Diagnosing patients at an early stage

ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2012) ? Norwegian researchers have developed the world's first sensor capable of measuring individual particles in a blood sample.

Our blood contains several hundred different proteins that can give us a picture of our general health -- and provide information about the condition of our heart or the presence of cancer. Currently, when we give our doctor a blood sample for a 'full check', it can only be analysed for five or six indicators, such as blood percentages, blood sugar and infections. For other test results, the sample must be sent to a central laboratory for analysis. It can often take as long as a week before the results come back.

Improved sensitivity

Four years ago, SINTEF began a joint project with Stanford University in the USA and the University of Oslo (UiO). The aim was to build a sensor that could improve sensitivity a million fold, making it possible to measure individual particles in the blood, including proteins at extremely low concentrations, as well as DNA and RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecules.

Their work has been able to proceed thanks to internal funding from SINTEF's own Medical ACTION project, government SIP funding (the Strategic Institute Programme), and assistance from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the University of Bergen (UiB), the University of Zurich and the German research organisation Fraunhofer. The researchers have also been able to use the Norwegian NorFab laboratories.

The result is a new nano-particle sensor developed in MiNaLab in Oslo.

Photonic crystal

The sensor comprises a thin silicon membrane -- about three hundred times thinner than a single hair. It is perforated with hundreds of small holes arranged in a regular pattern.

'We call these structures photonic crystals. The same structures occur naturally in the wings of some butterflies,' says Ib-Rune Johansen at SINTEF ICT. Like his colleagues Jon Olav Grepstad and Michal Mielnik, he believes that they are not exaggerating when they claim that this is "the ultimate bio-sensor -- at the cutting edge of nanotechnology."

Starlight

One of the properties of the crystal is that it amplifies parts of the light spectrum.

'When we are looking for particles in blood samples, we illuminate the photonic crystal from behind. That way, we can amplify the intensity of light within the membrane by many hundred fold. The crystal is impervious to light: all light is reflected and nothing gets through. Viewed from behind, therefore, the crystal looks like the dark night sky. However, each particle that is captured becomes trapped in a hole in the membrane and allows some light to leak through -- giving it the appearance of a star in the sky,' says Johansen.

'Our breakthrough came with this opportunity to see these microscopic particles,' he tells us.

Early cancer diagnosis

Currently, medical laboratories measure proteins to detect imbalances in the body that occur when an infection is present. The new sensor can take these analyses much further.

SINTEF's chemists are trying to attach receptors to the wall of each of the perforations in the membrane (biofunctionalisation). When blood is pumped through, the receptors trap very specific molecules, depending on what the scientists are looking for. Because the sensor/membrane has many perforations, they can specify a wide range of different proteins. It will thereby be possible to detect illnesses such as prostate and ovarian cancer in their very early stages.

Two challenges overcome

Work on biosensors faces two challenges. The first is to make the sensors sufficiently sensitive. The second is to ensure that they measure what they are supposed to measure. The sensors must be able to differentiate between two particles, and select only those particles that have been specified (specificity). The SINTEF researchers have improved their sensor's sensitivity a million fold compared with ordinary sensors. They can now measure particles down to 20 nanometres.

'Many proteins relevant to diagnosis are in this size range, but many others are even smaller. We can currently detect individual molecules of the larger proteins. We can also detect smaller protein molecules, but not individually, i.e. we need more protein molecules before we can detect them with our sensor. However, the aim is to perfect the sensor's architecture so that in the long term we will also be able to detect individual molecules of even the smallest proteins,' says Michal Mielnik.

The researchers have also discovered a high specificity method, as well as their exceptional specificity method. Patent applications have been filed for both discoveries.

Sensitive -- and cheap.

'We are very optimistic. So far, we have succeeded without a lot of support. However, a great deal of research remains to be done. In order to develop an industrial product, we need assistance from the Research Council of Norway and the EU,' says Ib-Rune Johansen.

In the autumn, they will run artificial blood samples through the membrane, and in the spring, they will run tests using proteins from ovarian cancer.

Perhaps the best news of all is that it will only cost medical centres a few thousand kroner to buy the 'tool' -- consisting of the sensor/membrane, a light source and a standard camera of the type used in mobile phones and PCs.

As well as its impact on medicine, the sensor is likely to make it possible to count and define limits for naturally occurring harmful nanoparticles. It will be possible to monitor the quality of water, air and food.

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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/cQPZ0oyEDKQ/121207090539.htm

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Court to rule on same-sex marriage: What?s at stake

In a historic step that rivals other Supreme Court moves into the center of America?s cultural character, the justices on Friday agreed to consider the constitutionality of federal and state laws that deny marriage rights or marital benefits to same-sex couples.? But the move carried with it the potential for stopping short of settling the core constitutional issue.

The court?s orders Friday afternoon said the justices would hear claims that states do not violate the Constitution when they allow marriage only for one man and one woman, and that the federal government does violate the Constitution when it denies benefits to same-sex couples who are already legally married under state laws.? Those are the key questions on gays and lesbians right to marry.

At the same time, however, the court gave itself the option of postponing answers to those key questions.? It raised a series of procedural issues that could mean that neither of the cases it granted would provide a definitive outcome.? Which way it ultimately would choose to move is not predictable at this point.? (Constitution Daily on Monday will provide a fuller analysis of what the Court has said it would do.)

Last summer, as cases on same-sex marriage were reaching the Supreme Court, the justices were told that what was at stake was ?the defining civil rights issue of our time.?? That was a comment from two lawyers whose own fame ? and past differences in court ? have added to the high visibility of those cases: Theodore B. Olson and David Boies.

Once the opposing lawyers in the court?s celebrated decision in Bush v. Gore, settling a presidential election, Olson and Boies have joined forces to help speed up an already unfolding timetable of court rulings on whether gays and lesbians will be able to marry.? They won one of the most sweeping rulings ever issued by a court, when a federal judge in San Francisco two years ago struck down California?s ban on such marriages, ?Proposition 8.?

But, years before those titans of the bar joined the fight, lawyers in gay rights organizations had been pressing the marriage issue in their own lawsuits.?? They, too, saw it as a defining issue of the day.?? They actually had two parallel campaigns going in the courts: open marriage to homosexual partners, and open the military to gays and lesbians, who could serve without hiding their sexual identities.

As the court now moves into the marriage issue, the fight over gays in the military already has been won.? Congress repealed that ban, and the services are now welcoming gays and lesbians without trying to regulate their private lives.

There is virtually no chance that Congress ? at least Congress as presently constituted ? would pass legislation to open marriage to homosexuals on a nationwide basis.? That is simply not politically possible and, besides, there is a question about whether Congress could impose such a requirement upon states, which traditionally have defined who can marry.

And, since the politics of gay rights do not suggest that a constitutional amendment to permit same-sex marriages will even be attempted, the path to such marriages remains either in state legislatures, with the voters of the states, or with the courts.

Recent Constitution Daily Stories

What?s the court doing with same-sex marriage cases?
Constitution Check: Would an Obama victory turn the Supreme Court sharply to the left?
Constitution Check: Will the politics of 2012 influence the constitutionality of gay marriage?

The campaign to pursue same-sex marriage through the courts has been marked, at times, by disagreements about what was the best strategy, and what was the best time to try to advance the cause.? While supporters of same-sex marriage have had some control over the process, it has not been entirely a matter of their choice.? Rigorous efforts challenging same-sex marriage have been made, in politics and in the courts, and have succeeded most of the time with the voters.

Still, it has been widely assumed that, sooner or later, the issue probably would be resolved as a constitutional matter by the Supreme Court.?? It has had rulings on gay rights in recent years, but it has never issued a full-scale ruling on the issue of marriage for homosexual couples..

Whether the review that is now beginning will lead to a sweeping new ruling, or only one that is limited in scope, will only become clear as the time for decision approaches.

Since the same-sex marriage cases began arriving at the court last summer, a total of 11 have now been placed on the docket.?? At a Conference Friday morning, the court had before it 10 of those petitions, and the justices were examining them to decide which issues they were ready to confront.

Lyle Denniston is the National Constitution Center?s Adviser on Constitutional Literacy. He has reported on the Supreme Court for 54 years, currently covering it for SCOTUSblog, an online clearinghouse of information about the Supreme Court?s work.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/court-rule-same-sex-marriage-stake-214056481.html

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Google is ?the biggest hammer in a world full of nails?

Google (GOOG) is easily one of the most powerful companies in tech right now but according to?Sector & Sovereign Research analyst Paul Sagawa, a serious threat is beginning to present itself. According to the analyst, Google is ?the greatest data processing company on Earth,? and its mastery of collecting and utilizing data powers the success of each big product it offers, including search, advertising and even Android. Sagawa sees trouble potentially looming on the horizon though, and it?s not coming from a rival like Apple (AAPL) or Microsoft (MSFT).

?The biggest risk for Google is government intervention,? Sagawa wrote in a note on Sector & Sovereign?s website?titled Google: The Biggest Hammer in a World Full of Nails.??We believe that these threats, in many jurisdictions, can be negotiated without significantly diluting Google?s bright future.?

Android is the king of smartphone operating systems, Google search is unrivaled, the company ?essentially invented the cloud? and is very well positioned to capitalize on the coming cloud boom, its business is built to scale and its advertising business is booming even though ads are ?Google?s monetization of choice, not necessity? according to the analyst. But Sagawa thinks Google?s widening lead in these categories may soon be slowed by government intervention.

?Google?s powerful IT infrastructure, Android market momentum, and portfolio of leading cloud assets, such as search, video streaming, and internet advertising, are a competitive bulwark for the company?s core revenues and a springboard to future growth and new opportunities,? Sagawa wrote. ?However, inquiries at the FTC and by several European governments could lead to restrictions on Google?s ability to leverage these advantages or hamstring the effectiveness of its core search franchise. While we believe catastrophic outcomes are very unlikely, the potential for some level of regulatory burden is real.?

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-biggest-hammer-world-full-nails-163334756.html

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China bus drivers given bail after strike

SINGAPORE (AP) ? Four Chinese immigrant bus drivers accused of inciting the city-state's first labor strike in 26 years have been granted bail in a case that highlighted growing social friction caused by an influx of foreign labor.

A fifth Chinese driver has already been sentenced to six weeks in prison even though prosecutors said he was not an instigator of the strike, which was called to demand equitable pay.

Walking off the job in protest is almost unheard of in Singapore, and the swift prosecution following the Nov. 26-27 strike was a clear sign that the government of this strictly-enforced country will not brook any disobedience from its work force.

Three of the men who appeared in court on Thursday were allowed a bail of 10,000 Singapore dollars ($8,200). A fourth driver, He Jun Liang, who faces an additional charge of making an online post in Mandarin, was given a bail of S$20,000 ($16,400).

It is not clear if they will be able to raise the money to get out of detention before their case resumes on Dec. 12.

A Chinese embassy official who was present at the hearing declined to comment on the cases.

If found guilty, all four men face up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000.

The four drivers and the fifth already in jail were among 171 Chinese bus drivers of a state transport company who went on strike in protest at being paid nearly a quarter less than their Malaysian colleagues. The labor action disrupted about 5 percent of the city-state's bus services.

Singapore requires essential service workers to give 14 days' notice of a strike. The last strike in the country was in 1986 by shipyard workers.

The government revoked the work permits of 29 other drivers and deported them to China. The remaining drivers in the group were issued warnings, and will be allowed to remain and work in Singapore.

Authorities say a police investigation found that the strike was premeditated and that the drivers were absent from work without reason. The bus company's chief Desmond Kuek has said that the Chinese drivers' salary was fair. He said the Chinese were paid less than the Malaysians because the company bore their expenses for transport, accommodation and utilities.

Singapore relies on hundreds of thousands of immigrants from countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia and Myanmar to work as maids, construction workers, waiters, garbage collectors and at other jobs deemed unappealing to many locals.

But the massive influx of foreigners has created much resentment among locals who see them as undisciplined and noisy. They also blame the foreigners for the overcrowding that has put pressure on infrastructure, and for raising housing prices because of bigger demand on limited supply.

The case has not caused any diplomatic rift between Singapore and China, a major trading partner. But activists in Hong Kong staged a protest outside the Singapore consulate on Wednesday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-bus-drivers-given-bail-strike-053609746.html

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Brain hubs boil when hoarders face pitching their own stuff

Friday, August 10, 2012

In patients with hoarding disorder, parts of a decision-making brain circuit under-activated when dealing with others' possessions, but over-activated when deciding whether to keep or discard their own things, a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded study has found. NIMH is part of the National Institutes of Health.

Brain scans revealed the abnormal activation in areas of the anterior cingulate cortex and insula known to process error monitoring, weighing the value of things, assessing risks, unpleasant feelings, and emotional decisions.

NIMH grantee David Tolin, Ph.D., of Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Conn., and colleagues, report on their functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in the August 2012 issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

Hoarding disorder, a proposed category in psychiatry's new diagnostic manual, DSM-5, is characterized by avoidance of decision-making about possessions.

The new findings pinpoint brain circuit activity suspected of underlying the lack of self-insight, indecisiveness, sense that the wrong decision is being made, inflated estimates of the desirability of objects, and exaggerated perception of risk that are often experienced with the disorder.

In the study, brain activity of 43 hoarding disorder patients was compared to that of 31 obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients and 33 healthy controls while they had to decide whether to keep or discard their own or others' junk mail and newspapers. Notably, such ownership did not appear to differentially affect brain activity in the OCD patients. Hoarding disorder patients, as expected, decided to keep many more items than the other groups.

"The results of this study reflect an accelerating trend toward finding disturbed regulation of brain systems responsible for various dimensions of behavior that may cut across mental disorders as traditionally defined," said Bruce Cuthbert, Ph.D., director of NIMH's Division of Adult Translational Research.

In this case, the implicated brain areas are hubs of a salience network that weighs the emotional significance of things and regulates emotional responses and states. Hoarding patients' severity of symptoms, self-ratings of indecisiveness, and feeling of things being "not just right" were correlated with the degree of aberrant activity in these hubs. The results add to evidence of impaired decision-making in hoarding disorder and may help to disentangle its brain workings from those of OCD and depression.

###

NIH/National Institute of Mental Health: http://www.nimh.nih.gov

Thanks to NIH/National Institute of Mental Health for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/122480/Brain_hubs_boil_when_hoarders_face_pitching_their_own_stuff

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Afghan-Pakistan talks on Taliban releases: Islamabad

Pakistan and Afghanistan are in talks on the release of a key member of the Taliban, whose 2010 arrest in Pakistan was blamed for sabotaging peace initiatives, a Pakistani foreign ministry official confirmed Friday.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a powerful Taliban military chief who has been described as the militia's second in command, was arrested in Pakistan's port city of Karachi.

The Afghan government and the former UN envoy to Afghanistan said his detention had adversely affected efforts to talk to the insurgents.

"The issue of prisoners is under discussion between the two countries," foreign ministry spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan told reporters when asked to comment on Afghan demands for access to Baradar and for his release.

The spokesman did not name any prisoner or give further details, but when asked, confirmed that Baradar was still in Pakistani custody.

Baradar is the most important Taliban leader to be captured since the 2001 US-led invasion ousted the Afghan militia from power in Kabul.

He was known as a trusted aide to the Taliban's elusive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Shortly after Baradar's arrest, the Pentagon said two other Taliban officials were arrested, also understood to have been captured in Pakistan.

In March 2010, Kai Eide, the then just retired UN envoy to Afghanistan, said the arrest of key Taliban in Pakistan had stopped a secret channel of communication between the insurgents and the United Nations.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly invited the Taliban to open direct talks with his government and on Pakistan to facilitate an end to the 10-year war.

Pakistan has said it will do anything required by Kabul to support an Afghan-led peace process, but there is a wide degree of scepticism in Afghanistan and the United States about the sincerity of the former Taliban ally.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-pakistan-talks-taliban-releases-islamabad-132716221.html

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A Legal Yankee in King Arthur's Court: Criminal Law: Spouses and ...

ObiterJ's Law and Lawyers Blog has posts another informative article, this time using ?recent cases to examine the law on spouses and civil partners (competence and compel lability). The recent case is??R v BA [2012] EWCA Crim 1529, a case under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 s.2(a); the?statute under discussion is the?Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 s.80.

Another nice post from ObiterJ, showing us how the courts analyze and apply the law to an actual case. Worth a read if you are studying criminal law.

Read the post here.

Source: http://www.legalyankee.com/2012/08/criminal-law-spouses-and-civil-partners.html

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US, Vietnam Launch Agent Orange Cleanup (Voice Of America)

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Verizon's 'secret menu' Share Everything plans offer 20GB for $150 (update)

Like Starbucks' Short Latté, Fatburger's Hypocrite and Wendy's Meat Cube, Verizon is offering its own not-so-secret menu on its Share Everything data plans. Big V's Brenda Raney told Computerworld that there are five more tiers beyond the 10GB top-limit shown on the company's website -- that are only available if you ask on the phone or in stores. The options run from 12GB for $110 all the way to 20GB for $150, but only as long as you've agreed the limit in advance of blowing all that data. If not, then you'll be spending another $150 in penalty charges for your overage. There's no official word if you need to offer a secret password or handshake, but we'd do it anyway -- if only to feel a bit like James Bond.

Update: Verizon's confirmed the pricing tiers and let us know that you can now grab the bigger data plans without ever having to wink at a sales rep. Simply add a handset to your cart and push through to "Plans" on Big V's website and you can scroll to the right to access the 12GB - 20GB offerings.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs, Wireless, Internet

Verizon's 'secret menu' Share Everything plans offer 20GB for $150 (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 05:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Obama's health-care law: The fitness and wellness provisions you ...

By admin on August 7, 2012

Perhaps you?ve had a mammogram recently, or taken a child for an immunization or consulted with a specialist about a weight problem. Since late 2010, those visits to health care providers have carried an additional benefit: They?re free. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law 28 months ago and upheld in June by the Supreme Court, it?s illegal for insurers to charge ?
health care ? Yahoo! News Search Results

Source: http://politicsandpolls.com/power-plays/2012-election-issues/health-care/obama%E2%80%99s-health-care-law-the-fitness-and-wellness-provisions-you-may-have-missed/

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10 Mistakes Designers Make When Applying for Jobs - Internet and ...

Applying for jobs can be a daunting process, but it is important to remember to put your best foot forward when sending out your applications. Employers get tons of submissions every day, so make yours stand out by not making any fatal errors. Read below for the top 10 mistakes designers make when applying for jobs and what employers are looking for in resumes, cover letters, and portfolios:

It?s surprising how often designers send resumes in the .doc format. Microsoft Word is not the program designers should be using when laying out their resume, and may result in an immediate rejection. We recommend using InDesign or Illustrator to design your resume. Your application is a great chance to show off your design ability so use design programs to layout a beautiful resume. One of things you will often do as?a designer is creating logos, letterheads, and business cards, use the opportunity when you are applying for a position, to showcase those skills by creating your own brand identity for the documents you send to potential employers.

Employers can tell when you have cut and pasted a form cover letter from the web. The jargon is always the same. Your cover letter is your opportunity to show your personality to the company you are applying to, so use the opportunity to demonstrate why you are the best person for the position. Use your own words, not the words of others to illustrate why you are the best candidate for the position. Include ways in which your style blends with theirs or call out specifics about their company like their company culture or artistic style as the reasons why you want the position. Don?t make it seem like you just want any position.? Show that you want their position because you want nothing more than to work at their company. When you are applying, you are asking to be a part of their team so show you have some team spirit and you have taken the time to research the company and care about working there specifically.

Most companies will immediately reject your application if you have not followed the instructions they have outlined in their ?help wanted? post or ad. Read the requirements carefully and make sure that you have followed them to a tee and have sent the requisites in the correct format.

Every portfolio should include work in the following categories: branding, illustration, print design/layout, and web design. If you also have work in other categories include those as well, but you?ll want to have at least 2-3 examples within each category listed above. If you are fresh out of school and don?t have much client work, create spec work to show you have the skills necessary to land the design job you want. If you only show you can illustrate and provide no work that exhibits your skills in designing brand identities, a company will not know you can complete work in those areas. Show a company you are a jack-of-all-trades designer and you can handle any client project that comes your way.

If a potential employer can spot a spelling or grammatical error within seconds of looking at your resume, cover letter, or portfolio then you haven?t checked your work. What would happen if you made a spelling error in a clients? project and sent it to print? Who would pay for the mistake? The answer is probably you or the company you work for. After you have completed your resume, cover letter, and portfolio, send it to friends, family, teachers, etc. and have them check over your work. If an employer can catch the mistake within mere moments of opening your documents, then your friends or family will be able to as well, saving you a potential rejection email for your carelessness.

We live in the digital age and every designer whether you are a web developer or not should have an online portfolio. Sites like Behance make it a breeze to customize your own portfolio site, so take the time to create one before applying for jobs. The best option is to have your own website so you can truly stand out amongst other applicants.

This is an egregious mistake. If your cover letter has 2 different fonts that might also be different sizes, it is obvious to them you cut and pasted and didn?t take the time to consistently format. I know searching for jobs can be a laborious process and many times you are applying for multiple positions at once, but the employer shouldn?t know that, all they should see is you are dying to work for their company and want nothing more than to be apart of their team.

When you apply for a position and are not awarded the position, you should not ask the employer for recommendations for other companies you should apply for. It is not the responsibility of the employer to aid in your job search, so don?t ask them for suggestions of their competitors. The web is a great resource to find job openings and design firms in your area. Take the time to look for them and don?t ask a potential employer to help you.

This has been covered slightly in the other rules, but it should be iterated again. TAKE YOUR TIME applying for positions. Check your spelling, have someone proofread your resume, cover letter, and portfolio, carefully craft your cover letter to reflect your personality and interest in the company, and make sure it isn?t obvious to the employer that you have hastily put together your application. These little mistakes make it easy for an employer to not consider you as a serious applicant because you didn?t take the application seriously.

When you apply for multiple positions in a company it shows that you don?t have a specialty. If you aren?t qualified for the position then don?t apply for it. Apply for the one you are most qualified for. If you are trying to branch out or gain a new specialty then apply for the position you are most apt for and once you have the position, pair up with the person who does what you want to do next and learn from them. It is much easier to move into a new area of expertise within a company than coming in cold.

10 Mistakes Designers Make When Applying for Jobs is a post from: GoMediaZine

Go Media is a creative agency based in Cleveland, Ohio. Besides the GoMediaZine, we also work for clients and sell stock artwork and design files on the Arsenal.

This entry was posted on August 7, 2012 at 9:00 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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Russian prosecutors ask for 3 years in punk case

MOSCOW (AP) ? Prosecutors on Tuesday called for three-year sentences for the members of a feminist punk band who performed an anti-Vladimir Putin stunt in Moscow's main cathedral, ignoring demands by human rights groups that the three women be set free.

Defense lawyers and an influential Russian Orthodox cleric warned that jail time for the women could backfire by severing trust between ordinary Russians and the country's institutions.

Prosecutor Alexander Nikiforov portrayed his request as lenient, saying the recommendation takes into account the fact that two of the defendants are young mothers and that they have good character references.

The hooliganism charges the three women of the Pussy Riot band face can carry a sentence of up to 7 years in prison.

The three women ? Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23; Maria Alekhina, 24; and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29 ? have been in custody for five months following the February stunt, in which they took over a church pulpit in Christ the Savior cathedral for less than a minute, singing, high-kicking and dancing.

Their case is part of a widening government crackdown on dissent that followed Putin's election in March and caused strong protests in Russia and abroad. Musicians including Madonna, the Who's Pete Townshend and Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys have urged their release.

The verdict is expected this week.

The defendants have said their goal was to express their resentment over Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill's support for Putin's rule. But prosecutors have insisted throughout the trial that there were no political motives behind the performance.

"They set themselves off against the Orthodox world and sought to devalue traditions and dogmas that have been formed for the centuries," Nikiforov said Tuesday.

Members of the band say they did not mean to hurt anyone's religious feelings when they performed the "punk prayer."

Larisa Pavlova, a lawyer for the church employees who were described as the injured party in the case told the court on Tuesday that she supports the sentencing recommendation.

Pavlova said most hooliganism in Russia is committed when people are drunk and they often regret what they have done ? but the defendants "thoroughly planned, rehearsed (their performance) and were fully aware of what they were doing."

"And they had the audacity to say in court that they did the right thing, that it's OK and that they're ready to keep on doing such things," Pavlova said.

Tolokonnikova chuckled as Pavlova mentioned in her speech that feminism in Russia is incompatible with Orthodox faith.

Pussy Riot lawyer Violetta Volkova voiced the band's complaint that the women had been deprived of sleep and food throughout the trial, describing it as "torture."

"In this trial, authorities, not the girls, have dealt a crushing blow on the Russian Orthodox Church," Volkova said. "Time has turned back ? back to the Middle Ages."

The trial has sharply divided Russia. Some believers felt insulted by the act, while others believe they are innocents who are being treated unfairly.

Mark Feygin, a lawyer for the band, argued that a guilty verdict would "break a bond between the government and people for good" and that "society will never forgive the state for persecuting the innocent."

Orthodox leaders have ignored calls by many believers to pardon the women and urge the court to dismiss the case.

Archdeacon Andrei Kurayev, an influential Orthodox blogger and Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, warned in an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency on Tuesday that jail time for the three would "turn them into martyrs" and would only feed hostility toward the Church.

Meanwhile, Russian Internet users were fuming over a video of Putin visiting a northern Russian monastery on Monday where a priest kneeled down to kiss his hand.

Though Putin was visibly annoyed by the display of deference, many Russians felt the incident accurately portrayed a too-cozy relationship between the leader and the Orthodox church.

The church said that the priest was from Macedonia, where it's not unusual for men of the cloth to kiss the hands of laymen as a sign of humility.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russian-prosecutors-ask-3-years-punk-case-090929264.html

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House panel begins voting on 5-year farm bill

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The House Agriculture Committee encountered an ideological rift Wednesday over the federal food stamp program as it began voting on a half-trillion-dollar farm policy and food assistance bill.

The panel was caught between Republicans, clamoring for cuts to a program that has doubled in costs over the past four years, and Democrats who contend any cuts to the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program will result in people going hungry.

The panel was expected to work deep into Wednesday and possibly into Thursday to consider dozens of amendments on other areas as varied as crop insurance subsidies and government support for sugar and milk producers.

The Senate passed its version of the five-year farm bill on a bipartisan vote last month. The future is less certain in the House, where GOP leaders have not committed to bringing the legislation to the floor once it emerges from the Agriculture Committee. With conservatives balking at the price of the bill and Democrats unhappy with prospective food stamp cuts, House passage could be difficult.

The committee draft would save $3.5 billion a year from current spending levels through such steps as ending the practice of direct payments for non-active farmers and consolidating conservation programs. Some 45 percent of the cost savings would be from trimming funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, which comprise almost 80 percent of the $100 billion-a-year cost of the bill.

The Senate-passed bill would save about $2.3 billion a year, with $400 million coming from ending what the bill writers said were abuses of the food stamp program, known as SNAP.

The House bill also differs from its Senate counterpart by preserving a price support program that pays farmers when prices fall below certain levels. The target price system is favored by Southern rice and peanut farmers, who objected to the elimination of price supports in the Senate bill.

The House measure gives farmers a choice between the price support program and a taxpayer-paid revenue protection program included in the Senate bill bill that compensates farmers for modest revenue losses before crop insurance kicks in.

The current farm bill expires at the end of September, and failure to reach a compromise by then would prompt passage of a short-term extension that farm groups say could make it more difficult for farmers to plan for the future.

Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., stressed that the cuts to the food stamp program would improve its integrity and ensure that benefits go to those who need the assistance. "I believe most Americans will agree that a 2 percent cut in food stamps is reasonable," he said.

But Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 House Democrat, said at a rally with food groups Tuesday that any cuts to the program that provides assistance to some 46 million Americans were an "abomination."

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said at the same event that if the measure reaches the floor in its current form "we are going to do everything in our power to defeat this bill."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-07-11-Farm%20Bill/id-4692e284054d4f65b57b0447fbe619d4

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CSN: Halladay is who Phillies miss most of all

?
If the Phillies? 2012 season has proven anything, it?s that the idea that a starting pitcher can only affect one of every five games is faulty.

On May 29, Roy Halladay was placed on the 15-day DL with a lat strain. The Phillies were 26-24. With Halladay missing the remainder of the first half, the Phils went 11-26.

Now, Halladay, who will begin a rehab assignment Thursday at Clearwater, wasn?t lights out before he hit the disabled list. He had a 3.98 ERA in 11 starts, and the Phillies had lost seven of his last eight outings at the time of his injury. But it wasn?t all his fault, either -- in four of those losses, Doc had a 2.89 ERA in 28 innings.

Halladay?s absence was not the only reason the Phillies had a .297 winning percentage the rest of the first half, but it was certainly a root cause.

In six replacement starts for Halladay, Kyle Kendrick went 0-4 with a 5.72 ERA. If you remove Kendrick?s last start, in which he pitched seven shutout innings against the Braves, his ERA in that span was 6.96.

From 2010-11, Halladay?s highest ERA in a month as a Phillie was 3.44. This season, he had a 6.11 ERA in the six starts prior to his DL stint, a stretch few would ever expect Halladay to duplicate. So in essence, we?re looking at an increase of two or three runs allowed per game every fifth day. That?s what happens when you replace a bona fide No. 1 starter with a fringy fifth starter.

The Phillies' team ERA through the day Halladay went to the DL was 3.67. Their team ERA since is exactly 5.00. Doc's loss affects even the days when he wouldn't have been scheduled to pitch, because it results in fewer innings pitched by starters and more stress on a relief unit that has been stretched to its limit through 87 games.

Going beyond the numbers, the Phillies are a team built on starting pitching and run prevention. One gets the feeling that even with all of the missing offense in the first half, they could have entered the All-Star break around .500 had Halladay and Lee not combined for 10 missed starts.

Through all the injuries in 2010 and 2011, Halladay was the one player who felt truly indispensable, like the one player the Phillies could not afford to lose for an extended period of time. This season, they did, and a team that used to command respect by sending out Halladay, Lee and Cole Hamels in a given three-game series was forced to use both Joe Blanton and Kendrick each time through the rotation. Given that neither stepped up during this span of time and Lee kept blowing leads, you see how 26-24 turned into 37-50, a record extremely difficult to come back from even if the Halladay of 2010-11 returns.

Phillies fans shouldn't be accused of taking Halladay for granted, but this six-week period should reveal just how much he's worth.

E-mail Corey Seidman at cseidman@comcastsportsnet.com

Source: http://www.csnphilly.com/baseball-philadelphia-phillies/phillies-talk/Phils-season-turned-when-Halladay-went-d?blockID=738874&feedID=704&awid=7485252573222431341-711

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Arie Luyendyk, Jr. Trashed By Cassie Harshman; Ex-Girlfriend Warns Emily Maynard to Run!

Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s ex-girlfriend Cassie Harshman claims that he's been leading on The Bachelorette star Emily Maynard, and urges her to make a run for it.

If she even chooses him, that is. Arie and Jef Holm are the last two men standing. For insight on who she (likely) picks, read The Bachelorette spoilers.

In any case, “Arie’s in it for the fame,” at least according to Cassie, who claims “Arie has dated hundreds of women and travels all over the world."

“Clearly, he doesn’t need help finding a date or someone to fall in love with. The whole idea of Arie Luyendyk being on The Bachelorette is a joke."

"He hasn’t really raced much since 2008, and I know with certainty that his only motive for going on the show was for the fame and attention.”

Cassie Harshman - not to be confused with Cassie Lambert, The Bachelorette producer he also dated - began dating the 30-year-old in late 2009.

He ended up moving in with her and her two young children from a previous relationship. Arie and Cassie broke up for good in December 2011.

“He wasn’t the best father figure to my children,” says Cassie, something Emily may want to take note of, she says, given her seven-year-old girl.

“Let’s just say that Arie has some growing up to do himself.”

A previous report claims he was filmed on The Bachelorette telling Emily that Cassie miscarried his child; if so, this was edited out of the broadcast.

“If that happened, I’m mortified that Arie would share such painfully intimate details of our relationship while the cameras were rolling,” Cassie says.

“What happened is one of the hardest things a woman can go through. I’ve moved on, but Arie using that to elicit sympathy from Emily is horrible.”

Cassie Harshman's interview with Star/Radar should be taken with a grain of salt, of course. Motives for talking to them are highly questionable.

Still, let us know what you think in the comments below, and tell us who you think Emily should pick on the July 22 season finale in the poll:

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/07/arie-luyendyk-jr-trashed-by-cassie-harshman-ex-girlfriend-warns/

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Win tickets to Green Man Festival!

Kat Austen, CultureLab editor

Rolling hills, beards, world-class music, and science. What more could you ask for?

That?s right you lucky things, we have a pair of tickets to give away for this year?s Green Man Festival.? ?One of the most overwhelmingly lovely festival experiences out there," according to Virtual Festivals.

Set up a decade ago, the festival still holds on to its folky, eclectic ethos. Their unique science-centred Einstein?s Garden will focus on that all-important subject: energy. Whether it?s the energy that powers your body or the energy that powers your mobile phone, the team, partnered with Research Councils UK, has real life researchers on site to unravel the mysteries of that which cannot be created or destroyed.

Add to that a music line-up starring Van Morrison, Mogwai, Feist and many more, including intellectual kraut-pop band Glis-Glis, and you have a weekend to remember.

For your chance to win, head over to our competition page.

Green Man Festival takes place in Glanusk Park, Wales, on 17-19 August.

The competition is open to subscribers and registered users. See the full terms and conditions.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/213f1266/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cculturelab0C20A120C0A70Cwin0Etickets0Eto0Egreen0Eman0Efestival0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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Solar, wind energy a missed opportunity for Cuba

RAMON GORDO, Cuba (AP) ? The sleepy country setting that farmer Juan Alonso calls home hasn't changed much since he was born 74 years ago, with the two rustic wooden houses nestled among palm trees against a backdrop of green hills and clear skies.

Incongruously perched atop the homes are the only visual clues that his 150-acre (60-hectare) farm inhabits the 21st century: the gleaming solar panels that revolutionized the lives of Alonso and his family.

"Just imagine, you toil all day in the field and then when you get home you have to grope around doing things with a gas lantern, with a torch to illuminate the patio at night," Alonso said, describing life during decades past. Now his family has electric lights, a television and a DVD player. "It's a change as radical as night to day."

Cuba is proud of its success in using alternative energy to bring electricity to isolated hamlets like Ramon Gordo, 90 miles (150 kilometers) west of Havana. Some 2,000 schools and at least 400 hospitals are lit up by solar panels in rural areas not plugged into the national grid. But scientists say the island, blessed with year-around sunshine and sea breezes but plagued with chronic energy shortages, could be doing much more on the national level, and that its communist government is missing a golden opportunity to reduce its dependence on subsidized oil from uber-ally Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez is sick with cancer.

It is vital that Cuba expand its energy horizons "so it doesn't remain at the mercy of political changes in the region that could affect it adversely," said Judith Cherni, an alternative energy expert at the Imperial College London Center for Environmental Policy.

The urgency to find alternative energy sources was driven home last month when an exploratory offshore oil well drilled by Spanish company Repsol turned out to be dry, a setback to Cuba's hopes for a big strike that could be a boon for the limping economy, though exploration continues.

Despite recent essays by revolutionary hero Fidel Castro on impending global catastrophe due to climate change, Cuba gets just 3.8 percent of its electricity from renewables, a pittance even by regional standards and far behind global leaders.

In the nearby Dominican Republic, where a 2007 law establishes tax breaks for investment in alternative energy, renewables account for 14 percent of electrical generation. Germany, the gold standard for high-tech green energy, gets 20 percent of its considerably larger electrical consumption from renewables, mostly from wind.

The reality in Cuba today is that wind and solar energy sources are almost exclusively for local consumption and there has been little attempt to expand them to augment the national grid, which is powered mostly by fossil fuels. Scientists say the country lacks the investment and expertise for such a move.

Around the region, examples abound for Cuba to emulate. Central American nations are using hydroelectric facilities to harness the power of rivers. Caribbean islands are passing laws stimulating foreign investment in renewables. Wind and solar farms are popping up where viable. Faraway in Europe, and nearby in the United States, individuals with solar panels can get paid for any extra energy they generate that goes back into the grid.

"Possessing apt natural resources to generate energies is a tremendous boon, but that alone is not enough to create energy," said Cherni.

Another obstacle to boosting renewable energy is a stubbornly fixed mindset that equates development with oil.

Memories are still vivid here of the "Special Period" of the 1990s, when the island's economy tanked with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ushering in years of hunger, prolonged blackouts and fuel shortages. People thumbed rides to work on the back of bicycles as cars sat idle and empty-tanked.

To cope, Cuba began installing its first solar panels, building small hydroelectric plants, restoring old windmills and extracting gas from animal waste.

But after Chavez's election in 1998 in oil-rich Venezuela, Cuba once again embraced fossil fuels wholeheartedly with the appearance of a new benefactor and ideological ally willing to help keep the lights on. Today Caracas provides nearly half Cuba's petroleum needs, shipping about 100,000 barrels of oil a day to the island on beneficial terms while Cuba sends doctors and technical advisers to Venezuela.

"Cuba is a nation that is dependent on oil, yes, but in addition the culture of its leaders and technicians, of its common citizens, is one of fossil fuels," said Alejandro Montesinos, a renewable energy expert at Cubasolar, the island's chief NGO for sustainable energy.

In Havana, the fear is that the oil spigot could be turned off if Chavez is forced to leave office due to health problems or electoral defeat. Cuba has pinned its hopes on offshore oil deposits in the Gulf of Mexico that could hold between 5 billion and 9 billion barrels, but those have yet to be quantified, an initial exploration well came up dry and production is still years out in a best-case scenario.

"In the imagination of the people, there is this idea that oil is going to appear in the Gulf of Mexico and this country's problems will be solved," said Montesinos, who says that Cuba and its leaders must embrace the idea that expensive investments in solar and wind will pay off over the long run.

A push for green energy would also match well with the ecological leanings of the Castro brothers. Current President Raul Castro said June 21 at a summit in Rio de Janeiro that there is an urgent need for "a transcendental change" and a shift to sustainable development if the planet is to be saved.

Cuba began an alternative energy program in the 1980s and ramped it up the following decade. It has installed 9,000 solar panels and built four experimental wind farms, according to Manuel Mendez, director of renewable energy at the Ministry of Basic Industry. It also burns biomass from sugarcane, currently the island's largest source of renewable energy in Cuba, and officials plan an expansion.

Cuban authorities say that in recent months they have completed a study of the best places to install wind generators and made plans to inaugurate a wind farm on the island's north coast next year. Details have not been released. Around the turn of the year a new solar farm with a one-megawatt capacity should come online on the Island of Youth.

"What has been done is a little or a lot?" Mendez asked rhetorically during a recent TV appearance. "The answer is that ... more is required."

He added that officials aim to boost renewable electrical production to 16.5 percent of demand by 2020.

Alonso, the farmer in Ramon Gordo, said solar energy transformed his family's life and he believes in green energy's potential to work similar miracles on a national level.

"The sun is what gives the world energy, and it can power industry," Alonso said. "I think we lack strength, but we're on our way."

___

Follow Andrea Rodriguez on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ARodriguezAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/solar-wind-energy-missed-opportunity-cuba-145802945--finance.html

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Pigeon Fever Detected in Florida Horses

by: Erica Larson, News Editor
July 04 2012, Article # 20264

More than 60 suspected cases of pigeon fever in horses have occurred in Florida this year, according to a July 3 news release from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Animal Industry Division. The majority of the cases have been identified in Okaloosa, Walton, and Marion counties, the release said.

"Historically, the disease has primarily been seen in dry, hot areas of the country such as California and Texas," the release read. "However, in recent years pigeon fever has spread further east, with recent outbreaks in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and now Florida."

Pigeon fever, also known as drought distemper, is an infection caused in horses by the?Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis?bacterium. The condition produces mild fever and pectoral abscesses that give an appearance similar to a pigeon's protruding breast. The abscesses can also appear along the horse's belly, on lower neck region, on limbs, or on the face. Less commonly, the condition can produce deep abscesses in a horse's lungs, kidneys, or liver.

Understanding Equine Medications is your A-Z guide to learning more about generic and brand-name pharmaceuticals, possible side effects and precautions, and proper dosage.

Pigeon fever is spread via insects and horse-to-horse contact, and horses can also contract the disease when bacteria from contaminated soil enters their bodies through cuts, scrapes or mucous membranes.?There is no vaccination to protect horses against pigeon fever.

"Horse owners with a horse showing signs of pigeon fever should have the horse examined by a veterinarian," the release said. "The only definitive method of determining if a horse has pigeon fever is by culture of the bacteria."

Owners in affected areas should closely monitor their horses for signs of pigeon fever. Owners whose horses exhibit signs of pigeon fever should contact a veterinarian for treatment options.?In confirmed cases, infected horses should be isolated from other equids, and owners should implement good biosecurity practices.

Source: http://feeds.thehorse.com/~r/TheHorse/News/~3/NjlGm-nclM4/viewarticle.aspx

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Imperator; an idea for a roleplay

Hello comrades, after watching I Claudius the TV show (tenth time at it) the idea struck me that a role play based on the idea could be incredibly fun.

For those of you who don't know the story I Claudius tells the story of the Julian Claudian dynasty of the Roman empire; the first dynasty to rule Rome as a result of the civil wars from Augustus to Nero's rise to power (the story ends with the death of emperor Claudius).

The story is about the family of Augustus the emperor of Rome and tells the story of the destruction of the family as done by its own hands (such as Livia poisoning a significant portion of the family in order to make her son emperor, Tiberius who killed or exiled nearly all of Gemranicus family after he died due to political reasons, Sejanus who eliminated those Tiberius forgot about, Caligula who killed whomever he liked etc). I can hardly explain the story and I highly recommend the series even if it is old fashion by our standards (which I prefer)

The series was based on books but I am yet to read them.

Any way I do not intend to follow the story word to word and I intend to customize the ruling family and characters will be up to the players who join.

What do you think about it? Please do give the idea some thought. In short the RP will be about such a family and the different interests of the factions within it (such as power an ambition, a return to the republic or plain old madness)

I am unsure on how it would work and I am wondering if the role play should be done as a short one extending no more then a number of years (RP) or one extending over a number of generations. I think I shall start it and see where it goes, who knows it might end up a chapter role play.

Post your ideas; I would really appreciate suggestions for it. For now I shall begin to make a draft of the role play.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/AudCclLlsK0/viewtopic.php

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Tibetan monks tackle science in the Indian hills

SARAH, India (AP) ? The shouts of more than a dozen Tibetan monks echo through the small classroom. Fingers are pointed. Voices collide. When an important point is made, the men smack their hands together and stomp the floor, their robes billowing around them.

It's the way Tibetan Buddhist scholars have traded ideas for centuries. Among them, the debate-as-shouting match is a discipline and a joy.

But this is something different.

Evolutionary theory is mentioned ? loudly. One monk invokes Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Another shouts about the subatomic nature of neutrinos.

In an educational complex perched on the edge of a small river valley, in a place where the Himalayan foothills descend into the Indian plains, a group of about 65 Tibetan monks and nuns are working with American scientists to tie their ancient culture to the modern world.

"I'd like to go back to my monastery ... to pass on my knowledge to other monks so that they might bring the (scientific) process to others," said Tenzin Choegyal, a 29-year-old monk born in exile in India.

If that seems a modest goal, it reflects an immense change in Tibetan culture, where change has traditionally come at a glacial pace.

Isolated for centuries atop the high Himalayan plateau, and refusing entry to nearly all outsiders, Tibet long saw little of value in modernity.

Education was almost completely limited to monastic schools. Magic and mysticism were ? and are ? important parts of life to many people. New technologies were something to be feared: Eyeglasses were largely forbidden until well into the 20th century.

No longer. Pushed by the Dalai Lama, a fierce proponent of modern schooling, a series of programs were created in exile to teach scientific education to monks, the traditional core of Tibetan culture.

At the forefront is an intensive summer program, stretched over five years, that brings professors from Emory University in Atlanta. For six days a week, six hours a day, the professors teach everything from basic math to advanced neuroscience.

"The Buddhist religion has a deep concept of the mind that goes back thousands of years," said Larry Young, an Emory psychiatry professor and prominent neuroscientist. "Now they're learning something different about the mind: the mind-body interface, how the brain controls the body."

But why are Tibetans now embracing modernity?

Many of the roots can be traced to 1959, when Chinese soldiers invaded Tibet amid an aborted uprising. The Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled across the Himalayas and into India, creating an exile community that now numbers an estimated 150,000 people around the world.

Beijing says Tibet is an integral part of China. And while the Dalai Lama insists he only wants autonomy for his homeland, Beijing disparages him as a quasi-terrorist intent on wresting control away from China.

The Tibetan culture, meanwhile, is increasingly imperiled. Ethnic Han Chinese, encouraged by generous government subsidies, now outnumber Tibetans in much of Tibet. The traditional Tibetan herding culture is dying out as people move to cities. Many young Tibetans now speak a tangle of Chinese and Tibetan.

The shifting cultural landscape has torn at Tibet, sparking violent uprisings every decade or so. In the most recent wave, some three dozen people have burned themselves alive over the past year in ethnic Tibetan areas of China, protesting Beijing's policies.

Amid such tumult, the Dalai Lama ? a man raised to live in regal isolation as a near-deity ? has instead spent much of his life seeking ways that Tibetans can hold onto their traditions even as they find their way in the modern world.

He has encouraged modern schooling for exile children, and a democratic system to choose the Tibetan political leader (he renounced his political powers in 2011). There are job programs for the armies of unemployed young people.

And, for a few dozen monks and nuns, there is science.

The first group from the Emory program ? 26 monks and two nuns ? have just finished their five years of summer classes. While they earned no degrees, they are expected to help introduce a science curriculum into the monastic academies, and will take with them Tibetan-language science textbooks the program has developed.

The Dalai Lama realizes that "preservation of the culture will occur through change," said Carol Worthman, a professor of anthropology in Emory's Laboratory for Comparative Human Biology. "You have to change to stay in place."

But change is a complicated thing. Particularly with a culture like this one.

The monks and nuns in the Emory program are "the best and the brightest," Worthman said, brought to the Sarah complex from monasteries and convents across India and Nepal. While most are in their 20s or 30s, some are far older and long ago earned high-level degrees in Buddhist philosophy.

Still, few learned anything but basic math before the Emory program. Because of the way they study ? focusing on debates and the memorization of long written passages, but doing comparatively little writing ? few are able to take notes during classroom lectures. Many were raised to see magic as an integral part of the world around them.

To watch them in class, though, is astonishing.

No one yawns. No one dozes. Since almost no one takes notes, it's easy to think they're not paying attention.

But then a monk or a nun in a red robe calls out a question about brain chemistry ? or cell biology, or logic ? that can leave their teachers stunned.

Though most studied only religious subjects after eighth grade, they regularly traverse highly complex concepts: "They really understand how neurocircuits work at a level that's comparable to what we see at a senior (undergraduate) neuroscience classroom in the United States," said Young, the neuroscientist.

For most of the monastics, though, the challenges are not in the academic rigor. They see nothing astonishing about their ability to process vast amounts of information without taking notes, or to remain attentive for hours on end. It is how they have been trained.

For them, the challenges lie in weaving modern science with traditional beliefs.

The science program "was sort of like a culture shock for me," said Choegyal, who is based at a monastery in southern India. While Tibetan Buddhism puts a high value on skepticism, conclusions are reached through philosophical analysis ? not through clinical research and reams of scientific data.

So it was difficult, at first, for many of the students. And the questions ranged across science and philosophy: Are bacteria sentient beings? How does science know that brain chemistry affects emotions? Are Tibetan beliefs in mysticism provable through science?

At times, the program can seem incongruous, given the widespread belief in magic. Such beliefs go all the way to the top: The Dalai Lama still consults the official state oracle, a monk who divines the future from a temple complex not far from here.

But after five years, Choegyal says he has managed to hold onto his core beliefs while delving deeply into science.

"Buddhism basically talks about truth, or reality, and science really supports that," he said. Questions that science cannot address, like the belief in reincarnation, he brushes aside as "subtle issues."

Instead, he mostly finds echoes across the two cultures.

He points to karma, the ancient Buddhist belief in a cycle of cause and effect, and how it plays into reincarnation. Then he points to the similarities with evolutionary theory.

"Everything evolves, or it changes," he said, whether in evolution or in reincarnation. "So it's pretty similar, except some sort of reasoning."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tibetan-monks-tackle-science-indian-hills-150558769.html

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lostinbrooklyn: Before the Hot-Dog-Eating Contest, One Too Many Puns http://t.co/uFnha3yC Looks as if the mayor finally looks like the weiner he is

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

Source: http://twitter.com/lostinbrooklyn/statuses/220510500155428866

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FurnitureInFashion has announced its intention to increase headcount in its Customer Service Division

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/furnitureinfashion-announced-intention-increase-headcount-customer-division-070318691.html

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