msn news

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Herschel telescope to go blind

5 March 2013 Last updated at 05:45 ET

The European Space Agency (Esa) is about to lose the use of one of its flagship satellites.

Since 2009, the billion-euro Herschel telescope has been unravelling the complexities of star birth and galaxy evolution.

But its instruments employ special detectors that need to be chilled to fantastically low temperatures.

The helium refrigerant that does this job will run out in a few weeks and when it does, Herschel will go blind.

The coming demise of the telescope is no surprise. It is occurring just as was forecast at the start of the mission, almost to the month.

Researchers are now busy running through a final list of observations, acquiring as many images as they can in the time left available.

Already, thousands of pictures have been deposited in the Herschel archive, which is set to become a key reference source for decades into the future.

"I think there is a consensus in the community that Herschel has been a tremendous success and that we have made beautiful observations," Esa project scientist Dr G?ran Pilbratt told BBC News.

The telescope was launched almost four years ago and sent to an observing position 1.5 million km from Earth.

It was equipped with a 3.5m mirror - the largest monolithic mirror ever flown - and three state-of-the-art instruments sensitive to long wavelengths of light, in the far-infrared and sub-millimetre range (55 to 672 microns).

This technology has allowed Herschel to study the processes at play as large clouds of gas and dust collapse to form new stars. Its deep vision has also enabled scientists to trace the story of how galaxies have changed through cosmic time.

But the design of the instruments, and in particular of their detectors, has required Herschel be operated close to absolute zero (-273.15C).

Herschel Space Telescope

Herschel is one of the largest space telescopes ever launched; its 3.5m diameter mirror perfectly captures infrared light
Infrared shines through gas and dust clouds that can block visible light - Herschel can see deep into dusty star-forming regions
The telescope is named after the astronomer William Herschel who discovered infrared radiation while studying the Sun in 1800
The Earth's atmosphere absorbs infrared, so Herschel was launched into space in 2009 to get a clear view of the infrared Universe

This has been achieved with the aid of a cooling system run on superfluid helium, more than 2,000 litres of which were loaded into the telescope at launch.

The cryogen has gradually boiled off during the course of the mission, and the latest calculation from engineers is that it will be gone entirely sometime in the final two weeks of this month.

Once the detectors start to warm from their ultra-frigid state, they will stop working. The end, when it happens, will be quite sudden.

Those astronomers in the queue to use Herschel at that moment will no doubt be disappointed, but also philosophical: observing time was allocated on the basis that the opportunity could not be guaranteed as the mission moved into its end phase.

Some engineering tests will be conducted on the telescope in April. The Esa operations team will then put the satellite into a slow drift around the Sun before ceasing all communications.

Prof Matt Griffin, from Cardiff University, is team leader on the Spire instrument, which is sensitive to some of the longest wavelengths. He said the telescope had exceeded all expectations.

"It will be a sad day when it makes its last observation, but the data that it has collected during its lifetime will keep astronomers busy for years," he told BBC News.

"For the next three years, the Spire team will work hard to put all Spire data into the best possible condition to be as easy as possible to access and to use in the future.

"Amongst Herschel's most exciting results have been the detection of many thousands of distant star-forming galaxies that are helping us understand how galaxies formed and evolved over cosmic time, and the mapping out in our own galaxy of the filaments and cores that are the sites of new suns being formed today."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21668712#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

sag aftra merger dj am bully bohemian rhapsody bohemian rhapsody spike lee carson daly

Queen Elizabeth leaves the hospital

Andrew Winning / Reuters

Nurse Anne Jenkins bids farewell to Britain's Queen Elizabeth as she leaves the King Edward VII hospital in London Monday.

Britain?s Queen Elizabeth left a London hospital Monday, less than a day after being admitted for a stomach bug.

The queen had experienced symptoms of gastroenteritis, according to Buckingham Palace. She was?admitted Sunday night into King Edward VII Hospital, the same private London facility that treated Duchess Kate, the pregnant wife of her grandson, Prince William, back in December for severe morning sickness.

The queen?s official engagements for this week will be either postponed or canceled as a precaution, the palace said in a statement. Among her activities was a planned trip to?Italy where she was to meet Wednesday with President Giorgio Napolitano.

The queen recently finished a year of high-profile events, including the celebration of 60 years on the throne and the Summer Olympics last year.

More: Prince William rescues stranded hikers via helicopter?
One has a ticket to ride: Royals use the London Tube?

Source: http://theroyals.today.com/_news/2013/03/04/17180436-queen-elizabeth-leaves-the-hospital?lite

ESPYs 2012 venus williams Freeh Report direct tv wimbledon ray allen Savages

Baby born after parents killed in NYC crash dies

FILE - In this file photo of March 3, 2013, mourners surround a casket outside the Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar synagogue at the funeral for two expectant parents who were killed in a car accident early Sunday, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. The baby of Nachman and Raizy Glauber, a boy, was delivered prematurely cesarean section and survived until the next morning but died around 5:30 a.m. on Monday, March 4, 2013. Police were searching for the driver of a BMW and a passenger who fled on foot after slamming into the livery cab that transporting the 21-year-old couple to a hospital. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Members of the Satmar Orthodox Jewish community grieve over the coffins at the funeral for two expectant parents who were killed in a car accident, Sunday, March 3, 2013, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. A driver struck the car the couple were riding in early Sunday morning, killing both parents while their baby, who was born prematurely, survived and is in critical condition. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

In this March 3, 2013, photo provided by VosIzNeias.com, Orthodox Jewish mourners gather outside the Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar synagogue in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood for the funeral of two expectant parents who were killed in a car accident early Sunday, in New York. The baby of Nachman and Raizy Glauber, a boy, was delivered prematurely by cesarean section and survived until the next morning, but died around 5:30 a.m. on Monday,March 4. Police were searching for the driver of a BMW and a passenger who fled on foot after slamming into the livery cab that was transporting the 21-year-old couple to a hospital. (AP Photo/VosIzNeias.com, Eli Wohl)

In this March 3, 2013, photo provided by VosIzNeias.com, Orthodox Jewish mourners gather outside the Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar synagogue in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood for the funeral of two expectant parents who were killed in a car accident early Sunday, in New York. The baby of Nachman and Raizy Glauber, a boy, was delivered prematurely by cesarean section and survived until the next morning, but died around 5:30 a.m. on Monday, March 4. Police were searching for the driver of a BMW and a passenger who fled on foot after slamming into the livery cab that was transporting the 21-year-old couple to a hospital. (AP Photo/VosIzNeias.com, Eli Wohl)

NEW YORK (AP) ? A baby delivered after his parents were killed in a Brooklyn hit-and-run accident died early Monday, a community spokesman said.

Isaac Abraham, who serves as a spokesman for the family's Orthodox Jewish community, said the baby would be buried upstate after his body was released from a hospital.

Police were searching for the driver of a BMW and a passenger who fled on foot after slamming into a livery cab, killing the young pregnant woman and her husband.

"We in the community are demanding that the prosecutor charge the driver of BMW that caused the death of this couple and infant ... with triple homicide," Abraham said in a statement. "This coward left the scene of the accident not even bothering to check on the people of the other car."

Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, were looking forward to welcoming their first child into their tight-knit community of Orthodox Jews.

The horrific crash happened in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn as the couple headed to a hospital. The cause remained under investigation Monday. The driver of the BMW was expected at least to face charges of leaving the scene of an accident.

The engine of the livery car ended up in the backseat, where Raizy Glauber, who was seven months pregnant, was sitting before she was ejected, Abraham said. Her body landed under a parked tractor-trailer, said witnesses who raced to the scene after the crash. Nachman Glauber was pinned in the car, and emergency workers had to cut off the roof to get him out, witnesses said.

The Glaubers both were pronounced dead at hospitals, and the medical examiner said they died of blunt-force trauma.

Doctors had delivered the baby by cesarean section. His autopsy results were expected sometime Monday. Neighbors and friends said the boy weighed only about 4 pounds.

Henry Weinstock, who lives in the village of Kiryas Joel in upstate New York, came by at noon to visit the fresh graves of the parents.

He said he was a cousin of the baby's father.

"God wants it this way," Weinstock said. "We cannot say anything else."

He said of the father: "He was a very good student ... they were a very happy couple."

The Glaubers' livery cab driver, Pedro Nunez Delacruz, 32, was treated for minor injuries at the hospital and was later released. Delacruz had a current driver's license.

But an application to use the Toyota as a livery cab was pending and the vehicle should not have been sent to pick up the passengers, according to the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission. Delacruz's union said he had done nothing wrong. In New York City, yellow taxis are hailed on the street, but residents may call car services, and are picked up by drivers in everyday vehicles.

Meanwhile, police said the registered owner of the BMW, Takia Walker, 29 who was not in the car, was charged with insurance fraud on Sunday.

A person familiar with the investigation said Walker bought the car legally, then gave the car to another man, and detectives were looking to talk to him. He wasn't driving at the time of the accident, and had either lent or rented the car out to the driver, the person said. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the accident and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

On Saturday, Raizy Glauber "was not feeling well, so they decided to go" to the hospital, said Sara Glauber, Nachman Glauber's cousin. Abraham said the Glaubers called a car service because they didn't own a car, which is common for New Yorkers.

The Glaubers were married about a year ago and had begun a life together in Williamsburg, where Raizy Glauber grew up in a prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbinical family, Sara Glauber said.

Raised north of New York City in Monsey, N.Y., and part of a family that founded a line of clothing for Orthodox Jews, Nachman Glauber was studying at a rabbinical college nearby, said his cousin.

Brooklyn is home to the largest community of ultra-Orthodox Jews outside Israel, more than 250,000. The community has strict rules governing clothing, social customs and interaction with the outside world. Men wear dark clothing that includes a long coat and a fedora-type hat and often have long beards and ear locks.

Jewish law calls for burial of the dead as soon as possible, and hours after their deaths, the Glaubers were mourned by at least 1,000 people at a funeral outside the Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar synagogue.

Afterward, the cars carrying the bodies left and headed to Monsey, where another service was planned in Nachman Glauber's hometown.

___

Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-04-Expectant%20Parents%20Killed/id-511849c49a964bb392ef5f9ae554a43d

joba chamberlain new york mega millions jetblue jetblue michelle malkin october baby sugarland

Monday, March 4, 2013

Why Some People Get Zits And Others Don't

Teenagers rejoice, zit bacteria aren't all bad.

New research finds the microbes that cause the most common form of acne come in two flavors: the "bad" variety that causes pimples and the "good" type that may keep the skin glowing.

The findings, detailed in the Feb. 28 issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, may explain why despite the fact that everyone's skin is crawling with zit bugs only one in five people develops acne in their lifetime.

"We hope to apply our findings to develop new strategies that stop blemishes before they start," said lead researcher Huiying Li of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Li added the findings would allow dermatologists to personalize acne treatment based on "each patient's unique cocktail of skin bacteria."

Though acne affects 80 percent of the population at some point in their lives, scientists have made little progress in new treatments, according to Li and colleagues. The current antibiotics out there don't work on the most severe cases of acne, while other types of treatment have adverse side effects. [Body Bugs: 5 Surprising Facts About Your Microbiome]

Nose bacteria

In the study, Li and colleagues used pore-cleansing strips to collect acne bacteria, called Propionibacterium acnes, from the noses of about 100 volunteers, half of whom were pimply and the others clear-skinned. P. acnes lurks deep in skin pores, sometimes irritating the body's immune system to cause inflammation and the resulting red bumps we call pimples.

From the nose samples, the researchers sequenced the genomes of 66 strains of P. acnes. They were interested in the genes unique to each variety that might distinguish clear skin from pimply.

"Two unique strains of P. acnes appeared in one out of five volunteers with acne, but rarely occurred in clear-skinned people," said Dr. Noah Craft, a dermatologist and director of the Center for Immunotherapeutics Research at LA BioMed at Harbor?UCLA Medical Center.

Next came the surprise: a third strain that commonly showed up in volunteers with healthy skin but only rarely in those with pimples.

"We suspect that this strain contains a natural defense mechanism that enables it to recognize attackers and destroy them before they infect the bacterial cell," Li said in a statement.

Zapping zits

The researchers think that increasing the body's good strain of P. acnes, possibly in the form of a cream, may stop zits in their tracks.

"This P. acnes strain may protect the skin, much like yogurt's live bacteria help defend the gut from harmful bugs," Li said. "Our next step will be to investigate whether a probiotic cream can block bad bacteria from invading the skin and prevent pimples before they start."

Other zit-zapping research has suggested benign viruses called bacteriophages that feed on bacteria and not human cells may do the trick. Scientists reported last year in the journal mBio they had found common, bacteriophages living on your skin could effectively kill P. acnes.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook?& Google+.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-people-zits-others-dont-145013019.html

James Holmes court Rupert Sanders bachelorette penn state Ernie Els Teen Choice Awards 2012 Aurora victims

Scientists discover how to shutdown cancer's powerful master protein

Mar. 3, 2013 ? The powerful master regulatory transcription factor called Bcl6 is key to the survival of a majority of aggressive lymphomas, which arise from the B-cells of the immune system. The protein has long been considered too complex to target with a drug since it is also crucial to the healthy functioning of many immune cells in the body, not just B cells gone bad.

But now, in the journal Nature Immunology, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College report that it is possible to shut down Bcl6 in the cancer, known as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), while not affecting its vital function in T cells and macrophages that are needed to support a healthy immune system.

"The finding comes as a very welcome surprise," says the study's lead investigator, Dr. Ari Melnick, Gebroe Family Professor of Hematology/Oncology and director of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biomedical and Physical Sciences at Weill Cornell.

"This means the drugs we have developed against Bcl6 are more likely to be significantly less toxic and safer for patients with this cancer than we realized," says Dr. Melnick, who is also a hematologist-oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

If Bcl6 is completely inhibited, patients might suffer from systemic inflammation and atherosclerosis. Weill Cornell researchers conducted this new study to help clarify possible risks, as well as to understand how Bcl6 controls the various aspects of the immune system.

DLBCL is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma -- the seventh most frequently diagnosed cancer -- and many of these patients are resistant to currently available treatments.

"Scientists have been searching for the right answer to treat this difficult lymphoma, which, after initial treatment, can be at high risk of relapse and resistant to current therapies," Dr. Melnick says. "Believing that Bcl6 could not be targeted, some researchers have been testing alternative therapeutic approaches. This study strongly supports the notion of using Bcl6-targeting drugs."

In fact, the findings in this study were inspired from preclinical testing of two Bcl6-targeting agents that Dr. Melnick and his Weill Cornell colleagues have developed to treat DLBCLs. These experimental drugs are RI-BPI, a peptide mimic, and the small molecule agent 79-6.

Dr. Melnick says the discovery that a master regulatory transcription factor can be targeted offers implications beyond just treating DLBCL. Recent studies from Dr. Melnick and others have revealed that Bcl6 plays a key role in the most aggressive forms of acute leukemia, as well as certain solid tumors.

Transcription factors are responsible for either inhibiting or promoting the expression of genes, and master regulatory transcription factors are the equivalent of the CPU of a computer -- their actions regulate thousands of genes in different kinds of cells. For example, Bcl6 can control the type of immune cell that develops in the bone marrow -- playing many roles in the development of B cells, T cells, macrophages and other cells -- including a primary and essential role in enabling B-cells to generate specific antibodies against pathogens.

"When cells lose control of Bcl6, lymphomas develop in the immune system. Lymphomas are 'addicted' to Bcl6, and therefore Bcl6 inhibitors powerfully and quickly destroy lymphoma cells," Dr. Melnick says.

The big surprise in the current study is that rather than functioning as a single molecular machine, Bcl6 instead seems to function more like a Swiss Army knife, using different tools to control different cell types. This multi-function paradigm could represent a general model for the functioning of other master regulatory transcription factors.

"In this analogy, the Swiss Army knife, or transcription factor, keeps most of its tools folded, opening only the one it needs in any given cell type," Dr. Melnick says. "For B cells, it might open and use the knife tool; for T cells, the cork screw; for macrophages, the scissors. The amazing thing from a medical standpoint is that this means that you only need to prevent the master regulator from using certain tools to treat cancer. You don't need to eliminate the whole knife," he says. "In fact, we show that taking out the whole knife is harmful since the transcription factor has many other vital functions that other cells in the body need."

Prior to these study results, it was not known that a master regulator could separate its functions so precisely.

"Now we know we can take out a specific tool -- to shut down a specific part of the protein -- that causes the disease we want to treat."

Researchers hope this will be a major benefit to the treatment of DLBCL and perhaps other disorders that are influenced by Bcl6 and other master regulatory transcription factors.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Weill Cornell Medical College, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Chuanxin Huang, Katerina Hatzi & Ari Melnick. Lineage-specific functions of Bcl-6 in immunity and inflammation are mediated by distinct biochemical mechanisms. Nature Immunology, 03 March 2013 DOI: 10.1038/ni.2543

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.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/lNzik40eUOM/130303154952.htm

Jessica Ridgeway ipad mini Kevin Krim Autumn Pasquale ann coulter minecraft Ben Wilson

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Buffett firm's 4Q up 49 pct. on paper gains

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) ? Warren Buffett's company reported a 49 percent surge in fourth-quarter profit because of a big paper gain on its investments and derivative contracts, but the investor called the year "subpar" as Berkshire's results lagged the S&P 500.

Buffett recounted the fourth quarter and Berkshire Hathaway's 2012 performance Friday in his annual letter to shareholders.

The Omaha-based company reported $4.55 billion net income, or $2,757 per Class A share, in the fourth quarter on $44.72 billion revenue. That's up from $3.05 billion net income, or $1,846 per share, on $37.96 billion revenue the year before.

Jeff Matthews, who wrote "Warren Buffett's Successor: Who It Is and Why It Matters," said there were few surprises in Buffett's annual report because the company is doing well.

"I thought it was pretty boring, and that's good news," Matthews said.

The paper value of Berkshire's investments and derivatives soared to $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $382 million the year before. Buffett has said Berkshire's investment and derivative gains or losses can be misleading because the company rarely sells its investments, and the derivatives don't mature until about eight years from now.

Buffett says Berkshire's operating earnings, which exclude the value of derivatives and investments, are a better measure of performance. They improved 5.5 percent to $2.8 billion in the quarter.

The biggest improvement in Berkshire's operating businesses came in its insurance unit, which posted an underwriting loss $19 million in the fourth quarter versus the previous year's $107 million underwriting loss.

Buffett praised Berkshire's insurance managers at Geico, General Reinsurance and other companies for increasing the amount of money Berkshire gets to invest in exchange for writing insurance to $73billion.

"Our insurance operations shot the lights out last year," Buffett said.

Altogether Berkshire's five most-profitable non-insurance businesses contributed $10.1 billion of pre-tax earnings.

Berkshire owns roughly 80 subsidiaries, including railroad, clothing, furniture and jewelry firms. Its insurance and utility businesses typically account for more than half of the company's net income. The Omaha, Neb., company also has major investments in such companies as Coca-Cola Co., IBM and Wells Fargo & Co.

___

Follow Josh Funk online at www.twitter.com/funkwrite

___

Online:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: www.berkshirehathaway.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-01-Earns-Berkshire%20Hathaway/id-edcbefe027f64c1f8fd164a7c60a09e0

Gore Vidal mlb trade rumors Misty May And Kerri Walsh Jake Dalton London 2012 field hockey Missy Franklin Hunter Pence

Karl Rove: California Republicans Need To 'Get Up Off Of The Mat'

SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? GOP strategist Karl Rove said Saturday that rebuilding the Republican brand in California will be a tough task that will require them to diversify and create a strategy to spread their message to a wider audience.

Referring to the state party's deep losses in recent years, Rove said it needs to focus on larger themes of restoring jobs and reducing government spending.

He also said the party must recruit candidates who reflect the diversity of the country, and in particular, California. By next year, Hispanics will overtake whites as the state's largest demographic group.

"We need to be asking for votes in the most powerful way possible, which is to have people asking for the vote who are comfortable and look like and sound like the people that we're asking for the vote from," Rove said.

His message to delegates, activists and local party officials throughout California was in line with the philosophy behind his new political action committee, the Conservative Victory Project. The committee was established to support Republican candidates it deems electable, offsetting GOP candidates who might offend key parts of the electorate.

Rove told activists at the Republican Party's spring convention in Sacramento that rebuilding would be "a big task," but noted Texas as an example. Once a Democratic stronghold, the state elected Republicans to 95 of 150 state House seats in November. Democrats have not won a statewide office in Texas since 1994.

Republicans hold the opposite status in California, where Democrats won supermajorities in the Legislature last fall and hold every statewide office. The GOP accounts for less than 30 percent of the state's voters and has been losing favor with Latinos, women and younger voters.

Rove said rebuilding the California Republican Party might be so tough that party activists might choose to continue on their current path, "or you can get up off of the mat and throw yourself back into this contest."

"Think smart, be active, be committed, rebuild the organization, ask for the vote in the right way, and speak boldly and proudly about our universal principles in a way that attracts support of your fellow Californians," he said.

Rove appeared at the convention as a favor to former state Senate Minority Leader Jim Brulte, a longtime friend who was expected to be elected as the state party's new chairman on Sunday.

His suggestions on expanding the types of candidates being fielded struck a chord with Tyson Greaves, a 63-year-old party member from San Jose who said pushing for diversity within the party is crucial.

"It's pretty clear to me that you don't have authenticity or credibility in a community if you show up only in an election cycle," he said.

Related on HuffPost:

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/02/karl-rove-california-republicans_n_2799245.html

oscars red carpet jennifer lopez wardrobe malfunction hugo hugo nfl combine 84th annual academy awards beginners