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TV’s 15 Best Musical Episodes, Ranked (Plus the One Absolute Worst) – TVLine

Courtesy DisneyABC Domestic Television (2), Sony Pictures Television, 20th Television

Musical episode. No two words strike fear in the hearts of network executives and snark in the minds of critics with greater expedience. But when done right, the result can be a beautiful thing.

VIDEOSThe Flash and Supergirl Get Retro Glam in First Musical Crossover Promo

With two big-ticket musical episodes on the horizon the Supergirl/Flashcrossover airs Tuesday (The CW, 8/7c), whileOnce Upon a Times song-and-dance hourwill air later this season TVLine decided to take a look back at some of our favorites from days (and shows) gone by.

Before you start whining about your favorites being omitted, take our criteria into consideration: * The show must benon-musical. (Sorry,Glee!) * The episodemust have multiple musical numbers, rather than just a one-off song. (Sorry,How I Met Your Mother!) * The songs must come about spontaneously, rather than beingpart of lets say a play withinthe show. (Sorry,Supernatural!)

RELATEDOnce Upon a Time Bosses Preview Mystery Musical Duet

OK, time to get things started

15. Psych: Psych: The Musical (Season 7, Episodes 15 and 16) Im docking points for the episodesunnecessary length 90 minutes? Seriously?! butPsychs brief foray into the musical world is still a relative success.

14. Passions: Spellbinding (2008) Michael Ausiello hates when I bring up Passions, so just know that Im literally risking my job by singing (teehee) this episodes praises. A hilariously shameless Wicked rip-off homage, Spellbinding takes us back to Tabithas early days as a magical student, where she and her black hat eventually abandon the side of good in favor of a self-serving future of evil. The lyrics are kind of meh, but Im givingextra pointsto Kim Huber (aka Young Tabitha) forsinging her damn face off in the episodes title number:

13. Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Mayhem of the Music Meister! (Season 1, Episode 25)Heres something youwontsee on the upcomingSupergirl/Flashmusical crossover episode: a love ballad between Black Canary and Green Arrow. (Sigh.)

12. Clone High: Raisin the Stakes: A Rock Opera in Three Acts (Season 1, Episode 9) Everything about this short-lived Phil Lord/Christopher Miller/Bill Lawrence comedy setata high school populated by teenage clones of historical figures, including emo Abe Lincoln (voiced by Will Forte) ispure brilliance. So, yeah, why not throw in a rock opera about the entire school becoming addicted to hallucinogens?

11. Community: Regional Holiday Music (Season 3, Episode 10) An instant Christmas classic, this wacky little departure from Communitys already wacky little world features Taran Killam as a deranged glee club instructor. (Wait, is that redundant?)

10.Fringe: Brown Betty (Season 2, Episode 20) Of all the worldsexplored during the Fox dramas five-season run, why are we not surprised that one of the weirdest and definitely the most musical comes courtesy of Walters special strain of weed for which the episode is named?

9. Futurama: The Devils Hands Are Idle Playthings (Season 4, Episode 18) Frys desire to master a complicated instrument all part of a ploy to impress Leela, naturally leads him to make a deal with the Robot Devil, triggering a series of unfortunate appendage-swaps. Fortunately, it all culminates in a wonderfully weird opera chronicling Leelas past as well as her future with Fry.

8.Daria: Daria! (Season 3, Episode 7) Unlike the ominousstorm approaching the town of Lawndale, this episode definitely doesnotblow.

7. Even Stevens: Influenza: The Musical (Season 2, Episode 21) Four years before High School Musical bopped its wayinto our hearts, Disney Channel gifted us with this toe-tapping tale of angst, revenge and most importantly Americas history of interstellartravel. (Bonus points for #BabyShiaLaBeouf!)

6. Scrubs: My Musical (Season 6, Episode 6) Doctors! Nurses! Patients! Dead guys! No one at Sacred Heart Hospital can, ahem, refrainfrombursting into song during this Emmy Award-winning episode. And with music from the likes of Jeff Marx (Avenue Q)and Robert Lopez (The Book of Mormon,Frozen), who could blame them?

5. Greys Anatomy: Song Beneath the Song (Season 7, Episode 18) First of all, stop rolling your eyes. This is a gut-wrenching hour of television, anchored by powerful performances from Sara Ramirez whose characters life remainsin limbo after a near-fatal car accident and solid support from the rest of the cast. If it doesnt get you weepy, your pulse is even weaker than Callies.

4. Dexters Laboratory: LABretto (Season 2, Episode 38) This operatic retelling of Dexters birth as well as the birth of his rivalry with Dee Dee, his destructive older sister earned the Cartoon Network staple a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 1998.

3. The Simpsons: Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious (Season 8, Episode 13) Remembered fondly as one of the series finest, this episode introduces Sharry Bobbins, a delightful British nanny who after spending just a few days with the Simpson family is driven to alcoholism. (Sadly, given the nature of Sharrys exit, I doubt well ever get a sequel in the vein ofMary Poppins Returns.)

2. Xena: Warrior Princess: The Bitter Suite (Season 3, Episode 12)How do you menda broken friendship between two women when eachbelieve the other is responsible for her childs death? Xenagoes the non-Jerry Springer route,sending its characters to the land of Illusia, where their hatred is manifested into a nightmarish enemy that can only be defeated with the power of forgiveness and song, of course. (If Im being totally honest, a part of me really wanted to make this my No. 1 pick, but I didnt feel like getting buried alive by the internet.)

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, With Feeling (Season 6, Episode 7) Sorry for ending on such an anticlimactic note, but did youreallyexpect another episode to snag the top spot on this list? Nearly every song in this hour-long masterpiece is an earworm, courtesy of series creator Joss Whedon, performed flawlessly orat least with a lot of enthusiasm by the cast. (Plus, it blessed us with I think this lines mostly filler, something Ive since quoted too many times to count.)

There you have it, folks TVLines top 15 musical episodes of all time.

And as a special thank-you for making it this far into the post, heres our No. 1worstpick:7th Heavens inexplicably heinous Red Socks (Season 9, Episode 15). Tone-deaf, both literally and figuratively, this 60-minute torture session finds the Camdens bursting into off-key song, complete with awkward choreography that screams Were all doing this against our will! Unfortunately, theworstnumber isnt available on YouTube, so youll have to settle for this pretty terrible one:

Whatsyourfavorite musical episode? Any we missed?Drop a comment with your picks as well as your complaints about our order below.

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TV's 15 Best Musical Episodes, Ranked (Plus the One Absolute Worst) - TVLine

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Jesse Williams: Trump a ‘Pig’ – Breitbart News

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Asked by TMZ how Trump is doing with racial injustice in America, theGreysAnatomyactor replied: Hes not.

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Hes a pig whos trying to make sure that he galvanizes as much fear as possible, particularly against black, brown immigrants, and Muslims, Williamstold TMZ.

Concerning Trumps law enforcement policy agenda, Williams cited a series of police-involved shooting statistics.

There were more killings at the hands of police this February than January and February of last year,211 murders at the hands of police this year so far,the actor said.

Williamshas spoken out against Trump before.

In September, the actor and activist appeared in Joss Whedons Important political PSA alongside Avengers stars Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson to urge people to vote for former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Last year, the actor wasthe subject of a petition calling for his firing from Greys Anatomy following hisracially-charged acceptance speech at the BET Awards,during which hevilified police officers and accused white people of appropriating and then profiting from black culture.

Williams alsoprotested in Ferguson, Missouriafter the shooting of Michael Brown in 2014. Helatersaid on CNNsState of the Unionthat theres a complete double standard and a complete different experience that a certain element of this country has the privilege of being treated like human beings, and the rest of us are not treated like human beings, period.

FollowJerome Hudsonon Twitter:@jeromeehudson

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'Grey's Anatomy' Star Jesse Williams: Trump a 'Pig' - Breitbart News

Even Grey’s Anatomy wants to get out of that damn hospital – A.V. Club

Because The A.V. Club knows that TV shows keep going even if were not writing at length about them, were experimenting with discussion posts. For certain shows, one of our TV writers will publish some brief thoughts about the latest episode, and open the comments for readers to share theirs.

Previous episode Who hates each other more: Everyone on Greys Anatomy, or ourselves for watching it?

Go to the A.V. Club homepage

Posted Mar 17 Music Review

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Even Grey's Anatomy wants to get out of that damn hospital - A.V. Club

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology

ASM Journal Press Releases

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology (CVI) enhances understanding of the immune response in health and disease and after vaccination by showcasing discoveries in clinical, laboratory, and vaccine immunology.

Areas of focus include cellular and humoral immunity in humans and animals, immunological and immune-mediated disorders, immunotherapy, microbial immunology and microbial immune pathogenesis, veterinary and One Health immunology, development and standardization of immunological assays, and immunoepidemiology.

CVI is also committed to advancing all aspects of vaccine research and immunization, including discovery of new vaccine antigens and vaccine design, development and evaluation of vaccines in animal models and in humans, characterization of immune responses and mechanisms of vaccine action, controlled challenge studies to assess vaccine efficacy, study of vaccine vectors, adjuvants, and immunomodulators, immune correlates of protection, and clinical trials.

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Clinical and Vaccine Immunology

Personality Experts Offer New User-Friendly Updates to Popular Platform – Benzinga

Personality assessment and behavioral analysis company announces the release of new updates to its user platform.

Boardman, OH (PRWEB) March 16, 2017

PeopleKeys, the international personality and behavior experts, just announced new improvements to their user platform, PK3. As part of a continued dedication to improving customer experience, these changes will reflect PeopleKeys' new design and functionality upgrades. By putting users first, PeopleKeys allows users to have more options to control their user experience.These new updates will be available on March 20th. The redesign of the PK3 dashboard is part of their recent initiative to update all of their products and services to reflect a more contemporary aesthetic and improve user experience. Known for their highly customizable personality assessment and Behavioral Analysis products, PeopleKeys has extended this dedication to user-guided experiences by upgrading its user platform. This upgraded platform will incorporate even more Administrator-controlled functions. These functions will be thoroughly introduced and explained in instructional videos and downloadable documents, making them even easier to use.

PeopleKeys PK3 Administrators and Account Holders will be able to:

1- Enjoy a new dashboard layout with everything you need to know, all in one place 2- Send Assessments 3- Transfer Assessments 4- Take advantage of the new Recent Activity' window showing you pending tasks, membership requests, upgrades and reports all in one place 5- Invite someone to become an Admin directly

These new features and upgrades will improve the user's experience and allow them to take control of the organization of their account. It puts new account features firmly in the hands of the Administrator without having to consult with PeopleKeys' customer service, and a second round of updates and upgrades is already in the works.

How-to videos will soon be released showing Account Administrators how to utilize these exciting new features.

With these new changes to their PK3 Platform, PeopleKeys illustrates their continued dedication to going beyond their customer's expectations.

Want to hear more? Have any questions? Contact PeopleKeys at sales(at)peoplekeys(dot)com or customerservice(at)peoplekeys(dot)com. 330-599-5580 for more information

More about PeopleKeys:

For almost four decades, PeopleKeys has been the thought leader in cutting edge Behavioral Analysis and personality assessment resources. Throughout their expansion both domestically and internationally, PeopleKeys has sought to improve people's understanding of human behavior. Their knowledge of applied behavioral analysis has helped people to reduce stress, improve their relationships, increase workplace productivity, raise morale, and enhance interpersonal communication skills. With their DISC theory based reports, tools, resources, webinars and assessments, PeopleKeys seeks to help everyone unlock their people potential. They have products designed specifically for individuals, ministries, students, businesses, teams, coaches and more; and with over 33 languages available, they are uniquely suited to help everyone improve the human part of their lives.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/03/prweb14155382.htm

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Personality Experts Offer New User-Friendly Updates to Popular Platform - Benzinga

Editorial: Time for Congress to kill Virginia Foxx’s ‘wrongheaded’ genetics bill – The Progressive Pulse

As Congress continues its debate over the Republican replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act, one bill sponsored by North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC5) is being resoundingly rejected by her hometown newspaper.

Heres how the editorial board of the Winston-Salem Journal explains the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act (HR 1313) that was introduced by the 5th District Congresswoman earlier this month:

The Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act, HR 1313, would allow employers to impose big financial penalties on employees who decline to provide information on their genetics through workplace wellness programs. Employers, in general, dont have that power under existing federal laws that protect genetic privacy and nondiscrimination. But a bill passed Wednesday by a House committee would allow employers to get around that if the information is collected as part of workplace wellness programs, The Washington Post reported last week.

Bill supporters say it gives employers the legal certainty to promote good health and lower health-care costs. They say that, as it is now, federal regulations make it difficult to offer these programs.

This bill, which would be big government run amok, is not the solution. It would allow employers to reward those who share their genetic info with deep cuts to their health-insurance costs, leaving those who dont submit paying substantially more.

So employees would feel pressured to provide their existing genetic information, and possibly submit to genetic testing, or pay the price. That is neither right nor fair. Opponents, including writers to our letters page, are rightly raising heck over this bill that one House committee has already approved.

Read the full editorial from the Journal here.

Learn more about HR 1313 in The New York Times.

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Editorial: Time for Congress to kill Virginia Foxx's 'wrongheaded' genetics bill - The Progressive Pulse

Penn State Colorectal Diseases Biobank links genetics and colorectal cancer – Penn State News

HERSHEY, Pa. What if your familys DNA could become the blueprint for your very own precise and personalized treatment for colorectal cancer? Or, better yet, what if it could be used to help doctors screen you earlier for the disease, before it has a chance to strike?

This isnt a science-fictional, futuristic ideal. Cutting-edge research at Penn State College of Medicine and the Penn State Colorectal Diseases Biobank is revealing how genetics play a role in treating this disease.

The team at the biobank takes things one step further, too: They empower patients. Combating illness is as much a psychological battle as it is a physical one, says Dr. Walter Koltun, chief of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery and director of the biobank. By filling patients with knowledge about genetic causes of disease and the subsequent care for their life-threatening conditions, they can take an active role in their own treatment.

For patients, the stress is the unknown and the lack of control. If you incorporate their concerns and their responses, they become more compliant with treatments. They understand the rationale for what were doing, Koltun says. I call that, patient-centered care. It really means the patient is the director of the symphony. What they need and how their disease affects them, comes back to genetics what disease they have and how it is interacting with their bodys physiology is different for each patient and is in large part related to their genetics.

Colorectal cancer is the third most-common life threatening cancer in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. During 2017, it is expected to cause 50,260 deaths in the nation. If everyone age 50 and older were screened, six out of 10 deaths could be prevented, says the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

But genetics research at the Colorectal Diseases Biobank is advancing the battle for prevention and treatment.

Learn more about the Biobank in this Penn State Medicine article.

Last Updated March 15, 2017

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Penn State Colorectal Diseases Biobank links genetics and colorectal cancer - Penn State News

First ‘three-parent babies’ to be born this year as licence approved for new fertility technique – The Independent

Researchers in Newcastle have been granted permission to use anew 'three-parent baby' fertility technique that prevents children from inheriting lethal genetic diseases.

Three-person IVF was given the go-aheadby fertility regulator the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) in December.

Now the regulator has approved a licence for scientists at Newcastle University meaning the first babies to be born with donated DNA from a third woman in addition to their mother and father are expected to be born later this year.

The UK was the first country to legalise mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), as the technique is known.

One in 200 children are born with faulty genes in their mitochondria, small structures inside cells that generate energy.

This can lead to a wide range of potentially fatal conditions affecting vital organs, muscles, vision, growth and mental ability.

Just 0.1 per cent of a persons DNA is held in the mitochondria. It is always inherited from the mother and has no influence over individual characteristics such as appearance and personality.

In mitochondrial replacement,an embryo containing healthy mitochondria from the donor is combined withnuclear DNA from the babys mother and father.

In theory, mitochondrial replacement can not only prevent a child developing inherited diseases, but also protect future generations.

Critics say the technique is not foolproof and small numbers of faulty mitochondria may still be carried over into the child, and even replicate in the developing embryo.

More to follow...

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First 'three-parent babies' to be born this year as licence approved for new fertility technique - The Independent

Progress in treating hearing loss – Harvard Gazette

Inside a bony structure that spirals like a snail shell in a humans inner ear, roughly 15,000 hair cells receive, translate, and then ship sound signals to the brain. Damage to these cells from excessive noise, chronic infections, antibiotics, certain drugs, or the simple passing of time can lead to irreparable hearing loss.

Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers at Brigham and Womens Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and colleagues from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed an approach to replace damaged sound-sensing hair cells, which eventually may lead to therapies for people who live with disabling hearing loss.

In a recent Cell Reports study, the researchers identified a small molecule cocktail that increased the population of cells responsible for generating hair cells in the inner ear. Unlike hair on the human head, the hair cells lining that bony structure, called the cochlea, do not regenerate.

HSCI principal faculty Jeff Karp, HSCI affiliate faculty Albert Edge, and MITs Robert Langer were co-corresponding authors of the study. Will McLean, a postdoctoral fellow in the Edge lab, and Xiaolei Yin, an instructor in medicine at BWH, were co-first authors.

In 2012, Edge and colleagues identified a population of stem cells, characterized by an Lgr5+ marker, which scientists could turn into hair cells in a dish. A year later, Edge had converted the resident population of these cells in mice into hair cells, though the ability to restore hearing using this approach has been limited.

The problem is the cochlea is so small and there are so few cells that it creates a bottleneck limiting the number and types of experiments researchers could perform, said Edge, director of the Tillotson Cell Biology Unit at Mass. Eye and Ear and a professor of otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School (HMS).

However, by exposing Lgr5+ cells isolated from the cochlea of mice to the small molecule cocktail, the researchers were able to create a 2,000-fold increase in the number of stem cells.

Those molecules were a key to unlocking this regenerative capability, said Karp, who is also a bioengineer at BWH and an associate professor of medicine at HMS.

Inspired by creatures with significant regenerative potential, including lizards and sharks, Karps lab initially turned to one of the bodys most highly regenerative tissues, the gastrointestinal lining, which completely replaces itself every four to five days. Central to this process is the paneth cell, neighbor to the intestinal stem cells that are responsible for generating all mature cell types in the intestine. The paneth cells effectively tell the stem cells, also characterized by their Lgr5+ markers, when to turn on and off.

Karp and his colleagues at MIT looked at the basic biology of the ties between paneth cells and intestinal stem cells and identified small molecules that could communicate directly with and control the Lgr5+ stem cells.

While we were developing the approach for the intestinal cells, we demonstrated it also worked in several other tissues with the Lgr5+ stem cells and progenitors, including the inner ear, Karp said.

When the researchers coupled the cocktail with established differentiation protocols, they were able to generate large quantities of functional hair cells in a petri dish. Using protocols from the Edge lab, the researchers then thoroughly characterized the differentiated cells to demonstrate they were functional hair cells. Researchers tested the cocktail on newborn mice, adult mice, non-human primates, and cells from a human cochlea.

We can now use these cells for drug screening as well as genetic analysis, Edge said. Our lab is using the cells to better understand the pathways for expansion and differentiation of the cells.

Additionally, the small molecule cocktail may also be turned into a therapeutic treatment. Karp has co-founded Frequency Therapeutics, which plans to use insights from these studies to develop treatments for hearing loss. The team hopes to begin human clinical testing within 18 months.

Not only is it a potential therapeutic that could be relevant for the restoration of hearing, but this approach is a platform, said Karp. The concept of targeting stem cells and progenitor cells in the body with small molecules to promote tissue regeneration can be applied to many tissues and organ systems.

By Alvin Powell, Harvard Staff Writer | March 15, 2017

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Progress in treating hearing loss - Harvard Gazette

Poulter explains the anatomy of a shank, and why they happen to him so often – Golf.com

Why do shanks happen to Ian Poulter so often? Let him explain.

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Ian Poulter, admittedly, has hit his fair share of shanks while on the PGA and European tours, but he has an explanation for them.

Poulter joined Sports Illustrated's Alan Shipnuck for a lengthy podcast at Poulter's Florida home on Monday. They discussed a handful of topics from the Ryder Cup to his social media use to the closing of his company and, of course, the fact that he hits more hosel-rockets than most pros.

"There's obviously a fault in my swing, where I dip slightly into my swing on given times," Poulter said. "Now, if you look at the wear spots on all of my old sets of irons in this room, you will see they are all very close to the heel. Some players have it slightly toe-orientated, some player have it out in the middle, some players have it on the heel. With having that sweet spot close to the heel brings your chance of a shank, obviously, a lot higher percentage than someone who has a wear spot at the toe. Now especially if you are going to move slightly forward into the shot; it's going to happen."

And do they make him mad? Of course they do.

"You just laugh it off," he said. "It really pisses me off. It really, really pisses me off. It's been hard at times, because it's happened at the wrong time. Honda, par-3, 5th hole, bad timing. I was going to play a soft shot, and at the time, I went through a little period where I was hitting these little three-quarter soft shots, and that happened a couple of times. Had the yardage been slightly different I may not have been in that situation where I would have hit a shank. But it did, and it happens."

As Shipnuck points out, Poulter, to his credit, has been remarkably good at saving par after many of his shanks. And the 41-year-old pro has great advice for any amateur who has a case of the shanks as well.

"It's not that bad a shot, is it?" he said. "I mean, it is bad; the result's bad, but the actual swing itself was about a half inch from perfection."

You can listen to the complete podcast below.

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Poulter explains the anatomy of a shank, and why they happen to him so often - Golf.com