Black Eyed Peas mastermind teases a collabo with the pop princess on #willpower, set for 2012 release. By Jocelyn Vena
Britney Spears performs in San Francisco Photo: Max Morse/Getty Images
<P>In a sea of A-list contributions for will.i.am's forthcoming solo album, the Black Eyed Peas mastermind recently dropped one name that will really get pop fans excited. Speaking with <a href="http://www.capitalfm.com/artists/william/news/britney-spears-alicia-keys-new-album/" target="_blank">Capital FM</a>, will teased that his <i>Femme Fatale</i> collaborator Britney Spears will make an appearance on the album, dubbed <i>#willpower.</i> </p><div class="player-placeholder right" id="vid:638813" width="240" height="211"></div><p> "I have a song with Alicia Keys — me, Alicia and Swedish House Mafia. I have a song with the Beats, which is pretty grand. Me and Shakira have been trying to finish the stuff we started, and me and Britney is really crazy," he said. "So we got a song with me, LMFAO and Eva Simons, a song with me and Busta Rhymes and Swizz Beatz — I got a whole other bunch of collaborations." Spears and will.i.am last worked together on "Big Fat Bass," a spacey, grinding party tune complete with clapping noises and some rapping from will himself. Their recording session was featured on the MTV special <a href="/news/articles/1660830/britney-spears-femme-fatale-previews.jhtml">"I Am the Femme Fatale."</a> There's been no word yet from will's camp about the song and whether this is a new track or if he will be including "Big Fat Bass" on the album. The rapper/producer's love for Brit is hardly anything new: He <a href="/news/articles/1662289/britney-spears-will-i-am-big-fat-bass.jhtml">gushed to MTV News about the pop princess</a> months after they recorded together. "[I discovered] her love for music. I never seen anyone, like, come alive, full of excitement and giggling and laughing behind the mic," will recalled to MTV News. "She was like a little kid when she was recording the song, and it just brought the whole atmosphere, it changed the whole atmosphere when someone really loves music. So it was great working with her." His latest single, "T.H.E (The Hardest Ever)," featuring Jennifer Lopez and Mick Jagger, dropped late last year. <i>#willpower,</i> which also features "X Factor" judge Nicole Scherzinger, will be released later this year. <i>What are you expecting from will and Brit's collabo? Let us know in the comments!</i></p>
DNDi and Abbott expand partnership to boost innovation for neglected tropical diseasesPublic release date: 30-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Violaine Dallenbach vdallenbach@dndi.org 41-229-069-247 Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative
Geneva, Switzerland -- The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and Abbott have signed a four-year joint research and non-exclusive licensing agreement to undertake research on new treatments for several of the world's most neglected tropical diseases, including Chagas disease, helminth infections, leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness. Through this collaboration, DNDi and Abbott scientists will focus initial efforts on discovering and advancing novel antimicrobial agents with activity against these neglected diseases.
Since 2009, Abbott has provided compounds for DNDi to screen for activity against neglected diseases. This new agreement expands this relationship, and provides DNDi access to selected classes of molecules and accompanying data generated by Abbott that are crucial for the development of effective and accessible new treatments for neglected diseases.
"Innovative product development partnerships have significant potential for addressing neglected diseases," said
Dr. John Leonard, senior vice president, Pharmaceuticals, Research and Development, Abbott. "By combining the unique scientific expertise and resources of DNDi and Abbott, we look forward to accelerating research to find practical new treatment options for people affected by these diseases."
"Abbott has demonstrated a great level of commitment by partnering with DNDi to share not only its compounds, but also its expertise and resources. For DNDi, this implies a new critical mass of knowledge to pursue our goals of addressing the unmet needs of neglected patients in the poorest areas of the world," said Dr Bernard Pcoul, Executive Director of DNDi.
Equitable access to treatments for neglected diseases in all endemic countries, not only least-developed countries, is at the core of this agreement, and DNDi has committed to ensuring the lowest sustainable pricing for any products developed and distributed as a result of the agreement. Intellectual property (IP) related to this agreement, existing relevant Abbott IP and new IP generated by this collaboration will be subject to a principle of non-exclusive licensing to address neglected diseases in endemic countries. Under the agreement, Abbott has the right of first negotiation to become DNDi's development and distribution partner. DNDi is free to engage other partners if Abbott chooses not to serve as a development and distribution partner.
The agreement, in short implies:
Both DNDi and Abbott share their unique scientific expertise and resources to advance the development of drugs adapted to patient needs.
DNDi gains access to Abbott compounds, data and information to accelerate drug development.
Non-exclusive licensing structure for relevant IP in the neglected diseases field provides flexibility, thus expanding the potential of drug development.
Any resulting products will be provided in endemic countries at the lowest sustainable price to expand patient access.
###
For more information please contact:
Violaine Dallenbach
Press and Communication Manager, DNDi
vdallenbach@dndi.org
Tel: 41-22-906-92-47
Colin McBean
Abbott
colin.mcbean@abbott.com
Tel: 847-938-3083
About the London NTD event
The commitments announced by DNDi are a key part of a new, coordinated push by a diverse range of public and private partners to combat 10 Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) by 2020. Today, 13 pharmaceutical companies, the U.S. and U.K. governments, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank and officials from NTD-endemic countries pledged to bring a unique focus to defeating these diseases and to work together to improve the lives of the billion people worldwide affected by NTDs.
In the largest coordinated effort to date to combat NTDs, the group announced at an event at the Royal College of Physicians that they would: sustain or expand existing drug donation programs to meet demand through 2020; share expertise and compounds to accelerate research and development of new drugs; and provide more than US$785 million to support R&D efforts and strengthen drug distribution and implementation programmes. The partners also signed onto the "London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases," in which they pledged new levels of collaboration and tracking and reporting of progress.
New funding commitments will fully support work toward the eradication of Guinea worm, as well as expedite progress toward the 2020 goals of: elimination for lymphatic filariasis, blinding trachoma, sleeping sickness and leprosy; and control of soil-transmitted helminthes, schistosomiasis, river blindness, Chagas and visceral leishmaniasis.
About Neglected Tropical Diseases
Neglected diseases are a group of tropical infections that disproportionately affect the world's poor and marginalized populations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than a billion people or one-sixth of the global population suffer from one or more tropical infectious diseases. The partnership between DNDi and Abbott is focused on finding new treatments to address the following diseases:
Chagas disease is endemic in 21 countries across Latin America and kills more people in the region than any other parasite-borne disease, including malaria. In total, 100 million people are at risk worldwide and patient numbers are growing in non-endemic countries such as the United States, Australia, and Europe. The disease is transmitted by an insect known as the "kissing bug" and, without treatment, is potentially fatal. Existing treatments have an unsatisfactory cure rate and can have toxic side effects.
Helminth infections include filarial diseases, onchocerciasis (river blindness) and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) caused by parasitic worms, which inflict the heaviest socioeconomic burden of all the neglected tropical diseases and affect millions in poverty-stricken areas. Current treatments for these diseases cannot be used for patients who are infected with a related nematode worm, Loa loa, because of the severe side effects caused by rapid killing of juvenile Loa loa worms. There is an urgent need for a new treatment for onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis in Loa loa endemic regions.
Leishmaniasis occurs in 98 countries, placing 350 million people at risk worldwide. The parasite that leads to infection is called Leishmania and transmitted by sandflies. Leishmaniasis is a poverty-associated disease with several different forms. Visceral leismaniasis, which is fatal without treatment, and cutaneous leshmaniasis are the most common. Existing treatments are difficult to administer, toxic, and costly. Drug resistance also is an increasing problem.
Sleeping sickness, or Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), is endemic in 36 African countries and around 60 million people are at risk of being infected. HAT is transmitted by the tsetse fly and is fatal without treatment. Up until 2009, existing treatments for stage 2 of the disease were toxic or difficult to administer. In 2009, DNDi and its partners launched the first new treatment for HAT in 25 years.
About Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)
The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a not-for-profit research and development organization working to deliver new treatments for neglected diseases, in particular sleeping sickness (human African trypanosomiasis), Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, specific helminth infections, paediatric HIV, and malaria. DNDi was established in 2003 by Mdecins Sans Frontires/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) from Brazil, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Ministry of Health of Malaysia, and Pasteur Institute of France. The Special Programme for Tropical Disease Research (TDR) serves as a permanent observer. Since its inception, DNDi has delivered six new treatments for neglected patients: two fixed-dose antimalarials (ASAQ and ASMQ), nifurtimox-eflornithine combination therapy (NECT) for late-stage sleeping sickness, sodium stibogluconate and paromomycin (SSG&PM) combination therapy for visceral leishmaniasis in Africa, a set of combination therapies for visceral leishmaniasis in Asia, and a paediatric dosage form of benznidazole for Chagas disease. http://www.dndi.org
About Abbott
Abbott and its philanthropic foundation, the Abbott Fund, are supporting innovative new efforts to advance the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of neglected diseases around the world. In 2009, Abbott created an Executive Council for Neglected Diseases to coordinate efforts across the company to contribute innovative technologies, drug compounds and scientific expertise, working in partnership with non-profit organizations, academic research institutions and multilateral agencies. The Abbott Fund also supports programs to advance research and expand community education and outreach on neglected diseases.
Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs nearly 90,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries. Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's website at http://www.abbott.com.
[ | 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.
DNDi and Abbott expand partnership to boost innovation for neglected tropical diseasesPublic release date: 30-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Violaine Dallenbach vdallenbach@dndi.org 41-229-069-247 Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative
Geneva, Switzerland -- The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and Abbott have signed a four-year joint research and non-exclusive licensing agreement to undertake research on new treatments for several of the world's most neglected tropical diseases, including Chagas disease, helminth infections, leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness. Through this collaboration, DNDi and Abbott scientists will focus initial efforts on discovering and advancing novel antimicrobial agents with activity against these neglected diseases.
Since 2009, Abbott has provided compounds for DNDi to screen for activity against neglected diseases. This new agreement expands this relationship, and provides DNDi access to selected classes of molecules and accompanying data generated by Abbott that are crucial for the development of effective and accessible new treatments for neglected diseases.
"Innovative product development partnerships have significant potential for addressing neglected diseases," said
Dr. John Leonard, senior vice president, Pharmaceuticals, Research and Development, Abbott. "By combining the unique scientific expertise and resources of DNDi and Abbott, we look forward to accelerating research to find practical new treatment options for people affected by these diseases."
"Abbott has demonstrated a great level of commitment by partnering with DNDi to share not only its compounds, but also its expertise and resources. For DNDi, this implies a new critical mass of knowledge to pursue our goals of addressing the unmet needs of neglected patients in the poorest areas of the world," said Dr Bernard Pcoul, Executive Director of DNDi.
Equitable access to treatments for neglected diseases in all endemic countries, not only least-developed countries, is at the core of this agreement, and DNDi has committed to ensuring the lowest sustainable pricing for any products developed and distributed as a result of the agreement. Intellectual property (IP) related to this agreement, existing relevant Abbott IP and new IP generated by this collaboration will be subject to a principle of non-exclusive licensing to address neglected diseases in endemic countries. Under the agreement, Abbott has the right of first negotiation to become DNDi's development and distribution partner. DNDi is free to engage other partners if Abbott chooses not to serve as a development and distribution partner.
The agreement, in short implies:
Both DNDi and Abbott share their unique scientific expertise and resources to advance the development of drugs adapted to patient needs.
DNDi gains access to Abbott compounds, data and information to accelerate drug development.
Non-exclusive licensing structure for relevant IP in the neglected diseases field provides flexibility, thus expanding the potential of drug development.
Any resulting products will be provided in endemic countries at the lowest sustainable price to expand patient access.
###
For more information please contact:
Violaine Dallenbach
Press and Communication Manager, DNDi
vdallenbach@dndi.org
Tel: 41-22-906-92-47
Colin McBean
Abbott
colin.mcbean@abbott.com
Tel: 847-938-3083
About the London NTD event
The commitments announced by DNDi are a key part of a new, coordinated push by a diverse range of public and private partners to combat 10 Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) by 2020. Today, 13 pharmaceutical companies, the U.S. and U.K. governments, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank and officials from NTD-endemic countries pledged to bring a unique focus to defeating these diseases and to work together to improve the lives of the billion people worldwide affected by NTDs.
In the largest coordinated effort to date to combat NTDs, the group announced at an event at the Royal College of Physicians that they would: sustain or expand existing drug donation programs to meet demand through 2020; share expertise and compounds to accelerate research and development of new drugs; and provide more than US$785 million to support R&D efforts and strengthen drug distribution and implementation programmes. The partners also signed onto the "London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases," in which they pledged new levels of collaboration and tracking and reporting of progress.
New funding commitments will fully support work toward the eradication of Guinea worm, as well as expedite progress toward the 2020 goals of: elimination for lymphatic filariasis, blinding trachoma, sleeping sickness and leprosy; and control of soil-transmitted helminthes, schistosomiasis, river blindness, Chagas and visceral leishmaniasis.
About Neglected Tropical Diseases
Neglected diseases are a group of tropical infections that disproportionately affect the world's poor and marginalized populations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than a billion people or one-sixth of the global population suffer from one or more tropical infectious diseases. The partnership between DNDi and Abbott is focused on finding new treatments to address the following diseases:
Chagas disease is endemic in 21 countries across Latin America and kills more people in the region than any other parasite-borne disease, including malaria. In total, 100 million people are at risk worldwide and patient numbers are growing in non-endemic countries such as the United States, Australia, and Europe. The disease is transmitted by an insect known as the "kissing bug" and, without treatment, is potentially fatal. Existing treatments have an unsatisfactory cure rate and can have toxic side effects.
Helminth infections include filarial diseases, onchocerciasis (river blindness) and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) caused by parasitic worms, which inflict the heaviest socioeconomic burden of all the neglected tropical diseases and affect millions in poverty-stricken areas. Current treatments for these diseases cannot be used for patients who are infected with a related nematode worm, Loa loa, because of the severe side effects caused by rapid killing of juvenile Loa loa worms. There is an urgent need for a new treatment for onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis in Loa loa endemic regions.
Leishmaniasis occurs in 98 countries, placing 350 million people at risk worldwide. The parasite that leads to infection is called Leishmania and transmitted by sandflies. Leishmaniasis is a poverty-associated disease with several different forms. Visceral leismaniasis, which is fatal without treatment, and cutaneous leshmaniasis are the most common. Existing treatments are difficult to administer, toxic, and costly. Drug resistance also is an increasing problem.
Sleeping sickness, or Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), is endemic in 36 African countries and around 60 million people are at risk of being infected. HAT is transmitted by the tsetse fly and is fatal without treatment. Up until 2009, existing treatments for stage 2 of the disease were toxic or difficult to administer. In 2009, DNDi and its partners launched the first new treatment for HAT in 25 years.
About Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)
The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a not-for-profit research and development organization working to deliver new treatments for neglected diseases, in particular sleeping sickness (human African trypanosomiasis), Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, specific helminth infections, paediatric HIV, and malaria. DNDi was established in 2003 by Mdecins Sans Frontires/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) from Brazil, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Ministry of Health of Malaysia, and Pasteur Institute of France. The Special Programme for Tropical Disease Research (TDR) serves as a permanent observer. Since its inception, DNDi has delivered six new treatments for neglected patients: two fixed-dose antimalarials (ASAQ and ASMQ), nifurtimox-eflornithine combination therapy (NECT) for late-stage sleeping sickness, sodium stibogluconate and paromomycin (SSG&PM) combination therapy for visceral leishmaniasis in Africa, a set of combination therapies for visceral leishmaniasis in Asia, and a paediatric dosage form of benznidazole for Chagas disease. http://www.dndi.org
About Abbott
Abbott and its philanthropic foundation, the Abbott Fund, are supporting innovative new efforts to advance the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of neglected diseases around the world. In 2009, Abbott created an Executive Council for Neglected Diseases to coordinate efforts across the company to contribute innovative technologies, drug compounds and scientific expertise, working in partnership with non-profit organizations, academic research institutions and multilateral agencies. The Abbott Fund also supports programs to advance research and expand community education and outreach on neglected diseases.
Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs nearly 90,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries. Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's website at http://www.abbott.com.
[ | 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.
What do killer whales eat in the Arctic?Public release date: 29-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr. Hilary Glover hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com 44-203-192-2370 BioMed Central
Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are the top marine predator, wherever they are found, and seem to eat everything from schools of small fish to large baleen whales, over twice their own size. The increase in hunting territories available to killer whales in the Arctic due to climate change and melting sea ice could seriously affect the marine ecosystem balance. New research published in BioMed Central's re-launched open access journal Aquatic Biosystems has combined scientific observations with Canadian Inuit traditional knowledge to determine killer whale behaviour and diet in the Arctic.
Orca have been studied extensively in the northeast Pacific ocean, where resident killer whales eat fish, but migrating whales eat marine mammals. Five separate ecotypes in the Antarctic have been identified, each preferring a different type of food, and similar patterns have been found in the Atlantic, tropical Pacific, and Indian oceans. However, little is known about Arctic killer whale prey preference or behaviour.
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is increasingly being used to supplement scientific observations. Researchers from Manitoba visited 11 Canadian Nunavut Inuit communities and collated information from over 100 interviews with hunters and elders.
The Inuit reported that killer whales would 'eat whatever they can catch', mainly other marine mammals including seals (ringed, harp, bearded, and hooded) and whales (narwhal, beluga and bowhead). However there was no indication that Arctic killer whales ate fish. Only seven of the interviewees suggested that killer whales ate fish, but none of them had ever seen it themselves.
The type of reported prey varied between areas. Most incidences of killer whales eating bowhead whales occurred in Foxe Basin and narwhal predation was more frequent around Baffin Island. Inuit were also able to describe first-hand how killer whales hunted, including several reports of how killer whales co-operated to kill the much larger bowhead. During the hunt some whales were seen holding the bowhead's flippers or tail, others covering its blowhole, and others biting or ramming to cause internal damage. Occasionally dead bowheads, with bite marks and internal injuries but with very little eaten, are found by locals.
'Aarlirijuk', the fear of killer whales, influenced prey behaviour with smaller mammals seeking refuge in shallow waters or on shore and larger prey running away, diving deep, or attempting to hide among the ice. Even narwhal, which are capable of stabbing a killer whale with their tusks (although this is likely to result in the deaths of both animals), will run to shallow waters and wait until the whales give up.
Killer whales are seasonal visitors to the area and have recently started colonising Hudson Bay (possibly due to loss of summer sea ice with global warming). Local communities are reliant on the very species that the orcas like to eat. Dr Steven Ferguson from the University of Manitoba who led this research commented, "Utilising local knowledge through TEK will help scientists understand the effects of global warming and loss of sea ice on Arctic species and improve collaborative conservation efforts in conjunction with local communities."
Aquatic Biosystems, (previously Saline Systems), which re-launches today, publishes basic and applied research on aquatic organisms and environments, bridging across freshwater and saline systems from gene systems to ecosystems.
###
Notes to Editors
1. Prey items and predation behavior of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Nunavut, Canada based on Inuit hunter interviews
Steven H Ferguson, Jeff W Higdon and Kristin H Westdal
Aquatic Biosystems (in press)
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication.
2. Aquatic Biosystems is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal considering high quality manuscripts on all aspects of basic and applied research on aquatic organisms and environments.
3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.
[ | 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.
What do killer whales eat in the Arctic?Public release date: 29-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dr. Hilary Glover hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com 44-203-192-2370 BioMed Central
Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are the top marine predator, wherever they are found, and seem to eat everything from schools of small fish to large baleen whales, over twice their own size. The increase in hunting territories available to killer whales in the Arctic due to climate change and melting sea ice could seriously affect the marine ecosystem balance. New research published in BioMed Central's re-launched open access journal Aquatic Biosystems has combined scientific observations with Canadian Inuit traditional knowledge to determine killer whale behaviour and diet in the Arctic.
Orca have been studied extensively in the northeast Pacific ocean, where resident killer whales eat fish, but migrating whales eat marine mammals. Five separate ecotypes in the Antarctic have been identified, each preferring a different type of food, and similar patterns have been found in the Atlantic, tropical Pacific, and Indian oceans. However, little is known about Arctic killer whale prey preference or behaviour.
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is increasingly being used to supplement scientific observations. Researchers from Manitoba visited 11 Canadian Nunavut Inuit communities and collated information from over 100 interviews with hunters and elders.
The Inuit reported that killer whales would 'eat whatever they can catch', mainly other marine mammals including seals (ringed, harp, bearded, and hooded) and whales (narwhal, beluga and bowhead). However there was no indication that Arctic killer whales ate fish. Only seven of the interviewees suggested that killer whales ate fish, but none of them had ever seen it themselves.
The type of reported prey varied between areas. Most incidences of killer whales eating bowhead whales occurred in Foxe Basin and narwhal predation was more frequent around Baffin Island. Inuit were also able to describe first-hand how killer whales hunted, including several reports of how killer whales co-operated to kill the much larger bowhead. During the hunt some whales were seen holding the bowhead's flippers or tail, others covering its blowhole, and others biting or ramming to cause internal damage. Occasionally dead bowheads, with bite marks and internal injuries but with very little eaten, are found by locals.
'Aarlirijuk', the fear of killer whales, influenced prey behaviour with smaller mammals seeking refuge in shallow waters or on shore and larger prey running away, diving deep, or attempting to hide among the ice. Even narwhal, which are capable of stabbing a killer whale with their tusks (although this is likely to result in the deaths of both animals), will run to shallow waters and wait until the whales give up.
Killer whales are seasonal visitors to the area and have recently started colonising Hudson Bay (possibly due to loss of summer sea ice with global warming). Local communities are reliant on the very species that the orcas like to eat. Dr Steven Ferguson from the University of Manitoba who led this research commented, "Utilising local knowledge through TEK will help scientists understand the effects of global warming and loss of sea ice on Arctic species and improve collaborative conservation efforts in conjunction with local communities."
Aquatic Biosystems, (previously Saline Systems), which re-launches today, publishes basic and applied research on aquatic organisms and environments, bridging across freshwater and saline systems from gene systems to ecosystems.
###
Notes to Editors
1. Prey items and predation behavior of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Nunavut, Canada based on Inuit hunter interviews
Steven H Ferguson, Jeff W Higdon and Kristin H Westdal
Aquatic Biosystems (in press)
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication.
2. Aquatic Biosystems is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal considering high quality manuscripts on all aspects of basic and applied research on aquatic organisms and environments.
3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.
[ | 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 this Monday, Jan. 23, 2012 photo, Egyptian women walk past graffiti depicting a military tank on a wall under a bridge in Cairo, Egypt. In May, Mohamed Fahmy, known in the graffiti world as Gazneer, made one of Cairo's largest and longest surviving pieces of street art under a bridge used by taxi drivers to urinate. It was an image of a military tank pointed toward a boy on a bike who, rather than carrying a traditional bread delivery, was carrying the city on his head. It was a symbolic reference to youth who care for the nation and are heading toward a collision with Egypt's military rulers. On his blog, Ganzeer wrote: "Our only hope right now is to destroy the military council using the weapon of art." (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
In this Monday, Jan. 23, 2012 photo, Egyptian women walk past graffiti depicting a military tank on a wall under a bridge in Cairo, Egypt. In May, Mohamed Fahmy, known in the graffiti world as Gazneer, made one of Cairo's largest and longest surviving pieces of street art under a bridge used by taxi drivers to urinate. It was an image of a military tank pointed toward a boy on a bike who, rather than carrying a traditional bread delivery, was carrying the city on his head. It was a symbolic reference to youth who care for the nation and are heading toward a collision with Egypt's military rulers. On his blog, Ganzeer wrote: "Our only hope right now is to destroy the military council using the weapon of art." (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
In this Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 an Egyptian girl, left, posts an art piece made by Sad Panda, unseen, on a wall as flower vendors prepare a bouquet outside their shop in Cairo, Egypt. Taking control of the streets was critical for the thousands of Egyptians who eventually overthrew their authoritarian leader nearly one year ago, but the battle for freedom of expression continues to be fought by graffiti artists who support the country's military rulers and those who want them to relinquish power. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
In this Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 photo, a man walks past graffiti depicting the Egyptian military in Cairo, Egypt. Taking control of the streets was critical for the thousands of Egyptians who eventually overthrew their authoritarian leader nearly one year ago, but the battle for freedom of expression continues to be fought by graffiti artists who support the country's military rulers and those who want them to relinquish power. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
In this Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 photo, a man cleans a side walk as graffiti is shown on the wall with Arabic writing from top left to top right that reads, "the answer and the other answer, we will not forget these dates, the people will still revolt, raise the revolutionary flag, hit Tantawy, the revolution will bring justice, we are for Tahrir, " in Cairo, Egypt. Taking control of the streets was critical for the thousands of Egyptians who eventually overthrew their authoritarian leader nearly one year ago, but the battle for freedom of expression continues to be fought by graffiti artists who support the country's military rulers and those who want them to relinquish power. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
In this Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011 photo, two boys look through concrete blocks built by Egyptian military with Arabic writing that reads, "freedom," near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. Taking control of the streets was critical for the thousands of Egyptians who eventually overthrew their authoritarian leader nearly one year ago, but the battle for freedom of expression continues to be fought by graffiti artists who support the country's military rulers and those who want them to relinquish power. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
CAIRO (AP) ? The conflict between Egypt's ruling military and pro-democracy protesters isn't just on the streets of Cairo, it's on the walls as well, as graffiti artists from each side duel it out with spray paint and stencils.
Earlier this month, supporters of the ruling generals painted over part of the largest and most famous antimilitary graffiti pieces in the capital.
The military's supporters then made a 15-minute video using footage posted by two young men stenciling pro-revolution graffiti and wearing Guy Fawkes masks, the grinning face made famous by the movie "V for Vendetta". In an attempt mock the revolutionary street art, the military supporters declared in their video, "The police, military and people are one hand," and, "The military is a red line."
They posted the video online, calling themselves the "Badr Battalion" and describing themselves as "distinguished Egyptian youth who are against the spies and traitors that burn Egypt."
It was an ironic turnabout, with backers of the authorities picking up the renegade street art medium of revolutionary youth.
During the regime of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt had almost no graffiti on the walls of its cities. But when the uprising against Mubarak's rule erupted a year ago, there was an explosion of the art.
Taking control of the streets was critical for the thousands of Egyptians who eventually overthrew the country's authoritarian leader. The battle continues to be fought by graffiti artists who support the country's military rulers and those who want them to relinquish power.
Since Mubarak's fall on Feb. 11, graffiti is everywhere in Cairo and other cities, proclaiming the goals of the revolution and mocking the regime. Graffiti artists have continued to work, using walls, buildings, bridges and sidewalks as a canvas to denounce the generals who took power after Mubarak as new dictators and to press the revolution's demands.
Usually anti-military graffiti has a short lifetime before it is quickly painted over or defaced with black spray paint. And just as quickly the artists put up more.
The graffito that pro-military supporters painted over had survived remarkably long. Mohamed Fahmy, known by his pseudonym Ganzeer, put it up in May under a bridge. It depicts a military tank with its turret aimed at a boy on his bike who balances on his head one of the wooden racks that are traditionally used to deliver bread ? though instead of bread, he's carrying a city. It was a symbolic reference to revolutionary youth who care for the nation, heading into a collision with the generals.
Quickly after it was partially stenciled over, a new graffiti was up, depicting the country's military leader as a large snake with a bloody corpse coming out of his mouth.
Graffiti has turned into perhaps the most fertile artistic expression of Egypt's uprising, shifting rapidly to keep up with events. Faces of protesters killed or arrested in crackdowns are common subjects ? and as soon as a new one falls, his face is ubiquitous nearly the next day.
The face of Khaled Said, a young man whose beating death at the hands of police officers in 2010 helped fuel the anti-Mubarak uprising, even appeared briefly on the walls of the Interior Ministry, the daunting security headquarters that few would dare even approach in the past.
Other pieces mock members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the council of generals that is now in power, or figures from Mubarak's regime.
When a police officer was captured on an Internet video shooting at the eyes of protesters during clashes, his image immediately dotted walls, urging people to find the "Eye-Sniper."
State television is another frequent target because it has become the mouthpiece for the military's proclamations that protesters are vandals, thugs and part of a plot to throw Egypt into chaos. One graffito shows the word "Occupy" written in the shape of the State TV building. Stickers plastered on walls show the words "Go down to the street" emerging from a television set, a message to the so-called "Couch Party," people who sit and watch the protests on TV.
"It's about a message in the street. It reaches the poor, the rich, the trash collector, the taxi driver," graffiti artist Karim Gouda said. "Most of these people are away from the Internet and the social networking world so it's a way to reach them."
Not everyone is receptive. Gouda said he was accosted by residents as he put up posters depicting a rotting face with the words "open your eyes before it's too late" in the impoverished Cairo district of Sayeda Zeinab. They accused him of trying to create civil strife and of trying to encourage Egypt's Christian minority to take over from the Muslim majority. Such accusations about activists were rife at the time after an October protest by Christians in Cairo, which was crushed by soldiers, killing more than 20.
The residents tore down Gouda's posters and chased him out of the neighborhood.
Under Mubarak's nearly 30-year rule, political expression on the streets was repressed by his powerful police forces. Once every five years, parliamentary elections would see the country littered with posters for elections that always favored the ruling party. Billboards advertising a lifestyle that only a privileged few could afford for companies whose owners were often closely affiliated with the regime towered over the sprawling slums of Cairo, a bustling city of some 18 million people.
"It's liberating to see," blogger Soraya Morayef said of the proliferation of street art.
Morayef, who has dedicated her blog Suzeeinthecity to documenting graffiti artists' work, said the street art reflects what happened in the whole country.
"The fear barrier was broken," she said.
___
Soraya Morayef's blog on graffiti: http://suzeeinthecity.wordpress.com/
Always Investigation and Compare Auto insurance Policies. It a very good idea for you to employ the exact percentage which is available from the respective business enterprise. It is advisable to confirm your driving records each couple of years simply to discover for errors due to computers or people alike. And there are several insurers making some beeline to last but not they all are genuine or present a fair deal. It seriously isn?t that highly suggested should you be driving record isn?t great though. A decreased deductible may sound like a great idea since it means less of one?s money going towards in the costs of typically the accident, but a decrease deductible generally greatly increases the length of your monthly top quality.
Shopping for motor insurance can easily be made online in the comfort of ones own home. Usually as soon as car is new the policy is must in the person. Very your deductible, the lower an individual?s insurance cost will certainly compare auto insurance be. Reading the small print is always a good option before signing at the dotted line. The internet hosts many websites that will let you easily and quickly compare numerous car insurance companies also.
In order to help make comparisons you could generally be asked to make your personal details once after which it the site will compare 100s of auto insurance rates and through the best providers also. It is not only about driving thoroughly and maintaining the automobile; it?s required for legal reasons to carry vehicle insurance to shield you on the costly damages connected with an accident-related lawsuit. If something is too big, you can adapt the deductible in order to reduce the cost. It can be a relief to know that you will no longer have to phone call or visit individual insurance broker offices to compare auto insurance policies. With the internet when you need it, it can be achieved quickly. Such companies provides into light a number of advantages and benefits as a way to persuade you a subscription to their coverage.
Remember, when you compare insurance quotes, you pay less to your same coverage and can also pocket that money on a rainy day. Simply compare vehicle insurance quotes from multiple providers and choose the company which will best suits your company needs. Grab the best deals within the top insurers and tens of thousands of brokers getting you the most beneficial rate possible. You can search your needs are on any among the many websites. Any such cover may seem to be attractive, but add the price tag on separate breakdown include, windscreen cover or the buying price of having to have the funds for this up-front during a problem, then it may look less attractive.
The key factor which companies choose is the model of your car, its condition, the safety features installed inside and its total maintenance. That is why, while you would like policies, see the relationship between premium total and deductible every policy. Just what would you like to know to compare car insurance policy rates? It truly is then the job within the insurance company to help convince you using their quotes they would be the best.
When you compare insurance companies online you will get quotes from companies there is never heard from. This is often truly a powerful way to find the greatest prices on insurance by making the effort to compare car insurance policy via the World-wide-web. On top of that, you also have the choice of retrieving and also altering existing quotations online. Just remember to consider all aspects from the policy and to help you appraise them along side each other. Watch for the purpose of tear off articles that include a telephone number and a discount code you can actually apply to the insurance charges.
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas speaks at a campaign stop, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas speaks at a campaign stop, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, campaigns in Bangor, Maine, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, campaigns in Bangor, Maine, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas speaks at a campaign stop, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas waits to be introduced behind a partition at campaign stop, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) ? Ron Paul braved Maine's snow and ice Friday in a quest to pick up delegates, vowing he and his loyal band of supporters would be a factor in the Republican nominating contest for weeks to come.
The Texas congressman attracted a packed house in Bangor despite a powerful winter storm that shuttered schools and brought traffic to a virtual standstill.
Feisty and defiant, Paul said he had watched a television segment that morning in which pundits debated how Republicans should try to manage Paul and his fervent backers.
"They want us to go away, but they don't want to offend us. How are they going to manage that?" Paul said to boos. "I'll tell you what ? we'll just hang around for a while longer."
Paul is all but skipping Florida, whose primary is Jan. 31, to focus on Maine and other states holding caucuses, including Nevada, Colorado and Minnesota. Nevada's caucuses are Feb. 4 and Colorado and Minnesota's follow on Feb. 7.
Paul's campaign is following President Barack Obama's 2008 model, hoping a similarly young, Internet-savvy fan base will organize themselves and attend caucuses for Paul. The caucus states also yield a large number of delegates for far less money than many primary states.
The comparison to Obama's 2008 campaign has its limits, however. Obama had racked up at least one major victory ? a huge win in the Iowa caucuses ? before turning to the smaller-state caucus strategy. Paul has yet to win a single contest.
His best showing was in the New Hampshire primary, where he placed second behind Mitt Romney. But he came in third in Iowa behind Romney and Rick Santorum and placed a dismal fourth last Saturday in South Carolina's first-in-the-South primary.
Paul was spending two days in Maine, campaigning on or near college campuses, which have typically been receptive to his libertarian-leaning message.
At Colby College in Waterville, he emphasized his support for bringing U.S. troops home from overseas engagements and railed against what he called government's efforts to regulate lifestyle choices.
"When it comes to putting anything into your body, or your mouth, in your lungs, you can't do it without permission of the government," Paul said.
Maine's caucuses begin Feb. 4 and wrapping up on Feb. 11, when the GOP will announce the results of what is essentially a nonbinding straw poll.
The gatherings in schools, Grange halls, fire stations and town halls are the first step to selecting 24 delegates from the state to the Republican National Convention in Tampa next summer.
Charles Welles, 34, a Waterville resident and Navy veteran, said he supports Paul's views on ending military engagements and wants to vote for him. But Welles said he was still a bit confused by the caucus process.
"I'm from Ohio, so this is all new to me," Welles said.
Paul and Romney were both on the ballot in Maine's 2008 caucuses and have maintained active organizations in the state. The former Massachusetts governor finished first that year. Paul came in third, behind Arizona Sen. John McCain, who went on to win the GOP nomination.
Maine, often an afterthought compared to its next-door neighbor, New Hampshire, tends to reward candidates who are organized and make an effort to show up to court voters, Colby political science professor Sandy Maisel said.
Maisel noted that Gov. Jerry Brown of California, who was out of office at the time, won Maine's Democratic caucuses in 1992 after making frequent trips to the state.
The enthusiasm among Paul's supporters could help him prevail in Maine, Maisel added.
"The GOP has a very low turnout and it tends to be the most ideological people, which favors Ron Paul," he said.
Paul state chairman Paul Madore was guarded about setting expectations, saying GOP officials in the state would press for a more traditional candidate like Romney.
We have a rank-and-file Republican leadership in Maine, and they don't budge easily," Madore said. "We have to get in there and make our presence heard."
___
Sharp reported from Portland, Maine.
___
Follow Beth Fouhy on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bfouhy
FYI: How Long-Running Is the Longest-Running Lab Experiment? Eighty-five years so far. The pitch-drop experiment?really more of a demonstration?began in 1927 when Thomas Parnell, a physics professor at the University of Queensland in Australia, set out to show his students that tar pitch, a derivative of coal so brittle that it can be smashed to pieces with a hammer, is in fact a highly viscous fluid.
Source: POPSCI Posted on:
Wednesday, Jan 25, 2012, 9:39am Views: 29
CAIRO (Reuters) ? Egyptian youths camped out on Thursday in Cairo's Tahrir Square and vowed to stay put until the army hands power to civilians, a day after a mass demonstration marked a year since an uprising which brought down Hosni Mubarak.
Tens of thousands of Egyptians poured into the square and onto streets of other cities for the January 25 anniversary of the day the revolt began. Although good-natured, the demonstration exposed rifts in the Arab world's most populous nation.
The Tahrir crowds were broadly split between youths demanding the army cede control to civilians immediately and Islamists celebrating a political transformation that has handed them sweeping gains in parliament after decades of repression.
Sit-ins have in the past sparked violence when the police and army have sought to clear protesters out, but on Thursday the scene was peaceful.
Scores of youths occupied the square surrounded by dozens of tents pitched on traffic islands. Vendors sold hot drinks and some activists huddled round open fires to keep warm in the morning air.
"The military council commits the same abuses Mubarak committed. I don't feel any change. The military council is leading a counter-revolution. We will protest until the military council goes," said 23-year-old student Samer Qabil.
The army council took over when Mubarak was ousted and is led by his defense minister for two decades, Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi. It has insisted it will hand power to civilians after a presidential election in June.
But many activists say they fear it wants to hold onto power behind the scenes.
Although troops were cheered when they were ordered onto the streets in the uprising, they have since drawn the wrath of many for heavy-handed tactics against protests demanding they go back to barracks.
"There will be a sit-in until they leave," said Alaa Abdel Fattah, a blogger and activist who was detained by the army after clashes outside state media offices killed 25 protesters in October.
In Alexandria, a Mediterranean port that is Egypt's second-biggest city, about 100 protesters had also set up tents late on Wednesday near police headquarters, demanding the army hand over power immediately.
Mubarak, 83, is on trial for his life and a new parliament was installed this week that is dominated by his Islamist adversaries. But many youthful activists who launched last year's revolt are weary of army rule and worry that Islamists may stifle their hopes of a deep purge of the old order.
The activists fear Islamists will make political concessions to the army as they seek to secure their new gains in mainstream politics.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which now has the biggest bloc in parliament after the first free election in decades, and other Islamists deny any deals with the military.
The once banned Brotherhood had warned against a sit-in but said some of its members stayed in the square to help it stay peaceful.
The army and police kept their distance from the square during Wednesday's demonstration in an apparent effort to ensure there was no cause for friction.
(Additional reporting by Marwa Awad in Cairo and Abdel Rahman Youssef in Alexandria, Writing by Lin Noueihed; Edited by Richard Meares)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The House on Tuesday passed two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials. One writes into law the propriety of displaying religious markers at war memorials while the other orders that the Interior Department add to the World War II Memorial in Washington a plaque with Franklin Roosevelt's prayer to the nation on D-Day.
The first bill would codify the existing practice of allowing religious symbols at military monuments established or acquired by the federal government. It was introduced by San Diego Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter in response to a 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling a year ago that a cross placed on Mount Soledad in nearby La Jolla, Calif., in 1913 was unconstitutional.
The bill, Hunter said, "ensures that Mount Soledad and any other war memorial will withstand these attacks by allowing the inclusion of all symbols of religion and personal faith on war memorials established and under the control of the federal government." The 43-foot cross, which became a memorial to Korean War veterans and now honors all veterans, has been the center of legal challenges for more than two decades. In 2006, Congress passed a law transferring the property to the Defense Department.
The second bill would install at the World War II Memorial on the Mall a plaque or inscription with Roosevelt's prayer on June 6, 1944, when Allied forces invaded Normandy. It passed 386-26.
The prayer begins: "With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances."
Bureau of Land Management Director Robert Abbey, in congressional testimony last November, said that while the administration did not judge the merit of the new commemoration, it could not support it. He said it was contrary to law that bars adding new commemorative work that encroaches on an existing one.
The addition, he said, "will necessarily dilute this elegant memorial's central message and its ability to clearly convey that message to move, educate and inspire its many visitors."
Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, the bill's sponsor, said he didn't see "how a nondenominational prayer that gave solace and comfort and strength to our nation during one of the most pivotal days of World War II and one of the most memorable days in our nation's history, would dilute the central message of the memorial."
Note: starred positions are wanted roles. *Oyabun[Chairman/patriarch] ? Your quintessential godfather. The oyabun knows all, hears all, and wears the best ties. He is the overseer to his family. No proposal is enacted upon without his word.
*Ane-san[Older sister] ? Under normal circumstances, an ane serves as little more than a wife, and her authority is severely limited. But she is more than mother?she is queen. What elevates the ane-san is, indeed, her status as the Demon Queller. There are others who possess her gift, but none who wield it with such magnitude, the perks of being an ancestral wonder. Utilizing Shinto artifacts and daily prayer, her presence is what keeps malicious influence at bay. This role is exclusively Terajima.
*Saiko komon[Senior adviser] ? One of the oyabun's most trusted. As primarily administrative assistant, the saiko komon deals quite formally, situated at the business end of the organization, but he does maintain several areas throughout the territory. Underneath him are several accountants, enforcers, and junior advisers. Any decisions that the patriarch considers are usually first told to the saiko komon to then be relayed to the rest of the family.
So-honbucho[Headquarters chief] ? Just as his title proclaims. The so-honbucho is master of the domain, the captain. His influence is not as far-reaching as others', as it is focused on keeping the yakuza base afloat. Frequently in cahoots with the saiko kamon and the oyabun, he is a powerful man with several gangs in tow.
*Waka-gashira[Second-in-command] ? Head underboss and fortified pimp. As lieutenant, the gashira serves as a middle man, a keeper of several regions, and a leader of gangs. Most importantly, he sees that the oyabun's orders are properly carried out by younger brothers.
Fuku-honbucho[Assistant] ? Right-hander of the waka-gashira and... yep, right-hander of the waka-gashira.
Shatei-gashira[Third-in-command] ? Like the waka-gashira, property and members are his to govern. He is leader of the kyodai and ensures that their jobs are performed efficiently.
Kyodai[Senior bosses/older brothers] ? Headed by the shatei-gashira, the kyodai are also entitled to individual gangs, but territory is not theirs to control, merely to protect.
*Shatei[Junior bosses/younger brothers] ? As one would suspect, shatei are headed by kyodai. The shatei, in turn, lead sub-divisions of wakashu, who may refer to their older brothers as aniki.
*Wakashu[Gang members/young men] ? Foot soldiers. Wakashu do not have their own gangs--they are the gangs. Supervised by their brothers, they perform without a moment's hesitation, and they know well that they are fully disposable.
Tsume[Trainees] ? Entry-levels. Tsume are not field hands; rather, their duties are more low-key, often unseen, and they would be more readily found preparing for banquets or cleaning headquarters than wielding arms.
JAKARTA, Indonesia ? The Sumatran elephant could be extinct in the wild within three decades unless immediate steps are taken to slow the breakneck pace of deforestation, environmentalists warned Tuesday.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature recently listed the animals as "critically endangered" after their numbers dropped to between 2,400 and 2,800 from an estimated 5,000 in 1985.
The decline is largely because of destruction of their habitat, with forests all across the Indonesian island of Sumatra being clear-cut for timber, palm oil and pulp and paper plantations.
Sumatra has some of the most significant populations of Asian elephants outside of India and Sri Lanka and is also home to tigers, orangutans and rhinos.
"The Sumatran elephant joins a growing list of Indonesian species that are critically endangered," Carlos Drews of the conservation group WWF said in a statement Tuesday. "Unless urgent and effective conservation action is taken these magnificent animals are likely to go extinct within our lifetime."
Indonesia's endangered elephants sometimes venture into populated areas searching for food and destroy crops or attack humans, making them unpopular with villagers.
Some are shot or poisoned with cyanide-laced fruit, while others are killed by poachers for their ivory.
A new analysis by open-science advocates present a 'clear refutation' of a controversial finding that appears to undermine assumptions about how essential phosphorus is for life
By Erika Check Hayden and Nature magazine ?| January 23, 2012
A scanning electron micrograph of GFAJ-1, the bacterium at the centre of the controversy.Image: Science/AAAS
A strange bacterium found in California?s Mono Lake cannot replace the phosphorus in its DNA with arsenic, according to researchers who have been trying to reproduce the results of a controversial report published in Science in 2010.
A group of scientists, led by microbiologist Rosie Redfield at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, have posted data on Redfield's blog that, she says, present a ?clear refutation? of key findings from the paper.
?Their most striking claim was that arsenic had been incorporated into the backbone of DNA, and what we can say is that there is no arsenic in the DNA at all,? says Redfield.
But the authors of the Science paper are not retreating from their conclusions. ?We are thrilled that our results are stimulating more experiments from the community as well as ourselves,? first author Felisa Wolfe-Simon, now at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, wrote in an e-mail to Nature. ?We do not fully understand the key details of the website experiments and conditions. So we hope to see this work published in a peer-reviewed journal, as this is how science best proceeds.?
Open criticism In the Science paper, Wolfe-Simon and her co-workers reported that they had found a bacterium called GFAJ-1 that can use the element arsenic in place of phosphorus in molecules essential to life (see Arsenic-eating microbe may redefine chemistry of life). This was surprising because phosphorus is thought to be essential for life, whereas arsenic is usually toxic.
But after Redfield and others raised numerous concerns (see Microbe gets toxic response), many of which were published as technical comments in Science, Redfield put the results to the test, documenting her progress on her blog to advance the cause of open science.
Redfield grew GFAJ-1 bacteria in arsenic and a very small amount of phosphorus, as had Wolfe-Simon and her colleagues. She then purified the DNA from the cells and sent it to Marshall Louis Reaves, a graduate student at Princeton University in New Jersey. Reaves used a caesium chloride gradient to separate the cells' DNA into fractions of varying densities, then used a mass spectrometer to identify the elements present in each fraction of DNA. He found no arsenic in any of the DNA.
But Redfield?s methods might leave defenders of the arsenic life hypothesis some wiggle room. For instance, Redfield was unable to grow any cells without adding a small amount of phosphorus. Because it is not clear how much phosphorus was used to grow the bacteria in the original paper, its authors could argue that Redfield's cells were not sufficiently phosphorus-starved to be forced to use arsenic in its place.
Wolfe-Simon also says she would not expect to find arsenic in DNA analysed on a caesium chloride gradient, because the arsenic-containing DNA might be so fragile that it would break apart and appear only in very faint bands separate from the bulk of the cell's DNA.
However, Redfield says that Reaves analysed all of the DNA purified on the gradient, so he would have detected any arsenic. Redfield also analysed the size of DNA from cells that had been stored for two months in her lab refrigerator. The DNA fragments from cells that had been grown with and without arsenic were similar sizes, indicating that DNA from arsenic-grown cells is not unstable.
PHILADELPHIA ? A few inches of snow coated the Northeast on Saturday in a storm so rare this season in the East that some welcomed it.
"We've been very lucky, so we can't complain," said Gloria Fernandez of New York City, as she shoveled the sidewalk outside her workplace. "It's nice, it's fluffy and it's on the weekend," she said of the snow, which hadn't fallen in the city since a rare October storm that that dumped more than 2 feet of snow in parts and knocked out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses in the region.
By midafternoon, 4.3 inches of snow had fallen in Central Park and 3.4 inches at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Most of eastern Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, and central New Jersey saw about 4 inches of snow, with a few places reporting up to 6 inches. Flurries and freezing rain fell around Washington, D.C.
Up to 10 inches was predicted for southeastern Massachusetts, noteworthy in a season marked by a lack of snow throughout the Northeast. The quick-moving storm was expected to move out to sea overnight.
Road conditions were fair Saturday, officials said. Crews in Pennsylvania and New Jersey began salting roads around midnight and plowing soon after. By midmorning, the snow had turned to sleet in Philadelphia north through central New Jersey and had stopped falling altogether by early afternoon.
"It's a fairly moderate snowstorm, at best," said weather service forecaster Bruce Sullivan.
Few accidents were reported on the roads, helped by the weekend's lack of rush hour traffic, but New Jersey transportation spokesman Joe Dee cautioned drivers to build in more time for trips. Though temperatures will warm up this afternoon he said, forecasters expect the wet ground to freeze again overnight.
Flights arriving at Philadelphia Airport were delayed up to two hours because of snow and ice accumulation and about 35 flights had been canceled, but most departing flights were leaving on time, airport spokeswoman Victoria Lupica said.
New York City had 1,500 snow plows at the ready, each equipped with global positioning systems that will allow supervisors to see their approximate location on command maps updated every 30 seconds, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a morning news conference.
The equipment was installed last year following a post-Christmas storm in 2010 that left plows stuck and stranded in drifts and left swaths of the city unplowed for days. Bloomberg said the GPS system has already led to "vastly improved communication" between supervisors and plow operators.
In Connecticut, where the October storm did the most damage and some lost power for more than a week, about 6 inches of snow was forecast. State police had responded to dozens of accidents by midmorning but said none appeared to be serious.
As always, some benefited from the snow. Enough accumulated through the week for snowmobiling and ice fishing in New Hampshire, where cross-country ski trails and snowshoeing were open at Bretton Woods and other places.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 30-Jan-2012
Share ] 