This image provided by WXII Channel 12 news, shows the scene following a 75-vehicle pileup on Interstate 77 near the Virginia-North Carolina border in Galax, Va., on Sunday, March 31, 2013. Virginia State Police say three people have been killed and more than 20 are injured and traffic is backed up about 8 miles. (AP Photo/WXII, William Bottomley) MANDAORY CREDIT: WXII,WILLIAM BOTTOMLEY
This image provided by WXII Channel 12 news, shows the scene following a 75-vehicle pileup on Interstate 77 near the Virginia-North Carolina border in Galax, Va., on Sunday, March 31, 2013. Virginia State Police say three people have been killed and more than 20 are injured and traffic is backed up about 8 miles. (AP Photo/WXII, William Bottomley) MANDAORY CREDIT: WXII,WILLIAM BOTTOMLEY
This image provided by WXII Channel 12 news, shows the scene following a 75-vehicle pileup on Interstate 77 near the Virginia-North Carolina border in Galax, Va., on Sunday, March 31, 2013. Virginia State Police say three people have been killed and more than 20 are injured and traffic is backed up about 8 miles. (AP Photo/WXII, William Bottomley) MANDAORY CREDIT: WXII,WILLIAM BOTTOMLEY
GALAX, Va. (AP) ? Police are now saying 95 vehicles were involved in 17 separate crashes along a mountainous, foggy stretch of interstate near the Virginia-North Carolina border.
Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corrine Geller says three people were killed Sunday and 25 people were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from serious to minor.
The wrecks occurred on Interstate 77 in southwest Virginia in the Fancy Gap Mountain area. Geller says message boards along the interstate warned drivers of severe fog in the area. She says the crashes happened about 1:15 p.m., mostly because drivers were going too fast for conditions.
Traffic backed up for about 8 miles in the southbound lanes, which is where the wrecks occurred. Authorities also closed the northbound lanes so that emergency vehicles could get there.
Editor?s note:?Ross Rubin is principal analyst at?Reticle Research and blogs at?Techspressive. There are a number of schools regarding the existence of alien intelligent races. Among those who refute that we?ve been able to detect extraterrestrials among us, there are a broad range of theories. Perhaps such beings don?t exist. Perhaps they haven?t advanced far enough to reach us. Or to the contrary, perhaps they are so advanced that we can?t detect them.
Mate choice is a key factor in the evolution of new animal species. The choice of a specific mate can decisively influence the evolutionary development of a species. In mice, the attractiveness of a potential mate is conveyed by scent cues and ultrasonic vocalizations. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Pl?n investigated whether house mice (Mus musculus) would mate with each other even if they were from two populations which had been separated from each other for a long time period. To do this, the researchers brought together mice from a German population and mice from a French population. Although to begin with all the mice mated with one another randomly, the hybrid offspring of French and German parents were distinctly more choosy: they showed a definite preference for mating with individuals from their father's original population. According to the researchers, this paternal imprinting accelerates the divergence of two house mouse populations and thus promotes speciation.
In allopatric speciation, individuals of a species become geographically isolated from each other by external factors such as mountains or estuaries. Over time, this geographic separation leads to the sub-populations undergoing various mutations, and thus diverging genetically. Animals from the two different sub-populations can no longer successfully reproduce, so two new species evolve.
To find out what role partner selection plays in such speciation processes, Diethard Tautz from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology and his colleagues conducted a comprehensive study on house mice ? the classic model organisms of biology. "To investigate whether there are differences in the mating behaviour of the mice in the early stages of speciation, we caught wild house mice in southern France and western Germany. The two populations have been geographically separate for around 3,000 years, which equates to some 18,000 generations," says Diethard Tautz. Due to this geographical separation, the French and German mice were genetically different.
The Pl?n-based researchers created a semi-natural environment for their investigations ? a sort of "Playboy Mansion" for mice. The research enclosure was several square meters in size and was divided up using wooden walls, "nests" made out of plastic cylinders, and plastic tubes. It also featured an escape tube with several entrances, which led into a cage system nearby. "We constructed the enclosure in such a way that all animals had unimpeded access to all areas, but thanks to the structural divisions were also able to create their own territories or retreat into nests," explains Tautz. "The escape tube was a control element. If the mice retreated to it only very seldom ? as was the case in our experiment ? then we could be sure there was no overpopulation in the central enclosure."
In this central enclosure, the French and German mice had both time and space to mate with each other and reproduce. "At first, all the mice mated with each other quite randomly. But with the first-generation offspring, a surprising pattern emerged," says Tautz. When the first-generation hybrid offspring of mixed French and German parentage mated, they showed a specific preference for pure-bred mates whose "nationality" was that of their father only. "There must be some kind of paternal influence that prompts the hybrid mice to choose a mate from a specific population, namely that of their father," concludes the biologist, based on the results of his study. "This imprinting must be learned, however, meaning that the animals must grow up in the presence of their fathers. This was not the case for the original mice, which were kept in cages for a time after being caught."
"We know that mice use ultrasonic vocalizations to communicate with each other and that particularly in the case of male mice these vocalizations can reveal signals of individuality and kinship. We believe that, like birdsong, the vocalizations of the males have a learned component and a genetic component," says Tautz. Therefore, French and German mice really could "speak" different languages, partly learned from their fathers, partly inherited from them. Individual mice thus have a mating preference for mice that speak the same language as they do.
The French and German mouse populations had evidently been geographically separated long enough for preliminary signs of species differentiation to be apparent as regards mating preferences. In addition, another aspect of mating behavior also sped up the speciation process.
Although mice have multiple mates, the researchers found evidence of partner fidelity and inbreeding. The tendency to mate with relatives fosters the creation of genetically uniform groups. When both occur together, this accelerates the speciation process.
In a next step, Diethard Tautz wants to find out whether the vocalizations of the mice play the decisive role in paternal imprinting, or if scent cues are also involved. Furthermore, the biologist wants to identify the genes that are involved in mate selection.
###
Inka Montero, Meike Tesche and Diethard Tautz: "Paternal imprinting of mating preferences between natural populations of house mice (Mus musculus domesticus)", Molecular Ecology (2013), doi: 10.111/mec.122271;
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: http://www.mpg.de
Thanks to Max-Planck-Gesellschaft for this article.
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SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Saturday it was entering a "state of war" with South Korea, but Seoul and its ally the United States played down the statement as tough talk.
Pyongyang also threatened to close a border industrial zone, the last remaining example of inter-Korean cooperation which gives the impoverished North access to $2 billion in trade a year.
The United States said it took Pyongyang's threats seriously but cautioned that the North had a history of bellicose rhetoric. Russia, another a permanent U.N. Security Council member, urged all sides to show restraint.
Tensions have been high since the North's new young leader Kim Jong-un ordered a third nuclear weapons test in February, breaching U.N. sanctions and ignoring warnings from North Korea's sole major ally, China, not to do so.
"From this time on, the North-South relations will be entering the state of war and all issues raised between the North and the South will be handled accordingly," a statement carried by the North's official KCNA news agency said.
KCNA said the statement was issued jointly by the North's government, ruling party and other organizations.
The Seoul government said there was nothing in the North's latest statement to cause particular alarm.
"North Korea's statement today ... is not a new threat but is the continuation of provocative threats," the South's Unification Ministry, which handles political ties with the North, said in a statement.
On Friday, Kim signed an order putting the North's missile units on standby to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific, after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a rare show of force.
U.S. officials described the flight as a diplomatic sortie aimed at reassuring allies South Korea and Japan, and at trying to nudge Pyongyang back to nuclear talks, though there was no guarantee Kim Jong-un would get the message as intended.
The two Koreas have been technically in a state of war since a truce that ended their 1950-53 conflict. Despite its threats, few people see any indication Pyongyang will risk a near-certain defeat by re-starting full-scale war.
There was no sign of unusual activity in the North's military to suggest an imminent aggression, a South Korean defense ministry official said.
CALLS FOR RESTRAINT
White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said North Korea's announcement followed a "familiar pattern" of rhetoric [ID:nL2N0CM05W].
Russia, which has often balanced criticism of North Korea, a Soviet-era client state, with calls on the United States and South Korea to refrain from belligerent actions, said a recurrence of war was unacceptable.
"We hope that all parties will exercise maximum responsibility and restraint and no-one will cross the point of no return," Grigory Logvinov, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official, told Interfax news agency.
France said it was deeply worried about the situation on the Korean peninsula while NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow said the alliance hoped "that this is more posturing than a prelude to any armed hostilities."
China has repeatedly called for restraint on the peninsula.
The North has been threatening to attack the South and U.S. military bases almost on a daily basis since the beginning of March, when U.S. and South Korean militaries started routine drills that have been conducted for decades without incident.
Many in the South have regarded the North's willingness to keep open the Kaesong industrial zone, located just a few miles (km) north of the heavily-militarized border, as a sign that Pyongyang will not risk losing a lucrative source of foreign currency by mounting a real act of aggression.
The Kaesong zone is a vital source of hard currency for the North and hundreds of South Korean workers and vehicles enter daily after crossing the armed border.
"If the puppet traitor group continues to mention the Kaesong industrial zone is being kept operating and damages our dignity, it will be mercilessly shut off and shut down," KCNA quoted an agency that operates Kaesong as saying in a statement.
Closure could also trap hundreds of South Korean workers and managers of the more than 100 firms that have factories there.
The North has previously suspended operations at the factory zone at the height of political tensions with the South, only to let it resume operations later.
North Korea has canceled an armistice agreement with the United States that ended the Korean War and cut all hotlines with U.S. forces, the United Nations and South Korea.
(Additional reporting by Sung-won Shim and Jane Chung; Editing Rosalind Russell and Jon Boyle)
It's a common little meta-game for those of us who are technically competent: keep your eye out in the movies for the most egregious technical misrepresentation you can find. And while its one thing to just keep tossing of reference after reference to "the mainframe," this complication of hacktastic scenes put together by the folks at Hack a Day is particularly cringe-worthy. More »
Has the HTC Droid DNA been given its gold watch and sent packing? Verizon CS says yes, and it's no longer listed for sale
A reader sent in a pretty interesting screenshot, accompanied by some equally interesting information about the HTC Droid DNA. According to Verizon customer service, the DNA is now officially retired. The screenshot of chat with a CS (you can find it after the break) actually uses the word retired, and subsequent inquiries led to a statement from Verizon saying "HTC halted production in efforts to push out an upcoming project on the horizon".
Now normally, we would place little to no faith in the words of an online chat with customer care from any provider. We're not judging, they have a difficult job and get way more harassment than anyone deserves. But after hearing about this, we went looking on Verizon's website, and found that the DNA is nowhere to be seen. You can't buy one from Big Red. Verizon loves to take our money, so there must be a reason they don't want to sell us a Droid DNA.
Now consider the on and off rumors about the HTC One coming to Verizon. We're pretty sure that you'll never be able to buy an "HTC One" for use on Verizon. But ask us if you'll be able to buy a premium HTC device with Sense 5, the new camera, Boomsound, a kick-ass display, and all the other goodies that come with the HTC One and our answer would be different. Don't let semantics like official names fool you. We're pretty confident that something very close to the HTC One is "on the horizon" for Verizon Wireless.
We never pretend that we know what goes on inside the minds of carrier corporate executives. We certainly question many of their decisions, but we're not at the meetings and don't have access to the data they use when they decide things like which phones to sell, and when to stop selling them. And of course, all this could be wrong and the DNA is simply out of stock for a while. We're just going to keep watching this, and when it all works out, we'll let you know.
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NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. stocks darted between small gains and losses in early trading Thursday as investors considered mixed signals from the U.S. economy and Europe.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 16 points, or 0.1 percent, at 14,542 half an hour after the opening bell.
The S&P inched up half a point, or 0.01 percent, to 1,563, just two points shy of the closing high it reached on Oct. 9. 2007, before the financial crisis imploded.
Investors have struggled to discern the state of the U.S. economy. For every sign that it's improving, another says it's not.
Thursday was a case in point.
The U.S. economy grew faster than first estimated in the fourth quarter, the government reported. The growth of 0.4 percent was still anemic, however. And the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits jumped for the second straight week. On a longer time frame, jobless claims have been declining since November.
Investors are also uncertain what to make of the continuing debt crisis in Europe, including the bailout of the Mediterranean island country of Cyprus. Banks there reopened Thursday for the first time in nearly two weeks.
The banks had been closed because the government was negotiating emergency loans from other European countries, and there were concerns that there would be a run on the banks. Across Cyprus on Thursday, customers stood in long but orderly lines for hours ahead of the bank openings, and guards from private security firms reinforced police outside some ATMs and banks in the capital, Nicosia.
Some investors had predicted that a bailout plan for Cyprus would send the markets up because it would calm concerns that the country's banking system might collapse. But the markets have been mixed this week. Some investors said the Cyprus bailout only serves as a reminder that Europe's debt crisis lingers.
In other trading, he Nasdaq composite index was off two points, or 0.06 percent, at 3,254.
Among stocks making big moves:
?Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry phones, rose after surprising analysts with a profitable quarter and better-than-expected sales of its touch-screen BlackBerry 10s. The company hopes to take back some of the market share it has lost to Apple's iPhone and other competitors. The stock rose 59 cents, about 4 percent, to $15.16.
?Repros Therapeutics, a drug developer, shot higher on news that its potential treatment for low testosterone moved closer to regulatory approval. The stock rose $6.27, or 69 percent, to $15.40.
?Signet Jewelers, which runs Kay and Jared stores, and Mosaic, the fertilizer maker, were both up after reporting higher quarterly profits and revenue. Signet rose more than 7 percent, $4.74, to $68.01. Mosaic was up more than 1 percent, rising 83 cents to $59.51.
All Critics (70) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (64) | Rotten (6)
The film and its talking head participants paint the picture in both broad strokes and fine detail.
Whatever one's political stripe regarding Israel, it's hard to dispute the impressions and perspective of the film's six eyewitnesses.
The level of candor here may not satisfy hard-liners of either stripe, but it can help viewers begin to formulate new questions about the philosophical, strategic and moral challenges of conflict, in particular "wars on terror."
Ultimately the movie feels evasive, and its flashy, digitally animated re-creations of military surveillance footage unpleasantly evoke the Call of Duty video games.
It offers startlingly honest insight into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from some of those who called the shots.
As a political testament, the result is revealing and important.
Moreh gets some startling confessions and insights from each man but also misses the opportunity to truly challenge his subjects on their regard for democracy, basic human rights and their own accountability.
Director Dror Moreh doesn't rest on his scoop
A powerful look inside the Israeli defense establishment
A deadly serious and detailed examination of and meditation upon the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, The Gatekeepers makes no attempt to find a silver lining.
The rule of surveillance is to keep quiet and let others do the talking. The Oscar-nominated documentary The Gatekeepers flips the script, to astonishing effect, giving voice to the retired directors of Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency.
An up-close and personal look at the psychology of war -- their war and, by extension, all war.
A riveting firsthand account of how legitimate security concerns can lead to policies considered extreme and even immoral by the people administering them.
Extraordinary...not only an engrossing first-hand account of Israel's Palestinian policies over time, but one that may have lessons to teach both Israeli leaders and other nations confronting those they identify as terrorists.
Unprecedented and deeply unsettling, it offers little hope for a lasting peace in that war-torn region.
For its candor and impact, deserves to be seen and discussed.
An often remarkable Israeli documentary about Shin Bet, the country's internal security agency.
Hundred dollar bills like the ones Carol Sutor found in old clothes (Getty Images)
A woman who agreed to take some donated clothes from a relative gave it right back: $30,000 she found inside the hand-me-downs.
Carol Sutor of Bristol, Pa., came across the cash stuffed into envelopes, wrapped in layers of plastic bags among the wardrobe from her cousin?s daughter?s 85-year-old mother-in-law, who had recently died.
Sutor told the website Phillyburbs.com, ?So I go through the clothes and I come across a canvas bag on a hangar. In the bag was a plastic bag.? She continued, ?So I unwrapped the bag, and there was another bag in another bag in another bag, one of those deals, you know?? Inside all those sacks, stacks of hundred dollar bills.
Sutor herself is going through hard times. The owner of Advantage Insurance in Levittown, she imagined how all her problems could be solved with the cash in the clothes.
She said, ?Things are tight. You struggle in your business, like everybody?s struggling. But when you struggle you think, oh, wow, if only I had money, my troubles would be solved. And so all this money shows up, but it?s the wrong way for it to come. It wasn?t mine and I knew it.?
When Sutor told her cousin, Marlene Lattanzi, who lives in nearby Medford, N.J., of the cash find, she came over to help count the bills. The cousins think the money had been stashed someplace safe during Superstorm Sandy and never put back in the bank after flooding ruined the mother-in-law?s house and her car.
Lattanzi left with the money and called her son-in-law, whose mother had all that money, to tell him the good news. Ten minutes later, Lattanzi returned to give Sutor $1,000 and her son-in-law?s thanks for returning the funds.
Sutor said she didn?t spend much time wrestling with what to do. ?I had to give it back,? she told the news website. ?I believe in karma; whatever I do will come back to me, good or bad.?
One veteran of returned treasure could tell Sutor it's worth it. Homeless man Billy Ray Harris, who gave back a diamond ring put accidentally in his change cup, now has a home, a part-time job and a fund of over $186,000 donated to him?and was reunited with his family on TV.
Zack Shahin was sentenced to 15 years in a Dubai prison for a vast embezzlement scheme.
By Mahmoud Habboush, Reuters
DUBAI ? A U.S. businessman who jumped bail in the United Arab Emirates only to be sent back for trial has been convicted of multi-million dollar embezzlement and sentenced to 15 years' jail, court documents showed on Tuesday.
Zack Shahin, former chief executive of Deyaar, one of Dubai's biggest property developers, and three other men were fined 28.5 million dirhams ($8 million) in the latest conviction since the emirate stepped up its fight against corruption after a 2009 financial crisis.
Arrested in 2008, Shahin went on hunger strike in jail last May and was released on $1.4 million bail in July after Washington expressed concern about his health. He fled to Yemen, where he was arrested in August and deported back to the UAE.
According to the verdict obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, Shahin was convicted on Monday of "intentionally damaging the interest of Deyaar" and embezzling 30 million dirhams along with the three other men, all foreigners.
The three others were sentenced to 10 years each, the court document said. One was a Briton who had fled the UAE and remains on the run, it said. The identities of the others were not disclosed.
Shahin still faces at least one other charge, of embezzling 237 million dirhams along with eight other suspects. The court referred that case to a committee of financial and accounting experts for their opinion.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Samsung lost out big to Apple last year in a mobile patent blowout in the U.S., but it's been slowly building up an arsenal of patents that potentially will keep it from falling into the same situation again. Samsung, also currently the world's biggest mobile company, received the most mobile patents in 2012, and it now holds the most mobile patents of any company worldwide, according to the latest patent report out from mobile analyst Chetan Sharma, which lays out a thicket of companies scrambling to put a legal seal on their intellectual property in the fast-moving world of wireless communications.
Laser empties atoms from the inside outPublic release date: 25-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Caron Lett caron.lett@york.ac.uk 44-019-043-22029 University of York
An international team of plasma physicists has used one of the world's most powerful lasers to create highly unusual plasma composed of hollow atoms.
The experimental work led by scientists from the University of York, UK and the Joint Institute for High Temperatures of Russian Academy of Sciences demonstrated that it is possible to remove the two most deeply bound electrons from atoms, emptying the inner most quantum shell and leading to a distinctive plasma state.
The experiment was carried out using the petawatt laser at the Central Laser Facility at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to further understanding of fusion energy generation, which employs plasmas that are hotter than the core of the Sun.
The results are reported in the journal Physical Review Letters.
A hollow atom occurs when an electron buried in an atom is removed, usually by being hit by another electron, creating a hole while leaving all the other electrons attached. This process creates plasma, a form of ionised gas. An X-ray is released when the hole is filled.
Normally the process involves removing electrons from the outer shells of atoms first and working inwards. The team of scientists demonstrated a new mechanism for creating hollow atoms that involved emptying atoms from the inside out.
The experimental work used an intense laser, which at one petawatt delivers approximately 10,000 times the entire UK national grid, delivered in a thousand-billionth of a second, onto an area smaller than the end of a human hair.
Dr Nigel Woolsey, from the York Plasma Institute, Department of Physics, at the University of York was the Principal Investigator for the experimental work.
Dr Woolsey said: "At such extraordinary intensities electrons move at close to the speed of light and as they move they create perhaps the most intense X-rays ever observed on Earth. These X-rays empty the atoms from the inside out; a most extraordinary observation and one that suggests the physics of these interactions is likely to change, as lasers become more powerful."
Analysis and theoretical work was led by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA and Osaka University, Japan.
The analysis showed the mechanism for hollow atom generation was not due to the collision of electrons or driven by the laser photons, but was driven by the resulting radiation field from the interaction.
Lead author Dr James Colgan, from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, said: "The conditions under which the hollow atoms were produced were highly non-equilibrium and the production mechanism was quite surprising. These results indicate that a little-explored region of physics is now starting to become accessible with the unprecedented intensities reached by the world's leading laser facilities."
Co-author Dr Alexei Zhidkov, from Osaka University, said: "This experiment has demonstrated a situation where X-ray radiation dominates the atomic physics in a laser-plasma interaction; this indicates the importance of X-ray radiation generation in our physics description. Future experiments are likely to show yet more dramatic effects which will have substantial implications for diverse fields such as laboratory-based astrophysics."
If the scientific and technological challenges can be overcome, fusion offers the potential for an effectively limitless supply of safe, environmentally friendly energy. The experimental work was designed to further scientists understanding of how intense lasers can create electron beams with speeds close to the speed of light, then use these beams to heat fusion fuel to thermonuclear temperatures.
Co-author Dr Sergey Pikuz, from the Joint Institute for High Temperatures RAS, said: "The measurements, simulations, and developing physics picture are consistent with a scenario in which high-intensity laser technology can be used to generate extremely intense X-ray fields. This demonstrates the potential to study properties of matter under the impact of intense X-ray radiation."
Co-author Rachel Dance, a University of York PhD physics student, said: "This was a very dynamic experiment which led to an unexpected outcome and new physics. The hollow atom diagnostic was set to measure the hot electron beam current generated by the laser, and the results that came out of this in the end, showed us that the mechanism for hollow atom generation, was not collisional or driven by the laser photons, but by the resulting radiation field from the interaction."
###
The UK researchers received funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Royal Society.
[ | 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.
Laser empties atoms from the inside outPublic release date: 25-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Caron Lett caron.lett@york.ac.uk 44-019-043-22029 University of York
An international team of plasma physicists has used one of the world's most powerful lasers to create highly unusual plasma composed of hollow atoms.
The experimental work led by scientists from the University of York, UK and the Joint Institute for High Temperatures of Russian Academy of Sciences demonstrated that it is possible to remove the two most deeply bound electrons from atoms, emptying the inner most quantum shell and leading to a distinctive plasma state.
The experiment was carried out using the petawatt laser at the Central Laser Facility at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to further understanding of fusion energy generation, which employs plasmas that are hotter than the core of the Sun.
The results are reported in the journal Physical Review Letters.
A hollow atom occurs when an electron buried in an atom is removed, usually by being hit by another electron, creating a hole while leaving all the other electrons attached. This process creates plasma, a form of ionised gas. An X-ray is released when the hole is filled.
Normally the process involves removing electrons from the outer shells of atoms first and working inwards. The team of scientists demonstrated a new mechanism for creating hollow atoms that involved emptying atoms from the inside out.
The experimental work used an intense laser, which at one petawatt delivers approximately 10,000 times the entire UK national grid, delivered in a thousand-billionth of a second, onto an area smaller than the end of a human hair.
Dr Nigel Woolsey, from the York Plasma Institute, Department of Physics, at the University of York was the Principal Investigator for the experimental work.
Dr Woolsey said: "At such extraordinary intensities electrons move at close to the speed of light and as they move they create perhaps the most intense X-rays ever observed on Earth. These X-rays empty the atoms from the inside out; a most extraordinary observation and one that suggests the physics of these interactions is likely to change, as lasers become more powerful."
Analysis and theoretical work was led by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA and Osaka University, Japan.
The analysis showed the mechanism for hollow atom generation was not due to the collision of electrons or driven by the laser photons, but was driven by the resulting radiation field from the interaction.
Lead author Dr James Colgan, from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, said: "The conditions under which the hollow atoms were produced were highly non-equilibrium and the production mechanism was quite surprising. These results indicate that a little-explored region of physics is now starting to become accessible with the unprecedented intensities reached by the world's leading laser facilities."
Co-author Dr Alexei Zhidkov, from Osaka University, said: "This experiment has demonstrated a situation where X-ray radiation dominates the atomic physics in a laser-plasma interaction; this indicates the importance of X-ray radiation generation in our physics description. Future experiments are likely to show yet more dramatic effects which will have substantial implications for diverse fields such as laboratory-based astrophysics."
If the scientific and technological challenges can be overcome, fusion offers the potential for an effectively limitless supply of safe, environmentally friendly energy. The experimental work was designed to further scientists understanding of how intense lasers can create electron beams with speeds close to the speed of light, then use these beams to heat fusion fuel to thermonuclear temperatures.
Co-author Dr Sergey Pikuz, from the Joint Institute for High Temperatures RAS, said: "The measurements, simulations, and developing physics picture are consistent with a scenario in which high-intensity laser technology can be used to generate extremely intense X-ray fields. This demonstrates the potential to study properties of matter under the impact of intense X-ray radiation."
Co-author Rachel Dance, a University of York PhD physics student, said: "This was a very dynamic experiment which led to an unexpected outcome and new physics. The hollow atom diagnostic was set to measure the hot electron beam current generated by the laser, and the results that came out of this in the end, showed us that the mechanism for hollow atom generation, was not collisional or driven by the laser photons, but by the resulting radiation field from the interaction."
###
The UK researchers received funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Royal Society.
[ | 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.
Popular music streaming service Spotify have been rumoured to be planning a new competitor in the video streaming market, in an attempt to take on dominant brands such as Netflix and Amazon.
The American service is one of the biggest names in online music, and while they have taken on some format changes in recent times (including removing a ?five-song limit? for free ad-supported users after a 6-month trial, and launching a ?browser-based version? of their service), a transition to cover videos as well as music would not have been on many people?s agendas.
Reports from Business Insider suggest that as well as potentially streaming ?existing TV shows?, Spotify would follow the lead of what is working right now at the top of the video streaming market and order exclusive new series to add unique appeal to their platform.
Netflix?have already proven the success of this method through this year?s new political drama?House Of Cards, and around the world?YouTube and BBC iPlayer have recently followed suit with announcements of internet-exclusives, even if in the latter?s case it is only temporary.
While the reports of a new video service remain unclarified, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has previously hinted at his company looking into video, stating: ?I won?t rule it out because we?re a company that looks at what we?re doing incredibly long term. But right now, we?re all focused on music.?
Being supported by investments from the likes of Coca-Cola and Goldman Sachs contributing to a company value of $3b, Spotify easily have the finances and brand presence to enter a video streaming platform, but do they have the strategy and know-how to sufficiently add to their video offerings? For now, however, they just seem to be only ?for music?:
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iOS (Jailbroken): The volume HUD that pops up in iOS isn't especially useful, and if you're curious about what song is playing you need to pop into the Music app and look. Music HUD is a tweak that adds the currently playing album's image to the volume overlay, as well a few other pieces of useful information.
In Music HUD's settings you can customize how it works. At first, it just shows you the currently playing album when you hit the volume knob, but you can also add the album title, a subtitle, and a couple gestures to instantly mute or open up the Music app.
BEIJING (AP) ? Glamorous new first lady Peng Liyuan has emerged as Chinese diplomacy's latest star, charming audiences and cutting a very different profile from her all-but invisible predecessors on her debut official visit abroad to Russia.
A celebrated performer on state television, Peng featured prominently in Sunday's Chinese media coverage of husband and President Xi Jinping's activities in Moscow. The visit is Xi's first since he assumed the presidency earlier this month.
Peng watched song and dance routines at a performing arts school on Saturday, but did not join in as some media reports had suggested she might. Xi's trip continues this week with stops in Tanzania, South Africa and Congo, during which Peng is expected to hold other public events.
An internationally popular first lady could help soften China's sometimes abrasive international image and mark a victory in its so-far unsuccessful struggle to win over global public opinion.
At the same time, she could boost the popularity of the country's new leadership at a time when citizens are feeling increasingly alienated and are fed up with the ruling class's corruption and regal airs.
In recent years, the wives of China's top officials have traditionally gone almost unseen at home and attracted little attention while accompanying their husbands on state visits abroad.
That was in part a negative reaction to Mao Zedong's wife, Jiang Qing, who was widely despised and later imprisoned for her role as leader of the radical Gang of Four, which mercilessly persecuted political opponents during the chaotic 1966-76 Cultural Revolution.
Recently retired Premier Wen Jiabao's wife, Zhang Peili, became known for her role in the country's gem trade and was never seen in public with her husband. Meanwhile, Bo Xilai, one of China's most ambitious politicians, was brought down in spectacular style last year following his wife's involvement in the murder of a British businessman, setting off the country's nastiest political scandal in years.
Women in general wield relatively little power at the top of the Chinese power structure, with just two sitting on the ruling Communist Party's 25-member decision-making Politburo.
Peng's emerging high profile appears to be an extension of Xi's own confidence as he consolidates his control on power and presses a more assertive role for China in global affairs, said Steve Tsang, director of the China Policy Institute at Britain's University of Nottingham. Her training as a singer and stage performer offers the perfect preparation for such a role, he said.
"Peng is projecting a certain poise and confidence that Xi himself is carrying and he doesn't need to worry about what other (politicians) might think of her," Tsang said.
Peng's image was splashed across Chinese newspapers over the weekend, shown descending arm-in-arm with Xi as they descended from their aircraft after arriving in Moscow on Friday. Her visit to the arts school was carried by state broadcaster CCTV on its main Sunday news broadcast and reported in national newspapers.
The popular Beijing News tabloid ran a full page of items on Peng's appearances on Sunday, alongside a photo of her arriving at a speech Xi gave Saturday, dressed in an elegant Chinese-style silk tunic and skirt.
"In her role as first lady on this visit abroad, Peng Liyuan is exhibiting China's soft power," the paper quoted Wang Fan, head the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, as saying. "As a singer and artist and a long-term advocate for poverty relief and other causes, Peng has an excellent public image."
Much of the coverage focused on her personal style, with a report on the mass-market sina.com website noting with satisfaction that the black leather clutch she paired with the outfit was made to order by a Chinese firm in the southwestern city of Chengdu, a flattering contrast with prominent Chinese female politicians scorned publicly for appearing decked head to toe in foreign designer brands.
"In practical terms, this is an important show of support for China's domestic industries, but in the larger sense, it should raise national self-respect and confidence," read a posting on China's popular Weibo microblogging service left by Lin Zhibo, Gansu provincial bureau chief of the Communist Party's flagship newspaper, People's Daily.
Chen Li, a real estate agent from the central city of Changsha, said Peng was well-known for her modest ways and calm, dignified manner.
"She's known to be elegant and fashionable, but she's also very low-key and doesn't seem arrogant in the way that you usually associate with the wives of top leaders," Chen said.
Peng, 50, largely retired from public life after Xi was made China's leader-in-waiting in 2007, but in recent years has won new acclaim as an ambassador for the World Health Organization. Among the issues she has worked on are tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS ? diseases that still carry considerable social stigma in China.
She also made headlines last year by appearing alongside Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as part of a campaign to discourage smoking, a high-profile cause in a country where about two-thirds of men smoke.
Peng is Xi's second wife, and the two are separated in age by almost two decades. While Xi's father was a leading revolutionary and former vice-premier, making his son a member of the "red aristocracy," Peng comes from relatively humble origins and joined the People's Liberation Army when she was 18. The couple has one daughter, a student at Harvard who remains out of the limelight.
While sometimes described as a folk singer, Peng holds the rank of PLA major general and is best known for her stirring renditions of patriotic odes, often while wearing full dress uniform.
Although her rank is largely honorary, her military status could lead to awkward questions, said University of Nottingham's Tsang.
"Sooner or later, someone is going to ask whether that's completely normal, even if she doesn't have any real military or political ambitions," Tsang said.
By David Salazar, d.salazar@latinospost.com | First Posted: Mar 24, 2013 10:45 PM EDT
(Photo : REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci (ARGENTINA - Tags: SPORT SOCCER)) Argentina's Lionel Messi gestures as he leaves after a news conference at the squad's headquarters in Buenos Aires, March 21, 2013. Argentina will face Venezuela on March 22 in their 2014 World Cup qualifying soccer match.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been tremendous in the Spanish league for their respective clubs in 2013. However, many questioned whether the two superstars would be able to translate their success to their international teams in the World Cup qualifiers. While one superstar continued his torrid play for his country, the other continued to baffle with inconsistencies and a yellow card.
Ronaldo was once again inefficient for the Portuguese as the team drew 3-3 with Israel in a match they were expected to win. Ronaldo added an assist in the match, but now has just one goal in five World Cup qualifiers. To add insult to injury, he received a yellow card and will be forced to sit out of Portugal's match against Azerbaijan on Tuesday. "We can't make any more mistakes, lose any more points, the margin for error is zero. We have to play with ambition and win all our remaining games. This is what we will do. The Israel game didn't go as we wanted. We battled hard but for several reasons we didn't get the win," said Ronaldo. ??
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Meanwhile his rival looked stellar in Argentina's 3-0 win over Venezuela. Messi set up Higuain for two goals before adding his own on a penalty shot.
"Higuain is a great player because he scores a lot of goals," Messi told the media after the match. "Every time we play our understanding together increases. Playing together is a great joy shared amongst the members of the Argentina squad. The most important thing is to win, no matter who makes the assists or gets the goals."
With the goal, Messi now has 32 tallies for Argentina, two short of the record set by Diego Maradona.
Back in the fall, Messi helped Argentina to two qualifying victories while Ronaldo was shutout in two straight; after Tuesday the same scenario could play out in the same manner.
? 2013 Latinos Post. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Contact: Jenny Gimpel jenny.gimpel@gosh.org 44-020-723-93043 University College London
Stem cells taken from amniotic fluid were used to restore gut structure and function following intestinal damage in rodents, in new research published in the journal Gut. The findings pave the way for a new form of cell therapy to reverse serious damage from inflammation in the intestines of babies.
The study, funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, investigated a new way to treat necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), where severe inflammation destroys tissues in the gut. NEC is the most common gastrointestinal surgical emergency in newborn babies, with mortality rates of around 15 to 30 per cent in the UK.
While breast milk and probiotics can help to reduce the incidence of the disease, no medical treatments are currently available other than surgery once NEC sets in. Surgical removal of the dead tissue shortens the bowel and can lead to intestinal failure, with some babies eventually needing ongoing parenteral nutrition (feeding via an intravenous line) or an intestinal transplant.
In the study, led by the UCL Institute of Child Health, amniotic fluid stem (AFS) cells were harvested from rodent amniotic fluid and given to rats with NEC. Other rats with the same condition were given bone marrow stem cells taken from their femurs, or fed as normal with no treatment, to compare the clinical outcomes of different treatments.
NEC-affected rats injected with AFS cells showed significantly higher survival rates a week after being treated, compared to the other two groups. Inspection of their intestines, including with micro magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), showed the inflammation to be significantly reduced, with fewer dead cells, greater self-renewal of the gut tissue and better overall intestinal function.
While bone marrow stem cells have been known to help reverse colonic damage in irritable bowel disease by regenerating tissue, the beneficial effects from stem cell therapy in NEC appear to work via a different mechanism. Following their injection into the gut, the AFS cells moved into the intestinal villi - the small, finger-like projections that protrude from the lining of the intestinal wall and pass nutrients from the intestine into the blood. However, rather than directly repairing the damaged tissue, the AFS cells appear to have released specific growth factors that acted on progenitor cells in the gut which in turn, reduced the inflammation and triggered the formation of new villi and other tissues.
Dr Paolo De Coppi, UCL Institute of Child Health, who led the study, says: "Stem cells are well known to have anti-inflammatory effects, but this is the first time we have shown that amniotic fluid stem cells can repair damage in the intestines. In the future, we hope that stem cells found in amniotic fluid will be used more widely in therapies and in research, particularly for the treatment of congenital malformations. Although amniotic fluid stem cells have a more limited capacity to develop into different cell types than those from the embryo, they nevertheless show promise for many parts of the body including the liver, muscle and nervous system."
Dr Simon Eaton, UCL Institute of Child Health and co-author of the study, adds: "Once we have a better understanding of the mechanisms by which AFS cells trigger repair and restore function in the gut, we can start to explore new cellular or pharmacological therapies for infants with necrotizing enterocolitis."
###
Notes to editors
For further information, please contact Jenny Gimpel at the GOSH-ICH press office on + 44 (0)20 7239 3043 or jenny.gimpel@gosh.org.
'Amniotic fluid stem cells improve survival and enhance repair of damaged intestine in NEC via a COX-2 dependent mechanism' by Zani et al, is published on Monday 25 March 2013 in the journal Gut. To obtain a copy of the paper, please contact Jenny Gimpel at the GOSH-ICH press office.
The study was funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, with support from the Fondazione Citta della Speranza.
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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.
Contact: Jenny Gimpel jenny.gimpel@gosh.org 44-020-723-93043 University College London
Stem cells taken from amniotic fluid were used to restore gut structure and function following intestinal damage in rodents, in new research published in the journal Gut. The findings pave the way for a new form of cell therapy to reverse serious damage from inflammation in the intestines of babies.
The study, funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, investigated a new way to treat necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), where severe inflammation destroys tissues in the gut. NEC is the most common gastrointestinal surgical emergency in newborn babies, with mortality rates of around 15 to 30 per cent in the UK.
While breast milk and probiotics can help to reduce the incidence of the disease, no medical treatments are currently available other than surgery once NEC sets in. Surgical removal of the dead tissue shortens the bowel and can lead to intestinal failure, with some babies eventually needing ongoing parenteral nutrition (feeding via an intravenous line) or an intestinal transplant.
In the study, led by the UCL Institute of Child Health, amniotic fluid stem (AFS) cells were harvested from rodent amniotic fluid and given to rats with NEC. Other rats with the same condition were given bone marrow stem cells taken from their femurs, or fed as normal with no treatment, to compare the clinical outcomes of different treatments.
NEC-affected rats injected with AFS cells showed significantly higher survival rates a week after being treated, compared to the other two groups. Inspection of their intestines, including with micro magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), showed the inflammation to be significantly reduced, with fewer dead cells, greater self-renewal of the gut tissue and better overall intestinal function.
While bone marrow stem cells have been known to help reverse colonic damage in irritable bowel disease by regenerating tissue, the beneficial effects from stem cell therapy in NEC appear to work via a different mechanism. Following their injection into the gut, the AFS cells moved into the intestinal villi - the small, finger-like projections that protrude from the lining of the intestinal wall and pass nutrients from the intestine into the blood. However, rather than directly repairing the damaged tissue, the AFS cells appear to have released specific growth factors that acted on progenitor cells in the gut which in turn, reduced the inflammation and triggered the formation of new villi and other tissues.
Dr Paolo De Coppi, UCL Institute of Child Health, who led the study, says: "Stem cells are well known to have anti-inflammatory effects, but this is the first time we have shown that amniotic fluid stem cells can repair damage in the intestines. In the future, we hope that stem cells found in amniotic fluid will be used more widely in therapies and in research, particularly for the treatment of congenital malformations. Although amniotic fluid stem cells have a more limited capacity to develop into different cell types than those from the embryo, they nevertheless show promise for many parts of the body including the liver, muscle and nervous system."
Dr Simon Eaton, UCL Institute of Child Health and co-author of the study, adds: "Once we have a better understanding of the mechanisms by which AFS cells trigger repair and restore function in the gut, we can start to explore new cellular or pharmacological therapies for infants with necrotizing enterocolitis."
###
Notes to editors
For further information, please contact Jenny Gimpel at the GOSH-ICH press office on + 44 (0)20 7239 3043 or jenny.gimpel@gosh.org.
'Amniotic fluid stem cells improve survival and enhance repair of damaged intestine in NEC via a COX-2 dependent mechanism' by Zani et al, is published on Monday 25 March 2013 in the journal Gut. To obtain a copy of the paper, please contact Jenny Gimpel at the GOSH-ICH press office.
The study was funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, with support from the Fondazione Citta della Speranza.
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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.
NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, seeking a last-minute reprieve from financial meltdown at talks in Brussels on Sunday, has a "very difficult task" ahead of him if he is to save the island's economy, a government spokesman said. With Cyprus facing a Monday deadline to avert a collapse of its banking system and potential exit from the euro, late night talks in Nicosia to seal a bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund broke up without result.
Radiation experts search dead Putin enemy's house in Britain
ASCOT, England (Reuters) - Specialist police with nuclear and chemical training searched the British home of former Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky on Sunday, a day after the fervent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin died in unclear circumstances. The 67-year-old, a former powerbroker who helped Putin climb to the top of Russian politics before falling from grace, fled to Britain in 2000. His body was found at his house in Ascot, 25 miles west of London.
Ex-President Musharraf returns to Pakistan for elections
KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan's former President, Pervez Musharraf, returned home on Sunday after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest elections despite the possibility of arrest and a threat from the Taliban to kill him. Musharraf hopes to regain influence so that his party can win seats in the general election scheduled for May 11, when he will face fierce competition, including from the man he ousted in a military takeover.
Israel fires into Syria after Golan attack on troops
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said it fired into Syria on Sunday and destroyed a machinegun position in the Golan Heights from where shots had been fired at Israeli soldiers in a further spillover of the Syrian civil war along a tense front. It was not immediately clear whether Israel held Syrian troops or rebels responsible for what a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said had been a deliberate attack on Israeli patrols in the occupied territory.
Congo asks U.N. to transport Bozize's family from border town
KINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's government asked the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) on Sunday for help transporting the family of Central African Republic President Francois Bozize after he fled his country, a U.N. official said. "(Government of DRC) has asked UNHCR to transport 25 family members of Bozize from (Congolese border town) Zongo to Gemena," the official, who asked not to be named, said via text message.
Fire in Thai refugee camp kills 36
BANGKOK (Reuters) - A fire swept through a remote camp in northwestern Thailand for refugees from Myanmar, killing 36 and destroying hundreds of make-shift shelters, officials said on Sunday. The fire, which broke out on Friday in Mae Hong Son province, about 900 km (550 miles) north of Bangkok, has left more than 2,000 people homeless, provincial governor Narumol Palavat told Reuters.
Israel says deal with Turks does not require Gaza blockade end
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel did not commit to ending its Gaza blockade as part of reconciliation with Turkey and could clamp down even harder on the Palestinian enclave if security is threatened, a senior Israeli official said on Sunday. After Friday's U.S.-brokered fence-mending announcement, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Israel had met his demands it apologize for killing nine Turks aboard a Gaza-bound activist ship in 2010, pay compensation and ease the blockade.
Afghanistan's Karzai heads to Qatar to discuss peace with Taliban
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai will travel to Qatar within days to discuss peace negotiations with the Taliban, the Afghan Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday, as efforts intensify to find a negotiated solution to the war, now in its 12th year. Karzai's trip to Qatar would represent the first time the Afghan president has discussed the Taliban peace process in Qatar, and comes after years of stalled discussions with the United States, Pakistan and the Taliban.
Kerry urges Iraq to stop arms flow to Syria on Baghdad visit
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and will urge Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to make sure Iranian flights over Iraq do not carry arms and fighters to Syria, a U.S. official said. Washington believes such flights and overland transfers take place nearly every day and help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his efforts to crush a two-year-old revolt against his rule, said the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Iran says not linked to group arrested in Saudi Arabia for spying
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's foreign ministry said the country was not linked to a group of alleged spies arrested in Saudi Arabia, Iranian media reported on Sunday. Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that it had detained an Iranian, a Lebanese, and 16 Saudis for spying. Political analysts and press in Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia have accused Shi'ite Iran of being behind the alleged espionage.
Editor?s note:?Ross Rubin is principal analyst at?Reticle Research and blogs at?Techspressive. There are a number of schools regarding the existence of alien intelligent races. Among those who refute that we?ve been able to detect extraterrestrials among us, there are a broad range of theories. Perhaps such beings don?t exist. Perhaps they haven?t advanced far enough to reach us. Or to the contrary, perhaps they are so advanced that we can?t detect them.
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The American service is one of the biggest names in online music, and while they have taken on some format changes in recent times (including removing a ?five-song limit? for free ad-supported users after a 6-month trial, and launching a ?browser-based version? of their service), a transition to cover videos as well as music would not have been on many people?s agendas.
iOS (Jailbroken): The volume HUD that pops up in iOS isn't especially useful, and if you're curious about what song is playing you need to pop into the Music app and look. Music HUD is a tweak that adds the currently playing album's image to the volume overlay, as well a few other pieces of useful information. 