Podcasts about German Aerospace Center

Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org Today's 2 topics: - Comet C2/2015 V2 Johnson was discovered by my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Jess Johnson on November 3, 2015. It travels on a hyperbolic path around the Sun which is highly inclined to the plane where the planets and most of the asteroids travel. Jess's comet's path takes it from deep space into the inner solar system slightly further from the Sun than the planet Mars. Although it will not get closer to the Earth than about 75 million miles it may out gas enough material to make it visible to the naked eye. - If Lunar and Martian colonists are to have chips and salsa they will need grow their own tomatoes. To test methods to do this German Aerospace Center or DLR has developed the EU:CROPIS satellite which will be launched by a Space-X Falcon 9 rocket into low Earth orbit sometime in 2017. Once in orbit the satellite will be programmed to rotate at two different speeds on its own axis to produce Lunar gravity for 6 months and then Martian gravity for the next 6 months.    We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

We are pleased to present another intelligent conversation on our podcast with Barbara Bachus, the Co-founder and COO of Exomatter. They have developed a powerful platform that is AI-Powered bringing a whole new meaning to materials research and development. Episode Highlights: Hear about the unique capabilities of Exomatter's platform. Their journey from a spin-off at a German Aerospace Center to a thriving startup. Favourite Quote: "I learned that from each event, if you take seriously, it brings so much to your startup  " – Barbara Bachus  Connect with ExoMatter For more information about Exomatter and their incredible platform: https://www.exomatter.ai/  https://www.linkedin.com/company/exomatter/posts/?feedView=all   Questions or Suggestions?  Then email us at info@inam.berlin. Know someone who should be on our deep tech podcast? Reach out, we welcome your suggestions! Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review! Track: Coastline — Ason ID [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus

Get the latest insights from the AAMBITION Podcast delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe HERE.++++Episode 42 of the “Aerospace Ambition Podcast” featuring Prof. Ulrich Schumann (DLR) is out!Talking PointsInfluential Mentors and Career Journey: Ulrich reflects on formative mentorships, including ties to Werner Heisenberg, and a career spanning fluid dynamics, turbulence, and contrail science.Contrail Science Essentials: An accessible explanation of contrail formation, persistence, and their climate impact, including the Schmidt Appleman Criterion and radiative effects.Advances in Contrail Research: Key milestones in understanding contrails, evolving public discourse on aviation's non-CO2 effects, and debates shaped by influential studies.Contrail Prediction Models: Insights into CoCiP's framework, integration with pycontrails, and advancements through observational datasets and modeling techniques.Future of Contrail Management: Exploring bold visions for contrail mitigation, trial strategies, and the role of contrail science in sustainable aviation.GuestProf. Dr. Ulrich Schumann is a world leading expert in atmospheric physics. He earned his doctorate in Turbulence in 1973, was Director of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at DLR the German Aerospace Center from 1982 until 2012, and now lectures on aviation climate impact at Technical University Munich.Professor Schumann is widely known for his seminal works on contrail science, contributing to the 1999 IPCC report and developing the contrail cirrus prediction tool CoCiP. He has also cooperated on various aviation research projects with the FAA, EUROCONTROL, NATS, ECMWF, airlines and engine industry.

In part two of our conversation with Dr. Mathias Basner, Professor at Penn Medicine and former head of Flight Physiology at the German Aerospace Center, we explore how sleep affects human performance in various environments - from everyday life to the International Space Station. Learn about groundbreaking research on cognitive performance, discover what astronauts can teach us about adapting to challenging sleep conditions, and hear fascinating insights about the future of sleep science. Whether you're optimizing your own performance or curious about human adaptation, this episode offers compelling insights into the science of sleep and performance. In this episode, you will hear: Optimizing sleep environments, including dark, quiet, and cool bedrooms. Impact of technology and screen time on sleep hygiene and strategies to reduce electronic usage. Sleep challenges astronauts face in space, such as microgravity and the 90-minute day-night cycle. Practical solutions for sleep in noisy or brightly lit areas, including air circulation improvements. Exploration of human adaptation in extreme environments, such as Antarctic stations and potential life on Mars. Resources from this Episode To find out more about Dr. Basner:  https://www.med.upenn.edu/uep/faculty_basner.html  Subscribe for more from Frequency:  https://frequencyspaces.com/subscribe  Find out more about Frequency: https://frequencyspaces.com/  Podcast Disclosure:  https://frequencyspaces.com/podcast-disclosure  Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

If Lunar and Martian colonists are to have chips and salsa they will need grow their own tomatoes. To test methods to do this German Aerospace Center or DLR has developed the EU:CROPIS satellite which will be launched by a Space-X Falcon 9 rocket into low Earth orbit sometime in 2017. Once in orbit the satellite will be programmed to rotate at two different speeds on its own axis to produce Lunar gravity for 6 months and then Martian gravity for the next 6 months. Inside the satellite tomato seeds will germinate and grow under the watchful eyes of 16 onboard cameras. A trickle filter containing the Euglena [U gleen a] microbes will use synthetic urine to produce fertilizer for the tomato plants. The half plant half animal Euglena microorganisms will produce oxygen on the satellite and protect the plants against excessive ammonia build up. LED lights will provide the day night cycle required by both the plants and the Euglena microbes. The separate Lunar and Martian space green houses will operate in a pressure tank to simulate Earth's atmosphere. These experiments will be carefully controlled and monitored by humans on the ground.

Listen to this interview of Michael Felderer, Director of the Institute of Software Technology, German Aerospace Center; and also, Professor of Computer Science, University of Cologne, Germany. We talk about those interdependencies between science and engineering which make the base of software research. Michael Felderer : "When preparing your manuscript for submission, try to imagine reviewers' expectations — really imagine, for example, what you would expect if you were the reviewer. So ask, what will help you understand this work, what will increase your appreciation of the results or interpretation. Consider, too, your own busy schedule — because your reviewers will be at least as busy as you are. Make the job easier of understanding key ideas, contributions, technical content. It's not about changing the work, but instead, about framing it all in a clear and usable way.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Listen to this interview of Michael Felderer, Director of the Institute of Software Technology, German Aerospace Center; and also, Professor of Computer Science, University of Cologne, Germany. We talk about those interdependencies between science and engineering which make the base of software research. Michael Felderer : "When preparing your manuscript for submission, try to imagine reviewers' expectations — really imagine, for example, what you would expect if you were the reviewer. So ask, what will help you understand this work, what will increase your appreciation of the results or interpretation. Consider, too, your own busy schedule — because your reviewers will be at least as busy as you are. Make the job easier of understanding key ideas, contributions, technical content. It's not about changing the work, but instead, about framing it all in a clear and usable way.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Astronomy Daily - The Podcast: S03E166Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space and Astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and we've got an exciting episode lined up for you today. We'll be exploring some fascinating developments in the world of space and Astronomy that are sure to captivate your imagination.Highlights:- Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-Atlas): Astronomers are eagerly tracking this comet, which could shine as brightly as the North Star this fall. Discovered in early C/2023.A3, it's captured the attention of both professional astronomers and space enthusiasts. If it survives its close encounter with the sun on September 27, it could rival the spectacular Comet McNaught of 2007.- ESA's Luna Facility: The European Space Agency and German Aerospace Center have unveiled Luna, a lunar analog facility near Cologne, Germany. This 700-square-meter hall filled with simulated lunar regolith will provide crucial training for future astronauts, including those in NASA's Artemis program.- NASA Artemis II Crew in Iceland: NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen have been undergoing geology field training in Iceland. This unique landscape closely resembles the lunar surface, helping the crew prepare for the challenges of lunar exploration.- China's Sea Launch of Smart Dragon-3: China successfully launched the Smart Dragon-3 rocket from a floating platform, carrying eight remote sensing satellites into sun-synchronous orbit. This sea-based launch demonstrates flexibility and could open up new possibilities for future missions.- Potential for Life on Venus: Recent research suggests that some of life's fundamental building blocks might survive in Venus's harsh environment. Scientists discovered that certain lipids can withstand exposure to concentrated sulfuric acid, challenging our assumptions about the solvents necessary for life.- Revolutionary Space Propulsion: Scientists are testing a new propulsion system known as Super Mag Drive, which could use any type of metal as fuel. This technology could allow spacecraft to refuel by harvesting minerals from asteroids or distant moons, opening up new frontiers in space exploration.For more space news, be sure to visit our website at astronomydaily.io. There you can sign up for our free Daily newsletter, catch up on all the latest space and Astronomy news with our constantly updating newsfeed, and listen to all our back episodes.Don't forget to follow us on social media. Just search for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTubeMusic, and TikTok.Thank you for tuning in. This is Anna signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.Sponsor Links:NordVPNMalwarebytesProton MailOld Glory - Iconic Music and Sports Fan MerchBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-the-podcast--5648921/support.

fWotD Episode 2398: Ulf Merbold Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.The featured article for Tuesday, 28 November 2023 is Ulf Merbold.Ulf Dietrich Merbold (born June 20, 1941) is a German physicist and astronaut who flew to space three times, becoming the first West German citizen in space and the first non-American to fly on a NASA spacecraft. Merbold flew on two Space Shuttle missions and on a Russian mission to the space station Mir, spending a total of 49 days in space.Merbold's father was imprisoned in NKVD special camp Nr. 2 by the Red Army in 1945 and died there in 1948, and Merbold was brought up in the town of Greiz in East Germany by his mother and grandparents. As he was not allowed to attend university in East Germany, he left for West Berlin in 1960, planning to study physics there. After the Berlin Wall was built in 1961, he moved to Stuttgart, West Germany. In 1968, he graduated from the University of Stuttgart with a diploma in physics, and in 1976 he gained a doctorate with a dissertation about the effect of radiation on iron. He then joined the staff at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research. In 1977, Merbold successfully applied to the European Space Agency (ESA) to become one of their first astronauts. He started astronaut training with NASA in 1978. In 1983, Merbold flew to space for the first time as a payload specialist or science astronaut on the first Spacelab mission, STS-9, aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. He performed experiments in materials science and on the effects of microgravity on humans. In 1989, Merbold was selected as payload specialist for the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1) Spacelab mission STS-42, which launched in January 1992 on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Again, he mainly performed experiments in life sciences and materials science in microgravity. After ESA decided to cooperate with Russia, Merbold was chosen as one of the astronauts for the joint ESA–Russian Euromir missions and received training at the Russian Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. He flew to space for the third and last time in October 1994, spending a month working on experiments on the Mir space station.Between his space flights, Merbold provided ground-based support for other ESA missions. For the German Spacelab mission Spacelab D-1, he served as backup astronaut and as crew interface coordinator. For the second German Spacelab mission D-2 in 1993, Merbold served as science coordinator. Merbold's responsibilities for ESA included work at the European Space Research and Technology Centre on the Columbus program and service as head of the German Aerospace Center's astronaut office. He continued working for ESA until his retirement in 2004.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:09 UTC on Tuesday, 28 November 2023.For the full current version of the article, see Ulf Merbold on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm Aditi Standard.

Space projects push boundaries, aiming to give teams a better understanding of our own planet and to explore what's beyond. But these efforts are full of complexity, with evolving risks, new innovations, long timelines and fluctuations in funding. We discuss this with:  Kenneth Harris II, PhD, senior project engineer, The Aerospace Corporation, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, USA: The 2020 Future 50 leader discusses how the increasing number of crewed missions—and missions closer to Earth's orbit—have changed the risk landscape for space projects, how he and his teams manage fast-paced change and tech innovations throughout years-long initiatives, what he sees as the top project management challenge for project professionals in the space sector, and how impact, curiosity and exposure have driven him throughout his career as a space project leader. Kay Lingenauber, project manager and system engineer, Institute of Planetary Research at the German Aerospace Center, Berlin: Lingenauber discusses how he and an international team created the Ganymede Laser Altimeter, or GALA, over 15 years, how he and the team managed changing resources and technology with a fixed launch date, good practices for collaborating with institutes and agencies across the globe, and his advice for other project professionals managing initiatives with plenty of complexity. Key themes [02:30] More crewed missions—and more missions closer to Earth—are changing the risk landscape [05:51] Managing fast-paced change and innovation with years-long timelines [09:56] Top project management challenges in space projects: Collaboration with new and established agencies and contending with tight budgets [14:17] Creating GALA, an instrument now headed for Jupiter's moons [16:34] Leaning into adaptability and problem-solving in space projects [18:21] Boosting collaboration through requirements management, trust-building and transparency 

Mike von der Nahmer is a sound researcher, music therapist, scientific collaborator at the German Aerospace Center and composer.  With over 30 stage works and 100+ compositions, he holds international recognition. He has collaborated with GRAMMY, Kenwood, Sony BMG, Rolls Royce and BMW, and his music has been featured in TV series like NOVA. Mike shares with us some sonification projects in various domains, such as weather patterns, language, the brain, and sound design in autonomous vehicles. For example, he gives us insights into his work at the German Aerospace Center (the German NASA), where he works on the sonification of air traffic control. Today, you will not only hear us talking but also experience different sound worlds. Because Mike brought some sound files to the conversation, we hear different sound layers from an air traffic game and examples of what he calls 'mood compositions' for Rolls Royce, BMW and Mini that are central in the sound strategy of these car brands.  We end the conversation with a longer piece of about five minutes of sonification of curves that Mike co-created with two outstanding mathematicians in Luxemburg.  So be prepared to hear about pioneering thoughts connecting sound, science, and human experience. Show Notes Connect with Mike via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-michael-mike-von-der-nahmer-0780964/  Sonification in Air Traffic Control, German Aerospace Center (DLR): https://www.dlr.de/fl/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-1149/1737_read-74107/  “ReShape”, Sound of Data - Science meets Music, sonification of curves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9l_oTHr-_w   Mashrabiya ReShaped, painting curves to music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci0uISK2KAA  Mike von der Nahmer, Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mikevondernahmer5051  Mentimeter questions on sonification: https://www.menti.com/altpihgk8vfp/0  Beethoven's 5th mapped in a Customer Journey software: https://www.smaply.com/blog/cx-professional-interview-christof-zuern Show support Please choose one or more of the 'three ways to support the show'! Subscribe to the podcast. Leave us a review — even one sentence helps! I appreciate your support; it helps the show! Tell your friends about the podcast and musicthinking.com Buy the book The Power of Music Thinking and/or the Jam Cards. The Power of Music Thinking is brought to you by CREATIVE COMPANION specialised in facilitating leaders, teams and organisations in customer experience, change and innovation.  

Elmar is co-founder and CEO at Neatleaf, where he is leveraging his expertise in AI and robotics to enable data-driven agriculture and to automate cultivation environments.Prior to Neatleaf, Elmar was at Google X, leading the largest engineering team at the Everyday Robot Project. Before that, he spent his career advancing the state-of-the-art in computer vision and perception for self-driving cars, drones, humanoids, and other robots at companies like Lucid Motors, Robert Bosch, and the German Aerospace Center

In this  Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Kristina Nikolaus, CEO & Co-Founder at OKAPI:Orbits,  at the 14TH IAA SYMPOSIUM ON SMALL SATELLITES FOR EARTH SYSTEM OBSERVATION, organized by the German Aerospace Center, Institute for Solar-Terrestrial Physics, TU Berlin and Berlin Partners in May 2023 in Berlin. OKAPI:Orbits is an innovative German SaaS startup dedicated to making space travel more sustainable through Collision Avoidance Software for satellites. The OKAPI:Orbits team envisions a safe and sustainable space environment, truly accessible to everyone. We are laser-focused on creating innovative and efficient products to enable safe and secure satellite operations and seamless ground segment integration. As experts in Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST), we offer platform services based on standardized interfaces with a wide range of flexible modules to meet the specific needs of our customers.Space Café Radio brings you talks, interviews, and reports from the team of SpaceWatchers while out on the road. Each episode has a specific topic, unique content, and a personal touch. Enjoy the show, and let us know your thoughts at radio@spacewatch.global!Please visit us at SpaceWatch.Global, subscribe to our newsletters. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!

Karla Loida, project lead, quantum computing hardware, at DLR - the German Aerospace Center, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Karla and Yuval talk about DLR's 4-year 740 million Euro initiative, the quantum prototypes they are building, how non-European companies can participate, and much more.

This podcast features two scientists from the German Aerospace Center

In this German Space Café Radio – Space Café Germany Host Andreas Schepers spoke with Dr. Sebastian Fischer, EnMAP Project Manager at the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The interview was conducted during this year's ILA Berlin which is the largest aerospace trade show in Germany which took place June 22 – 26.This Space Café Radio episode is in German language. In this episode, Andreas talked with Sebstian about the  German Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP) satellite, which is managed by the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center in Bonn on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). Space Café Radio brings you talks, interviews and reports from the team of SpaceWatchers while out on the road. Each episode has a specific topic, unique content and a personal touch. Enjoy the show and let us know your thoughts at radio@spacewatch.global!Please visit us at SpaceWatch.Global, subscribe to our newsletters. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!

On this week's show: After years of steep declines, researchers are investigating why malaria deaths have plateaued, and testing the stability of biosignatures in space First up on the podcast this week, freelance science journalist Leslie Roberts joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss why malaria deaths have plateaued in southern Africa, despite years of declines in deaths and billions of dollars spent. Leslie visited Mozambique on a global reporting grant from the Pulitzer Center where researchers are investigating the cause of the pause. Also this week, producer Kevin McLean talks with astrobiologists Mickael Baqué and Jean-Pierre de Vera of the German Aerospace Center. They discuss their Science Advances paper about an experiment on the International Space Station looking at the stability of biosignatures in space and what that means for our search for life on Mars. This week's episode was produced with help from Podigy. [Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS; Music: Jeffrey Cook] [alt: enhanced-color image of Mars' Jezero crater was taken by NASA's Perseverance with podcast overlay symbol] Authors: Sarah Crespi; Leslie Roberts; Kevin McLean Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade7839 About the Science Podcast: https://www.science.org/content/page/about-science-podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's show: After years of steep declines, researchers are investigating why malaria deaths have plateaued, and testing the stability of biosignatures in space First up on the podcast this week, freelance science journalist Leslie Roberts joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss why malaria deaths have plateaued in southern Africa, despite years of declines in deaths and billions of dollars spent. Leslie visited Mozambique on a global reporting grant from the Pulitzer Center where researchers are investigating the cause of the pause. Also this week, producer Kevin McLean talks with astrobiologists Mickael Baqué and Jean-Pierre de Vera of the German Aerospace Center. They discuss their Science Advances paper about an experiment on the International Space Station looking at the stability of biosignatures in space and what that means for our search for life on Mars. This week's episode was produced with help from Podigy. [Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS; Music: Jeffrey Cook] [alt: enhanced-color image of Mars' Jezero crater was taken by NASA's Perseverance with podcast overlay symbol] Authors: Sarah Crespi; Leslie Roberts; Kevin McLean Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade7839 About the Science Podcast: https://www.science.org/content/page/about-science-podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1915, around 12 years after the world's first controlled powered flight, Austrian physicist Robert Ettenreich was watching an aircraft skirting across the sky in southern Tirol when he noticed something – a long wispy cloud trailing out behind it. But what are those aircraft made clouds doing to our environment?   Ulrich Schumann, a professor of atmospheric physics at the German Aerospace Center has been studying them for decades and he joins us.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the podcast I speak with Daniel Schubert from the German Aerospace Center about designing and creating bioregenerative life-support systems for use in hostile and alien environments. Daniel is the leader of the Eden initiative, which over the past few years has been testing greenhouse food production in Antarctica in preparation for the implementation of plant production in Moon and Mars Habitats. We discuss the unexpected challenges of growing plants in hostile environments, building economically viable space colonies, the value of space exploration, future plans for space faring systems, environmental destruction, and the future of humanity. ►Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_bU4RCneXeM ►For more information about Daniel's work: https://eden-iss.net/index.php/contact/  https://www.dlr.de/irs/ SOCIAL: ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/EscapedSapiens ► Website: https://www.escapedsapiens.com/ ► Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EscapedSapiens 

Hansjörg Dittus served for many years on the board of the German Aerospace Center. Against the backdrop of dramatic developments in the crisis with Russia, the German professor reflects on Europe's role in the global race for space in a refreshingly honest discussion. Host: Markus Mooslechner:Markus Mooslechner Guest: Hansjörg DittusHansjörg Dittus Publisher: Torsten Kriening: https://www.linkedin.com/in/torsten-kriening-68456/ Who we are?SpaceWatch.Global is a digital magazine and portal for those interested in space, and the far-reaching impact that space developments have. While showcasing the technology that enables the industry to edge closer to the next frontier, SpaceWatch.Global also provides analysis, forecasts, and insight into the geopolitical implications of space developments. From space policy, exploration, and missions, to space weapons and technology, we provide a complete perspective on the emerging space sector as it expands into a global marketplace. The team behind SpaceWatch.Global is a dynamic mix of space geeks, tech junkies, space policy experts, regional specialists, and passionate writers. We fully believe that space should be used for humanity, that it enables knowledge, and enriches societies.SpaceWatch.Global is published by ThorGroup GmbH, headquartered in Bern, Switzerland. In the true Swiss spirit, neutrality, ethics and integrity are at our core. SpaceWatch.Global abides by the Society of Professional Journalists' code of ethics; we seek the truth and report on it. ThorGroup GmbHWaaghausgasse 183011 BernSwitzerlandWebsite: www.spacewatch.global Email: info@thorgroup.ch Exclusive distribution Partner: Bookwire - www.bookwire.de See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present the 50th episode in our podcast series The Space Cafe Podcast #050: Hansjörg Dittus, about Europe's Role in Space (an honest discussion)Episode 050 features a special guest Hansjörg Dittus.Hansjörg Dittus served for many years on the board of the German Aerospace Center. Against the backdrop of dramatic developments in the crisis with Russia, the German professor reflects on Europe's role in the global race for space in a refreshingly honest discussion.The Space Cafe Podcast brings our signature brand of engaging and relevant content from across the global space economy to you via an exciting new format. Together with award-winning Executive Producer, Markus Mooslechner (Terra Mater Factual Studios), our fortnightly podcast features highly interesting guests.Each episode includes a review of important topics, as well as guest appearances and deep commentary from expert panellists from across the space sector.You can find us on Spotify and Apple Podcast!Please visit us at SpaceWatch.Global, subscribe to our newsletters. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!

Dr. Patrick van der Smagt is Director of ArtificiaI Intelligence Research, Volkswagen AG, and Head of Argmax.AI (https://argmax.ai/), the Volkswagen Group Machine Learning Research Lab, in Munich, focusing on a range of research domains, including probabilistic deep learning for time series modelling, optimal control, reinforcement learning robotics, and quantum machine learning. Dr. van der Smagt is also a research professor in the Computer Science faculty at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. Dr. van der Smagt previously directed a lab as professor for machine learning and biomimetic robotics at the Technical University of Munich while leading the machine learning group at the research institute fortiss, and before that, founded and headed the Assistive Robotics and Bionics Lab at DLR, the German Aerospace Center. Besides publishing numerous papers and patents on machine learning, robotics, and motor control, Dr. van der Smagt has won a number of awards, including the 2013 Helmholtz-Association Erwin Schrödinger Award, the 2014 King-Sun Fu Memorial Award, the 2013 Harvard Medical School/MGH Martin Research Prize, the 2018 Webit Best Implementation of AI Award, and best-paper awards at various machine learning and robotics conferences and journals. Dr. van der Smagt also serves as a scientific reviewer for governmental funding organizations and served on various conference and journal boards. Dr. van der Smagt is founding chairman of a non-for-profit organization for Assistive Robotics for tetraplegics, and co-founder of various tech companies. In 2018, he started a for-good initiative called 10-to-GO (https://10togo.eu/), by supporting teams using machine learning for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Also then, he initiated etami (https://www.etami.eu/en.html), an initiative on Ethical and Trustworthy Artificial and Machine Intelligence, creating an organization with almost 20 multinationals and universities. Dr. van der Smagt has his Master of Science (M.Sc.), Computer Science from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Computer and Information Sciences, from University of Amsterdam.

Uli Lehr, Head of Socio-Economics at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), joins us this week to discuss the human costs of decarbonizing heavy industries and the role governments and multi-national organizations need to play in the push for a just and equitable transition in the industry sector.Recommended ReadingWorld Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway [IRENA]Guest Bio:  Ulrike Lehr is head of Policy (Socio-Economics) at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) headquarters based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. She studied physics at the University of Essen (Diploma in 1990) and economics at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, VA USA (M.Sc. 1992).She received her Ph.D. for a thesis on environmental valuation in 2005 from the University of Hohenheim.She previously worked as a researcher at the Department of System Analysis and Technology Assessment of the German Aerospace Center (2005-2008) at the Rhine-Westphalia Institute of Economics Research, RWI e.V., Essen; Department of energy policy studies and research (1993-1999).She has also worked with GWS as a Senior Expert since 2008. She has vast research and consulting experiences with national and international institutions including German Federal Ministries for Economy, Environment, Research, and Education, GIZ, EU, IEA, and as a counselor for twinning projects within the new member states. [GWS]Learn more about IRENAConnect with Uli on LinkedInThis series was produced in collaboration with the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT), the group is grounded on the conviction that partnership between the public and private sectors is key to achieving the industrial transition and reaching net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century. Learn more here_This Energy Talk is sponsored by Student Energy - Student Energy empowers the next generation of leaders who are accelerating the transition to a sustainable, equitable energy future. Learn more about Student Energy here

(1:20) - Smart T-shirt measures astronaut vital signs : Fun fact: astronauts lose up to 20% of muscle mass during their missions. If we want to make long-term space missions, we need to understand why and how this muscle atrophy takes place. That's exactly what the German Aerospace Center aims to accomplish with their smart T-shirt and astronaut Matthias Maurer will be the first to bring the modern era of fashion to the new space age during his upcoming mission in the ISS. (10:35) - Wearable Tech Aids Freedivers, Cardiac Patients: Freedivers are essentially superhumans and researchers want to leverage the mechanics of their physiology by using it to prepare cardiovascular patients for surgery. The key to this effort is accurate real time data which is where Carnegie Mellon University's special headband comes into play.  Episode 37 was brought to you by Mouser Electronics, Farbod & Daniel's favorite electronics distributor :)--About the podcast:Every day, some of the most innovative universities, companies, and individual technology developers share their knowledge on Wevolver. To ensure we can also provide this knowledge for the growing group of podcast listeners, we started a collaboration with two young engineers, Daniel Scott Mitchell & Farbod Moghaddam who discuss the most interesting content in this podcast series. To learn more about this show, please visit the shows page. By following the page, you will get automatic updates by email when a new show is published.Be sure to give us a follow and review on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and most of your favorite podcast platforms! Take a few seconds to leave us a review. It really helps! https://apple.co/2RIsbZ2 if you do it and send us proof, we'll give you a shoutout on the show.

Rail transport is a key means of achieving the European Green Deal. To master this role, it will undergo a transformation that will lead to the following setting in 20 to 30 years: The acceptance and attractiveness of the rail system is very high, and both decarbonization and increased energy efficiency across the value chain per passenger- or tonne-kilometer have been achieved on a large scale. Prof. Dr. Siefkes from the German Aerospace Center explains how exactly this will work and why the Batmobile is not an alternative for the transformation of mobility. Furthermore, InnoTrans Director Kerstin Schulz presents the concept of the Hackathon Hacktrain and the results achieved at the previous InnoTrans.

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present the 23rd episode in our podcast series The Space Cafe Podcast: Pascale Ehrenfreund – is there life in space (other than us)?Episode 023 features a special guest Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund.Pascale Ehrenfreund is an astrophysicist specialising in astrobiology. She is a highly-decorated and deserved expert in the field and there is no getting around her when it comes to the question of whether there is life in space (apart from Earth). Pascale has worked for NASA and JPL, was Director of the German Aerospace Center and is now the President of the International Astronautical Federation.The Space Cafe Podcast brings our signature brand of engaging and relevant content from across the global space economy to you via an exciting new format. Together with award-winning Executive Producer, Markus Mooslechner (Terra Mater Factual Studios), our fortnightly podcast features highly interesting guests.Each episode includes a review of important topics, as well as guest appearances and deep commentary from expert panellists from across the space sector.○      Host: Markus Mooslechner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markus-mooslechner-87878085/ ○      Guest: Pascale EhrenfreundPascale Ehrenfreund You can find us on Spotify and Apple Podcast!Please visit us at SpaceWatch.Global, subscribe to our newsletters. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!

Pascale Ehrenfreund is an astrophysicist specialising in astrobiology.She is a highly-decorated and deserved expert in the field and there is no getting around her when it comes to the question of whether there is life in space (apart from Earth).Pascale has worked for NASA and JPL, was Director of the German Aerospace Center and is now the President of the International Astronautical Federation. Host: Markus Mooslechner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markus-mooslechner-87878085/Guest: Pascale EhrenfreundPublisher: Torsten Kriening: https://www.linkedin.com/in/torsten-kriening-68456/ Who we are? SpaceWatch.Global is a digital magazine and portal for those interested in space, and the far-reaching impact that space developments have. While showcasing the technology that enables the industry to edge closer to the next frontier, SpaceWatch.Global also provides analysis, forecasts, and insight into the geopolitical implications of space developments. From space policy, exploration, and missions, to space weapons and technology, we provide a complete perspective on the emerging space sector as it expands into a global marketplace. The team behind SpaceWatch.Global is a dynamic mix of space geeks, tech junkies, space policy experts, regional specialists, and passionate writers. We fully believe that space should be used for humanity, that it enables knowledge, and enriches societies.SpaceWatch.Global is published by ThorGroup GmbH, headquartered in Bern, Switzerland. In the true Swiss spirit, neutrality, ethics and integrity are at our core. SpaceWatch.Global abides by the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics; we seek the truth and report on it. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Beril is a Dutch AI researcher who has received her PhD degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering in 2009 in Istanbul. She has later worked with the German Aerospace Center and pursued habilitation degree with University of Osnabrueck. She has worked as a guest lecturer at University of Augsburg and several other German universities until 2011. Between 2011 to 2020, she worked at Delft University of Technology and University of Twente respectively. She is an assistant professor at Jonkoping AI Lab where she is focusing on AI applications for healthcare and earth care. ————————————————————————————— Connect with me here: ✉️ My weekly email newsletter: jousef.substack.com

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.09.09.289827v1?rss=1 Authors: McGregor, H. R., Lee, J. K., Mulder, E., De Dios, Y., Beltran, N. E., Kofman, I. S., Bloomberg, J. J., Mulavara, A. P., Seidler, R. D. Abstract: Following long-duration missions onboard the International Space Station, some astronauts develop ophthalmic abnormalities collectively referred to as Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS). Optic disc edema is a common sign of SANS. SANS presents significant potential risk to astronaut health and performance; however, the origin and effects of SANS are not understood as signs of SANS have not manifested in previous spaceflight analog studies. Here we investigated if development of optic disc edema during a spaceflight analog impacts resting-state functional connectivity. Eleven healthy volunteers participated in this 58-day longitudinal study conducted at the :envihab facility at the German Aerospace Center. Baseline data were collected during a 14-day ambulatory phase in standard ambient air. All participants then underwent a spaceflight analog intervention: 30 days of strict head-down tilt bed rest in elevated ambient carbon dioxide (HDBR+CO2). The elevated CO2 level (0.5%) was matched to the hypercapnic environment of the International Space Station. The intervention was followed by a 14-day ambulatory recovery phase in standard ambient air. During the HDBR+CO2 spaceflight analog, 5 participants developed optic disc edema (SANS subgroup) and 6 did not (NoSANS group). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we acquired resting-state data at 6 time points throughout the study: before (2), during (2), and after (2) the HDBR+CO2 intervention. We assessed the time course of resting-state functional connectivity changes from before, during, to after the HDBR+CO2, and contrasted longitudinal changes between the SANS and NoSANS subgroups. We also assessed if the SANS and NoSANS subgroups exhibited differential patterns of resting-state functional connectivity prior to the HDBR+CO2 intervention. We foun that the SANS and NoSANS subgroups exhibited differential patterns of resting-state connectivity changes during the HDBR+CO2 spaceflight analog within visual and vestibular-related brain networks. We further found that the SANS and NoSANS subgroups exhibited differential resting-state brain activity prior to the spaceflight analog within a visual cortical network and within a large-scale network of brain areas involved in multisensory integration. Subgroup differences in resting-state functional connectivity changes may reflect differential patterns of visual and vestibular reweighting as optic disc edema develops during the HDBR+CO2 spaceflight analog. This finding suggests that SANS impacts not only neuro-ocular structures, but also brain function. Future prospective investigations incorporating sensory assessments are required to determine the functional significance of the observed connectivity differences. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info

Head of Strategy and Managing Director Venture Capital at OHB Group since 2013 Egbert van der Veen is on the Cold Star Project. Prior to this role, Egbert was Project Lead at the German Aerospace Center for 4 years, working with DLR, ESA, EC and writing advisory reports on technology development trends. Continuing our discussion with investors who fund space companies, host Jason Kanigan asks: Your scientific topic while working at DLR was forecasting disruptive space technologies. What did you learn and how does that influence your point of view out in the business world? How did you land the role of Managing Director of OHB VC? Your scientific career focused on innovation management in addition to space engineering. What does that allow you to bring to investing analysis and decisions that other VCs might not have? Tell us about a project or two you did with DLR and their results. What does that experience make you watch out for in future projects? In your “scouting” role, what do you look for in space companies? What would be the ideal discovery? What has your experience with space companies been like? What state do they typically arrive at your firm? Any insights on the point of view of the founders themselves? Internal operations of companies seeking investment? Their achievement or lack thereof of product-market fit? A lot of VCs talk about “capturing the value chain”, yet this is a concept many founders miss in their laser focus on their technical capability. What advice do you have for space founders in regards to taking a step back and viewing the whole value chain? OHB Group Venture Capital website: https://www.ohb-vc.de/ Get new episodes directly in your inbox: https://www.coldstartech.com/msb Talk to Cold Star: https://www.coldstartech.com/bookcall

Wolfgang Gentzsch is Co-founder and President of UberCloud. Together with Burak Yenier he founded UberCloud in 2014 to develop novel HPC technology to move complex engineering simulation workloads to the cloud. He was a professor of applied mathematics & computer science, working as a scientist at the Max Planck Institute and as Head of CFD department at the German Aerospace Center and he founded several companies in the Parallel Computing sector. From 2004 to 2008 Wolfgang was a member of US President's Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST). ————————————————————————————— Connect with me here: ✉️ My weekly email newsletter: jousef.substack.com

Today we're going to cover the complicated legacy of Konrad Zuse.  Konrad Zuse is one of the biggest pioneers in early computing that relatively few have heard about. We tend to celebrate those who lived and worked in Allied countries in the World War II era. But Zuse had been born in Berlin in 1910. He worked in isolation during those early days, building his historic Z1 computer at 26 years old in his parents living room. It was 1936.  That computer was a mechanical computer and he was really more of a guru when it came to mechanical and electromechanical computing. Mechanical computing was a lot like watch-making, with gears, and automations. There was art in it, and Zuse had been an artist early on in life.  This was the first computer that really contained every part of what we would today think of a modern computer. It had a central processing control unit. It had memory. It had input through punched tape that could be used to program it. It even had floating point logic. It had an electric motor that ran at 1 hertz.  This design would live inside future computers that he built, but was destroyed in 1943 during air raids, and would be lost to history until Zuse built a replica in 1989.  He started building the Z2 in 1940. This used the same memory as the Z1 (64 words) but had 600 relays that allowed him to get up to 5 hertz. He'd also speed up calculations based on those relays, but the power required would jump up to a thousand watts. He would hand it over to the German DVL, now the German Aerospace Center. If there are Nazis on the moon, his computers likely put them there.  And this is really where the German authorities stepped in and, as with in the US, began funding efforts in technological advancement. They saw the value of modeling all the maths on these behemoths. They ponied up the cash to build the Z3. And this turned out to ironically be the first Turing-complete computer. He'd continue 22-bit word lengths and run at 5 hertz. But this device would have 2,600 relays and would help to solve wing flutter problems and other complicated aerodynamic mathematical mysteries. The machine also used Boolean algebra, a concept brought into computing independently by Claude Shannon in the US. It was finished in 1941, two years before Tommy Flowers finished the Colossus and 1 year before the Atanasoff-Berry Computer was built. And 7 years before ENIAC. And this baby was fast. Those relays crunched multiplication problems in 3 seconds. Suddenly you could calculate square roots in no time. But the German war effort was more focused on mechanical computing and this breakthrough was never considered critical to the war effort. Still, it was destroyed by allied air raids, just as its younger siblings had been.  The war had gone from 1939 to 1945, the year he married Gisela and his first child was born. He would finish building the Z4 days before the end of the war and met Alan Turing in 1947. He'd found Zuse KG in 1949. The Germans were emerging from a post-wartime depression and normalizing relations with the rest of Europe. The Z4 would finally go into production in Zurich in 1950. His team was now up to a couple dozen people and he was getting known. With electronics getting better and faster and better known, he was able to bring in specialists and with 2,500 relays - now 21 step-wise relays. - to get up to 40 hertz. And to under complicate something from a book I read, no Apple was not the first company to hook a keyboard up to a computer, the Zs did it in the 50s as they were now using a typewriter to help program the computer. OK, fine, ENIAC did it in 1946… But can you imagine hooking a keyboard up to a device rather than just tapping on the screen?!?! Archaic! For two years, the Z4 was the only digital computer in all of Europe. But that was all about to change. They would refine the design and build the Z5, delivering it to Leitz GMBH in 1953. The Americans tried to recruit him to join their growing cache of computer scientists by sending Douglas Buck and others out. But he stayed on in Germany.  They would tinker with the designs and by 1955 came the Z11, shipping in 1957. This would be the first computer they produced multiple of in an almost assembly line building 48 and gave them enough money to build their next big success, the Z22. This was his seventh and would use vacuum tubes. And actually had an ALGOL 58 compiler. If you can believe it, the  University of Applied Sciences, Karlsruhe still has one running! It added a rudimentary form of water cooling, teletype, drum memory, and core memory. They were now part of the computing mainstream.  And in 1961 they would go transistorized with the Z23. Ferrite memory. 150 kilohertz, Algol 60. This was on par with anything being built in the world. Transistors and diodes. They'd sell nearly 100 of them over the next few years. They would even have Z25 and Z26 variants. The Z31 would ship in 1963. They would make it to the Z43.  But the company would run into financial problems and be sold to Siemens in 1967, who had gotten into computing in the 1950s. Being able to focus on something other than running a company prompted Zuse to write Calculating Space, effectively positing that the universe is a computational structure, now known as digital physics. He wasn't weird, you're weird. OK, he was…  e was never a Nazi, but he did build machines that could have helped their effort.  You can trace the history of the mainframe era from gears to relays to tubes to transistors in his machines. IBM and other companies licensed his patents. And many advances were almost validated by him independently discovering them, like the use of Boolean algebra in computing. But to some degree he was a German in a lost era of history, often something that falls to the losers in a war.  So Konrad Zuse, thank you for one of the few clean timelines. It was a fun romp. I hope you have a lovely place in history, however complicated it may be. And thank you listeners, for tuning in to this episode of the history of computing podcast. We are so lucky to have you stop by. I hope you have a lovely and quite uncomplicated day! 

Dr Carolyn Lam: Welcome to Circulation on the Run, your weekly podcast summary and backstage pass to the journal and its editors. I'm Dr Carolyn Lam, associate editor from the National Heart Center and Duke National University of Singapore. Dr Greg Hundley: And I'm Greg Hundley, associate editor, Director of the Pauley Heart Center from VCU Health in Richmond, Virginia. Well, our feature article this week, Carolyn, is really interesting and evaluates management of patients that are suspected to have atrial fibrillation and how we should screen them, what kind of monitoring and the like, very interesting discussion that will be coming up. But before we get to that, how about we start into the papers and would you like to go first? Dr Carolyn Lam: I would love to. And the first one is a basic paper on regenerative therapy, very important topic. Now remember that mammalian adult hearts have limited regenerative capacity. However, a transient regenerative capacity is maintained in the neonatal heart. So co-corresponding authors, Dr Wang and Dr Guo from Nanjing Medical University hypothesize that by analyzing systemic phosphorylation signaling in ischemic neonatal myocardium, they may unlock key pathways involved in heart regeneration. They therefore used quantitative phosphorylation proteomics to analyze the kinase substrate network of regenerative myocardium post MI in neonatal mice. And they found that activated Chk1 kinase was responsible for neonatal regeneration and could enhance cardiac regeneration in adult hearts post MI via activating the mTORC1 P70-S6K axis. Dr Greg Hundley: Wow, Carolyn. Sounds like this could have a lot of clinical application several years down the road. So what are your thoughts on that? Dr Carolyn Lam: I thought you may ask. Well, potentiation of Chk1 kinase, therefore, may be a promising regenerative therapy and authors gave this example that Chk1 injection could for example, in the form of a hydrogel, be injected into the myocardial infarction region and surrounding areas and may even be a novel therapeutic option to promote cardiac regeneration post MI. Dr Greg Hundley: Very good, Carolyn. Well, my paper comes from the PARTNER 3 trial and remember PARTNER 3 is a comparison of transcatheter versus surgical aortic-valve replacement in low risk patients. The corresponding author is Dr Philippe Pibarot from Quebec. The placement of aortic transcatheter valve three or PARTNER 3 trial randomized a thousand patients with severe aortic stenosis and low surgical risk at 71 centers to undergo either transfemoral TAVR with the balloon expandable SAPIEN 3 valve versus undergoing SAVR or surgical aortic valve replacement. Transthoracic echocardiograms were obtained at baseline and at 30 days and one-year post procedure and they were analyzed by a consortium of two echocardiography core labs. The objective of this study is to compare echocardiographic findings in low risk patients with severe aortic stenosis following surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Dr Carolyn Lam: Important topic, very hot. So what did they find? Dr Greg Hundley: In patients with severe aortic stenosis and low surgical risk, TAVR with the SAPIEN 3 valve was associated with a similar percentage of moderate to severe AR compared with SAVR, but a higher percentage of mild AR with no association between any grade of AR and outcomes. Trans-prosthetic gradients, valve areas and LV mass regression were similar in TAVR versus SAVR. And SAVR was associated with a significant deterioration of RV systolic function and greater tricuspid regurgitation, which persisted at one year. So Carolyn, very interesting results. Another study from PARTNER 3 comparing TAVR versus SAVR for patients with severe aortic stenosis. Dr Carolyn Lam: Nice. So going from PARTNER 3, I want to talk about MESA and this time focusing on coronary artery calcium. Now we know that the recent ACC/AHA primary prevention guidelines recommend considering low dose aspirin therapy only among adults who are at high atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk but not at high risk of bleeding. However, it remains unclear how these patients are best identified. So the current study aimed to assess the value of coronary artery calcium for guiding aspirin allocation in primary prevention using the 2019 aspirin meta-analysis data on cardiovascular disease relative risk reduction and bleeding risk. So corresponding author Dr Cainzos-Achirica from Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and colleagues studied 6,470 participants from MESA all of whom underwent coronary artery calcium scoring at baseline to assess benefit versus harm. A 12% relative risk reduction in cardiovascular disease events was used for five-year number needed to treat calculations, while a 42% relative risk increase in major bleeding events was used for the five-year number needed to harm estimations. And now here are the results. Only 5% of MESA participants would qualify for aspirin consideration for primary prevention according to the ACC/AHA guidelines and using more than 20% estimated atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk to define higher risk. Among the 3,540 aspirin naive participants less than 70 years old and not at high risk of bleeding, the overall number needed to treat in five years with aspirin to prevent one cardiovascular disease event was 476, while the number needed to harm in five years was 355. The numbers needed to treat in five years was also greater than or similar to the numbers needed to harm among estimated ASCVD risk strata by pool cohort equations. Conversely, with a coronary artery calcium score of more than a hundred or more than 400, both these cutoffs identified subgroups in which the number needed to treat in five years was lower than the number needed to harm in five years. Also, coronary calcium score of zero identified subgroups in which the number needed to treat was much higher than the number needed to harm. Dr Greg Hundley: Lots of data. So we're mixing aspirin and MESA coronary calcium scores. What do we take home from this? Dr Carolyn Lam: So here's the take home message. Coronary artery calcium may be superior to the pool cohort equations to inform the allocation of aspirin in primary prevention. Individuals with a coronary artery calcium score above hundred and particularly above 400 may be good candidates for aspirin therapy for primary prevention. Although the net expected benefit will likely be modest. In the presence of zero coronary artery calcium, the risk of bleeding is greater than the potential benefit and aspirin therapy for primary prevention should probably be avoided. Overall, implementation of the current 2019 ACC/AHA guideline recommendations together with the use of coronary artery calcium scoring for further risk assessment may result in a more personalized, safer allocation of aspirin for primary prevention. Although ,of course, confirmation and external settings are required. Dr Greg Hundley: That was really interesting. Combining coronary calcium scores, if you happen to have it, if someone's considering primary prevention with aspirin, it looks like those calcium scores could really be helpful there. Well, I've got a couple other papers to talk about in this week's issue. There's an ECG challenge from Abdulhamied Alfaddagh from Johns Hopkins reviewing the quote unquote de Winter EKG pattern in a truck driver presenting with chest pain. Second, there's an in-depth article from Alexander Fletcher from Edinburgh in the United Kingdom who discusses the metabolic pathways involved in inherited aortopathies trying to move beyond just diameter assessments to predict risk above future dilation and rupture. And then lastly, there's a research letter from Petra Frings-Meuthen from the German Aerospace Center, the reports on how weightlessness shifts intravascular volumes and concentration of natriuretic peptides in astronauts. Dr Carolyn Lam: Huh. And I would like one on my mind by Dr Kowey and it talks about the relentless pursuit of new drugs to treat cardiac arrhythmias. Wow. What a nice issue. Let's move on now to our feature discussion. Dr Greg Hundley: Welcome everyone to our feature discussion. In this particular paper will focus on atrial fibrillation and we're delighted to have Dr Søren Diederichsen from Copenhagen presenting this work and Dr Changsheng Ma, one of our associate editors from Beijing, China to have nice discussion. Søren, I was wondering if we could get started with you. Could you tell us a little bit about what was the background related to this study and perhaps even a little bit about the hypothesis that you wanted to test? Dr Søren Diederichsen:  The background for this study is that, as we all know, atrial fibrillation is actually big and it's a growing health problem throughout the world and we also know that AF is often asymptomatic. So many cases of atrial fibrillation go undetected until complications occur. And, of course, one of the most feared complications from AFib is a disabling stroke. And there's more and more evidence growing that a large proportion of people with risk factors for stroke do have some subclinical atrial fibrillation when they investigated or when they are followed, for instance, with a pacemaker. So there has been a recent meta-analysis that found that the at risk of stroke in patients with subclinical AFib was fairly large compared to the risk of stroke in patients without subclinical AFib. So, in this study, we want to look at the subclinical AFib in patients from the general population using loop recorders to follow these patients. And we want to sort of look at how could we screen the patients to find those with subclinical AFib using different screening scenarios which are less intensive than using a loop recorder for everyone. Dr Greg Hundley: Søren, could you tell us a little bit about your study population and your study design? Dr Søren Diederichsen:  First of all, this study is part of an ongoing randomized control trial called the loop study. And in the loop study we recruited study participants from the general population. The participants had to be at least 70 years old. And besides age as a stroke risk factor, they also had to have at least one additional stroke risk factor, hypertension, diabetes, heart failure or previous stroke. And importantly, they could not have AFib. And the included participants were then randomized to control or screening for AFib using implantable loop recorder with remote monitoring and adjudication of new onset AF episodes. In this particular study, we looked at the first participants in the loop recorder group who had been monitored for the entirety of the device's battery life, which is approximately three and a half years. So for these persons, we know whether or not they actually have AFib and we know exactly when they were in AFib and when they were in sinus rhythm. So we use this data from the loop recorders to reconstruct full heart rhythm histories for each person, including exact time of onset and termination of each episode after exclusion of any clinically detected AF in the patients. And it's a bit complicated study design because we have these heart rhythm histories. Now you can imagine where we have a string of data which is approximately three and a half years long and we know exactly when is AFib present and when a sinus rhythm present in this patient. So we could use that data to simulate that the persons had been invited to an AFib screening by the health care service and had undergone a different type of screening at a random time. And these screenings that we investigated were time-point screening using standard ten second ECG during office hours and intermittent screening using single list devices, for instance, and short term continuous screening using external devices such as Holter or event recorder. So we simulated that the patients had undergone such screenings and we could also assimilate that the patients were screened several times on a monthly or annual basis such as, for instance, taking an ECG every year. And this simulation was then used to evaluate the sensitivity and negative predictive value of various screening regiments using the loop recorders' gold standard. Dr Greg Hundley: What were your study results? Dr Søren Diederichsen:  All of this data comprised, as I told you, the first participant in our trial that had been monitored for the full battery life of the device. So that was 590 participants entering nearly 700,000 days of continuous monitoring. So that was our data. And one third of those participants actually had previously unknown AFib and the number of AF episodes in our data was more than 20,000 AF episodes. The main results were that if we simulate the pseudo-random daytime ECG in those patients, we would have identified only 1.5% of those who had AFib while performing by daily 32nd ECGs during 14 days, we would have identified 8% of those with AFib. And if we took a 72-hour Holter, we would have identified 15% or a longer, for instance, a 30-day event recorder, we would have identified about a third of all those with AFib. So that was actually our main results. We were able to see how many would we have identified of those with AFib if we'd done anything from taking a daytime ECG to performing a rather long event recorder. Dr Greg Hundley: Were you able to put together maybe a combination of other variables along with the more lengthy recordings that could forecast future atrial fibrillation? Dr Søren Diederichsen: One of the things we wanted to do with this study was not only did we want to see what is actually the diagnostic performance of doing an ECG or screening patients at risk with different kinds of screening, we also want to look at specific subgroups of the population who were more likely to maybe benefit from the screening in terms of having their AFib diagnosed. So we looked at some population characteristics, age, sex and NT-proBNP. And we saw that the sensitivity of the screening was consistently higher among those who were older with a cutoff at 75 years, and also among males and among those with a high NT-proBNP. So we could see that if we had screened one of those risk factor groups, age, male sex or high NT-proBNP, we would have been more or less likely to identify if AF was actually present. Dr Greg Hundley: Changsheng, I'd like to turn to you. Can you help us put this results into perspective? How should we use this information in managing patients with atrial fibrillation? Dr Changsheng: The AI for screening is a very important clinical problem and a hot topic issue. The heart rate monitoring is a cornerstone for detecting suspected AF patients. And then emerging new technology make monitoring more convenient than before. But however the best screening strategy for those at higher risk of future AF stroke. And probably the strategy for the general population screening remain undetermined. On the contrary, they evaluated the performance of a large panel of AF screening strategy among the 600 persons with a stroke risk factor that was not known yet. The study used as an implantable loop recorder as a gold standard to assess the detection or difference in simulating a screening model. I've got to say, the method employed in this study is quite exquisite and there's a key finding our clients tried to forward. The time-point screening or the short-term monitoring could only identify a very small fraction of AFIB as compared for long-term loop recording screening. And diagnostic yield increased with duration, number and the dispersion of screenings. So this is done to provide important clinical implications that every relatively intense screening such as even now I knew 30-day monitoring would need more than four in ten with AF. And about one in six which are underlying more than 24 hours episode of AF. So the authors also gave the practical dispersion concept that when screening for AF, three times 24 hour monitoring are superior to one time 72 hour monitoring. So I think this is a very important study to understand the condition, to understand the screening of AF patient for the general population. Dr Greg Hundley: So really, helping us put these results in perspective. Maybe I'll ask each of you Søren first and then Changsheng. What do you think is the next research that needs to be performed after taking your results into account? Dr Søren Diederichsen:  In terms of what we should do next, I agree with Changsheng that there's a lot of attention towards AF screening at the moment, but we still really don't know if widespread screening in the population is actually something that could prevent heart endpoints. So the next thing we need to know is, first of all, if we screen, will we have fewer of those events or will we have more side effects from the screening such as anticoagulant-mediated bleedings? It's very important to keep in mind that we don't yet know if screening is something that would prevent heart endpoints. Second of all, we want to know more about what is actually the relationship between AF burden or amount of AF and risk of stroke. There's some evidences coming up that it's growing. Is it, for instance, from the CERT study that the amount of AF and the pattern of AF that you have might tell us a little bit about what is your risk of stroke? For instance, if you have long AF episodes, your risk of stroke is higher than if you have all the short AF episodes. And so that would be two of the next things I would think we should look at. Dr Greg Hundley: Very good. Changsheng, do you have something to add to that? Dr Changsheng: Yes, I agree with Søren. Now, on the detection, it's important but as a burden, even more important. So in practice in future, wouldn't we need more advanced technology and the patients or the participants frontally the monitoring device, which has the same ability to loop record them. But this is more easy to use because when we use frontal monitoring for the patients, the longer duration of your monitoring period. So worse complains to the patients, not as our study because we have a simulation methodology, that 100% of patient accomplishments. So I think in future, the watch with a diagnostic function of AF differentiation based on not ECG, but only based on the pulse. So, the watch diagnostic function, not by ECG that are by pulse, like a detection of pulse. And then depend on the artificial intelligence, the AI function, to make a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, not by ECG. That would be the future. Dr Søren Diederichsen:  And if you don't mind, I would like to add to that because I think that Changsheng raises an excellent point here with the smartwatch and how could they contribute to our prevention of stroke and in society. So the current smartwatches work by looking at the pulse by photoplethysmography. And they cannot look at the pulse continuously as we do with the loop recorder looking at the ECG continuously. This like with the photoplethysmography turns on when the patient is at risk and builds up an algorithm to look at what is actually the likelihood that the patient is an AF at this moment or today. So at this point it'll only detect fairly long AF episodes, but in this study, we also looked at the longer AF episodes and the AAF burden. How does that impact the likelihood of detecting AF and of course it's more easy to detect it in patients with long AF episodes. And if we find out in the future that a larger AF burden or longer AF episodes are actually required to increase the risk of stroke, then I believe that technology such as smartwatches could be a very feasible way to screen or to detect that kind of AF in patients at risk. Dr Greg Hundley: Well listeners we've had a wonderful discussion here with Dr Søren Diederichsen from Copenhagen and our associate editor, Changsheng Ma from Beijing, China. And really reviewing some important results related to screening for atrial fibrillation and the three 24-hour monitoring sessions combined with risk factors really help us identify who may be experiencing atrial fibrillation in our patients. And then also, very interesting projections for the future, both using technology to try to identify atrial fibrillation perhaps through watches. And then also how we could incorporate the duration, the time, et cetera of atrial fibrillation occurrences and how they may relate to adverse events. Thank you so much Søren. Thank you Changsheng. And to all our listeners, we wish you a very safe week and look forward to meeting with you next week. Take care. This program is copyright the American Heart Association 2020.  

The OnTrack Podcast welcomes Zaheer Ali, manager of safety, quality, and software product assurance for NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). Zaheer is a research physicist specializing in electron transport and nuclear radiation detection and has a background as a MEMS engineer. He co-founded the National Center for Nuclear Security while working at the US Department of Energy’s Nevada Test Site. Zaheer shares his wealth of experience with our listeners and offers some sage advice to Electrical Engineers as we move toward a more modular, degradable, interconnected world. Click here, to watch the video. Show Highlights Zaheer Abbas Ali is a research physicist by education and training, specializing in electron transport and nuclear radiation detection, but while pursuing his education, he also took a tremendous number of Electrical and Nuclear Engineering classes.  Zaheer has over 10,000 hours "in the fab" and spent part of his career consulting as a micro/nano device (MEMS) engineer. While working for the US Department of Energy’s Nevada Test Site, Zaheer co-founded the National Center for Nuclear Security. Zaheer also worked a two year assignment as Principal Investigator and Shot Director at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics of the University of Rochester.  Zaheer currently works as the Product Assurance Manager for SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, a project made possible through NASA’s partnership with the German Aerospace Center (also known as Deutsches Zentrum für Luft, or DLR).  We know what SOFIA stands for, but what is SOFIA exactly?SOFIA is a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft which carries a reflecting telescope into the stratosphere at 38,000-45,000 feet, putting is above the vast majority of our planet’s infrared-blocking atmosphere. This provides a means for astronomers to study our skies in ways that are simply not possible using ground-based telescopes.  SOFIA’s  ability to fly above the troposphere, gives it access to a vew which is unobstructed by water and aerosols, so transmission is 99.99%! Zaheer also works with USRA (University Space Research Association), the subcontractor to NASA AMES Research Center, which is located in Mountain View, California. At DesignCon, Zaheer’s discussion focused on his colleague’s work on SOFIA, in a talk titled ‘Microships in Space: How Device Design Enables Amazing Astronomy’. Zaheer also served on a panel at DesignCon, discussing ‘How Device Design can Drive Progress in Industry 4.0’. Zaheer’s advice to EEs is to, moving forward, focus on modularity and upgradeability on the hardware side—these are critical for the longevity of systems and capabilities, and he believes demand for these features from commercial and consumer spaces will only increase as time goes on.  Zaheer also notes the additional trend in which the number of IoT devices an average person interacts with on a daily basis will increase by an order of magnitude over the next 5-10 years, placing a huge emphasis on board and device design for IoT. Resources: Zaheer Linkedinwww.SOFIA.usra.eduHelium Hydride SOFIASOFIA reveals new view of Milky Waywww.AixiaGlobal.comwww.llnl.govwww.dhs.govNASA SpinoffArticle featuring Orbit Fab’s Space Gas StationIn God we trust, Everyone else, bring data.   See What's New in Altium Designer

Interview PartnerIn this interview, Joe is talking to Alexander Lange –  Co-Founder and Head of Software Engineering (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-lange-527522119/) at Darmstadt based deep tech startup Xelera Technologies  (https://xelera.io/). He has been with the German Aerospace Center and the European Space Agency.   The StartupXelera Technologies offers specialized software for FPGA processing, which accelerates cloud computing considerably for certain tasks. Xelera already won two awards from the German federal ministry of economics and energy (including digital startup of the year 2019) https://www.de.digital/DIGITAL/Redaktion/DE/Gruenderwettbewerb/Artikel/preistreager-Digitales-Start-up-des-Jahres-2019.html. The startup has also been named a “Top 50 Startup” by German Blog Für-Gründer (https://www.fuer-gruender.de/beratung/gruenderwettbewerb/studie-2019/top-50/)   Recommended Readings (Affiliated Links)The Fire Starter Sessions by Danielle LaPortehttps://amzn.to/38Ug3rUThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey https://amzn.to/2sGDy78   The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness by Stephen R. Covey https://amzn.to/34DYbOCThe $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeauhttps://amzn.to/2PEoFetOutliers by Malcolm Gladwellhttps://amzn.to/36U41g6Grit – The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworthhttps://amzn.to/2SbuEcj       Deep Tech PodcastIf you are interested in German deeptech startups, you can find our audio-only podcast "Deeptech Germany by Startuprad.io" here: iTunes: https://apple.co/2oWO3Sl Spotify https://spoti.fi/2qucve8   Venture Capital RoundXelera is currently raising its seed round in Q2 2020. If you are interested in investing, reach out to us, we will get you connected.   Further ReadingFormerly with DLR (German Aerospace Center) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Aerospace_Center ESA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_(spacecraft) ESOC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Space_Operations_Centre FPGA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-programmable_gate_array GPU https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_processing_unit FPGA coding https://www.fpga4student.com/2017/08/what-is-fpga-programming.html --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deeptechgermany/message This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policy Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy Feedback We are always looking for ways to make the show better. Please take this opportunity and share your feedback with us! We would love to hear from YOU!!! https://forms.gle/mLV6mVKwGwKuut8BA

Interview PartnerIn this interview, Joe is talking to Alexander Lange – Co-Founder and Head of Software Engineering (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-lange-527522119/) at Darmstadt based deep tech startup Xelera Technologies (https://xelera.io/). He has been with the German Aerospace Center and the European Space Agency. The StartupXelera Technologies offers specialized software for FPGA processing, which accelerates cloud computing considerably for certain tasks. Xelera already won two awards from the German federal ministry of economics and energy (including digital startup of the year 2019) https://www.de.digital/DIGITAL/Redaktion/DE/Gruenderwettbewerb/Artikel/preistreager-Digitales-Start-up-des-Jahres-2019.html. The startup has also been named a “Top 50 Startup” by German Blog Für-Gründer (https://www.fuer-gruender.de/beratung/gruenderwettbewerb/studie-2019/top-50/) Recommended Readings (Affiliated Links)The Fire Starter Sessions by Danielle LaPortehttps://amzn.to/38Ug3rUThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey https://amzn.to/2sGDy78 The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness by Stephen R. Covey https://amzn.to/34DYbOCThe $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeauhttps://amzn.to/2PEoFetOutliers by Malcolm Gladwellhttps://amzn.to/36U41g6Grit – The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworthhttps://amzn.to/2SbuEcj Deep Tech PodcastIf you are interested in German deeptech startups, you can find our audio-only podcast "Deeptech Germany by Startuprad.io" here: iTunes: https://apple.co/2oWO3Sl Spotify https://spoti.fi/2qucve8 Venture Capital RoundXelera is currently raising its seed round in Q2 2020. If you are interested in investing, reach out to us, we will get you connected. Further ReadingFormerly with DLR (German Aerospace Center) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Aerospace_Center ESA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_(spacecraft) ESOC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Space_Operations_Centre FPGA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-programmable_gate_array GPU https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_processing_unit FPGA coding https://www.fpga4student.com/2017/08/what-is-fpga-programming.html

Interview PartnerIn this interview, Joe is talking to Alexander Lange – Co-Founder and Head of Software Engineering (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-lange-527522119/) at Darmstadt based deep tech startup Xelera Technologies (https://xelera.io/). He has been with the German Aerospace Center and the European Space Agency. The StartupXelera Technologies offers specialized software for FPGA processing, which accelerates cloud computing considerably for certain tasks. Xelera already won two awards from the German federal ministry of economics and energy (including digital startup of the year 2019) https://www.de.digital/DIGITAL/Redaktion/DE/Gruenderwettbewerb/Artikel/preistreager-Digitales-Start-up-des-Jahres-2019.html. The startup has also been named a “Top 50 Startup” by German Blog Für-Gründer (https://www.fuer-gruender.de/beratung/gruenderwettbewerb/studie-2019/top-50/) Recommended Readings (Affiliated Links)The Fire Starter Sessions by Danielle LaPortehttps://amzn.to/38Ug3rUThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey https://amzn.to/2sGDy78 The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness by Stephen R. Covey https://amzn.to/34DYbOCThe $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeauhttps://amzn.to/2PEoFetOutliers by Malcolm Gladwellhttps://amzn.to/36U41g6Grit – The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworthhttps://amzn.to/2SbuEcj Deep Tech PodcastIf you are interested in German deeptech startups, you can find our audio-only podcast "Deeptech Germany by Startuprad.io" here: iTunes: https://apple.co/2oWO3Sl Spotify https://spoti.fi/2qucve8 Venture Capital RoundXelera is currently raising its seed round in Q2 2020. If you are interested in investing, reach out to us, we will get you connected. Further ReadingFormerly with DLR (German Aerospace Center) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Aerospace_Center ESA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_(spacecraft) ESOC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Space_Operations_Centre FPGA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-programmable_gate_array GPU https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_processing_unit FPGA coding https://www.fpga4student.com/2017/08/what-is-fpga-programming.html Find the video here: https://www.startuprad.io/blog/xelera-technologies-helps-with-their-software-to-accelerate-machine-learning/ Folge direkt herunterladen

After obtaining his phd in Computer Science back in the 90s, Patrick van der Smagt showcases an interesting journey that includes the German Aerospace Center and a professorship at the Technical University of Munich he now is heading the fundamental research lab of the Volkswagen Group for machine Learning, deep learning, quantum machine learning and robotics. We met up with Patrick in Munich at the lab and talked about his professional life and his views on the space of machine learning and A.I both from a research and application perspective. 

Does your full schedule eat into how much you sleep at night? Are you frequently in noisy areas? Have you ever thought that maybe your sleep deprivation and surroundings (even if you can function well) are impacting your short-term performance and long-term health? Well, it is. And science can prove it. Dr. Mathias Basner -- an associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine-- who spent the past two decades researching how sleep and noise impact your cognitive functions (short-term performance) and long-term health, shares startling research findings that you might want to know. Among other things, Basner's research showed that at six hours of sleep per night, you will reach similar cognitive decline levels to those who do not sleep for a full night after 10-12 days, and at four hours per night, you will reach this level after five to seven days. The brain, while sleeping, performs critical functions, including emotional processing and information triaging. Basner shared that one of the hottest theories right now is that sleep allows for brain plasticity, meaning your brain's ability to modify its neural network connections or, in other words: rewire itself. If brain plasticity is impaired, you experience lowered ability to focus, memory problems, higher emotional instabilities, etc... And that's just the tip of the iceberg... think about how this affects your experience of life and effectiveness as a leader. Tune in to get the full conversation and learn about: Clarity of the mind: effective leadership Emotional Intelligence The role of sleep in your life and for your body How sleep deprivation may be impacting your ability to lead effectively Short-term effects of sleep deprivation How sleep impacts cognitive functions Sleep deprivation research findings How noise impacts your health short and long term Research findings on brain plasticity The trap (hint: blissful ignorance) What is the optimum sleep amount per night Key workarounds if you can't get enough sleep Dr. Mathias Basner's biography: Mathias Basner, MD, PhD, MSc is an associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. His primary research interests concern the effects of sleep loss on neurobehavioral and cognitive functions, population studies on sleep time and waking activities, the effects of traffic noise on sleep and health, and astronaut behavioral health on long-duration space missions. These research areas overlap widely. Basner has published more than 80 journal articles and reviewed articles for more than 80 scientific journals. He is currently on the editorial board of the journals Sleep Health and Frontiers in Physiology. Between 1999 and 2008, Basner conducted several large-scale laboratory and field studies on the effects of traffic noise on sleep at the German Aerospace Center. For this research, Basner was awarded the German Aerospace Center Research Award in 2007 and the Science Award of the German Academy for Aviation and Travel Medicine in 2010. Basner developed an ECG-based algorithm for the automatic identification of autonomic activations associated with cortical arousal that was used in several field studies to non-invasively assess the effects of aircraft noise on sleep. He is currently funded by the FAA to obtain current exposure-response functions describing the effects of aircraft noise on sleep for the United States. Basner has been an advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) on the effects of traffic noise on sleep and health on a number of occasions. He performed a systematic evidence review on the effects of noise on sleep for the recently published revision of WHO's Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region. Basner is currently President of the International Commission of Biological Effects of Noise (ICBE...

NASA InSight scientist/engineer Troy Hudson gives us the game plan for getting the mission's heat probe, also known as the "mole," digging again on Mars.

NASA InSight scientist/engineer Troy Hudson gives us the game plan for getting the mission's heat probe, also known as the "mole," digging again on Mars.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is going to pay volunteers a huge sum of money in exchange for lying in bed. A total of 12 male and 12 female volunteers will each receive $18,500 for being part of a study by NASA, the European Space Agency, and the German Aerospace Center. As subjects of the study, the participants will spend 60 days in bed at a research facility in Germany. Outside the 60-day bed rest phase, volunteers will also have 14 days of break from lying down. Called Artificial Gravity Bed Rest—European Space Agency (AGBRESA), the study aims to analyze the effects of artificial gravity on the human body, specifically that of astronauts. To recreate a low-gravity environment, the participants will lie down on a bed whose head part is tilted downward. Because this kind of environment may alter blood flow, some participants will be put in a machine that revolves 30 times per minute to make blood flow back to their extremities. Additionally, routine activities, including eating and taking a shower, will be done in a lying position. Movements will also be limited to avoid putting stress on the muscles and bones. Throughout the study, the participants will also undergo several tests to check their brain, heart, muscles, as well as balance. The study will be conducted in two phases. The first phase has already kicked off in March, while the second phase will start in September. The researchers are still accepting applications for the second phase. Non-smoking women who are 24 to 55 years old and can speak German are encouraged to apply.

Interview with Dr. Fischer and Dr. Burauer – Technology Transfer at the German Aerospace Center – an Interesting Trademark Case GALILEO – BoA Reform at the EPO – KR Acceedes the Hague Agreement You can find a more detailed article about the GALILEO case here: MarkenR 2016, 423

Open source UAV software, safety with a soccer ball sized drone, a drone landing on a moving vehicle, combining rotors and wings for overall efficiency, the FAA blocks sUAS registration site outside the U.S., and UAS rules for public safety organizations. News Dronecode Project Advances Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Commercial Applications In its first year, the Dronecode Project has formed three technical working groups and grown to include 50 members. This collaborative effort brings open source UAV projects together under a non-profit structure governed by The Linux Foundation. Board chairman Chris Anderson says, “By bringing efforts together to establish a common platform and utilizing open source best practices, we're able to build the foundation for a new era of drone applications that extend from the camera to the cloud.  The Dronecode ‘full-stack' platform approach, combined with the hardware and software innovations of its members, will bring about a new generation of drones that are autonomous, aware of their environments, and continuously connected -- an airborne Internet of Things." The three Dronecode working groups are the: MAVlink Camera Working Group, which assists camera manufacturers in implementing the MAVlink protocol in cameras. Airspace Working Group, which establishes common data types, units, and formats that all airspace providers can use to transmit and receive. Hardware Working Group, which will establish mechanical and electrical standards for interfaces to the UAV autopilot and its peripherals. Safer Drone Is The Future Of Tech Design The Fleye is a small drone that solves the safety problem caused by spinning rotors. With the enclosed, ducted fan design, all the moving parts are inside a spherical shape the size and weight of a soccer ball. The developers say it's easy to fly and can even fly autonomously. This was a Kickstarter project that successfully raised €314,080 with 717 backers. Fleye - Your Personal Flying Robot http://youtu.be/ShNS-WLGVLo Drones can now land on moving cars Researchers at the German Aerospace Center have successfully landed a 20kg fixed-wing UAV on a moving car traveling at 75 kilometers per hour (about 47 mph). The top of the vehicle has optical markers that the UAV uses for tracking. The UAV matches speed and lands on a 4 x 5 meter platform net. Credit: German Aerospace Center Belgian drone mixes plane and quadcopter technology A team at the University of Leuven in Belgium have developed a UAV that lifts off vertically via four propellers, rotates 45 degrees, and transitions to horizontal flight with lift coming from the wings. Under conventional flight with lift from wings, less power is required for flight, and the VertiKUL 2 has the advantage of speed and flight duration. In tests, the VertiKUL has been able to travel for up to 30 kilometers (18.6 miles), with a cargo payload of up to one kilogram (2.2 lb). Lead researcher Bart Theys says, "We made a combination that uses the flight efficiency of an airplane and combines this with the vertical take-off and landing of a quadcopter or a helicopter. So we added wings and aerodynamically shaped profile to a quadcopter to make it fly fast and far." Feedback Several listeners noted that the FAA sUAS registration webpage is blocked outside the United States. That makes it difficult for tourists and drone racing competitors to register before entering the country. Tim Trott points to 3 Things Public Safety Officials Should Know About Drones by Jonathan Rupprecht, in sUAS News, and observes that the relationship between standards met and operating restrictions are inverted.

Curiosity is a car-sized robotic rover exploring Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. Also part of the mission is German radiation expert Günther Reitz. On Talking Germany, he talks about the challenges of outer space. 64-year-old Günther Reitz is an expert on cosmic rays. After working on NASA'sApollo program, he joined the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne in 1975 and still runs its Radiation Biology Unit. His latest project is NASA's Mars rover, Curiosity. A die-hard sci-fi fan, he dreams of a day when mankind will not only travel to Mars but will be able to journey through the entire solar system.

ESA's Columbus Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, made its successful debut as an ISS control centre in 2006, scheduling and controlling the scientific experiments conducted by ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter during the hugely successful Astrolab mission. With delivery of Europe's space laboratory Columbus to the ISS set for December 2007, flight controllers at 'Col CC' will become responsible not only for scientific experiments but also for a complete laboratory of the International Space Station, with operations running 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. The Columbus Control Centre is operated on behalf of ESA by DLR, the German Aerospace Center, and the flight control team is composed of dedicated specialists from DLR, ESA and industry. The team is supervised by Columbus Mission Directors of the European Space Agency.ESApod video programme