We've gotten a bunch of messages from readers who originally bought iWork or iLife back when they were still sold on disk in boxes - yeah, you know, the dark ages - saying the Mac App Store is now properly offering them free updates to the new versions. Yesterday, for the same people, the updates were still listed at $19.99 a piece, so it looks like Apple's been fixing things overnight.
We haven't heard anything official about this, mind you, so don't sharpen the stakes and fire up the torches if you're still seeing a sticker price. Just make sure your disk copies are installed before you launch the Mac App Store, and then click around awhile to help them get recognized.
Check out Serenity Caldwell's piece in Macworld for more on identifying what you have, what you qualify for, and how to get it.
Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, introduces the new iPad Air on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, introduces the new iPad Air on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks on stage before a new product introduction on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Craig Federighi, senior vice president of Software Engineering at Apple, speaks on stage before a new product announcement on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks on stage before a new product introduction on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Craig Federighi, senior vice president of Software Engineering at Apple, speaks on stage before a new product announcement on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple unveiled a new, thinner, lighter tablet called the "iPad Air" along with a slew of new Macs ahead of the holiday shopping season as it faces growing competition from rival gadget makers.
The Cupertino, Calif. company made the announcements Tuesday at an event in San Francisco. The iPad Air weighs just 1 pound, compared with 1.4 pounds for the previous version. Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller called the tablet a "screaming fast iPad." He said it is eight times faster than the original iPad that came out in 2010.
The iPad Air will go on sale Nov. 1 and start at $499 for a model with 16 gigabytes of memory, while the iPad 2 will continue selling at $399. A new iPad Mini, meanwhile, will be available later in November starting at $399 for a 16-gigabyte model.
The iPad's market share has been eroding compared with cheaper rivals running Google Inc.'s Android operating system. Research firm Gartner Inc. estimates that Android tablets will end 2013 with a 50 percent share of the worldwide market versus 49 percent for the iPad. Just two years ago, the iPad commanded a 65 percent market share compared to 30 percent for Android tablets.
Apple sold 14.6 million iPads in the June quarter, down 14 percent from the same time last year. It was the first year-over-year decline in iPad sales. Nonetheless, Apple CEO Tim Cook touted that Apple has sold 170 million iPads since the tablets launched three years ago.
Apple also refreshed its computer lineup. A new, 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is thinner and lighter, Schiller said, adding that the laptop has up to 9 hours of battery life, enough to "watch the entire trilogy of 'The Black Knight' on one charge." The notebook's new price is lower: $1,299, compared with $1,499 for the previous version.
A larger MacBook Pro, with a 15-inch monitor and 256 gigabytes of storage starts at $1,999, compared with $2,199 for the previous version.
The Mac Pro, a high-end desktop computer aimed at what Apple calls "power users," will be available in December for $2,999.
The company also said that its latest computer operating system, Mavericks, is available free of charge.
Apple also says nearly two-thirds of its mobile devices are running iOS7, the revised operating system it released in September. Twenty million people have listened to iTunes Radio about a month after its release.
Melissa Block talks with Christine Pepper, CEO of the National Funeral Directors Association and judge for the Design for Death contest, about the competition and the winning entries.
Making decisions about funeral arrangements is never easy but the National Funeral Directors Association has added a creative element to the process. The winners of this year's Design for Death competition are now on display at their international convention in Austin, Texas.
Christine Pepper was one of the judges. She's CEO of the National Funeral Directors Association and she joins me from the Design for Death booth at the convention there in Austin. Miss Pepper, welcome to the program.
CHRISTINE PEPPER: Thank you. It's a pleasure being here, Melissa.
BLOCK: I wanted to ask you about one of the contenders here that was really intriguing. It's called "I Wish to Be Rain." And it won third prize in Eco-Green Death Care category. Why don't you explain how that would work?
PEPPER: The cremated remains would be in a weather balloon and it would take you up into space, if you will, until it came into contact with the clouds. As the remains hit the clouds there is an interaction with the clouds and your cremated remains. And that's how rain is produced, if you will.
BLOCK: Help us understand, Miss Pepper, why this competition in the first place?
PEPPER: The competition was really looked at to have the ability to look at new products and services for funeral service around the world. And so, we thought what better place to come together and have people outside of the profession take a look at different ideas. These were architects and engineers and artists from around the world who just looked at death care and funerals and memorialization from a whole new light.
BLOCK: Well, the overall winner, first prize in the Eco-Green Death Care category, a prize of about $34,000, was something called "Emergence." That's from a team in France and it involves a tree that would be sprouting from a biodegradable coffin, I think.
PEPPER: Right now, if you go to a traditional cemetery you have a headstone and then you have, obviously, the casket beneath that. In this case, you have kind of a circular memorial stone, if you will, that surrounds this biodegradable coffin or urn. And on that circular stone is the name of the deceased. And that also can be used as benches for the family; so they can come and visit, remember the individual, and they also continue to see the tree grow over the years.
BLOCK: So the tree is coming from right inside that coffin or that urn?
PEPPER: Correct.
BLOCK: Miss Pepper, do you have a particular favorite of all of these Design for Death entries in the competition?
PEPPER: I knew you were going to ask me that, Melissa.
(LAUGHTER)
BLOCK: It's hard to choose, right?
PEPPER: I know. And it truly is hard to choose.
BLOCK: How about one entry that just appeals to you for some particular reason?
PEPPER: I guess I would say the Family Tree Memorial. Family Tree is a cluster of honeycomb-shaped urn vaults. To me, it's something that I could see being implemented pretty easily. And as we see the increase of cremation across the country, that just whole family unit of bringing the cremated remains together, I've never seen anything like that before. So I really do like that. It's similar to a family plot in a cemetery but with cremated remains.
BLOCK: Do you think there's any real prospects of these design ideas will become reality?
PEPPER: I actually do. As I'm sitting here looking at the various displays, I can see quite a few of them coming to fruition. I'm sure there are funeral directors who have taken a look at these already and have already begun to think how they may be able to incorporate them into what they're currently doing.
BLOCK: I've been talking with Christine Pepper. She's CEO of the National Funeral Directors Association, and was one of the judges for this year's Design for Death competition. Miss Pepper, thanks so much.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Babies often receive flowers at their christening.
But Britain's Prince George will receive a wildflower meadow in the Transylvanian hills, a friend of his grandfather Prince Charles said Tuesday.
"If we sent flowers they would wilt, so this is a symbolic gift," Count Tibor Kalnoky told The Associated Press.
"Wild flowers are fragile like newborn babies. This gift will protect this area and contribute to raising public awareness so that rare flowers can be protected," said Kalnoky, a conservationist and a friend of Charles, who looks after the prince's property in Transylvania.
Kalnoky was a guest at the wedding of young George's parents, Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Charles is enamored with the rural life in Romania and visits the country every year.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) — Oprah Winfrey has paid a visit to two of the graduates from the celebrity's school in South Africa who are enrolled at a private college in upstate New York.
A spokeswoman for OWN, Winfrey's cable channel, says Tuesday that the former daytime talk-show queen was at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs on Monday to meet with two graduates from Winfrey's Leadership Academy for Girls. The academy, a boarding school for underprivileged South African girls, opened in 2007.
The two young women are studying at Skidmore, a liberal arts school located 165 miles north of New York City.
Christel MacLean, co-owner of The Crown Grill, tells local media outlets that Winfrey and the two students had dinner at the restaurant Monday night in a private back room.
Contact: Andy Freeberg afreeberg@slac.stanford.edu 650-926-4359 DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Scientists used the powerful X-ray laser at the U.S. Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to create movies detailing trillionths-of-a-second changes in the arrangement of copper atoms after an extreme shock. Movies like these will help researchers create new kinds of materials and test the strength of existing ones.
This work, published Oct. 11 in Science, pinpointed the precise breaking point when the extreme pressures began to permanently deform the copper structure, or lattice, so it could no longer bounce back to its original shape. Such experiments provide a direct test of complex computer simulations that model the behavior of many millions of atoms within tiny samples of material.
Such simulations are used to design stronger, more durable materials such as shielding for satellites to withstand high-speed pelting by space debris but they have been hard to test in the lab because of the tiny samples and short timescales involved.
"The results enable a number of materials experiments that can be compared to simulations at the same scales," said Despina Milathianaki, a staff scientist at SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) who led the experiment. "This and future experiments, designed to provide a direct comparison with simulations, will help us to accurately predict the strength of materials in extreme conditions."
In this experiment, researchers shocked a layer of copper about 1 thousandth of a millimeter, or 1 micron thick with optical laser pulses, and then probed the copper's lattice with ultrabright X-ray pulses. They compiled the X-ray images into atomic-scale movies that detail how the lattice responded at various times after the shock, including the moment the copper reached its breaking point.
"The demand for research time at LCLS is already at a premium, and these results demonstrate yet another new technique that we believe will open the door to a host of new experiments," said Sebastien Boutet, who leads LCLS's Coherent X-ray Imaging (CXI) Department, where the measurements were performed.
The same research team composed mostly of SLAC scientists, with collaborators from University of Oxford, Stanford University and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory also shocked other metals, including iron and titanium, and is analyzing the data obtained from those samples.
Follow-up research scheduled at LCLS in March seeks to extend the research to additional materials and to enlist other x-ray scattering techniques, which may provide more details about the origins of the damage in the lattice.
###
SLAC is a multi-program laboratory exploring frontier questions in photon science, astrophysics, particle physics and accelerator research. Located in Menlo Park, California, SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. To learn more, please visit http://www.slac.stanford.edu.
This research was supported by the Linac Coherent Light Source's (LCLS) in-house research effort. SLAC's LCLS is the world's most powerful X-ray free-electron laser. A DOE national user facility, its highly focused beam shines a billion times brighter than previous X-ray sources to shed light on fundamental processes of chemistry, materials and energy science, technology and life itself. For more information, visit lcls.slac.stanford.edu.
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
Citation: D. Milathianaki et al., Science, 11 Oct 2013 (10.1126/science.1239566)
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Copper shock: An atomic-scale stress test
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
22-Oct-2013
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Contact: Andy Freeberg afreeberg@slac.stanford.edu 650-926-4359 DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Scientists used the powerful X-ray laser at the U.S. Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to create movies detailing trillionths-of-a-second changes in the arrangement of copper atoms after an extreme shock. Movies like these will help researchers create new kinds of materials and test the strength of existing ones.
This work, published Oct. 11 in Science, pinpointed the precise breaking point when the extreme pressures began to permanently deform the copper structure, or lattice, so it could no longer bounce back to its original shape. Such experiments provide a direct test of complex computer simulations that model the behavior of many millions of atoms within tiny samples of material.
Such simulations are used to design stronger, more durable materials such as shielding for satellites to withstand high-speed pelting by space debris but they have been hard to test in the lab because of the tiny samples and short timescales involved.
"The results enable a number of materials experiments that can be compared to simulations at the same scales," said Despina Milathianaki, a staff scientist at SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) who led the experiment. "This and future experiments, designed to provide a direct comparison with simulations, will help us to accurately predict the strength of materials in extreme conditions."
In this experiment, researchers shocked a layer of copper about 1 thousandth of a millimeter, or 1 micron thick with optical laser pulses, and then probed the copper's lattice with ultrabright X-ray pulses. They compiled the X-ray images into atomic-scale movies that detail how the lattice responded at various times after the shock, including the moment the copper reached its breaking point.
"The demand for research time at LCLS is already at a premium, and these results demonstrate yet another new technique that we believe will open the door to a host of new experiments," said Sebastien Boutet, who leads LCLS's Coherent X-ray Imaging (CXI) Department, where the measurements were performed.
The same research team composed mostly of SLAC scientists, with collaborators from University of Oxford, Stanford University and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory also shocked other metals, including iron and titanium, and is analyzing the data obtained from those samples.
Follow-up research scheduled at LCLS in March seeks to extend the research to additional materials and to enlist other x-ray scattering techniques, which may provide more details about the origins of the damage in the lattice.
###
SLAC is a multi-program laboratory exploring frontier questions in photon science, astrophysics, particle physics and accelerator research. Located in Menlo Park, California, SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. To learn more, please visit http://www.slac.stanford.edu.
This research was supported by the Linac Coherent Light Source's (LCLS) in-house research effort. SLAC's LCLS is the world's most powerful X-ray free-electron laser. A DOE national user facility, its highly focused beam shines a billion times brighter than previous X-ray sources to shed light on fundamental processes of chemistry, materials and energy science, technology and life itself. For more information, visit lcls.slac.stanford.edu.
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
Citation: D. Milathianaki et al., Science, 11 Oct 2013 (10.1126/science.1239566)
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Flu shot halves risk of heart attack or stroke in people with history of heart attack, study finds
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
22-Oct-2013
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Contact: Julie Saccone julie.saccone@wchospital.ca 416-323-6400 x4054 Women's College Hospital
TORONTO, ON, October 22, 2013 The flu vaccine may not only ward off serious complications from influenza, it may also reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke by more than 50 per cent among those who have had a heart attack, according to new research led by Dr. Jacob Udell, a cardiologist at Women's College Hospital and clinician-scientist at the University of Toronto. What's more, the vaccine's heart protective effects may be even greater among those who receive a more potent vaccine.
"Our study provides solid evidence that the flu shot helps prevent heart disease in vulnerable patients with the best protection in the highest risk patients," Dr. Udell said. "These findings are extraordinary given the potential for this vaccine to serve as yearly preventative therapy for patients with heart disease, the leading cause of death among men and women in North America."
Published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study reviewed six clinical trials on heart health in people who received the flu vaccine. The studies included more than 6,700 patients with a history of heart disease. The researchers found people who received the flu shot:
Had a 36 percent lower risk of a major cardiac event (heart attack, stroke, heart failure, or death from cardiacrelated causes) one year later
Had a 55 percent lower risk of a major cardiac event if they had a recent heart attack
Were less likely to die from cardiac-related and other causes, and
Were less likely to have a major cardiac event with a more potent vaccine compared with the standard seasonal vaccine
Dr. Udell carried out this research in collaboration with Dr. Michael Farkouh, senior co-author of the study and Chair of the Peter Munk Centre of Excellence in Multinational Clinical Trials, which is within the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at the University Health Network.
"If the flu vaccine can reduce the risk of cardiac events, these shots could have considerable impact on cardiac health," said Dr. Udell. However, Drs. Udell and Farkouh caution that a large prospective clinical trial is necessary to confirm the effectiveness and safety of the influenza vaccine as a therapy that will reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke in people with heart disease. The researchers are now organizing this type of clinical trial to follow heart disease patients for up to 12 months after receiving the flu shot.
"These findings are all the ammunition we need to move forward," said Dr. Farkouh, who is also director of the Heart and Stroke Richard Lewar Centre at the University of Toronto. "We'll build on this research with a definitive, international trial to conclusively determine whether the flu shot prevents heart attack."
If proven to be a safe and simple prevention method, the impact could be significant for people with or at risk of heart disease and stroke.
"Hundreds of thousands of people die each year from cardiac causes in North America," Dr. Udell said. "While preventative care involves lifestyle changes and taking your pills, now, we may also be able to tell patients by getting your flu shot, it might save your life what a simple and significant way to reduce deaths and the burden on our healthcare system."
###
Women's College Hospital (http://www.womenscollegehospital.ca) is advancing the health of women and improving healthcare options for all by delivering innovative models of ambulatory care. Fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, the hospital is Canada's leading academic, ambulatory hospital and a world leader in women's health. With more than 800 physicians, nurses and health professionals, the hospital offers a range of specialized clinics and programs that are bridging the gaps in the health system. Women's College Hospital is helping to keep people out of hospital by being at the forefront of cutting-edge research, diagnosis and treatment that will help prevent illness and enable patients to manage their health conditions. This healthcare enables Canadians to live healthier, more independent lives. At the Women's College Research Institute, scientists combine science and patient care to develop innovative solutions to today's greatest health challenges.
About The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre
The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre is the premier cardiac centre in Canada. Since it opened in 1997, the Centre has saved and improved the lives of cardiac and vascular patients from around the world. Each year, approximately 55,000 patients receive innovative and compassionate care from multidisciplinary teams in the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, and the Centre trains more cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons and vascular surgeons than any hospital in Canada. The Centre is based at the Toronto General Hospital and the Toronto Western Hospital - members of University Health Network, which also includes the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. All four sites are research hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto. For more information please visit http://www.petermunkcardiaccentre.ca
For more information:
Julie Saccone
Women's College Hospital
Director, Marketing & Communications
416-323-6400, ext. 4054
julie.saccone@wchospital.ca
June Pierotti
Toronto General Hospital, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre
Senior Public Affairs Advisor
416-340-3895
june.pierotti@uhn.ca
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Share
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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.
Flu shot halves risk of heart attack or stroke in people with history of heart attack, study finds
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
22-Oct-2013
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]
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Contact: Julie Saccone julie.saccone@wchospital.ca 416-323-6400 x4054 Women's College Hospital
TORONTO, ON, October 22, 2013 The flu vaccine may not only ward off serious complications from influenza, it may also reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke by more than 50 per cent among those who have had a heart attack, according to new research led by Dr. Jacob Udell, a cardiologist at Women's College Hospital and clinician-scientist at the University of Toronto. What's more, the vaccine's heart protective effects may be even greater among those who receive a more potent vaccine.
"Our study provides solid evidence that the flu shot helps prevent heart disease in vulnerable patients with the best protection in the highest risk patients," Dr. Udell said. "These findings are extraordinary given the potential for this vaccine to serve as yearly preventative therapy for patients with heart disease, the leading cause of death among men and women in North America."
Published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study reviewed six clinical trials on heart health in people who received the flu vaccine. The studies included more than 6,700 patients with a history of heart disease. The researchers found people who received the flu shot:
Had a 36 percent lower risk of a major cardiac event (heart attack, stroke, heart failure, or death from cardiacrelated causes) one year later
Had a 55 percent lower risk of a major cardiac event if they had a recent heart attack
Were less likely to die from cardiac-related and other causes, and
Were less likely to have a major cardiac event with a more potent vaccine compared with the standard seasonal vaccine
Dr. Udell carried out this research in collaboration with Dr. Michael Farkouh, senior co-author of the study and Chair of the Peter Munk Centre of Excellence in Multinational Clinical Trials, which is within the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at the University Health Network.
"If the flu vaccine can reduce the risk of cardiac events, these shots could have considerable impact on cardiac health," said Dr. Udell. However, Drs. Udell and Farkouh caution that a large prospective clinical trial is necessary to confirm the effectiveness and safety of the influenza vaccine as a therapy that will reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke in people with heart disease. The researchers are now organizing this type of clinical trial to follow heart disease patients for up to 12 months after receiving the flu shot.
"These findings are all the ammunition we need to move forward," said Dr. Farkouh, who is also director of the Heart and Stroke Richard Lewar Centre at the University of Toronto. "We'll build on this research with a definitive, international trial to conclusively determine whether the flu shot prevents heart attack."
If proven to be a safe and simple prevention method, the impact could be significant for people with or at risk of heart disease and stroke.
"Hundreds of thousands of people die each year from cardiac causes in North America," Dr. Udell said. "While preventative care involves lifestyle changes and taking your pills, now, we may also be able to tell patients by getting your flu shot, it might save your life what a simple and significant way to reduce deaths and the burden on our healthcare system."
###
Women's College Hospital (http://www.womenscollegehospital.ca) is advancing the health of women and improving healthcare options for all by delivering innovative models of ambulatory care. Fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, the hospital is Canada's leading academic, ambulatory hospital and a world leader in women's health. With more than 800 physicians, nurses and health professionals, the hospital offers a range of specialized clinics and programs that are bridging the gaps in the health system. Women's College Hospital is helping to keep people out of hospital by being at the forefront of cutting-edge research, diagnosis and treatment that will help prevent illness and enable patients to manage their health conditions. This healthcare enables Canadians to live healthier, more independent lives. At the Women's College Research Institute, scientists combine science and patient care to develop innovative solutions to today's greatest health challenges.
About The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre
The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre is the premier cardiac centre in Canada. Since it opened in 1997, the Centre has saved and improved the lives of cardiac and vascular patients from around the world. Each year, approximately 55,000 patients receive innovative and compassionate care from multidisciplinary teams in the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, and the Centre trains more cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons and vascular surgeons than any hospital in Canada. The Centre is based at the Toronto General Hospital and the Toronto Western Hospital - members of University Health Network, which also includes the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. All four sites are research hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto. For more information please visit http://www.petermunkcardiaccentre.ca
For more information:
Julie Saccone
Women's College Hospital
Director, Marketing & Communications
416-323-6400, ext. 4054
julie.saccone@wchospital.ca
June Pierotti
Toronto General Hospital, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre
Senior Public Affairs Advisor
416-340-3895
june.pierotti@uhn.ca
[
| 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.
Ever since the October 22nd Apple Event was officially announced, one question has been on many Apple watchers' minds: Will the event be live streamed? It appears that the answer is yes. Apple's Apple Events channel on the second and third-generation Apple TV has been updated with information about today's event, along with a page on the Apple web site.
The updated channel encourages viewers to watch starting at 10 AM Pacific Time (1 PM Eastern) when Apple is expected to take the wrap off of new iPads at an event being held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in downtown San Francisco. Rumors have varied on what else Apple has up its sleeve today, as well - refreshed Macbook Pros seem likely, as does information about OS X Mavericks' release and perhaps even a release date for the new Mac Pro.
You'll also be able to watch a live stream from Apple's web site, if you don't have access to an Apple TV.
If you can't get near a live stream - or even if you can - make sure to visit iMore, where we'll have up-to-the-minute coverage and analysis of today's announcement.
Are you excited about what Apple has on tap for today? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Updated with details about Apple site live stream.
Contact: Chukuka Enwemeka enwemeka@uwm.edu 41-412-294-712 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
UWM researchers help reveal how specific wavelengths of light can heal
Multiple sclerosis (MS) causes progressive paralysis by destroying nerve cells and the spinal cord. It interrupts vision, balance and even thinking.
On a suggestion from a colleague, Jeri-Anne Lyons decided to test how the disease responded to a radical therapy exposure to a certain wavelength of light called near-infrared (NIR).
"Never in a million years did I think it would help," says Lyons, an associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), who studies the role of the immune response in MS.
But it did. In rodent models, early MS-like symptoms were treated with exposure to NIR light for a week, alternating with a week of no light. The clinical condition of the mice improved.
Professor Janis Eells, who shared the idea with Lyons, had the same initial reaction after she used NIR therapy on rats to treat blindness caused by poisoning, a condition thought to be permanent. Repeating experiments again and again, she found that certain doses of NIR light allowed lab animals to regain their sight.
Scientists have known for years that certain wavelengths of light in certain doses can heal, but they are only now uncovering exactly how it works, thanks in large part to three UWM faculty researchers, including Chukuka S. Enwemeka, dean of UWM's College of Health Sciences who is internationally known for his work in phototherapy.
Enwemeka researches the effects of both NIR and blue light in the visible range on healing wounds. Among his discoveries is that some wavelengths of blue light can clear stubborn infections even MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant "superbug" form of Staphylococcus aureus.
Together, the UWM cluster has found that NIR and blue light repair tissue in dramatically different ways, but both act on the same enzyme in the cell's energy supply center: the mitochondria.
The studies have revealed key information about managing the effects of aging and disease.
A bodyguard
So how is light accomplishing such wonders?
In applying NIR light therapy to MS, Lyons has identified the right timing and dose. But she's also dug deeper, analyzing the effect the light had on the activities of the animal's genes. It turns out, molecules that would make the disease worse were weakened after exposure to the light, and the ones responsible for improvement were strengthened.
Eells says NIR light acts on the mitochondria and a particular enzyme, cytochrome C oxidase, to stimulate cell repair.
Light can do all that?
"We're not talking about white light [all wavelengths in the visible spectrum combined] as treatment, but only certain wavelengths, at a certain intensity, for a certain amount of time," says Lyons. "Like ingested medication, it's all about the dose."
Determining the best wavelength of light for phototherapy is a difficult task. Studies show that 670 nanometer (nm) and 830 nm light are beneficial, but 730 nm is not. The other difficult task is determining the appropriate dose and dose regimen for delivering the light.
Promising leads
Even more exciting is phototherapy's potential to improve a host of other degenerative diseases. Damaged mitochondria lead to a rise in destructive "free radicals," which play a key role in aging and cancer.
"It's why we try to put antioxidants into our diets," says Lyons, "to fight that process."
One source of free radicals comes from the inflammation caused by the body's immune response. The researchers have found that after an injury or illness triggers the immune response, NIR light resets the mitochondria so they function normally again.
"NIR reduces inflammation," says Eells. "If you can tone down the inflammation in an eye disease like retinitis pigmentosa, you slow the progression of the disease."
A similar observation with inflammation occurred in a study on recalcitrant bedsores, she adds. Wounds treated with phototherapy healed two and a half times more quickly than untreated wounds.
"Chronic non-healing wounds are 'stuck' in the inflammatory phase of wound healing" The light removes that obstacle," says Eells.
She has been working with Tim Kern at Case Western Reserve in treating an animal model of diabetic retinopathy with NIR light, which has been shown to slow progression and reduce the severity of the condition. Kern hopes to initiate a clinical trial in the near future.
A killer
NIR light heals by ensuring that cytochrome oxidase binds with oxygen to turn on protectors and stimulate cell metabolism. Blue light, on the other hand, causes a toxic environment when the immune response has been triggered. That poisonous effect hastens healing of topical wounds by killing bacteria that cause infection.
The question is, "What gives light in the longer wavelength its antibiotic effect?"
Enwemeka's studies suggest that blue light also acts on the mitochondrial enzyme site, but allows cytochrome oxidase to bind with nitric oxide, a free radical that is elevated in the immune response. It's a pairing that poisons the invader.
This theory is still unproven, but the therapy has achieved undeniable results in the lab with antibiotic-resistant MRSA. Enwemeka demonstrated that one dose of irradiation killed as much as 92 percent of two pervasive strains of MRSA.
He is working to improve that success rate by getting the light to penetrate deeper in order to finish off the few colonies that survive irradiation.
Limited availability
Enwemeka is leading a research effort in Brazil and at UWM that he hopes will ultimately lead to clinical use of NIR and blue light in the U.S. for the treatment of wounds.
In the six years since he was asked to test the effects of blue light on MRSA, he says, research on the topic has picked up. But currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not sanctioned the use of blue light in treating wounds, or NIR light for conditions other than wounds and pain.
With so much success, why isn't phototherapy being used more widely?
"It's considered alternative therapy in Western medicine. It seems too simple for people to accept," says Lyons.
What the FDA is waiting for, says Enwemeka, is confirmation from a large-scale clinical study before approving phototherapy for a wider variety of ailments. It's something Enwemeka and Harry Whelan, a UWM alumnus and physician-researcher at the Medical College of Wisconsin, are determined to accomplish.
"To see people who have not had relief see their wounds heal and not return," says Enwemeka of the Brazilian patients who have benefited from therapy, "is very touching."
###
Additional study: Photobiomodulation Induced by 670 nm Light Ameliorates MOG35-55 Induced EAE in Female C57BL/6 Mice: A Role for Remediation of Nitrosative Stress
KA Muili, S Gopalakrishnan, JT Eells, JA Lyons
PLoS ONE 8(6): e67358. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0067358 [2013]
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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.
Light as medicine?
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
21-Oct-2013
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Contact: Chukuka Enwemeka enwemeka@uwm.edu 41-412-294-712 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
UWM researchers help reveal how specific wavelengths of light can heal
Multiple sclerosis (MS) causes progressive paralysis by destroying nerve cells and the spinal cord. It interrupts vision, balance and even thinking.
On a suggestion from a colleague, Jeri-Anne Lyons decided to test how the disease responded to a radical therapy exposure to a certain wavelength of light called near-infrared (NIR).
"Never in a million years did I think it would help," says Lyons, an associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), who studies the role of the immune response in MS.
But it did. In rodent models, early MS-like symptoms were treated with exposure to NIR light for a week, alternating with a week of no light. The clinical condition of the mice improved.
Professor Janis Eells, who shared the idea with Lyons, had the same initial reaction after she used NIR therapy on rats to treat blindness caused by poisoning, a condition thought to be permanent. Repeating experiments again and again, she found that certain doses of NIR light allowed lab animals to regain their sight.
Scientists have known for years that certain wavelengths of light in certain doses can heal, but they are only now uncovering exactly how it works, thanks in large part to three UWM faculty researchers, including Chukuka S. Enwemeka, dean of UWM's College of Health Sciences who is internationally known for his work in phototherapy.
Enwemeka researches the effects of both NIR and blue light in the visible range on healing wounds. Among his discoveries is that some wavelengths of blue light can clear stubborn infections even MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant "superbug" form of Staphylococcus aureus.
Together, the UWM cluster has found that NIR and blue light repair tissue in dramatically different ways, but both act on the same enzyme in the cell's energy supply center: the mitochondria.
The studies have revealed key information about managing the effects of aging and disease.
A bodyguard
So how is light accomplishing such wonders?
In applying NIR light therapy to MS, Lyons has identified the right timing and dose. But she's also dug deeper, analyzing the effect the light had on the activities of the animal's genes. It turns out, molecules that would make the disease worse were weakened after exposure to the light, and the ones responsible for improvement were strengthened.
Eells says NIR light acts on the mitochondria and a particular enzyme, cytochrome C oxidase, to stimulate cell repair.
Light can do all that?
"We're not talking about white light [all wavelengths in the visible spectrum combined] as treatment, but only certain wavelengths, at a certain intensity, for a certain amount of time," says Lyons. "Like ingested medication, it's all about the dose."
Determining the best wavelength of light for phototherapy is a difficult task. Studies show that 670 nanometer (nm) and 830 nm light are beneficial, but 730 nm is not. The other difficult task is determining the appropriate dose and dose regimen for delivering the light.
Promising leads
Even more exciting is phototherapy's potential to improve a host of other degenerative diseases. Damaged mitochondria lead to a rise in destructive "free radicals," which play a key role in aging and cancer.
"It's why we try to put antioxidants into our diets," says Lyons, "to fight that process."
One source of free radicals comes from the inflammation caused by the body's immune response. The researchers have found that after an injury or illness triggers the immune response, NIR light resets the mitochondria so they function normally again.
"NIR reduces inflammation," says Eells. "If you can tone down the inflammation in an eye disease like retinitis pigmentosa, you slow the progression of the disease."
A similar observation with inflammation occurred in a study on recalcitrant bedsores, she adds. Wounds treated with phototherapy healed two and a half times more quickly than untreated wounds.
"Chronic non-healing wounds are 'stuck' in the inflammatory phase of wound healing" The light removes that obstacle," says Eells.
She has been working with Tim Kern at Case Western Reserve in treating an animal model of diabetic retinopathy with NIR light, which has been shown to slow progression and reduce the severity of the condition. Kern hopes to initiate a clinical trial in the near future.
A killer
NIR light heals by ensuring that cytochrome oxidase binds with oxygen to turn on protectors and stimulate cell metabolism. Blue light, on the other hand, causes a toxic environment when the immune response has been triggered. That poisonous effect hastens healing of topical wounds by killing bacteria that cause infection.
The question is, "What gives light in the longer wavelength its antibiotic effect?"
Enwemeka's studies suggest that blue light also acts on the mitochondrial enzyme site, but allows cytochrome oxidase to bind with nitric oxide, a free radical that is elevated in the immune response. It's a pairing that poisons the invader.
This theory is still unproven, but the therapy has achieved undeniable results in the lab with antibiotic-resistant MRSA. Enwemeka demonstrated that one dose of irradiation killed as much as 92 percent of two pervasive strains of MRSA.
He is working to improve that success rate by getting the light to penetrate deeper in order to finish off the few colonies that survive irradiation.
Limited availability
Enwemeka is leading a research effort in Brazil and at UWM that he hopes will ultimately lead to clinical use of NIR and blue light in the U.S. for the treatment of wounds.
In the six years since he was asked to test the effects of blue light on MRSA, he says, research on the topic has picked up. But currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not sanctioned the use of blue light in treating wounds, or NIR light for conditions other than wounds and pain.
With so much success, why isn't phototherapy being used more widely?
"It's considered alternative therapy in Western medicine. It seems too simple for people to accept," says Lyons.
What the FDA is waiting for, says Enwemeka, is confirmation from a large-scale clinical study before approving phototherapy for a wider variety of ailments. It's something Enwemeka and Harry Whelan, a UWM alumnus and physician-researcher at the Medical College of Wisconsin, are determined to accomplish.
"To see people who have not had relief see their wounds heal and not return," says Enwemeka of the Brazilian patients who have benefited from therapy, "is very touching."
###
Additional study: Photobiomodulation Induced by 670 nm Light Ameliorates MOG35-55 Induced EAE in Female C57BL/6 Mice: A Role for Remediation of Nitrosative Stress
KA Muili, S Gopalakrishnan, JT Eells, JA Lyons
PLoS ONE 8(6): e67358. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0067358 [2013]
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| E-mail
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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.
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