Shrubs lend insight into a glacier's past

ScienceDaily (Nov. 26, 2012) ? The stems of shrubs have given researchers a window into a glacier's past, potentially allowing them to more accurately assess how they're set to change in the future.

Their findings have been published 27 November in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, and show how a glacier's history of melting can be extended way past the instrumental record.

Much like the rings on a tree stump indicate how old it is, measuring the width of rings on the stem of a shrub can give a good indication of how well it has grown year on year. Under extreme environmental conditions, such as those close to a glacier, a shrub's growth relies heavily on summer temperatures, meaning the ring-width of a shrub can be used a proxy for glacial melting, which also relies heavily on summer temperatures.

Lead author of the study, Allan Buras, said: "In warm summers, shrubs grow more compared to cold summers. In contrast, a glacier's summer mass balance is more negative in warm summers, meaning there is more melting compared to cold summers.

"Big rings in shrubs therefore indicate comparably warm summers, and thus a strongly negative summer mass balance -- in other words, more melting."

The researchers, from the University of Greifswald, tested this theory on a local icecap in the Scandic Mountains of southern Norway. They took 24 samples of shrubs from a site close to the glacier and analysed their ring-widths.

Monthly precipitation and temperature data from a local climate station were retrieved from the Norwegian Meteorological Office, and the summer mass balance of the glacier, from 1963 to 2010, was retrieved from the existing literature.

Each of these data sets was then statistically tested to see if there was a correlation between them. The results showed a robust and reliable correlation between the ring-width of shrubs and the summer melting of the glacier.

"Our results show that it is possible to reconstruct glacier summer mass balance with shrub ring-width series and it is therefore theoretically possible to extent records of summer mass balance into the past," Buras continued.

The shrubs that were collected in the study were relatively young, only allowing for reliable reconstructions over the past 36 years, meaning they could not be used to extend the record of the glacier; however, the researchers are confident that this could have been achieved if longer-lived shrubs were selected.

Most of the available data on the mass balance of glaciers only spans several decades and there is some data missing, mainly because most glaciers are situated in hard-to-reach arctic and alpine areas.

With the possibility to extend the instrumental records of summer mass balance, researchers may gain a better understanding of how glaciers behave in the summer, which they can use to calibrate and verify their existing models.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Institute of Physics.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Allan Buras, Martin Hallinger, Martin Wilmking. Can shrubs help to reconstruct historical glacier retreats? Environmental Research Letters, 2012; 7 (4): 044031 DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/7/4/044031

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/~3/OBMn89C92Ik/121126192759.htm

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Protein injection points to muscular dystrophy treatment

Public release date: 27-Nov-2012
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Contact: Paddy Moore
padmoore@ohri.ca
613-737-8899 x73687
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

November 27, 2012 Ottawa Scientists have discovered that injecting a novel human protein into muscle affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy significantly increases its size and strength, findings that could lead to a therapy akin to the use of insulin by diabetics. These results were published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Dr. Julia von Maltzahn and Dr. Michael Rudnicki, the Ottawa scientist who discovered muscle stem cells in adults.

"This is an unprecedented and dramatic restoration in muscle strength," says Dr. Rudnicki, a senior scientist and director for the Regenerative Medicine Program and Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. He is also a Canada Research Chair in Molecular Genetics and professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa.

"We know from our previous work that this protein, called Wnt7a, promotes the growth and repair of healthy muscle tissue. In this study we show the same types of improvement in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. We found that Wnt7a injections increased muscle strength almost two-fold, to nearly normal levels. We also found that the size of the muscle fibre increased and there was less muscle damage, compared to mice not given Wnt7a."

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a genetic disorder that affects one of every 3,500 newborn males. In Canada, all types of muscular dystrophy affect more than 50,000 people. The disease often progresses to a state where the muscles are so depleted that the person dies due to an inability to breath. For people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, this usually happens in their 20s or 30s.

"This is also exciting because we think it's a therapeutic approach that could apply to other muscle-wasting diseases," says Dr. Rudnicki.

Dr. Rudnicki's lab is a world leader in research on muscle stem cells. They have contributed significantly to our understanding of how these cells work at the molecular level. This basic research, which takes place in OHRI's multidisciplinary environment of collaboration with clinicians, led to the identification of Wnt7a as a promising candidate to help people with this muscle wasting disease.

Biotechnology partner, Fate Therapeutics is currently developing Wnt7a-based therapeutic candidates for treatment of muscular dystrophy and atrophy. Preclinical assessments are ongoing and the company plans to initiate clinical trials in the near future.

###

The full article, "Wnt7a treatment ameliorates muscular dystrophy," is available online ahead of print through the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences site.

This research was supported by the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Institutes of Health, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Fate Therapeutics and the Canada Research Chair Program. All research at OHRI is also supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.

Media Contact
Paddy Moore
Manager, Communications and Public Relations,
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
613-798-5555 ext. 73687
613-794-6912 (cell)
padmoore@ohri.ca

Nomie Duval
Media Relations Officer
University of Ottawa
613-562-5800 x2981
613-863-7221 (cell)
neomie.duval@uOttawa.ca

About the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI)

The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) is the research arm of The Ottawa Hospital and is an affiliated institute of the University of Ottawa, closely associated with the university's Faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences. OHRI includes more than 1,700 scientists, clinical investigators, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and staff conducting research to improve the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease. Research at OHRI is supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation. www.ohri.ca

About the University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is committed to research excellence and encourages an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge creation, which attracts the best academic talent from across Canada and around the world. It is an important stakeholder in the National Capital Region's economic development.

---

[ | 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: 27-Nov-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Paddy Moore
padmoore@ohri.ca
613-737-8899 x73687
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

November 27, 2012 Ottawa Scientists have discovered that injecting a novel human protein into muscle affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy significantly increases its size and strength, findings that could lead to a therapy akin to the use of insulin by diabetics. These results were published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Dr. Julia von Maltzahn and Dr. Michael Rudnicki, the Ottawa scientist who discovered muscle stem cells in adults.

"This is an unprecedented and dramatic restoration in muscle strength," says Dr. Rudnicki, a senior scientist and director for the Regenerative Medicine Program and Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. He is also a Canada Research Chair in Molecular Genetics and professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa.

"We know from our previous work that this protein, called Wnt7a, promotes the growth and repair of healthy muscle tissue. In this study we show the same types of improvement in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. We found that Wnt7a injections increased muscle strength almost two-fold, to nearly normal levels. We also found that the size of the muscle fibre increased and there was less muscle damage, compared to mice not given Wnt7a."

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a genetic disorder that affects one of every 3,500 newborn males. In Canada, all types of muscular dystrophy affect more than 50,000 people. The disease often progresses to a state where the muscles are so depleted that the person dies due to an inability to breath. For people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, this usually happens in their 20s or 30s.

"This is also exciting because we think it's a therapeutic approach that could apply to other muscle-wasting diseases," says Dr. Rudnicki.

Dr. Rudnicki's lab is a world leader in research on muscle stem cells. They have contributed significantly to our understanding of how these cells work at the molecular level. This basic research, which takes place in OHRI's multidisciplinary environment of collaboration with clinicians, led to the identification of Wnt7a as a promising candidate to help people with this muscle wasting disease.

Biotechnology partner, Fate Therapeutics is currently developing Wnt7a-based therapeutic candidates for treatment of muscular dystrophy and atrophy. Preclinical assessments are ongoing and the company plans to initiate clinical trials in the near future.

###

The full article, "Wnt7a treatment ameliorates muscular dystrophy," is available online ahead of print through the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences site.

This research was supported by the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Institutes of Health, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Fate Therapeutics and the Canada Research Chair Program. All research at OHRI is also supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.

Media Contact
Paddy Moore
Manager, Communications and Public Relations,
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
613-798-5555 ext. 73687
613-794-6912 (cell)
padmoore@ohri.ca

Nomie Duval
Media Relations Officer
University of Ottawa
613-562-5800 x2981
613-863-7221 (cell)
neomie.duval@uOttawa.ca

About the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI)

The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) is the research arm of The Ottawa Hospital and is an affiliated institute of the University of Ottawa, closely associated with the university's Faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences. OHRI includes more than 1,700 scientists, clinical investigators, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and staff conducting research to improve the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease. Research at OHRI is supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation. www.ohri.ca

About the University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is committed to research excellence and encourages an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge creation, which attracts the best academic talent from across Canada and around the world. It is an important stakeholder in the National Capital Region's economic development.

---

[ | 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/2012-11/ohri-pip112612.php

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Video: Touching on Tablet Wars

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/49968752/

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Egypt's stock market tumbles after Morsi's decree

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's benchmark stock index plunged by nearly 10 percent Sunday in the first trading session since the country's Islamist president issued decrees to assume sweeping new powers, while police in central Cairo fired tear gas at protesters who accuse the Egyptian leader of a blatant power grab.

President Mohammed Morsi's edicts, which were announced on Thursday, place him above oversight of any kind, including that of the courts. The move has thrown Egypt's already troubled transition to democracy into further turmoil, sparking angry protests across the country to demand the decrees be immediately rescinded.

The judiciary, which was the main target of Morsi's edicts, has pushed back. Judges and prosecutors stayed away from several courts in Cairo and across much of the country.

The nation's highest judicial body called on judges and prosecutors to return to work and announced that its members would meet with Mosri on Monday to try to persuade him to restrict immunity to major state decisions like declaring war or martial law.

With the opening bell of the country's stock market on Sunday, the first day of the workweek in Egypt, the turmoil spread from the country's bitter politics to its already ailing economy. The Egyptian Exchange's EGX30 index dropped 9.59 percentage points, making the losses among the biggest since the turbulent days and weeks immediately after the ouster in a popular uprising of authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak last year.

The loss in the value of shares was estimated at close to $5 billion.

Morsi, who narrowly won the presidency in June, says his measures were designed to "protect the revolution," but they triggered an uproar among non-Islamist political groups now vowing to press on with street protests to force him to back down.

Late Sunday, Morsi's office issued an English-language statement defending his decrees, repeating the argument he used when addressing supporters Friday outside his Cairo palace that the measures were designed to bolster the country's transition to democratic rule and dismantle Mubarak's old regime.

"The presidency reiterates the temporary nature of the said measures, which are not meant to concentrate powers," it said. The statement also pledged Morsi's commitment to engaging all political forces in drafting a new constitution. Secular and Christian members withdrew from the panel drafting the document, claiming that the Islamists who dominate the body have hijacked the process to produce a charter with an Islamist slant.

Prominent Egyptian democracy advocate Mohammed ElBaradei warned Saturday of increasing turmoil that could potentially lead to the military stepping in unless Morsi rescinds his new powers, as the country's long fragmented opposition sought to unite and rally new protests.

Egypt's liberal and secular forces ? long divided, weakened and uncertain amid the rise of Islamist parties to power ? are seeking to rally themselves in response to the decrees.

On Sunday, protesters clashed with police in Cairo's Tahrir square, birthplace of the uprising that toppled Mubarak, and in the side streets and avenues leading off the plaza. The Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the police, said 267 protesters have been arrested and 164 policemen injured since the unrest began a week ago, initially to mark the anniversary of street protests a year ago against the nation's then-military rulers. Forty-two protesters were killed in those demonstrations.

The ministry did not say how many protesters were injured in the latest clashes, but security officials put the figure at 260. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

Several dozen protesters are staging a sit-in in Tahrir, vowing not to leave before Morsi rescinds his decrees. The two sides have called for massive rival protests on Tuesday at two Cairo locations less than a mile apart, raising the possibility of renewed clashes between supporters and opponents of Morsi.

In the latest sign of the unrest sweeping the country, suspected militants blew up a military installation under construction in the central Sinai Peninsula area of al-Qaseema early Sunday, wounding three workers, according to security officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

It was the second blast to target a military building in Sinai in as many days. On Saturday, another border guard structure under construction was blown up in Rafah, close to the Israeli border.

Nobody claimed responsibility for either attack, but authorities have been battling al-Qaida-inspired militants in Sinai who have stepped up attacks against Egyptian security forces, and even on occasion staged cross-border raids targeting Israelis.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-stock-market-tumbles-morsis-decree-135821153--finance.html

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Arafat body to be exhumed on Tuesday in murder inquiry

RAMALLAH (Reuters) - The body of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will be exhumed on Tuesday, eight years after his death, in an investigation to establish if he was murdered, a Palestinian official said on Saturday.

A French court opened a murder inquiry in August into Arafat's death in Paris after a Swiss institute said it had discovered high levels of radioactive polonium on his clothing, which was supplied by his widow, Suha.

Tawfiq al-Tirawi, in charge of the Palestinian committee overseeing the investigation, told reporters in Ramallah on Saturday "it is a painful necessity" to exhume the body of Arafat, who came to symbolize the Palestinian quest for statehood throughout decades of war and peace with Israel.

Tirawi said the Palestinians had "evidence which suggests Arafat was assassinated by Israelis". Israel denies any involvement.

The exhumation and renewed allegations of Israeli involvement could stir further tension between the Palestinians and Israel, which are observing a truce after a week of fierce fighting in Gaza.

Any positive results for polonium could rekindle Palestinian hostility toward Israel and suspicions that a local collaborator may have poisoned him under directions from the Jewish state.

Allegations of foul play have long surrounded Arafat's demise. He died in a Paris hospital in November 2004, a month after being flown, seriously ill, from his headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

French doctors who treated him in his final days said they could not establish the cause of death, and no autopsy was performed in deference to his widow's request at the time, when Arafat died at 75.

Eight years is considered a limit to detect any traces of the deadly radioactive substance, according to the Swiss Institute of Radiation Physics.

Tirawi said Arafat's body would be exhumed from its limestone mausoleum in Ramallah, away from the public or media presence, and separate samples will be taken by the French and Swiss forensic teams, as well as a Russian team of experts, who the Palestinians invited to help with the examination.

After the investigation "the body of leader Abu Ammar will be returned (reburied) in a military ceremony that is befitting him as a leader of the Palestinian people", Tirawi said, using Arafat's non de guerre.

Tirawi said results could take up to several months to be announced.

(Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/arafat-body-exhumed-tuesday-murder-inquiry-132714542.html

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rugger megalithic: ohinalbertxy: Health-and-Fitness:Diseases-STDs

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Rejected Beatles audition tape appears at auction

LONDON (Reuters) - The Beatles audition tape rejected by a record label executive in arguably the biggest blunder in pop history has resurfaced and will go on sale at a London auction next week.

Ted Owen of The Fame Bureau, an auction house specializing in pop memorabilia, said the 10-song tape was recorded on New Year's Day, 1962, at label Decca's studios in north London.

Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Pete Best - who would later be replaced on drums by Ringo Starr - performed up to 15 songs at the session, 10 of which appear on the tape to be sold on November 27.

The band members had been driven from Liverpool to London the night before, and, despite getting lost on the way managed to get to the studios in time for the infamous session paid for by their manager Brian Epstein.

Decca's senior A&R (artists and repertoire) representative Dick Rowe, who later became known as "the man who turned down the Beatles", decided against signing them in favor of Brian Poole & The Tremeloes who also auditioned that day.

"Guitar groups are on their way out, Mr. Epstein," he is widely quoted as saying.

Rowe did, however, sign the Rolling Stones, who went on to become one of the biggest acts in British rock, and experts dispute whether it was him or a more junior colleague who passed the Beatles over.

There are bootleg versions of the session in existence, but the "safety master", or back-up tape, on offer at auction is unique, Owen said.

"The most important thing about this is the quality," he told Reuters. "There are bootlegs out there, horrible bootlegs -- some are at the wrong speed, others are crackily and taken from a cassette off an acetate (disc).

"This quality we have never heard."

Despite its rarity, the tape has been estimated to fetch 18-20,000 pounds ($29-32,000), which Owen said had been set by the owner and was a "sensible" starting point.

He added that only a handful of collectors were likely to bid for the piece of pop history, and, given that the Beatles own the copyright through their company, a commercial record release based on the tape was extremely unlikely.

Marked as the "Silver Beatles", which the "Fab Four" were briefly called, the tape comes with a hand-written track list and black-and-white photograph of the musicians posing in leather jackets that would be been used for the record sleeve.

Also on offer at the Popular Culture auction is a guitar used by Jimi Hendrix to play the bulk of his breakthrough set at the Monterey festival in California in 1967. The black Fender Stratocaster is expected to fetch 120-180,000 pounds.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rejected-beatles-audition-tape-appears-auction-133342040.html

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Paper Mario: Sticker Star Review | Video Game Blog, Video Games ...

Genre: Role Playing Game

Platform: 3DS

Developer: Intelligent Systems

Publisher: Nintendo

Released: November 11th 2012

Among all the games starring Mario, the Paper Mario series is one of the most unique not only for Nintendo, but in console gaming, not only for its peculiar presentation but also for how the games are played, often taking advantage of the paper-thin appearance to create original gameplay mechanics. Developer Intelligent Systems has always managed to make every game a fresh experience, sticking to some basic elements and constantly expanding them with a new take in each and every game. Did Intelligent Systems once again deliver or is the 3DS entry of the series as thin as its characters?

Stickers in the Mushroom Kingdom

Paper Mario: Sticker Star is a Mario game so you can probably guess the general premise: Peach gets kidnapped. Again. Bowser is certainly to commend for his dedication, even though his evil plans always get thwarted by our beloved plumber. ?This time, together with taking Peach away from the annual Sticker Fest in the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser steals the Sticker Comet that passes over the Kingdom every year, scattering its fragments all over the world. ?The ?Stickers? spin on the usual Mario plot is used to justify the main objective of the game: gathering stickers!
Like in the other Paper Mario games, the plot is simply hilarious, full of comical moments, references to previous entries and small easter eggs with an excellent writing.
Funny times also come from the characters and objects behaviors which underline the fact that they?re made of papers: koopas fold before getting into their shells, blocks get divided into 6 pieces when hit by Mario?s hammer and so on. All the quirks of the series are present in Sticker Star and they look as great as they did before: it?s like one of those child?s book getting beautifully animated. And thanks to the 3DS capabilities the paper effect looks better than ever: I don?t usually have the 3D slider to the max when playing 3DS games but in Sticker Star it was right at the max for the whole time. Music wise, the game doesn?t stray far from the usual Mario tunes: they serve their purpose well and are quite catchy, if not somewhat generic sometimes.

Collector?s mania

Stickers have a central role during gameplay in both exploration and combat phases. The game plays like the other Paper Mario games: the game is divided into stages, each containing a fragment of the comet, usually obtained after a boss battle. While traveling players will have to solve puzzle and riddles with the help of the stickers and engage the usual array of Mario?s enemies like Goombas, Koopas and so on. The Battle system goes back to the roots of the first Paper Mario games: gone is the real time system used in Super Paper Mario. The way the game sets itself apart from the old games is the total absence of RPG management mechanics: no experience points, no stats, no leveling. The battles are fought through the use of stickers: each sticker can only be used a single time and once activated you?ll be able to use one of the many abilities like jumping, using the hammer, throwing fireballs and so on. Without experience points, gold coins become one of the most important things in the game since they?re used to buy new stickers and even to trigger a special slot machine which allows for extra attacks during the same turn.
Performing the attacks follows the tried Mario RPGs formula in having to press buttons at the right time for increased damage and it?s something that keeps the player engaged even during common encounters, avoiding the typical boredom coming from standard turn based battle systems. ?The new system, however, has some flaws: there?s no real reason to fight common enemies since the golden coin rewards is usually really modest and you have to save stickers as much as you can. Unfortunately, this isn?t the only balancing problem in the game.

Look, scissors on the grass fields!

Even though the colorful presentation seems aimed at attracting all kinds of gamers, Sticker Star is not the most accessible game you can find: there?s almost no in-game explanation on how the game mechanics work. It?s up to the player understanding how battle and puzzle solving works and a newcomer may feel a bit confused in the beginning. It?s right during puzzle solving moments that the game shows some more problems: most of the times they?re tied to the new ability to create items by applying stickers. The main problem is that these stickers are scattered all over the world for no logical reason: you may reach a puzzle that needs a specific sticker to be solved and this sticker could be hidden in a totally different stage!? It?s simply frustrating sometimes and it?s an useless gimmick to lengthen the game time; also the puzzles are simply boring because you have to use that specific sticker for that specific puzzles: they could have required more creativity to solve but Intelligent Systems opted for a more ?on rails? approach.
The same can be said about boss battles: most of the times they require a very specific strategy to be beaten, a strategy requiring another particular sticker! This trial and error approach only manages to make everything more frustrating and it?s a real shame because everything else in the game is simply well crafted and enjoyable, so much that players will be easily inclined to forgive and forget these balancing problems.

Final Thoughts

Paper Mario: Sticker Star is a good entry of the series: I found the game better than Super Paper Mario but still not as good as Paper Mario: The Thousand Years Door which is my favorite Paper Mario game. It?s a charming game that makes the presentation and a simple yet fun storytelling its best features. A more balanced gameplay would have made it quite a bit better experience; still Intelligent System truly deserves praise for trying a new direction which just needs a few more tweaks to be really flawless. Paper Mario fans will really like Sticker Star since it has everything that makes Paper Mario games fun; newcomers may feel a little confused at first for the lack of tutorials and explanations but once they grasp everything, they?re gonna have love the game as well

PROS

• Great presentation
• Great 3D effect
• Simple story with excellent execution and pacing
• Great writing
• Good game length

CONS

• Lacking in-game explanations
• Too much trial and error in boss battles
• Sometimes frustrating puzzles
• Sudden difficulty spikes

Rating:??

7.5 out of 10

Article from Gamersyndrome.com

Related posts:

1. Paper Mario: Sticker Star new trailer unveiled
2. Paper Mario Pop-Up Diner Will Celebrate Sticker Star?s Release
3. Win a 3DS XL, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Trophy and More in Nintendo Competition
4. Further Details on Paper Mario Sticker Star Emerge
5. New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Review

Source: http://gamersyndrome.com/2012/videogame-reviews/paper-mario-sticker-star-review/

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When conservation goes genomics: Finding needles in a haystack

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Studying the genetic variability of endangered species is becoming increasingly necessary for species conservation and monitoring. But, endangered species are difficult to observe and sample, and typically harbour very limited genetic diversity. Until now, the process of finding genetic markers was time consuming and quite expensive. These obstacles make the collection of genetic data from endangered animals a difficult task to fulfill. A research team led by Loun?s Chikhi, group leader at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci?ncia (IGC) and CNRS researcher, has now contributed to change the odds when looking for diversity. Taking advantage of cutting edge DNA sequencing methodology and the collaborations with the Sabah Wildlife Department in Malaysia, Rachel O'Neill's laboratory and a private company, they were able to identify the genetic markers for the Bornean elephant, an endangered species, using blood from very few animals. The results showed that Bornean elephants have very low genetic variability that can impact on their survival to a threatened habitat, but that variable genetic markers can still be identified. The study now published in the journal PLOS ONE*, besides contributing to the conservation of the Bornean elephant, opens new avenues for the conservation of other endangered species.

The Bornean elephant is a unique subspecies of the Asian elephant, with a quite distinct morphology and behavior. They are generally smaller than other elephants, with straight tusks and a long tail. Currently, there are around 2000 individuals, located only in the North of Borneo. It remains unknown how this population of elephants evolved to become so different and why its distribution is so restricted.

Despite being one of the highest priority populations for Asian elephant conservation, until now there were limited genetic tools available to study its genetic variability and none that had been specifically designed for this species. Now, in the work conducted by Reeta Sharma, a Post-Doctoral fellow in Loun?s Chikhi's group, for the first time DNA sequences that characterize the genome of the Bornean elephants, called genetic markers, were identified. The research team used two different DNA sequencing technologies that are fast and increasingly cheaper. This kind of technology has been used for common laboratory species such as mice and fruit-flies, but they are only now starting to be used on endangered and "non-model" species.

Until now, in order to determine whether the species still harboured sufficient genetic diversity it was necessary to look through huge regions of the genome, using classical genetics methodologies, or use markers developed for other species, with varying levels of success. This approach can become unsustainable for the endangered species, whose numbers have gone bellow a certain size for long time. The only study that previously had tried to analyse Bornean elephants, using genetic markers developed for other Asian elephants had found nearly no genetic diversity. The work now developed demonstrates that if the methodology can be applied to the Bornean elephant, it should be possible to find the needles we need, and not get stuck with the hay, i.e., to find variable genetic markers in many other species.

The DNA analysis done resulted from blood samples collected only from seven Bornean elephants from the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park (Sabah, Malaysia) and from Chendra, the star elephant of Oregon zoo (Portland, USA). But, the research team is confident that these DNA sequencing methods can be used to type genetically other biological samples, such as hair or faeces, easier to obtain from wild animals, even though blood or tissue samples are still necessary to identify the markers during the first steps.

Reeta Sharma, first author of this work, says: 'The methodology applied to identify the genetic markers for the Bornean elephant can be used in the future for studies on the genetic variability of other species or populations facing the risk of extinction.'

The Bornean elephants live in an environment where natural habitats disappear quickly, due to oil palm plantations and populations get isolated from each other. Having access to variable genetic markers will be crucial to identify populations that are isolated and genetically depauperate, and monitor them in the future.

The origin of these elephants in Borneo raises controversy that has been long discussed. The only study done on the basis of genetic data concluded that they had been present in Borneo for more than 300,000 years. This theory does not satisfy all researchers as there is lack of elephant fossils in Borneo to support it. Another theory is that the sultan of Java sent Javan elephants as a gift to the sultan of Sulu, who would have introduced them to Borneo.Lounes Chikhi suggests: 'The new genetic markers that we found may also allow us to unravel the mystery of the origin of these elephants in Borneo, and perhaps reconstruct part of their demographic history. This is very exciting '.

###

* Sharma R, Goossens B, Kun-Rodrigues C, Teixeira T, Othman N, Boone JQ, Jue NK, Obergfell C, O'Neill RJ and Chikhi L (2012) Two Different High Throughput Sequencing Approaches Identify Thousands of De Novo Genomic Markers for the Genetically Depleted Bornean Elephant. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49533. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049533

Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia: http://www.igc.gulbenkian.pt

Thanks to Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia 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.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125438/When_conservation_goes_genomics__Finding_needles_in_a_haystack

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The Road Map To A Happy Marriage | JewishPress

Published: November 22nd, 2012

You are currently on page: 1 2 All Pages

Creating direction in a marriage is similar to going on a long journey. To get to where you want to go, you need to have a plan that includes directions, supplies and the ability to navigate along the way. You will also have to be prepared for many possible factors that may interfere with your trip, including wind, rain, unpredictable mechanical breakdown and human error. Most importantly you will need a map to guide and help reorient you in case you lose your way.

Many couples who seek my advice are simply lacking the guidance of a relationship road map.

Take Shmuel, 25 and Rivky, 23. They came to speak with me about the lack of excitement and enthusiasm in their marriage. They had only been married for about six months, but were already feeling as if they were traveling down a bumpy road to an unknown destination.

From the outset they looked like the perfect couple ? well-dressed, articulate and extremely well-educated. All of the excitement surrounding their engagement period and wedding had just about ended. Now, in their sixth month of marriage, they were feeling unequipped to deal with each other?s emotional needs. They were constantly bickering about the small things ? like garbage collection, cooking dinner and cleaning up around the house.

Marriage wasn?t supposed to be so hard. Unable to cope, they started to withdraw from one another, instead of working together to solve their problems. It?s important to note that these were two healthy individuals who had the potential to have a great marriage, but they were lacking a roadmap or emotional GPS that could guide them on how to communicate and gain greater understanding of one another.

This couple?s relationship was clearly going off course. They needed guidance to stay focused on their destination.

To make their job easier, I suggested that they follow an emotional road map based upon what I call ?The Four C?s of Relationship Theory: Connection, Control, Communication, and Conflict Resolution.? Together, they provide a clear guide to help couples evaluate where their relationship is going, and where and how to make changes if necessary.

Imagine, for example, if Shmuel and Rivky could read each other?s minds and understand what makes the other happy or sad, or scared and the way each wants to be cared for.

The Four C?s help couples see the bigger picture, and then make a distinction between the areas that demand attention, and those matters that are superficial and should not be the focus of their relationship. For example, you may find yourself arguing over small things like washing the dishes or doing the laundry. You may also be feeling as if your spouse is overly controlling and denies your feelings. Or, you may feel the two of you are drifting apart and aren?t as connected as you used to be. If so, should you try to be more assertive? Or should you learn more about you spouse?s inner world, increase the amount of quality time you spend together, and carefully work through their issues with them? A look at the Four C?s should provide an answer.

The following chart summarizes the principles of Relationship Theory.

?

The First ?C?: Connecting to
Your Spouse?s Inner World

Learning about the total person you are married to is one of the main goals of marriage. As a therapist, I help couples explore both sides of their personalities ? their external behavioral characteristics as well as their inner emotional worlds.

It?s important to note, that as human beings, we live in two distinct emotional worlds: an outer world and an inner world. The outer world is merely a fa?ade, a layer which covers up our deeper and unseen emotions. The inner world, however, is the place that holds the key to understanding what makes people tick. Regrettably, many husbands and wives never learn about the complex and delicate issues in the other?s inner world; each relates only to the other?s outer or external side of their personality.

How in touch are you with your spouse?s inner world? Listed below are common negative behaviors that are based upon underlying ?inner? world emotions. Take a few moments to evaluate your awareness of these issues.

Continue reading: 1 2 All Pages

About the Author: Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch, MA, is an expert in marriage, pre-marriage education, and working with teenagers at risk. He is the executive director of Shalom Task Force and maintains a private practice in Brooklyn. For an appointment or to watch his free video series on marriage and parenting, visit www.JewishMarriageSupport.com call 646-428-4723 or email: rabbischonbuch@yahoo.com. For more information visit www.shalomtaskforce.org or call the hotline at 1-888-883-2323.

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Source: http://www.jewishpress.com/sections/family/marriage-relationships/the-road-map-to-a-happy-marriage-2/2012/11/22/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-road-map-to-a-happy-marriage-2

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Kaspersky: Best IT Security Defense Is Paranoia

Most end users are relatively secure behind their corporate firewalls or in their homes. But when they travel they usually wind up connecting systems to networks that are not trusted and all kinds of bad things can easily start to happen.

According to Kaspersky Lab CEO Eugene Kaspersky, the best IT security defense is paranoia. Kaspersky says that not only does he personally go to great lengths to make sure there is no valuable information with the systems he connects to an untrusted network, he makes certain that when he surfs the Web he always connects to his company?s virtual private network. In fact, while using networks at hotels may be unavoidable, Kaspersky says that end users should stay out of business centers at all costs, and if they do wind up in a business center, save files to a USB drive and be prepared to throw it away.

Kaspersky says that IT security has become much more complex in the wake of the recent rise in both cyber espionage and cyber terrorism. The emergence of a black market for data is also contributing to a growing sophistication in attacks that are now aimed at specific companies, applications and people, says Kaspersky. In fact, Kaspersky says that while individuals can protect themselves to a certain degree, there is no such thing as a company secret or individual privacy on the Internet anymore.

On a more positive note, Kaspersky notes that governments around the world are getting savvier about IT security issues. As a result, he expects to see a lot more cooperation between governments to limit criminal activity, even to the point where nations come together to ban cyber weapons in much the same way they banned nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. After all, Kaspersky says cyber weapons such as Stuxnet are not only more dangerous in terms of how easily they can be used to compromise critical IT infrastructure, but they are even more unpredictable. That may not prevent independent groups from employing these weapons or governments from using cyber-espionage technologies on their own citizens, but Kaspersky says it would be a step in the right direction.

Kaspersky?s comments came during a promotional tour that stopped in New York today to promote a new Ferrari Edition of Kaspersky Internet Security software, which includes the ability to virtually race a Ferrari. Based on Kaspersky Internet Security 2013, the special edition is intended to highlight the importance of security performance while making greater use of automation to identify and prevent threats. For example, the software can now better detect unusual application behavior resulting in data being unknowingly exported from a device. In addition, any time a user accesses certain sites that require a transaction to occur, the Kaspersky software will automatically spin up an instance of the local browser running in safe mode.

Obviously, security issues are getting thornier with each passing day. But there are things the average individual can do to help protect their data because as the saying goes: ?Just because you?re paranoid doesn?t mean they aren?t after you.?

Source: http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/it-unmasked/kaspersky-best-it-security-defense-is-paranoia.html

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Clinton heads to Mideast amid Gaza crisis

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) ? Efforts to end a week-old convulsion of Israeli-Palestinian violence drew in the world's top diplomats on Tuesday, with President Barack Obama dispatching his secretary of state to the region on an emergency mission and the U.N. chief appealing from Cairo for an immediate cease-fire.

Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers have staked out tough, hard-to-bridge positions, and the gaps keep alive the threat of an Israeli ground invasion. On Tuesday, grieving Gazans were burying militants and civilians killed in ongoing Israeli airstrikes, and barrages of rockets from Gaza sent terrified Israelis scurrying to take cover.

From Egypt, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said he came to the region because of the "alarming situation."

"This must stop, immediate steps are needed to avoid further escalation, including a ground operation," Ban said. "Both sides must hold fire immediately ... Further escalation of the situation could put the entire region at risk."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton departed for the Mideast on Tuesday from Cambodia, where she had accompanied Obama on a visit. Clinton is to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank and Egyptian leaders in Cairo, according to U.S. and Palestinian officials.

The U.S. considers Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide and other attacks, to be a terror group and does not meet with its officials. Washington blames Hamas rocket fire for the latest eruption of violence and says Israel has the right to defend itself. At the same time, it has cautioned that a ground invasion could send casualties spiraling.

By Tuesday, 115 Palestinians, including 54 civilians, have been killed since Israel mounted an air onslaught that has so far included nearly 1,500 strikes. Some 840 people have been wounded, including 225 children, Gaza health officials said.

Three Israeli civilians have also been killed and dozens wounded since the fighting began last week, the numbers possibly kept down by a rocket-defense system Israel developed with U.S. funding. More than 1,000 rockets have been fired at Israel this week, the military said.

Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel wouldn't balk at a broader military operation.

"I prefer a diplomatic solution," Netanyahu said in a statement after meeting with Germany's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, who is also in the region trying to advance peace efforts. "But if the fire continues, we will be forced to take broader measures and will not hesitate to do so."

Successive Israeli governments have struggled to come up with an effective policy toward Hamas.

Neither Israel's economic blockade of the territory of 1.6 million people nor bruising military strikes have cowed Gaza's Islamists, weakened their grip on the coastal strip or fire rockets at the Jewish state.

An Israeli ground invasion would risk Israeli troop losses, and could send the number of Palestinian civilian casualties ballooning ? a toll Israel could be reluctant to risk just four years after its last invasion drew allegations of war crimes.

Still, with Israeli elections just two months away, polls show Israeli public sentiment has lined up staunchly behind the Netanyahu government's offensive.

Turkey's foreign minister and a delegation of Arab League foreign ministers headed to Gaza on Tuesday on a separate truce mission. Before setting off, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu signaled Turkey was in contact with Israel bout a truce ? an important development given the two countries' chilly ties.

"We would be involved in all kinds of efforts if it amounted to saving the life of a single brother from Gaza," Davutoglu said. "We are determined to keep all direct or indirect channels (of dialogue) open."

Turkey's once-close ties with Israel frayed badly over the high civilian toll during Israel's 2009 war in Gaza.

With tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers dispatched to the Gaza border, awaiting a possible order to invade, the truce missions were all the more urgent.

Egypt, the traditional mediator between Israel and the Arab world, has been at the center of recent diplomatic efforts.

Israel demands an end to rocket fire from Gaza and a halt to weapons smuggling into Gaza through tunnels under the border with Egypt. It also wants international guarantees that Hamas will not rearm or use Egypt's Sinai region, which abuts both Gaza and southern Israel, to attack Israelis.

Hamas wants Israel to halt all attacks on Gaza and lift tight restrictions on trade and movement to and from the territory imposed after Hamas seized Gaza by force in 2007. Israel has rejected such demands in the past.

Resurgent rocket fire set off the Israeli offensive, launched with the assassination of the Hamas military chief and followed by hundreds of airstrikes on militant rocket launchers and weapons stores.

The onslaught turned deadlier over the weekend, as airstrikes began targeting the homes of suspected Hamas activists, leading to a spike in civilian casualties. Israel sent warnings in some cases, witnesses said, but in other instances missiles hit suddenly, burying residents under the rubble of their homes.

Hamas is deeply rooted in densely populated Gaza, and the movement's activists live in the midst of ordinary Gazans. Israel says militants are using civilians as human shields, both for their own safety and to launch rocket strikes from residential neighborhoods.

In one case, a senior member of the military wing of Islamic Jihad rented a small apartment in a 15-story high-rise of offices and news outlets. The militant, Ramez Harb, was killed Monday in a rocket strike that damaged the building.

One journalist said he and others were furious that Harb had apparently used their building as a hideout, putting others at risk. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared repercussions from Gaza militants.

Early Tuesday, Israeli aircraft targeted another Hamas symbol of power, the headquarters of a bank senior Hamas officials set up to sidestep international sanctions on the militant group's rule. After Hamas overran Gaza, foreign lenders stopped doing business with its militant-led government, afraid of running afoul of international terror financing laws.

The inside of the bank was destroyed and a building supply business in the basement was damaged.

"I'm not involved in politics," said the business owner, Suleiman Tawil. "I'm a businessman. But the more the Israelis pressure us, the more we will support Hamas."

Israel and Gaza's militants have a long history of fighting, but the dynamics have changed radically since they last warred four years ago. Though their hardware is no match for the Israeli military, militants have upgraded their capabilities with weapons smuggled in from Iran and Libya, Israeli officials claim.

Only a few years ago, tens of thousands of Israelis were within rocket range. Today those numbers have swollen to 3.5 million, as the militants' improved weapons reached Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for the first time this past week.

Hamas, a branch of the region-wide Muslim Brotherhood, is also negotiating from a stronger position than four years ago. At that time, Hamas was internationally isolated; now, the Muslim Brotherhood is in power in Egypt and Tunisia, and Hamas is also getting political support from Qatar and Turkey.

At home, too, the military offensive has shored up Hamas at a time when it was riven by internal divisions over its direction and the new Egyptian government's refusal to lift the blockade it imposed along with Israel after Hamas seized the territory.

This newfound backing contrasts radically with the loss of stature the Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has endured as Palestinians lose faith in his ability to bring them a state through negotiations with Israel.

____

Teibel reported from Jerusalem. With contributions from Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-sends-clinton-mideast-try-end-conflict-085755653.html

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Manage Google Apps without being a user

This is a collaboratively edited question and answer site for power users of web applications. It's 100% free, no registration required.

Got a question about the site itself? meta is the place to talk about things like what questions are appropriate, what tags we should use, etc.

about ????faq ? ? meta ?

Source: http://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/35626/manage-google-apps-without-being-a-user

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Road to war? Israel steps up airstrikes, mobilizes troops along Gaza border

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Warning: Graphic image (single)

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Casualty figures mount as combatants trade fire
• Israeli troops are massing near the Gaza border, according to a CNN crew
• Israeli airstrike leveled Palestinian Cabinet headquarters in Gaza, Hamas says
• Israel Defense Forces announced it was mobilizing 30,000 troops on the border

Are you there? Share your story with CNN iReport, but please stay safe. Or read more at CNNArabic.

Near the Israel-Gaza border (CNN) -- Israel hammered the headquarters of the Hamas-run government in Gaza and rockets soared from Gaza toward Israel, including one that was blocked by a missile defense system as it headed straight to Tel Aviv.

Air raid sirens screamed in Tel Aviv, and Hamas' military wing claimed responsibility for shelling the city. But the Israel Defense Forces said its Iron Dome missile defense system blocked a Tel Aviv-bound rocket.

Earlier, Israeli warplanes leveled the Palestinian Cabinet building, where on Friday Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil met with Hamas officials. The strikes hit the office of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas Ministry of the Interior, and a police compound, Israel and Hamas said.

The conflict took a grim turn Friday after when rockets fell on Jerusalem, Israel's seat of power.

As Palestinian fighters and Israeli soldiers traded fire, Israeli troops and tanks massed near the border of the besieged Palestinian territory Saturday, raising the specter of an imminent ground invasion.

Convoys carrying tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers rolled toward the Gaza border Saturday, part of what the IDF described as 30,000 troops that were being mobilized along the Israeli-Gaza border.

The Israeli government has authorized the call up of 75,000 reservists, the latest move in Israel's days-old military campaign to stop daily rocket attacks from Gaza.

"We are in the process of expanding the campaign," Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman, told Israel's Channel 2.

Q&A: Gaza strikes could be beginning of ground attack

Leaders across the world have called on Israeli and Palestinian governing bodies to show restraint, fearing -- at a minimum -- a possible repeat of Israel's 2008 invasion that left at least 1,400 people dead.

Moussa Abu Marzouk said he and other Hamas leaders were in Cairo, meeting with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy and the country's intelligence officials to find a solution to the crisis. Arab League foreign ministers were to huddle in the Egyptian capital.

Nine people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Saturday, raising to 40 the number killed since Israel's military operation, dubbed Pillar of Defense, began Wednesday, according to Palestinian government and health officials.

More than 385 in Gaza have been wounded since Wednesday, according to the Palestinian Interior Ministry.

Israel is reporting three deaths from a Hamas rocket attack in the southern community of Kiryat Malachi. There have been at least 18 Israeli injuries, including five civilians and four Israeli soldiers wounded by rocket fire from Gaza, the military said.

More than 400 rockets have hit Israeli territory since Wednesday, the IDF said.

For days, Israel has been using airstrikes to target what it describes as rocket-launching sites operated by Hamas and other militant groups. Israel airstrikes have hit more more than 830 targets in Gaza since the operation began, the IDF said.

The constant din of drones could be heard at the border, where a CNN television crew observed an Israeli forward reconnaissance patrol set up behind a tree line to avoid incoming rockets from Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces, which describes Hamas-run Gaza as a "front-line base" for its adversary Iran, said it targeted a Hamas base in southern Gaza and two Hamas operatives on Saturday, one in charge of smuggling and an air defense official.

"Overnight, the IDF targeted a terror activity site in the central Gaza Strip, deliberately located and hidden inside a mosque, in the vicinity of a school," the IDF said, accusing Hamas of using "the Palestinian civilian population as a human shield."

It was unclear from the statement whether the mosque was targeted in the airstrike. The IDF did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment, and Palestinian officials did not identify the destruction of a mosque in its latest list of buildings and facilities damaged and destroyed in the Israeli airstrikes.

Palestinian militants, meanwhile, launched a barrage of rockets at southern Israel, including four that hit the coastal community of Ashdod, the IDF said.

One of the rockets hit a house and another landed near a kindergarten, the IDF said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Izzedine Al Qassam Briagdes said its fighters shelled Zikim military base near Ashkelon and the Israeli cities of Ashdod and Beer Sheva.

Among the airstrikes on Saturday, Hamas accused Israeli warplanes of hitting an apartment building in the northern Gaza community of Jabalia Camp, killing at least three people and wounding more than 30, according to Hamas-run al Aqsa TV.

Footage broadcast by al-Aqsa showed people clamoring over smoking ruins, searching for survivors.

From northern Gaza, Mohammed Sulaiman said he could hear bombs intermittently falling from Israeli warplanes as well as rockets periodically whistling toward Israel.

"The situation is totally dangerous here, and it is not safe to be out in the street," Sulaiman said.

iReporter captures wailing sirens warning of rockets in Jerusalem

The IDF said around 400 rockets launched from Gaza had hit Israel since midweek, while 230 of those were intercepted by its missile defense system.

Among the rockets fired Friday were two that targeted Jerusalem, setting off air raid sirens. The rockets struck an open area south of the city, with Hamas claiming responsibility for firing the rockets toward Jerusalem.

Sirens sounded, too, in Tel Aviv, prompting people to scramble for cover, witnesses said.

No damage was reported, but Israelis consider the attacks on its major population centers to be an escalation, said Israel's ambassador to the United States Michael Oren.

Israeli authorities said the military campaign has hit more than 600 targets for what it calls terror activity and stifled rocket launches out of Gaza, a claim denied by Hamas' military wing.

Photos: Deadly attacks in Gaza, Israel

So far, Israeli tank units and troops have stayed outside Gaza. But a senior U.S. administration official familiar with U.S.-Israeli talks in recent days said the United States unequivocally supports Israel's right to self-defense, but the U.S. message is for Israel not to invade Gaza.

"Escalation is what we are concerned about. We don't want it to escalate to the point where Israel feels it has to take additional action, specifically ground force action," the official said.

Chief among U.S. and European concerns is Egypt's possible reaction to an Israeli ground invasion.

"What action would Egypt take? Would they move into the Sinai?" the official said.

A large part of the concern is over the fate of the Camp David Accords, the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel that is considered critical to the region's stability.

Egypt has strengthened its relations with Hamas following the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, and Morsy sent his prime minister to meet with Hamas officials in Gaza on Friday.

Egypt's Cabinet chief, Mohamed Refa'a al-Tahtawi, said Friday the peace treaty was safe.

"But respecting a peace treaty does not mean to stay idle or indifferent to what is going on along our borders," he said.

While the United States, Britain and Germany have said Hamas bears the brunt of the blame for the current crisis, Morsy put it squarely on Israel: "Egypt will not leave Gaza alone, and what is happening there is a blatant aggression against humanity."

Israeli: 'How would you feel if your children were constantly scared?'

Tunisia, meanwhile, is the latest country to lend its voice to a growing chorus of a predominantly Arab-led denouncements of Israel's airstrikes, with Tunis sending a delegation Saturday to Gaza to reiterate its "unconditional solidarity" with the Palestinian people.

The Tunisian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem, got a first-hand look at the destroyed Palestinian Cabinet headquarters and visited the main hospital in Gaza City, according to al-Aqsa TV.

Palestinians incensed over Israel's offensive took to the streets in the West Bank, the Palestinian territory, whose government is dominated by the Fatah movement.

Four people were seriously injured in Beitanya near Ramallah when Israeli soldiers fired "high-velocity projectiles" toward demonstrators, Palestinian medical sources said. Seven others were lightly injured by rubber steel-coated bullets and tear gas inhalation, the sources said.

In the West Bank village of Bait Omar, roughly 100 of the demonstrators attempted to march out of the village but were stopped by Israeli soldiers, who fired stun grenades and tear gas.

"When we see pictures coming out of Gaza, we feel their pain. Their pain is our pain," said a protester, who identified himself only as Mohammed.

Fatah and Hamas have been fierce rivals in recent years. Fatah is more moderate on Israel than Hamas, and its leaders have engaged in peace talks with Israel over the years.

Watch: Senior Hamas member on strikes in Gaza

In Ashkelon, about 17 kilometers (10 miles) north of Gaza, local officials said on Friday that rocket strikes had increased dramatically in recent days. Such attacks are nothing new for residents accustomed to hunkering down in bunker rooms, but the emptiness of the town's marina and streets suggested the uptick had left people on edge.

"It is really frightening," Shiraz Wieselhof said. "I cannot sleep at night." Air raid sirens went off in the city on Saturday, Israeli radio reported.

Will Twitter war become the new norm?

CNN's Sara Sidner reported from Gaza City; CNN's Kindah Shair reported from Jerusalem; CNN's Fred Pleitgen reported from southern Israel; CNN's Chelsea J. Carter, Joe Sterling and Yousuf Basil reported from Atlanta; CNN's Jessica Yellin, Ben Wedeman, Amir Ahmed and Joe Vaccarello as well as journalists Per Nyberg and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy contributed to this report.

Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_mostpopular/~3/lWMUAWYvCGM/index.html

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Sony’s Smartphone Aims at iPhone, Galaxy S3

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Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/405967/20121117/sony-android-smartphone-aims-iphone-galaxy-siii.htm

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Walking with Wrist Weights: Cardio & Weight Training at the Same ...

Walking with Wrist Weights: Cardio & Weight Training at the Same Time!

One of the easiest ways to get great exercise is by walking. Walking doesn?t require too much effort or preparation, yet it provides the benefits of muscle toning, cardio, and also burns away unwanted calories. This is one exercise that does not require any equipment, however many people today are using wrist weights and have found that the benefits of walking are greatly enhanced.

People who add wrist weights to their walking routines testify that walking with them is a very simple, cheap, and convenient way of incorporating cardio and weight training at the same time. Furthermore they add that wearing these weights gives them an added challenge in their exercise. Studies have confirmed that by wearing 1 to 3 pounds of weight on your wrist while walking or doing your exercise increases your heart rate, thus increasing oxygen consumption. A significant number of calories are burned as well.

It is a known fact that walking is a simple way of burning calories. By adding resistance with the use of wrist weights, another dimension can be added to create a more effective workout. Walking doesn?t have to be about just walking anymore - it can incorporate resistance or weight training as well.

Burning calories is basically the main benefit of conventional walking, however adding weights while walking provides additional resistance, and as a result, you will burn more calories in exerting effort to walk. Regardless of how heavy the weights are on your wrist, you will definitely have to work more, thus exerting more effort and, as a result, you will definitely burn more calories as compared to when you aren?t wearing wrist weights.

Another benefit of using wrist weights when walking is the benefit of toning and strengthening your muscles. The resistance that the weights provide strengthens your muscles; using wrist weights is considered a form of strength training. With strength training, unlike typical cardio exercises, you will be able to build lean muscle mass very effectively. This is the reason why many fitness experts believe that strength training should be part of any complete exercise program.

Walking with wrist weights not only gives you the benefit of burning calories, strengthening and toning muscles, but it also provides several other mental and physical benefits. All forms of resistance training provide additional benefits such as stronger bones, increased stamina, better focus, weight loss, diabetes prevention, and relief from arthritis and back pain.

It is true and has been proven that walking with wrist weights is very effective cardio and weight training exercise. However, care must be taken in putting weights on your wrists. Fitness experts point out that weight greater than 3 pounds can pose a risk to your body. Too much weight could stress your muscles and joints, causing injuries. Performing excessive movement while wearing them can cause injury as well. For this reason, you should consult your trainer or doctor before you incorporate this method into your routine so that you can get the maximum benefit from it.

Source: http://www.healthkicker.com/769709806/walking-with-wrist-weights-cardio--weight-training-at-the-same-time/

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