Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Smoke signals: How burning plants tell seeds to rise from the ashes

Smoke signals: How burning plants tell seeds to rise from the ashes [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 29-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Andy Hoang
AHoang@salk.edu
619-861-5811
Salk Institute

Salk researchers solve an ecological mystery of how smoke and ash from forest fires

LA JOLLA, CA----In the spring following a forest fire, trees that survived the blaze explode in new growth and plants sprout in abundance from the scorched earth. For centuries, it was a mystery how seeds, some long dormant in the soil, knew to push through the ashes to regenerate the burned forest.

In the April 23 early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scientists at the Salk Institute and the University of California, San Diego, report the results of a study that answers this fundamental "circle of life" question in plant ecology. In addition to explaining how fires lead to regeneration of forests and grasslands, their findings may aid in the development of plant varieties that help maintain and restore ecosystems that support all human societies.

"This is a very important and fundamental process of ecosystem renewal around the planet that we really didn't understand," says co-senior investigator Joseph P. Noel, professor and director of Salk's Jack H. Skirball Center for Chemical Biology and Proteomics. "Now we know the molecular triggers for how it occurs."

Noel's co-senior investigator on the project, Joanne Chory, professor and director of Salk's Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, says the team found the molecular "wake-up call" for burned forests. "What we discovered," she says, "is how a dying plant generates a chemical message for the next generation, telling dormant seeds it's time to sprout."

While controlled burns are common today, they weren't 50 years ago. The U.S. park service actively suppressed forest fires until they realized that the practice left the soil of mature forests lacking important minerals and chemicals. This created an intensely competitive environment that was ultimately detrimental to the entire forest ecosystem.

"When Yellowstone National Park was allowed to burn in 1988, many people felt that it would never be restored to its former beauty," says James J. La Clair, a researcher from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California who worked on the project. "But by the following spring, when the rains arrived, there was a burst of flowering plants amid the nutrient-rich ash and charred ground."

In previous studies, scientists had discovered that special chemicals known as karrikins are created as trees and shrubs burn during a forest fire and remain in the soil after the fire, ensuring the forest will regenerate.

The Salk scientists' new study sought to uncover exactly how karrikins stimulate new plant growth. First, the researchers determined the structure of a plant protein know as KAI2, which binds to karrikin in dormant seeds. Then, comparing the karrikin-bound KAI2 protein to the structure of an unbound KAI2 protein allowed the researchers to speculate how KAI2 allows a seed to perceive karrikin in its environment.

The chemical structures the team solved revealed all the molecular contacts between karrikin and KAI2, according to Salk research associate Yongxia Guo, a structural enzymologist and one of the study's lead investigators. "But, more than that," Gou says, "we also now know that when karrikin binds to the KAI2 protein it causes a change in its shape."

The studies' other lead investigator, Salk research associate and plant geneticist Zuyu Zheng, says this karrikin-induced shape change may send a new signal to other proteins in the seeds. "These other protein players," he says, "together with karrikin and KAI2, generate the signal causing seed germination at the right place and time after a wildfire."

Guo and Zheng, a married couple working as postdoctoral researchers in the Noel and Chory labs, respectively, came up with the idea for the study while talking over dinner. La Clair then joined the study, contributing his chemistry expertise.

While the new findings were made in Arabidopsis, a model organism that many plant researchers study, the scientists say the same karrikin-KAI2 regeneration strategy is undoubtedly found in many plant species.

"In plants, one member of this family of enzymes has been recruited somehow through natural selection to bind to this molecule in smoke and ash and generate this signal," says Noel, holder of Salk's Arthur and Julie Woodrow Chair and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. "KAI2 likely evolved when plant ecosystems started to flourish on the terrestrial earth and fire became a very important part of ecosystems to free up nutrients locked up in dying and dead plants."

More research is needed to understand exactly how the change in shape of the KAI2 protein activates a genetic pathway that regulates germination, says Chory, the Howard H. and Maryam R. Newman Chair in Plant Biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. "But this finding is an absolutely critical step in understanding this genetic program and how plant ecosystems, forests and grasslands renew themselves."

###

The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health grants 5R01GM52413 and GM094428, National Science Foundation awards EEC-0813570 and MCB-0645794 and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies:

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is one of the world's preeminent basic research institutions, where internationally renowned faculty probe fundamental life science questions in a unique, collaborative, and creative environment. Focused both on discovery and on mentoring future generations of researchers, Salk scientists make groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of cancer, aging, Alzheimer's, diabetes and infectious diseases by studying neuroscience, genetics, cell and plant biology, and related disciplines.

Faculty achievements have been recognized with numerous honors, including Nobel Prizes and memberships in the National Academy of Sciences. Founded in 1960 by polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk, M.D., the Institute is an independent nonprofit organization and architectural landmark.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


Smoke signals: How burning plants tell seeds to rise from the ashes [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 29-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Andy Hoang
AHoang@salk.edu
619-861-5811
Salk Institute

Salk researchers solve an ecological mystery of how smoke and ash from forest fires

LA JOLLA, CA----In the spring following a forest fire, trees that survived the blaze explode in new growth and plants sprout in abundance from the scorched earth. For centuries, it was a mystery how seeds, some long dormant in the soil, knew to push through the ashes to regenerate the burned forest.

In the April 23 early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scientists at the Salk Institute and the University of California, San Diego, report the results of a study that answers this fundamental "circle of life" question in plant ecology. In addition to explaining how fires lead to regeneration of forests and grasslands, their findings may aid in the development of plant varieties that help maintain and restore ecosystems that support all human societies.

"This is a very important and fundamental process of ecosystem renewal around the planet that we really didn't understand," says co-senior investigator Joseph P. Noel, professor and director of Salk's Jack H. Skirball Center for Chemical Biology and Proteomics. "Now we know the molecular triggers for how it occurs."

Noel's co-senior investigator on the project, Joanne Chory, professor and director of Salk's Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, says the team found the molecular "wake-up call" for burned forests. "What we discovered," she says, "is how a dying plant generates a chemical message for the next generation, telling dormant seeds it's time to sprout."

While controlled burns are common today, they weren't 50 years ago. The U.S. park service actively suppressed forest fires until they realized that the practice left the soil of mature forests lacking important minerals and chemicals. This created an intensely competitive environment that was ultimately detrimental to the entire forest ecosystem.

"When Yellowstone National Park was allowed to burn in 1988, many people felt that it would never be restored to its former beauty," says James J. La Clair, a researcher from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California who worked on the project. "But by the following spring, when the rains arrived, there was a burst of flowering plants amid the nutrient-rich ash and charred ground."

In previous studies, scientists had discovered that special chemicals known as karrikins are created as trees and shrubs burn during a forest fire and remain in the soil after the fire, ensuring the forest will regenerate.

The Salk scientists' new study sought to uncover exactly how karrikins stimulate new plant growth. First, the researchers determined the structure of a plant protein know as KAI2, which binds to karrikin in dormant seeds. Then, comparing the karrikin-bound KAI2 protein to the structure of an unbound KAI2 protein allowed the researchers to speculate how KAI2 allows a seed to perceive karrikin in its environment.

The chemical structures the team solved revealed all the molecular contacts between karrikin and KAI2, according to Salk research associate Yongxia Guo, a structural enzymologist and one of the study's lead investigators. "But, more than that," Gou says, "we also now know that when karrikin binds to the KAI2 protein it causes a change in its shape."

The studies' other lead investigator, Salk research associate and plant geneticist Zuyu Zheng, says this karrikin-induced shape change may send a new signal to other proteins in the seeds. "These other protein players," he says, "together with karrikin and KAI2, generate the signal causing seed germination at the right place and time after a wildfire."

Guo and Zheng, a married couple working as postdoctoral researchers in the Noel and Chory labs, respectively, came up with the idea for the study while talking over dinner. La Clair then joined the study, contributing his chemistry expertise.

While the new findings were made in Arabidopsis, a model organism that many plant researchers study, the scientists say the same karrikin-KAI2 regeneration strategy is undoubtedly found in many plant species.

"In plants, one member of this family of enzymes has been recruited somehow through natural selection to bind to this molecule in smoke and ash and generate this signal," says Noel, holder of Salk's Arthur and Julie Woodrow Chair and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. "KAI2 likely evolved when plant ecosystems started to flourish on the terrestrial earth and fire became a very important part of ecosystems to free up nutrients locked up in dying and dead plants."

More research is needed to understand exactly how the change in shape of the KAI2 protein activates a genetic pathway that regulates germination, says Chory, the Howard H. and Maryam R. Newman Chair in Plant Biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. "But this finding is an absolutely critical step in understanding this genetic program and how plant ecosystems, forests and grasslands renew themselves."

###

The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health grants 5R01GM52413 and GM094428, National Science Foundation awards EEC-0813570 and MCB-0645794 and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies:

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is one of the world's preeminent basic research institutions, where internationally renowned faculty probe fundamental life science questions in a unique, collaborative, and creative environment. Focused both on discovery and on mentoring future generations of researchers, Salk scientists make groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of cancer, aging, Alzheimer's, diabetes and infectious diseases by studying neuroscience, genetics, cell and plant biology, and related disciplines.

Faculty achievements have been recognized with numerous honors, including Nobel Prizes and memberships in the National Academy of Sciences. Founded in 1960 by polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk, M.D., the Institute is an independent nonprofit organization and architectural landmark.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/si-s042913.php

dodgers sale tami roman jetblue captain los angeles dodgers christie brinkley seattle mariners geraldo rivera

Monday, April 29, 2013

More Heresy from The Economist (Powerlineblog)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/302170019?client_source=feed&format=rss

Adam Greenberg Fall Leaves Jim Lehrer 666 Park Avenue Kara Alongi Sahara Davenport Resident Evil 6

Patrick Beverley Receives Death Threats for Injury to Russell Westbrook

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/patrick-beverley-receives-death-threats-for-injury-to-russell-we/

atlantic city ocean city maryland Nexus 7 KDKA Pumpkin Carving Ideas Hurricane Sandy path sandy

Educational rights for women remain motionless in Turkey | The ...




ISTANBUL ? Despite major education initiatives and social reformations since the time of Ataturk, many girls in Turkey still do not receive an education.

Mustafa Kemal, now better known as Ataturk, or ?Father of Turks,? is credited with founding the modern Republic of Turkey and was the first president of Turkey. Ataturk?s many social, political and economic reforms were embedded in the six fundamental principles of what is now known as ?Kemalism.?

These six principles include Republicanism, Nationalism, Populism, Statism, Secularism and Revolution. The latter two were vital in the emerging role education has played in Turkey throughout the past decades.

?Kemalism was one of the main reasons that education and literacy increased and spread around girls and boys ?equally? after the establishment of the Republic,? said Nesrin Ersoy McMeekin, an instructor at Koc University, a private university in Istanbul.

A leisurely park in Istanbul overlooks the Blue Mosque, a historic site where Turkish sultans once lived.

A leisurely park in Istanbul overlooks the Blue Mosque, a historic site where Turkish sultans once lived. Photo submitted by Kate Riley.

?Still, it was and is a slow process, but since man and woman are considered equal by law, it became the government?s duty to provide equal education for both sexes,? McMeekin said.

?Principles of Kemalism were very strongly ? and unfortunately sometimes wrongly ? used in education in different periods of the Republican era. Right now there is a big battle of keeping some of them and/or destroying them.?

As a professor of higher education, as well as someone who grew up in the Turkish education system, McMeekin has experienced challenges due to lack of funding for public education in Turkey, much like the monetary problems faced in the United States. She also sees how familial relations play a major role in the education of both young girls and boys, whether positively or negatively.

Although primary school is mandatory just as it is in the United States, many children, particularly girls, are not enrolled due to ?traditional values? sought by parents, according to the United Nations Girls? Education Initiative (UNGEI). This problem occurs primarily in the eastern parts of the country, which are considerably more rural and conservative.

Tolga Tan is a second-year Koc student who grew up in Kadikoy, Istanbul and is passionate about his own education. Tan has seen the impact families seem to have in various parts of the country.

?In rural areas, getting some sort of education has traditionally been a challenge,? Tan said. ?Most people in the eastern part of Turkey usually complete only primary education. The gender role in rural parts is more pronounced than it is in urban parts. Many girls don?t receive any education although it is unconstitutional, and this is mainly due to the parents and what they call ?traditional.??

According to the UNGEI and the United States Embassy in Turkey, the main obstacles to school attendance for girls in Turkey include a lack of school facilities, gender discrimination, low expectations from education, low quality of education and the cost associated with families sending their children to school.

Many children, particularly girls, are not enrolled due to ?traditional values??

UNGEI exemplifies the problem by outlining Van, a small town in eastern Turkey that demonstrates how poverty and cultural traditions have historically kept girls at home. Many families are worried an education could ?spoil their daughters for marriage,? according to the report. But through the efforts of the UNGEI, more and more of these families have altered their opinions in order to change their family?s educational legacy.

?It is true that if the parents have higher education it is more likely that their kids will have one as well,? McMeekin said. ?But there is also a significant number of parents who would do everything to have their kids go to university just because they themselves didn?t have the chance.?

Both Tan and McMeekin believe the amount of money pumped into education from the government could be increased, which might financially encourage families to make more of an effort in regards to their children?s education.

According to the United States Embassy in Turkey and the UNGEI, part of the problem lies in the cost of transporting a child to school and buying supplies. This could be solved with the creation of scholarships to improve attendance rates in public primary, secondary and higher education in the eastern parts of Turkey.

Public universities in Turkey generally cost about 400 Turkish Lira per semester, which is equal to about $222.60 in the United States, or they are free of charge. But students must go to primary school and follow the system in order to eventually take the university entrance exam during their final year of high school. At this point, there are a number of scholarships given if needed, McMeekin said.

But the campaign ?Hey Girls, Let?s Go to School? has seen challenges that inhibit some children from eventually reaching these upper levels of education. Although the UNGEI has seen persistent poverty and a lack of resources in rural Turkish areas that continue to harm the potential of the nation?s education system, it has also seen increased media visibility and support from prominent politicians including the Prime Minister and the first lady of Turkey since its 2003 inception.

Additionally, the number of female children not enrolled in primary school has decreased significantly since 2003, according to World Bank analyses. In 2003, the number of girls not in primary school in Turkey was about 253,000, while that number shrank to about 53,000 in 2010.

?In the last 15 to 20 years, emphasis on education and campaigns to support girls and kids from rural areas in getting education have increased significantly,? McMeekin said. ?But is it enough? Not yet. There is still a huge prejudice against girls? education in Turkey, especially in eastern Turkey.?


Education, international, Istanbul, study abroad, Turkey, UNGEI, Women's Rights

About Kate Riley

Kate is a junior Journalism major with minors in Psychology and International Studies, with a concentration in the Middle East. She is also a former Special Projects Editor, Copy Editor and Copy Intern with The Pendulum and served as the Editor-in-Chief of The Edge. View all posts by Kate Riley ?

Subscribe

Connect with The Pendulum, no matter where you are.

Source: http://www.elonpendulum.com/2013/04/educational-rights-for-women-remain-motionless-in-turkey/

patrice oneal shamrock slainte the quiet man yellow cab dropkick murphys guernsey

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Beauty From Pain

  • Reputation:
    Words written:
    Words per post:
    Joined:
    Last visit:
    Location:
    Website:
Beauty From Pain

Six strangers brought together through there own issues. Their issues range from addiction, self-harm, mental instability etc. Through there troubles being faced together it showes that through pain can come beauty.

Owner:

Game Masters:

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Beauty From Pain?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

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

First post: ? 1 post ? Page 1 of 1

This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "Beauty From Pain"

You may edit this first post as you see fit.

User avatar
ShadowedxLove
Member for 0 years



First post: ? 1 post ? Page 1 of 1

Post a reply

RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.

If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.

Our Sponsors



RolePlayGateway is proudly powered by obscene amounts of caffeine, duct tape, and support from people like you. It operates under a "don't like it, suggest an improvement" platform, and we gladly take suggestions for improvements or changes.

The custom-built "roleplay" system was designed and implemented by Eric Martindale as of July 2009. All attempts to replicate or otherwise emulate this system and its method of organizing roleplay are strictly prohibited without his express written and contractual permission; violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

? RolePlayGateway, LLC | with the support of LocalSense

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/9q4SS2C7iaA/viewtopic.php

joan rivers gary carter dies oolong tea survivor one world lil kim progeria what will my baby look like

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Kids Like Bugs: entomology outreach in elementary schools (Part 2 ...

? ? ?On Wednesday, Chris Buddle and Paul Manning posted the first of a two-part series on outreach activities in elementary schools. That post focused on the ?why? - this one (also written by Chris and Paul) is about the ?how?.

How to talk to kids about bugs:

First thing about talking to elementary school kids is stay calm and don?t worry! ?If you have any University-level training in Entomology, you are qualified ? Now, this doesn?t mean you have to be able to speak about all aspects of entomology: play to your strengths! If you are a taxonomists working on Syrphidae flies, bring in your flies and talk about them these magnificent animals.? If your experience is broader and less specialized, browse some notes, look on-line, or peek at a textbook: do a short overview of the main Orders of insects and their characteristics. Although most kids get some entomology in elementary schools, it?s not usually very much (although ALL kids do seem to learn about monarch butterflies!).

One great way to speak to kids about bugs is to make the session thematic.? In addition to bringing in a drawer or two of insects, link the specimens to biology. For example, one of us (Paul) has recently used ?metamorphosis? as a focal point for discussion. The transition from larvae to adult is a biological wonder, and acts as an excellent focal point for discussion. It brings together different facets of biology, from hormones, to physiological development, behavioural adaptations, through to discussion about life history strategies. ?Paul brought galls into the classroom, and demonstrated that there were larvae living inside. The students screamed with excitement when they saw the larvae living within the gall. One student described it as a ?cute white blob?. Several students asked if they could bring the larvae home (wouldn?t Mom and Dad just LOVE that!).

Kids like bugs. And they like to draw them.

Kids like bugs. And they like to draw them.

Don?t be afraid to say ?I don?t know?.? In fact, kids find it refreshing to hear that an ?expert? doesn?t know all the answers.? Turn it around to illustrate that the world of entomology is so vast that there are a lot of unknowns out there, and many questions still to be answered.

Have patience. With younger grades, asking kids questions, or having them answer questions, can quickly turn into ?stories? from young, enthusiastic students. For example:

Q: Does anyone know what kind of insect a ladybug is?

? ? ? ? [Hand shoots into the air...]

?A (from a 6 year old): Um, yes, I know a lot about those things.? Once, when I was 4, I remember that I saw a beautiful bug flying by my garden ? it was really big and black and I think it was a ladybug and my granddad told me about how ones like that eat trees and kill the trees and that makes me sad because we have a big tree in our front yard that I really like but sometimes my little bratty brother hides behind it and scares me when I am walking by. But I really like all bugs especially ladybug ones that are red but they smell funny sometimes and my mom said they can bite ? will they bite me if I play with them? why do they smell funny? why are there so many spots on them? do their spots get bigger when they grow?.

Give kids a chance to tell you these stories, but know that it will take patience?. but heck, if bugs get them talking and excited, that can?t be a bad thing!

(as an aside, most elementary school teachers will typically coach students so that they will ask/answer question instead of tell stories)

Bring a few props: If you can do an event outdoors, try to bring a few sweep nets and vials.? We will often bring extra vials from the lab and give students the vials to keep (heck, plastic vials cost very little!). For MONTHS afterwards, parents will often tell us about how their child packed that vial full of insects and carried it around obsessively for weeks. That?s a great way to inspire entomology.

Beetle galleries are easily found in wood, and can be a great prop to bring to an entomology session with school kids.

If you are doing an indoor talk, make sure to have a lot of photographs of interesting insects, and whenever possible, discuss/show or use examples from your local fauna ? this will allow kids to connect to things they have seen on the playground or in their own yards ? this connection between the content you are discussing and the insects they are seeing on their own, is very powerful.? With a smaller group, you can certainly bring in a few drawers of insects ? if you don?t have any, this becomes a great excuse to make a little synoptic collection of your own to use for educational purposes. Or, ask your local entomology museum, or local naturalist club, about borrowing some specimens.

Whenever possible, bring a few ?real? field guides. One of us (CB) ran a biodiversity challenge at an elementary school and managed to convince the school to buy a couple of sets of field guides. The kids LOVE the look and feel of real field guides and will thumb through them with delight. Part of our own passion about natural history can be traced back to field guides in our houses when we were young.

Don?t dumb down the material: Too often we think kids need to be talked down to, but nothing is further from the truth. As mentioned above, kids are sponges for information and in our experience they want to hear the details. You will want to avoid jargon, but other than that, provide the details whenever you can. Again, doing a ?thematic? talk with school kids becomes quite important because you just won?t have time to cover anything in-depth if you try to cover too much.

Finally, and most importantly, be passionate and enthusiastic. Kids will feel your positive energy and love of entomology; they will feed off of this, take it home with them; they will start asking more questions, start to dream, and fall further in love with the world around them. Spending a bit of time in a classroom is perhaps one of the most important kinds of outreach activities to do.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Source: http://arthropodecology.com/2013/04/26/kids-like-bugs-entomology-outreach-in-elementary-schools-part-2/

The Americans bank of america online banking Adairsville Ga ashley judd Alois Bell Donna Savattere deer antler spray

Thanks to rare alpine bacteria, researchers identify one of alcohol's key gateways to the brain

Thanks to rare alpine bacteria, researchers identify one of alcohol's key gateways to the brain

Friday, April 26, 2013

Thanks to a rare bacteria that grows only on rocks in the Swiss Alps, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and the Pasteur Institute in France have been the first to identify how alcohol might affect key brain proteins.

It's a major step on the road to eventually developing drugs that could disrupt the interaction between alcohol and the brain.

"Now that we've identified this key brain protein and understand its structure, it's possible to imagine developing a drug that could block the binding site," said Adron Harris, professor of biology and director of the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction at The University of Texas at Austin.

Harris and his former postdoctoral fellow Rebecca Howard, now an assistant professor at Skidmore College, are co-authors on the paper that was recently published in Nature Communications. It describes the structure of the brain protein, called a ligand-gated ion channel, that is a key enabler of many of the primary physiological and behavioral effects of alcohol.

Harris said that for some time there has been suggestive evidence that these ion channels are important binding sites for alcohol. Researchers couldn't prove it, however, because they couldn't crystallize the brain protein well enough, and therefore couldn't use X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of the protein with and without alcohol present.

The advance came when Marc Delarue and his colleagues at the Pasteur Institute sequenced the genome of cyanobacteria Gloeobacter violaceus. They noted a protein sequence on the bacteria that is remarkably similar to the sequence of a group of ligand-gated ion channels in the human brain. They were able to crystallize this protein. Harris saw the results and immediately got in touch.

"This is something you never would have found with any sort of logical approach," he said. "You never would have guessed that this obscure bacterium would have something that looks like a brain protein in it. But the institute, because of Pasteur's fascination with bacteria, has this huge collection of obscure bacteria, and over the last few years they've been sequencing the genomes, keeping an eye out for interesting properties."

Harris and Howard asked their French colleagues to collaborate, got the cyanobacteria, changed one amino acid to make it sensitive to alcohol, and then crystallized both the original bacteria and the mutated one. They compared the two to see whether they could identify where the alcohol bound to the mutant. With further tests they confirmed that it was a meaningful site.

"Everything validated that the cavity in which the alcohol bound is important," said Harris. "It doesn't account for all the things that alcohol does, but it appears to be important for a lot of them, including some of the 'rewarding' effects and some of the negative, aversive effects."

Going forward, Harris and his lab plan to use mice to observe how changes to the key protein affect behavior when the mice consume alcohol.

They're also hoping to identify other important proteins from this family of ligand-gated ion channels. In the long term, he hopes to be involved in developing drugs that act on these proteins in ways that help people diminish or cease their drinking.

"So why do some people drink moderately and some excessively?" he said. "One reason lies in that the balance between the rewarding and the aversive effects, and that balance is different for different people, and it can change within an individual depending on their drinking patterns. Some of those effects are determined by the interactions of alcohol and these channels, so the hope is that we can alter the balance. Maybe we can diminish the reward or increase the aversive effects."

###

University of Texas at Austin: http://www.utexas.edu

Thanks to University of Texas at Austin for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 72 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127966/Thanks_to_rare_alpine_bacteria__researchers_identify_one_of_alcohol_s_key_gateways_to_the_brain

spartacus spartacus Jonathan Winters Justin Bieber Anne Frank will ferrell coachella zack greinke

Friday, April 26, 2013

West Jordan approves $200K to pay for rising insurance costs | The ...

Government ? Union praises move by City Council to ease financial burden.

West Jordan ? The City Council voted unanimously in favor of a measure to budget an extra $200,000 to pay for city employee insurance in the face of rising premium rates.

Premium rates increased 8.7 percent since last year, and West Jordan wants to pick up the tab for its employees.

Currently, West Jordan offers two insurance plans for employees, both a traditional and a high-deductible option. The traditional option will be kept at a 50-50 pay match between the city and the insurance holders. The high-deductible plan will have a 90-10 split for family plans and a 100 percent city payment for single plans.

As of 2013, twice as many West Jordan city employees hold the high-deductible option as the traditional.

"Most city workers haven?t had a break in a long time," said Ray Wickens, vice president of the American Federal of State, County and Municipal Employees. "This is going to be good for everybody. City workers will have more disposable income, and the public will get better service."

djsummers@sltrib.com

Twitter: @djsummersmma


Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56215329-78/jordan-west-insurance-employees.html.csp

bloomberg Daily Caller Staten Island Trick or Treat Amy Weber Happy Halloween! Star Wars Episode 7

White House defends decision to not send witness to drone hearing (Washington Bureau)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/301326846?client_source=feed&format=rss

jacoby ellsbury jacoby ellsbury lionel richie kenny rogers avatar the last airbender david wright cory booker

European shares rise on ECB rate cut expectations

By Marc Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares edged up on Wednesday, building on their best day in seven months as investors waited to see if German business and European bank data support expectations of an interest rate cut.

Top European shares on the FTSEurofirst 300 <.fteu3> opened 0.4 percent higher at 1187.45 points, after Tuesday's gains of almost 2.5 percent pushed the index back towards last month's 4-1/2 year high.

London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> were up 0.4-0.5 percent. <.l><.eu/>

Equities have risen as weak data from the euro zone has boosted expectations that the European Central Bank will cut rates next week and consider more radical measures such as targeted lending aid for firms.

A quarterly survey on bank lending conditions from the ECB as well as Germany's closely watched confidence index from the Ifo institute, are likely to feed those expectations when they are both released at around 0800 GMT.

"An ECB rate cut is now a question of when and not if so today's reports are all going to be important in fine tuning the market's expectations," said Nomura economist Nick Matthews.

The increased chance of a rate cut has also helped push the euro to a two week low in recent sessions and reduced euro zone Italian and Spanish bond yields to their lowest levels in 2-1/2 years.

At 0730 GMT the euro was trading virtually unchanged on the day at $1.30. German government bonds, favored by risk-shy investors edged back from their recent highs ahead of a sale of 30-year debt.

Italy's expected nomination of a new prime minister after months of uncertainty also helped support risk assets.

"It looks like we're getting more movement in Italy - they're expected to name a new prime minister. But the Ifo will be key as we're now looking for (an ECB) move in May," one trader said.

(Additional reporting by Marius Zaharia; editing by Anna Willard)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-shares-rise-firm-u-earnings-soft-money-051418095--finance.html

the lion king suzanne collins cherry blossom festival nc state erika van pelt pat robertson hunger games trailer

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

AOSP for Sony Xperia Z now available

The Sony Xperia Z is now in the Android Open Source Project - a perfect place for developers and partners

Open-sourced Android code for the Sony Xperia Z has recently been released on GitHub to enable developers and partners to get knee-deep into the device. Though the promise of vanilla Android is tantalizing, Sony is quick to remind folks that the Android build they're posting isn't meant for everyday use. As you can see from the video, all of the important stuff is working, but there are a few apps and services missing - after all, they don't have the rights to open source everything. 

read more

    


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Kc3w5dkQiLk/story01.htm

double eagle bubba masters winner instagram facebook chicago cubs split pea soup recipe the client list

Betaworks-Backed Blend.io Lets Musicians Collaborate Without Ever Abandoning Ableton

Screen Shot 2013-04-24 at 10.06.21 AMWe've heard musicians despair over the same issue for a while now: There's great music creation software out there, but nothing that makes it truly easy to collaborate with people who are far away in real time. People have tried to solve this problem, with companies like Vinylmint launching on our Disrupt stage in SF, but these solutions often force musicians to learn a whole new program. Blend.io, a new startup launching out of betaworks and led by co-founders Paul Murphy and hacker-in-residence Aleksandar Kolundzija, looks to change all that.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/0NH8cl9sxIE/

pat burrell hilary rosen grilled cheese allen west north korea missile don t trust the b in apartment 23 world financial center

Alleged Canada plot turns focus to rail transport's vulnerability

By Ian Simpson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An alleged al Qaeda-backed plot to derail a U.S. passenger train in Canada sought to exploit the vulnerabilities of railroads that have not gotten much attention from the American public.

While the United States has sharply tightened security around airlines since the September 11, 2001, attacks, trains are far harder to police, with masses of passengers getting on and off and stops at many stations on a single line. Thousands of miles (km) of track, bridges and tunnels present a major challenge to monitor.

Even though the United States has largely been immune from attacks, extremists around the world have frequently exploited rail transport's vulnerability, said Brian Michael Jenkins, a security expert with the Mineta Transportation Center at California's San Jose State University.

"Surface transportation really has become the terrorists' killing fields," he said.

Two suspects were arrested in Canada on Monday charged with conspiring to blow up a trestle on the Canadian side of the border as the Maple Leaf, the daily Amtrak connection between Toronto and New York, passed over it. Amtrak is the U.S. passenger rail service.

The two men charged in the plot made their first court appearances on Tuesday. A lawyer for one said his client would fight the charges vigorously.

Jenkins and Steve Kulm, an Amtrak spokesman, said trains presented a unique security challenge, different from airports with their screening process for passengers.

Amtrak coordinates security with local law enforcement, does counterterrorism exercises and patrols its tracks and stations, Kulm said. It also is reconfiguring stations to make them safer from potential attack.

"It's no surprise and no secret that overseas terrorists have targeted rail transportation, and so we have, as I say, many seen and unseen measures that we have put in place and continue to improve upon," Kulm said.

MORE FATALITIES IN RAIL ATTACKS

Although popular attention has tended to focus on airliner attacks, far more people have died worldwide from surface rail assaults, Jenkins said.

Since the September 11, 2001, militant attacks on the United States, there have been 75 assaults on airliners, with 157 fatalities, he said.

During the same period, there were 1,800 attacks on surface transport, with nearly 4,000 people killed. Among them were attacks on Madrid in 2004 and on Mumbai in 2006 that each killed about 200 people, and a 2005 London bombing that claimed 52 lives.

In the United States, only one person has died from an extremist rail attack in recent decades, when Amtrak's Sunset Limited was derailed in Arizona in 1995. Responsibility was claimed by a group calling itself Sons of the Gestapo and the saboteurs have not been found.

The United States has more than 200,000 miles of railroad, with about 21,000 milesused by Amtrak. Amtrak carried 31.2 million passengers in the last fiscal year, its ninth record year in the last 10, Kulm said.

Elliot G. Sander, a former chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York, which runs two of the biggest U.S. commuter railroads, said public awareness was critical to countering potential attacks.

"One cannot understate the importance of the participation of the public, in terms of eyes and ears," he said.

The Department of Homeland Security spent $136 million in the 2013 fiscal year on surface transportation security, with 775 personnel. Aviation security received $5.3 billion and has 53,000 personnel.

Special Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams have the job of carrying out random baggage and security checks at train, subway and bus stations as well as truck weighing stations.

Created after the Madrid railway bombing, the VIPR teams carried out more than 9,300 operations in fiscal 2011, according to the Department of Homeland Security's 2013 budget request.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was criticized last year by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an investigative arm of Congress, for failing to carry out analysis of railroad security information.

The GAO also criticized the TSA for inconsistent reporting requirements from rail agencies and failure to inspect a rail service the GAO did not name. The TSA concurred with the GAO's recommendations for improvement.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson and Hilary Russ; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/alleged-canada-plot-turns-focus-rail-transports-vulnerability-010315694.html

cough matt groening brandon phillips summerfest summerfest fidel castro rick santorum

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Photojojo's telephoto lens brings up to 12x of optical zoom to your iPad

Photojojo's  telephoto lens brings up to 12x of optical zoom to your iPad

After creating the Photorito lens wrap that makes your zoom like a burrito, Photojojo has pulled off another feat: making iPad photographers look even wackier than normal. But the company's iPad telephoto lens is pretty useful if you're willing to hold a slab to your face to grab images. It brings a useful 10x zoom to the iPad 3 and 4, and 12x to the iPad Mini, giving you un-pixelated closeups along with "slight vignetting, a lo-fi look and all around interest to your photos." You're not going to make your iPad any less conspicuous as a camera than it already is, so you can grab the wee lens for $25 at the source.

Filed under: ,

Comments

Via: Cult of Mac

Source: Photojojo

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/54AMCuo4UmE/

micah true blood diamond kansas vs ohio state winning mega million numbers bruce weber google maps 8 bit mirror mirror

Bayern tops AP rankings for 4th straight week

MANCHESTER, England (AP) ? It's turning into a procession for Bayern Munich in the Associated Press global soccer poll.

For the fourth straight week, the German champions were voted the top team by a panel of journalists following back-to-back 6-1 wins ? first against Wolfsburg in the German Cup semifinals and then over Hannover on Saturday for its 13th straight Bundesliga victory.

"As much as I like Barcelona, boy is it tough not to like the way Bayern Munich is playing right now," said Tom Timmermann, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Two 6-1 wins in one week? I don't care who you're playing. I like to see that."

There was more good news for Germany with national team playmaker Mesut Oezil voted the best player of the week thanks to his double for Real Madrid in a 3-1 home win over Real Betis.

Oezil's silky display at the Santiago Bernabeu overshadowed that of international colleague Mario Gomez, whose five goals last week earned him a share of second place with Tottenham forward Gareth Bale.

The showy display of scoring last week included Robin van Persie, whose hat trick in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa secured Manchester United a 20th English title. But it landed him only seventh in the player voting.

Whether Bayern stays at the head of the line or is toppled by Barcelona could hinge on the outcome of Tuesday's Champions League semifinal first leg between two of Europe's heavyweight clubs.

"The best German title-winning side ever?" Will Tidey, of the Bleacher Report, asked of Bayern. "The argument is being made and you can see why based on Bayern's depth and their dominance this season."

Nine of the 17 voters gave Bayern top marks, leaving Jupp Heynckes' side 30 points ahead of second-place Juventus in the poll.

Gomez and fellow striker Claudio Pizarro have been scoring in recent weeks for Bayern and both made the top six.

"There's a Mario Gomez song button you can press every time he scores," Tidey added. "It's been pressed five times in the past week."

Juve is closing in on the Italian title and can have Arturo Vidal to thank for pressing home the team's advantage this week. The midfielder from Chile scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Lazio on Monday before landing the winner over AC Milan on Sunday. Two of those goals came from the penalty spot.

"I'm not really big on rewarding him for someone else's work in drawing the foul," Timmermann said. "Still, we've seen enough players botch penalty kicks to know they're not quite gimmies."

Bale's return from an ankle injury inspired Tottenham to a 3-1 win against Manchester City and he was rewarded with 81 points from the panel. Tottenham was third among the teams.

"Tottenham may not be a one-man team, but they are a completely different proposition when Gareth Bale is in the side," said Julian Bennetts, of the Hayters News Agency in England.

Luis Suarez may have finished higher had he not attempted to take a chunk out of Branislav Ivanovic's arm in Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Chelsea. The Uruguay striker set up Daniel Sturridge's tying goal and scored himself in the final minute of injury time to earn 30 points and ninth place in the players list ? but by that time he had been caught on video biting Ivanovic.

It may be the last time we see Suarez in the AP poll for a while.

"Luis Suarez does not make it onto my list as his conduct when he appears to bite Branislav Ivanovic outweighs the impact he made in creating a goal and scoring the equalizer that earned a point," said Mike McGrath, of Wardles News Agency and The Sun.

____

AP Global Soccer Rankings for the week ending April 22.

Based on 17 voters, using 10 points for first, nine for second, one for bottom place. Previous rankings in parentheses.

Teams:

1. Bayern Munich (1), 141 points.

2. Juventus, 111.

3. Tottenham, 87.

4. Real Madrid (3), 71.

5. Barcelona (4), 67.

tie. Manchester United (6), 67.

7. Paris Saint-Germain (7), 58.

8. Borussia Dortmund (2), 55.

9. Valencia, 50.

10. Arsenal, 21.

Players:

1. Mesut Oezil, 95 points.

2. Gareth Bale, 81.

(tie) Mario Gomez, 81.

4. Robert Lewandowski (6) 47.

5. Roberto Soldado, 45.

(tie) Arturo Vidal, 45.

7. Robin van Persie (10), 38.

8. Radamel Falcao (5), 33.

9. Luis Suarez, 30.

10. Daniel Sturridge, 29.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bayern-tops-ap-rankings-4th-straight-week-135518728--sow.html

double eagle bubba masters winner instagram facebook chicago cubs split pea soup recipe the client list

Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 8:30PM ET

Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 530PM ET

It's Monday, and you know what that means; another Engadget HD Podcast. We hope you will join us live when the Engadget HD podcast starts recording at 8:30PM. If you'll be joining us, be sure to go ahead and get ready by reviewing the list of topics after the break, then you'll be ready to participate in the live chat.

Filed under:

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/22/join-the-engadget-hd-podcast-live-on-ustream-at-8-30pm-et/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

pineapple upside down cake free ecards flying car masters golf tournament the replacements how to hard boil eggs new nfl uniforms

Snoop Dogg Also Confirms Miley Cyrus? Split From Liam Hemsworth (VIDEO)

Snoop Dogg Also Confirms Miley Cyrus’ Split From Liam Hemsworth (VIDEO)

Snoop Dogg says Miley Cyrus romance overThere have been rumors flying that Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth’s relationship was pretty much over, but Miley later said the wedding was still on. Miley’s latest musical collaborator, Snoop Dogg aka Snoop Lion, let it slip that Miley and Liam’s relationship “no longer exists”. Miley Cyrus recently joined forces with Snoop Dogg to record ...

Snoop Dogg Also Confirms Miley Cyrus’ Split From Liam Hemsworth (VIDEO) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/04/snoop-dogg-also-confirms-miley-cyrus-split-from-liam-hemsworth-video/

peyton manning 49ers andy pettitte tyler clementi kevin kolb sarah shahi rutgers dharun ravi

Monday, April 22, 2013

Reese Witherspoon 'Deeply Embarrassed' About Disorderly Conduct Arrest

Actress says there is 'no excuse' for her behavior Friday after husband pulled over on suspicion of DUI.
By Gil Kaufman


Reese Witherspoon's booking photo provided by the City of Atlanta Department of Corrections
Photo: City of Atlanta Department of Corrections

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706096/reese-witherspoon-arrest-statement-disorderly-conduct.jhtml

the killing global payments eli young band wrestlemania country music awards 2012 wrestlemania 28 results earl scruggs

Fish Wrap: Passing Comprehensive Immigration Will Increase ...

Fish Wrap: Passing Comprehensive Immigration Will Increase Security And Rule Of Law


Written By : William Teach
April 21, 2013

I?ve been following politics for a long, long time, well before Al Gore?s Internet became a big hit and allowed the average citizen to put their opinion out there, and for the life of me I still don?t understand the serious mental machinations that Liberals go through to come up with mule fritters like this from the anonymous editorial board

ADVERTISEMENT

Immigration and Fear

On the main Opinions page, this is positioned as ?Want a safer country and stronger rule of law? Pass comprehensive immigration reform.? Because nothing says ?rule of law? by legalizing people who broke the law.

Much of the country was still waking up to the mayhem and confusion outside Boston on Friday morning when Senator Charles Grassley decided to link the hunt for terrorist bombers to immigration reform.

?How can individuals evade authorities and plan such attacks on our soil?? asked Mr. Grassley, the Iowa Republican, at the beginning of a hearing on the Senate?s immigration bill. ?How can we beef up security checks on people who wish to enter the U.S.??

What the Fish Wrap misses is that Chuck Grassley was talking about legal immigration and how to look out for crazies like the Boston Bombers, not the people who come across the borders and that the Left (and some squishy Republicans) want to create a pathway to citizenship for.

Until the bombing came along, the antis were running out of arguments. They cannot rail against ?illegals,? since the bill is all about making things legal and upright, with registration, fines and fees. They cannot argue seriously that reform is bad for business: turning a shadow population of anonymous, underpaid laborers into on-the-books employees and taxpayers, with papers and workplace protections, will only help the economy grow.

Au contraire, we have plenty of arguments, but, there is absolutely no need to manufacture any more. The same ones work perfectly well. Does a mother come up with new arguments to use on a 5 year who wants cookies before dinner? No. And our arguments against giving illegals a pathway to citizenship are just as valid.

But, I am amused by the ?making things legal and upright?, as if making people who broke our laws legal is peachy keen. We aren?t talking about someone who was ticketed for speeding: we?re talking about people who intentionally broke our sovereignty, who may be violent criminals, who may have stolen Social Security numbers and people?s identities, ruining those people?s lives. We?re talking about people who use and abuse our social systems, costing the taxpayer money, and have demanded that America kowtow to them with things like signs, forms and such in Spanish, providing education to their kids, free healthcare, and so forth. Yet so many do not bother to attempt to be a part of America. They do not bother learning English, but expect American?s to learn Spanish. They drive with no license or insurance and harm or kill US citizens. Is it any wonder many Americans are annoyed by illegals (obviously, all that doesn?t apply to all illegals, and many are people who have overstayed their visas).

And once they?re on a pathway to citizenship, how will it help the economy to put another 11 million or so into an already crummy Obama economy, competing for the limited pool of jobs?

There is a better way to be safer: pass an immigration bill. If terrorists, drug traffickers and gangbangers are sharp needles in the immigrant haystack, then shrink the haystack. Get 11 million people on the books. Find out who they are.

Newsflash for the Times: the bad people will not come out of the dark, and this will simply provide an incentive for more illegals to come.

And if we are serious about making America safer, why not divert some of the billions now lavished on the border to agencies fighting gangs, drugs, illegal guns and workplace abuse? Or to community policing and English-language classes, so immigrants can more readily cooperate with law enforcement? Why not make immigrants feel safer and invested in their neighborhoods, so they don?t fear and shun the police? Why not stop outsourcing immigration policing to local sheriffs who chase traffic offenders and janitors?

And boom, there you go, the Fish Wrap wants to not only legalize the illegal aliens, but open up the border, forgetting that the only way conservatives will go along with any of these schemes is to secure the borders so we do not have to deal with this again 20 years in the future. All they want is to create more Democrat voters and more people dependent on The Government.

Crossed at Pirate?s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.

Source: http://www.rightwingnews.com/illegal-immigration-2/fish-wrap-passing-comprehensive-immigration-will-increase-security-and-rule-of-law/

brooke mueller all star weekend undercover boss barbara walters tupelo honey limp bizkit stations of the cross