reveal culprit in 2,600-year-old whodunit
Around 2,600 years ago, on the banks of the Nile, a bed-ridden lady of high rank coughed and wheezed as tuberculosis ravaged her body, driving her ruthlessly towards the afterlife.
The snapshot comes courtesy of a hitech molecular probe into "Dr Granville's mummy", one of the most celebrated and debated mummies of Ancient Egypt.
Its name is owed to a British physician and obstetrician, Augustus Bozzi Granville, who in 1825 carried out the first scientific autopsy of a mummy.
Eager to shed the light of reason and empiricism on the mysteries of mummification, Granville unwrapped, measured, dissected and recorded a mummy unearthed six years earlier at the necropolis at Thebes.
His meticulous six-week investigation showed a female body that was once corpulent, with folds of skin on the belly,yet beautifully preserved.
Most of the soft organs were intact and, unusually, still in place rather than transferred to a funeral jar.
Granville estimated that the woman had borne children and, by the thinning of the pelvic bones, was aged between 50 and 55 when she died.
What caught his eye was a large growth around her right ovary, which he described as "ovarian dropsy", or cancer.This, he said, was the cause of her death.
Amid sensational interest - this was the height of "mummy mania" in Britain - Granville presented his findings to the great minds of the Royal Society.
In an atmospheric touch, he made candles from a waxy substance he scraped from the mummy and lit them for the spellbound audience as he showed off specimens and carried out experiments.(Later research suggests Granville had unwittingly used body fat, or "grave wax", for the illumination.)
Hieroglyphics on the wooden coffin lid describe the mummy as Irtyersenu,"lady of the house". She lived in the 26th dynasty, or around 600 B.C.
In 1994, scientists carried out a second autopsy on Irtyersenu's surviving pieces,which had been sold to the British Museum.
Contrary to Granville's own conclusion, the ovarian tumour was more likely to have been a non-fatal cyst, a pathologist reported.
Another possibility for her demise was malaria, a diagnosis later ruled out after the test proved unreliable.
Intriguingly, though, the mummy's rib cage suggested a condition called pulmonary exudate, in which fluid builds up dangerously in the cavity surrounding the lungs.
Reporting on Wednesday in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B , scientists led by Helen Donoghue, a specialist in infectious disease at University College London, used hi-tech analysis to explore what might have happened.
Thwarted by the difficulty of obtaining a well-preserved sample of DNA, they took material from the bones and soft tissues and tested it with liquid chromatography, analysing it for chemical telltales.
The signatures point to biomarkers of the cell wall of Mycobacterium tuberculosis - the germ which causes TB. It was found in the lung tissue, pleura,diaphragm and femur.
The fat, interspersed with skeletal muscle, that had been noted in 1825 and 1994 is consistent with a protracted,terminal illness like TB, in which a patient literally withers away, say the authors.
"We are able to enhance the original paper by Granville to the Royal Society by concluding that there is evidence of an active tuberculosis infection in the lady Irtyersenu and that this, rather than a benign ovarian cystadenoma, was likely to be a major cause of her death," they declare.
"Palaeopathology"- the science of investigating ancient causes of death has previously suggested TB was widespread in the land of the Pharaohs.
The snapshot comes courtesy of a hitech molecular probe into "Dr Granville's mummy", one of the most celebrated and debated mummies of Ancient Egypt.
Its name is owed to a British physician and obstetrician, Augustus Bozzi Granville, who in 1825 carried out the first scientific autopsy of a mummy.
Eager to shed the light of reason and empiricism on the mysteries of mummification, Granville unwrapped, measured, dissected and recorded a mummy unearthed six years earlier at the necropolis at Thebes.
His meticulous six-week investigation showed a female body that was once corpulent, with folds of skin on the belly,yet beautifully preserved.
Most of the soft organs were intact and, unusually, still in place rather than transferred to a funeral jar.
Granville estimated that the woman had borne children and, by the thinning of the pelvic bones, was aged between 50 and 55 when she died.
What caught his eye was a large growth around her right ovary, which he described as "ovarian dropsy", or cancer.This, he said, was the cause of her death.
Amid sensational interest - this was the height of "mummy mania" in Britain - Granville presented his findings to the great minds of the Royal Society.
In an atmospheric touch, he made candles from a waxy substance he scraped from the mummy and lit them for the spellbound audience as he showed off specimens and carried out experiments.(Later research suggests Granville had unwittingly used body fat, or "grave wax", for the illumination.)
Hieroglyphics on the wooden coffin lid describe the mummy as Irtyersenu,"lady of the house". She lived in the 26th dynasty, or around 600 B.C.
In 1994, scientists carried out a second autopsy on Irtyersenu's surviving pieces,which had been sold to the British Museum.
Contrary to Granville's own conclusion, the ovarian tumour was more likely to have been a non-fatal cyst, a pathologist reported.
Another possibility for her demise was malaria, a diagnosis later ruled out after the test proved unreliable.
Intriguingly, though, the mummy's rib cage suggested a condition called pulmonary exudate, in which fluid builds up dangerously in the cavity surrounding the lungs.
Reporting on Wednesday in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B , scientists led by Helen Donoghue, a specialist in infectious disease at University College London, used hi-tech analysis to explore what might have happened.
Thwarted by the difficulty of obtaining a well-preserved sample of DNA, they took material from the bones and soft tissues and tested it with liquid chromatography, analysing it for chemical telltales.
The signatures point to biomarkers of the cell wall of Mycobacterium tuberculosis - the germ which causes TB. It was found in the lung tissue, pleura,diaphragm and femur.
The fat, interspersed with skeletal muscle, that had been noted in 1825 and 1994 is consistent with a protracted,terminal illness like TB, in which a patient literally withers away, say the authors.
"We are able to enhance the original paper by Granville to the Royal Society by concluding that there is evidence of an active tuberculosis infection in the lady Irtyersenu and that this, rather than a benign ovarian cystadenoma, was likely to be a major cause of her death," they declare.
"Palaeopathology"- the science of investigating ancient causes of death has previously suggested TB was widespread in the land of the Pharaohs.
Thai woman boffin is off to Antarctica
Marine scientist Suchana Chavanich will investigate the impact of climate change on the Earth's southernmost continent.
The 37-year-old lecturer from Chulalongkorn University's marine science department has been chosen to join the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) on a four-month study trip, starting next month.
She is the second Thai marine scientist to join the expedition after her colleague,Voranop Viyakarn, was part of the JARE exploration team in 2004.
Ms Suchana and 80 other marine researchers, mostly from Japan, will study the marine biological system and its reaction to climate change.
They will be based at the Japanese Antarctic base at Syowa Station, part of a joint team of biological and ocean research groups.
"Visiting Antarctica is a dream come true for a marine scientist like me," Ms Suchana said.
"Antarctica has a pristine environment largely undisturbed by human activities.I can't wait to go."
The scientist, who won the L'oreal outstanding female scientist award last year, said she also wanted to learn about the impact of climate change on the continent's ecological system.
"It will be a tough journey, but I have been trained to work and survive in extreme weather and tough terrain."
Ms Suchana will board the icebreaker ship AGB II at Fremantle in Western Australia and travel to Syowa Station,one of the most inaccessible points on the continent.
It will take three weeks to reach the station. The scientists are scheduled to complete their mission in February 2010,before the sea freezes again.
The 37-year-old lecturer from Chulalongkorn University's marine science department has been chosen to join the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) on a four-month study trip, starting next month.
She is the second Thai marine scientist to join the expedition after her colleague,Voranop Viyakarn, was part of the JARE exploration team in 2004.
Ms Suchana and 80 other marine researchers, mostly from Japan, will study the marine biological system and its reaction to climate change.
They will be based at the Japanese Antarctic base at Syowa Station, part of a joint team of biological and ocean research groups.
"Visiting Antarctica is a dream come true for a marine scientist like me," Ms Suchana said.
"Antarctica has a pristine environment largely undisturbed by human activities.I can't wait to go."
The scientist, who won the L'oreal outstanding female scientist award last year, said she also wanted to learn about the impact of climate change on the continent's ecological system.
"It will be a tough journey, but I have been trained to work and survive in extreme weather and tough terrain."
Ms Suchana will board the icebreaker ship AGB II at Fremantle in Western Australia and travel to Syowa Station,one of the most inaccessible points on the continent.
It will take three weeks to reach the station. The scientists are scheduled to complete their mission in February 2010,before the sea freezes again.
THAILAND, UK SIGN PACT ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
The National Science and Techonology Development Centre (NSTDA) has signed a collaboration pact with the UK government's Office for Science, to do research and development in the areas of new diseases, bio-electronics, life science and climate change.
The pact was signed with Professor Jonh Beddington, the UK government's chief scientific adviser.
NSTDA director Sakarindr Bhumiratana said it was time to make the cooperation official because Thailand and the UK have already jointly worked on eight workshops.
Under the latest paln, studies in both countries will be matched up so joint workshops can be conducted, the first of which is scheduled for November. Both countries will provide funding for the research.
On Thailand's part, researchers from the National Electronics and computer Technology Centre, the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and biotechnology, the National Metal and Materials Technology Centre and the National Nanotechnology Centre as well as NSTDA research institutes will be involved in the workshops.
"Our role is to facilitate researchers, develop an environment for them to work together and provide the funds. We plan to evaluate the project every couple of years," Sakarindr said.
Beddington said Thailand and the UK would jointly research subjects such as biomass fuel and tackling the issue of waste in both agricultural and urban areas.
Science and Technology Minister Kalaya Sophonpanich said the collaboration would further facilitate an exchange of knowledge between Thailand English researchers as well as a joint utilisation of resources.
The pact was signed with Professor Jonh Beddington, the UK government's chief scientific adviser.
NSTDA director Sakarindr Bhumiratana said it was time to make the cooperation official because Thailand and the UK have already jointly worked on eight workshops.
Under the latest paln, studies in both countries will be matched up so joint workshops can be conducted, the first of which is scheduled for November. Both countries will provide funding for the research.
On Thailand's part, researchers from the National Electronics and computer Technology Centre, the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and biotechnology, the National Metal and Materials Technology Centre and the National Nanotechnology Centre as well as NSTDA research institutes will be involved in the workshops.
"Our role is to facilitate researchers, develop an environment for them to work together and provide the funds. We plan to evaluate the project every couple of years," Sakarindr said.
Beddington said Thailand and the UK would jointly research subjects such as biomass fuel and tackling the issue of waste in both agricultural and urban areas.
Science and Technology Minister Kalaya Sophonpanich said the collaboration would further facilitate an exchange of knowledge between Thailand English researchers as well as a joint utilisation of resources.
Circus is coming to the ISS
Canadian circus billionaire Guy Laliberte blasted off in a Russian Soyuz spaceship from Kazakhstan yesterday to become the world's seventh space tourist.
The 50-year-old former fire-eater and founder of the Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil gave the thumbs-up after the Soyuz TMA-16 spaceship blasted into clear blue skies in a faultless launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome on the Kazakh steppe.
The three-man crew is due to dock with the International Space Station (ISS)tomorrow.
Mr Laliberte has paid more than US$35 million (1.1 billion baht) for the epic journey, in which he plans a webcast linking 14 cities across the world to draw attention to the importance of access to clean water on Earth.
"He's just said 'Super!', he's very happy," Russian cosmonaut and crew member Maxim Suraev said of Mr Laliberte shortly after take-off. Mr Laliberte wore a clown's red nose as he boarded a bus taking him to the spaceship, and a toy lion belonging to Mr Suraev's daughter was in the capsule.
Mr Laliberte, who transformed his passion for acrobatics and circus acts into a world-wide entertainment empire,described his cosmic trip as "the first poetic social mission in space".
"I needed it to be the right time and for the right purpose," he was quoted as saying by flight organiser Space Adventures."This is the time. And the purpose is clear: to raise awareness on water issues to humankind on planet Earth."
The webcast will be carried live on www.onedrop.org on Oct.9. Mr Laliberte is due to return on Oct 11.
The 50-year-old former fire-eater and founder of the Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil gave the thumbs-up after the Soyuz TMA-16 spaceship blasted into clear blue skies in a faultless launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome on the Kazakh steppe.
The three-man crew is due to dock with the International Space Station (ISS)tomorrow.
Mr Laliberte has paid more than US$35 million (1.1 billion baht) for the epic journey, in which he plans a webcast linking 14 cities across the world to draw attention to the importance of access to clean water on Earth.
"He's just said 'Super!', he's very happy," Russian cosmonaut and crew member Maxim Suraev said of Mr Laliberte shortly after take-off. Mr Laliberte wore a clown's red nose as he boarded a bus taking him to the spaceship, and a toy lion belonging to Mr Suraev's daughter was in the capsule.
Mr Laliberte, who transformed his passion for acrobatics and circus acts into a world-wide entertainment empire,described his cosmic trip as "the first poetic social mission in space".
"I needed it to be the right time and for the right purpose," he was quoted as saying by flight organiser Space Adventures."This is the time. And the purpose is clear: to raise awareness on water issues to humankind on planet Earth."
The webcast will be carried live on www.onedrop.org on Oct.9. Mr Laliberte is due to return on Oct 11.
DSM Nutrition Award 2009 for research on Human Nutrition
DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, is pleased to announce that the DSM Nutrition Award 2009 for research on Human Nutrition has been granted jointly to Michael F. Holick of the USA and Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari of Switzerland for their seminal contributions to research on vitamin D and its role in human nutrition and health. Over the pastk decade the understanding of vitamin D has extended beyond its well established effects on bone metabolism to encompass vitamin D needs in the prevention of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, immunological disorders and certain forms of cancer. DSM is proud to honor the achievements of these two eminent scientists in an area of research that DSM regards as being very important for human health.
Michael F. Holick is receiveing the award in recognition of his lifetime contribution to the basic understanding of the formation of vitamin D in the skin, the regulation of vitamin D absorption in the gut, and the metabolism and activation of vitamin D by liver and kidney. He also D by sun exposure, thus resulting in a critical need for an adequate supply of vitamin D by diet and dietary supplements. Michael F. Holick is Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine, Boston USA.
Heike A. Bischolff-Ferrari is receiving the award in recognition of ther significant contributions on the effects of vitamin D in the field of population health and her demonstrtion of a widespread vitamin D deficiency, particularly in the elderly. Already at this early stage of her career she has demonstrated the critical role of vitamin D in assuring muscles strength and bone health to prevent falls and fractures, thus redfining the vitamin D and calcium requirements of this growing segment of the population. Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari has received a professorship from the Swiss National Science Foundation and is director of the Centre on Aging and Mobility at the Department of Rheumatology and the Institute of Physical Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Award presentation
The award will be presented to the joint winners during a special DSM Lunch Symposium at ICN 2009, the 19th International Congress of Nutrition in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 6. The cash prize of EUR 50,000 will be shared by the two awardees.
Award lectures
Professor Michael Holick and Professor Heike Bischoff-Ferrari will each give an award lecture during the DSM Lunch Symposium at ICN 2009 demonstrating their complementary achievements in fundamental and applied research in the field of human nutrition.
DSM Lunch Symposium at ICN 2009
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Place: Room GH 203, BITEC, Bangkok Thailand
Time: 12.30-14.00 hrs
Unlimited. DSM
DSM Supports Innovative Research Projects to Emphasizes its Role As One of the Global Leading Nutrition al Ingredients Supplier.
DSM Nutritional Products (DSM), a worldwide leading nutritional ingredients supplier, presents DSM Nutrition Award for Human Nutrition to bring about high quality research projects to global nutritional comunity.
Dr. Pisuth Lertvilai, Regional Marketing Manager, Thailand and Indochina, Rovithai Ltd. (DSM Nutritional Products) states that as Thailand is the host of the 19th International Congress of Nutrition, DSM has participated in a special session of the conference so to share and exchange the knowledge and information and has hosted DSM Nutrition Award for Human Nutrition, an outstanding award that gives the company a chance to support high quality research projects conducted for the nutrition community. The DSM Nutrition Award for Human Nutrition is organized every four years, and this year is the second time. The purpose of this award is to support innovative research projects that are beneficial to mankind and to encourage pioneering scientists across the world to produce high quality research to and to encourage pioneering scientists across the world to produce high quality research to science and nutritional community, which is tally to the company's mission to continually improve the product quality, and pursue innovative solutions that responds to consumer demands. Every year, 5% of the total sales is allocated for the application of research, product development, and formulation improvement for vitamins, healthy ingredients-and industrial materials.
For this year, DSM receive a total of 25 candidates worldwide to compete for the research grant prize of EUR 50,000 or approximately Bt. 2,500,000. The two-tiers reviewing process by two sets of international committees has resulted in the selection of two scientists working in the field of vitamin D as the joint winners of the DSM Nutrition Award 2009, namely: Prof. Dr. Michael F Holick from USA. and Prof. Dr. Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari from Switzerland. Both of the winning studies are indispensable to the scientfic research for human and wellness.
Vitamin D is one of the vitamins essential to bone health and bone-teeh formation. Normally, human beings receive Vitamin D through the Vitamin D formation process triggered by sunlight. both studies also help reveal other crucial benefits of Vitamin D.
Michael F. Holick is recognized for his lifetime contribution to the basic understanding of the formation on vitamin D in the skin, the regulation of vitamin D absorption in the gut, and the metabokism and activation of vitamin D by liver and kidney. He also established the evidence that most human populations have a limited capacity to from vitamin D by sun exposure, thus resulting in a critical need for an adequate supply of vitamin D by diet and dietary supplements. Michael F. Holick is Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine, Boston USA.
Hekie A. Bischoff-Ferrari is recognized for her significant contributions on the effects of vitamin D in the field of population health and her demonstration of a widespread vitamin D deficiency, particularly in the elderly. Already at this early stage of her career she has demonstrated the critical role of vitamin D in assuring muscle strength and bone health to prevent falls and fractures, thus redefining the vitamin D and calcium requirements of this growing segment of the population. Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari has received a professorship from the Swiss National Science Foundation and is director of the Centre on Aging and Mobility at the Department of Rheumatology and the Institute of Physical Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
This year's DSM Nutrition Award for Human Nutrition will be presented on October 6, 2009. Dr Manfred Eggersdorfer, DSM Senior Vice President Research & Development, will present this award to the winners at BITEC, Bangna.
Company Profile: DSM Nutritional Products
DSM Nutritional Products is a leading manufacturer of Vitamins, Carotenoids, and other important nutrition and health products for food, pharmaceuticals, supplements, pet food, and cosmetics. The company endures a long history as a spearhead for ground-breeking research, product development, and formula that can be adapted to match applicable industries
DSM-the Life Sciences and Materials Sciences Company
Royal DSM N.V. creates innovative products and services in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences that contribute to the quality of life. DSM's products and services are used globally in a wide range of markets and applications, supporting a healthier, more sustainable and more enjoyable way of life. End markets include human and animal nutrition and health, personal care, pharmaceuticals, automotive, coatings and paint, electrical and electronics, life protection and housing.
DSM has annual net sales of EUR 9.3 billion and employs some 23,500 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations on five continents. DSM is listed on Euronext Amsterdam.
(Excerpt from http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/about/dsm_company_profile.htm)
For more information on DSM Nutrition Award for Human Nutrition, please visit www.innovationaward.dsm.com
Michael F. Holick is receiveing the award in recognition of his lifetime contribution to the basic understanding of the formation of vitamin D in the skin, the regulation of vitamin D absorption in the gut, and the metabolism and activation of vitamin D by liver and kidney. He also D by sun exposure, thus resulting in a critical need for an adequate supply of vitamin D by diet and dietary supplements. Michael F. Holick is Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine, Boston USA.
Heike A. Bischolff-Ferrari is receiving the award in recognition of ther significant contributions on the effects of vitamin D in the field of population health and her demonstrtion of a widespread vitamin D deficiency, particularly in the elderly. Already at this early stage of her career she has demonstrated the critical role of vitamin D in assuring muscles strength and bone health to prevent falls and fractures, thus redfining the vitamin D and calcium requirements of this growing segment of the population. Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari has received a professorship from the Swiss National Science Foundation and is director of the Centre on Aging and Mobility at the Department of Rheumatology and the Institute of Physical Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Award presentation
The award will be presented to the joint winners during a special DSM Lunch Symposium at ICN 2009, the 19th International Congress of Nutrition in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 6. The cash prize of EUR 50,000 will be shared by the two awardees.
Award lectures
Professor Michael Holick and Professor Heike Bischoff-Ferrari will each give an award lecture during the DSM Lunch Symposium at ICN 2009 demonstrating their complementary achievements in fundamental and applied research in the field of human nutrition.
DSM Lunch Symposium at ICN 2009
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Place: Room GH 203, BITEC, Bangkok Thailand
Time: 12.30-14.00 hrs
Unlimited. DSM
DSM Supports Innovative Research Projects to Emphasizes its Role As One of the Global Leading Nutrition al Ingredients Supplier.
DSM Nutritional Products (DSM), a worldwide leading nutritional ingredients supplier, presents DSM Nutrition Award for Human Nutrition to bring about high quality research projects to global nutritional comunity.
Dr. Pisuth Lertvilai, Regional Marketing Manager, Thailand and Indochina, Rovithai Ltd. (DSM Nutritional Products) states that as Thailand is the host of the 19th International Congress of Nutrition, DSM has participated in a special session of the conference so to share and exchange the knowledge and information and has hosted DSM Nutrition Award for Human Nutrition, an outstanding award that gives the company a chance to support high quality research projects conducted for the nutrition community. The DSM Nutrition Award for Human Nutrition is organized every four years, and this year is the second time. The purpose of this award is to support innovative research projects that are beneficial to mankind and to encourage pioneering scientists across the world to produce high quality research to and to encourage pioneering scientists across the world to produce high quality research to science and nutritional community, which is tally to the company's mission to continually improve the product quality, and pursue innovative solutions that responds to consumer demands. Every year, 5% of the total sales is allocated for the application of research, product development, and formulation improvement for vitamins, healthy ingredients-and industrial materials.
For this year, DSM receive a total of 25 candidates worldwide to compete for the research grant prize of EUR 50,000 or approximately Bt. 2,500,000. The two-tiers reviewing process by two sets of international committees has resulted in the selection of two scientists working in the field of vitamin D as the joint winners of the DSM Nutrition Award 2009, namely: Prof. Dr. Michael F Holick from USA. and Prof. Dr. Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari from Switzerland. Both of the winning studies are indispensable to the scientfic research for human and wellness.
Vitamin D is one of the vitamins essential to bone health and bone-teeh formation. Normally, human beings receive Vitamin D through the Vitamin D formation process triggered by sunlight. both studies also help reveal other crucial benefits of Vitamin D.
Michael F. Holick is recognized for his lifetime contribution to the basic understanding of the formation on vitamin D in the skin, the regulation of vitamin D absorption in the gut, and the metabokism and activation of vitamin D by liver and kidney. He also established the evidence that most human populations have a limited capacity to from vitamin D by sun exposure, thus resulting in a critical need for an adequate supply of vitamin D by diet and dietary supplements. Michael F. Holick is Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine, Boston USA.
Hekie A. Bischoff-Ferrari is recognized for her significant contributions on the effects of vitamin D in the field of population health and her demonstration of a widespread vitamin D deficiency, particularly in the elderly. Already at this early stage of her career she has demonstrated the critical role of vitamin D in assuring muscle strength and bone health to prevent falls and fractures, thus redefining the vitamin D and calcium requirements of this growing segment of the population. Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari has received a professorship from the Swiss National Science Foundation and is director of the Centre on Aging and Mobility at the Department of Rheumatology and the Institute of Physical Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
This year's DSM Nutrition Award for Human Nutrition will be presented on October 6, 2009. Dr Manfred Eggersdorfer, DSM Senior Vice President Research & Development, will present this award to the winners at BITEC, Bangna.
Company Profile: DSM Nutritional Products
DSM Nutritional Products is a leading manufacturer of Vitamins, Carotenoids, and other important nutrition and health products for food, pharmaceuticals, supplements, pet food, and cosmetics. The company endures a long history as a spearhead for ground-breeking research, product development, and formula that can be adapted to match applicable industries
DSM-the Life Sciences and Materials Sciences Company
Royal DSM N.V. creates innovative products and services in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences that contribute to the quality of life. DSM's products and services are used globally in a wide range of markets and applications, supporting a healthier, more sustainable and more enjoyable way of life. End markets include human and animal nutrition and health, personal care, pharmaceuticals, automotive, coatings and paint, electrical and electronics, life protection and housing.
DSM has annual net sales of EUR 9.3 billion and employs some 23,500 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations on five continents. DSM is listed on Euronext Amsterdam.
(Excerpt from http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/about/dsm_company_profile.htm)
For more information on DSM Nutrition Award for Human Nutrition, please visit www.innovationaward.dsm.com
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