'It is in everyone's best interest for Reebok to end its partnership with Mr. Ross,' sneaker giant says in a statement to MTV News.
Rick Ross
Photo: Alexander Tamargo
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705463/rick-ross-reebok-controversy.jhtml
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? The U.S. Navy's Blue Angels says the rest of its season is canceled because of federal budget cuts.
The aerobatic team's lead pilot and team commander Tom Frosch made the announcement Tuesday at the team's headquarters. He says it is the first time since the Korean War that the team would not make the air show rounds.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/1498cmj) that the cancellation means the team won't be flying over San Francisco during this fall's Fleet Week, and the future of the city's annual Fleet Week could be in doubt with the air show canceled.
Fleet Week organizer J. Michael Myatt says there probably would be no air show without the Blue Angels and the Parade of Ships also could be in jeopardy because of budget cuts.
___
Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blue-angels-cancel-air-shows-over-budget-cuts-033848352.html
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Those red pins look almost like little hearts, revealing which countries have been showered with the affection of Google's crowdsourced map improvement tool and those -- like the UK -- that have so far been left out. We can now safely ignore the chart, however, as the UK has just received its dose of Map Maker love, taking its rightful place among nations like the US, France, India and even North Korea. Instead of just reporting problems, which has long been possible, Brits can use the browser-based service to contribute additional local knowledge about everything from bus stations to cycle routes, as well as natural features like parks and even bits of shrubbery. (Hopefully, only really amazing bits of shrubbery.) You can watch folks adding these sorts of things, almost in real-time, at the Google link below -- and it's weirdly addictive.
Filed under: Internet
Via: BBC News
Source: Google Map Maker
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/11/google-map-maker-comes-to-the-uk/
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Fifty years ago, a young Soviet Cosmonaut called Yuri Gagarin was blasted into space and into the history books. His may be a well-known story but ITV's Lawrence McGinty, has some fascinating facts that have stayed secret for all those years.
By Miriam Kramer
Space.com
This week, space geeks around the world will celebrate the historic flight that made Yuri Gagarin the first person to leave the confines of Earth 52 years ago.
"Yuri's Night" (celebrated annually the week of April 12) commemorates Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's first flight with parties and special events honoring more than five decades of human spaceflight. This year, festivities will take place on Friday, with some lasting into the weekend and next week.
Gagarin launched into space on April 12, 1961 aboard his Vostok space capsule, ushering in the age of human spaceflight. Exactly 20 years after Gagarin's historic flight, NASA launched the first space shuttle mission on April 12, 1981 to kick of reusable spacecraft program that would last three decades. Yuri's Night celebrations are aimed at marking both space anniversaries, as well as toasting the spirit of space exploration. [Yuri Gagarin: First Man in Space (Photos)]
"Yuri's Night is the world space party," the project's spokesman Brice Russ told Space.com. "(It's a) global celebration of space."
So far, 255 parties in 42 countries have been registered through Yuri's Night's official website, Russ said. Groups of space fans on six continents are planning celebrations, and Russ is in negotiations with a possible party host in Antarctica to get the last continent added to the list.?
ESA
Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to travel into space.
"We have 75 events officially registered on our website for the United States, with more coming in each day," Russ wrote Space.com in an email. "If people are interested in participating in Yuri's Night but don't have an event nearby (and don't want to start one up themselves), they can join Yuri's Night online via webcasts or virtual events."
Launched in 2001, Yuri's Night began with 64 events around the world. Ten years later ? on the 50-year anniversary of human spaceflight in 2011 ? people in 74 different countries hosted 550 events making it the largest Yuri's Night in the event's history. This year is shaping up to be the second-largest, Russ added.
?
"Everyone is welcome to come to celebrate Yuri's night with us," Russ added. "There is something at Yuri's night for everyone."
It is not too late to register and host your own Yuri's Night party. Simply sign up online through YurisNight.netto make your party searchable in the "party list." There is no party too big or too small to be a part of the celebration, Russ said.
If you'd like to find a party near you, visit the "Find a Party" page and use the Google Map to search for a convenient location.
Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook?and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Copyright 2013 Space.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 9-Apr-2013
Share ] Contact: Jan Grabowski
jan.grabowski@helmholtz-hzi.de
49-531-618-11407
Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research
This press release is available in German.
In the search for new antibiotics, researchers are taking an unusual approach: They are developing peptides, short chains of protein building blocks that effectively inhibit a key enzyme of bacterial metabolism. Now, scientists at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) in Saarbrcken, a branch of the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI), have published their findings and the implications for potential medical application in the scientific journal ACS Chemical Biology.
The road from gene to protein has an important stop along the way: ribonucleic acid, or RNA. This molecule is essentially a "negative copy" of DNA, the cell's hereditary material, and serves as a blueprint for the cell to make proteins, the basic building blocks of life. This "template" is assembled by the enzyme RNA polymerase, whose job it is to read off the information that is stored within the DNA molecule.
Bacterial RNA polymerase consists of several subunits. The core enzyme has to first bind a certain protein molecule called "sigma factor" which essentially allows the enzyme to begin production of the RNA molecule. The sigma factor locates the starting point of the gene to be copied - as soon as its job is done, it once again detaches from the enzyme complex. The next time, the sigma factor and the core enzyme have to bind to each other again. If this is no longer possible, new RNA cannot be synthesized and no more proteins will be made by the cell. Cellular processes come to a complete standstill, and the bacterium dies.
Which is exactly the reason why the point of contact between the sigma factor and the core enzyme represents a potential target for new therapies against bacterial infections. Another feature makes this a particularly attractive target: "Sigma factors are unique to bacteria and are not found in mammalian cells," explains Kristina Hsecken, Ph.D. student at the HIPS and the publication's first author. "This way, we are able to specifically target the bacteria without putting the body's own cells at risk." Which also means potential side effects are not to be expected.
The drug researchers from Saarbrcken have looked at a range of peptides, short chains of amino acids, capable of inhibiting the polymerase. Their structure corresponds to areas from the binding site of one of the enzyme parts: A perfect fit, the peptides dock either to the core enzyme or to the sigma factor, specifically at the exact location where the counterpart would normally attach to. This way, the components are prevented from combining to form a functional enzyme since the binding site is already occupied. Of the 16 total peptides the researchers examined, one in particular proved especially effective. The peptide called P07 was able to show in further tests that it actually does prevent transcription of DNA to RNA in bacterial cells by interfering with the interaction between sigma and core enzyme.
A number of current antibiotics target bacterial RNA polymerase, among them rifampicin, which was first introduced in the late 1960s. Yet these classic drugs are quickly losing their efficacy, as germs are evolving resistance to them. "Since we're looking at a new mode of action, it won't come to cross resistance, which is a much-feared issue with new antibiotics," says Dr. Jrg Haupenthal, the study's principal investigator. This could be the case with any new substance whose mode of action is similar to that of an antibiotic the bacteria have already evolved resistance to.
Whether or not P07 will be developed into a market-ready drug is something Haupenthal and his colleagues cannot predict. "Even though our research points the way to new and effective antibiotics, actually developing them into full-blown drugs for clinical use requires much additional research," says Haupenthal. As such, the researchers are working at optimizing P07 while also looking for other molecules capable of binding to the same spot on the polymerase enzyme.
###
Original publication:
K. Hsecken, M. Negri, M. Fruth, S. Boettcher, R.W. Hartmann, J. Haupenthal
Peptide-Based Investigation of Escherichia coli RNA Polmerase ?(70):Core Interface As Target Site
ACS Chemical Biology, 2013, DOI: 10.1021/cb3005758 dx.doi.org/10.1021/cb3005758
The Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research
At the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, scientists are studying microbial virulence factors, host-pathogen interactions and immunity. The goal is to develop strategies for the diagnosis, prevention and therapy of human infectious diseases. http://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en
The Helmholtz Insititute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland
The Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) is a branch of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and was founded together with the Saarland University in 2009. Where do new compounds against widespread infections come from, how can they be optimised for the application to humans and how are they delivered efficiently to the target site? The scientists at HIPS are searching for answers to these questions by deploying highly modern methods of pharmaceutical sciences. http://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/HIPS
[ | 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: 9-Apr-2013 Share ] Contact: Jan Grabowski
jan.grabowski@helmholtz-hzi.de
49-531-618-11407
Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research
This press release is available in German.
In the search for new antibiotics, researchers are taking an unusual approach: They are developing peptides, short chains of protein building blocks that effectively inhibit a key enzyme of bacterial metabolism. Now, scientists at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) in Saarbrcken, a branch of the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI), have published their findings and the implications for potential medical application in the scientific journal ACS Chemical Biology.
The road from gene to protein has an important stop along the way: ribonucleic acid, or RNA. This molecule is essentially a "negative copy" of DNA, the cell's hereditary material, and serves as a blueprint for the cell to make proteins, the basic building blocks of life. This "template" is assembled by the enzyme RNA polymerase, whose job it is to read off the information that is stored within the DNA molecule.
Bacterial RNA polymerase consists of several subunits. The core enzyme has to first bind a certain protein molecule called "sigma factor" which essentially allows the enzyme to begin production of the RNA molecule. The sigma factor locates the starting point of the gene to be copied - as soon as its job is done, it once again detaches from the enzyme complex. The next time, the sigma factor and the core enzyme have to bind to each other again. If this is no longer possible, new RNA cannot be synthesized and no more proteins will be made by the cell. Cellular processes come to a complete standstill, and the bacterium dies.
Which is exactly the reason why the point of contact between the sigma factor and the core enzyme represents a potential target for new therapies against bacterial infections. Another feature makes this a particularly attractive target: "Sigma factors are unique to bacteria and are not found in mammalian cells," explains Kristina Hsecken, Ph.D. student at the HIPS and the publication's first author. "This way, we are able to specifically target the bacteria without putting the body's own cells at risk." Which also means potential side effects are not to be expected.
The drug researchers from Saarbrcken have looked at a range of peptides, short chains of amino acids, capable of inhibiting the polymerase. Their structure corresponds to areas from the binding site of one of the enzyme parts: A perfect fit, the peptides dock either to the core enzyme or to the sigma factor, specifically at the exact location where the counterpart would normally attach to. This way, the components are prevented from combining to form a functional enzyme since the binding site is already occupied. Of the 16 total peptides the researchers examined, one in particular proved especially effective. The peptide called P07 was able to show in further tests that it actually does prevent transcription of DNA to RNA in bacterial cells by interfering with the interaction between sigma and core enzyme.
A number of current antibiotics target bacterial RNA polymerase, among them rifampicin, which was first introduced in the late 1960s. Yet these classic drugs are quickly losing their efficacy, as germs are evolving resistance to them. "Since we're looking at a new mode of action, it won't come to cross resistance, which is a much-feared issue with new antibiotics," says Dr. Jrg Haupenthal, the study's principal investigator. This could be the case with any new substance whose mode of action is similar to that of an antibiotic the bacteria have already evolved resistance to.
Whether or not P07 will be developed into a market-ready drug is something Haupenthal and his colleagues cannot predict. "Even though our research points the way to new and effective antibiotics, actually developing them into full-blown drugs for clinical use requires much additional research," says Haupenthal. As such, the researchers are working at optimizing P07 while also looking for other molecules capable of binding to the same spot on the polymerase enzyme.
###
Original publication:
K. Hsecken, M. Negri, M. Fruth, S. Boettcher, R.W. Hartmann, J. Haupenthal
Peptide-Based Investigation of Escherichia coli RNA Polmerase ?(70):Core Interface As Target Site
ACS Chemical Biology, 2013, DOI: 10.1021/cb3005758 dx.doi.org/10.1021/cb3005758
The Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research
At the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, scientists are studying microbial virulence factors, host-pathogen interactions and immunity. The goal is to develop strategies for the diagnosis, prevention and therapy of human infectious diseases. http://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en
The Helmholtz Insititute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland
The Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) is a branch of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and was founded together with the Saarland University in 2009. Where do new compounds against widespread infections come from, how can they be optimised for the application to humans and how are they delivered efficiently to the target site? The scientists at HIPS are searching for answers to these questions by deploying highly modern methods of pharmaceutical sciences. http://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/HIPS
[ | 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/2013-04/hcfi-bop040913.php
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Perhaps the last-minute opponent change was exactly what Gegard Mousasi needed. The former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion made his debut on Saturday and pulled out a decision over Ilir Latifi, a late replacement after Alexander Gustafsson was not cleared for the fight because of a cut. Mousasi pulled out the unanimous decision win, but shared afterwards that he was dealing with a knee injury.
"I don't want to talk a lot about my injury, but I can tell that this injury, I'm pretty sure 95 percent wouldn't fight, from other fighters," Mousasi said in the postfight press conference.
"You know, I stepped up, I didn't cancel the show, you know, I don't know, we go from here, you know."
In other action, Ross Pearson notched a second-round TKO over Ryan Couture. Matt Mitrione stopped his losing streak with a 19-second KO of Philip de Fries. Brad Pickett won a split decision over Mike Easton in a bout that won Fight of the Night honors. Diego Brandao submitted Pablo Garza in the third round with an arm-triangle choke.
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Apr. 8, 2013 ? More powerful batteries could help electric cars achieve a considerably larger range and thus a breakthrough on the market. A new nanomaterial for lithium ion batteries developed in the labs of chemists at ETH Zurich and Empa could come into play here.
They provide power for electric cars, electric bicycles, smartphones and laptops; nowadays, rechargeable lithium ion batteries are the storage media of choice when it comes to supplying a large amount of energy in a small space and light weight. All over the world, scientists are currently researching a new generation of such batteries with an improved performance. Scientists headed by Maksym Kovalenko from the Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry at ETH Zurich and Empa have now developed a nanomaterial which enables considerably more power to be stored in lithium ion batteries.
The nanomaterial is composed of tiny tin crystals, which are to be deployed at the minus pole of the batteries (anode). When charging the batteries, lithium ions are absorbed at this electrode; while discharging, they are released again (see box). "The more lithium ions the electrodes can absorb and release -- the better they can breathe, as it were -- the more energy can be stored in a battery," explains Kovalenko.
Uniform crystals
The element tin is ideal for this: every tin atom can absorb at least four lithium ions. However, the challenge is to deal with the volume change of tin electrodes: tin crystal becomes up to three times bigger if it absorbs a lot of lithium ions and shrinks again when it releases them back. The scientists thus resorted to nanotechnology: they produced the tiniest tin nanocrystals and embedded a large number of them in a porous, conductive permeable carbon matrix. Much like how a sponge can suck up water and release it again, an electrode constructed in this way can absorb lithium ions while charging and release them when discharging. If the electrode were made of a compact tin block, this would practically be impossible.
During the development of the nanomaterial, the issue of the ideal size for the nanocrystals arose, which also carries the challenge of producing uniform crystals. "The trick here was to separate the two basic steps in the formation of the crystals -- the formation of as small as a crystal nucleus as possible on the one hand and its subsequent growth on the other," explains Kovalenko. By influencing the time and temperature of the growth phase, the scientists were able to control the size of the crystals. "We are the first to produce such small tin crystals with such precision," says the scientist.
Larger cycle stability
Using uniform tin nanocrystals, carbon, and binding agents, the scientists produced different test electrodes for batteries. "This enables twice as much power to be stored compared to conventional electrodes," says Kovalenko. The size of the nanocrystals did not affect the storage capacity during the initial charging and discharging cycle. After a few charging and discharging cycles, however, differences caused by the crystal size became apparent: batteries with ten-nanometre crystals in the electrodes were able to store considerably more energy than ones with twice the diameter. The scientists assume that the smaller crystals perform better because they can absorb and release lithium ions more effectively. "Ten-nanometre tin crystals thus seem to be just the ticket for lithium ion batteries," says Kovalenko.
As the scientists now know the ideal size for the tin nanocrystals, they would like to turn their attention to the remaining challenges of producing optimum tin electrodes in further research projects. These include the choice of the best possible carbon matrix and binding agent for the electrodes, and the electrodes' ideal microscopic structure. Moreover, an optimal and stable electrolyte liquid in which the lithium ions can travel back and forth between the two poles in the battery also needs to be selected. Ultimately, the production costs are also an issue, which the researchers are looking to reduce by testing which cost-effective base materials are suitable for electrode production. The aim is to prepare batteries with an increased energy storage capacity and lifespan for the market, in collaboration with a Swiss industrial partner.
How lithium ion batteries work
In lithium ion batteries, the energy is stored in the form of positively charged lithium atoms (ions) that are found at the minus pole in a charged battery. If energy is taken from the battery, negatively charged electrons flow from the minus pole to the plus pole via the external circuit. To balance the charge, positively charged lithium ions also flow from the minus pole to the plus pole. However, these travel in the electrolyte fluid inside the battery. The process is reversible: lithium ion batteries can be recharged with electricity. In most lithium ion batteries these days, the plus pole is composed of the transition metal oxides cobalt, nickel, and manganese, the minus pole of graphite. In more powerful lithium ion batteries of the next generation, however, elements such as tin or silicon may well be used at the minus pole.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by ETH Zurich. The original article was written by Fabio Bergamin.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Lil Wayne, Ron Howard, Scarlett Johansson and Kim Kardashian are all on the same page when it comes to criminal justice reform.
They're among more than 100 entertainers calling on the president to focus on changing drug laws. Rap mogul Russell Simmons helped assemble the coalition of celebrities and civil rights leaders that presented a letter to President Barack Obama on Tuesday.
The group praises the president's efforts toward drug incarceration reform but insists "the time is right" to move toward replacing jail sentences with intervention and rehabilitation for non-violent offenders. The starry group, which also includes Jennifer Hudson, Nicki Minaj, Susan Sarandon and Will Smith, also asks Obama to form a panel to handle clemency requests and to support a measure that allows judges to waive mandatory minimum sentences.
"It is critical that we change both the way we think about drug laws in this country and how we generate positive solutions that leave a lasting impact on rebuilding our communities," Simmons said, citing Department of Justice data that shows that the United States jails more of its citizens than any other country in the world.
Drug offenders comprise nearly half the federal prison population in the U.S.
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Nearly 70 years after the end of World War II, one has to dig pretty deep to find a unique Holocaust story for the big screen.
So it?s not surprising that one of the latest Holocaust films has its genesis in a 77-mile gypsum cave in Ukraine, one of the longest such caves in the world.
This was home to 38 Jews who survived the Holocaust by living in this cave and another nearby for 511 days, until Russia liberated the area. Their story, discovered by a cave explorer from New York, captured the attention of director Janet Tobias. She was drawn as much by the Jews? tale of survival as the courageous actions of a few locals who helped protect them, thus almost certainly saving their lives.
?I think genocide always seems like a gigantic number ? 800,000 in Rwanda, 6.6 million Jews in Europe,? she says in a phone interview. ?That stops when a woodcutter gives them information, a man in the village who was Ukrainian helps them figure out how to buy grain?. It stops one person at a time in small ways and that is incredibly applicable to the modern world.?
RECOMMENDED: Think you know Europe? Take our geography quiz.
The 83-minute film, ?No Place on Earth,? premiered this weekend in New York, just as Israel is marking Holocaust Day. It is scheduled to open in major cities across the US in coming weeks.
CAVE DISCOVERY
The tale of how 38 people, including a number of young children, survived underground with limited supplies is extraordinary in itself. But the genesis of the film is also remarkable.
It began in 1993 when cave explorer Chris Nicola of New York found buttons, girls shoes, and other modern artifacts in the recesses of the cave. He asked locals repeatedly for information, but got few answers. Communism had only recently ended and Jewish history was simply not discussed under communist rule, he says. In addition, many of those living there were the product of Stalin?s mass resettlement schemes and thus were unfamiliar with local history dating back to World War II.
Finally, after years of visiting the cave annually or even twice a year, he got a lead. A senior Ukrainian caver shoved a letter in his hand as he was boarding the train to head back to the US, telling him that several years ago, at a memorial ceremony for local Jews who had been killed in the Holocaust, he had met three siblings who said their family survived in a cave. But before the Ukrainian caver had been able to get their contact information, they heard the Soviet Union had dissolved and they left earlier than expected.
?When they heard that communism collapsed in Moscow, they remembered what it was like the last time to live without a structured government, and they got outta there, so I lost that lead,? recounts Mr. Nicola.
A KEYWORD CONNECTION
Ultimately, Nicola had the idea to embed keywords on his website that might attract Jews searching for genealogical history of their families, in the hopes that one might be from the family of cave dwellers.
Sure enough, a son-in-law of the survivors emailed Nicola and he arranged to meet the senior patriarch of the family for lunch in West Palm Beach, Fla., several months later. But on the morning of their appointment, the patriarch got wind that Nicola wanted to make a film and backed out.
It took another couple of months of patient waiting, and a letter laying out his objectives, before the interview was secured.
In the end, four survivors shared their stories freely ? appearing first in a book coauthored by Nicola and Peter Lane Taylor and later in Ms. Tobias?s film. They also participated in a filmed visit back to the site of the cave in Ukraine, along with several grandchildren.
The family matriarch, Esther Stermer, had written a memoir in 1975 so that her grandchildren would know what the family had been through. But despite this, most of the survivors had been very quiet about their experiences and generally spoke of it only among themselves ? making it all the more remarkable that they were willing to share their stories with a global audience.
?One thing Janet and Peter and I always kept in mind,? says Nicola, ?is this was never our story but we?re ever indebted to them ? to let us a tell a story that they couldn?t tell themselves.?
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/holocaust-day-film-tells-story-survival-ukranian-caves-161031835.html
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ISTANBUL (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Turkey early Sunday on the first leg of a 10-day trip to Europe and Asia that would also seek to unlock long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Kerry was expected to encourage Turkish leaders to continue improving ties with Israel. The two countries were once allies, but relations spiraled downward after Israel's 2010 raid on a Turkish flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip. Eight Turks and one Turkish-American died.
Hopes for rapprochement improved after Obama brokered a telephone conversation between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while President Barack Obama was in Israel last month.
Kerry also will coordinate with Erdogan and other Turkish officials on efforts to halt the violence in neighboring Syria.
Kerry planned to fly from Turkey to Jerusalem for meetings with the presidents and prime ministers of both Israel and the Palestinians. He had accompanied Obama there and made a solo trip to Israel shortly after.
Though expectations are low for any breakthrough on Kerry's trip, his diplomacy represents some of the Obama administration's most sustained efforts for ending more than six decades of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
Kerry probably will seek confidence-building measures between the two sides. Negotiators and observers see little chance right now for immediate progress on the big stumbling blocks toward a two-state peace agreement.
Kerry will also visit Britain and then South Korea, China and Japan, where talks will focus on North Korea's nuclear program and escalating threats against the U.S. and its allies.
He is scheduled to return to Washington on April 15.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-turkey-eyes-bid-talks-mideast-003347638--politics.html
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? An Afghan official says 11 civilians, including 10 children, have been killed in an airstrike during a weekend military operation in eastern Afghanistan.
Wasifullah Wasify, a government official in Kunar province, said Sunday the airstrike occurred the day before during a fierce gunbattle between Taliban militants and a joint force of U.S. and Afghan forces.
He says 10 children and one woman were killed when the airstrike destroyed a house in a remote area of the province.
A U.S. civilian adviser also was killed in Saturday's fighting.
.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-official-airstrike-kills-11-civilians-130336344.html
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Source: http://www.kmvt.com/sports/Kimberly-v-Buhl-Baseball--HS-Golf-Scores-201182211.html
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? Sen. Chuck Schumer said Sunday he's hoping for a bipartisan deal by the end of this week on a sweeping immigration bill to secure the border and allow eventual citizenship to the estimated 11 million people living here illegally.
"All of us have said that there will be no agreement until the eight of us agree to a big, specific bill, but hopefully we can get that done by the end of the week," said Schumer, D-N.Y., who's leading efforts by eight senators to craft the legislation. "That's what we're on track to do."
Schumer spoke on CBS' "Face the Nation" alongside Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., another leader of the immigration talks, who suggested there could be a tough road ahead for the contentious legislation.
"There will be a great deal of unhappiness about this proposal because everybody didn't get what they wanted," McCain said. "There are entrenched positions on both sides of this issue as far as business and labor."
A deal on immigration is a top second-term priority for President Barack Obama, and his senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday that the bill being developed in the Senate is completely consistent Obama's approach ? even though the Senate plan would tie border security to a path to citizenship in a manner Obama administration officials have criticized.
Pfeiffer didn't answer directly when asked on "Fox News Sunday" whether Obama would sign legislation making a path to citizenship contingent on first securing the border, as negotiators in the Senate are doing. But he suggested Obama was supportive of the Senate plan.
"What they are looking at and what has been talked about in the Gang of Eight proposal is 100 percent consistent with what the president is doing so we feel very good about it," Pfeiffer said. "And they are looking at it in the right way."
Obama has stressed that a path to citizenship should not have major hurdles in front of it, and some immigration advocates believe that's what a requirement for a secure border would amount to. Obama's Homeland Security secretary, Janet Napolitano, has rejected the argument that border security must be achieved before a comprehensive immigration package or any pathway to legalized status can be done.
But Republicans involved in the Senate negotiations have made clear that border security is a must for them before those living here illegally can be allowed to move toward citizenship.
"We are going to secure that border and it will be tied to a pathway to citizenship or there will be no deal," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., another negotiator on the bill, said Sunday.
Graham also suggested that disagreement over a new low-skilled worker program could still be hanging up an overall immigration deal ? even after an agreement a week ago between the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The hard-won deal between labor and business would ultimately allow up to 200,000 workers a year into the U.S. to fill jobs in construction, hospitality, nursing homes and other areas where employers now say they have a difficult time hiring Americans or legally bringing in foreign workers. Even after the deal was struck, some industries, such as construction, continued to voice complaints about the terms.
Without offering details, Graham said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that negotiators were revisiting the low-skilled worker deal. But he issued a statement a short time later saying he was confident the agreement would hold.
Graham sounded optimistic overall, predicting the bill would pass the 100-member Senate with 70 votes in favor. Senators believe an overwhelming bipartisan vote is needed in the Democratic-led Senate to ensure a chance of success in the Republican-controlled House. Floor action could start in the Senate in May, Schumer said.
Meanwhile two lawmakers involved in writing a bipartisan immigration bill in the House, Reps. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., sounded optimistic that they, too, would have a deal soon that could be reconciled with the Senate agreement.
"I am very, very optimistic that the House of Representatives is going to have a plan that is going to be able to go to a conference with the Senate in which we're going to be able to resolve this," Gutierrez said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union".
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?Spain's Telefonica is reportedly looking at fresh asset sales to help pay down debt only a few months after it scrapped plans to sell a stake in its Latin American operations.
The company has a target of cutting its EUR51 billion of debt by at least EUR4 billion this year.
Citing people familiar with the situation, Bloomberg News reported that the company's O2 Ireland and Czech Republic subsidiaries are being considered for sale. The company floated a stake in O2 Germany last year, but recently ruled out a similar move for its UK division.
Other options are reported to include Telefonica's 5 percent stake in China Unicom, which has been valued at around US$1.6 billion. That sale could not take place before June though, as the company made a commitment to hold onto its shares for at least a year when it sold a 4.56% stake in China Unicom last year.
The company saw its debt ratings cut last year as ratings agencies worried about the ability of the company to maintain its creditworthiness. Since then a sale of a stake in its German operations and improved performance in Latin America has lifted the financial pressure somewhat.
However, at the moment, no decision has been made and no banks have been hired, the sources added.
On the web: Bloomberg News
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cellular-news/LmiX/~3/WlV522jL1HA/59388.php
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The three main types of bulb onions?yellow, red and white?are typically harvested March through August. These three onions can also be harvested in the fall.
?
Nutritional Notes
?Onions have vitamin C, fiber, and no sodium, fat or cholesterol,? says Pam Dannon, a registered dietician with the Williamsburg-James City County School Division?s School Health Initiative Program (SHIP). ?Onions offer flavor, texture and color to recipes. The benefits of onions are not just what they add to a recipe, but also what they allow you to leave out. With their strong flavor, they can be a healthy substitution for salt.?
How to choose
Look for firm bulb onions with dry outer skins without bruises or cuts, and no scent.
How to prepare
The most widely used bulb onion is the yellow onion, which can be used with any type of cooking, and is what gives French Onion Soup its sweet flavor. Grilling or roasting best prepares red onions, while white onions are best saut?ed and used most often in salads and Mexican dishes. ?You can add them to green salads and pasta salads for color and crunch,? says Dannon. ?Sweet onions, wedged and sliced, can be spread with cheese or peanut butter as a snack, just like celery, or used as dippers, just like carrots.?
Did you know?
In Egypt, onions were once considered to be an object of worship. The onion symbolized eternity to the Egyptians who buried onions along with their Pharaohs. The Egyptians saw eternal life in the anatomy of the onion because of its circle-within-a-circle structure.
Source: http://www.thehealthjournals.com/2013/04/onions/
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The scene: April 1973, Sixth Avenue, New York City. Martin Cooper, a Motorola engineer, endeavours to make the first public mobile phone call to Joel Engel, at the time the head of AT&T's Bell Labs.
The cellular network struggles to make the connection.
Eventually, Cooper is able to tell his Bell Labs rival, "I'm calling you from a cellular phone, a real, handheld, portable cellular phone."
Apart from being 40 years ago last week, a cynic might say little has changed. Yet this event was the start of a revolution in communications that now counts more than 6 billion mobile connections worldwide.
Of note, Motorola handsets are still being produced today, and again the cynics might say in name only, but the brand still stands while the majority of its competitors that rushed to join this burgeoning industry have long since disappeared.
Looking forward, the future for mobile communications has never looked more exciting, more challenging--and stuffed full of opportunity.
Five years ago, when FierceWireless:Europe was first launched, European voice revenue registered its first quarterly decline, the success of the iPhone seemed in the balance and WiMAX was being positioned to surpass 3G as a new mobile data standard.
I make reference to this more recent history to illustrate the pace of change in the mobile industry, and to note that this will be my last editorial for the publication.
Starting this week, a new, and highly experienced editor, Anne Morris, will take over the task of finding the best wireless stories from around Europe to ensure you remain fully informed.
During the five-plus years of my editorship I have never failed to be amazed at the rapid twists and turns that this industry can take, the surprises it can throw and the impact mobile communications is having on our world.
I hope that I've been able to provide you with a degree of insight into this fast-moving industry, and I thank you for your readership.--Paul
P.S. The portable handset that Martin Cooper used weighed 1.1 kg (2.5 pounds), measured 25 cm (10 inches) long and was priced at around ?3,000 ($3,900). Even the most hardened cynic can't deny that handsets have improved over the past four decades.
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Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr. works with a ball during practice the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game against Syracuse, Friday, April 5, 2013, in Atlanta. Michigan plays Syracuse in a semifinal game on Saturday. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr. works with a ball during practice the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game against Syracuse, Friday, April 5, 2013, in Atlanta. Michigan plays Syracuse in a semifinal game on Saturday. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Michigan head coach John Beilein walks on the floor during practice the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game against Syracuse, Friday, April 5, 2013, in Atlanta. Michigan plays Syracuse in a semifinal game on Saturday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Louisville head coach Rick Pitino speaks to his players during practice for their NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game against Wichita State, Friday, April 5, 2013, in Atlanta. Louisville plays Wichita State in a semifinal game on Saturday. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
ATLANTA (AP) ? Tip-off time is nearing. Time to see if Louisville can live up to the hype or one of those other guys can turn the Final Four into their party.
The Cardinals are not only the favorites to win the national championship, they've become sentimental favorites, as well, after rallying around Kevin Ware, the guard whose compound leg fracture in last week's regional final turned stomachs, while also warming hearts and setting the story line for this week in Atlanta.
"With Kevin going down, especially the way he did, it's just making us play harder," Louisville forward Wayne Blackshear said Friday.
In Saturday's opening national semifinal at the Georgia Dome, the Cardinals ? No. 1 seeds in the entire tournament ? play ninth-seeded Wichita State, which has sprung upsets of Gonzaga and Ohio State en route to that program's first Final Four appearance since 1965.
The second semifinal pits a pair of No. 4 seeds, Michigan and Syracuse, two programs with plenty of tradition but largely considered subplots in a week dominated by Louisville and Ware. (To say nothing of the news going down at Rutgers, where video of coach Mike Rice hitting players led to his ouster, the departure of the athletic director and other problems.)
"I'm just glad to know Kevin Ware now even more because he's probably the most famous person I know," Louisville guard Peyton Siva said. "You know, when you have Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama call you, it's pretty good to say you know that person."
Wichita State has one player (Carl Hall) who salvaged his career after working in a light bulb factory and two more (Ron Baker and Malcolm Armstead) who paid their way to come to school and started on the team as walk-ons. Its coach has invited fans into the locker room after big wins. In most years, this would be the school with all the makings of a team the whole country can get behind.
Problem is, in this case, Louisville and Ware are already tugging on America's heart strings.
"We're brothers for life," swingman Luke Hancock said. "I have that guy's back in any situation. I know he has mine."
Louisville (33-5) is a 10?-point favorite against the Shockers (30-8).
The second semifinal is expected to be more competitive. Michigan (30-7) is a 2-point favorite against Syracuse (30-9). The Wolverines are back at the Final Four for the first time since the Fab Five led them there in 1993. Syracuse returns on the 10-year anniversary of its only title, led by Carmelo Anthony.
The featured players in this game: For Michigan, Trey Burke, The Associated Press Player of the Year. And for Syracuse, well, it's coach Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone defense.
How will Boeheim try to stop Burke, whose long-range 3-pointer against Kansas sent the game into overtime and set the stage for the Wolverines run to Atlanta?
"I don't pay attention to matchups," Boeheim said. "It's teams. Teams play."
Indeed, during interviews Friday, the Syracuse players sounded plenty confident that their team could stop Burke and the rest of the Wolverines, who followed their victory over top-seeded Kansas with a 20-point blowout of Florida in the regional final.
"It's tough to go against our zone when you've never seen it before," forward C.J. Fair said. "We want to force him to do some things he's not done before."
While Burke may be the most-watched player in the second game, all eyes figure to be on Ware in the opener, even though he'll never touch a basketball.
He lives near Atlanta and traveled with the team for the Final Four. When the Cardinals arrived Wednesday night, he was in a wheelchair and the plan is for him to be on the bench for the game.
Louisville faces some practical concerns not having Ware in the lineup.
He was the main substitute for Russ Smith and Siva, the guards who guide the Louisville press and its offense, as well.
"Our players totally understand the challenge that lies ahead with this Wichita State team," coach Rick Pitino said. "We understand with Kevin out that we not only have to play very hard, we have to play very, very smart."
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Apr. 5, 2013 ? Aluminum salts, or alum, have been injected into billions of people as an adjuvant to make vaccines more effective. No one knows, however, how they boost the immune response. In the March 19, 2013, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at National Jewish Health continue unraveling the mystery of adjuvants with a report that host DNA coats the alum adjuvant and induces two crucial cells to interact twice as long during the initial stimulation of the adaptive immune system.
"Alum makes T cells take a longer look at the antigen, which produces a better immune response," said Philippa Marrack, PhD, senior author and professor of immunology at National Jewish Health. "Understanding how adjuvants work could help us make more effective vaccines. That is very important. Vaccines have saved millions of lives and been among the greatest advances in medical history."
Live vaccines, containing weakened forms of an infectious organism, generally work fine by themselves. But vaccines containing dead organisms (inactivated vaccines) or pieces of the infectious organisms or their toxins (acellular or recombinant vaccines) generally need adjuvants to boost their effectiveness.Aluminum salts, known as alum, are the only adjuvant approved for use in the United States for routine preventive vaccines.
Adjuvants were first discovered as the result of empirical experiments with tetanus early in the 20th century. They have been widely used in many vaccines since the 1940s, including the Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis (DtaP), Hepatitis, Haemophilus influenzae (Hib), typhoid and some flu vaccines. No one fully understands why adjuvants boost the effectiveness of nonliving vaccines.
Recently a Belgian team showed that DNA is involved in the adjuvant effect. When they administered a vaccine with adjuvant and DNase, an enzyme that digests DNA, the vaccine was less effective. The National Jewish Health team built on those findings to reveal the role that DNA plays.
The National Jewish Health team had previously shown that the process starts with a series of events similar to those that initiate responses to bacterial infections. Neutrophils, and other early responders in the immune system, flood into a site of potential infection, attack the foreign agent, in this case the alum vaccine, then quickly die in massive numbers.
Upon death the neutrophils release large amounts of DNA, which uncoils from its chromatin spools and acts somewhat like a net to entangle the foreign agent. Other cells then engulf the DNA-alum-vaccine complex. These antigen-presenting cells display small fragments of the vaccine on their surfaces for T-cells to recognize. T-cells drive the adaptive immune response, the one that recognizes and attacks the specific infectious agent, as opposed to the more general innate immune response.
T-cells are also the basis for effective vaccines. Some T-cells, and the B-cells stimulated by the T-cells, transform into memory cells once the infection has been cleared. Those memory cells help mount a quicker and stronger immune response if they see that organism again.
The National Jewish Health team showed that the DNA coating the adjuvant doubles the time that the T-cell engages the vaccine fragment on the surface of the antigen-presenting cell. When they added DNase to digest DNA, the T-cell engaged the vaccine fragment half as long, and the vaccine was less effective. Several of the findings were made possible by an innovative use of multi-photon microscopy to film the interaction of T-cells and antigen-presenting cells.
"The DNA makes the antigen-presenting cell stickier," said Amy McKee, PhD, Instructor at the University of Colorado, and lead author of the paper. "We believe that extended engagement provides a stronger signal to the T-cell, which makes the immune response more robust."
The researchers are not sure exactly what makes the antigen-presenting cell 'stickier.' When that an antigen-presenting cell engulfs free-floating DNA, the researchers believe it recognizes that something is amiss (DNA should not normally be floating around outside an intact cell nucleus) and becomes more activated. It may respond with an additional co-receptor to engage the T-cell or release a molecule that stimulates the T-cell. The researchers are now working to understand that process.
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/qpSljf6FH0Y/130405184630.htm
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The S4 in black and white. (Credit: Jacqueline Seng/CNET Asia) According to a Samsung spokesperson, the Galaxy S4 will be available in Singapore next month but did not confirm a date or a launch event. HardwareZone earlier reported a launch date of April 26, citing anonymous sources. Speaking with us at a hands-on session of the S4, he said that the company is in talks with the three telcos--StarHub, SingTel and M1--regarding a launch event. Due to the popularity of the handset, long lines are expected to form at the launch, as we saw last year with the S3 . We also found out that the model to be launched in Singapore will come with the 1.9GHz Snapdragon 600 processor , instead of an Exynos 5 Octa.
Full article: http://asia.cnet.com/samsung-galaxy-s4-to-be-available-in...
Source: http://sglinks.com/pages/12595868-samsung-galaxy-s4-to-be-available-in-singapore-in-may-crave
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Healthy cells don't just happen. As they grow and divide, they need checks and balances to ensure they function properly while adapting to changing conditions around them.
Researchers studying a set of proteins that regulate physiology, caloric restriction and aging have discovered another important role that one of them plays. SIRT4, one of seven sirtuin proteins, is known for controlling fuel usage from its post in the mitochondria, the cell's energy source. It responds to stressful changes in the availability of nutrients for the cell.
New research reveals that SIRT4 is also extremely sensitive to a different form of stress: DNA damage. This unsuspected response by the metabolic checkpoint means SIRT4 doubles as a sentry guarding against cancer, which is spurred by genetic abnormalities.
Sirtuins have become familiar for their connection to longevity and to resveratrol, the red-wine compound that activates SIRT1, but less attention has been focused on SIRT3, SIRT 4 and SIRT5, all of which are found in mitochondria. Marcia Haigis, HMS associate professor of cell biology, led a team that has uncovered SIRT4 as an important player in the DNA damage response pathway, coordinating a sequence of events that normally result[s] in tumor suppression. They published their results April 4 in Cancer Cell.
"When we started studying SIRT4, we were focused only on its metabolic role, looking for functions related to diabetes and obesity," said Haigis. "What we found, to our surprise, was that SIRT4 was responsive to DNA damage, so that led us to investigate the metabolic response to DNA damage and how SIRT4 controls the metabolic response to genotoxic stress."
To see how SIRT4 normally functions, Haigis and her colleagues induced DNA damage by exposing cells in a lab dish to ultraviolet light. This damage triggered a halt in glutamine metabolism, limiting the amount of nutrients the cell could use as it goes through a cycle of division and growth.
Blocking the cell cycle at this juncture is important. If cell growth after DNA damage goes unchecked, proliferation of impaired cells can lead to cancer. When SIRT4 works properly, this chain of events is broken before bad cells and their abnormal genes multiply. SIRT4 blocks glutamine metabolism, arrests the cell cycle and suppresses tumor formation.
The scientists tested this SIRT4 response in mice. Bred to lack the gene that encodes the SIRT4 protein but otherwise normal, the mice spontaneously developed lung cancer by 15 months.
"When SIRT4 is missing, you don't have this metabolic checkpoint involving glutamine, which is important because glutamine is an amino acid required for proliferation in the cell," Haigis said. "Without SIRT4, the cell keeps dividing even in the face of DNA damage, so the cell accumulates more damage."
The scientists also analyzed data showing SIRT4 gene expression levels are low in several human cancers, including small-cell lung carcinoma, gastric cancer, bladder carcinoma, breast cancer and leukemia.
While they cannot say if SIRT4 loss alone will initiate cancer, its absence appears to create an environment in which tumor cells survive and grow.
"Our findings suggest that SIRT4 may be a potential target against tumors," they conclude.
###
Harvard Medical School: http://hms.harvard.edu
Thanks to Harvard Medical School 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/127612/Mitochondrial_metabolic_regulator_SIRT__guards_against_DNA_damage
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Workers in protective clothing chat during a culling operation as authorities detected the new bird flu strain in pigeons being sold for meat at a wholesale market in Shanghai on Friday April 5, 2013. China announced a sixth death from a new bird flu strain Friday, while authorities carried out the slaughter of all poultry at a Shanghai market where the virus was detected in pigeons being sold for meat. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT
Workers in protective clothing chat during a culling operation as authorities detected the new bird flu strain in pigeons being sold for meat at a wholesale market in Shanghai on Friday April 5, 2013. China announced a sixth death from a new bird flu strain Friday, while authorities carried out the slaughter of all poultry at a Shanghai market where the virus was detected in pigeons being sold for meat. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT
A Chinese policeman wears a mask as he guards an access to a wholesale market where authorities are culling poultry after the new bird flu strain was detected there in pigeons being sold for meat in Shanghai on Friday April 5, 2013. China announced a sixth death from a new bird flu strain Friday, while authorities carried out the slaughter of all poultry at a Shanghai market where the virus was detected in pigeons being sold for meat. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT
Workers in protective clothing move bags out from a wholesale market during a culling operation as authorities detected a new bird flu strain in pigeons being sold for meat at the market in Shanghai, China, Friday April 5, 2013. China announced a sixth death from a new bird flu strain Friday, while authorities carried out the slaughter of all poultry at a Shanghai market where the virus was detected in pigeons being sold for meat. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT
A vender waits for the customers at a poultry market in Shanghai, China on Friday, April 5, 2013. China announced Friday a sixth death from a new bird flu strain while authorities carried out the slaughter of all poultry at a Shanghai market where the virus was detected in pigeons being sold for meat. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A worker catches a live chicken at a poultry market in Shanghai, China on Friday, April 5, 2013. China announced a sixth death from the new bird flu H7N9 strain Friday, while authorities in Shanghai halted the sale of live fowl and slaughtered all poultry at a market where the virus was detected in pigeons being sold for meat. The first cases were announced Sunday. (AP Photo)
BEIJING (AP) ? China announced a sixth death from a new bird flu strain Friday, while authorities in Shanghai halted the sale of live fowl and slaughtered all poultry at a market where the virus was detected in pigeons being sold for meat.
The mass bird killing is the first so far as the Chinese government responds to the H7N9 strain of bird flu, which has sickened 16 people, many critically, along the eastern seaboard in its first known infections of people. The first cases were announced Sunday, while two more were reported Friday, both retirees who were seriously ill.
Health officials believe people are contracting the virus through direct contact with infected fowl and say there has been no evidence so far that the virus is spreading easily between people. However, scientists are watching closely to see if the flu poses a substantial risk to public health or could potentially spark a global pandemic.
The Agriculture Ministry confirmed late Thursday that the H7N9 virus had been detected in live pigeons on sale at a produce market in Shanghai. The killing of birds at the Huhuai market in Shanghai started Thursday night after the city's agricultural committee ordered it in a notice also posted on its website.
State media on Friday ran pictures of animal health officials in protective overalls and masks working through the night at the market, taking notes as they stood over piles of poultry carcasses in plastic bags. The area was guarded by police and cordoned off with plastic tape.
Experts urged Chinese health authorities to keep testing healthy birds, saying the H7N9 virus can infect birds without causing them to become ill, making it harder to detect than the H5N1 bird flu virus that is more familiar to Asian countries. H5N1 set off warnings when it began ravaging poultry across Asia in 2003 and has since killed 360 people worldwide, mostly after close contact with infected birds.
"In the past usually you would see chickens dying before any infections occurred in humans, but this time we've seen that many species of poultry actually have no apparent problems, so that makes it difficult because you lose this natural warning sign," said David Hui, an infectious diseases expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The city of Shanghai also announced a suspension of the sale of live poultry starting Saturday, city spokesman Xu Wei said at a news conference.
Pigeon is a common type of poultry in Chinese cuisine and the birds are sold live in markets around the country. Chinese also raise pigeons as pets, but those tend to be a different type.
Hui said the pigeons were probably infected by wild or migratory birds, whose droppings can carry viruses. He said they were likely not the only species of poultry to be carrying the virus.
While health officials caution that there are no indications the virus can be transmitted from one person to another, scientists who have studied its genetic sequence said this week that the virus may have recently mutated into a form that spreads more easily to other animals, potentially posing a bigger threat to humans.
The latest death from the virus confirmed by the government Friday was a 64-year-old farmer in the eastern city of Huzhou. Authorities said Thursday the virus also killed a 48-year-old man who transported poultry for a living and a 52-year-old woman, both in Shanghai. Several among the infected are believed to have had direct contact with fowl.
Guidelines issued Wednesday by the national health agency identify butchers, breeders and sellers of poultry, and those in the meat processing industry as at higher risk.
Experts identified the first cases on Sunday. Some of the 16 confirmed cases fell ill several weeks ago but only now are being classified as having H7N9. The official Xinhua News Agency said six cases have been confirmed in Shanghai, six in Jiangsu, three in Zhejiang and one in Anhui.
___
Associated Press researcher Fu Ting contributed to this report from Shanghai.
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