Agencies

Disaster Recovery Center Opens in Meade County

Published: 26 May 2025
Categories: FEMA News

RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

FRANKFORT, Ky. – A Disaster Recovery Center has opened in Meade County to offer in-person support to Kentucky survivors who experienced loss as the result of the April severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides and mudslides. The new Disaster Recovery Center in Meade County is located at:

Meade County Fairgrounds, Joseph E. Greer Command Center, 884 Hillcrest Drive, Brandenburg, KY 40108 

Working hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Saturday and 1 – 7 p.m. Eastern Time, Sunday.

Disaster Recovery Centers are one-stop shops where you can get information and advice on available assistance from state, federal and community organizations. You can get help to apply for FEMA assistance, learn the status of your FEMA application, understand the letters you get from FEMA and get referrals to agencies that may offer other assistance. The U.S. Small Business Administration representatives and resources from the Commonwealth are also available at the Disaster Recovery Centers to assist you.

FEMA is encouraging Kentuckians affected by the April storms to apply for federal disaster assistance as soon as possible. The deadline to apply is June 25.

You can visit any Disaster Recovery Center to get in-person assistance. No appointment is needed. To find all other center locations, including those in other states, go to fema.gov/drc or text “DRC” and a Zip Code to 43362. 

You don’t have to visit a center to

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Preparing science educators to use and teach AI in the classroom

Published: 13 May 2025
Categories: National Science Foundation

RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

An interdisciplinary team of researchers funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation has created a teacher-driven curriculum called Shark AI. This optional online program introduces Florida middle school teachers and students to artificial intelligence through the science of paleontology. With Shark AI, science teachers learn how to incorporate AI and machine learning concepts into their classrooms to help their students build essential skills and prepare for 21st-century STEM careers.

“Most K-12 AI learning occurs with computer science standards and learning goals,” said Bruce MacFadden, University of Florida (UF) distinguished professor and principal investigator (PI) on the project. “Shark AI takes a novel approach by using AI to teach concepts that are connected to biology, paleontology and the nature of science, while at the same time connecting to computer science education goals as well,” he said.

Image showing the Google Teachable Machine model built to identify fossils. Students use this free, online machine learning tool to create their own models to classify fossil shark teeth.

Developed with and for teachers, Shark AI is a free, optional online curriculum with five flexible modules — all aligned with middle school science standards — that teachers can choose to integrate into their instruction plans. The lessons aim to demystify AI by teaching students about data collection and

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Lab-synthesized botanical compound shows promise for fighting aggressive breast cancer

Published: 8 May 2025
Categories: National Science Foundation

RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Chemists funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation have developed a new process to synthesize a plant-based compound that shows effectiveness against triple-negative breast cancer cells. According to the American Cancer Society, triple-negative breast cancer is one of the most aggressive types of breast cancer and accounts for 10-15% of all breast cancer cases. The process also increases the compound’s potency against these cancer cells and provides a method for it to be mass-produced to enable further testing as a potential treatment.

The new process can also be used broadly to help discover new medicines by synthesizing and testing other complex organic compounds. The findings were achieved by Emory University researchers and published in The Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The compound — called phaeocaulisin A — is extracted from the flowering plant Curcuma phaeocaulis, a relative of ginger and turmeric used for centuries in traditional medicine.

“We not only efficiently replicated a complex natural product, we also improved upon it by turning it into a more potent compound,” says Mingji Dai, professor of chemistry and co-lead of the study.

“It is only the first step in a long process,” says Yong Wan, professor of pharmacology and chemical biology and study co-lead. “But the new analogue of phaeocaulisin A we have reported shows promising efficacy against triple-negative breast cancer cells, which are very aggressive and

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