Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/193029882?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
UN nuclear inspection gets under way in Iran (AP)
TEHRAN, Iran ? U.N. nuclear inspectors began a critical mission to Iran on Sunday to probe allegations of a secret atomic weapons program amid escalating Western economic pressure and warnings about safeguarding Gulf oil shipments from possible Iranian blockades.
The findings from the three-day visit could greatly influence the direction and urgency of U.S.-led efforts to rein in Iran's ability to enrich uranium ? which Washington and allies fear could eventually produce weapons-grade material. Iran has declined to abandon its enrichment labs, but claims it only seeks to fuel reactors for energy and medical research.
The International Atomic Energy Agency team is likely to visit an underground enrichment site near the holy city of Qom, 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Tehran, which is carved into a mountain as protection from possible airstrikes. Earlier this month, Iran said it had begun enrichment work at the site, which is far smaller than the country's main uranium labs but is reported to have more advanced equipment.
The U.N. nuclear agency delegation includes two senior weapons experts ? Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa ? suggesting that Iran may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations that it seeks nuclear warheads.
In unusually blunt comments ahead of his arrival, the IAEA's Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts ? who is in charge of the agency's Iran file ? said he wants Tehran to "engage us on all concerns."
Iran has refused to discuss the alleged weapons experiments for three years, saying they are based on "fabricated documents" provided by a "few arrogant countries" ? a phrase authorities in Iran often use to refer to the United States and its allies.
"So we're looking forward to the start of a dialogue," Nackaerts told reporters at Vienna airport. "A dialogue that is overdue since very long."
In a sign of the tensions that surround Iran's disputed nuclear program, a dozen Iranian hard-liners carrying photos of slain nuclear expert Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan were waiting at Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport early Sunday.
Iranian state media allege that Roshan, a chemistry expert and director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, was interviewed by IAEA inspectors before being killed earlier this month in a targeted bomb attack that Iran claims is part of an Israeli-led covert campaign of sabotage and slayings. Roshan was at least the fourth member of Iran's scientific community to be killed in apparent assassinations.
In Vienna, the IAEA said it does not know Roshan and has never talked to him.
But the IAEA team will be looking for permission to talk to key Iranian scientists suspected of working on a weapons program. They also plan to inspect documents related to nuclear work and secure commitments from Iranian authorities to allow future visits. It's unclear how much assistance Iran will provide, but even a decision to enter a discussion over the allegations would be a major departure from Iran's frequent simple refusal to talk about them.
Iran also has accused the IAEA in the past of security leaks that expose its scientists and their families to the threat of assassination by the U.S. and Israel.
The visit was to coincide with a vote in Iran's parliament on a bill that would require the government to immediately cut the flow of crude oil to Europe in retaliation for sanctions. Lawmakers postponed the vote Sunday to further study the bill, and no date for a vote has been set.
The draft bill is Iran's response to an EU decision last week to impose an embargo on Iranian oil. The measure is set to take full effect in July.
The head of Iran's state oil company said Sunday that pressures on Iran's oil exports ? the second biggest in OPEC ? could drive prices as high as $150 a barrel.
"It seems we will witness prices from $120 to $150 in the future," Ahmad Qalehbani was quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency. He did not give a timeframe for the prediction, nor any other details.
The price of benchmark U.S. crude on Friday was around $99.56 per barrel. About 80 percent of Iran's foreign revenue comes from exporting around 2.2 million barrels of oil per day.
Oil prices have been driven higher in recent weeks by Iran's warnings that it could block the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf, the route for about one-fifth of the world's oil. Last week, the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, joined by French and British warships, entered the Gulf in a show of strength against any attempts to disrupt oil tanker traffic.
___
Associated Press writer George Jahn in Vienna contributed to this report.
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Is an American Moon Base Really a Lunatic Idea? (ContributorNetwork)
COMMENTARY | Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich came under fire -- mostly for economic reasons -- when he proposed at the CNN Republican Presidential Debate in Jacksonville that he would like to have a permanent moon base on Earth's lone satellite by the end of his second term as president. But even if his ideas have some logistical hurdles to cross, there is ample reason to believe that an American moon base could be operational in a decade or two. Besides, the space race never really went into hiatus; the major players merely took a slower track, giving others a chance to enter the race.
A Moon Base By 2020?
There are several reasons to develop a moon base: military and strategic, scientific, economic, or simply territorial. But Gingrich's moon base ideation may have been spurred by the growing interest of other nations in reaching the moon. With a sort of Kennedy-esque vision of national direction, Gingrich revived the dream of not only reaching the moon, but obtaining a bit of it for the American people. A 2020 date might be somewhat optimistic, but he said he'd like to set up shop before China, which has plans to put a man on the moon by 2024.
The Obama administration has decided to forego the moon, concentrating on research and development, cooperating in international space endeavors, planning a future mission to an asteroid, and getting to Mars by 2035. But no moon mission. In fact, President Obama told his audience, which included moonwalking astronaut Buzz Aldrin, when he laid out his Space Policy at the John F. Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida in April 2010, "We've been there before. Buzz has been there."
A Renewed Space Race?
The United States is the only country to have ever placed moonwalkers on the lunar surface. Twelve, in fact. However, with the development of several space agencies around the planet, that could soon change to simply being the first.
As mentioned, China has designs on getting to the moon. A Hong Kong newspaper reported in 2006 (recounted by Reuters) that a top Chinese space program official stated that China planned its first moonwalk for 2024. A moon base, territory grab, and mineral extractions will then begin, according to Robert Bigelow, founder of the private space company Bigelow Aerospace, who told Discovery Newsthat the moon is the obvious next step in human exploration and development. And although there exists an international space treaty, the Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, that prohibits any one nation or organization from owning through claim, use, or other means any part or all of the moon, that will have little bearing on the situation at hand once a nation establishes an outpost of some kind on the lunar surface. History is littered with broken treaties.
JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) also revealed in 2006 in an AFP report its long-range plans for putting a man on the moon by 2030. Spokesman Satoki Kurokawa stated that Japan hoped to get a man on the moon by 2020.
India, which has sent unmanned orbiters to the moon, has also expressed an interest in a moon base.
What About Russia?
Gingrich's moon base could also see realization in renewed efforts by the Russians to reach the moon. A Cold War competitor as part of the Soviet Union, the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos announced Jan. 19 (per BDK) that they had enjoined talks with European and American space partners about a possible base or manned orbiter.
So was Gingrich's idea a lunatic's dream? Hardly. And with all the attention his moon base comments have received, they could very well spark renewed interest in America's manned space program, which ended with the touchdown of the shuttle Atlantis in July.
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sonicating sperm -- the future of male contraception
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 29-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Dr. Hilary Glover
hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com
44-203-192-2370
BioMed Central
The ideal male contraceptive would be inexpensive, reliable, and reversible. It would need to be long acting but have few side effects. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology used commercially available therapeutic ultrasound equipment to reduce sperm counts of male rats to levels which would result in infertility in humans.
Ultrasound's potential as a male contraceptive was first reported nearly 40 years ago. However the equipment used is now outdated and no longer available. Researchers from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine used these experiments as a starting point to see if modern ultrasound equipment usually used for physical therapy could be used as a male contraceptive.
The team led by James Tsuruta found that by rotating high frequency (3MHz) ultrasound around the testes they were able to cause uniform depletion of germ cells throughout the testes. The best results were seen using two sessions consisting of 15 minutes ultrasound, two days apart. Saline was used to provide conduction between the ultrasound transducer and skin, and the testes were warmed to 37 degrees centigrade. Together this reduced sperm to a Sperm Count Index of zero (3 million motile sperm per cauda epididymis).
The World Health Organization has defined oligospermia (low sperm concentration) as less than 15 million sperm per ml. Dr Tsuruta explained, "Unlike humans, rats remain fertile even with extremely low sperm counts. However, our non-invasive ultrasound treatment reduced sperm reserves in rats far below levels normally seen in fertile men (95% of fertile men have more than 39 million sperm in their ejaculate). However further studies are required to determine how long the contraceptive effect lasts and if it is safe to use multiple times."
###
Notes to Editors
1. Therapeutic ultrasound as a potential male contraceptive: power, frequency and temperature required to deplete rat testes of meiotic cells and epididymides of sperm determined using a commercially available system
James K Tsuruta, Paul A Dayton, Caterina M Gallippi, Michael G O'Rand, Michael A Streicker, Ryan C Gessner, Thomas S Gregory, Erick JR Silva, Katherine G Hamil, Glenda J Moser and David C Sokal
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (in press)
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication.
2. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (RB&E) is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal that aims to act as a forum for the dissemination of results from excellent research in the reproductive sciences.
3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 29-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Dr. Hilary Glover
hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com
44-203-192-2370
BioMed Central
The ideal male contraceptive would be inexpensive, reliable, and reversible. It would need to be long acting but have few side effects. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology used commercially available therapeutic ultrasound equipment to reduce sperm counts of male rats to levels which would result in infertility in humans.
Ultrasound's potential as a male contraceptive was first reported nearly 40 years ago. However the equipment used is now outdated and no longer available. Researchers from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine used these experiments as a starting point to see if modern ultrasound equipment usually used for physical therapy could be used as a male contraceptive.
The team led by James Tsuruta found that by rotating high frequency (3MHz) ultrasound around the testes they were able to cause uniform depletion of germ cells throughout the testes. The best results were seen using two sessions consisting of 15 minutes ultrasound, two days apart. Saline was used to provide conduction between the ultrasound transducer and skin, and the testes were warmed to 37 degrees centigrade. Together this reduced sperm to a Sperm Count Index of zero (3 million motile sperm per cauda epididymis).
The World Health Organization has defined oligospermia (low sperm concentration) as less than 15 million sperm per ml. Dr Tsuruta explained, "Unlike humans, rats remain fertile even with extremely low sperm counts. However, our non-invasive ultrasound treatment reduced sperm reserves in rats far below levels normally seen in fertile men (95% of fertile men have more than 39 million sperm in their ejaculate). However further studies are required to determine how long the contraceptive effect lasts and if it is safe to use multiple times."
###
Notes to Editors
1. Therapeutic ultrasound as a potential male contraceptive: power, frequency and temperature required to deplete rat testes of meiotic cells and epididymides of sperm determined using a commercially available system
James K Tsuruta, Paul A Dayton, Caterina M Gallippi, Michael G O'Rand, Michael A Streicker, Ryan C Gessner, Thomas S Gregory, Erick JR Silva, Katherine G Hamil, Glenda J Moser and David C Sokal
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (in press)
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication.
2. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (RB&E) is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal that aims to act as a forum for the dissemination of results from excellent research in the reproductive sciences.
3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/bc-ss012712.php
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Newark, NJ, told to produce Facebook pledge log (AP)
NEWARK, N.J. ? The state's largest city must produce a list of documents related to a $100 million pledge to its public schools from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, a judge ruled Friday.
The ruling stemmed from of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a group representing Newark schoolchildren that is seeking more transparency about the donation. The Associated Press and other news outlets also have made such requests.
State Superior Court Judge Rachel Davidson's ruling requires the city to produce the list, believed to enumerate about 50 pages of emails pertaining to the donation, by Feb. 10. The city could seek to block the publishing of some of the emails on the list, according to ACLU New Jersey attorney Ed Barocas.
The city, in a response letter to an AP request for the documents in 2010, said that any conversations between Democratic Mayor Cory Booker and Zuckerberg were "not made in the course of the Mayor's official duties" and therefore were exempt from open-records laws.
Were Booker found to have been acting in his capacity as mayor, the letter continued, the city didn't have the records requested. But it added that if the records were found, their release was barred under executive privilege.
The ACLU, in its lawsuit, argued that privilege can be claimed only by the governor, not by a sitting mayor. It argued that the public has a right to know how the grant funds are to be used and who is making the decisions on their allocation.
"We don't want to make it seem that there was necessarily something nefarious going on," Barocas said Friday. "All we ask is for this to be transparent. The public should be aware what, if any, agreements were made prior to or as part of the grant of the money."
City attorney Anna Pereira declined to comment Friday, citing the ongoing litigation.
In court filings, the city has said that the Facebook grant is being administered not by the city but by two not-for-profits that it doesn't fund, operate or exercise any control over. The city's schools were placed under state control in 1995 after instances of waste and mismanagement, including the spending of taxpayer money by school board members on cars and restaurant meals.
Newark's public school system is the state's largest, with 75 schools and a student population of about 40,000, according to its website. The schools have been plagued for years by low test scores, poor graduation rates and crumbling buildings.
The $100 million pledge to the schools was announced in the fall of 2010 by Booker, Zuckerberg and Republican Gov. Chris Christie as they appeared together on Oprah Winfrey's syndicated talk show.
Zuckerberg described the gift as a "challenge grant" to Booker, who has sought to raise $100 million more to match what Zuckerberg promised to contribute over five years. Zuckerberg's social networking website, based in Palo Alto, Calif., is estimated to be worth more than $50 billion.
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Graphene Membranes Superpermeable to Water
There has also been studies showing you can make a selective filter by making nanotubes with the right diameter to let water through but not larger molecules. In addition because the walls are so "smooth" there is much less pressure to flow the water through then expected.
Although I doubt this orientation will allow for filtering out "helium" as the original posting.
The mechanims that the original posting paper is speculating, it that the way they made the graphene oxide (not pure graphene) membrane, it is has embedded capilaries which when wet (filled with water) allow for nearly unimpeded transport of water, but when these capilaries dry out, their diameter constricts so that nothing gets through (even helium).
So to contrast, the "tubes" are not rigid and the walls are not so "smooth" in this case, the "tubes" are sort of like chinese finger puzzles. When filled with water, allow water to pass easily, but when you try to pull the last bit of water out of them, the diameter constricts and nothing can get past.. Well maybe the chinese finger puzzle analogy was a bad one, but I couldn't think of anything else...
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Will Beyonce Join The Ranks Of Celebrity Mommy Moguls?
Celebrity mom Kimora Lee Simmons and other experts discuss balancing motherhood and business.
By Jocelyn Vena
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage
<P>Now that <a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/knowles_beyonce/artist.jhtml">Beyoncé</a> has added a new job to her résumé — mom — there's a slew of potential new projects the pop-star mogul might add to her ever-growing empire. Gwen Stefani, Madonna and Victoria Beckham are just a sampling of pop stars who have managed to write a whole new chapter into their careers thanks to motherhood. </p><div class="player-placeholder right" id="vid:724613.id:1676907" width="240" height="211"></div><p> These celebs have expanded their personal brands to include children's clothing lines, books, songs and movies and have even revitalized themselves in their image as super-glam supermoms. As Beyoncé looks to the future and her role as <a href="/news/articles/1676906/beyonce-jay-z-baby-born-ivy-blue.jhtml">Blue Ivy</a>'s mama, mommy mogul Kimora Lee Simmons and Christopher Gavigan, who works with Jessica Alba on her Honest brand, talked to MTV News about the balance between parenthood and the business world. "I always tell people I'm not the glamorous Hollywood mom," said Simmons, who continues to expand her own fashion brand to include the Shinto Clinical skin-care line. "I'm not the kind of celebrity that lives in the spotlight. I'm famous from work that I do. I've always been in the business and raised my family in the business so it's like a second nature for me. I think that's the key is striking a balance. For me it's always about prioritizing." What's Simmons' advice for new celeb moms looking to follow her lead? "I think it's about choosing what you want and going after that. Do the best you can, but you don't have to be Superwoman." And Simmons isn't the only Hollywood A-lister trying to do it all. Alba launched Honest with Gavigan to give moms a place to find eco-friendly products for their babies. "Jessica is like every other mom. Every other mom is a major multi-tasker," Gavigan said of working with the star. "Jessica was very in line with everyone, the average mom and dad out there." "Find what you're passionate about and go do that," he advised to any future mom moguls. "You articulate that in a brand or in a way you feel from a business perspective that you feel you get your focus articulated in some meaningful or special way. A lot of it is partnerships and leveraging the greatest assets of each other." With all that advice in mind, some celebrity experts weighed in on what B just might do now that she is a mom. "I think it's going to come very naturally for Beyoncé to emerge as this celebrity mom, just given all the current existing brand extensions she has," said David Caplan, who has worked at <i>Star</i> and <i>People</i> magazines. "Having a child will give her legitimacy, obviously, to the moms, and clearly there's lots and lots of money to be had there. So, I think you will see her lend her hand in the baby arena, whether it's her brand extensions intentionally or just emerging as some sort of Hollywood celebrity mom icon, which happens sometimes with these celebrity mothers. "Whether it's intentional or not, I think she's definitely going to emerge as a celebrity mother icon," he continued. "And I'm sure she'll take advantage of that and invest in her brand." A suggestion from another expert fits right in line with the first move her hubby, <a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/jay_z/artist.jhtml">Jay-Z</a>, made when he dropped his track <a href="/news/articles/1676945/blue-ivy-carter-new-jay-z-song-glory.jhtml">"Glory"</a> just says after Blue's birth, which features his <a href="/news/articles/1677033/blue-ivy-beyonce-jay-z-leaves-hospital.jhtml">baby girl</a>. "I think that this is a woman that has tried terribly hard to keep her private life private," HuffPost celebrity columnist Rob Shuter said. "I think it'll be the same with her baby. I can't imagine her doing a Bethenny Frankel move." <center><embed src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:mtv.com:728285/cp~vid%3D728285%26uri%3Dmgid%3Auma%3Avideo%3Amtv.com%3A728285" width="460" height="260" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" base="."></embed></center> <i>How do you think motherhood will affect Beyoncé's career? Share your thoughts below!</i></p>
Related Videos Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677997/beyonce-motherhood-business.jhtml
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This Simple Wood Contraption Lets the iPhone 4 Film Both Sides of a Story [Video]
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Friday, January 27, 2012
'One For The Money' 'Not Just A Chick Flick,' Stars Say
'There's explosions and there's shooting! You're gonna like it too,' Katherine Heigl tells MTV News, selling her new movie to men.
By Christina Garibaldi
Katherine Heigl and Daniel Sunjata in "One For the Money"
Photo: Lionsgate
NEW YORK — Since parting ways with "Grey's Anatomy," Katherine Heigl has established herself as a queen of romantic comedies, starring in several "chick flicks" such as "27 Dresses," "Life as We Know It" and "New Year's Eve."
In her latest movie, "One for the Money," based on the best-selling Janet Evanovich novel, Heigl takes on the role of Stephanie Plum, a tough Jersey girl who becomes a recovery agent sent to track down a murder suspect — who just so happens to be her ex-boyfriend.
If it sounds like the perfect recipe for a ladies' night out, not so fast. At the movie's New York premiere, Heigl promised that "One for the Money" will keep women and men on the edge of their seats.
"I wouldn't qualify it as a romantic comedy. It's got [romance] and it's got comedy, but it's mostly about this sort of murder-mystery undertone that keeps it moving and keeps the pace going," Heigl told MTV News. "I always feel like I'm selling it to men, like, 'There's explosions and there's shooting! You're gonna like it too, I promise!' "
Lending her comedic chops to the flick, "The View" co-host Sherri Shepherd agreed with Heigl's assessment: "It's a lot of action and it's a lot of fun. It's something that I think my husband, who is 6-6, 280 pounds, would love. So no, it's not just a chick flick; it's a fun film."
Now, if the ladies of the film haven't convinced non-female moviegoers, they may want to take some advice from their male co-stars.
"There's action sequences," Daniel Sunjata said. "There's definitely a healthy enough dose of testosterone and really good storytelling that I think the guys will have a great time at this movie too."
Heigl's love interest in the film, Jason O'Mara, added, "I think if the guys come and see it, there's gonna be lots in it for them. This is not a frilly romantic comedy. With all due respect to Katie's past work, this is not '27 Dresses.' There's something kind of edgy, something kinda blue-collar about this that gives it a bit of a realism, and I think it's cool. Whether you're male or female, I think you're gonna have a good time."
Check out everything we've got on "One for the Money."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677999/one-for-the-money-katherine-heigl-chick-flick.jhtml
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Danny Boyle offers glimpse of opening ceremony
LONDON (AP) ? Director Danny Boyle offered a sneak peek of 2012 London opening ceremony that would include the ringing of a massive bell and one of the U.K.'s most maligned institutions, the National Health Service.
Boyle told reporters Friday at an event marking six months until the games that the opening ceremony was "an enormous bloody thing."
Boyle said that he was aware of the pressures to produce the first Summer Games ceremony since Beijing, but his point of comparison will be the 2000 Sydney Games because of its emphasis on individuals.
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Newt Gingrich defends Mitt Romney immigration ad that his campaign has yanked (Washington Bureau)
Chemists synthesize artificial cell membrane
ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2012) ? Chemists have taken an important step in making artificial life forms from scratch. Using a novel chemical reaction, they have created self-assembling cell membranes, the structural envelopes that contain and support the reactions required for life.
Neal Devaraj, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, and Itay Budin, a graduate student at Harvard University, report their success in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
"One of our long term, very ambitious goals is to try to make an artificial cell, a synthetic living unit from the bottom up -- to make a living organism from non-living molecules that have never been through or touched a living organism," Devaraj said. "Presumably this occurred at some point in the past. Otherwise life wouldn't exist."
By assembling an essential component of earthly life with no biological precursors, they hope to illuminate life's origins.
"We don't understand this really fundamental step in our existence, which is how non-living matter went to living matter," Devaraj said. "So this is a really ripe area to try to understand what knowledge we lack about how that transition might have occurred. That could teach us a lot -- even the basic chemical, biological principles that are necessary for life."
Molecules that make up cell membranes have heads that mix easily with water and tails that repel it. In water, they form a double layer with heads out and tails in, a barrier that sequesters the contents of the cell.
Devaraj and Budin created similar molecules with a novel reaction that joins two chains of lipids. Nature uses complex enzymes that are themselves embedded in membranes to accomplish this, making it hard to understand how the very first membranes came to be.
"In our system, we use a sort of primitive catalyst, a very simple metal ion," Devaraj said. "The reaction itself is completely artificial. There's no biological equivalent of this chemical reaction. This is how you could have a de novo formation of membranes."
They created the synthetic membranes from a watery emulsion of an oil and a detergent. Alone it's stable. Add copper ions and sturdy vesicles and tubules begin to bud off the oil droplets. After 24 hours, the oil droplets are gone, "consumed" by the self-assembling membranes.
Although other scientists recently announced the creation of a "synthetic cell," only its genome was artificial. The rest was a hijacked bacterial cell. Fully artificial life will require the union of both an information-carrying genome and a three-dimensional structure to house it.
The real value of this discovery might reside in its simplicity. From commercially available precursors, the scientists needed just one preparatory step to create each starting lipid chain.
"It's trivial and can be done in a day," Devaraj said. "New people who join the lab can make membranes from day one."
The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering supported this work. UC San Diego has filed a patent application on this discovery.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - San Diego. The original article was written by Susan Brown.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Itay Budin, Neal K. Devaraj. Membrane Assembly Driven by a Biomimetic Coupling Reaction. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2012; 134 (2): 751 DOI: 10.1021/ja2076873
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://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125132822.htm
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Men's hopes for robot prostate surgery unrealistic (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Robot-assisted surgery for prostate cancer has been heavily hyped, and a new study suggests that men's expectations of the surgery may be too high.
Researchers found that of 171 men facing prostate cancer surgery, those having robotic surgery expected a shorter hospital stay, and a quicker return to their usual physical activity and sex life.
But those hopes may not be realistic.
Prostate removal is one treatment option for prostate cancer, and in the U.S., a majority of those surgeries are now done with the help of a "robot."
During the procedure, the surgeon sits at a console, operating robotic "arms" that extract the prostate gland through small cuts in the abdomen.
The robotic approach is expensive. And after hospitals invest the roughly $1.5 million for the machines, plus the cost of surgeon training and annual service contracts, they often aggressively market the approach -- as do the companies behind the technology.
And that may include claims that robotic surgery is better than the old-fashioned way.
"Since about the mid-2000s, people were thinking that robotic surgery was the greatest thing since sliced bread," said Dr. Judd W. Moul, a prostate surgeon at Duke University Medical Center who led the new study.
There was reason to believe that the better visualization with robotic surgery could lead to some better outcomes, Moul told Reuters Health.
On the other hand, he said, when surgeons actually use their hands, they get "tactile feedback" that's missing with the robotic approach.
And studies have suggested that while robotic surgery may have some short-term advantages -- like a somewhat shorter hospital stay -- there may be no clear difference in the most important outcomes.
So far, there's no good evidence that robotic-surgery patients fare any better as far as cancer recurrence or long-term side effects like urine leakage and erectile dysfunction.
And in an earlier study, Moul and his colleagues found that men who had the robotic procedure were actually less satisfied in the long run than those who had traditional surgery.
They guessed that patients' expectations going into surgery might have something to do with it.
MORE OPTIMISM WITH ROBOTIC SURGERY
So for the new study, they surveyed 171 men about their expectations heading into prostate cancer surgery. The majority of patients -- 97 -- had opted for robotic surgery, while 74 were going with the traditional route.
Overall, 89 percent men having the robotic surgery expected to stay just one night in the hospital, versus 37 percent of men having traditional surgery.
The robotic-surgery group also thought they would be back to exercising sooner -- typically predicting a five-week wait, versus six weeks in the other group. And they expected to have recovered their erectile function within five months of surgery.
Men having traditional surgery were much less optimistic. They typically assumed it would take nine months to regain their sex life.
On average, Moul said, men having robotic surgery do seem to get out of the hospital eight to 12 hours quicker.
But a small percentage, he noted, end up staying in the hospital for a few days because their bowel function does not return quickly.
As far as physical activity and long-term erectile function, it's not clear if there's any advantage to robotic surgery. At Duke, Moul noted, men are advised to avoid any heavy lifting for six weeks after surgery -- robot or not.
ASK TOUGH QUESTIONS
Where are men getting their expectations? Ads, the Internet and the general belief that high-tech must be better may all play a role, according to Moul.
"But I think that probably physician counseling has a lot to do with it," Moul said.
He noted that surgeons do have an incentive to push men toward the new technology in order to "work through their learning curve" -- that is, hone their skills by doing more procedures.
Increasingly, experts are saying that men should put more stock in their surgeon's experience than on the type of prostate surgery.
Moul agreed. That experience, he said, "is what drives the long-term outcomes of urinary and sexual recovery of function."
"Ask your surgeon the tough questions," Moul said. That means asking how many procedures he or she has ever done, and how many per year.
There's no hard-and-fast number that defines a "good" surgeon. But Moul suggested that a doctor who performs at least 40 to 75 procedures a year (of one specific kind -- robot or traditional) would be considered experienced.
Of course, that all assumes a man has decided on having surgery.
Many men with early-stage prostate cancer can decide to hold off on treatment altogether. That's because prostate tumors are often slow-growing and may never advance to the point of threatening a man's life.
One study found that more than 120,000 American men diagnosed with prostate cancer every year are ideal candidates for "watchful waiting" -- which means doctors keep an eye on the cancer to see if it's progressing.
In reality, though, the majority of those men end up having surgery, radiation or other treatment instead.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/zqY56u Journal of Urology, online January 16, 2012.
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Star Jones making guest appearance on 'The View' (AP)
NEW YORK ? Apparently enough water has flowed under the bridge for Barbara Walters and Star Jones to reunite for a day.
"The View" announced on Wednesday that Jones will appear on the daytime talk show on Feb. 22 to promote an awareness campaign about heart disease among women.
Walters and Jones had a falling out in 2006 when Jones, one of the five original co-hosts of the daytime chat show, exited "The View." ABC decided not to renew her contract and Jones took Walters by surprise by announcing on June 27 that she would be leaving the show.
That exit came more quickly than expected. Walters wouldn't allow her back the next day.
Walters later said that Jones had compelled her co-hosts to lie for her by not revealing that Jones had undergone gastric bypass surgery while on "The View." Jones took her own shots, criticizing Walters for writing an autobiography that revealed details of an affair.
The women later had something serious in common. Both underwent open heart surgery to repair faulty heart valves within two months of each other in 2010.
Jones is coming back to the show to discuss her involvement in the American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" public information campaign. Women are asked to wear red on Feb. 3 to support heart patients.
___
ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
?Teen Mom 2? Star Leah Messer Suffers Miscarriage
“Teen Mom 2″ Star Leah Messer Suffers Miscarriage
Leah Messer, who stars as the young mom of twins on reality show “Teen Mom 2″, has suffered a miscarriage. Just weeks ago, Leah announced [...]
“Teen Mom 2″ Star Leah Messer Suffers Miscarriage Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/cXGzQlI-Lcw/
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Long lines to bid farewell to Paterno (AP)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? They stood outside for hours on a winter afternoon, waiting to pay their respects to the late Joe Paterno. The line snaked down a long block on the Penn State campus.
Inside a campus spiritual center, the coach's body lay in a closed, hardwood casket topped by a spray of white roses. About six feet away sat a stylized black-and-white picture of the man who became lovingly known on campus as "JoePa," smiling and peering out through his trademark thick-rimmed glasses.
Three days of public mourning began Tuesday for a Penn State community already racked by months of turmoil. The 85-year-old Paterno ? a Hall of Fame coach and the face of the university ? died Sunday of lung cancer. He had been ousted just days before learning of his diagnosis in November, forced out of his job in the wake of child sex-abuse charges against a former assistant.
"We're not going to focus on the bad, we're going to pull together and focus on the good," said Brittany Yingling, 23, of Altoona, donning a blue Penn State knit cap with "Paterno" in bold white letters emblazoned on the front. "He's going to leave a lasting legacy on so many people."
And thousands showed up, lining a main campus artery for a chance to make the walk, single file, past Paterno's casket, which had an "honor guard" of two Penn State players ? one past and one present. Some mourners stopped for a moment of reflection, or to genuflect in the interfaith hall.
Others fought back tears and sniffles. The only other sounds were the clicks from media photographers, taking occasional pictures.
Jay Paterno, one of the coach's sons, was still shaking hands with the well-wishers when police shut down the visitation at 10:45 p.m. EST, telling a handful of people on their way in that they could come back early Wednesday morning.
Paterno won 409 games and two national championships over his 46-year career admired by peers as much for its longevity as its success. Paterno also took as much pride in the program's graduation rates, often at or close to the top of the Big Ten.
"I came to pay my respects to a great man, that has nothing to do with victories," said Paterno's longtime assistant and defensive coordinator, Tom Bradley. "A lot of his victories people don't even know about."
Large windows bathed the white-walled hall at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center in light on a cloudy day. Some of Paterno's family attend services at the center.
Members of the public were preceded by the family, including two of Paterno's sons. Scott Paterno and Jay ? the former Nittany Lions quarterback coach ? thanked many of the visitors before they exited the building.
"Going in there, waiting two hours in line, it was worth every second of it," said Rob Gressinger, a Penn State junior. "I've lost all my grandparents and the feeling is the exact same thing ... Feels like you lost one of your own."
Also paying respects privately Tuesday morning were former and current players and coaches. Members of the current team wore dark suits and arrived in three blue Penn State buses, the same ones that once carried Paterno and the team to games at Beaver Stadium on fall Saturdays.
Among the former players was Mike McQueary. As a graduate assistant to Paterno in 2002, he went to the coach saying he had witnessed former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky assaulting a boy in the shower at the Penn State football building. Paterno relayed that to his bosses ? including the head of campus police ? but university trustees felt he should have done more, and it played into their decision to oust the longtime coach on Nov. 9. That came four days after Sandusky was charged with child sex-abuse counts.
Dressed in a blue coat and tie with a white shirt, the school colors, McQueary was among those at an event that stretched well into Tuesday night. McQueary declined comment after leaving the viewing.
Earlier Tuesday, former Penn State and Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris, a vocal critic of the university trustees, also came to say goodbye. Others included NFL receivers Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood, Norwood's father and Baylor assistant coach Brian Norwood and former quarterback Daryll Clark ? who also served as an honor guard.
Texans receiver Bryant Johnson, a nine-year NFL veteran, said he decided to attend Penn State out of high school in Baltimore because "he wanted to play for a legendary coach."
"I wanted to play for someone that instilled the values that he believed in," Johnson said. "I wanted to play for someone who believed in guys graduating."
Paterno was beloved as much by others in the community for his philanthropic efforts, such as donating millions back to the university for projects including the campus library bearing the family name. Paterno Library sits a short walk across the street from the spiritual center.
"He did so much for this town and school and the students. It wasn't all football," said Martha Edwards of Jersey Shore, Pa. She isn't a graduate but decided to attend anyway.
"Right over there is the library with his name on it," she said. "Nobody comes any better than him."
There is another public viewing Wednesday at the interfaith center, and after that Paterno's family will hold a private funeral and procession through State College.
On Thursday, the school's basketball arena will be the site of a public service called "A Memorial for Joe." Tickets were quickly snapped up for the event, even though there was a two-per-person limit for those ordering.
___
Associated Press writer Mark Scolforo contributed to this report.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
US: Taliban must renounce terrorism for talks (AP)
KABUL, Afghanistan ? The Taliban must renounce ties to terrorists and endorse peace efforts as a condition for opening a political office in the Gulf state of Qatar, a senior U.S. diplomat said Sunday.
Marc Grossman, the special U.S. envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, called for quick work in setting up the office in Qatar, seen as a step to negotiating an end to the decade-long war in Afghanistan between the Taliban and the Western-backed government.
The issue underscores the complexity of efforts to wind down the war ahead of the scheduled departure of NATO combat forces by the end of 2014. Publicly, the Taliban have expressed no interest in reconciliation, and while the U.S. says repeatedly that the peace process must be led by Afghans, Kabul continues to fear it is being left out of the negotiating process.
Grossman spoke to reporters Sunday in Kabul alongside Afghanistan's Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin.
Grossman said Qatar and Afghanistan need to be in direct contact about the office, but "for an office to open, we also need to have a clear statement by the Afghan Taliban against international terrorism and in support of a peace process to end the armed conflict in Afghanistan."
Grossman, speaking at the Afghan Foreign Ministry on a snowy evening in Kabul, noted that the Afghan government would welcome a delegation from Qatar to discuss setting up the office.
Reassuring Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who fears he is being sidelined by U.S. efforts to find a political resolution to the war, Grossman said, "Only Afghans can decide the future of Afghanistan."
Before making his first visit to Afghanistan, Grossman made stops in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and India. He wanted to stop in Pakistan as well, but he said Pakistani officials did not want to meet with him now because they were still revising their policy toward the U.S.
The relationship is badly strained over the U.S. unilateral raid in Pakistan that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and a U.S. airstrike late last year that killed 24 Pakistan soldiers. Pakistan, where many Afghan insurgent leaders are said to be based, has closed overland routes into Afghanistan for U.S. and NATO war supplies.
Both Grossman and Ludin said Pakistan has a crucial role to play in efforts to craft a peace deal with the Taliban.
"There really can't be a comprehensive settlement here ? a peace process ? unless Pakistan is part of it," Grossman said.
Last year Washington opened secret negotiations with the Taliban exploring their willingness to enter into peace talks ahead of the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Talks with the Taliban briefly faltered last summer after Karzai learned of the clandestine negotiations and made them public, temporarily scuttling them. Privately, Karzai has expressed fears that the United States will broker a deal with the Taliban that will be imposed on his government.
U.S. conversations with Taliban representatives have focused on establishing the Taliban office in Qatar and prisoner exchanges. The Taliban are seeking the release of five prisoners from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including Khairullah Khairkhwa, the former governor of Herat province, and Mullah Mohammed Fasl, a top Taliban commander.
Ludin expressed the Afghan government's support in getting a Taliban political office opened in Qatar and said it also would back an American decision to transfer some Taliban detainees from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Qatar.
"If the United States decides to transfer these detainees to Qatar, to the extent that that means that these people will be reunited with their families, the Afghan government will support it. ... but you also will have to ascertain the desire of the detainees themselves," Ludin said.
Grossman said no decision has been made about the transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay.
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Study finds tablet, e-book ownership soared (AP)
SAN FRANCISCO ? Tablets and e-readers were a popular gift over the holidays, so much so that the number of people who own them nearly doubled between mid-December and January, a new study finds.
A report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project set to be released Monday found that 29 percent of Americans owned at least one tablet or e-reader as of the beginning of this month. That's up from 18 percent who said the same in December.
The iPad from Apple Inc. is perhaps the best-known example of these gadgets, along with Amazon.com's various Kindle devices and the Nook from Barnes and Noble. The iPad put tablets on the map and the cheaper Kindle Fire and Nook devices helped get them in the hands of more people.
The percentage of people who own a tablet jumped to 19 from 10 between mid-December and early January. E-book reader ownership also rose to 19 percent from 10 percent of U.S. adults.
Men and women were equally likely to own tablets, and the likelihood of tablet ownership was higher for people with higher household incomes, the report found. Those with higher levels of education were also more likely to own tablets than those who completed fewer years of school.
E-readers, meanwhile, were slightly more common among women.
The figures are from ongoing surveys conducted by Pew about tablet and e-reader ownership. They were conducted between November 2011 and January 2012. The first, pre-holiday survey was conducted among 2,986 Americans 16 and older. Two post-holiday surveys were conducted among about 2,000 adults in January.
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Death toll in Nigeria's Kano at least 178: doctor (Reuters)
KANO (Reuters) ? The death toll from gun and bomb attacks in the northern Nigerian city of Kano has risen to at least 178, a doctor in its main hospital said on Sunday, making this by far the deadliest attack claimed by the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram.
"We have 178 people killed in the two main hospitals," the senior doctor in Kano's Murtala Mohammed hospital said following Friday's attacks, citing records from his own and the other main hospital of Nasarawa.
"There could be more, because some bodies have not yet come in and others were collected early."
(Reporting by Mike Oboh; writing by Tim Cocks; editing by David Stamp)
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
Marriage, Cohabitation Provide Similar Health Benefit (LiveScience.com)
We've heard married people are happier, but that might not be a reason to rush to the altar, according to a new study.
In terms of health, self-esteem, and psychological well-being, marriage offers little benefit over simply living together without wedding rings, the study found.
It's the relationship itself, rather than its official status, that's key to its benefits, said study researcher Kelly Musick, an associate professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University's College of Human Ecology.
"Being in a romantic relationship, irrespective of the legal form, does provide benefits over remaining single," Musick said.
Moreover, the findings suggest that for some, cohabitation may be the better option than marriage, Musick said. Participants who cohabited in the study were happier and had greater self-esteem than those who were married. This may be because cohabitation offers more room for independence and personal growth, which may be particularly important for some people at certain stages in life, Musick said.
The study is published in the February issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family.
Marriage vs. cohabitation
Many previous studies looking at the benefits of marriage have focused on comparing married couples with single people, or comparing married with cohabiting couples at one point in time.
The new study followed 2,737 single men and women over six years to see what happened when they entered a relationship or got married. The study data were drawn from national surveys given in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Participants rated their overall health and happiness, and were also asked questions to assess their self -esteem, depression and the strength of their ties to friends and family.
Over the study period, close to 900 participants married or began living with a romantic partner.
In general, both marriage and cohabitation came with an uptick in well being. Those who got married or started living with a partner experienced higher levels of happiness, and lower levels of depression, than those who remained single, although these advantages faded with time.
People who married did report better overall health compared with those who cohabited, which may be explained by the entitlements (such as health insurance for spouses) that come with marriage.
However, marriage and cohabitation also reduced contact with family and friends compared to being single, and this effect lasted over time.
The researchers noted it's been about 20 years since the surveys they used were performed, and the relative benefits of marriage versus cohabitation may have changed in recent years.
However, it's not clear whether their findings would be more or less true today, Musick said. On the one hand, the experiences of marriage and cohabitation have become increasingly similar. But on the other hand, marriage may still hold a greater social status than cohabitation in the United States, she said.
Better off married?
The new findings are extremely valuable because they provide a clearer picture of the advantages of marriage, and counter the view that "marriage is the solution to so many of our problems" said Gary Lee, professor and chair department of sociology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, who was not involved in the study. "I think that?s an incredibly naive view," Lee said.
People who claim marriage brings great benefits to everyone "are kind of cherry-picking the research," Lee said.
In reality, the people who aren't getting married may not be doing so because it won?t make them any better off, Lee said. In today's economic environment, marriage does not bring the same financial benefits as it used it, he said.
The researchers emphasized that "we are certainly not saying that marriage is irrelevant for individual well-being," Musick said. For some, marriage may be a great source of happiness.
Still, the findings call into question the value of using limited resources on campaigns to promote marriage over other family forms, Musick said. ?More research is needed to better inform policy-makers about the advantages, or lack thereof, of such campaigns.
Pass it on: Cohabitation may be just as good as marriage in promoting happiness and well-being.
This story was provided by MyHealthNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily staff writer Rachael Rettner on Twitter @RachaelRettner. Find us on Facebook.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Media invited: Biophysical Society Annual Meeting
Public release date: 19-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Ellen Weiss
eweiss@biophysics.org
240-290-5606
American Institute of Physics
Meeting to highlight innovations in medicine, environmental science, physics, interdisciplinary work, and more
Protein assassins; the biophysics of red tide blooms; how so-called "bath salts" produce a high; and a link between cigarettes and atherosclerosis are just some of the intriguing topics that will be presented at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS).
The conference will take place Feb. 25 - Feb. 29, 2012, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif. With more than 4,000 poster presentations, 200 exhibits, 20 symposia, and 6,000 research scientists in attendance each year, the Annual Meeting is the largest meeting of biophysicists in the world.
Credentialed journalists, freelance reporters working on assignment, and public information officers may attend the meeting free of charge. For more information on press registration, see below.
PRELIMINARY MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26
Microbes Help Lock Away Carbon Dioxide: As carbonate minerals form, they pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, which could be an important mechanism in climate change mitigation. New research reveals the important role that microbes play in the rate of formation of carbonate minerals.
"Tuning microbial surfaces to control carbonate mineralization."
Cigarettes and Atherosclerosis: A missing link: Smoking is a significant risk factor for atherosclerosis, but the exact mechanism connecting the two is unresolved. Research hints that nicotine may trigger a remodeling of the scaffolding of cells comprising blood vessel walls, leading to plaque buildup.
"Cigarette smoke and nicotine-induced remodeling of actin cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix by vascular smooth muscle cells."
Molding the Business End of Neurotoxins: For venomous animals, the active section of a neurotoxin is the area most likely to undergo rapid evolution in response to environmental constraints, scientists find. Understanding these evolutionary forces can help researchers predict which part of unstudied toxins will do damage.
"Molding the business end of neurotoxins by diversifying evolution."
A New Approach to HIV Vaccine Design: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has eluded vaccine-makers, in part due to the virus' ability to mutate rapidly. Researchers have identified collectively evolving sections of HIV that mutate in tandem, suggesting a new strategy for vaccine development.
"Analysis of collective coevolution in HIV proteins suggests strategies for rational vaccine design."
Building Complex Cell Membranes with New Layer-by-layer Technique: A new method of constructing arbitrarily complex and hitherto impossible-to-reproduce cell membranes in the lab may expand the types of cell behavior scientists can study using synthetic models.
"Layer-by-layer assembly of complex membranous cellular structures."
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27
Crimson Tide: Mechanics of a toxin: Toxic algal blooms known as "red tides" can harm coastal bathers and marine sea life. Researchers are learning how Karenia brevis, an organism responsible for certain types of red tides, stores and releases its harmful neurotoxins.
"Exocytic mechanisms of storage and release of brevotoxin in the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis."
Synthetic Drug Known as "Bath Salts" Packs a Double Punch: New drugs that mimic illegal narcotics pose challenges for law enforcement agents attempting to combat an ever-changing target. Researchers are also attempting to keep pace by studying how these emerging compounds affect the human brain. New studies on the drug known as "bath salts" reveal that it mimics both methamphetamine and cocaine.
"Bath salts: A synthetic cathinone whose two major components act similar to methamphetamine and cocaine on the human dopamine transporter."
Texas Coral Snake's Painful Bite Decoded: The bite of the Texas coral snake produces excruciating pain in its victims, and researchers have identified how: a novel neurotoxin activates a subset of pain-sensitive nerves that normally respond to capsaicin and acid.
"A novel toxin that targets acid-sensing ion channels to produce pain."
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28
Proteins Behaving Badly: Researchers have developed a new way to predict which protein regions are prone to misfolding in different cellular environments. The theory may guide the design of treatments to block misfolding pathways and could help predict the progression of degenerative diseases such as ALS.
"Template-directed protein misfolding in silico and in the cell."
Alcohol Damages Heart Cells' Energy Factories: Mitochondria inside heart cells are one of the victims of alcoholism, becoming dysfunctional from excessive ethanol exposure. Scientists searching for the cause of these mitochondrial impairments studied the possibility that calcium-ion overload in the muscles of ethanol-fed rats are to blame.
"SR-Mitochondrial ultrastructure in the heart of normal and ethanol-fed rats."
Vitamins Gang up on Cancer Cells: Liver cancer is among the most vexing forms of cancer. Laboratory mouse studies reveal that combining vitamins C and K3 creates a much more toxic environment for liver cancer cells than either vitamin alone.
"On the mechanism of synergistic cytotoxicity of vitamins C and K3: Experiments in vitro and quantum-chemical analysis."
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29
Protein Assassin: Scientists find that the unfolded end of a protein can kill selectively, binding to receptor proteins found only in E. coli-like bacteria and causing the bacteria's inner membranes to spring lethal leaks.
"Targeted killing of Escherichia coli by an unfolded protein."
Potential Target for Alzheimer's Therapy: Microglia, the major inflammatory cells of the brain, play a pivotal role in the initiation and progression of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers propose that microglia may present a novel pharmacological target for curbing the harmful effects of amyloid-beta.
"Microglial KV1.3 channels as a potential target for Alzheimer's disease."
Fighting Fat: The chemical compound ShK-186 may be able to alter muscle metabolism in mice, hinting at potential therapeutic uses in the fight against obesity.
"Anti-obesity effect of SHK-186, a K+ channel blocker."
Fatigue Failure at the Molecular Level: Scientists strive to develop a theory that explains why repeated forces cause materials to fail on the molecular level. The work could help inform the design of molecule-sized machines.
"Fatigue at the molecular scale."
Building a Biological Pacemaker: By adding a protein that helps control gene expression, researchers coaxed mouse embryonic stem cells to preferentially grow into cardiac pacemaker cells. The results may lay the groundwork for future development of biological pacemakers.
"Enhanced embryonic stem cell differentiation to cardiac pacemaker cells by transduction with a single transcription factor."
ABOUT THE 2012 ANNUAL MEETING
Each year, the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting brings together over 6,000 research scientists in the multidisciplinary fields representing biophysics. With more than 4,000 poster presentations, over 200 exhibits, and more than 20 symposia, the Annual Meeting is the largest meeting of biophysicists in the world. Despite its size, the meeting retains its small-meeting flavor through its subgroup meetings, platform sessions, social activities, and committee programs.
The 56th Annual meeting will be held at the San Diego Convention Center (111 W. Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101), located 3 miles from the San Diego International Airport and less than one mile from the Amtrak Station. The San Diego Trolley has two stops directly in front of the Center at Harbor Drive/First Avenue and Harbor Drive/Fifth Avenue.
###
QUICK LINKS
Meeting Home Page: http://www.biophysics.org/2012meeting/Main/tabid/2386/Default.aspx
Housing and Travel Information: http://www.biophysics.org/2012meeting/AccommodationsTravel/HotelInformation/tabid/2479/Default.aspx
Program Abstracts and Itinerary Planner: http://www.abstractsonline.com/plan/start.aspx?mkey=%7B5B4BAD87%2D5B6D%2D4994%2D84CE%2DB3B13E2AEAA3%7D
PRESS REGISTRATION
The Biophysical Society invites credentialed journalists, freelance reporters working on assignment, and public information officers to attend its Annual Meeting free of charge. For more information on registering as a member of the press, contact BPS Director of Public Affairs and Communications Ellen Weiss at eweiss@biophysics.org or 240-290-5606, or visit http://www.biophysics.org/2012meeting/Registration/Press/tabid/2477/Default.aspx.
ABOUT BPS
The Biophysical Society (BPS), founded in 1956, is a professional scientific society established to encourage development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics. The Society promotes growth in this expanding field through its annual meeting, monthly journal, and committee and outreach activities. Its 9000 members are located throughout the U.S. and the world, where they teach and conduct research in colleges, universities, laboratories, government agencies, and industry. For more information on the Society or the 2012 Annual Meeting, visit www.biophysics.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 19-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Ellen Weiss
eweiss@biophysics.org
240-290-5606
American Institute of Physics
Meeting to highlight innovations in medicine, environmental science, physics, interdisciplinary work, and more
Protein assassins; the biophysics of red tide blooms; how so-called "bath salts" produce a high; and a link between cigarettes and atherosclerosis are just some of the intriguing topics that will be presented at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS).
The conference will take place Feb. 25 - Feb. 29, 2012, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif. With more than 4,000 poster presentations, 200 exhibits, 20 symposia, and 6,000 research scientists in attendance each year, the Annual Meeting is the largest meeting of biophysicists in the world.
Credentialed journalists, freelance reporters working on assignment, and public information officers may attend the meeting free of charge. For more information on press registration, see below.
PRELIMINARY MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26
Microbes Help Lock Away Carbon Dioxide: As carbonate minerals form, they pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, which could be an important mechanism in climate change mitigation. New research reveals the important role that microbes play in the rate of formation of carbonate minerals.
"Tuning microbial surfaces to control carbonate mineralization."
Cigarettes and Atherosclerosis: A missing link: Smoking is a significant risk factor for atherosclerosis, but the exact mechanism connecting the two is unresolved. Research hints that nicotine may trigger a remodeling of the scaffolding of cells comprising blood vessel walls, leading to plaque buildup.
"Cigarette smoke and nicotine-induced remodeling of actin cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix by vascular smooth muscle cells."
Molding the Business End of Neurotoxins: For venomous animals, the active section of a neurotoxin is the area most likely to undergo rapid evolution in response to environmental constraints, scientists find. Understanding these evolutionary forces can help researchers predict which part of unstudied toxins will do damage.
"Molding the business end of neurotoxins by diversifying evolution."
A New Approach to HIV Vaccine Design: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has eluded vaccine-makers, in part due to the virus' ability to mutate rapidly. Researchers have identified collectively evolving sections of HIV that mutate in tandem, suggesting a new strategy for vaccine development.
"Analysis of collective coevolution in HIV proteins suggests strategies for rational vaccine design."
Building Complex Cell Membranes with New Layer-by-layer Technique: A new method of constructing arbitrarily complex and hitherto impossible-to-reproduce cell membranes in the lab may expand the types of cell behavior scientists can study using synthetic models.
"Layer-by-layer assembly of complex membranous cellular structures."
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27
Crimson Tide: Mechanics of a toxin: Toxic algal blooms known as "red tides" can harm coastal bathers and marine sea life. Researchers are learning how Karenia brevis, an organism responsible for certain types of red tides, stores and releases its harmful neurotoxins.
"Exocytic mechanisms of storage and release of brevotoxin in the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis."
Synthetic Drug Known as "Bath Salts" Packs a Double Punch: New drugs that mimic illegal narcotics pose challenges for law enforcement agents attempting to combat an ever-changing target. Researchers are also attempting to keep pace by studying how these emerging compounds affect the human brain. New studies on the drug known as "bath salts" reveal that it mimics both methamphetamine and cocaine.
"Bath salts: A synthetic cathinone whose two major components act similar to methamphetamine and cocaine on the human dopamine transporter."
Texas Coral Snake's Painful Bite Decoded: The bite of the Texas coral snake produces excruciating pain in its victims, and researchers have identified how: a novel neurotoxin activates a subset of pain-sensitive nerves that normally respond to capsaicin and acid.
"A novel toxin that targets acid-sensing ion channels to produce pain."
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28
Proteins Behaving Badly: Researchers have developed a new way to predict which protein regions are prone to misfolding in different cellular environments. The theory may guide the design of treatments to block misfolding pathways and could help predict the progression of degenerative diseases such as ALS.
"Template-directed protein misfolding in silico and in the cell."
Alcohol Damages Heart Cells' Energy Factories: Mitochondria inside heart cells are one of the victims of alcoholism, becoming dysfunctional from excessive ethanol exposure. Scientists searching for the cause of these mitochondrial impairments studied the possibility that calcium-ion overload in the muscles of ethanol-fed rats are to blame.
"SR-Mitochondrial ultrastructure in the heart of normal and ethanol-fed rats."
Vitamins Gang up on Cancer Cells: Liver cancer is among the most vexing forms of cancer. Laboratory mouse studies reveal that combining vitamins C and K3 creates a much more toxic environment for liver cancer cells than either vitamin alone.
"On the mechanism of synergistic cytotoxicity of vitamins C and K3: Experiments in vitro and quantum-chemical analysis."
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29
Protein Assassin: Scientists find that the unfolded end of a protein can kill selectively, binding to receptor proteins found only in E. coli-like bacteria and causing the bacteria's inner membranes to spring lethal leaks.
"Targeted killing of Escherichia coli by an unfolded protein."
Potential Target for Alzheimer's Therapy: Microglia, the major inflammatory cells of the brain, play a pivotal role in the initiation and progression of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers propose that microglia may present a novel pharmacological target for curbing the harmful effects of amyloid-beta.
"Microglial KV1.3 channels as a potential target for Alzheimer's disease."
Fighting Fat: The chemical compound ShK-186 may be able to alter muscle metabolism in mice, hinting at potential therapeutic uses in the fight against obesity.
"Anti-obesity effect of SHK-186, a K+ channel blocker."
Fatigue Failure at the Molecular Level: Scientists strive to develop a theory that explains why repeated forces cause materials to fail on the molecular level. The work could help inform the design of molecule-sized machines.
"Fatigue at the molecular scale."
Building a Biological Pacemaker: By adding a protein that helps control gene expression, researchers coaxed mouse embryonic stem cells to preferentially grow into cardiac pacemaker cells. The results may lay the groundwork for future development of biological pacemakers.
"Enhanced embryonic stem cell differentiation to cardiac pacemaker cells by transduction with a single transcription factor."
ABOUT THE 2012 ANNUAL MEETING
Each year, the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting brings together over 6,000 research scientists in the multidisciplinary fields representing biophysics. With more than 4,000 poster presentations, over 200 exhibits, and more than 20 symposia, the Annual Meeting is the largest meeting of biophysicists in the world. Despite its size, the meeting retains its small-meeting flavor through its subgroup meetings, platform sessions, social activities, and committee programs.
The 56th Annual meeting will be held at the San Diego Convention Center (111 W. Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101), located 3 miles from the San Diego International Airport and less than one mile from the Amtrak Station. The San Diego Trolley has two stops directly in front of the Center at Harbor Drive/First Avenue and Harbor Drive/Fifth Avenue.
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QUICK LINKS
Meeting Home Page: http://www.biophysics.org/2012meeting/Main/tabid/2386/Default.aspx
Housing and Travel Information: http://www.biophysics.org/2012meeting/AccommodationsTravel/HotelInformation/tabid/2479/Default.aspx
Program Abstracts and Itinerary Planner: http://www.abstractsonline.com/plan/start.aspx?mkey=%7B5B4BAD87%2D5B6D%2D4994%2D84CE%2DB3B13E2AEAA3%7D
PRESS REGISTRATION
The Biophysical Society invites credentialed journalists, freelance reporters working on assignment, and public information officers to attend its Annual Meeting free of charge. For more information on registering as a member of the press, contact BPS Director of Public Affairs and Communications Ellen Weiss at eweiss@biophysics.org or 240-290-5606, or visit http://www.biophysics.org/2012meeting/Registration/Press/tabid/2477/Default.aspx.
ABOUT BPS
The Biophysical Society (BPS), founded in 1956, is a professional scientific society established to encourage development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics. The Society promotes growth in this expanding field through its annual meeting, monthly journal, and committee and outreach activities. Its 9000 members are located throughout the U.S. and the world, where they teach and conduct research in colleges, universities, laboratories, government agencies, and industry. For more information on the Society or the 2012 Annual Meeting, visit www.biophysics.org.
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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/aiop-mib011812.php
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