Sunday, March 31, 2013

Mate choice in mice is heavily influenced by paternal cues

Friday, March 29, 2013

Mate choice is a key factor in the evolution of new animal species. The choice of a specific mate can decisively influence the evolutionary development of a species. In mice, the attractiveness of a potential mate is conveyed by scent cues and ultrasonic vocalizations. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Pl?n investigated whether house mice (Mus musculus) would mate with each other even if they were from two populations which had been separated from each other for a long time period. To do this, the researchers brought together mice from a German population and mice from a French population. Although to begin with all the mice mated with one another randomly, the hybrid offspring of French and German parents were distinctly more choosy: they showed a definite preference for mating with individuals from their father's original population. According to the researchers, this paternal imprinting accelerates the divergence of two house mouse populations and thus promotes speciation.

In allopatric speciation, individuals of a species become geographically isolated from each other by external factors such as mountains or estuaries. Over time, this geographic separation leads to the sub-populations undergoing various mutations, and thus diverging genetically. Animals from the two different sub-populations can no longer successfully reproduce, so two new species evolve.

To find out what role partner selection plays in such speciation processes, Diethard Tautz from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology and his colleagues conducted a comprehensive study on house mice ? the classic model organisms of biology. "To investigate whether there are differences in the mating behaviour of the mice in the early stages of speciation, we caught wild house mice in southern France and western Germany. The two populations have been geographically separate for around 3,000 years, which equates to some 18,000 generations," says Diethard Tautz. Due to this geographical separation, the French and German mice were genetically different.

The Pl?n-based researchers created a semi-natural environment for their investigations ? a sort of "Playboy Mansion" for mice. The research enclosure was several square meters in size and was divided up using wooden walls, "nests" made out of plastic cylinders, and plastic tubes. It also featured an escape tube with several entrances, which led into a cage system nearby. "We constructed the enclosure in such a way that all animals had unimpeded access to all areas, but thanks to the structural divisions were also able to create their own territories or retreat into nests," explains Tautz. "The escape tube was a control element. If the mice retreated to it only very seldom ? as was the case in our experiment ? then we could be sure there was no overpopulation in the central enclosure."

In this central enclosure, the French and German mice had both time and space to mate with each other and reproduce. "At first, all the mice mated with each other quite randomly. But with the first-generation offspring, a surprising pattern emerged," says Tautz. When the first-generation hybrid offspring of mixed French and German parentage mated, they showed a specific preference for pure-bred mates whose "nationality" was that of their father only. "There must be some kind of paternal influence that prompts the hybrid mice to choose a mate from a specific population, namely that of their father," concludes the biologist, based on the results of his study. "This imprinting must be learned, however, meaning that the animals must grow up in the presence of their fathers. This was not the case for the original mice, which were kept in cages for a time after being caught."

"We know that mice use ultrasonic vocalizations to communicate with each other and that particularly in the case of male mice these vocalizations can reveal signals of individuality and kinship. We believe that, like birdsong, the vocalizations of the males have a learned component and a genetic component," says Tautz. Therefore, French and German mice really could "speak" different languages, partly learned from their fathers, partly inherited from them. Individual mice thus have a mating preference for mice that speak the same language as they do.

The French and German mouse populations had evidently been geographically separated long enough for preliminary signs of species differentiation to be apparent as regards mating preferences. In addition, another aspect of mating behavior also sped up the speciation process.

Although mice have multiple mates, the researchers found evidence of partner fidelity and inbreeding. The tendency to mate with relatives fosters the creation of genetically uniform groups. When both occur together, this accelerates the speciation process.

In a next step, Diethard Tautz wants to find out whether the vocalizations of the mice play the decisive role in paternal imprinting, or if scent cues are also involved. Furthermore, the biologist wants to identify the genes that are involved in mate selection.

###

Inka Montero, Meike Tesche and Diethard Tautz: "Paternal imprinting of mating preferences between natural populations of house mice (Mus musculus domesticus)", Molecular Ecology (2013), doi: 10.111/mec.122271;

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: http://www.mpg.de

Thanks to Max-Planck-Gesellschaft for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127520/Mate_choice_in_mice_is_heavily_influenced_by_paternal_cues

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Twitter music app reportedly includes Vevo, may expand to more services

Twitter music app reportedly includes Vevo, may expand to more services

As much as we're intrigued by the prospect of Twitter's music app, the rumored emphasis on SoundCloud would potentially limit the selection given major label resistance to giving away ad-free content: we'd expect a lot of DJ sets and indie demos. A supposed leak from AllThingsD has Twitter catering to the less adventurous among us by adding Vevo support. While the full workings of the rumored app remain a mystery, Twitter would reportedly play Vevo's mostly pop-oriented music videos through a custom player. It might not be the only service involved, too: the same tips suggest that Twitter wants to round up multiple services, and the two that have surfaced so far are just the first to hop aboard. We have a hunch that the expanded app (if real) won't make the originally claimed March launch when we're already at the last weekday of the month, but the latest tidbit suggests Twitter is far from giving up on turning microblogs into mini jukeboxes.

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Source: AllThingsD

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/29/twitter-music-app-reportedly-includes-vevo-may-involve-more/

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School Mental Health Bill | California School Health Centers ...

March 29, 2013 By Marcel 0 Comments

Support AB 174CSHC is sponsoring AB 174, a statewide bill to create a grant program that will fund school-based mental health services for students impacted by trauma. Read more about the bill here.

Trauma has serious consequences for health, educational achievement, and long-term well-being. Currently, there is no state funding explicitly directed to either SBHCs or school-based programs focused on trauma. Barriers inherent in existing funding streams prevent schools and SBHCs from reaching all students with all necessary services.

We need your support to make this issue a priority in the legislature!?Download a?fact sheet here?and?sample letter of support here.

Fax your letter of support to Assembly Member Bonta, ATTN An-Chi Tsou, at?916-319-2118.?

Please also?complete our quick,?1-minute survey here?to help us mobilize school health advocates?around?AB 174.

?

Source: http://www.schoolhealthcenters.org/homepage-posts/school-mental-health-bill/

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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Probation for 86-year-old who admitted 'mercy killing' of ailing elderly wife

By Brian Skoloff, The Associated Press

PHOENIX --?An 86-year-old man who carried out a mercy killing by shooting his ailing wife and high school sweetheart in the head was sentenced Friday to probation after an emotional hearing where family members tearfully spoke on his behalf.

George Sanders could have faced more than 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter. The judge, who complimented the prosecutor for being "courageous" in recommending probation, allowed Sanders to walk out of the courtroom.

Judge John Ditsworth said his sentence of two years' probation was "individualized and tempers justice with mercy."

"It is very clear that he will never forget that his actions ended the life of his wife," Ditsworth said as Sanders stood at a podium, his hands clasped and shaking.


"In this set of facts, there was a perfect storm of individual circumstances which placed Mr. Sanders in a position where had to make a decision," Ditsworth said. "This set of facts hits close to home for all of us."

Sanders, wearing khakis and a white sport coat, spoke for only a minute about his love for his 81-year-old wife, Virginia Sanders, who he calls Ginger.

"Your honor, I met Ginger when she was 15 years old and I've loved her since she was 15 years old. I loved her when she was 81 years old," he said, trembling.

"It was a blessing, and I was happy to take care of her," Sanders continued. "I am sorry for all the grief and pain and sorrow I've caused people."

Sanders was arrested Nov. 9 after he says his wife begged him to shoot her at their home in the retirement community of Sun City outside Phoenix. He was initially charged with first-degree murder before reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors.

"The family very much loved their mother," prosecutor Blaine Gadow told the judge Friday as he recommended a sentence of probation, noting the "very unique, difficult circumstances of this case."

"I don't know where our society is going to go with cases like this, judge," Gadow said. "At this point in time, what Mr. Sanders did was a crime."

However, he added, "No one in the courtroom has forgotten the victim in this case."

Steve Sanders, the defendant's son, then spoke on behalf of his father, telling the judge the family never wanted him to be prosecuted.

"I want the court to know that I loved my mother dearly," he said. "But I would also like the court to know that I equally love my father."

Breaking down at time in tears, Steve Sanders explained how his father had been Virginia Sanders' sole caregiver as her health deteriorated.

"I fully believe that the doctor's visits, the appointments, the medical phone calls and the awaiting hospital bed led to the decision that my parents made together," he said. "I do not fault my father.

"A lot of people have hero figures in their life, LeBron James ... some world class figures ... but I have to tell you my lifelong hero is my dad," Steve Sanders told the judge, sobbing. He said his parents had been together for 62 years, "the love of his life, my mother."

Sanders grandson, Grant Sanders, then described what he called "a beautiful love story."

"My grandfather lived to love my grandmother, to serve and to make her feel as happy as he could every moment of their life," Grant Sanders said. "I truly believe that the pain had become too much for my grandmother to bear."

Sanders said his wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1969, and the couple moved from Washington state to Arizona in the 1970s for the warm, dry climate. She had been in a wheelchair since 1971.

Eventually, his own health deteriorated, and he said it became more difficult to care for his wife.

He said she was diagnosed with gangrene on her foot just a few days before the shooting and was set to be admitted to a hospital, then a nursing home.

"It was just the last straw," Sanders told a detective during his interrogation in November. "She didn't want to go to that hospital ... start cutting her toes off."

He said his wife begged him to kill her.

"I said, 'I can't do it honey,'" he told the detective. "She says, 'Yes you can.'"

Sanders then got his revolver and wrapped a towel around it so the bullet wouldn't go into the kitchen.

"She says, 'Is this going to hurt?' and I said, 'You won't feel a thing,'" he said.

"She was saying, 'Do it. Do it. Do it.' And I just let it go," Sanders added.

As he sentenced Sanders on Friday, Ditsworth recalled his drive home from court the day he accepted Sanders' plea. He said he tuned his radio to a talk show, "and I heard the name George Sanders and my curiosity piqued."

He said he listened for the next hour as about 25 callers expressed their opinions.

Many asked themselves, "What if this had happened to me? ... What if this were me, my brother, my wife?" Ditsworth said. "And it was overwhelming that the general public did not support Mr. Sanders' actions, but they understood them."?

?

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2a24c359/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C290C175156830Eprobation0Efor0E860Eyear0Eold0Ewho0Eadmitted0Emercy0Ekilling0Eof0Eailing0Eelderly0Ewife0Dlite/story01.htm

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3 of 4 reptiles stolen from Calif. museum found

(AP) ? Three of four reptiles that were swiped from a science museum and thrown together into a garbage bag during a heist were recovered Friday, though a 3-foot-long ball python remained at large, officials said.

The 3?-foot savannah monitor lizard, a 7-foot-long red-tailed boa constrictor and another 3-foot-long ball python were in good condition, said Mary Ellen Wright, the director of the Fresno Discovery Center. Authorities were searching for the missing python in an area frequented by a suspect, who has been arrested.

Wright had been worried about the reptiles' confinement together in the bag "because they are mortal enemies," she said.

"It would be like throwing two pit bulls in a locked room," she added, noting that the monitor lizard has sharp, 2-inch claws.

The reptiles were taken in a robbery that has perplexed museum officials and authorities, who have not released a motive.

Fresno Police Lt. Donald Gross said Friday Devin Michael Madej, 20, was arrested on suspicion of burglary and possession of stolen property.

The museum's education coordinator, Ian Goudelock, said the burglar didn't appear to be out to intentionally hurt the animals though the museum planned to have the reptiles checked by a veterinarian.

"It's just a strange theft. We're still trying to figure out why," he said. "It does kind of more or less have a happy ending."

Surveillance video showed the burglar broke into the Central California museum sometime late Wednesday or early Thursday, smashed the tanks that held the four reptiles ? worth hundreds of dollars ? and popped them into a garbage bag.

He also went into the center's gift shop and stole children's toys, the phone system and the security monitor, the Fresno Bee reported.

___

Information from: The Fresno Bee, http://www.fresnobee.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-03-30-Reptiles%20Stolen/id-b9c36f1ca78d4f0ea82c9ee7b10b4205

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Confederate flag at old NC Capitol coming down

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ? A Confederate battle flag hung inside the old North Carolina State Capitol last week to mark the sesquicentennial of the Civil War is being taken down after civil rights leaders raised concerns.

The decision was announced Friday evening, hours after the Associated Press published a story about the flag, which officials said was part of an historical display intended to replicate how the antebellum building appeared in 1863. The flag had been planned to hang in the House chamber until April 2015, the 150th anniversary of the arrival of federal troops in Raleigh.

"This is a temporary exhibit in an historic site, but I've learned the governor's administration is going to use the old House chamber as working space," Cultural Resources Secretary Susan Kluttz said Friday night. "Given that information, this display will end this weekend rather than April of 2015."

Kim Genardo, the spokeswoman for Gov. Pat McCrory, said the exhibit that includes the Confederate battle flag will be relocated, possibly across the street to the N.C. Museum of History.

The decision was a quick about-face for the McCrory administration, which initially defended the display. Many people see the flag as a potent reminder of racial discrimination and bigotry.

State Historic Sites Director Keith Hardison had said Thursday the flag should be viewed in what he called the proper historical context.

"Our goal is not to create issues," said Hardison, a Civil War re-enactor and history buff. "Our goal is to help people understand issues of the past. ... If you refuse to put something that someone might object to or have a concern with in the exhibit, then you are basically censoring history."

North Carolina NAACP president Rev. William Barber was shocked Friday when he was shown a photo of the flag by the AP.

"He is right that it has a historical context," Barber said. "But what is that history? The history of racism. The history of lynchings. The history of death. The history of slavery. If you say that shouldn't be offensive, then either you don't know the history, or you are denying the history."

Barber couldn't immediately be reached Friday night, after the decision to take down the flag.

Sessions of the General Assembly moved to a newer building a half-century ago, but the old Capitol building is still routinely used as a venue for official state government events. McCrory's office is on the first floor, as are the offices of his chief of staff and communications staff.

The Republican governor was in the House chamber where the Confederate flag hangs as recently as Thursday, when he presided over the swearing-in ceremony of his new Highway Patrol commander.

The presentation of the Confederate battle flag at state government buildings has long been an issue of debate throughout the South. For more than a decade, the NAACP has urged its members to boycott South Carolina because of that state's display of the flag on the State House grounds.

Prior to taking his current job in North Carolina in 2006, Hardison worked as director at the Mississippi home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, which is operated as a museum and library owned by the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The group has led the fight in the South for the proud display of the Confederate flag, which it contends is a symbol of heritage, not hate.

Hardison said the battle flag was displayed with other flags described in the diary of a North Carolina woman who visited the Capitol in 1863. A large U.S. flag displayed in the Senate chamber is reminiscent of a trophy of war captured from Union troops at the Battle of Plymouth.

"I thought, wouldn't it be wonderful to recreate this?" Hardison said. "I think we were all thinking along the same vein. ... The Capitol is both a working seat of government, in that the governor and his staff has his office there. But it is also a museum."

Hardison pointed out that the national flag used by the Confederate government, with its circle of white stars and red and white stripes, is still flown over the State Capitol dome each year on Confederate Memorial Day. The more familiar blood-red battle flag, featuring a blue "X'' studded with white stars, was used by the rebel military.

David Goldfield, a history professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and author of the book "Still Fighting the Civil War," said the battle flag can hold starkly different meanings depending on a person's social perspective.

"The history of the Confederate battle flag, how it was designed and formulated, how it has been used through the years, clearly states that it is a flag of white supremacy," Goldfield said. "I know current Sons of Confederate Veterans would dispute that, saying 'Hey, I'm not a racist.' But the fact remains that the battle flag was used by a country that had as its foundation the protection and extension of human bondage."

___

Follow Michael Biesecker at twitter.com/mbieseck

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/confederate-flag-old-nc-capitol-coming-down-234855125.html

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Homeownership 44% Cheaper than Renting | Las Vegas Real Estate

Mar 29, 2013, Posted by: Summer Bowen

Rent-vs-Buy Map, March 2013Despite home prices rising 7 percent in the last year, buying verses renting is 44 percent cheaper according to Trulia. ?In all of America?s 100 largest metros, homeownership is cheaper than renting.

Falling mortgage rates have kept buying almost as affordable, relative to renting, as it was last year. ?Freddie Mac has reported the 30-year fixed rate dropped from 3.9% to 3.5% between February 2012 and February 2013.

Trulia calculates the following to determine the costs between renting and buying:

  • the average rent and for-sale prices for an identical set of properties
  • initial total monthly costs of owning and renting, including maintenance, insurance, and taxes.
  • future total monthly costs of owning and renting, taking into account price and rent appreciation as well as inflation
  • factor in one-time costs and proceeds, like closing costs, downpayments, sales proceeds, and security deposits.
  • net present value to account for opportunity cost of money.

Trulia also assumes people will obtain a 3.5% mortgage rate, reside in the 25% tax bracket, itemize their federal tax deductions, and will stay in their home for seven years.

Ultimately, three factors have a real impact on the rent-versus-buy math: mortgage rates, tax deductions, and how long you stay in your home. Change any of these factors and the results could vary.

So if you are looking to buy, give Marshall Stearns Real Estate a call to help you find a home before rates change.

Source: http://www.marshallstearns.com/rentals/homeownership-44-cheaper-than-renting/

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Lil Wayne Reveals: 'I'm An Epileptic'

'I could've died soon,' Weezy tells L.A. radio station, clearing up rumors about his health and weighing in on 2013 'Hottest MCs.'
By Rob Markman


Lil Wayne
Photo: Christopher Polk/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704571/lil-wayne-epileptic.jhtml

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Newtown gunman had access to huge weapons cache

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) ? When Adam Lanza walked out of his house for the last time, he left behind firearms and knives and more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition ? taking only four guns. They would suffice.

He loaded the weapons into his car, drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School, blasted his way into the building and within five minutes fired off 154 shots with a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle. Having slaughtered 20 first-graders and six educators, he killed himself with a shot from a Glock handgun. He still had more than 100 rifle bullets at hand.

Warrants released Thursday provide the most insight to date into the world of the 20-year-old gunman, a recluse who played violent video games in a house packed with weaponry that was all too real. The inventory of items found in the spacious, colonial-style home included books on autism, a vast array of weapon paraphernalia and images of what appears to be a dead person covered with plastic and blood.

The weapons used in the shooting had all apparently been purchased by Lanza's mother, Nancy, with whom he lived, said prosecutor Stephen J. Sedensky III, in a statement accompanying the warrants.

She was found dead in her bed; Adam Lanza had shot her the morning of the massacre, Dec. 14. Authorities also found a gun safe in his bedroom and a holiday card from Nancy Lanza containing a check made out to her son for the purchase of yet another firearm.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy expressed incredulity over the access that the troubled young man had to a cache of weapons.

"There are parts of this story that are unfathomable," he said. "How anyone would have maintained that household that way is difficult to understand."

Mark Barden, whose 7-year-old son, Daniel, was killed at Sandy Hook, said he was not surprised by anything revealed Thursday.

"Most of this is pretty high level stuff that we were aware of already and it just reminds me of what happened, that a gunman stormed his way into an elementary school and shot to death 26 people, 20 of which were first-grade boys and girls," Barden said.

The shooting elevated gun safety to the top of President Barack Obama's agenda; at an event in Washington on Thursday, joined by the families of four children killed at Sandy Hook, he urged lawmakers not to get "squishy" in the face of opposition to gun control.

"Shame on us if we've forgotten," Obama said. "I haven't forgotten those kids."

The debate has extended to Newtown, a rural community of 27,000 people in western Connecticut that is also home to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. A protest and counter-protest were held outside the foundation's offices Thursday.

If it's possible to determine a motive for the massacre, there may be clues in Adam Lanza's journals, which state police seized from the house and turned over to the FBI for analysis. But authorities say that so far no conclusions have been reached. Sedensky estimated that the investigation will be finished this summer.

At the Lanza house, investigators found books about autism and Asperger's syndrome, as well as one with tabbed pages titled "Train Your Brain to Get Happy." Adam Lanza was said to have been diagnosed with Asperger's, an autism-like disorder that is not associated with violence.

But the warrants also reveal an intense interest in weaponry and violence.

A gun locker in the house was open when police arrived in the aftermath of the shootings, and there was no sign it had been broken into.

Investigators found a 7-foot pole with a blade on one side and a spear on another, a metal bayonet, three samurai swords, a .323-caliber bolt-action rifle, a .22-caliber Savage Mark II rifle and a .22-caliber Volcanic starter pistol. There was a military-style uniform in Lanza's bedroom; literature seized from the house included a news article on a 2008 shooting at Northern Illinois University and a National Rifle Association guide to pistol shooting.

News outlets including The Associated Press reported previously that Lanza showed interest in other mass killings. Some, including The Hartford Courant, reported that he had a particular interest in Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in twin attacks in 2011 in Norway's worst peacetime massacre.

In a duffel bag, investigators found ear and eye protection, binoculars, numerous paper targets and an NRA certificate that belonged to Adam Lanza. The NRA said Lanza was not a member.

An unnamed person told investigators that Lanza was an avid gamer who played "Call of Duty" and rarely left his home. The affidavit, which is partially blacked out, also has that person saying that Sandy Hook, the school Lanza attended as a child, was his "life."

On the day of the massacre, Lanza took two loaded handguns to the school along with the Bushmaster rifle. A fourth gun, a loaded 12-gauge Saiga shotgun, was found in the passenger compartment of his Honda Civic, along with 70 shotgun rounds.

Lanza went through six 30-round magazines for the Bushmaster, although half of them were not completely empty, and police said he had three other 30-round magazines in addition to one that was in the rifle.

A judge's order to seal the warrants expired on Wednesday, and a Danbury Superior Court judge granted a request by Sedensky to withhold some details. Sedensky asked to redact the name of a witness, saying the person's safety might be jeopardized if the name were disclosed. He also asked that the release not include other information such as telephone numbers, serial numbers on items found and a few paragraphs of an affidavit.

Malloy, a Democrat in his first term as governor, said the fact that Lanza left smaller magazines at the house should boost support for a state ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines.

"That somebody could get 154 shots off in less than five minutes, kill 20 children and six adults, is disturbing," Malloy said.

Connecticut House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero Jr., a Republican, said he expects the General Assembly will be ready to vote next week, possibly Wednesday, on a package addressing gun control and other issues raised by the shooting.

___

Associated Press writers John Christoffersen, Dave Collins and Susan Haigh in Hartford and John Christoffersen in New Haven contributed to this report. Melia reported from Hartford.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/newtown-gunman-had-access-huge-weapons-cache-201407746.html

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Friday, March 29, 2013

Marquette marches on with 71-61 win over Miami

WASHINGTON (AP) ? After sweating through a pair of edge-of-your-seat comebacks, Marquette's first Sweet 16 victory in a decade was as straight and smooth as the 15-foot step-back jumper that Vander Blue nailed at the end of the first half.

It helped that the Golden Eagles ran into an out-of-sorts Miami team that, in an echo of its bus ride to the Verizon Center, was able to make as much headway as a frustrated commuter in rush-hour traffic.

Marquette is in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2003, getting there with an emphatic 71-61 win over Miami on Thursday night. The Golden Eagles were never threatened after taking a double-digit lead in the first half, quite the contrast from their rallies that beat Davidson by one and Butler by two earlier in the NCAA tournament.

"It's fantastic. It feels good not to have to worry about, are you going to lose on a last-second shot or are you going to win on a last-second shot?" said Jamil Wilson, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. "To have a cushion like that, these guys played with tremendous heart, and we did it all game."

Blue, who made the shot that beat Davidson and led the comeback against Butler, finished with 14 points. He wasn't Marquette's leading scorer, but his offensive and defensive energy pushed the Golden Eagles to a big lead early. It's a good thing he got his buzzer-beater before halftime ? for a change, Marquette didn't need one at the end of the game.

"We're so used to people not giving us credit. ... That fuels our fire," Blue said.

The third-seeded Golden Eagles (26-8) will face Big East rival Syracuse, the No. 4 seed, in the East Regional final on Saturday, aiming for a spot in the Final Foul for the first time since the 2003 team led by current Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade. Marquette was knocked out in the round of 16 the past two years.

"after 3 tries in the sweet 16 we finally figured it out. Congrts," Wade tweeted after the game.

Syracuse beat top-seeded Indiana 61-50 in the other East Regional semifinal.

This one wasn't hard to decipher. Marquette could shoot; Miami couldn't. The Hurricanes (29-7) had sentiment on their side, returning to the arena where coach Jim Larranaga led mid-major George Mason to the Final Four seven years ago, but they made only 35 percent of their field goals and missed 18 of 26 3-pointers.

"You ever have days where you're just out of sync or things just don't run along smoothly?" Larranaga said. "Almost like our trip over here. Our hotel is a mile and a half, it took us 45 minutes to get here. We had to go on nine different streets, weaving our way in and out of traffic and everything. And that's the way it seemed on the court. We were trying to find our way and never could. Never could get in rhythm offensively, and defensively. I don't think we communicated like we have been doing all season long."

Shane Larkin scored 14 points to lead the No. 2 seed Hurricanes, whose NCAA run to the round of 16 matched the best in school history.

"I think what we did this year was lay a foundation of what the program could be like," Larranaga said. "We're not anywhere near where I would like to be."

Marquette, meanwhile, shot 54 percent, a stark turnaround from its 38 percent rate from the first two games in the tournament. Davante Gardner added 14 points, with 12 coming in the second half when the Golden Eagles were comfortably ahead.

Comfortable being a relative term. Coach Buzz Williams, who relishes the Golden Eagles' underdog status, hardly seemed to know how to take such an easy win. He didn't look or sound like a winning coach afterward.

"Because of my path to this point, I do have an edge, and I probably need to have better wisdom as to how to handle that edge," Williams said. "But it's really delicate because our edge is why we win."

Blue got going when he picked off a pass and converted the steal into a one-handed jam to give Marquette an 8-4 lead. His running one-hander made it 12-4. Blue and Junior Cadougan forced a steal, getting Larkin to commit his second foul in the process.

Blue ended the half with an exclamation point, hitting the jumper just before the horn to give Marquette a 29-16 lead at the break. He drained the shot, strutted backward downcourt, cocked his right arm and gave Wilson a chest bump.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes couldn't sink anything. They started 2 for 12, including 0 for 6 from 3-point range, and Larkin's 3-pointer more than 11 minutes into the game was the first Hurricanes field goal scored by anyone other than Kenny Kadji.

In the second half, Blue's basket with 10:03 to play gave Marquette a 51-30 lead. The Hurricanes, who by then had started to press full court, then put together their best sequence of the night, a 7-0 run that cut the lead to 14 with 8? minutes left.

But Wilson's dunk and Gardner's inside basket stretched the lead back to 18. Gardner became the scene-stealer late, thumping his chest to the Marquette fans after a dunk in the final four minutes.

The Hurricanes played without backup center Reggie Johnson, who had surgery Tuesday for a minor knee injury. Johnson was averaging seven rebounds, but he would have helped only if he could've put the ball in the basket.

"There are only two things you have to do in basketball ? one, put the ball in the basket, two, stop the other team from putting the ball in the basket. We weren't able to do either," Larranaga said.

___

Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/marquette-marches-71-61-win-over-miami-012612295--spt.html

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Stricker still gets requests for putting lessons

HUMBLE, Texas (AP) ? At some point, Steve Stricker may have to turn down all the requests for putting lessons.

Since straightening out Tiger Woods stroke, Stricker has somewhat facetiously become known as the tour's resident expert on the greens. He's still taking grief for it and a handful of players asked him for instruction on Wednesday in advance of this week's Houston Open.

"I'm hearing it all over the place," Stricker said. "Some of them are joking and I think some are serious."

Stricker is happy to help, but doesn't want to be distracted from his own game. He talked about balancing the two with Dave Stockton Sr., who developed a reputation as a putting guru when he was on tour and now coaches several players.

"He said, what you have to do is, if you're going to help a guy, just tell the guy, 'You never got help from me, so the word doesn't get out,'" Stricker said. "That's not the way I am, I guess. Makes sense that you still have to pay attention to what you're doing. Otherwise, you get caught up in everybody else and what they need to fix in their game and your game goes by the wayside all of a sudden."

Maybe more than ever, Stricker seems to have his focus in the right place.

The 46-year-old Stricker is scheduled to play only 11 events this year. So far, he's making the most of his limited opportunities, with $1.82 million earned in his three starts.

"It's only been three events, but I notice the change in myself playing so far," Stricker said. "I feel like there's a little bit less pressure on me to perform well, for whatever reason."

These days, Stricker won't pick up a club for more than a week after playing in a tournament, then resume practicing about five days before leaving for the next one. After finishing second to Woods at Doral, he returned home to Wisconsin and took in some basketball at the Big Ten tournament in Chicago the following week.

"I always have come out and done fairly well when I'm fresh," Stricker said. "Whether that's a mental thing, I don't know. But I enjoy coming out. I feel like I'm a little bit easier on myself, I'm fresher mentally."

He's back at one of his favorite tournaments this week, the one he credits with reviving his career in 2006.

Stricker finished 162nd on the money list in 2005, and needed a sponsor's exemption from tournament director Steve Timms to play in the Houston Open the following year. He shot a 66 in the final round to finish third, the first of seven top-10s in 2006, and was later named the tour's comeback player of the year.

"It brings back a lot of good memories," Stricker said. "(Timms) gave me a spot in '06, when I needed a spot. Played well, and went on to play well that year and ever since really. As long as I'm eligible to come here, I probably will."

The Houston Open became the run-up event to the Masters in 2007 and organizers embraced the niche, trying to create Augusta-like conditions at Redstone.

This year, the tournament lost that distinction, with the Masters starting later than usual. The Houston Open stayed put in the week after Bay Hill, while the PGA Tour moved the Texas Open in San Antonio to the week before Augusta.

The move on the calendar wasn't enough to lure Woods, who's never competed in the Houston Open and has historically played two weeks before majors.

But it was ideal for Rory McIlroy, who slipped to No. 2 in the world after Woods won at Bay Hill. McIlroy hasn't played since tying for eighth in Doral, the most encouraging performance of an otherwise forgettable start to his season.

"I definitely treat this tournament as its own entity and a tournament that's worth winning," McIlroy said. "It's not a week before the Masters, it works really well."

He's comfortable with Woods taking over the top spot in the world rankings, and the spotlight that comes with it. But McIlroy also wants to get in the mix in Houston before heading to Augusta.

"I want to get back to getting into contention in tournaments and trying to win," McIlroy said. "I think this is a good week to try and get into contention, have a chance with the Masters coming up. I'm just really focused on this week in Houston and trying to play well here."

Defending champion Hunter Mahan, 2011 winner Phil Mickelson and top-10 players Brandt Snedeker, Louis Oosthuizen and Keegan Bradley are also in the field this week. Bradley is up to No. 10 in the world after three straight top-10 finishes.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stricker-still-gets-requests-putting-lessons-081924681--golf.html

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Russia criticizes Arab League move on Syria

MOSCOW (AP) ? Russia on Thursday harshly criticized the Arab League's recognition of the Syrian opposition as the only representative of the country, saying it effectively kills efforts to negotiate a peaceful end to the civil war there.

At a summit in Qatar on Tuesday, the Arab League let the main Syrian opposition coalition take over the country's seat for the first time.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his government "deeply regrets" the move, which he said amounts to "the Arab League's rejection of a peaceful settlement." He told reporters that the decision amounts to discarding of an international peace plan approved in Geneva in June, which was supported by the Arab League at the time. It called for an open-ended cease-fire and peace talks to form a transitional government that would run the country until elections.

However, the plan was a non-starter for the opposition because of Moscow's insistence it did not explicitly ban Syrian President Bashar Assad and other members of his regime from taking part in the transitional leadership.

Lavrov said the summit's decision Tuesday "strokes out all the efforts that have been made, including the Geneva agreements, and throws the status of Lakhdar Brahimi, U.N. and Arab League envoy for Syria, into limbo.

"If one of the founders of his mission, the Arab League, declares that the opposition coalition is the only legitimate representative of the country, there will be no talks and those who want to oust the regime will be provided with weapons. I simply can't see how Mr. Brahimi could remain the envoy.... That effectively puts an end to international mediation from the point of view of the Arab League."

Lavrov said the Doha summit's decision signaling an intention to supply the Syrian opposition with weapons is aimed at "inciting confrontation and encouraging irreconcilable forces."

At the United Nations, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin reiterated Lavrov's message and accused the Arab League of creating obstacles to progress in Syria, saying it was "beginning to act more like a negative than a positive force."

Russia has been Assad's main supporter throughout the two-year conflict, joining forces with China at the U.N. Security Council to shield his regime from international sanctions over his crackdown on an uprising that turned into a civil war that has killed an estimated 70,000 people.

___

Associated Press writer Maria Sanminiatelli contributed to this report from the United Nations.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-criticizes-arab-league-move-syria-163129068.html

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Telling tales can be a good thing: Personal stories help children develop emotional skills

Mar. 27, 2013 ? A new study finds that mothers tell better, more emotional stories about past experiences which help children develop their emotional skills.

The act of talking is not an area where ability is usually considered along gender lines. However, a new study published in Springer's journal Sex Roles has found subtle differences between the sexes in their story-relating ability and specifically the act of reminiscing. The research by Widaad Zaman from the University of Central Florida and her colleague Robyn Fivush from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, discusses how these gender differences in parents can affect children's emotional development.

Previous research in this area has concluded that the act of parents reminiscing with their children enables children to interpret experiences and weave together the past, present and future. There is also evidence that parents elaborate less when talking to sons than daughters.

The primary objective of Zaman's study was to compare the reminiscing styles of mothers and fathers with their pre-school daughters and sons. This included how they elaborated on the story and the extent to which their children engaged with the story while it was being told.

The researchers studied 42 families where the participating children were between four and five years old. Parents were asked to reminisce about four past emotional experiences of the child (happy, sad, a conflict with a peer and a conflict with a parent) and two past play interactions they experienced together. The parents took turns talking to the child on separate visits.

The researchers found that mothers elaborated more when reminiscing with their children than fathers. Contrary to previous research, however, Zaman's study found no differences in the extent to which either parent elaborated on a story depending on the sex of the child. Mothers tended to include more emotional terms in the story than fathers, which they then discussed and explained to the child. This increased maternal engagement has the effect of communicating to the child the importance of their own version, perspective and feelings about the experience.

The authors contend that through their increased interaction with the child, mothers are helping their children work through and talk about their experiences more than fathers, regardless of the type of experience. This may reflect the mother's efforts to try and help her child deal with difficult emotions, especially about negative experiences, all of which is related to better emotional well-being.

The authors conclude that "these results are intriguing, and a necessary first step to better understanding how parents socialize gender roles to girls and boys through narratives about the past, and how girls and boys may then incorporate these roles into their own narratives and their own lives."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Springer Science+Business Media.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Widaad Zaman, Robyn Fivush. Gender Differences in Elaborative Parent?Child Emotion and Play Narratives. Sex Roles, 2013; DOI: 10.1007/s11199-013-0270-7

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/living_well/~3/Wa7GWEuPVQc/130327103054.htm

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NOvA neutrino detector records first 3-D particle tracks

NOvA neutrino detector records first 3-D particle tracks [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 28-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Andre Salles
media@fnal.gov
630-840-6733
DOE/Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

What will soon be the most powerful neutrino detector in the United States has recorded its first three-dimensional images of particles.

Using the first completed section of the NOvA neutrino detector, scientists have begun collecting data from cosmic raysparticles produced by a constant rain of atomic nuclei falling on the Earth's atmosphere from space.

"It's taken years of hard work and close collaboration among universities, national laboratories and private companies to get to this point," said Pier Oddone, director of the Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Fermilab manages the project to construct the detector.

The active section of the detector, under construction in Ash River, Minn., is about 12 feet long, 15 feet wide and 20 feet tall. The full detector will measure more than 200 feet long, 50 feet wide and 50 feet tall.

Scientists' goal for the completed detector is to use it to discover properties of mysterious fundamental particles called neutrinos. Neutrinos are as abundant as cosmic rays in the atmosphere, but they have barely any mass and interact much more rarely with other matter. Many of the neutrinos around today are thought to have originated in the big bang.

"The more we know about neutrinos, the more we know about the early universe and about how our world works at its most basic level," said NOvA co-spokesperson Gary Feldman of Harvard University.

Later this year, Fermilab, outside of Chicago, will start sending a beam of neutrinos 500 miles through the earth to the NOvA detector near the Canadian border. When a neutrino interacts in the NOvA detector, the particles it produces leave trails of light in their wake. The detector records these streams of light, enabling physicists to identify the original neutrino and measure the amount of energy it had.

When cosmic rays pass through the NOvA detector, they leave straight tracks and deposit well-known amounts of energy. They are great for calibration, said Mat Muether, a Fermilab post-doctoral researcher who has been working on the detector.

"Everybody loves cosmic rays for this reason," Muether said. "They are simple and abundant and a perfect tool for tuning up a new detector."

The detector at its current size catches more than 1,000 cosmic rays per second. Naturally occurring neutrinos from cosmic rays, supernovae and the sun stream through the detector at the same time. But the flood of more visible cosmic-ray data makes it difficult to pick them out.

Once the upgraded Fermilab neutrino beam starts, the NOvA detector will take data every 1.3 seconds to synchronize with the Fermilab accelerator. Inside this short time window, the burst of neutrinos from Fermilab will be much easier to spot.

The NOvA detector will be operated by the University of Minnesota under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

The NOvA experiment is a collaboration of 180 scientists, technicians and students from 20 universities and laboratories in the U.S and another 14 institutions around the world. The scientists are funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and funding agencies in the Czech Republic, Greece, India, Russia and the United Kingdom.

###

Fermilab is America's premier national laboratory for particle physics research. A U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory, Fermilab is located near Chicago, Illinois, and operated under contract by the Fermi Research Alliance, LLC. Visit Fermilab's website at http://www.fnal.gov and follow us on Twitter at @FermilabToday.

The DOE Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.



[ 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.


NOvA neutrino detector records first 3-D particle tracks [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 28-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Andre Salles
media@fnal.gov
630-840-6733
DOE/Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

What will soon be the most powerful neutrino detector in the United States has recorded its first three-dimensional images of particles.

Using the first completed section of the NOvA neutrino detector, scientists have begun collecting data from cosmic raysparticles produced by a constant rain of atomic nuclei falling on the Earth's atmosphere from space.

"It's taken years of hard work and close collaboration among universities, national laboratories and private companies to get to this point," said Pier Oddone, director of the Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Fermilab manages the project to construct the detector.

The active section of the detector, under construction in Ash River, Minn., is about 12 feet long, 15 feet wide and 20 feet tall. The full detector will measure more than 200 feet long, 50 feet wide and 50 feet tall.

Scientists' goal for the completed detector is to use it to discover properties of mysterious fundamental particles called neutrinos. Neutrinos are as abundant as cosmic rays in the atmosphere, but they have barely any mass and interact much more rarely with other matter. Many of the neutrinos around today are thought to have originated in the big bang.

"The more we know about neutrinos, the more we know about the early universe and about how our world works at its most basic level," said NOvA co-spokesperson Gary Feldman of Harvard University.

Later this year, Fermilab, outside of Chicago, will start sending a beam of neutrinos 500 miles through the earth to the NOvA detector near the Canadian border. When a neutrino interacts in the NOvA detector, the particles it produces leave trails of light in their wake. The detector records these streams of light, enabling physicists to identify the original neutrino and measure the amount of energy it had.

When cosmic rays pass through the NOvA detector, they leave straight tracks and deposit well-known amounts of energy. They are great for calibration, said Mat Muether, a Fermilab post-doctoral researcher who has been working on the detector.

"Everybody loves cosmic rays for this reason," Muether said. "They are simple and abundant and a perfect tool for tuning up a new detector."

The detector at its current size catches more than 1,000 cosmic rays per second. Naturally occurring neutrinos from cosmic rays, supernovae and the sun stream through the detector at the same time. But the flood of more visible cosmic-ray data makes it difficult to pick them out.

Once the upgraded Fermilab neutrino beam starts, the NOvA detector will take data every 1.3 seconds to synchronize with the Fermilab accelerator. Inside this short time window, the burst of neutrinos from Fermilab will be much easier to spot.

The NOvA detector will be operated by the University of Minnesota under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

The NOvA experiment is a collaboration of 180 scientists, technicians and students from 20 universities and laboratories in the U.S and another 14 institutions around the world. The scientists are funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and funding agencies in the Czech Republic, Greece, India, Russia and the United Kingdom.

###

Fermilab is America's premier national laboratory for particle physics research. A U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory, Fermilab is located near Chicago, Illinois, and operated under contract by the Fermi Research Alliance, LLC. Visit Fermilab's website at http://www.fnal.gov and follow us on Twitter at @FermilabToday.

The DOE Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.



[ 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/2013-03/dnal-nnd032813.php

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Saturn is like an antiques shop, Cassini suggests; Moons and rings date back to solar system's birth

Mar. 27, 2013 ? A new analysis of data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggests that Saturn's moons and rings are gently worn vintage goods from around the time of our solar system's birth.

Though they are tinted on the surface from recent "pollution," these bodies date back more than 4 billion years. They are from around the time that the planetary bodies in our neighborhood began to form out of the protoplanetary nebula, the cloud of material still orbiting the sun after its ignition as a star. The paper, led by Gianrico Filacchione, a Cassini participating scientist at Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics, Rome, has just been published online by The Astrophysical Journal.

"Studying the Saturnian system helps us understand the chemical and physical evolution of our entire solar system," said Filacchione. "We know now that understanding this evolution requires not just studying a single moon or ring, but piecing together the relationships intertwining these bodies."

Data from Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIMS) have revealed how water ice and also colors -- which are the signs of non-water and organic materials --are distributed throughout the Saturnian system. The spectrometer's data in the visible part of the light spectrum show that coloring on the rings and moons generally is only skin-deep.

Using its infrared range, VIMS also detected abundant water ice -- too much to have been deposited by comets or other recent means. So the authors deduce that the water ices must have formed around the time of the birth of the solar system, because Saturn orbits the sun beyond the so-called "snow line." Out beyond the snow line, in the outer solar system where Saturn resides, the environment is conducive to preserving water ice, like a deep freezer. Inside the solar system's "snow line," the environment is much closer to the sun's warm glow, and ices and other volatiles dissipate more easily.

The colored patina on the ring particles and moons roughly corresponds to their location in the Saturn system. For Saturn's inner ring particles and moons, water-ice spray from the geyser moon Enceladus has a whitewashing effect.

Farther out, the scientists found that the surfaces of Saturn's moons generally were redder the farther they orbited from Saturn. Phoebe, one of Saturn's outer moons and an object thought to originate in the far-off Kuiper Belt, seems to be shedding reddish dust that eventually rouges the surface of nearby moons, such as Hyperion and Iapetus.

A rain of meteoroids from outside the system appears to have turned some parts of the main ring system -- notably the part of the main rings known as the B ring -- a subtle reddish hue. Scientists think the reddish color could be oxidized iron -- rust -- or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which could be progenitors of more complex organic molecules.

One of the big surprises from this research was the similar reddish coloring of the potato-shaped moon Prometheus and nearby ring particles. Other moons in the area were more whitish.

"The similar reddish tint suggests that Prometheus is constructed from material in Saturn's rings," said co-author Bonnie Buratti, a VIMS team member based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Scientists had been wondering whether ring particles could have stuck together to form moons -- since the dominant theory was that the rings basically came from satellites being broken up. The coloring gives us some solid proof that it can work the other way around, too."

"Observing the rings and moons with Cassini gives us an amazing bird's-eye view of the intricate processes at work in the Saturn system, and perhaps in the evolution of planetary systems as well," said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist, based at JPL. "What an object looks like and how it evolves depends a lot on location, location, location."

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. G. Filacchione, F. Capaccioni, R. N. Clark, P. D. Nicholson, D. P. Cruikshank, J. N. Cuzzi, J. I. Lunine, R. H. Brown, P. Cerroni, F. Tosi, M. Ciarniello, B. J. Buratti, M. M. Hedman, E. Flamini. The radial distribution of water ice and chromophores across Saturn's system. Astrophysical Journal, 2013; (accepted) [link]

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/top_news/top_science/~3/r2bvS0rQl3A/130327170155.htm

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Justin Timberlake Tells Fans He's 'Speechless' About First-Week Sales

'Shocked ... I just hope this album makes your summer,' he tweets.
By Gil Kaufman


Justin Timberlake
Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704482/justin-timberlake-20-20-album-sales.jhtml

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America: Time to shake the salt habit?

Mar. 27, 2013 ? The love affair between U.S. residents and salt is making us sick: high sodium intake increases blood pressure, and leads to higher rates of heart attack and strokes. Nonetheless, Americans continue to ingest far higher amounts of sodium than those recommended by physicians and national guidelines.

A balanced review of the relevant literature has been published in the March 27, 2013 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine. Theodore A. Kotchen, MD, professor of medicine (endocrinology), and associate dean for clinical research at the Medical College of Wisconsin, is the lead author of the article.

Dr. Kotchen cites correlations between blood pressure and salt intake in a number of different studies; typically, the causation between lowering salt intake and decreased levels of blood pressure occur in individuals who have been diagnosed with hypertension. Although not as pronounced, there is also a link between salt intake and blood pressure in non-hypertensive individuals. Additionally, recent studies have demonstrated that a reduced salt intake is associated with decreased cardiovascular disease and decreased mortality.

In national studies in Finland and Great Britain, instituting a national salt-reduction program led to decreased sodium intake. In Finland, the resulting decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressures corresponded to a 75 -- 80 percent decrease in death due to stroke and coronary heart disease.

Nevertheless, not all investigators concur with population-based recommendations to lower salt intake, and the reasons for this position are reviewed.

"Salt is essential for life, but it has been difficult to distinguish salt need from salt preference," said Dr. Kotchen. "Given the medical evidence, it seems that recommendations for reducing levels of salt consumption in the general population would be justifiable at this time." However, in terms of safety, the lower limit of salt consumption has not been clearly identified. In certain patient groups, less rigorous targets for salt reduction may be appropriate.

Co-authors are Allen W. Cowley, Jr., PhD, James J. Smith and Catherine Welsh Smith Professor in Physiology, and Harry and Gertrude Hack Term Professor and chairman of Physiology, the Medical College of Wisconsin; Edward D. Frohlich, MD, Alton Ocshner Distinguished Scientist at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, La.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Medical College of Wisconsin.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Theodore A. Kotchen, Allen W. Cowley, Edward D. Frohlich. Salt in Health and Disease ? A Delicate Balance. New England Journal of Medicine, 2013; 368 (13): 1229 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1212606

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/most_popular/~3/xgaeOmcfU_o/130328091752.htm

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US Sends B-2 Bombers Over Korean Peninsula (Voice Of America)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Gay marriage equality box spreads on social media

This image released by the Human Rights Campaign shows a redesign of their logo. A square box with thick pink horizontal lines (the mathematical equal symbol) was offered for sharing this week by the Human Rights Campaign as the U.S. Supreme Court took up arguments in key marriage rights cases. The image, replacing profile pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest and elsewhere, is a makeover of the advocacy group's logo, usually a blue background with bright yellow lines. The HRC made it available in red _ for the color of love _ on Monday and estimated tens of millions of shares by Wednesday. (AP Photo/Human Rights Campaign)

This image released by the Human Rights Campaign shows a redesign of their logo. A square box with thick pink horizontal lines (the mathematical equal symbol) was offered for sharing this week by the Human Rights Campaign as the U.S. Supreme Court took up arguments in key marriage rights cases. The image, replacing profile pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest and elsewhere, is a makeover of the advocacy group's logo, usually a blue background with bright yellow lines. The HRC made it available in red _ for the color of love _ on Monday and estimated tens of millions of shares by Wednesday. (AP Photo/Human Rights Campaign)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Bud Light said it with beer cans and Martha Stewart with red velvet cake as companies and celebrities from Beyonce to George Takei joined millions of social media users in posting and tweaking a simple red logo in support of gay marriage.

A square box with thick pink horizontal lines (the mathematical equal symbol) was offered for sharing this week by the Human Rights Campaign as the U.S. Supreme Court took up arguments in key marriage rights cases.

The image, replacing profile pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest and elsewhere, is a makeover of the advocacy group's logo, usually a blue background with bright yellow lines. The HRC made it available in red ? for the color of love ? on Monday and estimated tens of millions of shares by Wednesday.

"It shows the enthusiasm and the passion," said Fred Sainz, a spokesman for the nonprofit in Washington, D.C.

Like viral campaigns of yore, supporting breast cancer awareness (pink), President Barack Obama (change your middle name to Hussein) and even Arab Spring (green), a bit of fatigue set in on some social media streams by those questioning whether such efforts serve to change any minds or, put simply, are plain annoying.

"My Facebook feed is a cascading aesthetic nightmare. Thanks, equality," Washington Post writer Dan Zak wryly grumbled on Twitter.

A photo of Justice Anthony Kennedy made the rounds with the quip: "Before we make a ruling, did enough people change their Facebook profile picture?!"

None of that mattered to the masses of same-sex marriage supporters. Some swapped matzoh for the pink lines as Passover got under way, or added frowny Internet star Grumpy Cat, who explained marriage equality would make her happy.

Bert and Ernie showed up against the red background. (They're best friends with no plans to marry, according to Sesame Street.) Another version featured Paula Deen atop the red square and lines turned a shade of yellow akin to her favorite fatty ingredient and the tagline: "It's like two sticks of butter y'all."

Takei, a noted punster with nearly 4 million followers in Facebook, turned the equal sign into the division sign for those opposed to marriage equality.

Beyonce, with more than 44 million followers there, played it straight, leaving the logo alone and adding a personal message: "It's about TIME!!! (hash)EQUALITY (hash)MarryWhoYouLove.

Fergie let the image speak for itself on Twitter, adding: "No words necessary." Montana Sen. John Tester, a Democrat who endorsed same-sex marriage on Tuesday, put the logo up as his profile on Facebook while the clothing site Bonobos swapped its usual Facebook pic for the red square using fancy white pants for the equal sign.

Martha Stewart's Facebook page used a slice of red cake with white icing to make the image and the HBO page for "True Blood" added fangs.

All in good fun?

"There's a lot of serious conversation going on and there's an awful lot of important concepts that the Supreme Court justices are discussing," Sainz said. "What this logo going viral means is individuals have reduced it to a very straightforward concept."

___

Follow Leanne Italie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/litalie

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-27-Gay%20Marriage-Viral%20Logo/id-fd6365d24a53492d8a68673a76af8682

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Botonists find novel way plants pass traits to next generation: Inheritance behavior in corn breaks accepted rules of genetics

Mar. 26, 2013 ? New research explains how certain traits can pass down from one generation to the next -- at least in plants -- without following the accepted rules of genetics.

Scientists have shown that an enzyme in corn responsible for reading information from DNA can prompt unexpected changes in gene activity -- an example of epigenetics.

Epigenetics refers to modifications in the genome that don't directly affect DNA sequences. Though some evidence has suggested that epigenetic changes can bypass DNA's influence to carry on from one generation to the next, this is the first study to show that this epigenetic heritability can be subject to selective breeding.

Researchers bred 10 generations of corn and found that one particular gene's activity persisted from one generation to the next whether the enzyme was functioning or not -- meaning typical genetic behavior was not required for the gene's trait to come through.

And that, the scientists determined, was because the enzyme targets a tiny piece of DNA -- previously thought of as "junk DNA" -- that had jumped from one area of the genome to another, giving that little fragment power to unexpectedly turn on the gene.

The gene in question affects pigmentation in the corn plant. As a result of these experiments, the researchers were able to change yellow kernel corn to a blue kernel variety by compromising the activity of the enzyme in each male parent.

"This is the first example where somebody has been able to take an epigenetic source of variation and, through selective breeding, move it from an inactive state to an active state," said Jay Hollick, associate professor of molecular genetics at The Ohio State University and lead author of the study. "The gene changes its expression in an epigenetic fashion and it doesn't follow standard inheritance behaviors. Those two factors alone have pretty profound implications not only for breeding but also for evolution."

The study appears online in the journal The Plant Cell.

Plant breeders tend to expect to generate desired traits according to what is known as Mendelian principles of inheritance: Offspring receive one copy of genes from each parental plant, and the characteristics of the alleles, or alternative forms of genes, help predict which traits will show up in the next plant generation.

However, epigenetic variations that change the predictability of gene behavior have complicated those expectations.

"The breeding community searches for novel traits that will have commercial interest and they really don't care what the basis is as long as they can capture it and breed it. Epigenetic heritability throws a kink in the expectations, but our findings also provide an opportunity -- if they recognize the variation they're looking for is the result of epigenetics, they could use that to their advantage," said Hollick, also an investigator in Ohio State's centers for RNA Biology and Applied Plant Sciences.

"Just by knowing that this allele behaves in this epigenetic fashion, I can breed plants that either have full coloration or no coloration or anything in between, because I am manipulating epigenetic variation and not genetic variation. And color, of course, is only one trait that could be affected."

With a longtime specialization in the molecular basis for unexpected gene activity in plants, Hollick had zeroed in on an enzyme called RNA polymerase IV (Pol IV). Multiple types of RNA polymerases are responsible for setting gene expression in motion in all cells, and Pol IV is an enigmatic RNA polymerase that is known in plants to produce small RNA molecules.

Pol IV has puzzled scientists because despite its strong conservation in all plants, it appears to have no discernible impact on the development of Arabidopsis, a common model organism in plant biology. For example, when it is deleted from these plants, they show no signs of distress.

In corn, however, Hollick's lab had discovered previously that the absence of Pol IV creates clear problems in the plants, such as growing seeds in the tassel.

Hollick and colleagues observed that plants deficient in Pol IV also showed pigmentation in kernels of ears expected not to make any color at all -- meaning they were expected to be yellow.

"Since we knew the misplaced tassel-seed trait was due to misexpression of a gene, we hypothesized that this pigment trait might be due to a pigment regulator being expressed in a tissue where it normally is never expressed. Molecular analysis showed that that was in fact the case," Hollick said.

The researchers selected dark kernels and light kernels from multiple generations of plants and crossed the plants derived form these different kernel classes to create additional new generations of corn.

"We found that the ears developed from those plants had even more darkly colored kernels and fewer lightly colored kernels. We could segregate the extreme types and cross them together and get this continued intensification of the pigmentation over many generations," he said. "We generated more progeny that had increasing amounts of pigment. This is taking a gene that is genetically null, that doesn't have any function in this part of the plant, and turning it from a complete null to a completely dominant form that produces full coloration.

"Essentially we were breeding a novel trait, but not by selecting for any particular gene. We were just continually altering the epigenetic status of one of the two parental genomes every time."

This led the scientists to question why the affected alleles of the pigmentation gene would behave in this way. An investigation of the affected alleles revealed the nearby presence of a transposon, or transposable element: a tiny piece of DNA that has leapt from one area of the genome to another.

Because the sequence of some small RNA fragments that come from Pol IV's activity are identical to the sequence of these transposons, the finding made sense to the scientists.

"Now that we know that Pol IV is involved in regulating transposons, it's not surprising that genes that are near transposons are now regulated by Pol IV," Hollick said.

This work was supported by the National Research Initiative of the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service and the National Science Foundation.

Hollick conducted this work at the University of California, Berkeley, before he joined Ohio State's faculty. Co-authors are former Berkeley colleagues Karl Erhard Jr., Susan Parkinson, Stephen Gross, Joy-El Barbour and Jana Lim.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Ohio State University.

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Journal Reference:

  1. K. F. Erhard, S. E. Parkinson, S. M. Gross, J.-E. R. Barbour, J. P. Lim, J. B. Hollick. Maize RNA Polymerase IV Defines trans-Generational Epigenetic Variation. The Plant Cell, 2013; DOI: 10.1105/tpc.112.107680

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/bzvdDxaq0K8/130326112003.htm

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