In Today's Issue

• Tracking the Transit of Venus
• Cancer Center Program Gets Quality Designation
• Making the GRADE for Education
• Protecting Hearts of Childhood Leukemia Survivors
• Gallo, Miller to Lecture at Stem Cell Symposium
• Weight Watchers Sponsors Open House
• University IT Offers Tips to Secure Mobil Devices

News and Announcements

Tracking the Transit of Venus
As a planetary event that takes place in cycles of more than 100 years, today's transit of Venus will be marked by astronomers throughout much of the world. In a commentary for NPR, Adam Frank, professor of physics and astronomy, notes that the next transit will not take place for another 105 years. "Think about that: the next time the orbits of Earth and Venus align just so to create a transit, the world will be entirely populated by an entirely unborn generation. That essential point about time is really what makes this transit worth a moment of your own." Read his essay on NPR's "13.7: Cosmos and Culture" blog, where Frank is a standing contributor. During the last cycle of the transit in 1874, one of the key observers was Admiral William Harkness, Class of 1858, who organized an expedition to Tasmania to record observations as Venus passed between Earth and the sun. The papers of the expedition are housed at Rush Rhees Library. Read more...

Cancer Center Program Gets Quality Designation
The Hematology/Oncology Division of the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center has earned certification through the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative, sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and joins 121 other oncology practices and hospitals in the U.S.—including just eight in New York—to achieve the certification. Read more...

Protecting Hearts of Childhood Leukemia Survivors
An international study led by a Medical Center investigator shows that giving a cardio-protective drug during treatment may prevent heart damage in later years for children with leukemia who take chemotherapy. Read more...

University IT Offers Tips to Secure Mobil Devices
Vulnerable smart phones, laptops, iPads, and other portable devices can be kept secure using proper encryption, password protection, and inactivity timeout. University IT offers step-by-step instructions for these and other safeguards. If you have ideas for security tips of the week, send them to UnivIT_SP@ur.rochester.edu.