BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Economic and business confidence in the 17 countries using the euro improved for the fourth straight month in February, the European Commission said on Wednesday, as factories saw their order books filling up.
Economic sentiment in the euro zone rose by a better-than-expected 1.6 points to 91.1, continuing a recovery started in November last year, the Commission said.
The euro hit a session high against the dollar after the data release, before slipping back slightly to trade around 1.3093 by 1035 GMT.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a reading of 89.8.
The euro zone was managing to eke out a small recovery, but it was too soon to be optimistic about a broader trend, Capital Economics economist Ben May said.
"Clearly the Italian election and the political uncertainty and the market uncertainty that resulted from that is potentially another trigger for a new downward leg in business and consumer sentiment, and given that this survey predates that I think you certainly wouldn't want to assume you are going to see this continued upward trend in sentiment over the months ahead," he said.
The Commission also said business morale increased by 0.36 points to -0.73, reaching a level last seen in May 2012.
The European Central Bank's unprecedented decision last year to buy the bonds of governments who ask for help calmed the euro zone crisis dramatically, removing the risk for businesses of a break-up of the currency bloc.
The mood in factories brightened in February and managers told the Commission they saw rosier outlooks on expected production and on the size of overall order books. Morale in services also drove the rise in confidence, with service confidence up slightly as managers revised past evaluations.
Optimism was due to "sharp improvements in managers' assessment of the past business situation, and to a lesser extent, their views on past demand", the Commission said.
Consumer confidence increased marginally in the euro zone, by 0.3 points. Consumers were more positive about the future economy in general, but pessimistic about their own ability to save money over the next 12 months.
One of the most important ? yet often overlooked ? aspects of a small business is its human resources practices. With this in mind, the 2013 Car Rental Show will present a pre-conference seminar titled, ?Recruiting, Hiring, Motivating and Firing: A Human Resources Primer for Small Business.?
This seminar tackles the legal and human resources issues that any small business faces when managing employees. Topics include how to keep your job application legal, tips for e-recruiting, what you can and can?t ask in the job interview, lawful and ethical employee termination, an analysis of independent contractor versus employee status, and ways to foster a culture of innovation and motivation.
?The purpose of this seminar is not only to help owners and managers hear what is going on in the auto rental industry, but to help them run better companies,? said Angela Margolit, president of Bluebird Auto Rental Systems, who will moderate the panel. ?Your employees are one of their most valuable resources and deserve your attention. Our panelists will talk about what happens when you do ? and don't ? tune in.?
Presenters include Chris Mason of the law firm Polsinelli Shugart, Michael DeLorenzo of Rent-A-Wreck of America, Inc. and Julie Ray of Ace Rent A Car.
?Angela has assembled an impressive team to impart advice on human resources issues,? said Chris Brown, executive editor of Auto Rental News. ?You?ll not only be getting legal counsel without the hourly fee, but on-the-ground wisdom from two car rental executives with years of experience in the area.?
This workshop will held from 10 a.m. to noon on Monday, April 15. The 2013 Car Rental Show takes place April 15-16, 2013 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas. To see the full schedule and to register for the event, go to www.carrentalshow.com.
If you travel with multiple USB-chargeable devices in a car with only one power outlet, you may find yourself having to make a difficult decision – which device do I charge? ?With the Y-Charge from TYLT, your decision will be easier because you can charge two devices at once. ?The Y-Charge plugs directly into the [...]
(Reuters) - General Motors Co wants to pay its chief executive, Dan Akerson, $11.1 million this year, CNBC reported, citing related documents.
If the U.S. government approve the plan, Akerson's annual compensation would increase more than 20 percent compared to last year, the report said. (http://link.reuters.com/meg36t)
Compensation of GM executives is governed by a special paymaster from the federal government as part of provisions put in place after GM's U.S.-funded bankruptcy restructuring in 2009.
No determinations has yet been made for 2013 compensation, a U.S. Treasury Department official told CNBC.
General Motors and U.S. Treasury officials were not available to comment outside business hours.
(Reporting by Bijoy Koyitty in Bangalore; Editing by Matt Driskill)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Wal-Mart is putting special labels on some store-brand products to help shoppers quickly spot healthier items. Millions of schoolchildren are helping themselves to vegetables from salad bars in their lunchrooms, while kids' meals at Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants automatically come with a side of fruit or vegetables and a glass of low-fat milk.
The changes put in place by the food industry are in response to the campaign against childhood obesity that Michelle Obama began waging three years ago. More changes are in store.
Influencing policy posed more of a challenge for the first lady, and not everyone welcomed her effort, criticizing it as a case of unwanted government intrusion.
Still, nutrition advocates and others give her credit for using her clout to help bring a range of interests to the table. They hope the increased awareness she has generated through speeches, her garden and her physical exploits will translate into further reductions in childhood obesity rates long after she leaves the White House.
About one-third of U.S. children are overweight or obese, which puts them at increased risk for any number of life-threatening illnesses, including diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
While there is evidence of modest declines in childhood obesity rates in some parts of the country, the changes are due largely to steps taken before the first lady launched "Let's Move" in February 2010.
With the program entering its fourth year, Mrs. Obama heads out Wednesday on a two-day promotional tour with stops in Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri. She has been talking up the program on daytime and late-night TV shows, on the radio and in public service announcements with Big Bird. She also plans discussions next week on Google and Twitter.
"We're starting to see some shifts in the trend lines and the data where we're starting to show some improvement," the first lady told SiriusXM host B. Smith in an interview broadcast Tuesday. "We've been spending a lot of time educating and re-educating families and kids on how to eat, what to eat, how much exercise to get and how to do it in a way that doesn't completely disrupt someone's life."
Larry Soler, president and chief executive of the Partnership for a Healthier America, said Mrs. Obama has "been the leader in making the case for the time is now in childhood obesity and everyone has a role to play in overcoming the problem." The nonpartisan, nonprofit partnership was created as part of "Let's Move" to work with the private sector and to hold companies accountable for changes they promised to make.
Conservatives accused Mrs. Obama of going too far and dictating what people should ? and shouldn't ? eat after she played a major behind-the-scenes role in the passage in 2010 of a child nutrition law that required schools to make foods healthier. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee in 2008, once brought cookies to a school and called the first lady's efforts a "nanny state run amok."
Other leaders in the effort, such as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have felt the backlash, too. Last fall, Bloomberg helped enact the nation's first rule barring restaurants, cafeterias and concession stands from selling soda and other high-calorie drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces.
Despite the criticism, broad public support exists for some of the changes the first lady and the mayor are advocating, according to a recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.
More than eight in 10 of those surveyed, 84 percent, support requiring more physical activity in schools, and 83 percent favor government providing people with nutritional guidelines and information about diet and exercise. Seventy percent favor having restaurants put calorie counts on menus, and 75 percent consider overweightness and obesity a serious problem in this country, according to the Nov. 21-Dec. 14 survey by telephone of 1,011 adults.
Food industry representatives say Mrs. Obama has influenced their own efforts.
Mary Sophos of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents the country's largest food companies, including General Mills and Kellogg's, said an industry effort to label the fronts of food packages with nutritional content gained momentum after Mrs. Obama, a mother of two, attended one of their meetings in 2010 and encouraged them to do more.
"She's not trying to point fingers," Sophos said. "She's trying to get people to focus on solutions."
A move by the companies signaling willingness to work with Mrs. Obama appears to have paid off as the Obama administration eased off some of the fights it appeared ready to pick four years ago.
The Food and Drug Administration has stalled its push to mandate labeling on the front of food packages, saying it is monitoring the industry's own effort. A rule that would require calorie counts on menus has been delayed as the FDA tries to figure out whom to apply it to. Supermarkets, movie theaters and other retailers have been lobbying to be exempted.
The industry also appears to have successfully warded off a move by the Federal Trade Commission to put in place voluntary guidelines for advertising junk food to kids. Directed by Congress, the guidelines would have discouraged the marketing of certain foods that didn't meet government-devised nutritional requirements. The administration released draft guidelines in 2011 but didn't follow up after the industry said they went too far and angry House Republicans summoned an agency official to Capitol Hill to defend them.
Besides labeling its store brands, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, also pledged to cut sodium and added sugars by 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively, by 2015, and remove industrially produced trans fats.
Leslie Dach, an executive vice president, said sodium in packaged bread has been cut by 13 percent, and added sugar in refrigerated flavored milk, popular among kids, has been cut by more than 17 percent. He said Wal-Mart shoppers have told the company that eating healthier is important to them. Giving customers what they want is also good for business.
New York reported a 5.5 percent decline in obesity rates in kindergarteners through eighth-graders between the 2006-07 and 2010-11 school years, according a report last fall by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which studies health policy. In Philadelphia, the decline was 4.7 percent among students in grades K-12 between the 2006-07 and 2009-10 school years, the foundation said.
Declines also were reported in California and in Mississippi, where Mrs. Obama stops Wednesday.
In Philadelphia, an organization called the Food Trust has worked since 1992 to help corner stores offer fresh foods, connect schools with local farms, bring supermarkets to underserved areas and ensure that farmers' markets accept food stamps, according to Robert Wood Johnson.
New York City requires chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus. Licensed day care centers also must offer daily physical activity, limit the amount of time children spend in front of TV and computer screens, and set nutrition standards.
Both cities also made changes to improve the quality of foods and beverages available to students in public schools.
___
Online:
Let's Move: http://www.letsmove.gov
___
Follow Darlene Superville and Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap and http://www.twitter.com/mcjalonick
This Metal Gear Rising Revengeance weapons guide will show you how to unlock all secret Metal Gear Rising Revengeance weapons with blade & sword unlocks. And how to best use them to kill all enemies that dare stand in your way!
The Metal Gear Rising Revengeance weapons list and strategy guide follow here-under.
Index of Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Guides:
This guide shows all High-Frequency Blades you can unlock, like the Armor Breaker, Fox Blade, Wooden Sword, Long Sword, etc.
Each sword has its own unique lighting effect when swung, and also its own unique sound. Look and listen for it.
Tip: It?s important to point out that the FOX Blade is super OP (overpowered), when its Effect Enhancement is active. If you perfect parry an enemy, the counter attack will kill them outright (at least normal cyborgs).
Here is a video guide showing you how to do the Metal Gear Rising Revengeance unlockable weapons.
High-Frequency Blade (BP Cost: 0) ? Shown at 00:00 minutes in the above video guide.
Description: Its metallic structure strengthened by an alternating current, this blade resonates such that it weakens the particle bonds of whatever it cuts. Its effectiveness is further boosted in Blade Mode, which consumes energy but enables high-speed attacks. Customized by Doktor to absorb fuel-cell electrolytes from its victims.
Stats: It?s a well balanced blade with the lowest FC Consumption.
How to unlock: Available from the start of the game.
Stun Blade (BP Cost: 20,000) ? Shown at 00:56 minutes in the above video guide.
Description: Infused with a two-million-volt current, this unique sword is capable of temporarily shutting down the interface to a cyborg?s brain, or to a UG?s optical neuro-AI. It?s also highly effective as a conventional cutting weapon. Has Stun Blade enhancement, increasing chance of stun with every hit.
Stats: Together with the Armor Breaker, the Stun Blade has a worse attack power and absorb than other weapons? HOWEVER their traits have a 5% ? up to 20% at maximum upgrade ? trigger rate.
How to unlock: Collect all data storage devices/items.
Armor Breaker (BP Cost: 20,000) ? Shown at 02:00 minutes in the above video guide.
Description: Modeled after the ?Kabutowari? swords fo feudal Japan, this blade offers both lethal cutting power and the chance of destroying armor with every hit, making it a great choice against heavier targets, including large UGs. Has Armor Breaker Enhancement, increasing chance of destroying enemy armor with every hit.
Stats: Together with the Stun Blade, the Armor Breaker has a worse attack power and absorb than other weapons? HOWEVER their traits have a 5% ? up to 20% at maximum upgrade ? trigger rate.
How to unlock: Collect all Left Arms ID chips.
High-Frequency Long Sword (BP Cost: 20,000) ? Shown at 02:43 minutes in the above video guide.
Description: A high-frequency blade modeled after ?Nodachi?, a style of long, curved sword used by the samurai warriors of feudal Japan.
Stats: Its highlights are that it?s a powerful sword with a better range, but it has less speed with a worse absorb/consumption.
How to unlock: Finish all VR Missions with ?1st? ranking.
High-Frequency Wooden Sword (BP Cost: 5,000) ? Shown at 04:07 minutes in the above video guide.
Description: A blunt weapon crafted from Honduran mahogany, the wood best suited to high-frequency enhancement. While incapable of cutting through targets, this unbreakable wooden sword?s high-frequency upgrade makes it the ideal choice to subdue cyborgs without killing them.
Special Effects: ? Wooden Blade Inhibitor (Attack Power downgrade) ? Effect Enhancement ? An upgraded version of Raiden?s cyborg body firmware that retunes and optimizes his use of the High-Frequency Wooden Sword, improving the odds that every hit could knock an enemy unconscious.
How to unlock: Find all Men-In-Boxes, the soldiers hiding in cardboard boxes.
High-Frequency Murasama Blade (BP Cost: 10,000) ? Shown at 04:55 minutes in the above video guide.
Description: A notorious blade passed down through generations of the Rodrigues family. Sam had it modified into a high-frequency blade, enhancing the already astonishing properties of the original metal and giving it an ominous crimson glow. An explosive charge housed in the scabbard enables a lightning-quick draw.
Stats: It?s a superior blade in all regards, except for its FC Consumption, but that?s made up for by it having the HF Machete?s speed bonus.
How to unlock: Beat the game on any difficulty.
High-Frequency Machete (BP Cost: 5000) ? Shown at 05:54 minutes in the above video guide.
Description: A high-frequency knife modeled after the machetes common to Central and South America. Although it has a slightly shorter reach than a typical high-frequency blade, the HF Machete can be swung more quickly. Plus, it goes great with the Mariachi Uniform?
Stats: It?s a great combo weapon because of its higher speed, but it does have a low attack power.
How to unlock: Collect 10 data storage items.
FOX Blade (BP Cost: 200,000) ? Shown at 07:04 minutes in the above video guide.
Description: The high-frequency Blade used by ex-FOXHOUND field agent Frank Jaeger, a.k.a. Gray Fox, after he was outfitted in a cyborg ninja chassis by Dr. Clark. Gray Fox?s soul still echoes through the blade, sometimes enabling it to cut clean through enemies, armor and all.
Upgrade: ? FOX Blade Effect Enhancement (BP Cost: 100,000) An updated version of Raiden?s cyborg body firmware that retunes his use of the Fox Blade based on battle data taken from Gray Fox himself. It improves the odds that every strike could penetrate enemy armor.
How to unlock: Pre-order only DLC in America. Free with every copy of the game at launch in Europe.
3 Unique Boss Weapons ? Shown in the next trailer.
Description: The three unique boss weapons you can unlock and upgrade in the game are called: Pole-Arm AKA ?L?Etranger?, Tactical Sai AKA ?Dystopia?, and Pincer Blades AKA ?Bloodlust?.
How to unlock: Kill bosses, get their weapons.
Soul Snake Wooden Sword (DLC) ? No footage available yet.
Description: The first DLC is called the ?Soul Snake Wooden Sword?. It?s a special wooden sword infused with the soul of Solid Snake and every time you swing it, you will hear Snake?s voice.
How to unlock: Available as part of the game?s first post-launch paid DLC. Coming soon.
Thanks to XCV for the weapon guides.
What?s your favorite weapon in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance?
About the author
By Ferry Groenendijk: He is the founder and editor of Video Games Blogger. He loved gaming from the moment he got a Nintendo with Super Mario Bros. on his 8th birthday. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and at Google+.
They say it?s hard to know the value of something unless you?ve had to live without it.
If that?s true, I might be an expert on the value of a mother. If you haven?t heard it before, here is my motherhood story.
I know what an amazing impact a mother?s presence (and absence) has on her children. As I often like to say, ?You are a Mom. You?re kind of a big deal.?
You are planting oaks of righteousness that will impact generations to come.
You have been entrusted by the God of all creation to lead His most tender, valuable and vulnerable ones.
You have been given the task of teaching tomorrow?s thought leaders, business owners and world changers.
That is no small thing. To whom much is given, much is required.
Motherhood is powerful, may we be women of purpose.
My husband and I love to travel.
Shortly after we were married, when we were dirt poor, we scrounged together enough money for plane tickets to France. My father-in-law was living there at the time and his whole side of the family is from there. We worked hard, saved hard and planned hard. As a result, for very little money, we were able to tour France, visit Germany and make a lifetime of memories.
A few years later, when we were in the midst of raising babies, I leaned over to Jimmy at church and whispered, ?Let?s go on vacation.?
He leaned back and said, ?Okay???
I replied, ?Today.?
So we went home, put the kids down for a nap, packed, put the littles in the car and headed North. We had great dreams of making it all the way to Nashville, but after 6 hours in the car we stopped in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
It was a fun little trip and we?ve since gone back, but the point of this little tale is that we go SO much farther when we plan.
France or Arkansas? Are we mothering by the seat of our pants or are we being planned and purposeful?
Planning doesn?t have to be complex or restricting. It can be as simple as listing 12 areas we want to grow in and working on one each month.
Read books, ask other mothers, attend seminars and scour the earth for every resource you can find on that topic that month. Dive in and incite habit changes in your life.
The next month, go deeper or move on. The point is we must be purposeful and have a plan, however simple, in order to go.
If I want to be a painter, I spend time with a master painter. If I want to be a tennis player, I spend time with a tennis pro. If I want to be a singer, I spend time with a voice instructor.
And if I want to be an expert on my children?s hopes, dreams, needs, fears and faith, then I need to spend time with the One who breathed life into them and knows the very hairs on their head.
Being purposeful is wonderful, plans are powerful, but all of that is secondary to learning from the author of Life.
I love what Katie Davis, a 19 year old prom queen who moved to Uganda and adopted 13 children (!!), says when people ask her how she does it. She says, ?It?s just a little bit of coffee and a WHOLE lot of Jesus.?
Friends, I can?t make my children love God. I do not have a formula for raising obedient, compassionate world changers.
On my own, on our own, we are utterly powerless, but each morning, afternoon, evening and every moment in between we have a direct connection to the Great I Am, the Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth, the God of the Impossible.
He makes motherhood possible, purposeful and powerful. He chose you to be a Mom. You?re kind of a big deal?
ZTE is chasing the premium smartphone experience -- and it might not come with too heavy a price tag. While we've already seen its skinny phone-tablet, expect some news on a more global appearance, alongside, hopefully, more news on its Nubia range. Oh, and finally a closer look at that Firefox phone -- unless Mozilla has that on lock-down. The event will kick off Sunday at... the time you see below.
Feb. 25, 2013 ? Low-birth-weight babies with a particular brain abnormality are at greater risk for autism, according to a new study that could provide doctors a signpost for early detection of the still poorly understood disorder.
Led by Michigan State University, the study found that low-birth-weight newborns were seven times more likely to be diagnosed with autism later in life if an ultrasound taken just after birth showed they had enlarged ventricles, cavities in the brain that store spinal fluid. The results appear in the Journal of Pediatrics.
"For many years there's been a lot of controversy about whether vaccinations or environmental factors influence the development of autism, and there's always the question of at what age a child begins to develop the disorder," said lead author Tammy Movsas, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at MSU and medical director of the Midland County Department of Public Health.
"What this study shows us is that an ultrasound scan within the first few days of life may already be able to detect brain abnormalities that indicate a higher risk of developing autism."
Movsas and colleagues reached that conclusion by analyzing data from a cohort of 1,105 low-birth-weight infants born in the mid-1980s. The babies had cranial ultrasounds just after birth so the researchers could look for relationships between brain abnormalities in infancy and health disorders that showed up later. Participants also were screened for autism when they were 16 years old, and a subset of them had a more rigorous test at 21, which turned up 14 positive diagnoses.
Ventricular enlargement is found more often in premature babies and may indicate loss of a type of brain tissue called white matter.
"This study suggests further research is needed to better understand what it is about loss of white matter that interferes with the neurological processes that determine autism," said co-author Nigel Paneth, an MSU epidemiologist who helped organize the cohort. "This is an important clue to the underlying brain issues in autism."
Prior studies have shown an increased rate of autism in low-birth-weight and premature babies, and earlier research by Movsas and Paneth found a modest increase in symptoms among autistic children born early or late.
The study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Michigan State University.
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Journal Reference:
Tammy Z. Movsas, Jennifer A. Pinto-Martin, Agnes H. Whitaker, Judith F. Feldman, John M. Lorenz, Steven J. Korzeniewski, Susan E. Levy, Nigel Paneth. Autism Spectrum Disorder Is Associated with Ventricular Enlargement in a Low Birth Weight Population. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.12.084
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Contact: Andy McGlashen andy.mcglashen@cabs.msu.edu 517-355-5158 Michigan State University
Low-birth-weight babies with a particular brain abnormality are at greater risk for autism, according to a new study that could provide doctors a signpost for early detection of the still poorly understood disorder.
Led by Michigan State University, the study found that low-birth-weight newborns were seven times more likely to be diagnosed with autism later in life if an ultrasound taken just after birth showed they had enlarged ventricles, cavities in the brain that store spinal fluid. The results appear in the Journal of Pediatrics.
"For many years there's been a lot of controversy about whether vaccinations or environmental factors influence the development of autism, and there's always the question of at what age a child begins to develop the disorder," said lead author Tammy Movsas, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at MSU and medical director of the Midland County Department of Public Health.
"What this study shows us is that an ultrasound scan within the first few days of life may already be able to detect brain abnormalities that indicate a higher risk of developing autism."
Movsas and colleagues reached that conclusion by analyzing data from a cohort of 1,105 low-birth-weight infants born in the mid-1980s. The babies had cranial ultrasounds just after birth so the researchers could look for relationships between brain abnormalities in infancy and health disorders that showed up later. Participants also were screened for autism when they were 16 years old, and a subset of them had a more rigorous test at 21, which turned up 14 positive diagnoses.
Ventricular enlargement is found more often in premature babies and may indicate loss of a type of brain tissue called white matter.
"This study suggests further research is needed to better understand what it is about loss of white matter that interferes with the neurological processes that determine autism," said co-author Nigel Paneth, an MSU epidemiologist who helped organize the cohort. "This is an important clue to the underlying brain issues in autism."
Prior studies have shown an increased rate of autism in low-birth-weight and premature babies, and earlier research by Movsas and Paneth found a modest increase in symptoms among autistic children born early or late.
###
The study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.
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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: Andy McGlashen andy.mcglashen@cabs.msu.edu 517-355-5158 Michigan State University
Low-birth-weight babies with a particular brain abnormality are at greater risk for autism, according to a new study that could provide doctors a signpost for early detection of the still poorly understood disorder.
Led by Michigan State University, the study found that low-birth-weight newborns were seven times more likely to be diagnosed with autism later in life if an ultrasound taken just after birth showed they had enlarged ventricles, cavities in the brain that store spinal fluid. The results appear in the Journal of Pediatrics.
"For many years there's been a lot of controversy about whether vaccinations or environmental factors influence the development of autism, and there's always the question of at what age a child begins to develop the disorder," said lead author Tammy Movsas, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at MSU and medical director of the Midland County Department of Public Health.
"What this study shows us is that an ultrasound scan within the first few days of life may already be able to detect brain abnormalities that indicate a higher risk of developing autism."
Movsas and colleagues reached that conclusion by analyzing data from a cohort of 1,105 low-birth-weight infants born in the mid-1980s. The babies had cranial ultrasounds just after birth so the researchers could look for relationships between brain abnormalities in infancy and health disorders that showed up later. Participants also were screened for autism when they were 16 years old, and a subset of them had a more rigorous test at 21, which turned up 14 positive diagnoses.
Ventricular enlargement is found more often in premature babies and may indicate loss of a type of brain tissue called white matter.
"This study suggests further research is needed to better understand what it is about loss of white matter that interferes with the neurological processes that determine autism," said co-author Nigel Paneth, an MSU epidemiologist who helped organize the cohort. "This is an important clue to the underlying brain issues in autism."
Prior studies have shown an increased rate of autism in low-birth-weight and premature babies, and earlier research by Movsas and Paneth found a modest increase in symptoms among autistic children born early or late.
###
The study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.
[ | 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.
Sony today unveiled a new NEX camera, the NEx-3N. The new body is the latest addition to the company's celebrated lineup of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras, and it manages to be the smallest and lightest camera available in that category to also house an APS-C sensor. The 16.1 megapixel CMOS sensor is right on par with those found in full-sized entry-level DSLRs, and allows the camera to snap photos up to ISO 16000, which means it should be a fairly strong low-light performer.
(Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co announced the launch of a $169 tablet powered by the Android operating system, a centerpiece of the company's effort to expand in mobile devices and reduce its dependence on the shrinking personal computer market.
The launch of the Slate 7 marks HP's latest foray into the consumer tablet market. It follows the 2011 failure of its WebOS-based TouchPad, which the company stopped selling after just seven weeks, citing poor demand.
Powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the Slate 7 offers Google Inc services including search functions, YouTube and Gmail, as well as Beats Audio for improved sound, HP said.
The 13-ounce device also includes access to apps and digital content through Google Play, and cameras on both sides of the 7-inch screen.
HP said it expects U.S. sales of the Slate 7 to begin in April, and said the product offer a "compelling entry point" for people looking to buy tablets.
Google's Nexus 7 tablet costs $199, as does Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Fire HD.
HP also makes the ElitePad tablet for businesses, which is powered by Microsoft Corp's Windows 8. WebOS had been developed by Palm Inc, which HP bought in 2010.
The Slate7 is part of a multi-year plan by HP Chief Executive Meg Whitman to turn around the Silicon Valley icon.
HP in recent years has struggled with costly acquisitions, management turnover, governance issues, and falling sales and margins from PCs, where the Palo Alto, California-based company still has the largest U.S. market share.
Shares of HP closed Friday 12.3 percent higher at $19.20 on the New York Stock Exchange, a day after HP reported quarterly results and an outlook that exceeded analysts' forecasts.
The company's market value has nevertheless dropped by nearly two-thirds since April 2010.
HP announced the Slate 7 on the eve of the Mobile World Congress, a wireless industry trade show taking place this week in Barcelona, Spain.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Maureen Bavdek; )
Do you want to know whether cannibalism existed amongst Tyrannosaurus Rexes or whether specific viruses contribute to lung cancer risk? Better yet, do you want to be part of making this research happen faster? A Y Combinator-backed startup called Microryza is positioning itself as a “Kickstarter” for science research. The idea for Microryza sprouted when Cindy Wu, then an undergraduate at University of Washington, found that she had little hope of getting funding for studying a potential anthrax therapeutic. She had discovered it after helping to create a video game that let regular people fold and create virtual enzymes. They came up with 87 different mutants that summer through the video game, and found that one could potentially treat anthrax infections after winning an MIT-based synthetic biology competition. But her professor at the time was skeptical that she could get funding to study it further. “He told me it was a small, early-stage idea and that because I was an undergraduate, I couldn’t get an NIH (National Institutes of Health) or NSF (National Science Foundation) grant,” she said. But he then let her pitch at a lab meeting and funneled money from another existing lab grant into her work. “I was so lucky. But I realized there are so many other undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members that would never be able to get funding,” she said. “I talked to 100 different scientists and found that all of them had high-risk ideas, but they never wrote proposals because they didn’t think it would go through.” So last year, she and co-founder Denny Luan launched Microryza. They work with five or six universities including the University of Washington, USC and UC Santa Cruz. They vet every single researcher on the platform. Luan said Microryza looks for three things: 1) Is the researcher who they say they are? 2) Is the proposal fundamentally new research? 3) Is the researcher capable of carrying out the project? They also work with the researchers to make sure there’s a lasting connection with their backers long after they receive funding. This is the hard part with science-focused Kickstarter concepts (and Microryza isn’t the only one), because research can take years before backers see conclusive results. There have been a few attempts with sites like Petridish, which launched last year and appears to have more than 30 completed projects. Luan and Wu worked on building an information
In this photo taken Monday, Feb. 18, 2013, children attend a class in a madrassa in Gao, northern Mali. Nearly a month after the al-Qaida-linked militants were driven out of Gao and into the surrounding villages, students are now returning to the city's Quranic schools. Many classrooms, though, are still half full, as tens of thousands of people fled the fighting and strict Islamic rule imposed by the extremists. However, other pupils left Gao not with their families but with the Islamic fighters when they retreated, say human rights activists and local officials. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
In this photo taken Monday, Feb. 18, 2013, children attend a class in a madrassa in Gao, northern Mali. Nearly a month after the al-Qaida-linked militants were driven out of Gao and into the surrounding villages, students are now returning to the city's Quranic schools. Many classrooms, though, are still half full, as tens of thousands of people fled the fighting and strict Islamic rule imposed by the extremists. However, other pupils left Gao not with their families but with the Islamic fighters when they retreated, say human rights activists and local officials. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
In this picture taken Monday Feb. 18, 2013, children gather at the door of Mohamed Salia's madrassa in Gao, northern Mali. Nearly a month after the al-Qaida-linked militants were driven out of Gao and into the surrounding villages, students are now returning to the city's Quranic schools. Many classrooms, though, are still half full, as tens of thousands of people fled the fighting and strict Islamic rule imposed by the extremists. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
In this photo taken Monday, Feb. 18, 2013, Mohamed Salia teaches in his Madrassa in Gao, northern Mali. Nearly a month after the al-Qaida-linked militants were driven out of Gao and into the surrounding villages, students are now returning to the city's Quranic schools. Many classrooms, though, are still half full, as tens of thousands of people fled the fighting and strict Islamic rule imposed by the extremists. However, other pupils left Gao not with their families but with the Islamic fighters when they retreated, say human rights activists and local officials. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
A Malian schoolgirl listens to her teacher as schools reopen in Gao, northern Mali, Monday Feb. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
A Malian schoolgirl stands at the blackboard as schools reopen in Gao, northern Mali, Monday Feb. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
GAO, Mali (AP) ? The radical Islamic fighters showed up at Mohamed Salia's Quranic school, armed with weapons and demanding to address his students.
The leader, named Hamadi, entered one of the classrooms, took a piece of chalk and scrawled his message on the blackboard.
"How to wage holy war," he wrote in Arabic. "How to terrorize the enemy in combat," the lesson plan continued.
Then his mobile phone rang, and he stepped away to answer. Salia urged his students to pose some questions of their own when he returned: Where had he come from and what did he want with a bunch of young people?
Hamadi told the students that people didn't ask questions like that where he was from. Islam knows no nationality, he replied and then left ? and did not return before the French-led military operation ousted him and his fighters from power last month.
"I told my students to be careful: that these men may be well-versed in the Quran but their Islamic point of view is not the same as ours," the teacher recalled.
Nearly a month after the al-Qaida-linked militants were driven out of Gao and into the surrounding villages, students are now returning to the city's Quranic schools.
Many classrooms, though, are still half full, as tens of thousands of people fled the fighting and strict Islamic rule the extremists.
However, other pupils left Gao not with their families but with the Islamic fighters when they retreated, say human rights activists and local officials.
The experience of the Gao schools illustrates how the extremists used madrassas in northern Mali to indoctrinate young people and to recruit child soldiers.
The Islamic radicals attacked Gao several times this week, their second assault on the strategic city since they retreated in the face of French and Malian military, and their young recruits appear to be part of the strategy of MUJAO, or Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa.
"MUJAO took many of the students from the Quranic schools because they speak Arabic and are easier to convert and manipulate," Gao Mayor Sadou Diallo told The Associated Press. "Between 200 and 300 children have disappeared with the jihadists."
"The schools were all complicit. They didn't have a choice ? if you didn't collaborate with MUJAO you died," Diallo said.
An untold number of children are believed to have been killed in the January fighting in central Mali, he said, and when jihadist strongholds were bombed in Gao during the military intervention last month.
Dozens of child soldiers were believed to be living in a government customs building that was later bombed during the military offensive, residents say. The Islamic fighters took away their wounded before it could be determined how many casualties there were at the site.
The rubble of the building is littered with tiny children's shoes, and notebooks and pieces of wood on which the children copied Quranic verses. The children's writing in pen on notebook paper depicts verses seeking protection from evil.
Imams and directors of the Quranic schools in Gao say it was here that the youths were radicalized, while the existing schools continued their regular curriculum.
Students who were plucked from classrooms in Gao and the surrounding communities came to the customs building to study and prepare for war.
At the Adadatou Alislamiatou madrassa in Gao, pupils are now back in class after the disruptions caused by the fighting and a Feb. 10 attack when the militants re-invaded the city in a show of force before being forced back into the bush by French and Malian forces.
As the afternoon sun bakes the ground outside the classroom hut, 10-year-old Abdoulaye Ousmane leads his classmates in reciting Quranic verses while their teacher attends prayers at the nearby mosque.
Sporting a soccer jersey and flip-flops, Abdoulaye sings out the words as he traces the Arabic script in chalk with his pointer, and an exuberant group of nearly 50 other children loudly sing back to him loudly.
They sit cross-legged on mats on the sand floor of the thatched hut ? the girls on one side all wearing headscarves with some carrying Hannah Montana backpacks, too.
As these students return to school after the MUAO occupation, their teachers say many have been traumatized by the gunfire and fighting. Religious instructors are also confronted with how best to guide their students who have been exposed to the extremist ideology of al-Qaida-linked militants.
During the reign of the MUJAO, the Islamic fighters amputated hands of suspected thieves in public squares. Billboards displayed around town ordered women to cover themselves in public.
The Islamic militants capitalized on the city's poverty, offering sign-on bonuses and monthly salaries to those who joined their cause, imams said.
Abdourhamane Maiga, assistant director of the Adadatou Alislamiatou madrassa, recalls one student who dropped out of school after being asked to repeat a grade.
The next time Maiga saw the pupil, he was wielding a firearm with the Islamic fighters at their police headquarters downtown.
"They didn't come here to practice Islam," he says of the extremists. "The prophet never would have accepted a child of 10 years old waging jihad and taking up arms."
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435 tribal dancers create world record in Tamil Nadu
Bangkok News.Net - Sunday 24th February, 2013
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President to open Iskcon Vedic Cultural Centre in Pune
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President Pranab Mukherjee will undertake a one day visit to Pune on Sunday to inaugurate the Vedic Cultural Centre of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The Vedic ...
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US Antares rocket completes ground test
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China Reports Years Second Bird Flu Death
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Kerry takes case on Syria to Europe Mideast
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World Oscar Pistorius brother Carl too facing murder trial
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Samsung's much-anticipated Galaxy Note 8.0, already the subject of a number of leaks and rumors ahead of Mobile World Congress, has once again been revealed. A photograph obtained by SlashGear and posted above shows Samsung's booth at the trade show, which is set to kick off on Monday ? the tablet is clearly visible next to text confirming its name.
Aside from its 8-inch, 1280 x 800 display, the Galaxy Note 8.0 is expected to include 2GB of RAM, a combination of 1.3-megapixel front-facing and 5-megapixel rear-facing cameras, and a choice of 32GB or 64GB of storage. It will sit between Samsung's Galaxy Note II, which offers a 5.5-inch screen, and the more traditionally tablet-sized Galaxy Note 10.1, superseding the aging Galaxy Tab 7.7.
Source: www.nytimes.com --- Friday, February 22, 2013 A 31-year-old man who had contracted the deadly H5N1 bird flu died of organ failure in the south-central Chinese city of Guiyang. ...
Laser mastery narrows down sources of superconductivityPublic release date: 24-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Justin Eure jeure@bnl.gov 631-344-2347 DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
MIT and Brookhaven Lab physicists measure fleeting electron waves to uncover the elusive mechanism behind high-temperature superconductivity
UPTON, NY Identifying the mysterious mechanism underlying high-temperature superconductivity (HTS) remains one of the most important and tantalizing puzzles in physics. This remarkable phenomenon allows electric current to pass with perfect efficiency through materials chilled to subzero temperatures, and it may play an essential role in revolutionizing the entire electricity chain, from generation to transmission and grid-scale storage. Pinning down one of the possible explanations for HTSfleeting fluctuations called charge-density waves (CDWs)could help solve the mystery and pave the way for rapid technological advances.
Now, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have combined two state-of-the-art experimental techniques to study those electron waves with unprecedented precision in two-dimensional, custom-grown materials. The surprising results, published online February 24, 2013, in the journal Nature Materials, reveal that CDWs cannot be the root cause of the unparalleled power conveyance in HTS materials. In fact, CDW formation is an independent and likely competing instability.
"It has been difficult to determine whether or not dynamic or fluctuating CDWs even exist in HTS materials, much less identify their role," said Brookhaven Lab physicist and study coauthor Ivan Bozovic. "Do they compete with the HTS state, or are they perhaps the very essence of the phenomenon? That question has now been answered by targeted experimentation."
Custom-grown Superconductors
Electricity travels imperfectly through traditional metallic conductors, losing energy as heat due to a kind of atomic-scale friction. Impurities in these materials also cause electrons to scatter and stumble, but superconductors can overcome this hurdleassuming the synthesis process is precise.
For this experiment, Bozovic used a custom-built molecular beam epitaxy system at Brookhaven Lab to grow thin films of LaSrCuO, an HTS cuprate (copper-oxide) compound. The metallic cuprates, assembled one atomic layer at a time, are separated by insulating planes of lanthanum and strontium oxides, resulting in what's called a quasi-two-dimensional conductor. When cooled down to a low enough temperatureless than 100 degrees Kelvinstrange electron waves began to ripple through that 2D matrix. At even lower temperatures, these films became superconducting.
Electron Sea
"In quasi-two-dimensional metals, low temperatures frequently bring about interesting collective states called charge-density waves," Bozovic said. "They resemble waves rolling across the surface of a lake under a breeze, except that instead of water, here we actually have a sea of mobile electrons."
Once a CDW forms, the electron density loses uniformity as the ripples rise and fall. These waves can be described by familiar parameters: amplitude (height of the waves), wavelength (distance between waves), and phase (the wave's position on the material). Detecting CDWs typically requires high-intensity x-rays, such as those provided by synchrotron light sources like Brookhaven's NSLS and, soon, NSLS-II. And even then, the technique only works if the waves are essentially frozen upon formation. However, if CDWs actually fluctuate rapidly, they may escape detection by x-ray diffraction, which typically requires a long exposure time that blurs fast motion.
Measuring Rolling Waves
To catch CDWs in action, a research group at MIT led by physicist Nuh Gedik used an advanced ultrafast spectroscopy technique. Intense laser pulses called "pumps" cause excitations in the superconducting films, which are then probed by measuring the film reflectance with a second light pulsethis is called a pump-probe process. The second pulse is delayed by precise time intervals, and the series of measurements allow the lifetime of the excitation to be determined.
In a more sophisticated variant of the technique, largely pioneered by Gedik, the standard single pump beam is replaced by two beams hitting the surface from different sides simultaneously. This generates a standing wave of controlled wavelength in the film, but it disappears rapidly as the electrons relax back into their original state.
This technique was applied to the atomically perfect LaSrCuO films synthesized at Brookhaven Lab. In films with a critical temperature of 26 degrees Kelvin (the threshold beyond which the superconductivity breaks down), the researchers discovered two new short-lived excitationsboth caused by fluctuating CDWs.
Gedik's technique even allowed the researchers to record the lifetime of CDW fluctuationsjust 2 picoseconds (a millionth of a millionth of a second) under the coldest conditions and becoming briefer as the temperatures rose. These waves then vanished entirely at about 100 Kelvin, actually surviving at much higher temperatures than superconductivity.
Ruling out a Suspect
The researchers then hunted for those same signatures in cuprate films with slightly different chemical compositions and a greater density of mobile electrons. The results were both unexpected and significant for the future of HTS research.
"Interestingly, the superconducting sample with the highest critical temperature, about 39 Kelvin, showed no CDW signatures at all," Gedik said.
The consistent emergence of CDWs would have bolstered the conjecture that they play an essential role in high-temperature superconductivity. Instead, the new technique's successful detection of such electron waves in one sample but not in another (with even higher critical temperature) indicates that another mechanism must be driving the emergence of HTS.
"Results like this bring us closer to understanding the mystery of HTS, considered by many to be one of the greatest problems in physics today," Bozovic said. "The source of this extraordinary phenomenon is slowly but surely running out of places to hide."
###
Additional collaborators on this research include Darrius Torchinsky and Fahad Mahmood of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Anthony Bollinger of Brookhaven National Lab.
The work was funded by the National Science Foundation and DOE's Office of Science.
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers.
Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.
Visit Brookhaven Lab's electronic newsroom for links, news archives, graphics, and more or follow Brookhaven Lab on Twitter.
[ | 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.
Laser mastery narrows down sources of superconductivityPublic release date: 24-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Justin Eure jeure@bnl.gov 631-344-2347 DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
MIT and Brookhaven Lab physicists measure fleeting electron waves to uncover the elusive mechanism behind high-temperature superconductivity
UPTON, NY Identifying the mysterious mechanism underlying high-temperature superconductivity (HTS) remains one of the most important and tantalizing puzzles in physics. This remarkable phenomenon allows electric current to pass with perfect efficiency through materials chilled to subzero temperatures, and it may play an essential role in revolutionizing the entire electricity chain, from generation to transmission and grid-scale storage. Pinning down one of the possible explanations for HTSfleeting fluctuations called charge-density waves (CDWs)could help solve the mystery and pave the way for rapid technological advances.
Now, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have combined two state-of-the-art experimental techniques to study those electron waves with unprecedented precision in two-dimensional, custom-grown materials. The surprising results, published online February 24, 2013, in the journal Nature Materials, reveal that CDWs cannot be the root cause of the unparalleled power conveyance in HTS materials. In fact, CDW formation is an independent and likely competing instability.
"It has been difficult to determine whether or not dynamic or fluctuating CDWs even exist in HTS materials, much less identify their role," said Brookhaven Lab physicist and study coauthor Ivan Bozovic. "Do they compete with the HTS state, or are they perhaps the very essence of the phenomenon? That question has now been answered by targeted experimentation."
Custom-grown Superconductors
Electricity travels imperfectly through traditional metallic conductors, losing energy as heat due to a kind of atomic-scale friction. Impurities in these materials also cause electrons to scatter and stumble, but superconductors can overcome this hurdleassuming the synthesis process is precise.
For this experiment, Bozovic used a custom-built molecular beam epitaxy system at Brookhaven Lab to grow thin films of LaSrCuO, an HTS cuprate (copper-oxide) compound. The metallic cuprates, assembled one atomic layer at a time, are separated by insulating planes of lanthanum and strontium oxides, resulting in what's called a quasi-two-dimensional conductor. When cooled down to a low enough temperatureless than 100 degrees Kelvinstrange electron waves began to ripple through that 2D matrix. At even lower temperatures, these films became superconducting.
Electron Sea
"In quasi-two-dimensional metals, low temperatures frequently bring about interesting collective states called charge-density waves," Bozovic said. "They resemble waves rolling across the surface of a lake under a breeze, except that instead of water, here we actually have a sea of mobile electrons."
Once a CDW forms, the electron density loses uniformity as the ripples rise and fall. These waves can be described by familiar parameters: amplitude (height of the waves), wavelength (distance between waves), and phase (the wave's position on the material). Detecting CDWs typically requires high-intensity x-rays, such as those provided by synchrotron light sources like Brookhaven's NSLS and, soon, NSLS-II. And even then, the technique only works if the waves are essentially frozen upon formation. However, if CDWs actually fluctuate rapidly, they may escape detection by x-ray diffraction, which typically requires a long exposure time that blurs fast motion.
Measuring Rolling Waves
To catch CDWs in action, a research group at MIT led by physicist Nuh Gedik used an advanced ultrafast spectroscopy technique. Intense laser pulses called "pumps" cause excitations in the superconducting films, which are then probed by measuring the film reflectance with a second light pulsethis is called a pump-probe process. The second pulse is delayed by precise time intervals, and the series of measurements allow the lifetime of the excitation to be determined.
In a more sophisticated variant of the technique, largely pioneered by Gedik, the standard single pump beam is replaced by two beams hitting the surface from different sides simultaneously. This generates a standing wave of controlled wavelength in the film, but it disappears rapidly as the electrons relax back into their original state.
This technique was applied to the atomically perfect LaSrCuO films synthesized at Brookhaven Lab. In films with a critical temperature of 26 degrees Kelvin (the threshold beyond which the superconductivity breaks down), the researchers discovered two new short-lived excitationsboth caused by fluctuating CDWs.
Gedik's technique even allowed the researchers to record the lifetime of CDW fluctuationsjust 2 picoseconds (a millionth of a millionth of a second) under the coldest conditions and becoming briefer as the temperatures rose. These waves then vanished entirely at about 100 Kelvin, actually surviving at much higher temperatures than superconductivity.
Ruling out a Suspect
The researchers then hunted for those same signatures in cuprate films with slightly different chemical compositions and a greater density of mobile electrons. The results were both unexpected and significant for the future of HTS research.
"Interestingly, the superconducting sample with the highest critical temperature, about 39 Kelvin, showed no CDW signatures at all," Gedik said.
The consistent emergence of CDWs would have bolstered the conjecture that they play an essential role in high-temperature superconductivity. Instead, the new technique's successful detection of such electron waves in one sample but not in another (with even higher critical temperature) indicates that another mechanism must be driving the emergence of HTS.
"Results like this bring us closer to understanding the mystery of HTS, considered by many to be one of the greatest problems in physics today," Bozovic said. "The source of this extraordinary phenomenon is slowly but surely running out of places to hide."
###
Additional collaborators on this research include Darrius Torchinsky and Fahad Mahmood of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Anthony Bollinger of Brookhaven National Lab.
The work was funded by the National Science Foundation and DOE's Office of Science.
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers.
Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.
Visit Brookhaven Lab's electronic newsroom for links, news archives, graphics, and more or follow Brookhaven Lab on Twitter.
[ | 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.
By Ferry Groenendijk: He is the founder and editor of Video Games Blogger. He loved gaming from the moment he got a Nintendo with Super Mario Bros. on his 8th birthday. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and at Google+.
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Public release date: 25-Feb-2013
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Sony today unveiled a new NEX camera, the NEx-3N. The new body is the latest addition to the company's celebrated lineup of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras, and it manages to be the smallest and lightest camera available in that category to also house an APS-C sensor. The 16.1 megapixel CMOS sensor is right on par with those found in full-sized entry-level DSLRs, and allows the camera to snap photos up to ISO 16000, which means it should be a fairly strong low-light performer.
Do you want to know whether cannibalism existed amongst Tyrannosaurus Rexes or whether specific viruses contribute to lung cancer risk? Better yet, do you want to be part of making this research happen faster? A Y Combinator-backed startup called Microryza is positioning itself as a “Kickstarter” for science research. The idea for Microryza sprouted when Cindy Wu, then an undergraduate at University of Washington, found that she had little hope of getting funding for studying a potential anthrax therapeutic. She had discovered it after helping to create a video game that let regular people fold and create virtual enzymes. They came up with 87 different mutants that summer through the video game, and found that one could potentially treat anthrax infections after winning an MIT-based synthetic biology competition. But her professor at the time was skeptical that she could get funding to study it further. “He told me it was a small, early-stage idea and that because I was an undergraduate, I couldn’t get an NIH (National Institutes of Health) or NSF (National Science Foundation) grant,” she said. But he then let her pitch at a lab meeting and funneled money from another existing lab grant into her work. “I was so lucky. But I realized there are so many other undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members that would never be able to get funding,” she said. “I talked to 100 different scientists and found that all of them had high-risk ideas, but they never wrote proposals because they didn’t think it would go through.” So last year, she and co-founder Denny Luan launched Microryza. They work with five or six universities including the University of Washington, USC and UC Santa Cruz. They vet every single researcher on the platform. Luan said Microryza looks for three things: 1) Is the researcher who they say they are? 2) Is the proposal fundamentally new research? 3) Is the researcher capable of carrying out the project? They also work with the researchers to make sure there’s a lasting connection with their backers long after they receive funding. This is the hard part with science-focused Kickstarter concepts (and Microryza isn’t the only one), because research can take years before backers see conclusive results. There have been a few attempts with sites like Petridish, which launched last year and appears to have more than 30 completed projects. Luan and Wu worked on building an information
