Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/295606313?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, March 31, 2013
Pa. group gives helping 'paw' to displaced pets
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? After a fire broke out at Dorothy Phillips' apartment in Philadelphia, the Red Cross gave her a temporary place to stay. Unfortunately, the shelter would not accept her beloved dog, Max.
Who would care for him while she looked for a new home?
"As far as I'm concerned, he's one of my grandbabies," Phillips said.
Max is now being boarded in a kennel in a Philadelphia suburb thanks to Red Paw, an animal rescue group that has a unique partnership with the southeastern Pennsylvania chapter of the American Red Cross.
While Red Cross workers tend to human victims of residential disasters like fires, floods or building collapses, Red Paw takes care of their animals.
The nearly 2-year-old agency uses a network of volunteers, foster homes and other animal welfare groups to care for pets whose owners are struggling to rebuild their lives. Help includes veterinary care, pet supplies and temporary boarding ? all free of charge.
"We don't want to see anyone lose their pet because of something completely out of their control," Red Paw founder Jen Leary said.
Leary started the nonprofit after seeing the heartbreak and confusion of too many pet owners during her work as a city firefighter and Red Cross volunteer. Red Paw then teamed up with the local Red Cross about 18 months ago.
Before Red Paw, the Red Cross had no uniform approach to handling displaced animals ? each case depended on the location of the disaster and the available responders, Red Cross spokesman Dave Schrader said.
Red Paw is now the go-to group whenever Red Cross clients need help with their animals. It's a model that Leary hopes to replicate in other states.
Schrader called Red Paw "invaluable" in helping victims cope with catastrophes.
"Knowing that their pets will be cared for certainly reduces the trauma," he said.
According to Leary, Red Paw responded to 164 disasters last year in Philadelphia and four surrounding counties, helping nearly 300 animals ? including dogs, cats, birds, turtles, ferrets and a snake. The group relies entirely on donations.
Red Paw volunteer Kat Nania recalled going out one snowy night in January after a fire had destroyed a house in southwest Philadelphia. A cat was missing, and its owner said the feline had just birthed a litter of kittens.
Nania feared the worst when she entered the ruins of the house ? its ceiling fallen in, broken glass everywhere, the interior staircase more like a hill than steps. But there, hiding behind a mirror, was a still-pregnant Tabitha.
"She was just so frightened, she let me scoop her up and put her in the carrier," Nania said. "When I felt her pregnant belly, I was just like, 'Yes!'"
Tabitha gave birth within a day of the rescue. But she and her kittens need a permanent home now; their owner could no longer care for them and surrendered the animals to Red Paw to put up for adoption.
"The goal is always to reunite people with their pets," Leary said. "But sometimes after losing everything they had, it's hard to do that."
Red Paw aims for reunification within a month, but Leary conceded it can take much longer. The agency was able to reunite 86 families with their pets last year; an additional three dozen animals were surrendered and re-adopted.
Max, the German shepherd-pit bull mix owned by Phillips, remains in the group's care while Phillips looks for a new home. She isn't sure when she'll have one, but she calls constantly to check on her dog.
In Philadelphia, the city's animal control organization will also respond to animals left homeless by disasters, executive director Susan Cosby said. But Red Paw's capacity for crisis response is valuable because it eases the burden on her agency, which deals with more than 32,000 stray and surrendered animals per year.
"They're able to work in a far more specialized way with the animals and families that they're helping," Cosby said, later adding: "We can't do it alone. There's just too much work to be done."
___
Online:
http://www.redpawemergencyreliefteam.org
http://www.acctphilly.org
http://www.redcrossphilly.org
___
Follow Kathy Matheson at www.twitter.com/kmatheson
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pa-group-gives-helping-paw-displaced-pets-145310698.html
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SensoryEdge: 6 Fun At Home Activities That Bring The Family ...
Make Meal Together
Take time and make a meal together as a family. Ask the kids what they would like to have for dinner. Next, find a recipe for that meal, go to the grocery store and purchase the supplies. Kids are sure to enjoy making a meal with their parents as they learn new skills such as making and cooking a meal.?
Swim
Healthy bodies help lead to healthy minds. Swimming is a fantastic way to not only have fun but work your heart and muscles. There are so many games you can play in the pool that keep everyone interested. Plus all children should learn how to swim both on top and underneath the water for their safety.
Yard Work
Yard work is a fun activity for the family. Kids are empowered as they rake, weed or clean the yard. There are activities that kids of all ages can do and it helps for them to see their parents working in the yard as well. Yard work is a great teaching opportunity as kids can use various tools to make the yard look good.
Plant a Garden
Similar to yard work, take time to plant a garden or plant some flowers. Sit down as a family and determine what needs to be done in the yard. Perhaps purchasing flowers works the best. Then go to a local nursery and have the kids choose a flower or plant. When at home, have them plant the flowers with friendly help. They can spend the rest of the season caring and watering for what they planted.
Game Night
Playing a game together as a family is a terrific way from the kids and parents to have fun together. Whether it is a board, electronic or video, a game is a way for families to interact together. Kids learn about problem solving and see their parents in a different light as they compete against each other in a fun way.
Make A Photo Book
Another fun activity is to create a family photo book together. Take a digital camera and spend the day photographing each other doing a certain theme or activity like making a meal or spending time in a Bullfrog Hot Tub. Some pictures taken may be funny and silly. Other photos may be serious. Whatever the case may be, download the pictures and review them as a family. Next, get the pictures printed whether at home or at a store. With the developed pictures, create a family photo album. In the weeks and months later, the whole family can enjoy the memories made of that day.
Family activities are plentiful. They create fun and make memories that last a lifetime.
Source: http://blog.sensoryedge.com/2013/03/5-fun-at-home-activities-that-bring.html
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Saturday, March 30, 2013
Review: The Host | People's Critic: Film Reviews - seattlepi.com
Stephanie Meyer trades in vampires and werewolves for an alien invasion in The Host.
How cool would it be to see a movie that?s Twilight meets Independence Day. Really cool, except The Host is more like SYFY movie of the week meets a Hallmark teen love story.
The Host is almost flawed from the start. The movie takes place sometime in the near future where earth is invaded by Invasion of the Body Snatcher jellyfish who drive shiny cars. The film?s plot revolves around Melanie (Saoirse Ronan) who, after being captured by aliens, has her body inhabited by an alien creature named Wanderer. Melanie fights to stay alive and preserve herself, but mostly because her memories may lead the aliens to the resistance where her little brother and boyfriend (Max Irons) are living. Wanderer gains information from Melanie?s life through a series of dreams that look like deleted scenes from a Nicholas Sparks movie.
In case you?ve been keeping score at home, we?ve got one alien invasion, one resistance group, a boyfriend, a brother, one girl?s body, and two people living inside of it.
Fearing they?re both going to be killed, Wanderer and Melanie escape. Despite the poorly planned escape, they both reunite with the resistance group. Melanie can?t let anyone know she?s alive inside the Wanderer ? I?m not completely sure why ? but it does lead to Wanderer falling in love with Ian (Jake Abel). That?s right! Another Stephanie Meyer love triangle.
If you?re stills scoring at home we?ve got one body, two souls, two boyfriends, and one messy love triangle.
The love triangle lead to a few of the most ridiculous movie scenes I?ve seen in the past 24 months. Inner monologues while kissing, numerous kiss/punch combos, a tag team make out session, humans falling in love with aliens, and one painful ?I love you? speech. The mushy teen love angle is so annoying, I wanted the aliens to win just so it would stop.
Two people living inside of Melanie is where the film is fatally flawed. Director Andrew Niccol?s choice to use voiceovers to tell audiences what Melanie was thinking is bearable for the first 15 minutes her body is inhabited. After that, the constant voiceovers are annoying ? especially when you realize they will keep popping up the rest of the film.
I?ll be the first to admit that inner dialogue is tough to translate into film; it?s even tougher when the script doesn?t support it. ?The film can?t be totally blamed on the flawed premise, The Host waste opportunities to tell a compelling story and focuses on the puppy love story. If ?the movie was cut by 30 minutes and also spent a little time explaining the alien world they live in, I think the film is a lot more enjoyable.
What could be a cool concept for a sci-fi tween love story is ruined by bad dialogue and a forced love triangle. The Host doesn?t offer much, but a decent look at cool alien technology and plenty of shots of the desert.
Grade: D
Source: http://blog.seattlepi.com/peoplescritic/2013/03/28/review-the-host/
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Rematch! It's Kirk vs. Gorn in this 'Star Trek' game teaser
Captain Kirk and his infamous Gorn antagonist from the original series have it out again in this light-hearted ad for the new "Star Trek: The Video Game." Will they never bury the hatchet?
The Gorn are an alien species, reptilian and of great strength, one of which Kirk battled in an excellent demonstration of Starfleet martial superiority. It turns out Gorn aren't so great to have on your team, either, as the reprise of the match-up demonstrates.
While the game footage shown in the commercial looks like something out of the early 2000s, the ad is charming and may convince fans that "Star Trek: The Video Game" at least has its heart in the right place. The game arrives April 23 for Xbox 360 and PS3.
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.
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Friday, March 29, 2013
US consumer spending, income jump in February
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Consumers earned more and spent more in February, helped by a stronger job market that has offset some of the drag from higher taxes.
The Commerce Department said Friday that consumer spending rose 0.7 percent in February from January. It was the biggest gain in five months and followed a revised 0.4 percent rise in January, which was double the initial estimate.
Americans were able to spend more because their income rose 1.1 percent last month. That followed January's 3.7 percent plunge and December's 2.6 percent surge. The huge swings reflected a rush to pay bonuses and dividends in December before taxes increased.
After-tax income increased 1.1 percent last month.
The jump in income allowed consumers to put a little more away in February. The saving rate increased to 2.6 percent of after-tax income, up from 2.2 percent in January.
Consumers spent more at the start of the year even after paying higher taxes. An increase in Social Security taxes has reduced take-home pay for nearly all Americans receiving a paycheck. And income taxes have risen on the highest earners. The tax increases both took effect on Jan. 1.
The jump in spending and income suggests economic growth strengthened at the start of the year after nearly stalling at the end of last year. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.
Most economists predict the economy is growing at an annual rate of roughly 2.5 percent in the January-March quarter. That would be a vast improvement from the 0.4 percent growth rate in the October-December quarter, which was held back by slower company stockpiling and the sharpest defense cuts in 40 years.
Inflation, as measured by a gauge tied to consumer spending, increased 1.3 percent in February compared with a year ago. That's well below the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target, giving the central bank room to keep stimulating the economy without having to worry about price pressures.
One reason the tax increases haven't slowed the economy is companies have accelerated hiring and are slowly but steadily increasing wages.
Employers have added an average of 200,000 jobs a month since November. That helped lowered the unemployment rate in February to a four-year low of 7.7 percent. Economists expect similar strong job gains in March.
Most other signs point to an economy that is gaining momentum. Businesses are investing more in equipment and machinery, which has given factories a lift after a disappointing 2012.
And the housing recovery appears to be strengthening. In February, sales of previously occupied homes rose to the highest level in more than three years. The gains have helped lift home prices, which have made Americans feel wealthier.
Stock prices have also surged. On Thursday, the Standard & Poor's 500 index closed at a record high of 1,569. That surpassed the previous record of 1,565 set in October 2007, a year before the peak of the financial crisis.
Markets are closed Friday for the Good Friday holiday.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-consumer-spending-income-jump-february-123455179--finance.html
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The Hail Mary Products of Desperate Companies
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/63SjSwZnphM/
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Root Fungus Stores a Surprising Amount of the Carbon Sequestered in Soil
Falling leaves and branches are important, but roots and their fungi win out
Boreal forest in Lake Uddjaure, Sweden. Image: courtesy of Karina Clemmensen
A forest floor can store lots of atmospheric carbon, helping to limit global warming that results from carbon dioxide emissions. Most of that storage, scientists have thought, is found in tree leaves and branches that absorb carbon, eventually fall to the ground and slowly decay into soil. A new study in Sweden, however, indicates that 50 to 70 percent of the carbon bound in soil is actually from tree roots and the fungi that grow on them.
This surprising insight comes from Karina Clemmensen at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and colleagues who studied boreal forests on 30 islands in northern Swedish lakes. The forests were consumed by different numbers of fires over the past 5,000 years, providing a broad mix of soil compositions on different forest floors. The comparison revealed that the amount of carbon stored in soil was linked to mycorrhizal fungi that grow along tree-root systems and help to keep them healthy.
?These fungi live in symbiosis with plant roots and transport carbon from plant photosynthesis directly into the soil,? Clemmensen wrote in response to e-mail questions. ?The prevailing dogma had been that aboveground plant litter (dead needles and wood) is the principal source of carbon storage in boreal forest soils,? she explained. But her results show that ?a large proportion of the carbon stored in boreal forests instead enters the soil from beneath, via roots and their associated mycorrhizal fungi.?
Boreal forest soils are a major sink, holding 16 percent of all carbon sequestered in soils worldwide, according to a paper by Clemmensen?s team published March 29 in Science. The most immediate implication of the finding is that climate models should be revised to take into account the role that the fungi play. Revised models, Clemmensen wrote, would give more precise predictions of how forest management practices (such as thinning of trees) and environmental changes could influence carbon storage.
More research is also needed to determine if more older trees (so-called old-growth forests) worldwide would mean increased storage. As trees age, they allocate less carbon to root fungi, yet residues from old, dead fungi hang on to carbon more tightly than do dead needles and wood in the soil. Other studies, however, suggest that mycorrhizal fungi decompose organic matter in the soil, thereby releasing carbon. How these factors interact to form stable soil ?is a very interesting and intriguing question that we do not yet have the answer to,? Clemmensen wrote. What is clear is that mycorrhizal fungi are much more important to carbon sequestration than anyone had realized.
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=1ce2ebff1e0b582a08177a147f9d8546
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How herpesvirus invades nervous system
Mar. 27, 2013 ? Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified a component of the herpesvirus that "hijacks" machinery inside human cells, allowing the virus to rapidly and successfully invade the nervous system upon initial exposure.
Led by Gregory Smith, associate professor in immunology and microbiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, researchers found that viral protein 1-2, or VP1/2, allows the herpesvirus to interact with cellular motors, known as dynein. Once the protein has overtaken this motor, the virus can speed along intercellular highways, or microtubules, to move unobstructed from the tips of nerves in skin to the nuclei of neurons within the nervous system.
This is the first time researchers have shown a viral protein directly engaging and subverting the cellular motor; most other viruses passively hitch a ride into the nervous system.
"This protein not only grabs the wheel, it steps on the gas," says Smith. "Overtaking the cellular motor to invade the nervous system is a complicated accomplishment that most viruses are incapable of achieving. Yet the herpesvirus uses one protein, no others required, to transport its genetic information over long distances without stopping."
Herpesvirus is widespread in humans and affects more than 90 percent of adults in the United States. It is associated with several types of recurring diseases, including cold sores, genital herpes, chicken pox, and shingles. The virus can live dormant in humans for a lifetime, and most infected people do not know they are disease carriers. The virus can occasionally turn deadly, resulting in encephalitis in some.
Until now, scientists knew that herpesviruses travel quickly to reach neurons located deep inside the body, but the mechanism by which they advance remained a mystery.
Smith's team conducted a variety of experiments with VP1/2 to demonstrate its important role in transporting the virus, including artificial activation and genetic mutation of the protein. The team studied the herpesvirus in animals, and also in human and animal cells in culture under high-resolution microscopy. In one experiment, scientists mutated the virus with a slower form of the protein dyed red, and raced it against a healthy virus dyed green. They observed that the healthy virus outran the mutated version down nerves to the neuron body to insert DNA and establish infection.
"Remarkably, this viral protein can be artificially activated, and in these conditions it zips around within cells in the absence of any virus. It is striking to watch," Smith says.
He says that understanding how the viruses move within people, especially from the skin to the nervous system, can help better prevent the virus from spreading.
Additionally, Smith says, "By learning how the virus infects our nervous system, we can mimic this process to treat unrelated neurologic diseases. Even now, laboratories are working on how to use herpesviruses to deliver genes into the nervous system and kill cancer cells."
Smith's team will next work to better understand how the protein functions. He notes that many researchers use viruses to learn how neurons are connected to the brain.
"Some of our mutants will advance brain mapping studies by resolving these connections more clearly than was previously possible," he says.
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Northwestern University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Sofia?V. Zaichick, Kevin?P. Bohannon, Ami Hughes, Patricia?J. Sollars, Gary?E. Pickard, Gregory?A. Smith. The Herpesvirus VP1/2 Protein Is an Effector of Dynein-Mediated Capsid Transport and Neuroinvasion. Cell Host & Microbe, 2013; 13 (2): 193 DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2013.01.009
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/DpfJns9Ndl0/130328091754.htm
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Thursday, March 28, 2013
Biological transistor enables computing within living cells
Mar. 28, 2013 ? When Charles Babbage prototyped the first computing machine in the 19th century, he imagined using mechanical gears and latches to control information. ENIAC, the first modern computer developed in the 1940s, used vacuum tubes and electricity. Today, computers use transistors made from highly engineered semiconducting materials to carry out their logical operations.
And now a team of Stanford University bioengineers has taken computing beyond mechanics and electronics into the living realm of biology. In a paper to be published March 28 in Science, the team details a biological transistor made from genetic material -- DNA and RNA -- in place of gears or electrons. The team calls its biological transistor the "transcriptor."
"Transcriptors are the key component behind amplifying genetic logic -- akin to the transistor and electronics," said Jerome Bonnet, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in bioengineering and the paper's lead author.
The creation of the transcriptor allows engineers to compute inside living cells to record, for instance, when cells have been exposed to certain external stimuli or environmental factors, or even to turn on and off cell reproduction as needed.
"Biological computers can be used to study and reprogram living systems, monitor environments and improve cellular therapeutics," said Drew Endy, PhD, assistant professor of bioengineering and the paper's senior author.
The biological computer
In electronics, a transistor controls the flow of electrons along a circuit. Similarly, in biologics, a transcriptor controls the flow of a specific protein, RNA polymerase, as it travels along a strand of DNA.
"We have repurposed a group of natural proteins, called integrases, to realize digital control over the flow of RNA polymerase along DNA, which in turn allowed us to engineer amplifying genetic logic," said Endy.
Using transcriptors, the team has created what are known in electrical engineering as logic gates that can derive true-false answers to virtually any biochemical question that might be posed within a cell.
They refer to their transcriptor-based logic gates as "Boolean Integrase Logic," or "BIL gates" for short.
Transcriptor-based gates alone do not constitute a computer, but they are the third and final component of a biological computer that could operate within individual living cells.
Despite their outward differences, all modern computers, from ENIAC to Apple, share three basic functions: storing, transmitting and performing logical operations on information.
Last year, Endy and his team made news in delivering the other two core components of a fully functional genetic computer. The first was a type of rewritable digital data storage within DNA. They also developed a mechanism for transmitting genetic information from cell to cell, a sort of biological Internet.
It all adds up to creating a computer inside a living cell.
Boole's gold
Digital logic is often referred to as "Boolean logic," after George Boole, the mathematician who proposed the system in 1854. Today, Boolean logic typically takes the form of 1s and 0s within a computer. Answer true, gate open; answer false, gate closed. Open. Closed. On. Off. 1. 0. It's that basic. But it turns out that with just these simple tools and ways of thinking you can accomplish quite a lot.
"AND" and "OR" are just two of the most basic Boolean logic gates. An "AND" gate, for instance, is "true" when both of its inputs are true -- when "a" and "b" are true. An "OR" gate, on the other hand, is true when either or both of its inputs are true.
In a biological setting, the possibilities for logic are as limitless as in electronics, Bonnet explained. "You could test whether a given cell had been exposed to any number of external stimuli -- the presence of glucose and caffeine, for instance. BIL gates would allow you to make that determination and to store that information so you could easily identify those which had been exposed and which had not," he said.
By the same token, you could tell the cell to start or stop reproducing if certain factors were present. And, by coupling BIL gates with the team's biological Internet, it is possible to communicate genetic information from cell to cell to orchestrate the behavior of a group of cells.
"The potential applications are limited only by the imagination of the researcher," said co-author Monica Ortiz, a PhD candidate in bioengineering who demonstrated autonomous cell-to-cell communication of DNA encoding various BIL gates.
Building a transcriptor
To create transcriptors and logic gates, the team used carefully calibrated combinations of enzymes -- the integrases mentioned earlier -- that control the flow of RNA polymerase along strands of DNA. If this were electronics, DNA is the wire and RNA polymerase is the electron.
"The choice of enzymes is important," Bonnet said. "We have been careful to select enzymes that function in bacteria, fungi, plants and animals, so that bio-computers can be engineered within a variety of organisms."
On the technical side, the transcriptor achieves a key similarity between the biological transistor and its semiconducting cousin: signal amplification.
With transcriptors, a very small change in the expression of an integrase can create a very large change in the expression of any two other genes.
To understand the importance of amplification, consider that the transistor was first conceived as a way to replace expensive, inefficient and unreliable vacuum tubes in the amplification of telephone signals for transcontinental phone calls. Electrical signals traveling along wires get weaker the farther they travel, but if you put an amplifier every so often along the way, you can relay the signal across a great distance. The same would hold in biological systems as signals get transmitted among a group of cells.
"It is a concept similar to transistor radios," said Pakpoom Subsoontorn, a PhD candidate in bioengineering and co-author of the study who developed theoretical models to predict the behavior of BIL gates. "Relatively weak radio waves traveling through the air can get amplified into sound."
Public-domain biotechnology
To bring the age of the biological computer to a much speedier reality, Endy and his team have contributed all of BIL gates to the public domain so that others can immediately harness and improve upon the tools.
"Most of biotechnology has not yet been imagined, let alone made true. By freely sharing important basic tools everyone can work better together," Bonnet said.
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford University Medical Center.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Jerome Bonnet, Peter Yin, Monica E. Ortiz, Pakpoom Subsoontorn, and Drew Endy. Amplifying Genetic Logic Gates. Science, 28 March 2013 DOI: 10.1126/science.1232758
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.
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Debating immigration laws | News Center | Wake Forest University
Published: ? March 28, 2013
By Cheryl Walker ('88) Office of Communications and External Relations
Sociologist Hana Brown talks about immigration and welfare policy research with junior Le 'Ron Byrd in Carswell Hall.
As Congress considers comprehensive immigration reform this spring, new research by assistant professor of sociology Hana Brown shows the language used in the immigration debates can be as important as the legislation and can have long-term effects on other policies.
?Most of our attention is going to be on the?laws up for debate,? Brown says.? ?My study suggests that we should also pay close attention to the language political leaders use to justify those policies, in particular which groups they say are deserving and undeserving of different rights.?
Brown?s research and her classes bridge the space between politics and sociology.
Her new study, published in the April issue of The American Sociological Review, shows that in Arizona and California during the 1990s, the tenor of earlier immigration debates directly affected welfare reform battles later. ?If lawmakers talk about immigration as a racial issue and argue that Hispanics are undeserving, this divisive rhetoric can easily translate into restrictive welfare policies.??On the other hand, if they discuss immigration as an issue of legal status and praise legal immigrants, that language unifies rather than divides diverse groups.??It can spur the development of powerful coalitions that can continue to affect policymaking even after immigration debates have ended.?
Le ?Ron Byrd, a junior sociology and philosophy major from Alaska, took Brown?s introduction to sociology course and then signed up for her political sociology course. He is now working as a research assistant on her next project:? looking at why some states?Alabama and Georgia?have passed restrictive anti-immigrant laws in recent years while others ? North Carolina and Mississippi ? have not.
?Dr. Brown knew I had an interest in making a difference in communities and in racial issues in the United States,? Byrd said. As part of his work with Brown, he attended a professional conference, The Southeast Summit: Forging a New Consensus on Immigrants and gained insight into the role immigrants and immigration play in the regional economy and how problems in the immigration system affect communities.
Several other students are also working with Brown on her research related to immigration issues and welfare programs.? Dianne Uwayo, a sophomore sociology major from Rwanda, is reviewing Congressional hearings on the State Children?s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and the food stamp program and examining potential patterns in legislative arguments for and against the programs.
?I think there is this assumption that once the debates are over, our immigration discussions are done,? said Brown, who will continue exploring how the way arguments are framed, in legal or racial terms, affects support for other policies. ?The language that we use now is going to be a resource that people can draw on even after this current legislative debate winds down.?
Byrd admires Brown as a scholar and as a teacher and said Brown?s passion for teaching each student makes her distinctive. ?After my third week in her class, I was sure I was her favorite student just by how she reached out to me through e-mail and our discussions during office hours,? he said. ?However, I learned very soon after that this was how she interacted with every student.?
With plans for a career in family law, Byrd also credits Brown for encouraging him to become a public engagement fellow at Wake Forest and a Guardian Ad Litem (child advocate) volunteer in Winston-Salem.
Source: http://news.wfu.edu/2013/03/28/debating-immigration-laws/
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SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down with space station cargo
SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule splashed down in the Pacific today carrying samples and trash from the International Space Station. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News
SpaceX said its robotic Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, bringing back more than a ton of cargo from the International Space Station.
"Welcome home!" the California-based company said in a Twitter update, heralding the Dragon's return to Earth after more than three weeks in space. SpaceX said its recovery crew watched the spacecraft descend to the sea at the end of its parachutes, and a ship headed to the site to haul the capsule aboard and bring it back to port.
"Time to go fishing!" the Canadian Space Agency said in a congratulatory tweet.
The on-time splashdown came at 12:34 p.m. ET, five and a half hours after the Dragon was released from the grip of the space station's robotic arm. "It looks both beautiful and nominal from here," Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, the station's commander, reported as the orbital outpost flew 256 miles (411 kilometers) above the Pacific.
NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn said he was "sad to see the Dragon go. ... Performed her job beautifully, heading back to her lair."
This marks the third time that SpaceX's commercial cargo craft has made a round trip to the space station. The first visit, in May 2012, showed NASA that the California-based company could deliver payloads safely. Last October, another Dragon took on the first of 12 cargo runs under the terms of a $1.6 billion contract with the space agency. This latest mission launched on March 1, carrying 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) of supplies and equipment.
SpaceX had to cope with a post-launch?glitch involving the Dragon's thruster system, but the mission went swimmingly after that. Astronauts unloaded the cargo soon after its was brought in for its berthing at the station, and then refilled it with 2,600 pounds (1,180 kilograms) of payload items due to be returned to Earth ? including scientific experiments, station hardware and trash. Packaging brought the total weight past the 3,000-pound (1,360-kilogram) mark, SpaceX said.
NASA said the plant samples that were brought back from the station could help scientists enhance crop production on Earth and develop food production systems for future space missions. Other experiments carried by the Dragon could help in the development of more efficient solar cells, detergents and electronics.?
The returned cargo also included?13 sets of Lego toy blocks that went up to the station two years ago aboard the shuttle Endeavour. The blocks were used by the astronauts in educational videos to demonstrate how machines work in weightlessness. One of the kits, a 3-foot-long (meter-long) scale model of the space station, was so bulky that it would have collapsed under its own weight in Earth's gravity.
NASA via SpaceX
SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule separates from the International Space Station's robotic arm on Tuesday.
NASA TV via Spaceflight Now
A thermal imager on SpaceX's Dragon capsule captures a view of the International Space Station during Tuesday's departure.
SpaceX
SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule floats down to the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday.
Dragon's return was originally scheduled for Monday, but "fairly aggressive" seas at the intended splashdown zone forced a one-day postponement, NASA spokesman Josh Byerly said. The weather was better on Tuesday, and the splashdown target was a couple of hundred miles nearer to shore, at a point in the Pacific 214 miles (344 kilometers) west of Baja California.
SpaceX's billionaire founder, Elon Musk, said the capsule was secured aboard its recovery ship without incident. "Cargo looks A ok," he reported in a Twitter update.
The ship is due to make a 30-hour voyage back to the port of Los Angeles, where time-sensitive biological samples will be offloaded. Then the Dragon and its remaining cargo will be trucked to SpaceX's facility in McGregor, Texas.
The next SpaceX cargo run is scheduled at the end of September. Another company, Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp., is working on a second commercial delivery system that's due for its first test launch next month. But only the Dragon is capable of bringing significant amounts of cargo back to Earth.
NASA selected SpaceX and Orbital to help fill the gap left by the retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2011. Russian, European and Japanese cargo craft also service the space station. For now, Russia's Soyuz capsules are the only spacecraft that transport people to and from the station, but NASA intends to have U.S.-built commercial spaceships?? perhaps including an upgraded version of the Dragon?? carrying astronauts within five years.
More about SpaceX:
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
This story was originally published on Tue Mar 26, 2013 7:29 AM EDT
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Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Sony's PlayStation 4 DualShock 4 controller and Eye found at GDC 2013, we go eyes-on
Sony's next-gen console, the PlayStation 4, is getting an updated DualShock controller when it arrives at retail this holiday. It's also getting an updated PlayStation Eye camera, which brings the camera much more in line with Microsoft's Kinect than any previous versions. We found the PS4 peripherals trapped under a glass box on the Game Developers Conference show floor, and Sony sadly wouldn't let us free them. We of course snapped a mess of pictures regardless, which you can see just below in the gallery. We anticipate the first hands-on opportunity with the DualShock 4 and PS4 Eye at E3 2013 in June, so hang tight for a few months!
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Peripherals, HD, Sony
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/C6u2Ggy3p2w/
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Moscow urges criminal investigation into adopted boy's death ...
0?American adoptive parents of the 3-year-old boy must be brought to court over Maxim?s death,? Russia?s children's rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said.
0He voiced his indignation over the fact that the U.S. has not yet handed over all data concerning the investigation of the boy?s death to the Russian Investigative Committee, though some details were made available to the media.
0Maxim Kuzmin died in Texas on January 21, 2013. The recently published autopsy results say that the boy?s death was accidental, and the bruises found on his body had resulted from self-injury as Maxim was not mentally stable. ?
0
0The autopsy report of a three-year-old Russian boy adopted by a Texan couple concludes that the child had more than 30 bruises on his body as well as other signs that he was routinely injured.
0
0The medical document released to the Odessa American suggests that the foster family, who have also adopted the victim?s brother, were struggling to provide proper care for Maksim Shatto but examiners believe that the injuries were due to self-injury stemming from a serious mental condition.
0The medical examiner found abrasions, scrapes and bruises on the boy?s body.
0Max?s adoptive father has said that the boy was constantly hitting his head at home and had serious behavioural issues.
0The mother had previously told the authorities that Maksim used to claw himself, which she tried to prevent by cutting his nails short and having him wear gloves at night.
0The boy, born Maksim Kuzmin, died January 21 after his adoptive mother Laura Shatto found him unresponsive outside their home in Gardendale, Texas.
0Last week?US prosecutors said that no charges would be made in the case due to lack of evidence.
0Moscow has repeatedly blamed the adoptive couple for the death of the child based on abusive treatment. But the US authorities claim Maksim?s death was an accident.
0Russia, U.S. to hold consultations on destiny of adopted children soon - ministry
0Russia and the United States will soon hold consultations and will in particular discuss the destiny of two Russian children adopted to the U.S., Kirill Kuzmin and Yegor Shatabalov, Voice of Russia's Olga Denisova reports.
0"We plan to hold relevant consultations soon during which we will receive exhaustive information on the investigations on the deaths of Russian children. Then we [will discuss] the issue on the latest two cases related to Kirill Kuzmin and the re-adoption of Yegor Shatabalov," Russian Deputy Education and Science Minister, Igor Remorenko, said while speaking at a "governmental hour" in the Russian State Duma.
0Kirill Kuzmin's brother, Maxim Kuzmin, died in his adoptive family. Yegor Shatabalov, Kuzbass native, was adopted several years ago by a U.S. woman, who as it later transpired was in a same-sex marriage.
The Russian official said that several requests have been sent to the U.S. State Department. In these requests Russia raises the issue that in certain cases agreement on conditions in which Russian children live in U.S. adoptive families has been violated, Remorenko said.
0"In particular, we've stated that if conditions in which a child lives change, we are entitled to demand them to provide other living conditions, including the child's return to Russia," Remorenko said.
0?The Russian official said that regardless of the ban Russia introduced on U.S. citizens, the Russian-U.S. agreement on adoption remains in force until January 1, 2014. "This allows us to demand that the U.S. side fulfill the agreement on regulations related to control over living conditions and upbringing of adopted children," Remorenko said.
0Voice of Russia, RIA, RT
Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_03_27/Moscow-urges-criminal-investigation-into-adopted-boy-s-death/
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'Walking Dead' shocks with heartbreaking death
By Drusilla Moorhouse, TODAY contributor
As 'The Walking Dead' nears the conclusion of its third season, fans have been bracing for the death of at least one major character. Even so, many of us gasped aloud at the shocking demise of someone we've loved to hate since season one.
You know the drill: spoilers ahead.
Gene Page / AMC
RIP, Merle Dixon. By the standards of the redemption-equals-death TV trope, the villain's fate was sealed the moment he released Michonne. After secretly capturing her -- because he correctly predicted Rick would change his mind about sacrificing her to the Governor to save his group -- Merle had a change of heart.
As "This Sorrowful Life" slowly drifted to its horrifying final scene, a cloud of doom hovered above Daryl's incredibly damaged but increasingly sympathetic brother. Even Glenn, who aside from Michonne had the most reason to hate Merle, seemed to accept him as part of the group -- if not actually forgive him for humiliating his fianc?e.
Gene Page / AMC
With Hershel's blessing, Glenn proposed to Maggie, offering another ray of hope -- like the birth of Judith -- in the midst of so much tragedy and conflict. So what if he didn't buy his ring at Tiffany's? (And the bonus of hacking it off a zombie's finger means his bride also has "something borrowed." Win!)
But the Dixon brothers' bond was the true essence of this season's penultimate episode.
Daryl arrived at the Governor's armistice ambush too late to save Merle from his suicide mission. After setting up as a sniper with an army of walkers to back him up, Merle fired on the Woodbury contingent but was inevitably captured. And of course he was fed to the undead by the man who ordered him to kill 16 innocent people.
When Daryl arrived on the scene, it was too late: the Governor's gang was long gone -- and so was his brother. His discovery Merle devouring one of his victims (first revealed with a closeup of his homemade prosthesis) was both gruesome and heartbreaking.
Gene Page / AMC
At least Merle won't distract the troops -- now declared a democracy by Rick -- when they go to war in next week's finale.
Will you miss Merle? Who else do you think will fall in the finale's bloody battle? Tell us on our Facebook page!
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Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Spring snowstorm hits central states, pushes east
Korey Estes launches a snowball at his son, James Gordon, at the top of Art Hill in front of the St. Louis Art Museum on Sunday, March 24, 2013, in St. Louis. A storm dumped 7 to 9 inches of snow from eastern Kansas into central Missouri before tapering off this morning. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, J.B. Forbes)
Korey Estes launches a snowball at his son, James Gordon, at the top of Art Hill in front of the St. Louis Art Museum on Sunday, March 24, 2013, in St. Louis. A storm dumped 7 to 9 inches of snow from eastern Kansas into central Missouri before tapering off this morning. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, J.B. Forbes)
Bobby Jones of Bel-Ridge, Mo., near St.Louis, clears the parking lane in front of his North Hanley Road home with his lawn tractor on Sunday, March 24, 2013, as a new blanket of wintry weather hits the St. Louis region early in Spring. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Christian Gooden)
Daffodils hang under the weight of snow near the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park on Sunday, March 24, 2013, in St. Louis. A storm dumped 7 to 9 inches of snow from eastern Kansas into central Missouri before tapering off this morning. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, J.B. Forbes)
Children sled down and climb back up a hill on Klem Avenue in Overland, Mo., near St. Louis in nearly zero visibility as a Spring snowfall blankets the region on Sunday, March 24, 2013. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Christian Gooden)
A man waits for help after becoming stuck in snow along West 6th Street in Lawrence, Kan., Sunday, March 24, 2013. Few signs of spring are being found in parts of the Midwest as a snowstorm brings heavy snow and high winds. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? A wide-ranging storm is burying thoughts of springtime weather across a number of Midwestern states under a blanket of snow and slush, leaving in its wake dashed Palm Sunday plans, dozens of canceled flights and treacherous roadways as it churns eastward.
The National Weather Service issued storm warnings and advisories for Sunday and Monday for as far east as Pennsylvania, and officials were blaming two deaths in separate crashes in Kansas and Missouri on snow-slicked roads.
The system was expected to move into Ohio, bringing between 5 to 9 inches, said Dan Hawblitzel, a weather service meteorologist in suburban Kansas City.
Slick roads were also being blamed for a series of crashes on Interstate 60 north of Indianapolis that sent two people to area hospitals with life-threatening injuries. The Indiana State Police reported late Sunday that two people in a 2012 Subaru were hurt when the driver lost control while coming upon the scene of a previous crash involving a semitrailer. The Subaru hit the tractor-trailer and ended up in a ditch, police said. Authorities said both driver and passenger had life-threatening injuries and were taken to area hospitals. An update on their conditions was not immediately available.
Earlier Sunday night, a jack-knifed semi and subsequent fuel leak required a hazardous materials response outside Indianapolis, officials said. The Fishers Department of Fire and Emergency Services said a tractor-trailer was southbound on Interstate 69 when its driver lost control. No one was injured.
The storm was expected to weaken as it moved into Pennsylvania late Sunday and into Monday, with totals ranging from 3 to 8 inches. Before it exits off the coast of New Jersey on Monday night, the storm could leave 2 to 4 inches in that state as well as Delaware, northern Maryland and southern New York.
"It's definitely a wide-hitting system," Hawblitzel said.
To the west, parts of Colorado and northwest Kansas spent Sunday digging out from 10 to 15 inches of snow that were dumped there Saturday. Southwestern Nebraska got up to 7 inches. Winds gusting at speeds of up to 45 mph created snow drifts of 2 to 3 feet in the three states, said Ryan Husted, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Goodland, Kan.
"We have pretty much cleared out. Sunny skies. It's starting to melt a little bit," Husted said Sunday. Transportation officials reopened several closed highways, including a stretch of Interstate 70 spanning from Denver to Colby, Kan.
The storm dumped 7 to 9 inches of snow from eastern Kansas into central Missouri before tapering off Sunday morning, said Hawblitzel.
Authorities on Sunday also released the names of two people killed in separate crashes. In northeast Kansas, Anthony J. Hinthorne, 40, of Topeka, was killed Saturday afternoon in a single-vehicle crash and rollover on the Kansas Turnpike as snow was falling in Shawnee County, the Kansas Highway Patrol said. Later that night, Joshua J. French, 24, of Naperville, Ill., was killed when he lost control of his vehicle on a wet stretch of Interstate 35 in eastern Missouri's Clay County.
In the central Missouri town of Columbia, TV station KOMU was briefly evacuated Sunday morning because of high winds and a heavy buildup of snow on the broadcast tower next to the building. And Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced he was cancelling a couple events planned for Monday because of the weather.
___
Associated Press reporters Thomas Peipert in Denver and Sandy Kozel in Washington contributed to this report.
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