Program to overcome early US math deficiencies could improve workforce

Public release date: 30-Jan-2013
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Contact: Tim Wall
walltj@missouri.edu
573-882-3346
University of Missouri-Columbia

America's future workers could benefit from improving a certain math skill in preschool

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- One in five adults in the United States lacks the math competency expected of an eighth grader, according to the United States Center for Educational Statistics. University of Missouri researchers identified how a lack of a specific math skill in first grade correlated to lower scores on a seventh grade math test used to determine employability and wages in adults. Intervention programs designed to overcome this early math deficiency could prepare students for later employment, help them make wiser economic choices and improve the future U.S. workforce.

"Our study made a connection between child psychology and labor economics in order to examine the roots of America's shortage of mathematically proficient workers," said lead author David Geary, professor of psychological sciences at University of Missouri. "We isolated a specific skill that has real world importance in employability and observed how that skill related to grade-school mathematical performance. By identifying a specific numerical skill as a target, we can focus education efforts on helping deficient students as early as kindergarten and thereby give them a better chance at career success in adulthood."

The particular math skill Geary identified, "number system knowledge," is the ability to conceptualize a numeral as a symbol for a quantity and understand systematic relationships between numbers. In Geary's research, having this knowledge at the beginning of first grade predicted better functional mathematical ability in adolescence. On the other hand, skill at solving math problems by counting didn't correlate to later ability. Students who started behind in counting ability were able to catch up, whereas students who were behind in number system knowledge stayed behind their peers.

"An early deficit in number system knowledge creates a weak foundation for later learning," said Geary. "That weak foundation can lead to a lifetime of problems, not limited to reduced employment opportunities. Poor understanding of mathematical concepts can make a person easy prey for predatory lenders. Numerical literacy, or numeracy, also helps with saving for big purchases and managing mortgages and credit card debt."

Geary's study involved 180 13-year-olds who had been assessed every year since kindergarten for intelligence, memory, mathematical cognition, attention span and achievement. All of these factors were controlled for in the analysis of scores on the employability tests administered in seventh grade. Demographic differences also were accounted for along with other factors.

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The study, "Adolescents' Functional Numeracy is Predicted by Their School Entry Number System Knowledge," was published in the journal PLOS ONE. Mary Hoard and Lara Nugent, who are both senior research specialists at MU, were co-authors along with Drew Bailey, MU doctoral graduate and now postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. Geary is Curators' Professor and a Thomas Jefferson Fellow in the Department of Psychological Sciences in MU's College of Arts and Science.

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

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

Contact: Tim Wall
walltj@missouri.edu
573-882-3346
University of Missouri-Columbia

America's future workers could benefit from improving a certain math skill in preschool

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- One in five adults in the United States lacks the math competency expected of an eighth grader, according to the United States Center for Educational Statistics. University of Missouri researchers identified how a lack of a specific math skill in first grade correlated to lower scores on a seventh grade math test used to determine employability and wages in adults. Intervention programs designed to overcome this early math deficiency could prepare students for later employment, help them make wiser economic choices and improve the future U.S. workforce.

"Our study made a connection between child psychology and labor economics in order to examine the roots of America's shortage of mathematically proficient workers," said lead author David Geary, professor of psychological sciences at University of Missouri. "We isolated a specific skill that has real world importance in employability and observed how that skill related to grade-school mathematical performance. By identifying a specific numerical skill as a target, we can focus education efforts on helping deficient students as early as kindergarten and thereby give them a better chance at career success in adulthood."

The particular math skill Geary identified, "number system knowledge," is the ability to conceptualize a numeral as a symbol for a quantity and understand systematic relationships between numbers. In Geary's research, having this knowledge at the beginning of first grade predicted better functional mathematical ability in adolescence. On the other hand, skill at solving math problems by counting didn't correlate to later ability. Students who started behind in counting ability were able to catch up, whereas students who were behind in number system knowledge stayed behind their peers.

"An early deficit in number system knowledge creates a weak foundation for later learning," said Geary. "That weak foundation can lead to a lifetime of problems, not limited to reduced employment opportunities. Poor understanding of mathematical concepts can make a person easy prey for predatory lenders. Numerical literacy, or numeracy, also helps with saving for big purchases and managing mortgages and credit card debt."

Geary's study involved 180 13-year-olds who had been assessed every year since kindergarten for intelligence, memory, mathematical cognition, attention span and achievement. All of these factors were controlled for in the analysis of scores on the employability tests administered in seventh grade. Demographic differences also were accounted for along with other factors.

###

The study, "Adolescents' Functional Numeracy is Predicted by Their School Entry Number System Knowledge," was published in the journal PLOS ONE. Mary Hoard and Lara Nugent, who are both senior research specialists at MU, were co-authors along with Drew Bailey, MU doctoral graduate and now postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. Geary is Curators' Professor and a Thomas Jefferson Fellow in the Department of Psychological Sciences in MU's College of Arts and Science.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/uom-pto012413.php

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92% Amour

All Critics (141) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (130) | Rotten (11)

As remarkable as Haneke's films are, not a one has been as transcendently generous as Amour, which is nominated for five Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best foreign-language film.

"Amour" isn't just a great movie, it's a movie that may actually do you some good.

Shot in long, static takes, Amour stares directly into the indignities of old age and the curse of a slow death.

Each actor draws on a lifetime's worth of experience, performing with grace and rare, uncompromising realism.

There's nowhere to hide: The film cuts no corners and stings with the authenticity of life's fragility.

...this deceptively simple film makes clear that death, real death, the kind we all face and most art refuses to address honestly, is relentless and unsentimental.

This is beautiful film, and a terrible one: devastating to stick out, and yet one of the most remarkable romances ever made...

One of the ten best films of 2012.

Amour may not inspire the kind of emotional epiphany that similar illness-driven dramas tend to, the results are still riveting.

Death is part of love's bargain, and Haneke lays this fact bare.

It is hard to recommend Amour. Austrian director Michael Haneke's film cannot justly be described as entertaining, and it will likely leave you sad and weary. But it is a film you must see.

"Amour" isn't easy to watch, but its rewards are many.

"Amour" isn't a fun time out at the movies, and I kind of doubt I'll ever see it again. But it's an amazingly act, absolutely heartbreaking film.

A viewer may want to watch Amour, because it is a work of art.

Relativamente doce para os padr?es de um cineasta acostumado a torturar seu p?blico e a encarar a humanidade com imenso ceticismo, representa uma experi?ncia dif?cil por nos lembrar o tempo inteiro de que todos dividiremos o mesmo desfecho.

A bitter, pitiless piece of work. We can admire its components, but we're repulsed by its vision.

Haneke's self-indulgent approach is getting old to me. His devoted fans will like it, but others will most likely be scratching their heads trying to figure out how this got a Best Picture nomination.

It's upsetting material lined with lead by Haneke, who searches for the meaning of love but can't help but dwell on the details of decay.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/771307454/

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Some US bishops ready to defy HHS mandate, risk jail : News ...

CWN - January 30, 2013

In interviews with LifeSite News, three American Catholic bishops said that they were prepared to go to jail rather than accept implementation of the contraceptive mandate in the Obama administration?s health-care reform policy.

Bishop Alexander Sample of Marquette, Michigan (recently named to become Archbishop of Portland, Oregon); Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh; and Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver said that they would risk prison rather than accept the terms of the Obama mandate.

When he was asked the same question, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, DC, declined to give a direct response. Saying that he still hoped for an agreement with the Obama administration that would defuse the conflict, the cardinal said: ?We take this one day at a time, and I'm hopeful that we're going to be able to resolve this.?

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus: Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach four million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Progress toward our January expenses ($1,212 to go): $30,000.00 $28,787.72 4% 96%

Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

Source: http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=16948

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Video: Much of the US experiencing warm weather

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

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50637251/

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Creative Uses for Cork in Your Home's Interiors

Entry #2056, January 29, 2012

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Corks are everywhere in your home to your home office. It can be your bulletin board, pencil holder and other office essentials made of cork. This type of material is popular because it?s durable, lightweight and less maintenance. Corks don?t need to be painted. It has a natural neatness and beauty. This material is not just for office but also for the home.

Creative cork backsplash idea

Image via: Greg Hursley

Corks can make a difference in your home. Aside from aesthetics, you can also lean on its functionality. These are vital features that anyone would like to have for their home items. Corks are used for do-it-yourself projects because they are easy to cut and shape according to the blueprint. Here are some of the creative uses of cork in your home:

Cork flooring

The best thing with cork flooring is its safety. The cork is basically fire-resistant and will only react if very high temperature is present. Another great feature is its comfort. Corks act as cushion underfoot while walking or running. It provides a natural warmth and noise absorber. The durability of cork flooring is superb. It resists abrasions and cracks better than other materials.

Cork Vases

This is a great decorative item at home. Cork vases will bring out the natural looks of your interior plant or flowers. Best of all, these vases can also serve as a mini bulletin vase board. You can pin a paper message on the vase easily without damaging its looks. Cork vases can extend the life of your plants by absorbing moisture.

Try these cork floor planks for your home

Image via: Home Completions

Cork boards

Well, there?s no doubt that cork boards are so important in the office and at home. You place all important reminders like your monthly bills, letters, incoming family events or assigned tasks for each family member. This piece of board can save you from having problems brought about by forgetting. You can also place your greetings if someone at home is celebrating his or her birthday.

Corks are environment-friendly. It is a renewable material and all natural. Take a closer look at these cork materials you can use at home and see the difference.

For more home interiors ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

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Source: http://stagetecture.com/2013/01/creative-uses-for-cork-in-your-home/

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Glance: 5 teasers to watch before the Super Bowl

This screenshot provided by Kraft shows the Super Bowl teaser advertisement for Volkswagen called ?Get In. Get Happy. (AP Photo/Volkswagen)

This screenshot provided by Kraft shows the Super Bowl teaser advertisement for Volkswagen called ?Get In. Get Happy. (AP Photo/Volkswagen)

This screenshot provided by Kraft shows the Super Bowl teaser advertisement for Kraft's Mio water enhancing drops. Tracy Morgan seemingly curses in the spot introducing him as the spokesman for the drops. (AP Photo/Kraft)

This screenshot provided by Kraft shows the Super Bowl teaser advertisement for Kraft's Mio water enhancing drops. Tracy Morgan seemingly curses in the spot introducing him as the spokesman for the drops. (AP Photo/Kraft)

At least 15 advertisers are expected to launch teasers for their ads running during Super Bowl XLVII. The goal is to create interest for ads without spilling the beans on the Game Day spot. Here are 5 teaser ads to seek out online before the game on Sunday:

1. Mercedes-Benz: In a spot that has gotten 5.4 million views on Youtube.com, supermodel Kate Upton wears a low-cut tank top as she oversees football players washing her car.

On the Web: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPq7jVGPs3g

2. Volkswagen: Volkswagen's teaser spot shows people who have starred in videos online previously erupting in temper tantrums on a sunny hilltop to sing "Get Happy" with reggae singer Jimmy Cliff

On the Web: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfCm9P8naDQ

3. Gildan Activewear: First-time Super Bowl advertiser Gildan Activewear teases a spot that shows a man waking up dazed in a bedroom with furry handcuffs around his wrist.

On the Web: http://www.youtube.com/user/GildanTV?v=_KIKjcMTKPk

4. Kraft's Mio: "30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan appears to say a bleeped out profanity in a teaser to introduce Mio's sports drink drops, Mio Fit.

On the Web: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eenSfU7YYnY

5. Toyota: "Big Bang Theory" star Kaley Cuoco grants wishes to a peppy song in the teaser for Toyota's spot.

On the Web: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKnuMIIEtoo

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-29-US-Super-Bowl-Advertising-Art-of-the-Tease-Glance/id-acbff5508f2e4b88b3b4e6ac895c4381

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Southern California Languages

Southern California Languages

Image by Travis S.
The Chumash language is very unique in that there are no languages that are closely related to it. Much like Basque of Finnish it?s an isolate surrounded by a group of languages that have an obvious familial tie.

The only language I know about in this list is the Uto-Aztecan. There is a theory that the Utes started in California and made their way west throughout the Great Basin. This is seen by the high numbers of diverse, but related languages clustered in western California, with a broad, large spread of the language family in lands further east. Later the language group pushed south to Mexico.

This entry was posted in Language and tagged California, Languages, Southern. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://artificialintelligenceseo.com/southern-california-languages/

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Israel is a no-show at its UN human rights review

GENEVA (AP) ? Israel became the first nation to skip a U.N. review of its human rights record without giving a reason ? and then won a precedent-setting deferral Tuesday.

The president of the U.N.'s top rights body, Polish diplomat Remigiusz Henczel, declared Israel a no-show at a meeting in Geneva and then reconvened the 47-nation Human Rights Council to decide what to do.

Israel had asked Henczel in January to postpone the review but did not provide a public explanation.

"This is a rather unique step which has never happened in the past," said German U.N. Ambassador Hanns Heinrich Schumacher.

But after a debate, the council unanimously agreed to defer the review until its next session in October and November at the latest. It took also take it up earlier.

Henczel said the compromise would set a precedent for "how to deal with all cases of non-cooperation" in the future.

All U.N. nations are required to submit to Human Rights Council review every four years. The council's spokesman, Rolando Gomez, said once previously Haiti did not appear for its review but provided a reason.

Israel's absence comes as it is forming a new governing coalition following last week's parliamentary election.

U.S. diplomats have said the council is too focused on Israel. Israel, meanwhile, said last year that it would stop cooperating with the council because of its plans for a fact-finding mission on Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Diplomats from nations such as Egypt and Pakistan quickly pounced on the Israeli absence, and the opening it could provide for other countries that might want to bow out of a rights review.

The European Union called on Israel to "respond positively" by submitting to the review later this year.

Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, the U.S. ambassador to the council, urged the body to agree to the unprecedented deferral in an effort to "find common ground and to protect" the review process.

Israel has gone through one review before in 2008, when many delegations demanded it recognize and respect Palestinians' right to self-determination and a homeland.

The Geneva-based council was set up in 2006 to replace a 60-year-old commission that was widely discredited as a forum dominated by nations with poor human rights records.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-no-show-un-human-rights-review-151801032.html

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Private Internet Access

Private Internet Access is a personal VPN service that manages to remain lightweight while hiding your online activity from eavesdroppers. The service's VPN technology passes all your online activity through an encrypted tunnel from your computer to the destination website so that your data remains safe at all times. If you are on an open wireless network, using a VPN service such as Private Internet Access will keep you safe from malicious individuals after your data.

There are many VPN services on the market, some of which we've reviewed, such as Symantec's Norton Hotspot Privacy which received our Editors' Choice designation, as well as VPN Direct (Premium) and proXPN. Private Internet Access, despite its unwieldy moniker, is a straightforward one-click-to-go VPN client with several advanced features that sets it apart from the competition.

Private Internet Access comes in three payment plans, at $6.95 a month, $35.95 for six months, or $39.95 for a year. Unlike many other competing products on the market, there is no free version or a trial available for users who want to check it out beforehand. I would have liked to see a cheaper one-day pass or something, but considering the monthly plan is roughly equivalent to a grande latte at Starbucks, it's not a bad deal.

A Refresher on How VPN Services Work
Your computer has an IP address assigned by your ISP. A geo-location lookup reveals the geographic location of the ISP or the data center containing the server assigning the address. You may want to change the address so that it will be harder to trace online activity back to you, or trying to access a service that is restricted by geographic region. VPN services override the IP address with one assigned by their networks, so that users can suddenly appears to be from a different country. Considering Facebook is blocked in China, Netflix is restricted outside the US, and some YouTube videos are blocked in Germany, being able to change where you are "from" is useful.

The service creates an encrypted tunnel between the computer and the destination website or network, and all data flows through the tunnel. This means even if you are using a coffee-shop hotspot, you can log into your email or access other accounts without worrying about someone eavesdropping or intercepting data. It's important to remember that the data is only protected while in transit; if the destination site is not using HTTPS, that part of the connection is unencrypted. Anyone who is sitting at that point of exit can see and harvest that information, and there are fairly complicated timing algorithms out there to identify user activity.

At the time of this writing, there are rumors that all VPN services are being blocked in China.

Installation and Getting Started
I downloaded the Windows version of Private Internet Access from the Website and installed it within seconds. I received my login credentials inside the purchase confirmation email.

Starting the software for the first time opens up a settings window where you enter the login credentials and select the region server to which you want to connect. If you don't care, you can leave it as "auto" and let the software pick. According to my tests, the app really seemed to like the New York region, but that may be because that is where I was based, and the software was simply hitting the closest server.

Like many of its competitors, Private Internet Access uses OpenVPN SSL technology to create its encrypted tunnel. It has an extensive list of servers, with options in the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Netherlands, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, and Romania. The geographic diversity for the U.S. is staggering, with servers available in California, Denver, Florida, Ohio, Texas, "East," "Midwest" (Chicago, Ill.), and "West." The company is poised to roll out 45 more gateways worldwide with dedicated Gigabit ports this month.

Perhaps you are a power user and want more control over your network, or perhaps your ISP is overly restrictive and you need to tweak your settings. You can click on the "advanced" button on the settings screen. Under "advanced" settings, you can select the connection type, specify the remote and local ports to use, enable port forwarding, set up a VPN "kill switch," and turn on DNS leak protection. I will go in detail about these options later in the review.

The software is extremely minimalistic and lightweight. Unlike most other competitors, Private Internet Access showed no actual application window when I launched the program. All I got was a tiny lock icon in the system tray, and when I right-clicked on the icon, I saw a menu listing what servers to connect to and the option to go back into the Settings screen.

No Feedback
While I like the supremely minimalist interface, I found it frustrating when I ran into trouble because there was no way to get any kind of feedback on how to troubleshoot.

Whenever I review a VPN service, I try to schedule a trip so that I can try out the software while on the road. On my most recent trip, I ran into an unexpected snag when I tried to connect. The systray icon was green and my status message said "Connected." Yet when I tried to get to a Website, I kept getting connection errors because the browser didn't think I was connected to a network.

After a little bit of poking around and tweaking, I changed my connection type in the advanced panel from UDP (which is the default) to TCP. It turned out the particular ISP I was connected to blocked or filtered UDP ports. Now, in general, UDP filtering is rare, so this was an edge case to begin with, but nothing in the application hinted at any problems?

Next: Performance and Features

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/w_QzluIV6pE/0,2817,2414799,00.asp

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Getting an internship in science journalism : Nature Jobs Blog

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?Last week, we received an email from one of our readers:

?I?ve just finished my PhD and I?m now focusing on a move into science journalism. I?d really like to apply for internships to gain some more concrete experience of the editorial atmosphere at a big publication to add to the freelancing and work experience I?ve done.

Although I?ve spotted a few journalism internships and graduate schemes, including some at Nature, it?s quite hard to identify these without sometimes having to apply speculatively to publications. Can you help??

This is a question we get asked quite frequently, and whilst it?s true that getting any decent internship these days is competitive, those in science journalism are particularly hard to find.

Part of the problem is that they aren?t always advertised that widely, if at all. Whilst there are no hard and fast rules for starting out in the industry, there are some things you can do to keep your ear to the ground and boost your chances of finding out about these placements. This isn?t an exhaustive list, but rather some general advice, so please do share your own experiences and tips in the comments section below.

Firstly, it?s important to build up a network of people in the industry. Speak to people; ask for advice from those in the know ? and this means in person as well as online. Start tweeting, blogging, and following people you respect in the industry. Go out and meet these people in real life too.? Go to events ? talks, debates, conferences. You should also sign up to the relevant industry associations, such as the ABSW in the UK and the NASW in the US. Check their jobs boards regularly, and join in events and discussions.

You should also be reading a lot. This is important anyway if you want to be a writer, but if you want to get an internship, you need to read the publications you want to write for. As an added bonus, some of the journalism internships are only advertised in the publication itself, such as the New Scientist internships, so make sure you scour cover to cover.

There are journalism jobs boards to keep an eye on more generally which advertise writing internships, such as Gorkana, although they do not focus on science.

Applying

When you do apply, you?re going to need to impress on two fronts.

The first is your portfolio ? whether that?s published work, editing or writing for the student magazine, your blog etc. You might also want to mention any other kind of science communication work you?ve done such as festivals, events, or PR. Editors want to know that you can write engaging copy, have experience of working to deadlines, and are open to editing (you?d be surprised how often new writers aren?t keen on the latter).

Of course, as this reader points out, there?s always the option of speculative applications. Show enthusiasm and ask whether you might come in for a shorter placement, such as a couple of weeks work experience, if there are no internships available. These kinds of efforts are unlikely to work unless you?ve already met the person and made a good impression (or if you have other contacts, for instance through a course organiser if you are studying a science communication course). Editors are pretty busy as it is, so the idea of having an extra body to look after in the office probably won?t sound very appealing unless you have already made a good impression on them ? which, again, is why it?s worth going out to events and meeting editors in person. You might have more luck with the more hands-on broadcast media, as radio and TV producers could often do with an extra pair of hands on location.

There are also plenty of writing competitions which are well worth entering. The Wellcome trust science writing prize, for instance, is not open to practicing journalists, so it?s really a level playing field for scientists wishing to transition to writing. Nature will also be re-launching our annual careers columnist competition later this week, so check back for details.

Interview

The other thing you?ll need to have an abundance of ideas. So if you?re still at university, make the most of all the scientists around you and talk to them about their work to fish out good stories. Attend conferences, talks and seminars. It?s a shame to get an interview for an internship and turn up with stale ideas. If you?re a scientist applying for a media fellowship or internship, you should have access to great stories that aren?t yet in the public domain. Just make sure you don?t get bogged down in the details ? you?ll need to be able to talk about your own research and that of others with clarity.

Of course, these are just a few suggestions of how to find these elusive placements. Feel free to share any useful tips in the comments section below.

This blog post is also great further reading for tips on cutting a career in science journalism.

And to help with your search, we have kicked off a list of available placements in science journalism/science communication below. Of course, let us know about placements that aren?t on the list and we?ll add them.

Nature?s news team?has?one full-time, paid internship, based in our Washington DC office. Each internship lasts for six months. Candidates must have the right to work in the US. These get advertised here on Naturejobs so keep checking back and follow us on Twitter to stay up to speed.

In London, we offer work experience placements lasting a few weeks ? these are unsalaried. There is a high demand for these opportunities, so we are very selective ? we usually look for people who already have a demonstrable enthusiasm for science journalism (for example, they already have some clips, in a student newspaper for example, or on their blog; or they may be on a journalism or science communication training course). Each year, we host a working scientist for a month, under a partnership with the British Science Association.

A Media Fellow experiences first-hand how science is reported by spending 3-6 weeks on a summer placement with a press, broadcast or online journalist such as the Guardian, The Irish Times, the BBC and Nature.

They work with professional journalists to produce well informed, newsworthy pieces about developments in science.

The Fellows come away better equipped to communicate their research to the media, public and their colleagues.? They develop writing skills that could help?produce concise and engaging articles and funding applications.

For details about the scheme, including eligibility and online application form, visit the webpage.

Application deadline: 11 March 2013

The ESO? Internship in Science Journalism: ESO ePOD (European Southern Observatory education and Public Outreach Department) in Germany. More details here.

New Scientist magazine employs three interns each year, one in each office (London UK, Boston, and San Fransisco). They usually run from June for six months and are paid. The placements are advertised in print in the magazine. New Scientist also offers shorter, unpaid work experience placements.

Science News Writing Internship:? Science Magazine, the largest circulating weekly of basic research ? founded in 1880 by Thomas Alva Edison and published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) ? is offering an internship program for news writers. Science accepts applications for two 6-month periods: a winter-spring internship from January through June (deadline, September 15; selection, by mid-October) and a summer-fall internship from July through December (deadline, March 1; selection, by mid-April). Apply here.

Deadline passed for this year. For future reference, more details on the website here.

The Richard Casement internship at the Economist. The Economist is looking for a would-be journalist to spend three months of the summer working on the newspaper in London, writing about science and technology. Their aim is more to discover writing talent in a science student or scientist than scientific aptitude in a budding journalist. Deadline is Feb 3^rd 2013, so get applying now!

The Bulletin of the World Health Organization in Geneva offer internships in news writing or in other editing.?Apply through the WHO internship programme.

Summer internship in science and medical writing: Yale School of Medicine (YSM) invites applications for a summer internship in science and medical writing. They seek a deadline-oriented self-starter with excellent reporting and writing skills and a demonstrated interest in the life sciences and medicine. Based on assignments from the editorial staff of a busy communications office, the intern will research, report, and write news items and features of varying lengths and styles for Yale Medicine magazine, the Medicine@Yale newsletter, and associated YSM websites. The staff will also welcome story ideas from interns.

This full-time position runs from May/June through August 2013 (start/end dates negotiable), with a salary of $3,000/month. The internship offers an opportunity to generate substantive clips and to establish contacts with leading YSM scientists and physicians. Preference will be given to candidates who have recently completed or are enrolled in a master?s degree program in medical or science writing.

To apply, please send three recent clips and/or course assignments and contact information for two references by March 1, 2013 to:

Internship Institutional Planning and Communications Yale School of Medicine One Church St., Suite 300 New Haven, CT 06510-3330 or medicine@yale.edu

Note: Interviews will be offered on February 16, 2013 at the National Association of Science Writers? Intern- ship Fair, held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston, Mass. See http://www.nasw.org/2013-nasw-internship-fair-aaas for details and registra- tion requirements.

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Source: http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2013/01/28/getting-an-internship-in-science-journalism/

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Mars rover Curiosity maneuver prepares for drilling

Jan. 28, 2013 ? NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has placed its drill onto a series of four locations on a Martian rock and pressed down on it with the rover's arm, in preparation for using the drill in coming days.

The rover carried out this "pre-load" testing on Mars yesterday (Jan. 27). The tests enable engineers to check whether the amount of force applied to the hardware matches predictions for what would result from the commanded motions.

The next step is an overnight pre-load test, to gain assurance that the large temperature change from day to night at the rover's location does not add excessively to stress on the arm while it is pressing on the drill. At Curiosity's work site in Gale Crater, air temperature plunges from about 32 degrees Fahrenheit (zero degrees Celsius) in the afternoon to minus 85 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 65 degrees Celsius) overnight. Over this temperature swing, this large rover's arm, chassis and mobility system grow and shrink by about a tenth of an inch (about 2.4 millimeters), a little more than the thickness of a U.S. quarter-dollar coin.

The rover team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., sent the rover commands yesterday to begin the overnight pre-load test today (Monday).

"We don't plan on leaving the drill in a rock overnight once we start drilling, but in case that happens, it is important to know what to expect in terms of stress on the hardware," said JPL's Daniel Limonadi, the lead systems engineer for Curiosity's surface sampling and science system. "This test is done at lower pre-load values than we plan to use during drilling, to let us learn about the temperature effects without putting the hardware at risk."

Remaining preparatory steps will take at least the rest of this week. Some of these steps are hardware checks. Others will evaluate characteristics of the rock material at the selected drilling site on a patch of flat, veined rock called "John Klein."

Limonadi said, "We are proceeding with caution in the approach to Curiosity's first drilling. This is challenging. It will be the first time any robot has drilled into a rock to collect a sample on Mars."

An activity called the "drill-on-rock checkout" will use the hammering action of Curiosity's drill briefly, without rotation of the drill bit, for assurance that the back-and-forth percussion mechanism and associated control system are properly tuned for hitting a rock.

A subsequent activity called "mini-drill" is designed to produce a small ring of tailings -- powder resulting from drilling -- on the surface of the rock while penetrating less than eight-tenths of an inch (2 centimeters). This activity will not go deep enough to push rock powder into the drill's sample-gathering chamber. Limonadi said, "The purpose is to see whether the tailings are behaving the way we expect. Do they look like dry powder? That's what we want to confirm."

The rover team's activities this week are affected by the difference between Mars time and Earth time. To compensate for this, the team develops commands based on rover activities from two sols earlier. So, for example, the mini-drill activity cannot occur sooner than two sols after the drill-on-rock checkout.

Each Martian sol lasts about 40 minutes longer than a 24-hour Earth day. By mid-February, the afternoon at Gale Crater, when Curiosity transmits information about results from the sol, will again be falling early enough in the California day for the rover team to plan each sol based on the previous sol's results.

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project is using Curiosity to assess whether areas inside Gale Crater ever offered a habitable environment for microbes. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl , http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/ . You can follow the mission on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity .

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/pb1FudOrLV0/130128224433.htm

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DNA-repairing protein may be key to preventing recurrence of some cancers

Jan. 28, 2013 ? Just as the body can become resistant to antibiotics, certain methods of killing cancer tumors can end up creating resistant tumor cells. But a University of Central Florida professor has found a protein present in several types of cancer, including breast and ovarian cancer, which could be helpful in preventing tumors from coming back.

The protein, KLF8, appears to protect tumor cells from drugs aimed at killing them and even aid the tumor cells' ability to regenerate.

"All cells have a DNA-repair mechanism," explained Jihe Zhao, a medical doctor and researcher who in the past few months has published several articles related to the protein in the Journal of Biological Chemistry and Oncogene, among others. "That's why we survive constant DNA damage threats. But KLF8 is overexpressed in specific cancers, such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The thought is that if we can stop it from switching on, we may be able to stop the tumors from coming back as part of therapy. We still need to do a lot more research, but it is plausible.

There are between 2.5 million and 2.7 million women who have breast cancer in the United States and 10 to 20 percent will experience a recurrence, according to the American Cancer Society. Current treatment options, depending on the stage of cancer, include surgical removal followed by chemotherapy using a combination of cancer killing drugs. Each year about 22,200 women are also diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

DNA damage-based chemotherapies depend on failure of cancer cells to repair the DNA damage and subsequent cell death, according to the journal article. Aberrant high levels of DNA repair function in the cells likely increase not only the resistance of the cells to such therapies but also the malignancy of the cells due to improper DNA repair-mediated genomic and chromosomal instability.

In the study, Zhao's team tested one specific cancer-fighting drug used in the treatment of breast cancer to determine the role of the protein.

"Indeed, our results have clearly linked the KLF8-promoted DNA repair to the cell resistance to doxorubicin-induced cell death," Zhao said. "It remains to be determined whether KLF8 plays a similar role in repairing DNA damage caused by other types of genotoxic agents such as DNA alkylating agents and ionizing radiation."

Even so, the results suggest that in addition to enhancing the drug resistance of the cancer cells, KLF8 could play a role in disturbing genomic integrity through its aberrant DNA repair function and subsequently contribute to aggressive progression of cancer.

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Journal References:

1. H. Lu, L. Hu, T. Li, S. Lahiri, C. Shen, M. S. Wason, D. Mukherjee, H. Xie, L. Yu, J. Zhao. A Novel Role of Kruppel-like Factor 8 in DNA Repair in Breast Cancer Cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2012; 287 (52): 43720 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M112.418053
2. H Lu, X Wang, A M Urvalek, T Li, H Xie, L Yu, J Zhao. Transformation of human ovarian surface epithelial cells by Kr?ppel-like factor 8. Oncogene, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/onc.2012.545

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/OBBSx68vNM4/130128104626.htm

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Coulton, Glee, and Copyright | madisonian.net

Is Jonathan Coulton right? ?And does it matter?

Sir Mix-a-Lot released ?Baby Got Back? in 1992. ?Jonathan Coulton covered ?Baby Got Back? in 2005 using a new (let us say, ?original,? both in the copyright sense of that word and in its ordinary but different everyday sense) arrangement. ?The TV show Glee provoked a controversy recently by performing a version of ?Baby Got Back? that sounds nearly identical to Coulton?s version.

The various possible worlds of the Internet are a-flutter over the alleged appropriation of Coulton?s work by the producers of Glee.

Read summaries of the controversy here, here, and here. ?The emerging consensus is that Glee may not have done anything wrong by the lights of copyright law, but stepped over the line ethically.

True? ?Let?s walk through the law first, then some ethics. ?There are few answers ahead, but perhaps some added ways of seeing through the mist.

As to the law:

What ?rights? does Coulton have in his cover of ?Baby Got Back?? ?This depends on how Coulton went about producing the cover.

Possibility 1 is that Coulton did what he claims the producers of Glee should have done: ?He went to Sir Mix-a-Lot and asked for permission. ?The musicians would have worked out a deal on rights, royalties, and so forth. ?In that deal they could have worked out whether Mix required that Coulton should have to assign Coulton?s publishing rights (rights in the newly-arranged version of the song) in the cover to Mix ? a deal that Mix could easily have insisted on. ?By contrast, Mix could have told Coulton to keep the publishing rights and instead pay Mix some amount of royalties ? or nothing at all. ?Again, all of the terms could have been worked out. ?Had Coulton asked.

Which, so far as I can tell, he did not. ?Coulton did not ask for Sir Mix-a-Lot?s permission to cover the song. ?Let?s stow that point away for later, when we come back to the question of whether Glee should have asked Coulton for his permission.

Possibility 2 is that Coulton obtained the right to cover ?Baby Got Back? by complying with Section 115 of the U.S. Copyright Act, which speaks to covers (sometimes known as ?mechanical licensing,? or ?mechanicals,? for historical reasons.) ?As most people in the musical world know, Section 115 is a great deal for many musicians who can?t afford to negotiate for rights to previously-released work. ?The cover artist has the legal right to make the cover without asking the owner of the copyright in the original song, so long as the cover artist complies with some accounting formalities (in terms of royalties to the original songwriter, the cover is not cost-free, but it is low cost) and so long as the cover does not change ?the basic melody or fundamental character of the work? (a legal standard that is virtually never challenged in court). ?In exchange for granting the cover artist low-cost access to source material, Section 115 disallows the cover artist from claiming any rights in the arrangement of the cover version as a derivative of the original ? unless the original songwriter agrees that he/she may. ?What that means, in plain English, is that ordinarily the cover artist gets no rights in the new arrangement used to produce the cover version. ?(Who gets those rights? ?Answer: ?Under Section 115, the arrangement falls into the public domain. ?The cover artist cannot claim it, because Section 115 says so, and the original songwriter cannot claim it, because the original songwriter is not its author.)

Possibility 3 is that Coulton obtained his rights to cover ?Baby Got Back? by licensing those rights from the Harry Fox Agency, or HFA, which acts on behalf of a very large population of songwriting copyright owners in administering some or all of their copyrights. ?An HFA license for a cover is in many ways similar to a Section 115 license, particularly in the sense that an HFA license specifically says that it grants rights that are no greater and no less than the rights that would have been applicable under Section 115.? In some ways an HFA license is not the same, because it is a contract between the original songwriter and the cover artist, rather than a legal grant authorized by Congress. ?But for our purposes the distinction is unlikely to matter. ?In both cases, the original songwriter is ordinarily not consulted in advance by the cover artist, except through the agency of HFA. ?My understanding is that Coulton used either Section 115 or an HFA license to produce his cover. ?That means that in all likelihood, he did not get Sir Mix-a-Lot?s permission. ?And he does not have any copyright in his arrangement.

That?s a summary of the law regarding the arrangement. ?There is one more bit of legality to consider, which is Coulton?s rights in the sound recording of his cover ? that is, the actual recording, rather than the arrangement. ?Section 115 does not say anything about rights in the recording, and in fact Coulton does have standing, at least, to make a claim about the recording. ?But that claim is relatively limited. ?The relevant statute is Section 114, which says in effect that a copyright owner has rights over the actual sounds as they are actually recorded (this would include samples as well as copies of the full recording). ?Soundalike recordings are specifically OK.

So, my conclusion, along with that of a lot of other law professors and copyright specialists, is that Coulton?s possible copyright claim is either very weak (maybe Glee copied his recording?) or nonexistent. ?You could argue that the law regarding covers is wrong, and should be changed (maybe cover artists should have independent rights in their arrangements). ?I don?t think so, but that?s fair territory for debate.

What?s more interesting, of course, is how the ground has shifted so quickly to the so-called ethics of the situation. ?Why didn?t the producers of Glee just pick up the phone? ?Wouldn?t that have been fair? ?Or at least the right thing to do?

American copyright law is well-known within the broad (and somewhat vague) setting of international copyright law for its rejection of most ethical arguments about copyright ownership and enforcement. ?In the US, copyright is mostly an economic construct; it is an engine for markets in copyrighted works, the means by which authors and publishers can profit by selling copies of copyrighted material, and access to it. ?But that conceptual framework has not stopped observers, including many legal scholars and copyright lawyers, from making appeals to the ethics of knowledge and information creation, distribution, and consumption. ?You can try to take copyright out of the ethical minefield, but you can?t take the ethical minefield out of copyright.

What ethical result in Coulton?s case, then? ?The answer, I think, depends on your underlying ethical framework.

One way to look at this situation is through Lockean goggles. ?We could say that Jonathan Coulton earned the right to profit from his creative labors, and he has a claim on the world at large for any use of his labor that unjustly deprives him of its value ? that is, that either deprives him of its value on terms to which he does not consent, or deprives him of its value without subjecting the use to a corresponding and more or less equivalent burden (which is to say, that the use might not be unjust if Coulton were paid, but that the user need not be the party that pays). ?In ethical terms, if not in legal terms, Glee?s actions are unjust, because Glee has profited (used Coulton?s arrangement) without paying a fair toll (whether in terms of permission or price or both) to Coulton.

The difficulty with this argument, it seems to me, is that Coulton is well-known in the musical world for having relied on voluntary contributions from fans and others to support his career. ?He offers his music to the world; the world takes; and if the world chooses, then the world sends him money. ?He?s relied on that model for many years, and he?s been pretty successful at it ? at least, successful enough that he was able to leave his ?day job? a while back.

Why does that complicate Coulton?s ethical claim? ?In my view, Coulton has not just participated in but has actively encouraged the development of a gift economy around his music. ?He gives it away. ?(I looked at his website; I didn?t see any evidence of limitations or restrictions on what people might do with the songs.) ?If we measure the justice of Coulton?s circumstance from the point of view of Coulton?s subjective valuing of his labors, then there is no injustice; Couton received exactly what he intended ? which is to say, nothing, both in terms of money and in terms of unquantifiable ?respect.? ?If we measure the justice of Coulton?s circumstance from the point of view of a more objective comparison of the value of Coulton?s labor and the benefit that Glee received, it?s difficult (though not impossible) to come to a different conclusion. ?(Perhaps Coulton?s complaint that he should have been consulted in advance represents the difference, which is minor in objective terms, but if we?re running some objective calculus, Glee?s side of the ethical ledger should include not only the relatively modest burden of making the call but also the relatively modest benefit of using the arrangement). ?My bottom line for the moment: ?If Coulton really did freely and willingly give away copies of his songs (i.e., in this case, arrangements), then I think that his ethical position ? in Lockean terms ? is pretty weak.

But there?s more.

A second and different way to look at Coulton?s ethical claim is through a set of reciprocity goggles. ?In that case, the gift character of Coulton?s work is a strength, not a weakness. ?In a lot of gift economies though far from all of them, the gift community is characterized by an ethos of reciprocity. ?One may not take something from the community as a gift without returning other material to the community as a gift, or (not and), one must pay forward the gift character of the material when ?re-gifting? it. ?(Creative Commons and open source licensing are, in part, examples of gift economies.) ? There are different flavors of this argument, too. ?Under one flavor ? once a gift, always a gift, let us say ? Coulton is in the ethical right, and Glee is in the ethical wrong: ?Glee took Coulton?s gift and re-purposed it commercially, exploiting the gift for money rather than re-gifting it as Coulton had in the first place. ?Under a different flavor ? treat others as you would have them treat you, which is a more Kantian flavor, let us say ? then Coulton is again on shaky ground: ?He did not ask Sir Mix-a-Lot for permission to use ?Baby Got Back,? and accordingly has little ethical standing when he (Coulton) turns around and demands that the Glee producers ask him for permission. ?To Coulton, one would say: ?What?s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

In short, it seems to me that Coulton?s ethical arguments have some strengths and have some weaknesses. ?Where he stands depends very much on where he sits.

Finally ? and if you?ve read this far, then thank you ? what, if anything, does this all mean? I think that the conclusion about ethics says it all: ?Nothing in the creative world is as straightforward as it seems, and when you combine that fact with the copyright world, a certain combustibility is almost inevitable. ?If it is evidence of nothing else, the Coulton/Glee blowup is evidence ?that there is virtually nothing that courts, Congress, and treaty makers can do to persuade artists, music lovers, commercial entertainment producers (among many other people) that they should think like copyright policymakers rather than as people of diverse human sensibilities.

?

Source: http://madisonian.net/2013/01/28/coulton-glee-and-copyright/

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Holocaust items put on display for remembrance day

JERUSALEM (AP) ? When Stella Knobel's family fled World War II Poland in 1939, the only thing the 7-year-old girl could take with her was her teddy bear. For the next six years, the stuffed animal never left her side as the family wondered through the Soviet Union, to Iran and finally the Holy Land.

"He was like family. He was all I had. He knew all my secrets," the 80-year-old said with a smile. "I saved him all these years. But I worried what would happen to him when I died."

So when she heard about a project launched by Yad Vashem, Israel's national Holocaust memorial and museum, to collect artifacts from aging survivors, she reluctantly handed over her beloved bear Misiu, Polish for "teddy bear," so the memories of the era could be preserved.

"We've been through a lot together, so it was hard to let him go," said Knobel, who was widowed 12 years ago and has no children. "But here he has found a haven."

The German Nazis and their collaborators murdered 6 million Jews during World War II. In addition to rounding up Jews and shipping them to death camps, the Nazis also confiscated their possessions and stole their valuables, leaving little behind. Those who survived often had just a small item or two they managed to keep. Many have clung to the sentimental objects ever since.

On Sunday, Knobel's tattered teddy bear was on display at Yad Vashem, one of more than 71,000 items collected nationwide over the past two years. With a missing eye, his stuffing bursting out and a red ribbon around his neck, Misiu was seated behind a glass window as part of the memorial's "Gathering the Fragments" exhibit.

The opening came as other Holocaust-related events took place around the world.

In 2005, the United Nations designated Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking 60 years to the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp.

Israel's main Holocaust memorial day is in the spring, marking the anniversary of the uprising of the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, Poland, against the Nazis.

To coincide with the international commemorations, Israel released its annual anti-Semitism report, noting that the past year experienced an increase in the number of attacks against Jewish targets worldwide, mainly by elements identified with Islamic extremists.

At Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the lessons of the Holocaust have yet to be learned. He accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons with the goal of destroying Israel.

"What has not changed is the desire to annihilate the Jews. What has changed is the ability of the Jews to defend themselves," he said.

Yad Vashem showcased dozens of items, each representing tales of perseverance and survival. They included sweaters, paintings, diaries, letters, dolls, cameras and religious artifacts that were stashed away for decades or discarded before they were collected and restored.

Yad Vashem researchers have been interviewing survivors, logging their stories, tagging materials and scanning documents into the museum's digitized archive.

Aside from their value as exhibits in the museum, Yad Vashem says the items are also proving helpful for research, filling in holes in history and contributing to the museum's huge database of names.

"Thousands of Israelis have decided to part from personal items close to their hearts, and through them share the memory of their dear ones who were murdered in the Holocaust," said Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev. "Through these examples, we have tried to bring to light items whose stories both explain the individual story and provide testimony to join the array of personal accounts that make up the narrative of the Holocaust."

For 83-year-old Shlomo Resnik, one such item was the steel bowl he and his father used for food at the Dachau concentration camp. His father Meir's name and number are engraved on the bowl, a reminder of how hard they had to scrap for food. "We fought to stay alive," he said.

Approaching the glass-encased display, Tsilla Shlubsky began tearing. Below she could see the handwritten diary her father kept while the family took shelter with two dozen others in a small attic in the Polish countryside. With a pencil, Jakov Glazmann meticulously recorded the family's ordeal in tiny Yiddish letters. His daughter doesn't know exactly what is written and she doesn't care to find out.

"I remember him writing. I lived through it," said Shlubsky, 74. "Abba (Dad) wasn't a writer, but with his heart's blood he wrote a diary to record the events to leave something behind so that what had taken place would be known."

She said it pained her to part with the family treasure.

"I know this is the right place for it and it will be protected forever," she said. "Now is the time and this is the place."

____

Follow Heller on Twitter at (at)aronhellerap

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/holocaust-items-put-display-remembrance-day-170140302.html

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Sergeant reunited with baby given up for adoption

An army drill sergeant whose estranged wife put his daughter up for adoption without his knowledge or permission while he was stationed in another state, has been reunited with the little girl, following a nearly two-year battle to get her back.

"I'm just happy right now. I'm with my daughter," Sgt. Terry Achane said. "It's about time."

The Utah Supreme Court earlier this month overturned a request by the toddler's adoptive parents to stay a lower court's December order that the child be returned to Achane, her father.

On Friday the original trial judge, Darold McDade who ruled in Achane's favor, held a transfer hearing that resulted in the little girl and her father being united this weekend for the first time since she was born 22 months ago.

"This is the first known case where the Utah State Supreme Court has removed a child from an [adoptive parent's] home and returned the child to the ... legal father," said Achane's lawyer Mark Wiser.

Wiser called the Supreme Court's ruling a "huge victory" for "equal parental rights," meaning one parent can't put a child up for adoption without the other's permission, and decried the adoption practice in Utah.

"Terry Achane believes that justice is finally taking place," Wiser said, adding that his client remains "heartbroken that he has missed 22 months of his daughter's life because of what happened. This is time that he and his daughter can never replace."

Achane, 31, was stationed in South Carolina on March 21, 2011, when his estranged wife, Tira Bland, gave birth in Utah and turned the baby over for adoption just two days later.

He initially believed that his pregnant wife had followed through on a threat to have an abortion. It was several weeks after the baby, whom he calls Teleah, was born that he learned the child had been adopted and was in Utah.

When Achane contacted the adoption agency that had facilitated the baby's placement with the couple, Jared and Kristi Frei, he was stonewalled, denied information and ignored when he told them he had not consented to the adoption, according to his lawyer.

In his ruling to restore Achane's custody, Judge McDade said he was "astonished and deeply troubled" by the actions of the agency, the Adoption Center of Choice, calling its treatment of Achane "utterly indefensible."

According to Achane, Bland gave the agency Achane's old address in Texas where he lived prior to being stationed in South Carolina, and suggested he would not consent to the adoption. The agency attempted to contact him once in Texas, but seems not to have made any other efforts to receive his consent, Wiser said.

The agency would not comment.

Achane knew Bland was pregnant and had taken her to prenatal doctor appointments in Texas, but Bland cut off all contact with him following his deployment to South Carolina and made arrangements for the adoption in secret, he lawyer claims in court documents.

Calls to the Freis were not returned. In an emails to ABCNews.com, their lawyer Larry Jenkins wrote: "The Freis have asked us not to comment publicly about the case."

The Freis, however, have maintained a blog about the case where they claim that Achane "left [Bland] without any money, a car, or details of his whereabouts. Needing to act quickly for the best interest of her unborn child, and with incredible faith, fortitude, and courage, she put her child up for adoption."

In 2008, Kristi Frei was diagnosed with endometriosis and told she would not be able to conceive, according to the blog.

The Freis insist that it was they who tracked down Achane "several months" after adopting the baby, whom they call Leah, but to "our great shock and dismay" he refused to consent to the adoption.

The judge said in his ruling, however, that the couple knew that Achane had never been consulted and "acknowledged this risk but decided they wanted to proceed forward with the adoptive placement anyway."

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Source: http://gma.yahoo.com/sgt-reunited-baby-given-adoption-181449034--abc-news-topstories.html

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Over 232 People Die In Horrific Brazilian Club Fire (VIDEOS)

Over 232 People Die In Horrific Brazilian Club Fire (VIDEOS)

A fire broke out in a nightclub called The Kiss Club Brazil in the wee hours of the morning, with over 232 people confirmed dead. Sources claim security guards tried to keep people from leaving the club before realizing what was happening as the blaze quickly spread in the building. Club goers were said to ...

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Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/01/over-232-people-die-in-horrific-brazilian-club-fire/

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Bioinspired fibers change color when stretched

Jan. 28, 2013 ? A team of materials scientists at Harvard University and the University of Exeter, UK, have invented a new fiber that changes color when stretched. Inspired by nature, the researchers identified and replicated the unique structural elements that create the bright iridescent blue color of a tropical plant's fruit.

The multilayered fiber, described January 28 in the journal Advanced Materials, could lend itself to the creation of smart fabrics that visibly react to heat or pressure.

"Our new fiber is based on a structure we found in nature, and through clever engineering we've taken its capabilities a step further," says lead author Mathias Kolle, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). "The plant, of course, cannot change color. By combining its structure with an elastic material, however, we've created an artificial version that passes through a full rainbow of colors as it's stretched."

Since the evolution of the first eye on Earth more than 500 million years ago, the success of many organisms has relied upon the way they interact with light and color, making them useful models for the creation of new materials. For seeds and fruit in particular, bright color is thought to have evolved to attract the agents of seed dispersal, especially birds.

The fruit of the South American tropical plant, Margaritaria nobilis, commonly called "bastard hogberry," is an intriguing example of this adaptation. The ultra-bright blue fruit, which is low in nutritious content, mimics a more fleshy and nutritious competitor. Deceived birds eat the fruit and ultimately release its seeds over a wide geographic area.

"The fruit of this bastard hogberry plant was scientifically delightful to pick," says principal investigator Peter Vukusic, Associate Professor in Natural Photonics at the University of Exeter. "The light-manipulating architecture its surface layer presents, which has evolved to serve a specific biological function, has inspired an extremely useful and interesting technological design."

Vukusic and his collaborators at Harvard studied the structural origin of the seed's vibrant color. They discovered that the upper cells in the seed's skin contain a curved, repeating pattern, which creates color through the interference of light waves. (A similar mechanism is responsible for the bright colors of soap bubbles.) The team's analysis revealed that multiple layers of cells in the seed coat are each made up of a cylindrically layered architecture with high regularity on the nano- scale.

The team replicated the key structural elements of the fruit to create flexible, stretchable and color-changing photonic fibers using an innovative roll-up mechanism perfected in the Harvard laboratories.

"For our artificial structure, we cut down the complexity of the fruit to just its key elements," explains Kolle. "We use very thin fibers and wrap a polymer bilayer around them. That gives us the refractive index contrast, the right number of layers, and the curved, cylindrical cross-section that we need to produce these vivid colors."

The researchers say that the process could be scaled up and developed to suit industrial production.

"Our fiber-rolling technique allows the use of a wide range of materials, especially elastic ones, with the color-tuning range exceeding by an order of magnitude anything that has been reported for thermally drawn fibers," says coauthor Joanna Aizenberg, Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science at Harvard SEAS, and Kolle's adviser. Aizenberg is also Director of the Kavli Institute for Bionano Science and Technology at Harvard and a Core Faculty Member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard.

The fibers' superior mechanical properties, combined with their demonstrated color brilliance and tunability, make them very versatile. For instance, the fibers can be wound to coat complex shapes. Because the fibers change color under strain, the technology could lend itself to smart sports textiles that change color in areas of muscle tension, or that sense when an object is placed under strain as a result of heat.

Additional coauthors included Alfred Lethbridge at the University of Exeter, Moritz Kreysing at Ludwig Maximilians University (Germany), and Jeremy B. Baumberg, Professor of Nanophotonics at the University of Cambridge (UK).

This research was supported by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative, by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and through a postdoctoral research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The researchers also benefited from facilities at the Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems, which is part of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation. The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard also contributed to this research.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Mathias Kolle, Alfred Lethbridge, Moritz Kreysing, Jeremy J. Baumberg, Joanna Aizenberg, Peter Vukusic. Bio-Inspired Band-Gap Tunable Elastic Optical Multilayer Fibers. Advanced Materials, 2013; DOI: 10.1002/adma.201203529

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/F55whN1jT3w/130128151938.htm

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How Social Media Benefits Online Businesses

It?s quite amazing to see how much technology has progressed over the last few years, image there was a time before Facebook and Twitter.? Practically every person has access to just about anything they desire, all thanks to the continuing progression of the World Wide Web.? Because of this, people are able to get in touch with their loved ones and connect with new friends in the easiest manner.? Of course, this is something that?s further enhanced by the presence of social networking.? Facebook, Twitter and other websites of a similar ilk have grabbed the attention of millions of people all over the world, and this has brought about a great change in business.? In fact, social media has become such a powerful tool for web-based businesses everywhere.

A business website requires constant marketing in order to reach out to its clients, promoting the many products and services it?s got to offer.? With social media, one can simply market their website in order to attract a lot more people.? Through this, they are able to come up with a large enough following that will lead to increased traffic and potential profits to be made.? Below are some of the benefits that can be expected with this internet marketing strategy.

Ease of Promotion

With more and more people making use of the Internet on a daily basis, it can make things easier for businesses everywhere to attract attention to themselves.? They can simply find a target market to which they can cater products and services.? Social media optimization can definitely bring about a positive change in the online presence of many small businesses.? Apart from that, it generates a special kind of connectivity between the customer and the company.? Any inquiries or concerns can be addressed directly, making it a very personal experience despite being based on the Internet.? This makes it a very important tool that can forge long lasting business relationships built on loyalty and commitment.

Easy Reputation Building

This internet marketing technique also benefits companies by through convenient tagging and linking.? It can essentially direct all the users who are relevant to the company?s offerings, as well as create potential visitors.? In fact, it?s often used as a viral marketing tool, which is essentially about creating buzz and hype for something. Appropriately enough, it can spread quite fast just like a virus and would get the word out on what the company is all about.? It will help build a reputation and credibility for the company, thus solidifying its brand.

Direct Link for Customers

Through the use of this technique, it will be a lot easier for potential customers to find a company which provides them with what they need.? The entire process becomes so efficient that one doesn?t need to go through customer support sectors with long waiting time.? They can just contact the company directly through the social network page and simply raise their concerns or inquiries with them directly.? Because of this, a website can simply increase their stats in the search engine indexes, enhancing their page rank and becoming an authority in their respective industry.

These are some of the things to be expected with the use of social media in Internet marketing.

Leslie write for Cube in Dublin and loves SEO and Social Media.

Source: http://www.k2seo.com/how-social-media-benefits-online-businesses/

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