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Thursday, 27 October 2011
There Are Glimpses of Blade Runner in This Tokyo Time Lapse [Video]
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Names of Casey Anthony jurors released in Fla.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.?? A court released the names of the jurors in the Casey Anthony trial for the first time since they acquitted the Florida woman of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
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The "cooling off" period a Florida judge cited in delaying the release for three months ended Tuesday, and the names of 12 jurors and three alternates were released by the Pinellas County Clerk of Court.
After the trial ended in July, Judge Belvin Perry said he wanted some time to pass before the names were made public because some of the jurors had received death threats.
The jurors were selected from Pinellas County, along Florida's Gulf Coast, because of concerns about pretrial publicity in Orlando, where the two-month trial was held. The jurors were sequestered until the verdict was announced.
Anthony was acquitted of killing Caylee and released from jail a couple of weeks after the trial ended. She is now serving probation on an unrelated check fraud charge at an undisclosed location in Florida.
She was deposed earlier in October for a civil lawsuit that accuses her of ruining another woman's reputation. Anthony told detectives in 2008 that her daughter had been kidnapped by a nanny named Zenaida Gonzalez. The child's body was later found in a wooded area not from the Anthony's home in Orlando.
Detectives have said no such baby sitter existed. But there is an Orlando woman named Zenaida Gonzalez, and she sued Anthony over the name confusion.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45029137/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
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Skydance Productions signs Orci and Kurtzman to a deal (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the writing team behind "Transformers," "Star Trek," "Mission: Impossible 3" and "Cowboys & Aliens," are joining Skydance Productions, TheWrap has learned.
It's not clear exactly what their role will be; an individual close to negotiations between the producers and Skydance characterized it as "a uniquely structured deal," but did not provide further details.
The two currently run Kurtzman Orci Paper Products, which produces the CBS hit "Hawaii Five-O." In 2010, they signed a development deal with Fox television. And they have a two-year production deal at DreamWorks. That deal expires this December.
Producer David Ellison -- son of Oracle co-founder and billionaire Larry Ellison -- runs Skydance.
Kurtzman-Orci are writing and producing the "Star Trek" sequel with Ellison; all three are producing "Without Remorse," based on the Tom Clancy novel. Over the years, they have developed a friendship as well as a professional relationship.
Skydance has a $350 million fund it uses to co-finance movies at Paramount. Its projects include "Mission: Impossible 4 -- Ghost Protocol" and "World War Z."
An individual close to DreamWorks told TheWrap that the two spoke with DreamWorks higher-ups before accepting the Skydance deal and explained that they had been offered something too good to turn down.
DreamWorks likes Kurtzman and Orci and has their project, "Racing Dreams" in development now. It's also releasing Kurtzman's directorial debut, "Welcome to People," in 2012. That movie is about a man who has to deliver $150,000 of his deceased father's fortune to his sister -- whom he never has met.
Skydance declined to comment.
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Research finds gallium nitride is non-toxic, biocompatible - holds promise for implants
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Public release date: 24-Oct-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Matt Shipman
matt_shipman@ncsu.edu
919-515-6386
North Carolina State University
Researchers from North Carolina State University and Purdue University have shown that the semiconductor material gallium nitride (GaN) is non-toxic and is compatible with human cells opening the door to the material's use in a variety of biomedical implant technologies.
GaN is currently used in a host of technologies, from LED lighting to optic sensors, but it is not in widespread use in biomedical implants. However, the new findings from NC State and Purdue mean that GaN holds promise for an array of implantable technologies from electrodes used in neurostimulation therapies for Alzheimer's to transistors used to monitor blood chemistry.
"The first finding is that GaN, unlike other semiconductor materials that have been considered for biomedical implants, is not toxic. That minimizes risk to both the environment and to patients," says Dr. Albena Ivanisevic, who co-authored a paper describing the research. Ivanisevic is an associate professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and associate professor of the joint biomedical engineering program at NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Researchers used a mass spectrometry technique to see how much gallium is released from GaN when the material is exposed to various environments that mimic conditions in the human body. This is important because gallium oxides are toxic. But the researchers found that GaN is very stable in these environments releasing such a tiny amount of gallium that it is non-toxic.
The researchers also wanted to determine GaN's potential biocompatibility. To do this they bonded peptides the building blocks that make up proteins to the GaN material. Researchers then placed peptide-coated GaN and uncoated GaN into cell cultures to see how the material and the cells interacted.
Researchers found that the peptide-coated GaN bonded more effectively with the cells. Specifically, more cells bonded to the material and those cells spread over a larger area.
"This matters because we want materials that give us some control over cell behavior," Ivanisevic says. "For example, being able to make cells adhere to a material or to avoid it.
"One problem facing many biomedical implants, such as sensors, is that they can become coated with biological material in the body. We've shown that we can coat GaN with peptides that attract and bond with cells. That suggests that we may also be able to coat GaN with peptides that would help prevent cell growth and keep the implant 'clean.' Our next step will be to explore the use of such 'anti-fouling' peptides with GaN."
###
The paper, "Gallium Nitride is Biocompatible and Non-Toxic Before and After Functionalization with Peptides," is forthcoming from Acta Biomaterialia and was co-authored by Ph.D. students Scott A. Jewett and Matthew S. Makowski; undergraduate Benjamin Andrews; and Michael J. Manfra all of Purdue. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 24-Oct-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Matt Shipman
matt_shipman@ncsu.edu
919-515-6386
North Carolina State University
Researchers from North Carolina State University and Purdue University have shown that the semiconductor material gallium nitride (GaN) is non-toxic and is compatible with human cells opening the door to the material's use in a variety of biomedical implant technologies.
GaN is currently used in a host of technologies, from LED lighting to optic sensors, but it is not in widespread use in biomedical implants. However, the new findings from NC State and Purdue mean that GaN holds promise for an array of implantable technologies from electrodes used in neurostimulation therapies for Alzheimer's to transistors used to monitor blood chemistry.
"The first finding is that GaN, unlike other semiconductor materials that have been considered for biomedical implants, is not toxic. That minimizes risk to both the environment and to patients," says Dr. Albena Ivanisevic, who co-authored a paper describing the research. Ivanisevic is an associate professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and associate professor of the joint biomedical engineering program at NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Researchers used a mass spectrometry technique to see how much gallium is released from GaN when the material is exposed to various environments that mimic conditions in the human body. This is important because gallium oxides are toxic. But the researchers found that GaN is very stable in these environments releasing such a tiny amount of gallium that it is non-toxic.
The researchers also wanted to determine GaN's potential biocompatibility. To do this they bonded peptides the building blocks that make up proteins to the GaN material. Researchers then placed peptide-coated GaN and uncoated GaN into cell cultures to see how the material and the cells interacted.
Researchers found that the peptide-coated GaN bonded more effectively with the cells. Specifically, more cells bonded to the material and those cells spread over a larger area.
"This matters because we want materials that give us some control over cell behavior," Ivanisevic says. "For example, being able to make cells adhere to a material or to avoid it.
"One problem facing many biomedical implants, such as sensors, is that they can become coated with biological material in the body. We've shown that we can coat GaN with peptides that attract and bond with cells. That suggests that we may also be able to coat GaN with peptides that would help prevent cell growth and keep the implant 'clean.' Our next step will be to explore the use of such 'anti-fouling' peptides with GaN."
###
The paper, "Gallium Nitride is Biocompatible and Non-Toxic Before and After Functionalization with Peptides," is forthcoming from Acta Biomaterialia and was co-authored by Ph.D. students Scott A. Jewett and Matthew S. Makowski; undergraduate Benjamin Andrews; and Michael J. Manfra all of Purdue. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/ncsu-rfg102411.php
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Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Suspect in slaying of Ga. deputy served in Iraq (AP)
ATLANTA ? Investigators were awaiting autopsy results and military records in hopes they will shed light on why a National Guardsman allegedly gunned down a Georgia sheriff's deputy before committing suicide on the side of a highway.
Richmond County sheriff's Capt. Scott Peebles said investigators believe Spc. Christopher Michael Hodges had been deployed to Iraq, but they were awaiting more details from the U.S. military.
Officials say Hodges, 26, was firing gunshots at passing cars moments before off-duty Richmond County sheriff's Deputy James Paugh, 47, pulled over to investigate a suspicious car on the side of the road early Sunday.
Hodges and Paugh were found dead on the side of Bobby Jones Expressway after 1 a.m. Sunday.
A funeral service was planned for 11 a.m. Thursday for the deputy at First Baptist Church of Augusta.
"We're set up for more than 1,000," sheriff's Capt. Scott Gay said. "We know that people are coming from all over Georgia and from throughout the United States."
Gay said his department has been flooded with emails and notes from well-wishers.
One of them, from a doctor in Ohio, said the deputy "is a true hero" and expressed hope that his family finds some comfort.
"I hope the fact that he is being honored by so many brings them some comfort in this time of loss," the note stated. "May they feel comfort and love from across the nation."
"It's very hard to read some of these without getting emotional because this is certainly a trying time for us," Gay said.
Hodges served in the Tennessee National Guard but was on temporary duty at Georgia's Fort Gordon for training, said Buz Yarnell, a spokesman for the military post. Yarnell said he was not aware of any problems with Hodges before the shooting and he would not say if Hodges had previously been deployed in combat.
"On behalf of the Fort Gordon community, I wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to the families affected by the death of Richmond County Sheriff's Deputy James Paugh," Fort Gordon's commander, Maj. Gen Alan R. Lynn, said in a statement.
"While restricted in much of what we can say because of the ongoing investigation, we are extremely distressed in knowing that a Fort Gordon student soldier was involved in this tragic incident," he said.
Authorities said Hodges had been having some sort of dispute with a female on the side of the road, though it does not appear Paugh knew about that when he pulled up on his motorcycle. The deputy was on his way home from working at the sheriff's department.
The woman was questioned by law officers as a witness and is not facing any charges, Gay said.
Associated Press writer Russ Bynum contributed to this report.
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Monday, 24 October 2011
Big banks under pressure in Europe crisis (AP)
BRUSSELS ? Big banks found themselves under pressure in Europe's debt crisis Saturday, with finance chiefs pushing them to raise billions of euros in capital and accept huge losses on Greek bonds they hold.
The continent's biggest financial institutions were at the center of talks as leaders entered marathon negotiations in Brussels, at the end of which they have promised to present a comprehensive plan to take Europe out of its crippling debt crisis.
"Between now and Wednesday we have to find a solution, a structural solution, an ambitious solution and a definitive solution," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said as he arrived in Brussels. "There's no other choice."
In addition to new financing for Greece, leaders want to make the banking sector fit to sustain worsening market turmoil and turn their bailout fund into a strong safety net that will stop big economies like Italy and Spain from falling into the same debt trap that has already snapped Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
But before the final deadline on Wednesday, they have to overcome many obstacles.
On Saturday, the finance ministers of the 27-country European Union decided to force the bloc's biggest banks to substantially increase their capital buffers ? an important move to ensure that they are strong enough to withstand the panic that a steep cut to Greece's debt could trigger on financial markets.
A European official said the new capital rules would force banks to raise just over euro100 billion ($140 billion), but finance ministers did not provide details on their decision. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because it had been agreed to let leaders unveil the deal at their first summit Sunday.
"We have made real progress and have come to important decisions on strengthening European banks," George Osborne, the U.K.'s chancellor of the exchequer, said as he left Saturday's meeting.
The deal on banks was likely to be the only major breakthrough ready to announce on Sunday, leaving many important decisions and negotiations to be completed by Wednesday night.
On Friday, the first day of the marathon talks, the finance ministers of the 17 countries that use the euro ? and which have found themselves at the center of the crisis because of the currency they share ? agreed to demand Greece's private creditors take big losses on their bondholdings.
But they still have get the banks to come along and convince them that the cuts are the best way to ensure that Athens can eventually repay its remaining debts.
The picture in Greece, whose troubles kicked off the crisis almost two years ago, is bleaker than ever. A new report from Athens' international debt inspectors ? the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund ? proved that a preliminary deal for a second package of rescue loans reached in July is already obsolete.
That plan would have seen banks and other private investors take losses of some 21 percent on their Greek bond holdings, while the eurozone and the IMF were to provide an extra euro109 billion ($150 billion) in bailout loans.
But the report showed that in the past three months Greece's economic situation has deteriorated so dramatically that for the bank deal to remain in place, the official sector would have to provide some euro252 billion ($347 billion) in loans. Alternatively, to keep official loans at euro109 billion ($150 billion), banks would have to accept cuts of about 60 percent to the value of their Greek bonds.
"I believe we are now arriving at a more realistic view of the situation in Greece," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the country that has long been advocating a more radical solution to Athens' problems.
But Merkel and her eurozone counterpart were on for tough negotiations with the banks.
Charles Dallara, who has been representing private investors in the talks with the eurozone, said Saturday that negotiations that carried on sporadically throughout Saturday were making only slow progress.
"We're nowhere near a deal," he told The Associated Press in an interview.
Dallara, the managing director of the Institute of International Finance ? the world's biggest bank lobbying group ? said current plans to cut Greece's debt would leave the country as "a ward of Europe" for years.
He declined to say how much in losses banks would be willing to accept, saying only "we would be open to an approach that involves additional efforts from everyone."
The eurozone has been working hard to reach a voluntary agreement with banks, rather than forcing losses onto the lenders, because that could avoid triggering billions of euros on payout for bond insurance and could destabilize markets even further.
However, in recent weeks some officials have no longer insisted that the deal remain voluntary.
Agreement on arguably the most important measure in the crisis plan remained even more elusive Saturday: boosting the firepower of the currency union's euro440 billion ($600 billion) bailout.
Increasing the effectiveness of the fund ? called the European Financial Stability Facility ? is meant to help prevent larger economies like Italy and Spain from being dragged into the crisis. At the same time, the EFSF may be asked to help governments shore up their banks if they can't raise the necessary funds on financial markets.
But Germany and France still disagree over how to give the EFSF more firepower. France wants the fund to be allowed to tap the ECB's massive cash reserves ? an option that Germany rejects. Weaker economies, meanwhile, are wary of signing up to the other two parts of the grand plan ? bigger bank capital and cuts to Greece's debt ? without assurance that sufficient buffers are in place.
___
Sarah DiLorenzo, Elena Becatoros, Raf Casert and Slobodan Lekic in Brussels contributed to this story.
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