DRUG THERAPY COULD BENEFIT FRAIL ELDERLY
Muscle mass in the
arms and legs of healthy older adults increased with the experimental drug
MK-677, with no serious side effects, according to researchers at the
University of Virginia Health System. A single daily dose could help frail
adults stay strong enough to avoid falls and fractures, the researchers
believe.
The drug mimics the
actions of a peptide that stimulates the growth hormone secretagogue
receptor (GHSR), which helps regulate growth hormone and appetite. In the
study, MK-677 restored 20% of muscle mass loss associated with normal
aging.
“Our study opens
the door to the possibility of developing treatments that avert the frailty
of aging,” says Michael O. Thorner, a professor of internal medicine and
neurosurgery. “The search for anti-frailty medications has become
increasingly important because the average American is expected to live into
his or her 80s, and most seniors want to stay strong enough to remain
independent as they age.”
SOURCE:
University of Virginia Health System
RECESSION-PROOFING YOUR CAREER
Employers will
likely continue to aggressively reduce payrolls in the foreseeable future,
according to The Conference Board's assessment of its latest Employment
Trends Index.
Few sectors seem
immune to these cuts, though individuals with skills in high demand may find
it a little easier to transition to a new employer. Personal-finance adviser
Kiplinger.com reports that the career choices likely to remain hot over the
next few years include:
* Health care
(e.g., pharmacists, physical therapists).
* Education
(especially math, science, and bilingual education).
* Security (police
officers, detectives, private security guards).
* Environmental
science (hydrologists, environmental chemists, geoscientists).
Forensic accounting
and medical equipment and supplies distribution are two of the unique
specialty programs that the University of Alabama, Birmingham, offers for
students seeking high-growth careers. Public administration also offers some
security, the University advises, as the government lays off workers at only
25% of the rate of the private sector.
And for many
workers, recession-proofing will mean more self-reliance, fluid career
paths, and nontraditional work settings. For example, "jellies" are a new
form of worker—mostly young entrepreneurs, freelancers, and
telecommuters—first introduced by Web entrepreneur Amit Gupta. Unlike a
company's work teams, the members of jelly groups may work for different
clients or employers, gathering informally with their fellow jellies to
brainstorm and support each other on various projects, notes strategic
business futurist Joyce Gioia-Herman.
SOURCES:
The Conference Board
Kiplinger.com
University of Alabama, Birmingham
Herman Trend Alert: Spreading Jellies (November 12, 2008)
|
FREE CAREER COUNSELING
AND MORE! REGISTER NOW FOR WORLDFUTURE 2009
Sign
up now for the World Future Society's next annual meeting, WorldFuture 2009,
and save $200 off the on-site registration fee. The theme, Innovation and
Creativity in a Complex World, promises one of the most inspiring programs
yet! Join us in Chicago at the beautiful Hilton Chicago hotel, July 17-19,
2009.
Helen Harkness, a professional career consultant and coach, will coordinate
a free career-counseling program at the conference. Professional career
counselors will volunteer their time and expertise to conduct individual
30-minute counseling sessions.
Among the recently confirmed experts you’ll meet are Robert D. Atkinson,
president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation; Freitas
Guerra, executive director of SHAREcircle; Philip Kotler, S.C. Johnson & Son
distinguished professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of
Management, Northwestern, University; Ambassador John W. McDonald, president
of the Institute of Multi-Track Diplomacy; and Susan Whitfield, president of
White Tree Consulting.
A
special two-hour tour of the Advanced Photon Source at the U.S. Department
of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory has also been arranged for
conference attendees on July 17 for just $44 ($35 for Society Members).
Space is limited, so sign up now!
REGISTER FOR
WORLDFUTURE 2009 BY DECEMBER 31 AND SAVE $200
LEARN MORE
SUBMIT
A CONFERENCE VOLUME ESSAY (Deadline, March 2, 2009. Early submissions
urged!) |
HOW THE ENVIRONMENT MAY BENEFIT FROM
FINANCIAL CRISIS
If there could be
any bright side to the current financial crisis, it might be that it could
slow down rapid development in coastal areas and allow fragile ecosystems
such as barrier reefs to regain strength.
So suggests Iliana
Ortega, coordinator of the International Coral Reef Initiative in Mexico.
Coral reefs provide habitats for a million diverse aquatic species and
billions of dollars in jobs in 90 countries around the world, she told a
recent symposium on coral reef preservation and sustainable tourism in
Mexico.
The Mesoamerican
barrier reef in the Caribbean Sea is the second largest in the world. The
reef provides jobs, food, key tourist attractions, and protection against
hurricanes. Threats to the reef system’s health from pollution, climate
change, and overfishing thus also represent threats to the economic health
of Mexico and Central America, Ortega pointed out.
Ortega described
her organization's creative marketing efforts to rally public support for
saving Mexico's reefs, including parade floats during Carnival, ads on buses
(reaching 730,000 people a day), and sales of telephone cards brightly
decorated with photographs of corals.
The symposium, "The
Wonder and Value of Coral Reefs," was sponsored by the Mexico Tourism Board,
the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, and the National
Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION, visit
International Coral Reef Initiative
ALSO,
International Year of the Reef
2008
|
INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY: PRESCRIPTION FOR COMPLEXITY
The
theme of the World Future Society's next annual meeting, WorldFuture 2009,
is Innovation and Creativity in a Complex World. Mark your calendars now!
The conference will be held in Chicago at the beautiful Hilton Chicago
hotel, July 17-19, 2009.
Among the
forward-thinking experts you’ll meet are bioethicist Arthur D. Caplan of the
University of Pennsylvania; Kevin Fickenscher, executive vice president of
International Healthcare for Perot Systems Corporation; Esther Franklin,
executive vice president and director of cultural identities for Starcom
MediaVest Group; Lee Gutkind, founder of Creative Nonfiction and professor
of English at the University of Pittsburgh; Ian D. Pearson, futurologist for
Futurizon and formerly a futurologist for British Telecommunications; Anna
Rappaport, former president of the Society of Actuaries; and Mohan K. Tikku,
director of the Centre for Future Studies in Gurgaon, India.
SAVE $200! REGISTER BY DECEMBER 31:
LEARN MORE:
SUBMIT A
SESSION PROPOSAL (Deadline, November 18, 2008):
SUBMIT
A CONFERENCE VOLUME ESSAY (Deadline, March 2, 2009):
-
Early submissions urged! |
CLICK OF THE MONTH:
GUY
YEOMANS'S LONDON FUTURES SYMPOSIUM COVERAGE
www.guyyeomans.com
Guy Yeomans
describes his "tumblelog" as an "opportunity to engage with some of my wider
futures & strategic foresight interests." In his latest entries, he provides
an excellent report of the recent London Futures Symposium, organized by
Stephen Aguilar-Millan of the European Futures Observatory.
"I felt this was a
useful and comprehensive overview that provided the right kind of insight
into the range, versatility and general applicability of the strategic
foresight toolkit," Yeomans writes in the first of his reports. "Given the
size of the toolkit (9 were explicitly mentioned) it should remind us of the
complexity of any investigation of the future."
COMMENT:
Responsible citizen journalism in blogs like this can serve a vital function
in the Information Age: niche reporting for niche topics. With the fierce
competition for attention in the mainstream press, a critical but esoteric
subject like the study of the future is too easily and too often ignored.
The audience for these subjects now must serve as reporters and gatekeepers;
for futurism, I'm gratified to see the need being ably met. --CGW
|
NEW
WFS PUBLICATION TO LAUNCH IN 2009
WORLD FUTURE
REVIEW: A Journal of Strategic Foresight (WFR) is
a new bimonthly journal for futures practitioners and researchers, combining
the scholarship, professional resources, and literature reviews of its
predecessor publications, FUTURES RESEARCH QUARTERLY and FUTURE SURVEY.
WFR
will be a key benefit of the Society’s new and improved Professional
Membership program.
Highlights of the new journal will include a range of articles on policy,
trend dynamics, and new techniques, along with profiles of today’s leading
foresight practitioners and thinkers and short pieces on critical
developments in key areas.
DETAILS,
WORLD FUTURE REVIEW and Professional Membership
www.wfs.org/wfr
TO
SIGN UP send an e-mail to: mailto:jcornish-376589@autocontactor.com |
NEWS
FROM THE FUTURIST COMMUNITY
* MARILYN FERGUSON,
author of THE AQUARIAN CONSPIRACY (1980) and editor of the BRAIN/MIND
BULLETIN, died October 19 at her home in Banning, California. She was 70.
Ferguson was considered a pioneer in the rise of the New Age movement that
promoted the development of human potential through both science and
spirituality.
DETAILS
* COLLECTIVE
INTELLIGENCE FOR INTELLIGENCE: The Millennium Project’s Korean node has
signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea’s S&T research organization
to create a new intelligence/brain research institute, reports Millennium
Project director Jerome C. Glenn. The goal of the yet-unnamed institute will
be “to increase knowledge and dissemination of how to improve brain
functioning.”
DETAILS:
Millennium
Project, World Federation of UN Associations
* WFS PRESIDENT
PROFILED: The November issue of the WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT journal features a
lively and candid profile of Society President Tim Mack, describing the work
of futurists and covering a broad range of issues on the minds of futurists
now. “For Mack, every day spent thinking about the future is interesting and
often surprising,” reporter John Shaw notes. “And the challenge of peering
into the unknown is always stimulating.” READ “Beyond the Crystal Ball:
Having the Foresight to Predict Future” by John Shaw,
WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT (November 2008)
* WHAT DO WE MEAN
BY “SUSTAINABLE”? Futurist Bruce Lloyd asks for feedback from WFS members
and friends on the question of what we really mean when we use the term
“sustainable.” Many of the crises that society has faced, including the
current global financial crisis, have occurred because the issue of
sustainability was not adequately addressed, he argues. READ Lloyd’s essay
in the Global Strategies Forum
www.wfs.org/lloyd08.htm and submit your comments in the feedback box or
to FUTURIST UPDATE, mailto:cwagner@wfs.org
FUTURIST UPDATE: News & Previews from the World Future Society is an e-mail
newsletter published monthly as a supplement to THE FUTURIST magazine.
Copyright © 2008, World Future Society, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450,
Bethesda, MD 20814, USA. Telephone 1-301-656-8274; e-mail mailto:info@wfs.org
Web site www.wfs.org
mailto: info@wfs.org ; Web
site http://www.wfs.org .
Editor: Cindy Wagner,
mailto:cwagner@wfs.org
Senior Editor: Patrick
Tucker, mailto:ptucker@wfs.org
Network Administrator: Jeff
Cornish, mailto:jcornish@wfs.org
Vice President,
Membership/Conference Operations: Susan Echard,
mailto: sechard@wfs.org
To subscribe, enter your
e-mail at
http://www.wfs.org/futuristupdate.htm
To unsubscribe or change
your e-mail address, send an e-mail to
jcornish@wfs.org with "unsubscribe" or "change
address" in the subject line.
Submit feedback: to
cwagner@wfs.org
The WORLD FUTURE SOCIETY is a nonprofit, nonpartisan scientific and
educational association with a global membership. Regular membership in the
Society, including a subscription to THE FUTURIST, is $59 per year, or $20
for full-time students under age 25. Professional and Institutional
membership programs are also offered; contact Society headquarters for
details: http://www.wfs.org .
