Nova

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Scios Inc. and Baltimore-based Nova Pharmaceutical Corp. said they have agreed to merge.In a news release today, the companies said holders of Nova Pharmaceutical common stock will exchange each of their shares for 0.39 share of Scios.The combined company will be called Scios-Nova Inc., with headquarters in Mountain View. It will maintain a research facility in Baltimore.The companies put the transaction value at $180 million.

A monthly lecture on the Johns Hopkins University campus will focus Tuesday on novae, massive nuclear explosions that occur in stars known as white dwarves. They involve the interaction of a white dwarf with another star, with the white dwarf pulling in gases from its neighbor. The lecture is titled “Novae: Stars that Explode - Repeatedly” and will be at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive. #sigshell { float: left; width: 320px; height: 52px; margin: 20px 0px; display: block; }

Nova Pharmaceutical Corp. said yesterday that it sold 3.6 million shares of stock to the public for $8.50 apiece, raising more than $28 million to support the company's drive to develop new drugs for inflammation and central nervous system disorders.The company could gain an additional $5.1 million, minus underwriting commissions, if underwriters led by Tucker Anthony Inc. sell an additional 600,000 shares.Nova said it authorized the additional sale if demand for its shares was unexpectedly high.

Nova A. Scott, a retired Baltimore public schools educator who became the first African-American woman to serve on the Howard County Commission on Aging, died Wednesday of complications from an infection at Howard County General Hospital. She was 86. "Nova was always very low-key. She never talked about what she was doing, she just did it, and she did lots of good during her life," said Betty S. Brown, a retired Baltimore public schools educator and a friend for more than 50 years.

On December 29, 2007 NOVA LYNOLA THOMAS devoted mother of Belinda Thomas Wright and Sylvester Thomas, Jr. Friends may call at the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Avenue on Friday after 8:30 a.m. The family will receive friends at Martin Luther King Jr. U.M.C., 5114 Windsor Mill Road on Saturday 10:30 a.m. Funeral Service will follow at 11 a.m. Interment King Memorial Park. Send condolences to www.marchfh.com.

Nova Pharmaceutical Corp. has developed new versions of its experimental anti-inflammation drugs that are 600 to 800 times more powerful than an earlier version of the same drugs, the company said yesterday.Company scientists say that the new compounds, called bradykinin antagonists because they block the actions of peptides called bradykinin that are released when tissue in the body is inflamed, will help give patients more lasting relief from inflammation-related pain.The earlier version of the drugs didn't work in clinical trials in which it was tested against the common cold because the compound wasn't strong enough and its effect didn't last long enough, Kira Bacon, a company spokeswoman, said.

Wetware, by Craig Nova. Shaye Areheart Books. 339 pages. $22. Craig Nova's new novel is set in an America a quarter-century hence, when human bodies without the full complement of human emotions -- "wetware" in sci-slang -- are created by high-tech companies such as Galapagos Wetware. Galapagos employs Hal Briggs, a bio-engineer malcontent who, out of some mixture of curiosity, whim and willfulness, decides to mess with the system by installing feelings such as love and yearning into two of the company's assembly-line products, Kay and Jack.

This is far from a red-letter day for television, but as long as it's a blue-letters day -- as in providing a fresh episode of "NYPD Blue" -- I'm not complaining.* "Nova" (8-10 p.m., Channels 22 and 67) -- There are three things in store for "Nova" fans during this fund-raising package. One is a new 90-minute special with Bill Cosby as host, presenting snippets from some of the "Great Moments From Nova." The special is light on context, almost by necessity, but heavy on exciting visuals. If it pulls a larger audience for "Nova" in the future, I'm all for it.Following "Great Moments From Nova" is a great hour from "Nova" -- a repeat of its classic "The Miracle of Life," which offers an insider's view (literally)

Cruisers, by Craig Nova. Shaye Areheart Crown Books. 256 pages. $24. There is an hour -- deep into the night -- when cruising alone on an open stretch of highway can be harrowing. It is that time when oncoming headlights have a ghostly glow, and the dark silhouette of trees appears threatening. It is that time when you step on the gas and keep driving, hoping that you make it home before the highway and the night sky swallow you in blackness. In Cruisers, novelist Craig Nova takes readers on a spine-chilling journey reminiscent of a lone night on the open road.

"The Universal Donor," by Craig Nova. Houghton Mifflin 250pages. $23.Early in "The Universal Donor," Craig Nova's ninth novel, a woman is bitten by a deadly snake. The victim, a snake specialist, has been bitten many times before. This bite is different."The taipan was a brownish snake with neat rows of scales. Near the head and along its side, it had some markings that were the color of nicotine. Its head was pointed and sleek, and the snake seemed to have an expression of intense, yet unfriendly curiosity."

Men's college lacrosse No. 16 Villanova shocks No. 7 Syracuse, 11-10   No. 16 Villanova made history with an 11-10 win over host Syracuse on Sunday, handing the Orange (4-3, 2-1) its first-ever Big East Conference loss since the league was formed for men's lacrosse in 2010. Villanova (5-3, 1-0 Big East) also broke a four-game winless streak against Syracuse. The game featured seven lead changes and six ties as the Wildcats came back from a two-goal halftime deficit.

It's the finale “Occupation/Resistance” -- in which this blogger finally realizes: Lucas is reprehensibly despicable. Between the two-hour long stress of the “Terra Nova” season finale, and the power outages at Candlestick Park for Monday Night Football and the Pittsburgh Steelers game (don't hate), tensions were running high for me as our time-traveling pioneers dug their heels into their prehistoric home and waged war against the future. And some of it was relatively legit.

The countdown to the season finale has begun on “Terra Nova,” and God help me, at this point, I am invested in this outcome. Gosh, where to begin. Well, Lucas is back, with his CrazySexyMath, insane blue eyes and -- unexpectedly -- some pretty prominent pectorals. The 11 th pilgrimage is days away, putting the entirety of Terra Nova on high alert, with good reason. Lucas has finally perfected his calculations, which would allow him to travel forward in time, as well as backward.

Let's just cut to the chase.* "Nova" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., MPT, Channels 22 and 67) -- This is a real-life chiller, thanks to a "Nova" film crew that spent four weeks in Zaire chronicling an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. PBS.* "Coach" (8:30 p.m.-9 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- Tim Conway guest-stars as an inept gardener. As long as he's not in character as Dorf. ABC.* "Frasier" (9 p.m.-9:30 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Niles finally gets his chance with Daphne? Must be more to this than meets the eye NBC.* "Home Improvement" (9 p.m.-9:30 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2)

You think modern construction workers have it tough? Check out PBS tonight."Beverly Hills, 90210" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45) -- Things seem to be going swimmingly for Brandon and Tracy, until she finds an engagement ring he'd bought for Kelly. Is this any way to celebrate Valentine's Day? Fox."Nova" (8 p.m.-10 p.m., MPT, Channels 22 and 67) -- In the second half of "Secrets of Lost Empires," a fascinating four-part look at the construction of some of the ancient world's most impressive wonders, you get to watch a team of modern archaeologists and designers struggle to duplicate the achievements of their ancestors.