Panasonic plans to go forth with Android to all of Europe this spring, North America is a definite maybe

Have you been hoping to experience a Panasonic boom up close and personal, but found yourself in the wrong locale? The Japanese electronics giant wants to change all of that by expanding its Android lineup to Europe and North America, according to Nikkei. The company's said to be in talks with a "major telecommunications firm" in Europe to bring several devices to the continent as early as this spring, and is aspiring to eventually make it to North America and other Asian countries. This lines up with last week's rumors that it was seeking out a PR agency to help spread the news when the time's right. Might we expect Panasonic to make a mobile splash at CES or MWC in a major way? It's going to be exhibiting at both, so we'd say there's a pretty good chance.

Panasonic plans to go forth with Android to all of Europe this spring, North America is a definite maybe originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/26/panasonic-plans-to-go-forth-with-android-to-all-of-europe-this-s/

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Cancer Screening: Changing Hype To Hope

A problem began to come into existence a few decades ago and in the polarized climate enabled by instant access to partisan spin, it's only going to get worse.

The problem isn't always that people are anti-science, though documenting the numerous instances of global warming deniers on one side and anti-science hippies on the other is always fun, it may be that people accept science too much - and there is a backlash on the way because people don't always understand that accepting science isn't always going to mean things don't change when new information comes to light.

For most aspects of science, that works out okay. It makes no difference in the lives of people if they are right or wrong for accepting the latest research on how eyes evolved, yet in medicine, an evidence basis for public statements is vital because people can die. ?Thus, the risk of being wrong can often be subordinate to being conservative - there are multi-billion dollar companies in the business of creating marketing campaigns against smoking cigarettes, for example, and it turns out smoking is overhyped, it doesn't cause every ailment and disease like some have claimed it does for decades, but you aren't more likely to get lung cancer if you don't smoke. (1) You may still get lung cancer but 50% of lung cancer victims never smoke so they can't blame smoking. ?The conservative money bets on not smoking regardless if whether or not people were bandwagoning and lumping in more diseases to attribute to smoking.

Conservative thinking has always bet on cancer screenings also - and anyone with common sense accepted the science basis for it. ?It turns out the odds of there being no risk are not as clear as we thought. Like I said, in most cases it isn't a problem because people with knowledge of science understand science is not perfect, but when scientists speak with authority (and in modern times, even derision about skepticism or caution) and end up being wrong, it has cultural reverberations. ?The modern plague of well-educated progressives who don't believe in vaccines is because they are jaded by claims that scientists are to be trusted on global warming but out to kill us when it comes to food - and there are lots of other examples you can pick favored by the left and the right. ?Science then becomes a la carte and a world view issue rather than facts. ?It's the last laugh of postmodernism and people across the cultural and political spectrum are guilty of it.?

Navigating cancer screening is tough. If the National Cancer Institute said various people should be screened, who could argue? ?But what they seem to have left out were the?risks and benefits of screening and that is a worry to some in medicine now.

It's easy to understand why this can be an issue on many levels. ?If you've seen the concern over personal genetics services, you know why problems happen and politicians take occasionally misguided action; people do not properly understand risk factors nor how to calibrate them but they will blame the science or medical community regardless. ?So the NCI debated screening guidelines instead of arguing about who should be screened - that meant everyone should be screened, to doctors who are trying to keep up with the latest recommendations.

Now the U.S. Preventative Task Force (USPTS) has found that the difference in mortality rates for breast cancer among women who had mammograms and who did not is insignificant, ditto for PSA's and male prostate cancer. ?The conservative money says get them anyway, right? ?The screenings do not cause cancer, after all. ?Well, it is more complicated than that. ?The harm from false positives, false negatives, over treatment, and under treatment turns out to be rather substantial.

A commentary by Michael Edward Stefanek, Ph.D., associate vice president of collaborative research in the office of the vice president at Indiana University, in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute says we should?educate the public about cancer screening and engage patients in shared decision making. Imagine the difficulties for most patients if they now have to think about the risks and perils of even getting a cancer screening; imagine the lawsuits when people are tracked by who got cancer after being screened or not. What if insurance companies decide that they are no longer covered?

"If we agree on the premise that individuals are supposed to be informed before making medical decisions, including decisions about cancer screening, then the time and talent of such groups could be much better spent educating the public on the harms and benefits of cancer screening," Stefanek writes. "Screening can be very beneficial (or not), and screening messages should reflect the complexity of this decision."

Which sounds very reasonable - but discussions about cancer are not always reasonable(2) and telling people after decades that screening may be doing harm or good, and no one can be sure, is going to polarize anti-science beliefs even more.

NOTE:

(1) Witness this ridiculous bit of invented economic fluff. The Cap And Trade industry is loving examples of $86 billion 'money saved' as it is used here. Using their math, if people stop smoking every economy in the world is running a financial surplus just on the health care costs they saved. When I went to find this commercial, TobaccoFreeCA was buying the top spot on Google. ?They ain't poor.

(2) Apparently it is taboo to even say the word 'cancer' in a song. ?Brad Paisley says so.

Source: http://www.science20.com/science_20/cancer_screening_changing_hype_hope-84905

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95% Moneyball

Sports is a business. Fans cheer for their team out of a sense that that team represents their city in the sport they love. But it is a business first and foremost. Moneyball focuses on the business aspect of baseball, but it does it in a way that is fascinating, easy to follow, and gets its audience to understand how team management may work.Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane, a failed baseball player now general manager for the Oakland Athletics. The first scene of the film shows the A's against the Yankees in the final game of a World Series. Instead of showing the score, the budgets of each team are pitted against each other, with the Yanks' whopping 100 million outdoing Oakland's 39 million. With a tight budget, Beane attempts to reinvent how the A's do business in the coming season, making controversial decisions and picking up players who nobody else wants, all based on theories from Peter Brand (Jonah Hill).Like his previous film Capote, Bennett Miller directs with a confident, direct approach. His style is subtle yet focused, ambitious and well paced. The screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillan is loaded with great dialogue as we've come to expect from them. Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman are flawless in subdued but complex performances that always straddle the line between drama and comedy. Moneyball is simply a well made film. It works on every level, from the performances, the writing, the directing, the pacing, the subject matter, and in how it tells its story. It's one of the best films of the year, and a great "economics of sports" movie that can appeal to people who hate either of those things.

November 19, 2011

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

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Euro "Stability Union" could be achieved fast: Schaeuble (Reuters)

BERLIN (Reuters) ? Euro zone countries could create a Stability Union to secure deeper fiscal integration relatively quickly, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Sunday.

"One can do that quickly," he told ARD television, referring to changes to the Lisbon Treaty that Germany has wanted to allow much tighter budget controls in the 17 euro zone countries.

"The goal is for the member states of the common currency to create their own Stability Union and to concentrate on that," Schaeuble said.

In Brussels earlier on Sunday, EU officials said Germany and France are exploring radical methods of securing deeper and more rapid fiscal integration among euro zone countries, aware that getting broad backing for the necessary treaty changes may not be possible.

Germany's original plan was to secure agreement among all 27 EU countries for a limited change to the Lisbon Treaty by the end of 2012, a way of shoring up the region's defences against the debt crisis.

But in meetings with EU leaders in recent weeks, it has become clear to both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy that it may not be possible to get all 27 countries on board, EU sources say.

Even if that were possible, it could take a year or more to secure the changes while market attacks on Italy, Spain and now France suggest bold measures are needed within weeks.

As a result, senior French and German civil servants have been exploring other ways of achieving the goal, either via an agreement among just the euro zone countries, or a separate agreement outside the EU treaty that could involve a core of around 8-10 euro zone countries, officials say.

Schaeuble said a Stability Union could be a decisive step to winning more confidence from the markets.

"The important signal, to convince financial investors in the world, is and remains a stable currency," Schaeuble said. That means that every euro zone member has to do its homework on its budget discipline.

"We want to ensure that through treaty changes," he said.

(Reporting by Erik Kirschbaum; editing by David Stamp)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/bs_nm/us_eurozone_germany_schaeuble

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Iron Bowl gets extra fuel from trees, comeback

Alabama head coach Nick Saban reacts to an offensive penalty during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Georgia Southern at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Alabama head coach Nick Saban reacts to an offensive penalty during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Georgia Southern at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Mississippi State quarterback Tyler Russell (17) is tackled for a loss in the first quarter by Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower (30) and defensive lineman Damion Square (92) in their NCAA college football game in Starkville, Miss., Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Auburn tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen (43) celebrates with fans after their win 35-16 over Samford in an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

FILE - In this undated photo provided by the Auburn Public Safety Department, Harvey Almorn Updyke Jr., 62, of Dadeville, Ala., is shown. Lee County Circuit Court Judge Jacob A. Walker III has scheduled Updyke's trial for the criminal court session beginning March 5, 2011. Updyke was indicted last May on two counts of criminal mischief, two counts of desecrating a venerable object and two counts of a state law that includes making it unlawful to damage, vandalize or steal any property on or from an animal or crop facility. Updyke is accused of poisoning the oak trees at Auburn's Toomer's Corner. (AP Photo/Auburn Public Safety Department)

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) ? The red-hot Iron Bowl didn't need any more fuel.

The tree poisoning that pains Auburn fans and the comeback that riles the Alabama faithful were hardly necessary to raise the mercury on this year-round, statewide feud.

They might have collectively done just that for Saturday's game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Even those who weren't raised in the rivalry's midst have quickly gotten into the spirit.

"I'm not from Alabama," said Auburn defensive end Corey Lemonier, "but being here for one year, I just hate Alabama."

"Hate is a strong word," said Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower, "but I strongly dislike Auburn."

Lemonier's a Floridian, Hightower from Tennessee. They fit right in, though.

Nationally, the significance of the game relates to No. 2 Alabama's quest to sandwich a second BCS title around Auburn's crown and keep the state's three-year run of college football supremacy going.

In this state, that particular celebration can wait, at least until dinnertime Saturday evening. Alabama must earn bragging rights before committing wholesale to the title aspirations. Four years running, one of the teams has been ranked first or second coming into the Iron Bowl.

To Byron Hopkins, that's almost beside the point.

"It's just a football game," said Hopkins, an Alabama fan and graduate who lives in Birmingham. "We don't believe it is, but it is. The thing that bothers me the most is it's gotten way too much ? as successful as Alabama's been ? it's become about who's No. 1, who's No. 2 and who's No. 3. Let's try to enjoy a football game and not be so much concerned about rankings."

There's plenty of fodder to go around beyond the rankings, or even the normal rancor.

?The trees. Longtime Alabama fan Harvey Updyke Jr. faces felony charges for allegedly poisoning the two famed oak trees at Auburn's Toomer's Corner. Auburn officials haven't publicly given up on them yet, but the once-stately trees now look sickly, even decorated with toilet paper after the fans' traditional celebratory rolling.

Auburn resident and fan Michael Moore took his toddler out to see the snowy mess Sunday morning after a homecoming win over Samford.

"It's really sad," said Moore, while workers laboriously plucked the tissue from the trees by hands. "They're slowly dying. They don't look very good. And also the fact that it's a slow fade, it sticks with you at times."

?The comeback. The proud Tide has never had a meltdown quite like last year's Iron Bowl, going up 24-0 and going down 28-27. It was the biggest deficit Alabama had ever blown.

"We definitely owe them this year," said Alabama fan Scot Nipper, who grew up selling drinks and programs at Birmingham's Legion Field, the Iron Bowl's onetime home. "They came into our house last year and pulled that comeback on us. We definitely owe them. I will be there. We owe them.

"We're going to pay them back."

The Tide is heavily favored to do just that.

Maybe a title will follow. Bragging certainly will. Things will get heated on the field, too.

"It's really like World War III," Auburn tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen said. "It's just two teams that dislike each other a lot ? respect each other a lot, but dislike each other lot ? and fans that take it over the top. It really changes their whole life and their whole outlook on the next year, whether you can brag about it or hide the whole year. It's really something that you can't describe to someone."

Alabama's Hightower gives it a shot.

"It's a love-hate relationship, I guess, with a little less love," he said.

Within a state that doesn't have a major professional sports team, the rivalry has always been practically all-consuming. It's not terribly unreasonable to tell someone who expresses neutrality or indifference, "Welcome to the state. Where ya from?"

This is a rivalry that once took a 41-year break over where the umpires would come from, how many players each team would get and a whopping 50 cents in per diem.

Nowadays, that's just enough for a soda at the stadium if, say, the offensive linemen pool their quarters.

The rivalry has definitely redeemed its national reputation in recent years with the programs' revival under new coaches: Auburn's Gene Chizik and Alabama's Nick Saban. The past two years have each brought national titles and Heisman Trophies to the state.

Two games that went down to the wire, too, including 26-21 Alabama in 2009.

Saban has been a part of Michigan-Ohio State, Michigan-Michigan State and other cherished rivalries. He knows fans of all of them prize theirs above all others.

This game, of course, is no exception.

"Everybody knows this is one of the greatest rivalry games in college football and certainly a game that defines everything about the state of Alabama and football in Alabama," Saban said.

Trees, comebacks and all.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-24-FBC-T25-Iron-Bowl/id-364f5743e75142428435c879452eb6d3

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NATO came under fire from Pakistan before attack: sources (Reuters)

KABUL (Reuters) ? NATO and Afghan forces came under fire from across the border with Pakistan before NATO aircraft attacked a Pakistani army post, killing 24 soldiers, a Western official and a senior Afghan security official said on Sunday.

Pakistan has said the attack was an unprovoked assault. The NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan has made little comment, apart from offering condolences for the deaths and admitting it was "highly likely" they had been caused by its forces.

"They came under cross-border fire," the Western official said.

The Afghan official said troops had come under fire from inside Pakistan as they were descending from helicopters, which had returned fire.

Both officials asked not to be named because the attack is so sensitive. It has severely strained already fractious relations between the United States and Islamabad.

(Reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison and Hamid Shalizi; Editing by John Chalmers)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/wl_nm/us_pakistan_nato_urgent

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Scientists turn on fountain of youth in yeast

ScienceDaily (Nov. 23, 2011) ? Collaborations between Johns Hopkins and National Taiwan University researchers have successfully manipulated the life span of common, single-celled yeast organisms by figuring out how to remove and restore protein functions related to yeast aging.

A chemical variation of a "fuel-gauge" enzyme that senses energy in yeast acts like a life span clock: It is present in young organisms and progressively diminished as yeast cells age.

In a report in the September 16 edition of Cell, the scientists describe their identification of a new level of regulation of this age-related protein variant, showing that when they remove it, the organism's life span is cut short and when they restore it, life span is dramatically extended.

In the case of yeast, the discovery reveals molecular components of an aging pathway that appears related to one that regulates longevity and lifespan in humans, according to Jef Boeke, Ph.D., professor of molecular biology, genetics and oncology, and director of the HiT Center and Technology Center for Networks and Pathways, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

"This control of longevity is independent of the type described previously in yeast which had to do with calorie restriction," Boeke says. "We believe that for the first time, we have a biochemical route to youth and aging that has nothing to do with diet." The chemical variation, known as acetylation because it adds an acetyl group to an existing molecule, is a kind of "decoration" that goes on and off a protein -- in this case, the protein Sip2 -- much like an ornament can be put on and taken off a Christmas tree, Boeke says. Acetylation can profoundly change protein function in order to help an organism or system adapt quickly to its environment. Until now, acetylation had not been directly implicated in the aging pathway, so this is an all-new role and potential target for prevention or treatment strategies, the researchers say.

The team showed that acetylation of the protein Sip2 affected longevity defined in terms of how many times a yeast cell can divide, or "replicative life span." The normal replicative lifespan in natural yeast is 25. In the yeast genetically modified by researchers to restore the chemical modification, life span extended to 38, an increase of about 50 percent.

The researchers were able to manipulate the yeast life span by mutating certain chemical residues to mimic the acetylated and deacetylated forms of the protein Sip2. They worked with live yeast in a dish, measuring and comparing the life spans of natural and genetically altered types by removing buds from the yeast every 90 minutes. The average lifespan in normal yeast is about 25 generations, which meant the researchers removed 25 newly budded cells from the mother yeast cell. As yeast cells age, each new generation takes longer to develop, so each round of the experiment lasted two to four weeks.

"We performed anti-aging therapy on yeast," says the study's first author, Jin-Ying Lu, M.D., Ph.D., of National Taiwan University. "When we give back this protein acetylation, we rescued the life span shortening in old cells. Our next task is to prove that this phenomenon also happens in mammalian cells."

The research was supported by the National Science Council, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University, Liver Disease Prevention & Treatment Research Foundation of Taiwan, and the NIH Common Fund.

Authors on the paper, in addition to Boeke and Lu, are Yu-Yi Lin, Jin-Chuan Sheu, June-Tai Wu, Fang-Jen Lee, Min-I Lin, Fu-Tien Chian, Tong-Yuan Tai, Keh-Sung Tsai, and Lee-Ming Chuang, all of National Taiwan University; Yue Chen and Yinming Zhao, both of the University of Chicago; and Shelley L. Berger, Wistar Institute.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Jin-Ying Lu, Yu-Yi Lin, Jin-Chuan Sheu, June-Tai Wu, Fang-Jen Lee, Yue Chen, Min-I Lin, Fu-Tien Chiang, Tong-Yuan Tai, Shelley?L. Berger, Yingming Zhao, Keh-Sung Tsai, Heng Zhu, Lee-Ming Chuang, Jef?D. Boeke. Acetylation of Yeast AMPK Controls Intrinsic Aging Independently of Caloric Restriction. Cell, 2011; 146 (6): 969 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2011.07.044

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://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111123190408.htm

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The Future Of Foxconn: Ten Thousand Horses Galloping

Shenzhen is a town of migrants. The estimated median ages is between 15 and 25 and the old and battered sits in wild contrast with the brand new. Even in the few years between my last visit and this one, the city has changed so drastically that I barely recognized it. The last time I was here I imagined the place as a cross between a favela and Blade Runner, high and low tech mashed together, the sharp tails of known carcinogens mixing with the soft end of Suntory in a highball glass and the scent of a young executive assistant's Chanel No 5. Now it's mostly Suntory and Chanel, the carcinogens banished to the outskirts of town. There's a boom in China, and Foxconn's executives see a way out of many of the messes, real or imagined, that plagued the company. Foxconn is pinning their future success on their employees' future success. While this may seem like uncessary largesse, it is an interesting bet on the future of a working class that has been transformed into a middle class. And those workers, once forced by circumstance to stand for ten hours a day, are workers that no longer need or want what seemingly meager financial benefits Foxconn has to offer.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/yMmUECGJysc/

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First Amendment Smackdown

MMA is a combat sport that includes boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, karate, judo Greco-Roman wrestling and other styles of fighting. It?s held in an octagonal chain-link cage. There?s blood. (In 1996 John McCain described the sport as ?human cockfighting? but has since recanted.)?Events and matches were banned in the state of New York in 1997, before the sport was properly regulated, or even regulated at all. The law provided that, ?No combative sport shall be conducted, held or given within the state of New York, and no licenses may be approved by the commission for such matches or exhibition.?? The law then defines MMA as a ?combative sport? but excludes boxing, wrestling or karate competitions.?New York is one of very few states with such bans (oddly enough, though MMA is illegal, it combines several genres?boxing, wrestling, karate?that are permitted individually). Attempts to overturn the New York ban legislatively have not been successful, and so the sport?s biggest promoter filed a lawsuit in federal court last week asking to overturn the ban. (Disclosure: My friend Barry Friedman, a constitutional law professor at New York University Law School represents the fighters, promoters, and fans challenging the ban.)

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=3de13b7b5f05ced260ca7d05baeca32c

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UK firms to trial sharing of cyber attack data (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Britain will try to bolster defenses against cyber attack by encouraging companies to overcome their reluctance to admit computer security breaches and share their experiences with each other, the government said on Friday.

Companies from five strategic sectors - defense, telecoms, finance, pharmaceuticals and energy - will take part in a pilot with the government starting in December to exchange information on cyber attacks and threats to their businesses.

Britain, where six percent of GDP is generated by the internet, says cyber crime is being committed on an "industrial scale" and costs its economy 27 billion pounds ($42 billion) a year. Government networks are under siege from more than 20,000 malicious emails every month.

It hopes the cyber security "hub" linking government and corporates will lead to greater openness about internet threats and create a more effective shield against them.

A British official said the government's involvement would mean companies could report cyber attacks without their identity being revealed, a concern that has prevented many disclosures.

The pilot, part of a 650-million-pound ($1 billion) programme over four years, will also help to raise protection for critical infrastructure from an emerging threat of cyber attack from militant groups, the government said.

Although militant groups mainly went online to spread propaganda and communicate, British intelligence sources had picked up "chatter" about using the internet to target infrastructure such as energy grids, the official said.

"So far it has not been a big feature of what we see, they still are more interested in covering the streets with blood," he added.

The Stuxnet computer worm attack on Iran's nuclear programme, linked to Israel and the United States, has shown the potential for launching assaults on key equipment through cyberspace.

KEEP QUIET

The reputational risk of admitting a computer system break-in, as well as the threat of legal action from shareholders, has lead to many companies keeping quiet rather than revealing their vulnerability to cyber crime.

"If you are a large international bank you don't want to admit you found you were penetrated nine months ago, because that implies you weren't paying attention," said Alan Calder, chief executive of British private information security firm IT Governance.

He doubted a voluntary project like the pilot would foster greater co-operation among companies against cyber threats.

Unlike in much of the United States, there is no requirement in Britain for companies to disclose data security breaches.

"I don't think it will work. The core target, the defense and financial sector, are much more likely to say nothing unless there is regulatory requirement to do so," Calder said.

A number of high profile online assaults this year on international companies such as Sony, Citigroup and Lockheed Martin, as well as against institutions like the International Monetary Fund, have raised doubts about the security of government and corporate computer systems.

Britain did not detail the companies taking part in the pilot. Officials said Prime Minister David Cameron had discussed the project in February with a group of firms including Barclays bank, energy firm BP, telecoms group Vodafone and energy supplier Centrica.

(Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/security/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111125/wr_nm/us_britain_cyberspace

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Officials say plan on al Qaeda detainees would harm probes (reuters)

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SKorean official travels to NKorea to monitor aid (AP)

SEOUL, South Korea ? A South Korean official will help monitor the distribution of humanitarian aid to North Korean children for the first time in three years, the Seoul government said Friday.

He is the first South Korean government official to travel to Pyongyang to monitor aid distribution since conservative President Lee Myung-bak took office in 2008 with a tough policy toward North Korean aid. The visit is seen as a key sign that relations are improving after years of tension.

The divided Korean peninsula remains in a technical state of war because their three-year conflict ended in 1953 with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Relations have been particularly tense during Lee's presidency, culminating in a North Korean artillery attack on a front-line island a year ago that killed four South Koreans.

The South Korean official left Friday for Pyongyang along with four aid workers, the Unification Ministry said in a statement. He is expected to remain in the North until Tuesday to help monitor the distribution of 300 tons of flour for North Korean children. The flour is being provided by a South Korean civic group.

Some 6 million North Koreans, about a quarter of the population, will go hungry without outside food aid, according to the World Food Program.

South Korean officials have not traveled to North Korea to monitor food aid since Lee took office with a tough policy on linking assistance to North Korea's progress in dismantling its nuclear program.

However, in recent months, officials from both Koreas have met to discuss ways to resume nuclear disarmament-for-aid talks. Seoul has also allowed religious and cultural figures to visit North Korea.

On Thursday, South Korean scholars visited a North Korean border town to join a project to recover and preserve an ancient Korean palace.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_tension

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A look at key moments in the Republican debate (AP)

Key moments in Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate:

___

DEFENSE CUTS

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney warned against future cuts to the nation's defense budget, saying nearly $1 trillion in potential cuts could undermine the nation's military clout. He underscored his support for Israel, saying if elected, his first foreign trip would be to Israel.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry noted that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had said the cuts would hurt the military. "If he's a man of honor, he should resign in protest," Perry said.

___

GINGRICH ON IMMIGRATION

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said the nation's immigration policies shouldn't separate people "who have been here a quarter century" from their families. Gingrich said illegal immigrants without any ties to the U.S. should be deported and the nation should control its border. But he said Republicans shouldn't "adopt an immigration policy which destroys families which have been here a quarter century and I'm prepared to take the heat for saying let's be humane in enforcing the law."

___

PATRIOT ACT

On the sweeping anti-terrorism law known as the Patriot Act, Gingrich and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas sparred, with Gingrich saying the United States needs all of its power to prevent another attack. Paul said the law infringes on liberties; the other candidates sided with Gingrich in putting protecting the homeland ahead of civil protections.

___

IRAN

All of the candidates ? except Paul ? said the United States could not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon and should work with ally Israel to prevent it. While they differed on how best to change regimes in Tehran, they were largely unified on the need for new leadership in that country.

___

FORMER REPUBLICAN AIDES

The debate included questions from a litany of former top aides to Republican presidents.

Ed Meese, who served as attorney general under President Ronald Reagan, asked about a long-range extension to the Patriot Act. David Addington, who was chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, asked the candidates what they would do to protect American interests in the region surrounding Syria.

Paul Wolfowitz, a deputy defense secretary under President George W. Bush, asked about the wisdom of the Bush administration's spending billions of dollars to fight AIDS and malaria in Africa.

___

IS AFRICA A COUNTRY?

Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, responding to Wolfowitz's question, referred to Africa as a country. Santorum noted that he worked on legislation to battle AIDS in Africa during his time in the Senate. "Africa was a country on the brink. On the brink of complete meltdown and chaos, which would have been fertile ground for the radical Islamists to be able to ? to get ? to get a foothold," he said.

___

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

One questioner noted that George W. Bush was never asked about al-Qaida, an issue that would dominate his presidency, during the 2000 presidential debates. Republicans were asked about the national security issues that most worry them but get little attention.

Santorum said he was concerned about the spread of socialism in Central and South America. Paul said he worried most about another war. Perry said China was foremost on his mind.

Romney ticked off a series of concerns, listing China, Iran becoming a nuclear threat and Latin America. Businessman Herman Cain pointed to potential cyberattacks. Gingrich cited weapons of mass destruction, the potential for an electromagnetic pulse attack and a cyberattack.

Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota pointed to the militant group al-Shabab. And former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman turned to domestic concerns over the economy, the national debt and a lack of trust in Congress. "We've got to get on our feet domestically," he said.

___

BLITZ

When debate moderator Wolf Blitzer asked Cain whether it's appropriate for Muslim Americans to get more extensive pat downs or security screenings at airports, he got an interesting response.

"No, Blitz. That's oversimplifying it," Cain said, mixing the CNN anchor's last name with his first. As Cain began responding, he caught himself and said, "I'm sorry, Blitz, I meant Wolf, OK?"

When the Georgia businessman finished his answer, Blitzer had his retort. "Thank you, Cain," Blitzer said to laughter.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_debate_takeaways

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Tiny levers, big moves in piezoelectric sensors

ScienceDaily (Nov. 23, 2011) ? A team of university researchers, aided by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), have succeeded in integrating a new, highly efficient piezoelectric material into a silicon microelectromechanical system (MEMS). This development could lead to significant advances in sensing, imaging and energy harvesting.

A piezoelectric material, such as quartz, expands slightly when fed electricity and, conversely, generates an electric charge when squeezed. Quartz watches take advantage of this property to keep time: electricity from the watch's battery causes a piece of quartz to expand and contract inside a small chamber at a specific frequency that circuitry in the watch translates into time.

Piezoelectric materials are also in sensors in sonar and ultrasound systems, which use the same principle in reverse to translate sound waves into images of, among other things, fetuses in utero and fish under the water.

Although conventional piezoelectric materials work fairly well for many applications, researchers have long sought to find or invent new ones that expand more and more forcefully and produce stronger electrical signals. More reactive materials would make for better sensors and could enable new technologies such as "energy harvesting," which would transform the energy of walking and other mechanical motions into electrical power.

Enter a material named PMN-PT.*

A large team led by scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison developed a way to incorporate PMN-PT into tiny, diving-board like cantilevers on a silicon base, a typical material for MEMS construction, and demonstrated that PMN-PT could deliver two to four times more movement with stronger force -- while using only 3 volts -- than most rival materials studied to date. It also generates a similarly strong electric charge when compressed, which is good news for those in the sensing and energy harvesting businesses.

To confirm that the experimental observations were due to the piezoelectric's performance, NIST researcher Vladimir Aksyuk developed engineering models of the cantilevers to estimate how much they would bend and at what voltage. Aksyuk also made other performance measures in comparison to silicon systems that achieve similar effects using electrostatic attraction.

"Silicon is good for these systems, but it is passive and can only move if heated or using electrostatics, which requires high voltage or large dissipated power," says Aksyuk. "Our work shows definitively that the addition of PMN-PT to MEMS designed for sensing or as energy harvesters will provide a tremendous boost to their sensitivity and efficiency. A much bigger 'bend for your buck,' I guess you could say."

Other participants included researchers from Penn State University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Michigan; Cornell University; and Argonne National Laboratory.

* A crystalline alloy of lead, magnesium niobate and lead titanate.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

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

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Journal Reference:

1. S. H. Baek, J. Park, D. M. Kim, V. A. Aksyuk, R. R. Das, S. D. Bu, D. A. Felker, J. Lettieri, V. Vaithyanathan, S. S. N. Bharadwaja, N. Bassiri-Gharb, Y. B. Chen, H. P. Sun, C. M. Folkman, H. W. Jang, D. J. Kreft, S. K. Streiffer, R. Ramesh, X. Q. Pan, S. Trolier-McKinstry, D. G. Schlom, M. S. Rzchowski, R. H. Blick, C. B. Eom. Giant Piezoelectricity on Si for Hyperactive MEMS. Science, 2011; 334 (6058): 958 DOI: 10.1126/science.1207186

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111123133514.htm

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AP source: Funding dispute will delay 9/11 museum

Visitors to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum circle one of two reflecting pools, on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011, in New York. The opening of the museum at the World Trade Center, planned for Sept. 11, 2012, will be delayed by disputes over redevelopment costs, a person familiar with the construction project said Monday. The memorial opened in September on the 10th anniversary of the 2001 attacks. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Visitors to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum circle one of two reflecting pools, on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011, in New York. The opening of the museum at the World Trade Center, planned for Sept. 11, 2012, will be delayed by disputes over redevelopment costs, a person familiar with the construction project said Monday. The memorial opened in September on the 10th anniversary of the 2001 attacks. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Visitors to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum circle one of two reflecting pools, on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011, in New York. The opening of the museum at the World Trade Center, planned for Sept. 11, 2012, will be delayed by disputes over redevelopment costs, a person familiar with the construction project said Monday. The memorial opened in September on the 10th anniversary of the 2001 attacks. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Visitors to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum circle one of two reflecting pools, Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 in New York. The entrance pavilion to the museum, which is under construction, is visible at center left. The opening of the museum at the World Trade Center, planned for Sept. 11, 2012, will be delayed by disputes over redevelopment costs, a person familiar with the construction project said Monday. The memorial opened in September on the 10th anniversary of the 2001 attacks. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The 2012 opening of the Sept. 11 museum at the World Trade Center will be delayed by disputes over redevelopment costs, a person familiar with the construction project said Monday.

The dispute between the National September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was first reported in The Wall Street Journal.

The foundation is responsible for the museum's cost while the Port Authority, which owns the site, is paying for infrastructure improvements. Exactly who should pay for each component of the project has been subject to debate, and the dispute responsible for the delay partly centers over $156 million that the Port Authority says the foundation owes.

The person familiar with the construction said the museum's opening will be delayed because the Port Authority has stopped approving new construction contracts. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because negotiations are ongoing.

A memorial at the trade center opened in September on the 10th anniversary of the 2001 attacks. The museum showcasing artifacts from the attacks was to open on the 11th anniversary next year.

Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman would not comment except to say, "We are working cooperatively with New York City and the memorial on this issue."

Museum spokesman Michael Frazier said, "We are working with the leadership of the Port Authority to come to an immediate resolution that allows this historic project to move forward."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-21-US-Sept-11-Museum/id-cde89531171f403381c5d70dc2882bfe

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Doom 3 source code available now, gory customizations welcomed

Doom for everyone. It's not a particularly festive message, but as promised earlier this week, the Doom 3 source code is now out on a general public license. Programming types can meddle with the game's inner workings as wintery temperatures force them to huddle close to the warm hum of excessive gaming rigs. Doom dad John Carmack announced the release to his horde of Twitter followers, while doffing his cap to Timothee Besset, who helped sidestep some shadow rendering license issues that had dogged an earlier release. Peer into the source code at the link below, and know the true face of despair Doom.

Doom 3 source code available now, gory customizations welcomed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  Github, @id_aa_carmack (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/23/doom-3-source-code-available-now-gory-customizations-welcomed/

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NASA's Curiosity Mars rover to 'lay the foundation' for search for life

The size of a small car, NASA's one-ton Curiosity Mars rover contains twice the number of scientific?instruments?as its predecessors, plus a drill that will allow it to bore into the Red Planet's rocks.?

After nearly a decade of planning, several cost overruns and a two-year delay, NASA is finally set to launch its next Mars rover this week.

Skip to next paragraph

The car-size Curiosity rover, the centerpiece of NASA's $2.5 billion?Mars Science Laboratory??(MSL) mission, is slated to blast off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Saturday (Nov. 26) after a one-day delay due to a rocket battery issue. The launch comes two years later than the MSL team had originally planned, a slip that ultimately increased the mission's lifetime costs by 56 percent.

But with Curiosity now sitting on the pad, nestled?atop its Atlas 5 rocket, MSL's past issues are receding deeper into history. Most eyes are now on the rover's future ? its quest to determine if Mars is, or ever was, capable of supporting microbial life.

"This is a Mars scientist's dream machine," Ashwin Vasavada, MSL deputy project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., told reporters on Nov. 10. "This rover is not only the most technically capable rover ever sent to another planet, but it's actually the most capable scientific explorer we've ever sent out." [Photos: NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Rover]

A beast of a rover

NASA began planning MSL's mission in 2003. Over the past eight years, scientists and engineers developed, built and tested Curiosity, a robotic behemoth that will take planetary exploration to a new level.

At 1 ton, Curiosity weighs five times more than each of its immediate Mars rover predecessors, the golf-cart-size twins?Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on the Red Planet in January 2004 to search for signs of past water activity.

While Spirit and Opportunity each sported five scientific instruments, Curiosity boasts 10, as well as a drill that will allow it to access the interior of Red Planet rocks.

The huge rover will use all of this gear to gauge the past and present habitability of its Martian environs. It will look for carbon-containing compounds ? the building blocks of life as we know it ? and assess what the Red Planet was like long ago.

MSL is not a?life-detection mission, but it will lay the foundation for future efforts that could hunt for evidence of microbial Martians, officials said.

"We bridge the gap from 'follow the water' to seeking the signs of life," said Doug McCuistion, head of NASA's Mars exploration program.

A long cruise to Mars, and a novel descent

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/gEMGFxgd3Vk/NASA-s-Curiosity-Mars-rover-to-lay-the-foundation-for-search-for-life

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Elle Macpherson's adviser: Hacking cost me my job

British actor Steve Coogan arrives to testify at the Leveson inquiry at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. The Leveson inquiry is Britain's media ethics probe that was set up in the wake of the scandal over phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, which was shut in July. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

British actor Steve Coogan arrives to testify at the Leveson inquiry at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. The Leveson inquiry is Britain's media ethics probe that was set up in the wake of the scandal over phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, which was shut in July. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

British actor Steve Coogan arrives to testify at the Leveson inquiry at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. The Leveson inquiry is Britain's media ethics probe that was set up in the wake of the scandal over phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, which was shut in July. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Garry Flitcroft, former English Premier League soccer player , arrives to testify at the Leveson inquiry at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. The Leveson inquiry is Britain's media ethics probe that was set up in the wake of the scandal over phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World, which was shut in July . (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

LONDON (AP) ? Elle Macpherson fired her business adviser for leaking secrets when journalists were actually getting juicy details about the supermodel by hacking into her phone, the former aide told a British inquiry into media ethics Tuesday.

In testimony that illuminated the human costs of the illegal practice, Mary-Ellen Field described how she lost both her job for Macpherson and one at an advisory firm because of the unfounded suspicions ? a double-blow that was all the more serious because she was in poor health.

"It had a very serious effect," she told the inquiry. "I had become ill and was falling down all the time." She didn't identify her illness.

Field was one of several victims of press intrusion testifying Tuesday at Britain's Royal Courts of Justice. The inquiry, headed by Lord Justice Brian Leveson, was set up by Prime Minister David Cameron after the scandal over phone hacking and other underhanded tactics used at the News of the World, which was closed by media mogul Rupert Murdoch in July amid allegations of widespread criminality.

The inquiry plans to issue a report next year and could recommend major changes to the way the media in Britain are regulated. It has already heard several alarming tales of media abuse.

Field, with a friendly and open demeanor that showed no traces of bitterness toward the press or her former boss, said her relationship with Macpherson was once close, but it fell apart after the model's intimate secrets began appearing in the press in 2005. Macpherson became convinced that Field, a fellow Australian, was an alcoholic and ordered her to go to an American rehabilitation clinic.

Field said she was shocked by the allegations she was a drunk who'd been blabbing about her employer, but went along with Macpherson's recommendation because she needed her job.

"I have a severely disabled child who can never look after himself, so walking away from a high-paying position is not a good idea," Field said.

The rehab was grueling ? she described it as being "like one of those CIA renditions, except they don't put you in chains" ? but it didn't help the situation.

Even though staff at the clinic said Field was not an alcoholic, Macpherson fired her anyway, and Field lost her job at her firm shortly afterward. She told the inquiry there was no doubt the sacking was the result of what happened with Macpherson.

Although it has since emerged that the media leaks were the result of phone hacking by the News of the World tabloid, not any indiscretions, Field said she has not heard from Macpherson in years. Macpherson's office did not respond to emails sent by The Associated Press seeking comment.

She was the first in a daylong parade of witnesses chronicling media misdeeds.

Soccer player Garry Flitcroft told of his family's harassment by the media after the failure of a judicial bid to block news of his extramarital affair, saying that at one point journalists used a helicopter to track his movements.

Flitcroft said journalists "wanted to make a statement to me: 'Never take on the press again.'"

British comedian Steve Coogan claimed in his testimony that he was warned in 2002 that Andy Coulson ? then deputy editor of News of the World ? would be listening in on a phone conversation Coogan had with a woman in a bid to trick him into making indiscreet comments. Coulson later went on to become Cameron's top media adviser, but he lost that job when he became embroiled in the scandal.

The parents of murdered British schoolgirl Milly Dowler and film star Hugh Grant were the first victims to testify to the panel on Monday, with Grant being particularly scathing about the Mail on Sunday tabloid, which he suggested had hacked his phone.

The Daily Mail called Grant's allegations "mendacious smears driven by his hatred of the media," but that response in turn sparked outrage, with lawyers at the inquiry saying it smacked of an attempt to intimidate witnesses.

David Sherborne, who represents victims of media intrusion at the inquiry, said his clients feared "the sort of intimidatory tactics that we've seen in the press this morning."

Lawyer Jonathan Caplan defended The Mail, saying the paper's comments were "a response to the fact that (Grant) was commenting freely that there was not a substratum of evidence" to support his allegation.

Leveson had limited sympathy for the Mail's argument, noting that while the paper had defended itself, it had also accused Grant of lying under oath.

"The real issue is whether it's appropriate to go from the defensive to the offensive in that way," Leveson said. He added later: "I would be unhappy if it was felt that the best form of defense was always attack."

___

Online:

Leveson Inquiry: http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/

Raphael G. Satter can be reached at: http://twitter.com/razhael

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-22-EU-Britain-Phone-Hacking/id-46295c627c734c44a2cbd522ac050450

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What Is It?

Advances | More Science See Inside

Attack of the jellyfish

By David Biello ?| November 20, 2011

Image: Courtesy of Acu Na Fotograf?a and Gij?n Aquarium

As predators, jellyfish appear to be slow and passive. Unable to swim to and chase their prey, most drift along, creating tiny eddies to guide food toward their tendrils. Yet in waters from the Sea of Japan to the Black Sea, jellyfish, like those pictured here, are thriving as many of their competitors are eliminated by overfishing and other human impacts. How have these drifters reversed millions of years of fish dominance, seemingly overnight? Writing in the journal Science, biologist Jos? Luis Acu?a of the University of Oviedo in Spain and his colleagues suggest that jellyfish are just as effective at catching prey and turning it into energy as fishes. In fact, they have set the stage for a takeover?dubbed the ?gelatinous ocean? by some scientists. ?We need research to be sure of what new ecological scenarios are arising,? Acu?a says. ?It is time to take [jellyfish] seriously.?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=255c828138f194d207148cb1073af1ed

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Markets fear failure in US debt talks

Pedestrians are reflected on an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.1 percent to 8,365.04 in the morning session as Asian stock markets headed lower Monday as a change of government in debt-laden Spain and Singapore's warning of a sharp growth slowdown underlined the challenges facing the world economy. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

Pedestrians are reflected on an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.1 percent to 8,365.04 in the morning session as Asian stock markets headed lower Monday as a change of government in debt-laden Spain and Singapore's warning of a sharp growth slowdown underlined the challenges facing the world economy. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

Pedestrians are reflected on an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.1 percent to 8,365.04 in the morning session as Asian stock markets headed lower Monday as a change of government in debt-laden Spain and Singapore's warning of a sharp growth slowdown underlined the challenges facing the world economy. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

LONDON (AP) ? Fears that talks to reduce the U.S. deficit will collapse added to existing worries about European debt to push global markets lower on Monday.

A special deficit-reduction supercommittee in Washington was expected to admit failure in its quest to agree on how to improve government finances by $1.2 trillion over the coming decade. The main hurdle in the bipartisan panel's negotiations was how much to raise in new taxes.

The panel's failure would trigger about $1 trillion over nine years in automatic across-the-board spending cuts that some investors fear might not be tuned well enough to sustain growth and create jobs.

The talks' expected collapse revived market fears that politicians ? whether in the U.S. or Europe ? are often unable to take the decisive action required to reduce debt during a difficult period of economic slowdown.

Spain on Sunday became the third European country in as many weeks ? after Greece and Italy ? to change its government because of discontent generated by the debt crisis. It dumped its ruling Socialists for the conservative leadership of Mariano Rajoy, who inherits an economy wracked by debt and nightmarish unemployment, which at more than 21 percent is the highest among the 17 nations that use the euro.

Rajoy must lower Spain's soaring borrowing costs with deficit-reducing measures while preventing an already moribund economy from heading into a double-dip recession.

The country's borrowing rates fell in early trading on Monday, suggesting investor relief at the outcome of the elections, but rose again as global market sentiment soured. The borrowing rates for other key countries, such as Italy, also increased slightly.

With traders fearing another dismal week of losses, stock markets fell heavily. Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 2.0 percent to 5,254.76 while Germany's DAX fell 2.4 percent to 5,662.23 and France's CAC-40 slid 2.3 percent to 2,926.98.

After Asia mostly closed lower, Wall Street was also set to lose ground. The Dow Jones industrial futures were down 1.2 percent at 11,621 and S&P 500 futures shed 1.5 percent at 1,195.20.

Besides news on the U.S. deficit deal, market sentiment in Europe will likely be influenced by data to be released later in the day on how much in government bonds the European Central Bank bought last week to keep down the borrowing rates of countries like Italy.

The ECB buys bonds in the open market in relatively small amounts to lower the bond yields from dangerous highs above 7 percent. Some governments would like the ECB to step up those purchases massively to fight the debt crisis, but Germany is against such a move, saying austerity measures are the only sustainable way to alleviate the debt market turmoil.

As an alternative to massive ECB bond-buying, some suggest that eurobonds ? debt issued jointly by all euro nations ? would be a key tool in calming the crisis. The European Commission will issue a report on Wednesday favoring such a solution, which is also strictly opposed by Germany, which worries about exposing its taxpayers to the bad debt of profligate countries.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo fell 0.3 percent to end at 8,348.27, its lowest closing since March 2009. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.4 percent to 18,225.85 and South Korea's Kospi dropped 1 percent to 1,820.03.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3 percent to 4,163. Mainland Chinese shares fell slightly, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index inching down less than 0.1 percent to 2,415.13, its lowest close in almost one month.

Stocks that are heavily dependent on exports to the West have come under pressure recently, said Linus Yip of Hong Kong-based First Shanghai Securities. "The market right now is still worried about future economic growth, the European debt problem," Yip said.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, who oversees trade and finance, said this weekend that the global economic situation is "extremely serious" and predicted the malaise is likely to be long term, state media reported.

In Tokyo trade, Mazda Motor Corp. lost 5.1 percent and Panasonic Corp. lost 2 percent. South Korea's LG Chem Ltd., which makes batteries for cars, lost 4.3 percent.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was down $1 at $96.65 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday. The contract fell $1.41 to finish at $97.41 per barrel on the Nymex on Friday.

In currency trading, the euro fell to $1.3462 from $1.3518 late Friday in New York. The dollar weakened to 76.79 yen from 76.97 yen.

___

Pamela Sampson in Bangkok and Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-21-World-Markets/id-4e3712d8057f43759ee5734aea4079d0

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Neiker-Tecnalia report that noise pollution reduces the presence of songbirds in cities

Public release date: 21-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Irati Kortabitarte
i.kortabitarte@elhuyar.com
34-943-363-040
Elhuyar Fundazioa

A study by the University of the Americas (Universidad de la Amricas Puebla) in Mexico and the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Neiker-Tecnalia, highlights the fact that noise pollution has negative effects on songbirds in cities. The field work, carried out in urban parks in the Metropolitan Area of Puebla-Cholula (Mexico), reveals that the green zones most affected by noise have less bird species. Among the birds better adapted to urban conditions are various species of finches, sparrows and thrushes. The authors of the study say that noise is a novel environmental factor to be taken into consideration when analysing urban biodiversity.

Specialists from the R+D centre point out that the conclusions drawn from the study a piece of work conducted in the Metropolitan Area of Puebla-Cholula (Mexico) and which has been recently published in the scientific journal Landscape and Urban Planning can be extrapolated to other cities of similar characteristics. The green spaces studied included urban parks, main squares, university campuses, natural reserves close to the capital city, and even cemeteries. The study examined the frequency of occurrence of 38 songbirds species (generally small birds, like sparrows, blackbirds, swallows, larks, thrushes, etc.).

The urban parks had average noise levels ranging between 62 and 72 decibels (dB); squares, between 54.5 and 62 dB, and university campuses, between 53 and 58.5 dB. The lowest average levels were recorded in a protected natural area, where the measurement was 38.4 dB. The two cemeteries included in the study were quiet places as well, with an average of 45 dB.

The results highlight the fact that squares and urban parks were the noisiest sites among those studied and, in turn, the ones with a small number of species, apart from other differences. On the other hand, the sites with the highest number of species were the large natural zones and university campuses. The songbirds best adapted to the noisy urban conditions were the 'house finch' (Carpodacus mexicanus), the 'house sparrow' (Passer domesticus) and the 'great-tailed grackle' (Quiscalus mexicanus), which were observed in all the green zones studied. Birds like the 'Rufous-bellied thrush blackbird', the 'Bewick's wren' or the 'Curve-billed thrasher' likewise put up with the noisy reality of the study area. In the green metropolitan areas other birds, like the 'White-collared seedeater', the 'Scott's Oriole', or the 'Rose-breasted grosbeak' had a lower presence.

Alongside other environmental variables, noise pollution is a new environmental factor that influences bird diversity in novel, urban ecosystems, and Neiker-Tecnalia has been keen to take an initial step in this matter. Its specialists report that noise pollution has a negative effect on birds, and they propose that additional studies be carried out to expand on the incipient knowledge in this field. Experts are of the opinion that the next scientific challenge is to find out what levels of noise can be tolerated by each of the species of birds inhabiting urban environments.

So that these birds can survive together with people in cities, apart from limiting the noise levels permitted in urban environments, Neiker-Tecnalia is proposing that these green zones should have more wooded areas. The foliage of the trees can act as an acoustic screen to cut the noise produced by road traffic one of the main sources of noise in the city or by any other human activity, like construction work or air traffic.

###

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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: 21-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Irati Kortabitarte
i.kortabitarte@elhuyar.com
34-943-363-040
Elhuyar Fundazioa

A study by the University of the Americas (Universidad de la Amricas Puebla) in Mexico and the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Neiker-Tecnalia, highlights the fact that noise pollution has negative effects on songbirds in cities. The field work, carried out in urban parks in the Metropolitan Area of Puebla-Cholula (Mexico), reveals that the green zones most affected by noise have less bird species. Among the birds better adapted to urban conditions are various species of finches, sparrows and thrushes. The authors of the study say that noise is a novel environmental factor to be taken into consideration when analysing urban biodiversity.

Specialists from the R+D centre point out that the conclusions drawn from the study a piece of work conducted in the Metropolitan Area of Puebla-Cholula (Mexico) and which has been recently published in the scientific journal Landscape and Urban Planning can be extrapolated to other cities of similar characteristics. The green spaces studied included urban parks, main squares, university campuses, natural reserves close to the capital city, and even cemeteries. The study examined the frequency of occurrence of 38 songbirds species (generally small birds, like sparrows, blackbirds, swallows, larks, thrushes, etc.).

The urban parks had average noise levels ranging between 62 and 72 decibels (dB); squares, between 54.5 and 62 dB, and university campuses, between 53 and 58.5 dB. The lowest average levels were recorded in a protected natural area, where the measurement was 38.4 dB. The two cemeteries included in the study were quiet places as well, with an average of 45 dB.

The results highlight the fact that squares and urban parks were the noisiest sites among those studied and, in turn, the ones with a small number of species, apart from other differences. On the other hand, the sites with the highest number of species were the large natural zones and university campuses. The songbirds best adapted to the noisy urban conditions were the 'house finch' (Carpodacus mexicanus), the 'house sparrow' (Passer domesticus) and the 'great-tailed grackle' (Quiscalus mexicanus), which were observed in all the green zones studied. Birds like the 'Rufous-bellied thrush blackbird', the 'Bewick's wren' or the 'Curve-billed thrasher' likewise put up with the noisy reality of the study area. In the green metropolitan areas other birds, like the 'White-collared seedeater', the 'Scott's Oriole', or the 'Rose-breasted grosbeak' had a lower presence.

Alongside other environmental variables, noise pollution is a new environmental factor that influences bird diversity in novel, urban ecosystems, and Neiker-Tecnalia has been keen to take an initial step in this matter. Its specialists report that noise pollution has a negative effect on birds, and they propose that additional studies be carried out to expand on the incipient knowledge in this field. Experts are of the opinion that the next scientific challenge is to find out what levels of noise can be tolerated by each of the species of birds inhabiting urban environments.

So that these birds can survive together with people in cities, apart from limiting the noise levels permitted in urban environments, Neiker-Tecnalia is proposing that these green zones should have more wooded areas. The foliage of the trees can act as an acoustic screen to cut the noise produced by road traffic one of the main sources of noise in the city or by any other human activity, like construction work or air traffic.

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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/ef-nrt112111.php

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