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Toshiba's Portege Z10t detachable Ultrabook debuts at IDF (hands-on)

Toshiba's upcoming detachable Ultrabook debuts at IDF 2013 Beijing handson

Right after Intel's somewhat mundane announcement of the Ultrabook Convertible and Ultrabook Detachable sub-brands at IDF in Beijing, SVP Kirk Skaugen surprised us by whipping out an unnamed laptop coming from Toshiba, so we jumped onto the stage to get a sniff of the only two units at the venue. Judging by the looks of it, we're confident that this is actually the Portege Z10t that hit the FCC last month -- the vents, camera and logo on the back match those in the drawing (embedded after the break) filed in the application.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/10/toshiba-portege-z10t-idf/

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High lead levels in US rice imports

Analysis of commercially available rice imported into the US has revealed it contains levels of lead far higher than regulations suggest are safe.

Some samples exceeded the "provisional total tolerable intake" (PTTI) set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by a factor of 120.

The report at the American Chemical Society Meeting adds to the already well-known issue of arsenic in rice.

The FDA told the BBC it would review the research.

Lead is known to be harmful to many organs and the central nervous system.

It is a particular risk for young children, who suffer significant developmental problems if exposed to elevated lead levels.

Because rice is grown in heavily irrigated conditions, it is more susceptible than other staple crops to environmental pollutants in irrigation water.

Recent studies have highlighted the presence of arsenic in rice - prompting consumption advice from the UK's Food Standards Agency and more recently from the FDA.

However, other heavy metals represent a risk as well.

Dr Tsanangurayi Tongesayi of Monmouth University in New Jersey, US, and his team have tested a number of imported brands of rice bought from local shops.

The US imports about 7% of its rice, and the team sampled packaged rice from Bhutan, Italy, China, Taiwan, India, Israel, the Czech Republic and Thailand - which accounts for 65% of US imports.

The team measured the lead levels in each country-category and calculated the lead intake on the basis of daily consumption. The results will be published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Health (Part B).

"When we compared them, we realised that the daily exposure levels are much higher than those PTTIs," said Dr Tongesayi.

"According to the FDA, they have to be more than 10 times the PTTI levels (to cause a health concern), and our values were two to 12 times higher than those 10 times," he told BBC News.

'Globalised market'

"So we can only conclude that they can potentially cause harmful effects."

That factor of 120 (12 times higher than 10 times the PTTI) alluded to by Dr Tongesayi is for Asian children, who are most susceptible by virtue of age and comparatively high rice intake on average.

For non-Asian adults the excesses above the PTTI ranged from 20 to 40.

Rice from China and Taiwan had the highest lead levels, but Dr Tongesayi stressed that all of the samples significantly exceeded the PTTIs.

Dr Tongesayi has also worked on quantifying arsenic contamination - and is in effect working his way through the heavy metals one by one to determine their prevalence.

The problem, he said, is the range of agricultural practices around the world.

"If you look through the scientific literature, especially on India and China, they irrigate their crops with raw sewage effluent and untreated industrial effluent," he explained.

"Research has been done in those countries, and concerns have been raised because of those practices, but it's still ongoing."

Dr Tongesayi also said that the increasing practice of sending electronic waste to developing countries - and the pollution it leads to - exacerbates the problem.

"With a globalised food market, we eat food from every corner of the world, but pollution conditions are? different from region to region, agricultural practices are different from region to region, but we ignore that.

"Maybe we need international regulations that will govern production and distribution of food."

So far, such international oversight exists informally in the form of the Codex Alimentarius, a collection of food-safety standards first set out by the United Nations.

FDA spokesman Noah Bartolucci told BBC News that the "FDA plans to review the new research on lead levels in imported rice released today".

"As part of an ongoing and proactive effort to monitor and address contaminants in food traded internationally, FDA chairs an international working group to review current international standards for lead in selected commodities, including rice, and to revise, if necessary, maximum lead levels under the? Codex Alimentarius," he said.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22099990#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Signature of circulating breast tumor cells that spread to the brain found

Apr. 10, 2013 ? Some breast tumor circulating cells in the bloodstream are marked by a constellation of biomarkers that identify them as those destined to seed the brain with a deadly spread of cancer, said researchers led by those at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears online in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

"What prompted us to initiate this study was our desire to understand the characteristics of these cells," said Dr. Dario Marchetti, professor of pathology at BCM, director of the CTC (circulating tumor cell) Core Facility at BCM and a member of the NCI-designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at BCM. Often, he said, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from breast cancer patients which spread or metastasize to the brain are not identified by the current method for identifying such cells approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (CellSearch? platform).

While this system is based on the detection of antibodies that target the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), the biomarkers identified by Marchetti and his colleagues include human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2+), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), heparanase (HPSE) and Notch1 -- and not EpCAM . Together, said Marchetti, these four proteins, previously known to be associated with cancer metastasis, spell out the signature of circulating tumors cells that travel to the brain.

Marchetti, using sophisticated techniques to test samples provided by Dr. Morris D. Grove of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, also found this same pattern of proteins in the tissue taken from brain metastases of animals injected with breast cancer circulating tumor cells (CTCs).

They tested these special circulating tumor cells in laboratory models and found that they are highly invasive and capable of spread in live animals. They also found cells with this signature in the metastatic tumors of animals with breast cancer.

"We were able to grow these cells in vitro (in the laboratory in culture) for the first time ever," said Marchetti.

Circulating tumor cells are a promising method of identifying and monitoring solid tumors and could replace tumor biopsies in some cases. However, the promise is still being studied by experts such as Marchetti. In this case, he has identified a new signature for such cells -- one that directs their activities toward spreading cancer to brain -- an outcome with frequently fatal consequences.

The study not only identifies a novel signature of circulating tumor cells, it shows the limitations of currently approved platforms used to identify cancer in this way. Understanding such cells can help scientist understand how the disease spreads -- an initial step in developing new methods of treating metastatic disease.

"We don't claim that these biomarkers are the only important ones," said Marchetti. "We hope to find novel markers in brain metastasis that will make diagnosis and monitoring even more targeted."

They are also trying to find ways to link these circulating tumor cells back to the signature of the original or primary tumor.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Baylor College of Medicine, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. L. Zhang, L. D. Ridgway, M. D. Wetzel, J. Ngo, W. Yin, D. Kumar, J. C. Goodman, M. D. Groves, D. Marchetti. The Identification and Characterization of Breast Cancer CTCs Competent for Brain Metastasis. Science Translational Medicine, 2013; 5 (180): 180ra48 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3005109

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/VnxBuNVEgqk/130410141528.htm

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Markets steady as US earnings season begins

LONDON (AP) ? A mixed earnings report from aluminum company Alcoa Corp. failed to provide markets with much direction Tuesday as concerns over North Korea, bird flu in China and Europe's debt crisis kept many investors on the sidelines.

Alcoa, as usual, kicked off the reporting season in an after-hours statement Monday with first-quarter earnings of 11 cents a share, well ahead of expectations of 8 cents. However, much of the impact in markets was negated by the news that revenues fell.

"The first company to unveil its update in a reporting season can often set the tone," said David Madden, market analyst at IG.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares rose 0.6 percent to close at 6,313.21 while Germany's DAX fell 0.3 percent to 7,637.51. The CAC-40 in France rose 0.1 percent to 3,670.72.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.2 percent at 14,634 71 while the broader S&P 500 index rose 0.1 percent to 1,564.71.

Much of the focus in markets will remain on the U.S. corporate sector over the coming weeks as investors seek to assess the health of the world's largest economy. The flow of earnings picks up through the week with banks Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase due to report on Friday.

"Traders can sometimes appear a little over-reliant on the first number, setting the market up for a fall should the next readings serve to disappoint," said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at stockbroker Interactive Investor.

Another key focus will be Japanese markets.

The Nikkei 225 stock index in Tokyo has posted strong gains over the past week as the Bank of Japan unveiled an aggressive new approach to shake the world's third-largest economy out of its near-two-decade stagnation and growth-crippling deflation. The bank will pump huge amounts of money into the economy via government bond purchases and pursue a 2 percent inflation target in order to spark lending and spending.

Earlier, the rally ran out of stream and the Nikkei edged down slightly to close at 13,192.35. However, the yen continues to push four-year lows against the dollar, and was trading 0.4 percent lower at 98.94 yen. It hasn't breached 100 yen since April 2009.

Gains in Hong Kong and mainland China markets reflected a decreasing sense of alarm over the outbreak of a new bird flu strain in eastern China that has killed seven people so far. There is no sign that the virus is being transmitted from human to human.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.7 percent to 21,870.34 and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.6 percent to 2,225.77. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index advanced 0.8 percent to 926.22.

Another focus in Asia has been the rise in tensions between the two Koreas, as Pyongyang recalled all its workers from the Kaesong industrial complex, the last major economic link between South Korea and North Korea. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.1 percent to 1,920.74 but the country's currency, the won, hovered at its lowest levels since July 2012.

Trading elsewhere was fairly lackluster, with the euro 0.4 percent higher on the day at $1.3089 and the benchmark New York oil rate up 19 cents at $93.55 a barrel.

____

Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/markets-steady-us-earnings-season-begins-160212985--finance.html

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Video: Herbalife Halted For News Pending

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/51479057/

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Serbia rejects EU-brokered Kosovo deal

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) ? Serbia rejected on Monday a European Union-brokered deal for reconciliation with its former province of Kosovo ? a defiant move that could jeopardize the Balkan country's EU membership aspirations and fuel tensions in the region.

The EU had given Serbia until Tuesday to say whether it would relinquish its effective control over northern Kosovo in exchange for the start of Serbia's EU membership negotiations.

Even before the government rejection, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic ? Serbia's most powerful governing party leader who also serves as the defense minister ? said the plan is unacceptable because it does not give more autonomy to minority ethnic Serbs in Kosovo who together with Serbia reject Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence.

"The Serbian government cannot accept the proposed principles ... because they do not guarantee full security, survival and protection of human rights for the Serbs in Kosovo," Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said. "Such an agreement could not be implemented and would not lead to a lasting and sustainable solution."

Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, said after the eighth round of talks between Serbian and Kosovo officials last week in Brussels that she wanted a response from both sides and that the bloc's mediation was over.

Despite warnings that there will be no more EU-sponsored mediation, Vucic and the government called for more talks with the rival ethnic Albanians leaders of Kosovo.

"If there is a negative answer from (the EU), that would be bad news for Serbia, Kosovo and the EU," Vucic said. "If that happens, we would have to start thinking of what to do next.

"We don't want Serbia isolated from the world, but we have to protect our interests. It is highly important that we reach an agreement."

In a statement issued after Serbia's rejection, Ashton called on Belgrade "to make a last effort to reach an agreement, for the benefit of their people." But while she made no mention of formally extending the negotiation process, she said she hoped to lead "the discussion in the EU over the next few days in support of a real step forward by both Serbia and Kosovo towards their European future."

The rejection of the proposal could severely hamper Serbia's EU membership aspirations ? which would include millions of dollars of promised accession funds. The rejection also could lead to more tensions in the Balkans, which is still reeling from the bloody wars of the 1990s when Serbia tried to prevent the breakup of the former Yugoslav federation by force.

While some 90 countries ? including the United States and most EU nations ? have recognized Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence, it has been rejected by Serbia and ally Russia.

The most contentious issue in the talks was the status of northern Kosovo, where ethnic Serbs dominate the population and refuse to accept the authority of the ethnic Albanian-controlled government in Kosovo's capital, Pristina.

Germany has made giving up control of Kosovo's north the key condition for the start of Serbia's EU accession negotiations.

The stumbling block in the talks was a Serbian demand that ethnic Serbs, who represent about 10 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, have their own judiciary and police force. But Kosovo officials have rejected that, saying it would be tantamount to a division of Kosovo into two separate entities.

In Serbia, there are increasing calls among nationalists that Serbia should turn to its ally Russia instead of becoming an EU member. There also are suggestions from hardliners that Serbia should use force to reoccupy Kosovo, which it surrendered after a three-month NATO bombing campaign that pushed out its troops in 1999.

Vucic, a former ultranationalist turned moderate, said a military solution is out of the question.

"I'm hearing some 'heroes' who were never brave who are giving us lessons on how we should stroll into Pristina," he said. "They should not tell us what our decisions should be."

Several hundred far-right supporters demonstrated in front of the government headquarters in Belgrade during the Cabinet session, demanding that no deal is signed with the EU and Kosovo's leaders.

___

Associated Press writer Jovana Gec contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/serbia-rejects-eu-brokered-kosovo-deal-155216716.html

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You Can Make Insane Weapons Out of Airport Duty-Free Items

It's widely acknowledged that the purpose of airport security isn't to protect passengers from harm—it's to try and stop major in-flight attacks which take down the plane. That doesn't stop airports imposing plenty of silly security rules—but a report in Dutch newspaper Nu reveals just how easy it is to create dangerous tools from airport duty-free stores regardless. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/_PLQVGHUQ6A/making-weapons-from-airport-duty+free-stores

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Federal lawsuit filed over Arkansas oil spill

(AP) ? Two women who live near an ExxonMobil pipeline that ruptured last week and spilled thousands of barrels of oil in central Arkansas filed a federal lawsuit against the company on Friday.

The class-action complaint from Kimla Greene and Kathryn Jane Roachell Chunn comes a week after ExxonMobil Pipeline Co.'s Pegasus pipeline ruptured in Mayflower, about 25 miles northwest of Little Rock. Crews are still working to clean up oil that spewed onto lawns and roadways and almost fouled nearby Lake Conway.

The women are seeking money to make up for "a permanent diminishment in property value," according to the complaint. Their complaint says the women are bringing their lawsuit on their own behalf and for other people who live near the pipeline in Arkansas.

One of the women's lawyers, Phillip Duncan, wouldn't spell out exactly how much money they're looking for, but their lawsuit says they're seeking more than $5 million in damages for property owners.

The lawsuit said the part of the pipeline that ruptured was "in an unsafe, defective and deficient condition presenting an immediate environmental harm" on March 29 ? the day it ruptured.

"The Pegasus Pipeline running throughout the state of Arkansas is most likely to be similarly situated and maintained ..." Greene and Chunn's lawyers wrote in the complaint.

An Exxon spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit, but a spokeswoman has previously said its inspections were up-to-date. The part of the pipeline that ruptured was inspected in 2010 and again in February, according to a corrective action order that federal pipeline safety officials issued Tuesday.

The Pegasus pipeline, which runs from Patoka, Ill., to the Texas Gulf Coast, was originally built in 1947 and 1948, according to federal pipeline safety officials. It is currently out of service. For that to change, ExxonMobil would need written approval from a federal pipeline safety official, according to the order from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

___

Follow Jeannie Nuss at http://twitter.com/jeannienuss

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-04-05-Oil%20Leak-Arkansas/id-8be37b69ccc94d2786337c271d376834

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AU Optronics says it'll bring a 5-inch, 1080P OLED display to market soon

AU Optronics says it'll bring a 5inch 1080P OLED display to market soon

AU Optronics says it'll soon join Samsung at a table for two making 5-inch, full-HD OLED smartphone displays. It'll show off the technology at the China Optoelectronics Display expo starting tomorrow, promising 443 ppi, lower power consumption, fast response times and wide viewing angles. While others build 1,080 x 1,920 LCD screens for models like HTC's One, currently Samsung has a monopoly on OLEDs of that size and resolution. However, it likely wants to set those aside for its soon-to-ship 5-inch, 1080p Galaxy S 4 -- so, AU's announcement is likely good news for other handset makers seeking something punchier than LCD for that form factor.

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Via: Android Beat

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/09/au-optronics-5-inch-FHD-OLED/

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Red unveils the Motion mount with jello-killing global shutter for Epic, Scarlet

Red unveils the Motion Mount for global shutter capability on Epic, Scarlet

Red has just announced the Red Motion lens mounting system for Epic and Scarlet motion camera systems that'll eliminate one of their chief snags: the dreaded CMOS rolling shutter. Though details are scant, it seems it'll do that in a similar manner to the Tessive system (see More Coverage), where a second liquid crystal shutter is placed in front of the main sensor and timed to engage only when the camera's CMOS is fully "open." That'll help eliminate artifacts like skew / judder in pans, repeating motion artifacts (think distorted propellers) and flicker from lights or displays, among others. The mount also brings a built an 8x electronic ND filter adjustable to 1/100th of an f-stop, partially negating the need for a matte-box in bright lighting situations. The Red Motion's drawback is that it'll cost you a stop of speed even when the ND is off, meaning you may have to change to a classic mount in low-light situations. Red's showing it now at its NAB booth-cum-factory and it'll ship out this fall in PL-mount form (with a Canon mount arriving later) for $4,500. Check the source for more discussion.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/9J2ixNe42PM/

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EE to double 4G spectrum allocation, boost speeds in first ten cities by summer (Update: LTE-A testing starts this year)

EE plans to double 4G spectrum allocation, will boost first ten cities by summer

While EE scrambles to spread its LTE network far and wide before the other UK carriers get into the 4G business, it also wants to flex some spectrum muscle. The network's announced it's planning to double the LTE allocation on its 1800MHz band (from 2 x 10MHz to 2 x 20MHz), which it claims will increase download speeds to an average of 20 Mbps, topping out at 80 Mbps. Ten of the 11 original 4G launch cities will be seeing this bandwidth boost first: London, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield. EE doesn't want you to think it's done expanding, though, and says it'll continue to make use of its MHz and GHz by rolling out boring, normal LTE in new areas whilst doubling up in others. The first ten cities are due to receive "double-speed" 4G by summer, which we assume means around the time summer is supposed to happen.

Update: EE's Howard Jones has added on Twitter that the network will start trialing carrier aggregation, LTE-A (that's even better 4G) later in 2013. We've asked for more details and will fill you in when we hear more.

[Image credit: Lazygamer, Flickr]

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/09/ee-to-double-4g-lte-spectrum-allocation/

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Randomness: Reports of junk DNA's 'demise' were based on junky logic and dubious definitions

By Tom Siegfried

Web edition: April 8, 2013

Science is an oddly successful enterprise. On the whole, it provides an impressive guide to reality. From antibiotics and atomic bombs to laser beams and X-rays, science enables humans to forge powerful tools from nature?s secrets.

Yet many aspects of science are deeply flawed, from the politicization of research funding to widespread misuse of math in analyzing data.

In this respect science is not so different from human biology. Magnificent organisms capable of composing symphonies, calculating quantum energy levels and dunking basketballs are built from DNA molecules containing 90 percent junk.

At least that was the prevailing biological wisdom until last September. Previous studies of the human genome???the catalog of all human DNA and the genes made from it???showed that most DNA was junk, with no biological importance for the survival of the species. But then came a report in Nature from the ENCODE project (for ENCyclopedia of DNA Elements). It proclaimed that 80 percent of the human genome could be assigned a ?biochemical function.? News reports heralded the demise of ?junk DNA.?

Since then, though, some scientists have begun to analyze the ENCODE papers the way ENCODE analyzed the genome, and have reached an entirely different conclusion. Not only is most of the genome junk, it seems, so is the ENCODE analysis. It uses a questionable definition of function and commits various logical fallacies in applying it, contend Dan Graur of the University of Houston and several collaborators.

?ENCODE not only uses the wrong concept of functionality, it uses it wrongly and inconsistently,? Graur and colleagues assert. ENCODE?s position on the nonexistence of junk DNA ?was mainly based on several logical misconceptions.?

Biologists have long known that DNA has important functions besides its main job of providing blueprints for proteins. By the traditional ?selected effect? definition of function, not just protein-coding regions but all portions of DNA preserved by evolution to help an organism survive and reproduce would be considered functional. The rest is nonfunctional ?junk.?

In contrast, some philosophers, a few biologists (and ENCODE) endorse a ?causal effect? definition of function. In that case, ?causing? anything counts as a function. Since your heart thumps, making rhythmic sounds would be listed as one of its functions, for instance.

ENCODE found that 80 percent of the genome did something, such as providing a site where certain proteins could attach themselves. Sometimes, of course, the attachment of a protein does something important, such as turning on a gene. But lots of times it may do nothing else of value (like a heart that makes noise without pumping blood). Yet because some attachments have a function, ENCODE lists all such attachment sites as functional parts of the genome???a logical fallacy known as ?affirming the consequent.?

?The ENCODE authors applied this flawed reasoning to all their functions,? Graur and colleagues write in Genome Biology and Evolution. As a map of the genome, ?ENCODE is considerably worse than even Apple Maps,? they conclude.

?It is safe to state that the news concerning the death of ?junk DNA? has been greatly exaggerated,? they write. ?The vast majority of comparative genomic studies suggest that less than 15 percent of the genome is functional according to the evolutionary conservation criterion.?

Similar criticisms appear in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. If very little DNA is junk, asks W. Ford Doolittle, then why do so many other organisms possess so much more DNA than people do?

Lungfish, for instance, have something like 30 times as much DNA as humans, without any sign of more complex biological functioning.

?If the human genome is junk-free, then it must be very luckily poised at some sort of minimal size for organisms of human complexity,? writes Doolittle, of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.

?We may no longer think that mankind is at the center of the universe, but we still consider our species? genome to be unique,? he writes. Such ?genomic anthropocentrism? mixed with confusion in the meaning of ?function? and questionable statistics all contributed to this ?attempt to junk ?junk,??? he writes.

In the end, of course, it really doesn?t matter so much whether all, most or only a little of DNA is junk. What?s more troubling is the presence of so much logical junk published in scientific journals. The caliber of scientific discourse has been degraded in the modern world of mass publishing. Numerous studies have documented poor performance by the peer review system for refereeing papers before publication. ENCODE?s flaws are not rare exceptions???logical lapses are common in scientific publications, as are questionable definitions and inappropriate use of statistics. As guardians of quality control, scientist referees make basketball officials look good.

Yet somehow science still succeeds in bringing more and more of nature under the umbrella of human understanding. Or at least it used to. Let?s hope science can continue to succeed, despite all the junk in its publicationome.?

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/349505/title/Reports_of_junk_DNAs_demise_were_based_on_junky_logic_and_dubious_definitions

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Neolithic Iceman ?tzi had bad teeth: Periodontitis, tooth decay, accident-related dental damage in ice mummy

Apr. 9, 2013 ? For the first time, researchers from the Centre for Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich together with colleagues abroad have been able to provide evidence of periodontitis, tooth decay and accident-related dental damage in the ice mummy '?tzi'. The latest scientific findings provide interesting information on the dietary patterns of the Neolithic Iceman and on the evolution of medically significant oral pathologies.

The Neolithic mummy ?tzi (approximately 3300 BC) displays an astoundingly large number of oral diseases and dentition problems that are still widespread today. As Prof. Frank R?hli, head of the study, explains, ?tzi suffered from heavy dental abrasions, had several carious lesions -- some severe -- and had mechanical trauma to one of his front teeth which was probably due to an accident.

Although research has been underway on this important mummy for over 20 years now, the teeth had scarcely been examined. Dentist Roger Seiler from the Centre for Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich has now examined ?tzi's teeth based on the latest computer tomography data and found that: "The loss of the periodontium has always been a very common disease, as the discovery of Stone Age skulls and the examination of Egyptian mummies has shown. ?tzi allows us an especially good insight into such an early stage of this disease," explains Seiler. He specializes in examining dental pathologies in earlier eras.

Advanced periodontitis

The three-dimensional computer tomography reconstructions give an insight into the oral cavity of the Iceman and show how severely he was suffering from advanced periodontitis. Particularly in the area of the rear molars, Seiler found loss of the periodontal supporting tissue that almost extended to the tip of the root. While ?tzi is scarcely likely to have cleaned his teeth, his abrasive diet contributed significantly to a process of self-cleaning. Nowadays periodontitis is connected to cardiovascular diseases. Interestingly, the Iceman also displays vascular calcification, for which -- like in the case of the periodontitis -- mainly his genetic make-up was responsible.

The fact that the Iceman suffered from tooth decay is attributable to his eating more and more starchy foods such as bread and cereal porridge which were consumed more commonly in the Neolithic period because of the rise of agriculture. In addition, the food was very abrasive because of contaminants and the rub-off from the quern, as is demonstrated by the Iceman's abraded teeth. His accident-related dental damage and his other injuries testify to his troubled life at that time. One front tooth has suffered mechanical trauma -- the discoloration is still clearly visible -- and one molar has lost a cusp, probably from chewing on something, perhaps a small stone in the cereal porridge.

?tzi -- the world's oldest wet mummy

The Iceman -- known widely as '?tzi' -- is the oldest wet mummy in the world. Since its discovery in 1991, numerous scientific examinations have taken place. In 2007, for example, also with the involvement of Frank R?hli, ?tzi's cause of death was determined as probably stemming from internal bleeding.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Zurich.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Roger Seiler, Andrew I Spielman, Albert Zink, Frank R?hli. Oral pathologies of the Neolithic Iceman, c. 3,300 BC. European Journal of Oral Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/eos.12037

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/zDZkfKmviwc/130409105903.htm

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Report: Pilot in fatal helicopter crash was texting

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The pilot of a medical helicopter that ran out of fuel and crashed, killing all four people aboard, was distracted by text messages when he should have been conducting pre-flight checks, accident investigators said Tuesday.

The case "juxtaposes old issues of pilot decision-making with a 21st century twist: distractions from portable electronic devices," said National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman. The board was meeting to determine the cause of the August 2011 accident near Mosby, Mo., and to make safety recommendations.

The case is the first fatal commercial aircraft accident investigated by the board in which texting has been implicated. It underscores the board's worries that cellphones and other distracting devices are a growing factor in accidents and incidents across all modes of transportation ? planes, trains, cars, trucks and even ships.

The pilot, James Freudenbert, 34, of Rapid City, S.D., exchanged 20 text messages, over a span of less than two hours preceding the helicopter crashed into a farm field a little over a mile from an airport where he hoped to refuel, documents made public by NTSB show. Most of the messaging was with an off-duty female co-worker with whom he had a "long history" of "frequent, intensive communications," and with whom he was planning to have dinner that night, said the NTSB's Bill Bramble.

Freudenbert missed several opportunities to see that the helicopter was low on fuel before he began the first leg of the mission, including apparently failing to conduct a pre-flight check and to look at the craft's fuel gauge.

Three of the messages were sent and five were received while the helicopter was in flight, although not in the final 11 minutes before it crashed, according to a timeline.

Freudenbert also exchanged text messages as he was reporting by radio to a company communications center that the helicopter was low on fuel. The helicopter was on the ground at the time waiting for a patient, who was being transferred from one hospital to another, and a nurse and a paramedic to board.

Although the pilot wasn't texting at the time of the crash, it's possible the messaging took his mind off his duties and caused him to skip safety steps he might have otherwise performed, said experts on human performance and cognitive distractions. People can't concentrate on two things at once; they can only shift their attention rapidly back and forth, the experts said. And as they do that, the sharpness of their focus begins to erode.

"People just have a limited ability to pay attention," said David Strayer, a professor of cognitive and neural science at the University of Utah. "It's one of the characteristics of how we are wired."

"If we have two things demanding attention, one will take attention away from other," he said. "If it happens while sitting behind a desk, it's not that big of a problem. But if you are sitting behind the wheel of a car or in the cockpit of an airplane, you start to get serious compromises in safety."

In October 2010, two Northwest Airlines pilots overflew their destination of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by 100 miles while they were engrossed in working on flight schedules on their laptops.

A text message ? especially one accompanied by an audible alert like a buzz or bell ? interrupts a person's thoughts and can be hard to ignore, said Christopher Wickens, a University of Illinois professor emeritus of engineering and aviation psychology. If the subject of the email is especially engaging, or especially emotional, that also makes it hard to ignore, he said.

The helicopter was operated by a subsidiary of Air Methods Corp. of Englewood, Colo., the largest provider of air medical emergency transport services in the U.S. The company's policies prohibit the use of electronic devices by pilots during flight.

Freudenbert apparently didn't check the amount of fuel on board the helicopter before taking off from the company's base in St. Joseph, Mo., even though he had been briefed that the aircraft would be low because it had been used the night before for training exercises. He radioed that he had two hours of fuel shortly after the helicopter was airborne.

But when the helicopter landed less than 10 minutes later in Bethany, Mo., to pick up the patient, Freudenbert radioed the communications center again to report that the copter was lower on fuel than he had initially thought. He estimated he had about 45 minutes worth of fuel, which investigators said they believe was a lie intended to cover up his earlier omissions. In fact, the helicopter had 30 minutes of fuel left, they said. Federal Aviation Administration regulations require 20 minutes of reserve fuel at all times.

Freudenbert opted to continue the patient transfer to a hospital in Liberty, Mo., changing plans only enough for a stop at an airfield 32 minutes away for fuel. The helicopter stalled and crashed about a mile from the airfield. A low fuel warning light might have alerted Freudenbert to his true situation, but the light was set on "dim" for nighttime use and may not have been visible. A pre-flight check by the pilot, if it had been conducted, should have revealed the light was set in the wrong position, investigators said.

___

Follow Joan Lowy on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/government-probes-case-texting-helicopter-pilot-155644163--finance.html

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Francis honors John Paul II before installation

ROME (AP) ? Pope Francis was formally installed as bishop of Rome on Sunday in a ceremony characterized by more simplicity than the usual rituals and pomp enjoyed by papal predecessors taking up their pastoral duties.

In yet another sign that Francis sees his mission as pontiff as one of humble service, he used his arrival at St. John in Lateran Basilica to honor a past pope who remains wildly popular in Rome. Francis arrived a half-hour early to bless a plaque renaming a corner of the piazza outside the church after Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005.

Francis applauded, then gave his blessing after Rome's mayor unveiled the simple white stone plaque marking "Giovanni Paul II Square" in a section of the vast piazza, which often hosts free rock concerts and political and union rallies.

The pope, who has stressed the importance of simplicity, arrived for the unveiling wearing a plain white cassock, a more modest wardrobe choice than that of the Italian cardinal who welcomed him wearing a red cape.

The early evening installation ceremony was a significant one for the church, since a pope is pontiff because he is the bishop of Rome, and not vice versa. Right after his election on March 13 as the church's first pope from Latin America, Francis made clear he would relish his pastoral role as the city's bishop.

Francis' insistence on his bishop's role "speaks to his sensibility in truly being the pastor of a church through concrete ways," Cardinal Agostino Vallini told Vatican Radio ahead of the installation ceremony. Vallini, who is the pope's vicar to the Rome diocese, is the prelate who greeted Francis and who, along with city hall, decided a part of St. John in Lateran Square should be named after John Paul II.

The basilica is the city's most ancient, with foundations dating back to the early 4th century. The installation ceremony held there is steeped in centuries of ritual that modern popes have updated to the times.

But while many ornately dressed pontiffs in centuries past arrived in a fancy horse-drawn carriage, Francis rolled into a side entrance of the basilica complex in an open-topped white jeep. Before going indoors, the vehicle stopped again and again so his security team, walking briskly alongside, could pass babies to him so he could kiss them, to the delight of thousands of people gathered in the area. When wind started whipping up, Francis took off his skull cap, letting the breeze tussle his hair.

Francis later donned the tall, peaked bishop's hat, and wearing simply adorned cream-colored vestments, gently sat back in the mosaic-studded basilica chair, known as the "Cathedra Romana," that symbolizes the post of Rome bishop.

He was handed the pastoral staff, symbolizing a bishop's care for his flock. Barely a few minutes later, Francis was up on his feet, shaking hands with priests, nuns, and then with the parents and children in a Rome family, chatting amiably with them.

"It is with joy that I am celebrating the Eucharist for the first time in this Lateran Basilica, the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome. I greet all of you with great affection," Francis said in his homily.

Francis urged people to cultivate patience and love, saying that "those who love are able to understand, to hope, to inspire confidence; they do not give up, they do not burn bridges, they are able to forgive."

In applauding the plaque honoring John Paul, Francis also paid tribute to a pontiff who enthusiastically embraced his role as bishop of Rome. The late pontiff would visit Rome parishes, hundreds of them, and often in poor neighborhoods on the city's outskirts, on Sunday mornings.

Vallini said Francis would make his first parish visit in May and then go to others in the city after Romans return from summer vacation.

While Francis instantly proved to be a crowd pleaser ? about 100,000 people turned out in St. Peter's Square on Sunday and a nearby street for his noon blessing ? the mention of the widely beloved John Paul still prompts affectionate cheers.

When Francis noted that John Paul "closed his eyes to this world" exactly eight years ago this month, the new pope drew so much applause that he couldn't finish his sentence.

Francis might be the pope who decides whether another miracle has been attributed to John Paul's intercession, which would enable the late, Polish-born pontiff to enjoy the church's highest honor, sainthood.

The church process to certify a first miracle needed for John Paul's beatification went exceptionally fast. The six years it took from his death until Pope Benedict XVI beatified him in 2011 was the shortest time in modern history. Beatification is the last formal step before sainthood.

Pope Francis seemed to be adding a new twist to the role of public squares in everyday life. At his Vatican appearance Sunday, he encouraged faithful to "go into the piazzas and announce Christ our savior" to the people. "Bring the Good News with sweetness and respect," he added. The "Good News" refers to the Gospels.

John Paul, then Benedict, and now Francis have all made shoring up flagging faith on the traditionally Christian European continent as well as in other affluent areas of the world a priority of their leadership.

The Vatican is also keen on preserving Catholic loyalty in places such as South America, where dynamic evangelical sects have been attracting baptized Catholics away from their faith, as well as encourage growing communities of Catholics in Africa and Asia.

The new pope is expected to lead Catholic youth in pep rallies this summer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during a pilgrimage that would take the world's first pope to be born in South America back to his home continent.

When Francis spoke of the installation ceremony Sunday evening, he urged the crowd to pray with him so that together, "bishop and people, walk in faith and charity."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/francis-honors-john-paul-ii-installation-170737328.html

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Two children trapped at NC construction site

By Andrew Rafferty and John Newland, NBC News

Two children were feared dead Monday after becoming trapped underneath dirt at a residential construction site near Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday, officials said.

An initial attempt to rescue the children, who are trapped below ground, was unsuccessful, according to emergency responders.

The East Lincoln, N.C., Volunteer Fire Department said efforts had "moved into the recovery phase."

Authorities did not say how the children became trapped, but neighbors told NBC affiliate WCNC that the site was a basement ?under construction and that a wall collapsed, trapping the kids.

Charlotte firefighters, police, a structural engineer and rescuers from surrounding counties are all aiding in the effort.

WCNC reported the two children are a 6-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy. Their father was with them and made the initial call to 911 around 6 p.m. ET

This story was originally published on

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2a71b0ea/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C0A70C176461940Etwo0Echildren0Etrapped0Eat0Enc0Econstruction0Esite0Dlite/story01.htm

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Kerry meets Israeli leaders to push Mideast peace

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior Israeli and Palestinian officials amid talk of reviving a decade-old Arab plan for Mideast peace.

Kerry spent the morning of Israel's Holocaust memorial day visiting Yad Vashem. He was to meet later Monday with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Kerry then has a dinner with Netanyahu; he met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday.

Kerry is trying to end a 4?-year Israeli-Palestinian stalemate.

He hasn't publicly outlined a new plan.

But Palestinian and Arab officials say he wants to modify the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative that offered peace with Israel for a pullout from territories captured in 1967.

Officials say Kerry seeks Arab-Israeli security commitments and softer language on borders.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-meets-israeli-leaders-push-mideast-peace-081916817--politics.html

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04/06/2013 - Garage Sale at Grace Lutheran Church

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Source: http://www.monroetalks.com/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=48356

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NYC 'zombie' finds Long Island cat in Times Square

In this undated photo provided by BluePearl Veterinary Partners, Jeremy Zelkowitz, who dresses in character as a zombie for a year-round haunted house in Times Square, holds a cat named Disaster which he found crossing 42nd Street in Manhattan on March 30, 2013. (AP Photo/BluePearl Veterinary Partners)

In this undated photo provided by BluePearl Veterinary Partners, Jeremy Zelkowitz, who dresses in character as a zombie for a year-round haunted house in Times Square, holds a cat named Disaster which he found crossing 42nd Street in Manhattan on March 30, 2013. (AP Photo/BluePearl Veterinary Partners)

(AP) ? It took a zombie to find Disaster at the Crossroads of the World.

Two years after he disappeared from his Long Island home, Disaster the cat was found this week in the heart of Manhattan ? by a Times Square haunted house promoter dressed up as a zombie.

Jeremy Zelkowitz, who sells tickets for the Times Scare haunted house, spotted Disaster early Saturday morning crossing 42nd Street. He snatched up Disaster, a black and white cat who appeared to be well-kept and neat, and brought him to a nearby animal hospital.

"I'm a big animal lover but I have a dog so I couldn't take him," Zelkowitz, 22, said Thursday. "The whole situation is very, very bizarre."

Staff at the BluePearl Veterinary Partners animal hospital scanned Disaster who had been implanted with a microchip, revealing his last known owner: New York City police Officer Jimmy Helliesen.

Helliesen, 51, received a call Saturday morning from the hospital, informing him that his long-lost feline friend had been found.

"I was shocked," said Helliesen. "How did he get to Manhattan? That's quite an adventure."

For years Helliesen has adopted stray cats he finds hanging around his Brooklyn precinct. Two years ago he adopted Disaster after he strayed from the precinct and ended up getting captured by local Animal Care and Control. That's when Helliesen got him fixed and implanted with the chip.

But six months after living in his Long Island home, Disaster escaped one day through an open window and never returned.

Helliesen never thought he'd get the cat back ? and has since taken in eight more cats he's found around the precinct who need homes.

"Disaster makes it nine," he said. "My wife has been very understanding."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-04-04-Zombie%20Finds%20Cat/id-5600693a1c77477daa876cb416ad2664

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Syrian airstrike kills at least 15 in Aleppo

BEIRUT (AP) ? A Syrian government airstrike on a heavily contested neighborhood in the northern city of Aleppo on Saturday killed at least 15 people, including nine children, activists said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the air raid hit Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, which rebels seized parts of last weekend after days of heavy fighting with regime troops.

That gain had been the latest opposition advance in an urban warzone that expanded last summer, when rebel fighters took control of several neighborhoods. Aleppo is Syria's largest city and a key front in the civil war raging between President Bashar Assad and those trying to overthrow his regime.

The Observatory said the death toll from Saturday's air raid, near a checkpoint of anti-government Kurdish militiamen known as the Popular Committees, is expected to rise as many others were seriously wounded.

An amateur video of the raid showed people loading the bodies of three bloodied children and two men in the back of a pickup truck as women screamed and explosions went off in the distance. Another boy was seeing lying dead in the street near a burning truck.

The video appeared genuine and corresponded to other AP reporting on the events depicted.

"I saw dead people and cattle in the area," said Aleppo-based activist Mohammed Saeed, who added that he counted 11 bodies.

Both sides are eager to control the strategic district, which is predominantly inhabited by minority Kurds. The neighborhood is located on a hill on the northern edge of Aleppo and overlooks much of the city, giving those who control it the ability to pound districts held by the opposing side with mortars and artillery.

The rebels control large swaths of northern Syria, and captured their first provincial capital ? the city of Raqqa ? last month. They have also been making gains in recent weeks in the south, seizing military bases and towns in the strategically important region between Damascus and the border with Jordan, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the capital.

Meanwhile in Damascus, mortar rounds hit the residential district of Kafar Souseh on the city's western outskirts, killing one person and wounding at least 13, the state-run SANA news agency said. The attacks also caused material damage to stores in the district and set several parked vehicles on fire, SANA said.

The Observatory said mortar rounds also struck the Damascus suburb of Jaramana. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

It was not immediately clear who fired the shells, but mortar rounds have fallen with increasingly regularity in the center of the capital, puncturing the aura of normalcy that the regime has tried to cultivate in the city.

The regime has largely kept the rebels at bay so far in Damascus, although opposition fighters control several suburbs of the capital and look increasingly capable of threatening the heart of the city ? and Assad's power.

State-run news agency SANA said government troops dealt a major blow to rebels in areas east of the city known as Eastern Ghouta, adding that the armed forces "cleansed" areas near the airport to the south, all the way to the northeastern suburb of Adra. It did not elaborate.

Eastern Ghouta has been one of the tensest areas in Syria over the past year, with daily clashes and shelling between troops and rebels.

The Observatory also reported clashes between government troops and rebels Saturday in the town of Otaybah east of Damascus.

Also Saturday, the newly elected prime minister of the Western-backed opposition umbrella group, Ghassan Hitto, started reviewing candidates for a planned rebel interim government that will consist of 11 ministries and will be based inside Syria, according to a statement by the Syrian National Coalition.

It said Hitto, who has lived in the United States for many years, aims to "attract the qualified talent and competencies required to manage the upcoming phase of the revolution."

The candidates for ministerial and deputy positions must be Syrian citizens older than 35 years of age, the statement said. It added that high-ranking regime officials or "those who have committed crimes against the Syrian people or have unlawfully seized Syrian property or wealth" will be excluded from consideration.

"The nominee must be an advocate or supporter of the Syrian revolution," the statement said.

The Western-backed opposition alliance has been marred by severe divisions in its ranks since its formation late last year in Qatar, and its leaders are mostly seen as disconnected from the myriad rebel forces fighting inside Syria.

Also Saturday, Russia said U.N. demands for unlimited access "to all facilities in Syria and to all persons" who experts believe are necessary to be interrogated over an alleged chemical attack "are beyond the framework of the investigation."

Both the Syrian government and the rebels have demanded an international investigation into an alleged chemical weapons attack on March 19 that killed 31 people in the northern village of Khan al-Assal. Damascus has formally asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to investigate.

Last month, Ban appointed a former U.N. chemical weapons inspector to Iraq, Ake Sellstrom, to head the U.N. fact-finding mission that will investigate allegations of the reported use of chemical weapons in Syria. Sellstrom, a Swede, now works at a research institute that deals with chemical incidents.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-airstrike-kills-least-15-aleppo-192839854.html

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which make and model of car/SUV is the cheapest on auto insurance?

I need a new car, but I don?t want to pay a lot for auto insurance. Right now I have a Cavalier (hate it, by the way) and because it is a Z24 it raised the insurance premium. I just wondered if there are certain makes of cars that are usually cheaper on auto insurance. Anyone know?

Typically, insurance rates will vary from State to State and can even vary by ZIPCODE! It also will depend on the type of car/truck, coverages, limits of liability, and driving record. Some companies run credit scores and MOST run a motor vehicle report and CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) report to see about undisclosed accident involvement.

The best thing to do is call a LOCAL independent agent. Don?t go across town, or to some other city ? look for someone CLOSE. Just look in the phone book for the PIA or Big I (Trusted Choice) logos and you will find a professional licensed agent that will be able to help you solve your insurance problems, and give you rate comparisons of several different companies.

An independent insurance agent will normally have a dozen different companies and if he cannot help you, he should be networked with other local agents that can.

In my agency, we have companies that do NOT run a credit score and welcome drivers with "less than perfect" driving records and specialize in youthful operators!

Most of the replies on this site say "go to this on-line carrier or that on-line carrier or that 1-800 number" but I?m sure that when you do, you will find some impersonal computer user with a script to work from and you won?t be able to talk with the same person every time you have a problem!

Good luck, drive RESPONSIBLY and I hope this helps!

Source: http://www.bid4insurance.com/cheap-auto-insurance/which-make-and-model-of-carsuv-is-the-cheapest-on-auto-insurance

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Mitochondrial metabolic regulator SIRT4 guards against DNA damage

Friday, April 5, 2013

Healthy cells don't just happen. As they grow and divide, they need checks and balances to ensure they function properly while adapting to changing conditions around them.

Researchers studying a set of proteins that regulate physiology, caloric restriction and aging have discovered another important role that one of them plays. SIRT4, one of seven sirtuin proteins, is known for controlling fuel usage from its post in the mitochondria, the cell's energy source. It responds to stressful changes in the availability of nutrients for the cell.

New research reveals that SIRT4 is also extremely sensitive to a different form of stress: DNA damage. This unsuspected response by the metabolic checkpoint means SIRT4 doubles as a sentry guarding against cancer, which is spurred by genetic abnormalities.

Sirtuins have become familiar for their connection to longevity and to resveratrol, the red-wine compound that activates SIRT1, but less attention has been focused on SIRT3, SIRT 4 and SIRT5, all of which are found in mitochondria. Marcia Haigis, HMS associate professor of cell biology, led a team that has uncovered SIRT4 as an important player in the DNA damage response pathway, coordinating a sequence of events that normally result[s] in tumor suppression. They published their results April 4 in Cancer Cell.

"When we started studying SIRT4, we were focused only on its metabolic role, looking for functions related to diabetes and obesity," said Haigis. "What we found, to our surprise, was that SIRT4 was responsive to DNA damage, so that led us to investigate the metabolic response to DNA damage and how SIRT4 controls the metabolic response to genotoxic stress."

To see how SIRT4 normally functions, Haigis and her colleagues induced DNA damage by exposing cells in a lab dish to ultraviolet light. This damage triggered a halt in glutamine metabolism, limiting the amount of nutrients the cell could use as it goes through a cycle of division and growth.

Blocking the cell cycle at this juncture is important. If cell growth after DNA damage goes unchecked, proliferation of impaired cells can lead to cancer. When SIRT4 works properly, this chain of events is broken before bad cells and their abnormal genes multiply. SIRT4 blocks glutamine metabolism, arrests the cell cycle and suppresses tumor formation.

The scientists tested this SIRT4 response in mice. Bred to lack the gene that encodes the SIRT4 protein but otherwise normal, the mice spontaneously developed lung cancer by 15 months.

"When SIRT4 is missing, you don't have this metabolic checkpoint involving glutamine, which is important because glutamine is an amino acid required for proliferation in the cell," Haigis said. "Without SIRT4, the cell keeps dividing even in the face of DNA damage, so the cell accumulates more damage."

The scientists also analyzed data showing SIRT4 gene expression levels are low in several human cancers, including small-cell lung carcinoma, gastric cancer, bladder carcinoma, breast cancer and leukemia.

While they cannot say if SIRT4 loss alone will initiate cancer, its absence appears to create an environment in which tumor cells survive and grow.

"Our findings suggest that SIRT4 may be a potential target against tumors," they conclude.

###

Harvard Medical School: http://hms.harvard.edu

Thanks to Harvard Medical School for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127612/Mitochondrial_metabolic_regulator_SIRT__guards_against_DNA_damage

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Obama budget seeks compromise with GOP

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will unveil a spending plan Wednesday that he hopes will provide a compromise to the two feuding parties on Capitol Hill, offering Republican-friendly proposals -- including those that cut Social Security and Medicare -- tied to tax increases on the wealthiest Americans.

White House officials say Obama is willing to offer a compromise in order to cut the deficit by $1.8 trillion over 10 years. Republicans say that number is less than half -- $600 billion -- because the president wants to restore across-the-board spending cuts that took effect in March.

"This is not the president's ideal budget proposal," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Friday. "It is a budget proposal that represents a good-faith compromise position."

Obama's budget probably won't change the dynamics in an increasingly polarized atmosphere, in part because it comes more than two months late, after both the Republican-led House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate have passed their own plans for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. That kind of delay is unprecedented since the modern budgeting process was established nearly a century ago.

Republicans are unlikely to embrace a budget that raises taxes, though its release comes on the same day that Obama continues his sudden spurt of political outreach with lawmakers at a dinner with a dozen Senate Republicans.

House Speaker John Boehner on Friday objected to the tax increases in the proposal, saying House Republicans have urged Obama "not to make savings we agree upon conditional on another round of tax increases."

Republicans complain spending remains higher than it was in fiscal 2009, when a federal stimulus plan was implemented to try to boost the faltering economy. Democrats argue the trajectory of spending is falling. Both are correct.

In fiscal 2009, government outlays -- what was spent -- amounted to $3.517 trillion. For fiscal 2012, which ended Sept. 30, 2012, that number exceeded $3.538 trillion. That's about $21 billion higher.

The number looks different when seen through the prism of discretionary spending; what Congress controls and isn't mandated. Both discretionary defense spending and discretionary non-defense spending have fallen since 2009, but neither has reached pre-economic stimulus levels.

Obama wants to spend money on new proposals -- $65 billion for road, bridge and building repairs; $1 billion for 15 manufacturing institutes; $100 million on brain research; millions more for expanded preschool and high-tech teachers.

The preschool program would be fully paid for by an increase in taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products, though Carney declined to say by what amounts.

The budget would raise revenue by closing a loophole that allows people to collect full disability benefits and unemployment benefits over the same period and banning the accumulations of more than $3 million in IRAs and other tax-preferred retirement accounts. Other details will be released next week.

Obama's budget will try to strike a balance between the House and Senate plans, passed March 21 and 25, respectively. Bob Bixby, head of the budget watchdog group the Concord Coalition, said Obama is looking at the budget as an opportunity to "signal to Republicans that he's open to a compromise."

The president has agreed to a more conservative measurement used in calculating cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security beneficiaries and others who receive some form of government payment. This move would switch the method of determining the cost-of-living adjustment to what is called the Chain-Weighted Consumer Price Index, which is less generous than the current method of calculating adjustments.

Progressive groups and advocates for seniors said Friday that they were strongly opposed to a change that Carney, when pressed, admitted would constitute a tax increase on the middle class.

Source: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/04/05/3245906/obama-budget-seeks-compromise.html

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Weak job gains cast shadow on U.S. economic outlook

By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American employers hired at the weakest pace in nine months in March, a sign that tax hikes that kicked in early this year as part of Washington's austerity drive could be stealing momentum from the economy.

The economy added just 88,000 nonfarm jobs last month, the Labor Department said on Friday.

That was well below market expectations for a 200,000 increase and lower than even the most pessimistic forecast in a Reuters poll. The jobless rate ticked a tenth of a point lower to 7.6 percent largely due to people dropping out of the work force.

"The U.S. economy just hit a major speed bump," said Marcus Bullus, trading director at MB Capital in London.

Some of the weakness appeared due to tax hikes enacted in January. While prior reports have pointed to relatively buoyant retail sales in January and February, Friday's data showed retailers actually cut staff in March by 24,100, making it the hardest-hit sector last month.

Moreover, the government said hiring in the retail sector was weaker in January and February than initially thought.

The report rattled investors, sending U.S. stocks lower and putting them on pace for their poorest weekly performance this year. Benchmark Treasury debt yields fell to their lowest this year and the dollar declined against a basket of currencies.

It was unclear whether across-the-board federal budget cuts that began in March played a role in the weak pace of hiring, although nervousness over the cuts might have made businesses shy about taking on more staff.

Some economists cautioned against reading too much into the report, though the data nonetheless raised questions over whether the strong hiring seen in the winter actually meant the economy had shifted into a higher gear.

"We don't think there is enough signal here to conclude the U.S. economy is wobbling. Rather, it appears that the underlying trend has not improved as much as the January-February data suggested," said Julia Coronado, chief North America economist at BNP Paribas in New York.

AMMUNITION FOR THE FED

March's slowdown in job growth could make policymakers at the Federal Reserve more confident about continuing a bond-buying stimulus program. Prior advances in the labor market recovery had fueled discussion at the central bank over whether to dial back the purchases, perhaps as soon as this summer.

"This could give them the green light to stay with this policy longer," said Brian Rehling, chief fixed income strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis.

The report did have some positive news for the economy. The Labor Department revised readings for January and February to show 61,000 more jobs added than previously estimated. The average workweek rose to its highest level in a year.

"Companies ramped up working hours instead of hiring additional people. The fact that labor demand kept rising should bode well for future job gains," said Harm Bandholz, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Research in New York.

The construction sector added 18,000 jobs despite cold weather in parts of the country, reinforcing the view that a recovery in the housing sector has become entrenched.

Also suggesting that weather didn't play a big role in the weak pace of hiring, Labor Department data showed the number of people out of work due to bad weather was below the 10-year average for March.

Analysts have noted that the federal spending cuts have only just begun and will be a more substantial drag on the economy between April and June, when many government workers begin taking days off work without pay.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that tighter fiscal policy will subtract about 1.5 percentage points from economic growth this year.

"The trend in payrolls is consistent with our expectation that employment growth will slow somewhat in coming months (due to) the large, and increasing, fiscal drag," said Michael Gapen, an economist at Barclays in New York.

Government payrolls fell only 7,000 in March, partly reversing the 14,000-job gain from February.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who has said the labor market must show sustained improvement before monetary stimulus is eased, has voiced concern about the spending cuts.

The jobless rate fell to its lowest since December 2008, but the report showed that much of the drop was due to the labor force shrinking by 496,000 people.

That pushed the labor force participation rate -- the percentage of working-age Americans either with a job or looking for one -- to 63.3 percent, its lowest since 1979.

The unemployment rate is derived from a survey of households which is separate from the survey of employer payrolls. That survey actually showed employment fell by 206,000 in March.

Some of the people dropping out of the labor force are retiring or going back to school, but others have given up the job hunt out of discouragement.

Separately, Commerce Department data showed the U.S. trade gap narrowed unexpectedly in February as crude oil imports fell to their lowest level since March 1996 and overall exports increased slightly.

The deficit narrowed to $43.0 billion. The consensus estimate of analysts surveyed before the report was for the trade gap to widen slightly to $44.6 billion.

(Additional reporting by Doug Palmer and Lucia Mutikani in Washington; and by Richard Leong in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/steady-job-gains-seen-bolstering-economy-040319942--business.html

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