"Here is the problem. It says Made in Japan." "What are you talking about Doc? All the best stuff is made in Japan." Doc and Marty from Back to the Future 3.

Kawasaki Heavy poised to win massive order for NYC subway cars- Nikkei Asian Review

TOKYO -- Kawasaki Heavy Industries appears likely to receive orders to build about 1,600 cars for New York City's subways, topping international rivals to snare what would rank among the company's most valuable projects ever.

 From article, (Kawasaki Heavy Industries appears likely to receive orders to build about 1,600 cars for New York City's subways, topping international rivals to snare what would rank among the company's most valuable projects ever.

The Japanese heavy equipment maker's record of timeliness and quality in serving the Big Apple's rapid transit likely pushed it ahead of such competitors as global leader CRRC of China and Canada's Bombardier, despite their advantages on the cost front.

The deal, worth about 400 billion yen ($3.61 billion), initially calls for 500 of the new R211 model cars, with deliveries to begin in 2020. Options are included for roughly 1,100 more.

Proven record

Kawasaki Heavy has delivered at least 2,200 New York City subway cars previously and commands a leading 30% share in providing for the rapid transit system. The new 1,600-car batch apparently would be the manufacturer's largest single order of its kind.

Bidding initially was thought to favor CRRC and Bombardier. But New York City Transit, which governs the subways, "was concerned over issues with past contracts, such as delayed deliveries," a source familiar with the matter said. Negotiations zeroed in on Kawasaki Heavy during autumn and turned toward ironing out matters of price.

Japanese players such as Kawasaki Heavy and domestic leader Hitachi are vying for overseas orders as demand flags at home amid a drop in construction of new lines. Kawasaki Heavy targets revenue of 240 billion yen from rail operations in 2025, up 75% from fiscal 2016, while Hitachi's sales in the field are around 500 billion yen. Exporting infrastructure also is a priority of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government)

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Betting on Companies that will make products for Electric Cars

Lithium Makers for Tesla Batteries Get a Dedicated Hedge Fund

Will Smith, a former partner at Michael Hintze's investment firm CQS U.K., is starting a hedge fund that will bet on companies whose products and services will benefit from a boom in electric cars. The Westbeck Electric Metals Fund is expected to begin trading next month and aims to raise a maximum of $250 million, according to a document seen by Bloomberg News.

 From article, (Will Smith, a former partner at Michael Hintze’s investment firm CQS U.K., is starting a hedge fund that will bet on companies whose products and services will benefit from a boom in electric cars.

The Westbeck Electric Metals Fund is expected to begin trading next month and aims to raise a maximum of $250 million, according to a document seen by Bloomberg News. Smith, who was the head of natural resources at CQS before starting London-based Westbeck Capital Management in 2016, declined to comment.

Companies like Toyota Group’s trading arm are scrambling to secure supplies of resources for electric car batteries, making miners of commodities such as copper, nickel, lithium and cobalt a fertile hunting ground for hedge funds. The end users are companies like Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc., which is jointly developing the world’s biggest lithium-ion battery project.

Westbeck’s fund will target opportunities among more than 200 companies with a combined market capitalization of about $650 billion. The firm has also tapped a former chief executive of a lithium company as an adviser for the fund, according to the document, which did not name the person.)

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How To extend your life? Look into two proteins, The Klotho proteins and Hormone FGFs.

Anti-aging proteins may treat diabetes, obesity, and cancer

A family of longevity proteins has been examined in detail for the first time. The new insight may help create innovative treatments for a range of diseases, including some cancers, obesity, and diabetes. A molecule involved in aging gives up its secrets in a new study.

From article, (A family of molecules called Klotho proteins has intrigued researchers interested in the aging process for decades.

They are "named after the Greek goddess who spun the thread of life." Involved in metabolism, they also appear to play a role in longevity.

Studies in the late 1990s showed that mice with mutated Klotho genes suffer from a condition similar to premature aging: they had much shorter lifespans, became infertile, and even developed arteriosclerosis, osteoporosis, and emphysema, as well as skin atrophy.

A later study also found that the overexpression of Klotho genes extended the lifespan of mice by altering insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 signaling.

If the activity of this hormone could be stimulated pharmacologically, it might be useful in treating conditions such as diabetes and obesity. In the paper, the team also describes a variant of FGF21 that is 10 times more potent, potentially offering an even greater therapeutic advantage.

Klotho proteins and FGFs operate in close quarters. In fact, those interested in longevity have, for some time, debated whether Klotho proteins or FGFs are the molecules responsible for altering aging.

Using X-ray crystallography, the team built up a detailed picture of beta-Klotho's structure. The results are published this week in the journal Nature.

Their first discovery was that beta-Klotho is the primary receptor for FGF21, a hormone that is produced during starvation. FGF21 has a range of effects — for instance, it increases insulin sensitivity and enhances glucose metabolism to induce weight loss.

Additionally, they found evidence of how glycosidase — a similarly structured enzyme that breaks down sugars — evolved into a hormone receptor "that lowers blood sugar." As Schlessinger adds, this "may not be a coincidence."

There is a huge need for more effective treatments for obesity and diabetes, so anything that can offer a novel route is likely to gain a great deal of attention.

Enhancing this pathway could be of benefit. On the other side of the coin, the authors believe that blocking the pathway might lead to better treatments for liver cancer and bone diseases.

Schlessinger concludes by summarizing the long road ahead: "The next step will be to make better hormones, make new potent blockers, do animal studies, and move forward." More studies are already in the pipeline.)

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Avocado Seeds found to have Cancer Fighting Properties. Just don't eat them.

Scientists discover cancer-fighting properties in avocado seeds

A Texas professor has found important compounds in the husk of avocado pits, usually discarded as "waste."

From article, (One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

That holds true for a group of researchers in South Texas who have found new chemical compounds in avocados that could help treat cancer and other diseases. 

Dr. Debasish Bandyopadhyay and his research team at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley are collecting what consumers and other researchers usually discard: the outer layer of the avocado pit.

“We call it waste of waste,” Dr. Bandyopadhyay said.

Two years ago, Dr. Bandyopadhyay realized there were no studies done on the chemical compound that make up the peel of the avocado seed, also known as the husk.

“That was the driving force, to decide, ‘So, let’s start working just on the peels,’” he recalled.

The compounds they found are the same that are used to treat debilitating diseases, including cancer and heart disease, and to create a range of consumer products.

As positive as this sounds, Dr. Bandyopadhay and his team warn that there are other compounds in the husk listed as cancerous and should only be consumed after processing.

“That is the main reason why ACS, the American Chemical Society, pointed out this research as groundbreaking,” Dr. Bandyopadhyay noted. “Because this research says that it’s not a good idea. Many good molecules are there, many bad molecules are there. So, do not take these peels like ‘as is.’”)

Ground work being done for universal blood test that can detect cancer in the Human Body.

A blood test for cancer gets a step closer

The noninvasive blood test was shown to detect the presence of common tumors of the ovary, liver, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, colorectum, lung and breast, according to a study published in the journal Science on Thursday. This blood test, called CancerSEEK, could cost less than $500, which is comparable to or lower than other screening tests, such as a colonoscopy, according to the study.

 From article, (Scientists have made progress on developing an experimental blood test that could detect many types of cancer in their early stages, and possibly even their locations in the body.

The noninvasive blood test was shown to detect the presence of common tumors of the ovary, liver, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, colorectum, lung and breast, according to a study published in the journal Science on Thursday.

This blood test, called CancerSEEK, could cost less than $500, which is comparable to or lower than other screening tests, such as a colonoscopy, according to the study. The study was funded by many foundations, research groups, and grants, while many of the study authors have ties to biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, as well as patents.

Yet as of now, the study only "lays the conceptual and practical foundation" for a cancer-screening blood test and much more research needs to be done before such a test could be widely used, the researchers wrote in the study.

the researchers evaluated levels of eight proteins and the presence of mutations in 2,001 genomic positions to detect signs of cancer.

The average sensitivity of the tests was 70% among the eight cancer types, researchers found. CancerSEEK was able to detect 98% of ovarian cancers, but when it came to the much more common breast cancer, the accuracy was significantly lower, at 33%.

The researchers also developed an algorithm to determine the source of the cancer identified in the positive tests, and they were able to localize the source to a single organ in an average of 63% of these patients.

The researchers also gave the test to 812 healthy patients and found that only seven of them resulted in a false-positive.)

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The Best Case I have heard that Zuma is either in orbit, or the casing protecting it did not come off. Either way we will never know for sure.

SpaceX's ZUMA mission, You can't trust everything you hear...

On January 8, 2018 Elon Musk's rocket company launched a super top secret spy satellite with stealth laser nuclear impact hypersonic gliding ballistic planet destroying capabilities and it totally blew up and SpaceX super failed, or at least that's what they want you to think.

From Site, (On January 8, 2018 Elon Musk's rocket company launched a super top secret spy satellite with stealth laser nuclear impact hypersonic gliding ballistic planet destroying capabilities and it totally blew up and SpaceX super failed, or at least that's what they want you to think.)

Tolling is the only, guaranteed, way for States to raise money for new infrastructure and maintain existing infrastructure. The Gas Tax is entering its Twilight Years.

More States Turning To Toll Roads To Raise Cash For Infrastructure

Attention Drivers: Many of those those freeways you're using may not be free for long. Several states are opening new toll roads this year and rates on many existing turnpikes and tollways are going up.

From article, (Attention Drivers: Many of those those freeways you're using may not be free for long. Several states are opening new toll roads this year and rates on many existing turnpikes and tollways are going up.

And the number of toll roads is likely to increase, as the Trump administration's infrastructure plan may force many more states to use them to fund long-standing transportation needs

"I think 2018 is going to be a very good year for tolling," says Pat Jones, executive director of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, which represents toll facility owners and operators.

"We're seeing a number of states that do not currently have tolls express an interest in doing so. States like Connecticut, Michigan, Wyoming and others," Jones says.

And some states are beyond considering it. New toll roads or toll lanes are opening this year in Texas, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. Oregon will be adding congestion pricing to highways to help manage congestion in and around Portland later this year.

Austin, Texas, has two new toll road projects slated to open next year and the highway tunnel beneath Seattle begins charging tolls in 2019.

And rates on many existing toll roads and bridges around the country went up on the first of the year, including on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, on the Triangle Expressway in Raleigh, N.C., and for the tunnels in Hampton Roads, Va., while voters in the San Francisco area may be asked later this year to raise tolls on bay area bridges.

The reason for this surge? Many states' transportation budgets are tight and highway funding from Washington is lacking: the federal highway trust fund is nearly insolvent, as the federal gas tax hasn't been increased in 24 years.

"So states are in many cases on their own," Jones says. "They are looking for revenues and tolling is a powerful and effective way and a very specific way to pay for new infrastructure as well as generate funds to pay for existing infrastructure.")

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Coca-Cola will use 50% recycled Plastic in new bottles by 2030, and it will recycle 100% of equivalent plastic bottles, cans, and other packaging it produces in 2030. 100% of present day plastic bottle production is 110 Billion Plastic Bottles. That's going from 2 billion bottles reused today to 110 Billion in 2030. What more could you want from Coca Cola? More bottling companies should do this as well.

Coca-Cola is being slammed for its massive solution to the 'plastics epidemic' as critics call for a world where its top product is extinct

Coca-Cola announced on Friday that for every bottle it sells, it will recycle the equivalent number of bottles. Greenpeace slammed Coca-Cola for focusing on recycling, instead of making moves to decrease its use of single-serve plastic bottles. Coca-Cola's CEO said that if Coke can manage to recycle the equivalent of 100% of its packaging, "there's no such thing as a single-use bottle."

From article, ("If we can drive up collection, then we can reuse that and create a circular economy," the CEO said. "I think that's what it's all about — creating this circular economy, and then there's no such thing as a single-use bottle." 

[And with that] Coca-Cola announced a massive recycling effort on Friday. 

The beverage giant has committed to collecting and recycling the equivalent of 100% of its bottles, cans, and other packaging by 2030. 

"If left unchecked, plastic waste will slowly choke our oceans and waterways," Coca-Cola's CEO and president James Quincey wrote in an op-ed published on the company's website on Friday. 

"The world’s packaging problem is a symptom of a more serious condition," Quincey writes. "We're using up our earth as if there’s another one on the shelf just waiting to be opened." 

Coca-Cola's "World Without Waste" initiative aims to achieve the goal of recycling a bottle for every new Coke bottle sold. The company will invest in promoting understanding of recycling, working with local communities to improve recycling infrastructures as well as other nonprofit and corporate partners. 

The company also announced that, by 2030, it aims to make bottles with an average of 50% recycled material.)

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From Google, (Enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the Earth four times. Americans throw away 35 billion plastic bottles every year. Only about 25% of the plastic produced in the U.S. is recycled. If we recycled the other 75% we could save 1 billion gallons of oil and 44 million cubic yards of landfill space annually.) 

From Google, ( Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year. However, the U.S.'s recycling rate for plastic is only 23 percent, which means 38 billion water bottles – more than $1 billion worth of plastic – are wasted each year³.

From Google, (The [Coca-Cola] plant is expected to produce 100 million pounds of recycled plastic annually or the equivalent of 2 billion, 20-ounce bottles. $10 million for a dedicated recycling division formed last year between Coke and its largest bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises.)

From Google, (The environmental campaign group said Coca-Cola is now producing more than 110 billion plastic bottleseach year.Oct 3, 2017

Me, "What Coca-Cola is saying is that plastic bottles that are recycled will find its way into new plastic bottles. In this way Coca-Cola will cut down new plastic used in bottles by 2030 from 100% to 50%, and that it willI double down and recycle 110 billion bottles a year by 2030. Its a good goal and if more soft drink companies get on board it would reduce the amount of new plastics needed to be created."