5 young siblings die in house fire in France

PARIS (AP) ? Authorities say five young siblings have died after a fire erupted in a home in northern France.

Rescue team official Thierry Oberlin told France-2 TV Sunday that the children's father escaped the inferno late Saturday in the town of Saint Quentin, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Paris.

Oberlin says the father ? who reportedly sustained light burns ? contacted a neighbor who alerted authorities.

French media, citing unidentified local authorities, reported that the children were aged 2 to 10. A top local government official did not immediately respond to messages left by The Associated Press.

Separately, authorities said another fire erupted overnight in the northern Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, killing three people and injuring 13.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/5-young-siblings-die-house-fire-france-124702826.html

chicago weather star jones photo of whitney houston in casket carrot top george huguely whitney houston casket photo match play championship

Iran, North Korea, Syria block U.N. arms trade treaty

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran, Syria and North Korea on Friday prevented the adoption of the first international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade, complaining that it was flawed and failed to ban weapons sales to rebel groups.

To get around the blockade, British U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant sent the draft treaty to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and asked him on behalf of Mexico, Australia and a number of others to put it to a swift vote in the General Assembly.

U.N. diplomats said the 193-nation General Assembly could put the draft treaty to a vote as early as Tuesday.

"A good, strong treaty has been blocked," said Britain's chief delegate, Joanne Adamson. "Most people in the world want regulation and those are the voices that need to be heard."

"This is success deferred," she added.

The head of the U.S. delegation, Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Countryman, told a group of reporters, "We look forward to this treaty being adopted very soon by the United Nations General Assembly." He declined to predict the result of a vote but said it would be a "substantial majority" in favor.

U.N. member states began meeting last week in a final push to end years of discussions and hammer out a binding international treaty to end the lack of regulation over cross-border conventional arms sales.

Arms control activists and human rights groups say a treaty is needed to halt the uncontrolled flow of arms and ammunition that they say fuels wars, atrocities and rights abuses.

Delegates to the treaty-drafting conference said on Wednesday they were close to a deal to approve the treaty, but cautioned that Iran and other countries might attempt to block it. Iran, Syria and North Korea did just that, blocking the required consensus for it to pass.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had told Iran's Press TV that Tehran supported the arms trade treaty. But Iranian U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee told the conference that he could not accept the treaty in its current form.

"The achievement of such a treaty has been rendered out of reach due to many legal flaws and loopholes," he said. "It is a matter of deep regret that genuine efforts of many countries for a robust, balanced and non-discriminatory treaty were ignored."

One of those flaws was its failure to ban sales of weapons to groups that commit "acts of aggression," ostensibly referring to rebel groups, he said. The current draft does not ban transfers to armed groups but says all arms transfers should be subjected to rigorous risk and human rights assessments first.

'HELD HOSTAGE'

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari echoed the Iranian concerns, saying he also objected to the fact that it does not prohibit weapons transfers to rebel groups.

"Unfortunately our national concerns were not taken into consideration," he said. "It can't be accepted by my country."

North Korea's delegate voiced similar complaints, suggesting it was a discriminatory treaty: "This (treaty) is not balanced."

Iran, which is under a U.N. arms embargo over its nuclear program, is eager to ensure its arms imports and exports are not curtailed, diplomats said. Syria is in a two-year-old civil war and hopes Russian and Iranian arms keep flowing in, they added.

North Korea is also under a U.N. arms embargo due to its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Russia and China made clear they would not have blocked it but voiced serious reservations about the text and its failure to get consensus. A Russian delegate told the conference that Moscow would have to think hard about signing it if it were approved. India, Pakistan and others complained that the treaty favors exporters and creates disadvantages for arms importers.

If adopted by the General Assembly, the pact will need to be signed and ratified by at least 50 states to enter into force.

Several diplomats and human rights groups that have lobbied hard in favor of the treaty complained that the requirement of consensus for the pact to pass was something that the United States insisted on years ago. That rule gave every U.N. member state the ability to veto the draft treaty.

"The world has been held hostage by three states," said Anna Macdonald, an arms control expert at humanitarian agency Oxfam. "We have known all along that the consensus process was deeply flawed and today we see it is actually dysfunctional."

"Countries such as Iran, Syria and DPRK (North Korea) should not be allowed to dictate to the rest of the world how the sale of weapons should be regulated," she added.

The point of an arms trade treaty is to set standards for all cross-border transfers of conventional weapons. It would also create binding requirements for states to review all cross-border arms contracts to ensure arms will not be used in human rights abuses, terrorism or violations of humanitarian law.

The main reason the arms trade talks took place at all is that the United States - the world's biggest arms exporter - reversed U.S. policy on the issue after President Barack Obama was first elected and decided in 2009 to support an arms treaty.

Washington demanded that the conference be run on the basis of consensus because it wanted to be able to block any treaty that undermined the U.S. constitutional right to bear arms, a sensitive political issue in the United States. Countryman said the draft treaty did not undermine U.S. rights.

The National Rifle Association, a powerful U.S. pro-gun lobbying group, opposes the treaty and has vowed to fight to prevent its ratification if it reaches Washington. The NRA says the treaty would undermine domestic gun-ownership rights.

The American Bar Association, an attorneys' lobby group, has said that the treaty would not impact the right to bear arms.

(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Will Dunham, Lisa Shumaker and Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-north-korea-syria-block-u-n-arms-002525001.html

scotty mccreery megan fox pregnant metta world peace suspension apple earnings report john l smith apple earnings the glass castle

NCAA Sweet 16: South, Midwest regions feature top-flight teams

There's NCAA royalty: Duke and Kansas. There are NCAA perennials: Florida, Michigan State, and Louisville. Michigan and Oregon have worked hard to get here. And then there's Cinderella, otherwise known as Florida Gulf Coast University, taking part in Friday night's Sweet 16 action.

By Pat Murphy,?Staff / March 29, 2013

Louisville guard Russ Smith shoots during practice for a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2013, in Indianapolis. Louisville plays Oregon on Friday.

Michael Conroy/AP

Enlarge

Friday night, NCAA tournament action continues with regional semi-final action in the South and Midwest regions, taking place in Arlington, Texas, and Indianapolis respectively.

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

In the Midwest, top seed Louisville will face Oregon, seeded a debatable 12th this year. After reaching the 2012 Final Four, the Cardinals are looking to go back-to-back for the first time since they did it in 1982 and 1983. They easily dispatched North Carolina A&T in their first tournament game, then ran past Colorado State to reach the Sweet 16.

The Cardinals are paced by guard Russ Smith, whose continual drives to the basket put tremendous pressure on the other team's defense.

The Ducks, coming off an impressive win in the Pac-12 conference championship game, downed both Oklahoma State and Saint Louis to punch their ticket to Indy. Third year head coach Dana Altman, who previously had taken Creighton to the NCAA tournament, has his team playing at a high level.

Also in the Midwest Friday night, second seed Duke takes on third seed Michigan State. This game could be considered an old-school match-up, as both teams have veteran lineups and coaches with extensive NCAA tourney experience.

Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devil squad beat both Albany and Creighton, while Tom Izzo's Spartans have looked solid in wins over Valparaiso and Memphis.

Kansas is still alive as the top seed in the South region. The Jayhawks will meet fourth seed Michigan in Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas. KU had to scrap its way to?a win over Western Kentucky in the second round. Then, they had to overcome a poor first-half shooting performance against North Carolina before finally pulling away from the Tar Heels.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/7cLpiFjZV3Q/NCAA-Sweet-16-South-Midwest-regions-feature-top-flight-teams

30 rock What Time Is The Super Bowl 2013 Super Bowl 2013 Time BlackBerry 10 superbowl jackie robinson Ron Jeremy

Justin Bieber Visits Selena Gomez, Will Be "Seriously" Investigated

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/justin-bieber-visits-selena-gomez-will-be-seriously-investigated/

lsu football lsu football Jessie Andrews bloomberg bloomberg Daily Caller Staten Island

AP source: Barbara Walters to retire next year

NEW YORK (AP) ? Barbara Walters plans to retire next year, ending a television career that began more than a half century ago and made her a trailblazer in news and daytime TV.

Someone who works closely with Walters said the plan is for her to retire in May 2014 after a series of special programs saluting her career. The person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday.

Walters, 83, was hospitalized earlier this year after falling and cutting her head while leaving a party in Washington and remained out of work after developing the chickenpox. Largely retired from ABC News already, her main work is at "The View," the daytime hit she created in 1997.

Her television career began in 1961 when she was hired as a writer for the "Today" show. She graduated quickly to on-air work and became the show's co-host before leaving in 1976 to become co-anchor of ABC's evening news with Harry Reasoner ? the first woman in such a role for a television network.

The pairing ended quickly and Walters settled into a role as ABC News' cajoler-in-chief, competing ferociously to land newsmaking interviews with heads of state and stars of the day. She regularly did interview specials, including an annual show with the most fascinating people of the year, and was co-host of "20/20" for two decades, much of the time with Hugh Downs.

She described "The View" as the "dessert" of her career, a regular gathering of women chatting about the hot topics of the day and interviewing visiting presidents and actors eager to reach a daytime audience. Walters appeared semi-regularly as one of the hosts.

"The View" faces a transition continuing without Walters and also the last remaining original host, Joy Behar, who recently announced she was stepping down.

Walters underwent heart surgery in 2010, turning the experience into a prime-time special, "A Matter of Life and Death," featuring interviews with fellow heart patients Bill Clinton and David Letterman.

ABC news and entertainment representatives would not comment Thursday and Walters' publicist, Cindi Berger, did not immediately return requests for comment.

It wasn't clear when Walters would announce her plans. Late spring is the time TV networks generally reveal their plans for the upcoming year so advertisers can lock in commercial time.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-source-barbara-walters-retire-next-201952868.html

CES 2013 joe budden notre dame notre dame football Bcs Bowl Chuck Hagel ncaa football

Exclusive: Clearwire expected to tap Sprint financing for April

By Nadia Damouni and Sinead Carew

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Clearwire Corp plans to notify Sprint Nextel Corp on Thursday that it will tap another $80 million of financing in April as part of its deal with the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier, two people close to the matter said.

In December, Sprint offered $2.97 per share to buy the rest of Clearwire that it does not own, and provided the wireless broadband operator up to $800 million in financing that it could draw on in installments of $80 million over 10 months.

Clearwire had not tapped the financing in January or February as it said that it was still reviewing a counter offer from satellite TV provider Dish Network Corp. But Clearwire drew on the money for the first time in March while still saying it would keep talking to Dish.

Many Clearwire shareholders have said they were unhappy with the Sprint offer, which would need approval from the majority of Clearwire's minority investors. Sprint already owns almost a 51 percent stake in Clearwire.

The financing is in the form of debt that will be convertible to Clearwire shares in the event that its shareholders vote against Sprint's offer. So every installment that Clearwire accepts would further weaken its minority shareholders' clout in the future.

It is unclear if Dish, which made a counter offer for Clearwire in January for $3.30 per share, is still in deal talks with the carrier.

Spokesmen for Clearwire and Dish declined to comment, while a spokesman for Sprint was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Nadia Damouni and Sinead Carew; Editing by Ryan Woo)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-clearwire-expected-tap-sprint-financing-april-013726690--sector.html

Michael Clarke Duncan Nazanin Boniadi Deval Patrick Dedication 4 labor day college football scores khan academy

Anna Chlumsky Expecting First Child

"I'm feeling pretty good so far," the Veep star, 32, tells PEOPLE.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/yBK4VX7QL5U/

leslie carter aaron carter sister pfizer signing day 2012 football gasland college football recruiting bjork

SAG-AFTRA, advertisers extend commercials contract for week

Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sag-aftra-advertisers-extend-commercials-contract-week-001258443.html

leslie carter aaron carter sister pfizer signing day 2012 football gasland college football recruiting bjork

Pad a home insurance claim? ? Bankrate, Inc.

Imagine this all-too-common scenario: Your home is burglarized, and because the stolen items weren't exactly Picassos, most of the cost to replace them would come out of your pocket due to the $500 or $1,000 deductible on your home insurance policy.

Then, it occurs to you, that maybe if you pad?your claim, say by adding a "missing" $500 or $1,000 TV or laptop, you?could "help" your insurance work the way it was intended, i.e., to make you whole again following a loss.

Would you do it? Or would you balk?

1 in 4 would pad

A new study by the Insurance Research Council, "Insurance Fraud: A Public View," finds that nearly a quarter of us (24 percent) would pad our claim by a small amount to erase the deductible and thus shift the replacement?cost onto our insurer. In addition, 18 percent of us think it would be perfectly OK to pad a claim to make up for all those years of premiums we paid without ever receiving a dime back.

Surprisingly, our scruples seem to have improved despite the recent lean times. Back in 2002, a third of all survey respondents (33 percent) would have added that fictitious TV or laptop to their claim, and today's 18 percent premium-payback club is the smallest since the IRC started the survey in 1981.

I pad, you pad

Who is most likely to pad a home insurance claim? The survey suggests that men between 18 and 34 have the least trouble with the practice (23 percent), while their female contemporaries (8 percent) and older men (5 percent) would be least likely to pad a claim.

The deductible remains the great conundrum of the insurance world. On the one hand, it's one of the industry's strongest sales tools because it can magically adjust premiums downward to close the deal. On the other, it seems terribly egregious when it protects a large insurer from paying a small claim, even if most of us see the merit of insurers using deductibles to discourage nickel-and-diming, thus keeping our rates affordable.

Deductibles falling out of favor?

While deductibles remain sacrosanct in the homeowners insurance realm, some auto insurance companies, notably Allstate, have recently been capitalizing on this love-hate dichotomy by marketing "vanishing deductible" programs that reduce your deductible for each claim-free year, ostensibly as a loyalty reward.

Never mind that some carriers tack on a nominal fee to pull off this sleight of hand. The point is that consumers respond to the idea that they can enjoy their deductible cake (the premium-savings part) without having to eat it (pay for their own losses) later.

Follow me on Twitter: @omnisaurus

Subscribe to Bankrate newsletters today!

Jay MacDonald is a Bankrate contributing editor and co-author of "Future Millionaires' Guidebook," an e-book by Bankrate editors and reporters.

Source: http://www.bankrate.com/financing/insurance/padding-a-home-insurance-claim/

tiny houses maya angelou joan of arc tony robbins bon iver abraham lincoln vampire hunter their eyes were watching god

Ash from refuse could become hydrogen gas

Public release date: 25-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dr Aamir Ilyas
aamir.ilyas@tvrl.lth.se
46-707-480-232
Lund University

Every year, millions of tons of environmentally harmful ash is produced worldwide, and is mostly dumped in landfill sites or, in some countries, used as construction material. The ash is what is left when rubbish has been burnt in thermal power stations. A researcher from Lund University in Sweden has now developed a technique to use the ash to produce hydrogen gas. The method is presented in a new thesis.

The technique has significant potential: 20 billion litres of hydrogen gas a year, or 56 gigawatt-hours (GWh). Calculated as electricity, the energy is the equivalent of the annual needs of around 11 000 detached houses. Hydrogen gas is valuable and is viewed by many as an increasingly important energy source, for example as a vehicle fuel.

"The ash can be used as a resource through recovery of hydrogen gas instead of being allowed to be released into the air as at present. Our ash deposits are like a goldmine", said Aamir Ilyas, Doctor of Water Resources Engineering at Lund University and the developer of the technique.

Refuse incineration is a widespread practice in Europe. The technique involves placing the ash in an oxygen-free environment. The ash is dampened with water, whereupon it forms hydrogen gas. The gas is sucked up through pipes and stored in tanks.

It is the heavy, grit-like bottom ash that is used. In combustion, a lighter fly ash is also formed. The bottom ash remains in quarantine, in the open air, at the site for up to six months to prevent leaching of environmentally harmful metals and the risk of hydrogen gas being formed, since accumulation of hydrogen during indoor storage can result in explosion.

"A bonus is that this method removes the risk of hydrogen gas. It also reduces the strain on our landfill sites."

In some countries, processed bottom ash is sometimes used as a construction material for roads and buildings. This doesn't happen at present in Sweden because the ash contains hazardous substances that do not meet the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's strict requirements. Usually it is used as top cover at landfills.

Today, hydrogen gas is mainly produced from natural gas. However, biogas, oil and coal can also be used as the raw material. Hydrogen gas is an important raw material in industry and is used in refineries and to manufacture ammonia. Hydrogen gas has the potential to produce electricity and heat and also to become a vehicle fuel; a number of car manufacturers are investing in hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars. Hydrogen gas is not expensive, but because there is a lack of infrastructure for the production of the gas, the production and handling costs are high. However, these costs would decrease in the future once a production system is established.

"There will not be one universal solution that will be used to generate energy. We need to find a number of solutions", said Kenneth M. Persson, Professor of Water Resources Engineering and one of Aamir Ilyas's supervisors.

###

The technique is described in a thesis entitled Unsaturated Phase Environmental Processes in MSWI Bottom Ash, see: http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/o.o.i.s?id=12683&postid=3409175

For more information, please contact Dr Aamir Ilyas, +46 707 480232 (aamir.ilyas@tvrl.lth.se), or Kenneth M. Persson, Professor of Water Resources Engineering, +46 46 222 9470 (kenneth.persson@tvrl.lth.se).

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 25-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dr Aamir Ilyas
aamir.ilyas@tvrl.lth.se
46-707-480-232
Lund University

Every year, millions of tons of environmentally harmful ash is produced worldwide, and is mostly dumped in landfill sites or, in some countries, used as construction material. The ash is what is left when rubbish has been burnt in thermal power stations. A researcher from Lund University in Sweden has now developed a technique to use the ash to produce hydrogen gas. The method is presented in a new thesis.

The technique has significant potential: 20 billion litres of hydrogen gas a year, or 56 gigawatt-hours (GWh). Calculated as electricity, the energy is the equivalent of the annual needs of around 11 000 detached houses. Hydrogen gas is valuable and is viewed by many as an increasingly important energy source, for example as a vehicle fuel.

"The ash can be used as a resource through recovery of hydrogen gas instead of being allowed to be released into the air as at present. Our ash deposits are like a goldmine", said Aamir Ilyas, Doctor of Water Resources Engineering at Lund University and the developer of the technique.

Refuse incineration is a widespread practice in Europe. The technique involves placing the ash in an oxygen-free environment. The ash is dampened with water, whereupon it forms hydrogen gas. The gas is sucked up through pipes and stored in tanks.

It is the heavy, grit-like bottom ash that is used. In combustion, a lighter fly ash is also formed. The bottom ash remains in quarantine, in the open air, at the site for up to six months to prevent leaching of environmentally harmful metals and the risk of hydrogen gas being formed, since accumulation of hydrogen during indoor storage can result in explosion.

"A bonus is that this method removes the risk of hydrogen gas. It also reduces the strain on our landfill sites."

In some countries, processed bottom ash is sometimes used as a construction material for roads and buildings. This doesn't happen at present in Sweden because the ash contains hazardous substances that do not meet the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's strict requirements. Usually it is used as top cover at landfills.

Today, hydrogen gas is mainly produced from natural gas. However, biogas, oil and coal can also be used as the raw material. Hydrogen gas is an important raw material in industry and is used in refineries and to manufacture ammonia. Hydrogen gas has the potential to produce electricity and heat and also to become a vehicle fuel; a number of car manufacturers are investing in hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars. Hydrogen gas is not expensive, but because there is a lack of infrastructure for the production of the gas, the production and handling costs are high. However, these costs would decrease in the future once a production system is established.

"There will not be one universal solution that will be used to generate energy. We need to find a number of solutions", said Kenneth M. Persson, Professor of Water Resources Engineering and one of Aamir Ilyas's supervisors.

###

The technique is described in a thesis entitled Unsaturated Phase Environmental Processes in MSWI Bottom Ash, see: http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/o.o.i.s?id=12683&postid=3409175

For more information, please contact Dr Aamir Ilyas, +46 707 480232 (aamir.ilyas@tvrl.lth.se), or Kenneth M. Persson, Professor of Water Resources Engineering, +46 46 222 9470 (kenneth.persson@tvrl.lth.se).

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/lu-afr032513.php

Girl Meets World Jason Babin Nolan Daniels angus t. jones monday night football monday night football SEC Championship Game 2012

Genomes of peregrine and saker falcons throw lights on evolution of a predatory lifestyle

Mar. 24, 2013 ? In a collaborative study published online in Nature Genetics, researchers from Cardiff University, BGI, International Wildlife Consultants, Ltd., and Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, have completed the genome sequencing and analysis of two iconic falcons, the peregrine (Falco peregrinus) and saker (Falco cherrug). The work provides an invaluable resource for the deep understanding of the adaptive evolution in raptors and the genetic basis of their wide distribution.

Peregrine and saker falcons are widespread, and their unique morphological, physiological and behavioral adaptations make them successful hunters. The peregrine is renowned as the world's fastest animal, and the falcon is the national emblem of United Arab Emirate. In recent decades, peregrine and saker falcons have been listed as endangered due to rapid population declines caused by a wide range of factors including environmental change, overharvesting for falconry, habitat loss and bioaccumulation of pesticides (e.g. DDT, PCBs).

In this study, researchers focused on the evolutionary basis of predatory adaptations underlying peregrine and saker. They conducted whole genome sequencing and assembled the high quality ~1.2 Gb reference genomes for each falcon species. Phylogenic analysis suggested that the two falcon species might diverged 2.1 million years ago.

Comparing with chicken and zebra finch, researchers found the transposable element composition of falcons was most similar to that of zebra finch. Large segmental duplications in falcons are less frequent than that in chicken and zebra finch, and comprise less than 1% of both falcon genomes. They also found that a gene expansion in the olfactory receptor ?-c clade in chicken and zebra finch is not present in falcons, possibly reflecting their reliance on vision for locating prey.

Observing genome-wide rapid evolution for both falcons, chicken, zebra finch and turkey, researchers found that the nervous system, olfaction and sodium ion trans-port have evolved rapidly in falcons, and also the evolutionary novelties in beak development related genes of falcons and saker-unique arid-adaptation related genes.

Shengkai Pan, bioinformatics expert from BGI, said, "The two falcon genomes are the first predatory bird genome published. The data presented in this study will advance our understanding of the adaptive evolution of raptors as well as aid the conservation of endangered falcon species."

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 BGI Shenzhen.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Xiangjiang Zhan, Shengkai Pan, Junyi Wang, Andrew Dixon, Jing He, Margit G Muller, Peixiang Ni, Li Hu, Yuan Liu, Haolong Hou, Yuanping Chen, Jinquan Xia, Qiong Luo, Pengwei Xu, Ying Chen, Shengguang Liao, Changchang Cao, Shukun Gao, Zhaobao Wang, Zhen Yue, Guoqing Li, Ye Yin, Nick C Fox, Jun Wang, Michael W Bruford. Peregrine and saker falcon genome sequences provide insights into evolution of a predatory lifestyle. Nature Genetics, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/ng.2588

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/nKjE34V6NSI/130325111216.htm

national enquirer whitney houston arizona republican debate arizona debate enquirer national inquirer knicks vs heat kate walsh

British Beatles Fan Club: "The Beatles Show" returns to Dublin!

THE BEATLES SHOW

Written and Directed by Stephen Kennedy.

Odessa Club, 13 Dame Court, Dublin 2.

April 22nd ? 25th at 8pm.

Following its sold out run at the New Theatre last October, The Beatles Show returns to Dublin for six performances in April. This time the venue is the Odessa Club in Dame Court ? right in the heart of the city ? and tickets are expected to sell out quickly.

The Beatles Show consists of three Beatle-related plays ? Lennon v McCartney / Death and The Beatles Fan / John Lennon?s Last Day ? plus the music of The Beatles performed live by Vyvienne Long and The Newspaper Taxi Men.

LENNON v McCARTNEY

Since the dawn of Time human beings have gathered in pubs and argued about who is greater ? John Lennon or Paul McCartney. Now, finally, here at last, and not a moment too soon, is a short play that definitively sorts out the argument once and for all. Well? sort of?

LENNON v McCARTNEY was performed a number of times on the main stage at the Adelphi in Liverpool at the 2010 International Beatle Week. It has also been performed at the Scottish Beatles Weekend, the Black Box Theatre in Belfast, the Flat Lake Festival, the Donegal Beatles Festival, the Project Arts Centre, Whelan?s, the Village, the Workman?s Club, and many other places.

?Fabulously written and brilliantly acted. This is an acute observation of pub culture, pop culture and male friendship.? Reviewed by the Dublin Book Festival 2011.

DEATH AND THE BEATLES FAN

How much would you know about The Beatles if your life depended on it?

DEATH AND THE BEATLES FAN is a short play that takes a comic look at what happens when Death attempts to collect the soul of a hardcore Beatles? fan who has no interest in dying.

?This really is the great stage play that The Seventh Seal could have been... if only Ingmar Bergman had been aware of The Beatles in 1957!? (Quote kindly supplied by a non-existent theatre critic.)

JOHN LENNON?S LAST DAY

This piece is the most complete account of John Lennon?s last day that has ever been presented. It is not a play in the traditional sense ? and is probably best described as a work of ?documentary theatre?. Basically, with the use of a single actor, a simple stage set, some projected images and some very rare audio clips, this piece guides the audience through the strange and tragic events of John Lennon?s last day.

?My work won?t be finished till I?m dead and buried ? and I hope that?s a long long time.?

Words spoken by John Lennon in an interview on Monday, December 8th, 1980 ? just a few hours before his death.

VYVIENNE LONG

Vyvienne Long is a superb cellist and singer-songwriter who first came to prominence on the Irish music scene when she worked with Damien Rice on his albums O and 9. In 2006, Vyvienne released her debut EP, Birdtalk, which was a huge success and completely sold out within months. In 2010, Vyvienne reached a whole new audience when she released her excellent debut album, Caterpillar Sarabande, and appeared on television shows such as The Late Late Show, Other Voices and The View. Vyvienne has also built up an impressive reputation with her talent for covering other people?s songs ? and her interpretations of The Beatles? songs are nothing short of stunning. Check out her amazing cover version of ?And I Love Her? on YouTube.

THE NEWSPAPER TAXI MEN

The Newspaper Taxi Men are one of the very best Beatle tribute bands in Ireland. They have recently played brilliant support slots for John Lennon?s Original Quarrymen at the Village and Scotland?s Revolver at the Workman?s Club, and we are thrilled to have them back as part of The Beatles Show at the Odessa Club. These guys are pure quality.

STEPHEN KENNEDY
Writer and Director of The Beatles Show

Stephen Kennedy?s poetry and short fiction have appeared in various publications ? including the Irish Times, the Stinging Fly and Books Ireland ? and his plays have been performed throughout Ireland and the UK. Stephen has been nominated for the Hennessy XO Literary Awards and the RTE PJ O?Connor Awards; and, in 2010, his short play, Should've Gone to Lourdes, was presented at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC by Fishamble Theatre Company.

Stephen also organises Nighthawks at the Cobalt ? a monthly arts club in Dublin that presents different kinds of music, comedy, performance poetry, short fiction, short film and short theatre. Nighthawks has been running for almost five years now and every show has sold out completely.

Not surprisingly, Stephen is also a Beatles fanatic. His short play, Lennon v McCartney, has been performed a number of times on the main stage at the Adelphi in Liverpool at International Beatle Week. It has also been performed at the Scottish Beatles Weekend, the Black Box Theatre in Belfast, the Flat Lake Festival, the Donegal Beatles Festival, the Project Arts Centre, Whelan?s, the Village, the Workman?s Club, and many other places.

Source: http://www.britishbeatlesfanclub.co.uk/2013/03/the-beatles-show-returns-to-dublin.html

cee lo allen iverson jr smith chris anderson rondo suspended bay bridge band of brothers

Cops release dramatic video showing Philadelphia triple shooting

By F. Brinley Bruton, Staff Writer, NBC News

Dramatic video of a gunman firing repeatedly into a Philadelphia shop and the ensuing struggle that left three people injured was released by police on Thursday as they stepped up the hunt for the attacker.

Footage posted on YouTube by the Philadelphia Police Department?shows one victim trying to keep the culprit out by holding the door closed while others fall to the floor and try to shield themselves. Bullets pierce the glass door and the suspect reaches around to fire again at the group. ?

Philadelphia Police Department

Police are seeking the public's assistance in identifying the suspect for a shooting that injured three men in Philadelphia.

Separate video of Tuesday night's shooting filmed outside the store shows the suspect walking to the front door and firing into the shop. After several failed attempts to get at the victims inside, he backs up and fires through the glass.

The attacker then turns and runs away, leaving three?victims with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.

Police describe the shooter as being a black male between 6 feet and 6 feet and 2 inches tall, of medium build with a beard or goatee and wearing a dark colored sweatshirt.?

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/29ddaaee/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C220C174126220Ecops0Erelease0Edramatic0Evideo0Eshowing0Ephiladelphia0Etriple0Eshooting0Dlite/story01.htm

supreme court summer solstice Summer Solstice 2012 Waldo Canyon fire nba finals K Michelle roger clemens

Spatial memory: Mapping blank spots in the cheeseboard maze

Mar. 21, 2013 ? IST Austria Professor Jozsef Csicsvari together with collaborators has succeeded in uncovering processes in which the formation of spatial memory is manifested in a map representation.

During learning, novel information is transformed into memory through the processing and encoding of information in neural circuits. In a recent publication in Neuron, IST Austria Professor Jozsef Csicsvari, together with his collaborator David Dupret at the University of Oxford, and Joseph O'Neill, postdoc in Csicsvari's group, uncovered a novel role for inhibitory interneurons in the rat hippocampus during the formation of spatial memory.

During spatial learning, space is represented in the hippocampus through plastic changes in the connections between neurons. Jozsef Csicsvari and his collaborators investigate spatial learning in rats using the cheeseboard maze apparatus. This apparatus contains many holes, some of which are selected to hide food in order to test spatial memory. During learning trials, animals learn where the rewards are located, and after a period sleep, the researchers test whether the animal can recall these reward locations. In previous work, they and others have shown that memory of space is encoded in the hippocampus through changes in the firing of excitatory pyramidal cells, the so-called "place cells."

A place cell fires when the animal arrives at a particular location. Normally, place cells always fire at the same place in an environment; however, during spatial learning the place of their firing can change to encode where the reward is found, forming memory maps.

In their new publication, the researchers investigated the timescale of map formation, showing that during spatial learning, pyramidal neuron maps representing previous and new reward locations "flicker," with both firing patterns occurring. At first, old maps and new maps fluctuate, as the animal is unsure whether the location change is transient or long-lasting. At a later stage, the new map and so the relevant new information dominates.

The scientists also investigated the contribution of inhibitory interneuron circuits to learning. They show that these interneurons, which are extensively interconnected with pyramidal cells, change their firing rates during map formation and flickering: some interneurons fire more often when the new pyramidal map fires, while others fire less often with the new map. These changes in interneuron firing were only observed during learning, not during sleep or recall. The scientists also show that the changes in firing rate are due to map-specific changes in the connections between pyramidal cells and interneurons. When a pyramidal cell is part of a new map, the strengthening of a connection with an interneuron causes an increase in the firing of this interneuron. Conversely, when a pyramidal cell is not part of a new map, the weakening of the connection with the interneuron causes a decrease in interneuron firing rate. Both, the increase and the decrease in firing rate can be beneficial for learning, allowing the regulation of plasticity between pyramidal cells and controlling the timing in their firing.

The new research therefore shows that not only excitatory neurons modify their behaviour and exhibit plastic connection changes during learning, but also the inhibitory interneuron circuits. The researchers suggest that inhibitory interneurons could be involved in map selection -- helping one map dominate and take over during learning, so that the relevant information is encoded.

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 Institute of Science and Technology Austria.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. David Dupret, Joseph O?Neill, Jozsef Csicsvari. Dynamic Reconfiguration of Hippocampal Interneuron Circuits during Spatial Learning. Neuron, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2013.01.033

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/~3/5uyDGO3mco8/130322104258.htm

Rick Majerus Cotto vs Trout Robin Givens Gus Malzahn hyperemesis gravidarum miranda kerr BCS Bowls

Billionaire recovers moon rocket's sunken engines

A salvage operation backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos has brought up historic Saturn 5 rocket components from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, using remotely operated vehicles. Watch scenes from the recovery effort.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

Salvagers backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos have recovered components from the Saturn 5 rocket engines that powered NASA's Apollo moon missions off the launch pad, more than four decades after they hurtled down to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Amazon.com's founder reported on the successful three-week sea salvage operation on his Bezos Expeditions website. "What an incredible adventure," he wrote.

"We've seen an underwater wonderland?? an incredible sculpture garden of twisted F-1 engines that tells the story of a fiery and violent end, one that serves testament to the Apollo program," Bezos said Wednesday.

---

Almost a year ago,?Bezos announced that deep-sea sonar scans had located the first-stage engines that were used for the historic Apollo 11 launch in 1969 ? the launch that sent astronauts on their way to the moon's surface for the first time. It took months to plan the recovery expedition ? and three weeks ago, Bezos and the salvage team headed out into the Atlantic on?the Seabed Worker, a ship that has previously played a role in recovering sunken treasures.

"While I spent a reasonable chunk of time in my cabin emailing and working, it didn't keep me from getting to know the team," Bezos wrote. Much of his posting was given over to thank-yous for the team members.?

The chilly ocean waters preserved the hardware in "gorgeous" condition at a depth of more than 14,000 feet, Bezos said. He?noted that it was difficult to make out the serial numbers on the hardware. Confirmation of the Apollo 11 connection will presumably have to wait until the parts are more closely examined.

Click through scenes from Bezos Expeditions' recovery of historic Saturn 5 rocket engines from the Atlantic Ocean floor.

Remotely operated vehicles recovered enough components to fashion displays of two flown F-1 engines. Bezos said the ship was now on its way back to Cape Canaveral, Fla., to offload the artifacts. Bezos Expeditions said the restoration would take place at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center.

"The upcoming restoration will stabilize the hardware and prevent further corrosion," Bezos said. "We want the hardware to tell its true story, including its 5,000 mile per hour re-entry and subsequent impact with the ocean surface. We?re excited to get this hardware on display where just maybe it will inspire something amazing."

Even before the expedition, Bezos and NASA worked out where the artifacts would be going. The first option would go to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs told NBC News in an email. The second engine would be offered to the Museum of Flight in Seattle, the hometown for Bezos and Amazon.com.

"While we have no role in the restoration, we are providing assistance to help identify the hardware through our various history offices and field centers," Jacobs said.

Although Bezos made his billions in the dot-com world, he's had a longstanding interest in spaceflight as well: His rocket venture, Blue Origin, has been working on a launch system for suborbital as well as orbital passenger flights with NASA's backing. Last year, Bezos donated a 5-ton Blue Origin lander prototype?to the Museum of Flight.

In a statement, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden praised the recovery of the engines as a "historic find."

"We look forward to the restoration of these engines by the Bezos team and applaud Jeff?s desire to make these historic artifacts available for public display," Bolden said.?"Jeff and his colleagues at Blue Origin are helping to usher in a new commercial era of space exploration, and we are confident that our continued collaboration will soon result in private human access to space, creating jobs and driving America?s leadership in innovation and exploration."

More space history:

---

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/20/17388428-billionaire-jeff-bezos-recovers-apollo-rocket-engines-from-ocean-floor?lite

A Dongle Joke That Spiraled Way Out Of Control

In an age of blogs, tweets, Hacker News, Reddit and Anonymous, an off-the-cuff joke can spin wildly out of control. At least it appears that’s what happened with PyCon this week when a sexual joke led to some very public firings, a virulent debate about women in technology, another virulent debate about public shaming, and now, an apparent DDOS attack (although we haven’t been able to confirm it with the company). So here’s what happened: 1) While sitting in the 10th row of a Python programming conference, a developer who used to work for mobile monetization startup Playhaven apparently made a joke about ?big? dongles and “forking someone’s repo.” 2) Adria Richards, a developer evangelist sitting in front of them, called them out on Twitter and in a blog post for making the conference environment unwelcoming toward women. PyCon then escorted them out to the hallway. Not cool. Jokes about forking repo's in a sexual way and "big" dongles. Right behind me #pycon http://t.co/Hv1bkeOsYP— Adria Richards (@adriarichards) March 17, 2013 “Women in technology need consistant [sic] messaging from birth through retirement they are welcome, competent and valued in the industry,” she explained in a blog post. 3) Shortly afterward, Playhaven said it had fired the developer. CEO Andy Yang explained, “As a company that is dedicated to gender equality and values honorable behavior, we conducted a thorough investigation. The result of this investigation led to the unfortunate outcome of having to let this employee go.” He added that the employee wasn’t Alex Reid, who is the guy looking straight at the camera in Richards’ tweeted photo. Reid still works for Playhaven. 4) The unnamed fired employee showed up on Hacker News by the name of “mr-hank” and apologized for the joke. I really did not mean to offend anyone and I really do regret the comment and how it made Adria feel. She had every right to report me to staff, and I defend her position. However, there is another side to this story. While I did make a big dongle joke about a fictional piece hardware that identified as male, no sexual jokes were made about forking. My friends and I had decided forking someone’s repo is a new form of flattery (the highest form being implementation) and we were excited about one of the presenters projects; a friend said “I would fork that guys repo” The sexual context

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/X_o41g2yNlc/