Following is the daily Black History Month feature from the U.S. Census Bureau: (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91889LOGO) FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10: WILLA BROWN Profile America for the 10th day of Black History Month. Willa Brown was the first African-American woman to earn a commercial pilot's license. Her love of flying was such that when she started taking flying lessons, she bought her own plane. She received her pilot's license in 1937, along with a master's degree from Northwestern University. The next year, ... read more

Musculoskeletal Clinical Regulatory Advisors, LLC (MCRA), a leading independently-operated medical technology consulting firm focused exclusively on serving the worldwide neuro-musculoskeletal industry, announced today that Joseph "Chip" Thomas, M.D., former Medical Director for leading commercial insurance organizations, has joined the firm's Health Economics, Reimbursement & Public Policy team. Dr. Thomas is a board certified orthopaedic surgeon who has practiced in the U.S. Air Force and private practice prior to working in the insurance industry. He has practiced in the United ... read more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Today, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) moved lung cancer screening to a national platform by announcing a Framework for Lung Cancer Screening Excellence which includes a bill of rights for the at-risk public and guiding principles for lung cancer screening sites. "The science is indisputable: screening those at high risk for lung cancer with low dose CT scans can save tens of thousands of lives each year," said LCA President and CEO Laurie Fenton ... read more

Internet Broadcasting and Exact Drive announced today an agreement to provide political and issue advocacy campaign advertisers with digital advertising offerings that will combine professional creative development and advanced voter targeting. The announcement was made by executives of the two companies at the Conservative Political Action Conference meeting today in Washington. The two companies will work together to deliver an end-to-end digital advertising solution. Campaign advertisers will be offered high-quality, video-embedded online ad creative, designed to leverage the visual ... read more

In December 2011 the <<Message2012. Welcome to Eternity!>> international project launch took place. The mission of the project is sending of different messages in the form of radio signal to the outer space for interconnection with extraterrestrial civilizations. In the judgment of Doctor of physico-mathematical sciences, principal scientist of the Institute of Radio-engineering and Electronics by the Russian Academy of Science, the author and research manager of the number of radio messages Alexander L. Zaytsev: "The only ... read more

New 2012 Medicare Part D data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) show the growing popularity among Medicare Part D beneficiaries in choosing plans featuring lower cost preferred pharmacy network options. Enrollment in plans with preferred pharmacy networks has grown twice as fast as conventional plans and is offered by many of the largest Part D plan sponsors. Now almost a third of all beneficiaries are enrolled in a preferred pharmacy network plan, which can have ... read more

As the U.S. and its allies confront the Iranian nuclear threat and other critical national security challenges such as proliferation, cyber security, and asymmetric terror, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) is pleased to announce the hiring of Larry Greenfield as its Executive Director. Greenfield brings to JINSA strong national security credentials, prior military service, and deep roots in the Jewish community. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120209/DC50767) "Larry is a proven leader whose dynamic energy and polished professionalism will strengthen our role as ... read more

A Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing today will explore how Indian tribes could be impacted by the recent U.S. Department of Justice opinion that permits states to allow all forms of online betting that do not involve sports. After numerous hearings over the past months on the opportunity to regulate Internet gambling, Michael Waxman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, issued the following statement that calls on Congress to adopt federal legislation that regulates the industry ... read more

Salsa Labs, Inc., creator of the online, integrated CRM platform for non-profit fundraising, communications and organizing, today announced the addition of advanced social media features to its already robust product and services offerings. Available immediately, Salsa includes social sharing options for online and email content, integrated event registration and supporter enrollment via Facebook, support for Google+, monitoring tools, and more. "Salsa is already proven as the go-to platform for nonprofits, organizations and campaigns seeking to advocate, fundraise and communicate with their ... read more

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will brief reporters about the agency's fiscal year 2013 budget at 2 p.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 13. The news conference will take place in the James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, located at 300 E St. SW, in Washington. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) NASA Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Robinson will join Bolden. The news conference will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's website. Questions will be taken from news media representatives at headquarters and ... read more

Blackboard Inc. today announced a major update for its flagship online learning platform with a new release incorporating a sleek, modern design that marks the platform's biggest shift in look and feel in years. Service Pack 8 for Blackboard Learn(TM) 9.1 also brings a number of feature enhancements that make it easier to navigate the system, take advantage of its powerful capabilities and complete common tasks more quickly. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120208/PH50128 ) The new design, applied to the user interface and throughout the ... read more

NASA is seeking technology demonstration proposals for green propellant alternatives to the highly toxic fuel hydrazine. As NASA works with American companies to open a new era of access to space, the agency seeks innovative and transformative fuels that are less harmful to our environment. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Hydrazine is an efficient and ubiquitous propellant that can be stored for long periods of time, but is also highly corrosive and toxic. It is used extensively on commercial and defense department satellites as ... read more

The giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way may be vaporizing and devouring asteroids, which could explain the frequent flares observed, according to astronomers using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) For several years Chandra has detected X-ray flares about once a day from the supermassive black hole known as Sagittarius A*, or "Sgr A*" for short. The flares last a few hours with brightness ranging from a few times to nearly one hundred times ... read more

The nation's emergency physicians are seeing an alarming increase in the amount of patients being treated in emergency departments for synthetic (or chemically enhanced) drug use. For example, in 2010, there were a little fewer than 2,900 calls to poison control centers regarding synthetic marijuana exposure. That number nearly doubled in the first 8 months of 2011. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100616/DC22034LOGO-d) "As emergency physicians, we witness first-hand how these dangerous synthetic drugs are harming users," said Dr. David Seaberg, president of ... read more

Health-care professionals who use iPads and iPhones now have a new way to access interactive "e-book" versions of the Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine's popular Clinical Practice Guidelines. The new free App, available at iTunes or the App Store under "Paralyzed Veterans of America," enables users to download the e-books, which contain vital information for health-care professionals when treating individuals with spinal cord injury. The Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine is anchored by 23 professional organizations, including Paralyzed Veterans of ... read more

By harnessing quantum dots—tiny light-emitting semiconductor particles a few billionths of a meter across—researchers at the University of Washington (UW) have developed a new and vastly more targeted way to stimulate neurons in the brain. Being able to switch neurons on and off and monitor how ... read more

It's official: Americans don't think very highly of the people in the so-called 1%, but they wouldn't mind joining them, according to a new survey released today that examines the views on the richest of Americans. Americans believe that the so-called 1% - the richest Americans that have raised the ire of the Occupy Movement - live a life of luxury, pampering and ease, don't have to work that hard and don't pay enough in taxes considering their lofty status, according ... read more

PerspecSys Inc., the creator of cloud data control solutions for the enterprise, has expanded operations by opening its first U.S. office in the Washington, D.C. Metro area and naming industry executives Gerry Grealish, John Emerson, David Stott and Eric Hay to key positions within ... read more

The March of Dimes campaign to reduce medically unnecessary early deliveries is being elevated to the forefront of the nation's maternal and child health agenda. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the launch of Strong Start, a multi-faceted perinatal health campaign. This public-private partnership includes expansion of "Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait(TM)" -- the March of Dimes public awareness campaign to let women and health care providers know that if a ... read more

The Synthetic Biology Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center is launching a new web-based Synthetic Biology Scorecard, designed to track federal and non-federal efforts to improve the governance of synthetic biology research and development so risks are minimized and broad social and economic benefits can be realized. The Scorecard, unveiled today, monitors the progress made toward implementing the recommendations in New Directions: The Ethics of Synthetic Biology and Emerging Technologies, a December 2010 report from the Presidential Commission for the ... read more