CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) ? President Barack Obama on Sunday will announce a new initiative to double access to electric power in sub-Saharan Africa, part of his effort to build on the legacy of equality and opportunity forged by his personal hero, Nelson Mandela.
Obama, who flew from Johannesburg to Cape Town Sunday, will pay tribute to the ailing 94-year-old Mandela throughout the day. The president and his family will visit Robben Island, where the anti-apartheid leader spent 18 years confined to a tiny cell, including a stop of the lime quarry where Mandela toiled and developed the lung problems that are ailing him today.
The White House said Obama's guide during his tour of the island will be 83-year-old South African politician Ahmed Kathrada, who was also in captivity at the prison for nearly two decades and guided Obama on his 2006 visit to the prison as a U.S. senator. The president will also view the prison courtyard where Mandela planted grapevines that remain today, and where he and others in the dissident leadership would discuss politics, sneak notes to one another and hide writings.
Following the tour, Obama will deliver what the White House has billed as the signature speech of his weeklong trip at the University of Cape Town, an address that will be infused with memories of Mandela.
During that speech, Obama will unveil the "Power Africa" initiative, which includes an initial $7 billion investment from the United States over the next five years. Private companies, including General Electric and Symbion Power, are making an additional $9 billion in commitments with the goal of providing power to millions of Africans crippled by a lack of electricity.
Gayle Smith, Obama's senior director for development and democracy, said more than two-thirds of people living in Sub-Saharan African do not have electricity, including 85 percent of those living in rural areas.
"If you want lights so kids can study at night or you can maintain vaccines in a cold chain, you don't have that, so going the extra mile to reach people is more difficult," Smith said.
The U.S. and its private sector partners will initially focus its efforts on six African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, and Tanzania, where Obama will wrap up his trip later this week. Former President George W. Bush, who supports health programs throughout the continent, will also be in Tanzania next week, and the White House did not rule out the possibility that the two men might meet.
Obama will also highlight U.S. efforts to bolster access to food and health programs on the continent. His advisers said the president sees reducing the poverty and illness that plague many parts of Africa as an extension of Mandela's example of how change can happen within countries.
The former South African president has been hospitalized in critical condition for three weeks. Obama met Saturday with members of Mandela's family, but did not visit the anti-apartheid icon in the hospital, a decision the White House said was in keeping with his family's wishes.
Obama's weeklong trip, which opened last week in Senegal, marks his most significant trip to the continent since taking office. His scant personal engagement has come as a disappointment to some in the region, who had high hopes for a man whose father was from Kenya.
Obama has visited Robben Island before as a U.S. senator. But since being elected as the first black American president, Obama has drawn inevitable comparisons to Mandela, making Sunday's visit particularly poignant.
The president said he's also eager to bring his family with him to the prison to teach them about Mandela's role in overcoming white racist rule, first as an activist and later as a president who forged a unity government with his former captors.
He told reporters Saturday he to "help them to understand not only how those lessons apply to their own lives but also to their responsibilities in the future as citizens of the world, that's a great privilege and a great honor."
Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, said Mandela's vision was always going to feature prominently in the speech. But the former South African leader's deteriorating health "certainly puts a finer point on just how much we can't take for granted what Nelson Mandela did."
Harkening back to a prominent theme from his 2009 speech in Ghana ? his only other trip to Africa as president ? Obama will emphasize that Africans must take much of the responsibility for finishing the work started by Mandela and his contemporaries.
"The progress that Africa has made opens new doors, but frankly, it's up to the leaders in Africa and particularly young people to make sure that they're walking through those doors of opportunity," Rhodes said.
Obama will speak at the University of Cape Town nearly 50 years after Robert F. Kennedy delivered his famous "Ripple of Hope" speech from the school. Kennedy spoke in Cape Town two years after Mandela was sentenced to life in prison.
Video games is a hobby everyone loves. Read this article to learn some great video games and how you can improve your performance.
If you?re purchasing a gift game for a kid, ask them to tell you about a few games they like. You will use a lot of variables in making a decision on whether or not to purchase a game for kids of a certain age, so it?s better to start with a longer list that you can narrow down.
Download demos to get a glimpse into the games you desire to purchase. This can help you decide if the game is right for you. Make sure you are careful when doing this. To avoid any potential problems on your computer, download only from reputable sources.
Take cover before reloading a reload of your weapon during game play. It?s a lot easier to get pwned because they failed to take adequate cover before reloading.You don?t want this to be you!
When buying games for kids, only buy those without violence or adult content.
Get up every fifteen minutes and stretch. When you are playing video games you are sitting in one place and can get stiff if you do not get up and move around. You may cramp up, put on weight or even develop a blood clot! It will keep you healthy and strong.
Be mindful when signing up for online games. Sometimes you have to pay a monthly fee for access. Always check out any monthly video game site that children want to visit because all their friends are interested in joining.
Make sure you think over the right option! They also give you some enjoyment in your video game a tiny bit. But purchasing these things can make the game more entertaining and save time.
When you save your game, do more than just saving it on the same slot. Save your game into a new slot every so often. You may find in the future that you would like to resume your game from a different point. If you just keep saving as you go along, you won?t have that option.
Consider having your kids play games on consoles rather than a PC. Consoles offer you a lot more control over privacy, security settings, and content since they can bypass these restrictions online. They can have a far more protected experience on a console.
Don?t play all day ? limit it to two hours each day.Gaming can be addictive, and people that do get addicted are out there, so be careful of that. Try to stick to playing video games for only a few hours daily. If you do play for longer, make sure you take a break at least once per three hours.
Staff at game retailers are the best to ask for advice. You may know which games you already like, but may have missed hearing about some new ones that would be even better. The salesperson usually knows enough to give you some ideas of what games are in the category that you like.
Make sure your children are safe when gaming online. Be aware of people they are gaming with. Some child predators use online gaming in order to manipulate young children. Protect your children by only allowing them to play online with strangers online.
Be mindful of injury when playing video games. A stability ball is a great investment if you play for a long time; it will help improve posture while gaming. If you are playing active games, make sure you do proper stretches and take lots of breaks to ensure you don?t get hurt.
Be cautious about playing games online. There can be an annual or monthly fee to play. If your children want to start playing an online game, you should review it first. Determine whether it is going to cost you anything. If so, determine whether this price is justifiable.
Be adventurous and give lots of different kinds of video games a try! Trying different types of games is a smart way to make your gaming even more fun.
A cleaning kit will get those games back in top shape. There are many kits available on the market.
Make good use of any parental controls offered by games. Check to see whether the game is playable online. If possible, make sure your kids do not have unlimited Internet access. You may also want to check their friends requests and limit the amount of time they play to be safe.
Online auctions are a great source for new games. You may be able to find great deals in video games by visiting auction sites. Do a bit of research to ensure you can get the best deal possible.
Think about doing a game trials prior to purchasing the full game. Trials allow you test out if you really want to buy it. If you find that you do enjoy a game?s trial version you can purchase it with confidence.
If you find you are getting really engrossed in your video games, discipline yourself to take frequent breaks. Beware of getting overly addicted to games because there can be adverse health effects. Game playing should be fun. If you feel that you are becoming a video game addict, then you may want to bring this up to your doctor.
Video games are known all around the world; they get bigger every single year. Statistics say that game players will increase exponentially with each coming year, so get ready to jump in the action. Choose a game, and start playing. Use the advice offered above to help you navigate the world of video gaming.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombs targeting soccer players and young men who had gathered to watch a match in Iraq killed seven people on Saturday.
A roadside bomb in a busy market killed another three people, bringing the death toll to 10, police and medics said.
The violence is part of a trend of increasing militant attacks since the start of the year, which claimed more than 1,000 lives in May alone, making it the deadliest month since the sectarian bloodletting of 2006-7.
In recent days, men playing in local soccer fixtures and watching matches have been the targets - after spates of attacks on both Sunni and Shi'ite mosques and the security forces.
The reason behind the attacks on soccer players and spectators is not clear.
Police and medics said the bomb was planted inside a coffee shop in central Baghdad and killed four young men who had gathered to watch an under 20s international match between Iraq and Chile on television.
Twin roadside bombs exploded near a soccer stadium, killing three players in Muqdadiya, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of the capital, and the blast in the market left a further three people dead in a town west of Baghdad, police said.
Earlier this week, twin blasts at a neighborhood football stadium killed five players and two blasts tore through cafes where scores of young men had gathered to watch another match, killing eight people.
Concerns that Iraq may lapse back into full-scale sectarian conflict have mounted in recent months amid tensions fuelled by the civil war in neighboring Syria, where mainly Sunni rebels are fighting to overthrow a leader backed by Shi'ite Iran.
Sunni insurgents including al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate have been regaining ground, recruiting from the country's Sunni minority, which resents Shi'ite domination since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.
(Reporting by Kareem Raheem in Baghdad and a Reuters reporter in Baquba; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Alison Williams)
The fashions of the 1990s weren't always the most flattering, but Jennifer Aniston has always looked good in everything, right? Likewise, what teenage girl circa 1991 didn't wish she was BFFs with Tiffani Thiessen (aka: Kelly Kapowski) from Saved By The Bell, scrunchies and all? And let’s face it, with artists like Whitney Houston blowing up the charts, who didn’t want to party like it was 1999?
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. celebrity chef Paula Deen saw more lucrative deals evaporate on Thursday despite her renewed apologies for using a racial slur, as retailer Target Corp and drug company Novo Nordisk A/S joined the list of sponsors distancing themselves from the doyenne of Southern cooking.
But in a sign that Deen could make a comeback, her upcoming cookbook "Paula Deen's New Testament," which features "lightened up" recipes, shot to the top of the Amazon books best-sellers list this week on pre-orders for the October 15 release. And her "Southern Cooking Bible" is No. 2 on the list.
Experts say not all may be lost for Deen despite the exodus of sponsors and they point to the comeback of another domestic maven, Martha Stewart, who was able to rebuild her career and image after serving jail time for insider trading.
Deen, 66, has been in damage control mode after a deposition surfaced last week in which she admitted to using the "N-word." She released online apology videos and made a tearful appearance on NBC's "Today" on Wednesday.
For Robert Passikoff, president and founder of Brand Keys Inc, a consumer and brand loyalty consulting firm, Deen's apology was "too little, too late."
"She came across as very defensive and when you are talking about contrition, the two words don't really go together," Passikoff said.
"While she had reasonable brand values that worked for her sponsors, she's not the only one available and these days sponsors don't need to take a chance on folks that self destruct," he added.
Forbes estimated Deen's earnings at $17 million in 2011, placing her fourth on its list of highest-earning chefs last year as her privately held company, Paula Deen Enterprises, expanded.
The contract with Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical company, came in 2012 after she revealed that she had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. As spokeswoman for the maker of diabetes care and equipment she would earn an estimated $6 million over three years, according to Forbes.
The company said in a statement that it had "mutually agreed" with Deen to suspend her partnership with the company "while she takes time to focus her attention where it is needed."
FANS RALLY IN SUPPORT
Deen's merchandising deals, which include cookware, homeware and books, have an estimated value of about $7 million, according to Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for market researcher The NPD Group.
Cohen also estimated Deen's food and restaurant branding deals added another $6 million to $7 million to her empire.
Retail giants Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Target and Home Depot Inc all cut ties with Deen within 24 hours of her "Today Show" appearance.
"We have made a decision to phase out the Paula Deen merchandise in our stores as well as on Target.com," Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said in a statement. "Once the merchandise is sold out, we will not be replenishing inventory."
Since last Friday, Deen has also been dropped by pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc and Food Network, owned by Scripps Network Interactive Inc, home of Deen's cooking shows.
Home-shopping network QVC, owned by Liberty Media Corp, has taken a wait-and-see approach with Deen, saying it was putting a "pause" on her involvement with the network.
Sears Holdings Corp, which stocks Deen's products, said on Thursday it was still deciding the future of the partnership.
"Now she's going to be given an opportunity down the road ... to rebuild and retool," NPD Group's Cohen said. "She may never get (her brand) back to the same level, but there's enough people who will sympathize with her."
QVC said in its statement that "People deserve second chances."
Some companies that have partnered with Deen have stood behind her, including Landies Candies and Sandridge Food Corp, which said it is "proud to provide unwavering support for Paula Deen."
Deen's comeback may come down to her loyal fans, many of whom have come out in force on social media to voice their support, some threatening in Facebook and Twitter posts to boycott the companies dropping the chef.
"The consumers have a very short memory ... in a few years from now, no one is going to remember what Paula Deen did," Cohen said. "American consumers are very forgiving and very forgetful."
(Additional reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Mary Milliken)
Contact: Megan Fellman fellman@northwestern.edu 847-491-3115 Northwestern University
New approach can control large complex networks, from cells to power grids
As the world becomes increasingly connected, the need to ensure the proper functioning of its many underlying networks -- such as the Internet, power grids, global air transportation and ecological networks -- also is increasing. But controlling networks is very difficult.
Now a Northwestern University research team has developed the first broadly applicable computational approach identifying interventions that can both rescue complex networks from the brink of failure and reprogram them to a desired task.
"A fundamental property of networks is that a perturbation to one node can affect other nodes, potentially causing the entire system to change behavior or fail," said Adilson E. Motter, who supervised the research. "We have turned this principle on its head for something positive: to control network behavior. This novel approach to control could have a transformative impact on the field of complex networks."
Motter is the Harold H. and Virginia Anderson Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
In a demonstration of its broad applicability, Motter and his colleagues used their framework both to mitigate cascading failures in a power-grid network and to identify potential drug targets in a biochemical signaling network of human cancer.
The findings will be published June 27 by the journal Nature Communications.
The same connections that provide functionality in networks also can serve as conduits for the propagation of failures and instabilities, Motter said. The emergence of global air transportation and computer networks, for example, brings obvious benefits but at the price of facilitating the spread of diseases and malware.
Furthermore, ecological networks are increasingly affected by perturbations stemming from human actions, and a growing number of human diseases are being linked to malfunction of cellular and molecular networks.
Networks defy human control, however, even in the simplest cases, not only because complex networks consist of a large number of complicatedly connected parts but mainly because they respond nonlinearly to disturbances: A small disturbance can create a disproportionately large problem.
"Previous and recent research on network control done in the network science community has focused mainly on linear models, for the excellent reason that it is in principle much simpler to manipulate linear dynamics," said Sean P. Cornelius, the lead author of the paper. He is a graduate student in Motter's research group.
"Real networks are nonlinear, however, which at first could be regarded as bad news but turns out to be a blessing in disguise," Cornelius said. "In the case of complex networks, ignoring nonlinearity would be like throwing out the baby with the bath water."
Key to the authors' framework is their accounting of this nonlinear nature of the dynamics in real networks. In such systems, the size of the response is generally not proportional to the size of the disturbance. Accordingly, small control interventions can lead to a large response that propagates through the entire network, rescuing or reprogramming it.
A breakthrough in the newly developed control approach is the development of a computational method that identifies small perturbations, which, after propagating through the network, will bring the system to the desired final state. In the parlance of dynamical systems theory, the authors exploit what are known as "basins of attraction" -- sets of network states that eventually will converge to a given stable state (or "attractor") of the system.
A complicating factor in the networks under consideration is that, in practice, control interventions applied by humans only can modulate a very small fraction of all nodes in the network. The framework developed by the Northwestern researchers helps identify the critical nodes for controlling large networks.
"This can be one node out of tens, hundreds or even thousands of nodes, depending on the application," said Motter, who also is an executive committee member of the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO). "In treating a disease, for example, doctors cannot directly control all of the many thousand genes in a cell, but we can hope to influence them indirectly by manipulating a few key genes that will then influence the others."
In an application to a form of cancer caused by abnormal survival of certain white blood cells, the researchers were able to identify potential curative interventions mediated by the control of only three genes or proteins, on average.
The researchers also applied their framework to a simple model of power-grid networks. "In these networks, it is critical that the power generators be synchronized with one another," Cornelius said. "But, under certain conditions, this state of affairs can be disrupted by, say, a tree falling on a power line."
The authors showed that by manipulating only a portion of the variables, it is in principle possible to restore power-grid synchrony following severe disturbances.
Similar results are relevant for the control of cascading failures in diverse systems, for ecosystems management and potentially for the mitigation of financial crises.
###
The title of the paper is "Realistic Control of Network Dynamics." In addition to Motter and Cornelius, the paper is co-authored by William L. Kath. He is a professor of engineering sciences and applied mathematics in Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.
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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.
Contact: Megan Fellman fellman@northwestern.edu 847-491-3115 Northwestern University
New approach can control large complex networks, from cells to power grids
As the world becomes increasingly connected, the need to ensure the proper functioning of its many underlying networks -- such as the Internet, power grids, global air transportation and ecological networks -- also is increasing. But controlling networks is very difficult.
Now a Northwestern University research team has developed the first broadly applicable computational approach identifying interventions that can both rescue complex networks from the brink of failure and reprogram them to a desired task.
"A fundamental property of networks is that a perturbation to one node can affect other nodes, potentially causing the entire system to change behavior or fail," said Adilson E. Motter, who supervised the research. "We have turned this principle on its head for something positive: to control network behavior. This novel approach to control could have a transformative impact on the field of complex networks."
Motter is the Harold H. and Virginia Anderson Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
In a demonstration of its broad applicability, Motter and his colleagues used their framework both to mitigate cascading failures in a power-grid network and to identify potential drug targets in a biochemical signaling network of human cancer.
The findings will be published June 27 by the journal Nature Communications.
The same connections that provide functionality in networks also can serve as conduits for the propagation of failures and instabilities, Motter said. The emergence of global air transportation and computer networks, for example, brings obvious benefits but at the price of facilitating the spread of diseases and malware.
Furthermore, ecological networks are increasingly affected by perturbations stemming from human actions, and a growing number of human diseases are being linked to malfunction of cellular and molecular networks.
Networks defy human control, however, even in the simplest cases, not only because complex networks consist of a large number of complicatedly connected parts but mainly because they respond nonlinearly to disturbances: A small disturbance can create a disproportionately large problem.
"Previous and recent research on network control done in the network science community has focused mainly on linear models, for the excellent reason that it is in principle much simpler to manipulate linear dynamics," said Sean P. Cornelius, the lead author of the paper. He is a graduate student in Motter's research group.
"Real networks are nonlinear, however, which at first could be regarded as bad news but turns out to be a blessing in disguise," Cornelius said. "In the case of complex networks, ignoring nonlinearity would be like throwing out the baby with the bath water."
Key to the authors' framework is their accounting of this nonlinear nature of the dynamics in real networks. In such systems, the size of the response is generally not proportional to the size of the disturbance. Accordingly, small control interventions can lead to a large response that propagates through the entire network, rescuing or reprogramming it.
A breakthrough in the newly developed control approach is the development of a computational method that identifies small perturbations, which, after propagating through the network, will bring the system to the desired final state. In the parlance of dynamical systems theory, the authors exploit what are known as "basins of attraction" -- sets of network states that eventually will converge to a given stable state (or "attractor") of the system.
A complicating factor in the networks under consideration is that, in practice, control interventions applied by humans only can modulate a very small fraction of all nodes in the network. The framework developed by the Northwestern researchers helps identify the critical nodes for controlling large networks.
"This can be one node out of tens, hundreds or even thousands of nodes, depending on the application," said Motter, who also is an executive committee member of the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO). "In treating a disease, for example, doctors cannot directly control all of the many thousand genes in a cell, but we can hope to influence them indirectly by manipulating a few key genes that will then influence the others."
In an application to a form of cancer caused by abnormal survival of certain white blood cells, the researchers were able to identify potential curative interventions mediated by the control of only three genes or proteins, on average.
The researchers also applied their framework to a simple model of power-grid networks. "In these networks, it is critical that the power generators be synchronized with one another," Cornelius said. "But, under certain conditions, this state of affairs can be disrupted by, say, a tree falling on a power line."
The authors showed that by manipulating only a portion of the variables, it is in principle possible to restore power-grid synchrony following severe disturbances.
Similar results are relevant for the control of cascading failures in diverse systems, for ecosystems management and potentially for the mitigation of financial crises.
###
The title of the paper is "Realistic Control of Network Dynamics." In addition to Motter and Cornelius, the paper is co-authored by William L. Kath. He is a professor of engineering sciences and applied mathematics in Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.
[ | 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.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) ? Kenyan police say a terror suspect was killed in a gun battle and present weapons to the media. Hours later another suspect accused of terror links is dead in what police described as a shootout.
Witnesses and the family of the slain suspects tell a different story: That the suspects were arrested without a fight. One was handcuffed, and both were executed.
Human rights group, Muslim for Human Rights, says that police last week targeted the two terror suspects for execution. The group said Wednesday Kenya maintains a police death squad tasked with eliminating suspects with links to terror groups.
The head of Kenya's Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, Boniface Mwaniki, denied that a death squad exists, calling the allegations "outrageous."
June 26, 2013 ? In 2011 and 2012, research from China's Nanjing University made international headlines with reports that after mice ate, bits of genetic material from the plants they'd ingested could make it into their bloodstreams intact and turn the animals' own genes off. The surprising results from Chen-Yu Zhang's group led to speculation that genetic illness might one day be treated with medicinal food, but also to worry that genetically modified foods might in turn modify consumers in unanticipated ways.
Now, though, a research team at Johns Hopkins reports that Zhang's results were likely a false positive that resulted from the technique his group used. The new study, the Johns Hopkins group says, bolsters the case of skeptics who argued that genetic material from food would have little chance of surviving the digestive system, much less crossing the intestinal lining to enter the bloodstream. The study appears in the July issue of RNA Biology.
"It's disappointing in a sense -- it would open up so many therapeutic possibilities if microRNAs from food really could get into our blood and regulate our genes," says Kenneth Witwer, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences, who led the new study. But beyond the fact that people won't be picking up prescription lettuce at the pharmacy anytime soon, he adds, the larger lesson is that scientific research's capacity for self-correction is alive and well.
Witwer said his group was intrigued by the earlier results, in which Zhang's group focused on microRNAs, molecules that are a chemical cousin of DNA. Rather than storing genetic information as DNA does, their primary role is to intervene in so-called "gene expression," the process of using genes' blueprints to build proteins. Because they affect whether and how much genes are actually used, microRNAs wield tremendous power, Witwer notes, "so it was startling to think that microRNAs from plants could get into the bloodstream, get into tissues, and regulate genes in those tissues."
Witwer teamed up with colleagues to check the results with a similar experiment of their own. They bought soy-based smoothies at a grocery store and tested their microRNA content, then fed the smoothies to macaques and took samples of the animals' blood.
Knowing that the concentrations of any plant microRNAs in the blood would be too low to measure directly, they used a common technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to bring up the concentration of the genetic material. PCR is designed so that only certain fragments of genetic material in a sample -- the ones researchers choose to target -- will be copied. Zhang's studies had also used PCR to look for plant microRNAs.
Just as Zhang had, the Johns Hopkins team found what appeared to be the targeted plant microRNAs in the macaques' blood. But when they ran the experiment several times, they got highly variable results: Sometimes the microRNAs were present in low concentrations, and sometimes not at all. In addition, the samples from before the macaques drank the smoothies were just as likely to have the microRNAs as were the post-smoothie samples -- a result that just didn't make sense if the source of the microRNAs was the plant material in the drinks.
To Witwer, the results indicated that what he was seeing was not the targeted plant microRNAs, but fragments of the macaques' own genetic material that were similar enough to the targeted segments that the PCR copied them at low levels.
To test this, the team used a new technique in which PCR takes place in tiny aerosolized droplets rather than in a test tube. The advantage, Witwer says, is that by effectively running tens or hundreds of thousands of reactions at the same time, researchers can see whether the outcomes of those reactions are consistent -- in other words, whether the results are meaningful or just a fluke. In this case, the results were all over the place, indicating that plant microRNAs weren't really present.
At the same time, Witwer cautions, it remains possible that very low levels of microRNAs could enter the blood. Even if this happened, though, he says it is unlikely that such small numbers of molecules could affect gene expression. Additional studies will be needed to determine whether low-level transfer occurs and whether any plant RNAs serve a function in the body.
Sony today at Mobile Asia Expo in Shanghai entered the world of the gianormous smartphone with the oversized, ultra-powered (and aptly named) Xperia Z Ultra.
The Xperia Z Ultra is a 6.4-inch monster with a 1080p display that works with a stylus (or any pencil, Sony says), runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and is powered by Qualcomm's latest, the Snapdragon 800 processor. Sony is heralding the phone as the "world's slimmest and largest full HD smartphone." At 6.5 mm, it's not quite as thin as the 6.18 mm Huawei Ascend P6 we got a look at last week, that's where the "largest full HD smartphone" comes in. (The full press release, which you can read after the break, is loaded with such caveats.)
Other specs of note include an 8-megapixel camera, a 3,000 mAh battery and 16 gigabytes of internal storage, with about 11 GB available to the user, and a microSD card slot for extra space. (Props to Sony for being up-front about the usable storage space.) It's loaded with Sony customizations and entertainment options.
The Xperia Z Ultra will be available in the third quarter (which starts next week, by the way), in black, white or purple.
June 24, 2013 ? The 'computer nerd' is a well-known stereotype in our modern society. While this stereotype is inaccurate, it still has a chilling effect on women pursuing a qualification in computer science, according to a new paper by Sapna Cheryan from the University of Washington in the US, and colleagues. However, when this image is downplayed in the print media, women express more interest in further education in computer science. The work is published online in Springer's journal, Sex Roles.
Despite years of effort, it has proven difficult to recruit women into many fields that are perceived to be masculine and male-dominated, including computer science. The image of a lone computer scientist, concerned only with technology, is in stark contrast to a more people-oriented or traditionally feminine image. Understanding what prevents women from entering computer science is key to achieving gender parity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Cheryan and team sought to prove that the shortage of women in computer science and other scientific fields is not only due to a lack of interest in the subject matter on the part of women. In a first study, 293 college students from two US West Coast universities were asked to provide descriptions of computer science majors. The authors wanted to discover what the stereotypical computer scientist looks like in students' minds.
Both women and men spontaneously offered an image of computer scientists as technology-oriented, intensely focused on computers, intelligent and socially unskilled. These characteristics contrast with the female gender role, and are inconsistent with how many women see themselves.
The way a social group is represented in the media also influences how people think about that group and their relation to it. In a second study, the researchers manipulated the students' images of a computer scientist, using fabricated newspaper articles, to examine the influence of these media on women's interest in entering the field. A total of 54 students read articles about computer science majors that described these students as either fitting, or not fitting, the current stereotype. Students were then asked to rate their interest in computer science.
Exposure to a newspaper article claiming that computer science majors no longer fit current preconceived notions increased women's interest in majoring in computer science. These results were in comparison to those of exposure to a newspaper article claiming that computer science majors do indeed reflect the stereotype. Men, however, were unaffected by how computer science majors were represented.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Springer Science+Business Media.
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Journal Reference:
Sapna Cheryan, Victoria C. Plaut, Caitlin Handron, Lauren Hudson. The Stereotypical Computer Scientist: Gendered Media Representations as a Barrier to Inclusion for Women. Sex Roles, 2013; DOI: 10.1007/s11199-013-0296-x
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
UFC bantamweight Miesha Tate is joining the ranks of MMA fighters who have posed nude in ESPN the Magazine's Body Issue. The magazine announced today that Tate will appear in the yearly issue that shows off athletes' bodies. It will hit newsstands on July 12.
Tate's opposing coach on the upcoming season of "The Ultimate Fighter," UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, was on last season's cover. Both women appearing in the magazine will give them one more thing to trash talk about as they film the TUF that will air in September.
"It's going exactly the way you thought it would be going: bad," White said. "Dead serious. Miesha and Ronda hate each other. It's literally crazy drama every day. It's irritating."
Other fighters who have been in the Body Issue include Jon Jones and Gina Carano.
WASHINGTON - Texas Gov. Rick Perry had a bit of an "oops" moment today when he mistakenly referred to the administration's response to the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi as occurring in Lebanon instead of Libya.
"I fear where we've come to in America, where our administration won't make one phone call to save our men and women in a embassy in Lebanon," Perry said at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference.
Earlier in his speech, Perry referred to his brush with forgetfulness during the 2012 Republican presidential primary and shared with the crowd why he personally relates to Peter the Apostle.
"It was the same Peter whose mouth sometimes ran faster than his brain," Perry said. "Let me tell you I can relate to Peter.
"I've learned a little bit about humility, particularly on national television," Perry said. "But the fact is, God hadn't called the perfect to go into the arena of public service. He's called people just like you and just like me."
Despite the mistake in his speech today, Perry urged Republicans to adopt the demeanor of a "happy warrior" and doled out a simple piece of advice for conservatives.
"Smile when you disagree with a liberal," Perry said. "Shake your head as Ronald Reagan once said, he said you know, liberals know so much that isn't so."
Bussbolag take visitors on fixed sightseeing trips or transport guests to special occasions. Most trips are booked earlier, so bussbolag owners are responsible for maintaining an agenda and safe, efficient routes for transfer. In some instances, the bus company will take over the role of tour guide, providing useful or interesting info to guests en route.
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Bussbolag typically charge either on hourly basis or by the mile. Make sure you are aware of which you're being quoted so there will not be any surprises at a later time. It's also a great idea to ask if the price includes tolls and other trip-related expenses.
You certainly want to also know whether the bus driver's gratuity in bussbolag is included within the quote. On average, a bus driver's gratuity should be about 10% in the bill and that additional money becomes their incentive to provide a fun ride.
Numerous budget bussbolag are already sprouting up recently supplying deluxe amenities and brand new buses, though with all the publicity around the bussbolag, we haven't heard so much regarding the others. Some bus companies have wireless Internet connections accessible to passengers, which allows all of them to surf the world wide web totally free, or for a reduced fee.
In order to get your bussbolag adventure started off on a right foot, simply ask their skilled and polite driver to take all of you to famous attractions. Whether you have children on the group or not, this can be a marvelous way of spending a portion of your adventure while looking on the various exhibits or maybe getting involved hands on in most of the great activities that are available.
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NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks are surging on Wall Street as investors focus on positive news about the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 180 points, or 1.2 percent, at 15,176 Thursday.
The market got off to a weak start, then rose steadily throughout the day. The advance accelerated in the last hour. The Dow is coming off its first three-day slump since December.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 23 points, or 1.5 percent, to 1,636. The Nasdaq composite rose 44 points, or 1.3 percent, to 3,445.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week, and retail sales increased 0.6 percent in May from April.
Five stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was average at 3.4 billion shares.
Eastside graduate Justin Miller was recently named the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Northeast Indiana.
Miller was honored at the NFF Honors Dinner "Celebrating Our Legends IX" on Monday in West Lafayette.
He was joined by nine other regional scholar-athlete winners, and the first-ever Indiana Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award will be announced July 18 at the North-South All-Star Game Banquet in Indianapolis. The winner of the state award will be a candidate for the Midwest Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor.
Miller, an All-NECC defensive back, had a 4.0 GPA and scored 2,050 on the SAT. He will study chemistry and pre-law at Wabash.
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Public release date: 27-Jun-2013
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UFC bantamweight Miesha Tate is joining the ranks of MMA fighters who have posed nude in ESPN the Magazine's Body Issue. 