Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Study hints at human-ape emotional similarities


Young bonobos share hugs and kisses to make their peers feel better much the way children do, according to a new study suggesting people and ape emotions function similarly.


The bonobo is as genetically similar to humans as is the chimpanzee, and it is also considered the most empathic great ape.


"This makes the species an ideal candidate for psychological comparisons," says one of the lead researchers, Frans de Waal.


"Any fundamental similarity between humans and bonobos probably traces back to their last common ancestor, which lived around six million years ago."


The new research, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, studied video footage of bonobos in their daily interactions at a sanctuary near Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.


The scientists from Emory University found that bonobos who "recovered quickly and easily from their own emotional upheavals, such as after losing a fight, showed more empathy for their fellow great apes," according to a statement from the school's health sciences department.


Co-lead researcher Zanna Clay said those empathetic bonobos were also more likely to give body comfort, such as hugs, touches, or kisses, to others in distress.


This suggests the apes are able to keep strong emotions in check -- for example stopping themselves from blowing up in anger or crumbling under disappointment. That's an important part of healthy social development for human children as well, the researchers said.


These observations are important to human evolutionary history "because it shows the socio-emotional framework commonly applied to children works equally well for apes," the statement said.


That would mean researchers can make predictions about ape behavior, based on human patterns, and then test whether they are, in fact, the same.


Along those lines, the researchers noted that human orphans often struggle with regulating their emotions -- and the same was found true among bonobos without parents.


In the sanctuary, many of the young bonobos lost their parents to hunters looking for bushmeat. They are reared with substitute human mothers, but "compared to peers raised by their own mothers, the orphans have difficulty managing emotional arousal," said Clay.


The orphaned apes also took longer to recover from emotional distress.


"They would be very upset, screaming for minutes after a fight compared to mother-reared juveniles, who would snap out of it in seconds."


js/ch-nss/vlk



Source: http://news.yahoo.com/study-hints-human-ape-emotional-similarities-092536065.html
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Apple confirms October 22 special event, still have a lot to cover

As expected, Apple has today confirmed October 22 as the date for the expected iPad and Mac special event. As is traditional, the event will kick off at 10am PST. This time around proceedings will be taking place at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, under the tagline "we still have a lot to cover."

So, what are we expecting? Apple still has new iPads for 2013 to launch, including the refreshed full sized iPad that should take on the look of the iPad mini. A new iPad mini is also likely, though at this point it's still anyones guess as to whether it will or will not include a Retina Display.

Away from iPads, we're also expecting October 22 to bring news on the Mac front. OS X Mavericks is due for imminent release, the already announced Mac Pro should be getting some attention, and we could be looking at a Haswell update for the MacBook Pro line.

Whatever Apple throws our way in 7 days time, keep it locked to iMore for all the best coverage leading up to, during and post-event. Who's excited? And what are you most excited for?

Source: The Loop


    






Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/M7nM8NQ6KnY/story01.htm
Category: Beyond Two Souls   world war z   Galaxy Note 3   Allegiant Air   Eileen Brennan  

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Apple Solicits Developers For OS X Mavericks-Ready Apps, Signaling Imminent Release

Screen Shot 2013-10-15 at 3.43.08 PMApple sent a message on its (public) developer news boards today encouraging developers to submit apps that are fully compatible with its upcoming operating system OS X Mavericks. If the fact that Mavericks went GM (Gold Master) recently isn't enough for you, we're hearing that it is indeed "ready" for release, hence the encouragement on Apple's part.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/HW5hOpH3tPo/
Tags: Battlefield 4 beta   cbs sports   lamar odom   robin roberts   ESPYS 2013  

Hackers Are Exploiting Baby Monitors, But We Know How to Stop Them

Hackers Are Exploiting Baby Monitors, But We Know How to Stop Them
Using an IP camera in lieu of a dedicated Internet-connected baby monitor can have its advantages. But it also comes with some profound security risks. Here's how to secure your baby cam and keep hackers at bay.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/cP0mkIMndjA/
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18-Foot Oarfish Livens Up A 'Leisurely Snorkel' In California





People hoist the body of an 18-foot oarfish that was discovered in Toyon Bay at Catalina Island off the California coast.



Courtesty of Catalina Island Marine Institute


People hoist the body of an 18-foot oarfish that was discovered in Toyon Bay at Catalina Island off the California coast.


Courtesty of Catalina Island Marine Institute


A snorkeler off the coast of California found more than she bargained for on the ocean floor Sunday, when she saw the large eyes of an 18-foot fish staring back at her. It turned out to be a dead oarfish, a mysterious creature known to live in waters thousands of feet deep.


The discovery at the bottom of Toyon Bay at Catalina Island came as a shock to Jasmine Santana, an instructor at the Catalina Island Marine Institute, who approached the ribbon-like animal with care before realizing it was dead. Its body was "almost perfectly intact," the institute says. It may have died of natural causes.


As Santana tried to pull the sea creature through the shallows and up to a beach, other instructors spotted her and pitched in. It took at least 15 of them to hoist the oarfish, which brought a surprise ending to what had been a "leisurely" afternoon snorkel.


The institute, which runs a camp and activities for children, has contacted ocean wildlife experts about the find. The oarfish is the longest bony fish in the world; a specimen was reported as being 36 feet in length, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.


The animal is also called a ribbon fish, or sometimes merely the king of herrings. In 2011, a large oarfish was filmed swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, in striking images that show its single dorsal fin rippling along the length of its body.



"It is believed that oarfish dive over 3,000 feet deep, which leaves them largely unstudied," the Catalina Institute says, "and little is known about their behavior or population. They are likely responsible for sea serpent legends throughout history."


The oarfish graced the pages of NPR.org this summer, when The Two-Way noted the discovery of a "mysterious sea monster" that had washed ashore.


Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/15/234736706/18-foot-oarfish-livens-up-a-leisurely-snorkel-in-california?ft=1&f=1007
Tags: kenya   9/11   Tom Harmon   Blurred Lines Lyrics   Jared Remy  

Roche to spend $880 million on manufacturing, create 500 jobs


By Caroline Copley


ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche is to invest 800 million Swiss francs ($880 million) in its global manufacturing facilities over the next five years, creating 500 jobs, as it prepares for growing demand for its biologic medicines.


The world's largest maker of cancer drugs, which employs around 80,000 people in over 100 countries, said on Monday the investment would increase its production capacity in Penzberg in Germany, Basel in Switzerland and Vacaville and Oceanside in the United States.


The expansion shows Roche's confidence in its development pipeline of new cancer drugs and bucks a trend of cost-cutting by some big drugmakers in recent weeks in response to slowing sales growth.


Last week Israel-based Teva, the world's largest maker of generic drugs by sales, said it would cut 5,000 jobs, while Merck & Co plans to slash annual operating costs by $2.5 billion and eliminate more than 10 percent of its workforce.


Shares in Roche were down 0.2 percent at 238 francs by 0437 EDT, when the Stoxx Europe 600 healthcare sector index was down 0.1 pct.


Vontobel analyst Andrew Weiss said he was not surprised by the investment as manufacturing is a core competency of Roche and the company is at present the leanest drug company with only 15 manufacturing sites worldwide.


Many of Roche's most promising medicines, such as rheumatoid arthritis treatment RoActemra and new breast cancer drugs Kadcyla and Perjeta are biologics, which unlike chemical drugs are proteins or cells derived from living organisms that are hard to replicate.


The Basel-based firm has also mostly been spared the pain so far of patent expiries ravaging rivals as many of its top-sellers are biologics which have not faced generic competition.


"As the world's largest supplier of biologics, Roche is committed to making the necessary investments to ensure ongoing supply of these medicines at the highest quality standards," said Daniel O'Day, chief operating officer of Roche's Pharmaceuticals Division.


Roche said it would invest approximately 260 million Swiss francs ($286 million) at its Vacaville and Oceanside sites creating around 250 new jobs. In Penzberg, it will invest around 350 million francs ($385 million), creating roughly 200 jobs.


It will also build a production facility in Basel to manufacture antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) - also known as "armed antibodies" which can take drugs directly to cancer cells.


The company won U.S. approval in February for Kadcyla, its first such antibody-drug conjugate, which treats breast cancer with fewer side effects such as hair loss.


Roche has a further eight ADCs in clinical development and 16 in pre-clinical development.


Swiss drugs industry supplier and life sciences group has also upped its bet on growing demand for biologics and in January said it would expand its ADC manufacturing capacity in Visp, Switzerland.


Lonza manufactures the chemical linker that connects the antibody to cytotoxic drugs.


($1=0.9099 Swiss francs)


(Editing by Greg Mahlich)



Source: http://news.yahoo.com/roche-spend-880-million-manufacturing-create-500-jobs-084635845--finance.html
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'Walking Dead' chews up huge premiere ratings

TV











5 hours ago

Image: "The Walking Dead"

Frank Ockenfels 3 / AMC

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes on "The Walking Dead."

"The Walking Dead" kicked off its fourth season on Sunday night — continuing the AMC series' record-setting trend with more highs and blowing all non-sports competition out of the water.

PHOTOS: Inside 'The Walking Dead's' spooky season 4 premiere

Averaging 16.1 million viewers during its inaugural 9 p.m. broadcast, the series was up more than 5 million from last October's 10.9 million opener. Among adults 18-49, "The Walking Dead" averaged 10.4 million viewers. That's an 8.3 rating in the key demo, making it bigger than any broadcast series this fall and even stronger than last night's competition from "Sunday Night Football." With adults 25-54, "The Walking Dead" saw another high with 8.8 million viewers.

Compared to previous records set by the season-three finale, "The Walking Dead" was up 3.7 million viewers and 2.3 million adults 18-49.

This is the second huge ratings victory for AMC in just two weeks. The recent series finale of "Breaking Bad" smashed previous series records by jumping to 10.3 million viewers.

The return of the zombie drama, TV's top scripted performer for a year now, was already evident in Fast National ratings from Sunday's broadcast outings. Scripted competition in "The Good Wife" and "The Mentalist" hit their lowest ratings to date, while "Once Upon a Time" and "Revenge" sank to fall lows.

PHOTOS: 'The Walking Dead's' Most Shocking Deaths

"The Walking Dead" has been even more of a force after time-shifting is taken into account. Though the series remains formidable in its Live+Same Day returns, seven days of DVR gave the last season an average 7.2 rating among adults 18-49 and 13.8 million viewers.

Companion series "The Talking Dead" also saw records. An average 5.1 million viewers tuned in, 3.3 million of them adults 18-49 and 3 million of them adults 25-54.

The Walking Dead ratings timeline:

  • Season 3 finale, March 31: 12.4 million total viewers*, 8.1 million in 18-49*, 7 million in 25-54*
  • Season 3 midseason premiere, Feb. 10: 12.3 million total viewers*, 6.8 million in 18-49, 6.7 million in 25-54*
  • Season 3 midseason finale, Dec. 2: 10.5 million total viewers, 6.9 million in 18-49, 6 million in 25-54
  • Season 3 premiere, Oct. 14: 10.9 million total viewers, 7.3 million in 18-49, 6.1 million in 25-54*
  • Season 2 finale, March 18, 2012: 9 million total viewers, 6 million in 18-49, 5.3 million in 25-54*
  • Season 2 midseason premiere, Feb. 12, 2012: 8.1 million total, 5.4 million* in 18-49, 4.4 million* in 25-54
  • Season 2 premiere, Oct. 16, 2011: 7.3 million total, 4.8 million* in 18-49, 4.2 million* in 25-54
  • Season 2 midseason finale, Nov. 27, 2011: 6.6 million total, 4.5 million in 18-49, 3.9 million in 25-54
  • Season 1 finale, Dec. 5, 2010: 6 million total, 4 million in 18-49, 3.5 million in 25-54
  • Season 1 premiere, Oct. 31, 2010: 5.4 million total viewers, 2.7 million in 18-49

* Record at the time








Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/walking-dead-returns-chews-competition-huge-ratings-8C11391270
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Strong Quake Shakes Central Philippines, Kills 10


MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A 7.2-magnitude earthquake collapsed buildings and roofs and cracked roads Tuesday morning in the central Philippines, killing at least 10 people.


The quake was felt across the central region, and people rushed out of buildings and homes, including hospitals, as aftershocks continued. Offices and schools were closed for a national holiday, which may lower casualties.


The temblor struck about 56 kilometers (35 miles) deep below Carmen town on Bohol Island and did not cause a tsunami in the seas around the archipelago.


At least four were killed on Bohol, said the island's Gov. Edgardo Chatto.


Four others died when part of a fish port collapsed in Cebu city, across the strait from Bohol, officials said. Two more people died and 19 were injured when the roof of a market in Mandaue in Cebu province collapsed.


Photos from Cebu broadcast on TV stations showed a fallen concrete 2-story building, and reports said an 8-month-old baby and a second person were pulled out alive.


Vilma Yorong, a Bohol provincial government employee, said she was in a village hall in Maribojoc town when "the lights suddenly went out and we felt the earthquake."


"We ran out of the building, and outside, we hugged trees because the tremors were so strong," she told The Associated Press by phone. "When the shaking stopped, I ran to the street and there I saw several injured people. Some were saying their church has collapsed."


She said that she and the others ran up a mountain fearing a tsunami would follow the quake. "Minutes after the earthquake, people were pushing each other to go up the hill," she said.


Chatto, the Bohol governor, said that a church was reported damaged in the provincial capital of Tagbilaran and a part of the city hall collapsed, injuring one person.


A 17th-century stone church in Loboc town, southwest of Carmen, crumbled to pieces, with nearly half of it reduced to rubble. Other old churches dating from the Spanish colonial period, which are common in the central region, also reported damage.


Tuesday is a national holiday for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, and that may have reduced casualties because schools and offices are closed. The earthquake also was deep below the surface, unlike the 6.9-magnitude temblor last year in waters near Negros Island, also in the central Philippines, that killed nearly 100 people.


Regional military commander Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda said that he recalled soldiers from the holiday furlough to respond to the quake. He said it damaged the pier in Tagbilaran and caused some cracks at Cebu's international airport but that navy ships and air force planes could use alternative ports to help out.


Passenger flights were put on hold until officials check runways and buildings for damage.


Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire."


Cebu province, about 570 kilometers (350 miles) south of Manila, has a population of more than 2.6 million people. Nearby Bohol has 1.2 million people and is popular among foreigners because of its beach and island resorts.


___


Associated Press writers Hrvoje Hranjski, Teresa Cerojano and Jim Gomez contributed to this report.


Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=234406287&ft=1&f=
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Sunday, October 13, 2013

PC shipments crater and tablets are the bogeymen



The third-quarter numbers are in, and both of the major PC shipment bean-counting organizations agree that worldwide PC shipments are down year-on-year (IDC says down 7.6 percent, Gartner says 8.6 percent), but US shipments held relatively stable (IDC says down 0.2 percent, Gartner says up 3.5 percent). In short, it was the worst back-to-school quarter in five years.


Worldwide, Lenovo and HP are running neck and neck, both eking out a bit of growth; Dell's shipments are up slightly, but Acer and Asus have hit the skids, down 20 to 30 percent from last year. In the US, the big stories are Lenovo, with an increase of 25 percent or so; Toshiba, up about 14 percent in the US; and Apple, with a decline of 11.2 percent (IDC) or 2.3 percent (Gartner), depending on whom you believe.


IDC's numbers don't include iPads or "Android-based tablets with detachable keyboards." Gartner's numbers don't include "media tablets such as the iPad." Neither company breaks out Surface sales, which are presumably too small to make any difference.


Tablets are the bogeymen, of course -- blamed by one and all for sapping PC sales.


I tend to look at the numbers with a Windows 7 vs Windows 8 eye. Consumer PC shipments in the US invariably come with Windows 8 pre-installed, and corporate shipments commonly end up with Windows 7. Outside the US, PC shipments aren't always tied to an operating system -- any operating sytem. The fact that Lenovo dominates worldwide shipments, with 14 million PCs that may or may not have Windows pre-installed, yet only hits fourth place in the US, with 1.7 million PCs, speaks volumes: The US accounts for about 20 percent of all PCs sold worldwide, yet Lenovo only sells about 12 percent of its PCs in the US. Could the difference be at least partially attributable to flexibility in shipping Windows 8 pre-installed?


IDC says that Windows 8.1, due next week, led to an uptick in PC shipments late in the quarter:



While shipments remained weak during the early part of the quarter, the market was somewhat buoyed by business purchases, as well as channel intake of Windows 8.1-based systems during September.



To my jaundiced eye, that's a danger sign. If the general acceptance of Windows 8.1 mirrors that of Windows 8, we're going to see a whole lot of Q3 PC shipments sitting on the shelves this Christmas. Granted, enterprise customers will be moving from Windows XP to Windows 7 as fast as they can, and that will drive some PC shipments. But it doesn't seem likely that this one-time shift will turn the PC market around even temporarily, much less permanently.


While I have great hopes that Windows 9 will show a significant turnaround in the evolution of Windows -- primarily growing the phone system "up" into tablets, rather than forcing the desktop version "down" -- it's hard to be optimistic about Windows 8.1's prospects. A significant non-BandAid update to the PC version of Windows could well be a few years away, and the market's changing on Internet time.


A year ago Steve Ballmer predicted that 400 million Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices would be in use by now. No matter how you count the chips, Win8 reality hasn't quite met up with Ballmer's expectations.


This story, "PC shipments crater and tablets are the bogeymen," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Get the first word on what the important tech news really means with the InfoWorld Tech Watch blog. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.


Source: http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsoft-windows/pc-shipments-crater-and-tablets-are-the-bogeymen-228542?source=rss_infoworld_blogs
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Friday, October 11, 2013

Church of England sees momentum for ethical investment


By Belinda Goldsmith and Chris Vellacott


LONDON (Reuters) - The global financial crisis has strengthened the Church of England's drive for more ethical business practices by making companies and shareholders more receptive to change, according to the man who manages its investment fund.


With about 5.5 billion pounds ($8.8 billion) of financial and property assets, the Church has greater clout than many hedge funds. But it has often struggled to make its voice heard.


That is starting to change, according to First Church Estates Commissioner Andreas Whittam Smith.


"It's on both sides," he told Reuters in his wood-paneled office in the shadows of London's Westminster Abbey. "It's not only companies considering whether they are behaving as they should as good citizens," it's also investors preparing to line up alongside the Church to promote better behavior, he said.


"Our typical holdings in companies are half percents, so in itself it doesn't make a lot of difference, but if you can represent with others 15 percent of the capital you can achieve something."


Ethical investment comes at a cost, estimated at about 0.7 percent a year of growth lost from "opportunities foregone".


But the Church's fund still made a return of 9.7 percent last year and stands firmly by its decision to sell out of News Corp in 2012 and mining company Vedanta in 2010, unhappy with how the companies were run.


Taking a moral high ground to investment has meant some public relations hiccups along the way.


Scrutiny of the Church's portfolio intensified this year after it was found to indirectly invest in short-term lender Wonga which Church leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, said he wanted "to compete out of business".


But Whittam Smith, a former financial journalist who founded the Independent newspaper in 1985, said ethical investment was not just about avoiding shares in firms involved in pornography, gambling, alcohol and tobacco, or the like.


"With ethical investment there are two aspects. One is to disinvest, the second is to stay and see whether you can change things," he said.


"CHANGE IN MORAL CLIMATE"


About 2.5 billion pounds of the Church's portfolio is invested in shares listed in Britain or overseas, including in drug companies GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca , miner Rio Tinto , and bank HSBC .


Whittam Smith said the Church had discussed its role in the banking sector after a string of scandals over mis-selling and huge compensation payouts, but decided it had more influence as an activist shareholder within to change the moral compass.


"Active ethical investment is not visible from the outside but I see from the inside it changes things," he said.


Whittam Smith added he believed the City of London's financial industry had undergone a "change in moral climate", reining in the bloated bonuses and unscrupulous behavior of recent years. Much still needed to be done, however.


"We still have concerns about the banks as you would imagine. I think there is a change in sentiment in retail banking. I'm not sure there's a change of sentiment in investment banking," he said.


His confidence in bringing change in the banking sector was reflected two weeks ago when it emerged the Church had joined U.S. investors to back a new "ethical" British bank from branches sold by Royal Bank of Scotland .


Whittam Smith said the Church's investment in 314 branches of the dormant Williams & Glyn's brand was worth about 60 million pounds and the Church would appoint one board director.


This move indicated the Church was taking an increasingly hands-on role in its investment, for example managing its own property assets worth over 1.1 billion pounds, he said.


Other recent changes in the portfolio include a greater investment in timber, mostly in the United States, and taking a more rigorous path in choosing managers to run fund assets.


Whittam Smith was confident the portfolio was faring well this year and would again beat its annual growth target of five percentage points over the rate of inflation, with much of the income used to pay clergy pensions and support Church work.


"I believe we will exceed that this year," he said.


He said the Church fund was looking to invest in infrastructure projects either in Britain or overseas, increase investment in private equity, and had considered investing in Brazil but had veered off that idea for now.


Asked what kept him awake at night, Whittam Smith expressed deep concerns about the fiscal impasse in the United States.


"If it all went terribly wrong and there was a default it would unpick things very quickly, much more quickly than people think, because so many things depend on it," he said.


(Editing by Mark Potter)



Source: http://news.yahoo.com/church-england-sees-momentum-ethical-investment-012326984--finance.html
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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Today in History

Today is Wednesday, April 24, the 114th day of 2013. There are 251 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 24, 1913, the 792-foot Woolworth Building, at that time the tallest skyscraper in the world, officially opened in Manhattan as President Woodrow Wilson pressed a button at the White House to signal the lighting of the towering structure.

On this date:

In 1792, the national anthem of France, "La Marseillaise" (lah mahr-say-YEHZ'), was composed by Captain Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.

In 1800, Congress approved a bill establishing the Library of Congress.

In 1898, Spain declared war on the United States. (The United States responded in kind the next day.)

In 1915, what's regarded as the start of the Armenian genocide began as the Ottoman Empire rounded up Armenian political and cultural leaders in Constantinople.

In 1916, some 1,600 Irish nationalists launched the Easter Rising by seizing several key sites in Dublin. (The rising was put down by British forces almost a week later.)

In 1932, in the Free State of Prussia, the Nazi Party gained a plurality of seats in parliamentary elections.

In 1953, British statesman Winston Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1962, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology achieved the first satellite relay of a television signal, using NASA's Echo 1 balloon satellite to bounce a video image from Camp Parks, Calif., to Westford, Mass.

In 1963, the Boston Celtics won the NBA Finals in Game 6, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 112-109.

In 1970, the People's Republic of China launched its first satellite, which kept transmitting a song, "The East is Red."

In 1980, the United States launched an unsuccessful attempt to free the American hostages in Iran, a mission that resulted in the deaths of eight U.S. servicemen.

In 1993, former African National Congress president Oliver Tambo died in Johannesburg, South Africa, at age 75.

Ten years ago: U.S. forces in Iraq took custody of Tariq Aziz (TAH'-rihk ah-ZEEZ'), the former Iraqi deputy prime minister. China shut down a Beijing hospital as the global death toll from SARS surpassed 260. In Red Lion, Pa., 14-year-old James Sheets shot and killed principal Eugene Segro inside a crowded junior high school cafeteria, then killed himself.

Five years ago: The White House accused North Korea of assisting Syria's secret nuclear program, saying a Syrian nuclear reactor destroyed by Israel in 2007 was not intended for "peaceful purposes."

One year ago: President Barack Obama went after the college vote, telling students at the University of North Carolina that he and first lady Michelle Obama had "been in your shoes" and didn't pay off their student loans until eight years ago. Republican Mitt Romney swept primaries in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York. Lakers forward Metta World Peace was suspended for seven games by the NBA two days after a vicious elbow on Oklahoma City's James Harden.

Today's Birthdays: Film and drama critic Stanley Kauffmann is 97. Movie director-producer Richard Donner is 83. Actress Shirley MacLaine is 79. Author Sue Grafton is 73. Actor-singer Michael Parks is 73. Actress-singer-director Barbra Streisand is 71. Former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is 71. Country singer Richard Sterban (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 70. Rock musician Doug Clifford (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 68. Rock singer-musician Rob Hyman is 63. The Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, Enda Kenny, is 62. Actor-playwright Eric Bogosian is 60. Rock singer-musician Jack Blades (Night Ranger) is 59. Actor Michael O'Keefe is 58. Rock musician David J (Bauhaus) is 56. Actor Glenn Morshower is 54. Rock musician Billy Gould is 50. Actor-comedian Cedric the Entertainer is 49. Actor Djimon Hounsou (JEYE'-mihn OHN'-soo) is 49. Rock musician Patty Schemel is 46. Rock musician Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors) is 45. Actress Melinda Clarke is 44. Latin pop singer Alejandro Fernandez is 42. Country-rock musician Brad Morgan (Drive-By Truckers) is 42. Rock musician Brian Marshall (Creed; Alter Bridge) is 40. Actor Derek Luke is 39. Actor Eric Balfour is 36. Actress Rebecca Mader is 36. Country singer Rebecca Lynn Howard is 34. Country singer Danny Gokey is 33. Actor Austin Nichols is 33. Actress Sasha Barrese is 32. Contemporary Christian musician Jasen Rauch (Red) is 32. Singer Kelly Clarkson is 31. Rock singer-musician Tyson Ritter (The All-American Rejects) is 29. Actor Doc Shaw is 21.

Thought for Today: "To change and to improve are two different things." ? German proverb.

(Above Advance for Use Wednesday, April 24)

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/today-history-050206767.html

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Bangladesh factory building collapse kills nearly 100

By Serajul Quadir and Ruma Paul

DHAKA (Reuters) - A block housing garment factories and shops collapsed in Bangladesh on Wednesday, killing nearly 100 people and injuring more than a thousand, officials said.

Firefighters and troops dug frantically through the rubble at the eight-storey Rana Plaza building in Savar, 30 km (20 miles) outside Dhaka. Television showed young women workers, some apparently semi-conscious, being pulled out.

One fireman told Reuters about 2,000 people were in the building when the upper floors slammed down onto those below.

Bangladesh's booming garments industry has been plagued by fires and other accidents for years, despite a drive to improve safety standards. In November 112 workers died in a blaze at the Tazreen factory in a nearby suburb, putting a spotlight on global retailers which source clothes from Bangladesh.

"It looks like an earthquake has struck here," said one resident as he looked on at the chaotic scene of smashed concrete and ambulances making their way through the crowds of workers and wailing relatives.

People and rescuers gather after an eight-story building housing several garment factories collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Dozens were killed and many more are ... more? People and rescuers gather after an eight-story building housing several garment factories collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Dozens were killed and many more are feared trapped in the rubble. (AP Photo/ A.M. Ahad) less? "I was at work on the third floor, and then suddenly I heard a deafening sound, but couldn't understand what was happening. I ran and was hit by something on my head," said factory worker Zohra Begum.

An official at a control room set up to provide information said 96 people were confirmed dead and more than 1,000 injured. Doctors at local hospitals said they were unable to cope with the number of victims brought in.

CRACKS IN BUILDING

Mohammad Asaduzzaman, in charge of the area's police station, said factory owners appeared to have ignored a warning not to allow their workers into the building after a crack was detected in the block on Tuesday.

Five garment factories - employing mostly women - were housed in the building, including Ether Tex Ltd., whose chairman said he was unaware of any warnings not to open the workshops.

"There was some crack at the second floor, but my factory was on the fifth floor," Muhammad Anisur Rahman told Reuters. "The owner of the building told our floor manager that it is not a problem and so you can open the factory."

He initially said that his firm had been sub-contracted to supply Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, and Europe's C&A. In a subsequent interview he said he had been referring to an order in the past, not current work.

Wal-Mart did not immediately respond to requests for comment. C&A said that, based on its best information, it had no contractual relationship with any of the production units in the building that collapsed.

The website of a company called New Wave, which had two factories in the building, listed 27 main buyers, including firms from Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Canada and the United States.

"It is dreadful that leading brands and governments continue to allow garment workers to die or suffer terrible disabling injuries in unsafe factories making clothes for Western nations' shoppers," Laia Blanch of the U.K. anti-poverty charity War on Want said in a statement.

November's factory fire raised questions about how much control Western brands have over their supply chains for clothes sourced from Bangladesh. Wages as low as $38.50 a month have helped propel the country to no. 2 in the ranks of apparel exporters.

It emerged later that a Wal-Mart supplier had subcontracted work to the Tazreen factory without authorization.

Buildings in the crowded city of Dhaka are sometimes erected without permission and many do not comply with construction regulations.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Biraj; Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/garment-factory-building-collapses-bangladesh-25-dead-tv-051140268.html

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House GOP report: Hillary Clinton lied under oath about additional Benghazi security request (Michellemalkin)

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Georges St-Pierre says he still has challenges at 170 lbs

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre stopped by the "UFC Tonight" studio and talked about the challenges he sees on the horizon. While everyone is clamoring for an Anderson Silva-Georges St-Pierre bout, he thinks there are still plenty of challenges for him to tackle at welterweight. And as he's claimed many times, St-Pierre said a move up to fight Silva at middleweight would have to be a permanent move because he doesn't want to cut back down. GSP also talked about his new book, his week of Hollywood glamor, and the reasoning behind that hair. Check it out.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/georges-st-pierre-says-still-challenges-170-lbs-131440236--mma.html

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Uncleaned cells mean weak muscles

Apr. 23, 2013 ? The protein complex mTORC1 promotes muscle growth. However, should this complex remain constantly active, it impairs the ability of the cells to self-clean, causing myopathy. Scientists working with Markus R?egg, Professor at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, describe the exact mechanism involved in the current issue of the scientific journal Cell Metabolism.

Similarly to parts in a machine, individual components of a cell wear out with time. For a cell to remain healthy, malfunctioning components and waste products must be regularly disposed of or recycled. A cellular self-cleaning process, called autophagy, is responsible for this. However, the capacity for self-renewal decreases with age and participates in a wide range of age-related diseases such as cancer, heart disease and muscle weakness. In this process, the growth regulator, mTORC1, plays a primary role. The exact relationship has now been discovered by Markus R?egg's team from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, together with scientists from the Department of Biomedicine.

Muscle weakness due to overactive growth regulator

Until recently, it was assumed that the protein complex mTORC1 in the skeletal muscle plays a key role in growth regulation but not in the process of autophagy. R?egg and his team of scientists have been able to refute this widely accepted assumption. In the current study, they investigated the cellular processes in skeletal muscle of mice, in which mTORC1 was permanently activated. Particularly in aging mice, the scientists observed a progressive myopathy, which could be ascribed to impaired autophagy. Interestingly, the researchers could reverse the symptoms by administering rapamycin. The muscle function of the mice returned to normal. Rapamycin is a substance that inhibits mTORC1, thereby promoting cell self-cleaning.

Counteracting muscle breakdown

According to these findings, mTORC1 plays a major role in tightly coordinating the mechanism of autophagy, maintaining the balance between muscle growth and breakdown. The scientists suspect that an overactive mTORC1 complex may also contribute to the development of the age-related muscle weakness seen in man. Therefore, a closer examination of the mTORC1 regulation system in the context of aging may provide new therapeutic approaches for the counteracting of the muscle weakness.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Universit?t Basel.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Perrine Castets, Shuo Lin, Nathalie Rion, Sabrina Di?Fulvio, Klaas Romanino, Maitea Guridi, Stephan Frank, Lionel?A. Tintignac, Michael Sinnreich, Markus?A. R?egg. Sustained Activation of mTORC1 in Skeletal Muscle Inhibits Constitutive and Starvation-Induced Autophagy and Causes a Severe, Late-Onset Myopathy. Cell Metabolism, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2013.03.015

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/top_health/~3/R87ZMobNvdQ/130423091028.htm

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Lawyer: Inspectors clear US horse slaughterhouse - Economy news

ROSWELL, New Mexico (AP) ? The attorney for a proposed horse slaughterhouse in southeastern New Mexico says a federal inspection Tuesday went well and the plant hopes to be in business soon.

Attorney Blair Dunn says agriculture officials found no issues at Valley Meat Co. and told the owners Tuesday they are recommending a grant of inspection be issued immediately. Dunn says he expects final approval for the plant to come in a matter of days.

Valley Meat Co. has become ground zero for an emotional, national debate in America over a return to domestic horse slaughter that has divided horse rescue and animal humane groups, ranchers, politicians and Indian tribes.

Fueling opposition is a recent uproar in Europe over horse meat being found in products labeled as beef. The company hopes the inspection ends a yearlong political drama that has left it idle and made owner Rick De Los Santos and his wife, Sarah, targets of vandalism and death threats.

Valley Meat Co. is a former cattle slaughterhouse whose kill floor has been redesigned for horses to be led in one at a time, secured in a huge metal chute, shot in the head, then processed into meat for shipment overseas.

At issue was whether horses are livestock or pets, and whether it is more humane to slaughter them domestically than to ship tens of thousands of neglected, unwanted and wild horses thousands of miles (kilometers) to be slaughtered in Mexico or Canada.

Front and center of the debate is De Los Santos, who along with his wife, has for more than two decades worked this small slaughterhouse, taking in mostly cows that were too old or sick to travel with larger herds to the bigger slaughterhouses for production.

Now, with cattle herds shrinking amid an ongoing drought, De Los Santos says he and his wife are just trying to transform their business and make enough money to retire by slaughtering domestically some of the thousands of horses that he says travel through the state every month on their way to what are oftentimes less humane and less regulated plants south of the border.

"They are being slaughtered anyway. We thought, well, we will slaughter them here and provide jobs for the economy," De Los Santos said. Instead, Valley Meat has been ensnarled in a yearlong political drama that has left the plant idle and its owners the target of vandalism and death threats ? warnings that increased after humane groups found a video a now-former plant worker posted of himself cursing at animal activists, then shooting one of his own horses to eat.

"People are saying, 'We will slit your throat in your sleep. We hope you die. We hope your kids die,'" De Los Santos said. "Sometimes it's scary. ... And it's all for a horse." Indeed, voice mails left on the company's answering machine spew hate and wishes for violence upon the family.

"I hope you burn in hell," said one irate woman who called repeatedly, saying, "You better pack your (expletive) bags (expletive) and get out of there because that place is finished." The couple have hired security and turned over phone records to federal authorities.

"It's complicated, this industry of feeding the world," Sarah De Los Santos says matter-of-factly. The meat would be processed for human consumption and exported to countries in eastern Europe and Asia.

The Obama administration wants to prohibit horse slaughter. The administration's 2014 budget request excludes money for inspectors for horse slaughter plants, which would effectively keep them from operating.

Humane groups and politicians including Gov. Susana Martinez and New Mexico Attorney General Gary King strongly oppose the plant. They argue that horses are iconic animals in the West, and that other solutions and more funding for horse rescue and birth control programs should be explored over slaughter.

Still others are pushing for a return to domestic slaughter. Proponents include several Native American tribes, the American Quarter Horse Association, some livestock associations and even a few horse rescue groups that believe domestic slaughter would be more humane than shipping the animals elsewhere.

Follow Jeri Clausing at https://twitter.com/jericlausing

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Source: http://www.mail.com/int/business/economy/2039896-lawyer-inspectors-clear-us-horse-slaughterhouse.html

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CSN: Nats still struggling? |? O's walk-off vs. Jays

Want a quick synopsis of the state of the Nationals' lineup 19 games into the season? Adam LaRoche has the condensed version.

"We're not getting the big hits," the veteran first baseman said. "A lot of quick innings. Not a ton of baserunners. And five or six guys that aren't swinging the bat real good. When it rains, it pours."

The rain may not be at cats-and-dogs stages right now, but it's coming down at a steady rate, resulting in more than a few frustrating losses like Monday's 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Cardinals.

Despite getting the closest thing Dan Haren has offered up to a quality start this season and some sparkling work out of their bullpen, the Nationals couldn't exorcise their St. Louis demons from last October because they couldn't produce a clutch hit late despite several opportunities.

Thus, a Nationals club that three weeks ago was everyone's prohibitive favorite to reach the World Series fell to 10-9. Yes, they're still over .500, but there's something unsettling about the way they've played to date, especially at the plate.

As a team, the Nationals are hitting .240. Individually, three regulars own batting averages below that mark: LaRoche (.185), Danny Espinosa (.176) and the third base duo of Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon (.213 combined). Throw in three key bench players who have been abysmal so far ? Tyler Moore (.158), Chad Tracy (.136) and Roger Bernadina (0-for-15) ? and it's easy to see why they've had such trouble scoring runs in bunches.

"It think that's what we're kind of stumped on," LaRoche said. "It's normal to have a couple of guys that aren't going. But it gets kind of washed away when you've got other guys picking up the slack. Now we just don't have that. And that can turn into guys pressing. When you have a chance to score, to try a little too hard."

LaRoche and Desmond might well have been guilty of that during a critical juncture in Monday night's game. After watching a potential seventh-inning rally snuffed out when Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay made a nifty, sliding catch of Tracy's broken-bat blooper with two on and two out, the Nationals gave themselves another opportunity in the bottom of the eighth.

Denard Span beat out a grounder to third to get things started, then after Jayson Werth struck out, Bryce Harper drew a walk against St. Louis reliever Trevor Rosenthal. To the plate stepped LaRoche with a chance to drive in the tying run.

Instead, the cleanup hitter bounced Rosenthal's first pitch to first base, advancing the runners but recording the second out of the inning in the process.

"That guy can throw 100," LaRoche said of Rosenthal. "The first fastball you see, you want to go after it. And if you miss it, go after the next one."

With two outs and runners on second and third, Desmond stepped up with his own chance to drive in the tying run, and possibly the go-ahead run as well. But the All-Star shortstop was headed back to the bench in short order, taking a fastball for strike one, swinging out of his shoelaces and missing for strike two, then watching a 98 mph fastball from Rosenthal sail right through the heart of the zone for strike three.

"That's the situation I want to be in: Tying run on second, and the game on the line," Desmond said. "I'll take me in that situation any day of the week. He just got me out in that situation today. Hopefully I get that opportunity again."

Davey Johnson didn't sound entirely pleased with his hitters' approach in those situations.

"All he was throwing was fastballs," the manager said. "The umpire was giving him a little bit of the top end of the strike zone, but you've got to make him bring it down and just center on the fastball."

The Nationals went down quietly in the ninth against recently named Cardinals closer Edward Mujica, ending a frustrating night and leaving Haren to suffer his third loss in four starts despite the fact he showed significant signs of improvement in this one.

After getting beat around by the Reds, White Sox and Marlins, Haren was hoping to at least record his first quality start as a National. He was on track to do just that, entering the sixth inning having allowed only two runs with a manageable pitch count of 87. But the veteran right-hander not only couldn't get through the sixth, he couldn't even record an out.

Haren's undoing began when he plunked Matt Holliday with a pitch, then exacerbated itself on back-to-back singles by Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina and finally a walk to David Freese. Out to the mound strolled Johnson, asking for the ball from his starter, who wasn't interested in finding the positives out of this latest loss.

"Not really," Haren said. "I want more out of myself than five innings, giving up three runs and [reliever Craig] Stammen bailing me out of that jam. I've been around for 10 years. I'm used to throwing seven, eight innings every time. I've thrown 200 innings many times. Going five innings, you're not going to do that."

It took a major escape act from Stammen ? stranding the bases loaded with nobody out ? to keep the deficit at 3-2 and at least give the Nationals lineup a chance to rally late.

But this lineup hasn't been able to rally much so far this season. And that has left this team in a strange position: Still boasting a winning record but not living up to the lofty expectations placed upon it.

"It's a long season," Desmond said. "As an outsider looking in, you see 98 wins last year and you expect to see the same again this year. But in order to win 98 games, you've got to lose a bunch of games, too. It doesn't matter if we lose them in April or September or October or whatever. We've just got to keep on playing and it'll turn for us."

Source: http://www.csnwashington.com/baseball-washington-nationals/talk/lackluster-lineup-leads-another-nats-loss

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Hundreds of potential drug targets to starve cancer tumors identified

Apr. 21, 2013 ? A massive study analyzing gene expression data from 22 tumor types has identified multiple metabolic expression changes associated with cancer. The analysis, conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, also identified hundreds of potential drug targets that could cut off a tumor's fuel supply or interfere with its ability to synthesize essential building blocks. The study was published today in the online edition of Nature Biotechnology.

The results should ramp up research into drugs that interfere with cancer metabolism, a field that dominated cancer research in the early 20th century and has recently undergone a renaissance.

"The importance of this new study is its scope," said Dennis Vitkup, PhD, associate professor of biomedical informatics (in the Initiative in Systems Biology) at CUMC, the study's lead investigator. "So far, people have focused mainly on a few genes involved in major metabolic processes. Our study provides a comprehensive, global view of diverse metabolic alterations at the level of gene expression."

Cell metabolism is a dynamic network of reactions inside cells that process nutrients, such as glucose, to obtain energy and synthesize building blocks needed to produce new cellular components. To support uncontrolled proliferation, cancer needs to significantly reprogram and "supercharge" a cell's normal metabolic pathways.

The first researcher to notice cancer's special metabolism was German biochemist Otto Warburg, who in 1924 observed that cancer cells had a peculiar way of utilizing glucose to make energy for the cell. "Although a list of biochemical pathways in normal cells was comprehensively mapped during the last century," said Dr. Vitkup. "We still lack a complete understanding of their usage, regulation, and reprogramming in cancer."

"Right now we have something like a static road map. We know where the streets are, but we don't know how traffic flows through the streets and intersections," said Jie Hu, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia and first author of the study. "What researchers need is something similar to Google Traffic, which shows the flow and dynamic changes in car traffic."

Drs. Hu and Vitkup's study is an important step toward achieving this dynamic view of cancer metabolism. Notably, the researchers found that the tumor-induced expression changes are significantly different across diverse tumors. Although some metabolic changes -- such as an increase in nucleotide biosynthesis and glycolysis -- appear to be more frequent across tumors, others, such as changes in oxidation phosphorylation, are heterogeneous.

"Our study clearly demonstrates that there are no single and universal changes in cancer metabolism," said Matthew Vander Heiden, MD, PhD, assistant professor at MIT, and a co-author of the paper. "That means that to understand transformation in cancer metabolism, researchers will need to consider how different tumor types adapt their metabolism to meet their specific needs."

The researchers also found that expression changes can mimic or cooperate with cancer mutations to drive tumor formation. A notable example is the enzyme isocitrate dehydrogenase. In several cancers, such as glioblastoma and acute myeloid leukemia, mutations in this enzyme are known to produce a specific metabolite -- 2-hydroxyglutarate -- that promotes tumor growth. The Columbia team found that isocitrate dehydrogenase expression significantly increases in tumors with the recurrent mutations. Such an overexpression may create an efficient enzymatic factory for overproduction of 2-hydroxyglutarate.

The analysis also led the researchers to an interesting finding in colon cancer. In several other cancers, mutations in two enzymes -- succinate dehydrogenase and fumarate hydratase -- can promote tumor formation as a result of efflux from mitochondria and accumulation of their substrates, fumarate and succinate. The researchers found that in colon cancer, accumulation of these metabolites may be caused by a significant decrease in the enzymes' expression. This was confirmed when metabolomics data from colon tumor patients showed significantly higher concentrations of fumarate in tumors than in normal tissue.

"These are just several examples of how cancer cells use various creative mechanisms to hijack the metabolism of native cells for their own purposes," said Dr. Vitkup.

For cancer researchers looking for new drug targets, Dr. Vitkup's team also found hundreds of differences between normal and cancer cells' use of isoenzymes. This opens up additional possibilities for turning off cancer's fuel and supply lines. Isoenzymes often catalyze the same reactions, but have different kinetic properties: Some act quickly and sustain rapid growth, while others are more sluggish. In kidney and liver cancers, for example, a quick-acting aldolase isoenzyme -- suitable for fast cell proliferation -- was found to be more prevalent than the more typical slow-moving version found in normal kidney and liver tissue. Although a few examples of differential isoenzyme expression in tumors were already known, the Columbia researchers identified hundreds of isoenzymes with cancer-specific expression patterns.

"Inhibiting specific isoenzymes in tumors may be a way to selectively hit cancer cells without affecting normal cells, which could get by with other isoenzymes," said Dr. Hu.

In fact, a recent study from Matthew Vander Heiden's laboratory demonstrated the potential of targeting a specific isoenzyme, pyruvate kinase M2, expression of which often increases in tumors. "The comprehensive expression analysis suggests that a similar approach could potentially be applied in multiple other cases," said Dr. Vander Heiden.

Targeting metabolism may be a way to strike cancer at its roots. "Cancer cells usually have multiple ways to turn on their growth program," said Dr. Vitkup. "You can knock out one, but the cells will usually find another pathway to turn on proliferation. Targeting metabolism may be more powerful, because if you starve a cell of energy or materials, it has nowhere to go."

The paper is titled, "Heterogeneity of tumor-induced gene expression changes in the human metabolic network." The other authors are Jason W. Locasale (Cornell University), Jason H. Bielas (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Wash.; and University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.), Jacintha O'Sullivan (St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland), Kieran Sheahan St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland), and Lewis C. Cantley (Harvard Medical School).

Dr. Vander Heiden is a consultant and advisory board member, and Dr. Cantley is a consultant and founder, of Agios Pharmaceuticals. The authors report no other financial or potential conflicts of interest.

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant GM079759 to Dr. Vitkup and National Centers for Biomedical Computing grant U54CA121852 to Columbia University. Dr. Locasale is supported by an NIH Pathway to Independence Award R00CA168997. Dr. Bielas is supported by an Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholar award AG-NS-0577-09, a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant R01ES019319, and New Development Funds from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Dr. Vander Heiden acknowledges support from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, the Smith Family, and the National Cancer Institute.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Columbia University Medical Center.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Jie Hu, Jason W Locasale, Jason H Bielas, Jacintha O'Sullivan, Kieran Sheahan, Lewis C Cantley, Matthew G Vander Heiden, Dennis Vitkup. Heterogeneity of tumor-induced gene expression changes in the human metabolic network. Nature Biotechnology, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nbt.2530

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/~3/NxLu-Y1ENBQ/130421151616.htm

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Does international child sponsorship work? New research says yes

Does international child sponsorship work? New research says yes [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Adam Gannaway
agannaway@press.uchicago.edu
773-702-2037
University of Chicago Press Journals

Child sponsorship is a leading form of direct aid from households in wealthy countries to children in developing countries, with approximately 3.39 billion dollars spent to sponsor 9.14 million children internationally. A new study to be published in the Journal of Political Economy shows international child sponsorship to result in markedly higher rates of schooling completion and substantially improved adult employment outcomes.

Researchers used first-hand survey data from a study of Compassion International, a leading child sponsorship organization, to examine the adult life outcomes of a group of 10,144 individuals in Bolivia, Guatemala, India, Kenya, the Philippines, and Uganda that included children who began sponsorship through the program a generation ago. The study estimates causal effects on adult life outcomes in areas such as educational completion, type of employment, and community leadership.

Specifically, the study finds that international sponsorship increased the probability of a child completing secondary school by 27%, completing a university education by 50%, and obtaining a white-collar job as an adult by about 35%.

Despite the billions of dollars that flow to child sponsorship each year and the millions of American families who sponsor overseas children, this is the first published study to investigate whether such programs actually benefit the children they intend to help. Evidence from the study points to the positive effects of child sponsorship on the adult life outcomes of these children.

Compassion's program places a strong emphasis not only on providing for the basic needs, such as school tuition and healthcare, but also on nurturing children's life aspirations and self-esteem over what is typically a decade of participation in sponsorship programs. "Too often we have focused our development efforts on provision for human beings rather than the development of human beings," said Bruce Wydick, one of the study's authors. "Although child sponsorship does indeed provide help with school fees, access to health care, and other tangible benefits, Compassion's particular approach focuses on the more holistic development of the child, such as development of self-esteem, aspirations, spiritual and ethical values. In follow-up studies involving currently sponsored children, we measure very large impacts in these areas, which we believe play a significant role in what we observe in the difference in adult life outcomes."

While further research is needed to establish a causal link between aspirations and adult life outcomes, this study has intriguing implications for the way we view economic development. Said Wydick, "I believe our research contributes to a new and growing body of investigation that seeks to examine the importance of 'internal constraints' to economic developmentthe importance of aspirations, self-esteem, goals, and reference points related to behaviors that are propitious to helping the poor escape poverty."

###

Bruce Wydick, Paul Glewwe, and Laine Rutledge, "Does International Child Sponsorship Work? A Six-Country Study of Impacts on Adult Life Outcomes." Journal of Political Economy 121:2 (published April 2013).

One of the oldest and most prestigious journals in economics, the Journal of Political Economy (journals.uchicago.edu/JPE) has since 1892 presented significant research and scholarship in economic theory and practice. The journal aims to publish highly selective, widely cited articles of current relevance that will have a long-term impact on economics research.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


Does international child sponsorship work? New research says yes [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Adam Gannaway
agannaway@press.uchicago.edu
773-702-2037
University of Chicago Press Journals

Child sponsorship is a leading form of direct aid from households in wealthy countries to children in developing countries, with approximately 3.39 billion dollars spent to sponsor 9.14 million children internationally. A new study to be published in the Journal of Political Economy shows international child sponsorship to result in markedly higher rates of schooling completion and substantially improved adult employment outcomes.

Researchers used first-hand survey data from a study of Compassion International, a leading child sponsorship organization, to examine the adult life outcomes of a group of 10,144 individuals in Bolivia, Guatemala, India, Kenya, the Philippines, and Uganda that included children who began sponsorship through the program a generation ago. The study estimates causal effects on adult life outcomes in areas such as educational completion, type of employment, and community leadership.

Specifically, the study finds that international sponsorship increased the probability of a child completing secondary school by 27%, completing a university education by 50%, and obtaining a white-collar job as an adult by about 35%.

Despite the billions of dollars that flow to child sponsorship each year and the millions of American families who sponsor overseas children, this is the first published study to investigate whether such programs actually benefit the children they intend to help. Evidence from the study points to the positive effects of child sponsorship on the adult life outcomes of these children.

Compassion's program places a strong emphasis not only on providing for the basic needs, such as school tuition and healthcare, but also on nurturing children's life aspirations and self-esteem over what is typically a decade of participation in sponsorship programs. "Too often we have focused our development efforts on provision for human beings rather than the development of human beings," said Bruce Wydick, one of the study's authors. "Although child sponsorship does indeed provide help with school fees, access to health care, and other tangible benefits, Compassion's particular approach focuses on the more holistic development of the child, such as development of self-esteem, aspirations, spiritual and ethical values. In follow-up studies involving currently sponsored children, we measure very large impacts in these areas, which we believe play a significant role in what we observe in the difference in adult life outcomes."

While further research is needed to establish a causal link between aspirations and adult life outcomes, this study has intriguing implications for the way we view economic development. Said Wydick, "I believe our research contributes to a new and growing body of investigation that seeks to examine the importance of 'internal constraints' to economic developmentthe importance of aspirations, self-esteem, goals, and reference points related to behaviors that are propitious to helping the poor escape poverty."

###

Bruce Wydick, Paul Glewwe, and Laine Rutledge, "Does International Child Sponsorship Work? A Six-Country Study of Impacts on Adult Life Outcomes." Journal of Political Economy 121:2 (published April 2013).

One of the oldest and most prestigious journals in economics, the Journal of Political Economy (journals.uchicago.edu/JPE) has since 1892 presented significant research and scholarship in economic theory and practice. The journal aims to publish highly selective, widely cited articles of current relevance that will have a long-term impact on economics research.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/uocp-dic042213.php

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Box Office Guru Wrapup: Oblivion Easily Takes Top Spot in Debut

Now in his fourth decade of scoring number one hit movies, Tom Cruise enjoyed one of the best openings of his entire career with the futuristic science fiction film Oblivion which topped the box office worldwide. Universal saw its latest hit film open to an estimated $38.2M in North America from 3,783 theaters for a potent $10,085 average. 323 IMAX sites contributed a solid $5.5M, or 14% of the gross.

That was an impressive performance for an original 2D sci-fi film opening outside of summer. In fact, it was the second best sci-fi opening ever during the month of April after the $61.2M of 2010's 3D remake Clash of the Titans. Overall, it was the seventh best for the month but third biggest for a live-action non-sequel.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy) and co-starring Morgan Freeman, Oblivion earned mixed reviews from critics, however paying audiences were not pleased. The CinemaScore grade was a disappointing B- indicating a rocky road ahead. Adult men made up the core audience - not surprising for a sci-fi film and for a Cruise actioner as the actor has lost some of his female fan base in recent years. Studio research showed that 57% of the audience was male and a very high 74% was 25 or older. Teen appeal was minimal here.

But for Cruise, Oblivion delivered the second biggest opening of his career outside of his signature Mission: Impossible franchise trailing just one other science fiction picture -- 2005's summer smash War of the Worlds from Steven Spielberg, which bowed to a holiday-boosted $64.9M. And it more than doubled the $15.2M debut of the actor's last film Jack Reacher from this last December.

Produced for a reported $120M, Oblivion is just one of many big-budget apocalyptic movies from some of Hollywood's hottest male action stars that will compete for the public's attention over the coming months. Next up, Will Smith stars in After Earth opening May 31, then Brad Pitt offers up World War Z in June, followed in August by Matt Damon's Elysium. The end of humanity is also a topic in the raunchy comedy This Is The End with Seth Rogen and James Franco arriving in June.

Made for a global audience, Oblivion pulled in a healthy $33.7M from 60 international markets this weekend dropping 42% from its overseas launch last week. The offshore take now stands at $112M with the global gross at $150.2M on its way to much more as major markets like Japan and China have yet to open.

After a spectacular opening weekend, the baseball drama 42 held up well in its second frame dipping 34% to an estimated $18M for a ten-day total of $54.1M. Warner Bros. should find its way across the $100M mark with this one. Breaking the $150M mark this weekend was the hit animated comedy The Croods, which continued to take advantage of no competition for kids with an estimated $9.5M in its fifth round. Off just 28%, the Fox release had the lowest decline of any film in the top ten and boosted its domestic cume to $154.9M. With $23.4M from offshore markets this weekend, the international total soared to $274.5M, putting The Croods at $429.4M worldwide.

The sequel flop Scary Movie 5 tumbled 56% in its sophomore frame to an estimated $6.3M giving The Weinstein Co. $22.9M after ten days. A final gross of $30-35M seems likely which would be about one-third of the $90.7M that part 4 in the franchise did seven years ago.

The action sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation followed in fifth with an estimated $5.8M, down 47%, for a $111.2M total for Paramount. Overseas action got a boost from a gigantic opening week in China where the American soldiers took in $33M from 7,000 screens over seven days including over $3M from 101 IMAX sites. That drove the international weekend to $40M, the overseas cume to $211.7M, and the global tally to a muscular $322.9M. With Japan yet to open, Joe could find its way to nearly $450M worldwide -- 50% more than the first movie in the franchise.

The Ryan Gosling pic The Place Beyond The Pines tripled its theater count and jumped from tenth to sixth place but saw its average drop down to a soft amount. The Focus release grossed an estimated $4.7M from 1,542 locations for a weak $3,078 average and $11.4M total.

Still on its way into the century club, the action hit Olympus Has Fallen placed seventh dropping 38% to an estimated $4.5M putting the year's first of two White-House-under-attack flicks at an impressive $88.8M for FilmDistrict. Sony's horror remake Evil Dead fell 57% to an estimated $4.1M and has scared up $48.4M to date.

Close behind with an estimated $4M was the 3D re-release of Jurassic Park which declined by 55% for a cume of $38.5M. The Universal blockbuster's lifetime gross has now shot up to $395.6M. Rounding out the top ten was 2013's biggest hit, Oz the Great and Powerful. The Disney smash held up well with an estimated $3M in its seventh weekend, off 37%. The wizard and trio of witches have now amassed $223.8M from North america and a stellar $478.6M worldwide.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $98.1M which was down 18% from last year when Think Like A Man opened at number one with $33.6M; and down 14% from 2011 when Rio stayed in the top spot with $26.3M.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1927299/news/1927299/

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