Dutch uncover large-scale meat fraud

10 April 2013 Last updated at 15:42 ET

Some 50,000 tonnes of meat supplied by two Dutch trading companies and sold as beef across Europe since January 2011 may have contained horsemeat.

The meat is being recalled where possible, the Dutch authorities say.

There was no evidence that the meat was a threat to human health, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority said.

In total, 132 companies in the Netherlands and some 370 more around Europe are affected by the discovery.

The suspect meat was supplied by Wiljo Import en Export BV and Vleesgroothandel Willy Selten.

The two companies are owned by one man who has already previously been investigated by food safety officials, the BBC's Matthew Price reports.

The latest find was made as part of EU-wide tests to trace horse DNA in processed beef foods and to detect a veterinary drug used on horses.

The results of the rest of the tests conducted across the EU will be made public next week - giving consumers a better idea of how widespread the scandal has been.

The Dutch decided to release their results early because of the magnitude of what they had discovered, our correspondent says.

'Already consumed'

The recall covers meat dating back to 1 January 2011 up until 15 February this year, the Dutch food authority said on Wednesday.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

With its imposing grey gates, the Willy Selten factory in Oss does not receive many visitors outside the meat trade. That was according to the owner, whom we met on a chilly Saturday afternoon in February. Investigations into the Netherlands' role in the Europe-wide horsemeat scandal had brought us here.

The suspicion is now that it was here, behind the corrugated shutters, that horsemeat was relabelled and sold on as beef. The Dutch Food Safety Authority offered Willy Selten an ultimatum: "Trace the origins of your meat or we will take over."

On Wednesday morning an urgent recall message was sent out to 502 companies across Europe - a "rapid alert" to locate all of the products that may have been contaminated. Willy Selten has been under strict supervision ever since the initial suspicions emerged in February.

It may be a surprise to many to learn that the factory is still operating, though reports in the Dutch media claim it is facing bankruptcy. A Food Safety Authority spokeswoman explained: "Our policy in the Netherlands is that everybody should be given a second chance."

Due to the lapse of time, a lot of the meat "may already have been consumed", it added.

Inspectors examining the records of the Dutch trading companies found that the origin of the supplied meat was unclear. As a result it was not possible to confirm whether slaughterhouses had respected procedures.

Some of the suspect meat was also exported to Germany, France and Spain, where authorities have been alerted. The British Food Standards Agency has confirmed that a small number of UK companies may have received products from the Dutch wholesalers.

"It might contain traces of horsemeat, but we don't know for certain at the moment if this is the case," said Esther Filon, a spokeswoman for the Dutch food authority.

"The buyers have probably already processed the meat and sold it on. They, in turn, are obliged to inform their own customers."

New EU law

All EU member states have been informed of the Dutch discovery, EU spokesman Frederic Vincent told the BBC.

They have been urged to check whether or not processed meat products coming from the plants in question were still on the market, he added.

"The Dutch announcement is a consequence of the investigations which were launched by EU member states a few weeks ago," the EU spokesman said.

"Given the size of the fraud, the Dutch decided to go public with their discovery."

Traces of horsemeat have been found in numerous processed beef frozen meals across Europe.

In February, Dutch officials raided a meat processing plant suspected of mislabelling beef and ordered the withdrawal of suspicious products from supermarket shelves.

Other countries affected included the UK, the Republic of Ireland, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany.

The EU is set to adopt an Animal and Plant Health legislative proposal in the coming weeks, which includes clauses designed to tackle food fraud.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22098763#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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'Sustainable fishing' certification too lenient and discretionary, study finds

Public release date: 10-Apr-2013
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Contact: James Devitt
james.devitt@nyu.edu
212-998-6808
New York University

The certification of seafood as "sustainable" by the nonprofit Marine Stewardship Council is too lenient and discretionary, a study by a consortium of researchers has found.

"When consumers want sustainable fish there are two options to meet the demand: fisheries can become more sustainable or the definition of sustainable can be watered down to be practically meaninglesswith MSC seafood, the definition has been repeatedly watered down," said Jennifer Jacquet, a clinical assistant professor in New York University's Environmental Studies Program and one of 11 authors of the study, which appears in the journal Biological Conservation.

The study may be read here: http://bit.ly/ZFKU5Y.

The expansion of fishing in the oceansfurther offshore, deeper, and for different specieshas led to the depletion of many marine fish populations. In response, market-based efforts aimed at consumers, which include "eco-labeling," have emerged to change demand. Among these was the establishment of the London-based Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in 1997. A joint project between World Wildlife Fund and Unilever, MSC was created as a conservation toolintended to provide "the best environmental choice in seafood" to consumers and to create positive incentives that would improve the status and management of fisheries.

However, conservation groups have raised concerns about MSC's certification process, calling into question the organization's claim that its eco-labeling program is "the best environmental choice in seafood." Its certification process is paid for by the fisheries, with rates dependent on the size and complexity of the fishery. MSC estimates that most certifications cost between $15,000 and $120,000. Since its founding, MSC has attached its certified label to more than 170 fisheries, with fishery clients spending between $2.3 and $18.7 million on certification.

To gauge the viability of MSC's labeling program, the researchers examined 19 formal objectionsraised primarily by environmental groups and amounting to one-third, by weight, of all MSC-certified seafoodto certifications MSC has granted to fisheries for Chilean sea bass, Antarctic krill, and others. Objections are heard by an independent adjudicator appointed by MSC. In all but one of these 19 cases, the certification was upheld.

In the Biological Conservation analysis, the researchers sought to determine whether these fisheries, in fact, met the MSC's principles for certification.

The MSC uses three major principles that third-party certifiers interpret in determining whether a fishery is "sustainable" and may use the MSC label: sustainability of the target fish stock; low impacts on the ecosystem; and effective management. However, the researchers found many of these fisheriesrepresenting 35 percent of eco-labeled seafooddid not meet MSC standards.

For instance, the longline fishery for swordfish in Canada appears to violate the "low impacts on the ecosystem" principle. This fishery has high levels of bycatchsea life accidentally caught in pursuit of other fish. The targeted catch of 20,000 swordfish per year results in bycatch of approximately 100,000 sharks as well as 1,200 endangered loggerhead and 170 critically endangered leatherback turtles.

"The MSC's narrow definition of sustainability is out of step with the general public perception of what that term means," said Claire Christian, one of the study's co-authors and a policy analyst at the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. "When the MSC labels a swordfish fishery that catches more sharks than swordfish 'sustainable,' it's time to re-evaluate its standards."

The Alaska pollock fishery, one of the largest fisheries in the US, also received MSC certification even though, the researchers noted, several court rulings had determined that the fishery was not in compliance with national lawan indication that it didn't meet MSC's "effective management" principle.

The authors believe the MSC needs to enforce the principles it created for certified fisheries. Otherwise, consumers believe they are buying "the best environmental choice" in seafood, when in fact there is a very good chance they are not.

###

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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.

Public release date: 10-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: James Devitt
james.devitt@nyu.edu
212-998-6808
New York University

The certification of seafood as "sustainable" by the nonprofit Marine Stewardship Council is too lenient and discretionary, a study by a consortium of researchers has found.

"When consumers want sustainable fish there are two options to meet the demand: fisheries can become more sustainable or the definition of sustainable can be watered down to be practically meaninglesswith MSC seafood, the definition has been repeatedly watered down," said Jennifer Jacquet, a clinical assistant professor in New York University's Environmental Studies Program and one of 11 authors of the study, which appears in the journal Biological Conservation.

The study may be read here: http://bit.ly/ZFKU5Y.

The expansion of fishing in the oceansfurther offshore, deeper, and for different specieshas led to the depletion of many marine fish populations. In response, market-based efforts aimed at consumers, which include "eco-labeling," have emerged to change demand. Among these was the establishment of the London-based Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in 1997. A joint project between World Wildlife Fund and Unilever, MSC was created as a conservation toolintended to provide "the best environmental choice in seafood" to consumers and to create positive incentives that would improve the status and management of fisheries.

However, conservation groups have raised concerns about MSC's certification process, calling into question the organization's claim that its eco-labeling program is "the best environmental choice in seafood." Its certification process is paid for by the fisheries, with rates dependent on the size and complexity of the fishery. MSC estimates that most certifications cost between $15,000 and $120,000. Since its founding, MSC has attached its certified label to more than 170 fisheries, with fishery clients spending between $2.3 and $18.7 million on certification.

To gauge the viability of MSC's labeling program, the researchers examined 19 formal objectionsraised primarily by environmental groups and amounting to one-third, by weight, of all MSC-certified seafoodto certifications MSC has granted to fisheries for Chilean sea bass, Antarctic krill, and others. Objections are heard by an independent adjudicator appointed by MSC. In all but one of these 19 cases, the certification was upheld.

In the Biological Conservation analysis, the researchers sought to determine whether these fisheries, in fact, met the MSC's principles for certification.

The MSC uses three major principles that third-party certifiers interpret in determining whether a fishery is "sustainable" and may use the MSC label: sustainability of the target fish stock; low impacts on the ecosystem; and effective management. However, the researchers found many of these fisheriesrepresenting 35 percent of eco-labeled seafooddid not meet MSC standards.

For instance, the longline fishery for swordfish in Canada appears to violate the "low impacts on the ecosystem" principle. This fishery has high levels of bycatchsea life accidentally caught in pursuit of other fish. The targeted catch of 20,000 swordfish per year results in bycatch of approximately 100,000 sharks as well as 1,200 endangered loggerhead and 170 critically endangered leatherback turtles.

"The MSC's narrow definition of sustainability is out of step with the general public perception of what that term means," said Claire Christian, one of the study's co-authors and a policy analyst at the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. "When the MSC labels a swordfish fishery that catches more sharks than swordfish 'sustainable,' it's time to re-evaluate its standards."

The Alaska pollock fishery, one of the largest fisheries in the US, also received MSC certification even though, the researchers noted, several court rulings had determined that the fishery was not in compliance with national lawan indication that it didn't meet MSC's "effective management" principle.

The authors believe the MSC needs to enforce the principles it created for certified fisheries. Otherwise, consumers believe they are buying "the best environmental choice" in seafood, when in fact there is a very good chance they are not.

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/nyu-fc041013.php

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Moa's ark

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Some of the largest female birds in the world were almost twice as big as their male mates. Research carried out by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) shows that this amazing size difference in giant moa was not due to any specific environmental factors, but evolved simply as a result of scaling-up of smaller differences in male and female body size shown by their smaller-bodied ancestors.

The paper is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

In an environment lacking large mammals, New Zealand's giant moa (Dinornis) evolved to be one of the biggest species of bird ever, with females weighing more than two hundred kilograms ? the same as about 3 average sized men.

Male and female birds often show differences in body size, with males typically being larger. However some birds, like many ratites ? large, flightless species such as emus and cassowaries ? are the opposite, with the females towering over the males.

Moa were huge flightless ratites. Several different species inhabited New Zealand's forests, grasslands and mountains until about 700 years ago. However, the first Polynesian settlers became a moa-hunting culture, and rapidly drove all of these species to extinction.

Dr Samuel Turvey, ZSL Senior Research Fellow and lead author on the paper, says: "We compared patterns of body mass within an evolutionary framework for both extinct and living ratites. Females becoming much larger was an odd side-effect of the scaling up of overall body size in moa.

"A lack of large land mammals ? such as elephants, bison and antelope ? allowed New Zealand's birds to grow in size and fill these empty large herbivore niches. Moa evolved to become truly huge, and this accentuated the existing size differences between males and females as the whole animal scaled up in size over time," Dr Turvey added.

Future research should investigate whether similar scaling relationships can also help to explain the evolution of bizarre structures shown by other now-extinct species, such as the elongated canines of sabretoothed cats.

###

Zoological Society of London: http://www.zsl.org

Thanks to Zoological Society of London for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 20 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127663/Moa_s_ark

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Microsoft Xbox Next ?Durango? May Cost $500 ? Tech Analyst - X-bit ...

A renowned technology analyst has revealed that while Microsoft?s Corp.?s next-generation video game console will be heavily based on PC technology, it will cost more than an average personal computer. The reasons for Xbox code-named Durango are not completely clear, given the fact that it will compete against mobile devices, PCs and Sony PlayStation 4.

"Durango is going to be expensive ? $500, $300 with a subscription ? that kind of thing. Originally, they were going to announce this thing on April 24. Now they are going to announce it on May 21. We know there are events occurring this year where we are going to learn more about Durango. E3 is going to occur, Build is going to occur in San Francisco in June when they are going to talk about the developer story because it is a Windows 8 device. It is going to have the same, or basically the same, developer tools and developer APIs," said Paul Thurrott, a well-known Microsoft expert, in the recent What The Tech's video podcast.

Microsoft released the Xbox 360 console in the U.S. back in 2005 at $299 and $399 price-points and it has taken the company quite some time to slash pricing of the product to mainstream $199. With models priced at $399 and $499 the software giant will hardly be able to outsell the Xbox 360 game console at least early in the lifecycle. Mr. Thurrott also revealed that according to his sources, the console would require a constant internet connection

It is also rumoured that Microsoft intends to release a low-cost Xbox 360 version code-named Stingray at $99 price-point later this year, bringing value gaming and advanced entertainment capabilities to customers in budget. While the company is clearly interested in such an offering, given that modern Xbox 360 games cost $50 and higher, the Stingray will barely get popular among casual gamers, but will rather be a substitute for those, who want to play current titles that will not work on Xbox Next.

Microsoft Xbox Next ?Durango? is expected to be architecturally similar to the PlayStation 4. It is believed that the future Xbox will be powered by AMD Fusion custom-designed system-on-chip with eight x86 low-power/low-cost Jaguar cores, AMD Radeon HD graphics with GCN architecture as well as 8GB of DDR3 system memory. The console is projected to feature hard disk drive, Blu-ray disc drive as well as robust Xbox Live online service. It is believed that Microsoft Xbox ?Durango? has lower-performance graphics sub-system as well as slower memory sub-system when compared to Sony PS4.

?

An analysis of what is known about the Xbox Next clearly points to the fact that Microsoft had put a great deal of attention to make the Durango a high-quality general-purpose device for the living room, while compromising some of the gaming-related aspects (e.g., graphics performance). The video games for the Microsoft Xbox Next will clearly look better and feel better than titles developed for the Xbox 360 simply because of the eight-year gap in technologies under the hoods of the systems. However, only time will show how future-proof will be Microsoft?s Durango console for the core gamers who demand improvements of titles throughout the active lifetime of the console that could span for eight years, as in the case of the Xbox 360.

Microsoft did not comment on the news-story.

Tags: Microsoft, Xbox, Durango, Xbox Next, Stingray, Loop, AMD, ATI, Radeon, Fusion, Jaguar, GCN

Comments currently: 4
Discussion started: 04/10/13 01:47:15 AM
Latest comment: 04/10/13 10:49:52 AM
Expand all threads | Collapse all threads

[1-2]

1.?

always on = DRM. Thanks, but no thanks M$.
I can wait for 2 min for console to boot up, no problem.

+ expand thread (2 answers) - collapse thread

That is not what they mean. 'Always on' means when the console is on you need to be connected to the internet for it to function correctly.

You can turn the power off when ever you want.

But you are right that it means DRM, but I really don't have any issues with DRM as long as it doesn't massively impede on my system performance. I am more than happy to wait for a game to come down to a price I feel it is worth. The game makers have put a lot of time and money into their games and if we want good, high quality games we have to accept to part with our money. I also think second hand games should be banned too. If there was no piracy and no second hand games then possibly the game price would come down but mainly the games companies would make more money which on the whole will lead to more and better games.

The bigger problem is that Durango will be tightly integrated into Microsoft' ecosystem and will not use any exclusive technologies. Therefore, "always on" requirement and constant DRM will likely be a part of all Microsoft's products going forward.

---

2.?

I can't help but laugh everytime I see the word Durango because ir is very close to the word Drongo which means in Australisn English someone who is an idiot.

[1-2]

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Source: http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multimedia/display/20130408233854_Microsoft_Xbox_Next_Durango_May_Cost_500_Tech_Analyst.html

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Woman Strangles Partner For Singing 'Thrift Shop' Non-Stop - Music ...

It placed number 1 in this year?s triple j?s Hottest 100 but not everyone is loving Macklemore & Ryan Lewis catchy rap tune about second-hand shopping ? a Colorado woman has allegedly choked her boyfriend for incessantly singing Thrift Shop after a drunken argument.

As reported by The Smoking Gun, 23-year-old Samantha Malson was arrested for domestic violence and harassment by the Longmont Police Department after choking and repeatedly shoving her partner, Lars Hansen.

According to the police report the couple were inebriated due to celebrations for Hansen?s 26th birthday. The two initially argued over Malson?s apparent consumption of ?all alcohol in the house? but evidentally resolved that dispute.

It was at this stage they decided to listen to Thrift Shop when Hansen, laying on the couch, began to sing the lyrics repeatedly. Malson told police she asked Hansen to stop singing ?25 times? before it became clear that choking him was the only sensible thing to do.

?He just annoyed me,? Malson admitted before revealing she also pushed her partner a couple of times. She then confessed, ?I grabbed him around the throat? I did it for intimidation.?

The police report notes that Hansen?s neck was red on both sides and that his face was flush but that the redness could also have been caused by intoxication. Hansen claims to not remember the incident. From the sounds of it, the dude should have been the one arrested for domestic violence and harassment.

A recent study found that the key to expelling annoyingly catchy songs from your head is to find the appropriate level of challenge to occupy your thinking. Apparently locking someone in a guillotine hold is also an effective measure.

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Source: http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/woman-strangles-partner-for-singing-thrift-shop-non-stop/

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AU Optronics says it'll bring a 5-inch, 1080P OLED display to market soon

AU Optronics says it'll soon join Samsung at a table for two making 5-inch, full-HD OLED smartphone displays. It'll show off the technology at the China Optoelectronics Display expo starting tomorrow, promising 443 ppi, lower power consumption, fast response times and wide viewing angles. While others build 1,080 x 1,920 LCD screens for models like HTC's One, currently Samsung has a monopoly on OLEDs of that size and resolution. However, it likely wants to set those aside for its soon-to-ship 5-inch, 1080p Galaxy S 4 -- so, AU's announcement is likely good news for other handset makers seeking something punchier than LCD for that form factor.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Via: Android Beat

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/09/au-optronics-5-inch-FHD-OLED/

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Iran's 'axis of resistance' loses its Palestinian arm to Syrian war

Before the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011, Hamas was a key ally of Damascus and a component of the Iran-led "axis of resistance" that challenged Israel and the West in the Middle East.

But after two years of bloodshed in Syria, Hamas has abandoned Damascus and distanced itself from Iran, a major supporter of the Assad regime. Instead the Palestinian militant group is courting potential new suitors, particularly the small but influential Gulf state of Qatar, and Egypt, which controls the crucial southern border of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and is ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood, the ideological parent of Hamas.

"The Hamas split with Damascus... is undeniable. Hamas could not maintain any relationship with the Syrian regime in the face of the wide and deep opprobrium it faces in the Arab Sunni street, Hamas' principal support base," says Randa Slim, a research fellow at the New America Foundation and a scholar at the Middle East Institute.

But given the shifting dynamics of the region and the sharpening of the Sunni-Shiite divide, Hamas still appears to be keeping its options open with its former patron Iran and fellow anti-Israel resistance group, the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

RECOMMENDED: Sunni and Shiite Islam: Do you know the difference? Take our quiz.

"Hamas is forced to navigate uncharted waters post-Arab Spring and it is in its interest to keep all channels open," says Slim.

MILITARY SUPPORT

The extent of the rupture between Hamas and the Assad regime is underscored by the fact that the Palestinian group is allegedly helping train units of the rebel Free Syrian Army in several areas of eastern Damascus, according to Western diplomats and sources in the Syrian opposition.

The training appears to be specialized, focusing on helping the rebels develop better rockets and dig tunnels from which they can launch attacks in preperation for a widely anticipated offensive to uproot the regime from the capital. The Ezzidine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has extensive experience at building tunnels in the Gaza Strip, some for smuggling weapons and goods from neighboring Egypt, and others to infiltrate Israel or launch attacks against Israeli outposts.

?The Qassam Brigades have been training units very close to Damascus ? in Yalda, Jaramana, Babbila. These are specialists. They are really good,? says a Western diplomat with high-level contacts in the Assad regime and the Syrian opposition who visits Damascus regularly.

RELATED ? Who is Hamas? Five questions about the Palestinian militant group

A Syrian opposition source who lives in Damascus confirmed that tunnels were being dug in some areas under rebel control and that the regime is aware of the tactic. The source says that the Syrian army has dug a seven-yard deep trench "to cut off any extending tunnel" around the perimeter of Mezzeh airport, a key military facility in Damascus, and similar measures have been taken around Rawda presidential palace in the center of the capital.

But a senior Hamas official categorically denied allegations that Hamas fighters are training FSA rebels or are involved in any military activities in Syria.

"Our position is clear on what is happening in Syria and we believe there must be a political solution," says Osama Hamdan, who lives in Lebanon. ?There are no members of Ezzidine al-Qassam or any militant members of Hamas in Syria. We don?t interfere in the internal problems of Syria. Our members there are normal civilians, Syrian Palestinians, who live with their families there. From the beginning of what has happened in Syria we rejected as a movement any involvement of any Palestinian in the current events in Syria.?

THE BREAK

The Assad regime has hosted Hamas in Damascus since 1999, when the group was expelled from Jordan. However, when the uprising against the Assad regime began two years ago, Hamas found itself caught between its loyalty to the regime that took it in and obligations to its Palestinian supporters, who overwhelmingly sided with the Syrian opposition.

Furthermore, Sunni Hamas risked angering the predominantly Sunni opposition in Syria by standing beside the regime that is drawn from the Alawite sect, a heterodox Shiite sect, and supported by Shiite Iran and Hezbollah.

According to a Western analyst who has close contacts with the Hamas leadership, Khaled Meshaal, the political leader of Hamas, attempted in August 2011 to persuade Assad to follow a political path to end the crisis, and offered a series of suggestions.

?He, Assad, was intrigued by the Hamas program, which included reconciliation, the call for open elections ? after which Assad would step down ? an exchange of prisoners, a national plebiscite on a new constitution ? seven steps in all,? the analyst says, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of his contacts with the Hamas leadership.

Assad apparently told Hamas that he liked the seven recommendations and said he would consult with his close aides on how to implement them.

?Twenty four hours after submitting the paper, however, the Hamas political leadership was told that the government had decided to go in another direction. It was at that point that Hamas decided that it would leave Damascus,? the analyst says.

According to a report last week in Kuwait's Al-Rai al-Aam newspaper, Mr. Meshaal enlisted the support of Hezbollah's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, in persuading Assad to follow a political path. The report cited a source as describing Assad as ?arrogant and inexperienced? and solely responsible for the crisis by rejecting a political solution.

RELATED ? Hezbollah 101: Who is the militant group and what does it want?

According to the Western analyst, some members of the Hamas leadership initially preferred to remain in Damascus, among them Meshaal's deputy, Moussa Abu Marzouk. But Abu Marzouk apparently changed his mind in October 2011, while driving to Damascus airport for a trip to Cairo.

"Inadvertently, his convoy came across a pile of bodies, the result of fighting by the Syrian Army. The grim spectacle stunned Marzouk," the analyst says.

Meshaal quietly departed Damascus in February 2012 and moved to Qatar. That same month, Ismael Haniyah, the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, openly declared the movement?s support for the Syrian opposition, lauding their struggle to achieve ?freedom, democracy, and reform."

The Assad regime responded by raiding offices and homes of top Hamas officials and seizing cars and equipment belonging to the absent Meshaal. The state-run media accused him of being ?ungrateful and treacherous."

In August 2012, a mid-ranking Hamas official in Damascus was shot dead in his home, an act that Hamas publicly blamed on Israel, although there was speculation that agents of the Assad regime committed the murder.

On April 3, following Meshaal?s reelection as head of Hamas? political wing for a fifth term, Ath-Thawra, a Syrian regime newspaper, said that he had shifted ?the gun from the shoulder of resistance to the shoulder of compromise.?

Meshaal ?cannot believe his luck. After an acclaimed history of struggle, he has returned to the safe Qatari embrace, wealthy, fattened in the age of the Arab Spring?s storms,? it said.

QATAR FILLS THE VOID

For now, Qatar has emerged as Hamas's new sponsor. Meshaal lives in the capital Doha, while Hamas has opened offices in Cairo. The Gulf state helped cement its relationship with Hamas in October 2012, when Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the Qatari emir, became the first foreign head of state to visit Hamas-run Gaza. During his visit, he pledged $400 million to the tiny coastal strip.

But while Hamas has abandoned Syria, has it completely renounced its relationship with its former sponsor Iran?

Meshaal admitted last November in an interview with CNN that the Hamas relationship with Iran was "affected and harmed" by disagreements over Syria, but downplayed its severity. "It is not as it used to be in the past, but there is no severing of relations," he said.

The Western analyst says that the break with Iran was "complete and somewhat bitter." But other analysts don't believe that contacts have been entirely broken, partly because Hamas recognizes that during such a turbulent period in the Middle East, it is in no position to throw in its lot with any one particular sponsor. Qatar has proven to be a potentially fickle friend ? little of the $400 million it pledged Gaza has so far been received.

Even Egypt under President Mohammed Morsi ? a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Hamas ally ? has proven disappointing for Hamas so far. The Egyptian authorities have blocked smuggling tunnels into Gaza and are more preoccupied with internal developments than actively supporting Hamas with cash and weapons.

"The distancing from Iran may prove problematic because it leaves Hamas more dependent on support from Arab governments that have either proved unreliable or whose interests clash with those of Hamas," says Yezid Sayigh, a senior associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.

"Although Hamas wishes to confirm its Sunni credentials to other Arabs, it has tried to reaffirm relations with Iran and deny irreconcilable differences over Syria," Mr. Sayigh says.

Indeed, while Iran and Hamas can disagree on the fate of the Assad regime - and perhaps actively support opposing sides in that conflict - both parties are still united in their opposition to Israel.

"I doubt a complete rupture of relations between Iran and Hamas. It is in neither party's interest," says Slim of the Middle East Institute. "Iran and Hezbollah's game is always long, nuanced, and strategic. Rarely do they burn bridges with former allies. Even with their enemies, they negotiate while fighting."

RECOMMENDED: Sunni and Shiite Islam: Do you know the difference? Take our quiz.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/irans-axis-resistance-loses-palestinian-arm-syrian-war-181044731.html

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Environmental change triggers rapid evolution

Apr. 8, 2013 ? Environmental change can drive hard-wired evolutionary changes in animal species in a matter of generations. A University of Leeds-led study, published in the journal Ecology Letters, overturns the common assumption that evolution only occurs gradually over hundreds or thousands of years.

Instead, researchers found significant genetically transmitted changes in laboratory populations of soil mites in just 15 generations, leading to a doubling of the age at which the mites reached adulthood and large changes in population size. The results have important implications in areas such as disease and pest control, conservation and fisheries management because they demonstrate that evolution can be a game-changer even in the short-term.

Professor Tim Benton, of the University of Leeds' Faculty of Biological Sciences, said: "This demonstrates that short-term ecological change and evolution are completely intertwined and cannot reasonably be considered separate. We found that populations evolve rapidly in response to environmental change and population management. This can have major consequences such as reducing harvesting yields or saving a population heading for extinction."

Although previous research has implied a link between short-term changes in animal species' physical characteristics and evolution, the Leeds-led study is the first to prove a causal relationship between rapid genetic evolution and animal population dynamics in a controlled experimental setting.

The researchers worked with soil mites that were collected from the wild and then raised in 18 glass tubes. Forty percent of adult mites were removed every week from six of the glass tubes. A similar proportion of juveniles were removed each week in a further six tubes, while no "harvesting" was conducted in the remaining third of the tubes.

Lead author Dr Tom Cameron, a postdoctoral Fellow in the Faculty of Biological Sciences at Leeds at the time of the research and now based in Ume? University, Sweden, said: "We saw significant evolutionary changes relatively quickly. The age of maturity of the mites in the tubes doubled over about 15 generations, because they were competing in a different way than they would in the wild. Removing the adults caused them to remain as juveniles even longer because the genetics were responding to the high chance that they were going to die as soon as they matured. When they did eventually mature, they were so enormous they could lay all of their eggs very quickly."

The initial change in the mites' environment -- from the wild into the laboratory -- had a disastrous effect on the population, putting the mites on an extinction trajectory. However, in every population, including those subjected to the removal of adults or juveniles, the trajectory switched after only five generations of evolution and the population sizes began to increase.

The researchers found that the laboratory environment was selecting for those mites that grew more slowly. Under the competitive conditions in the tubes, the slow growing mites were more fertile when they matured, meaning they could have more babies.

Dr Cameron said: "The genetic evolution that resulted in an investment in egg production at the expense of individual growth rates led to population growth, rescuing the populations from extinction. This is evolutionary rescue in action and suggests that rapid evolution can help populations respond to rapid environmental change."

Short-term ecological responses to the environment -- for instance, a reduction in the size of adults because of a lack of food -- and hard-wired evolutionary changes were separated by placing mites from different treatments into a similar environment for several generations and seeing whether differences persisted.

Professor Benton said: "The traditional idea would be that if you put animals in a new environment they stay basically the same but the way they grow changes because of variables like the amount of food. However, our study proves that the evolutionary effect -- the change in the underlying biology in response to the environment -- can happen at the same time as the ecological response. Ecology and evolution are intertwined," he said.

Unpicking evolutionary change from ecological responses is particularly important in areas such as the management of fisheries, where human decisions can result in major changes to an entire population's environment and life histories. The size at which cod in the North Sea mature is about half that of 50 years ago and this change has been linked to a collapse in the cod population because adult fish today are less fertile than their ancestors.

"The big debate has been over whether this is an evolutionary response to the way they are fished or whether this is, for instance, just the amount of food in the sea having a short-term ecological effect. Our study underlined that evolution can happen on a short timescale and even small 1 to 2 per cent evolutionary changes in the underlying biology caused by your harvesting strategy can have major consequences on population growth and yields. You can't just try to bring the environment back to what it was before and expect everything to return to normal," Professor Benton said.

The research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and involved researchers from the University of Leeds and Professor Stuart Piertney of the University of Aberdeen's School of Biological Sciences.

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Journal Reference:

1. Tom C. Cameron, Daniel O'Sullivan, Alan Reynolds, Stuart B. Piertney, Tim G. Benton. Eco-evolutionary dynamics in response to selection on life-history. Ecology Letters, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/ele.12107

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/TEemKy8gTlQ/130409095414.htm

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FBI investigating recording of McConnell talks

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) ? Campaign aides to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell proposed using actress Ashley Judd's past bouts with depression against her if she had decided to challenge him in his re-election bid next year, according to a secret recording posted by a magazine.

Mother Jones released a recording Tuesday along with an article about a private meeting in which the aides discussed opposition research into potential Democratic challengers. Aides talked and laughed on the recording about Judd's political positions, religious beliefs and past bouts of depression.

The FBI is looking into how the recording was made after the McConnell campaign accused opponents of engaging in "Watergate-era tactics." The magazine reported that the recording was provided last week by a source who requested anonymity.

"She's clearly ? this sounds extreme ? but she is emotionally unbalanced," a McConnell aide said of Judd during a February meeting at the Louisville campaign headquarters. "I mean it's been documented ... she's suffered some suicidal tendencies. She was hospitalized for 42 days when she had a mental breakdown in the '90s."

Judd spokeswoman Cara Tripicchio criticized the McConnell campaign for considering making depression a campaign issue.

"This is yet another example of the politics of personal destruction that embody Mitch McConnell and are pervasive in Washington DC," Tripicchio said in a statement. "We expected nothing less from Mitch McConnell and his camp than to take a personal struggle such as depression, which many Americans cope with on a daily basis, and turn it into a laughing matter."

Judd has been open about her bouts with depression. She spoke to the American Counseling Association's national convention in Cincinnati in March, telling more than 3,000 counselors from across the country about her experiences.

McConnell was asked several times at a news conference Tuesday about the propriety of attacking Judd over depression. He did not directly answer, but repeatedly brought up an incident last month, when Progress Kentucky tweeted an insensitive remark about his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.

"As you know, my wife's ethnicity was attacked by a left-wing group in Kentucky and apparently they also bugged my headquarters," he said. "So I think that pretty well sums up the way the political left is operating in Kentucky."

The McConnell campaign asked the FBI to look into whether the Louisville office was bugged.

"I can confirm that Sen. McConnell's office did contact us and we are looking into the matter," FBI spokeswoman Mary Trotman said.

McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton alleged in an email to supporters that "liberals and their media allies" were "wire-tapping our field office to spy on us." Benton used the issue as a fundraising appeal, asking supporters to send donations "to help us spread the truth."

"We've always said the left would stop at nothing to attack Senator McConnell, but Watergate-style tactics to bug campaign headquarters are above and beyond," Benton said in a statement.

On the recording posted on Mother Jones' website, McConnell began the meeting by telling aides the campaign had entered "the Whac-A-Mole period" and explained that means "when anybody sticks their head up, do them out."

The magazine reported the aides huddled on Feb. 2 in a private meeting to discuss potential Democratic opponents, including Judd and Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes. Grimes, a rising star within the Kentucky Democratic Party, hasn't ruled herself out as a challenger.

An unidentified aide said Judd had made a public statement as a Tennessee delegate to the national convention about her support of President Barack Obama, an unpopular political figure in Kentucky. The aide said that statement could be used against her. He also said the statement raised another issue: that Judd is a resident of Tennessee, not Kentucky.

In another instance, the aide played a recording of Judd talking about her religious beliefs: "I still choose the God of my understanding as the God of my childhood. I have to expand my God concept from time to time, and you know particularly I enjoy native faith practices, and have a very nature-based God concept. I'd like to think I'm like St. Francis in that way. Brother Donkey, Sister Bird."

The campaign aides then laugh loudly.

An unidentified man then says "the people at Southeast Christian would take to the streets with pitchforks," referring to an evangelical megachurch in Louisville.

In the discussion of Grimes, the aide said she had endorsed Obama.

"She was too smart to use his name in a sentence," the aide said. "But she says, 'my support of our party and our nominee is well known, and it's no secret I'll be in North Carolina to support our nominee and the party.'"

The aide charged that Grimes has "a very sort of self-centered, sort of egotistical aspect" and that "she'll frequently use herself in the third person."

Grimes was unavailable for comment, a spokeswoman said.

It wasn't the first time that Mother Jones has written about recordings from private meetings.

The magazine was the first to report about Republican Mitt Romney's comments to donors paying $50,000 apiece to attend a private reception that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on government, see themselves as victims and believe the government has a responsibility to care for them.

Romney's critics used the video to argue that he was out of touch with average Americans during the last presidential campaign.

Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Dan Logsdon said the recording is telling about McConnell.

"I certainly do not know anything about how this may have happened," Logsdon said. "However, it's clear that this is the McConnell we all know: leading a negative, nasty campaign determined to lash out at his opponents since he doesn't have any accomplishments to point to."

___

Associated Press writers Jim Abrams and Donna Cassata in Washington and Brett Barrouquere in Louisville contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-09-McConnell-Secret%20Recording/id-bb79756f7f3c43128d63f9e93d0a161a

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Ford named 2013 INFORMS Prize winner

Public release date: 8-Apr-2013
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Contact: Barry List
barry.list@informs.org
443-794-5182
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences

Best company of year in analytics/operations research

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) today announced the award of its annual INFORMS Prize to Ford Motor Company, the automaker that has been using analytics throughout its organization to strengthen its position within the American automotive industry.

The ceremony takes place at the INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics and Operations Research at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio.

INFORMS, a professional society for specialists in operations research and analytics, recognizes just one outstanding organization with this prize every year. By awarding the 2013 INFORMS Prize to Ford, INFORMS brings awareness to the outstanding, system-wide use of analytics and operations research (O.R.) in every facet of the company.

"Analytics and operations research was a major enabler of our turnaround and our ongoing success as a data-driven company," said Bob Shanks, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Ford Motor Company. "Receiving the INFORMS prize is recognition of the significant role and impact of analytics at Ford. I am delighted to receive the award on behalf of Ford and our talented and hard-working analytics team."

In bestowing the award, the INFORMS Prize Committee wrote that "Ford not only perfected the moving assembly line but also brought O.R., management science, and financial discipline to the company early on, helping to transform it into a data-driven and successful modern organization."

Ford's focus on data-driven decisions was reinforced with the arrival in 2006 of CEO Alan Mulally, who guided the company's restructuring. Analytical tools and the operations research team supported many decisions in this period, and a number of critical applications were developed:

• a dealer vehicle recommendation system
• a detailed econometric model enabling the study of what-if analyses of inventory, production, pricing, and sales
• a strategic sourcing model to restructure the Ford auto interiors division

Analytics and O.R. form a large, important, and vital activity in Ford, with hundreds of practitioners on three continents. Analytics is applied in Marketing and Sales, Ford Credit, Product Development, Corporate Economics, Human Resources, Material Planning and Logistics, and a number of other organizations within the company. Its impact is measured not only in a significant revenue increase that analytics applications enable, but also in the major strategic and tactical decisions it supports.

The committee characterized the level of engagement by senior executives and support of the analytics work inside the company as "impressive."

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences annually awards the INFORMS Prize for effective integration of operations research into organizational decision making. The award is given to an organization, like Ford, that has repeatedly applied the principles of O.R. in pioneering, varied, novel, and lasting ways.

Past recipients of the award include Intel, UPS, HP, IBM, Procter & Gamble, and GE Research.

###

More information about the INFORMS Prize is at http://www.informs.org/Recognize-Excellence/INFORMS-Prizes-Awards/INFORMS-Prize.

Analytics is the scientific process of transforming data into insight for making better decisions. It is closely allied with operations research, the application of advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions.

About INFORMS

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is the leading professional association for professionals in advanced analytics. INFORMS is an international scientific society with 10,000 members, including Nobel Prize laureates, dedicated to applying scientific methods to help improve decision-making, management, and operations. Members of INFORMS work in business, government, and academia. They are represented in fields as diverse as airlines, health care, law enforcement, the military, financial engineering, and telecommunications. INFORMS serves the scientific and professional needs of operations research analysts, experts in analytics, consultants, scientists, students, educators, and managers, as well as their institutions, by publishing a variety of journals that describe the latest research in operations research. Further information about INFORMS, analytics, and operations research is at http://www.informs.org.

---

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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.

Public release date: 8-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Barry List
barry.list@informs.org
443-794-5182
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences

Best company of year in analytics/operations research

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) today announced the award of its annual INFORMS Prize to Ford Motor Company, the automaker that has been using analytics throughout its organization to strengthen its position within the American automotive industry.

The ceremony takes place at the INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics and Operations Research at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio.

INFORMS, a professional society for specialists in operations research and analytics, recognizes just one outstanding organization with this prize every year. By awarding the 2013 INFORMS Prize to Ford, INFORMS brings awareness to the outstanding, system-wide use of analytics and operations research (O.R.) in every facet of the company.

"Analytics and operations research was a major enabler of our turnaround and our ongoing success as a data-driven company," said Bob Shanks, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Ford Motor Company. "Receiving the INFORMS prize is recognition of the significant role and impact of analytics at Ford. I am delighted to receive the award on behalf of Ford and our talented and hard-working analytics team."

In bestowing the award, the INFORMS Prize Committee wrote that "Ford not only perfected the moving assembly line but also brought O.R., management science, and financial discipline to the company early on, helping to transform it into a data-driven and successful modern organization."

Ford's focus on data-driven decisions was reinforced with the arrival in 2006 of CEO Alan Mulally, who guided the company's restructuring. Analytical tools and the operations research team supported many decisions in this period, and a number of critical applications were developed:

• a dealer vehicle recommendation system
• a detailed econometric model enabling the study of what-if analyses of inventory, production, pricing, and sales
• a strategic sourcing model to restructure the Ford auto interiors division

Analytics and O.R. form a large, important, and vital activity in Ford, with hundreds of practitioners on three continents. Analytics is applied in Marketing and Sales, Ford Credit, Product Development, Corporate Economics, Human Resources, Material Planning and Logistics, and a number of other organizations within the company. Its impact is measured not only in a significant revenue increase that analytics applications enable, but also in the major strategic and tactical decisions it supports.

The committee characterized the level of engagement by senior executives and support of the analytics work inside the company as "impressive."

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences annually awards the INFORMS Prize for effective integration of operations research into organizational decision making. The award is given to an organization, like Ford, that has repeatedly applied the principles of O.R. in pioneering, varied, novel, and lasting ways.

Past recipients of the award include Intel, UPS, HP, IBM, Procter & Gamble, and GE Research.

###

More information about the INFORMS Prize is at http://www.informs.org/Recognize-Excellence/INFORMS-Prizes-Awards/INFORMS-Prize.

Analytics is the scientific process of transforming data into insight for making better decisions. It is closely allied with operations research, the application of advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions.

About INFORMS

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is the leading professional association for professionals in advanced analytics. INFORMS is an international scientific society with 10,000 members, including Nobel Prize laureates, dedicated to applying scientific methods to help improve decision-making, management, and operations. Members of INFORMS work in business, government, and academia. They are represented in fields as diverse as airlines, health care, law enforcement, the military, financial engineering, and telecommunications. INFORMS serves the scientific and professional needs of operations research analysts, experts in analytics, consultants, scientists, students, educators, and managers, as well as their institutions, by publishing a variety of journals that describe the latest research in operations research. Further information about INFORMS, analytics, and operations research is at http://www.informs.org.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/ifor-fn2040813.php

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At least 15 reported dead, 53 wounded in Syria bombing

Youssef Badawi / EPA

Burned cars seen at the site of what Syrian authorities said was a suicide car bombing in Damascus on Monday. At least 15 people were reported killed and 53 wounded in the blast. The government blamed 'terrorists,' and Syrian rebels blamed the government.

By Oliver Holmes, Reuters

A suicide car bomb exploded in the main business district of Damascus on Monday, killing at least 15 people, setting cars ablaze and damaging buildings, according to state television.

A Damascus resident who described the blast as the biggest she had heard in the capital during the two-year-old revolt against President Bashar Assad said large plumes of black smoke were rising from the Sabaa Bahrat district.

State television said the explosion had occurred near a school in Sabaa Bahrat, a heavily populated area that also houses the Central Bank and the Finance Ministry. It said 53 people were wounded.

Khalil Ashawi / Reuters

A look back at the conflict that has overtaken the country.

Residents and opposition activists reported hearing gunfire and ambulance sirens in the vicinity. State television said shots had been fired in the air to clear a path for ambulances.

It showed footage of seven bodies in the street, including at least two charred corpses in the wreckage of an overturned bus. The fire brigade was dousing flames from cars crushed by the blast. Other vehicles were still on fire, lined up in what appeared to be a car park.

Men carried away a woman on a stretcher whose face was covered in blood. Panic-stricken women in long black dresses and headscarves ran toward the scene. State television showed some bandaged children in school uniform.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group with a network of local sources, including hospitals, said at least eight people had been killed.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but state media blamed "terrorists," a term the government uses for opposition fighters. Opposition groups accused the government of carrying out the attack.

Syrian insurgents based in the outskirts of Damascus have pushed into areas near the government-held heart of the city, stepping up mortar and car bomb attacks in recent weeks.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which started with peaceful protests against four decades of Assad family rule that were violently suppressed. An armed struggle ensued, forcing more than a million Syrians to flee abroad, and displacing millions more inside the country.

Related:

Activists: March deadliest month yet in Syrian war

Texas 'straight shooter' could replace Syria's Assad

Rebels ask US to shoot down Assad's warplanes

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/2a76b066/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C0A80C176539770Eat0Eleast0E150Ereported0Edead0E530Ewounded0Ein0Esyria0Ebombing0Dlite/story01.htm

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Gronk's deal?was shrewd move

Reuters

We begin our analysis of each team?s draft needs with a look at the Kansas City Chiefs, who hold the No. 1 overall selection and have eight picks overall ? but lack a second-round selection after the trade for quarterback Alex Smith:

Offensive tackle:?The Chiefs gave left tackle Branden Albert the franchise tag, but it seems they are open to considering moving him in the right deal. Even if the Chiefs keep Albert, drafting a top left tackle prospect like Texas A&M?s Luke Joeckel or Central Michigan?s Eric Fisher?makes a lot of sense. Albert is signed for just one more season, and he prefers left tackle, not right tackle.

Running back:?The Chiefs have a clear-cut featured back in Jamaal Charles. However, the depth behind Charles needs improvement. Kansas City doesn?t necessarily need to address this position early in the draft, given how running backs are valued these days, but adding a back ? perhaps one with a little more bulk than Charles ? would be wise. The good news for Chiefs fans? The Eagles showed a sharp eye for running back talent throughout Andy Reid?s tenure as head coach.

Inside linebacker: Here?s another position where the Chiefs have a building block (in this case, Derrick Johnson) and some questions otherwise. Also, just like at running back, positional value would suggest inside linebacker is more likely to be addressed on the second or third day of the draft.

Outside linebacker:?The Chiefs are set here entering 2013 with Justin Houston and Tamba Hali. However, they need to begin preparing for the future at the position. Hali has been productive (62.5 sacks) and dependable (two missed games in seven seasons), but he will be 30 in November. He has two years left on his deal, as does Houston ? who comes off a 10-sack season in 2012 and figures to garner a big-time second contract, considering the value of pass rushers. The Chiefs might want to add a mid-round prospect and groom him for 2015. You can never have enough pass-rush help.

Tight end: It wouldn?t be a surprise if the Chiefs drafted a tight end even after signing Anthony Fasano in free agency.?Tony Moeaki enters the final year of his contract, and more options at the position wouldn?t be a bad idea. Reid?s draft history suggests tight end might be more of a third-day consideration. The majority of tight ends selected in Reid?s Philadelphia tenure came off the board in Round Five or later.

We have seen far worse holders of the No. 1 pick than the 2013 Chiefs. This is a team that had a half-dozen Pro Bowl representatives in January ? and all of them are still on the roster. Still, they have some work to do in April. With a good draft, a climb out of the cellar in the AFC West wouldn?t shock anyone, especially with the Raiders and Chargers trying to climb back into contention themselves. Finally, the Smith trade opens some options for the Chiefs. They don?t need a quarterback this year. If any team falls in love with a prospect, the Chiefs shouldn?t let the call go to voicemail.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/08/in-hindsight-gronkowski-made-smart-move/related

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Anne Heche?s Blog: Yes, That Was My Toddler Screaming ?I Hate This Toy!?

In her latest blog, Heche tackles a public temper tantrum - and support from another mother gets her through.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/QrW99c_BOKc/

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'Pharmaceutical' approach boosts oil production from algae

Apr. 8, 2013 ? Taking an approach similar to that used for discovering new therapeutic drugs, chemists at the University of California, Davis, have found several compounds that can boost oil production by green microscopic algae, a potential source of biodiesel and other "green" fuels.

The work appears online in the journal Chemical Biology.

Microalgae are single-celled organisms that, like green plants, use photosynthesis to capture carbon dioxide and turn it into complex compounds, including oils and lipids. Marine algae species can be raised in saltwater ponds and so do not compete with food crops for land or fresh water.

"They can live in saltwater, they take sunlight and carbon dioxide as a building block, and make these long chains of oil that can be converted to biodiesel," said Annaliese Franz, assistant professor of chemistry and an author of the paper.

Franz, graduate students Megan Danielewicz, Diana Wong and Lisa Anderson, and undergraduate student Jordan Boothe screened 83 compounds for their effects on growth and oil production in four strains of microalgae. They identified several that could boost oil production by up to 85 percent, without decreasing growth.

Among the promising compounds were common antioxidants such as epigallocatechin gallate, found in green tea, and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), a common food preservative.

The team has carried out growth experiments in culture volumes of up to half a liter. They calculate that some of the chemicals they analyzed would be cost-effective when scaled up to a 50,000 liter pond. After oils have been extracted from the algae, the remaining mass can be processed for animal feed or other uses.

Franz came to UC Davis in 2007 with a background in pharmaceutical chemistry. Given the campus's emphasis on biofuels, she started thinking about applying high-throughput techniques used to screen for new drugs to looking for compounds that could affect microalgae.

The idea, Franz said, is to look for small molecules that can affect a metabolic pathway in a cell. By setting up large numbers of cell cultures and measuring a simple readout in each, it's possible to screen for large numbers of different compounds in a short time and home in on the most promising.

"The basic concept comes from the pharmaceutical industry, and it's been used for human cells, plants, yeast, but not so far for algae," she said.

"There are many cases where small molecules are having an effect to treat a disease, so it makes sense that if you can affect a pathway in a human for a disease, you can affect a pathway in an algal cell," Franz said.

Patents on the work are pending. The research was funded by Chevron Technology Ventures through a cooperative agreement with UC Davis.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Davis.

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Journal Reference:

1. Annaliese K. Franz, Megan A. Danielewicz, Diana M. Wong, Lisa A. Anderson, Jordan R. Boothe. Phenotypic Screening with Oleaginous Microalgae Reveals Modulators of Lipid Productivity. ACS Chemical Biology, 2013; : 130322131504001 DOI: 10.1021/cb300573r

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/J5Iv6vVkoLQ/130408152951.htm

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How carbon moves within planet plays big role in planetary atmosphere formation

Apr. 8, 2013 ? A new study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that the way carbon moves from within a planet to the surface plays a big role in the evolution of a planet's atmosphere. If Mars released much of its carbon as methane, for example, it might have been warm enough to support liquid water.

A new study of how carbon is trapped and released by iron-rich volcanic magma offers clues about the early atmospheric evolution on Mars and other terrestrial bodies.

The composition of a planet's atmosphere has roots deep beneath its surface. When mantle material melts to form magma, it traps subsurface carbon. As magma moves upward toward the surface and pressure decreases, that carbon is released as a gas. On Earth, carbon is trapped in magma as carbonate and degassed as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that helps Earth's atmosphere trap heat from the sun. But how carbon is transferred from underground to the atmosphere in other planets -- and how that might influence greenhouse conditions -- wasn't well understood.

"We know carbon goes from the solid mantle to the liquid magma, from liquid to gas and then out," said Alberto Saal, professor of geological sciences at Brown and one of the study's authors. "We want to understand how the different carbon species that are formed in the conditions that are relevant to the planet affect the transfer."

This latest study, which also included researchers from Northwestern University and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, indicated that under conditions like those found in the mantles of Mars, the Moon and other bodies, carbon is trapped in the magmas mainly as a species called iron carbonyl and released as carbon monoxide and methane gas. Both gasses, methane especially, have high greenhouse potential.

The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that when volcanism was widespread early in Mars' history, it may have released enough methane to keep the planet significantly warmer than it is today.

A key difference between conditions in Earth's mantle and the mantles of other terrestrial bodies is what scientists refer to as oxygen fugacity, the amount of free oxygen available to react with other elements. Earth's mantle today has a relatively high oxygen fugacity, but in bodies like the Moon and early Mars, it is very low. To find out what how that lower oxygen fugacity affects carbon transfer, the researchers set up a series of experiments using volcanic basalt similar to those found on the Moon and Mars.

They melted the volcanic rock at varying pressures, temperature, and oxygen fugacities, using a powerful spectrometer to measure how much carbon was absorbed by the melt and in what form. They found that at low oxygen fugacities, carbon was trapped as iron carbonyl, something previous research hadn't detected. At lower pressures, iron carbonyl degassed as carbon monoxide and methane.

"We found that you can dissolve in the magma more carbon at low oxygen fugacity than what was previously thought," said Diane Wetzel, a Brown graduate student and the study's lead author. "That plays a big role in the degassing of planetary interiors and in how that will then affect the evolution of atmospheres in different planetary bodies."

Early in its history, Mars was home to giant active volcanoes, which means significant amounts of methane would have been released by carbon transfer. Because of methane's greenhouse potential, which is much higher than that of carbon dioxide, the findings suggest that even a thin atmosphere early in Mars' history might have created conditions warm enough for liquid water on the surface.

Other authors on the paper were Malcolm Rutherford from Brown, Steven Jacobson from Northwestern. and Erik Hauri from the Carnegie Institution. The work was supported by NASA, the National Science Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Deep Carbon Observatory.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Brown University.

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Journal Reference:

1. Diane T. Wetzel, Malcolm J. Rutherford, Steven D. Jacobsen, Erik H. Hauri, and Alberto E. Saal. Degassing of reduced carbon from planetary basalts. PNAS, April 8, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1219266110

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

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/g3sAD9F5v5Y/130408152949.htm

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