DARPA developing muscle-controlled prosthetic limbs that can feel (video)

DARPA's no stranger to bionic limb research, however two new projects under the agency's RE-NET program focus on improving amputees' link to their prosthetics. RE-NET aims to develop the technology that will connect artificial limbs to existing nerves and muscles. Once that's achieved, users will be able feel with the prosthetic as well as move it as they would a real arm or leg, unlike another project focused on one-way control. Head past the break to watch videos documenting the clinical trials of both studies -- the arms in the clips aren't quite the life-like limbs DARPA promised back in 2006, but they sure are mighty impressive.

Filed under: Science, Alt

Comments

Source: DARPA RE-NET

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/cP7EQiQFaGQ/

sag awards rajon rondo brazil usps Dick Van Dyke pro bowl victoria azarenka

A newly discovered hormone makes ovaries grow

Public release date: 30-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
cmooneyhan@faseb.org
301-634-7104
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

The FASEB Journal suggests that human female eggs produce a previously unknown hormone, called R-spondin2, which promotes follicle development and stimulates ovary growth

Bethesda, MDA newly discovered hormone produced by the eggs of human females may improve the effectiveness of current fertility treatments for women and possibly lead to entirely new treatments altogether. According to new research published in the June 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, researchers from Stanford and Akira University in Japan identified a new hormone called "R-spondin2" that promotes follicle development and stimulates ovary growth.

"The finding of a new ovarian hormone produced by the oocytes capable of stimulating ovarian follicle growth could lead to new infertility treatments," said Aaron J. W. Hsueh, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Division of Reproductive and Stem Cell Biology in the Department of Obstetrics and Genecology at Stanford University Medical School in Stanford, California.

To make this discovery, Hsueh and colleagues analyzed all the proteins likely made by the eggs, and discovered a previously unknown hormone, called R-spondin2. The researchers then replicated this new hormone in test tubes and injected it into mice. The hormone stimulated growth of mouse ovarian cells, leading to the generation of mature eggs. These eggs were fertilized and led to successful pregnancies and the delivery of healthy pups. Then, human ovarian tissue was grafted into mice, and this also grew after treatment with this newly identified ovarian hormone, suggesting that the hormone could work in humans. The researchers speculate that when used in conjunction with the traditional Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), this newly discovered ovarian hormone could lead to new infertility treatment options for those not responding well to FSH treatment alone.

"Infertility can be very frustrating for couples who have been trying to conceive for a very long time. The discovery of this new hormone is a potential game-changer in human fertility treatment," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, "but further research is needed to determine its efficacy and safety in humans."

###

Receive monthly highlights from The FASEB Journal by e-mail. Sign up at http://www.faseb.org/fjupdate.aspx. The FASEB Journal is published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). It is among the most cited biology journals worldwide according to the Institute for Scientific Information and has been recognized by the Special Libraries Association as one of the top 100 most influential biomedical journals of the past century.

FASEB is composed of 26 societies with more than 100,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. Our mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to its member societies and through collaborative advocacy.

Details: Yuan Cheng, Kazuhiro Kawamura, Seido Takae, Masashi Deguchi, Qing Yang, Calvin Kuo, and Aaron J. W. Hsueh. Oocyte-derived R-spondin2 promotes ovarian follicle development. FASEB J June 2013 27:2175-2184 ; doi:10.1096/fj.12-223412 ; http://www.fasebj.org/content/27/6/2175.abstract

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 30-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
cmooneyhan@faseb.org
301-634-7104
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

The FASEB Journal suggests that human female eggs produce a previously unknown hormone, called R-spondin2, which promotes follicle development and stimulates ovary growth

Bethesda, MDA newly discovered hormone produced by the eggs of human females may improve the effectiveness of current fertility treatments for women and possibly lead to entirely new treatments altogether. According to new research published in the June 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, researchers from Stanford and Akira University in Japan identified a new hormone called "R-spondin2" that promotes follicle development and stimulates ovary growth.

"The finding of a new ovarian hormone produced by the oocytes capable of stimulating ovarian follicle growth could lead to new infertility treatments," said Aaron J. W. Hsueh, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Division of Reproductive and Stem Cell Biology in the Department of Obstetrics and Genecology at Stanford University Medical School in Stanford, California.

To make this discovery, Hsueh and colleagues analyzed all the proteins likely made by the eggs, and discovered a previously unknown hormone, called R-spondin2. The researchers then replicated this new hormone in test tubes and injected it into mice. The hormone stimulated growth of mouse ovarian cells, leading to the generation of mature eggs. These eggs were fertilized and led to successful pregnancies and the delivery of healthy pups. Then, human ovarian tissue was grafted into mice, and this also grew after treatment with this newly identified ovarian hormone, suggesting that the hormone could work in humans. The researchers speculate that when used in conjunction with the traditional Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), this newly discovered ovarian hormone could lead to new infertility treatment options for those not responding well to FSH treatment alone.

"Infertility can be very frustrating for couples who have been trying to conceive for a very long time. The discovery of this new hormone is a potential game-changer in human fertility treatment," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, "but further research is needed to determine its efficacy and safety in humans."

###

Receive monthly highlights from The FASEB Journal by e-mail. Sign up at http://www.faseb.org/fjupdate.aspx. The FASEB Journal is published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). It is among the most cited biology journals worldwide according to the Institute for Scientific Information and has been recognized by the Special Libraries Association as one of the top 100 most influential biomedical journals of the past century.

FASEB is composed of 26 societies with more than 100,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. Our mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to its member societies and through collaborative advocacy.

Details: Yuan Cheng, Kazuhiro Kawamura, Seido Takae, Masashi Deguchi, Qing Yang, Calvin Kuo, and Aaron J. W. Hsueh. Oocyte-derived R-spondin2 promotes ovarian follicle development. FASEB J June 2013 27:2175-2184 ; doi:10.1096/fj.12-223412 ; http://www.fasebj.org/content/27/6/2175.abstract

---

[ | 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/2013-05/foas-and053013.php

Oz the Great and Powerful elisabeth hasselbeck Mothers Day 2013 World Baseball Classic time change Joy Behar Red Widow

Ex-Microsoft manager plans to create first U.S. marijuana brand

By Jonathan Kaminsky

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A former Microsoft executive plans to create the first U.S. national marijuana brand, with cannabis he hopes to eventually import legally from Mexico, and said he was kicking off his business by acquiring medical pot dispensaries in three U.S. states.

Jamen Shively, a former Microsoft corporate strategy manager, said he envisions his Seattle-based enterprise becoming the leader in both recreational and medical cannabis - much like Starbucks is the dominant name in coffee, he said.

Shively, 45, whose six years at Microsoft ended in 2009, said he was soliciting investors for $10 million in start-up money.

The use, sale and possession of marijuana remains illegal in the United States under federal law. Two U.S. states have, however, legalized recreational marijuana use and are among 18 states that allow it for medical use.

"It's a giant market in search of a brand," Shively said of the marijuana industry. "We would be happy if we get 40 percent of it worldwide."

A 2005 United Nations report estimated the global marijuana trade to be valued at $142 billion. http://www.unodc.org/pdf/WDR_2005/volume_1_web.pdf

Washington state and Colorado became the first two U.S. states to legalize recreational marijuana when voters approved legalization in November.

Shively laid out his plans, along with his vision for a future in which marijuana will be imported from Mexico, at a Thursday news conference in downtown Seattle.

Joining him was former Mexican President Vicente Fox, a longtime Shively acquaintance who has been an advocate of decriminalizing marijuana. Fox said he was there to show his support for Shively's company but has no financial stake in it.

"What a difference it makes to have Jamen here sitting at my side instead of Chapo Guzman," said Fox, referring to the fact he would rather see Shively selling marijuana legally than the Mexican drug kingpin selling it illegally. "This is the story that has begun to be written here."

Shively told Reuters he hoped Fox would serve an advisory role in his enterprise, dubbed Diego Pellicer after Shively's hemp-producing great grandfather.

The sale of cannabis or marijuana remains illegal in much of the world although countries mainly in Europe and the Americas have decriminalized the possession of small quantities of it. A larger number of countries have decriminalized or legalized cannabis for medical use.

SKEPTICISM

Shively acknowledges that his business plans conflict with U.S. federal law and are complicated by regulations in both Washington state and Colorado. He said he is interested in buying dispensaries that comply with local and state rules and are less likely to attract the scrutiny of authorities.

"If they want to come talk to me, I'll be delighted to meet with them," he said of federal officials. "I'll tell them everything that we're doing and show them all our books."

Washington state's marijuana consultant, Mark Kleiman, said he was skeptical of Shively's plans, and feared that the businessman is seeking to profit off others' addiction.

"It's very hard for me to understand why anybody seriously interested in being in the marijuana business, which after all is against the federal law, would so publicly announce his conspiracy to break that law," said Kleiman, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle, referred questions to the Department of Justice headquarters. Department officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Washington state Representative Reuven Carlyle, a Seattle Democrat, sees promise in Shively's initiative. Any industry emerging from the shadows will inevitably undergo consolidation - and thereby simplify the task of regulators, he said.

"The fact that an entrepreneur is publicly pushing the envelope around a branding and value-based pricing opportunity, I would say that's in the water in Seattle," said Carlyle, chairman of the House Finance Committee. "That's in our DNA ... We could have predicted that as much as the rain."

Shively said he has already acquired the rights to the Northwest Patient Resource Center, a medical marijuana operation that includes two Seattle store fronts. He added that he was close to acquiring another dispensary in Colorado, as well as two more each in Washington state and California, with the owners given the option to retain a stake in their businesses.

"We've created the first risk-mitigated vehicles for investing directly in this business opportunity," he said.

Shively said he ultimately plans to create separate medical and recreational-use marijuana brands. Shively said he also plans to launch a study of the effectiveness of concentrated cannabis oil in the treatment of cancer and other illnesses.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Andrew Hay)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-microsoft-manager-plans-create-first-u-marijuana-191949078.html

ncaa bracket predictions jeff foxworthy heather morris the bachelor finale south by southwest i want to know what love is courtney

Acclaimed Indian film director Ghosh dies at 49

NEW DELHI (AP) ? Rituparno Ghosh, who directed award-winning films mostly dealing with the dilemmas of India's urban middle class, has died of cardiac arrest at age 49.

Ghosh shot to fame with his first film, "Hirer Angti" or "The Diamond Ring," in 1994. Then followed a string of Bengali-language movies that earned him 12 national film awards, including for best director.

Press Trust of India quoted his family as saying Ghosh died Thursday at his home in the eastern city of Kolkata.

Ghosh directed about 20 feature films overall, earning critical acclaim at international film festivals including in Locarno, Switzerland, and in London.

His 2007 creation, "The Last Lear," was in English and centered on a retired actor who is persuaded to return to cinema to reprise the lead role in a production of Shakespeare's "King Lear." Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan starred in the film that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.

Bachchan tweeted remembrances of Ghosh early Friday, calling him a "brilliant director" and a "sensitive artistic mind."

Shekhar Kapur, director of the 1998 Academy Award-winning period film "Elizabeth," tweeted that he was "shocked by the passing of Rituparno Ghosh." He described Ghosh as a "hugely creative explorer on film."

Indian character actress Kiran Kher said Ghosh was a marvelous director and that his death was a "huge loss for Indian cinema."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/acclaimed-indian-film-director-ghosh-dies-49-003041909.html

Connecticut shooting Nancy Lanza school shootings Jenni Rivera Adam Lanza Facebook the hobbit mick jagger

Kim Kardashian Is 'Pregnant And Flawless,' Khloe Defends

The reality starlet also opens up to MTV News about her own new, healthier lifestyle.
By Jocelyn Vena

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1708245/kim-khloe-kardashian-weight-health.jhtml

internal revenue service intc tupac andrew shaw hologram pulitzer prize winners nfl 2012 schedule

Water-rock reaction may provide enough hydrogen 'food' to sustain life in ocean's crust or on Mars

May 30, 2013 ? A chemical reaction between iron-containing minerals and water may produce enough hydrogen "food" to sustain microbial communities living in pores and cracks within the enormous volume of rock below the ocean floor and parts of the continents, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, also hint at the possibility that hydrogen-dependent life could have existed where iron-rich igneous rocks on Mars were once in contact with water.

Scientists have thoroughly investigated how rock-water reactions can produce hydrogen in places where the temperatures are far too hot for living things to survive, such as in the rocks that underlie hydrothermal vent systems on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. The hydrogen gases produced in those rocks do eventually feed microbial life, but the communities are located only in small, cooler oases where the vent fluids mix with seawater.

The new study, led by CU-Boulder Research Associate Lisa Mayhew, set out to investigate whether hydrogen-producing reactions also could take place in the much more abundant rocks that are infiltrated with water at temperatures cool enough for life to survive.

"Water-rock reactions that produce hydrogen gas are thought to have been one of the earliest sources of energy for life on Earth," said Mayhew, who worked on the study as a doctoral student in CU-Boulder Associate Professor Alexis Templeton's lab in the Department of Geological Sciences.

"However, we know very little about the possibility that hydrogen will be produced from these reactions when the temperatures are low enough that life can survive. If these reactions could make enough hydrogen at these low temperatures, then microorganisms might be able to live in the rocks where this reaction occurs, which could potentially be a huge subsurface microbial habitat for hydrogen-utilizing life."

When igneous rocks, which form when magma slowly cools deep within Earth, are infiltrated by ocean water, some of the minerals release unstable atoms of iron into the water. At high temperatures -- warmer than 392 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) -- scientists know that the unstable atoms, known as reduced iron, can rapidly split water molecules and produce hydrogen gas, as well as new minerals containing iron in the more stable, oxidized form.

Mayhew and her co-authors, including Templeton, submerged rocks in water in the absence of oxygen to determine if a similar reaction would take place at much lower temperatures, between 122 and 212 degrees Fahrenheit (50 to 100 degrees Celsius). The researchers found that the rocks did create hydrogen -- potentially enough hydrogen to support life.

To understand in more detail the chemical reactions that produced the hydrogen in the lab experiments, the researchers used "synchrotron radiation" -- which is created by electrons orbiting in a humanmade storage ring -- to determine the type and location of iron in the rocks on a microscale.

The researchers expected to find that the reduced iron in minerals like olivine had converted to the more stable oxidized state, just as occurs at higher temperatures. But when they conducted their analyses at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource at Stanford University, they were surprised to find newly formed oxidized iron on "spinel" minerals found in the rocks. Spinels are minerals with a cubic structure that are highly conductive.

Finding oxidized iron on the spinels led the team to hypothesize that, at low temperatures, the conductive spinels were helping facilitate the exchange of electrons between reduced iron and water, a process that is necessary for the iron to split the water molecules and create the hydrogen gas.

"After observing the formation of oxidized iron on spinels, we realized there was a strong correlation between the amount of hydrogen produced and the volume percent of spinel phases in the reaction materials," Mayhew said. "Generally, the more spinels, the more hydrogen."

Not only is there a potentially large volume of rock on Earth that may undergo these low temperature reactions, but the same types of rocks also are prevalent on Mars, Mayhew said. Minerals that form as a result of the water-rock reactions on Earth have been detected on Mars as well, which means that the process described in the new study may have implications for potential Martian microbial habitats.

Mayhew and Templeton are already building on this study with their co-authors, including Thomas McCollom at CU-Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, to see if the hydrogen-producing reactions can actually sustain microbes in the lab.

This study was funded by the David and Lucille Packard Foundation and with a U.S. Department of Energy Early Career grant to Templeton.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/P_rYgzb5klo/130530132541.htm

Skagit River Bridge Call Of Duty Ghosts alice eve kevin durant tumblr Oklahoma Tornado Ray Manzarek

Will And Jaden Smith: 'After Earth' Explores Their Father-Son Issues

'After Earth' stars open up on how their real-life relationship is at the core of their new sci-fi film.
By Josh Wigler

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1708222/after-earth-will-jaden-smith-father-son-issues.jhtml

2012 sports illustrated swimsuit same day flower delivery valentines day cards hallmark grammy winners obama budget woolly mammoth

Colo. mom reunites with son found safe in Canada

LONGMONT, Colo. (AP) ? A Longmont boy allegedly taken from his home by his father arrived home from Canada on Tuesday night.

Three-year-old Luke Turner had been gone since Saturday, when authorities say his father, 51-year-old Monty Turner, broke into the home Luke shared with his mom, Brandy Turner, and attacked her with pepper spray and a stun gun.

Monty Turner was arrested Sunday in Brandon, Manitoba, and jailed on suspicion of kidnapping, burglary and assault. A hearing regarding his status in the country was held Tuesday.

Longmont police expect that Monty Turner will be back in Colorado to face charges in anywhere from five days to three weeks. A spokeswoman for the Boulder County district attorney said Monty Turner could contest extradition, which would delay his facing charges in Colorado.

Monty Turner had been prohibited by court order from making contact with Luke or Brandy Turner.

Brandy Turner told police she saw her husband in the backyard Saturday morning, when she stepped outside to smoke a cigarette.

She said she went inside, locked the door and tried to call 911, but Monty Turner forced his way in. She said pepper spray was shot in her face, and she felt an electric shock, which she believes was from a stun gun.

Soon after, Brandy Turner said she went into another room to attempt to call 911 again, and she saw Monty Turner leaving on a bicycle with Luke.

Monty Turner was found with Luke in a motel.

Meanwhile, the boy's grandfather, Ronald Turner, 72, was pulled over in Missouri on Sunday on a warrant for second-degree kidnapping.

At a news conference late Tuesday, Brandy Turner said she felt terror and disbelief after her son was taken, then anxiousness trying to figure out how to get her son home. With Luke sitting calmly on her lap Tuesday, Brandy Turner said she felt relief.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colo-mom-reunites-son-found-safe-canada-032508301.html

albert pujols the shining mariano rivera mariano rivera jobs report tiger woods masters 2012 nikki haley

Changing gut bacteria through diet affects brain function

May 28, 2013 ? UCLA researchers now have the first evidence that bacteria ingested in food can affect brain function in humans. In an early proof-of-concept study of healthy women, they found that women who regularly consumed beneficial bacteria known as probiotics through yogurt showed altered brain function, both while in a resting state and in response to an emotion-recognition task.

The study, conducted by scientists with UCLA's Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer Family Center for Neurobiology of Stress and the Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center at UCLA, appears in the June edition of the peer-reviewed journal Gastroenterology.

The discovery that changing the bacterial environment, or microbiota, in the gut can affect the brain carries significant implications for future research that could point the way toward dietary or drug interventions to improve brain function, the researchers said.

"Many of us have a container of yogurt in our refrigerator that we may eat for enjoyment, for calcium or because we think it might help our health in other ways," said Dr. Kirsten Tillisch, an associate professor of medicine at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine and lead author of the study. "Our findings indicate that some of the contents of yogurt may actually change the way our brain responds to the environment. When we consider the implications of this work, the old sayings 'you are what you eat' and 'gut feelings' take on new meaning."

Researchers have known that the brain sends signals to the gut, which is why stress and other emotions can contribute to gastrointestinal symptoms. This study shows what has been suspected but until now had been proved only in animal studies: that signals travel the opposite way as well.

"Time and time again, we hear from patients that they never felt depressed or anxious until they started experiencing problems with their gut," Tillisch said. "Our study shows that the gut-brain connection is a two-way street." ? The small study involved 36 women between the ages of 18 and 55. Researchers divided the women into three groups: one group ate a specific yogurt containing a mix of several probiotics -- bacteria thought to have a positive effect on the intestines -- twice a day for four weeks; another group consumed a dairy product that looked and tasted like the yogurt but contained no probiotics; and a third group ate no product at all.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans conducted both before and after the four-week study period looked at the women's brains in a state of rest and in response to an emotion-recognition task in which they viewed a series of pictures of people with angry or frightened faces and matched them to other faces showing the same emotions. This task, designed to measure the engagement of affective and cognitive brain regions in response to a visual stimulus, was chosen because previous research in animals had linked changes in gut flora to changes in affective behaviors.

The researchers found that, compared with the women who didn't consume the probiotic yogurt, those who did showed a decrease in activity in both the insula -- which processes and integrates internal body sensations, like those form the gut -- and the somatosensory cortex during the emotional reactivity task.

Further, in response to the task, these women had a decrease in the engagement of a widespread network in the brain that includes emotion-, cognition- and sensory-related areas. The women in the other two groups showed a stable or increased activity in this network.

During the resting brain scan, the women consuming probiotics showed greater connectivity between a key brainstem region known as the periaqueductal grey and cognition-associated areas of the prefrontal cortex. The women who ate no product at all, on the other hand, showed greater connectivity of the periaqueductal grey to emotion- and sensation-related regions, while the group consuming the non-probiotic dairy product showed results in between.

The researchers were surprised to find that the brain effects could be seen in many areas, including those involved in sensory processing and not merely those associated with emotion, Tillisch said.

The knowledge that signals are sent from the intestine to the brain and that they can be modulated by a dietary change is likely to lead to an expansion of research aimed at finding new strategies to prevent or treat digestive, mental and neurological disorders, said Dr. Emeran Mayer, a professor of medicine, physiology and psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study's senior author.

"There are studies showing that what we eat can alter the composition and products of the gut flora -- in particular, that people with high-vegetable, fiber-based diets have a different composition of their microbiota, or gut environment, than people who eat the more typical

Western diet that is high in fat and carbohydrates," Mayer said. "Now we know that this has an effect not only on the metabolism but also affects brain function."

The UCLA researchers are seeking to pinpoint particular chemicals produced by gut bacteria that may be triggering the signals to the brain. They also plan to study whether people with gastrointestinal symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain and altered bowel movements have improvements in their digestive symptoms which correlate with changes in brain response.

Meanwhile, Mayer notes that other researchers are studying the potential benefits of certain probiotics in yogurts on mood symptoms such as anxiety. He said that other nutritional strategies may also be found to be beneficial.

By demonstrating the brain effects of probiotics, the study also raises the question of whether repeated courses of antibiotics can affect the brain, as some have speculated. Antibiotics are used extensively in neonatal intensive care units and in childhood respiratory tract infections, and such suppression of the normal microbiota may have longterm consequences on brain development.

Finally, as the complexity of the gut flora and its effect on the brain is better understood, researchers may find ways to manipulate the intestinal contents to treat chronic pain conditions or other brain related diseases, including, potentially, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and autism.

Answers will be easier to come by in the near future as the declining cost of profiling a person's microbiota renders such tests more routine, Mayer said.

The study was funded by Danone Research. Mayer has served on the company's scientific advisory board. Three of the study authors (Denis Guyonnet, Sophie Legrain-Raspaud and Beatrice Trotin) are employed by Danone Research and were involved in the planning and execution of the study (providing the products) but had no role in the analysis or interpretation of the results.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/A79BN1dHkQs/130528180900.htm

sleigh bells meek sturgis sturgis whitney houston laid to rest daytona bike week mary kay ash

Obama lipstick on collar: Who put it there?

Obama lipstick on collar happened at a celebration for Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The president referred to the smear in his remarks at the event Tuesday night.

By Peter Grier,?Staff Writer / May 29, 2013

President Obama points to lipstick marks on his collar in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday night. 'A sign of the warmth is the lipstick on my collar,' he said.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Enlarge

Why did President Obama have lipstick on his collar when he rose to make remarks at a White House reception Tuesday night?

Skip to next paragraph Peter Grier

Washington Editor

Peter Grier is The Christian Science Monitor's Washington editor. In this capacity, he helps direct coverage for the paper on most news events in the nation's capital.

Recent posts

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Because an enthusiastic supporter had put it there accidentally, that?s why. He referred to that right up top as his way of softening up the crowd. Truth be told, he was already pretty happy to be there, as it was a celebration for Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Having been raised in Hawaii, Mr. Obama is something of a Pacific Islander himself.

Anyway, the president began by thanking everybody for the warmth of his reception.

?A sign of the warmth is the lipstick on my collar,? he said.

Then he said he knew the culprit, and he asked to see a woman named Jessica Sanchez.

?It wasn?t Jessica. It was her aunt. Where is she?? he said as the room dissolved in laughter.

Obama then made the obvious point that he did not want to get in trouble with the first lady on this.

?That?s why I?m calling you out right in front of everybody,? he said to the aunt in question.

The president had to say something about the smear, right? It was a pretty obvious lip imprint, right up there near his necktie. It was going to show up in pictures and become the subject of a thousand gossip blogs.

If Obama?s reelection campaign showed anything, it is that he and his advisers understand the power of nontraditional media and their ability to shape the president?s image. All those appearances by him and Michelle on everything from ?The View? to ?Dr. Oz? were a big part of his campaign strategy. A lipstick smear? That?s good for a week of special reports on ?Ellen.? Reddit would probably have done another of its crowd-source analysis things, measuring the parameters of the smear and then comparing them to pictures of lips in the crowd, eventually proving beyond a doubt that it could only have come from Joe Biden, or something like that.

Of course we?ve got our own conspiracy theory: Political guru David Axelrod had somebody put it there on purpose. A speechwriter then scripted impromptu remarks on the stain for Obama, loosening up the crowd and distracting the news media from the IRS scandal, Justice-ordered seizure of reporters' phone records, and so forth.

If so, this post is proof: mission accomplished.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/kOklq7dnuFs/Obama-lipstick-on-collar-Who-put-it-there

neil diamond kashi orange crush harden nor easter nor easter veep

NASA's WISE mission finds 'lost' asteroid family members

May 29, 2013 ? Data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have led to a new and improved family tree for asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Astronomers used millions of infrared snapshots from the asteroid-hunting portion of the WISE all-sky survey, called NEOWISE, to identify 28 new asteroid families. The snapshots also helped place thousands of previously hidden and uncategorized asteroids into families for the first time. The findings are a critical step in understanding the origins of asteroid families, and the collisions thought to have created these rocky clans.

"NEOWISE has given us the data for a much more detailed look at the evolution of asteroids throughout the solar system," said Lindley Johnson, the program executive for the Near-Earth Object Observation Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This will help us trace the NEOs back to their sources and understand how some of them have migrated to orbits hazardous to the Earth."

The main asteroid belt is a major source of near-Earth objects (NEOs), which are those asteroids and comets that come within 28 million miles (45 million kilometers) of Earth's path around the sun. Some near-Earth objects start out in stable orbits in the main asteroid belt, until a collision or gravitational disturbance flings them inward like flippers in a game of pinball.

The NEOWISE team looked at about 120,000 main belt asteroids out of the approximately 600,000 known. They found that about 38,000 of these objects, roughly one third of the observed population, could be assigned to 76 families, 28 of which are new. In addition, some asteroids thought to belong to a particular family were reclassified.

An asteroid family is formed when a collision breaks apart a large parent body into fragments of various sizes. Some collisions leave giant craters. For example, the asteroid Vesta's southern hemisphere was excavated by two large impacts. Other smash-ups are catastrophic, shattering an object into numerous fragments, as was the case with the Eos asteroid family. The cast-off pieces move together in packs, traveling on the same path around the sun, but over time the pieces become more and more spread out.

Previous knowledge of asteroid family lineages comes from observations of their orbits. NEOWISE also looked at the asteroids' reflectivity to identify family members.

Asteroids in the same family generally have similar mineral composition and reflect similar amounts of light. Some families consist of darker-colored, or duller, asteroids, while others are made up of lighter-colored, or shinier, rocks. It is difficult to distinguish between dark and light asteroids in visible light. A large, dull asteroid can appear the same as a small, shiny one. The dark asteroid reflects less light but has more total surface area, so it appears brighter.

NEOWISE could distinguish between the dark and light asteroids because it could detct infrared light, which reveals the heat of an object. The larger the object, the more heat it gives off. When the size of an asteroid can be measured, its true reflective properties can be determined, and a group of asteroids once thought to belong to a single family circling the sun in a similar orbit can be sorted into distinct families.

"We're separating zebras from the gazelles," said Joseph Masiero of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., who is lead author of a report on the new study that appears in the Astrophysical Journal. "Before, family members were harder to tell apart because they were traveling in nearby packs. But now we have a better idea of which asteroid belongs to which family."

The next step for the team is to learn more about the original parent bodies that spawned the families.

"It's as if you have shards from a broken vase, and you want to put it back together to find out what happened," said Amy Mainzer, the NEOWISE principal investigator at JPL. "Why did the asteroid belt form in the first place and fail to become a planet? We are piecing together our asteroids' history."

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, managed and operated WISE for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The spacecraft was put into hibernation mode in 2011, after completing its main objectives of scanning the entire sky twice.

More information about the mission is online at: http://www.nasa.gov/wise .

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/qu0zsmOeq0A/130529214902.htm

lra lra eric johnson eric johnson big east tournament ashley olsen new apple tv

casca news: CASCA: Job postings/Offres d'emploi

(English follows)

Les offres d'emploi suivantes viennent d'?tre ajout?es ? notre banque.

-Aboriginal Human Rights - Tier 2 Canada Research Chair
University of Manitoba

-Indigenous Studies - Assistant Professor (Indigenous Arts, Theater and
Performance)
Universit? de Sudbury

-?tudes autochtones - Professeur adjoint (Arts, th??tre et interpr?tation
autochtones)
Universit? de Sudbury

-Sociology - Lecturer/Assistant Professor (Quantitative and Mixed Methods)
University of Windsor

-Digital Archive Assistant (SEP)
Multicultural History Society of Ontario

-Exhibition Assistant
Vancouver Art Gallery

-Postdoctoral Fellowship - Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious
and Ethnic Diversity

-ANTHROPOLOGY COURSE INSTRUCTOR POSTING
UTSC

-SUMMER ARCHAEOLOGY JOBS FOR SOUTHERN ONTARIO ANTHROPOLOGY STUDENTS
Western Heritage

-Policy Analyst/Writer - Congress of Aboriginal Peoples in Ottawa

-Sessional Lecturers - Positions Available
Lakehead University ? Orillia Campus

-Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Human Rights, Assistant or Associate
Professor
University of Manitoba

-Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Gender & Work
York University

-Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Employment Standards Enforcement York
University

Consultez-les ou voyez toute la liste en visitant notre site Web:

www.cas-sca.ca

Merci

**********

The following job postings have just been added to our job page:

-Aboriginal Human Rights - Tier 2 Canada Research Chair
University of Manitoba

-Indigenous Studies - Assistant Professor (Indigenous Arts, Theater and
Performance)
Universit? de Sudbury

-?tudes autochtones - Professeur adjoint (Arts, th??tre et interpr?tation
autochtones)
Universit? de Sudbury

-Sociology - Lecturer/Assistant Professor (Quantitative and Mixed Methods)
University of Windsor

-Digital Archive Assistant (SEP)
Multicultural History Society of Ontario

-Exhibition Assistant
Vancouver Art Gallery

-Postdoctoral Fellowship - Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious
and Ethnic Diversity

-ANTHROPOLOGY COURSE INSTRUCTOR POSTING
UTSC

-SUMMER ARCHAEOLOGY JOBS FOR SOUTHERN ONTARIO ANTHROPOLOGY STUDENTS
Western Heritage

-Policy Analyst/Writer - Congress of Aboriginal Peoples in Ottawa

-Sessional Lecturers - Positions Available
Lakehead University ? Orillia Campus

-Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Human Rights, Assistant or Associate
Professor
University of Manitoba

-Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Gender & Work
York University

-Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Employment Standards Enforcement York
University

See them and others on our website:

www.cas-sca.ca

Thank you

Source: http://casca-news.blogspot.com/2013/05/casca-job-postingsoffres-demploi_29.html

meniscus robyn the colony ncaa final four 2012 uk vs louisville university of kansas buckeye

'Is there a doctor on board? Travelers play valuable role assisting crew in common medical emergencies on flights

May 29, 2013 ? Medical emergencies during commercial airline travel can be a frightening experience, but most situations are well-treated by other passengers and flight attendants, in collaboration with consulting physicians on the ground. A University of Pittsburgh study to be published in the May 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found that doctors, nurses and other medical professionals on the aircraft helped to treat sick fellow passengers in three-fourths of the emergencies studied.

Led by Christian Martin-Gill, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of emergency medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the study examined records of in-flight medical calls from five domestic and international airlines to UPMC's STAT-MD Communications Center, a 24-hour, physician-directed medical command center, from Jan. 1, 2008, through Oct. 31, 2010. Although not required to by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), many airlines use a medical communications facility to consult with physicians on the ground. STAT-MD handled 11,920 in-flight medical calls during the study period. The most common in-flight problems reported were syncope (fainting) or near-syncope, respiratory symptoms, nausea or vomiting, and cardiac symptoms.

Physician passengers provided medical assistance in nearly half of those calls, according to the researchers. Other medical professionals, such as nurses and emergency medical technicians, provided help in another 28 percent of the calls. Flights were diverted to alternate destinations because of medical concerns in only 7.3 percent of the incidents.

Most of the passengers who were treated in-flight had favorable outcomes. According to data for nearly 11,000 of those patients, 25.8 percent were transported to a hospital by emergency medical services; 8.6 percent were admitted, and 0.3 percent died, either on board the aircraft or upon transport to the hospital. The most common causes for admission to a hospital were stroke, respiratory and cardiac symptoms.

The study found that most calls could be managed by the flight attendants, who are trained in emergency protocols and have access to an FAA-required emergency medical kit, along with medical volunteers in the majority of cases. In these cases, ground-based physician consultants provided additional guidance, including use of specific medications in the kit, and assisting the pilot and crew in making decisions regarding need for diversion of the aircraft.

"We wanted to provide a description of the type of emergencies commonly treated on an aircraft, identify the outcomes of these patients and provide an understanding of the treatment capabilities available on the aircraft in the medical kit and through experts on the ground," said Dr. Martin-Gill.

The researchers suggest physicians and others obtain a basic knowledge and awareness of the resources available to them in this unfamiliar and cramped setting to be effective volunteers during an in-flight emergency.

"Commercial air travel is generally safe, and in-flight deaths are rare," said Dr. Martin-Gill. "We hope to look more closely at the most common conditions and which ones require follow-up care so we can better tailor treatment recommendations for passengers."

Co-authors of the paper include Drew Peterson, M.D., Francis Guyette, M.D., M.P.H., Adam Tobias, M.D., M.P.H., Catherine McCarthy, B.S., Scott Harrington, M.D., Theodore Delbridge, M.D., M.P.H., and Donald Yealy, M.D., through the Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

The work was funded by National Institutes of Health grants UL1 RR024153 and UL1 TR000005.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/uF0KNYOLFTM/130529191043.htm

Tim Hardaway Anne Smedinghoff jana kramer carrie underwood garth brooks george strait Trey Burke

Pigeons peck for computerized treat

May 29, 2013 ? Go to about any public square, and you see pigeons pecking at the ground, always in search of crumbs dropped by a passerby. While the pigeons' scavenging may seem random, new research by psychologists at the University of Iowa suggest the birds are capable of making highly intelligent choices, sometimes with problem-solving skills to match.

The study by Edward Wasserman and colleagues centered on the "string task," a longstanding, standard test of intelligence that involves attaching a treat to one of two strings and seeing if the participant (human or animal) can reel in that treat by pulling the correct string.

In this case, the UI researchers took the pigeons into the digital age: The birds looked at a computer touch screen with square buttons connected to either dishes that appeared to be full or empty. If the bird pecked the correct button on the screen, the virtual full bowl would move closer, ultimately to the point where the pigeon would be rewarded with real food.

"The pigeons proved that they could indeed learn this task with a variety of different string configurations -- even those that involved crossed strings, the most difficult of all configurations to learn with real strings," says Wasserman, Stuit Professor of Experimental Psychology and the corresponding author of the study published in the journal Animal Cognition.

In experiments, the authors found the pigeons chose correctly between 74 percent and 90 percent of the time across three varieties of string tests. The breadth of the string tests, coupled with the pigeons' accuracy, suggest that virtual string tests can be used in place of conventional string experiments -- and with other animal species as well, the researchers say.

In videosthat the researchers took, the pigeons in many instances scan and bob their heads along the string "often looking toward and pecking at the dish as its moves down the screen," the authors write, suggesting the birds noted the connection between the virtual strings and the dishes.

"We believe that our virtual string task represents a promising innovation in comparative and developmental psychology," Wasserman says. "It may permit expanded exploration of other species and variables which would otherwise be unlikely because of inadequacies of conventional string task methodology or sensorimotor limitations of the organisms."

"These results not only testify to the power and versatility of our computerized string task, but they also demonstrate that pigeons can concurrently contend with a broad range of demanding patterned-string problems, thereby eliminating many alternative interpretations of their behavior," the authors write.

The UI psychology department funded the study.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/c_7nwCJErEE/130529121105.htm

Susan Rice the Who jon bon jovi jon bon jovi Kliff Kingsbury Amish Mafia Dave Grohl

It will take just four seconds to watch this knockout

Do you have four seconds to watch an amateur knockout? That's all it took for Garrett Whitman to win in an amateur bout in California over the weekend. He took less time than a sneeze to knock out McKlaine McKinnon at Get Down Promotions. It's hard to judge a fighter's potential off of amateur fights, but Whitman has two wins totaling 49 seconds of fighting. It's an impressive start to his MMA career.

Thanks, MMA Fighting.

Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Retired Forrest Griffin's star grew alongside UFC's
? Boston-born fighter Cathal Pendred wants to go home again
? Ronda Rousey stunned by new 'TUF' foe

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/just-four-seconds-watch-knockout-125254295.html

delonte west vanessa williams nicklas backstrom discovery shuttle allure jane goodall saturday night fever

haven4success - Home Based Business - Level One Network

?

Home based business

?

Are you are interested in financial success from? a home based business, either as a second income, or are looking to eventually do it full time? Here are a few things to consider before you begin.

(1) Why are you doing the home based business? Having your why is going to fuel you on the journey, when new challenges arise, knowing why will help you deal with it rather then giving up. It may be a daunting task if you are really busy, but you will gain so much by taking that hour to do a little soul searching and finding your why. It will help your mindset? and also give you focus, as you build your home based business for success.Whether it is to pay of your home, or to have more time as a family without sacrificing your income.

(2) Do you need to learn the skills of marketing in order to have success? If you do check out what the companies are offering, and try and get as much information on what they will be teaching you.

There are companies that tell what you need to do to have success, but do not show you enough how to do it. If you are new to online marketing, becoming savy at marketing is a skill that needs to be learned, and once you do so many doors open for you. One lesson I have learned, is to check out the company first by doing your own research. One company that I got involved with to learn marketing, I got caught up in the hype because there was a lot of people joining.Once I got involved I realized that the $25.00 a month they were advertising was not giving me the information I needed to learn, so I up graded to $100.00. There was great inspiration there but it was not marketing skills been taught.

They advised to upgrade with all the other products to really become successful, which I did not mind but I wanted to be cautious this time so I talked to a few other people who had bought all the products, and they informed me that it really did not go into enough detail to help a person learn.I am not saying that they are not helping people because I learned a lot, however not enough to be able to make my marketing work. The 100.00 a month was more on inspiration, then the actual marketing information.
?

(3)Here is the one I joined, http://www.levelonenetwork.com/haven4success/ if you would like to take a look at it and the training is by the owner who? is a programer, that has already built a multi million dollar business online. So he knows what we need to know for success. I feel that he also has a genuine interest now on helping others? succeed.

?

4) There are a number of companies that teach marketing now, that have an added advantage for our success in our home based business? as well. Everyone is blogging on the one blogging platform which gives us more recognition by the search engines which equals more traffic, which equals more income. The? company that I joined gives another bonus and that is rather then having a picture of the owner up there, he has each person's blog there so you get front page exposure as an added bonus to help with your home based business success.

(5) If you choose a company that teaches you the marketing, you will also have the opportunity to market other products, and services in your home based business as well. Again do your homework as to what you would like to market. I had been involved with a few network marketing companies before and had a few products I really believe in. If you choose ones you are passionate about, you will have an easier time promoting them. I personally like the idea of promoting a higher ticket item that I believe in, as well as a lower ticket item. This way when I am marketing, I am really leveraging my time that I put into a blog or a video, or some other form of marketing.

(6)This is one thing I remind myself daily as I learn, and that is to be patient, and realize that the success, for my home based business, is having the mindset that, although it may not take? a lot of time, it is going to take time. One thing that helps me with that is I enjoy it so much that it really does not feel like work. Remember the payoff for learning the skills are great.The company who is teaching me marketing teaches you how to build? and automate your home based business, so eventually, it brings in an income while you enjoy plenty of time off, if you so choose.(sweeeet)

(8)? I mentioned earlier that knowing your why helps with the? success of your home based business and this video further emphasizes the need to know your why. You will hear from the video how? that the success of Apple, Martin Luther King, and the wright brothers all had to do with knowing their why.

Currently there are so many struggling financially. What about making part of your why, for your home based business to help other people with success in? changing their financial future which in turn has a major rippling effect. More time to spend with family, more money to help people who need financial help, and I am sure you can think of more effects.This quote sums it up? ? You can have everything? in life? you want, if you will just help other people get what they want .Zig Ziglar
???? If you would like to join the company I have, to help with learning to have success with a home based business, click this link. I will be there to help if you need it and awesome training from Dan Miller.
http://www.levelonenetwork.com/haven4success/join/

Sincerely

Phyllis Hollett

905-582-4971or email phil3123@hotmail.com

?

?

Source: http://www.levelonenetwork.com/haven4success/home-based-business/

whitney houston funeral judi dench bobby brown leaves funeral donnie mcclurkin whitney houston funeral live stream kevin costner whitney houston whitney houston funeral live

New 'Percy Jackson' Trailer Lives Up To Monstrous Title

Logan Lerman is back to brave the waters of the 'Sea of Monsters' in a new preview for the film.
By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1708179/percy-jackson-sea-of-monsters-new-trailer.jhtml

kim kardashian flour bomb hunger games box office xavier joan crawford joan crawford john goodman kendall marshall

Some states push back on common core standards

Of the 45 states that adopted the Common Core reading, math and writing standards, nine are having second thoughts.

Some states are seeking to slow implementation, while others are trying to repeal the standards altogether. Legislation pending in some states would prevent adoption of standards in other subjects, such as social studies or science.

The only states not to adopt the standards are Alaska, Nebraska, Texas and Virginia. Minnesota adopted the reading but not the math standards.

What's happening in the states:

? In Kansas, the idea of putting the brakes on Common Core failed earlier in the session in the House Education Committee. However, grassroots pressure has been put on the state board and legislators to stop implementation over concerns that it will weaken Kansas education and that the standards equate to additional federal intrusion into what opponents say is a local issue of setting curriculum.

? In Missouri, a bill that would have required the state education department to estimate the cost of implementing the standards and to hold statewide hearings about them failed. The legislative session has wrapped up.

? In Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder said in May that he supports the state's participation in the standards. But the state's House and Senate have approved budgets prohibiting spending on the standards.

? In Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal signed an executive order in May putting in place restrictions on the standards. Under the order, the state will be prohibited from collecting certain information on students and their families, including religious and political affiliation and voting history. Deal, a Republican, acknowledged in his remarks that the personal information is not currently being collected, but said his order was designed to ensure no one's rights are violated.

? In Indiana, lawmakers put the brakes on the new standards in April, voting to delay their full rollout to allow time to study the potential costs of implementing or abandoning them and hold public meetings.

? In Pennsylvania, controversy has surrounded an effort to create a set of standards that melds parts of the state's 14-year-old standards with the Common Core standards. Gov. Tom Corbett asked state education officials in May to clarify that those combined standards are not uniform national standards. However, Corbett's request apparently would not alter the substance of the proposed standards, or the part of the proposal that ties them to tests that students must pass in order to graduate.

? In Alabama, some Republicans tried without success to repeal the standards The standards have been opposed by the governor and supported by state Superintendent of Education Tommy Bice and a statewide business organization.

? In South Carolina, an effort by some Republicans to block implementation died in the Senate last year. Republicans in the House took a different tack this year aimed at future Common Core standards, sponsoring a bill requiring that any new standards also be approved by the Legislature. It's up for debate on the House floor.

? In Utah, some in the state are resisting the Common Core, including the state's Republican Party, which approved a resolution in May opposing the standards.

___

Associated Press writers Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Mo., Chris Blank in Jefferson City, Mo., John Milburn in Topeka, Kan., Alanna Durkin in Lansing, Mich., Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta, Tom LoBianco in Indianapolis, Phillip Rawls in Montgomery, Ala., Seanna Adcox in Columbia, S.C., Michelle Price in Salt Lake City, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pa., and Karen Matthews in New York contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/states-push-back-common-core-standards-075031945.html

St Francis Anquan Boldin Pope Benedict Jesuits percy harvin percy harvin mike wallace

Global money laundering operation busted

By Emily Flitter

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have indicted the operators of digital currency exchange Liberty Reserve, accusing the Costa Rica-based company of helping criminals around the world launder more than $6 billion in illicit funds linked to everything from child pornography to software for hacking into banks.

The indictment unsealed on Tuesday said Liberty Reserve had more than a million users worldwide, including at least 200,000 in the United States, and virtually all of its business was related to suspected criminal activity.

"Liberty Reserve has emerged as one of the principal means by which cyber-criminals around the world distribute, store and launder the proceeds of their illegal activity," according to the indictment filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Officials said authorities in Spain, Costa Rica and New York arrested five people on Friday, including the company's founder, Arthur Budovsky, and seized bank accounts and Internet domains associated with Liberty Reserve.

Digital currency is made up of transferable units that can be exchanged for cash. Over the past decade, its use has expanded, attracting attention from the media and Wall Street. The most widely known digital currency is called Bitcoin. Liberty Reserve's currency was not connected to Bitcoin.

The indictment detailed a system of payments that allowed users to open accounts with little information and move money around with anonymity.

The U.S. Treasury named Liberty Reserve under the USA Patriot Act as a company "specifically designed and frequently used to facilitate money laundering in cyber space."

That designation, the first against a virtual currency exchange, prohibits banks or other payment processors from doing any business with Liberty Reserve, even if it should reopen under a new name.

In addition to pornography and drug trafficking funds, Liberty Reserve's virtual currency was also used to anonymously buy and sell software designed to steal personal information, according to a statement from the U.S. Treasury.

Users could also buy malware programs designed to assault financial institutions, as well as lists of information from thousands of compromised personal accounts, the Treasury said.

In addition to Budovsky, his deputy, Azzedine El Amine was arrested, as was co-founder Vladimir Kats, and two technology designers, Maxim Chukarev and Mark Marmilev.

Two more company employees were still at large in Costa Rica according to officials: Ahmed Yassine Abdelghani and Allan Esteban Hidalgo Jimenez. According to the indictment, almost all of the men used the alias, Eric Paltz.

None of the men could be reached for comment.

According to the indictment, Liberty Reserve's currency unit was called the "LR." Users opened accounts at Liberty Reserve giving only a name, address and date of birth that the company made no attempt to verify.

Once a user had a Liberty Reserve account, he or she could use cash to purchase LRs from third-party exchange merchants, which traded LRs with each other in bulk and charged fees to make the exchanges between LRs and hard cash.

Liberty Reserve users could transfer the digital currency units called LRs to each other, to be redeemed in different parts of the world for cash using the third-party exchange companies.

The third party exchange companies provided the gateway to more conventional payment systems. According to information Liberty Reserve's archived web pages, the company had relationships at one time with at least 35 different exchange companies, some of which transferred cash back and forth to customers using PayPal, Western Union, MoneyGram, credit cards including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and CitiBank Global Money Transfer.

The indictment said Liberty Reserve did not collect any banking or transaction information from the third-party exchange companies. It also let its users hide their Liberty Exchange account numbers when making transactions, which offered another opportunity for the users to mask their true identities.

The company processed around 12 million financial transactions per year. Since it began operating in 2006, the indictment said, Liberty Reserve laundered over $6 billion in criminal proceeds.

On Tuesday, the company's website, www.libertyreserve.com, displayed the message: "This domain name has been seized by the United States Global Illicit Financial Team."

It was not clear whether the people arrested in Spain and Costa Rica would be extradited to the United States or when the two people arrested in Brooklyn, New York, would appear in court.

Regulatory obligations to combat money laundering have emerged as a major challenge to digital currency firms. The U.S. Treasury Department's anti-money laundering unit, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), issued guidance in March that labeled digital currency firms as money transmitters, thereby obliging them to enact anti-money laundering programs and register with FinCEN.

A top Bitcoin exchange, Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, failed to register with FinCEN earlier this month and had its U.S. dollar accounts seized by authorities.

Over the past week, a Bitcoin unit has traded at around $130, according to the website Bitcoincharts.com.

(Reporting by Emily Flitter in New York; Additional reporting by Brett Wolf in St. Louis and Isabella Cota Schwarz in San Jose, Costa Rica and Matthew Goldstein in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe, Tim Dobbyn and Jan Paschal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-shuts-alleged-cyber-criminal-money-transfer-system-144155238.html

Mcdonalds Restaurants Open on Christmas Day jessica simpson santa tracker happy holidays Stores Open On Christmas Day Santa Claus

Iron Chef America Tournament of Champions: Who Advanced?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/iron-chef-america-tournament-of-champions-who-advanced/

jadeveon clowney orange bowl Rose Parade 2013 rex ryan PNC Bank Louisville football Fidelity

90 Seconds on the News: Trash collection decision and FSU postseason baseball

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20130528/NEWS/130528002/1001/RSS

WWE Extreme Rules 2013 powerball winner powerball winner kanye west Eurovision Ken Venturi oklahoma

How a Massive New Railroad Is Being Blasted Out Beneath New York City

You could be standing right on top of the United States' biggest public transportation infrastructure project ever and not have the slightest clue?because its cavernous tunnels are being carved out a full 160 feet below ground.

Known as the East Side Access project, New York's newest railroad will eventually connect the Long Island Railroad to Grand Central Terminal. And the tunnel beneath the East River, which will connect the entire system, was started back in 1969. So that's not even the tricky part.

In a recent interview with Wired, the Metropolitan Transit Authority Capital Construction's crew discussed three of the toughest hurdles that loom before the 2019 due date: the 1,500-foot-long twin caverns that must be carved out beneath Grand Central (while passersby above remain effectively unaware); the process of actually freezing the earth above so traffic overhead wouldn't come toppling down; and "rerouting and fixing cable and wire as they go," so that the trains above don't come to a crashing halt.

Once the project is finished, 160,000 commuters will, supposedly, see much shorter travel times. But until then, the 2,400-odd explosions, countless exposed wires, and monumental concrete formworks make for some incredible footage. You can check out the rest of the images over at Wired. [Wired]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/how-a-massive-new-railroad-is-being-blasted-out-beneath-510166126

al gore la dodgers lawrence o donnell magic johnson jetblue pilot solicitor general neighborhood watch

Iran's new president unlikely to reverse tightening sanctions

Last week, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution that would tighten economic sanctions on Iran even further by focusing on oil exports.?With sanctions tightening on Iran, it's unlikely that any in the pool of candidates for president of Iran have a chance to turn things around, Graeber writes.?

By Daniel J. Graeber,?Guest blogger / May 27, 2013

An Iranian oil technician checks the oil separator facilities in Azadegan oil field, near Ahvaz, Iran. Oil exports account for about 80 percent of Iran's export earnings and about half of its government revenue, Graeber writes.

Vahid Salemi/AP/File

Enlarge

Asian economies this year have relied less on Iranian oil to meet their energy demands. India's economy slowed down considerably in part because of tighter credit conditions and poor consumer sentiment. For China, its first-quarter gross domestic product was lower than expected. That means less oil demand from some of Iran's largest existing consumers. In June, Iranian voters head to their polling stations to pick a president to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, ineligible to compete because of term limits. The Iranian economy has been a central issue to the campaign so far as inflation and unemployment rates hover in the double digits. With the sanctions noose tightening, however, it's unlikely that any in the pool of candidates for 2013 have a chance to turn things around.

Skip to next paragraph OilPrice.com

offers extensive coverage of all energy sectors from crude oil and natural gas to solar energy and environmental issues. To see more opinion pieces and news analysis that cover energy technology, finance and trading, geopolitics, and sector news, please visit?Oilprice.com.

Recent posts

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Indian imports of Iranian crude oil?declined?in April more than 30 percent from their March levels. With sanctions pressure mounting on Iran, the Indian government has instead turned to Latin American oil giant Venezuela, as well as Iraq and Oman, for more crude. India's economic growth has slowed down, but a series of government initiatives announced in September suggest its economy could rebound by next year. First-quarter GDP in China, meanwhile, was worse than expected, leading to speculation of a lower global oil demand for 2013. Chinese crude oil imports from Iran?declined?more than 4 percent in April from the previous year. Nevertheless, China is expected to?witness?"substantially better" economic growth in 2013.?(Related Article:?Assad is Back, and Syrian Peace Will Be on His Terms)

The 12-member Guardian Council?announced?last week that eight of the more than 650 registered candidates are qualified to have their names on the?June 14?ballot. During Ahmadinejad's?tenure, the value of the Iranian currency, the rial, dropped by 80 percent in the last two years and oil exports have declined 50 percent in the last year. Last week, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution that would tighten economic sanctions on Iran even further by focusing on oil exports.? China and India are among the Iranian oil consumers looking for waivers from U.S. sanctions by cutting their import levels. If passed, the House measure would require a further reduction of 1 million barrels per day to qualify for an exemption. No oil revenue for Iran means no money to cause problems,?said?Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif.?