Based on what has been accomplished to date, I see the possibility of CUR getting a go ahead from the FDA of a compassionate approval of their ALS treatment a few months after the Ph II trials start and it is shown that it is duplicating the success of Ph I. Typically ALS patients live only 5 years or less from diagnosis.
It will make a whole lot of sense for the company to apply for compassionate approval to treat patients who can still be saved from further suffering and deterioration and certain death. The treatment can already be gauged a success or failure two months after treatment and CUR should approach the FDA for compassionate approval at that time. It may take the FDA 4 months to rule on it but in the meantime as the FDA deliberates on the decision, they will see the treatment's effects post six months. Unlike drugs that have side effects that do not manifest itself until a year or two, some even longer, side effects of operations show up in a month or two. FDA now has accumulated enough trial data showing treatments involving cells show side effects within a few months and not longer. To wait a year or two to complete the trials and let the those ALS sufferers to die will be so unconscionable. Note that the FDA approved DNDN treatment though it only extended prostate sufferers lives only a few months.
Bears Sell Sirius XM Short Right Into The Strong Hands Of Liberty [View article]
I read yesterday that Nissan's SIRIXM radio will have features built in that sounds like a firsts to me .... like a built in "lojack". There was another item I can't remember.
Japan's New Energy Policy Coming Soon: What To Expect? [View article]
There are numerous considerations when design engineers design nuclear plants .... or any other electric generation plant for that matter. All the designs have to follow the laws of thermodynamics and economics. This is why large electric plants are built next to large bodies of water. The oceanic changes are always taken into consideration and compared to the economic life of the plant and then a decision is made to build the plant and how exactly it should be built. It is a very complex process.
In light of the Fukushima incident, nuclear plants have been reviewed to see if the "lessons learned" is applicable to their plant. Not being part of the review group I cannot say the review is complete or through, but I am hoping it is.
Japan's New Energy Policy Coming Soon: What To Expect? [View article]
The irony of the disaster is that it was so cheap to protect the emergency diesel generators from the tsunami. All they had to do was build a wall enclosure to act as an air intake duct 40 feet high that would act like a snorkel so that the emergency generators would not be affected by the tsunami waters flowing around the building. The existing emergency generators had intake louvers on the side of the building almost at ground level. The tsunami waters entered the generator building through these big louvers and drowned all the generators. They relied completely on the seaside tsunami protection wall which did not protect them at all because the tsunami wave was much higher and just flowed over it. Building an intake duct 40 high around the louvers would have allowed the reactor operators to shut down all the reactors safely.
The operators did not ask the simple question of -- what if the tsunami was higher than earlier predictions? If it was higher, what can we do to protect out emergency systems cheaply so it runs no matter what.
Micro-Hybrids And The Multi-Billion Dollar Battery Battle [View article]
John, since it seems that Axion's batteries can last 10 years or more, or, even the life of a car, does this not indicate that it may be a better battery for use for ordinary cars? First cost may be higher than current batteries but long term, it should pay out in many ways such as reduction in the number of spent batteries that not dumped in the environment (in some countries) or are recycled. If the higher first cost is a deterrent for OEM application, would it not be viable for the replacement market if made available to the public?
Micro-Hybrids And The Multi-Billion Dollar Battery Battle [View article]
John, I wonder if A123 will survive long enough to see their new system is adopted by the auto companies and provide them enough income to avoid bankruptcy? They do have another use for their improved technology -- green energy storage -- but that takes a long time to be adopted by the utilities. It seems Axion is way ahead of A123 on both applications. BMW should make an announcement in a few months if they will adopt the Zxion batteries.
Forget Peak Oil, Time To Worry About Peak Oil Labor [View article]
Sounds like a good place for our soldiers getting out of the Armed Services to enter for the next decade. They would make good disciplined workers who would get good paying jobs for the next decades. After that, it could bust as it always seem to do. But by then, these workers should be preparing themselves for another line of work and ease the transition. This is the nature of this business - highly cyclical.
As an engineer I started working on design of factories and commercial buildings in the 60's and entered the nuclear industry as it took off in the early 70's. Then I saw it was heading for trouble and shifted to the oil industry in the mid 70's. I got laid off in the mid 80's as the price of oil tanked. For four years I went back to the commercial building industry then back into the oil industry as it revived in the late 80's. But by about a decade later, in the 90's it was bust again Again, I went back to the commercial building business. Two years later I was back in the oil industry (couldn't resist the higher pay) and that is where I stayed until I retired in 2009.
One thing I can say about the oil industry is that it is a boom and bust business. Anyone who works in it has to be prepared for this cycle. It comes and goes very fast and so one must always have rainy day funds -- always at the ready. I was fortunate in being qualified for another industry to counter the cycle, a definite plus for a stable work life.
Axion got a Phase 1 award of $150,000 from the DOE to test its PcB batteries on micro-hybrids. The test is for 12 months. Then there is Ph 2 award of $1+ Mil if it passes Ph 1 and add another 12-18 months period. Then there is Ph3 for how long???? That gets us past the 2015 when the micro-hybrids as you wrote above, will be for sale to the public. Sounds like a useless use of taxpayer money after Ph 1. By that time BMW (and other car companies) would have long finished their Axion battery tests and implemented (hopefully) the use of PcB for their cars.... in time for the 2015 year market.
Could you kindly please give us your comments on this? I am trying to assess my investments in AXPW and timing in buying a new car that has this s/s capability. Thanks.
Liberty Media Cannot Go Over 49.9% Ownership Of Sirius XM Without FCC Approval [View article]
Remember those people who objected to the merger a few years back and helped delay the FCC approval and caused SIRI to eventually seek help from Liberty and this in turn led to the current attempt of Liberty to gain control of SIRI?
Well, some of those objectors are still around and can renew their complaints to the FCC and prolong the decision. Also, some bond holders can demand an immediate payout should control change hands. This control issue is much more complicated than being discussed here and it will take time to sort out... a very long time.
How Dumb Rules Can Mitigate Model Risk [View article]
Let us keep things simple and easy to understand and implement. Bring back Glass Steagal Act. We all know it worked very well, then in 1998 Clinton signed it's repeal.
Updated Performance Review For 5 Uranium Producers [View article]
vireoman, the NRC approval of several nukes are a consequence of Bush' actions, not Obama's. Sec Chu is pushing solar and wind. Obama administration has not asked for more money to guarantee more private investments in nuclear power, hence the approval of only a handful of plants so far, and it does not look like there are any more new plants in the planning stage. Obama truly believe we can live on solar and wind hence, no effort is being directed towards nuclear or oil and gas exploration. This explains why he is "late" to the gas development. In reality, he is only forced to come to the "gas development" party because it is essential to do so for his reelection. He is against oil development that is why he canceled the Canada Texas pipeline without offering to work with a new re-routed line.
He is catering to his extreme environmental voters and neglecting the fact that to address Climate Change, there has to be a long term transition like 2 to 3 decades at the very least. He wants to make the change now regardless of what happens to our economy and way of life. Have you heard him talk about supporting the new nuclear technology being developed? No. He does not even understand that in order to support his Climate Change agenda we need more new nuclear plants to replace coal (the dirtiest hydrocarbon fuel) as well as replace the aging nuclear plants.
Side note. Japan is coming around to the realization that they cannot exists without nuclear power. They are also coming around in understanding that their nuclear power problem stems from doing nothing to secure the availability and reliability of their emergency systems since the Fukushima plants were built in the early 70's. Neither the magnitude of the Bander Acce tsunami in Dec 2005 nor their local geologists warnings later (he published in a book) about the height of the tsunami in that area of Japan (1000 year earlier) awoke them to the fact that their tsunami defenses were inadequate. Had their emergency systems been protected from the tsunami flood, none of this nuclear disaster would have happened.
Wall Street Breakfast: Monday's Must-Know News [View article]
Payment of bailout money is dependent on the price of GM stock going up GM is trying not only to survive but to raise its stock price. It is up to the US Gov't when it wants to sell. Right now the US Treasury do not want to sell at a loss of $35B.... political poison for Obama.
Sirius XM: Placing A Value On Spectrum [View article]
Starting last year, SIRI has been enrolling people on XM. After a few years, Sirus subscribers will diminish in numbers. At some point in the future, SIRIXM can offer them a deal to switch. This will free up the spectrum to provide other services, with FCC's approval of course..
Lead-Carbon Batteries: Cheap Classic Chemistry With 21st Century Performance [View article]
Just an observation -- the time it is taking for BMW and NS to test the AXion batteries is now about as long as it is taking some stem cell start-ups to conduct all their clinical trials to obtain final FDA approval.
What Next For Neuralstem? [View article]
It will make a whole lot of sense for the company to apply for compassionate approval to treat patients who can still be saved from further suffering and deterioration and certain death. The treatment can already be gauged a success or failure two months after treatment and CUR should approach the FDA for compassionate approval at that time. It may take the FDA 4 months to rule on it but in the meantime as the FDA deliberates on the decision, they will see the treatment's effects post six months. Unlike drugs that have side effects that do not manifest itself until a year or two, some even longer, side effects of operations show up in a month or two. FDA now has accumulated enough trial data showing treatments involving cells show side effects within a few months and not longer. To wait a year or two to complete the trials and let the those ALS sufferers to die will be so unconscionable. Note that the FDA approved DNDN treatment though it only extended prostate sufferers lives only a few months.
Bears Sell Sirius XM Short Right Into The Strong Hands Of Liberty [View article]
Japan's New Energy Policy Coming Soon: What To Expect? [View article]
In light of the Fukushima incident, nuclear plants have been reviewed to see if the "lessons learned" is applicable to their plant. Not being part of the review group I cannot say the review is complete or through, but I am hoping it is.
Japan's New Energy Policy Coming Soon: What To Expect? [View article]
The operators did not ask the simple question of -- what if the tsunami was higher than earlier predictions? If it was higher, what can we do to protect out emergency systems cheaply so it runs no matter what.
The Better Question To Ask Yourself Regarding Sirius XM CEO's Stock Sales [View article]
Micro-Hybrids And The Multi-Billion Dollar Battery Battle [View article]
Micro-Hybrids And The Multi-Billion Dollar Battery Battle [View article]
Forget Peak Oil, Time To Worry About Peak Oil Labor [View article]
As an engineer I started working on design of factories and commercial buildings in the 60's and entered the nuclear industry as it took off in the early 70's. Then I saw it was heading for trouble and shifted to the oil industry in the mid 70's. I got laid off in the mid 80's as the price of oil tanked. For four years I went back to the commercial building industry then back into the oil industry as it revived in the late 80's. But by about a decade later, in the 90's it was bust again Again, I went back to the commercial building business. Two years later I was back in the oil industry (couldn't resist the higher pay) and that is where I stayed until I retired in 2009.
One thing I can say about the oil industry is that it is a boom and bust business. Anyone who works in it has to be prepared for this cycle. It comes and goes very fast and so one must always have rainy day funds -- always at the ready. I was fortunate in being qualified for another industry to counter the cycle, a definite plus for a stable work life.
Stop-Start Realities And EV Fantasies [View article]
http://yhoo.it/JcGK7C
Axion got a Phase 1 award of $150,000 from the DOE to test its PcB batteries on micro-hybrids. The test is for 12 months. Then there is Ph 2 award of $1+ Mil if it passes Ph 1 and add another 12-18 months period. Then there is Ph3 for how long???? That gets us past the 2015 when the micro-hybrids as you wrote above, will be for sale to the public. Sounds like a useless use of taxpayer money after Ph 1. By that time BMW (and other car companies) would have long finished their Axion battery tests and implemented (hopefully) the use of PcB for their cars.... in time for the 2015 year market.
Could you kindly please give us your comments on this? I am trying to assess my investments in AXPW and timing in buying a new car that has this s/s capability. Thanks.
Liberty Media Cannot Go Over 49.9% Ownership Of Sirius XM Without FCC Approval [View article]
Well, some of those objectors are still around and can renew their complaints to the FCC and prolong the decision. Also, some bond holders can demand an immediate payout should control change hands. This control issue is much more complicated than being discussed here and it will take time to sort out... a very long time.
How Dumb Rules Can Mitigate Model Risk [View article]
Updated Performance Review For 5 Uranium Producers [View article]
He is catering to his extreme environmental voters and neglecting the fact that to address Climate Change, there has to be a long term transition like 2 to 3 decades at the very least. He wants to make the change now regardless of what happens to our economy and way of life. Have you heard him talk about supporting the new nuclear technology being developed? No. He does not even understand that in order to support his Climate Change agenda we need more new nuclear plants to replace coal (the dirtiest hydrocarbon fuel) as well as replace the aging nuclear plants.
Side note. Japan is coming around to the realization that they cannot exists without nuclear power. They are also coming around in understanding that their nuclear power problem stems from doing nothing to secure the availability and reliability of their emergency systems since the Fukushima plants were built in the early 70's. Neither the magnitude of the Bander Acce tsunami in Dec 2005 nor their local geologists warnings later (he published in a book) about the height of the tsunami in that area of Japan (1000 year earlier) awoke them to the fact that their tsunami defenses were inadequate. Had their emergency systems been protected from the tsunami flood, none of this nuclear disaster would have happened.
Wall Street Breakfast: Monday's Must-Know News [View article]
Sirius XM: Placing A Value On Spectrum [View article]
Lead-Carbon Batteries: Cheap Classic Chemistry With 21st Century Performance [View article]