NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) ? Univision's midseason lineup includes a new weight loss show, "Dale con Ganas," co-produced by the creator of the "Biggest Loser," as well as "El Gran Show de los Peques," a new variety show showcasing childrens' talents.
The Spanish-language network, which aims to beat the English-language broadcasters in total viewers within the next five years, often tops at least one of them in the nightly ratings.
The network is also bringing back the reality/beauty show "Nuestra Belleza Latina"for a sixth season, beginning March 4. Next year will also mark the 50th anniversary of the returning Saturday night show "Sabado Gigante," hosted by Don Francisco.
To call The Artist stylish is an understatement. The film beautifully appropriates the vocabulary of the silent era. When a crowd applauds wildly in one scene, we hear nothing. In another when George raises his hands to his head and looks up to the sky to scream, the sound is deafening in its silence. In its place, we have a lush (mostly) instrumental soundtrack married with the gorgeous contrast of black and white film. The visual cues of light and dark shadows are that much more crucial because there is no sound to inform the narrative. The Artist is sincerely a loving re-creation of the silent period. Not as the works exist today, but as we imagine them to be. The appropriation is truthfully a lot better than what remains from the actual movies of that time. There are no missing frames or deteriorated quality. The actors' movements are fluid, not jumpy or rushed. Intertitles are used, but only sparingly allowing the viewer to connect with the actors through reading their lips and gestures. The acting feels more natural and informed by the current age. Yes the performers must rely on facial expressions and body language to indicate emotion, but the execution is restrained. We're spared the artificial, melodramatic faces that mar productions of that time period. This is the silent era as re-imagined with technological panache. The mood is luxurious and nostalgic. Breathtaking is an overused word, but it fits.The Artist is marked by a poetic beauty. How can you not love a film that is (virtually) silent yet speaks volumes? Although The Jazz Singer was released in 1927 and is recognized as the first commercially successful talking picture, the majority of movies released were still silent for the next two years. It wasn't until 1929 that the format eventually took off. Ernst Lubitsch's The Patriot was the last silent to be nominated for Best Picture in 1929. That will change this year. It takes chutzpah to make a silent movie in 2011. The fact that it's so darn good, is just an additional benefit. As a period piece, it brilliantly captures the early age of sound, but the plot also presents a searing emotional drama about ego and the transitory nature of fame. In a word, it's stunning and reminiscent of classics like Singing in the Rain and Sunset Boulevard in terms of themes addressed. I dare say this ranks favorably when compared alongside side those jewels of the silver screen. The Artist is a film for the ages.
JERUSALEM?? Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, meet your Israeli doppelganger: Mark Zuckerberg.
Israeli entrepreneur Rotem Guez says he has legally changed his name to that of Facebook's chief executive officer, a gimmick meant to persuade the social networking site to back down from what he says are threats to take legal action against him.
He's telling Facebook: "If you want to sue me, you're going to have to sue Mark Zuckerberg."
He says a lawyer for Facebook pressed him this week to close his online business Like Store, calling it illegal. Like Store promises to enhance companies' online reputations by offering Facebook users free content only accessible by clicking "like" on the companies' profiles.
The Israeli acknowledged on Saturday his company violates Facebook's terms of use, but says many U.S. companies offer similar services.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale and his wife Sibi are escorted by security guards as they arrive for the premiere of the "Flowers of War" in Beijing on Dec. 12.
By msnbc.com staff and news services
BEIJING?-- "Batman" star Christian Bale was roughed up by?security guards who stopped him visiting a blind activist living under house arrest in China.
Video footage of the scuffle was shot by a camera crew?traveling with the Hollywood actor as he promoted a film he has made in the country.
CNN posted scenes of the confrontation between Bale and the guards on its website Friday.
The run-in and publicity is likely to cause discomfort in China's government-backed film industry, which hopes Bale's movie "The Flowers of War" will be a creative success at home and abroad.
The star's actions are sure to focus attention on the plight of Chen Guangcheng, guarded around the clock by plain-clothed and uniformed workers who have blocked dozens of reporters and fellow activists trying to see him in the past.
Bale was to leave China on Friday and his representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
Bale, who won a best supporting actor Oscar for last year's "The Fighter," traveled Thursday with a crew from CNN to the village in eastern China where Chen, the blind lawyer, lives with his family in complete isolation.
They were stopped at the entrance to Dongshigu village in Shandong province by unidentified men.
'An inspiration' The video footage shows Bale asking to see Chen, with a CNN producer providing interpretation, but being ordered by one of the guards to leave. He then asked why he was unable to pass through. The guards responded by trying to grab or punch a small video camera Bale was carrying.
"What I really wanted to do was to meet the man, shake his hand and say what an inspiration he is," Bale was quoted as saying by CNN.
Chen's case has been raised publicly by U.S. lawmakers and diplomats, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, all to no response from China.
CNN said Bale first learned of Chen from news reports when he was in China filming "The Flowers of War," China's official submission this year for best foreign language film Oscar.
"Chen Guangcheng is a newsworthy figure ... and as such it is in the interest of CNN's global viewers to hear from him," CNN said in a statement. "Mr. Bale reached out to CNN and invited us to join him on his journey to visit Chen."
Chen, a self-taught lawyer who was blinded by a fever in infancy, angered authorities after documenting forced late-term abortions and sterilizations and other abuses by overzealous authorities trying to meet population control goals in his rural community. He was imprisoned for allegedly instigating an attack on government offices and organizing a group of people to disrupt traffic, charges his supporters say were fabricated.
Although now officially free under the law, he has been confined to his home in the village eight hours' drive from Beijing and subjected to periodic beatings and other abuse, activists say.
While Bale's visit focuses new attention on Chen's case, CNN's role raises questions about activism and advocacy among reporters, said David Bandurski, editor of the China Media Project website at the University of Hong Kong.
"It made me instantly uncomfortable, wondering how it all came together. It raises questions about where the lines are drawn," Bandurski said.
Politically sensitive subject The incident also drew strong interest ? most of it highly positive ? on social networking sites such as Twitter and its Chinese equivalent, Weibo.
Having their star's name pinging across the Internet in connection with such a politically sensitive subject puts promoters of "The Flowers of War" in a bind. The film opens in China on Friday and next week in the United States.
Directed by the renowned Zhang Yimou, it is also the most expensive Chinese movie ever made, at $94 million, some of which came from the state-owned Bank of China.
The movie centers on the 1937 sacking of the eastern city of Nanjing, a central event in China's pre-revolutionary "century of humiliation" and has been described by some critics as hewing to official propaganda portraying Chinese as heroic victims and Japanese as one-dimensional cartoon villains.
While China has the world's third-largest film industry ? both in box office and output ? it has made relatively little global impact. Story lines are often heavily influenced by the ruling Communist Party, whose culture commissars must approve scripts and have final say over whether a film gets released.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff?contributed to this report.
First time accepted submitter pigrabbitbear writes "Black holes are basically celestial Cookie Monsters, gobbling anything and everything in sight. But because that appetite includes light itself, it's incredibly rare for us to actually see a black hole suck back an interstellar treat. Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope have found just that: a mysterious, giant gas cloud that's rapidly been pulled into the maw of a supermassive black hole. The researchers, led by Reinhard Genzel of the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany, discovered the cloud as part of a now 20-year ESO program tasked with tracking stars as they whirl around the supermassive black hole, known as Sgr A*, at the center of our galaxy."
Contact: Kevin Mayhood kevin.mayhood@case.edu 216-368-4442 Case Western Reserve University
Spatiotemporal signals guide stem cell changes
A lab discovery is a step toward implantable replacement cartilage, holding promise for knees, shoulders, ears and noses damaged by osteoarthritis, sports injuries and accidents.
Self-assembling sheets of mesenchymal stem cells permeated with tiny beads filled with growth factor formed thicker, stiffer cartilage than previous tissue engineering methods, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found. A description of the research is published in the Journal of Controlled Release.
"We think that the capacity to drive cartilage formation using the patient's own stem cells and the potential to use this approach without lengthy culture time prior to implantation makes this technology attractive," said Eben Alsberg, associate professor in the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery, and senior author of the paper.
Alsberg teamed with biomedical engineering graduate students Loran D. Solorio and Phuong N. Dang, undergraduate student Chirag D. Dhami, and Eran L. Vieregge, a student at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.
The team put transforming growth factor beta-1 in biodegradable gelatin microspheres distributed throughout the sheet of stem cells rather than soak the sheet in growth factor.
The process showed a host of advantages, Alsberg said.
The microspheres provide structure, similar to scaffolds, creating space between cells that is maintained after the beads degrade. The spacing results in better water retention a key to resiliency.
The gelatin beads degrade at a controllable rate due to exposure to chemicals released by the cells. As the beads degrade, growth factor is released to cells at the interior and exterior of the sheet, providing more uniform cell differentiation into neocartilage.
The rate of microsphere degradation and, therefore, cell differentiation, can be tailored by the degree to which the microsphere are cross-linked. Within the microspheres, the polymer is connected by a varying number of threads. The more of these connections, or cross-links, the longer it takes for enzymes the cell secretes to enter and break down the material.
The researchers made five kinds of sheets. Those filled with: sparsely cross-linked microspheres containing growth factor, highly cross-linked microspheres containing growth factor, sparsely cross-linked microspheres with no growth factor, highly cross-linked microspheres with no growth factor, and a control with no microspheres. The last three were grown in baths containing growth factor.
After three weeks in a petri dish, all sheets containing microspheres were thicker and more resilient than the control sheet. The sheet with sparsely crosslinked microspheres grew into the thickest and most resilient neocartilage.
The results indicate that the sparsely cross-linked microspheres, which degraded more rapidly by cell-secreted enzymes, provided a continuous supply of growth factor throughout the sheets that enhanced the uniformity, extent, and rate of stem cell differentiation into cartilage cells, or chondrocytes.
The tissue appeared grossly similar to articular cartilage, the tough cartilage found in the knee: rounded cells surrounded by large amounts of a matrix containing glycosaminoglycans. Called GAG for short, the carbohydrate locks water ions in the tissue, which makes the tissue pressure-resistant.
Testing also showed that this sheet had the highest amount of type II collagen the main protein component of articular cartilage.
Although the sheet was significantly stiffer than control sheets, the mechanics still fell short of native cartilage. Alsberg's team is now working on a variety of ways to optimize the process and make replacement cartilage tough enough for the wear and tear of daily life.
One major advantage of this system is that it may avoid the troubles and expense of growing the cartilage fully in the lab over a long period of time, and instead permit implantation of a cartilage sheet into a patient more rapidly.
Because the sheets containing microspheres are strong enough to be handled early during culturing, the researchers believe sheets just a week or two old could be used clinically. The mechanical environment within the body could further enhance cartilage formation and increase strength and resiliency of the tissue, completing maturation.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Kevin Mayhood kevin.mayhood@case.edu 216-368-4442 Case Western Reserve University
Spatiotemporal signals guide stem cell changes
A lab discovery is a step toward implantable replacement cartilage, holding promise for knees, shoulders, ears and noses damaged by osteoarthritis, sports injuries and accidents.
Self-assembling sheets of mesenchymal stem cells permeated with tiny beads filled with growth factor formed thicker, stiffer cartilage than previous tissue engineering methods, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found. A description of the research is published in the Journal of Controlled Release.
"We think that the capacity to drive cartilage formation using the patient's own stem cells and the potential to use this approach without lengthy culture time prior to implantation makes this technology attractive," said Eben Alsberg, associate professor in the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery, and senior author of the paper.
Alsberg teamed with biomedical engineering graduate students Loran D. Solorio and Phuong N. Dang, undergraduate student Chirag D. Dhami, and Eran L. Vieregge, a student at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.
The team put transforming growth factor beta-1 in biodegradable gelatin microspheres distributed throughout the sheet of stem cells rather than soak the sheet in growth factor.
The process showed a host of advantages, Alsberg said.
The microspheres provide structure, similar to scaffolds, creating space between cells that is maintained after the beads degrade. The spacing results in better water retention a key to resiliency.
The gelatin beads degrade at a controllable rate due to exposure to chemicals released by the cells. As the beads degrade, growth factor is released to cells at the interior and exterior of the sheet, providing more uniform cell differentiation into neocartilage.
The rate of microsphere degradation and, therefore, cell differentiation, can be tailored by the degree to which the microsphere are cross-linked. Within the microspheres, the polymer is connected by a varying number of threads. The more of these connections, or cross-links, the longer it takes for enzymes the cell secretes to enter and break down the material.
The researchers made five kinds of sheets. Those filled with: sparsely cross-linked microspheres containing growth factor, highly cross-linked microspheres containing growth factor, sparsely cross-linked microspheres with no growth factor, highly cross-linked microspheres with no growth factor, and a control with no microspheres. The last three were grown in baths containing growth factor.
After three weeks in a petri dish, all sheets containing microspheres were thicker and more resilient than the control sheet. The sheet with sparsely crosslinked microspheres grew into the thickest and most resilient neocartilage.
The results indicate that the sparsely cross-linked microspheres, which degraded more rapidly by cell-secreted enzymes, provided a continuous supply of growth factor throughout the sheets that enhanced the uniformity, extent, and rate of stem cell differentiation into cartilage cells, or chondrocytes.
The tissue appeared grossly similar to articular cartilage, the tough cartilage found in the knee: rounded cells surrounded by large amounts of a matrix containing glycosaminoglycans. Called GAG for short, the carbohydrate locks water ions in the tissue, which makes the tissue pressure-resistant.
Testing also showed that this sheet had the highest amount of type II collagen the main protein component of articular cartilage.
Although the sheet was significantly stiffer than control sheets, the mechanics still fell short of native cartilage. Alsberg's team is now working on a variety of ways to optimize the process and make replacement cartilage tough enough for the wear and tear of daily life.
One major advantage of this system is that it may avoid the troubles and expense of growing the cartilage fully in the lab over a long period of time, and instead permit implantation of a cartilage sheet into a patient more rapidly.
Because the sheets containing microspheres are strong enough to be handled early during culturing, the researchers believe sheets just a week or two old could be used clinically. The mechanical environment within the body could further enhance cartilage formation and increase strength and resiliency of the tissue, completing maturation.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) ? German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Friday for rapid EU treaty change to remedy the root causes of the euro zone's debt crisis but warned that Europeans faced a long, hard "marathon" to restore lost credibility.
Outlining a long-term approach to tighter fiscal integration in the single currency area, with tougher budget discipline, she dismissed quick fixes such as massive Fed-style money printing by the European Central Bank or issuing joint euro zone bonds.
"Resolving the sovereign debt crisis is a process, and this process will take years," Merkel told parliament, vowing to defend the euro, which she said was stronger than Germany's former deutschemark.
"The European Central Bank has a different task from that of the U.S. Fed or the Bank of England," the German leader said.
However, sources close to Merkel said she was willing to see the ECB step up its buying of troubled euro zone countries' bonds as a bridging measure until budget controls took hold, but did not see it as a durable solution.
Speaking a week before a European Union summit seen as make-or-break for the 17-nation single currency area, Merkel ruled out issuing common euro zone bonds, saying that would breach the German constitution.
Instead, she called for a mixture of greater European powers to control national budgets, to be enshrined in treaty changes, and smart use of the euro zone rescue fund to stabilize markets.
Merkel's speech set the agenda for seven days of intense diplomacy to try to frame a new political deal to restore shattered market confidence and give the ECB grounds to act more decisively to defend the euro.
World stocks and European bonds continued to recover on hopes that euro zone leaders may be moving closer to a comprehensive solution to the debt crisis.
In a crucial signal to markets, ECB President Mario Draghi opened the door on Thursday to more aggressive action to help fight the euro zone's sovereign debt and banking crisis if governments adopted a new "fiscal compact".
On Monday, Merkel will travel to Paris to outline joint proposals with French President Nicolas Sarkozy for treaty changes to entrench stricter budget controls, with automatic sanctions on deficit sinners.
Sarkozy embraced German calls for a new treaty tightening fiscal discipline in a policy speech in Toulon on Thursday, but in contrast to Merkel, he made no mention of greater powers for the European Commission and European Court of Justice.
Instead, the French leader, struggling to win re-election next May, called for an "intergovernmental" Europe in which the presidents and prime ministers of euro zone countries would be the ultimate arbiters over national budgets.
His socialist opponents denounced him for advocating an "austerity treaty" dictated by Germany.
Merkel went out of her way to rebutt such accusations, telling the Bundestag it was "misleading" to suggest Germans were trying to dominate Europe.
MARKETS RECOVER
Sarkozy will try to persuade British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday to accept EU treaty changes to allow closer euro zone integration without insisting on returning powers over social and judicial affairs from Brussels to London.
Cameron is under pressure from Eurosceptics in his own Conservative party to loosen Britain's ties with the EU while securing guarantees that any move towards fiscal union on the continent does not harm the interests of the City of London financial centre.
Despite their very different tone, Merkel and Sarkozy coordinated their speeches in advance to ensure they would not be incompatible, aides to both leaders said.
EU diplomats said Paris and Berlin hoped to find agreement among all 27 member states for limited treaty amendments rather than having to take the more divisive route of drafting a separate among the 17 euro zone states or fewer.
German officials praised the conservative Sarkozy's courage in telling voters, in what the business daily Handelsblatt called a "blood, sweat and tears speech", that France would have to overhaul its social model and cut public spending.
Peter Altmaier, chief whip of Merkel's conservatives in the Bundestag, told German radio: "In Germany we have been tightening our budget for some years. Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday that Europe must achieve a reduction of its debt, and that will only happen with iron discipline in national budgets.
"We have so far managed to fix a German-French position on all the important decisions on Europe in recent months. I am very confident that we will be able to reach a common position with our French friends by the summit next week. There is much more uniting us than dividing us."
On the markets, German 10-year Bunds outperformed safe-haven U.S. Treasuries and British Gilts as investors saw prospects of an EU summit deal and ECB action to ease funding for cash-starved banks and to counter a looming recession in Europe.
Sentiment has turned more positive since the world's major central banks took emergency joint action on Wednesday to provide cheaper dollar funding for European banks.
Yields on Italian and Spanish debt fell further on hopes of a euro zone solution. Italy's 10-year bond was down to 6.65 percent, well below the danger levels close to 8 percent they hit last week, which analysts said could make it impossible for Rome to refinance its debt next year. Spain's 10-year borrowing cost tumbled to 5.68 percent.
A key measure of dollar funding stress felt by euro zone banks, the three-month euro/dollar cross currency basis swap, which shows the rate charged when swapping euro interest rate payments on an underlying asset into dollars, has narrowed by 30 basis points since the coordinated central bank move to around minus 130 bps. The basis swap was at its widest since end-2008 -- at the height of the global financial crisis -- before the central banks' move.
(Additional reporting by Noah Barkin in Berlin, Kirsten Donovan in London, Emmanuel Jarry in Toulon, Michael Martina in Beijing and Gilbert Kreijger in Amsterdam; Writing by Paul Taylor; editing by Janet McBride)
When seeds from the thale cress Arabidopsis thaliana mature, their cell nuclei reduce in size and the chromatin condenses
This release is available in German.
Plant seeds represent a special biological system: They remain in a dormant state with a significantly reduced metabolism and are thus able to withstand harsh environmental conditions for extended periods. The water content of maturing seeds is lower than ten percent. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne have now discovered that the genetic material in seeds becomes more compact and the nuclei of the seed cells contract when the seeds begin to mature. The seeds probably protect their genetic material against dehydration in this way.
Plants prepare for changing environmental conditions in the best possible way by developing dormant seeds. Seeds that mature in autumn, for example, have no problem surviving the harsh conditions of winter. And when the seeds encounter more pleasant external conditions in spring, they germinate and reboot their metabolism, which has been running at a low speed. In archaeological excavations, seeds have even been found that had survived for several thousand years and were still able to germinate.
Dry seeds represent a transitional stage between embryonic and seedling stages. During developmental transitions, the genes that control the new state must be activated while the genes for the "old" stage are silenced. The genes in the cell nucleus are surrounded by proteins. This complex the chromatin can be tightly or loosely packed. The degree of compactness of the chromatin regulates the activity of the genes: the more "open" the chromatin, the better the genes can be read.
It was not known up to now whether the reduced metabolic activity or low water content of seeds was linked with changes in the chromatin. The research team working with Wim Soppe from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research has now shown in studies on the thale cress that the cell nuclei clearly contract during seed maturation and the chromatin compacts as part of this process. Both processes are reversed during germination. "The size of the nucleus is independent of the state of dormancy of Arabidopsis thaliana seeds," says Soppe. Instead, the reduction of the nucleus is an active process, the function of which is to increase resistance to dehydration. Again, the condensation of the chromatin arises independently of the changes in the nucleus.
Thanks to the discoveries of the Cologne-based researchers it may be possible to protect other organisms against dehydration, as the mechanisms that regulate the organisation of the chromatin have undergone little or no change over the course of evolution.
###
Original publication:
Martijn van Zanten, Maria A. Koini, Regina Geyer, Yongxiu Liu, Vittoria Brambilla, Dorothea Bartels, Maarten Koornneef, Paul Fransz, and Wim J. J. Soppe
Seed maturation in Arabidopsis thaliana is characterized by nuclear size reduction and increased chromatin condensation
Advance online publication 28 November 2011, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1117726108 PNAS
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Plant seeds protect their genetic material against dehydration Public release date: 2-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
When seeds from the thale cress Arabidopsis thaliana mature, their cell nuclei reduce in size and the chromatin condenses
This release is available in German.
Plant seeds represent a special biological system: They remain in a dormant state with a significantly reduced metabolism and are thus able to withstand harsh environmental conditions for extended periods. The water content of maturing seeds is lower than ten percent. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne have now discovered that the genetic material in seeds becomes more compact and the nuclei of the seed cells contract when the seeds begin to mature. The seeds probably protect their genetic material against dehydration in this way.
Plants prepare for changing environmental conditions in the best possible way by developing dormant seeds. Seeds that mature in autumn, for example, have no problem surviving the harsh conditions of winter. And when the seeds encounter more pleasant external conditions in spring, they germinate and reboot their metabolism, which has been running at a low speed. In archaeological excavations, seeds have even been found that had survived for several thousand years and were still able to germinate.
Dry seeds represent a transitional stage between embryonic and seedling stages. During developmental transitions, the genes that control the new state must be activated while the genes for the "old" stage are silenced. The genes in the cell nucleus are surrounded by proteins. This complex the chromatin can be tightly or loosely packed. The degree of compactness of the chromatin regulates the activity of the genes: the more "open" the chromatin, the better the genes can be read.
It was not known up to now whether the reduced metabolic activity or low water content of seeds was linked with changes in the chromatin. The research team working with Wim Soppe from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research has now shown in studies on the thale cress that the cell nuclei clearly contract during seed maturation and the chromatin compacts as part of this process. Both processes are reversed during germination. "The size of the nucleus is independent of the state of dormancy of Arabidopsis thaliana seeds," says Soppe. Instead, the reduction of the nucleus is an active process, the function of which is to increase resistance to dehydration. Again, the condensation of the chromatin arises independently of the changes in the nucleus.
Thanks to the discoveries of the Cologne-based researchers it may be possible to protect other organisms against dehydration, as the mechanisms that regulate the organisation of the chromatin have undergone little or no change over the course of evolution.
###
Original publication:
Martijn van Zanten, Maria A. Koini, Regina Geyer, Yongxiu Liu, Vittoria Brambilla, Dorothea Bartels, Maarten Koornneef, Paul Fransz, and Wim J. J. Soppe
Seed maturation in Arabidopsis thaliana is characterized by nuclear size reduction and increased chromatin condensation
Advance online publication 28 November 2011, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1117726108 PNAS
[ | 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.
KIEV, Ukraine - Spain could be grouped with its three predecessors as European champions when the draw for next year's tournament is made Friday.
Trying to become the first team to successfully defend a European title, Spain could find itself in a first-round group with Greece, France and Germany next June.
Taking over from Luis Aragones after Spain won Euro 2008, Del Bosque helped Spain win its first World Cup title last year. Euro 2012, to be played in Poland and Ukraine from June 8 to July 1, will feature the top 15 teams in the rankings of European soccer's governing body plus No. 28 Poland.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsMarwan Naamani / AFP - Getty Images
Maradona takes swipe at Pele
Diego Maradona has taken another swipe at Pele, saying the retired Brazilian star must have taken the "wrong medication'' when he suggested Neymar was better than Lionel Messi.
Season set
Major League Soccer's 2012 season will open March 10 with six games.
SAN DIEGO ? A New Jersey man accused of killing his 2-year-old daughter by leaving her in a creek still strapped into her car seat, then fleeing to California, agreed Thursday to return to his home state to stand trial.
Arthur Morgan III was arrested at an apartment complex in San Diego on Tuesday, ending a nationwide manhunt a week after authorities said he killed Tierra Morgan-Glover, whose body was found partly submerged in a park in Wall Township, N.J.
An expressionless Morgan walked into a hearing Thursday in San Diego and immediately signed papers waiving his right to contest extradition. If he had fought his return, it would have delayed his return by as much as 120 days.
The judge ordered him to be returned by Dec. 21 to New Jersey, where his bail was set at $10 million. Deputy District Attorney Sylvia Tenorio said Morgan will likely return before then but she said the exact date will not be made public for security reasons.
He is charged with murder, interstate flight to avoid prosecution and child custody offenses.
Child welfare authorities in New Jersey said they investigated the turbulent relationship between Morgan and his girlfriend, Imani Benton, four times in the past 13 months but could not determine that abuse or neglect was occurring.
Benton's family accuses the state's child welfare agency and the court system of not doing enough to help her. The agency said it is conducting a review of its handling of the case.
The toddler's body was found Nov. 22 in Shark River Park, about 20 miles north of her home in Lakehurst, N.J. Her cause of death was listed as "homicidal violence, including submersion in water."
After fleeing New Jersey, Morgan was the subject of a coast-to-coast manhunt and had been featured on the website of "America's Most Wanted" after the child's body was found.
The U.S. Marshals Service office in San Diego got a tip from New Jersey authorities on Tuesday that Morgan might be at a home there. Marshals conducted surveillance for most of the day. Morgan was then spotted on the home's back porch and arrested without incident.
Benton's mother, Michelle Simmons, said her family is eager to see Morgan brought to justice.
"We want to know why he did what he did to that baby," she said.
A robot named Qbo is placed in front of a mirror and learns to recognize itself.
By John Roach
A robot that looks like a little green Martian in a snowsuit has learned to recognize itself in the mirror ? and is pleased with what it sees.
Mirror-self recognition is a hallmark of intelligence in animals, something found in primates, dolphins and elephants, for example, but not dogs.
On the robot's blog, the Thecorpora engineers?said they wondered?what would happen if Qbo sees itself in the mirror, noting that the robot is programmed with face and object recognition capabilities.
As seen in the video, Qbo is trained to recognize itself and, when it does, give the programmed response: "Oh, this is me. Nice."?
"This quite simple experiment touches interesting psychological aspects of self-consciousness," the blog reads.?
The researchers are working on programming the robot so it can recognize itself autonomously when found in front of the mirror, one step closer to true self awareness.
While robots don't yet rule the world, they are getting smarter.
More on robots and intelligence:
John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.
Kids' play has moved to tablets and PCs. In this new age, toy makers and researchers alike are sorting out the benefits ? and detriments ? of playful educational interaction in virtual space.
Despite the ado about its NC-17 rating, "Shame" is the least-sexy movie about sex you will ever see.
Michael Fassbender lays himself bare, literally and metaphorically, as a sex addict prowling an increasingly dark and dangerous New York City; one of the first shots is of his character, Brandon, walking naked through his chicly sparse bachelor pad in the unforgiving morning light. But there's nothing titillating about the often graphic interludes in which Brandon engages; they grow more desperate, animalistic and unsatisfying ? for everyone involved ? as the film spirals toward its overwhelming conclusion.
Fassbender reunites with Steve McQueen, the British artist-turned-filmmaker who directed him in his breakthrough role, 2008's "Hunger," in which he starred as Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands. The two seem to push each other to their extremes in a collaboration that's as challenging as it is creatively liberating. Fassbender's performance here is riveting, haunting. He immerses himself and makes you feel as if you're truly watching a man hell-bent on exorcising his demons through compulsive self-destruction.
On the exterior, though, Brandon is stylish, polished and confident; McQueen lures us in and builds tension through impressively extended tracking shots and long static shots that linger on Fassbender's chiseled facial features, his hard, blue eyes and his lean, muscular frame. But Brandon's impulses betray him. He'll hold the glance of a pretty, married woman on the subway for far too long, and expensive escorts slip in and out of his high-rise apartment day and night. Later, his overly garrulous boss (James Badge Dale) at his nondescript corporate job will inform him that his computer is filthy with porn, and that the techs had to scrub it clean.
He finds his routine disrupted with the unannounced arrival of his younger sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan), a wayward lounge singer just in from Los Angeles with nowhere else to go. The two have an unspecified history of family damage which makes it impossible for either of them to develop a loving, stable romance. (Some viewers have suggested that they shared an incestuous relationship as children; I don't see it and McQueen wisely leaves it open for interpretation.) Mulligan is also quite powerful here in a vast departure from the more reserved roles we've seen her in before ("An Education," "Never Let Me Go"). There's always something that's just a little off in the way Brandon and Sissy regard each other, even in quiet moments on the couch, and that volatility crackles.
Brandon makes a feeble stab at normalcy by dumping his prodigious porn collection and asking out a beautiful, intelligent co-worker (Nicole Baharie). McQueen stages their dinner date in one, long take, pushing in ever so gradually as they awkwardly get to know each other. It's a rare moment of pure intimacy, and it'll make you hold your breath wondering how long it can last.
But as is true of many addicts, whether they're hooked on alcohol, pills or any other substance, Brandon must hit bottom before he can begin to ponder the possibility of redemption. His descent has its shocking moments but it ultimately feels tedious and self-indulgent, which turns "Shame" into a cross between "American Psycho" and "Eyes Wide Shut." The cool precision of the film's earlier scenes gives way to melodrama and leaves you feeling pummeled. Perhaps that was the point, but it's off-putting.
Fassbender always finds subtlety within the character regardless of the situation, though. And between this, "A Dangerous Method" and "Jane Eyre," he's proven in one year alone that he can do pretty much anything, and do it with startling masculine grace.
"Shame," a Fox Searchlight release, is rated NC-17 for some explicit sexual content. Running time: 99 minutes. Three stars out of four.
___
Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:
G ? General audiences. All ages admitted.
PG ? Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
PG-13 ? Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.
R ? Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Maggie Gyllenhaal and husband Peter Sarsgaard, already the parents of a five-year-old daughter, are expecting their second child together, according to reports.
Rumors swirled last month when she arrived on the red carpet premiere of her movie Hysteria at the Rome Film Festival, sporting what looked like a baby bump.
A source confirmed: "Over Thanksgiving weekend, Maggie was telling friends that she's six months pregnant. Her bump is so big! She's thrilled to be pregnant!"
Maggie and Peter got engaged in 2006 and wed in 2009.
The Gyllenhaarsgaard source adds: "She and Peter have wanted another child for a while. They're very happy that they'll have another baby in the house soon."
Jake Gyllenhaal, meanwhile, "is so happy she's pregnant again because he loves kids. Maggie's said that he's the best uncle and has done a lot of sweet things."
Congratulations to Maggie, Peter and Ramona on the big news!
Stress response predictor in police officers may indicate those at high risk for PTSDPublic release date: 29-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Christopher Rucas Christopher.Rucas@nyumc.org 212-404-3525 NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine
Stress-related disorders are often linked to people working in the line of fire. In a study led by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center in collaboration with the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco, police recruits were assessed during academy training before critical incident exposure and provided salivary cortisol at first awakening and after 30 minutes. Police academy recruits who showed the greatest rise in the stress hormone cortisol after waking up were more likely to show acute stress symptoms in response to trauma years later as police officers.
The study led by Dr. Charles Marmar, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the NYU Langone Medical Center, is one of the largest to identify a possible method for predicting vulnerability to stress during and after a traumatic event. The results of this study are published in the December, 2011 issue of Biological Psychiatry.
"This study is significant as a potential indicator in determining when people may exhibit stress symptoms in the future," said Dr. Marmar. "Few studies have prospectively examined the relationships among pre-exposure hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity, acute stress reactions and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings may lead us to new insights on how to identify those who are at a higher risk of PTSD."
Researchers measured cortisol levels in 296 police recruits when they awakened and then 30 minutes later. The difference between the two levels is known as cortisol awakening response, or CAR. The study found the greater CAR during academy training predicted greater peritraumatic dissociation and acute stress disorder symptoms over the first 3 years of police service.
Stronger CAR predicted two specific stress responses: dissociation a feeling of dreamlike unreality during the traumatic event and acute stress disorder symptoms after the event. Symptoms of acute stress disorder include intrusive memories of the event, increased heart rate, faster breathing, and conscious avoidance of thoughts or feelings related to the event.
"This research is just the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Marmar. "We need additional studies to determine if early identification of these risk factors will result in intervention which could help reduce or minimize the long-term effects of trauma exposure."
###
About NYU Langone Medical Center
NYU Langone Medical Center, a world-class, patient-centered, integrated, academic medical center, is one on the nation's premier centers for excellence in clinical care, biomedical research and medical education. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU Langone is composed of three hospitals Tisch Hospital, its flagship acute care facility; the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the world's first university-affiliated facility devoted entirely to rehabilitation medicine; and the Hospital for Joint Diseases, one of only five hospitals in the nation dedicated to orthopaedics and rheumatology plus the NYU School of Medicine, which since 1841 has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history. The medical center's tri-fold mission to serve, teach and discover is achieved 365 days a year through the seamless integration of a culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education and research. For more information, go to www.NYULMC.org.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Stress response predictor in police officers may indicate those at high risk for PTSDPublic release date: 29-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Christopher Rucas Christopher.Rucas@nyumc.org 212-404-3525 NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine
Stress-related disorders are often linked to people working in the line of fire. In a study led by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center in collaboration with the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco, police recruits were assessed during academy training before critical incident exposure and provided salivary cortisol at first awakening and after 30 minutes. Police academy recruits who showed the greatest rise in the stress hormone cortisol after waking up were more likely to show acute stress symptoms in response to trauma years later as police officers.
The study led by Dr. Charles Marmar, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the NYU Langone Medical Center, is one of the largest to identify a possible method for predicting vulnerability to stress during and after a traumatic event. The results of this study are published in the December, 2011 issue of Biological Psychiatry.
"This study is significant as a potential indicator in determining when people may exhibit stress symptoms in the future," said Dr. Marmar. "Few studies have prospectively examined the relationships among pre-exposure hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity, acute stress reactions and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings may lead us to new insights on how to identify those who are at a higher risk of PTSD."
Researchers measured cortisol levels in 296 police recruits when they awakened and then 30 minutes later. The difference between the two levels is known as cortisol awakening response, or CAR. The study found the greater CAR during academy training predicted greater peritraumatic dissociation and acute stress disorder symptoms over the first 3 years of police service.
Stronger CAR predicted two specific stress responses: dissociation a feeling of dreamlike unreality during the traumatic event and acute stress disorder symptoms after the event. Symptoms of acute stress disorder include intrusive memories of the event, increased heart rate, faster breathing, and conscious avoidance of thoughts or feelings related to the event.
"This research is just the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Marmar. "We need additional studies to determine if early identification of these risk factors will result in intervention which could help reduce or minimize the long-term effects of trauma exposure."
###
About NYU Langone Medical Center
NYU Langone Medical Center, a world-class, patient-centered, integrated, academic medical center, is one on the nation's premier centers for excellence in clinical care, biomedical research and medical education. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU Langone is composed of three hospitals Tisch Hospital, its flagship acute care facility; the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the world's first university-affiliated facility devoted entirely to rehabilitation medicine; and the Hospital for Joint Diseases, one of only five hospitals in the nation dedicated to orthopaedics and rheumatology plus the NYU School of Medicine, which since 1841 has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history. The medical center's tri-fold mission to serve, teach and discover is achieved 365 days a year through the seamless integration of a culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education and research. For more information, go to www.NYULMC.org.
[ | 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.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain acknowledges slipping from the top tier of candidates while addressing accusations of sexual harassment and confusion about his policy stands.
The Georgia businessman insists his campaign is sound and supporters remain onboard what he calls the "Cain train."
Cain has denied the accusations and says "nothing has gone wrong" in terms of the campaign's mechanics. But he tells CNN's "State of the Union" that some people "are heavily influenced by perception more so than reality."
Cain also says he supports "targeted identification" in weeding out potential terrorists. He doesn't see that as racial profiling and says "if you take a look at the people who have tried to kill us, it would be easy to figure out exactly what that identification profile looks like."
FILE - In this July 4, 2011 file photo, Britain's Prince William heads toward a Sea King helicopter for a training exercise, in Dalvay-by-the-Sea, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Prince William joined a frantic rescue mission Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011, after a cargo ship sank in the Irish Sea, leaving several crew members still missing. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson, file)
FILE - In this July 4, 2011 file photo, Britain's Prince William heads toward a Sea King helicopter for a training exercise, in Dalvay-by-the-Sea, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Prince William joined a frantic rescue mission Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011, after a cargo ship sank in the Irish Sea, leaving several crew members still missing. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson, file)
Holyhead breakwater is seen during high seas, Sunday Nov. 27, 2011. Six people are missing and two have been rescued after a cargo ship sank in the Irish Sea early on Sunday in gale force winds off the coast of north Wales, British authorities said. Holyhead Coastguard said the Swanland cargo ship, with eight people on board and carrying thousands of tons of limestone, sent a mayday call reporting that the vessel's hull had cracked in poor weather conditions. (AP Photo/Peter Byrne, PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT
LONDON (AP) ? Prince William joined a frantic search and rescue mission Sunday after a cargo ship sank in the Irish Sea, leaving several members of the Russian crew missing.
The second in line to the British throne, who is a Royal Air Force helicopter and known professionally as Flight Lt. William Wales, was aboard an aircraft which rescued two crew members early Sunday, after their vessel's hull cracked in gale force winds off the coast of north Wales.
Britain's defense ministry said William had been co-pilot of the helicopter, which carried two people back to his base RAF Valley, on the Welsh island of Anglesey.
Authorities said five people remain missing after the Cook Islands-registered Swanland cargo ship, which had eight people on board and was carrying thousands of tons of limestone, sent a mayday call.
Holyhead Coastguard said one body had been recovered from the sea, but that the fate of the other crew members was not yet known.
"We know that at least some of them are wearing immersion suits and have strobe lighting with them, however sea conditions are challenging at best," said Jim Green, a coastguard spokesman.
Rescue helicopters from RAF Valley and from Dublin coastguard base in Ireland were initially sent to the scene, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of the Llyn peninsula in north Wales.
Helicopters from RAF Chivenor, in southwest England, and the Irish Coastguard are continuing to search for the missing crew, along with boats from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
"Two RNLI lifeboats, along with four search and rescue helicopters and two other commercial boats, are searching for the remaining six crew," the RNLI said in a statement.
Gale force winds battered the Irish Sea on Sunday and the coastguard said it is believed the poor condition could have caused the incident.
This was a depressing day for the Texans in many ways, with Matt Leinart possibly lost for the season.
Viewed in another light, Houston?s 20-13 win in Jacksonville was proof of how far this franchise has come. The Texans are now good enough to win on the road with their No. 3 quarterback, rookie T.J. Yates.
The Texans have had a lot of trouble beating the Jaguars in recent years. Things have changed. ?Here?s what else we learned:
1. Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert was pulled in the fourth quarter for Luke McCown, who immediately started to move the ball for Jacksonville. If anything, the change came too late.
Gabbert completed 13-of-29 passes for 136 yards and a pick. His play was worse than the numbers indicate.
The rookie has zero pocket presence. He feels pressure when it?s not there and takes too long to make decisions. The talent around Gabbert isn?t great and there were drops Sunday, but you can isolate Gabbert from that. He?s looked poor.
2. If the Jaguars want to win games, McCown is the better option. ?At 3-8, however, we expect them to continue to give the ball to the rookie.
3. The Texans offense couldn?t operate with Yates at quarterback. Don?t be surprised if recent veteran pickup Kellen Clemens starts next week. ?Yates finished 8-of-15 for 70 yards. ? Another veteran pickup is possible.
4. The Texans offense had 17 drives Sunday. That?s an insanely high amount. Of those 17 drives, only two went longer than four plays. ?Jacksonville did a nice job on Houston?s running game, holding them to 88 yards.
5. Houston has come a long way because their defense can carry them. The Jaguars? only touchdown came on a fumble returned for a score. ?Connor Barwin had four sacks in the game. J.J. Watt had two more. Wade Phillips has done a great job developing his young guys.
6. Where can the Texans go with Yates? ?The playoffs, at the least.
Houston is 8-3. ?The Titans are 6-5. ?We aren?t sure the Titans even get to eight wins.
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Public release date: 2-Dec-2011
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