Metabolic fingerprinting: Using proteomics to identify proteins in gymnosperm pollination drops

Apr. 10, 2013 ? Proteins are vital parts of living organisms, performing a variety of essential functions such as DNA replication, catabolizing reactions, and responding to stimuli. The complete set of proteins expressed in an organism at a given time, under defined conditions, is known as the proteome. While the genome of an organism remains relatively stable, the proteome is remarkably dynamic, varying from cell to cell and even within a single cell and changing rapidly in response to developmental and environmental cues.

Proteomics is a powerful technique for examining the structure and function of the proteome. For some organisms, proteomics can uncover the relationship between DNA, RNA, and the production of proteins -- enabling the comparison of the genome to the proteome. For those organisms that have not yet been sequenced, proteomics facilitates the discovery and identification of proteins. In a new study published in the April issue of Applications in Plant Sciences, graduate student Natalie Prior and her colleagues demonstrate the suitability of proteomics in determining the composition of gymnosperm pollination drops.

"The biggest limitation in what we are doing is that there is no published gymnosperm genome," says Prior. "Most of the work on gymnosperms has been anatomical, histological, or morphological. The biochemical perspective is really lacking."

Mediating signaling between the pollen and the ovule, one role of the pollination drop is to provide a germination medium, which can be species specific. Additionally, in some species, anti-microbial proteins have been identified, suggesting that pollination drops provide protection in addition to acting as a landing spot for pollen grains.

"The proteins we are finding are really starting points for other research," says Prior. "We can identify these proteins, but there is a lot more research that can be done once we know what proteins are there."

Identification of the proteins found in pollination drops provides a metabolic fingerprint and thereby informs understanding of seed plant evolution. Comparing the proteomes of different species allows for identification of proteins, elucidating pollen-ovule interactions in gymnosperms.

"We are using proteomics to examine the biological relevance of the proteins that the pollen grain is exposed to in the drop," comments Prior. "It's fascinating to know if any of those proteins are consistent among groups of gymnosperms and what we can learn from that."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Journal of Botany, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Natalie Prior, Stefan A. Little, Cary Pirone, Julia E. Gill, Derek Smith, Jun Han, Darryl Hardie, Stephen J. B. O'Leary, Rebecca E. Wagner, Tyra Cross, Andrea Coulter, Christoph Borchers, Robert W. Olafson, Patrick von Aderkas. Application of Proteomics to the Study of Pollination Drops. Applications in Plant Sciences, 2013; 1 (4): 1300008 DOI: 10.3732/apps.1300008

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/-sCZFEGftUE/130410141545.htm

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How to Disable Chrome?s Annoying New Right-Click Menu Style

If you've updated Chrome recently, you may have noticed that context menus?the ones you see when you right-click anything?have changed. Instead of being just like any other right-click menu, they're now stylized with white backgrounds and smaller text in the center. Personally, I hate them. If you hate them too, here's how to get the old menus back.

The new menus only appear in Chrome for Windows, and only then in beta, dev, and Canary. You'll need to add a flag to the shortcut you use to launch Chrome to get the old menus back:

1. Right-click your Google Chrome shortcut (if it's in the taskbar, right-click the icon, then right-click "Google Chrome" in the popup menu).
2. Select "Properties."
3. Click the "Shortcut" tab if it's not already highlighted.
4. In the "Target" field, add this to the end of whatever's already there (with two hyphens before "disable"):

   ?disable-new-menu-style

5. Click Apply, then OK.

That's all there is to it. Now, whenever you launch Chrome from that shortcut, you'll see the old right-click menu style. Yes, "hate" is a strong word (and I obviously don't mean it), but I certainly don't think the look of the right-click menu is something that needed to be changed, and I preferred the old look better. Thankfully, this flag fixes the "improvement," at least until Google removes the flag entirely.

Don't like Chrome's New Menus? Here is how to Disable Them | Techdows

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/SlFIibo7a2s/how-to-disable-chromes-annoying-new-right+click-menu-style

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Man kills 13 people in Serbian shooting rampage

Radmilo Bogdanovic, brother of Ljubisa Bogdanovic cries in village of Velika Ivanca, Serbia, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. Ljubisa Bogdanovic a 60-year-old man gunned down 13 people, including a baby, in a house-to-house rampage in a quiet village on Tuesday before trying to kill himself and his wife, police and hospital officials said. Belgrade emergency hospital spokeswoman Nada Macura said the man, identified as Ljubisa Bogdanovic, used a handgun in the shooting spree at five houses. The dead included six women. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Radmilo Bogdanovic, brother of Ljubisa Bogdanovic cries in village of Velika Ivanca, Serbia, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. Ljubisa Bogdanovic a 60-year-old man gunned down 13 people, including a baby, in a house-to-house rampage in a quiet village on Tuesday before trying to kill himself and his wife, police and hospital officials said. Belgrade emergency hospital spokeswoman Nada Macura said the man, identified as Ljubisa Bogdanovic, used a handgun in the shooting spree at five houses. The dead included six women. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

This undated photo provided by Stanica Kostadinovic shows Ljubisa Bogdanovic who, according to police, gunned down 13 people, including a baby, in a house-to-house rampage in the quiet Serbian village of Velika Ivanca Tuesday, April 9, 2013. Belgrade emergency hospital spokeswoman Nada Macura said Bogdanovic, 60, used a handgun in the shooting spree at five houses, then tried to kill himself and his wife. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Stanica Kostadinovic)

Police officers carry a body in village of Velika Ivanca, Serbia, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. A 60-year-old man gunned down 13 people, including a baby, in a house-to-house rampage in the quiet village on Tuesday before trying to kill himself and his wife, police and hospital officials said. Belgrade emergency hospital spokeswoman Nada Macura said the man, identified as Ljubisa Bogdanovic, used a handgun in the shooting spree at five houses. The dead included six women. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian police officers guard houses in the village of Velika Ivanca, Serbia, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. A 60-year-old man gunned down 13 people, including a baby, in a house-to-house rampage in the quiet village on Tuesday before trying to kill himself and his wife, police and hospital officials said. Belgrade emergency hospital spokeswoman Nada Macura said the man, identified only as Ljubisa B., used a handgun in the shooting spree at five houses. The dead included six women. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

A police tape is seen on the road near a house in village of Velika Ivanca, Serbia, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. A 60-year-old man gunned down 13 people, including a baby, in a house-to-house rampage in a quiet village on Tuesday before trying to kill himself and his wife, police and hospital officials said. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

VELIKA IVANCA, Serbia (AP) ? He went from house to house in the village at dawn, cold-bloodedly gunning down his mother, his son, a 2-year-old cousin and 10 other neighbors. Terrified residents said if a police patrol car hadn't shown up, they all would have been dead.

Police said they knew of no motive yet in the carnage Tuesday that left six men, six women and a child dead in Velika Ivanca, a Serbian village 50 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Belgrade.

After the rampage, police said suspect Ljubisa Bogdanovic, a 60-year-old who saw action in one of the bloodiest sieges of the Balkan wars, turned his gun on himself and his wife as authorities closed in. Both were in grave condition at a hospital in the Serbian capital.

In the small lush village surrounded by fruit trees, the suspect's older brother Radmilo broke down in tears, unable to explain why the massacre had happened.

"Why did he do it? ... I still can't believe it," he said sobbing, covering his face with his hands. "He was a model of honesty."

"As a child, he was a frightened little boy. I used to defend him from other children. He couldn't even slaughter a chicken," he said.

But he said his brother had changed after serving in the army during a brutal Serb-led offensive against the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar in 1992 ? the worst bloodshed during Croatia's 1991-95 war for independence.

"The war had burdened him," Radmilo, 62, told The Associated Press in an interview. "He used to tell me: God forbid you live through what I went through ... Something must have clicked in his head for him to do this."

Twelve people in the village were killed immediately between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. and one person died later in a Belgrade hospital, Serbian police chief Milorad Veljovic said.

"Most of the victims were shot while they were asleep," Veljovic told reporters. "The most harrowing scene discovered by police was the dead bodies of a young mother and her 2-year-old son."

Although such mass shootings are relatively rare in Serbia, weapons are readily available, mostly from the 1990s wars in the Balkans. Media reports said the suspect had a license for the handgun and police said he had lost his job last year at a wood-processing factory.

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said the killings showed that the government must pay more attention to gun control and other social problems facing the Balkan nation, which is still reeling from the 1990s wars. His government held an emergency session and proclaimed Wednesday a national day of mourning.

Residents said Bogdanovic first killed his son and his mother before leaving his house and then began shooting his neighbors. They expressed deep shock, describing the suspect as a quiet, helpful man.

"He knocked on the doors and as they were opened he just fired a shot," said villager Radovan Radosavljevic. "He was a good neighbor and anyone would open their doors to him. I don't know what happened."

"I never saw him angry, ever," said Milovan Kostadinovic, another resident. "He was helping everybody, he had a car and drove us everywhere."

Still, neighbors said an entire five-member family was shot dead in one house, including the small boy who was the suspected killer's cousin.

Kostadinovic said the suspect was confronted by police while en route to his house.

"If they didn't stop him, he would have wiped us all out," Kostadinovic said, standing in front of his two-story, red tile- roofed house. "He shot himself when police stopped him."

His wife Stanica said their small white-and-brown dog Rocky had gotten very nervous early in the morning and was barking and jumping up and down. She said when her husband opened their door, a policewoman shouted: "Get back in!"

"He was shooting everybody. Police saved us," she said.

The suspected killer owned a gun but neighbors and his brother said he never hunted or shot weapons, even at weddings or celebrations as is traditional in the Balkans.

"He was quiet as a bug," Stanica Kostadinovic said.

Nada Macura, a Belgrade hospital spokeswoman, said the suspect had no known history of mental illness. Stanica Kostadinovic said the man's father had hanged himself when he was a young boy.

Aleksandar Stekic, 29, was fast asleep when his mother was killed. He heard the shots but "thought I was dreaming."

"When I got up about half an hour later, I found her dead on the doorstep," he told the AP.

Stekic said he went to the next house and found the same scene there, and then again in the next one.

"At that moment, I no longer knew where I was," Stekic said, adding that a policeman had handcuffed him while he roamed outside, thinking that he was the shooter.

Radoslav Stekic, 52, lives in a small white house where his mother Danica was shot dead in her bed Tuesday.

"He broke the door open and shot my mother, she was asleep," he said.

"This is where the bullet hit," he added, pointing to the bed with a brown blanket inside a small kitchen-turned-bedroom.

"She loved him more than me," he said of the shooter, who was his cousin.

Police blocked off the village while forensic teams and investigators in white protective robes took evidence from homes where the shootings took place.

Doctors said later Tuesday that the suspect's condition was critical but his wife ? who had called the police before she was shot ?was able to communicate with the hospital staff.

Serbia's last big shooting spree occurred in 2007, when a 39-year-old man gunned down nine people and injured two others in the eastern village of Jabukovac.

__

Sabina Niksic contributed from Bosnia.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-09-Serbia-Shooting%20Spree/id-e4dce91fa96a4c1288c3d314a4f4eb55

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Hooters allegedly forces out waitress because brain-tumor scar is ugly

A woman is suing Hooters for employment discrimination based on disability status for allegedly being forced out of her job as a waitress at the racy restaurants after she underwent cancer surgery, lost her hair and had a large scar on her head.

Hooters reportedly wanted her to wear a wig. ?The woman tried, but it hurt her scar, which was still healing. ?She says her hours were then cut back until she eventually was forced to quit.

Imagine a place like Hooters being so superficial.

Hooters, for anyone unaware, is a chain-restaurant where the waitresses wear very skimpy clothes in order to show off their usually-large breasts, which are known as ?hooters? in American slang.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch?does a good job walking through the legal issues here (media doesn?t always do so well on that). ?But in a nutshell, disability rights laws protect you from discrimination based on your disability or your perceived disability (meaning, someone refuses to hire you because they think you have AIDS, even if you don?t). ?In this case, allegedly pushing a waitress out because her cancer has made her less attractive (in the management?s eyes), is a tough sell. ?As the paper points out, the plaintiff needs to be able to prove that she was able to do her job. ?But the question arises ? or it?s one that Hooters will try to sell to the court ? as to whether being a ?hot chick? is essential to doing your job at Hooters.

While, sure, being a hot woman is essential working at HootersI?m not sure how a judge rules in favor of Hooters on this one, lest every business start alleging that its ?public face? is important, and thus they discriminate against people with disabilities, and even minorities and women, because it?s ?what the customers want.?

Now granted, we?re dealing with Hooters here. ?But as FindLaw explains, it?s really not enough to simply say ?our customers like pretty girls.?

Title VII?prohibits employers from discriminating in employment decisions based on gender, race, national origin, religion or age. Many states make it illegal? to discriminate based on sexual orientation or transgender status.

Title VII also, however, allows for discrimination based on protected characteristics (except race), when that characteristic is what is called a ?Bona Fide Occupational Qualification? (BFOQ). To be a BFOQ, being a member of that group is essential to the job.

To use this exception to the rule against discrimination, an employer must be able to prove that no member outside the desired group could perform the job. A simple example would be a job for a women?s bathroom attendant.

Employers can, and often do, however, go too far. For example, airlines have been prohibited from hiring only female flight attendants because men too can perform the basic function of the job.

Hooters went on to settle that other case. ?So it?s still not entirely clear what would happen if they hadn?t settled. ?But I?m not sure what the difference is between saying Hooters? customers find cancer scars disturbing and saying every restaurant customer finds cancer scars disturbing. ?Cancer is disturbing. ?And too bad. ?You don?t get to end someone?s career over it. ?That?s kind of the whole point of disability laws.

I?m not entirely convinced that it should be legal for Hooters to exist at all. ?But to the degree we want to make an exception for quasi-sexual jobs like Hooters, I think you have a much harder sell saying that we should now start making exceptions to disability laws as well. ?At some point, a judge is going to say ?enough.? ?How much you want to bet Hooters settles this one too, rather than risk a defeat that could impact its restaurants nationwide?

Source: http://americablog.com/2013/04/hooters-allegedly-forces-out-waitress-with-cancer-because-her-scar-was-ugly.html

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Byrd came oh-so-close, but probably didn't reach North Pole

Apr. 8, 2013 ? When renowned explorer Richard E. Byrd returned from the first-ever flight to the North Pole in 1926, he sparked a controversy that remains today: Did he actually reach the pole?

Studying supercomputer simulations of atmospheric conditions on the day of the flight and double-checking Byrd's navigation techniques, a researcher at The Ohio State University has determined that Byrd indeed neared the Pole, but likely only flew within 80 miles of it before turning back to the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen.

Gerald Newsom, professor emeritus of astronomy at Ohio State, based his results in part on atmospheric simulations from the 20th Century Reanalysis project at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The study appears in a recent issue of the journal Polar Record.

"I worked out that if Byrd did make it, he must have had very unusual wind conditions. But it's clear that he really gave it a valiant try, and he deserves a lot of respect," Newsom said.

At issue is whether Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett could have made the 1,500-mile round trip from Spitsbergen in only 15 hours and 44 minutes, when some experts were expecting a flight time of around 18 hours.

Byrd claimed that they encountered strong tail winds that sped the plane's progress. Not everyone believed him.

"The flight was incredibly controversial," Newsom explained. "The people defending Byrd were vehement that he was a hero, and the people attacking him said he was one of the world's greatest frauds. The emotion! It was incredibly vitriolic."

Newsom was unaware of the debate, however, until Raimund Goerler, now-retired archivist at Ohio State, discovered a flight journal within a large collection of items given to Ohio State by the Byrd family at the naming of the university's Byrd Polar Research Center. In 1995, Goerler opened a previously overlooked cardboard box labeled "misc." In it, he found a smudged and water-stained book containing hand-written notes from Byrd's 1926 North Pole flight and his historic 1927 trans-Atlantic flight, as well as an earlier expedition to Greenland in 1925.

Goerler looked to Newsom for help interpreting the navigational notes. "Given the strong opinions on both sides from people in the polar research community, we thought an astronomer who had no prior opinion about the flight would have the skills to do an assessment, and the neutrality to do it in an unbiased way," he said.

In fact, Newsom had helped teach celestial navigation during his early days as a graduate student, and still had an interest in the subject. With the help of current Byrd Polar archivist Laura Kissel, he pored over copies of the notebook and other related writings, including the post-flight report by Byrd's sponsors at the National Geographic Society.

Newsom was particularly curious about the solar compass that Byrd used to find his way to and from the pole. The compass was state-of-the-art for its time, with a clockwork mechanism that turned a glass cover to match the movement of the sun around the sky. By peering at a shadow in the sun compass, Byrd gauged whether the plane was heading north.

Among the artifacts in the Byrd Polar Research Center is a copy of the barograph recording made during the flight, showing atmospheric pressure. A small calibration graph was labeled with altitudes for different pressures, allowing Byrd to determine how high the plane flew throughout the flight. Byrd used the altitude to set a device mounted over an opening in the bottom of the plane, and with a stopwatch he timed how long it took for features on the ice below to move in and out of view. The stopwatch reading then gave the plane's ground speed.

Byrd could then calculate the distance traveled, and know when he and Bennett had traveled far enough to reach the pole. He would also be able to tell if a crosswind was nudging the plane off course. And he would have had to repeat the calculations every few minutes for the entire trip north.

The partially open cockpit would have been very loud, Newsom explained, so Byrd wrote messages in the book so Bennett could read his suggested course corrections. For example, there was a note from Byrd to Bennett asking for a three-degree correction to the west, to counter a crosswind.

The problem, Newsom quickly found, is that the notebook didn't contain any calculations of ground speed, only the results of the calculations. "I would have thought he'd have pages and pages of calculations," Newsom said. "Without that, there's no way of knowing for sure, but deep down there's a worry I have -- that he did it all in his head."

Newsom found that the barograph recording and calibration graph were remarkably small. A change of atmospheric pressure of one inch of mercury would equal only one quarter of an inch on the barograph record. "That's tiny," he said. "If Byrd was off by even a tenth of an inch on the barograph recording, then his altitude would be off 18 percent, and that means his ground speed would be off by 18 percent. And he had the same chance for error every time he took a reading throughout the flight."

Changes in the atmosphere at different latitudes meant that Byrd's calibration graph lost accuracy during the duration of the flight. Newsom calculated that this could have led Byrd to believe that he had reached the pole when he was still as much as 78 statute miles away, or caused him to overshoot the pole by as much as 21 statute miles.

As he wrote in the Polar Record paper: "This type of analysis by itself will not resolve any controversy over whether Byrd reached the pole. But it does indicate that he was considerably more likely to have ended up short of his goal than to have exceeded it."

Next, Newsom decided to test whether Byrd could have experienced strong tailwinds as he claimed, and to do that, the astronomer turned to an unbiased resource of his own: NOAA's 20th Century Reanalysis dataset.

Using U.S. Department of Energy supercomputers, NOAA calculated likely atmospheric conditions all over Earth for every six hours between 1870 and 2010. The data used a computer model that calculated 56 plausible scenarios for every six-hour interval, and the results of the 56 model atmospheres were averaged together to arrive at the most likely conditions.

The model winds did not appear consistent with what Byrd said, so Newsom examined each of the 56 scenarios individually, to see if even one of them allowed for strong tailwinds during the trip. They didn't.

"For the most part, he probably had a headwind going north, and a tailwind going south. But there's no evidence of the winds shifting as much as he described. Of course, the models are NOAA's best guesses for what the conditions were that day, not an actual measurement, so Byrd could have had strong tailwinds just like he said. But the simulations suggest that if he did have strong tailwinds that day, he was very lucky."

It's easy to forget, he continued, how difficult and dangerous navigation was before modern altimeters and GPS. Byrd was under a tremendous amount of pressure: he'd overloaded the plane with fuel to make sure he and Bennett wouldn't run out over the Arctic (they would likely have died in that circumstance), but the extra load made the plane hard to control; he had to calculate the plane's location constantly for nearly sixteen hours, in a screaming-loud cockpit while worried about frostbite; and partway through the trip, one of the plane's engines sprang an oil leak and seemed likely to stop working.

"That they returned at all is a major accomplishment, and the fact that they arrived back where they were supposed to -- that shows that Byrd knew how to navigate with his solar compass correctly," Newsom said.

And, since the plane was theoretically high enough to see nearly 90 miles to the horizon, Byrd may not have reached the pole, but even in the worst-case scenario, he almost certainly saw it through his cockpit window.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Ohio State University. The original article was written by Pam Frost Gorder.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. G.H. Newsom. Byrd's Arctic flight in the context of model atmospheres. Polar Record, 2012; 49 (01): 62 DOI: 10.1017/S0032247412000058

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/LD-EWzV1Qaw/130408142642.htm

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Seneca Valley Track and Field Strong Out of the Blocks - Cranberry ...

The temperatures have been downright cold this season, but that hasn?t stopped Seneca Valley Track and Field from getting off to a hot start.

The girls team is 1-1 with a win at North Hills and a loss to a tough Shaler team while he boys are 2-0 with wins against these opponents.?

The boys and girls combined their talents to win the Moon Mixed Relays for an impressive fourth consecutive year. The mixed relays feature co-ed relay teams from a number of schools.

Coach Ray Peaco , now in his 30th year coaching at Seneca Valley, is preparing the team to continue its winning ways.

The girls have 30 years of consecutive winning seasons and the boys have been winning for 35 years.

?Each year, we have a number of seniors who graduate, but are fortunate to have a continual flow of talented athletes to keep our program moving forward? Peaco said. ?This is a great problem to have.?

While Peaco has his sights set on winning the WPIALs ?and sending several students to the state championships, it is just as important that the athletes achieve personal bests, have fun and enjoy their high school track and field career.

Next up for the Raiders is a home meet against Butler, followed by an invitational at Butler and a 9-10 invitational meet at Seneca Valley.

Source: http://cranberry.patch.com/articles/seneca-valley-track-field-strong-out-of-the-blocks

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NASA to get $100 million for asteroid mission, senator says

Rick Sternbach / Keck Institute for Space Studies

An artist's illustration of an asteroid retrieval spacecraft capturing a 500-ton asteroid that's 7 meters wide.

By Mike Wall
Space.com

NASA will likely get $100 million next year to jump-start an audacious program to drag an asteroid into orbit around the moon for research and exploration purposes, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.,?says.

The $100 million will probably be part of President Barack Obama's federal budget request for 2014, which is expected to be released next week, Nelson said. The money is intended to get the ball rolling on the asteroid-retrieval project, which also aims to send astronauts out to the captured space rock in 2021.

"This is part of what will be a much broader program," Nelson said Friday during a visit to Orlando. "The plan combines the science of mining an asteroid along with developing ways to deflect one, along with providing a place to develop ways we can go to Mars."

NASA's plan involves catching a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) with a robotic spacecraft, then towing the space rock to a stable lunar orbit, Nelson said. Astronauts would then be sent to the asteroid in 2021 using NASA's Orion capsule and Space Launch System rocket, both of which are in development.

The idea is similar to one proposed last year by researchers based at Caltech's Keck Institute for Space Studies in Pasadena.

"Experience gained via human expeditions to the small returned NEA would transfer directly to follow-on international expeditions beyond the Earth-moon system: to other near-Earth asteroids, (the Mars moons) Phobos and Deimos, Mars and potentially someday to the main asteroid belt," the Keck team wrote in a feasibility study of their plan.

NASA will need much more than this initial $100 million to make the asteroid-retrieval mission happen. The Keck study estimated that it would cost about $2.6 billion to drag a 500-ton space rock back near the moon.

Nelson said he thinks the Obama administration is in favor of the asteroid-retrieval plan. In 2010, the president directed NASA to work to get astronauts to a near-Earth asteroid by 2025, then on to the vicinity of Mars by the mid-2030s.

News of the potential $100 million allocation is not a complete surprise, as Aviation Week reported late last month that NASA was seeking that amount in 2014 for an asteroid-retrieval program.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter?@michaeldwall.?Follow us?@Spacedotcom,?Facebook?or?Google+. Originally published on?Space.com.

Copyright 2013 Space.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2a63e332/l/0Lscience0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C0A50C17620A570A0Enasa0Eto0Eget0E10A0A0Emillion0Efor0Easteroid0Emission0Esenator0Esays0Dlite/story01.htm

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Keep Your Paper Insurance Card in Your Wallet, Most States Don?t Accept Electronic Ones Yet

You've probably seen the auto insurance commercial where a pig gets stopped by police, and when asked for his insurance card, he hands over his phone, which conveniently displays an electronic version of his insurance card. Sounds great, right? One less card to carry in your wallet. Sadly, most states don't allow electronic proof of insurance or registration when you're pulled over by the cops, so keep that paper card nearby.

Our friends at The Consumerist note that the laws allowing you to present electronic proof of registration and insurance coverage are a patchwork across the United States, and currenlty only 11 have laws on the books that expressly allow it:

According to the folks at Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, 11 states now have laws or regulations on the books that allow for electronic insurance cards to be used for both vehicle registration and when being pulled over by the police - Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wyoming.

In Colorado, drivers can use the e-cards for registration, but will not for police pull-overs.

PCIAA says that the governors of Kansas and Indiana are expected to sign legislation in their states, while several other states - Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin - have pending legislation on the matter.

The legality of flashing your phone as a way to prove you have insurance is still in question, even if some insurance companies want you to think it's just that easy if you get pulled over by the police. Plus, while it definitely looks like more states are moving to allow electronic insurance cards, right now it's probably not a good idea to leave home without your paper one, just in case.

The piece also goes into some of the privacy rights involved with handing your phone to the police when they ask for insurance (do you give them the right to search your phone by doing so?) and touches on how police are supposed to know an electronic card is a valid one and not an elaborate photoshop. Hit the link below to read more.

If You're Not The GEICO Pig, You Should Probably Have Your Paper Insurance Card Handy | The Consumerist

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/QMdjHtcMXnA/keep-your-paper-insurance-card-in-your-wallet-most-states-dont-accept-electronic-ones-yet

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Job burnout can severely compromise heart health

Mar. 12, 2013 ? Americans work longer hours, take fewer vacation days, and retire later than employees in other industrialized countries around the globe. With such demanding careers, it's no surprise that many experience job burnout -- physical, cognitive, and emotional exhaustion that results from stress at work. Researchers have found that burnout is also associated with obesity, insomnia, and anxiety.

Now Dr. Sharon Toker of Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Management and her fellow researchers -- Profs. Samuel Melamed, Shlomo Berliner, David Zeltser and Itzhak Shpira of TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine -- have found a link between job burnout and coronary heart disease (CHD), the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries that leads to angina or heart attacks.

Those who were identified as being in the top 20 percent of the burnout scale were found to have a 79 percent increased risk of coronary disease, the researchers reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. Calling the results "alarming," Dr. Toker says that these findings were more extreme than the researchers had expected -- and make burnout a stronger predictor of CHD than many other classical risk factors, including smoking, blood lipid levels, and physical activity.

Taking a toll on the heart

Some of the factors that contribute to burnout are common experiences in the workplace, including high stress, heavy workload, a lack of control over job situations, a lack of emotional support, and long work hours. This leads to physical wear and tear, which will eventually weaken the body.

Knowing that burnout has been associated with other cardiovascular risk factors, such as heightened amounts of cholesterol or fat in the bloodstream, the researchers hypothesized that it could also be a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Over the course of the study, a total of 8,838 apparently healthy employed men and women between the ages of 19 and 67 who presented for routine health examinations were followed for an average of 3.4 years. Each participant was measured for burnout levels and examined for signs of CHD. The researchers controlled for typical risk factors for the disease, such as sex, age, family history of heart disease, and smoking.

During the follow-up period, 93 new cases of CHD were identified. Burnout was associated with a 40% increased risk of developing CHD. But the 20% of participants with the highest burnout scores had a 79% increased risk. Dr. Toker predicts that with a more extended follow-up period, the results would be even more dramatic.

Avoiding long-term damage

These results are valuable for preventative medicine, says Dr. Toker. Healthcare providers who know that their patients are experiencing burnout can closely monitor for signs of coronary heart disease as well.

Once burnout begins to develop, it sparks a downwards spiral and ultimately becomes a chronic condition, she warns. Employers need to prioritize prevention by promoting healthy and supportive work environments and keeping watch for early warning signs of the condition. Simple diagnostic questionnaires that identify burnout are already available online. Workers can contribute to prevention by making healthy lifestyle choices, such as exercising more regularly, getting seven to eight hours sleep per night, and seeking psychological therapy if required.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Friends of Tel Aviv University.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. S. Toker, S. Melamed, S. Berliner, D. Zeltser, I. Shapira. Burnout and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: A Prospective Study of 8838 Employees. Psychosomatic Medicine, 2012; 74 (8): 840 DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31826c3174

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/heart_disease/~3/baLi7ikU0qQ/130312134906.htm

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Valerie Harper Brain Cancer ? 'Rhoda' Star Opens Up In New TV ...

After revealing that she has terminal brain cancer, the ?Rhoda? star said in a new interview that she is ?scared? for her family, but she is ready to die. So sad.

Valerie Harper, 73, made the tragic announcement on March 6 that she had been?diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, and in two new interviews she revealed how scared she is. The iconic TV actress appeared on?The Today Show?on March 11 to talk about her tragic illness, and she told host?Savannah Guthrie?that she ?doesn?t want to go? but she is ready to say ?bye bye? to her family. On The Doctors, she admitted that she wants to be ?less afraid of death.? So inspirational.

Valerie Harper Talks About Her Illness On ?The Today Show?

Valerie looked stunning when she appeared on The Today Show, and she certainly did not look like someone who has been given three months to live. She opened up to Savannah, and admitted that her terminal illness scares her.

?It is incurable so far,? said Valerie, who admitted that ?she is ready to say bye bye? to her family. She was so sad and honest when she said ?I don?t wanna go? and ?I?m scared. I?m scared for my family.?

The Rhoda star even revealed that she has tried to reason with her cancer!

?I said listen you little guys [the cancerous cells], you can live if you don?t kill me.?

Valerie said her?husband of 34 years, Tony Cacciotti, ?got hit like a ton of bricks? by the diagnosis, but they are ?committed to facing this challenge together.?

Valerie was also interviewed on The Doctors on March 11, where the doctors noted that her brain cancer could be a secondary cancer related to the lung cancer she suffered in 2009.

Valerie Opens Up About Her Cancer On ?The Doctors?

Following her Today Show interview, Valerie sat down with the The Doctors doctors?Travis Stork,?Lisa Masterson, and?Andrew Ordon, along with her own team of doctors to examine her diagnosis of brain cancer.

?What I have is rare. It?s also incurable, so far. [Those are the words] I?m looking up ? ?so far? ? because they?re doing research as we speak,? Valerie told the doctors.??More than anything, I?m living in the moment.?

?I really want Americans and all of us to be less afraid of death,? said the inspirational Valerie.??Know that it?s a passage, but don?t go to the funeral before the day of the funeral. While you?re living, live.?

Valerie admitted that she has broken down several times over her illness.

?I have moments of really sobbing, but I let myself do it.?I really cry and then I go, ?OK, you?ve been the drama queen. Are you over it? OK, now, make the pasta.? And I do.?

Valerie was then shocked by surprise appearances by former co-stars?Ed Asner?and?Cloris Leachman. Ed said via telephone??I think you?re the greatest.?

?I?m absolutely devastated by this news. Valerie has given such joy, laughter and love to the world. I join her fans and send much love and positive thoughts to her and her family during this difficult time.? said Valerie?s former co-star Mary Tyler Moore.

Valerie then admitted that her loving husband Tony knew about her diagnosis before she did.

?I didn?t get [the diagnosis] because my husband hid it,? Valerie shared. ?Poor baby. He was so bereft. [The doctors] said there is nothing we can do for her, and [she has] three to six months, maybe.?

The doctors admitted that Valerie?s cancer is extremely rare.

?I?ve taken care of over 10,000 patients with lung cancer in my career, and I?ve never seen this exact presentation,? said Dr. Ronald Natale.

?The blood-brain barrier is part of the problem with brain tumors, explained Dr. Rudnick. ?This blood-brain barrier, from an evolutionary standpoint, was designed to protect us. It was there to protect you against bacteria and infections, but unfortunately, now, what we find is that this barrier also protects us against chemotherapy.?

Valerie finished her interview by saying that she had been overwhelmed by the amount of support she had gotten from her fans and the public.

?There?s so much love out there for me.?It?s been great. It?s been an actually lovely experience for me.?

Valerie Reveals She Has Terminal Brain Cancer

In an interview with PEOPLE magazine,?The Mary Tyler Moore?star bravely announced that she has been diagnosed with?leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare kind of cancer where cancer cells fill the fluid membrane surrounding the brain.

?I don?t think of dying. I think of being here now,? Valerie says.??I?m well past my expiration date already.?

Valerie is so inspirational. She has remained so upbeat and positive with her diagnosis, and her main concern is her family.

What do YOU think HollywoodLifers? Does Valerie have the right attitude?

??Eleanore Hutch

More Valerie Harper Cancer News:

1. Valerie Harper Reveals She Has Terminal Brain Cancer
2. Valerie Harper Will Appear On ?The Doctors? To Discuss Brain Cancer
3. Valerie Harper ? TV Icon Diagnosed With Terminal Cancer

Source: http://hollywoodlife.com/2013/03/11/valerie-harper-brain-cancer-today-show-interview/

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Valerie Harper on Terminal Cancer Diagnosis: "I'm Not Dying Until I ...

Valerie Harper is determined to enjoy her last days no matter what. In her first TV interview about her recent terminal brain cancer diagnosis, the 73-year-old Emmy-winning actress opens up to the TODAY show's Savannah Guthrie that she remains optimistic.

Diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis -- in which cancer cells metastasize into the fluid-filled membrane enveloping the brain -- the Mary Tyler Moore star has reportedly been given three to six months to live. But Harper told Guthrie, "'Incurable' is a tough word . . . I'm not dying until I do. I promise I won't."

PHOTOS: Stars who have battled cancer

Harper, who played Rhoda Morganstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spinoff, Rhoda, explained she's "more than hopeful . . . I have an intention to live each moment fully."

Still, the beloved Valerie star clarified she's not in denial about the reality of her situation. "I don't mean this to be Pollyanna?I allow myself the grief."

PHOTOS: Stars who've opened up about health struggles

"I also feel so much better not hiding," she says of coming clean with the public. "It feels awful damn good to be open about it, face it and see what you can do. If you die, you're not a failure. You're just somebody who had cancer. And that's the outcome."

Source: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/valerie-harper-on-terminal-cancer-diagnosis-im-not-dying-until-i-do-2013113

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LG Optimus L5 II debuts in Brazil, international rollout to follow

If the diminutive Optimus L3II is too small for you, and the L7II too big, today's porridge could be just right: LG's Optimus L5II is now available. Following in the footsteps of L3II, this 4-inch dual-SIM smartphone will make its debut in Brazil, eventually trickling out to unspecified markets in Central / South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The handset's 1Ghz processor and 512MB of RAM will be powering Jelly Bean of course (Android 4.1.2, specifically), layered in the latest LG UX specific tweaks: Quick Button and Safety Care. The launch of the L Series II's middle child rounds out the second generation lineup, leaving LG to focus on matching the previous generation's sales record. Looking for the official details? Read on for the full press release.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/tkM6orNb8Uc/

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Infatuation ? is he the one? | Psychic Cosmos Blog

When two people first meet and have that wonderful connection, the attraction is usually very strong. Suddenly, you feel high on love and life seems sublime. Two potential lovers check out and focus intently on each other for the first few weeks.

During those first few days or weeks, people often loose their appetite, sleep patterns can be disrupted and normal thought patterns change. It is not uncommon to forget about other plans with friends and family. This is a time when body chemistry is altered and all emotional energy is spent on the new person in our lives.

While the first few days, weeks and even months, life can feel like you have met your perfect soul mate. The feelings are mutual and you think you have fallen in love. This stage of a relationship is known as infatuation.

Many professional psychologists believe that infatuation has three stages:

1. This first stage, the most intense and also the most common, has been referred to as blind desire, without regard to rationality or insight.

2. The second stage, while it may or may not rationally be based on sound judgment, the blind desire may continue. This may lead to a more mature love when infatuation diminishes, as it always does.

3. This third stage can plainly be described as bad judgment, ignoring the reality of the situation. This stage, however, if sound, can lead to a lasting, mature, perfect love relationship.

Infatuation, if sound, can transcend into mature love between two people. If infatuation wanes during the first few days, weeks or months, then love itself never develops. This is the initial bond that ties us together if the relationship becomes more permanent, but if not taken for what it really is, an illusion, then it can die as fast as it began.

The rational mind goes out the window during the infatuation process and people are strictly run by sexual energy and emotion. Sexual energy between two people can be very hard to deny and emotional energy is just that: emotions which are not rational and run the show during this time period.

Infatuation is often confused as love in the beginning of the relationship. An intense desire for each other is not necessarily lasting in nature. When it does continue and as people get to know each other, then a mutual love and respect develops, leading to a long term loving relationship. That is why this get-to-know-you stage should be carefully acknowledged because he/she may or may not be ?the one?.

Tags: love, Relationships

Source: http://www.psychiccosmos.com/blog/index.php/love-and-relationships/relationships/infatuation-is-he-the-one/

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Some biologists shun new media

Mar. 8, 2013 ? Although biologists think that "new media" such as blogs and online social networks have an important influence on public opinion and political decisions, they aren't much inclined to use them themselves to stay informed about developments in science. Rather, they prefer traditional outlets such as newspapers and television. That seems, at least, to be the implication of a study published in the April issue of BioScience.

The study, by Joachim Allgaier of the J?lich Research Center in Germany and four coauthors, examined the opinions of 257 neuroscientists working in Germany and the United States who completed an online survey. Although German scientists had a slightly lower opinion of the influence of new media than US scientists, most researchers in both countries thought new media were important even though they made "lackluster" personal use of them. Scientists under 40 made slightly more use of them than older scientists.

The findings could be misleading if those who replied are not typical of neuroscientists, and it is possible that neuroscientists' attitudes are different from those of other biologists. Still, the study is a significant addition to what is known about scientists' communication habits. It suggests, the authors write, that scientists "continue to value the vetting process to which information is subject in media channels."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Institute of Biological Sciences, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Allgaier, J., Dunwoody, S., Brossard, D., Lo, Y., & Peters, H.P. Supplementing but not supplanting: Journalism and social media as means of neuroscientists? observation of contexts of science. Biosciences, 2013

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/Lm2-cpsPApw/130308183834.htm

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Miley Cyrus' 'Twisted' Cameo A 'Huge' Deal For Tiffany Foxx

'Miley follows and loves Kim ... so she love me too,' Foxx tells 'RapFix Live' of Cyrus joining her and mentor Lil' Kim in new music video.
By Driadonna Roland, with reporting by Sway Calloway

Tiffany Foxx, Lil' Kim and Miley Cyrus
Photo: Salstylesu via Instagram

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1703320/miley-cyrus-lil-kim-twisted-cameo-tiffany-foxx.jhtml

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Uncivil Military Relations - OpEd | Albany Tribune News

In his first press briefing as defense secretary, Chuck Hagel discusses the onset of the sequester and the grave impact it will have on national security and military readiness during a briefing at the Pentagon, March 1, 2013. After taking initial questions from reporters, Hagel introduced Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who provided details on the impending steep cuts. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

By The Heritage Foundation -- (March 7, 2013)

By James Jay Carafano, Ph.D.

Chuck Hagel survived the nomination process, but many problems still lie ahead.

Hagel?s nomination as secretary of defense was not well received by most Republicans. And his performance during the confirmation hearings did nothing to help his cause. In the end, the nomination narrowly squeezed past a cloture vote. More than a few in Hagel?s old party gave him a thumbs-down in the final vote.

So while Hagel has settled in at the Pentagon, he cannot sit easy. He is a marked man. His critics will be looking for the first misstep to call for his head. The new secretary also faces a new problem?a possible half-trillion dollars in defense cuts on top of the approximately half-trillion dollars in cuts he inherited. Hagel may be efficient, smart and prudent in making the Pentagon?s ends meet. But he will still have to run a Walmart-size company on a 7 Eleven-size budget in a world that is not much safer than it was four years ago.

Still, neither budgets nor headhunters may prove to be Hagel?s biggest headache. He should be most worried about the dark shadow of sour civil-military relations.

The best take on American civil-military relations remains the introduction to Eliot Cohen?s masterful book, Supreme Command. Cohen makes the point that the realms of political and military decision-making are not distinctly separate spheres. Rather, they do and should overlap. Generals should make decisions that win battles. They shouldn?t meddle in politics, but their military advice always ought to be suitable, feasible and acceptable. During World War II, for example, the U.S. Army estimated that about 10 percent of the nation?s manpower could be put in uniform without creating a worker shortage that would undermine the capacity of industry to sustain the armed forces. It would have made no sense for the military to ask for a bigger force than the nation could sensibly field.

In contrast, political leaders should never outsource the field of battle to the field marshals. Lincoln, one of the leaders profiled in Supreme Command, quickly learned the lesson that he had to understand war to lead the nation to victory in war.

Cohen?s case study of Lincoln captures precisely how that small space shared between the military and political spheres demands the very best of leaders?both civilian and military. Operating effectively requires the right mix of trust, confidence, competence and character.

There are many signs that the bridge across the Potomac is shaky. The president has sent plenty of signals that, beyond reciting the usual platitudes, he doesn?t consider preserving military readiness and defense capabilities more of a priority than keeping any other government department humming. He was, after all, more than willing to hold defense hostage during the sequestration debate?trying to force conservatives in the Congress to choose between tax hikes or gutting national security (which takes 50 percent of the sequestration cuts on top of the billions the president has already taken off the Pentagon?s top line).

Meanwhile, the Pentagon?s top brass have a credibility problem of their own. When the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, famously declared the national debt was America?s number one national-security threat, many in Washington interpreted the comment not as a warning to get the nation?s fiscal house in order but as green light for defense cuts. Further, the current chairman and chiefs have not been much better advocates for a strong national defense. For months, they said virtually nothing about the dangers of the so-called sequester. Only when the White House wanted to ratchet up pressure on Congress to axe the sequester in favor or higher taxes did the brass start trumpeting their doom and gloom warnings. When it comes to readiness and capabilities, the senior officer corps is starting to look a bit like presidential sock puppets.

In the last few years, senior officers striking a discordant note have been silenced pretty quickly. Take the case of the surprise early retirement of Marine Corps General James Mattis, the commander of U.S. Central Command, which watches over all the hot spots in the Middle East. ?[W]hat message does it send to the services,? writes Bing West in National Review ?when the one leader known for his war-fighting skills rather than bureaucratic and political talents is retired early via a press handout??

Obama?s Pentagon is starting to look a lot like Clinton?s, where senior commanders found themselves serving a president who, never comfortable wearing his commander-in-chief hat, was more than willing to cut corners on national security. Ultimately, this leaves the armed services stuck with trying to do the best they can with what is at hand.

The saving grace for Clinton was that he had Bill Cohen as secretary of defense. Cohen worked hard to gain the trust of the chiefs, bridge the gap between them and the White House, and protect the chiefs from an increasingly hostile Congress. Whether Chuck Hagel can match that performance remains an open question.

The White House is banking on the end of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the president?s popularity at home, to shift the focus away from what inevitably will be strained times at the Pentagon. How Hagel handles the senior armed-service leaders and how much demand there is for U.S. military force in the future may determine how well that strategy works.

-James Jay Carafano is vice president of Foreign and Defense policy studies at The Heritage Foundation.

First appeared in The National Interest.

Source: http://www.albanytribune.com/07032013-uncivil-military-relations-oped/

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4 Software Stocks to Buy Now | InvestorPlace

? ?

Popular Posts:

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This week, four Software stocks are improving their overall rating on Portfolio Grader. Each of these rates an ?A? (?strong buy?) or ?B? overall (?buy?).

DesCartes Systems Group (NASDAQ:DSGX) is bettering its rating of C (?hold?) from last week to a B (?buy?) this week. Descartes Systems Group is a global provider of federated network and global logistics technology solutions that help its customers make and receive shipments and manage related resources. In Portfolio Grader?s specific subcategory of Earnings Momentum, DSGX also gets an A. For more information, get Portfolio Grader?s complete analysis of DSGX stock.

This is a strong week for AVG Technologies N.V. (NYSE:AVG). The company?s rating climbs to B from the previous week?s C. AVG Technologies NV provides software and online services and solutions. It designs antivirus and Internet security products. Its product portfolio targets the consumer and small business markets and includes Internet security, PC performance optimization, online backup, mobile security, identity pr? Shares of AVG have increased 21% over the past month, better than the 2% increase the S&P 500 has seen over the same period of time. For more information, get Portfolio Grader?s complete analysis of AVG stock.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) improves from a C to a B rating this week. Activision publishes console, PC, online and handheld games. Wall Street seems to agree with the upgrade and has propelled the stock up 22% over the past month. For more information, get Portfolio Grader?s complete analysis of ATVI stock.

Ansys (NASDAQ:ANSS) gets a higher grade this week, advancing from a C last week to a B. Ansys develops and markets engineering simulation software and technologies used by engineers and designers working in fields such as aerospace, electronics, biomedical, energy, and defense. Wall Street has pushed the stock higher by 5.7% over the past month. For more information, get Portfolio Grader?s complete analysis of ANSS stock.

Louis Navellier?s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results ? with A being ?strong buy,? and F being ?strong sell.? Explore the tool here.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, http://investorplace.com/2013/03/4-software-stocks-to-buy-now-dsgx-avg-atvi-2/.

?2013 InvestorPlace Media, LLC

Source: http://investorplace.com/2013/03/4-software-stocks-to-buy-now-dsgx-avg-atvi-2/

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PSA: SimCity now available, go realize your city-building dreams

Who wants to build a beta city? The final version of EA's long-awaited followup to its city-building classic goes live today in North America for all of you aspiring mayors out there -- well, those of you with a PC at least (the Mac version is still forthcoming). You can download or pick up a physical copy through EA's Origin site right now, to finally get your Robert Moses on (though maybe watch where you stick those highways).

Filed under: Gaming

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Source: Twitter, Origin

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/05/simcity/

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Kellie Pickler drummer among injured in Ky. crash

Emergency personnel work at the scene of a multi-vehicle wreck on Interstate 65 near the 82 mile marker, Saturday, March 2, 2013 north of Sonora, Ky. Kentucky State Police say six people are dead in two crashes that happened near the same location in central Kentucky on Interstate 65. (AP Photo/The News Enterprise, Neal Cardin)

Emergency personnel work at the scene of a multi-vehicle wreck on Interstate 65 near the 82 mile marker, Saturday, March 2, 2013 north of Sonora, Ky. Kentucky State Police say six people are dead in two crashes that happened near the same location in central Kentucky on Interstate 65. (AP Photo/The News Enterprise, Neal Cardin)

A burned vehicle involved in a fatal wreck sits on a rollback ready to be moved from the scene in the northbound lanes of Interstate 65 around the 82-mile marker Saturday, March 2, 2013, near Sonora, Ky. Kentucky State Police say six people are dead in two crashes that happened near the same location in central Kentucky on Interstate 65. (AP Photo/The News Enterprise, Jill Pickett)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) ? The drummer for country music star Kellie Pickler was in serious condition Sunday as one of five people hospitalized in two crashes that happened within minutes at the same spot on Interstate 65 in central Kentucky and killed six.

Pickler's manager, Larry Fitzgerald, said 36-year-old Gregg Lohman of Goodlettsville, Tenn., suffered serious injuries in the wreck Saturday. He remained in serious condition Sunday at University of Louisville Hospital.

Kentucky State Police Master Trooper Norm Chaffins said Lohman, who also works as a music instructor at Tennessee State University, had head and neck injuries after a four-vehicle wreck in the southbound lanes. It happened about 15 minutes after a fiery crash involving a tractor-trailer and an SUV on the northbound side of the highway.

On her Facebook page, Pickler said Lohman wasn't just a drummer, "he is family."

"I believe in the miracles and the power of prayer, so it would mean the world to me, my band and Gregg's family if you would please keep him in your prayers," Pickler wrote. "Thank y'all so much."

Six people from rural Wisconsin were killed when the tractor-trailer rear-ended their Ford Expedition at about 11:13 a.m. EST Saturday in the northbound lanes near Glendale, Ky.

Killed were 62-year-old driver James Gollnow and his wife, 62-year-old Barbara Gollnow; 92-year-old friend Marion Champnise; 18-year-old Sarina Gollnow, relationship unknown; and foster children 10-year-old Gabriel Zumig and 8-year-old Soledad Smith.

Two other foster children survived and were taken to area hospitals. Police identified them as Hope Hoth, 15, who was transported to a hospital in Lexington with burns and a broken spine; and Aidian Ejnik, 12, who was taken to Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville with cuts to the back of his head.

Barb Gollnow of Shawano, Wis., the sister-in-law of those killed, called the collision "a horrible tragedy," but said details about her family's trip that led them through the Bluegrass State would have to come from the surviving children in the family. The children did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press left through Gollnow.

State Police said the family was returning to Wisconsin from a vacation to Orlando, Fla.

Chaffins said the tractor-trailer was following too closely to the SUV to stop before the collision. The Expedition was "totally engulfed in flames. It was totally destroyed by the fire," he said, adding, "It's just a charred mess." Distracted driving is among the causes being investigated.

"That's one of the points we're looking into," Chaffins said. "We haven't pinpointed the exact cause."

Chaffins said despite snow flurries, weather was not a factor in Saturday's crashes. The driver was identified as 47-year-old Ibrahim Fetic of Troy, Mich. Police were looking at his driving logs and collected a blood sample.

The National Transportation Safety Board has consulted with law enforcement and doesn't currently plan to open an investigation, spokesman Peter Knudson said.

The two crashes shut down the busy stretch of highway for about five hours.

Chaffins said police were investigating whether rubbernecking was the cause of the wrecks in the southbound lanes.

In that wreck, the Freightliner driven by 58-year-old Mark Bowser from Lewisburg, Ohio, struck Lohman's vehicle, then hit a 2005 Saturn SUV driven by 53-year-old Victor Martinka of Glenview, Ill.

Chaffins said Martinka's vehicle then struck a 2012 Chevrolet SUV driven by Stephanie Yates, 55, of Louisville. Chaffins said none of the other drivers were hospitalized.

The wreck on Saturday happened just north of where a tractor-trailer crossed the median and struck a van carrying 11 people in 2010. In the wake of that crash, the NTSB called for a ban on talking on cellphones or texting by long-distance truckers.

___

Karnowski reported from Minneapolis, Minn.

___

Follow Associated Press reporter Brett Barrouquere on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBarrouquereAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-03-Kentucky%20Crashes/id-2363873f2dd249828c9b9d0ee2a195b6

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?Modest? BlackBerry Z10 sales, upcoming Galaxy S IV launch could hurt BlackBerry

BlackBerry

A string of upbeat reports has sent BlackBerry?s (BBRY) stock climbing in recent months, but the end is nigh according to one industry watcher.?Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley again tried to chase clients away from BlackBerry shares on Monday, suggesting that ?modest? BlackBerry Z10 sales and big competition from the likes of Samsung?s (005930) Galaxy S IV could spell doom for BlackBerry?s stock in the coming quarters.

[More from BGR: The Boy Genius Report: Sonos? PLAYBAR takes over the living room]

?Our global surveys post the recent BlackBerry Z10 launch indicated mixed initial sales with limited initial supply cited as the reason for early post-launch stock-outs at some carrier stores during the first week of launch,? Walkley wrote in a note to investors on Monday. ?Our follow up surveys have indicated steady but modest sales levels for the Z10.?

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He continued, ?With new BB10 smartphones launching in the U.S. only in mid-March or later at subsidized prices no better than competing high-end Apple/Samsung smartphones combined with our expectations for the Galaxy S IV to launch at a similar time frame in the US market, we anticipate BlackBerry will struggle to reclaim high-end smartphone market share.?

Following his most recent round of checks, Walkley admits that his last BlackBerry Z10 sales estimate was likely too low. His new checks suggest BlackBerry likely sold 800,000 Z10 handsets into channels last quarter, up from his earlier estimate of just 300,000 units.

The positive change will shave $0.12 off of BlackBerry?s estimated full-year loss per share, which the analyst adjusted to $(1.06) from $(1.18), but Walkley?s fiscal 2014 and 2015 estimates remain unchanged. ?BlackBerry will struggle to drive enough BB10 demand to return the company to sustained profitability,? he wrote.

Walkley reiterated his Sell rating on BlackBerry shares with a $9 price target.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/modest-blackberry-z10-sales-upcoming-galaxy-iv-launch-154535856.html

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AR-15 assault rifle stolen from San Francisco cop car

By Daniel Arkin, Staff Writer, NBC News

Police officers in San Francisco are scouring the city for a semi-automatic assault rifle stolen from a police vehicle over the weekend, authorities said.

Unidentified suspects smashed one of the unmarked?car's windows and stole an AR-15 rifle?while officers worked nearby, Officer Albie Esparza told NBC News.

The high-powered weapon is distributed to trained police officers so that it is at hand for rapid deployment during high-risk events, Esparza said.

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"No resource is being spared to recover this weapon," Esparza said.

Police do not know how the suspects determined the unmarked vehicle belonged to the police department.

The AR-15 assault rifle was the weapon used in last year's movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/04/17181482-assault-rifle-stolen-from-san-francisco-cop-car?lite

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