Study upends model of how dividing cells monitor distribution of chromosomes

Apr. 21, 2013 ? Ludwig researchers Arshad Desai and Christopher Campbell, a post-doctoral fellow in his laboratory, were conducting an experiment to parse the molecular details of cell division about three years ago, when they engineered a mutant yeast cell as a control that, in theory, had no chance of surviving. Apparently unaware of this, the mutant thrived.

Intrigued, Campbell and Desai began exploring how it had defied its predicted fate. As detailed in the current issue of Nature, what they discovered has overturned the prevailing model of how dividing cells ensure that each of their daughter cells emerge with equal numbers of chromosomes, which together package the genome. "Getting the right number of chromosomes into each cell is absolutely essential to sustaining life," explains Desai, PhD, a Ludwig member at the University of California, San Diego, "but it is also something that goes terribly wrong in cancer. The kinds of mistakes that occur when this process isn't functioning properly are seen in about 90% of cancers, and very frequently in advanced and drug-resistant tumors."

Campbell and Desai's study focused in particular on four interacting proteins known as the chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) that monitor the appropriate parceling out of chromosomes. When cells initiate division, each chromosome is made of two connected, identical sister chromatids -- roughly resembling a pair of baguettes joined in the middle. As the process of cell division advances, long protein ropes known as microtubules that extend from opposite ends of the cell hook up to the chromosomes to yank each of the sister chromatids in opposite directions. The microtubules attach to the chromatids via an intricate disc-like structure called the kinetochore. When the protein ropes attach correctly to the sister chromatids, pulling at each from opposing sides, they generate tension on the chromosome. One of the four proteins of the CPC, Aurora B kinase, is an enzyme that monitors that tension. Aurora B is expressed at high levels in many cancers and has long been a target for the development of cancer therapies.

Aurora B is essentially a molecular detector. "If the chromosomes are not under tension," says Desai, "Aurora B forces the rope to release the kinetochore and try attaching over and over again, until they achieve that correct, tense attachment."

The question is how? Aurora B is ordinarily found between the two kinetochores in a region of the chromosome that links the sister chromatids, known as the centromere. The prevailing model held that the microtubule ropes would pull themselves, and the kinetochores, away from Aurora B's reach, so that it cannot force the microtubule ropes to detach from their captive chromosomes. In other words, the location of Aurora B between the two kinetochore discs was thought to be central to its role as a monitor of the requisite tension. "This matter was thought settled," says Desai.

Yet, as Campbell and Desai show through their experiments, yeast cells engineered to carry a mutant CPC that can't be targeted to the centromere survive quite vigorously. They demonstrate that in such cells Aurora B instead congregates on the microtubule ropes. There, it somehow still ensures that the required tension is achieved on chromosomes before they are parceled out to daughter cells.

How precisely it does this remains unclear. Campbell and Desai provide evidence that the clustering of Aurora B on microtubules might be sufficient to activate its function. At the same time, they hypothesize, appropriate tension on the chromosome may induce structural changes in Aurora B's targets that make them resistant to its enzymatic activity. Campbell and Desai are now conducting experiments to test these ideas.

This work was supported by the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, the National Institutes of Health (GM074215) and the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Fellowship (DRG 2007-09).

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, via Newswise.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Christopher S. Campbell and Arshad Desai. Tension sensing by Aurora B kinase is independent of survivin-based centromere localization. Nature, 2013 DOI: 10.1038/nature12057

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/sAYVqaJuguw/130421151620.htm

purple squirrel blade runner close encounters of the third kind beyonce and jay z baby droid 4 tom brady sister dad shoots daughters laptop

Portable ATMs, phone-charging in China quake zone

A man squats near the collapsed remains of a building destroyed by Saturday's earthquake in Lushan county in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Monday, April 22, 2013. Saturday's earthquake in Sichuan province killed at least 186 people, injured more than 11,000 and left nearly two dozen missing, mostly in the rural communities around Ya'an city, along the same seismic fault where a devastating quake to the north killed more than 90,000 people in Sichuan and neighboring areas five years ago in one of China's worst natural disasters.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A man squats near the collapsed remains of a building destroyed by Saturday's earthquake in Lushan county in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Monday, April 22, 2013. Saturday's earthquake in Sichuan province killed at least 186 people, injured more than 11,000 and left nearly two dozen missing, mostly in the rural communities around Ya'an city, along the same seismic fault where a devastating quake to the north killed more than 90,000 people in Sichuan and neighboring areas five years ago in one of China's worst natural disasters.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

An elderly Chinese man waits for food to be distributed with his dog at a makeshift tent in Lushan county in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Monday, April 22, 2013. Saturday's earthquake in Sichuan province killed at least 186 people, injured more than 11,000 and left nearly two dozen missing, mostly in the rural communities around Ya'an city, along the same seismic fault where a devastating quake to the north killed more than 90,000 people in Sichuan and neighboring areas five years ago in one of China's worst natural disasters. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Residents line up for packets of instant noodles in the earthquake struck county of Lushan in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Monday, April 22, 2013. Saturday's earthquake in Sichuan province killed at least 186 people, injured more than 11,000 and left nearly two dozen missing, mostly in the rural communities around Ya'an city, along the same seismic fault where a devastating quake to the north killed more than 90,000 people in Sichuan and neighboring areas five years ago in one of China's worst natural disasters.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

The head of a horse statue decapitated by Saturday's earthquake sits near tents set up for residents displaced by the quake in Lushan county in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Monday, April 22, 2013. Saturday's earthquake in Sichuan province killed at least 186 people, injured more than 11,000 and left nearly two dozen missing, mostly in the rural communities around Ya'an city, along the same seismic fault where a devastating quake to the north killed more than 90,000 people in Sichuan and neighboring areas five years ago in one of China's worst natural disasters. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A woman opens business in a shelter near her damaged shop after the earthquake in Yuxi village of Baosheng township in Lushan county in southwest China's Sichuan province Sunday, April 21, 2013. Saturday's earthquake in Sichuan province killed over 200 people, China's Xinhua News Agency said. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT

LUSHAN, China (AP) ? The tent village that sprang up in two days to house quake survivors in mountain-flanked Lushan is no ordinary refugee camp. China's full range of disaster response is on display: Trucks with x-ray equipment, phone-charging stations, bank tellers-on-wheels ? even a tent for insurance claims.

The efforts under way Monday in mountainous Sichuan province after a quake Saturday that killed at least 188 people showed that the government has continued to hone its disaster reaction ? long considered a crucial leadership test in China ? since a much more devastating earthquake in 2008, also in Sichuan, and another one in 2010 in the western region of Yushu.

"Lushan was so heavily hit and my family's house toppled. It has been such a disaster for us," said Yue Hejun, 28, as he waited to recharge his family's three mobile phones at a charging stall, volunteered by a communications company and coordinated by the government in a new addition to the arsenal of services after natural disasters. "If we can charge our phones, we are at least able to keep in touch with our family members outside and that helps to set our minds at ease."

At a mini-clinic with two green cots in the open air and a small tent for doctors to sleep, a doctor said the government has learned the importance of fast coordination since the Yushu quake, which killed more than 2,600 people. Much of the initial relief in that disaster came from Buddhist monks and other non-government volunteers, partly because of the remoteness of much of the affected areas.

"After 24 hours or 48 hours in Yushu, things were not so orderly or settled in," said the doctor, who like many government officials would give only her surname, Luo. "The government's quick, organized response is very important. It's no use to blindly come here and try to save people."

Helicopters have been an obvious presence in the latest rescue efforts, used to reach outlying communities, unlike in 2008 when bad weather hampered their use in the critical first 36 hours. This time, better use of helicopters for reconnaissance ? with remote sensing technology ? and for the distribution of aid has allowed help to get out more quickly to where it is needed, said Teng Wuxiao, director of the Institute of Urban Public Security at Fudan University in Shanghai.

Still, complaints were common among the survivors of the latest quake, especially in the more hard-to-reach areas. While aid was being delivered, it was not getting out to all who need it. Yue said family members in his remote mountain village had received no help with shelter and were living under tarpaulins.

Huang Mingxian, 47, who was camped out with seven family members in a government-issued blue tent in a small public square, said the government's efforts were appreciated but that supplies were not always distributed fairly.

"This morning is the first time in three days that we have gotten instant noodles," Huang said, waving a pair of long chopsticks she was using to stir the noodles in a wok over a gas canister-powered mobile stove. "Other areas have electricity and water, what about us?"

Earlier Monday, about two dozen residents briefly gathered on a street corner near a camp area, shouting that they had not been given food in two days. A half-hour later, a large truck rolled up and dozens of evacuees ran up to it, jostling as the supplies were being handed out.

The death toll in Saturday's quake ? measured at magnitude 7.0 by Chinese authorities and at magnitude 6.6 by monitors in the U.S. ? may continue to tick upward, with about two dozen people still missing. More than 15,000 people have been sent to hospitals, with more than 300 of them seriously injured.

Central authorities' ability to respond to natural disasters has been seen as tests of legitimacy for centuries. Chinese emperors put state resources into controlling floods, and earthquakes and other disasters were believed to be signs that a dynasty was losing the "mandate of heaven."

The state-run tabloid Global Times boasted in an editorial of China's communal "disaster-relief" culture, and its "more mature" response to the latest quake, comparing it favorably to those overseas. "In its ability to mobilize people and in other indicators, China's disaster relief comes ahead of the United States, Japan and other developed countries," the newspaper said.

The Foreign Ministry said that Beijing is turning away foreign offers of assistance, saying China is capable of handling it on its own.

In Lushan county's town, where many of the buildings are unsafe for use, the grounds of schools, hospitals, a gymnasium and other government buildings have been converted into evacuee camps. Quake survivors formed long lines in front of trucks and stalls to receive instant noodles, bottled water and other supplies.

Beyond the bare necessities, there are also stalls for survivors to make insurance claims, a large vehicle that converts into a bank and ATM-on-wheels, and tents sponsored by Chinese telecoms companies providing numerous electrical extension cords for residents to recharge their electrical gadgets.

High school seniors in the disaster area will be moved this week to the provincial capital, Chengdu, along with 30 teachers so that they can continue classes and take the all-important university entrance exam, the state Xinhua News Agency reported.

As typically happens after disasters, Chinese with cars were packing them with supplies and heading to the disaster area. Anticipating traffic congestion that could hamper emergency teams, the government issued a notice Monday asking volunteers, tourists and others not trained as rescuers to stay out of the disaster area.

However, authorities were letting motorcyclists through.

Peng Song, 28, an outdoor equipment retailer who biked to Lushan from the provincial capital of Chengdu, had his motorcycle packed with tents and bottled water and was riding with 14 other bikers-turned-volunteers out to remote communities.

"Those in the disaster area need help. We just want to offer a hand to them, that's all," Peng said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-22-China-Earthquake%201st%20Ld-Writethru/id-c3373301248244f28121e9cfe09d71ae

Chi Magazine Kate Middleton Nude Photos boxing news Coptic Christian saturday night live julio cesar chavez jr Topless Kate

ToDoMovies Makes Sure You Never Miss a Good Film in the Theaters

iOS: This summer is shaping up to be a great one for movies, and if you want to make sure you see them all, ToDoMovies can help. The app lets you build a watch list of movies you want to see, reminds you when they premiere, helps you buy tickets, and can even show you reviews so you don't waste your money.

ToDoMovies pulls in reviews from RottenTomatoes and movie data from IMDB so you can read about the film before you add it to your watch list, check out what critics have to say about it, and even buy tickets right away if you want to. It'll help you find theaters, and even notify you of premiere dates and showtimes in advance so you don't miss anything.

If you prefer your movies post-release, ToDoMovies can help you there too. The app ties into iTunes and supports AirPlay so you can buy movies through the app, buy soundtracks for movies in your favorites list, or just look up trailers, posters, and other downloads. All of your ToDoMovies data is synchronized via iCloud, so you can get to it on any other device. For a full list of features, hit the iTunes Store link below. The app will set you back $2.

ToDoMovies ($2) | iTunes App Store via Taphive

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/M8wWUFxHcsM/todomovies-makes-sure-you-never-miss-a-good-film-in-the-476700187

Chris Culliver Atlanta school shooting Superbowl Kickoff Time 2013 30 rock What Time Is The Super Bowl 2013 Super Bowl 2013 Time BlackBerry 10

Boston nurses tell of bloody marathon aftermath

BOSTON (AP) ? The screams and cries of bloody marathon bombing victims still haunt the nurses who treated them one week ago. They did their jobs as they were trained to do, putting their own fears in a box during their 12-hour shifts so they could better comfort their patients.

Only now are these nurses beginning to come to grips with what they endured ? and are still enduring as they continue to care for survivors. They are angry, sad and tired. A few confess they would have trouble caring for the surviving suspect, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, if he were at their hospital and they were assigned his room.

And they are thankful. They tick off the list of their hospital colleagues for praise: from the security officers who guarded the doors to the ER crews who mopped up trails of blood. The doctors and ? especially ? the other nurses.

Nurses from Massachusetts General Hospital, which treated 22 of the 187 victims the first day, candidly recounted their experiences in interviews with The Associated Press. Here are their memories:

THEY WERE SCREAMING

Megann Prevatt, ER nurse: "These patients were terrified. They were screaming. They were crying ... We had to fight back our own fears, hold their hands as we were wrapping their legs, hold their hands while we were putting IVs in and starting blood on them, just try to reassure them: 'We don't know what happened, but you're here. You're safe with us.' ... I didn't know if there were going to be more bombs exploding. I didn't know how many patients we'd be getting. All these thoughts are racing through your mind."

SHRAPNEL, NAILS

Adam Barrett, ICU nurse, shared the patient bedside with investigators searching for clues that might break the case. "It was kind of hard to hear somebody say, 'Don't wash that wound. You might wash evidence away.'" Barrett cleaned shrapnel and nails from the wounds of some victims, side by side with law enforcement investigators who wanted to examine wounds for blast patterns. The investigator's request took him aback at first. "I wasn't stopping to think, 'What could be in this wound that could give him a lead?'"

THEIR FACES, THEIR SMILES

Jean Acquadra, ICU nurse, keeps herself going by thinking of her patients' progress. "The strength is seeing their faces, their smiles, knowing they're getting better. They may have lost a limb, but they're ready to go on with their lives. They want to live. I don't know how they have the strength, but that's my reward: Knowing they're getting better."

She is angry and doesn't think she could take care of Tsarnaev, who is a patient at another hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: "I don't have any words for him."

THE NEED FOR JUSTICE

Christie Majocha, ICU nurse: "Even going home, I didn't get away from it," Majocha said. She is a resident of Watertown, the community paralyzed Friday by the search for the surviving suspect. She helped save the lives of maimed bombing victims on Monday. By week's end, she saw the terror come to her own neighborhood. The manhunt, she felt, was a search for justice, and was being carried out directly for the good of her patients.

"I knew these faces (of the victims). I knew what their families looked like. I saw their tears," she said. "I know those families who are so desperate to see this end."

On Friday night, she joined the throngs cheering the police officers and FBI agents, celebrating late into the night even though she had to return to the hospital at 7 a.m. the next day.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boston-nurses-tell-bloody-marathon-aftermath-200449911.html

solar flares 2012 whitney houston will toyota recall northern lights sign of the times keystone pipeline purim

FBI investigating recording of McConnell talks

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) ? Campaign aides to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell proposed using actress Ashley Judd's past bouts with depression against her if she had decided to challenge him in his re-election bid next year, according to a secret recording posted by a magazine.

Mother Jones released a recording Tuesday along with an article about a private meeting in which the aides discussed opposition research into potential Democratic challengers. Aides talked and laughed on the recording about Judd's political positions, religious beliefs and past bouts of depression.

The FBI is looking into how the recording was made after the McConnell campaign accused opponents of engaging in "Watergate-era tactics." The magazine reported that the recording was provided last week by a source who requested anonymity.

"She's clearly ? this sounds extreme ? but she is emotionally unbalanced," a McConnell aide said of Judd during a February meeting at the Louisville campaign headquarters. "I mean it's been documented ... she's suffered some suicidal tendencies. She was hospitalized for 42 days when she had a mental breakdown in the '90s."

Judd has been open about her bouts with depression. She spoke to the American Counseling Association's national convention in Cincinnati in March, telling more than 3,000 counselors from across the country about her experiences. Her spokeswoman, Cara Tripicchio, criticized the McConnell campaign for considering making it a campaign issue.

"This is yet another example of the politics of personal destruction that embody Mitch McConnell and are pervasive in Washington DC," Tripicchio said in a statement. "We expected nothing less from Mitch McConnell and his camp than to take a personal struggle such as depression, which many Americans cope with on a daily basis, and turn it into a laughing matter."

McConnell was asked several times at a news conference Tuesday about the propriety of attacking Judd over depression. He did not directly answer, but repeatedly brought up an incident last month, when Progress Kentucky tweeted an insensitive remark about his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.

"As you know, my wife's ethnicity was attacked by a left-wing group in Kentucky and apparently they also bugged my headquarters," he said. "So I think that pretty well sums up the way the political left is operating in Kentucky."

The FBI confirmed that it was contacted by McConnell's office and was looking into the matter. The magazine didn't return a call seeking comment.

McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton alleged in an email to supporters that "liberals and their media allies" were "wire-tapping our field office to spy on us," even though it wasn't clear how the recording was obtained. Benton used the issue as a fundraising appeal, asking supporters to send donations "to help us spread the truth."

On the recording posted on Mother Jones' website, McConnell began the meeting by telling aides the campaign had entered "the Whac-A-Mole period" and explained that means "when anybody sticks their head up, do them out."

The magazine reported the aides huddled on Feb. 2 in a private meeting to discuss potential Democratic opponents, including Judd and Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes. Grimes, a rising star within the Kentucky Democratic Party, hasn't ruled herself out as a challenger.

An unidentified aide said Judd had made a public statement as a Tennessee delegate to the Democratic national convention about her support of President Barack Obama, an unpopular figure in Kentucky. The aide said that statement could be used against her and raised another issue: Judd lives in Tennessee, not Kentucky.

In another instance, the aide played a recording of Judd talking about her evolving religious beliefs, which included native faith practices. The aides laugh loudly. An unidentified man then says "the people at Southeast Christian would take to the streets with pitchforks," referring to an evangelical megachurch in Louisville.

The magazine was the first to report about Republican Mitt Romney's comments to donors paying $50,000 apiece to attend a private reception that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on government, see themselves as victims and believe the government has a responsibility to care for them.

Romney's critics used the video to argue that he was out of touch with average Americans during the last presidential campaign.

Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Dan Logsdon said the recording is telling about McConnell.

"I certainly do not know anything about how this may have happened," Logsdon said. "However, it's clear that this is the McConnell we all know: leading a negative, nasty campaign determined to lash out at his opponents since he doesn't have any accomplishments to point to."

___

Associated Press writers Jim Abrams and Donna Cassata in Washington and Brett Barrouquere in Louisville contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fbi-investigating-recording-mcconnell-talks-190453229--election.html

college football recruiting rankings ground hog day 2012 aaron carter black history month did groundhog see his shadow soul train don cornelius rod parsley

Afghan attacks kill U.S. diplomat, soldiers, others

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A car bomb blast killed five Americans, including three U.S. soldiers and a young diplomat, on Saturday, while an American civilian died in a separate attack in the east.

The diplomat and other Americans were in a convoy of vehicles in Zabul province when the blast occurred, Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement.

The soldiers and the diplomat died in the blast along with a civilian employee of the Defense Department and Afghan civilians, Kerry said. His statement gave no overall death toll.

The Washington Post identified the diplomat as Anne Smedinghoff, 25, citing her parents. Smedinghoff was Kerry's embassy guide and aide when he visited Afghanistan last month, the paper said.

Local and international officials in the region said earlier that six people died in the blast: three U.S. soldiers, two U.S. civilians and an Afghan doctor.

Provincial governor Mohammad Ashraf Nasery was in the convoy, but was unharmed, local and NATO officials said.

"Our American officials and their Afghan colleagues were on their way to donate books to students in a school in Qalat, the province's capital, when they were struck by this despicable attack," Kerry said in his statement.

He said he had met the diplomat during a trip to Kabul, and spoke to her parents after her death. Four other U.S. diplomats were wounded, one critically, Kerry said in his statement.

The convoy was near a hospital and a NATO base at the time of the explosion. Five Afghans, including a student and two reporters, were wounded, a local official said.

The attack came as the top U.S. general, Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in the country for a short visit to assess how much training Afghan troops need before U.S. troops pull out as planned by the end of 2014.

In an attack in Afghanistan's east, an American civilian working with the U.S. government was killed during an insurgent attack, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.

Zabul shares borders with Pakistan to the southeast and Kandahar province, the birthplace of the Taliban, to the south.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the Zabul attack in a text message from spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi. He said a car bomb killed seven foreigners and wounded five others, although he later revised the toll to 13 foreigners killed and nine wounded.

The Taliban routinely exaggerates casualty figures.

The killings followed a bloody Taliban assault in the country's west on Wednesday that killed 44 people in a courtroom in Farah province. The United Nations says civilians are being increasingly targeted.

In a statement posted online earlier on Saturday, Ahmadi said the Taliban would continue to target Afghan judges and prosecutors.

"The Islamic Emirate, from today onwards, will keep a close watch over courthouses, all its personnel and all those who try to harm Mujahideen and will deal with them the same as the judges and prosecutors of Farah."

(Reporting by Ismail Sameem, additional reporting by Paul Eckert; Writing by Dylan Welch and Diane Bartz; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Xavier Briand)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-attacks-kill-u-diplomat-soldiers-others-021108162.html

best new artist 2012 grammys foo fighters nikki minaj album of the year grammy red carpet grammy award winners

Deactivate Facebook Home in one tap: step-by-step

SlashGear writes, If you?re thinking about picking up an HTC first device on the 12th of April, you might want to consider turning Facebook Home off. But why would I want to turn off the system that?s selling the smartphone, you might ask? Because there?s a completely clean Android Jelly Bean under that Facebook Home skin, that?s why! It?s time to deactivate Facebook Home before you even take the time to use it! All you?ve got to do inside your HTC first is head to the separate app called Facebook Settings first. From there it?s the very first option on the list ? the very first! The option?

Continue reading Deactivate Facebook Home in one tap: step-by-step at SlashGear

Source: http://mobilitybeat.com/slashgear/99492/deactivate-facebook-home-in-one-tap-step-by-step/

whitney houston funeral live pat buchanan slither slither naacp glen campbell jerusalem artichoke

Kerry mourns 1st diplomat killed since Benghazi

ISTANBUL (AP) ? Secretary of State John Kerry is mourning the first death of an American diplomat on the job since last year's Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic installation in Benghazi, Libya.

Anne Smedinghoff, 25, was one of six Americans killed in an attack Saturday in Afghanistan.

Smedinghoff, an Illinois resident, was on her second tour in Afghanistan after returning last summer. She aided Kerry on his visit there last month.

Visiting Istanbul, a clearly emotional Kerry told consulate workers on Sunday that Smedinghoff stood for everything America stands for.

He says she died trying to make a difference by providing young Afghans with education.

Smedinghoff previously served in Venezuela.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-07-Kerry-Afghanistan/id-867023bc1b2e4eb7885dffe4e004b855

missing reese witherspoon pregnant billy joel bent new york jets etch a sketch romney sean payton

Japan: Retractable Tsunami Breaker Construction and First Test Underway off Coast of Wakayama (Awesome)

Late last year we reported on the development of a completely new kind of breakwater to prevent a tsunami from hitting the coast with its full might. Unlike other breakwaters that would otherwise hinder sea transportation and the aesthetics of the ocean, these remain at the ocean floor until called upon.

If a tsunami warning is in effect then they can rise up in a matter of minutes and disrupt the coming wave. On 28 March the first nine-meter segment of this system was constructed and successfully tested.

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/04/04/retractable-tsunami-breaker-construction-and-first-test-underway-off-coast-of-wakayama/

Source: http://thecomingcrisis.blogspot.com/2013/04/japan-retractable-tsunami-breaker.html

pro bowl 2012 roster yamaguchi road house occupy oakland occupy oakland morgellons disease arik armstead

'Evil Dead' Vet Bruce Campbell Welcomes Remake's Fresh Blood

Producer praises director Fede Alvarez for creating a fresh horror reboot of the cult classic.
By Brett White

Jane Levy in "Evil Dead"
Photo: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705049/evil-dead-remake-bruce-campbell.jhtml

uganda the parent trap invisible children kony 2012 space weather sunspots pac 12 tournament sun storm

US unemployment aid applications jump to 385,000

In this Friday, March 29, 2013, people line up outside a restaurant in front of a help wanted sign in Richmond, Va. The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose to a four-month high in the week ending March 30, 2013, although the increase partly reflects seasonal distortions around the spring holidays. The Labor Department says weekly applications increased 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 385,000. That is the highest level since late November. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose to 354,250. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

In this Friday, March 29, 2013, people line up outside a restaurant in front of a help wanted sign in Richmond, Va. The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose to a four-month high in the week ending March 30, 2013, although the increase partly reflects seasonal distortions around the spring holidays. The Labor Department says weekly applications increased 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 385,000. That is the highest level since late November. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose to 354,250. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose last week by 28,000, the third straight increase.

Weekly applications increased to a seasonally adjusted 385,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the highest level since late November. The gain pushed the four-week average, a less volatile measure, to 354,250.

A Labor Department spokesman says the figures may have been affected by the Easter holiday. The department says the holiday's timing varies from year to year, which makes it difficult to adjust for school closings and other seasonal factors that can alter the data.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have declined steadily since November, pushing the average to a five-year low three weeks ago.

The recent increases could be a sign that companies are starting to cut jobs, possibly because of steep government spending cuts that began on March 1. Earlier reports this week suggested that companies may have slowed hiring this month after four months of strong job growth.

Economists said they wanted to see more data before concluding the job market's trajectory had changed.

"We suspect the surge in the last two weeks reflects seasonal adjustment problems more than any fundamental change in the trend, but of course that remains to be seen," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, in a note to clients.

The government will issue the March employment report Friday. Economists forecast that it will show employers added 195,000 jobs last month, a healthy figure but below February's total of 236,000.

Job growth has picked up in recent months. Employers added an average of 200,000 jobs per month from November through February. That's nearly double the average from last spring. The gains helped lower the unemployment rate in February to a four-year low of 7.7 percent.

Stronger economic growth this year has spurred more hiring. A steady housing recovery has boosted home construction and prices. Higher home prices make Americans feel wealthier, which can spur more spending.

In February, consumer spending rose by the most in five months. And consumer confidence improved in March from the previous month, according to a survey released last week by the University of Michigan.

Two reports Wednesday, however, suggested companies may have grown more cautious last month. Services companies grew in March but at a slower pace than in February, according to the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group. Service firms, which include retailers, hotels, restaurants and financial companies, cut back on hiring and a measure of new orders fell.

And private employers added fewer jobs in March compared with February, according to payroll processor ADP. Construction firms didn't add any positions after three months of strong gains.

Several economists lowered their forecasts for hiring in March after Wednesday's reports. Still, many analysts cautioned that the ADP is not always an accurate predictor of the government's more comprehensive figures.

Nearly 5.3 million people received unemployment aid in the week ended March 16, the latest data available. That's about 170,000 fewer than the previous week.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-04-Unemployment%20Benefits/id-d0ed81d676c4448a8c4e1e37a4774c0c

Pumpkin Carving Ideas Hurricane Sandy path sandy Time Change 2012 Marcus Lattimore news 12 world series

Veterinarians try artificial insemination on Giant Panda at National Zoo

Mei Xiang, the Giant Panda at the National Zoo was artificially inseminated Saturday after she and the zoo's male giant panda failed to breed naturally.?

By Jane Sutton,?Reuters / March 30, 2013

Giant panda Mei Xiang looks over a stone wall in her enclosure at the Smithsonian's National Zoo during a spring snow in Washington, D.C. March 25.

Connor Mallon/Smithsonian's National Zoo/Reuters

Enlarge

Veterinarians at the?National Zoo?artificially inseminated the zoo's female giant panda?Mei Xiang?on Saturday after natural breeding failed to occur, zoo keepers said.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Mei Xiang?was put under general anesthesia and inseminated with a combination of fresh semen and frozen semen collected from the zoo's male giant panda Tian Tian. The scientists said they planned a second insemination later on Saturday.

Veterinarians detected a rise in hormone levels on Tuesday, indicating?Mei Xiang?was ready to breed but said "no competent breeding" between the panda pair had occurred.

"We are hopeful that our breeding efforts will be successful this year, and we're encouraged by all the behaviors and hormonal data we've seen so far," said?Dave Wildt, head of the?Center for Species Survival?at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Scientists will continue to monitor?Mei Xiang's hormone levels in the coming months and conduct ultrasounds to determine whether she is pregnant. A pregnancy lasts between 95 and 160 days, they said.

Mei Xiang?has given birth to two cubs. One died a week after its birth last year. The other was born in 2005 and is now at the?China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda?in Wolong.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/ti5HnTXiknU/Veterinarians-try-artificial-insemination-on-Giant-Panda-at-National-Zoo

marlins new stadium arnold palmer augusta national blake griffin pau gasol marlins park marbury v. madison

Analyst: 60-inch Apple iTV to launch this year

FILE - In this April 2, 2013, file photo, a man smokes near the logo of Apple in Shanghai, China. It's no secret that Apple wants to get into the living room by making its own TV set, and there have been plenty of rumors and reports about how and when it's going to happen. In a research note Wednesday, April 3, 2013, Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets says the "iTV" will be 60 inches on the diagonal, but could also come in 50- and 55-inch versions. Apple will also release a small "iRing" that fits on the viewer's finger, allowing the user to control the screen by pointing, White says. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko,File)

FILE - In this April 2, 2013, file photo, a man smokes near the logo of Apple in Shanghai, China. It's no secret that Apple wants to get into the living room by making its own TV set, and there have been plenty of rumors and reports about how and when it's going to happen. In a research note Wednesday, April 3, 2013, Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets says the "iTV" will be 60 inches on the diagonal, but could also come in 50- and 55-inch versions. Apple will also release a small "iRing" that fits on the viewer's finger, allowing the user to control the screen by pointing, White says. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko,File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? It's no secret that Apple wants to get into the living room by making its own TV set, and there have been plenty of rumors and reports about how and when it's going to happen.

Now, an analyst says he's learned that the set will go on sale late this year, for $1,500 to $2,500.

In a research note Wednesday, Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets says the "iTV" will be 60 inches on the diagonal, but could also come in 50- and 55-inch versions. Apple will also release a small "iRing" that fits on the viewer's finger, allowing the user to control the screen by pointing, White says.

In addition, the set will come with tablet-like "mini iTVs" with 9.7-inch screens, the same as the full-size iPad, White said. The "iTV" will be able to send video to the smaller screens wirelessly around the house. The concept is similar to the way in which cable and satellite TV companies are starting to let their set-top boxes send video to iPads and other tablets.

White says his report is based on gleanings from visits with unnamed Chinese and Taiwanese companies that supply Apple with components.

Apple doesn't comment on future products before its launch events, but late company co-founder Steve Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson that he wanted to remake the TV and had figured out a way to do it. Last year, there were numerous analyst reports that said Apple would launch a TV set in 2012.

Apple does sell an "Apple TV," but it's a small box that connects to a TV to display movies and shows from iTunes.

Apple shares rose $4.91, or 1.1 percent, to $434.70 in midday trading, as the tech-dominated Nasdaq index fell 0.3 percent. Apple's stock is still close to the 52-week low of $419, which it hit a month ago.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-04-03-Apple-iTV-Analyst%20Report/id-8f41fe7512c045748cdab4dcf81030eb

Ncaa Tournament 2013 2013 NCAA Bracket leprechaun ufc Chris Cline New Pope Jeff Gordon Test Drive

Apricot Pesto Chicken Rolls (Sometimes Friends ARE Food) | Cast ...

Since it?s my birthday week, and I have a ridiculous and psychotic love of all things chicken, this week we are focusing on chicken recipes. Not only do I love to eat chickens, I also think they are adorable. I know most people think they are dirty and only good as a main course. A few years ago, I got a book called ?Extraordinary Chickens? by Stephen Green-Armytage, and the images in it would change those people?s minds.

I never knew chickens could be so fancy! The patterns and colors of their feathers, as well as the unusual shapes of their crests, beards, and combs somehow showcase facets of their little bird personalities. You?ve heard of crazy cat ladies?well, meet the crazy chicken lady, ME. M loves to point out the incongruity between my love of live chickens and my love of eating their corpses. What can I say? I?m a complicated lady.

This recipe in particular is one of my favorites. I found it in a little bonus recipe booklet from ?Better Homes and Gardens? years ago and have made it many times since. Rolling and securing the completed rolls with the toothpicks AND making them look nice is the hardest part. I used probably way too many toothpicks, but the dish did look like the picture when finished. My only note would be to use the same amount of toothpicks in each roll to make it easier to remember when you have to take them out. Once cooked, these will hold their shape without the toothpicks. I also put a small bowl of melted preserves on the side for anyone who wanted to dip. For the couscous side, we used Near East Parmesan and followed the directions on the box. Its a delicious change from rice or potatoes and takes only 5 minutes to prepare.

The recipe serves 4, and since its from an official site, we get the bonus of nutritional information: Cal. 324, total fat 16g, cholesterol 62mg, saturated fat 3g, carbohydrates 23g, fiber 1g, protein 24g, vitamin A 437 IU, vitamin C 1mg, sodium 382mg, calcium 71mg, iron 2mg.

Better Homes and Gardens dish:

M and m?s dish:

Hello Fellow Food Enthusiasts! I am the East Coast Representation of Cast Iron & Wine. I'm a married gal in my late 30's, living in northeast Pennsylvania. The hubbs is really the one who does most of the cooking and experimenting, so I will mostly be describing his recipes and the results (good or bad) and documenting kitchen gadgets and recipes that we want to try. He's" M." I'm "m." Expect Anthony Bourdain-level snark whenever possible from both of us. We only kinda became foodies in the last few years, so many many tastes are new to us. I'm so excited that we have a venue like this to share food experiences!!! Cook to keep your own body going and keep the hearts of those you love beating for as long as possible.

Source: http://castironandwine.com/apricot-pesto-chicken-rolls-sometimes-friends-are-food/

oscar red carpet daytona 500 start time ryan zimmerman oscars red carpet jennifer lopez wardrobe malfunction hugo hugo