Japan government approves $1.02 trillion budget for 2013/14 amid fiscal worries

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government approved on Tuesday a $1.02 trillion draft budget for the next fiscal year that aims to nudge tax revenues above new bond sales for the first time in four years, but still relies on borrowing to cover 46.3 percent of its spending.

The first full-year draft budget compiled under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who led his Liberal Democratic Party back to power last month with promises of economic revival, marks symbolic improvement after years of deterioration.

With the 92.6 trillion yen ($1.02 trillion) in spending, the government effectively trimmed the size of its draft budget from the previous year for the first time in seven years, taking into account government funding for basic pension payouts.

Still, the budget size hovered around record levels, underlining the difficulty which Abe's government is facing in striking a balance between economic stimulus and fiscal reform.

Taken together with an 10.3 trillion yen extra stimulus plan signed off earlier this month and financed in more than half by new bond sales, it drives borrowing to new highs, pushing Japan's record high debt further into uncharted territory.

"We managed to make the annual budget slimmer than before," Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters.

"Without the extra budget, the economy would fall into a severe situation in April-June," he added.

In fiscal year 2013/14 starting in April, the government plans to issue new bonds worth 42.8 trillion yen, below this year's 44.2 trillion yen initial target. But combined with the extra budget borrowing of 5.2 trillion, Abe's government will borrow 48 trillion yen, though technically the extra budget borrowing will be booked in the 2012/13 accounts.

Tax revenue is targeted to rise 750 billion yen to 43.1 trillion yen, mainly reflecting an expected pick-up in economic growth to 2.5 percent from 1.0 percent forecast for the current year.

FISCAL TARGETS

Within the 92.6 trillion yen general-account budget, spending excluding debt servicing costs is estimated at about 70.3 trillion yen, slightly less than the 71 trillion yen earmarked in the regular budget for the current fiscal year.

The government is expected to submit the extra budget to parliament this week and the 2013/14 budget in late February.

The previous government led by the Democratic Party of Japan had set a 44 trillion yen ceiling on annual bond issuance and a 71 trillion yen cap on spending excluding debt servicing costs.

Rating agencies, institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and many economists have said that those limits were seriously insufficient, allowing Japan to rack up budget deficits of close to 10 percent of GDP, above those seen in some of the most indebted euro zone countries.

"We need to see whether the government can carry out its growth strategy to boost the economy, thus increase tax revenue, and also whether it can continue to cut expenditure," said Yasuo Yamamoto, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.

"I cannot deny a chance that the government will compile an extra budget again if the economy won't recover ... It may raise public work spending, which would require more bond issuance."

So far, however, vast domestic savings have allowed Japan to comfortably cover nearly all of its financing needs at home and at record low interest rates.

Abe's government has reaffirmed its predecessors' goal of bringing the primary budget, which excludes borrowing and debt service, into balance by 2020/21. This can only be achieved with substantial spending cuts and tax hikes.

"We must come up with something new to fix the primary balance by the middle of this year," Finance Minister Aso said. "It would not be convincing if only the economy picks up while we leave (fiscal reform) undone."

(Additional reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Kim Coghill)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japan-government-approves-1-02-trillion-budget-2013-084543663--business.html

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Iran Says it Launched Monkey Into Space

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Iranian state television said on Monday that the country?s scientists had succeeded in sending a monkey into space ?as a prelude to sending humans.?

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/world/middleeast/iran-says-it-sent-monkey-into-space.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Aspen reviews 14 mph speed limit to alert drivers

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) ? Aspen city council members are considering a 14 mph speed limit in a residential area of the Colorado mountain town in attempt to get the attention of drivers and have them slow down.

Residents say few drivers are obeying the current 25 mph speed limit and are ignoring other efforts to protect people.

The Aspen Times (http://tinyurl.com/9wlktaz ) reports Mayor Mick Ireland suggested an 18 mph limit because the number is out of the ordinary for a speed limit. After further discussion, council members decided to drop the proposed limit down to 14 mph.

___

Information from: The Aspen Times, http://www.aspentimes.com/

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-01-30-Odd%20Speed%20Limit/id-98610ad162de4cfa861519888f1708a9

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Nexus 4 shows up for sale on Best Buy's website, T-Mobile contract in tow

The Nexus 4 has just show up for sale on Best Buy's website, with familiar T-Mobile on-contract pricing of $199.99. In typical Best Buy fashion, the off-contract price of the phone has been inflated, showing $599.99 to buy the device outright. This is something Best Buy (and other retailers) does to both cover its overhead and most importantly compel people to sign 2-year contracts, and is nothing new for the Nexus 4.

This isn't likely to be any special deal between Google and Best Buy to offer the device though, as you can bet that Google would rather secure supply for its own store before branching out to yet another retailer. This is probably just T-Mobile's current deals to resell handsets and service with Best Buy extending to the new handset. New stock heading to a wider range of T-Mobile stores means it is ready to also let resellers sell the device on its behalf.

Although not many people are likely to head to Best Buy to pick it up, the Nexus 4 is certainly getting a little more exposure as these new listings arrive. Let's just hope that Google can get its own supply channels sorted out so it can offer the device through the Play Store once again.

Source: Best Buy

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/SNPXypQ7k1g/story01.htm

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Fed likely to stick to low-rate message this week

WASHINGTON (AP) ? When the Federal Reserve meets this week, it's likely to affirm a message it intends to help lift the economy: that consumers and businesses will be able to borrow cheaply well into the future ? even after unemployment has dropped sharply.

Last month, the Fed signaled for the first time that it will tie its policies to specific economic barometers. It said that as long as the inflation outlook is mild, it could keep short-term rates near zero until unemployment dips below 6.5 percent from the current 7.8 percent.

That could take until the end of 2015, the Fed predicted last month.

The Fed's guidance was designed to give consumers, companies and investors a clearer sense of when super-low borrowing costs might start to rise. Though some key sectors of the economy are improving, analysts think the Fed still feels more time is needed for low rates to spur borrowing, spending and economic growth.

One reason is that many Americans remain anxious about the budget impasse in Washington.

"The Fed is dealing with a lot of uncertainty right now, with all the decisions still to be made on federal budget policy," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, who expects the Fed to make no changes in its support programs when its two-day policy meeting ends Wednesday.

At its December meeting, the Fed said it would keep spending $85 billion a month on bond purchases to keep long-term borrowing costs down. It will continue its bond purchases until the job market improved "substantially."

When it buys bonds, the Fed increases its investment portfolio and pumps more money into the financial system ? something critics say could eventually ignite inflation or create dangerous bubbles in assets like real estate or stocks.

On Friday, when the government will release its jobs report for January, unemployment is expected to remain 7.8 percent. That still-high rate, 3? years after the Great Recession officially ended, helps explain why the Fed has kept its key short-term rate at a record low near zero since December 2008, just after the financial crisis erupted.

In a speech in Ann Arbor, Mich., this month, Chairman Ben Bernanke said he thought too little progress had been made in reducing unemployment and signaled that the Fed's aggressive support programs should continue.

"There is still quite a ways to go," Bernanke said of the unemployment crisis. "There are too many people whose skills and talents are being wasted."

Still, some private economists think the Fed will decide to suspend its bond purchases in the second half of this year. They note that the minutes of the Fed's December meeting revealed a split: Some of the 12 voting members thought the bond purchases would be needed through 2013. Others felt the purchases should be slowed or stopped altogether before year's end.

On one point, economists agree: Once the Fed does decide to scale back its stimulative policies, it will signal its intent well before it actually does so. Policymakers will want to blunt the shocks that could reverberate through financial markets, which have been heavily influenced by the loose-credit policies the Fed has engineered for more than four years.

Interest rates have sunk to record lows. And stock prices have risen as many investors have shifted money into the stock market in search of better returns.

"Nothing will change at this meeting, but as time goes on, I think the Fed will begin laying the groundwork for changes," said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at the Martin Smith School of Business at California State University.

Once the Fed does tighten its interest-rate policy, it will inevitably jolt the markets, however much it tries to ease the impact, predicted David Jones, chief economist at DMJ Economic Advisors.

"The second the Fed gives a hint that they are in any way being less accommodative, we will see interest rates shoot higher and stock prices fall," Jones said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fed-likely-stick-low-rate-message-week-123924693--finance.html

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Cardiac disease linked to higher risk of mental impairment

Jan. 28, 2013 ? Cardiac disease is associated with increased risk of mild cognitive impairment such as problems with language, thinking and judgment -- particularly among women with heart disease, a Mayo Clinic study shows. Known as nonamnestic because it doesn't include memory loss, this type of mild cognitive impairment may be a precursor to vascular and other non-Alzheimer's dementias, according to the findings published online in JAMA Neurology.

Mild cognitive impairment is an important stage for early detection and intervention in dementia, says lead author, Rosebud Roberts, M.B., Ch.B., a health sciences researcher at Mayo Clinic.

"Prevention and management of cardiac disease and vascular risk factors are likely to reduce the risk," Roberts says.

Researchers evaluated 2,719 people ages 70 to 89 at the beginning of the study and every 15 months after. Of the 1,450 without mild cognitive impairment at the beginning, 669 had heart disease and 59 (8.8 percent) developed nonamenestic mild cognitive impairment; in comparison 34 (4.4 percent) of 781 who did not have heart disease developed nonamenestic mild cognitive impairment.

The association varied by sex; cardiac disease and mild cognitive impairment appeared together more often among women than in men.

This research was funded by National Institutes of Health grant AG006786 and the Robert H. and Clarice Smith and Abigail van Buren Alzheimer's Disease Research Program and was made possible by the NIH-funded Rochester Epidemiology Project.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Mayo Clinic.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Rosebud O. Roberts et al. Cardiac Disease Associated With Increased Risk of Nonamnestic Cognitive ImpairmentStronger Effect on Women. JAMA Neurology, 2013 DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2013.607

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/most_popular/~3/FCKubVokYPs/130128163334.htm

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NL School Board oks changes: TMNews.com

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January 28, 2013 BEDFORD ? A number of personnel changes were approved Thursday during a meeting of the North Lawrence school board. Resignations Curt Alvey, resigning as BNL junior varsity b ... Please log in at right to read the rest of this story. Subscribing to TMNews.com gives you 24/7 access to our news, features, and story archives (back to 1996) from anywhere. To start a subscription, you will need a major credit card and an email address to set up the account. Seven-day home delivery subscribers are entitled to complimentary access to our web site.

Source: http://www.tmnews.com/stories/2013/01/28/news.385640.tms

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ADB, World Bank to step up work in Myanmar after arrears paid

(Reuters) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Monday it was resuming operations in Myanmar with a $512 million loan for social and economic projects that would help the country build on reforms since a military government stepped down in 2011.

In a separate statement, the World Bank said its board had approved a $440 million credit for Myanmar and that, as with the ADB, it was now fully able to support the country's development because debt arrears had been cleared with the help of Japan.

Myanmar President Thein Sein, who heads a quasi-civilian government, has freed political prisoners, unmuzzled the media and begun to reform the economy with a new foreign investment law and an exchange rate determined more by market forces.

In response, Western countries have eased sanctions imposed on the military regime. International financial institutions have offered mostly technical help but have been constrained until now by debt arrears accumulated under the military.

The Manila-based ADB said in a statement that bridge financing provided to Myanmar by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) this month allowed the government to pay off arrears to the ADB of about $500 million.

The World Bank, in its statement from Washington dated January 27, said its loan would be used in part to "help the government meet its foreign exchange needs", which included repaying the JBIC's bridge loan.

The World Bank arrears had been put at about $400 million. Japan, whose government and companies have been particularly active in the former Burma since it opened up, had said it would help with the arrears, which were preventing international bodies from offering fresh loans.

The ADB, which reopened an office in Yangon, Myanmar's commercial capital, in April 2012, said the clearing of arrears allowed it to provide its first loan to the country in more than 30 years.

Thein Sein's government has had to start practically from scratch in developing a modern economy. Reflecting that, the ADB said it would focus on "the building blocks for stability and sustainability".

Among other things, it would look at improving public finances and developing the finance sector.

The loan would be used to "finalize arrears clearance and sustain government efforts to revamp the national budget process and modernize tax administration", the ADB said.

"In rural areas, where development has been hindered by lack of infrastructure, restrictions on land usage, poorly developed support services and limited access to financial services for farmers, ADB funding will help develop a strategy to make banking services more widely available," it said.

The World Bank said its credit would support reforms to strengthen macroeconomic stability and to improve public financial management and the investment climate.

It said that, over the past year, it had opened an office in Yangon and brought in technical experts to help the government develop a broad development program. The government put a detailed program to a big aid donors' conference in the capital, Naypyitaw, on January 19-20.

The World Bank said it had already provided an $80 million grant for improvements to rural infrastructure, including schools, health clinics, roads and irrigation schemes in about 640 villages across Myanmar over six years.

The International Monetary Fund said on January 17 the government had asked for its help to pursue reforms and craft economic policies so that Myanmar could become part of the global economy.

(Additional reporting by Martin Petty; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Richard Borsuk and Paul Tait)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/adb-world-bank-step-myanmar-arrears-paid-163304914--business.html

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DNA-repairing protein may be key to preventing recurrence of some cancers

Jan. 28, 2013 ? Just as the body can become resistant to antibiotics, certain methods of killing cancer tumors can end up creating resistant tumor cells. But a University of Central Florida professor has found a protein present in several types of cancer, including breast and ovarian cancer, which could be helpful in preventing tumors from coming back.

The protein, KLF8, appears to protect tumor cells from drugs aimed at killing them and even aid the tumor cells' ability to regenerate.

"All cells have a DNA-repair mechanism," explained Jihe Zhao, a medical doctor and researcher who in the past few months has published several articles related to the protein in the Journal of Biological Chemistry and Oncogene, among others. "That's why we survive constant DNA damage threats. But KLF8 is overexpressed in specific cancers, such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The thought is that if we can stop it from switching on, we may be able to stop the tumors from coming back as part of therapy. We still need to do a lot more research, but it is plausible.

There are between 2.5 million and 2.7 million women who have breast cancer in the United States and 10 to 20 percent will experience a recurrence, according to the American Cancer Society. Current treatment options, depending on the stage of cancer, include surgical removal followed by chemotherapy using a combination of cancer killing drugs. Each year about 22,200 women are also diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

DNA damage-based chemotherapies depend on failure of cancer cells to repair the DNA damage and subsequent cell death, according to the journal article. Aberrant high levels of DNA repair function in the cells likely increase not only the resistance of the cells to such therapies but also the malignancy of the cells due to improper DNA repair-mediated genomic and chromosomal instability.

In the study, Zhao's team tested one specific cancer-fighting drug used in the treatment of breast cancer to determine the role of the protein.

"Indeed, our results have clearly linked the KLF8-promoted DNA repair to the cell resistance to doxorubicin-induced cell death," Zhao said. "It remains to be determined whether KLF8 plays a similar role in repairing DNA damage caused by other types of genotoxic agents such as DNA alkylating agents and ionizing radiation."

Even so, the results suggest that in addition to enhancing the drug resistance of the cancer cells, KLF8 could play a role in disturbing genomic integrity through its aberrant DNA repair function and subsequently contribute to aggressive progression of cancer.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Central Florida.

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

---

Journal References:

1. H. Lu, L. Hu, T. Li, S. Lahiri, C. Shen, M. S. Wason, D. Mukherjee, H. Xie, L. Yu, J. Zhao. A Novel Role of Kruppel-like Factor 8 in DNA Repair in Breast Cancer Cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2012; 287 (52): 43720 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M112.418053
2. H Lu, X Wang, A M Urvalek, T Li, H Xie, L Yu, J Zhao. Transformation of human ovarian surface epithelial cells by Kr?ppel-like factor 8. Oncogene, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/onc.2012.545

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/OBBSx68vNM4/130128104626.htm

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Write at the Merge, Week 5 | Write On Edge

Welcome to Week 5 of Write at the Merge! Five weeks! Time flies when you?re writing. Sorry this is up so early, but until WordPress and Inlinkz end their blood feud, we can?t schedule posts with linky code in them. Le sigh.

Here are the guidelines for our new format:

Write at the Merge will provide you with two? somethings? to spark your creativity. You have up to 500 words to write a creative writing piece inspired by the prompt. Some weeks both things might speak to you but some weeks your piece can be solely inspired by one of the offerings. It?s your prompt, so use it in a way that works for you.

Bring your serial fiction, memoir, stand-alone fiction, poetry or any sort of creative writing inspired by what you find here. We do ask, though, if you are linking to serial fiction, that your work also function as a standalone piece.

The link is open now and will be open until 11:59 p.m. PST on Thursday.

This week, I give you a French phrase (you are not required to use the phrase verbatim, but you can) and a photograph:

La Douleur Exquise?(French): The heart-wrenching pain of wanting someone you can?t have.

When I came across this word I thought of ?unrequited? love. It?s not quite the same, though. ?Unrequited love? describes a relationship state, but not a state of mind. Unrequited love encompasses the lover who?isn?treciprocating, as well as the lover who desires.?La douleur exquise?gets at the emotional heartache, specifically, of being the one whose love is unreciprocated. ~ Via Pamela Haag on BigThink.com

Source: http://writeonedge.com/2013/01/write-at-the-merge-week-5/

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eSmart Tax Premium

For the last several years, we've reviewed a tax preparation website called CompleteTax. Unlike its competitors, this site did not begin its life as a desktop product; it launched on the Web. CompleteTax's parent company, CCH, has been in the business of supporting taxpayers since 1913, the year the tax code was created. CCH analyzes tax law and publishes voluminous resources. The product still exists, but it's now called eSmart tax?I reviewed eSmart Tax Premium.

The app is now supported by Liberty Tax Service, which has built 4,000 local offices in the U.S. and Canada since its launch in 1997. This tax preparation franchise had used the CompleteTax framework for two years, but this year it is playing a leading role in its website operations. If you need support this year, you'll be dealing with Liberty Tax Service, which also backs your return and e-files it.

I reviewed the Premium version, which costs the same as its competition's Deluxe versions, and is $10 cheaper than last year. If you plan to file a Schedule C, you have to spring for this top-of-the-line offering.

eSmart Tax, as you might expect, provides accurate, comprehensive coverage of the most commonly-faced tax situations, as well as several more uncommon ones. Like the others reviewed here, it asks an exhaustive list of questions as it tries to find all of your income, deductions and credits. eSmart Tax is comparable to its competitors in that sense, but lags behind TurboTax in terms of its user interface and review process. The site's overall help system, though, rivals the leader's; it's at least as comprehensive and context-sensitive.?

A Simple Process
eSmart Tax moves through your return in a fashion similar to its competitors. It gathers your personal information upfront (address, Social Security numbers, dependents, etc.). Here and throughout the tax prep process, you're presented with lengthy lists of questions meant to both feed information to your return and determine which elements of the site should be emphasized. These are yes or no questions, like, "Did you have any deductions such as the following?" (mortgage interest medical expenses, etc.) During this interview process, you'll often have to enter information in fields or select from list of options.

You don't ever see your 1040 shaping up as you go along. But eSmart Tax takes your responses, does any necessary calculating and deposits the information in the correct fields on your return. It really is like sitting in a tax preparer's office answering questions and providing the backup documentation required.

When you've answered every pertinent question, eSmart Tax analyzes your return and either suggests or insists on changes, depending on the issue. Once it's satisfied, you can transfer necessary information into a state return and complete it in the same fashion. After you've breathed a sigh of relief, you can print and/or e-file your return (the latter is recommended, and will be required someday).

Multiple Navigational Options
Simple, obvious navigational tools help you move through the interview. Tabs at the top of the screen display the site's primary sections: Personal, Employment, Deductions, Investments, Retirement, Miscellaneous, and Filing Options. Sub-tabs beneath each further divide those sections into smaller bites.

You can use these for navigation, but you're less likely to miss something critical if you progress through the site using the "Previous" and "Continue" buttons on each screen. These advance you forward or back one page. The "Quick Navigation" link takes you to another option. It presents a tree-like outline of the entire site's screens; you can click on one link to move directly to that page. These are all standard conventions that eSmart Tax's competitors employ.

CompleteTax revamped the user interface a couple of years ago, but the site still lags behind its competition in this area. It doesn't look like a polished, state-of-the-art website yet. Some elements look great, like the main tabs and buttons, but the work windows could use freshening up.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/TB_Dcd0e6mU/0,2817,2414703,00.asp

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West continues to drift into Democrats' column

DENVER (AP) ? A political generation ago, the West signaled the nation's rightward swing ? from the emergence of Ronald Reagan to the success of tax-limitation ballot measures in California and Colorado. But now the fabled expanse of jagged peaks, arid deserts and emerald coastlines is trending in a different direction.

From Washington state ? where voters in November legalized marijuana and upheld the legality of gay marriage ? to New Mexico, once a hotly contested swing state that Republicans ceded to Democrats in the presidential campaign, the West has become largely Democratic terrain.

There are, as always, exceptions. Lightly populated Idaho and Wyoming remain strongly Republican, as does Utah. And Democrats are struggling in Arizona, where a bruising immigration debate has given Republicans a lock on statewide offices but may provide Democrats an opening by firming up their support among the state's growing Hispanic population. Still, the overall trend is clear, according to analysts on all sides of the political spectrum.

"It's just a different world," said Bill Carrick, a veteran Democratic strategist in Los Angeles who has worked widely in the region. "Nevada became the next California and now Arizona looks like it will become the next Nevada. ... It's just pushing the West further and further from Republicans."

The shift is due to a combination of factors: the fusion of the region's libertarian spirit with both an influx of transplants from more liberal states seeking a better quality of life, and a growing immigrant population alienated by increasingly hardline Republican immigration proposals.

"Look at the migration patterns," said Sig Rogich, a Republican consultant in Las Vegas who worked on Reagan's presidential campaigns. "You're seeing the aftermath of a new generation of young men and women whose parents moved westward."

Politics is different in the region. Western states generally have weak political parties, part of the legacy of their political maturation during the progressive era at the start of the 20th century. Most local elections are nonpartisan affairs and voters often have the right to unilaterally set policy via ballot initiative. Western voters have long cherished nonpartisan independence, even when they voted a relatively straight party ticket.

"The West is the most American part of America," said Dave Kopel of the Independence Institute, a libertarian think tank in Denver. "It is a place where you have much more respect for individual choice and you have more ability to be who you want to be."

During the 1980s and 1990s, that libertarian streak fed a series of Republican victories as voters approved tax-limitation initiatives, protested federal environmental regulations and kept statehouses firmly in the GOP's hands. But nowadays it means something else, Carrick said.

"The libertarian thing is no longer about property rights or gun rights," he said. "It's now about letting people live their lives as they choose."

Ironically, Republicans' success may have contributed to that shift. The party managed to enshrine staunch anti-tax measures in several states' constitutions through ballot initiatives, making it very difficult to raise taxes in California, Colorado and Washington state. As a result, Democrats can't easily raise revenue ? but they also can't be attacked for doing so, said Ron Dotzauer, a Seattle-based Democratic strategist. "They can't be defined as the pro-tax group because they can't tax," he said.

There are prominent Republicans who demonstrate that the party can still win the region. Brian Sandoval in Nevada and Susana Martinez in New Mexico are popular Republican governors, but their relatively moderate stances often put them at odds with the national party. Both, for example, just agreed to the Medicaid expansion under President Barack Obama's health care plan, something that is anathema to many conservative Republicans.

"People appreciate a leader who takes more pragmatic approaches," said Nicole McCleskey, a New Mexico-based GOP pollster who advises Martinez. She argued that Democrats' success in the region is overstated and noted that, outside of California, Republicans in 2012 only lost one Western congressional seat. As an example of how Republicans can succeed, she cited New Mexico, where the party picked up seats in the state Legislature despite the Obama wave.

But McCleskey acknowledged that New Mexico Republicans were helped by the national GOP basically giving up on the presidential race in the state. GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney did not contest the state, minimizing the damage of a divisive presidential campaign.

"We were able to localize a lot of these races and build on the change that has taken place with a strong Republican governor," she said. "Republicans fought on state issues and the Democrats tried to fight on national issues."

Jill Hanauer is a Democratic strategist who engineered her party's takeover of the Colorado state Legislature in 2004. She agrees with McCleskey that the West cannot be considered a Democratic lock.

"The reason Democrats or progressives are winning is that Republicans got fat and happy," said Hanauer, who is now president of Project New America, a political data and strategy company in Denver. "The worst thing that can happen for Democrats is to take it for granted."

In 2002, Ruy Teixeira, a Washington, D.C.-based Democratic strategist, co-wrote "The Emerging Democratic Majority," which predicted that demographic and social trends would turn parts of the country that were deep red, like the interior Mountain West, into Democratic-leaning states. The book was published shortly after Republicans took back the U.S. Senate in the 2002 midterm elections and was received skeptically.

Last year, Teixeira and a bevy of other researchers published a new book on the Mountain West as America's new swing region. Now there was little pushback.

Teixeira said the West's shift has been dramatic because of the heavy migration to the region. Another factor is the ballot initiative process, which magnifies political trends by making it easier to enact dramatic policy changes like marijuana legalization.

But he argued in an interview that what's happened to the West is not very different from what's taking place across the country. Surveys for his book last year found it only slightly more libertarian on social issues and holding similar views toward government and taxation as other parts of the country. That, he said, is bad news for Republicans ? their problem is national, not regional.

"It's not like there's something in the water in state X that's making them harder for Republicans," Teixeira said. "It's just the same series of changes that are working themselves out in all states."

___

Follow Nicholas Riccardi on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nickriccardi

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-26-West's%20Leftward%20Swing/id-80365a35ff7543e2a9d59562d641fd07

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Thousands of Portuguese teachers protest big cut

LISBON, Portugal (AP) ? Thousands of teachers from around Portugal are marching in downtown Lisbon to protest proposed spending cuts they say will slash ?1 billion ($1.3 billion) from the education budget.

Unions say the government plans to privatize many public schools and cut around 50,000 sector jobs.

Union spokesman Mario Nogueira says the plans revealed in a recent document from the International Monetary Fund would "mean the end of a free and inclusive public school system."

Portugal, which is headed for a third straight year of recession, needed a ?78 billion lifeline in May 2011 to avert bankruptcy and has a jobless rate of 16.3 percent. Austerity measures have triggered many strikes and protests.

It was the third country that uses the euro to require an international bailout to deal with its debts.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/thousands-portuguese-teachers-protest-big-cut-191238904--finance.html

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Learn The Best Ways To Achieve Online Marketing Success ...

If you want a career in online marketing, you can find some suggestions here. In the following paragraphs are some points that you can apply towards success in affiliate endeavors.

There should always be honesty in affiliate marketing. Describe to your users the purpose of your site and reveal all affiliations. If visitors sense dishonesty about your affiliations with the retailer of the product they wish to purchase, they will just pass you up and purchase directly from the merchant.

TIP! You should always disclose to your readers that you earn money if they make a purchase from an affiliate link. Your readers can tell how affiliate links look like and hiding this fact will cause them to lose their trust in you.

Use every appropriate strategy and medium to advertise your product or services. A part of your customer base will prefer searching the web for deals. Some may prefer brochures or fliers. Other customers might respond better to coupons and discounts. If you advertise in several ways, your audience will grow.

Put out feelers with a lot of different affiliates to start out. Using several related sites for you affiliate marketing program offers your customers a wide range of links from which to choose.

TIP! When you are selecting an affiliate company to work with, pick one who supports their affiliates and provides help to sell the product. Affiliate companies are smart, at least most of them are.

If you want to be the most successful affiliate possible, you must keep up with the best marketing methods. It?s tempting to simply grab the first free affiliate marketing campaign that comes along. While free always sounds good, you need to do some research to find options that will be affective in your particular market.

Optimize your marketing success by paying for professional ads. Make sure your ads are directed at specific keywords in order to produce revenue for you. Ads are a great way to draw in new customers and increase awareness of your products.

TIP! If someone visits your sport-themed website, you can be sure that they have one thing on their mind: sports. Only a sports-related link would benefit your affiliate site.

Set goals for yourself that will allow you to improve your current internet marketing strategy. Motivation remains as long as there are unfinished tasks visible in the task bar.

Choosing the hottest products to promote as an affiliate may mean thinner profits. While quality is always a major concern, it does not necessarily translate into popularity. Popularity also means over-saturation and an abundance of competition. This may not result in profits for you.

TIP! Affiliates should use text services to enhance their potential in earning commissions. While this is a little new still, there are lots of affiliates that use this to promote their products, share affiliate offers and keep all of their customers in the know.

Online Marketing

You should always research any company you plan on affiliating with. It doesn?t matter if the affiliate site has one of the highest earnings in its industry. You must ensure that you will have the ability to easily market it with no problems.

TIP! Affiliate marketing is great for businesses that have a strategy. You needdc to have your blog or site as high in search rankings as possible.

An online marketing program will help you achieve great results when promoting your business on the Internet. Online marketing programs are more effective than other advertising approaches, like banner ads or contextual networks. When looking at affiliate programs, pay attention to things like the directory?s popularity, ease of use and the payment you will receive for referrals.

It takes time to figure out which affiliate ads appeal the most to your audience?s demographic group. Some demographics like big advertisements with sound and video; others will prefer simple text. Your target audience should always be the driving force when you decide which products you wish to sell.

TIP! Increase your Google Plus follower count to keep ahead of your competitors. Intertwine your Google Plus, Twitter, and Facebook marketing, creating a combination of social media networking success.

Create your own e-book and post it on websites where documents can be shared freely. This can show that you know what you are talking about, and it can draw targeted visitors to your website. Make sure your article links back to your website.

You should consider giving your customers the opportunity to also market your product. Offer your customers that chance to be your affiliate upon purchasing your products. You can make a single sale into thousands if you have a client that wants to become an affiliate. It?s an easy way to drive more sales.

TIP! Useful advice for those who have only recently succeeded at affiliate marketing is to avoid resting on their laurels and continue to work hard. You should always strive for bigger and better things.

It is important to select a company with high sales conversion rates in order to have a successful affiliate program. Consider using a one percent conversion ratio as a benchmark.

By watching the statistics of your affiliates, you can see which links are performing well. Test each affiliate link in different locations on the page and compare your results. Be sure to use the same text for this test, and only change the link position within your article.

TIP! Write a note by hand, scan it, then put it up on your site. Handwritten content adds a touch of something that people feel is more personal.

Consider the peripherals when you are establishing affiliate links on the pages of your website. How about a water bottle with a strap so they can bring it out, too?

Every single affiliate you choose should be in your site?s niche. This will increase traffic to your website and also assist you in truly understanding the needs and wants of your customer base.

TIP! One solid piece of advice for potential affiliate marketers is to seek out companies with successful, long-term products. A diverse company gives you many ways to earn money.

Consider entering a niche market to increase your profits through affiliate promotion. It might be harder to find an audience when you are associated with a variety of products rather than focusing on a smaller, specific group of products.

Try to stay up to date in your industry. If you are behind the times in comparison to your competitors, people are more likely to patronize your competitors.

TIP! Try making a website just for your affiliate partners to improve your sales. Other affiliates may agree to work with you if you don?t hide that you use this marketing strategy.

It is critical that you do this, particularly if your target audience is the older generation. Make your font just a little bigger so people will notice it.

You will want to consider what products you are linking to. Once you have your affiliate links arranged properly, you should be earning more profits.

TIP! Use affiliations to market your online business more effectively. Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular ways of advertising, because of the number of people who click links.

Keep your intended audience in mind as you decide which affiliates to join. You should make sure that your affiliates are promoting products and services that are compatible or complementary to what your website offers. Visitors to your site are there because they want shoes, so try to sell them shoes and shoe related products. Choose ads that best cater to your demographic and take advantage of your customer information.

Try choosing an affiliate company who has higher sales conversion ratios. You should aim for about a 1% conversion rate.

TIP! One good marketing technique is to limit the purchase window for an affiliate product. When customers see they may not be able to get their hands on a product later, they might just jump on it.

Many affiliate marketers overdo it. They put their energy in too many places, they choose too many products, and they have too many promotions going at once to stay effectively competitive at any one thing. It is good to note there is no limit when it comes to what can be achieved. You just need time, creative thinking, determination and a willingness to learn in order to be successful in web marketing.

Learn new methods and share tips with other companies by joining a community for online affiliate marketers. You can find multiple outlets online where you can discuss best SEO practices, share codes, give advice, find and give leads on new affiliate programs, and get practical advice from other people doing what you do. Join different groups and forums to further your learning about affiliate marketing.

One highly effective internet marketing tactic is to put deadline stipulations on purchases. If visitors see that there is only a small amount of time left to purchase the product, they might feel an extra push to go ahead and purchase it. People love to feel as though they are getting a deal.

If you require access to your money in a timely fashion, choose an affiliate company that offers more than one payment option. While some companies only pay by check when you reach a predetermined amount, others allow you to send money directly to your bank account or to online payment accounts like AlertPay and Paypal.

Web Marketing

As previously mentioned, you can better promote your services and products through web marketing. Following these tips leads you on the road to becoming an expert in web marketing.

For more tips on Affiliate Marketing and to see the platform I use, go to: http://www.financialreboot.com.com

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Source: http://www.samuellevitz.com/learn-the-best-ways-to-achieve-online-marketing-success

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Nutrition | JOE's Healthy treats: The Hamburger

Eating healthy is key, it's what will help you shed or gain those pounds that you're working hard for in the gym. But it can be pretty boring, right? Let's change that.

By Adrian Collins

January is here, so that means we're raiding our cupboards throwing out the half eaten packets of crisps and leftover mince pies that we've been fuelling ourselves on over the Christmas.

So instead of eating plain porridge and brown rice for the next few weeks, we here at JOE are going to help you make your favourites that little bit healthier.

Remember, nutrition will account for about 80% of the goal you want to achieve, the other 20% comes from the exercise and effort in the gym or out running, so it makes more sense to fuel your sessions than to use your sessions to burn off food.

But that's no reason to miss out on something delicious. Let's turn that hamburger into a gym fuelling super food.

Here are some tips to remember when knocking this together: Firstly pick your bun wisely. A brown or wholemeal roll will always be better than a white bread bap with lots of sugar, and you don't sacrifice any flavour. Lob some spinach on instead of lettuce for extra greens.

Secondly, easy on the extras. Cheese is fine once it's good quality and not processed stuff, but bacon and onion rings are extra calories that distract from the taste of the meat, which is pretty good anyway.

A sneaky tip to get melted cheese looking like they do in restaurants is, once you've placed the cheese on the burger, throw some water on the pan or barbecue then cover it with a lid. The steam cooks the cheese on top of the burger and melts it to make it look it's picture-perfect best.

Put some cooked onions into your meat mix too, it keeps the burger juicy and makes it taste much nicer. Try to also get lean, good quality meat, it makes a difference to your taste buds!

You can also try throwing some chillies in the mix, they boost your metabolic rate and help you burn fat.

When it comes to sauces, mayo is often an option that contains a huge amount of calories for the taste that it adds. Ketchup and mustard (which you can get in a variety of options like low-sodium etc.) will beef up the taste, or even throw in a barbecue sauce for a smoky flavour that compliments the meat well.

Remember, eating healthy isn't a mystery or a crazy super-science, it's common sense. Thanks to hard-working scientists, we now know that chips cooked in oil are delicious, but they're not a life-giving super food, and it's not a good idea to eat them all the time.

But we also know that a burger has to come with fries, that's something we refuse to budge on. So swap the deep fried for a few oven-roasted sweet potatoes, a delicious alternative.

Add in some broccoli (which also fights cancer while you're at it) and some green beans, and you've got a much healthier meal to chow down on. In fact, this recipe was so good we made one ourselves, and it was up there with the best burgers we've ever eaten.

There you have it, a few simple steps that can make your burger guilt free and turn it into muscle fuel.

Source: http://www.joe.ie/health-fitness/nutrition/joes-healthy-treats-the-hamburger-0032349-1

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How to prevent cellphone frostbite

5 hrs.

Sean Captain, TechNewsDaily managing editor

As frigid?weather continues to pound the East Coast and the Plains, fingers go numb, noses go red and cellphones go out. "We remind customers that their electronics operate best in the same temperatures that people like, too," said Jazmin Hupp, director of marketing at Tekserve, a popular Manhattan Apple reseller.

When the temperature drops below freezing, the lithium-ion batteries can lose some of, or even all, their charge for a time. What looked like a half-full battery when you walked out of the house could soon appear completely empty and shut down in 20-degree weather. Stop inside for a while, restart the phone and the battery will probably appear half-full again.

In most cases, the cold isn't doing any permanent damage ? just reducing the power of the battery until you warm it up again. This shouldn't come as a surprise. With the iPhone, for example, Apple's site clearly states, "Operating ambient temperature: 32 degrees to 95 degrees F (0 degrees to 35 degrees C)."

But most people don't read specs. Tekserve's Hupp said that the store's service department has had a spike in complaints about short battery life on iPods and iPhones during the cold snap. In the past week, the company has also sold 20 percent more Mophie Juice Packs ? external iPhone batteries. But they are just as susceptible to the cold as the phone's built-in battery.

The only proven remedy is perhaps also the simplest: Put your phone in your pocket. That will disrupt the popular pastime of surfing and walking. But it's the safe bet: protecting not only your phone but also your chilled fingers, as well as decreasing the likelihood of walking into traffic. [See also: How to Improve Android Smartphone Battery Life ]

No technology is likely to be foolproof. "Cases can't really help unless you had a specific case that warmed the product," said Bryan Hynecek, chief designer at smartphone case maker Speck. "Still, you would need something over the glass because that is a large surface ? best thing is to keep it in a pocket close to the body and only use in short intervals."

"A good case will mitigate that issue (somewhat)," wrote Ken Sander, owner of New York City electronic repair shop, The Cable Doctor, in an email. Sander recommended one piece of hardware, however. "If you used headphones, it won't be an issue," he said, because the phone would remain in the pocket.

Follow TechNewsDaily on Twitter @ TechNewsDaily. We're also on Facebook & Google+.?

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

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/how-prevent-cellphone-frostbite-1C8124834

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The Alternates #1: Define Good

We're not the first Superheroes, nor are we the first adolescent heroes. We're just experimenting with 'justice.'

Owner:

Game Masters:

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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

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Reckon I'm gonna try for the Beef. Probably won't have his profile finished for the next couple hours, though, so I just know somebody's gonna come along and snag him while I'm gone.

Formerly The Painkiller.

Comrade

Member for 2 years

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Welp, guess I'll try to make a sheet for mr. Captain.

Obviously you don't do reservations, just hope you'll keep in mind I'll be writing a sheet. (:P)

Byte

Member for 2 years

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Aw yeah. The bros are here first.

Hey, don't worry. I'll take every sheet into consideration. I'll give them a full read, and voice any complaints I have.

JayZeroSnake

Member for 3 years

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Scratch that, we just got our first female audition sheet.

JayZeroSnake

Member for 3 years

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Post a reply

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PFT: Rams reportedly will hire Rob Ryan

Getty Images

A career-worst season, and a playoff kick off the uprights is not enough to shake the 49ers? confidence in David Akers.

(Other, than of course, the fact they brought in another kicker earlier this month.)

But 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh denied that his kicker was in a slump, saying the team has nothing but belief in Akers.

?We all have great faith in David,? Harbaugh said, via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. ?He?s done a lot for our team. I believe he?s really hitting the ball well, consistently for weeks. I can?t agree that he is in a slump.

?All he can do is make the snap and make the hold, give great protection and him keep hitting the ball. And we have confidence those will go in.?

Akers said the fact they haven?t gone in at his previous rate (he?s at 69 percent this year, and is a career 81 percent on field goals) didn?t make sense to him, because he feels as consistent as ever.

?I felt good all year,? Akers said. ?Just doing the same thing in practice we?ve done all year. And wish those points would?ve counted in games. I had a great practice season, and training camp and pre-games. So it?s one of those things.

?It?s been a head-scratcher. But I?m still going to be positive about going into this game, 60 minutes away from possibility of being a world champion.?

Kicking field goals is a muscle-memory business, and Akers said he can only fall back on his fundamentals.

?It?s no different than a relief pitcher or a [defensive back] who got burned on a long play,? Akers said. ?You got to go out and let body mechanics take over. There?s nothing really to do.

?The team obviously has faith in me. They kept me here. I?m going to go out. I?m going to give everything I have every time and that?s the mentality I got.?

It?s easy for Harbaugh to say he trusts Akers, because he has to say that. The real test will be if they face a fourth-and-short around the 35 or so, and whether he turns that faith into action.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/24/report-rams-will-hire-rob-ryan/related/

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They hunt, they kill, they cheat: Single-celled algae shed light on social lives of microbes

Jan. 18, 2013 ? Cheating is a behavior not limited to humans, animals and plants. Even microscopically small, single-celled algae do it, a team of University of Arizona researchers has discovered.

Humans do it, chimpanzees do it, cuckoos do it -- cheating to score a free ride is a well-documented behavior by many animals, even plants. But microscopically small, single-celled algae? Yes, they do it too, biologists with the University of Arizona's department of ecology and evolutionary biology have discovered.

"There are cheaters out there that we didn't know of," said William Driscoll, lead author of a research report on the topic who studied an environmentally devastating toxic alga that is invading U.S. waters as part of his doctoral research in the lab of Jeremiah Hackett, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.

Driscoll isolated several strains of the species, Prymnesium parvum, and noticed that some grew more quickly and do not produce any of the toxins that protect the algae against competition from other species of algae.

"When those 'cheaters' are cultured with their toxic counterparts, they can still benefit from the toxins produced by their cooperative neighbors -- they are true 'free riders,'" Driscoll explained.

The study, published in the journal Evolution, adds to the emerging view that microbes often have active social lives. Future research into the social side of toxic algae could open up new approaches to control or counteract toxic algal blooms, which can pose serious threats to human health and wipe out local fisheries, for example.

Prymnesium belong to a group of algae known as golden algae, so named for their accessory pigments, which give the cells a golden sheen. This toxic species lives mostly in oceans and only recently has invaded freshwater environments. Its distant relatives include the equally microscopic diatoms, which make up a large part of phytoplankton, and giant kelp.

The algae produce toxins that are deadly to fish but so far have not been shown to threaten the health of humans or cattle. Many scientists believe the toxin arose as a chemical weapon to wipe out other algae and other organisms competing for the same nutrients and sunlight on which the algae depend. The discovery of cheaters that don't bother to produce toxin, however, throws a wrench into this scenario.

"We are trying to understand the ecological side in these algae," Driscoll said.

"If you're a single cell, regardless of whether you make a toxin or not, you're just drifting through the water, and everything is drifting with you," Driscoll explained. "Producing toxins only makes sense if the entire population does it. Any given individual cell won't get any benefit from the chemicals it makes because they immediately diffuse away. It's a bit like schooling behavior in fish: A single fish can't confuse a predator; you need everyone else do the same thing." For that reason, he explained, the cheaters should have an immediate advantage over their "honest" peers because they can invest the energy and resources they save into making more offspring.

"Theory tells us cooperation should break down in these circumstances. If you are secreting a toxin and it's beneficial to your species, then everybody gets access to that benefit. In a well-mixed population where there is no group structure, natural selection should favor selfishness, and the cheaters should take over." But for some reason, they don't. An alternative explanation for toxicity becomes clear when toxic cells are observed alongside their competition under a microscope.

"They attack other cells," he said. "Using their two flagella, they swim up to the prey and latch on to it. Sometimes a struggle takes place, and more cells swim up to the scene, surround their victim and release more toxin, and then they eat it."

"These toxins might have evolved less as a means to keep competitors away and more like a rattlesnake venom. The algae might use it to stun or immobilize prey." Driscoll and his co-workers isolated the toxic and the non-toxic strains side by side from the same water sample, taken from a late bloom as the bloom started to crash.

"When times are good and there are plenty of nutrients in the water, the algae use photosynthesis to gain energy from sunlight, but when nutrients become sparse, they attack and become toxic," Driscoll said. "That's when they start swimming around looking for prey. They are a little bit like carnivorous plants in that way -- like a Venus fly trap."

The group observed that as soon as nutrients become scarce, the toxic population ceases to grow, but the cheaters keep multiplying.

Driscoll and his team think the cheating behavior could be an adaptation to the algae bloom life style.

"During a bloom you have killed off all the prey or a huge amount of it, so why produce toxins and go looking for something that isn't there? It might be better to just keep growing and not even try to bother to keep looking for prey because it's gone."

Driscoll said the research illustrates how little is known about the ecology of microbes.

"We're just starting to understand what the mechanisms are that maintain cooperation in microbes. The theory is heavily slanted toward multicellular organisms. Only recently have people started to think about microbes cooperating."

To better understand the genes and biochemical pathways that control how the algae make their toxins, the group in Hackett's lab is investigating which genes are active in the toxic compared to the non-toxic strains.

"We are finding a number of stress-related genes are regulated differently in the cheaters," Driscoll said. "A lot of the other genes have not been studied before, especially those most likely involved in toxin production."

"The problem is that nothing close to these algae has had its genome sequenced, so they're pretty mysterious. Many of the genes we have sequenced are novel, so understanding their function is a big part of the challenge."

Unraveling the molecular mechanisms behind all this chemical warfare, cheating behavior and maximizing growth could potentially lead to new applications, the researchers speculate, albeit cautiously.

Driscoll explained the cheating trait might be an Achilles heel that could be exploited to curb algal blooms.

"We are ultimately interested in disrupting the competitive abilities of these bloom-forming populations. While this research is just scratching the surface, understanding how natural selection may work over the course of a bloom can provide a deeper understanding of the traits that are most important to the success of this species."

In addition, the cheaters' tendency to keep growing when their toxic peers no longer can is in some ways reminiscent of cancer cells.

According to Driscoll, one way to think about cancer is that cancerous cells have an immediate advantage over their non-cancerous, well-behaved neighbors. But this advantage, if unchecked, is very shortsighted because it will interfere with the basic functioning of the multicellular organism of which they are all a part.

"What we may be seeing in our algae is a -- far less extreme -- version of a similar story, because a short-term advantage to not producing toxins may interfere with the long-term competitive ability of the population."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Arizona, 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. William W. Driscoll, Noelle J. Espinosa, Omar T. Eldakar, Jeremiah D. Hackett. ALLELOPATHY AS AN EMERGENT, EXPLOITABLE PUBLIC GOOD IN THE BLOOM-FORMING MICROALGAPRYMNESIUM PARVUM. Evolution, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/evo.12030

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/VCf6-R3ycxo/130118172335.htm

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