SCIENCE AND TECH
Tina Geiger 21, Nov 4 mins
4 mins
The Ritz Herald
Guardians observe orbital data at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., Oct. 4, 2024. © David Dozoretz, Space Force
On college campuses, the Defense Civilian Training Corps aims to bring graduates into the military as civilian employees

Like its sister services, the Space Force has officer, enlisted and civilian members — all called “guardians.” But the Space Force is looking for new ways to recruit civilian employees, which right now make up about 50 percent of the service.

On college campuses, the Space Force is part of a congressionally mandated pilot program, the Defense Civilian Training Corps, or DCTC, which has similarities to ROTC, but which instead aims to bring university graduates into the military as civilian employees rather than uniformed officers, said Katharine Kelley, the Space Force’s deputy chief of space operations for human capital.

“Basically, if the college student is interested in the Space Force … they can volunteer to come and work with the Space Force on projects during their summer break,” Kelley said Wednesday, while speaking at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “When they do that, they get an exposure to what is a civilian job in the Space Force, and what does it mean to be a civilian employee, or a federal employee in the Space Force.”

Kelley said many Americans…

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Honeywell Awarded $103M Contract by U.S. Army for Next-Generation Radar Altimeter System
The Ritz Herald

Honeywell (Nasdaq: HON) has been awarded a $103 million contract by the U.S. Army, through the Defense Logistics Agency, to provide its Next-Generation APN-209 Radar Altimeter (Next Gen APN-209) system on a wide variety of Army aircraft. This contract underscores Honeywell’s ongoing commitment to delivering advanced, reliable technology to…

iAsk Secures $4.2M to Lead the Next Wave of AI Search Innovation
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Lilly Announces $4.5 Billion Investment to Establish Lilly Medicine Foundry for Advanced Manufacturing and Drug Development
The Ritz Herald

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced a $4.5 billion investment to create the Lilly Medicine Foundry, a new center for advanced manufacturing and drug development. This unique facility will give Lilly the ability to research new ways of producing medicines, while also scaling up manufacturing of medicines for…

Case Study: DSI Managed Services at Garland ISD – Driving Success and Innovation in the K12 Sector Introduction
The Ritz Herald

Garland Independent School District (GISD), one of the largest school districts in Texas, serving over 55,000 students across 70 campuses, embarked on a transformative journey in 2016 to overhaul its aging IT infrastructure. The district partnered with DISYS Solutions, Inc. (DSI Tech), a leader in managed network services, to…

HiPP vs. Holle: A Comprehensive Comparison of Organic Baby Formulas
The Ritz Herald

Parents have become increasingly more aware of the quality of food that goes into their little ones’ bodies and demanding of better. Organic’s Best Shop has emerged as a trusted source of high-quality, safe, and nutritious organic baby formulas. The company has carved a niche in the industry by…

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The Ritz Herald
Study finds that heavy drinking among adult Americans increased more than 20% during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and continued for the following two years

Alcohol use increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and remained elevated even after the pandemic ended, according to a large nationally representative Keck Medicine of USC studypublished in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

From pre-pandemic (2018) to the height of the pandemic (2020), heavy alcohol use among Americans rose by 20%, and any alcohol use rose by 4%. In 2022, the increases were sustained.

The rise in drinking was seen across all age groups, genders, race, ethnicities and regions of the country, except for Native Americans and Asian Americans. Adults ages 40-49 had the highest increase in heavy alcohol use.

“These numbers reflect an alarming public health issue that could result in severe health consequences for far too many people,” said Brian P. Lee, MD, MAS, a hepatologist and liver transplant specialist with Keck Medicine of USC and principal investigator of the study. “Our results suggest men and women under 50 are at special risk.”

Excessive alcohol use is a leading preventable cause of illness and death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Half of all liver-related deaths…

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A recent study led by Xiuren Zhang, Ph.D., and Songxiao Zhong, Ph.D., shows a new link between mRNA modifications and microRNA production. © Xindi Li/Texas A&M AgriLife
The Ritz Herald
Texas A&M AgriLife biochemists identify potential target to regulate gene expression

Texas A&M AgriLife researchers uncovered a promising target for controlling gene expression and other cellular processes, which could lead to advancements in crop resilience and our understanding of certain human diseases.

This target centers on RNA regulation, which, when disrupted in humans, is often linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, as well as many types of cancer. On the other hand, improvements in certain RNA production processes can lead to new therapeutics and improved crop resilience in plants.

With this in mind, a group of researchers led by Xiuren Zhang, Ph.D., Christine Richardson Endowed Professor in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and jointly appointed professor in the Texas A&M College of Arts and Sciences Department of Biology, aimed to explore how RNA processes are coordinated within cells.

Their study, published in Nature Cell Biology, showed that a protein called Serrate connects RNA modification and microRNA production, two essential cellular functions, in a way previously unknown.

“We found that, instead of working in isolation, certain RNA processes influence each other,” Zhang said. “These new insights could allow us to regulate gene expression more precisely for applications in crop science and human health.”

The study was led by Zhang…

COVID-19 Lockdowns Prematurely Aged Teenage Brains, UW Study Shows
The Ritz Herald

During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world implemented restrictive measures — such as stay-at-home orders and school closures — to mitigate the spread of the respiratory illness. It’s been well-documented that this disruption of daily routines and social activities had a negative impact on the mental health of adolescents.

Adolescence,…

Nathan Guerette on Leading the Way in Pelvic Medicine: A Career of Innovation and Excellence
The Ritz Herald

Pelvic health is a complex issue. Practitioners in this area address many issues impacting patient well-being, such as pelvic pain, incontinence of the bladder and bowel, and prolapsing viscera.

Dr. Nathan Guerette identifies steps that have been made in the advancement of care of this area of the body,…

Fast Fire Watch Guards: A Critical First Line of Defense Against Fire Hazards
The Ritz Herald

Fast Fire Watch Guards, a leading provider of fire watch security services, underscores the critical role these services play in mitigating fire risks and ensuring safety when fire protection systems are compromised.

Fire watch guards act as a vigilant first line of defense, providing 24/7 on-site monitoring…

Can Multilingualism Address the Gender Disparity in STEM Degrees in the USA?
The Ritz Herald

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are the future of the US economy. They are crucial drivers for innovation and economic growth, with a strong push for students to choose STEM subjects at the degree level. STEM subjects have historically been dominated by men, with numerous gender equality initiatives…

Jack D’Angelo on Factors Steering Richmond’s Tech Industry Toward Success
The Ritz Herald

Richmond’s tech sector is at a pivotal stage of development, marked by both challenges and promising opportunities. The city is increasingly recognized for its potential in the tech industry, spurred by innovative startups and strategic partnerships with academic institutions. However, retaining talent and competing with larger tech hubs remain…

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Mustafa Khokha, MD, right, has been appointed director of the new Genetics Research Center at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s, and Saquib Lakhani, MD, left, has been appointed director of the Guerin Children’s Early Detection Program. © Cedars-Sinai
Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s appoints leading pediatric genetic experts to enhance genome sequencing and early detection of genetic disorders
By / Associate Writer

Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s has appointed highly respected pediatric physician-scientists Mustafa Khokha, MD, and Saquib Lakhani, MD, to advance knowledge and application of genome sequencing with the goal of improving screening and treatment of genetic disorders and abnormalities.

Khokha and Lakhani, who specialize in rare pediatric genetic diseases and conditions, have published widely in the highest-impact journals and made significant contributions to pediatric development and genetics research.

Khokha will serve as director of the new Guerin Children’s Genetics Research Center, and Lakhani as director of the Guerin Children’s Early Detection Program. Together, they will develop a pediatric genome sequencing program to help identify genetic disorders as early as possible, prompting earlier and more effective screenings and treatments for pediatric diseases.

“The expertise of Dr. Khokha and Dr. Lakhani will help Guerin Children’s detect genetic disorders and inherited diseases earlier, expand our knowledge of these conditions, help parents make more informed healthcare decisions for their children and better tailor treatments,” said Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, executive vice dean of Children’s Health at Cedars-Sinai and executive director of Guerin Children’s. “We look forward to them enhancing innovation and medical care for our patients at Guerin Children’s.”

Khokha and Lakhani will collaborate with David Rowitch, MD, PhD, associate director of Research at Guerin Children’s, to establish a birth cohort study that will collect data on genetic sequencing in children to better understand future disease probabilities. This effort will aim initially to introduce informed consent genetic testing.

Khokha and Lakhani join Guerin Children’s from the Yale School of Medicine, where they both were pediatric critical care physicians and…

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Article by Elizabeth Nino. Early Childhood Educational Researcher and Consultant. Creator, Director, and CEO of Imagine Music 4 Children

Do you feel guilty when your children get bored? Please don’t! Boredom has traditionally been seen as something to avoid, but recent research highlights its significant role in fostering creativity, especially in early childhood. With increasing access to technology and structured activities, children today have fewer opportunities to experience boredom. However, the absence of external stimulation can provide a fertile ground for creative thinking. This paper discusses the importance of boredom in early childhood education, emphasizing its role in nurturing creativity and offering practical strategies for educators, parents and caregivers to integrate productive boredom into learning environments. 

Understanding Boredom and Its Benefits

Boredom is a psychological state that emerges when individuals find their environment unstimulating. For children, this lack of engagement can act as a trigger for creativity. According to Smith (2020), when children experience boredom, they are more likely to engage in unstructured play, which is crucial for the development of divergent thinking—the ability to generate multiple solutions to a problem. Divergent thinking, an essential component of creativity, enables children to approach challenges from various perspectives and invent new ideas.

A study by Walker and Perry (2019) supports this view, finding that children who are given time for unstructured activities tend…

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Honeywell and Google Cloud to Accelerate Autonomous Operations With AI Agents for the Industrial Sector

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Scientists Harness Purple Bacteria to Produce Bioplastics as Sustainable Alternative to Petroleum-Based Plastics
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World Health Organization Declares Public Health Emergency as Clade I MPOX Cases Surge in Africa and Beyond
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FDA Issues Draft Guidance for Phase II Sodium Reduction Targets in Food Supply
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