WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Defiant anti-Wall Street protesters in Washington vowed to remain peacefully entrenched in two parks near the White House on Monday despite a police order to stop camping on federal land, raising the specter of possible confrontation.
The U.S. National Park Service, in its first challenge to the demonstrators, said last week it would start enforcing a ban at noon on Monday against camping in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza, where protesters have camped out since October.
It ordered bedding and cooking equipment removed but said tents could remain as a protest symbol if flaps stayed open. While many protesters told Reuters they would comply with the order, blankets were still visible in some tents.
After a cursory inspection of the McPherson Square camp, police remained on the outskirts and no arrests had been reported by late afternoon. Protesters said police appeared hesitant to move in while television crews thronged the area.
While similar "Occupy" protests against social and economic inequality in other U.S. cities have been shut down by police, the demonstrations in the capital have survived an unusually warm winter and a permissive approach by federal authorities reluctant to provoke confrontation.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, city police began evicting another group of Occupy protesters from city property on Monday.
Despite their small numbers, the Washington protesters enjoy outsized media attention because their camps are just blocks from President Barack Obama's official residence and one is next to K Street, a wide thoroughfare that is home to many lobbyists and is synonymous with corporate influence in the capital.
While Obama has not explicitly backed the protests, he has made economic inequality a central theme of his re-election campaign and called for higher taxes on wealthier Americans, angering his Republican opponents.
HUGE TENT
McPherson Square protesters set up a huge tent decorated with stars and moons over a statue of Civil War General James McPherson in the center of the square to protest the police order. "The people united will never be defeated," they chanted.
Tensions rose in the "Occupy DC" camps after police used a stun gun on one protester on Sunday. More than 400 people were arrested during violent anti-Wall Street protests in Oakland, California over the weekend.
Some Washington protesters said they would defy the park police order while others said they would sleep in churches and elsewhere. They are permitted to hold overnight vigils in the parks overnight so long as they do not use their tents for sleeping or cooking.
"We're not going to fight, but we're just going to make it difficult," said Jake Roszack, 22, from New York, who had built a barricade of spare wood, tents and cardboard, around his personal belongings and those of his friends.
A U.S. Park Police spokesman, David Schlosser, said arrests would be made on a case-by-case basis. "We're very pleased that we're getting some voluntary compliance," he said.
Inspired by the Arab Spring, "Occupy" demonstrations began in New York in September and spread across the United States and to other countries.
Protesters are targeting the growing income gap, corporate greed and what they see as unfair tax structure favoring the richest 1 percent of Americans. Washington protesters also cite other pet causes, including joblessness, big agriculture and the homeless, some of whom sleep in the park.
The U.S. capital, site of historic demonstrations over the decades, so far had done little to deter the protesters, drawing a rebuke from congressional Republicans who accuse the Obama administration of sympathizing with the groups and refusing to enforce park rules - a charge denied by park officials.
The National Park Service regulates both parks and forbids camping on federal land not designated as a campground. Local city officials have complained about squalor, rats and trash.
The number of protesters in the Occupy DC camps fluctuates, but city officials estimate there are less than 100 in total.
The Occupy protests had faded over the last few weeks but flared anew on Saturday when violence broke out in Oakland.
Officials in Charlotte, the site of the Democratic National Convention this September, began taking down tents under cover of a police helicopter even though protesters said they had complied with rules to remove their belongings. Police said seven protesters were arrested for resisting orders to leave their tents.
(Writing by Susan Heavey; additional reporting by Rick Rothacker in Charlotte; Editing by Ross Colvin and Doina Chiacu)
FILE - In this Oct. 20, 2011, leader of the Austrian right-wing Freedom Party, FPOE, Heinz-Christian Strache delivers a speech during a parliament session in Vienna, Austria. Senior members of the country's far-right party were widely cited Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, as comparing protests against a ball that attracts extremists to the Nazi persecution of Jews. Vienna's Jewish community demanded an investigation but the party insisted no harm was meant. The comments by Freedom Party leader Strache and an associate were first reported on the website of the daily Der Standard Sunday, two days after the event. But they drew little attention until until they were picked up by other news outlets Monday. (AP Photo/dapd, Hans Punz, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 20, 2011, leader of the Austrian right-wing Freedom Party, FPOE, Heinz-Christian Strache delivers a speech during a parliament session in Vienna, Austria. Senior members of the country's far-right party were widely cited Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, as comparing protests against a ball that attracts extremists to the Nazi persecution of Jews. Vienna's Jewish community demanded an investigation but the party insisted no harm was meant. The comments by Freedom Party leader Strache and an associate were first reported on the website of the daily Der Standard Sunday, two days after the event. But they drew little attention until until they were picked up by other news outlets Monday. (AP Photo/dapd, Hans Punz, File)
A woman in the ball gown passes a police woman during protest against the rightist fraternity WKR-Ball in downtown Vienna, Austria, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. About 3,000 guests are expected at the ball that will take place at Vienna's Hofburg palace. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
Demonstrators protest against the rightist fraternity WKR-Ball in downtown Vienna, Austria, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. About 3,000 guests are expected at the ball that will take place at Vienna's Hofburg palace. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
VIENNA (AP) ? Far-right Austrian politicians were widely criticized Monday for comparing protests against a fancy ball that attracts extremists to the Nazis' persecution of Jews.
Vienna's Jewish community demanded an investigation into the remarks but the Freedom Pary insisted no harm was meant.
The comments by Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache and an associate were first reported Sunday on the website of the daily Der Standard, but they drew little attention until Monday.
The furor extended the controversy over Friday's far-right ball, which attracts guests who include the neo-Nazi fringe and was held this year on the same day the world pays tribute to victims of the Holocaust.
Police recorded only isolated violent incidents Friday from demonstrators outside the Viennese palace where the ball was being held. But Strache was quoted as saying the violence was "like Kristallnacht," referring to the 1938 anti-Semitic riots across Germany and parts of Austria that left streets strewn with broken glass from the windows of Jewish-owned property and synagogues. Kristallnacht was an ominous sign of the Holocaust to follow.
"We are the new Jews," Strache declared to other ball guests, according to Austrian media.
Strache associate Klaus Nittmann, meanwhile, was quoted as saying "whoever works for this ball immediately gets a Jew star pinned on him" ? a reference to the yellow stars Jews were forced to wear under Nazi rule.
Austria's Jewish community demanded that the state prosecutor investigate the comments and urged Strache to give up his parliamentary immunity from legal action.
Karl Oelligner of the opposition Green Party suggested that such comments can only come from someone who "has either lost his marbles or is trying to trivialize the horrors of Nazi rule."
Hannes Rauch, whose centrist People's Party is in the government coalition, called Strache's words "an open slap in the face for all those who were victims of the criminal National Socialist regime."
Freedom Party officials dismissed the criticism. Spokesman Harald Vilimsky spoke of "artificial and ridiculous outrage," adding that Strache only meant the denunciations of ball supporters and attacks on their property are reminiscent of "the horrible reports about the sinister era of National Socialism."
Strache, he said, did not intend to play down "the agony that was forced upon the Jews."
Austria has moved from its postwar portrayal of being Nazi Germany's first victim to acknowledging that it was Hitler's willing partner. Most young Austrians reject Nazi ideology and condemn the part their parents might have played in the Holocaust.
At the same time, the rightist-populist Freedom Party ? whose supporters range from those disillusioned with more traditional parties to Islamophobes and Holocaust deniers ? has become Austria's second-strongest political force.
Although the annual ball regularly comes under criticism, its overlap this year with worldwide commemorations of the Holocaust had increased the pressure on organizers and attendees.
Because it was listed among other champagne-laced Viennese balls, an Austrian committee reporting to UNESCO, the U.N.'s culture organization, struck all the balls from its list of Austria's noteworthy traditions earlier this month.
While our editors Rene and Leanna hit the road to check out what MacWorld 2012 had in store for us, tons of other news was flowing through the iMore Nation
GIGLIO, Italy (Reuters) ? Divers searching for bodies on the Costa Concordia, the wrecked cruise ship that lies capsized off the Italian coast, suspended work on Sunday after heavy seas and strong winds caused the vessel to shift noticeably, authorities said.
Operations to begin pumping fuel off the ship had already been called off because of bad weather a day earlier, but the search for bodies had continued and a 17th body was recovered on Saturday.
The victim, a woman, was identified as a member of the crew, leaving one body so far unidentified and 15 people still missing after the disaster on January 13.
"There was greater movement caused by heavy seas, wind and low tide and as a precaution, operations have been suspended," a spokesman for the rescue authorities said.
He said that measuring instruments placed on board the 290 meter long ship showed some 3.5 centimeters of movement in six hours, compared with a normal movement of one or two millimeters.
The ship lies half-submerged just meters from shore on a rock shelf near the Tuscan island of Giglio where it ran aground and foundered more than two weeks ago.
Officials have said it is stable and faces little immediate risk of sliding from its resting place in some 20 meters of water into deeper waters. But even the slight movements posed a potential risk to divers exploring the ship's dark interior.
With cloudy and windy weather and choppy seas expected to worsen in coming days, salvage crews are not expected to be able to start pumping the more than 2,300 tonnes of diesel fuel from the ship until the middle of the week.
The operation, aimed at preventing an environmental disaster in the pristine waters of a marine nature reserve, is expected to take between three weeks and one month.
The 114,500-tonne Concordia struck a rock which gashed its hull and caused it to sink after it sailed to within 150 meters of the shore to perform a display maneuver known as a "salute."
Its captain, Francesco Schettino, has been placed under arrest and faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship before the evacuation of more than 4,200 passengers and crew was complete.
An extended legal battle is now in prospect after lawyers in the United States and Italy launched class action and individual suits against the ship's owner Costa Cruises, a unit of Carnival Corp, the world's biggest cruise operator.
(Reporting By Emilio Parodi, writing by James Mackenzie, editing by Tim Pearce)
COMMENTARY | Apparently the moon is the next prime real estate for U.S. citizens, or so former Speaker of the House and Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich seems to think.
In the Thursday Florida primary debate, Gingrich expanded on his previous claim that if elected president, he would make every effort to establish a space colony on the moon by 2020. What's more, it's estimated 13,000 inhabitants would be able to qualify for American citizenship.
This illustrious plan sounds a bit "spacey" to me. Just think: A presidential nominee who supposedly recognizes the economic woes that Americans have been facing and who bashes President Barack Obama for misallocation of national funds and ill-conceived solutions to bring the country back from its multitrillion-dollar deficit has the notion that American taxpayers have the means to support a colony in space.
I understand the argument that commercializing NASA and other space exploits is a compromising method to not let expensive equipment go to waste. I get that for Americans to remain a dominant world power, they must retain a presence in space.
But the convoluted part for me is how repurposing space equipment on Earth is going to ready average U.S. citizens for eventual long-term establishment in space. That begs the question of how Gingrich expects to pay for it, with so many other philanthropies vying for funding. I also wonder how Gingrich plans for Americans to remain the lone nationality represented on the moon.
The 1961 lunar landing guaranteed the U.S. a place in space race history. Chances are NASA wouldn't have made nearly the number of discoveries and strides in its 30 years if the U.S. hadn't laid the foundation early. But is a space colony the type of semi-permanent mark Americans want to make without funds to accommodate it?
It may do Gingrich well to recall another memorable point in the history of U.S. colonization, when the British colonies were established in North America but were expected to pay the same taxes as those residing in England.
Gingrich might soon realize his flat tax initiative is a bust with the anticipated tax inflation and strain a space colony would put on Americans in the U.S. The sheer amount of resources needed to sustain a colony on the moon would be astronomical. Not only would U.S. space residents lose their national identity and affiliation; I'm sure that terra firma-lovers would realize the wasted allocation of money resources to sustain their brothers in orbit. Sounds eerily similar to Gingrich's own sentiments about the current commander-in-chief.
An American-only space colony is an impressive campaign goal, but it may be a bit too lofty for Gingrich or others to achieve in the current economic climate. There's no doubt that it's a project that could take off in the distant future; after all, the U.S. did put a man on the moon. It has no chance, though, until financial feasibility catches up to American capability.
LONDON ? British police searched the offices of Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers Saturday after arresting a police officer and four current and former staff of his tabloid The Sun as part of an investigation into police bribery by journalists.
The arrests spread the scandal over tabloid wrongdoing ? which has already caused the closure of one tabloid, the News of the World ? to a second Murdoch newspaper.
London's Metropolitan Police said two men aged 48 and one aged 56 were arrested on suspicion of corruption early in the morning at homes in and around London. A 42-year-old man was detained later at a London police station.
Murdoch's News Corp. confirmed that all four were current or former Sun employees.
A fifth man, a 29-year-old police officer, was arrested at the London station where he works.
The investigation into whether reporters illegally paid police for information is running parallel to a police inquiry into phone hacking by Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World.
Officers were searching the men's homes and the east London headquarters of the media mogul's British newspapers for evidence.
Police said Saturday's arrests were made as a result of information provided by the Management and Standards Committee of Murdoch's News Corp.
News Corp. said it was cooperating with police.
"News Corporation made a commitment last summer that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated," it said in a statement.
A dozen people have now been arrested in the bribery probe, though none has yet been charged.
They include former Rebekah Brooks, former chief executive of Murdoch's News International, ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson ? who is also Prime Minister David Cameron's former communications chief ? and journalists from the News of the World and The Sun.
Two of the London police force's top officers resigned in the wake of the revelation last July that the News of the World had eavesdropped on the cell phone voicemail messages of celebrities, athletes, politicians and even an abducted teenager in its quest for stories.
Murdoch shut down the 168-year-old tabloid, and the scandal has triggered a continuing public inquiry into media ethics and the relationship between the press, police and politicians.
An earlier police investigation failed to find evidence hacking went beyond one reporter and a private investigator, but News Corp. has now acknowledged it was much more widespread.
Last week the company agreed to pay damages to 37 hacking victims, including actor Jude Law, soccer star Ashley Cole and British politician John Prescott.
___
Jill Lawless can be reached at: http://twitter.com/JillLawless
BEIRUT ? The deputy chief of the Arab League says the pan-Arab body has halted its observer mission in Syria because of the increasing violence there.
Deputy Secretary-General Ahmed Ben Heli says the around 100 observers still in Syria have stopped their work after a decision by member states because of the sharp spike of bloodshed in recent days. He says the observers are staying in their Damascus hotel until further notice.
At least 80 people have been killed in the past three days in Syria. Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby and the prime minister of Qatar are heading to New York on Saturday to seek U.N. support for an arab plan to end Syria's crisis.
What are friends for? Negating negativityPublic release date: 26-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Clea Desjardins clea.desjardins@concordia.ca 514-848-2424 x5068 Concordia University
Concordia study shows that the presence of friends mitigates the effects of negative experiences
This release is available in French.
Montreal, January 26, 2011 'Stand by me' is a common refrain when it comes to friendship but new research from Concordia University proves that the concept goes beyond pop music: keeping friends close has real physiological and psychological benefits.
The presence of a best friend directly affects children going through negative experiences, as reported in the recent Concordia-based study, which was published in the journal Developmental Psychology and conducted with the collaboration of researchers at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Feelings of self-worth and levels of cortisol, a hormone produced naturally by the adrenal gland in direct response to stress, are largely dependent on the social context of a negative experience.
"Having a best friend present during an unpleasant event has an immediate impact on a child's body and mind," says co-author William M. Bukowski, a psychology professor and director of the Concordia Centre for Research in Human Development. "If a child is alone when he or she gets in trouble with a teacher or has an argument with a classmate, we see a measurable increase in cortisol levels and decrease in feelings of self-worth."
A total of 55 boys and 48 girls from grades 5 and 6 in local Montreal schools took part in the study. Participants kept journals on their feelings and experiences over the course of four days and submitted to regular saliva tests that monitored cortisol levels.
Although previous studies have shown that friendships can protect against later adjustment difficulties, this study is the first to definitively demonstrate that the presence of a friend results in an immediate benefit for the child undergoing a negative experience.
These results have far-reaching implications. "Our physiological and psychological reactions to negative experiences as children impacts us later in life," explains Bukowski. "Excessive secretion of cortisol can lead to significant physiological changes, including immune suppression and decreased bone formation. Increased stress can really slow down a child's development." When it comes to feelings of self-worth, Bukowski goes on, "what we learn about ourselves as children is how we form our adult identities. If we build up feelings of low self-worth during childhood, this will translate directly into how we see ourselves as adults."
The study builds on previous research at Concordia that has shown multiple friendships inoculate against negative outcomes such as bullying, exclusion and other kinds of aggression.
###
About the study: The paper, "The Presence of a Best Friend Buffers the Effects of Negative Experiences," published in the journal Developmental Psychology, was authored by William M. Bukowski of Concordia University in Canada, Ryan E. Adams of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and John Bruce Santo of the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the United States.
Related links:
Media contact:
Cla Desjardins
Senior Advisor, External Communications
University Communications Services
Concordia University
Phone: 514-848-2424, ext. 5068
Email: clea.desjardins@concordia.ca
Twitter: http://twitter.com/concordianews
Concordia news: http://now.concordia.ca
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
What are friends for? Negating negativityPublic release date: 26-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Clea Desjardins clea.desjardins@concordia.ca 514-848-2424 x5068 Concordia University
Concordia study shows that the presence of friends mitigates the effects of negative experiences
This release is available in French.
Montreal, January 26, 2011 'Stand by me' is a common refrain when it comes to friendship but new research from Concordia University proves that the concept goes beyond pop music: keeping friends close has real physiological and psychological benefits.
The presence of a best friend directly affects children going through negative experiences, as reported in the recent Concordia-based study, which was published in the journal Developmental Psychology and conducted with the collaboration of researchers at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Feelings of self-worth and levels of cortisol, a hormone produced naturally by the adrenal gland in direct response to stress, are largely dependent on the social context of a negative experience.
"Having a best friend present during an unpleasant event has an immediate impact on a child's body and mind," says co-author William M. Bukowski, a psychology professor and director of the Concordia Centre for Research in Human Development. "If a child is alone when he or she gets in trouble with a teacher or has an argument with a classmate, we see a measurable increase in cortisol levels and decrease in feelings of self-worth."
A total of 55 boys and 48 girls from grades 5 and 6 in local Montreal schools took part in the study. Participants kept journals on their feelings and experiences over the course of four days and submitted to regular saliva tests that monitored cortisol levels.
Although previous studies have shown that friendships can protect against later adjustment difficulties, this study is the first to definitively demonstrate that the presence of a friend results in an immediate benefit for the child undergoing a negative experience.
These results have far-reaching implications. "Our physiological and psychological reactions to negative experiences as children impacts us later in life," explains Bukowski. "Excessive secretion of cortisol can lead to significant physiological changes, including immune suppression and decreased bone formation. Increased stress can really slow down a child's development." When it comes to feelings of self-worth, Bukowski goes on, "what we learn about ourselves as children is how we form our adult identities. If we build up feelings of low self-worth during childhood, this will translate directly into how we see ourselves as adults."
The study builds on previous research at Concordia that has shown multiple friendships inoculate against negative outcomes such as bullying, exclusion and other kinds of aggression.
###
About the study: The paper, "The Presence of a Best Friend Buffers the Effects of Negative Experiences," published in the journal Developmental Psychology, was authored by William M. Bukowski of Concordia University in Canada, Ryan E. Adams of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and John Bruce Santo of the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the United States.
Related links:
Media contact:
Cla Desjardins
Senior Advisor, External Communications
University Communications Services
Concordia University
Phone: 514-848-2424, ext. 5068
Email: clea.desjardins@concordia.ca
Twitter: http://twitter.com/concordianews
Concordia news: http://now.concordia.ca
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
MIT researchers have discovered that certain photosynthetic ocean bacteria need to beware of viruses bearing gifts: These viruses are really con artists carrying genetic material taken from their previous bacterial hosts that tricks the new host into using its own machinery to activate the genes, a process never before documented in any virus-bacteria relationship.
The con occurs when a grifter virus injects its DNA into a bacterium living in a phosphorus-starved region of the ocean. Such bacteria, stressed by the lack of phosphorus (which they use as a nutrient), have their phosphorus-gathering machinery in high gear. The virus senses the host's stress and offers what seems like a helping hand: bacterial genes nearly identical to the host's own that enable the host to gather more phosphorus. The host uses those genes,? but the additional phosphorus goes primarily toward supporting the virus' replication of its own DNA.
Once that process is complete (about 10 hours after infection), the virus explodes its host, releasing progeny viruses back into the ocean where they can invade other bacteria and repeat this process. The additional phosphorus-gathering genes provided by the virus keep its reproduction cycle on schedule.
In essence, the virus (or phage) is co-opting a very sophisticated component of the host's regulatory machinery to enhance its own reproduction ? something never before documented in a virus-bacteria relationship.
"This is the first demonstration of a virus of any kind ? even those heavily studied in biomedical research ? exploiting this kind of regulatory machinery in a host cell, and it has evolved in response to the extreme selection pressures of phosphorus limitation in many parts of the global oceans," says Sallie (Penny) W. Chisholm, a professor of civil and environmental engineering (CEE) and biology at MIT, who is principal investigator of the research and co-author of a paper published in the Jan. 24 issue of Current Biology. "The phage have evolved the capability to sense the degree of phosphorus stress in the host they're infecting and have captured, over evolutionary time, some components of the bacteria's machinery to overcome the limitation."
Chisholm and co-author Qinglu Zeng, a CEE postdoc, performed this research using the bacterium Prochlorococcus and its close relative, Synechococcus, which together produce about a sixth of the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere. Prochlorococcus is about one micron in diameter and can reach densities of up to 100 million per liter of seawater; Synechococcus is only slightly larger and a bit less abundant. The viruses that attack both bacteria, called cyanophages, are even more populous.
The bacterial mechanism in play is called a two-component regulatory system, which refers to the microbe's ability to sense and respond to external environmental conditions. This system prompts the bacteria to produce extra proteins that bind to phosphorus and bring it into the cell. The gene carried by the virus encodes this same protein.
"Both the phage and bacterial host have the genes that produce the phosphorus-binding proteins, and we found they can both be up-regulated by the host's two-component regulatory system," says Zeng. "The positive side of infection for bacteria is that they will obtain more phosphorus binders from the phage and maybe more phosphorus, although the bacteria are dying and the phage is actually using the phosphorus for its own ends."
In 2010, Chisholm and Maureen Coleman, now an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, demonstrated that the populations of Prochlorococcus living in the Atlantic Ocean had adapted to the phosphorus limitations of that environment by developing more genes specifically related to the scavenging of phosphorus. This proved to be the sole difference between those populations and their counterparts living in the Pacific Ocean, which is richer in phosphorus, indicating that the variation is the result of evolutionary adaptation to the environment.
The new research indicates that the phage that infect these bacteria have evolved right along with their hosts.
"These viruses ? the most abundant class of viruses that infect Prochlorococcus ? have acquired genes for a metabolic pathway from their host cells," says Professor David Shub a biologist at the State University of New York at Albany. "These sorts of genes are usually tightly regulated in bacteria, that is they are turned into RNA and protein only when needed by the cell. However, genes of these kinds in viruses tend to be used in a strictly programmed manner, unresponsive to changes in the environment. Now Zeng and Chisholm have shown that these particular viral genes are regulated by the amount of phosphate in their environment, and also that they use the regulatory proteins already present in their host cells at the time of infection. The significance of this paper is the revelation of a very close evolutionary interrelationship between this particular bacterium and the viruses that seek to destroy it."
"We've come to think of this whole system as another bit of evidence for the incredible intimacy of the relationship of phage and host," says Chisholm, whose next steps are to explore the functions of all of the genes these marine phage have acquired from host cells to learn more about the selective pressures that are unique to the phage-host interactions in the open oceans. "Most of what we understand about phage and bacteria has come from model microorganisms used in biomedical research," says Chisholm. "The environment of the human body is dramatically different from that of the open oceans, and these oceanic phage have much to teach us about fundamental biological processes."
###
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: http://cee.mit.edu/
Thanks to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for this article.
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(Reuters) ? Symantec Corp, the top maker of computer security software, reported a higher quarterly profit and issued an outlook in line with Wall Street estimates.
The company reported profit, excluding items, of 42 cents per share for its fiscal third quarter, ended Dec 30, beating the average analyst forecast of 41 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The Mountain View, California-based software maker also forecast fourth-quarter per-share profit, excluding items, of 41 or 42 cents, below the average analyst forecast of 43 cents.
Symantec shares were quoted at $17.04 in extended trade, down from their Nasdaq close of $17.07.
(Reporting By Jim Finkle; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
New York ? About half of the world's abortions are performed illegally, resulting in dangerous complications and sometimes death
The number of women having unsafe abortions is on the rise, according to a report from the World Health Organization. While the global abortion rate has held steady for most of the past decade, researchers found that countries where the procedure is illegal had much higher rates of women dying from complications. Some women in Africa, for instance, resort to using broken soda bottles or consuming dangerous doses of medicine. "An abortion is actually a very simple and safe procedure," says Gilda Sedgh, the study's lead author. "All of these deaths and complications are easily avoidable." Here's a look at this "deeply disturbing"?trend, by the numbers:
43.8 million Abortions performed worldwide between 2003 and 2008?
SEE MORE: iPhone uproar: Is Siri anti-abortion?
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86 Percentage of worldwide abortions done in developing countries in 2008
1 in 5 Pregnancies that ended in abortion in 2008
SEE MORE: Sending kids to lobby against abortion: 'Cheap exploitation'?
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49 Percentage of worldwide abortions classified as "unsafe" in 2008
44 Percentage of worldwide abortions classified as "unsafe" in 1995
47,000 Women who died from unsafe abortions in 2008
13? Percentage of maternal deaths worldwide blamed on unsafe abortions
8.5 million Women who had serious medical complications from unsafe abortions in 2008
28 per 1,000 Abortion rate for women aged 15 to 44 from 2003 to 2008, a period during which the rate remained virtually unchanged
12 per 1,000 Abortion rate for Western Europe ? the study's lowest
43 per 1,000 Abortion rate for Eastern Europe ? the study's highest
38 and 36 per 1,000 Abortion rates for Middle and Eastern Africa, respectively
19 per 1,000 Abortion rate in North America
95 to 97 Percentage of abortions in Latin America and Africa classified as "back-street" abortions. Legal restrictions making such procedures more common were "surprisingly associated with higher abortion rates."
Sources: Associated Press, CNN,?The Grio, Lancet
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SEOUL?? Tired of long waits at the hospital for medical tests? If Korean researchers have their way, your smartphone could one day eliminate that ? and perhaps even tell you that you have cancer.
A team of scientists at Korea Advanced Institute of Science of Technology (KAIST) said in a paper published in Angewandte Chemie, a German science journal, that touch screen technology can be used to detect biomolecular matter, much as is done in medical tests.
"It began from the idea that touch screens work by recognizing the electronic signs from the touch of the finger, and so the presence of specific proteins and DNA should be recognizable as well," said Hyun-gyu Park, who with Byong-yeon Won led the study.
The touch screens on smartphones, PDAs or other electronic devices work by sensing the electronic charges from the user's body on the screen. Biochemicals such as proteins and DNA molecules also carry specific electronic charges.
According to KAIST, the team's experiments showed that touch screens can recognize the existence and the concentration of DNA molecules placed on them, a first step toward one day being able to use the screens to carry out medical tests.
"We have confirmed that (touch screens) are able to recognize DNA molecules with nearly 100 percent accuracy just as large, conventional medical equipment can and we believe equal results are possible for proteins," Park told Reuters TV.
"There are proteins known in the medical world like the ones used to diagnose liver cancer, and we would be able to see the liver condition of the patient."
The research team added that it is currently developing a type of film with reactive materials that can identify specific biochemicals, hoping this will allow the touch screens to also recognize different biomolecular materials.
But confirming that the touch screen can recognize the biomolecular materials, though key, is only the first step.
Since nobody would put blood or urine on a touch screen, the sample would be placed on a strip, which would then be fed into the phone or a module attached to the phone through what Park called an "entrance point."
"The location and concentration of the sample would be recognized the same way the touch of the finger is recognized," he added.
There are no details yet on a prospective timetable for making the phone a diagnostic tool, however.
Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
MANAMA, Bahrain ? The U.S. State Department says it is moving American Embassy employees to safer locations in Bahrain after ongoing political unrest elevated security worries in the strategic Gulf kingdom.
The statement issued late Monday says frequent clashes along a main highway in Manama have forced people to remain indoors and have disrupted travel. It says embassy staff and their families are being shifted to other neighborhoods to avoid the violence, which often includes tear gas and stun grenades from security forces.
Bahrain's majority Shiites began an uprising nearly a year ago to demand greater rights from the Western-allied Sunni monarchy.
Cast member Kate Beckinsale arrives at the premiere of "Underworld Awakening" in Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. "Underworld Awakening" will be released in theaters Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
Cast member Kate Beckinsale arrives at the premiere of "Underworld Awakening" in Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. "Underworld Awakening" will be released in theaters Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Kate Beckinsale is back with a vengeance, with her latest "Underworld" movie opening at No. 1 this weekend.
"Underworld Awakening" made an estimated $25.4, distributor Sony Screen Gems reported Sunday.
This is the fourth film in the vampire action saga. Beckinsale starred in the first two movies as the warrior Selene, then bowed out of part three but returned for this latest installment. "Underworld Awakening" was shown for the first time in 3-D as well as on IMAX screens, where it made $3.8 million. That's 15 percent of the film's weekend gross, which is a record for an IMAX digital-only run.
Sony had hoped the film would end up in the low-$20 million range. But Rory Bruer, the studio's president of worldwide distribution, says the fact that it did even better ? despite a snow storm that hit much of the Midwest and East Coast ? primarily has to do with Beckinsale's return.
"She is such a force. Her character ? you just can't take your eyes off of her. I know the character is very dear to her, as well, and she just kills it," Bruer said. "The 3-D aspect of the film also brings something, makes it a fun, visceral ride."
Opening in second place was "Red Tails" from executive producer George Lucas, about the Tuskegee Airmen who were the first black fighter pilots to serve in World War II. It made an estimated $19.1 million, according to 20th Century Fox, which was well above expectations; the studio had hoped to reach double digits, said Chris Aronson, executive vice president of domestic distribution.
"I believe what George Lucas has stated all along: This is an important story and a story that must be told. It is a true story of American heroism and valor and audiences have really responded to this message," Aronson said. "People want to feel good about themselves, they want to be uplifted. We have enough hard crud going on in this country right now. Times are tough, and if we look back and are told a story of some really fantastic deeds, that's really compelling moviegoing."
Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian said a grassroots effort to get groups of people into the theaters to see "Red Tails," along with positive word-of-mouth, helped its strong showing. The film saw an uptick from about $6 million on Friday to $8.65 million on Saturday.
Overall box office is up 31 percent from the same weekend a year ago, Dergarabedian said, thanks to new releases as well as movies like "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," which had limited runs for awards consideration at the end of 2011 and are now expanding nationwide. The Sept. 11 drama from Warner Bros., starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, came in fourth place with $10.5 million.
Last week's No. 1 film, the Universal smuggling thriller "Contraband" starring Mark Wahlberg, dropped to the No. 3 spot with $12.2 million. It's now made $46.1 million in two weeks. Meanwhile, Steven Soderbergh's international action picture "Haywire" from Relativity Media, starring mixed martial arts superstar Gina Carano in her first film role, opened in fifth place with $9 million, which was above expectations.
"This is a great, perfect January weekend. You've got these holdover films and newcomers creating an overall marketplace that people are really responding to," Dergarabedian said. "It sounds cliche but this marketplace really has something for everyone."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Awards granted for pioneering ideas in cancer researchPublic release date: 23-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Yung S. Lie, Ph.D. yung.lie@damonrunyon.org 212-455-0521 Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awards $2.25 million to 5 innovative young scientists
New York, NY (January 23, 2012) The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation announced that five scientists with novel approaches to fighting cancer have been named 2012 recipients of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award. The grant of $450,000 over three years is awarded each year to early career scientists whose projects have the potential to significantly impact the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
2012 Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovators:
Gregory L. Beatty, MD, PhD [Nadia's Gift Foundation Innovator]
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Tumor-associated immune cells called macrophages are a key component of the tumor microenvironment and often portend a poor prognosis. Macrophages are critical regulators of tumor angiogenesis and metastasis. Interestingly, the function of macrophages is dependent on their surrounding microenvironment such that under certain conditions, macrophages can actually become tumor-suppressive. The central hypothesis of Dr. Beatty's work is that macrophages are an important yet pliable factor in tumor behavior, which can be therapeutically targeted and instructed to attack tumors and inhibit tumor growth.
Dr. Beatty will evaluate strategies to engineer macrophages to attack tumors and to resist signals produced within tumors that ordinarily prime macrophages with tumor-promoting properties. He aims to combine these macrophage-directed approaches with standard chemotherapy. The priority is to develop the necessary data to facilitate the rapid translation of this strategic approach to the clinic for treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer and other malignancies.
Jay R. Hesselberth, PhD
University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, Colorado
Most early detection strategies for cancer focus on identifying protein biomarkers or "molecular signatures" of disease. However, discovery of new biomarkers has lagged, due in large part to the inability to efficiently sift through complex cellular protein mixtures. As a result, the number of new FDA-approved biomarker tests has declined over the last decade, and the current rate of biomarker validation is only one per year.
As proteins can be very large, they are typically cleaved into smaller units called peptides for identification and analysis. The current technology for peptide identification is very slow and lacks the sensitivity and specificity required to quantify proteins in complex samples. Dr. Hesselberth proposes that a massive acceleration in the rate of peptide sequencing would significantly impact biomarker research. To accomplish this, he seeks to develop a highly parallel peptide sequencing platform with single molecule resolution that is orders of magnitude faster than existing technology. This new approach would transform our capability to identify protein and peptide biomarkers for use in the early detection of cancer.
Matthew R. Pratt, PhD
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
Cellular proteins are often modified with a "flag" that affects their function. One such modification is the monosaccharide N-acetyl-glucosamine (O-GlcNAc), which is required for normal development and proper regulation of many biological pathways. During metabolism, elevated glucose levels result in elevated O-GlcNAc modification of proteins.
One common feature of all cancers is an altered metabolism that helps to protect cancer cells from the challenging environments they encounter during tumorigenesis and metastasis. Dr. Pratt has uncovered a link between this change in metabolism and O-GlcNAc modification of proteins, which directly contributes to the proliferation and survival of cancer cells. He seeks to understand the details of this link and exactly how it contributes to disease. This approach will lead to a more complete understanding of how metabolism promotes cancer and may uncover new opportunities for treatment.
Eranthie Weerapana, PhD
Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Understanding proteins dysregulated in cancer is a vital step toward the discovery of effective targets for treatment. Many cellular enzymes demonstrate aberrant activity in cancer, and a significant subset of them contain cysteine amino acid residues required for their function.
Dr. Weerapana aims to use sophisticated chemical genetic approaches to develop novel small molecules that selectively target these cysteines, thus blocking protein function. Her goal is to create a "chemical library" of these small molecules and use this library to identify compounds that affect cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion in breast and ovarian cancer cell lines. The cellular protein targets of these molecules will be identified, followed by analysis of their roles in cancer development and progression. This multidisciplinary approach, encompassing aspects of synthetic chemistry, cell biology and proteomics, will identify new therapeutic targets and small molecule drug candidates for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Feng Zhang, PhD
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Recent genome sequencing studies have identified a large set of candidate genetic mutations implicated in a diverse range of cancer types. However, in order to determine the causal role of each mutation in disease risk and pathology, researchers must be able to test each mutation individually in cellular or animal models. This is severely limited by the difficulty of manipulating the genome of cells and organisms with precise control so that a specific disease can be definitively linked to single changes in the genome.
To address this challenge, Dr. Zhang proposes to engineer a comprehensive set of novel molecular tools to enable targeted modification of the mammalian genome. He will demonstrate the power of these tools by testing genetic mutations associated with neuroblastoma and glioma brain tumors. The development and application of these tools will establish a powerful new platform for investigating the underlying genetic and molecular mechanisms of cancer and will inform drug development. To ensure maximal benefit and impact for the cancer community and beyond, he will also facilitate teaching and rapid open-source distribution of all tools developed.
Funding Daring Research
The Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award funds cancer research by exceptionally creative thinkers with "high-risk/high-reward" ideas who lack sufficient preliminary data to obtain traditional funding. The awardees are selected through a highly competitive and rigorous process by a scientific committee comprised of leading cancer researchers who are innovators themselves. At the final stage of selection, candidates are screened by an in-person interview with committee members. Only those scientists with a strong vision and passion for curing cancer are selected to receive the prestigious award.
This program is possible through the generous support of Andy and Debbie Rachleff, the Island Outreach Foundation and Nadia's Gift Foundation.
###
DAMON RUNYON CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION
To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today's best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research. The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists. Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs. Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded. Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $240 million and funded more than 3,300 young scientists. This year, it will commit approximately $10.8 million in new awards to brilliant young investigators.
100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research. Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.
For more information visit www.damonrunyon.org
CONTACT
Yung S. Lie, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
yung.lie@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0521
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Awards granted for pioneering ideas in cancer researchPublic release date: 23-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Yung S. Lie, Ph.D. yung.lie@damonrunyon.org 212-455-0521 Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awards $2.25 million to 5 innovative young scientists
New York, NY (January 23, 2012) The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation announced that five scientists with novel approaches to fighting cancer have been named 2012 recipients of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award. The grant of $450,000 over three years is awarded each year to early career scientists whose projects have the potential to significantly impact the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
2012 Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovators:
Gregory L. Beatty, MD, PhD [Nadia's Gift Foundation Innovator]
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Tumor-associated immune cells called macrophages are a key component of the tumor microenvironment and often portend a poor prognosis. Macrophages are critical regulators of tumor angiogenesis and metastasis. Interestingly, the function of macrophages is dependent on their surrounding microenvironment such that under certain conditions, macrophages can actually become tumor-suppressive. The central hypothesis of Dr. Beatty's work is that macrophages are an important yet pliable factor in tumor behavior, which can be therapeutically targeted and instructed to attack tumors and inhibit tumor growth.
Dr. Beatty will evaluate strategies to engineer macrophages to attack tumors and to resist signals produced within tumors that ordinarily prime macrophages with tumor-promoting properties. He aims to combine these macrophage-directed approaches with standard chemotherapy. The priority is to develop the necessary data to facilitate the rapid translation of this strategic approach to the clinic for treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer and other malignancies.
Jay R. Hesselberth, PhD
University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, Colorado
Most early detection strategies for cancer focus on identifying protein biomarkers or "molecular signatures" of disease. However, discovery of new biomarkers has lagged, due in large part to the inability to efficiently sift through complex cellular protein mixtures. As a result, the number of new FDA-approved biomarker tests has declined over the last decade, and the current rate of biomarker validation is only one per year.
As proteins can be very large, they are typically cleaved into smaller units called peptides for identification and analysis. The current technology for peptide identification is very slow and lacks the sensitivity and specificity required to quantify proteins in complex samples. Dr. Hesselberth proposes that a massive acceleration in the rate of peptide sequencing would significantly impact biomarker research. To accomplish this, he seeks to develop a highly parallel peptide sequencing platform with single molecule resolution that is orders of magnitude faster than existing technology. This new approach would transform our capability to identify protein and peptide biomarkers for use in the early detection of cancer.
Matthew R. Pratt, PhD
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
Cellular proteins are often modified with a "flag" that affects their function. One such modification is the monosaccharide N-acetyl-glucosamine (O-GlcNAc), which is required for normal development and proper regulation of many biological pathways. During metabolism, elevated glucose levels result in elevated O-GlcNAc modification of proteins.
One common feature of all cancers is an altered metabolism that helps to protect cancer cells from the challenging environments they encounter during tumorigenesis and metastasis. Dr. Pratt has uncovered a link between this change in metabolism and O-GlcNAc modification of proteins, which directly contributes to the proliferation and survival of cancer cells. He seeks to understand the details of this link and exactly how it contributes to disease. This approach will lead to a more complete understanding of how metabolism promotes cancer and may uncover new opportunities for treatment.
Eranthie Weerapana, PhD
Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Understanding proteins dysregulated in cancer is a vital step toward the discovery of effective targets for treatment. Many cellular enzymes demonstrate aberrant activity in cancer, and a significant subset of them contain cysteine amino acid residues required for their function.
Dr. Weerapana aims to use sophisticated chemical genetic approaches to develop novel small molecules that selectively target these cysteines, thus blocking protein function. Her goal is to create a "chemical library" of these small molecules and use this library to identify compounds that affect cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion in breast and ovarian cancer cell lines. The cellular protein targets of these molecules will be identified, followed by analysis of their roles in cancer development and progression. This multidisciplinary approach, encompassing aspects of synthetic chemistry, cell biology and proteomics, will identify new therapeutic targets and small molecule drug candidates for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Feng Zhang, PhD
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Recent genome sequencing studies have identified a large set of candidate genetic mutations implicated in a diverse range of cancer types. However, in order to determine the causal role of each mutation in disease risk and pathology, researchers must be able to test each mutation individually in cellular or animal models. This is severely limited by the difficulty of manipulating the genome of cells and organisms with precise control so that a specific disease can be definitively linked to single changes in the genome.
To address this challenge, Dr. Zhang proposes to engineer a comprehensive set of novel molecular tools to enable targeted modification of the mammalian genome. He will demonstrate the power of these tools by testing genetic mutations associated with neuroblastoma and glioma brain tumors. The development and application of these tools will establish a powerful new platform for investigating the underlying genetic and molecular mechanisms of cancer and will inform drug development. To ensure maximal benefit and impact for the cancer community and beyond, he will also facilitate teaching and rapid open-source distribution of all tools developed.
Funding Daring Research
The Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award funds cancer research by exceptionally creative thinkers with "high-risk/high-reward" ideas who lack sufficient preliminary data to obtain traditional funding. The awardees are selected through a highly competitive and rigorous process by a scientific committee comprised of leading cancer researchers who are innovators themselves. At the final stage of selection, candidates are screened by an in-person interview with committee members. Only those scientists with a strong vision and passion for curing cancer are selected to receive the prestigious award.
This program is possible through the generous support of Andy and Debbie Rachleff, the Island Outreach Foundation and Nadia's Gift Foundation.
###
DAMON RUNYON CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION
To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today's best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research. The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists. Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs. Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded. Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $240 million and funded more than 3,300 young scientists. This year, it will commit approximately $10.8 million in new awards to brilliant young investigators.
100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research. Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.
For more information visit www.damonrunyon.org
CONTACT
Yung S. Lie, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
yung.lie@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0521
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 26-Jan-2012
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