The Guardian has obtained a series of documents which reveal that, while the NSA is expected to "minimize" collection of data suspected to belong to US citizens, any "inadvertently acquired" domestic communications can still be kept and used without a warrant.
US officials have been at pains to insist that the NSA is only supposed to target non-domestic communications. But the series of guidelines, approved by the secret FISA court and Attorney General Eric Holder back in 2009, outline how domestic US communications can be retained for five years under the right conditions:
If communications are "reasonably believed to contain evidence of a crime that has been, is being, or is about to be committed"
If communications are encrypted
If communications are "reasonably believed" to be of use in maintaining cybersecurity
The guidelines also explain how "unminimized" communications can be handed straight over to the FBI or the CIA, if those agencies specify their own "minimization" procedures. Coming on the back of Obama happily claiming that data collection policies outlined in Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act (FAA) "does not apply to any US person", it looks like the government is sending out some mixed messages. [Guardian via Verge]
Bora Zivkovic is the Blog Editor at Scientific American, chronobiologist, biology teacher, organizer of ScienceOnline conferences and editor of Open Laboratory anthologies of best science writing on the Web. Follow on Twitter @boraz.
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Bora Zivkovic is the Blog Editor at Scientific American, chronobiologist, biology teacher, organizer of ScienceOnline conferences and editor of Open Laboratory anthologies of best science writing on the Web. Follow on Twitter @boraz.
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#SciAmBlogs Thursday ? basic research, fisheries decline, humanities for engineers, illusion dance, frowny Legos, and more.
About the Author: Bora Zivkovic is the Blog Editor at Scientific American, chronobiologist, biology teacher, organizer of ScienceOnline conferences and editor of Open Laboratory anthologies of best science writing on the Web. Follow on Twitter @boraz.
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The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.
Grant initiates new stem cell research for patients suffering with corneal blindnessPublic release date: 21-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Cara Lasala cara.lasala@cshs.org 310-423-7798 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
LOS ANGELES (June 21, 2013) Corneal blindness affects roughly 8 million people worldwide, and traditional treatments and surgical interventions have seen little long-term success. With a new vision for stem cell corneal transplantation, and a $1.25 million grant from the National Eye Institute, Cedars-Sinai co-investigators Alexander V. Ljubimov, PhD, FARVO, and Clive Svendsen, PhD, hope to treat previously untreatable patients suffering with corneal blindness.
"Our proposed and first-of-a-kind research deals with collecting human eye cells, reprograming them back in time to a stem cell state and then using them to create a corneal cell source for transplantation. If successful, this could result in future human clinical trials that may lead to improved vision and overall quality of life," said Ljubimov, principal investigator of the grant and director of the Eye Program at the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute. "We are first experimenting with allogeneic cells from eye donors, but hope to use person's own cells in the near future."
A common cause of corneal blindness is limbal epithelial stem cell deficiency, which means that a patient's history of genetics or eye injuries results in corneal scarring, blood vessel growth, and outgrowth of conjunctiva, all of which lead to vision loss.
This stem cell therapy approach uses induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), which are adult cells that are genetically reprogrammed to function as embryonic stem cells. Typically, iPSC technology has used stem cells from other places in the patient's body, such as the skin, or from donor cells. However, advances in stem cell technology could make it possible for doctors to harvest stem cells from a patient's own cornea or sclera (the white of the eye) and then transplant the reprogrammed cells back into the cornea of the patient.
"If successful, this new approach may pave the way for human trials in patients affected by limbal epithelial stem cell deficiency," said Svendsen, director of the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute. "The engineering of a patient's own adult stem cells to embryonic stem-like cells for the use in corneal transplantation may provide a noteworthy treatment alternative to patients affected worldwide."
Svendsen and Ljubimov lead a highly respected research team that includes Mehrnoosh Saghizadeh, PhD, co-investigator of the grant and assistant professor of surgery; Yaron Rabinowitz, MD, director of Ophthalmology Research and co-investigator of the grant; and Dhruv Sareen, PhD, director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute's iPSC core facility.
The research project grant is the first NIH R01 grant awarded to the newly established Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute and was given under the application "Stem Cell Approaches to Developing New Therapies for Ocular Diseases."
This grant aims to restore function in diseased eye tissues through the revitalization of existing cells or the transplantation of new cells. The National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, leads the federal government's research on the visual system and eye diseases and supports basic and clinical science programs that result in the development of sight-saving treatments.
###
NIH/NEI Funding: 1R01EY023429-01
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Grant initiates new stem cell research for patients suffering with corneal blindnessPublic release date: 21-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Cara Lasala cara.lasala@cshs.org 310-423-7798 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
LOS ANGELES (June 21, 2013) Corneal blindness affects roughly 8 million people worldwide, and traditional treatments and surgical interventions have seen little long-term success. With a new vision for stem cell corneal transplantation, and a $1.25 million grant from the National Eye Institute, Cedars-Sinai co-investigators Alexander V. Ljubimov, PhD, FARVO, and Clive Svendsen, PhD, hope to treat previously untreatable patients suffering with corneal blindness.
"Our proposed and first-of-a-kind research deals with collecting human eye cells, reprograming them back in time to a stem cell state and then using them to create a corneal cell source for transplantation. If successful, this could result in future human clinical trials that may lead to improved vision and overall quality of life," said Ljubimov, principal investigator of the grant and director of the Eye Program at the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute. "We are first experimenting with allogeneic cells from eye donors, but hope to use person's own cells in the near future."
A common cause of corneal blindness is limbal epithelial stem cell deficiency, which means that a patient's history of genetics or eye injuries results in corneal scarring, blood vessel growth, and outgrowth of conjunctiva, all of which lead to vision loss.
This stem cell therapy approach uses induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), which are adult cells that are genetically reprogrammed to function as embryonic stem cells. Typically, iPSC technology has used stem cells from other places in the patient's body, such as the skin, or from donor cells. However, advances in stem cell technology could make it possible for doctors to harvest stem cells from a patient's own cornea or sclera (the white of the eye) and then transplant the reprogrammed cells back into the cornea of the patient.
"If successful, this new approach may pave the way for human trials in patients affected by limbal epithelial stem cell deficiency," said Svendsen, director of the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute. "The engineering of a patient's own adult stem cells to embryonic stem-like cells for the use in corneal transplantation may provide a noteworthy treatment alternative to patients affected worldwide."
Svendsen and Ljubimov lead a highly respected research team that includes Mehrnoosh Saghizadeh, PhD, co-investigator of the grant and assistant professor of surgery; Yaron Rabinowitz, MD, director of Ophthalmology Research and co-investigator of the grant; and Dhruv Sareen, PhD, director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute's iPSC core facility.
The research project grant is the first NIH R01 grant awarded to the newly established Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute and was given under the application "Stem Cell Approaches to Developing New Therapies for Ocular Diseases."
This grant aims to restore function in diseased eye tissues through the revitalization of existing cells or the transplantation of new cells. The National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, leads the federal government's research on the visual system and eye diseases and supports basic and clinical science programs that result in the development of sight-saving treatments.
###
NIH/NEI Funding: 1R01EY023429-01
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Because MMA was once outlawed in several states, a patchwork of laws govern the sport across the country. This week has been a big one for the UFC to wade through legal red tape as it works on Boston and New York.
-- In Boston, there is an issue with the documentation foreign-born fighters must have to work in Massachusetts for the first UFC on Fox Sports 1 show. Basically, the law won't necessarily keep fighters off the card, but it will create a whole lot more work for the UFC. The UFC is expecting a "positive outcome" with this issue.
-- MMA won't have such a positive outcome in a state a short drive from Boston. The UFC has been lobbying to legalize MMA in New York for years, and for a while, it seemed like this year could be the year MMA would finally break through. Unfortunately, the New York legislature failed to bring the MMA bill to a vote, meaning the sport has to wait until next year.
Understandably, the UFC is disappointed. Here's what UFC chairman Lorenzo Fertitta had to say about it.
This year?s new, absurd, offensive, and completely erroneous charge used to justify the defeat of MMA legislation was that MMA is anti-woman and leads to domestic violence. This is a deception fabricated by a Las Vegas union that is recklessly and callously trying to use an important societal issue to try and punish the UFC. It isn?t honest and doesn?t work.
Fertitta pointed out that one of the fighters the union in Las Vegas has been most upset about is Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. This union, which has a problem with Fertitta's Station Casinos non-union status, didn't protest when Jackson signed with Bellator. If they truly thought MMA -- and not the Fertitta-owned UFC -- was the problem, wouldn't they send press releases and fill up Twitter decrying Bellator and World Series of Fighting and every other promotion out there?
Software developer Phil Tucker of Toronto went all out for his wedding, creating some awesome personalized projects: rustic Edison-style hanging light fixtures, an animated Arduino LED matrix lounge table top, vinyl "flexi" record wedding invitations (pressed with a song the couple wrote themselves), and even a bachelor party wireless accelerometer Stab-O-Meter, named after the Futurama character Roberto, the stabbing robot.
June 12, 2013 ? Using hands-free devices to talk, text or send e-mail while driving is distracting and risky, contrary to what many people believe, says a new University of Utah study issued today by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
"Our research shows that hands-free is not risk-free," says University of Utah psychology Professor David Strayer, lead author of the study, which he conducted for the foundation arm of the nonprofit AAA, formerly known as the American Automobile Association.
"These new, speech-based technologies in the car can overload the driver's attention and impair their ability to drive safely," says Strayer. "An unintended consequence of trying to make driving safer -- by moving to speech-to-text, in-vehicle systems -- may actually overload the driver and make them less safe."
"Just because you can update Facebook while driving doesn't mean that it is safe to do so," he adds. "Don't assume that if your eyes are on the road and your hands are on the wheel that you are unimpaired. If you don't pay attention then you are a potential hazard on the roadway."
In a 2006 study, Strayer first showed talking on a hands-free cell phone was just as distracting as using a hand-held phone while driving, but the message has failed to fully connect with the public, with many people believing hands-free devices are safer. But now, with the backing of the AAA, Strayer hopes people realize they are risking their lives and those of others by using distracting hands-free phone, e-mailing, texting and social media technologies while driving.
Strayer conducted the study with these other members of the University of Utah Department of Psychology: Joel M. Cooper, research assistant professor of psychology; and doctoral students Jonna Turrill, James Coleman and Nate Medeiros-Ward and Francesco Biondi.
New research reveals that voice-activated in-car technologies dangerously undermine driver attention
Hands-free technologies might make it easier for motorists to text, talk on the phone, or even use Facebook while they drive, but new findings from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety show dangerous mental distractions exist even when drivers keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.
The research found that as mental workload and distractions increase, reaction time slows, brain function is compromised, drivers scan the road less and miss visual cues, potentially resulting in drivers not seeing items right in front of them including stop signs and pedestrians.
This is the most comprehensive study of its kind to look at the mental distraction of drivers and arms AAA with evidence to appeal to the public to not use these voice-to-text features while their vehicle is in motion.
With a predicted five-fold increase in infotainment systems in new vehicles by 2018, AAA is calling for action as result of this landmark research.
"There is a looming public safety crisis ahead with the future proliferation of these in-vehicle technologies," said AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet. "It's time to consider limiting new and potentially dangerous mental distractions built into cars, particularly with the common public misperception that hands-free means risk-free."
Cognitive distraction expert David Strayer and his research team at the University of Utah measured brainwaves, eye movement and other metrics to assess what happens to drivers' mental workload when they attempt to do multiple things at once, building upon decades of research in the aerospace and automotive industries. The research included:
-- Cameras mounted inside an instrumented car to track eye and head movement of drivers.
-- A Detection-Response-Task device known as the "DRT" was used to record driver reaction time in response to triggers of red and green lights added to their field of vision.
-- A special electroencephalographic (EEG)-configured skull cap was used to chart participants' brain activity so that researchers could determine mental workload.
Using established research protocols borrowed from aviation psychology and a variety of performance metrics, drivers engaged in common tasks, from listening to an audio book or talking on the phone to listening and responding to voice-activated emails while behind the wheel.
Researchers used the results to rate the levels of mental distraction drivers experienced while performing each of the tasks. Similar to the Saffir-Simpson scale used for hurricanes, the levels of mental distraction are represented on a scale:
-- Tasks such as listening to the radio ranked as a category "1" level of distraction or a minimal risk.
-- Talking on a cell-phone, both handheld and hands-free, resulted in a "2" or a moderate risk.
-- Listening and responding to in-vehicle, voice-activated email features increased mental workload and distraction levels of the drivers to a "3" rating or one of extensive risk.
"These findings reinforce previous research that hands-free is not risk-free," said AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger. "Increased mental workload and cognitive distractions can lead to a type of tunnel vision or inattention blindness where motorists don't see potential hazards right in front of them."
Based on this research, AAA urges the automotive and electronics industries to join us in exploring:
-- Limiting use of voice-activated technology to core driving-related activities such as climate control, windshield wipers and cruise control, and to ensure these applications do not lead to increased safety risk due to mental distraction while the car is moving.
-- Disabling certain functionalities of voice-to-text technologies such as using social media or interacting with e-mail and text messages so that they are inoperable while the vehicle is in motion.
-- Educating vehicle owners and mobile device users about the responsible use and safety risks for in-vehicle technologies.
BOSTON (AP) ? Trailed by controversy, President Barack Obama pressed ahead with efforts to boost Democrats Wednesday in Boston and Miami, raising questions about whether the second-term president will be more asset or liability to his party in the coming election season.
Fulfilling a pledge to work harder to help elect Democrats than he did in years past, Obama came to Massachusetts to rally voters before of a nationally watched special Senate election later this month. He stops in Miami in the evening to raise cash at two private homes for the Democratic Party.
Each stop lends Obama's proven ability to energize Democrats to the party's cause this year and next, with control of Congress and Obama's second-term agenda at stake. The visits also create opportunities for Republicans eager to link their Democratic opponents to the Obama administration's recent troubles, including controversies involving the Internal Revenue Service and government intelligence-gathering.
Even in Democrat-friendly Massachusetts, there are signs of modest declines in Obama's popularity as Republicans seize on the White House's struggles in the June 25 special election to replace John Kerry and in nascent campaigns across the nation.
"We hope that the president thinks he's going to be an asset, and goes all over the place," said Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman. "When you look at how the candidates are reacting, so far the early ones are running away fast."
Rep. Ed Markey, the Democratic hopeful in Massachusetts, last week criticized the government's massive collection of personal phone and Internet records, even as Obama defended the practice. The disclosures about the National Security Agency surveillance came with the administration already facing questions over the IRS' improper targeting of conservative groups, the seizure of journalists' phone records and the handling of the attack in Libya last year that left four Americans dead.
After Air Force One landed, Obama was greeted at the foot of the stairs by Markey, Gov. Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas Menino, who is on crutches after recent surgery. The group headed for the jam-packed Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe in Boston's South End to schmooze with diners and workers.
"This guy has been fighting for Massachusetts for a very long time," Obama said of Markey, a current House member who was elected in 1976. Obama said the June 25 election is important and that he came to Massachusetts "to make sure everybody turns out and votes."
In Massachusetts, 60 percent of likely voters in the coming special election give the president favorable marks, according to a Suffolk University poll released this week. While a strong number, that's a decline from last month. Nationally, Obama's approval ratings are hovering at just under 50 percent.
"The numbers that you've seen dropping nationally are dropping here as well," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. "There are some Massachusetts voters who are beginning to question the administration on some of these issues."
At a minimum, the shift complicates the president's promise to go all out for the party in the 2014 elections, mindful that sending more Democrats to Congress could be the difference between success and failure for key aspects of his agenda such as immigration, climate change and a budget deal. Republicans control the House, and the Democrats' Senate majority could be in jeopardy.
Democratic officials say Obama has agreed to headline at least 20 party fundraisers in and out of Washington. That's in addition to candidate-specific events like Wednesday's rally in Massachusetts. The aggressive schedule has seen Obama campaign so far this year in California, Texas, Illinois, New York and Georgia. He raised $3.25 million for House Democrats on a single day in April in San Francisco.
The president continues the effort later Wednesday with a Miami fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee.
But Obama probably won't attend many rallies in other places like Louisiana, Arkansas and West Virginia, where Democrats are defending Senate seats in conservative-friendly territory.
"Every candidate has to make their own decision," said David Plouffe, who ran Obama's 2008 campaign. "You don't force yourself on a campaign. If they want the help, they're going to ask."
Plouffe said the White House understands that Democrats in deep-red states will need to distance themselves publicly from Obama on some issues. But even in those states, they may want to take advantage of Obama's vaunted political operation.
"We have a lot of volunteers in every state of the country," Plouffe said. "Those volunteers are still an underappreciated secret weapon in terms of how we won."
The aggressive pace of Obama's efforts this year is a marked shift for a president criticized for doing too little to help his party win elections during his first four years in office.
In 2010, Democrats lost control of the House ? and with it, their hopes for enacting sweeping policies on the scale of Obama's health care law. In 2012, Obama's spot on the ballot helped drive Democrats to the polls, giving down-ballot Democrats a boost. But locked in a heated contest for re-election, Obama had little time to raise money or campaign for other candidates.
"There's a big difference in this race," Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday at a fundraiser for Markey, urging Democrats not to take the special election for granted. "Barack Obama's not at the head of the ticket. And that means those legions of African-Americans and Latinos are not automatically going to come out."
Democratic operatives involved with 2013 elections in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia privately concede that the White House's struggles have been a distraction but still welcomed White House assistance ? particularly with fundraising. Other White House stars have been helpful as well. Besides Biden, first lady Michelle Obama has hosted finance events for Markey and Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe.
"President Obama has won Virginia twice, has a unique ability to express to voters the stakes of this election, and we'd certainly want him to campaign with us," McAuliffe spokesman Josh Schwerin said.
Other Democrats were not so sure.
The pro-Republican group America Rising PAC last week distributed a video of Arizona Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick repeatedly refusing to say whether she would campaign with Obama.
"There's a lot of frustration with the administration now," Kirkpatrick said in a local television interview.
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Public release date: 21-Jun-2013
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Because MMA was once outlawed in several states, a patchwork of laws govern the sport across the country. This week has been a big one for the UFC to wade through legal red tape as it works on Boston and New York.