Walk With Penguins In Immersive 3D Experience
Seed Pods For Natives Now In Fruit In Pittwater
Thanks to the Pittwater Natural Heritage Association (PNHA) for this photo of a seed pod of a small local native shrub Pittosporum revolutum which splits open, inviting hungry birds and animals to eat its attractive fruit and spread the seeds. This one snapped in Avalon Beach, Sydney. The pods follow clusters of small yellow flowers - a nice plant for the garden!
Thanks to the Pittwater Natural Heritage Association (PNHA) for this photo of a seed pod of a small local native shrub Pittosporum revolutum which splits open, inviting hungry birds and animals to eat its attractive fruit and spread the seeds. This one snapped in Avalon Beach, Sydney. The pods follow clusters of small yellow flowers - a nice plant for the garden!
Get Ready Australia… ABC’s War On Waste Starts In May
Citizen Scientists Help Identify Shorebird Extinction Threat
April 21st, 2017 - article compiled by Deborah Smith/UQ Media
A critically endangered curlew sandpiper in a mixed flock of migratory shorebirds at Cairns Esplanade in Queensland. Photo: Nick Murray.
Degradation and destruction of mudflats in north-east Asia has contributed to a dramatic decline in the number of migratory shorebirds in Australia, new research shows.
The study, by an international team of citizen scientists and researchers including UNSW’s Dr Nick Murray, found that species of godwit, curlew and sandpiper are among those under threat in Australia, due to the loss of mudflats thousands of kilometres away.
Many species of birds follow the East Asian Australasian Flyway migratory path from their non-breeding grounds in Australia to breeding sites in the Arctic, resting and refuelling along the way in the Yellow Sea between China and South Korea.
“The more a species relies on the disappearing Yellow Sea mudflats, the faster they are declining,” says study first author Assistant Professor Dr Colin Studds of the University of Maryland in the US.
To reach their conclusions, the researchers analysed citizen science data collected between 1993 and 2012 on 10 key species of shorebird.
"We are indebted to the volunteers across Australia and New Zealand who have counted the number of migratory birds over a period of decades, making this research possible,” says Dr Murray.
“Even though the birds spend only one or two months of the year at the mudflats in the Yellow Sea, our study shows this is the most important factor in determining the decline in their populations.”
In the past 50 years, about 65% of the tidal flats along 4000 kilometres of coastline between China and South Korea have been lost to development.
Australia has signed agreements with China, Korea and Japan to protect migratory birds, yet the birds have continued to decline.
“Every country along the migration route of these birds must protect habitat and reduce hunting to prevent the birds declining further or even going extinct,” says study senior author Associate Professor Richard Fuller of the University of Queensland.
“We are particularly excited that China and Korea have recently begun the process of listing parts of the Yellow Sea as World Heritage Sites.”
The study, published in Nature Communications, involved researchers from across Australia and from the US, the UK and New Zealand.
April 21st, 2017 - article compiled by Deborah Smith/UQ Media
A critically endangered curlew sandpiper in a mixed flock of migratory shorebirds at Cairns Esplanade in Queensland. Photo: Nick Murray.
Degradation and destruction of mudflats in north-east Asia has contributed to a dramatic decline in the number of migratory shorebirds in Australia, new research shows.
The study, by an international team of citizen scientists and researchers including UNSW’s Dr Nick Murray, found that species of godwit, curlew and sandpiper are among those under threat in Australia, due to the loss of mudflats thousands of kilometres away.
Many species of birds follow the East Asian Australasian Flyway migratory path from their non-breeding grounds in Australia to breeding sites in the Arctic, resting and refuelling along the way in the Yellow Sea between China and South Korea.
“The more a species relies on the disappearing Yellow Sea mudflats, the faster they are declining,” says study first author Assistant Professor Dr Colin Studds of the University of Maryland in the US.
To reach their conclusions, the researchers analysed citizen science data collected between 1993 and 2012 on 10 key species of shorebird.
"We are indebted to the volunteers across Australia and New Zealand who have counted the number of migratory birds over a period of decades, making this research possible,” says Dr Murray.
“Even though the birds spend only one or two months of the year at the mudflats in the Yellow Sea, our study shows this is the most important factor in determining the decline in their populations.”
In the past 50 years, about 65% of the tidal flats along 4000 kilometres of coastline between China and South Korea have been lost to development.
Australia has signed agreements with China, Korea and Japan to protect migratory birds, yet the birds have continued to decline.
“Every country along the migration route of these birds must protect habitat and reduce hunting to prevent the birds declining further or even going extinct,” says study senior author Associate Professor Richard Fuller of the University of Queensland.
“We are particularly excited that China and Korea have recently begun the process of listing parts of the Yellow Sea as World Heritage Sites.”
The study, published in Nature Communications, involved researchers from across Australia and from the US, the UK and New Zealand.
Walk With Penguins In Immersive 3D Experience
Historic Acland Court Case Set To Close Today After Extensive Evidence Of Water Impacts
Battle For Berrima A New 'Coal Free' Declaration Is Coming
Coral Reefs Struggle To Keep Up With Rising Seas Leave Coastal Communities At Risk
Long-Nosed Bandicoot Takes Up Residence In Mosman
Sydneysiders Urged To Listen Out For 'Powerful Owls'
April 7th, 2017Beth Mott, Birdlife Australia is asking Sydney residents to report the presence of Powerful owls in their area.
Please report any sightings to beth.mott@birdlife.org.au
If you are interested in becoming a Powerful Owl Project volunteer or would like to submit a sighting of a Powerful Owl, please contactpowerfulowl@birdlife.org.au.
You can help us learn more about the Powerful Owls by letting us know if you see or hear one in your area (particularly around Sydney, Blue Mountains, Newcastle, Central Coast, Illawarra). Send an email (to the email addresses above) with your location (street address or GPS location), an attached photo or call recording (if you have it), details of when you saw or heard the bird, and anything interesting you noticed about where it was or what it was doing (e.g. holding prey, perched on a tree branch).
Caution: rarely, some birds can get very aggressive while nesting and it can be very dangerous for people to be too close to the nest tree at night. If you come across a Powerful Owl nest hollow, use caution and please do not approach it (especially at night). Do not use flash photography at the nest as this may disturb the birds and cause them to abandon the nest.
Powerful owl Ninox strenua- picture by Paul Wheeler, 2014 - at Clareville.
April 7th, 2017
Beth Mott, Birdlife Australia is asking Sydney residents to report the presence of Powerful owls in their area.
Please report any sightings to beth.mott@birdlife.org.au
If you are interested in becoming a Powerful Owl Project volunteer or would like to submit a sighting of a Powerful Owl, please contactpowerfulowl@birdlife.org.au.
You can help us learn more about the Powerful Owls by letting us know if you see or hear one in your area (particularly around Sydney, Blue Mountains, Newcastle, Central Coast, Illawarra). Send an email (to the email addresses above) with your location (street address or GPS location), an attached photo or call recording (if you have it), details of when you saw or heard the bird, and anything interesting you noticed about where it was or what it was doing (e.g. holding prey, perched on a tree branch).
Caution: rarely, some birds can get very aggressive while nesting and it can be very dangerous for people to be too close to the nest tree at night. If you come across a Powerful Owl nest hollow, use caution and please do not approach it (especially at night). Do not use flash photography at the nest as this may disturb the birds and cause them to abandon the nest.
Powerful owl Ninox strenua- picture by Paul Wheeler, 2014 - at Clareville.
Applying New Biosecurity Technology To Support Australian Fisheries
HAVE YOUR SAY ON THE FUTURE OF Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park, Lion Island Nature Reserve, Spectacle Island Nature Reserve And Long Island Nature Reserve
Bird Walks And Talks 2017: PNHA
Come and see and hear some of our fantastic native birds, many of which you'll never see in your garden. Join in a Sunday guided bird walk with Pittwater Natural Heritage Association. All walks start at 8am and end about 10am.
May 28, Warriewood Wetlands, meet at End of Katoa Close, north Narrabeen.
August 27 Chiltern Track. Meet at gate, off northern of Chiltern Rd Ingleside.September 17 Irrawong reserve. Meet at corner Irrawong Rd and Epworth Rd.November 26 Warriewood Wetlands. Meet end of Katoa Close, north Narrabeen.
Bring binoculars if possible. Drink, hat and comfortable shoes.More information contact pnhabirdwatching@gmail.com or Ph Kerry on 0402605 721.
You don't need to book but if we know you're coming we'll watch out for you. Call if in doubt about weather as we won't go out if it's raining.
Come and see and hear some of our fantastic native birds, many of which you'll never see in your garden. Join in a Sunday guided bird walk with Pittwater Natural Heritage Association. All walks start at 8am and end about 10am.
May 28, Warriewood Wetlands, meet at End of Katoa Close, north Narrabeen.
August 27 Chiltern Track. Meet at gate, off northern of Chiltern Rd Ingleside.
September 17 Irrawong reserve. Meet at corner Irrawong Rd and Epworth Rd.
November 26 Warriewood Wetlands. Meet end of Katoa Close, north Narrabeen.
Bring binoculars if possible. Drink, hat and comfortable shoes.
More information contact pnhabirdwatching@gmail.com or
Ph Kerry on 0402605 721.
You don't need to book but if we know you're coming we'll watch out for you. Call if in doubt about weather as we won't go out if it's raining.
Department Seeks Community Input On Hume Coal Project Proposal
Department Seeks Community Views On Narrabri Gas Project Proposal
Department Seeks Public Feedback On Wambo Coal Mine Extension Application
Climate Change Review Discussion Paper Released
Call For Public Comment On Draft Seabird Threat Abatement Plan
15th March 2017
Public comment is now being sought on the draft Threat abatement plan for the incidental catch (or bycatch) of seabirds during oceanic longline fishing operations (Threat abatement plan for incidental catch of seabirds). The public consultation period is open until 30 June 2017.
The draft Threat abatement plan for incidental catch of seabirds provides a national strategy to guide the activities of government, industry and research organisations in abating the impact of oceanic longline fishing operations on seabirds in Commonwealth fisheries.
The consultation paper and related documents are available on theDepartment of the Environment and Energy website. Your comments on this consultation paper are welcome.
Further information about the existing Threat abatement plan 2014 for the incidental catch (or bycatch) of seabirds during oceanic longline fishing operations is available at the Threat Abatement Plan – seabirds page
A black-browed albatross with chick, on Macquarie Island. (Photo: Kim Kliska)
15th March 2017
Public comment is now being sought on the draft Threat abatement plan for the incidental catch (or bycatch) of seabirds during oceanic longline fishing operations (Threat abatement plan for incidental catch of seabirds). The public consultation period is open until 30 June 2017.
The draft Threat abatement plan for incidental catch of seabirds provides a national strategy to guide the activities of government, industry and research organisations in abating the impact of oceanic longline fishing operations on seabirds in Commonwealth fisheries.
The consultation paper and related documents are available on theDepartment of the Environment and Energy website. Your comments on this consultation paper are welcome.
Further information about the existing Threat abatement plan 2014 for the incidental catch (or bycatch) of seabirds during oceanic longline fishing operations is available at the Threat Abatement Plan – seabirds page
A black-browed albatross with chick, on Macquarie Island. (Photo: Kim Kliska)
Best Way To Diagnose Head Injuries In Children And Minimize CT Scans
April 20, 2017: Emergency Medicine Foundation (Australia)
Researchers hope to reduce unnecessary CT scans and radiation exposure in children with head injuries, following the results from a large-scale, multicentre validation study to assess the diagnostic accuracy of three clinical decision rules used by emergency doctors.
Head injuries are one of the most common reasons children are taken to emergency departments. To rule out a serious brain injury, a percentage of these children require a CT scan and while this process is obvious for serious head injuries, it's more challenging to determine whether CT scans are necessary for children with milder injuries.
The results from the Australasian clinical trial will help inform the use of the clinical decision rules for head injuries, which in turn could minimise CT scans, according to Lead investigator, Murdoch Children's Research Institute's Associate Professor Franz Babl.
"The aim of this study was to determine which children need CT scans to detect brain injury," said A/Prof Babl.
"Most head injuries are mild and don't require neurosurgical management, however, a small proportion of patients might present as having mild injuries, but have clinically significant intracranial injuries," he said.
"This can be a vexed issue because physicians need to balance the importance of diagnosing an injury with reducing radiation exposure as much as possible.
"The preferred course of treatment is to avoid a CT scan in minor head injuries if it is unnecessary. In particular, there is concern about the high radiation dose associated with CT scans of the head which can lead to cancer."
In these cases, clinicians can turn to clinical decision rules, which have been developed to identify children at high risk of intracranial injuries, aiming to assist clinicians to minimise CT scans while still identifying all relevant injuries.
In a prospective observational study, run across 10 Australian and New Zealand tertiary hospitals and involving, 20,137 children under the age of 18 years with head injuries, the research team compared three clinical decision rules:
- The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN, USA)
- The Canadian Assessment of Tomography for Childhood Head Injury (CATCH) rule
- The Children's Head Injury Algorithm for the Prediction of Important Clinical Events (CHALICE, UK).
The goal was to determine which of these three decision rules provided the best option when it came to identifying children at very low risk of a traumatic brain injury. The researchers found that all three rules were good options, but only one, the PECARN from the US, did not miss a single patient requiring neurosurgery.
Based on the research findings, the next step is for the group of emergency physicians to develop national approaches to optimise the management of children with head injuries in Australia and New Zealand.
Internationally, the findings will provide a useful starting point for individual clinicians as well as hospitals or regional bodies contemplating the introduction or modification of one of the clinical decision rules, according to A/Prof Babl.
"However, it will be important to relate the findings to a number of other factors before implementation, such as the baseline CT use, the effect of the rules on the projected CT rate, the baseline clinician diagnostic accuracy and experience, parental expectations, the medico-legal climate and economic considerations."
The outcomes from the clinical trial were recently published in The Lancet.
In The Lancet article, the researchers commented that patients reflected an Australia and New Zealand cohort from tertiary children's hospitals, which had much lower neuro-imaging rates than those reported from the USA and Canada.
Franz E Babl, Meredith L Borland, Natalie Phillips, Amit Kochar, Sarah Dalton, Mary McCaskill, John A Cheek, Yuri Gilhotra, Jeremy Furyk, Jocelyn Neutze, Mark D Lyttle, Silvia Bressan, Susan Donath, Charlotte Molesworth, Kim Jachno, Brenton Ward, Amanda Williams, Amy Baylis, Louise Crowe, Ed Oakley, Stuart R Dalziel. Accuracy of PECARN, CATCH, and CHALICE head injury decision rules in children: a prospective cohort study. The Lancet, 2017; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30555-X
Drug Created From Malaria Parasite Shows Promise As Bladder Cancer Treatment
April 20, 2017: University of British Columbia
A drug created from a malaria protein stopped tumour growth of chemotherapy-resistant bladder cancer, offering hope for cancer patients not responding to standard treatments.
"This is the first study where we put the concept of using malaria proteins for cancer therapy into a direct clinical context," said Mads Daugaard, an assistant professor of urologic science at the University of British Columbia and a senior research scientist at the Vancouver Prostate Centre and the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. "There is a massive clinical need to find new treatments for bladder cancer and we saw an opportunity to target this disease with our new malaria drug."
The study advances previous research that showed that a protein from the malaria parasite, called VAR2CSA, could target a wide range of cancer tumours.
In the new research, highly aggressive bladder cancer tumours that were completely resistant to chemotherapy were implanted in the bladder of mice. The researchers then tested whether the malaria protein could deliver drugs directly to tumours. They found that the tumours responded dramatically to the malaria drug combo.
Eighty per cent of the treated animals were alive after 70 days whereas all the other animals, in three different control groups, succumbed to bladder cancer.
Bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer and the most expensive cancer to manage on a per patient basis. Currently, there is only one line of chemotherapy used for invasive bladder cancer and there have been few advances in finding new treatments in the past 20 years.
"No second line treatment option is available," said Daugaard. "We're very excited by these results because it shows that we are on our way to developing a completely new treatment option for lethal bladder cancer. It has the potential to have a tremendous impact on patient care."
In previous studies, Daugaard and his colleague Ali Salanti, at the University of Copenhagen, established that the VAR2CSA protein could be used to deliver cancer drugs directly to tumours because it binds to a sugar molecule that is found only in cancer tumours and the placenta of pregnant animals.
These latest findings demonstrate that the same sugar is expressed in bladder cancer and is especially abundant in tumours that progress after being treated with the standard chemotherapy drug cisplatin.
The researchers' next steps are to design a process that could see the VAR2CSA drug combination manufactured on a larger scale to begin clinical trials. This is being led by Daugaard and Salanti through their startup company VAR2 Pharmaceuticals.
Roland Seiler, Htoo Zarni Oo, Davide Tortora, Thomas M. Clausen, Chris K. Wang, Gunjan Kumar, Marina Ayres Pereira, Maj S. Ørum-Madsen, Mette Ø. Agerbæk, Tobias Gustavsson, Mie A. Nordmaj, Jamie R. Rich, Nada Lallous, Ladan Fazli, Sherry S. Lee, James Douglas, Tilman Todenhöfer, Shaghayegh Esfandnia, Dulguun Battsogt, John S. Babcook, Nader Al-Nakouzi, Simon J. Crabb, Igor Moskalev, Bernhard Kiss, Elai Davicioni, George N. Thalmann, Paul S. Rennie, Peter C. Black, Ali Salanti, Mads Daugaard. An Oncofetal Glycosaminoglycan Modification Provides Therapeutic Access to Cisplatin-resistant Bladder Cancer.European Urology, 2017; DOI: 10.1016/j.eururo.2017.03.021
Cyclone Debbie Won't Stop Audi Hamilton Race Week 2017
By Rob Mundle
The Oatley family, owners of Australia’s internationally acclaimed tropical destination, Hamilton Island, have confirmed that despite the Whitsunday Islands region being devastated by Cyclone Debbie two weeks ago, Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2017 will proceed in August as scheduled.
“We are planning to make this year’s Race Week bigger and better than ever,” said Hamilton Island’s CEO, Olympic and world champion sailor, Glenn Bourke, who was speaking on behalf of the Oatleys. “We want to demonstrate our thanks to the many yachties who offered to come to the island and assist with our recovery effort, and those who have already shown their support via messages of encouragement or by lodging their entry for Race Week since Debbie struck.
“There is a unique bond between our loyal Audi Hamilton Island Race Week competitors, and this year we are hoping they will be with us in greater numbers than ever so we can show the world how resilient we are.
“Race Week will also provide the opportunity for everyone to see what a superb job our staff has done getting the island back to being operational. We have already welcomed our first guests back to Hamilton Island post Debbie, and by the time Race Week comes around in August we should be back to 100 per cent occupancy.”
At the height of the cyclone on March 28 a wind gust of 263kph (142 knots) was recorded on the island. Gusts remained above 180kph (95 knots) for more than 12 hours.
Glenn Bourke added: “The impact of the cyclone resulted in damage to vegetation and the island’s façade; however no significant structural damage has occurred to any of the hotels and resorts due to their construction to the highest cyclone safety ratings. The marina suffered only minor damage.
“Our Five Star destination, Qualia will have a two-month hiatus, not due to damage but because we have decided to bring forward a refurbishment program that was scheduled for July. Only four Qualia bungalows were impacted during the cyclone, so essentially we have 98% of Hamilton Island’s hotel assets good to go”.
The entry list for Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2017 continues to grow at a record rate. Near 80 nominations have already been received for the regatta which will be staged from August 19 to 26.
German luxury carmaker, Audi, is returning for the 12th year as principal sponsor, demonstrating the brand’s continued commitment to high quality, competitive offshore racing and a benchmark onshore social calendar that is as inclusive as it is exclusive.
All information relating to AHIRW is on the regatta website:www.audihamiltonislandraceweek.com.au
Image Captions and credit:
• Audi Hamilton Island Race Week offers one of the best sailing venues in the world. Competitors can fly direct to the island, dock their yachts in Hamilton Harbour and race among 74 tropical islands – 68 of which are uninhabited. The island also boasts a magnificent golf course. (Image: Ciaran Handy)
• Close racing; Audi Hamilton Island Race Week always offers colour, excitement and close racing on the warm tropical waters of the Whitsunday islands region. (Image: Ciaran Handy)
Searching For ET:Breakthrough ListenInitiative Publishes Initial Results
April 20, 2017
Breakthrough Listen -- the initiative to find signs of intelligent life in the universe -- has released its 11 events ranked highest for significance as well as summary data analysis results. It is considered unlikely that any of these signals originate from artificial extraterrestrial sources, but the search continues. Further, Listen has submitted for publication (available April 20) in a leading astrophysics journal the analysis of 692 stars, comprising all spectral types, observed during its first year of observations with the Green Bank Telescope.
Breakthrough Listen has so far acquired several petabytes of data using the Green Bank Radio Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia, Lick Observatory's Automated Planet Finder on Mt. Hamilton in California, andthe Parkes Radio Telescope in Australia. The Breakthrough Listenscience team at the University of California, Berkeley's SETI Research Center (BSRC) designed and built an analysis pipeline that scans through billions of radio channels in a search for unique signals that might indicate the presence of technology developed by civilizations outside our Solar System.
Initial results from deploying this pipeline on the first year of Breakthrough Listen data taken with the "L-band" receiver at GBT (covering frequencies from 1.1 -- 1.9 GHz) have been submitted for publication in one of the world's leading astronomy journals. Snapshot data has been released for the 11 highest ranked events that rose above the pipeline's threshold for significance, as well as summary results from the complete analysis. Data is available at breakthroughinitiatives.org/OpenDataSearch.
"With the submission of this paper, the first scientific results fromBreakthrough Listen are now available for the world to review," said Dr. Siemion. Although the search has not yet detected a convincing signal from extraterrestrial intelligence, these are early days. The work that has been completed so far provides a launch pad for deeper and more comprehensive analysis to come."
The software used for the analysis in these papers has been made available in a github repository1, along with associated documentation2. This enables programmers and machine learning experts (even those with no prior astronomy knowledge) to join the search for artificial signals, by developing increasingly sophisticated algorithms to comb through the datasets that continue to flow not just from GBT, but from the other participating telescopes.
Data Analysis
The basics of searching for signatures of extraterrestrial technology3 are quite simple. Artificial signals can be distinguished from natural processes through features like narrow bandwidth; irregular spectral behavior, pulsing, or modulation patterns; as well as broad-band signals with unusual characteristics. However, human technology emits signals (known as radio frequency interference) similar to the ones being searched for. This means that algorithms must be designed to ensure that signals are coming from a fixed point relative to the stars or other targets being observed, and not from local interferers (including Earth-orbiting satellites).
The Berkeley SETI Research Center Breakthrough Listen science team examined data on 692 stars from the primary target list from GBT, consisting of three five-minute observations per star, interspersed with five-minute observations of a set of secondary targets. By performing an analysis of thresholded frequency channels, as well as a Doppler drift search (for details see: HERE ) the pipeline identified channels where radio emission was seen for each target (referred to as "hits"). The pipeline produced millions of hits for the sample as a whole, of which the vast majority are almost certainly radio frequency interference from human technology. Eleven events rose above the pipeline threshold for significance, but further detailed analysis indicates that it is unlikely that any of these signals originate from artificial extraterrestrial sources.
For each star sample, the team searched through the entire database of events, looking for radio channels where events occurred only at one or a small handful of positions on the sky. While these stars have unique radio "fingerprints," this is by no means convincing evidence that they host planets inhabited by extraterrestrial civilizations. However, the search for signals that are localized on the sky and appear unusual in some way provides an excellent way to select promising targets for follow-up observations.
The BSRC team continues to develop more and more sophisticated algorithms, and plans to release updated analyses of Listen data approximately once every six months. The Berkeley team also seeks continued and expanded engagement with signal processing and machine learning experts to help mine the Breakthrough Listen dataset in the search for evidence of signals from extraterrestrial civilizations.
Project Leadership
Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, Fellow of Trinity College; Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics, University of Cambridge.
Pete Worden, Chairman, Breakthrough Prize Foundation.
Frank Drake, Chairman Emeritus, SETI Institute; Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz; Founding Director, National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center; Former Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University.
Ann Druyan, Creative Director of the Interstellar Message, NASA Voyager; Co-Founder and CEO, Cosmos Studios; Emmy and Peabody award winning Writer and Producer.
Dan Werthimer, Co-founder and chief scientist of the SETI@home project; director of SERENDIP; principal investigator for CASPER.
Andrew Siemion, Director, Berkeley SETI Research Center.
