MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday the G8 was in agreement in rejecting North Korea's recent provocative behavior and urged all sides to pursue diplomacy to calm the increasingly tense situation in northeast Asia.
Speaking before a regularly scheduled meeting of Group of Eight (G8) foreign ministers later this week in London, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Russia shared its partners' concerns about North Korea.
"We are in solidarity with them as regards the rejection of Pyongyang's current provocative and bellicose line of conduct," he said in an interview with state news agency RIA that was posted on the ministry's website.
"At the same time, we must not renounce political and diplomatic efforts, as any alternative brings the threat of profound upheaval in Northeast Asia," he said.
Russia has stepped up criticism of North Korea after the Soviet-era client state conducted a nuclear test in February, which led to new U.N. Security Council sanctions that both Russia and China, the North's closest ally, approved.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday also reiterated that Pyongyang's violations of the U.N. Security Council were unacceptable.
"The situation is very serious anyway, nuclear explosions and rocket launches are not a joke. But the rhetoric is playing a no less harmful role," Lavrov was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
"That is why we are persistently seeking to calm the situation."
North Korea has intensified threats of imminent conflict against the United States and South Korea in recent days, and on Tuesday warned foreigners to evacuate the South to avoid being caught in a war.
RIA cited an official at the Russian embassy in Seoul as saying there were no immediate plans to evacuate.
The G8 includes the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia.
(Writing by Steve Gutterman and Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by Michael Roddy)
Apr. 9, 2013 ? Scientists at The University of Manchester have found evidence of the genetic basis of the evolutionary arms-race between parasitoids and their aphid hosts.
The researchers studied the reaction of aphids when a parasitic wasp with genetic variation laid eggs in them. They found that different genotypes of the wasp affected where the aphids went to die, including whether they left the plant host entirely. The team also found an example of the emergence of a shared phenotype that was partly wasp and partly aphid.
Dr Mouhammad Shadi Khudr, a visiting scientist at the Faculty of Life Sciences, led the research: ?Natural selection on the aphid prey depends not only on aphid genes, but also on the genetics of the parasitic wasp. The indirect genetic effects underlying the relationship between natural enemies have been rarely shown, especially when they arise between species. Parasite-manipulation is endlessly fascinating, albeit with a somewhat ghoulish quality! This study sheds light on how genetic variation can influence that manipulation.?
The researchers began the study by breeding 13 males with 3 females of the wasp Aphidius ervi, through which a quantitative genetic design was created. The resulting offspring of full and half siblings provided a basis of genetic variation in the parasitic wasp to test how different individuals of the latter are associated with variation in the aphids? behaviour when aphids are prone to the wasps? manipulation. One genotype of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum was chosen. Since this species reproduces asexually by parthenogenesis, the resulting genetically identical individuals make up a specific type of colony known as ?clone?.
The team then introduced the wasps into 156 cages that contained a broad bean plant and an aphid colony. They then compared the behaviour of aphids in the presence and absence of the wasp by monitoring what the aphids did over the next ten days. Successful parasitism ends with the death of the aphid host which becomes a pale brownish remainder called a ?mummy?. Once the aphids had mummified, the location of each mummy was recorded according to its position on the plant and at other locations within the cage.?
Dr Khudr says: ?Our results confirm that parasitism by a parasitoid wasp can lead to behavioural modifications in an aphid host. The effect of the wasp fathers was significant on the distribution of the parasitised and non-parasitised aphids. There was also a notable effect of mothers indicating a maternal influence on the distribution of parasitised vs. non-parasitised aphids. This can reflect a fitness-difference between father families.?
As well as monitoring their behaviour whilst they were alive, the positions of the aphids? bodies once the new wasp has hatched also varied both on and off the plants. This variation was dependent on the wasp genotype. It?s this relationship between the wasp and its host which starts with parasitism and ends with predation that fascinates Dr Khudr.?
?What we?re witnessing on the broad bean plants is an evolutionary arms-race between two enemies where each one strives to cap each others? fitness. This can be observed through varying manipulative strategies applied by the parasitic wasps in order to subdue their hosts. The wasp has to ensure the aphid can be kept alive long enough to ensure it can mature. The parasitised aphid will on occasion commit suicide if it realises it has the wasp growing within it and by doing so it can save the rest of the colony from a subsequent attack. What we?ve been able to do in this study is to open the window on how the genetics of one species influence the behaviour and manipulation of another host species.?
The findings have been published in the Royal Society?s Biology Letters. Discussing the findings Dr Khudr says he was surprised by what the team recorded: ?We had expected some variation in the aphids? movement and behaviour but not to the extent that we witnessed. An organism?s phenotype (behaviour) can be the product of the genes expressed in another organism?
The next step is to carry out further research to establish if specific genes in the wasps can be linked to particular behaviours in the aphids. Dr Khudr hopes this type of information could increase our understanding of the importance of genetic diversity in ecosystem services, and lead to the development of better biological controls for aphid populations.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Manchester University.
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Journal Reference:
Mouhammad Shadi Khudr et al. Parasitoid wasps influence where aphids die via an interspecific indirect genetic effect. Biology Letters, 2013 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2012.1151
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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
In our state of continued information overload, and because of the growing number of services which we have to check in order to keep up with the information that matters to us, things get missed by even the most active social media users. A new startup called Slim wants to change that, and is today launching an iOS application which allows you to discover and be alerted to the most important life events from your friends and colleagues - like births, anniversaries, job changes, and more.
Apr. 8, 2013 ? An exploding star observed in 1604 by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler held a greater fraction of heavy elements than the sun, according to an analysis of X-ray observations from the Japan-led Suzaku satellite. The findings will help astronomers better understand the diversity of type Ia supernovae, an important class of stellar explosion used in probing the distant universe.
"The composition of the star, its environment, and the mechanism of the explosion may vary considerably among type Ia supernovae," said Sangwook Park, an assistant professor of physics at the University of Texas at Arlington. "By better understanding them, we can fine-tune our knowledge of the universe beyond our galaxy and improve cosmological models that depend on those measurements."
The best way to explore the star's makeup is to perform a kind of post-mortem examination on the shell of hot, rapidly expanding gas produced by the explosion. By identifying specific chemical signatures in the supernova remnant, astronomers can obtain a clearer picture of the composition of the star before it blew up.
"Kepler's supernova is one of the most recent type Ia explosions known in our galaxy, so it represents an essential link to improving our knowledge of these events," said Carles Badenes, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh.
Using the Suzaku satellite's X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS), the astronomers observed the remnant of Kepler's supernova in 2009 and 2011. With a total effective XIS exposure of more than two weeks, the X-ray spectrum reveals several faint emission features from highly ionized chromium, manganese and nickel in addition to a bright emission line from iron. The detection of all four elements was crucial for understanding the original star.
"Suzaku's XIS instrument is uniquely suited to this type of study thanks to its excellent energy resolution, high sensitivity and low background noise," said team member Koji Mori, an associate professor of applied physics at the University of Miyazaki, Japan.
Cosmologists regard type Ia supernovae as "standard candles" because they release similar amounts of energy. By comparing this standard to the observed peak brightness of a type Ia supernova, astronomers can pin down its distance. Their similarity stems from the fact that the exploding star is always a compact stellar remnant known as a white dwarf.
Although a white dwarf star is perfectly stable on its own, pair it with another white dwarf or a normal star and the situation eventually may turn volatile. The normal star may transfer gas onto the white dwarf, where it gradually accumulates. Or the orbits of binary white dwarfs may shrink until the two objects merge.
Either way, once a white dwarf begins tipping the scales at around 1.4 times the sun's mass, a supernova soon follows. Somewhere within the white dwarf, carbon nuclei begin merging together, forming heavier elements and releasing a vast amount of energy. This wave of nuclear fusion rapidly propagates throughout the star, ultimately shattering it in a brilliant explosion that can be detected billions of light-years away.
Astronomers can track some details of the white dwarf's composition by determining the abundance of certain trace elements, such as manganese, that formed during the explosion. Specifically, the ratio of manganese to chromium produced by the explosion turns out to be sensitive to the presence of a neutron-rich version of neon, called neon-22. Establishing the star's neon-22 content gives scientists a guide to the abundance of all other elements heavier than helium, which astronomers call "metals."
The findings provide strong evidence that the original white dwarf possessed roughly three times the amount of metals found in the sun. Progressive stellar generations seed interstellar gas with increasing proportions of metals. The remnant, which lies about 23,000 light-years away toward the constellation Ophiuchus, lies much closer to our galaxy's crowded central region than the sun does. There, star formation was probably more rapid and efficient. As a result, the star that blazed forth as Kepler's supernova likely formed out of material that already was enriched with a higher fraction of metals.
Park, Badenes, Mori and their colleagues discuss the findings in a paper scheduled for publication in the April 10 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters and now available online.
While the Suzaku results do not directly address which type of binary system triggered the supernova, they indicate that the white dwarf was probably no more than a billion years old when it exploded, or less than a quarter of the sun's current age.
"Theories indicate that the star's age and metal content affect the peak luminosity of type Ia supernovae," Park explained. "Younger stars likely produce brighter explosions than older ones, which is why understanding the spread of ages among type Ia supernovae is so important."
In 2011, astrophysicists from the United States and Australia won the Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery that the expansion of the universe is picking up speed, a conclusion based on measurements of type Ia supernovae. An enigmatic force called dark energy appears to be responsible for this acceleration, and understanding its nature is now a top science goal. Recent findings by the European Space Agency's Planck satellite reveal that dark energy makes up 68 percent of the universe.
Launched on July 10, 2005, Suzaku was developed at the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), which is part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in collaboration with NASA and other Japanese and U.S. institutions.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.
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Journal Reference:
Sangwook Park, Carles Badenes, Koji Mori, Ryohei Kaida, Eduardo Bravo, Andrew Schenck, Kristoffer A. Eriksen, John P. Hughes, Patrick O. Slane, David N. Burrows, Jae-Joon Lee. A SUPER-SOLAR METALLICITY FOR THE PROGENITOR OF KEPLER'S SUPERNOVA. The Astrophysical Journal, 2013; 767 (1): L10 DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/767/1/L10
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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
By Rick Nauert PhDSenior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on April 9, 2013
New research suggests a shared approach to household chores and parenting is a tonic for a successful marriage.
However, University of Missouri researchers discovered an equal distribution of responsibilities is not always necessary as each couple will determine expectations of each partner.
?Sharing can mean something different to every couple,? said Adam Galovan, lead researcher and doctoral student in human development and family studies.
?It could be taking turns changing diapers or one parent watching the children while the other prepares dinner. Doing things together and having mutual, agreed-upon divisions of labor benefitted both spouses.?
Galovan and his Brigham Young University and Utah State University colleagues surveyed 160 heterosexual couples to see how the parents divided household responsibilities and how those chores affected the husbands? and wives? relationships.
The couples were married for an average of five years and had at least one child age five or younger. Most of the parents were between 25 and 30 years old, and about 40 percent of the women had full- or part-time jobs.
?The more wives perceived that husbands were engaged in routine family work tasks, the better the relationships were for both partners,? Galovan said. ?Wives in our study viewed father involvement and participation in household chores as related. Doing household chores and being engaged with the children seem to be important ways for husbands to connect with their wives, and that connection is related to better couple relationships.?
The bonds between fathers and their children also contributed to couples? marital satisfaction, Galovan said.
?When wives felt their husbands were close to their children, both spouses reported better marriages,? said Galovan. ?The father-child bond was particularly important for wives.?
Parenthood is not easy and caring for a child is a challenge. Couples should realize that transitioning into parenthood requires an adjustment period, and it is normal for husbands and wives to feel stressed, Galovan said.
To counteract the stress, he recommends that parents make each other a priority.
?Find ways to connect throughout the day, even if it?s just doing dishes together or watching a movie,? Galovan said. ?These simple connections in daily life seem to enhance couples? marital satisfaction and improve the quality of their relationships.?
The study is?found in the Journal of Family Issues.
Source: University of Missouri
Couple sharing chores photo by shutterstock.
APA Reference Nauert PhD, R. (2013). Shared Responsibilities Can Improve Marriage. Psych Central. Retrieved on April 9, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/04/09/shared-responsibilities-can-improve-marriage/53595.html
TIP! Make sure that you understand the difference between Chapter 13 bankruptcy and Chapter 7 bankruptcy. All debt will be eliminated with Chapter 7.
Dealing with bankruptcy is very tough. You realize how limited you are when it comes to a tight financial situation. Even without perfect credit, you can still get the loans you need.
TIP! Once the initial filing period is over, ensure that you are getting out and enjoying life. The filing process is extremely stressful for a lot of the people who go through it.
In order to protect your credit history, make sure that bankruptcy filing is your absolute final choice. A lot of companies will settle debt for less, or work to help you set a payment plan in place. This can save money and boost your credit score. Have a look as to whether you qualify for a loan for debt consolidation also.
TIP! If you are facing a looming tax debt, don?t think that bankruptcy can be your savior. Some people who file pay their taxes with credit cards, then immediately file for bankruptcy on those cards.
The calls from creditors can be overwhelming and create anxiety. When you file for bankruptcy, that will all cease. You cannot avoid emotional stress when dealing with a deluge of debt. Sometimes getting yourself bankruptcy protection will be the easiest way to stay sane while getting things together.
TIP! Contrary to popular belief, you won?t necessarily lose your assets if you happen to file for bankruptcy. Personal property is exempt from bankruptcy claims.
Begin seeking a supplemental job. Rather than file for bankruptcy, try working with your creditors in an effort to get your monthly payments reduced or payments schedules extended. You may find that they will accept your proposal, allowing you to avoid bankruptcy.
Chapter 13
TIP! Be aware of recent changes, if any, in the bankruptcy code. Bankruptcy laws constantly change and it?s crucial you know about them so you the process of filing for bankruptcy goes smoothly.
Consider Chapter 13 bankruptcy, if you chose to file. You are eligible for filing bankruptcy under Chapter 13 if you work and owe less than $250,000. Filing a Chapter 13 will let you keep personal items and real estate while you pay down your debt in a consolidation plan. Such plans generally take between 3 and 5 years to complete, at which point. a discharge will be granted. Just know that missing one payment could cause your case to be dismissed.
TIP! It?s important to exercise discretion with any new credit you apply for after a bankruptcy filing. Most likely, you will continue to be offered credit or loans after your bankruptcy, but these high risk offers can be dangerous.
When thinking about filing for bankruptcy, it is best not to waste precious time. It is absolutely difficult to admit you require help. On the other hand, the longer you delay, the more debt you rack up. If you are not sure, gather all of your information and spend a little time speaking with a bankruptcy attorney; their experience can help you make the right decision.
TIP! Act when the time is right. When it comes to filing for personal bankruptcy, timing is vital.
Before you visit a lawyer, write down some questions you want to ask them. Remember that lawyers charge lots of money for their time. Write down any concerns and questions before your consultation in order to save yourself money and time. Let the attorney know that you don?t understand his or her answers if that is the case.
TIP! Even if you start a new job prior to declaring bankruptcy, do not change your plans! It may still be a good idea to go ahead with the bankruptcy. It can be very beneficial to file for bankruptcy.
Before you file for bankruptcy, be sure you know how to properly repay your debts. There are many laws when it comes to bankruptcy, including prohibition of paying some creditors 90 days before you file, as well as family for a whole year. Do not make a decision about filing until you are aware of all the current rules regarding bankruptcy.
TIP! If you decide to file for bankruptcy, it?s important that you?re educated about your rights. There are bill collectors who will claim that you cannot add your debts to your bankruptcy case.
Don?t jump into bankruptcy without assessing your situation with a cool head. By analyzing your debt, you?ll be able to determine which of your debts can be discharged via personal bankruptcy filing. Some debts, especially credit card purchases made in the 90 days before the filing that do not include essential purchases, may not be included in the bankruptcy. Have a look at what laws are applicable within your state.
TIP! You should never lie when filing for bankruptcy. If you hide something, or neglect to add all of your information you could be denied.
Once you have settled on bankruptcy, you will need to be aware of all the laws in your state. Take a proactive stance and stay informed for the best possible outcome in your bankruptcy filing. Remember that you?re the boss and your future financial well being is on the line.
TIP! Be sure to weigh all of your options before deciding to file for personal bankruptcy. For example, if you only have a little bit of debt, you might be better off if you went through consumer credit counseling.
It is important to understand that a bankruptcy more beneficial to your credit than multiple overdue or missed payments on debt. Yes, the bankruptcy will stick around for a whole ten years, but the clean slate you get from filing will help you get back on the right track quickly. One of the nicest things about bankruptcy is that it gives you a fairly fresh start.
TIP! When it comes to informing your attorney about your case, don?t be fearful. Lawyers are people too, and sometimes they forget important information and need to be reminded.
If you are planning to file for bankruptcy in the immediate future, you should refrain from taking out cash advances via your credit cards. This is illegal. It?s fraud, and you can still be responsible for paying it back even after declaring bankruptcy.
Chapter 13
TIP! When you are in the process of filing for bankruptcy, ask your attorney if there is a verification phone service number that you can give to debt collectors. That way, you can simply give creditors this number, which allows them to call your lawyer and confirm that your bill is included in a bankruptcy filing.
Know that declaring bankruptcy doesn?t always mean that all of your debts will be eliminated. For instance, Chapter 13 allows you to plan a payment plan and to pay back your debt over the next five years. There are a number of people who resist filing for personal bankruptcy because they think it is an irresponsible choice. The solution to getting relief from a mound of debt that is impossible to repay without feeling like you have completely cheated your debtors can be filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
TIP! Once your bankruptcy has been complete for a month or two, acquire multiple copies of credit reports. Be sure to check your credit report for accuracy of closed accounts and discharged debts.
Write down every one of your debts. Only the debts you list on your bankruptcy filing will be discharged, so make sure all of them are included. Include your exact balance on each account. This process should not be rushed; the numbers should be exact.
TIP! Give careful thought as to which kind of bankruptcy is more beneficial to your circumstances. A lot of people do not realize that there is more than one form of bankruptcy.
You should immediately vow to be more financially responsible before you actually file for bankruptcy. Don?t use credit cards to acquire more dent right before filing. Filing bankruptcy should be your first sign that the way you?re living isn?t any good. Now?s the time to get your finances in order so that you can pull your credit out of the gutter. You should show them that your current spending behavior is being worked on by how you spend now.
TIP! If you are forced to file for bankruptcy, you should avoid being ashamed of yourself. It is possible for those going through the bankruptcy process to feel unworthy, guilty or ashamed.
In time you will leave the effects of bankruptcy behind you and resume your normal life. By becoming more of a financially responsible individual, creditors will get the picture that you?re trying to dig yourself out of a hole. Eventually, you will be able to brush every bit of that dirt off of your shoulders and once again be able to live a normal, credit-driven life if you so choose.
The subject of what happened in the stock market today is rich and complex. It is important you take the time to do more research and familiarize yourself with as many tips and techniques as possible on this topic. Use the above advice to your advantage and good luck!
WASHINGTON (AP) ? A raucous public debate over the nation's flawed immigration system is set to begin in earnest this week as senators finalize a bipartisan bill to secure the border, allow tens of thousands of foreign workers into the country and grant eventual citizenship to the estimated 11 million people living here illegally.
Already negotiators are cautioning of struggles ahead for an issue that's defied resolution for years. An immigration deal came close on the Senate floor in 2007 but collapsed amid interest group bickering and an angry public backlash.
"There will be a great deal of unhappiness about this proposal because everybody didn't get what they wanted," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a leader of the eight senators negotiating the legislation, said Sunday. "There are entrenched positions on both sides of this issue."
"There's a long road," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., appearing alongside McCain on CBS' "Face the Nation." ''There are people on both sides who are against this bill, and they will be able to shoot at it."
Schumer, McCain and their "Gang of Eight" already missed a self-imposed deadline to have their bill ready in March, but Schumer said he hopes that this week, it will happen.
"All of us have said that there will be no agreement until the eight of us agree to a big, specific bill, but hopefully we can get that done by the end of the week," said Schumer.
Schumer, McCain and other negotiators are trying to avoid mistakes of the past.
A painstaking deal reached a week ago knit together traditional enemies, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO, in an accord over a new low-skilled worker program. The proposal would allow up to 200,000 workers a year into the county to fill jobs in construction, hospitality, nursing homes and other areas where employers say they have a difficult time hiring Americans.
The negotiators also have pledged to move the bill through the Senate Judiciary Committee and onto the floor according to what's known in Senate jargon as "regular order," trying to head off complaints from conservatives that the legislation is being rammed through.
A deal on immigration is a top second-term priority for President Barack Obama, and his senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday that the bill being developed in the Senate is consistent with Obama's approach ? even though the Senate plan would tie border security to a path to citizenship in a manner Obama administration officials have criticized.
Pfeiffer didn't answer directly when asked on "Fox News Sunday" whether Obama would sign legislation making a path to citizenship contingent on first securing the border. But he suggested Obama was supportive of the Senate plan.
"What has been talked about in the Gang of Eight proposal is 100 percent consistent with what the president is doing so we feel very good about it," Pfeiffer said. "And they are looking at it in the right way."
Sticking points remain. There's still disagreement over plans for a new program to bring in agriculture workers, who weren't included in the deal struck between the chamber and AFL-CIO. The agriculture industry is at odds with United Farm Workers over wages.
But overall, all involved are optimistic that the time is ripe to make the biggest changes to the nation's immigration laws in more than a quarter-century. For many Republicans, their loss in the November presidential election, when Latino and Asians voters backed Obama in big numbers, resonates as evidence that they must confront the immigration issue.
"The politics of self-deportation are behind us," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., referring to GOP candidate Mitt Romney's suggestion in the presidential campaign. "It was an impractical solution. Quite frankly it's offensive. Every corner of the Republican Party, from libertarians to the (Republican National Committee), House Republicans and the rank-and-file Republican Party member, is now understanding there has to be an earned pathway to citizenship."
Graham and McCain also had praise for Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a member of the negotiating team who's acted as a bridge to conservatives but also has kept advocates and other lawmakers guessing about whether he'll ultimately support the bill.
"Marco Rubio has been a game changer in my party. He will be there only if the Democrats will embrace a guest worker program and a merit-based immigration system to replace the broken one," Graham said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
After consideration by the Judiciary Committee, floor action could start in the Senate in May, Schumer said.
Meanwhile two lawmakers involved in writing a bipartisan immigration bill in the House, Reps. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., sounded optimistic that they, too, would have a deal soon that could be reconciled with the Senate agreement.
"I am very, very optimistic that the House of Representatives is going to have a plan that is going to be able to go to a conference with the Senate in which we're going to be able to resolve this," Gutierrez said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union".
___
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FORMER Zimbabwe captain Benjani Mwaruwari has strongly hinted that he will end his long and illustrious career at lowly South African Premiership side Chippa United insisting he is at the club more for the game than any financial rewards.
Benjani scored his first goal for Chippa United, who anchor the Absa Premiership standings, in a 2-1 losing cause to Golden Arrows on Wednesday night.
But the widely travelled forward, who at the prime of his career featured for reigning English champions Manchester City, had earlier told top-selling South African soccer magazine KickOff that he had committed to ending his career at Chippa United and was likely to stay at the Cape Town side even if they got relegated from the Premiership.
In a wide ranging interview with the magazine Benjani also spoke about the challenges that footballers often face ? that of finding themselves broke at the end of their careers despite having made millions during their playing days.
The forceful striker, who began his career with Highlanders juniors in Bulawayo, played for Chegutu Division One side Lulu Rovers and Air Zimbabwe Jets before breaking into the South African top-flight with Jomo Cosmos, has however invested in properties in Zimbabwe, France, England and South Africa.
With properties in his name in Johannesburg, Auxerre, Manchester and Portsmouth ? Benjani is to make a firm decision on where to settle when he eventually calls time on his game.
"I haven't made a final decision on that yet. I'm still caught in two minds.
"I know being born in Zimbabwe to Malawian parents and getting married to a South African with children born in South Africa, France and England sounds crazy but that is all part of my life," said Benjani.
Benjani, however, admitted that he too had been hooked to life in the fast lane that often traps top earning footballers but believes it is difficult to get out of this situation.
"All footballers are the same, it's like we are all cursed to behave this way. Very few of us invest money in sound businesses.
"With the kind of money we are earning I don't think it would be possible to play for a big club like Manchester City or Mamelodi Sundowns and then come to training driving a Toyota Conquest . . . we all want to drive something special.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks fell on Wall Street Friday after the government reported a sharp slowdown in hiring last month that was far worse than economists had expected.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended 40.86 points lower at 14,565.25, a loss of 0.3 percent. The index was down as much as 171 points in the early going, then rose gradually through the rest of the day to reclaim much of its early loss.
U.S. employers added just 88,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department reported. That's half the average of the previous six months. The report was a disappointment for investors following positive signs on housing and the job market over the winter.
The survey, one of the most closely watched indicators of the economy, dented investors' confidence that the U.S. was poised for a sustained recovery. The stock market has surged this year, pushing the Dow to another record high close on Tuesday. The index is still up 11.2 percent this year.
"Things are still looking decent, but there's no doubt that this was a bit of a disappointment," said Brad Sorensen, Charles Schwab's director of market and sector research. "We're watching to see: is this the start of another soft patch?"
In other trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 6.70 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,553.28. The index logged its worst week of year, falling 1 percent.
Technology stocks fell the most of the 10 industry groups in the index, dropping 1 percent. Among big decliners in tech stocks, Cisco Systems fell 43 cents, or 2 percent, to $20.61. Oracle dropped 34 cents, or 1 percent, to $32.03.
Investors were reducing their exposure to risk. The utilities and telecommunications industries bucked the downward trend. Both rose 0.4 percent. The rich dividends and stable earnings provided by those companies make them attractive to investors who want to play it safe.
Natural gas companies were among the best performers on the S&P 500 as the price of the fuel rose 4.5 percent on concerns about supplies. The price of the fuel has risen 21 percent since the start of the year. Cabot Oil & Gas climbed $3.32, or 5.1 percent, to $67.96 and WPX Energy gained 80 cents, or 5.2 percent, to $16.15.
Stocks pared their early losses as some investors inferred that slowing U.S. growth meant that the Federal Reserve would stick to its stimulus program. The central bank is buying $85 billion dollars in bonds every month as part of an effort to revive the economy. Its actions have been a big factor pushing the stock market higher this year.
Quincy Krosby, a market strategist at Prudential Financial, said the slowdown in hiring made it more likely that the Fed would continue with its easy-money policy, which includes keeping interest rates at historically low levels.
Investors will shift their focus to earnings reports next week.
Alcoa, the first company in the Dow index to report earnings, will release its first-quarter financial results after the markets close Monday. Analysts expect profits for S&P 500 companies to rise 0.6 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, according to S&P Capital IQ. That compares with an increase of 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, plunged from 1.76 percent to 1.71 percent. The yield fell as low as 1.69 percent, the lowest since December. The benchmark rate has declined sharply over the last month, from 2.06 percent on March 11, as demand for low-risk assets increased amid mounting evidence that growth in the U.S. economy is slowing.
Matthew Coffina, an editor at Morningstar StockInvestor, said stocks are still a better investment than bonds over the next decade because bonds will be vulnerable to any rise in inflation or interest rates. "We still have a strong preference for stocks," Coffina said.
The Nasdaq composite, which includes many technology companies, fell 21.12 points, or 0.7 percent, to 3,203.86.
F5 Networks, a network equipment and service provider based in Seattle, plunged 19 percent, the most of any S&P stock, after slashing its profit and revenue forecast. The company said its contract bookings fell sharply, as did its business with the federal government. The stock lost $17.21, or 19 percent, to $73.21.
The Dow Jones Transportation Average, which includes airlines like United and Delta Airlines and shipping companies like UPS and FedEx, was down 3.5 percent for the week, its biggest weekly decline since September. The index is seen as a leading indicator of the broader market.
Who wouldn?t want a job where you only have to work five hours a week, you get summers off, your whole job is reading and talking about books, and you can never be fired? Such is the enviable life of the tenured college literature professor, and all you have to do to get it is earn a Ph.D. So perhaps you, literature lover, are considering pursuing this path.
Well, what if I told you that by ?five hours? I mean ?80 hours,? and by ?summers off? I mean ?two months of unpaid research sequestration and curriculum planning?? What if you?ll never have time to read books, and when you talk about them, you?ll mostly be using made-up words like ?deterritorialization? and ?Othering??because, as Ron Rosenbaum pointed out recently, the ?dusty seminar rooms? of academia have the chief aim of theorizing every great book to death? And I can?t even tell you what kind of ass you have to kiss these days to get tenure?largely because, like most professors, I?m not on the tenure track, so I don?t know.
Don?t do it. Just don?t. I deeply regret going to graduate school, but not, Ron Rosenbaum, because my doctorate ruined books and made me obnoxious. (Granted, maybe it did: My dissertation involved subjecting the work of Franz Kafka to first-order logic.) No, I now realize graduate school was a terrible idea because the full-time, tenure-track literature professorship is extinct. After four years of trying, I?ve finally gotten it through my thick head that I will not get a job?and if you go to graduate school, neither will you.
You might think your circumstances will be different. So did I. There?s a little fable from Kafka, appropriately called ?A Little Fable,? that speaks to why this was very stupid:
"Alas," said the mouse, "the world gets smaller every day. At first it was so wide that I ran along and was happy to see walls appearing to my right and left, but these high walls converged so quickly that I?m already in the last room, and there in the corner is the trap into which I must run."
"But you?ve only got to run the other way," said the cat, and ate it.
The mouse wasn?t going in the wrong direction so much as it was walking cat food the entire time. A graduate career is just like this, only worse, because ?A Little Fable? lasts three sentences and is made up, while graduate school lasts at least six years and will ruin your life in a very real way. But, as in the fable, this ruin is predestined, and completely unrelated to how ?right? you do things.
Other well-meaning academics have already attempted to warn you, the best-known screed in this subgenre being William Pannapacker?s ?Graduate School in the Humanities? Just Don?t Go.?* But this convinced no one. It certainly didn?t convince me! Why? Because Pannapacker is a tenured professor. He pulled it off, so why can?t you? After all, someone has to get these jobs.
Well, someone also has to not die from small-cell lung cancer to give the disease its 6 percent survival rate, but would you smoke four packs a day with the specific intention of being in that 6 percent? No, because that?s stupid. Well, tenure-track positions in my field have about 150 applicants each. Multiply that 0.6 percent chance of getting any given job by the 10 or so appropriate positions in the entire world, and you have about that same 6 percent chance of ?success.? If you wouldn?t bet your life on such ludicrous odds, then why would you bet your livelihood?
Don?t misunderstand me. There is unquantifiable intellectual reward from the exploration of scholarly problems and the expansion of every discipline?yes, even the literary ones, and even if that means doing bat-shit analysis like using the rule of ?false elimination? to determine that Josef K. is simultaneously guilty and not guilty in The Trial. But there is one sort of reward you will never get: monetary compensation from a stable, non-penurious position at a decent university.
President Barack Obama speaks at the Denver Police Academy in Denver, Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Ratcheting up pressure for Congress to limit access to guns, Obama said that steps taken recently by Colorado to tighten its gun laws show "there doesn't have to be a conflict" between keeping citizens safe and protecting Second Amendment rights to gun ownership. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Barack Obama speaks at the Denver Police Academy in Denver, Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Ratcheting up pressure for Congress to limit access to guns, Obama said that steps taken recently by Colorado to tighten its gun laws show "there doesn't have to be a conflict" between keeping citizens safe and protecting Second Amendment rights to gun ownership. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Seeking an elusive middle ground, President Barack Obama is proposing a 2014 budget that embraces tax increases abhorred by Republicans as well as reductions, loathed by liberals, in the growth of Social Security and other benefit programs.
The plan, if ever enacted, could touch almost all Americans. The rich would see tax increases, the poor and the elderly would get smaller annual increases in their benefits, and middle income taxpayers would slip into higher tax brackets despite Obama's repeated vows not to add to the tax burden of the middle class. His proposed changes, once phased in, would mean a cut in Social Security benefits of nearly $1,000 a year for an average 85-year-old, smaller cuts for younger retirees.
Obama proposed much the same without success to House Speaker John Boehner in December. The response Friday was dismissive from Republicans and hostile from liberals, labor and advocates for the elderly.
But the proposal aims to tackle worrisome deficits that are adding to the national debt and placing a long-term burden on the nation, prompting praise from independent deficit hawks. Obama's budget also proposes new spending for public works projects, pre-school education and for job and benefit assistance for veterans.
"It's not the president's ideal approach to our budget challenges, but it is a serious compromise proposition that demonstrates that he wants to get things done," said White House press secretary Jay Carney.
The budget, which Obama will release Wednesday to cover the budget year beginning Oct. 1, proposes spending cuts and revenue increases that would result in $1.8 trillion in deficit reductions over 10 years. That figure would replace $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts that are poised to take effect over the next 10 years if Congress and the president don't come up with an alternative, thus delivering a net increase in deficit reduction of $600 billion.
Counting reductions and higher taxes that Congress and Obama have approved since 2011, the 2014 budget would contribute to $4.3 trillion in total deficit reduction by 2023.
The budget wouldn't affect the $85 billion in cuts that kicked in last month for this budget year.
A key feature of Obama's plan is a revised inflation adjustment called "chained CPI." This new formula would effectively curb annual increases in a broad swath of government programs but would have its biggest impact on Social Security. By encompassing Obama's offer to Boehner, R-Ohio, the plan would also include reductions in Medicare spending, much of it by targeting payments to health care providers and drug companies. The Medicare proposal also would require wealthier recipients to pay higher premiums or co-pays.
Obama's budget proposal also calls for additional tax revenue, primarily by placing a 28 percent cap on deductions and other tax exclusions. That plan would affect wealthy taxpayers as would a new administration proposal to place limits on tax-preferred retirement accounts for millionaires and billionaires.
Obama made the same offer to Boehner in December when he and the speaker were negotiating ways of avoiding a steep, so-called fiscal cliff of combined across-the-board spending cuts and sweeping tax increases caused by the expiration of Bush-era tax rates. Boehner rejected that plan and ultimately Congress approved tax increases that were half of what Obama had sought.
"If you look at where the president's final offer and Boehner were ... they were extremely close to each other," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. "We do think that it's a very good sign that the president has included real entitlement reforms in the budget."
Boehner, in a statement Friday, said House Republicans made clear to Obama last month that he should not make savings in entitlement programs that both sides agree on, contingent on more tax increases.
"If the president believes these modest entitlement savings are needed to help shore up these programs, there's no reason they should be held hostage for more tax hikes," Boehner said. "That's no way to lead and move the country forward."
The inflation adjustment would reduce federal spending on government programs over 10 years by about $130 billion, according to White House estimates. Because it also affects how tax brackets are adjusted, it would also generate about $100 billion in higher taxes and hit even middle income taxpayers.
Once the change is fully phased in, Social Security benefits for a typical middle-income 65-year-old would be about $136 less a year, according to an analysis of Social Security data. At age 75, annual benefits under the new index would be $560 less. At 85, the cut would be $984 a year.
The concept behind the chained CPI is that consumers substitute lower-priced alternatives for goods whose costs spike. So, for example, if the price of oranges goes too high for some consumers, they could buy alternatives like apples or strawberries if their prices were more affordable. This flexibility isn't considered in the current system of gauging inflation, a calculation that determines how much benefits grow each year. Taking it into account means such benefits won't grow by as much.
Advocates for the elderly say seniors pay a higher portion of their income for health care, where costs rise more quickly than inflation.
The White House has said the cost-of-living adjustments would include protections for "vulnerable" recipients.
"The president should drop these misguided cuts in benefits and focus instead on building support in Congress for investing in jobs," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement.
AARP's legislative policy director said Obama's budget proposal, while not a surprise, was a disappointment.
"The message seems to be that the president wants a deal and is willing to even sacrifice such important benefits as Social Security as part of that deal," said David Certner. The seniors lobby argues that Social Security doesn't belong in the budget talks because it isn't contributing to the deficit and is separately financed with its own dedicated taxes.
Citing the effect on veterans, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said he was "terribly disappointed" in the Obama plan and would "do everything in my power to block" it.
While Obama has proposed the slower cost of living adjustment plan during fiscal negotiations with Republican leaders, placing it in the budget would put the administration's official imprint on the plan and mark a full shift from Obama's stand in 2008, when he campaigned against Republican Party nominee John McCain.
In a Sept. 6, 2008, speech to AARP, Obama said: "John McCain's campaign has suggested that the best answer for the growing pressures on Social Security might be to cut cost-of-living adjustments or raise the retirement age. Let me be clear: I will not do either."
Obama also proposes $305 billion in cuts to Medicare over a decade, including $156 billion through lower Medicare payments to drug companies and higher premiums or co-pays from wealthy recipients. That's to the right of the conservative budget of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., which barely touches Medicare in the coming 10 years, cutting just $129 billion from the program. The huge Medicare savings from Ryan's proposal, which transforms the system into a program in which the government subsidizes health insurance purchases on the private market, wouldn't accrue until the following decade.
Obama's budget comes after the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-run Senate passed separate and markedly different budget proposals. House Republicans achieved long-term deficit reductions by targeting safety net programs; Democrats instead protected those programs and called for $1 trillion in tax increases.
But Obama has been making a concerted effort to win Republican support, especially in the Senate. He has even scheduled a dinner with Republican lawmakers on the evening that his budget is released next week.
As described by the administration officials, the budget proposal would also end a loophole that permits people to obtain unemployment insurance and disability benefits at the same time.
Obama's proposal, however, includes calls for increased spending. It proposes $50 billion for public works projects. It also would make preschool available to more children by increasing the tax on tobacco.
___
Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.
Follow Jim Kuhnhenn on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jkuhnhenn
Apr. 4, 2013 ? Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active world in the Solar System, with hundreds of volcanoes, some erupting lava fountains up to 250 miles high. However, concentrations of volcanic activity are significantly displaced from where they are expected to be based on models that predict how the moon's interior is heated, according to NASA and European Space Agency researchers.
Io is caught in a tug-of-war between Jupiter's massive gravity and the smaller but precisely timed pulls from two neighboring moons that orbit further from Jupiter -- Europa and Ganymede. Io orbits faster than these other moons, completing two orbits every time Europa finishes one, and four orbits for each one Ganymede makes. This regular timing means that Io feels the strongest gravitational pull from its neighboring moons in the same orbital location, which distorts Io's orbit into an oval shape. This in turn causes Io to flex as it moves around Jupiter.
For example, as Io gets closer to Jupiter, the giant planet's powerful gravity deforms the moon toward it and then, as Io moves farther away, the gravitational pull decreases and the moon relaxes. The flexing from gravity causes tidal heating -- in the same way that you can heat up a spot on a wire coat hanger by repeatedly bending it, the flexing creates friction in Io's interior, which generates the tremendous heat that powers the moon's extreme volcanism.
The question remains regarding exactly how this tidal heating affects the moon's interior. Some propose it heats up the deep interior, but the prevailing view is that most of the heating occurs within a relatively shallow layer under the crust, called the asthenosphere. The asthenosphere is where rock behaves like putty, slowly deforming under heat and pressure.
"Our analysis supports the prevailing view that most of the heat is generated in the asthenosphere, but we found that volcanic activity is located 30 to 60 degrees East from where we expect it to be," said Christopher Hamilton of the University of Maryland, College Park. Hamilton, who is stationed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., is lead author of a paper about this research published January 1 in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
Hamilton and his team performed the spatial analysis using the a new, global geologic map of Io, produced by David Williams of Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz., and his colleagues using data from NASA spacecraft. The map provides the most comprehensive inventory of Io's volcanoes to date, thereby enabling patterns of volcanism to be explored in unprecedented detail. Assuming that the volcanoes are located above where the most internal heating occurs, the team tested a range of interior models by comparing observed locations of volcanic activity to predicted tidal heating patterns.
"We performed the first rigorous statistical analysis of the distribution of volcanoes in the new global geologic map of Io," says Hamilton. "We found a systematic eastward offset between observed and predicted volcano locations that can't be reconciled with any existing solid body tidal heating models."
Possibilities to explain the offset include a faster than expected rotation for Io, an interior structure that permits magma to travel significant distances from where the most heating occurs to the points where it is able erupt on the surface, or a missing component in existing tidal heating models, like fluid tides from an underground magma ocean, according to the team.
The magnetometer instrument on NASA's Galileo mission detected a magnetic field around Io, suggesting the presence of a global subsurface magma ocean. As Io orbits Jupiter, it moves inside the planet's vast magnetic field. Researchers think this could induce a magnetic field in Io if it had a global ocean of electrically conducting magma.
"Our analysis supports a global subsurface magma ocean scenario as one possible explanation for the offset between predicted and observed volcano locations on Io," says Hamilton. "However, Io's magma ocean would not be like the oceans on Earth. Instead of being a completely fluid layer, Io's magma ocean would probably be more like a sponge with at least 20 percent silicate melt within a matrix of slowly deformable rock."
Tidal heating is also thought to be responsible for oceans of liquid water likely to exist beneath the icy crusts of Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus. Since liquid water is a necessary ingredient for life, some researchers propose that life might exist in these subsurface seas if a useable energy source and a supply of raw materials are present as well. These worlds are far too cold to support liquid water on their surfaces, so a better understanding of how tidal heating works may reveal how it could sustain life in otherwise inhospitable places throughout the Universe.
"The unexpected eastward offset of the volcano locations is a clue that something is missing in our understanding of Io," says Hamilton. "In a way, that's our most important result. Our understanding of tidal heat production and its relationship to surface volcanism is incomplete. The interpretation for why we have the offset and other statistical patterns we observed is open, but I think we've enabled a lot of new questions, which is good."
Io's volcanism is so extensive that it gets completely resurfaced about once every million years or so, actually quite fast compared to the 4.5-billion-year age of the solar system. So in order to know more about Io's past, we have to understand its interior structure better, because its surface is too young to record its full history, according to Hamilton.
The research was funded by NASA, the NASA Postdoctoral Program, administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and the European Space Agency.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Christopher W. Hamilton, Ciar?n D. Beggan, Susanne Still, Mikael Beuthe, Rosaly M.C. Lopes, David A. Williams, Jani Radebaugh, William Wright. Spatial distribution of volcanoes on Io: Implications for tidal heating and magma ascent. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2013; 361: 272 DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2012.10.032
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.
Seeing as how I'm sitting in the lovely Delta Sky Club until 10 p.m. or so for a redeye home tonight, we're going to have to push the Android Central Podcast tonight. It happens. The good news is we're going to crank one out on Friday afternoon, to catch up on all this Facebook stuff from this morning.
So hang tight, thanks for your patience, and we'll hopefully get back to normal soonest.
You know, unless someone else decides to do a major launch at the last minute. Or unless a bunch of editors get together for a week to do some super-secret stuff. Just saying.
Fighting listeria and other food-borne illnesses with nanobiotechnologyPublic release date: 2-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Michael Mullaney mullam@rpi.edu 518-276-6161 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute develop new method to kill pathogenic bacteria without antiobiotics or chemicals
Troy, N.Y.Engineering researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new method to kill deadly pathogenic bacteria, including listeria, in food handling and packaging. This innovation represents an alternative to the use of antibiotics or chemical decontamination in food supply systems.
Using nature as their inspiration, the researchers successfully attached cell lytic enzymes to food-safe silica nanoparticles, and created a coating with the demonstrated ability to selectively kill listeriaa dangerous foodborne bacteria that causes an estimated 500 deaths every year in the United States. The coating kills listeria on contact, even at high concentrations, within a few minutes without affecting other bacteria. The lytic enzymes can also be attached to starch nanoparticles commonly used in food packaging.
This new method is modular, and by using different lytic enzymes, could be engineered to create surfaces that selectively target other deadly bacteria such as anthrax, said Jonathan Dordick, vice president for research and the Howard P. Isermann Professor at Rensselaer, who helped lead the study.
This research, which combined the expertise of chemical engineers and material scientists, took place in the Rensselaer Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies and the Rensselaer Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for the Directed Assembly of Nanostructures. Collaborating with Dordick were Rensselaer colleagues Ravi Kane, the P.K. Lashmet Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Linda Schadler, the Russell Sage Professor and associate dean for academic affairs for the Rensselaer School of Engineering.
"In this study, we have identified a new strategy for selectively killing specific types of bacteria. Stable enzyme-based coatings or sprays could be used in food supply infrastructurefrom picking equipment to packaging to preparationto kill listeria before anyone has a chance to get sick from it," Kane said. "What's most exciting is that we can adapt this technology for all different kinds of harmful or deadly bacteria."
Results of the study are detailed in the paper "Enzyme-based Listericidal Nanocomposites," published today in the journal Scientific Reports from the Nature Publishing Group. See the paper online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep01584
This most recent study builds upon the research team's success in 2010 of creating a coating for killing methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the bacteria responsible for antibiotic resistant infections. While the previous coating was intended for use on surgical equipment and hospital walls, the development of a listeria-killing coating had the extra challenge of needing to be food-safe.
Dordick and the research team found their answer in lytic enzymes. Viruses that affect bacteria, called phages, inject their genetic material into healthy cells. The phage takes over a healthy cell, and in effect transforms the host cell into a little factory that creates more phages. Near the end of its life cycle, the original phage creates and releases lytic enzymes, which break down and make holes in cell walls of the infected bacteria. The manufactured phages escape through these holes and go on to infect other healthy cells.
Nature used lytic enzymes to break out of bacterial cells, Dordick said, and the researchers worked for years to exploit the same lytic enzymes to break into bacteria such as MRSA and listeria.
To stabilize the listeria-killing lytic enzymes, called Ply500, the researchers attached them to U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved silica nanoparticles to create an ultra-thin film. The researchers also used maltose binding protein to attach Ply500 to edible starch nanoparticles commonly used in food packaging. Both Ply500 formulations were effective in killing within 24 hours all listeria at concentrations as high as 100,000 bacteria per millilitera significantly higher concentration than normally found in food contamination situations.
"Starch is an inexpensive, edible material often sprayed into the packaging as a powder layer on meat product. We took advantage of the natural affinity of a maltose binding protein fused to Ply500, and biologically bound Ply500 to starch as a non-antibiotic, non-chemical agent for reducing the threat of listeria to our food supply," Schadler said.
Looking forward, the research team plans to continue investigating new methods for harnessing the power of lytic enzymes to selectively kill harmful bacteria.
###
Along with Dordick, Kane, and Schadler, co-authors on the paper are Rensselaer postdoctoral researchers Kusum Solanki, Naveep Grover, Elena Paskaleva, and Lillian Lee, and Rensselaer graduate students Patrick Downs, and Krunal Mehta.
This research was supported with funding from Sealed Air Corporation.
For more information on the work of this research, team, visit:
Contact
Michael Mullaney
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY
518-276-6161
mullam@rpi.edu
Visit the Rensselaer research and discovery blog: http://approach.rpi.edu
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RPInews
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Fighting listeria and other food-borne illnesses with nanobiotechnologyPublic release date: 2-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Michael Mullaney mullam@rpi.edu 518-276-6161 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute develop new method to kill pathogenic bacteria without antiobiotics or chemicals
Troy, N.Y.Engineering researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new method to kill deadly pathogenic bacteria, including listeria, in food handling and packaging. This innovation represents an alternative to the use of antibiotics or chemical decontamination in food supply systems.
Using nature as their inspiration, the researchers successfully attached cell lytic enzymes to food-safe silica nanoparticles, and created a coating with the demonstrated ability to selectively kill listeriaa dangerous foodborne bacteria that causes an estimated 500 deaths every year in the United States. The coating kills listeria on contact, even at high concentrations, within a few minutes without affecting other bacteria. The lytic enzymes can also be attached to starch nanoparticles commonly used in food packaging.
This new method is modular, and by using different lytic enzymes, could be engineered to create surfaces that selectively target other deadly bacteria such as anthrax, said Jonathan Dordick, vice president for research and the Howard P. Isermann Professor at Rensselaer, who helped lead the study.
This research, which combined the expertise of chemical engineers and material scientists, took place in the Rensselaer Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies and the Rensselaer Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for the Directed Assembly of Nanostructures. Collaborating with Dordick were Rensselaer colleagues Ravi Kane, the P.K. Lashmet Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Linda Schadler, the Russell Sage Professor and associate dean for academic affairs for the Rensselaer School of Engineering.
"In this study, we have identified a new strategy for selectively killing specific types of bacteria. Stable enzyme-based coatings or sprays could be used in food supply infrastructurefrom picking equipment to packaging to preparationto kill listeria before anyone has a chance to get sick from it," Kane said. "What's most exciting is that we can adapt this technology for all different kinds of harmful or deadly bacteria."
Results of the study are detailed in the paper "Enzyme-based Listericidal Nanocomposites," published today in the journal Scientific Reports from the Nature Publishing Group. See the paper online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep01584
This most recent study builds upon the research team's success in 2010 of creating a coating for killing methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the bacteria responsible for antibiotic resistant infections. While the previous coating was intended for use on surgical equipment and hospital walls, the development of a listeria-killing coating had the extra challenge of needing to be food-safe.
Dordick and the research team found their answer in lytic enzymes. Viruses that affect bacteria, called phages, inject their genetic material into healthy cells. The phage takes over a healthy cell, and in effect transforms the host cell into a little factory that creates more phages. Near the end of its life cycle, the original phage creates and releases lytic enzymes, which break down and make holes in cell walls of the infected bacteria. The manufactured phages escape through these holes and go on to infect other healthy cells.
Nature used lytic enzymes to break out of bacterial cells, Dordick said, and the researchers worked for years to exploit the same lytic enzymes to break into bacteria such as MRSA and listeria.
To stabilize the listeria-killing lytic enzymes, called Ply500, the researchers attached them to U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved silica nanoparticles to create an ultra-thin film. The researchers also used maltose binding protein to attach Ply500 to edible starch nanoparticles commonly used in food packaging. Both Ply500 formulations were effective in killing within 24 hours all listeria at concentrations as high as 100,000 bacteria per millilitera significantly higher concentration than normally found in food contamination situations.
"Starch is an inexpensive, edible material often sprayed into the packaging as a powder layer on meat product. We took advantage of the natural affinity of a maltose binding protein fused to Ply500, and biologically bound Ply500 to starch as a non-antibiotic, non-chemical agent for reducing the threat of listeria to our food supply," Schadler said.
Looking forward, the research team plans to continue investigating new methods for harnessing the power of lytic enzymes to selectively kill harmful bacteria.
###
Along with Dordick, Kane, and Schadler, co-authors on the paper are Rensselaer postdoctoral researchers Kusum Solanki, Naveep Grover, Elena Paskaleva, and Lillian Lee, and Rensselaer graduate students Patrick Downs, and Krunal Mehta.
This research was supported with funding from Sealed Air Corporation.
For more information on the work of this research, team, visit:
Contact
Michael Mullaney
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY
518-276-6161
mullam@rpi.edu
Visit the Rensselaer research and discovery blog: http://approach.rpi.edu
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RPInews
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
In our state of continued information overload, and because of the growing number of services which we have to check in order to keep up with the information that matters to us, things get missed by even the most active social media users. A new startup called 
New research suggests a shared approach to household chores and parenting is a tonic for a successful marriage.
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Public release date: 2-Apr-2013
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