Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/295231398?client_source=feed&format=rss
Friday, March 29, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
How Contagious Tasmanian Devil Cancer Goes Invisible
A cancer that has wiped out 70 percent of wild Tasmanian devils became contagious by "switching off" certain genes that would otherwise enable the immune system to recognize it, a new study finds.
Devil facial tumor disease is one of only two contagious cancers in the world (the other affects dogs and is nonfatal). It spreads when the Australian marsupials bite or nip each other, transmitting cancerous cells that grow into enormous face tumors. The cancer either metastasizes to other organs or prevents Tasmanian devils from eating or drinking. Either way, death usually occurs within six months. Experts predict the species could vanish within 20 years if the tumor disease isn't stopped.
The immune system should catch these tumor cells, but the cancerous invasion causes no immune response in devils, said Hannah Siddle, a University of Cambridge immunology researcher. Siddle and her colleagues have now discovered why: The tumor cells lack surface molecules called major histocompatibility complex molecules. These MHC molecules allow the immune system to detect the invading cells. Without them, the cancer is essentially invisible.
"That explains why the immune system of the devils doesn't recognize those DFTD (devil facial tumor disease) cells as foreign, as it should, or as cancerous, for that matter," Siddle told LiveScience.
But there is good news. Typically, cancer cells that ditch their surface coating of MHCs do so via a permanent genetic mutation. That's not the case for DFTD cells, said study researcher Jim Kaufman, also of Cambridge.
"What we stumbled on was the fact that the MHC molecules disappeared by regulation," Kaufman told LiveScience.
Regulating genes
In other words, the genes that hold the instructions for making the MHC molecules still exist in the cancer cells' genome. Those instructions simply aren't transcribed, and the molecules never form. What that means, Kaufman said, is that the cancer cells' invisibility is reversible.
The researchers proved the concept by using a communication protein called gamma interferon to "switch on" the MHC-coding genes in a culture of devil tumor cells in a Petri dish. The once-MHC-free cells started making MHC molecules again.?
In addition, the researchers examined tumor biopsies from wild Tasmanian devils and found that in some rare portions of tumor, immune cells were invading. In these areas, the cancer cells were making MHC molecules, suggesting that the genes can sometimes be spontaneously switched back on. It's not enough to save Tasmanian devils from death, but it does suggest hope for a vaccine, Kaufman and Siddle said. [See Photos of the Infected Tasmanian Devils]
"What we hope to do is to figure out a way to tip the balance so that the immune system does a better job of recognizing and can get rid of the tumor," Kaufman said. The researchers published the findings today (March 11) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.?
Key to contagious cancers
Development is going to take some time, Siddle said, but the researchers suspect the MHC finding could be a key step to creating a vaccine for the disease in the wild. Currently, the only way to save Tasmanian devils from extinction is to keep non-infected captive populations in zoos.
The finding is also a useful weapon in the arsenal against human diseases, Kaufman said. The more known about a particular disease agent in animals, the better prepared scientists are to face it should it ever strike humans. When the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a lentivirus, appeared on the scene, lentiviruses were largely a mystery, Kaufman said. It took years to catch up on a basic understanding of how the disease worked as humans died. In contrast, health professionals were much better prepared for the emergence of mad cow disease, because similar disorders such as scrapie had been studied in sheep and goats.
"There aren't any contagious tumors in humans yet," Kaufman said. "But one never knows when one is going to arise, whether it's next year or 1,000 years from now."
Follow Stephanie Pappas @sipappas. Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience, Facebook?or Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Source: http://news.yahoo.com/contagious-tasmanian-devil-cancer-goes-invisible-191803176.html
Last anti-Chavez TV station to be sold
FILE - In this Oct. 3, 2003 file photo, an employee at Globovision, a 24-hour television news channel, works behind a glass reading "News" with Globovision's logo "G" at the channel's headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela. Employees of the last remaining opposition television channel in Venezuela said on March 11, 2013 that it is being sold to a businessman friendly to the government. The employees said the sale would occur after April 14 elections, which Hugo Chavez's hand-picked successor is favored to win. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 3, 2003 file photo, an employee at Globovision, a 24-hour television news channel, works behind a glass reading "News" with Globovision's logo "G" at the channel's headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela. Employees of the last remaining opposition television channel in Venezuela said on March 11, 2013 that it is being sold to a businessman friendly to the government. The employees said the sale would occur after April 14 elections, which Hugo Chavez's hand-picked successor is favored to win. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch, File)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? The only remaining pro-opposition television channel in Venezuela, Globovision, is being sold to an insurance company owner friendly with the government, employees told The Associated Press on Monday.
They said its editorial line is sure to change and that many journalists sobbed when informed of the sale, certain some would lose their jobs.
The sale will occur after April 14 elections, which Hugo Chavez's hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro is highly favored to win, they said.
International human rights and press freedom groups have accused Chavez and his political heirs of trying to strangle Globovision financially by inventing alleged transgressions. Under constant state pressure, it has been forced to pay millions of dollars in fines.
The state telecommunications agency has repeatedly sanctioned the channel and threatened to shut it down. It was accused in one instance of running allegedly incendiary reports on a 2011 prison riot. In another case, it was accused of sowing panic for running spots challenging the constitutionality of the government's decision to postpone the swearing in of Chavez, supposed to have occurred Jan. 10, due the cancer that ultimately killed him.
Globovision President Guillermo Zuloaga informed staff at a meeting Monday, naming the buyer as Juan Domingo Cordero, president of the insurance company La Vitalicia, the employees said. The company had no immediate comment but said it would issue a statement later in the day.
The Zuloaga family owns 80 percent of Globovision. The other 20 percent belonged to a banker but was expropriated years ago by Chavez.
The employee said Cordero is friendly with government officials such as National Assembly speaker Diosdado Cabello. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of losing his job.
In the meeting with employees, Zuloaga said that "politically, economically and legally" Globovision was no longer a viable business and had no access to dollars at preferential rates to buy equipment, as Cordero's business does.
The employee said the buyers had presented themselves as politically neutral.
"A lot of journalists were crying and surely more than one of them will have to go," the official said.
Zuloaga had been living outside of Venezuela since 2010 after a court ordered his arrest for allegedly illegally storing 24 automobiles at one of his homes.
It became the lone opposition channel in that year after RCTV was forced off cable and satellite networks.
Four private channels exist in Venezuela, all ostensibly neutral, while the government has four state-run channels and the regional news network Telesur. In print, two major national newspapers, El Nacional and El Universal, remain highly critical of the government.
___
Frank Bajak on Twitter: http://twitter.com/fbajak
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Thursday, March 7, 2013
'Rhoda' Star Valerie Harper Diagnosed With Terminal Brain Cancer
The Mary Tyler Moore Show actress 73, who played Rhoda Morgenstern in the hit series and its spin-off Rhoda, underwent a series of tests which showed she has leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a condition that occurs when cancer cells spread into the fluid-filled membrane surrounding the brain.
Harper received the devastating news in January and has been told by doctors she has as little as three months to live.
Opening up about the diagnosis to People magazine, Harper says, "I don't think of dying. I think of being here now."
Harper previously battled lung cancer in 2009.
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Sunday, February 24, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
HTC One vs. Samsung Galaxy S III: Spec Showdown
HTC has certainly grabbed everyone's attention with the One, its newest top-of-the-line Android smartphone. It's not out just yet, but if you're in the market for a new high-end handset, it's impossible to ignore.
Our current favorite smartphone on AT&T is the Samsung Galaxy S III. Even though it's been around a while, it continues to be a great choice, thanks to its ultra-fast LTE data connection, fast performance, and oversized screen.
Underneath the hood, the Galaxy S III features a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5-GHz, dual-core CPU. The HTC One has it beat, though, thanks to its quad-core, next-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 CPU. In terms of build quality, it's also going to be no contest. The HTC One is a solid piece of aluminum, with beautifully machined edges and detailing. The Galaxy S III, by contrast, is made entirely of plastic, with rounded, tapered edges and chrome buttons.
Both feature a glass screen, but beneath it the similarities end. The Samsung Galaxy S III's 4.8-inch 1,280-by-720-pixel (720p) panel, while sharp and a tenth of an inch larger, is no match for the HTC One's ultra-dense, 4.7-inch, 1,920-by-1,080-pixel (1080p) display. Interestingly, HTC didn't put in a 5-inch panel, like it did with the Droid DNA on Verizon, so the One is still firmly in smartphone rather than phablet territory.
| Name | HTC One | Samsung Galaxy S III (AT&T) |
| ? |
|
|
| Editor Rating | ? | |
| Lowest Price | %displayPrice% %seller% |
%displayPrice%
%seller%
$199.99 MSRP |
| Dimensions | 5.4 x 2.7 x 0.36 inches | 5.4 x 2.8 x 0.34 inches |
| Weight | 5 oz | 4.8 oz |
| Operating System | Android OS | Android OS |
| Total Integrated Storage | 32 or 64 GB | 16 or 32 GB |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 Quad-Core | Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 Dual-Core |
| Processor Speed | 1.7 GHz | 1.5 GHz |
| Screen Size | 4.7 inches | 4.8 inches |
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels | 1280 x 720 pixels |
| Screen Pixels Per Inch | 468 | 306 ppi |
| Camera Resolution | 4 MP Rear; 2.1 MP Front-Facing | 8 MP Rear; 1 MP Front-Facing |
| Video Camera Resolution | 1080p Rear; 1080p Front-Facing | 1080p Rear; 720p Front-Facing |
| 802.11x/Band(s) | 802.11 b/g/n | 802.11 b/g/n |
| Bluetooth Version | 4 | 4 |
| GPS | Yes | Yes |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| microSD Slot | No | Yes |
| Colors Available | Black or White | Red, White, or Blue |
| ? | Read the Review | Read the Review |
HTC revamped its Sense UI to include BlinkFeed, which fills your home screen with new updates automatically using a Flipboard-like series of tiles. Otherwise, the HTC One runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Samsung's Galaxy S III also runs a heavily skinned version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, though Samsung's TouchWiz UI looks a lot different, and has more dedicated apps for improving specific functions. Both phones should have little problem running any of the 700,000+ apps in Google Play.
The HTC One features a pair of Beats Audio-enhanced stereo speakers bracketing the screen, along with dual-membrane microphones. The Galaxy S III is known for its excellent voice quality, thanks in part to Samsung's custom EQ tuning, but music doesn't sound all that great coming out of its mono speaker.
The Galaxy S III's 8-megapixel rear-facing camera is excellent, and gives the iPhone 5's class-leading 8-megapixel shooter a run for the money. But the HTC One includes what it calls an UltraPixel camera?four, to be precise?that emphasizes larger, fewer pixels that capture more light, and therefore offer more detail and less noise than before. We'll know for sure once we conduct our own tests. The HTC One also offers more internal storage, and an ever-so-slightly better front-facing camera, at least on paper.
HTC said the One will be available across 185 carriers globally beginning in March, but for the U.S., the number is three: AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. That pales in comparison to the Galaxy S III, which is about as ubiquitous a smartphone as they come. In addition to those three carriers, you can also get the Galaxy S III on Verizon, MetroPCS, and U.S. Cellular.
In short, the HTC One looks like it will claim the mantle of best Android phone on the market, but we won't know for sure until we test it. But with the rumored Samsung Galaxy S IV just around the corner, it's easily possible Samsung will maintain its position as the top-selling smartphone vendor. Which one do you like more? Let us know in the comments section below.
For more, check out PCMag's Hands On With the HTC One and the slideshow above, as well as our spec comparison between the HTC One and iPhone 5 and Is HTC's One a Samsung Killer?
Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2415688,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05039TX1K0000762
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Friday, February 22, 2013
Defense attorney says unschooled Calif. mayor couldn't know salary was illegal
LOS ANGELES - The unschooled and illiterate former mayor of the scandal-ridden suburban city of Bell had no training that would have alerted him that his huge salary was illegal, his lawyer told a jury in closing arguments Thursday.
Former Mayor Oscar Hernandez didn't have a college or high school degree and didn't even finish elementary school, defense attorney Stanley Friedmand said.
Hernandez is among six former Bell city officials on trial for allegedly misappropriating funds. He was earning just under $100,000 a year for the part-time job.
Friedman argued that financial advisers hired by the city could have informed Hernandez that salaries being paid to council members were illegal, but no one did that.
"They didn't say, `Stop in the name of the law. These salaries are illegal,'" he said.
Hernandez was known around town for having a big heart and being willing to listen to everyone's problems, and like many other politicians of simple backgrounds, he wasn't required to be scholarly to be mayor, the lawyer said.
"We elect people who have a good heart. Someone who can listen to your problems and look you in the eye," Friedman said. "There are a lot of elected officials who may not be the most scholarly. We had a vice president of the United States who didn't know how to spell potato."
Friedman said former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's main qualification was "he portrayed a killer robot in the movies. And (former Minnesota Gov.) Jesse Ventura was a professional wrestler."
In prosecutors' closing arguments on Wednesday, they said the six officials facing charges of misappropriating funds felt they were above the law and collected paychecks for jobs that didn't exist.
Legally, the officials could have paid themselves $673 a month for what was a part-time job, since they didn't actually run the city, Deputy District Attorney Ed Miller said. But in addition to their inflated council salaries, the officials appointed each other to commissions that did nothing and often met yearly just to increase their pay, he said.
In the midst of a national economic meltdown, the council members were drawing salaries 3 1/2 times that of the median income of a resident in the blue-collar town, he said.
If convicted of various counts of misappropriation of funds, they could face sentences ranging from 11 to 20 years.
Later Wednesday, lawyers for two other former officials claimed their clients were victims of a city attorney who never told them what they were doing might be illegal. Lawyers for the other three defendants ? former council members George Mirabal, Victor Bello and Luis Artiga ? were to present closing arguments later Thursday.
After disclosure of the scandal in 2010, Bell residents revolted and turned out in the thousands to protest at City Council meetings. They ultimately staged a successful recall election in 2011, throwing out the entire council and electing a slate of new leaders.
An audit by the state controller's office determined Bell had illegally raised property taxes, business license fees and other sources of revenue to pay the salaries and ordered the money repaid.
Former city manager Robert Rizzo and his assistant city manager, Angela Spazzio, face a trial later in the year.
Source: http://www.startribune.com/nation/192319671.html
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