Charming the Birds from the Trees: Lenten Cleaning Challenge: Organize Craft Supplies...
Lenten Cleaning Challenge: Organize Craft Supplies...
One of the things that can quickly get out of hand in our house are the craft supplies.? Now that Sugar Plum and I are knitters, we have even more to keep tidy.? Your challenge today is to sift through your crafting goodies, decide what stays and what goes, and organize your space!? Don't spend too much time on this task.? Set the timer for 10 or 15 minutes and do the best you can!
Mar. 20, 2013 ? The promise of repairing damaged hearts through regenerative medicine -- infusing stem cells into the heart in the hope that these cells will replace worn out or damaged tissue -- has yet to meet with clinical success. But a highly sensitive visualization technique developed by Stanford University School of Medicine scientists may help speed that promise's realization.
The technique is described in a study published March 20 in Science Translational Medicine. Testing the new imaging method in humans is probably three to five years off.
Human and animal trials in which stem cells were injected into cardiac tissue to treat severe heart attacks or substantial heart failure have largely yielded poor results, said Sam Gambhir, PhD, MD, senior author of the study and professor and chair of radiology. "We're arguing that the failure is at least partly due to faulty initial placement," he said. "You can use ultrasound to visualize the needle through which you deliver stem cells to the heart. But once those cells leave the needle, you've lost track of them."
As a result, key questions go unanswered: Did the cells actually get to the heart wall? If they did, did they stay there, or did they diffuse away from the heart? If they got there and remained there, for how long did they stay alive? Did they replicate and develop into heart tissue?
"All stem cell researchers want to get the cells to the target site, but up until now they've had to shoot blindly," said Gambhir, who is also the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor in Cancer Research and director of the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford. "With this new technology, they wouldn't have to. For the first time, they would be able to observe in real time exactly where the stem cells they've injected are going and monitor them afterward. If you inject stem cells into a person and don't see improvement, this technique could help you figure out why and tweak your approach to make the therapy better."
Therapeutic stem cells' vague initial positioning is just part of the problem. No "signature" distinguishes these cells from other cells in the patient's body, so once released from the needle tip they can't be tracked afterward. If, in the weeks following stem cells' infusion into the heart, its beating rhythm or pumping prowess has failed to improve -- so far, more often the case than not -- you don't know why. That ambiguity, perpetuated by the absence of decent imaging tools, stifles researchers' ability to optimize their therapeutic approach.
The new technique employs a trick that marks stem cells so they can be tracked by standard ultrasound as they're squeezed out of the needle, allowing their more precise guidance to the spot they're intended to go, and then monitored by magnetic-resonance imaging for weeks afterward.
To make this possible, the Gambhir lab designed and produced a specialized imaging agent in the form of nanoparticles whose diameters clustered in the vicinity of just below one-third of a micron -- less than one-three-thousandth the width of a human hair, or one-thirtieth the diameter of a red blood cell. The acoustical characteristics of the nanoparticles' chief constituent, silica, allowed them to be visualized by ultrasound; they were also doped with the rare-earth element gadolinium, an MRI contrast agent.
The Stanford group showed that mesenchymal stem cells -- a class of cells often used in heart-regeneration research -- were able to ingest and store the nanoparticles without losing any of their ability to survive, replicate and differentiate into living heart cells. The nanoparticles were impregnated with a fluorescent material, so Gambhir's team could determine which mesenchymal stem cells gobbled them up. (Mesenchymal stem cells, which are able to differentiate into beating heart cells, can sometimes be harvested from the very patients about to undergo a procedure. This could, in principle, alleviate concerns about the cells being rejected by a patient's immune system.)
Upon infusing the imaging-agent-loaded stem cells from mice, pigs or humans into the hearts of healthy mice, the scientists could watch the cells via ultrasound after they left the needle tip and, therefore, better direct them to the targeted area of the heart wall. Two weeks later, the team could still get a strong MRI signal from the cells. (Eventually, the continued division of the healthy infused stem cells diluted the signal to below the MRI detection limit.)
"There was some early skepticism about whether this would work," said the study's lead author, Jesse Jokerst, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in Gambhir's lab. "Because the particles were so small, we weren't expecting much signal strength." But once ingested, the particles clumped together inside the cells, reflecting ultrasound waves much more dramatically and providing a surprisingly strong signal, Jokerst said.
"We got lucky," said Gambhir, who is also a member of the Stanford Cancer Institute. "Sometimes taking risks pays off."
Using the new agent, the Stanford investigators were able to detect as few as 70,000 of the stem cells by ultrasound and as few as 250,000 by MRI. Either number is tiny in comparison to the tens or hundreds of millions of stem cells being infused into human hearts in clinical trials today, Gambhir said.
No signs of toxicity or behavior differences were seen in mice receiving the agent-containing stem cells compared with control animals receiving stem cells without the agent, he said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved nanoparticles for other applications, and silicon is considered relatively nontoxic and has been used in the clinic. Gadolinium, which can be toxic at high doses, is clinically approved by the FDA in doses much greater than would be necessary for this new imaging procedure, even if hundreds of millions of stem cells were involved. Still, further toxicity tests will be needed, said Gambhir.
The mice used in this study were all healthy, Jokerst pointed out. The next step, he said, is tests on mice or pigs with analogs of human heart damage, as well as detailed toxicity studies of the nanoparticles.
Stem-cell therapy for damaged hearts won't be cheap anytime in the foreseeable future; it will certainly cost several tens of thousands of dollars per procedure. But, said Gambhir, a successful intervention could be cost-effective because, as a one-time delivery, it could eliminate or at least diminish a lifetime of constant drug administration. The new imaging technique might add another $2,500 to such a procedure, but could also greatly improve the odds of its success, he said. The approach could also be applied to regenerative procedures in other organs, such as the liver.
Stanford has filed for provisional patents on intellectual property associated with this research.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford University Medical Center. The original article was written by BRUCE GOLDMAN.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
J. V. Jokerst, C. Khademi, S. S. Gambhir. Intracellular Aggregation of Multimodal Silica Nanoparticles for Ultrasound-Guided Stem Cell Implantation. Science Translational Medicine, 2013; 5 (177): 177ra35 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3005228
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc now runs its largest U.S. data center entirely on renewable energy, with a majority of the power generated on-site from solar panels and fuel cells, the company's chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, said on Thursday.
The data center in Maiden, North Carolina, which supports Internet storage and Apple's service-hosting iCloud product, produces 167 million kilowatts -- the power equivalent of 17,600 homes for one year -- from a 100-acre solar farm and fuel cell installations provided by Silicon Valley startup Bloom Energy.
They are the largest, non-utility power-generating facilities of their kind in the United States, Oppenheimer told Reuters.
"We switched over to these new energy sources in December," he said. "And we are committed to generating 60 percent of the electricity that the data center will use by making power on site. We are now achieving that goal."
Apple purchases the rest of the green power needed at the facility.
Apple and other technology companies -- such as Amazon and Microsoft -- that build and run computer server farms have come under criticism for their high consumption of electricity and other resources. These data centers cater to an explosion in Internet traffic, streaming content through mobile devices and hosting of services to corporations.
Apple has switched many of its corporate facilities to fully operate on green power, including those in Austin, Texas; Cork, Ireland; and Sacramento, California, Oppenheimer said.
The company is building another 20-megawatt solar farm at its Maiden facility with solar panels supplied by SunPower Corp.
Overall, Apple said it has increased the proportion of renewable energy used throughout the company to 75 percent. Eventually, the company aims to use only renewable energy at all its facilities around the world.
(Reporting By Poornima Gupta; Editing by Leslie Adler)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) ? For more than a billion Roman Catholics worldwide, he's Pope Francis. For Argentina's poorest citizens, crowded in "misery villages" throughout the capital, he's proudly known as one of their own, a true "slum pope."
Villa 21-24 is a slum so dangerous that most outsiders don't dare enter, but residents say Jorge Mario Bergoglio often showed up unannounced to share laughs and sips of mate, the traditional Argentine herbal tea shared by groups using a common straw.
People here recall how the Buenos Aires archbishop would arrive on a bus and walk through the mud to reach their little chapel; how he sponsored marathons and carpentry classes, consoled single mothers and washed the feet of recovering drug addicts; how he became one of them.
"Four years ago, I was at my worst and I needed help. When the Mass started he knelt down and washed my feet. It hit me hard. It was such a beautiful experience," said Cristian Marcelo Reynoso, 27, a garbage collector trying to kick a cocaine addiction through the church's rehab program.
"When I saw the news on the TV, I began screaming with joy, and look, I'm still trembling," Reynoso said. "El Chaval (The Dude) is so humble. He's a fan of San Lorenzo (the soccer club), like me. You talk to him like a friend."
Long after he became a cardinal in 2001, this "prince of the church" wore a simple black T-shirt with a white collar. For many at the slum's Caacupe Virgin of the Miracles Church, it's nothing short of a miracle that their friend is the pope.
"He was always part of our slum," housewife Lidia Valdivieso, 41, said after praying while resting her palm on a statue of St. Expeditus, patron saint of urgent and impossible causes. Her 23-year-old son has cerebral palsy and is learning carpentry at the church's technical school.
"When I heard the news I couldn't believe it. Having a 'papa villero' (slum pope) is the most beautiful thing that can happen to us. I still remember him going on long walks through our muddy streets or talking to our children," Valdivieso said.
Inside the concrete block chapel, there's a painted message commemorating Bergoglio's inauguration, and another big painting of Pope John Paul II, but no sign of Benedict XVI whatsoever. Near the altar, there's a large black-and-white poster of Carlos Mugica, an iconic Argentine slum priest who was killed in 1974 by a right-wing death squad intent on eliminating the "liberation theology" he preached.
Bergoglio never favored liberation theology because of its alliances with armed leftist guerrilla movements in the 1970s. But he has done much to follow in Mugica's footsteps, sponsoring all sorts of outreach programs in Argentina's slums.
This can be messy work, obliging priests to challenge drug dealers for the slum-dwellers' allegiances, and putting their beliefs, even their lives, at risk. Sometimes compromises must be made.
Just a few steps from the chapel, melted candles stand in a red shrine to the pagan folk hero Antonio "Gauchito" Gil, a 19th century outlaw revered among Argentina's poor for sharing his stolen bounty with the poor.
Many Argentines are as likely to pray for miracles from "Gauchito" as they are from authorized Catholic saints, but Bergoglio didn't object to the shrine's presence next to his chapel.
"For more than 20 years he came here. He's always been close to us and his impact on this slum is huge," said the parish priest, Lorenzo "Toto" de Vedia.
TV cameras followed Bergoglio once as he washed the feet of 12 young men at a rehab center. "Then he kept coming back, taking confession and counseling them," Vedia said. On the priest's desk lay a newspaper with a huge, one-word headline: "FRANCISCO."
"You can tell that the church is going to change," Vedia said. "The fact that he chose the name Francisco says it all. It says: *Let's stop messing around and devote ourselves to the poor. That was St. Francis* message and now 'Francisco' can live it."
In his first appearance at St. Peter's Square, the first Latin American pope bowed to the crowds and asked for their blessing. Back in Argentina, his friends in the slums recognized the gesture as the same sort of humility that won their hearts.
In the 13th century, St. Francis of Assisi made it his mission to respond to the poor and show that through simplicity and love, a stronger foundation for the church could be built.
Pope Francis' "mission is now to go on a pilgrimage to all lands, to walk with the people, to lead a church that walks," said Mercedes Trovato, 24, a youth volunteer who wore a wooden cross around her neck.
Bergoglio's friends say he's fundamentally shy. He hardly ever grants media interviews, preferring to speak from the pulpit. But he did agree to chat recently with Jaidr Flores, a 22-year-old host on the parish's Radio FM La 96.
"He was hesitant at first. But I convinced him, and at the end of the interview, he started laughing and said: "You did it! You got me on air!'" said Flores. "One day I went to visit him at his office and I was amazed to see how many pictures of the volunteers and recovered drug addicts from this community he had on his desk. He truly cares for us."
___
Luis Andres Henao on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LuisAndresHenao
A Syrian fuel tanker which was set on fire late Thursday by anti-Syrian regime protesters, lies in ruins in the northern port city of Tripoli, Lebanon, Friday March 15, 2013. Gunmen set fire to three fuel tankers with Syrian license plates to prevent them from crossing into Syria, the state-run National News Agency said. Protesters claim diesel exported to Syria is being used by regime tanks. (AP Photo)
A Syrian fuel tanker which was set on fire late Thursday by anti-Syrian regime protesters, lies in ruins in the northern port city of Tripoli, Lebanon, Friday March 15, 2013. Gunmen set fire to three fuel tankers with Syrian license plates to prevent them from crossing into Syria, the state-run National News Agency said. Protesters claim diesel exported to Syria is being used by regime tanks. (AP Photo)
A worker, left, removes a damaged seat from a destroyed Syrian bus that was headed to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, when an accident occurred in the Kahhaleh region of Lebanon, Friday March 15, 2013. Officials say at least eight Syrians were killed and 29 were injured when the bus they were traveling in from Syria overturned in the mountains in central Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese gather next to a damaged Syrian fuel tanker which was attacked late Thursday by anti-Syrian regime protesters, in the northern port city of Tripoli, Lebanon, Friday March 15, 2013. Gunmen set fire to three fuel tankers with Syrian license plates to prevent them from crossing into Syria, the state-run National News Agency said. Protesters claim diesel exported to Syria is being used by regime tanks. (AP Photo)
A Lebanese nurse treats a young Syrian girl who was injured when a Syrian bus overturned while headed to Beirut from Syria, at a hospital in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday March 15, 2013. Officials say at least eight Syrians were killed and 29 were injured when the bus they were traveling in from Syria overturned in the mountains in central Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A Syrian woman who was injured when a Syrian bus overturned while headed to Beirut from Syria, waits for treatment with her sons at a hospital in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday March 15, 2013. Officials say at least eight Syrians were killed and 29 were injured when the bus they were traveling in from Syria overturned in the mountains in central Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
BEIRUT (AP) ? The chief of Syria's main, Western-backed rebel group marked the second anniversary of the start of the uprising against President Bashar Assad on Friday by pledging to fight until the "criminal" regime is gone.
Gen. Salim Idris, the head of the Supreme Military Council, called on Syrian soldiers to join the rebels in a "fight for freedom and democracy," and said: "Dear friends, the Free Syrian Army (fighters) will not give up."
In Damascus, authorities beefed up security measures as rebel groups called for stepped-up attacks on government troops and state institutions on the anniversary.
The revolt against Assad's authoritarian rule began in March 2011 with protests in the southern city of Daraa, after troops arrested teenagers who scrawled anti-regime graffiti on a wall. It has since morphed into a civil war that has killed an estimated 70,000 people, according to the U.N.
"We want (a) Syria where every Syrian can live in peace and liberty. This is our dream. This is what we are fighting for," Idris said in a video address obtained by The Associated Press form the military council's media office.
He spoke in an undisclosed location in northern Syria that is under rebel control.
"I know our battle is not so easy. We have to fight against planes, tanks and huge missiles," Idris said. "But our will is still very strong. We will not stop until this criminal regime has gone."
Idris, 55, studied in Germany and taught electronics at a Syrian military college before defecting to the rebel side in July.
In the past year, the rebels have made significant advances on the battlefield, capturing large swathes of land outside of major cities and along the border with Turkey and controlling some areas in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest urban center and its commercial hub. They have also seized border crossings along the frontier with Turkey and Iraq and have overrun major military bases. They captured dams on the Euphrates River and came within a mile of the center of Damascus, the seat of Assad's power.
On Friday, rebels battled regime forces in several smaller army bases and weapons depots around Aleppo, seizing some ammunition in an army depot near a village of Khan Touman, southwest of the city, according to activist groups.
An activist in Aleppo province, who is widely known as Yassin Abu Raed, said rebels led by the Jabhat al-Nusra and other Islamic radical groups also seized control of a checkpoint protecting a military academy.
Abu Raed, who did not give his real name for fear of persecution by the regime, also said rebels seized a missile base in al-Rashideen area in Aleppo province. Another activist group, The Observatory for Human Rights, said fighting for the missile base was ongoing.
In activist videos posted online Friday, rebels are seen walking around a warehouse, opening wooden boxes that contain missiles.
The videos appeared consistent with reporting from the area by The Associated Press.
The rebels have long complained that their side is hampered by the failure of world powers to provide heavier arms to help them battle Assad's better-equipped military and his airpower. The international community is reluctant to send weapons partly because of fears they may fall into the hands of extremists who have been gaining influence among the rebels.
Last month, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the Obama administration was giving an additional $60 million in assistance to Syria's political opposition and would, for the first time, provide non-lethal aid directly to the rebels. None of the aid, which is to include an undetermined amount of food rations and medical supplies, has been sent yet.
On Friday, leaders at a European Union summit failed to agree if they should send arms to the rebels.
An EU embargo prohibits any arms from being sent to Syria, whether to the rebels or to the Assad regime. That embargo is scheduled to remain in effect until May, when it will either be renewed or allowed to expire.
France and Britain have argued that they should be able supply arms to the rebels, saying the Assad regime is receiving arms from Russia and Iran. France and Britain claim that with more weaponry, the rebels could defend themselves and the civilian population and members of the Assad regime would see more clearly a need to negotiate a political settlement.
On Friday, some anti-government groups called for stepped-up attacks to mark the anniversary of the uprising. The banned Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group urged supporters for a "week of action" on the occasion but didn't specify what it would do.
A Damascus-based activist who identified himself as Abu Qais said regime troops increased patrols and security searches in the country's capital. He spoke on condition his real name not be used for security concerns.
In neighboring Lebanon, gunmen set fire to three fuel tankers with Syrian license plates to prevent them from crossing into Syria, the state-run National News Agency said.
The Lebanese news agency said the incident occurred in the northern city of Tripoli, and that the tankers were carrying fuel when they were stopped by the protesters and later set on fire. No casualties were reported.
In the past, protesters have closed roads to keep tankers from crossing into Syria, where there are severe gasoline and diesel shortages. They claim diesel exported to Syria is being used by regime tanks.
Many among Lebanon's Sunni Muslims have backed Syria's mainly Sunni rebel forces, in which radical Islamists have become increasingly active. Lebanese Shiite Muslims, including the militant Hezbollah group, have leaned toward Assad, whose tiny Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
Separately, the Syrian Foreign Ministry complained in a letter sent to the Lebanese government on Thursday that armed groups have tried to infiltrate Syria from Lebanon repeatedly in the past 36 hours, triggering clashes with border guards.
Damascus said Syrian troops have exercised "utmost self-restraint" until now but warned that "this would not continue endlessly."
Also on Friday, at least eight Syrians were killed and 29 were injured when the bus they were traveling in from Syria overturned in the mountains in central Lebanon, officials said. The bus was headed to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, when the accident occurred in the Kahhaleh region.
George Kettaneh, operations director for the Lebanese Red Cross, said the casualties included women and children. He said it's unclear why the bus overturned.
It was not immediately known whether the Syrians were refugees fleeing the violence at home. The bus had Syrian license plates from the northeastern Hassakeh province, which recently witnessed heavy clashes.
More than 1 million Syrians have fled the country's civil war to seek shelter in neighboring countries. In Lebanon alone, the U.N. has registered more than 360,000 Syrian refugees.
___
Associated Press writer Don Melvin in Brussels contributed to this report.
Energy from the interior of the Earth supports life in a global ecosystemPublic release date: 14-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mark A. Lever mark.lever@biology.au.dk 45-21-72-84-73 Aarhus University
The core drill slides through a drill pipe, extending from the drill ship at the sea surface, through a water depth of 2.5 km and hundreds of metres of sediment, into the oceanic crust off the west coast of North America. Microbiologist Mark Lever is on board the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program's research vessel JOIDES Resolution to examine rock samples from the depths. The results of the studies he and his colleagues carried out are published today in the journal Science.
"We're providing the first direct evidence of life in the deeply buried oceanic crust. Our findings suggest that this spatially vast ecosystem is largely supported by chemosynthesis," says Dr Lever, at the time a PhD student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, and now a scientist at the Center for Geomicrobiology at Aarhus University, Denmark.
Energy from reduced iron
We have learned that sunlight is a prerequisite for life on Earth. Photosynthetic organisms use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into organic material that makes up the foundation of Earth's food chains. Life in the porous rock material in the oceanic crust is fundamentally different. Energy and therefore life's driving force derives from geochemical processes.
"There are small veins in the basaltic oceanic crust and water runs through them. The water probably reacts with reduced iron compounds, such as olivine, in the basalt and releases hydrogen. Microorganisms use the hydrogen as a source of energy to convert carbon dioxide into organic material," explains Dr Lever. "So far, evidence for life deep within oceanic crust was based on chemical and textural signatures in rocks, but direct proof was lacking", adds Dr Olivier Rouxel of the French IFREMER institute.
Our biosphere is extended
The oceanic crust covers 60 per cent of the Earth's surface. Taking the volume into consideration, this makes it the largest ecosystem on Earth. Since the 1970s, researchers have found local ecosystems, such as hot springs, which are sustained by chemical energy.
"The hot springs are mainly found along the edges of the continental plates, where the newly formed oceanic crust meets seawater. However, the bulk of oceanic crust is deeply buried under layers of mud and hundreds to thousands of kilometres away from the geologically active areas on the edges of continental plates. Until now, we've had no proof that there is life down there," says Dr Lever.
Even though this enormous ecosystem is probably mainly based on hydrogen, several different forms of life are found here. The hydrogen-oxidising microorganisms create organic material that forms the basis for other microorganisms in the basalt. Some organisms get their energy by producing methane or by reducing sulphate, while others get energy by breaking down organic carbon by means of fermentation.
Basalt is their home
Mark Lever is a specialist in sulphur-reducing and methane-producing organisms, and these were the organisms he also chose to examine among the samples taken from the oceanic crust. These organisms are able to use hydrogen as a source of energy, and are typically not found in seawater. Dr Lever had to make sure that no microorganisms had been introduced as contaminants during the drilling process, or transported from bottom seawater entering the basaltic veins.
"We collected rock samples 55 kilometres from the nearest outcrop where seawater is entering the basalt. Here the water in the basaltic veins has a chemical composition that differs fundamentally from seawater, for instance, it is devoid of oxygen produced by photosynthesis. The microorganisms we found are native to basalt," explains Dr Lever.
Active life or dead relics?
Dr Lever's basalt is 3.5 million years old, but laboratory cultures show that the DNA belonging to these organisms is not fossil. "It all began when I extracted DNA from the rock samples we had brought up. To my great surprise, I identified genes that are found in methane-producing microorganisms. We subsequently analysed the chemical signatures in the rock material, and our work with carbon isotopes provided clear evidence that the organic material did not derive from dead plankton introduced by seawater, but was formed within the oceanic crust. In addition, sulphur isotopes showed us that microbial cycling of sulphur had taken place in the same rocks. These could all have been fossil signatures of life, but we cultured microorganisms from basalt rocks in the laboratory and were able to measure microbial methane production," explains Dr Lever. Dr Jeff Alt of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor adds that "Our work proves that microbes play an important role in basalt chemistry, and thereby influence ocean chemistry".
Chemosynthetic life plays a role
Mark Lever and his colleagues developed new sampling methods to avoid sampling microbial contaminants from seawater, which is often a major problem in explorations of the oceanic crust. The researchers work in an area of the world that is extremely hard to reach. As Dr Andreas Teske of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill expresses "this study would not have been possible without the close collaboration of microbiologists, geochemists and geologists from the US, Denmark, France, Germany, the UK and Japan each team member going to the limits of what was technically possible. Such strong proof for life in the deep ocean crust has eluded scientists for a long time".
Exploring the oceanic crust is still a young science. However, the prospects are great.
"Life in the deeply buried oceanic crust is supported by energy-sources that are fundamentally different from the ones that support life in both the mud layers in the sea bed and the oceanic water column. It is possible that life based on chemosynthesis is found on other planets, where the chemical environment permits. Our continued studies will hopefully reveal whether this is the case, and also what role life in the oceanic crust plays in the overall carbon cycle on our own planet," says Dr Lever.
###
Read more
'Evidence for Microbial Carbon and Sulfur Cycling in Deeply Buried Ridge Flank Basalt' by Mark A. Lever, Olivier Rouxel, Jeffrey C. Alt, Nobumichi Shimizu, Shuhei Ono, Rosalind M. Coggon, Wayne C. Shanks, III, Laura Lapham, Marcus Elvert, Xavier Prieto-Mollar, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs, Fumio Inagaki, and Andreas Teske in Science, 15 March 2013.
For more information, please contact
Mark A. Lever
Danish National Research Foundation's Center for Geomicrobiology
Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University
45-8715-4341/2172-8473
Andreas P. Teske
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
919-843-2463 teske@email.unc.edu
Olivier Rouxel
IFREMER
French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea
Centre de Brest
33-2290-08541 orouxel@ifremer.fr
Jeffrey C. Alt
The University of Michigan, Earth and Environmental Sciences
734-764-8380 jalt@umich.edu
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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Energy from the interior of the Earth supports life in a global ecosystemPublic release date: 14-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mark A. Lever mark.lever@biology.au.dk 45-21-72-84-73 Aarhus University
The core drill slides through a drill pipe, extending from the drill ship at the sea surface, through a water depth of 2.5 km and hundreds of metres of sediment, into the oceanic crust off the west coast of North America. Microbiologist Mark Lever is on board the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program's research vessel JOIDES Resolution to examine rock samples from the depths. The results of the studies he and his colleagues carried out are published today in the journal Science.
"We're providing the first direct evidence of life in the deeply buried oceanic crust. Our findings suggest that this spatially vast ecosystem is largely supported by chemosynthesis," says Dr Lever, at the time a PhD student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, and now a scientist at the Center for Geomicrobiology at Aarhus University, Denmark.
Energy from reduced iron
We have learned that sunlight is a prerequisite for life on Earth. Photosynthetic organisms use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into organic material that makes up the foundation of Earth's food chains. Life in the porous rock material in the oceanic crust is fundamentally different. Energy and therefore life's driving force derives from geochemical processes.
"There are small veins in the basaltic oceanic crust and water runs through them. The water probably reacts with reduced iron compounds, such as olivine, in the basalt and releases hydrogen. Microorganisms use the hydrogen as a source of energy to convert carbon dioxide into organic material," explains Dr Lever. "So far, evidence for life deep within oceanic crust was based on chemical and textural signatures in rocks, but direct proof was lacking", adds Dr Olivier Rouxel of the French IFREMER institute.
Our biosphere is extended
The oceanic crust covers 60 per cent of the Earth's surface. Taking the volume into consideration, this makes it the largest ecosystem on Earth. Since the 1970s, researchers have found local ecosystems, such as hot springs, which are sustained by chemical energy.
"The hot springs are mainly found along the edges of the continental plates, where the newly formed oceanic crust meets seawater. However, the bulk of oceanic crust is deeply buried under layers of mud and hundreds to thousands of kilometres away from the geologically active areas on the edges of continental plates. Until now, we've had no proof that there is life down there," says Dr Lever.
Even though this enormous ecosystem is probably mainly based on hydrogen, several different forms of life are found here. The hydrogen-oxidising microorganisms create organic material that forms the basis for other microorganisms in the basalt. Some organisms get their energy by producing methane or by reducing sulphate, while others get energy by breaking down organic carbon by means of fermentation.
Basalt is their home
Mark Lever is a specialist in sulphur-reducing and methane-producing organisms, and these were the organisms he also chose to examine among the samples taken from the oceanic crust. These organisms are able to use hydrogen as a source of energy, and are typically not found in seawater. Dr Lever had to make sure that no microorganisms had been introduced as contaminants during the drilling process, or transported from bottom seawater entering the basaltic veins.
"We collected rock samples 55 kilometres from the nearest outcrop where seawater is entering the basalt. Here the water in the basaltic veins has a chemical composition that differs fundamentally from seawater, for instance, it is devoid of oxygen produced by photosynthesis. The microorganisms we found are native to basalt," explains Dr Lever.
Active life or dead relics?
Dr Lever's basalt is 3.5 million years old, but laboratory cultures show that the DNA belonging to these organisms is not fossil. "It all began when I extracted DNA from the rock samples we had brought up. To my great surprise, I identified genes that are found in methane-producing microorganisms. We subsequently analysed the chemical signatures in the rock material, and our work with carbon isotopes provided clear evidence that the organic material did not derive from dead plankton introduced by seawater, but was formed within the oceanic crust. In addition, sulphur isotopes showed us that microbial cycling of sulphur had taken place in the same rocks. These could all have been fossil signatures of life, but we cultured microorganisms from basalt rocks in the laboratory and were able to measure microbial methane production," explains Dr Lever. Dr Jeff Alt of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor adds that "Our work proves that microbes play an important role in basalt chemistry, and thereby influence ocean chemistry".
Chemosynthetic life plays a role
Mark Lever and his colleagues developed new sampling methods to avoid sampling microbial contaminants from seawater, which is often a major problem in explorations of the oceanic crust. The researchers work in an area of the world that is extremely hard to reach. As Dr Andreas Teske of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill expresses "this study would not have been possible without the close collaboration of microbiologists, geochemists and geologists from the US, Denmark, France, Germany, the UK and Japan each team member going to the limits of what was technically possible. Such strong proof for life in the deep ocean crust has eluded scientists for a long time".
Exploring the oceanic crust is still a young science. However, the prospects are great.
"Life in the deeply buried oceanic crust is supported by energy-sources that are fundamentally different from the ones that support life in both the mud layers in the sea bed and the oceanic water column. It is possible that life based on chemosynthesis is found on other planets, where the chemical environment permits. Our continued studies will hopefully reveal whether this is the case, and also what role life in the oceanic crust plays in the overall carbon cycle on our own planet," says Dr Lever.
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Read more
'Evidence for Microbial Carbon and Sulfur Cycling in Deeply Buried Ridge Flank Basalt' by Mark A. Lever, Olivier Rouxel, Jeffrey C. Alt, Nobumichi Shimizu, Shuhei Ono, Rosalind M. Coggon, Wayne C. Shanks, III, Laura Lapham, Marcus Elvert, Xavier Prieto-Mollar, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs, Fumio Inagaki, and Andreas Teske in Science, 15 March 2013.
For more information, please contact
Mark A. Lever
Danish National Research Foundation's Center for Geomicrobiology
Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University
45-8715-4341/2172-8473
Andreas P. Teske
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
919-843-2463 teske@email.unc.edu
Olivier Rouxel
IFREMER
French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea
Centre de Brest
33-2290-08541 orouxel@ifremer.fr
Jeffrey C. Alt
The University of Michigan, Earth and Environmental Sciences
734-764-8380 jalt@umich.edu
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Prominent hedge fund manager Kyle Bass ? whose big trade right now, known as the "widowmaker" in market circles, is betting against Japanese government bonds ? gave a talk at the University of Chicago last week.
During the talk, someone asked him about the Japan trade. People call it the "widowmaker" because a trader will look at Japan's huge pile of public debt ? the largest in the world as a percentage of GDP ? and bet that it has to blow up. (Right?) The problem for these traders, of course, is that it never does.
Bass relayed an interesting story about a conversation he had with a counterparty at "one of the biggest banks in the world."
The gist of the story is that "27-year-old kids" have been selling default protection on Japanese government debt (credit default swaps) for insanely cheap ? too cheap, thinks Bass ? and that the banks are starting to realize that maybe they are underestimating the risk associated with a blowup in the Japanese bond market.
That's the vibe Bass gets, anyways, from the conversation with his counterparty ? they asked him to close out his trade.
"The AIG of the world is back," says Bass.
Below is a partial transcription of Bass's comments at the University of Chicago.
The AIG of the world is back. Here's what I mean by that.
I have 27-year-old kids selling me one-year jump risk in Japan for less than one basis point. $5 billion worth at a time.
You know why? Because it's outside of a 95 percent VaR. It's less than one year to maturity.?So guess what the regulatory capital hit is for the bank? It rhymes with "hero." Right?
And, if the bell tolls at the end of the year, the 27-year-old kid gets a bonus. And if he blows the bank to smithereens, ah. He got a paycheck all year.?
We're right back there. I mean, the brevity of financial memory is only about two years. I wouldn't sell nuclear holocaust risk in Dallas for less than a basis point. You should be fired for thinking about selling something for less than 50 basis points, you know? And yet, this is happening again.?
And it's happening in huge size. You know, huge. We bought $0.5 trillion worth of these options.
Interestingly enough, recently, one of the biggest banks in the world called me and asked me if I would close my position. That was an interesting day for us. That happened to me in 2007, right before the mortgages cracked.?
They said, "You know, we ran some new risk tests."
And I said, "Really?"
And they said, "Yeah, you know, our new stress scenario is a little bit more punitive than the last one."
And I said, "Well, what is it?"
And he says, "We don't want to share our proprietary secrets of our bank with you."
And I said, "OK, then I'm not closing it."
And they said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Well, how about: in our old one, we had rates being stressed 50 basis points, and the new one has rates being stressed 400."
And I said, "Ooh, yeah, 400. That would really hurt you on this trade, wouldn't it?"
And they said, "Yeah, we'd like to close that one."
And I said, "Well, I'd like to, but I'm not going to do that for you, so I'm sorry."
But anyway, they are starting to realize. Why would they run a stress test like that? Who would have them run that stress test? This is happening.
An undated simulated image shows a Galileo type satellite circling earth. The contract for the construction of the first four satellites and several bases on earth was signed in Paris, France, 21 December 2004. The European satellite navigation system is supposed to be assisted by 30 satelites. The Thales version to be built for Turkmenistan could be quite similar. |EPA/esa
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Turkmenistan recently announced plans to launch the first national satellite for late 2014. As per contract signed with the Turkmen government, French company Thales Alenia Space would be involved in the development and construction of the spacecraft, Turkmenistan.ru reported. It was reported that recently Thales, known as a developer and supplier of advanced high-tech aeronavigation equipment for the country's airports since 1991, won a tender in this regard. An article in the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper states that the company is now entitled to create a Turkmen satellite and control system of the satellite from the Earth, launch it into space, ensure round-the-clock assistance in satellite management within 15 years, and to prepare highly qualified specialists for Turkmenistan in this field. As of now, Turkmenistan services Russian satellite "Yamal", owned by JSC "Gazprom Space Systems." Through this satellite, digital national TV broadcasting and many Russian TV channels are broadcasted in Turkmenistan. Turkmen communication satellite will provide TV broadcasts, radio telephone, telegraph and other types of communication between ground stations, placed at a distance of up to 10,000-15,000 kilometers from each other.
The Turkmen communication satellite will provide TV broadcasts, radio telephone, telegraph and other types of communication between ground stations, placed at a distance of up to 10,000-15,000 kilometers from each other.With the emergence of own satellite, several TV broadcasting channels will increase and it will be possible to use the satellite for international backbone TV broadcasts, integrated information exchange, including distance education and telemedicine. In addition, use of spacecraft will establish high-quality telephone service with hard-to-reach areas of the country and at same time removing the need to lay expensive cables. The usage of the satellite will help to monitor oil and gas pipelines (SKADA system). Another advantage of the satellite is its cost-effective step. Geographical position of Turkmenistan will allow the satellite to act as a transit country in channels broadcasting in Europe and Asia in the presence of the satellite, covering a large area.National spacecraft of the country after being launched into a circular equatorial orbit at 35,786 kilometers distant from ground surface, will "hang" stable over one point of the ground surface.
Huge flood on Mars: Data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter hints at at extensive flooding in the Red Planet's ancient past.
By Alicia Chang,?AP Science Writer / March 8, 2013
This image provided by NASA and taken by a camera aboard NASA?s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the equatorial plains region known as Elysium Planitia on Mars. Using a radar instrument aboard the spacecraft, scientists made a 3-D map of flood channels below the surface of Mars, apparently created by past flooding. The findings were reported online, March 7, in the journal Science.
NASA/AP
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The face of?Mars?is dotted with a maze of channels, pointing to possible ancient megaflood episodes.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
Now scientists peering below the surface have uncovered the first evidence of underground channels apparently created by?flooding?? a finding that's expected to further illuminate the role of water in?Mars' history.
Using a ground-piercing radar sensor aboard the?Mars?Reconnaissance Orbiter, a team of scientists created 3-D maps of an equatorial region known as Elysium Planitia and the channels that run underneath the plains.
Besides the contributions from rovers and landers, "our view of the red planet has largely been restricted to looking at the surface" from orbiting spacecraft, said lead researcher Gareth Morgan, a planetary scientist at the Smithsonian Institution.
The research, published online Thursday in the journal Science, offers a new perspective below the Martian surface and hints of past?flooding?at a time when the planet was mostly thought to be cold and desert-like. The channels remained hidden because the once volcanically active region had been filled in by lava flows hundreds of millions years ago.
Dry channels on the Martian surface were first spied by Mariner 9 in 1971. Later observations by the Viking spacecraft suggested the geologic features were likely carved by water.?Mars?missions since then have used sophisticated instruments to image these winding channels.
The latest 3-D maps, painstakingly pieced together from radar data collected by numerous spacecraft passes, have already changed scientists' notions: The channels are deeper than expected, a sign that?flooding?was more extensive than generally believed.
Morgan said the origin of the ancient floodwaters likely came from a deep reservoir and were possibly unleashed by a volcanic eruption.
Brown University?Mars?expert John Mustard called the new work "totally cool and significant."
"It shows a completely new dimension for considering the evolution of?Mars," Mustard, who was not part of the study, said in an email.
Junior dos Santos was supposed to face Alistair Overeem at UFC 160, but an injury forced Overeem out of the bout. Now, dos Santos will fight Mark Hunt. JDS talked to a Brazilian radio station, and said he admired one of those opponents but found the other to be a joke.
"I think it was great the UFC have scheduled Mark Hunt. I admire him very much for having accepted because he just fought. I admire and appreciate because I want to fight May 25 and this will happen thanks to him. When Overeem jumped off I thought it was great that the UFC came by with another opponent. [Overeem] isn?t a champion, he?s nothing. If he was a champion, I would wait."
So JDS is a fan of Hunt, and doesn't think it's worth waiting for a bout with Overeem. But how does he feel about Overeem?
"I think [Overeem] is a joke. He is very big, he's on steroids and he talks a lot of [expletive]. But I don't care about him. He can go on with his career and do what he thinks is the best for him, I will do the same. If some day we face each other and he runs out of problems, we fight."
Overeem and dos Santos were set to fight last May, when dos Santos still held the UFC heavyweight championship belt. The fight was canceled when Overeem failed a PED test. He was found to have excessive levels of testosterone, more than double of that the athletic commission in Nevada allowed.
Overeem was suspended, and then lost to Antonio Silva on his return to the cage. With dos Santos fresh off losing his belt to Cain Velasquez, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for the two rivals to square off.
If you’re lazy and you know it raise your hand. I bet you were too lazy to even do that…right? Then this article is going to be perfect for you. Or, it will be perfect if you are lazy AND also own a smartphone equipped?with NFC. Some of the latest Android smartphones like the Samsung [...]
After rap's mogul Barbie, Nicki Minaj, also drops off the top 10, we revisit the tough decisions that went into cementing the 2013 list. By MTV News staff
There are a number of reasons why people up and move?their?families. ?While the typical reason is work related, there are some people, like myself, ?that did it just to provide a different lifestyle for their family. ?There was nothing bad? wrong with where we moved from, I just wanted something different. ?We found it in East Tennessee. ?Don?t get me wrong, you will never be able to completely run away from all the bad things that happen and go on in our society, but you can definitely find a place where the good things out weigh the bad. ?East Tennessee is that place!
Reasons To Relocate To East Tennessee
There are a number of good reasons to move to the East Tennessee area. ?I will list and discuss a few in no particular order that apply directly to Sevier county including the cities of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Seymour, and Sevierville as well as the City of Knoxville.
We Have Very Low Taxes:?Very low could be an understatement depending on where you are moving from. ?The year that we left South Florida our tax bill was $3,400. ?That was in 2004. ?It has doubled since then. ?This past year in Sevier county, in the City of Sevierville, out property taxes (both county and city) were less than $1,000. ?Actually, just a little over $700. ?Not too shabby. ?Another great thing is the State of Tennessee does not have any state or local income taxes. ?
Our Seasons & Weather: ?One of the standing jokes in our area is ?If you don?t like the weather in East Tennessee, just wait 24 hours?. ?For the most part our weather is fairly mild. ?We still have our 4 beautiful seasons. ?All of which bring something very special at different times of the year. ?One of the reasons that we moved from South Florida was because we wanted the kids to know that there really are 4 seasons and not just 4 versions of summer. ?Watching?the leaves change color in October. ?The white capped mountains in the winter. ?The amazing, vibrant color that hits full bloom in the Spring. And of course, we still have that summer for fun on the any of the many lakes around our region. ?One thing we had agreed upon before moving was that we did not want to shovel snow. ?While we still have annual snow fall amounts down in the valley, it is never enough to do anything other than give us a snow day here and there.
The Beauty In Your Backyard:? If you have ever heard of the Great Smoky Mountains but never understood what makes them so ?Great?, then it is time to make the trip. ?Annually over 10 million people come to the area to visit our National Park. ?When it comes to nature and the outdoors, there is nothing that you can?t?experience?in the Great Smoky Mountains. ?Hiking, canoeing, white water rafting, camping, etc., etc. ?With places like Clingman?s Dome and trail heads like New Found Gap, ?you?re sure to experience breath taking views that go on for miles.
Cost OfLiving: In the last cost of living index, Sevier county scored an 86.1. ?This is less than the average which is scaled at 100. ?The estimated median home and condo value in 2009 was $164,000. ?This is up slightly from 2008 at $158,000. ?While land and housing is not as cheap as it once was, and what many believe it still to be, it is very?reasonable?by comparison to national averages. ?One of the many benefits of living in Sevier County are the ?kickbacks? that come from living in a tourist or resort type destination. ?For instance, one of the many reasons that our property taxes are so low is because of the tax revenue that is generated each year. ?Just to give you an idea of exactly?how much money we are talking, you can read about the tax revenue reported by the City of Pigeon in 2012. ?Some of the other benefits include reduced pricing at many attractions and events for Sevier County residents. ?For example, as a Sevier County resident you are eligible to take part in ?Sevier County Week?. ?This is when many attractions like Dollywood, Splash Country, and Ripley?s attractions will allow admission for a highly reduced fee.
Crime Rate and Safety:?Crime, like anything else, is a metric that is tracked statistically. ?Using the national average of 100, Sevier County?s total crime risk index is a 39! ?The state of Tennessee as a whole has a crime index of 133. ?This speaks volumes as to the safety of our area. ?It is not uncommon for children to be allowed to walk the strip in Gatlinburg or spend the day at Dollywood?s Splash Country without fear for their safety.
Which City Should You Move To In East Tennessee?
It really depends on a few things. ?Where you are coming from. ?Are you moving from a large metropolitan area? ?If so, jumping right into a highly rural area may be too much of a shock to your system. ?Then again, it could be exactly what you are looking for. ?The cities that make up Sevier County are Boyds Creek, Gatlinburg, Kodak, Pittman Center, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, and Seymour. ?Most of these cities provide the best of both worlds. ?There are plenty of single family homes and condos for sale within the city limits that resemble more of a urban lifestyle just on a smaller scale. ?If that is exactly what are trying to get away from then driving a few more minutes out of the city limits into the ?county? area will provide you with more of a country, rural?lifestyle?with the benefits of the city just 10-20 minutes away.
Knox County and the City of Knoxville are a larger metropolitan area that also provides some city and country living. ?As a matter of fact, the city of Farragut is ranked #8 in the best cities to live in Tennessee. ?According to Amazon.com, Knoxville was rated #1 most romantic city in the country in Jan. 2013. ?Knoxville was also ranked #3 as ?Best Places to Boat and Live? by Boating Life magazine.
Regardless of what your?preference?is, you are going to need to?enlist?the services of a professional Realtor in the area. ?One that is familiar with the area and has the experience and expertise to guide you thought the process of home?ownership. ?You can read my Tips For Choosing Your Realtor?article or feel free to contact me to answer any questions.
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Public release date: 14-Mar-2013
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Junior dos Santos was supposed to face Alistair Overeem at UFC 160, but an injury forced Overeem out of the bout. Now, dos Santos will fight Mark Hunt. JDS talked to a Brazilian radio station, and said he admired one of those opponents but found the other to be a joke.
There are a number of reasons why people up and move?their?families. ?While the typical reason is work related, there are some people, like myself, ?that did it just to provide a different lifestyle for their family. ?There was nothing
Our Seasons & Weather: 
Crime Rate and Safety:
Knox County and the City of Knoxville are a larger metropolitan area that also provides some city and country living. ?As a matter of fact, the city of Farragut is ranked #8 in the best cities to live in Tennessee. ?According to Amazon.com, Knoxville was rated #1 most romantic city in the country in Jan. 2013. ?Knoxville was also ranked #3 as ?Best Places to Boat and Live? by Boating Life magazine.
Now Sean?s mom is crying? Geez, what do they pay these people? If my mom was on #Bachelor she?d make the producers cry
