Sunday 30 September 2012

Letran nears NCAA Final Four but coach says team can do more

By Mark Giongco
INQUIRER.net

NCAA/September 29,2012Jamieson Cortes of Letran drives the ball against King Igee of Emilio Aguinaldo College during thier NCAA game atFiloil Arena San Juan. EDWIN BELLOSILLO/INQUIRER

MANILA, Philippines ? Letran held off a late run by Emilio Aguinaldo College to win, 86-80, Saturday night in the NCAA Season 88 men?s basketball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

But despite the victory that pulled the Knights to just a win away from a Final Four berth, head coach Louie Alas knew his team has to do a lot more.

?If you want to go to the next level, you just can?t play 25 minutes and expect to win,? said Alas on his squad which allowed the Generals to chip its lead away.

?We didn?t play to win [when we led]. They have to play better in the end game.?

The Knights have won seven of their last eight games to remain in third place and still be in contention for a twice-to-beat edge with San Sebastian just a game ahead.

A second-place finish would definitely put Letran in a better semi-final position but Alas said it wasn?t in his mind.

Letran needs to beat Arellano University in its last game as well as San Sebastian to lose one of its remaining two games.

?We don?t talk about the twice-to-beat. Ayoko ng umasa na matalo yung ibang [I don?t want to hope for a loss by the other] teams,? said Alas.

The Knights leaned on inside operator Jam Cortes, who didn?t disappoint with 25 points and 14 rebounds.

Kevin Alas played second fiddle but still had a huge game with 17 points, four rebounds and eight assists.

Letran also chalked up its fifth straight win for an 11-6 record making them one of the hottest teams in the league.

?Naniniwala ako sa capability ng [I believe in the capability of the] team. There are teams reaching their peak but when the semis come their play dips. What I like more is my team to have consistency,? said Alas.

Russell Yaya had 20 points and five rebounds for EAC, which absorbed its 10th loss in 17 games.


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Tags: 88 NCAA , Basketball , EAC , Emilio Aguinaldo College , Letran , Sports

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Source: http://sports.inquirer.net/64464/letran-nears-ncaa-final-four-but-coach-says-team-can-do-more

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Community lauds victim of apparent school prank

Whitney Kropp is escorted by her father, Jason Kropp onto the Ogemaw Heights High School football field Friday night, Sept. 28, 2012, in West Branch, Mich. Kropp was named to the homecoming court of the 800-student school earlier this month, but said she felt betrayed after some students suggested her selection was a joke. (AP Photo/Detroit News, John M. Galloway) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT; HUFFINGTON POST OUT

Whitney Kropp is escorted by her father, Jason Kropp onto the Ogemaw Heights High School football field Friday night, Sept. 28, 2012, in West Branch, Mich. Kropp was named to the homecoming court of the 800-student school earlier this month, but said she felt betrayed after some students suggested her selection was a joke. (AP Photo/Detroit News, John M. Galloway) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT; HUFFINGTON POST OUT

Sophomore homecoming representatives Whitney Kropp, left, and Josh Awrey stand together during the homecoming ceremony at the Ogemaw Heights High School?s homecoming football game against the Cadillac Vikings in West Branch, Mich. Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. Kropp was named to the homecoming court of the 800-student school earlier this month, but said she felt betrayed after some students suggested her selection was a joke. (AP Photo/Detroit News, John M. Galloway) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT; HUFFINGTON POST OUT

Sophomore homecoming representatives Whitney Kropp and Josh Awrey give each other a hug during the homecoming ceremony on the Ogemaw Heights High School football field Friday night, Sept. 28, 2012, in West Branch, Mich. Kropp was named to the homecoming court of the 800-student school earlier this month, but said she felt betrayed after some students suggested her selection was a joke. (AP Photo/Detroit News, John M. Galloway) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT; HUFFINGTON POST OUT

Whitney Kropp, third from left, waits for the ceremony to begin, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, at the Ogemaw Heights High School?s homecoming football game against the Cadillac Vikings in West Branch, Mich. Kropp was named to the homecoming court of the 800-student school earlier this month, but said she felt betrayed after some students suggested her selection was a joke. (AP Photo/Detroit News, John M. Galloway) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT; HUFFINGTON POST OUT

From left, Kristy Erway, Hannah Gebnard, and Paige Sharp of Cadillac H.S. hang a banner in support of Whitney Kropps, in West Branch, Mich. Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. Kropp was named to the homecoming court of the 800-student school earlier this month, but said she felt betrayed after some students suggested her selection was a joke. (AP Photo/Detroit News, John M. Galloway) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT; HUFFINGTON POST OUT

(AP) ? A mid-Michigan community cheered on a 16-year-old sophomore ? the victim of an apparent prank by classmates ? as she took her place with other members of her high school's homecoming court.

Whitney Kropp was escorted by her father and grandfather onto the Ogemaw Heights High School football field Friday night in West Branch, about 140 miles northwest of Detroit.

Kropp was named to the homecoming court of the 800-student school earlier this month, but said she felt betrayed after some students suggested her selection was a joke. She said she had been picked on in the past, but it intensified afterward.

Her story has sparked national interest and on Friday, residents and business owners in the West Branch area turned out to the game to show their support and help take a stand against bullying.

Orange T-shirts ? Kropp's favorite color ? have been sold with the slogan "It's not cool to be cruel."

"It's just so much right now for me," Kropp said Friday night. "I had thoughts about not coming but I actually changed my mind and came out. I just thought maybe I won't have fun. But I'm having a lot of fun right now."

Her gown, jewelry, shoes, hair styling and makeup were donated.

"The kids that are bullying, do not let them bring you down," Kropp told reporters. "Stand up for what you believe in, and go with your heart and go with your gut. That's what I did, and look at me now. I'm just as happy as can be."

Many in the stands, even students from visiting Cadillac, wore orange, as did Kropp.

"It wasn't right what they did to her," said Alexis Dahlstrom, a 16-year-old Cadillac junior. "We wanted her to know that there are people out there who support her."

Dahlstrom and her friends learned about Kropp's story on Facebook.

"Whitney is strong. I don't know that I would have had the courage to go," 15-year-old Ogemaw Heights sophomore Heather Oyster said.

Ogemaw Heights won the homecoming game, 24-21, over Cadillac.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-09-29-Homecoming%20Court-Prank/id-37ae8a2d93cf4fc28472482caf5a03f3

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Google View lands Croat mayor in trouble

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Bob Dylan banned from Radio Split
Rock legend Bob Dylan has been banned from Croatian radio after comparing Croats to Ku Klux Klan slave masters and Nazis during an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

Casino robbed in centre of Zagreb
Thieves made off with over 400,000 Croatian kuna from a Zagreb casino, Friday morning.

Bubnjic signs with Udinese
Slaven Belupo

Macedonian Ilievski joins Cedevita
Macedonian international Vlado Ilievski has joined Croatian basketball club Cedevita.

Hollywood has spelling problems when it comes to Goran Visnjic
Hollywood film makers still have a problem with Croat star Goran Visnjic's surname despite his long career in the US, 24 Sata writes.

Drunk Croat woman dumped from flight
A drunk woman was thrown off a Croatia Airlines flight from Zadar to Zagreb after staff spotted her harassing other passengers.

Danijel Pranjic ends his career with national team
Croatia

All roads lead to Rome for Croatian walker
A Croatian man has set off on a 1,000 km trek to promote walking.

Australia appoints new ambassador to Croatia
Susan Cox has been appointed Australia

Oscar winning producer boycotted in Croatia after telling school kids there was no God
A producer on Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List was boycotted in Croatia after telling Zagreb school children God doesn

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Source: http://www.croatiantimes.com/news/General_News/2012-09-26/29883/Google_View_lands_Croat_mayor_in_trouble

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Saturday 29 September 2012

jonsol: Arkansas is on pace to give up 816 yards to Texas A&M. Don't make the mistake and think it's not possible.



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US banks hit by more than a week of cyberattacks

U.S. banks have been buffeted by more than a week of powerful cyberattacks, but the mystery surrounding their perpetrators lingers.

One expert said Friday that he was suspicious of claims of responsibility purportedly made by Islamists angry at an anti-Muslim movie made in the United States, explaining that the widely-circulated Internet postings might have been an attempt to deflect attention from the true culprit.

"In the intelligence world, we call that a 'false flag,'" said Mike Smith, whose Web security company Akamai has helped analyze some of the attacks.

The postings, published to the Web earlier this month, suggested that an obscure Islamist group had taken revenge on American financial institutions for the "Innocence of Muslims," a low-budget U.S. film that ridiculed Muhammad, revered by Muslims as the last of God's prophets.

Since then at least half a dozen banks ? including the Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup ? have witnessed traffic surges and disruptions. Not all have confirmed they were the victims of an online onslaught, but such surges are a hallmark of denial-of-service attacks, which work by drowning target websites with streams of junk data.

Such attacks are fairly common and generally don't compromise sensitive data or do any lasting damage. Still, they can be a huge headache for companies that rely on their websites to interact with customers.

Most say the recent spate of attacks has been unusually powerful. PNC bank, which was hit on Thursday, has never seen such a strong surge in traffic, spokesman Fred Solomon said in a telephone interview. Smith said he estimated the flow of data at 60 to 65 gigabits per second.

Smith said the profile and power of the attack made it an unlikely fit for the religious youth that the Internet postings called upon to join in the anti-U.S. campaign. He explained that politically-motivated hackers ? often called hacktivists ? usually flood the Web with appeals for support and post links to software that can turn followers' personal computers into crude cyberweapons.

Twitter and online chat rooms then explode with activity, as casual supporters pile in to coordinate attacks.

"You're not seeing that with this particular set of attacks," Smith said. "At the same time ... the attack traffic is fairly homogeneous. It's not this wide cornucopia of attacks that's coming at you that you see with a hacktivist attack."

So who is behind the campaign?

Cybercriminals often use denial-of-service attacks to shake down smaller websites, but major U.S. banks make unlikely targets for a protection racket.

Could a state actor be at play? U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, without offering any proof, said he believed the assaults were carried out by Iran in retaliation for tightened economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies.

Smith demurred when asked who could be behind the campaign, although he said there were "only a handful of groups out there that have the technical ability or incentive" to carry it out.

In any case, the online attacks appeared to be easing. Solomon, the PNC bank spokesman, said while traffic remained heavy Friday the flow was gradually returning to normal.

Doug Johnson, with the American Bankers Association, echoed that assessment.

"I believe it's tapering off," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-banks-hit-more-week-cyberattacks-193125386--finance.html

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D-Day for al-Qaida in Somalia? Last bastion attacked

By NBC News wire services

MOGADISHU, Somalia --?Troops launched an amphibious assault before dawn Friday on the al-Qaida militant group al-Shabab's last stronghold in Somalia.

Other African Union forces were traveling overland to link up with the joint Kenyan-Somali force in the port city of Kismayo.

The commander of the U.N-backed African Union troops, Lt. Gen. Andrew Gutti, said the aim was to "liberate the people of Kismayo to enable them to lead their lives in peace, stability and security."

Col. Cyrus Oguna, the Kenyan military's top spokesman, said the attack met minimal resistance, but al-Shabab denied that the city had fallen and said fighting was taking place.

Oguna told The Associated Press that al-Shabab, which formally merged with al-Qaida in February, had incurred "heavy losses" but that Kenyan forces have not yet had any injuries or deaths.

"We came from the beach side and we're moving towards the main city. Our surveillance aircraft are monitoring every event taking place on the ground," he told Reuters.

"For now, we're not everywhere. We've taken a large part of it without resistance, I don't see anything major happening," he said.

Born in the USA, but now among Somalia's Islamist terrorists

Residents in Kismayo, a city of about 193,000 people, contacted by The Associated Press said that Kenyan troops had taken control of the port, but not the whole city.

"Al-Shabab fighters are on the streets and heading toward the front line in speeding cars. Their radio is still on the air and reporting the war," resident Mohamed Haji told The Associated Press. Haji said that helicopters were hitting targets in the town in southeastern Somalia.

At an international one-day summit Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said the world would "pay a price" if it fails to help Somalia overcome terrorism, piracy and starvation. ITV's Lee Comley reports.?

Another resident, Ismail Suglow, told Reuters that he could hear shelling from the ships and that the rebels were responding with anti-aircraft guns.

"We saw seven ships early in the morning and now their firing looks like lightning and thunder. Al-Shabab have gone towards the beach. The ships poured many AU troops on the beach," he added.

Expert: War on terror at 'critical' point as al-Qaida looks to regroup in Africa

On Thursday, residents said planes had dropped leaflets on Kismayo warning civilians to evacuate within 24 hours, Reuters reported.?More than 10,000 residents fled Kismayo in the last several weeks.

Resident Faduma Abdulle said Friday that she is now leaving too.

She said al-Shabab made an announcement on its radio station Friday to trick residents into moving toward the invading troops.

"They told residents through their radio to loot a Kenyan ship that washed up on the coast, but instead the residents who rushed there were attacked by helicopters," she said. "Some of them have died but I don't know how many. The situation is tense and many are fleeing. It's a dangerous situation."

A U.S. military spokesman, Lt. Cdr. Dave Hecht, said the U.S. Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, is closely monitoring the situation but that "we are not participating in Kenya's military activities in the region."

Militants: Taking city not 'a piece of cake'
Al-Shabab said it would not give up Kismayu easily.

"Going into Kismayo is not a piece of cake. We are still fighting them on the beach where they landed," Sheik Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab's spokesman for military operations, told Reuters on Friday. "For us, this is just the beginning, our troops are spread everywhere."

Oguna said the assault is part of a four-prong attack involving Kenyan forces currently in villages outside Kismayo.

The amphibious assault landed between 10:30 p.m. Thursday and 2 a.m. Friday local time (3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Thursday ET)?, he said. Some of the troops had night-vision goggles, he said.

Somali Olympic chief killed in Mogadishu suicide blast

African Union troops pushed al-Shabab out of Mogadishu in August 2011, ending four years of control of the capital by the fighters.

The Ugandan and Burundian troops that make up the bulk of the African Union force in Mogadishu have slowly been taking control of towns outside of Mogadishu.

The expanding control by AU troops sent al-Shabab fighters fleeing south toward Kismayo, north to other regions of Somalia and across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, according to American and African Union officials.

Kenya police: Imminent attack by suicide bombers thwarted

Al-Shabab still holds sway across many small, poor villages of southern Somalia. The loss of Kismayo would be significant.

The militants taxed goods coming into its port. Al-Shabab lost its major source of financing last year when it was pushed out of Bakara market in Mogadishu, where it also charged taxes.

The march toward Kismayo by the Kenyan forces has been nearly a year in the making.

Masked 'goons' kill at least 17 in attacks on churches in Kenya

Kenyan troops entered Somalia last October after a string of kidnappings inside neighboring Kenya, including of Westerners in and around the beach resort town of Lamu, which is also seeing the construction of a new port and could one day be final point of a new oil pipeline from South Sudan.

Kenyan forces were bogged down by rain and poor roads for months but have making slow and steady progress toward Kismayo in recent weeks.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/28/14135846-d-day-for-al-qaida-in-somalia-troops-storm-beaches-at-last-stronghold?lite

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Friday 28 September 2012

Major cancer protein amplifies global gene expression

ScienceDaily (Sep. 27, 2012) ? Scientists may have discovered why a protein called MYC can provoke a variety of cancers. Like many proteins associated with cancer, MYC helps regulate cell growth. A study carried out by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and colleagues found that, unlike many other cell growth regulators, MYC does not turn genes on or off, but instead boosts the expression of genes that are already turned on.

These findings, which will be published in Cell on Sept. 28, could lead to new therapeutic strategies for some cancers.

"We carried out a highly sophisticated analysis of MYC activity in cells, but came away with a simple rule. MYC is not a power switch but a universal amplifier," said co-lead study author Keji Zhao, Ph.D., director of the Systems Biology Center at the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). "This discovery offers a unifying idea of how and why abnormal levels of MYC are found in so many different cancer types, such as breast cancer, lung cancer, and several blood cancers."

"MYC is much like the volume control of a music player," added co-lead David Levens, M.D., Ph.D., a senior investigator in the Laboratory of Pathology at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), also part of NIH. "If you're listening to opera, for example, adding more MYC will make the opera louder, but it won't change the program to rap. And if you have only silence, MYC will just give you more silence."

Both researchers noted that this new understanding of MYC function could influence future treatment efforts for MYC-associated tumors. They suggest that trying to limit MYC activity, or turning down the volume just the right amount, would be a better strategy than using targeted chemotherapy to try to eliminate all MYC activity.

MYC aids in cell activation, a process in which cells mature and divide quickly. During an immune response, for example, white blood cells are activated to help fight infections. If activation isn't properly regulated, then cells can start growing out of control and result in cancer. Researchers have known that abnormally high levels of MYC can lead to cancer, but until now, no one had been able to explain how it can lead to so many different cancers.

Zhao, Levens, and their colleagues used a specially designed fluorescent protein that allowed them to track MYC in white blood cells in a lab dish. They chose white blood cells, specifically B cells and T cells that fight infections, because they are frequently affected by abnormal MYC and can transform into lymphoma and myeloma cells.

The team exposed the B and T cells to foreign toxins to stimulate an immune response and activate the fluorescent MYC. The researchers could then examine the cells at different time points and see which genes the MYC proteins seemed to affect.

The analysis revealed that MYC didn't prefer any specific type of gene. Instead, MYC proteins were present at nearly every gene that was already expressed, or turned on. The researchers also noticed that the amount of MYC at each expressed gene correlated with how active that gene was prior to immune stimulation. The more active the gene, the more MYC gathered there. MYC appeared to amplify productivity relative to the initial expression levels where it gave a small boost to genes with low activity and a big boost to genes with high activity.

The researchers validated the idea of MYC as a universal amplifier by developing a set of B cells that did not produce functional MYC. When they were stimulated, the total cellular amount of RNA -- an indicator of how much protein is being made -- did not rise. When normal B cells were activated, the total cellular RNA did rise.

The research team then conducted the same analysis in embryonic stem cells and got similar results.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Zuqin Nie, Gangqing Hu, Gang Wei, Kairong Cui, Arito Yamane, Wolfgang Resch, Ruoning Wang, Douglas?R. Green, Lino Tessarollo, Rafael Casellas, Keji Zhao, David Levens. c-Myc Is a Universal Amplifier of Expressed Genes in Lymphocytes and Embryonic Stem Cells. Cell, 2012; 151 (1): 68 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2012.08.033

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/health_medicine/genes/~3/blQEGQWXhmM/120927124158.htm

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Distro Issue 59: Boston's DBC City Bike is putting a new spin on an old design

Distro Issue 59 DBC City Bike is putting a new spin on an old design

As the summer comes to a close (as least north of the equator), temperatures are dropping and the leaves are beginning to change their hues. Leisurely strolls and bike rides that had become quite uncomfortable are options for relaxation once again. Speaking of bicycles, that's precisely where the cover story of this week's edition of our tablet mag focuses. Terrence O'Brien visits with Dan Sorger at his DBC City Bike workshop in Boston and discovers how -- with the help of designers, engineers, and medical professionals from institutions like MIT -- The Swift takes a beloved European-style bike and adapts it for American city dwellers. This week's "Hands-on" section circles the globe as we check in at the Tokyo Game Show and Nokia's HQ before returning in the States. On the review front, we put Sony's Xperia T and Xperia Tab as well as Vizio's all-in-one through their respective paces and offer our detailed impressions of each. Find yourself a spot on the porch and settle in before grabbing the latest issue via any of the options that lie down below.

Distro Issue 59 PDF
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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/28/distro-issue-59-bostons-dbc-city-bike/

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Lil Wayne opens skate park in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Lil Wayne showed off his beginner skateboarding skills alongside a group of professional skateboarders Wednesday to mark the opening of the artist's new Trukstop park in his hometown.

The Grammy-winning rapper demonstrated jumps ? but didn't always land on his board ? while Paul Rodriguez and Theotis Beasley from the Los Angeles area performed kick flips, board slides, hand plants and other higher-level tricks for the crowd at the park located in the Lower 9th Ward, one of the most devastated sections of the city after levees failed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Lil Wayne told The Associated Press he started skating about a year and a half ago when he saw and was impressed by the skating skills of a 9-year-old boy and thought it looked interesting.

"I thought it would be just a hobby, and I thought only people with skills can do it," he said. "When you finally get into it and you learn to like it, you'll quickly learn to love it. It's more than just four wheels and a piece of wood."

The rapper, who turns 30 on Thursday and recently launched a skateboarding-inspired clothing line called Trukfit, said he was excited to share his newfound passion with his hometown.

"I just want to help out my city, help out the people and the kids, give them something to do, something they haven't done before," he said. "It's always good to learn something new."

The new park occupies a building that survived the 2005 flooding. It was constructed using recycled materials, will be run using solar energy and includes all the features skaters love ? stairs with rails for sliding, skating embankments and half pipes.

The rapper partnered with Mountain Dew and Glu Agency, a New York-based advertising firm, to launch the new park, which will be open to the public seven days a week, beginning Monday.

"There's such a pent-up demand for this place," said Jamal Henderson, the director of marketing for Mountain Dew. "Young people want to skate, and now they have a destination."

While much of the city has rebounded since Katrina hit, the Lower 9th Ward has been slower to recover. Homes in the neighborhood were pushed off their foundations, and many residents haven't returned. Blocks where homes once stood are empty and overgrown with weeds.

The park will provide a gathering place in that part of the city.

In 2011, Lil Wayne gashed his head while skateboarding at a St. Louis-area skateboard park. The accident required stitches and left a scar over his left eye, but it didn't dampen his enthusiasm. He told those gathered for the park's launch that he knows he won't land every trick, but the rush comes from trying.

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Online:

http://www.lilwayne-online.com/

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lil-wayne-opens-skate-park-orleans-005457414.html

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Thursday 27 September 2012

Soil heat shield concept passes arc jet testing

ScienceDaily (Sep. 27, 2012) ? Arc jet testing under intense temperatures and pressures showed that heat shields made from the soil of other worlds will stand up to the conditions they would encounter plunging through Earth's atmosphere, researchers said this week.

Michael Hogue, a researcher at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, led a team of engineers as they exposed samples of heat shield materials to an intense plasma wind known as an arc jet at Ames research Center earlier this week. The 2-inch by 4-inch shaped blocks were made from different mixtures of soil simulating lunar and Martian regolith.

The scientists recorded no burn-through or uneven erosion of the surface on any of the samples through a series of progressively higher energy levels, Hogue said.

The test results mean the idea of making heat shields out of the soils, or regolith, of other planets and moons remains feasible, Hogue said.

For mission planners in the future, the concept could produce a windfall of weight savings because spacecraft could make their own shielding on planets and moons where gravity is so low that it would take little energy to lift even a massive heat shield from the surface into orbit. Lifting material from Earth's surface and gravity well requires a great deal of thrust and cost, by contrast.

Applications could include an uncrewed spacecraft molding a heat shield on a Martian moon and then riding it through the Martian atmosphere to make a landing. The same principle could be applied to a large habitation module for astronauts or any number of similar missions.

The technology remains in its infancy, but with strong test results, Hogue and his team will be able to complete a report by the end of November and apply for continued funding to develop the innovation further.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA.

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


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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/fcTEIzbJhu0/120927161010.htm

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5 Ways to Finance a Used Semi Truck


There are several different options available when it comes to the financial structure of commercial truck financing. If you are looking to finance a used semi truck, there are a few things that you should be aware of. One of the things you should know is that you should take good care of your credit. When your credit score is good, you will so much more flexibility and many more choices as to the structure of your financial agreement. The lower your credit score, the fewer and fewer options you will available to you. Commercial truck financing pretty much breaks down into two forms ? a loan or a lease.? A commercial truck loan generally requires a down payment of anywhere from 10%-20% and could be more if your credit is really bad. One of the ways that you could finance a used semi truck if you?re lucky enough, is to get a commercial truck loan with 100% financing. Of course, in order to do this, your credit score needs to be superior and you should realize that your monthly payments will be higher if you put nothing down towards the purchase of the truck. Another way that you can finance a used semi truck is to obtain a commercial loan by putting down 15%-20% of the total sales price. This is usually a more feasible option for those people whose credit score is in the average-to-good range. Yet another option with several different avenues of financing is a commercial truck lease. A commercial truck lease often times does not require a down payment upfront, instead, it may require the first and last month?s payments to be made upfront. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your monthly payment low, you can obtain a commercial truck lease with a substantial residual at the end of the term. The last and final way to finance a used semi truck is a ?lease-purchase? option. This is a fantastic option for many truck owners. A lease-purchase works just as a standard commercial truck lease does throughout its term. You can put money down if you want, or if required by the leasing company due to your credit score, or you can put down only the first and last month?s payments. ?The best part of a lease-purchase is the residual at the end of the lease term. Instead of paying a residual of thousands of dollars, most times the residual at the end of a lease purchase is only $1. There are many different ways to buy a used semi truck by using commercial truck financing. Speak with a commercial truck lender today to find which option is the best for you and your business.

Source: http://trucklenders-trucklendersusa.blogspot.com/2012/09/5-ways-to-finance-used-semi-truck.html

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Video: Obama: Romney's China crackdown like fox defending chicken coop (cbsnews)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/251241766?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Wednesday 26 September 2012

Local Leads HQ Ranked "#1 Los Angeles Marketing Company" by Inc.

PRLog (Press Release) - Sep 25, 2012 -
Los Angeles/Las Vegas - Local Leads HQ and Strategic Edge Profits, a premier marketing, business consulting and technology company, in a recent survey and ranking by Inc. Magazine of the fastest-growing companies in America was rated as "#1 Los Angeles Marketing Company." The Inc. 500 list has Local Leads HQ overall rank at #173 with an overall growth of almost 3,000%.

The Chairman and CEO of Local Leads HQ, Louis F. Vargas (former CEO of a Hispanic ad agency), recently spoke with a Global Press subsidiary about the recent announcement, "This is Local Leads HQ second consecutive year on the list and we are honored. It reflects the dedication to success and growth our national team members have."

According to Mr. Vargas, "Our sole mission is to focus on key factors that will 'move the sales needle', then to immediately implement our marketing, management and business technology and sales systems. We look at decreasing possible inefficiencies in production/distribution and increasing sales efficiency.

Our business growth systems dramatically increase company visibility/branding, multiple manners of customer engagement and follow-up (before & after a "sale"), traffic (both online & offline), in-bound calls, walk-in's (for retail businesses), sales conversions, we also look to create additional products or services for increase customer frequency (up-sells) and, lastly, joint-ventures with non-competing products or services for enhanced side revenue streams. In addition, we have world-class sales training so businesses do not waste any of the increase in customer traffic."

Vargas further explained," We get traffic that matters, whether it be organic search engine traffic from, for example, ?Google, Yahoo! or Bing, paid traffic through PPC, Social Media from Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus (which we manage), Mobile Marketing & Phone Apps (which we custom design), or affiliate traffic from partners such as Linkshare, Commission Junction or Google Affiliate Network we work with our co-advertisers, clients and our JV partners to ensure all available cross channel marketing methods bring the highest traffic and repeat business for the lowest possible ROI."

Local Leads HQ has a marketing network/pool of over 8,000 affiliates and works with companies who have products or services seeking to dominate in their local market area. According to Louis F. Vargas, "We've seen $5,000 to $20,000+ sales increases per week after implementation of our suite of marketing strategies, business technology and systems. We typically like to work with and engage in joint-ventures with select companies that have a minimum $500,000 to $10 million in gross sales.

You can visit the Local Leads HQ site at http://www.LocalLeadsHQ.com or contact them directly at 1-888-682-6609.

About Local Leads HQ/Strategic Edge Profits

Local Leads HQ is a premier national business marketing, consulting, advertising and technology company based in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Since 1999, its parent company and subsidiaries have offered proven Direct Marketing, Online Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Video Production & Marketing, Direct Response Marketing (TV/Radio/Cable/Online), Search Engine Optimization, Mobile Marketing, Mobile Apps, among other services, and implementation of their patented Software/Technology Systems designed to "Dominate The Local Market" and increase sales quickly.

In addition its subsidiary, Strategic Edge Profits, according to Mr. Vargas, "Is where Wall Street meets Main Street", and offers strategic business consulting, growth strategies, mergers and acquisitions consulting, funding and IPO consulting through its resource network, and JV opportunities designed for hyper-growth. Average client revenue growth increase, after engaging LLHQ, is 55% in 12 - 18 months.

Industry experience and expertise includes automotive (dealers/services industry), insurance, medical/dental/healthcare, real estate, finance/banking, manufacturing, consumer products, legal, construction/services and retail.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/11983586-local-leads-hq-ranked-1-los-angeles-marketing-company-by-inc-magazine.html

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Five ways big banks' Libor scandal affects you

Barclays specialist Frank Masiello works at the company's post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in this August file photograph. An ex-Barclays trader Jay V. Merchant, who has come under federal scrutiny in the Libor manipulation scandal related to his tenure at Barclays Plc, left his position as head of swap trading at UBS last month. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters/File)

The name London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) is geographically misleading. It is simply the interest rate that banks around the world charge to lend to each other. It is computed in London but reflects the borrowing costs of 18 banks, including firms in Europe and Japan as well as three American institutions: Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase. Used as a global benchmark for interest rates, it has by some estimates affected more than $360 trillion in financial products. The banks, not the market or the government, set the rate.?

Among the big losers are investors, because some financial products are based on Libor. Several mutual-fund companies, including?Vanguard Group Inc., are looking into whether their funds have been harmed by alleged interest-rate rigging by large banks. Money market funds and bond funds are two areas of focus. Hedge funds are also said to be looking at taking legal action.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/J_B-w3ouqQ4/Five-ways-big-banks-Libor-scandal-affects-you

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Fitbloggin' Health and Fitness Conference Recap

I'm back from Fitbloggin'12 in Baltimore, Maryland. What a great weekend! FitBloggin? is an annual health and fitness conference where hundreds of bloggers and brands from across the country come together to discuss health and fitness related topics and how to utilize social media to help promote overall wellness. This was my first year attending.

I felt proud being the weight loss surgery lifestyle blogger representative and sharing what life is like with rearranged guts. We may have had an initial helping hand with surgical assistance but we're not too different from each other. Life = healthy food choices, moving the body daily and working on the head. Rinse, lather, repeat, FOREVER whether you had surgery or not.

I learned a ton at the educational sessions, made some healthy new pals and connected with some old pals. I love going to conferences like these they are so crammed packed with information, smiles and laughter.




I am thankful to Fitbloggin' for offering the opportunity to Liveblog a session in exchange for a free ticket. I was assigned to live blog a session called, "Drive More Traffic Through SEO" presented by Brandi K. of DietsinReview.com a website I often read. You can read my liveblog notes from her presentation on the Fitbloggin' website if you want to know more about Search Engine Optimization. She shared some awesome, surprisingly easy and free tips. If you blog and you want Google to give you love be sure to read the session notes.
I want to also thank Big Train makers of nom nom nom Fit Frappe for picking up some of the tab for my trip. In exchange my fellow blogging pal Beth and I had the super enjoyable task of sharing our love for their product with the new blogger pals we made. If you haven't tried Fit Frappe you have to try it, it's soooo good.
Made lots of new friends. Here's Mark L. past contestant on The Biggest Loser Season 10. My pal Beth and I shared our Big Train Fit Frappe with him and he shared one of his favorite protein sources with us. Here's Beth and I doing a video review of his Protein Ice Power Shots.

The Food: I ate some delicious food. Lots of protein. I had Maryland crab (of course) in a salad and in a killer soup. I will try and recreate that soup soon. The Fitbloggin' meals provided were great, which is not always the case at these conventions. I was impressed. Moist, flavorful chicken and salmon, lovely salads, hard boiled egg Popsicles at breaks with little bottles of Tabasco sauce (such a cute idea), a celery root soup with chive oil that was the bomb, eggplant tapenade and veggies. Lots of healthy choices for this high protein, low carber.
The Hotel: We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor. If you are going to Baltimore for a convention or family trip I highly recommend it, for location it can't be beat. The hotel staff was lovely and helpful, the convention facilities were great, the rooms are fine, comfortable beds, clean. The only negative was one night we returned late and everything was closed (hotel store, room service, there were no vending machines) so I bit the bullet at grabbed a drink out of the mini bar. I hated paying the $5 but I was dying of thirst. I hated it even more when I realized the slightly funky tasting, thicker than normal drink had expired a few weeks ago. I had them remove the charge and I'm not dead so it's all good.

The City: I had never been to Baltimore (Charm City) funny because as most of you know I grew up on Long Island. I'm a New Yorker born and raised. You'd think I'd have taken a family trip there but nope. We didn't get any daytime sightseeing in but we did walk several miles one night from our hotel in the Inner Harbor through Little Italy and Fell's Point and then took a Water Taxi home. I wrestled a giant crab and kissed a fish.




The Swag: Scored a lot of fun stuff from the awesome Fitbloggin sponsors. Super cool new RealFlex Fusion TR workout shoes from Reebok, Spices from McCormick Seasonings, that new Blender Bottle Sport Mixer, I had to have one of these stuffed eggs (a long lost cousin) from Eggland's Best, some swag sadly I had to pass on to pals... my yoga mat and a huge bottle of Febreze Laundry Odor Eliminator (for us stinky exercisers) because I was edging close to the 50 pound weight limit on my luggage. It would be cool if they did more freebie coupons next year on the big stuff for those that have to fly from distances. Despite the stuff I passed on I still have a huge bag of awesome to sample. I'll review a few in the coming weeks.

I fell in love with these mini trampolines from JumpSport Fitness they are so much fun and seriously they are one kick ass workout. I watched an hour long trainer led session and the sweat was dripping from people. I am so getting one. I need the one with the safety handle at first. I'm a little wobbly and I think the bar will help me feel more secure. I'm thinking with practice one day I will not need it but I used to twist my ankle and fall a lot before I lost weight and I think I still have a bit of a fear. If you are looking for a fun workout this is it. I mean hello?! It's a trampoline! I felt like Tom Hanks in that scene in "Big."

Next year's Fitbloggin'13 event will take place in Portland, Oregon from June 25th ? 27th. The day before my birthday so plan to come celebrate with me. If you are like me and are documenting your weight loss journey with a blog you won't want to miss it!

New Fitbloggin' pals please connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest. Would love to keep in touch!

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Source: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2012/09/fitbloggin-health-and-fitness.html

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Tuesday 25 September 2012

Romney paying staff twice as much as Obama (Americablog)

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Sprint brings LTE to parts of Kansas, Illinois and Massachusetts

Sprint brings LTE to parts of Kansas, Illinois and Massachusetts

Has anyone else noticed a surge in locations getting newly-minted LTE of late? Sprint has, and it's joining the bandwagon with a further five areas from today. Users in Lawrence, Topeka and Wichita in Kansas, Waukegan-Lake in Illinois and Barnstable-Hyannis in Massachusetts will be able to slurp down Big Yellow's new service soon, if they can't already. The company has also revealed that Chicagoans, Angelenos and New Yorkers will be getting 3G service thanks to the company's Network Vision program, as it continues to swap out its aging Nextel hardware for something a little more futuristic.

Continue reading Sprint brings LTE to parts of Kansas, Illinois and Massachusetts

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Sprint brings LTE to parts of Kansas, Illinois and Massachusetts originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/24/sprint-lte-rollout-5-more/

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Key West Hotels vs Bed & Breakfasts: What's Right For You? | Hotels ...

Key West has many beautiful old homes that have been renovated and are now Bed & Breakfasts as well as a torrent of 4+ star hotels to choose from and all around the same price point. The amenities differ, the styles are vastly different and there is a wide variety of locals even for such a small island. So which one is right for you?

Key West Bed and Breakfasts offer:

? Complimentary breakfast. Most are continental self-serve type but some offer a full breakfast served family style such as The Mermaid and Alligator located in Key West?s Old Town district.

? Happy Hour in the early evening with wine and snacks usually located in the ?parlor? of the B&B and always in the company of the proprietors and other guests in which to socialize with.

? Private courtyards with beautiful, lush gardens to read and relax in. In Key West some B&B?s including, The Duval House, offer their own pool to spend a lazy afternoon floating in.

? Opportunities to not only meet and socialize with the owners and to make a genuine, personal connection with them, but to meet other guests with whom you may never would have had an opportunity to otherwise.

? Comfortable rooms in a intimate setting that feels more like ?home? than what can sometimes be the more cold, corporate feel of a hotel.

? Many B&Bs are often beautifully renovated, stately homes with some historical significance, such as the Tropical Inn which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and located on historic Duval Street in Key West.

? Gourmet quality food prepared by the owners who base their reputation on spectacular meals.

? All inclusive pricing. You won?t worry about what the snacks in the mini bar cost here, everything in your room is usually included.

? Owners knowledgeable with the area enough to offer personal reviews and experiences with the dining and entertainment offered locally. Often B&B?s will network with other area businesses to offer package deals or discounts.

? Romantic getaways including chocolate and champagne in your room. They often offer packages with massages for two, carriage rides, and private dining. When dealing with a B&B you can usually speak to the proprietors personally in advance to arrange whatever romantic ideas you dream up a reality.

Key ?West Hotels offer:

Amenities such as pools, gyms, workout centers, conference rooms, business centers and laundry services.

? For the convenience of their guests, they offer twenty-four hour room service and in-room coffee. You?ll also find mini bars stocked with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks as well as an assortment of sweet and salty snacks. Their restaurant?s are usually highly rated like Cafe Maquesa found in the The Marquesa Hotel which boats the highest Zagat rating of any restaurant in Key West.

? Most hotels are found in convenient locations surrounding airports and financial centers or near family attractions and some are beach front such as The Ocean Key Resort in Key West.

? Discounts on room rates, group rates, conference rates, AAA discounts and much more. Most are listed on top hotel search engines for more discounts and special pricing offers.

? Wedding services are abundant at most hotel?s with wedding planners, banquet facilities and ballrooms and the hotel large parties can utilize a hotel?s ballroom and block out rooms for guest?s to stay in at a reduced price.

Whether you choose the homey, country feel of a B&B or the amenities a hotel offers, either way you?re sure to enjoy your stay in Key West.

Jaime Love

Jaime Love is a professional writer specializing in travel and leisure. With a passion to share thoughts, opinions and facts on these subjects to help educate her readers and followers about such topics. In her free time, she enjoys traveling. When not traveling, Love?s home base is in sunny Tampa, FL with her family.

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Source: http://www.hotelskeywestfla.com/news/key-west-hotels-vs-bed-breakfasts-whats-right-for-you/

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Monday 24 September 2012

US stocks lower after bad economic data in Europe

NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street after some gloomy economic data from Europe.

Just after the opening bell, the Dow Jones industrial average is down 53 points at 13,526. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down seven at 1,453, and the Nasdaq composite index is off 28 at 3,152.

An index of German business confidence has fallen for a fifth straight month. Germany is the powerhouse of the European economy, but some economists think it's headed for a recession.

In the U.S., Apple is opening lower after selling 5 million of its iPhone 5s in three days. Some analysts were looking for a higher number. Apple is starting the day off about 2 percent, down $14 at $687.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-stocks-lower-bad-economic-data-europe-133449543--finance.html

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Using precisely-targeted lasers, researchers manipulate neurons in worms' brains and take control of their behavior

ScienceDaily (Sep. 23, 2012) ? In the quest to understand how the brain turns sensory input into behavior, Harvard scientists have crossed a major threshold. Using precisely-targeted lasers, researchers have been able to take over an animal's brain, instruct it to turn in any direction they choose, and even to implant false sensory information, fooling the animal into thinking food was nearby.

As described in a September 23 paper published in Nature, a team made up of Sharad Ramanathan, an Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and of Applied Physics, Askin Kocabas, a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Ching-Han Shen, a Research Assistant in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Zengcai V. Guo, from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute were able to take control of Caenorhabditis elegans -- tiny, transparent worms -- by manipulating neurons in the worms' "brain."

The work, Ramanathan said, is important because, by taking control of complex behaviors in a relatively simple animal -- C. elegans have just 302 neurons -we can understand how its nervous system functions..

"If we can understand simple nervous systems to the point of completely controlling them, then it may be a possibility that we can gain a comprehensive understanding of more complex systems," Ramanathan said. "This gives us a framework to think about neural circuits, how to manipulate them, which circuit to manipulate and what activity patterns to produce in them ."

"Extremely important work in the literature has focused on ablating neurons, or studying mutants that affect neuronal function and mapping out the connectivity of the entire nervous system. " he added. "Most of these approaches have discovered neurons necessary for specific behavior by destroying them. The question we were trying to answer was: Instead of breaking the system to understand it, can we essentially hijack the key neurons that are sufficient to control behavior and use these neurons to force the animal to do what we want?"

Before Ramanathan and his team could begin to answer that question, however, they needed to overcome a number of technical challenges.

Using genetic tools, researchers engineered worms whose neurons gave off fluorescent light, allowing them to be tracked during experiments. Researchers also altered genes in the worms which made neurons sensitive to light, meaning they could be activated with pulses of laser light.

The largest challenges, though, came in developing the hardware necessary to track the worms and target the correct neuron in a fraction of a second.

"The goal is to activate only one neuron," he explained. "That's challenging because the animal is moving, and the neurons are densely packed near its head, so the challenge is to acquire an image of the animal, process that image, identify the neuron, track the animal, position your laser and shoot the particularly neuron -- and do it all in 20 milliseconds, or about 50 times a second. The engineering challenges involved seemed insurmountable when we started. But Askin Kocabas found ways to overcome these challenges"

The system researchers eventually developed uses a movable table to keep the crawling worm centered beneath a camera and laser. They also custom-built computer hardware and software, Ramanathan said, to ensure the system works at the split-second speeds they need.

The end result, he said, was a system capable of not only controlling the worms' behavior, but their senses as well. In one test described in the paper, researchers were able to use the system to trick a worm's brain into believing food was nearby, causing it to make a beeline toward the imaginary meal.

Going forward, Ramanathan and his team plan to explore what other behaviors the system can control in C. elegans. Other efforts include designing new cameras and computer hardware with the goal of speeding up the system from 20 milliseconds to one. The increased speed would allow them to test the system in more complex animals, like zebrafish.

"By manipulating the neural system of this animal, we can make it turn left, we can make it turn right, we can make it go in a loop, we can make it think there is food nearby," Ramanathan said. "We want to understand the brain of this animal, which has only a few hundred neurons, completely and essentially turn it into a video game, where we can control all of its behaviors."

Funding for the research was provided by the Human Frontier Science Program, the NIH Pioneer Award and the National Science Foundation.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Harvard University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Askin Kocabas, Ching-Han Shen, Zengcai V. Guo, Sharad Ramanathan. Controlling interneuron activity in Caenorhabditis elegans to evoke chemotactic behaviour. Nature, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature11431

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_science/~3/cgBlBlbUy2Y/120924102658.htm

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Researchers develop editing toolkit for customizing zebrafish genomes

ScienceDaily (Sep. 23, 2012) ? Mayo Clinic researchers and an international team of scientists have developed a highly-efficient means of editing zebrafish genomes for research purposes, eliminating a bottleneck that has stymied biomedical scientists from using the fish as a model for human disease.

The details appear online today in the journal Nature.

For many researchers, zebrafish are becoming the model of choice for genetic studies. However, the inability to efficiently target genetic modifications has delayed their use by some. The Mayo team used an improved variant of artificial transcription activator-like effector nucleases, or TALENs, to provide a new approach.

"By using genetic engineering tools called TALENs and synthetic DNA to make defined changes in the genomes of our fish, we are able to make small changes (just a few nucleotides) as well as add a specific sequence for biological gene switch applications," says Stephen Ekker, Ph.D., senior author and head of Mayo's zebrafish core facility. "This is the first time we've been able to make custom changes to the zebrafish genome."

Dr. Ekker says this toolkit opens the door to a range of new experiments in zebrafish, including modeling of human disease by introducing small point mutations, designing regulated gene alleles, and developing classical structure/function experiments using an animal model system.

This new approach has implications for other model systems, including mice, rats, flies and worms, and possible applications in stem cell research.

"To our knowledge, this TALEN toolkit also is the most active described to date," says Dr. Ekker. "This has important implications for the growing TALEN field, whether used in fish or any other cells. We used this higher activity for genome editing applications. We also used it to conduct a series of somatic gene function assessments, opening the door to an array of non-germline experiments in zebrafish."

Other authors include Victoria Bedell, Jarryd Campbell, Tanya Poshusta, Randall Krug, Sumedha Penheiter, Ph.D., Alvin Ma, Ph.D., and Karl Clark, Ph.D., all of Mayo Clinic; Ying Wang, Ph.D., and Jeffrey Essner, Ph.D., of Iowa State University; Colby Starker, Ph.D., Wenfang Tan, Ph.D., Scott Fahrenkrug, Ph.D., Daniel Carlson, Ph.D., and Daniel Voytas, Ph.D., all of the University of Minnesota; and Anskar Y. H. Leung, M.D., Ph.D., of Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong.

Support for the research came from the State of Minnesota, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Research Grant Council of the University of Hong Kong and the Tang King Yin Research Fund.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Mayo Clinic.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Victoria M. Bedell, Ying Wang, Jarryd M. Campbell, Tanya L. Poshusta, Colby G. Starker, Randall G. Krug II, Wenfang Tan, Sumedha G. Penheiter, Alvin C. Ma, Anskar Y. H. Leung, Scott C. Fahrenkrug, Daniel F. Carlson, Daniel F. Voytas, Karl J. Clark, Jeffrey J. Essner, Stephen C. Ekker. In vivo genome editing using a high-efficiency TALEN system. Nature, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature11537

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/NY5ZSCdufwk/120923141214.htm

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