Jasele Oita's Blog A weblog about everything

Author bio: Guest post is provided by Sasha Bakhru, a specialist in the research on pharmaceuticals and stem cells.  Check out his website for more information.

Perosphere is a name to take note of in the field of pharmaceuticals.  Perosphere Inc is a game changer when it comes to pharmaceuticals.  This specialty pharmaceuticals company is looking to change the way that pharmaceuticals are distributed forever.

One of the important people behind Perosphere is Sasha Bakhru, a leading scientist and medical researcher.  Bakhru is one of the co-founders of this ingenious company.  Not only did he co-found Perosphere, but he also serves as the Vice President and the Chief Technology Officer for the organization.  In addition to Bakhru’s contributions to Perosphere, he also serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medical Science at Brown University.  In the past, he completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship with Dr. Mathiowitz at Brown University.  He completed his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University, his M.S.E from John Hopkins University in Materials Science and a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in Biomedical Engineering.

With scientists such as Bakhru working for Persophere, no doubt they will achieve their goals to change the way that drugs are delivered and distributed.  This in turn will create more safety and security for those taking the drugs, as well as those handing them out.

Going along with the changing world of pharmaceuticals is the changes in medical research.  Bio Medicine is continually changing thanks to the developments in stem cell research.  Stem cell therapy is being used to treat a myriad of disorders and treatments.  Bakhru is playing a huge role in this developing field.  With the changes in medical treatments and the field of pharmaceuticals, hope is being given to people all over the world where there used to be none.

The accused National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance leaker, Edward Snowden, has been granted temporary asylum by the Russian government on August 1, 2013. Edward Snowden’s release of U.S. “Prism” program data created an upheaval throughout the world and certain U.S. allies openly criticized the government for spying on their citizens as well as the government itself. The Federal government filed an Espionage Act violation against the leaker in Federal Court in Alexandria, VA. Granting a temporary asylum to the accused leaker creates a challenge for U.S. – Russia relationship.

It appears that the planned one-on-one meeting between two Presidents before the scheduled G 20 Summit in September in Russia may be in jeopardy. Both parties in the Congress are asking for a review of U.S. relationship with Russia. Russian government is known to crackdown on critics and previous Americans who obtained asylum is Russia complaining about mistreatment by the Russian government. Some reports also indicate that only 14 people were granted asylum in Russia within last five years and all of them are unhappy living in Russia. The lost opportunities could strain relationship between the two countries, creates enormous difficulties for the rest of the world, and a missed opportunity to address hot issues such as Syria.

If you are within 10 years of age 62, you may be considering when to apply for Social Security benefits. Social Security is one where waiting may bring you more benefits. You will be eligible for benefits when you reach age 62. However, those who were born before 1957 waiting until age 66 may bring the biggest benefits. Those who were born after 1957 may have to wait till age 67 to get the full benefits. If you wait an additional year pass age 62 to apply for benefits, your retirement check will go up by eight percent and maxing out at age 70. A retired person who could collect $750.00 a month at age 62 could collect $1,000.00 waiting till age 66 and $1,320.00 at age 70.

If you lose your employment at age 62, consider applying for unemployment benefits as well as Social Security benefits. Since 2002, 19 states are allowing collecting unemployment and Social Security benefits. Under the current difficult employment conditions, this may be perfectly legal option for seniors to get money to pay bills. But be aware; in certain states your unemployment check may be reduced due to your Social Security benefits.

Young adults entering the work force in their 20s and 30s should lay a foundation for their retirement. I know it is not going to get the attention of many, but if I can reach one, I’ll take that as a success. Here’s why.

One good reason to start early is compounding effect. If you can start saving for your golden years at an early age, you have all that time ahead of you to stack up big money. Start with as much as you can put away for your retirement. One of the biggest advantages in saving for golden days is time. Your small investment over time will compound without you even noticing.

Many employers are matching your contribution to 401(k), 457 and other retirement plans. It is free money for you. Aim to get the maximum of your employer’s match. Some employers may even calculate taxes on your pay check for the balance after deducting your contributions to your retirement plan. After you contribute the maximum to your retirement plan and you can spare few more dollars, consider opening a Roth IRA. Contributions are not tax free but when you withdraw from it, meeting all withdrawal requirements, it will be tax free.

Major indicators are showing improvement in the U.S. economy.  Here are few of indicators and you will be the judge.

• Even with a two percent payroll tax increase that went into effect recently, many believe people are still spending more.  The Consumer Confidence Index in March 2013 reached to a higher level since April 2012.
• The household net worth is increasing.  The current estimates are that the U.S. household net worth is at $66.1 trillion just shy of all time high of $67.4 trillion reached in 2007.
• The U.S. Department of Labor data released in early March shows adding 236,000 new jobs in February beating the previous month gain of 119,000 new jobs.  The U.S. unemployment rate is at 7.7 percent, a multi-year low.  Many believe this is still way below what we need to address issues related to lower unemployment.
• General Motors and Ford expect to see a best year for vehicle sales since 2007.  Everywhere else retail sales are rising more than 1.1 percent month over month so far this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average commonly known as the Dow is over 14,500 now and a new high was reached on March 5, 2013 beating the all-time high of 12,253.77 reached in October 2007.

After 10 months of negotiations failed, the Chicago’s 400,000 strong teachers went on strike on September 10, 2012 just at the start of the new school year. Issues include pay, teacher evaluations and the rights of laid-off teachers. The nation’s public school system is one of the main strongholds of the organized labor in the U.S. In Chicago, an average teacher salary is $75,000, one of the highest in the nation. Earlier the Mayor and the Union agreed to a 16 percent pay hike over next four years. Most difficult was the laid-off teacher issue due to expected 80 to 120 closures of schools and the lengthening of the school day. Chicago has one of the nation’s shortest school day. Chicago is faced with a $635.7 budget deficit.

The biggest recent battle of organized labor took place in Wisconsin. The state’s budget stripped most collective bargaining rights from the public sector workers. The organized labor fought hard and their recall effort of the Wisconsin Governor failed.

The organized labor is mostly concentrated in the public sector and recently the membership is dwindling. The biggest drop in the membership is in unions representing teachers as well as police, firemen, and security guards.

Syrian uprising which began 16 months ago has claimed more than 16,000 lives. Efforts by the former U.N. Secretary Kofi Annan to broker a peace deal between the Syrian regime and the rebels appear to be fallen on deaf ears. International efforts to impose sanctions against Bashar Assad’s regime are stuck in the U.N. due to objections from Russia and China. Fighting in Syria continues at a merciless phase with no ending in sight. Regime is supplied with weapons from Russia and China and is faced with defections of army soldiers. The rebels known as the Free Syrian Army is poorly armed and carries the strongest will power to continue the struggle. So what’s next for Syria?

Struggle against the regime will continue with more covert operations possibly supported by the west. It is unclear whether the west is involved or not because there is no organized opposition to the regime that is prominent. On the other Islamic factions are raising their head through the conflict. Even al-Qaeda is suspected of operating within Syria. Meanwhile the U.N. is faced with strong Russian objections that seem adamant and unable to make any progress before the expiration of the monitoring mission timeline. So, killing in Syria will continue.

Instilling the habit of reading in children will be the best gift you can give your child. You will be giving him the most important tool to shape his future. But in today’s world full of video games and television, reading will not be the first option a kid would go for. So how can we promote reading to our children?

Introduce books to your child at an early age. Show books with colorful, large pictures of familiar objects to toddlers, they love recognizing things they know. Read stories with a lot of pictures and animate your voice.

Have plenty of books at home and create a reading culture where you set the example by reading and show that you enjoy it. Explain the wonders that can be found in books to your children to get them interested in books. Choose subjects that they are interested in at the time.

Get membership at a library. Make the trip to the library a fun one which the kids will look forward to every week. Discuss the books they have read the week before and what they plan to borrow this week. Get them involved in selecting books.

While being the best in matters of education is indeed a proud moment for most schools, very few get a chance to be considered to be the best educationists in the world. Of course, it is not an easy decision to make as there are several schools especially in the medical field that compete very closely for the top spot.

You will not be surprised to know that the schools that are considered by most to be the very best in the world are often the schools from which several Nobel Prize winners have graduated from apart from being some of the oldest medical schools in the world.

These schools are not only responsible for teaching aspiring doctors and medical professionals the ropes but have made significant contributions to every discipline that is a part of the bigger picture known as ‘medicine’, and there is no doubt that gaining admission in one of these schools is a stepping stone to an inspiring and illustrious career in the field of medicine.

Here is a list of the top medical schools that keep appearing yearly on surveys from students and from people around the world.

#1: Harvard Medical School (HMS)

#2: University of Pennsylvania

#3: John Hopkins University

#4: University of Oxford

#5: University of California

#6: University of Cambridge

#7: Duke University

#8: Washington School of Medicine, St. Louis

#9: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

#10: Yale University