Bad news, guys. YouTube is shutting down. The platform launched eight years ago, and some of us have gotten so distracted by YouTube videos that we've forgotten that the whole thing is actually a competition. Or, YouTube never actually mentioned that it is a competition. Either way, that competition, called YouTube, is coming to a close.
New Dolphins DT Vaugn Martin says he had offers from the Pats, Eagles, Chargers, Chiefs, and Seattle.
Former Bills QB Frank Reich will hold his annual Call to Courage Award Breakfast on April 6; this year?s event includes a 20-year look back at the greatest comeback in NFL history.
WR Danny Amendola will wear No. 16 with the Pats, if it?s available.? (For now, it isn?t.)
The Jets won?t be hosting the Honey Badger before the draft, a fact that typically has little bearing on whether the player will be picked by the team in question.
Ravens secondary coach Teryl Austin is upbeat about the teams defensive backfield.
The Bengals will now try to find a safety, via free agency or the draft.
The Browns have ?very mild interest? in free-agent WR Domenik Hixon.
Former Steelers OL John Wiley died this week at the age of 92.? (He played in the first publicly-televised college football game, which was broadcast in 1939 by NBC.)
Former Texans LB Connor Barwin took out a newspaper ad thanking a variety of folks who helped his career in Houston ? including Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert and ?my cleaning lady.?
Over the next couple of months, new Jaguars coach Gus Bradley will establish his vision for the team.
Colts QB Andrew Luck is among the candidates for the cover of an overhyped, underperforming football video game that inexplicably continues to sell millions of copies every year.
Someone actually believes that Ryan Fitzpatrick is an upgrade over Matthew Hasselbeck at backup quarterback for the Titans.
The Broncos hope to play as fast as possible on offense in 2013.
The Chiefs have explained the convoluted title of the man who once used the phrase ?programmatic non-fit? with a straight face.
Here?s a look at the Raiders? draft options with the third overall pick in 2013.
The agent for former Chargers LT Marcus McNeill says McNeill isn?t considering a comeback.
Cowboys QB Tony Romo talks about his new contract in a video that includes an image of Romo in front of a collection of trophies many think he?ll never touch and Romo?s young son rebuffing owner Jerry Jones? high-five attempt.
RB Tim Hightower?s workout with the Giants will occur early next week.
The Eagles reportedly have some lingering interest in OT Eric Winston.
The Redskins reportedly are eyeballing Miami CB Brandon McGee and Nevada safety Duke Williams.
The contract signed by new Bears OL Matt Slauson is worth more than the minimum salary.
Lions Hall of Famer Lem Barney has sued a former employer after he was fired for signing too many autographs.
CB Loyce Means, out of football in 2012, could be signed by the Packers early next week.
Should the Vikings focus on improving their front four?
The supposedly ultra-talented Falcons have a major hole at cornerback.
The effort to upgrade the Panthers? stadium with public money?continues to face opposition.
New Saints LB Victor Butler says that he was simply looking for a ?chance to compete and be a part of a winning team.?
How good will the Buccaneers? offensive line be in 2013, and beyond?
The Cardinals won?t be going to Flagstaff for training camp.
The Rams are ready to pull the plug on this year?s Pro Day circuit.
So who will be No. 2 on the depth chart behind Colin Kaepernick?
The Seahawks have put together 25 thinks to like about CB Richard Sherman on his 25th birthday.? (?Humility? is not on the list.)
Gamers were down-right spoiled at this year's GDC with a full 17 minutes of beautiful Battlefield 4 in-game footage. Minds blown, AMD took responsibility for the part it played in the mess, admitting the demo was running on its Radeon HD 7990 graphics card. It's the first time the company's confirmed the existence of the long-fabled card, and went as far as calling the case-busting monster "the world's fastest." All we know is the card combines two of the HD 7970's Tahiti GPUs -- AMD's not sharing the full specs -- but the eagle-eyed folks at AnandTech have plucked a few extra details from the limited pictures available. They note the open-air cooling, which would require a drafty case but mean the fans should run fairly quiet, and that power consumption is likely to be no more than 375 watts. Not much to go on, we know, but we'll be waiting eagerly for AMD's full reveal. Now, your BF4 video awaits. (Warning: the game dialogue contains a few naughty words).
Planning to snag that maxed out HTC One in the US? AT&T is where you'll have to go, then. The 64GB variant of the device is an AT&T exclusive, as revealed by a recently uploaded video to the service provider's YouTube channel. The 32GB One will also be on offer, though there's no word on exactly how much both will be priced at or an exact arrival date -- April is the most specific we've heard from HTC. Verizon is also expected to carry the device, of course, but AT&T will certainly be "the one" for folks needing that doubled storage space on a two-year agreement. Check out the video for yourself after the break.
Mar. 29, 2013 ? While pearl millet is a major food staple in some of the fastest growing regions on Earth, relatively little is known about the drought-hardy grain.
Recently, plant geneticists at the University of Georgia successfully isolated the gene that creates dwarfed varieties of pearl millet. It is the first time a gene controlling an important agronomic trait has been isolated in the pearl millet genome. Their work appeared in the March edition of the journal G3: Genes, Genomics, Genetics.
The dwarf varieties are economically important in the U.S., India and Africa, in particular.
The researchers, led by UGA's Katrien Devos, also were able to trace the dwarf gene to plants bred 50 years ago by Glenn Burton, a UGA plant breeder who worked on the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences' Tifton campus.
Knowing which gene controls the dwarfing trait will help plant breeders create more efficient, sustainable varieties of millet that have the short stature some farmers and ranchers want.
"Knowing the actual gene that reduces plant height has allowed us to develop markers that can be used by breeders to screen for the presence of the gene long before the effects of the gene can be visually observed," said Devos, a professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences' Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics, housed in the department of crop and soil sciences, and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences' department of plant biology.
"In the longer term, the knowledge gained in pearl millet will help to develop semi-dwarf lines with high agronomic performance in other cereal crops," she said.
Rajiv K. Parvathaneni, a doctoral student working in Devos' lab, was in charge of tracking down the gene, which works by controlling the flow of the growth hormone auxin through the plant.
He also wanted to understand the mechanism by which the gene controls auxin and to develop plant-breeder-friendly markers that would allow breeders to screen for the dwarfing gene before their plants matured.
The gene that Parvathaneni found affects the downward transport of auxin, which is made in the top part of the plant. If this gene is on, the auxin flows freely, and millet will grow to its full height, about 10 feet. If it is off, the millet plant may only grow to be 3 to 5 feet in height.
Parvathaneni and Devos' team first found which region of the pearl millet's genome contributed to growth and then compared that section to a similar section of DNA from sorghum. Sorghum is a grain related to pearl millet, and a complete map of its genome recently was released by Devos' UGA colleague Andy Patterson.
The comparison revealed that ABCB1, a gene controlling auxin transport and causing reduced plant height in sorghum, was the prime gene candidate controlling pearl millet dwarf stature, Devos said.
Comparative genome analysis, a process in which an unmapped genome is compared to the genome of a similar and more thoroughly described plant genome, is a common method to help identify the functions of specific genes, especially in crops for which little genetic resources are available.
The next step for Devos' team is to work with researchers in other states to understand more fully how auxin transport differs in tall and dwarf millet plants and to verify that ABCB1 is in fact the gene that controls dwarfism.
After Devos and Parvathaneni located the dwarfing gene, they tested pearl millet dwarfs from around the world. All dwarfs caused by a nonfunctional ABCB1 gene have the same mutation as the dwarfs that were first bred by Burton in the 1960s.
Dwarf varieties of pearl millet are not ideal for every planting situation. In Africa, many farmers prefer taller varieties because they use the long stalks for roofing thatch and other applications.
However, where millet is intensively cultivated, dwarf millet allows farmers to harvest the grain with mechanical threshers. Ranchers like dwarf millet as a forage plant because it has a high leaf-to-stem ratio, Devos said.
Knowing more about the plant in general is key to broadening production of the very drought-resistant, hardy grain.
"The crop itself has a future, a bright one-especially in regions where climate change may lead to more erratic rainfall patterns as pearl millet is highly drought tolerant. It already is a popular food crop in semi-arid regions of India and Africa and will likely gain interest from drought-prone regions of the developed world as an alternative to corn in animal feed," Parvathaneni said.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Georgia. The original article was written by J. Merritt Melancon.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
R. K. Parvathaneni, V. Jakkula, F. K. Padi, S. Faure, N. Nagarajappa, A. C. Pontaroli, X. Wu, J. L. Bennetzen, K. M. Devos. Fine-Mapping and Identification of a Candidate Gene Underlying the d2 Dwarfing Phenotype in Pearl Millet, Cenchrus americanus (L.) Morrone. G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics, 2013; 3 (3): 563 DOI: 10.1534/g3.113.005587
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Anthony Catanach Jr., an associate professor at the Villanova University School of Business, is a longtime critic of Groupon, and he just renewed his attacks on the daily deal giant.
In August 2011, he predicted on his blog, Grumpy Old Accountants, that the SEC would probe Groupon's numbers ? and it came to pass, seven months later.
This time around, Catanach calls into question a grab-bag of accounting items in Groupon's annual report. He says:
Groupon is no good at estimating the value of companies it buys.
Groupon's estimate of the amount of intangible "goodwill" on its balance sheet is ripe for a writedown.
Groupon's estimate of its deferred tax assets is shaky.
Groupon uses a non-GAAP accounting method that's "a curious metric that inflates operating performance."
In his post, Catanach says, "Heads up SEC?you too E&Y!"
(We emailed Groupon for comment and we'll update this post if we hear back.)
The backdrop here is that Groupon is struggling to reorient its business away from a dependence on daily email deals toward selling goods directly, and by generally providing a marketing infrastructure for local businesses.
It also recently fired its CEO, Andrew Mason.
Here are a couple of highlights from Catanach's deep-dive into Groupon's numbers:
Remember how the grumpies complained last August about Groupon?s ?unusual? gain on an e-commerce transaction that created second quarter profitability (see Groupon: Still Accounting Challenged)?? This was a gain driven solely by the Company?s own estimates of fair value, the reasonableness of which we questioned at the time.? Well, guess what?? We were right again!? In the fourth quarter (literally at the eleventh hour), the Company revised its value estimate of its F-tuan investment downward by almost 40 percent resulting in a write-down of $50.6 million (2012 10-K, page 84). This turnabout almost completely reverses the pre-tax $56 million gain that Groupon reported in the second quarter of 2012.
... ?In fact, cracks are beginning to appear in the goodwill numbers.? International segment revenue actually declined 15.9 percent in the final quarter of 2012 (2012 10-K, page 38) raising questions about reported international goodwill amounts.
... despite the declines in gross profit percentage, income from operations has turned positive for the first time primarily due to reduced marketing expenses. The dramatic reversals in marketing and selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses may reflect the Company?s changing business model, but given Groupon?s past reporting issues, one wonders if some of this expense volatility is due to the aforementioned decision to reclassify financial statement items.? Just a thought.
Planning to snag that maxed out HTC One in the US? AT&T is where you'll have to go, then. The 64GB variant of the device is an AT&T exclusive, as revealed by a recently uploaded video to the service provider's YouTube channel. The 32GB One will also be on offer, though there's no word on exactly how much both will be priced at or an exact arrival date -- April is the most specific we've heard from HTC. Verizon is also expected to carry the device, of course, but AT&T will certainly be "the one" for folks needing that doubled storage space on a two-year agreement. Check out the video for yourself after the break.
ASHBOURNE, Ireland (Reuters) - Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny's Fine Gael party held its seat in a by-election on Thursday, but its junior coalition partner Labour was beaten into fifth place in a humiliating defeat.
Labour went into government for the first time since the late 1990s two years ago on a promise to end the previous administration's adherence to "Frankfurt's Way", an austerity plan the party said was dictated by the European Central Bank.
However the centre-left party has angered supporters by pursuing the tough austerity required under the country's EU/IMF bailout and its vote in the Meath East constituency collapsed to 4.6 percent from 21 percent last time.
Fine Gael's Helen McEntee captured 38.5 percent of the vote to win the seat left vacant when her father committed suicide last year. The coalition would have kept its record parliamentary majority even if she had lost.
"I voted for Labour last time out but will never vote for them again," said Abigail Flores, a mother-of-two living in Ashbourne, a town 20 km north of Dublin where so-called "ghost estates" lie unfinished after a spectacular property crash. She said she had no interest in voting this time around.
"I would have always voted for Labour and so would my parents and sisters but they've shown in the last two years that they're just spineless and are no different from Fine Gael or Fianna Fail. They don't actually stand for anything."
By fielding the daughter of the late junior minister Shane McEntee, analysts said Fine Gael sheltered itself somewhat from voter anger. Political dynasties are common in Ireland, Kenny won his first election 38 years ago after his father's death.
The fellow centre-right Fianna Fail, which dominated Irish politics before losing three-quarters of its seats in humbling elections held after it signed up to the bailout, came second after jumping to 32.9 percent from 19 percent two years ago.
A rise of just four percentage points to 13 percent for Sinn Fein, the only major party rallying against austerity, showed the limited Irish appetite for the type of populist political movements making inroads elsewhere in Europe.
"DIFFICULT DAY"
A lack of opposition to deep tax hikes and spending cuts has helped Ireland hit the targets set under its bailout and close in on getting off emergency EU and IMF assistance, a move cemented last month by a landmark 10-year bond sale.
But that has meant little to Labour's traditional working class support base which has been hit hard by high unemployment. State workers face fresh cuts in a new public sector pay deal.
"It's a difficult day for Labour, people are very angry out there and clearly the Labour Party has been singled out for the brunt of responsibility," Pat Rabbitte, a senior Labour minister, told the Today FM radio station.
"There's little point in trying to explain to the individual voter that bond prices are cheaper, that butters no parsnips as far as they're concerned."
Analysts said the loss poses little threat to the coalition and its austerity push as Labour, which has already seen five of its 38 MPs defect from the party, would be unlikely to leave government and force an election with support so low.
"It will make life a bit more uncomfortable but I can't really see what they can do to stem to flow other than to steady the nerves and hope that the economy turns around," said Eoin O'Malley, politics lecturer at Dublin City University.
(Writing by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Rosalind Russell)
If you've ever had an earworm you just can't put a name to, the SoundHound music recognition app -- that even translates your humming -- can be just the sorcery you need. There's now an Android version with a more tablet-centric design and tighter Google integration that brings "streamlined sharing to Facebook, Twitter and more," according to the company. It also trumpeted a stronger relationship with digital music service Rdio, which added interactive music mapping to its SoundHounded track-linking abilities, letting you see others across the globe with the same musical tastes and bad memory. You can grab it at Google Play or Amazon's Appstore for Kindle, but if you're as tone deaf as some of us, don't forget the auto-tune.
By Martyn Herman LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Whether by design, necessity, self-interest or because of all three, nurturing youngsters has become fashionable for England's elite with no expense spared in the hunt for the new Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard. The length and breadth of the country, scouts from top clubs are hoovering up promising footballers barely old enough to tie their bootlaces in a bid to unearth the 30 million pounds ($45.40 million) treasures of the future. ...
Children with sleep apnea have higher risk of behavioral, adaptive and learning problemsPublic release date: 29-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lynn Celmer lcelmer@aasmnet.org 630-737-9700 American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Left untreated, sleep apnea may cause problems with hyperactivity, disruptive behaviors, social competence, self-care and school performance
DARIEN, IL A new study found that obstructive sleep apnea, a common form of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), is associated with increased rates of ADHD-like behavioral problems in children as well as other adaptive and learning problems.
"This study provides some helpful information for medical professionals consulting with parents about treatment options for children with SDB that, although it may remit, there are considerable behavioral risks associated with continued SDB," said Michelle Perfect, PhD, the study's lead author and assistant professor in the school psychology program in the department of disability and psychoeducational studies at the University of Arizona in Tucson. "School personnel should also consider the possibility that SDB contributes to difficulties with hyperactivity, learning and behavioral and emotional dysregulation in the classroom."
The five-year study, which appears in the April issue of the journal SLEEP, utilized data from a longitudinal cohort, the Tucson Children's Assessment of Sleep Apnea Study (TuCASA). The TuCASA study prospectively examined Hispanic and Caucasian children between 6 and 11 years of age to determine the prevalence and incidence of SDB and its effects on neurobehavioral functioning. The study involved 263 children who completed an overnight sleep study and a neurobehavioral battery of assessments that included parent and youth reported rating scales.
Results show that 23 children had incident sleep apnea that developed during the study period, and 21 children had persistent sleep apnea throughout the entire study. Another 41 children who initially had sleep apnea no longer had breathing problems during sleep at the five-year follow-up.
The odds of having behavioral problems were four to five times higher in children with incident sleep apnea and six times higher in children who had persistent sleep apnea. Compared to youth who never had SDB, children with sleep apnea were more likely to have parent-reported problems in the areas of hyperactivity, attention, disruptive behaviors, communication, social competency and self-care. Children with persistent sleep apnea also were seven times more likely to have parent-reported learning problems and three times more likely to have school grades of C or lower.
The authors report that this is the first sleep-related study to use a standardized questionnaire to assess adaptive functioning in typically developing youth with and without SDB.
"Even though SDB appears to decline into adolescence, taking a wait and see approach is risky and families and clinicians alike should identify potential treatments," said Perfect.
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, obstructive sleep apnea occurs in about two percent of children who are otherwise healthy. Children with sleep apnea generally have larger tonsils and adenoids than other children their age, and most children with sleep apnea have a history of loud snoring. Effective treatment options for children include the surgical removal of the tonsils and adenoids or the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.
###
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?
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.
Children with sleep apnea have higher risk of behavioral, adaptive and learning problemsPublic release date: 29-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lynn Celmer lcelmer@aasmnet.org 630-737-9700 American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Left untreated, sleep apnea may cause problems with hyperactivity, disruptive behaviors, social competence, self-care and school performance
DARIEN, IL A new study found that obstructive sleep apnea, a common form of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), is associated with increased rates of ADHD-like behavioral problems in children as well as other adaptive and learning problems.
"This study provides some helpful information for medical professionals consulting with parents about treatment options for children with SDB that, although it may remit, there are considerable behavioral risks associated with continued SDB," said Michelle Perfect, PhD, the study's lead author and assistant professor in the school psychology program in the department of disability and psychoeducational studies at the University of Arizona in Tucson. "School personnel should also consider the possibility that SDB contributes to difficulties with hyperactivity, learning and behavioral and emotional dysregulation in the classroom."
The five-year study, which appears in the April issue of the journal SLEEP, utilized data from a longitudinal cohort, the Tucson Children's Assessment of Sleep Apnea Study (TuCASA). The TuCASA study prospectively examined Hispanic and Caucasian children between 6 and 11 years of age to determine the prevalence and incidence of SDB and its effects on neurobehavioral functioning. The study involved 263 children who completed an overnight sleep study and a neurobehavioral battery of assessments that included parent and youth reported rating scales.
Results show that 23 children had incident sleep apnea that developed during the study period, and 21 children had persistent sleep apnea throughout the entire study. Another 41 children who initially had sleep apnea no longer had breathing problems during sleep at the five-year follow-up.
The odds of having behavioral problems were four to five times higher in children with incident sleep apnea and six times higher in children who had persistent sleep apnea. Compared to youth who never had SDB, children with sleep apnea were more likely to have parent-reported problems in the areas of hyperactivity, attention, disruptive behaviors, communication, social competency and self-care. Children with persistent sleep apnea also were seven times more likely to have parent-reported learning problems and three times more likely to have school grades of C or lower.
The authors report that this is the first sleep-related study to use a standardized questionnaire to assess adaptive functioning in typically developing youth with and without SDB.
"Even though SDB appears to decline into adolescence, taking a wait and see approach is risky and families and clinicians alike should identify potential treatments," said Perfect.
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, obstructive sleep apnea occurs in about two percent of children who are otherwise healthy. Children with sleep apnea generally have larger tonsils and adenoids than other children their age, and most children with sleep apnea have a history of loud snoring. Effective treatment options for children include the surgical removal of the tonsils and adenoids or the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.
###
[ | 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.
Alex Rodriguez was a fixture on the Yankees' bench at the end of last year, and he will start this season on the DL.
By RONALD BLUM
updated 5:24 p.m. ET March 28, 2013
NEW YORK - Alex Rodriguez will make more this year than all the Houston Astros combined - a lot more.
And he won't even play the first half of the season, if at all.
A-Rod's $29 million salary tops the major leagues for the 13th straight season, according to a study of major league contracts by The Associated Press.
Rodriguez's Yankees are on track to have the highest payroll on opening day for the 15th straight year, climbing above the Los Angeles Dodgers to a projected $228 million with this week's acquisition of Vernon Wells.
With teams due to set opening-day rosters Sunday, the Yankees' payroll will be nearly 10 times the spending of the Astros, who have shrunk their payroll to about $25 million.
HardballTalk previews the 2013 season
"When we get on the baseball field with whomever the opponent is, they are not sitting there saying: `Well, their players make more money than us so therefore you're deemed a winner and we're deemed a loser,"' Astros manager Bo Porter said Thursday. "Games are won and lost on the baseball field, and it doesn't matter what somebody is paid every two weeks. At the end of the day, that person has to be better than you today."
Rodriguez, recovering from hip surgery, is followed on the money list by Philadelphia pitcher Cliff Lee at $25 million.
Three of the top six will start the season on the DL, with A-Rod joined by New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana (third at $24.6 million) and Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira (sixth at $23.1 million). Wells is fourth at $24.6 million and CC Sabathia fifth at $24.3 million, giving the Yankees four of the top six.
The Astros and Miami Marlins have no such worries about pricey players getting hurt. After lifting payroll to about $100 million at the start of last year and then flopping in the first year of their new ballpark, the Marlins slashed spending to around $40 million.
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig endorses the decisions, saying "every team runs in cycles."
"You have to understand where you are and not be afraid then to do what you have to do," he said. "Outside of building a good farm system, I don't see how you will remain competitive."
HardballTalk previews the 2013 season
The price of competing keeps going up. The average salary projects to about $3.67 million, up about $200,000 from the start of last season.
As always, the Yankees did as they pleased. For all the talk of austerity under owner Hal Steinbrenner, New York will break the record of $209 million it set in 2008 and top the $200 million mark for the sixth straight season. While the Yankees will pay luxury tax for the 11th consecutive year in 2013, they want to get under the $189 million tax threshold in 2014.
"We've actually increased our payroll this year," Yankees President Randy Levine said. "As sometimes happens, certain people like to ignore the facts instead of the reality. These are the same people who one day criticize us for spending too much money, the next day criticize us for spending too little. The goal of the team every year is to do what's necessary to field a championship team. That goes for this year and, as Hal Steinbrenner has said, next year and every year going forward."
For much of the offseason, it appeared as if the Dodgers would emerge as baseball's biggest spenders in their first full season since a group headed by Mark Walter, Stan Kasten and Magic Johnson bought the club for $2 billion from Frank McCourt.
Just 12th at $95 million on opening day last year, the Dodgers climbed to about $216 million after acquiring Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford from Boston last summer, when they also added Hanley Ramirez and Brandon League. Los Angeles then signed Zack Greinke during the offseason for $147 million. The Yankees had been the only previous team to reach $200 million.
"Everybody knows it's not about the money. It's about how they're going to play together," said All-Star outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, whose Colorado Rockies will have a payroll of about $75 million.
HardballTalk previews the 2013 season
"They still have to go out there and know each other and be winners," he said, referring to the Dodgers. "Last year, they got three great players and they still didn't make it because they still have to go out there and get used to playing together and compete."
The Dodgers haven't won the World Series since 1988 and if they fall short again this year, they might spend even more. They had the biggest impact on the elite free-agent market.
"There's a perception that we're in on a couple dozen starting pitchers, three dozen outfielders and infielders, 17, 18 catchers," GM Ned Colletti said during the winter meetings.
Toronto also bulked up, jumping from $75 million at the start of last season to about $118 million after adding Jose Reyes, R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson in trades and signing Melky Cabrera.
"You look on paper and Toronto should be in the World Series," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "The talent they've added is substantial."
Oakland showed last year that money isn't everything, winning the AL West despite the lowest payroll in the majors. The A's have gone up slightly to about $68 million.
"Our payroll, as in every year we have owned the A's, has been within our annual budget - around half of our revenue," Oakland owner Lew Wolff said in an email. "We are all set to go even as we face much larger payroll teams. Actually, that makes the season even more exciting to me."
The Mets hardly resemble a high-revenue team anymore and are down to about $90 million - and that includes about $17.5 million to account for the settlement with departed outfielder Jason Bay. After the Mets' owners settled a lawsuit caused by the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, they promised to resume spending. But they haven't broken out the checkbook just yet, except for a new long-term deal with new team captain David Wright.
"I think we would anticipate being big investors where appropriate," owner Fred Wilpon said.
The AP's figures include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income for players on active rosters, disabled lists and the restricted lists, and rosters will change before teams must cut down to 25 active players. For some players, parts of deferred signing bonuses and salaries are discounted to reflect current values.
For the first time, the AP study presents payrolls for both active rosters and rosters following adjustments for cash transactions in trades, signing bonuses that are the responsibility of the club agreeing to the contract, option buyouts and termination pay for released players.
For instance, the Astros are paying Pittsburgh $4.5 million as part of last year's trade sending Wandy Rodriguez to the Pirates. Houston's active payroll for its 25-man roster will be about $19 million, the lowest in the major leagues since the 2006 Florida Marlins at $15 million.
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AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley and AP freelance writers Mark Didtler, Maureen Mullen and Dick Scanlon contributed to this report.
? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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How Nats went from ugly to elite
Posnanski: The Washington Nationals used to be a laughingstock. And when that happens, where do you even begin to rebuild? And how do they then become baseball's best team in three years? ?Step by step, without skipping steps,? GM Mike Rizzo says.
Light from a distant, giant world offers clues to the gases in its atmosphere
By Stephen Ornes
Web edition: March 29, 2013
Light from a distant, giant world offers clues to the gases in its atmosphere
By Stephen Ornes
Web edition: March 29, 2013
Enlarge
This drawing depicts the planet HR 8799c (foreground) orbiting its star. Two other planets can also be seen.
Credit: Image courtesy of Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics; Mediafarm
The study of planets outside the solar system just took a big jump forward. Scientists have for the first time identified atmospheres on some of these exoplanets; all four?circle the same star. The new information was calculated from light emitted by the distant worlds. It offers clues to what types of gases make up the planets' atmospheres. They're different?gas recipes than occur in atmospheres blanketing planets in our solar system.
Visit the new?Science News for Kids?website?and read the full story:?Out-of-this-world atmospheres
Citations
E. Wayman. Distant planets? atmospheres revealed. Science News. April 6, 2013.Available online: [Go to]
Not too long after the Samsung Galaxy S 4 was announced, we started hearing whispers of a "miniature" version of the device -- which makes sense, given the Galaxy S III had a smaller sidekick of its own. Today, however, Bloomberg reported the unannounced device is indeed coming soon after the flagship makes its appearance at the end of April. If it follows a similar pattern to its bite-sized predecessor, it likely will be offered in Europe as a lower-cost alternative to the Galaxy S 4. The device is rumored to offer a dual-core 1.6GHz processor, a 4.3-inch display and 8MP camera. Sadly, no official details were given, but we've reached out to Samsung officials for comment and will update when we receive word.
Update: Samsung pinged back with the following comment, which doesn't do much towards confirming or denying whether or not the GS 4 mini is indeed on the horizon. A spokesperson informed us: "We have not announced the product mentioned in the Bloomberg story."
CAIRO (AP) ? A leading Islamist politician accused opponents on Thursday of teaming up with remnants of Hosni Mubarak's toppled regime to sow unrest and violence.
Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie, in his weekly message to followers, also charged politicians he did not name of using foreign funds to instigate violence.
He claimed that opponents of Egypt's Islamist-dominated government have cast off their calls for democracy, liberalism and the rights of people in order to "destroy, burn, kill, shed blood and manufacture crises to drag the country into a cycle of violence and counter-violence."
His comments came days after the worst clashes in three months between anti-government protesters and supporters of the Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful political group.
Badie did not mention any particular group of anti-government activists by name, but appeared to direct his criticism at the National Salvation Front, the main opposition coalition.
He also claimed it was the Brotherhood that turned protests in the early days of the 2011 uprising into a full-fledged revolution and then went on to protect the achievements.
However, the revolution was led primarily by secular and liberal youth groups now rallying against the democratically elected, Brotherhood-dominated government.
The youth groups maintain that the Brotherhood did not officially join the uprising until it became clear that its momentum was irreversible.
But they acknowledge that the Brotherhood gave the uprising the muscle it needed to fend off attacks by armed Mubarak's loyalists against protesters gathered at Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protests.
Badie's criticism of the opposition echoed President Mohammed Morsi, a longtime Brotherhood leader. Several times this week, Morsi alleged that recent unrest was the work of paid thugs, not real "revolutionaries."
He has claimed that foreign powers he did not name had a "finger" meddling in Egypt's internal affairs and vowed to bring to justice politicians suspected of inciting violence.
Badie said the Brotherhood has exercised restraint and stayed on a positive course to "build, develop and try to reform."
Referring to what he called enemies at home and Mubarak loyalists, he said: "They are trying to push us back to square one in the hope that people will lose faith in the revolution and that by manufacturing crises, failures and spreading rumors, people will dream of the return of the old regime complete with its shortcomings, injustices, defeats, backwardness and treason."
He urged his opponents to keep the competition "peaceful and honorable" in the service of the nation.
"Let us deny the saboteurs and those with ulterior motives at home and abroad the opportunity to sow sedition, burn the nation and take us back in time."
In the latest bout of violence on March 22, protesters and Brotherhood supporters clashed outside the group's headquarters in the capital Cairo.
The violence was rooted in an incident a week earlier when Brotherhood members slapped a woman to the ground and beat up other activists who were spray-painting graffiti against the group outside its headquarters in an eastern district of Cairo.
Several reporters at the scene were also attacked. The Brotherhood said they were part of the protest.
In response, anti-Brotherhood activists called for a protest at the headquarters. Both sides brought out hundreds of supporters, and the scene quickly turned violent.
The clashes deepened the schism in Egypt that has been steadily widening since Morsi came to office in June as the country's first freely elected president. The Islamist leader and his allies are in one camp, while moderate Muslims, liberals, seculars, minority Christians and a large segment of women in the other.
Badie also sought to claim for the Brotherhood the mantle of protectors of the uprising that overthrew Mubarak.
He suggested that the pro-democracy youth groups universally credited with engineering the popular revolt played second fiddle to the Brotherhood, which emerged in the wake of Mubarak's ouster as Egypt's most dominant political force.
"Our movement, together with honorable members of the patriotic opposition, was the direct cause of (the revolution). Our (Brotherhood) youth provided its fuel and strength from the very start," he said.
He also credited the group with protecting the revolution by standing up to bands of Mubarak loyalists who attacked crowds in Tahrir Square.
Android powered console appears on GAME's website for pre-order priced at £99, but without a release date
Today is OUYA day. With the console set to begin shipping to Kickstarter backers, there's also the official launch party in San Francisco too. So, now it's time for OUYA to make its way into the big wide world, there's no doubts a few of you that'll want to be getting in on the action. Here in the UK, no official stockists have been confirmed for the console, but high street gaming retailer, GAME, has already started taking pre-orders.
There's no indication of a shipping date, but there is a price, and thankfully it's what we would expect -- £99. GAME will also be shipping the additional controllers for OUYA, and these are priced at £39.99. We may have to wait a little while to be able to head out onto the British high streets and pick one up, but it's a positive note for the fledgling console that we'll soon see it line up on the shelves next to offerings from Sony and Microsoft.
The OUYA may not be packing the most bleeding edge hardware on the market, but it's still one of the most anticipated device launches of 2013. Android, a dedicated gaming console, and under £100, what's not to be excited about? Anyone out there waiting on theirs being delivered? Be sure to jump into the comments, or better yet, head on into the OUYA forums.
Penn researchers show stem cell fate depends on 'grip' Public release date: 28-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Evan Lerner elerner@upenn.edu 215-573-6604 University of Pennsylvania
The field of regenerative medicine holds great promise, propelled by greater understanding of how stem cells differentiate themselves into many of the body's different cell types. But clinical applications in the field have been slow to materialize, partially owing to difficulties in replicating the conditions these cells naturally experience.
A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania has generated new insight on how a stem cell's environment influences what type of cell a stem cell will become. They have shown that whether human mesenchymal stem cells turn into fat or bone cells depends partially on how well they can "grip" the material they are growing in.
The research was conducted by graduate student Sudhir Khetan and associate professor Jason Burdick, along with professor Christopher Chen, all of the School of Engineering and Applied Science's Department of Bioengineering. Others involved in the study include Murat Guvendiren, Wesley Legant and Daniel Cohen.
Their study was published in the journal Nature Materials.
Much research has been done on how stem cells grow on two-dimensional substrates, but comparatively little work has been done in three dimensions. Three-dimensional environments, or matrices, for stems cells have mostly been treated as simple scaffolding, rather than as a signal that influences the cells' development.
Burdick and his colleagues were interested in how these three-dimensional matrices impact mechanotransduction, which is how the cell takes information about its physical environment and translates that to chemical signaling.
"We're trying to understand how material signals can dictate stem cell response," Burdick said. "Rather than considering the material as an inert structure, it's really guiding stem cell fate and differentiation what kind of cells they will turn into."
The mesenchymal stem cells the researchers studied are found in bone marrow and can develop into several cell types: osteoblasts, which are found in bone; chondrocytes, which are found in cartilage; and adipocytes, which are found in fat.
The researchers cultured them in water-swollen polymer networks known as hydrogels, which share some similarities with the environments stem cells naturally grow in. These materials are generally soft and flexible contact lenses, for example, are a type of hydrogel but can vary in density and stiffness depending on the type and quantity of the bonds between the polymers. In this case, the researchers used covalently cross-linked gels, which contain irreversible chemical bonds.
When seeded on top of two-dimensional covalently cross-linked gels, mesenchymal stem cells spread and pulled on the material differently depending on how stiff it was. Critically, the mechanics guide cell fate, or the type of cells they differentiate it into. A softer environment would produce more fat-like cells and a stiffer environment, where the cells can pull on the gel harder, would produce more bone-like cells.
However, when the researchers put mesenchymal stem cells inside three-dimensional hydrogels of varying stiffness, they didn't see these kinds of changes.
"In most covalently cross-linked gels, the cells can't spread into the matrix because they can't degrade the bonds they all become fat cells," Burdick said. "That tells us that in 3D covalent gels the cells don't translate the mechanical information the same way they do in a 2D system."
To test this, the researchers changed the chemistry of their hydrogels so that the polymer chains were connected by a peptide that the cells could naturally degrade. They hypothesized that, as the cells spread, they would be able to get a better grip on their surrounding environment and thus be more likely to turn into bone-like cells.
In order to determine how well the cells were pulling on their environment, the researchers used a technique developed by Chen's lab called 3D traction force microscopy. This technique involves seeding the gel with microscopic beads, then tracking their location before and after a cell is removed.
"Because the gel is elastic and will relax back into its original position when you remove the cells," Chen said, "you can quantify how much the cells are pulling on the gel based on how much and which way it springs back after the cell is removed."
The results showed that the stem cells' differentiation into bone-like cells was aided by their ability to better anchor themselves into the growth environment.
"With our original experiment, we observed that the cells essentially didn't pull on the gel. They adhered to it and were viable, but we did not see bead displacement. They couldn't get a grip," Burdick said. "When we put the cells into a gel where they could degrade the bonds, we saw them spread into the matrix and deform it, displacing the beads."
As an additional test, the researchers synthesized another hydrogel. This one had the same covalent bonds that the stem cells could naturally degrade and spread through but also another type of bond that could form when exposed to light. They let the stem cells spread as before, but at the point the cells would begin to differentiate about a week after they were first encapsulated the researchers further "set" the gel by exposing it to light, forming new bonds the cells couldn't degrade.
"When we introduced these cross-links so they could no longer degrade the matrix, we saw an increase toward fat-like cells, even after letting them spread," Burdick said. "This further supports the idea that continuous degradation is needed for the cells to sense the material properties of their environment and transduce that into differentiation signals."
Burdick and his colleagues see these results as helping develop a better fundamental understanding of how to engineer tissues using stem cells.
"This is a model system for showing how the microenvironment can influence the fate of the cells," Burdick said.
###
The research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Sudhir Khetan is now an assistant professor of bioengineering at Union College.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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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.
Penn researchers show stem cell fate depends on 'grip' Public release date: 28-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Evan Lerner elerner@upenn.edu 215-573-6604 University of Pennsylvania
The field of regenerative medicine holds great promise, propelled by greater understanding of how stem cells differentiate themselves into many of the body's different cell types. But clinical applications in the field have been slow to materialize, partially owing to difficulties in replicating the conditions these cells naturally experience.
A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania has generated new insight on how a stem cell's environment influences what type of cell a stem cell will become. They have shown that whether human mesenchymal stem cells turn into fat or bone cells depends partially on how well they can "grip" the material they are growing in.
The research was conducted by graduate student Sudhir Khetan and associate professor Jason Burdick, along with professor Christopher Chen, all of the School of Engineering and Applied Science's Department of Bioengineering. Others involved in the study include Murat Guvendiren, Wesley Legant and Daniel Cohen.
Their study was published in the journal Nature Materials.
Much research has been done on how stem cells grow on two-dimensional substrates, but comparatively little work has been done in three dimensions. Three-dimensional environments, or matrices, for stems cells have mostly been treated as simple scaffolding, rather than as a signal that influences the cells' development.
Burdick and his colleagues were interested in how these three-dimensional matrices impact mechanotransduction, which is how the cell takes information about its physical environment and translates that to chemical signaling.
"We're trying to understand how material signals can dictate stem cell response," Burdick said. "Rather than considering the material as an inert structure, it's really guiding stem cell fate and differentiation what kind of cells they will turn into."
The mesenchymal stem cells the researchers studied are found in bone marrow and can develop into several cell types: osteoblasts, which are found in bone; chondrocytes, which are found in cartilage; and adipocytes, which are found in fat.
The researchers cultured them in water-swollen polymer networks known as hydrogels, which share some similarities with the environments stem cells naturally grow in. These materials are generally soft and flexible contact lenses, for example, are a type of hydrogel but can vary in density and stiffness depending on the type and quantity of the bonds between the polymers. In this case, the researchers used covalently cross-linked gels, which contain irreversible chemical bonds.
When seeded on top of two-dimensional covalently cross-linked gels, mesenchymal stem cells spread and pulled on the material differently depending on how stiff it was. Critically, the mechanics guide cell fate, or the type of cells they differentiate it into. A softer environment would produce more fat-like cells and a stiffer environment, where the cells can pull on the gel harder, would produce more bone-like cells.
However, when the researchers put mesenchymal stem cells inside three-dimensional hydrogels of varying stiffness, they didn't see these kinds of changes.
"In most covalently cross-linked gels, the cells can't spread into the matrix because they can't degrade the bonds they all become fat cells," Burdick said. "That tells us that in 3D covalent gels the cells don't translate the mechanical information the same way they do in a 2D system."
To test this, the researchers changed the chemistry of their hydrogels so that the polymer chains were connected by a peptide that the cells could naturally degrade. They hypothesized that, as the cells spread, they would be able to get a better grip on their surrounding environment and thus be more likely to turn into bone-like cells.
In order to determine how well the cells were pulling on their environment, the researchers used a technique developed by Chen's lab called 3D traction force microscopy. This technique involves seeding the gel with microscopic beads, then tracking their location before and after a cell is removed.
"Because the gel is elastic and will relax back into its original position when you remove the cells," Chen said, "you can quantify how much the cells are pulling on the gel based on how much and which way it springs back after the cell is removed."
The results showed that the stem cells' differentiation into bone-like cells was aided by their ability to better anchor themselves into the growth environment.
"With our original experiment, we observed that the cells essentially didn't pull on the gel. They adhered to it and were viable, but we did not see bead displacement. They couldn't get a grip," Burdick said. "When we put the cells into a gel where they could degrade the bonds, we saw them spread into the matrix and deform it, displacing the beads."
As an additional test, the researchers synthesized another hydrogel. This one had the same covalent bonds that the stem cells could naturally degrade and spread through but also another type of bond that could form when exposed to light. They let the stem cells spread as before, but at the point the cells would begin to differentiate about a week after they were first encapsulated the researchers further "set" the gel by exposing it to light, forming new bonds the cells couldn't degrade.
"When we introduced these cross-links so they could no longer degrade the matrix, we saw an increase toward fat-like cells, even after letting them spread," Burdick said. "This further supports the idea that continuous degradation is needed for the cells to sense the material properties of their environment and transduce that into differentiation signals."
Burdick and his colleagues see these results as helping develop a better fundamental understanding of how to engineer tissues using stem cells.
"This is a model system for showing how the microenvironment can influence the fate of the cells," Burdick said.
###
The research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Sudhir Khetan is now an assistant professor of bioengineering at Union College.
[ | 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.
Bad news, guys. YouTube is shutting down. The platform launched eight years ago, and some of us have gotten so distracted by YouTube videos that we've forgotten that the whole thing is actually a competition. Or, YouTube never actually mentioned that it is a competition. Either way, that competition, called YouTube, is coming to a close.
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Public release date: 29-Mar-2013
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