Colts, Bengals make playoffs with wins

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) receives congratulations from interim coach Bruce Arians, left, after throwing a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Reggie Wayne during the second half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, in Kansas City, Mo. The Colts won 20-13. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) receives congratulations from interim coach Bruce Arians, left, after throwing a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Reggie Wayne during the second half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, in Kansas City, Mo. The Colts won 20-13. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton acknowledges Bengals fans as he walks of the field after the Bengals' 13-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

One year after putting together the NFL's worst record, the Indianapolis Colts are headed to the playoffs.

Joining them on Sunday were the Cincinnati Bengals, finishing out the field in the AFC.

The Colts (10-5) equaled the 2008 Miami Dolphins as the only teams to win at least 10 games after losing 14 or more the previous season. Top overall draft pick Andrew Luck completed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne late in the fourth quarter for a 20-13 victory at Kansas City.

Cincinnati qualified for a second straight postseason berth for only the second time in franchise history, edging archrival Pittsburgh 13-10. The Bengals have never gone to the playoffs in successive years that did not involve a strike-shortened season.

Luck finished with 205 yards passing to break Cam Newton's year-old rookie record of 4,051 yards in a season. He also extended his rookie record for fourth-quarter comebacks to seven by leading his team downfield in the closing minutes.

"Mission accomplished. That's all I can say," Colts interim coach Bruce Arians said. "Without getting emotional again, knowing that (coach Chuck Pagano) is going to be back Monday, the work week shouldn't be as stressful."

Pagano has been sidelined since a loss to Jacksonville in Week 3.

For the Bengals (9-6), Andy Dalton hit A.J. Green with a 21-yard pass in the final moments, setting up Josh Brown's 43-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining. The loss eliminated the Steelers from contention.

"A lot of people talked about we hadn't been in in back-to-back seasons in 30 years," Green said. "I don't worry about that stuff. I've been here two years and we made the playoffs all two years. That's all we can control."

Minnesota's 23-6 win at Houston prevented the Texans from earning home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. AFC South champion Houston (12-3) still can get that by winning at Indianapolis in the season finale.

New England has won the AFC East, Denver the West. Baltimore clinched the North by beating the New York Giants 33-14, sending the defending Super Bowl champions to the brink of elimination.

Washington's 27-20 win at Philadelphia, combined with New Orleans beating Dallas 34-31 in overtime means the Redskins (9-6) will win the NFC East by beating the Cowboys next week.

But Dallas (8-7) takes the division by winning that game at Washington, which the league has flexed to prime time.

"They know what it means," coach Mike Shanahan said. "They've been working toward this opportunity to win the division. Any time you win the division, everybody knows you have a home game in the playoffs. We talked about that from Day 1. They knew what we had to do to get there. We haven't accomplished anything yet."

Green Bay clinched at least the third seed in the NFC when it routed Tennessee 55-7. The NFC North champs (11-4) still could wind up second overall in the conference and get a bye and moved into the No. 2 slot when Seattle romped over San Francisco 42-13.

"We have momentum going for us, particularly what we've done over the last nine weeks, 10 weeks," coach Mike McCarthy said of Green Bay's nine wins in the last 10 games. "So we wanted to take the next step as a football team and I felt we were able to accomplish that today."

The 49ers (10-4-1) will win the NFC West by beating Arizona next weekend. Seattle (10-5) earned at least a wild-card spot and finishes at home against St. Louis.

On Saturday night, NFC South winner Atlanta won 31-18 at Detroit to clinch home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs.

Minnesota (9-6), Chicago (9-6), the New York Giants (8-7) and Washington could wind up with the final NFC wild card. Dallas can't get a wild card.

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-12-24-FBN-Playoff-Races/id-141062a611f8445d825cd530d55a694d

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OpGen announces sequence assembly and finishing of first reference genome of domestic goat

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Dan Budwick
dan@purecommunicationsinc.com
973-271-6085
Pure Communications Inc.

Whole genome mapping technology plays integral role in international study

Gaithersburg, Md.December 23, 2012 OpGen, Inc. today announced its ARGUS Whole Genome Mapping System technology was used in combination with next-generation sequencing (NGS) to produce the first, high-quality reference genome of the domestic goat. The study, which was led by BGI-Shenzhen and Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences was published online today in Nature Biotechnology. The paper, titled Sequencing and automated whole-genome optical mapping of the genome of a domestic goat (Capra hircus), demonstrates the value, efficiency and cost effectiveness of OpGen's Whole Genome Mapping in de novo assemblies of large, complex genomes.

"This independent technology provides not only the validation of the genome sequencing, but also provides the large-scale chromosome structure information that cannot be detected by sequencing," said Xun Xu, Deputy Director, BGI-Shenzhen. "The experience in these genome assembly projects shows that the physical whole genome map should be the standard for any reference genome to be assembled in the future."

Goats are an important economic resource in many developing countries around the globe, including China and India. However, despite their agricultural and biological importance, breeding and genetic studies of goats have been hindered by the lack of a high-quality reference genome sequence. The goat genome is the first high-quality reference genome for small ruminate animals and may help to advance the understanding of distinct ruminant genomic features from non-ruminant species.

Although generating draft assemblies from NGS is relatively easy, finishing a sequence to the chromosome level is still difficult and costly. The findings show that a single NGS platform, when combined with Whole Genome Mapping, can produce a finished assembly much faster and less expensively than other currently available mapping strategies such as bacterial artificial chromosome (BACs) or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). This approach sets the gold standard in large genome de novo assembly, eliminating the need for genetic maps which can be very time consuming.

"By incorporating Whole Genome Mapping, we were able to overcome the limitations of NGS' short read scaffolds to produce long super-scaffolds and finish the assembly to the near chromosome level," said Wen Wang, Deputy Director, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and an author of the paper. "We could not have completed the project without OpGen's technology."

In the study, OpGen's ARGUS system produced 100,000 single molecule restriction maps in three hours. This resulted in 30 times the physical coverage of the goat genome. The company's Genome Builder software generated long super-scaffolds by combining single molecule map data with sequence scaffolds generated by NGS and subsequent assembly. Specifically, the metric of assembly (N50) was improved eightfold by combining Whole Genome Mapping with NGS over NGS alone.

"While we continue to demonstrate the value of Whole Genome Mapping for assembly, quality control and validation of microbial genomes, we are pleased to expand its applications as a critical, complementary technology enabling investigators to provide complete and accurate long-range genomic information in complex, de novo projects," said Richard Moore, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific officer of OpGen and an author of the paper. "This paper is the first of many we expect to be published over the next year which will validate OpGen's Whole Genome Mapping technology as a solution for the de novo assembly of the spectrum of genomes from microbes to mammals."

###

About ARGUS Whole Genome Mapping System

OpGen's ARGUS Whole Genome Mapping System is the only commercially available technology that can provide a high-resolution, complete visual map of a whole genome and individual chromosomes. The company's unique single molecule analysis technology provides a whole genome view that complements genome assembly and enables scientists to identify highly repetitive regions, tandem repeats and translocations that are very difficult to identify and clarify with sequencing alone. Sequencing projects can now be finished and validated with less investment in time, cost and computational effort.

About OpGen, Inc.

OpGen, Inc. is a leading innovator in providing rapid, accurate genomic and DNA analysis systems and services. The company's ARGUS Whole Genome Mapping System, GenomeBuilder and MapIt Services provide high-resolution, whole genome maps for sequence assembly and finishing, strain typing and comparative genomics in the life sciences market. OpGen's powerful technology dramatically improves the quality of data and time-to- results by providing sequence information from single DNA molecules more rapidly and less expensively than previously possible. The company is dedicated to positively influencing individual healthcare outcomes, advancing scientific research and enhancing public health by delivering precise, actionable information and results to customers in the life science and healthcare communities. OpGen's customers include leading genomic research centers, biodefense organizations, academic institutions, clinical research organizations and biotechnology companies. For more information, visit www.opgen.com.

OpGen Contacts:

Michael Farmer
Director, Marketing
(240) 813-1284 office
mfarmer@opgen.com

Dan Budwick (Media)
Pure Communications, Inc.
(973) 271-6085


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

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Dan Budwick
dan@purecommunicationsinc.com
973-271-6085
Pure Communications Inc.

Whole genome mapping technology plays integral role in international study

Gaithersburg, Md.December 23, 2012 OpGen, Inc. today announced its ARGUS Whole Genome Mapping System technology was used in combination with next-generation sequencing (NGS) to produce the first, high-quality reference genome of the domestic goat. The study, which was led by BGI-Shenzhen and Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences was published online today in Nature Biotechnology. The paper, titled Sequencing and automated whole-genome optical mapping of the genome of a domestic goat (Capra hircus), demonstrates the value, efficiency and cost effectiveness of OpGen's Whole Genome Mapping in de novo assemblies of large, complex genomes.

"This independent technology provides not only the validation of the genome sequencing, but also provides the large-scale chromosome structure information that cannot be detected by sequencing," said Xun Xu, Deputy Director, BGI-Shenzhen. "The experience in these genome assembly projects shows that the physical whole genome map should be the standard for any reference genome to be assembled in the future."

Goats are an important economic resource in many developing countries around the globe, including China and India. However, despite their agricultural and biological importance, breeding and genetic studies of goats have been hindered by the lack of a high-quality reference genome sequence. The goat genome is the first high-quality reference genome for small ruminate animals and may help to advance the understanding of distinct ruminant genomic features from non-ruminant species.

Although generating draft assemblies from NGS is relatively easy, finishing a sequence to the chromosome level is still difficult and costly. The findings show that a single NGS platform, when combined with Whole Genome Mapping, can produce a finished assembly much faster and less expensively than other currently available mapping strategies such as bacterial artificial chromosome (BACs) or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). This approach sets the gold standard in large genome de novo assembly, eliminating the need for genetic maps which can be very time consuming.

"By incorporating Whole Genome Mapping, we were able to overcome the limitations of NGS' short read scaffolds to produce long super-scaffolds and finish the assembly to the near chromosome level," said Wen Wang, Deputy Director, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and an author of the paper. "We could not have completed the project without OpGen's technology."

In the study, OpGen's ARGUS system produced 100,000 single molecule restriction maps in three hours. This resulted in 30 times the physical coverage of the goat genome. The company's Genome Builder software generated long super-scaffolds by combining single molecule map data with sequence scaffolds generated by NGS and subsequent assembly. Specifically, the metric of assembly (N50) was improved eightfold by combining Whole Genome Mapping with NGS over NGS alone.

"While we continue to demonstrate the value of Whole Genome Mapping for assembly, quality control and validation of microbial genomes, we are pleased to expand its applications as a critical, complementary technology enabling investigators to provide complete and accurate long-range genomic information in complex, de novo projects," said Richard Moore, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific officer of OpGen and an author of the paper. "This paper is the first of many we expect to be published over the next year which will validate OpGen's Whole Genome Mapping technology as a solution for the de novo assembly of the spectrum of genomes from microbes to mammals."

###

About ARGUS Whole Genome Mapping System

OpGen's ARGUS Whole Genome Mapping System is the only commercially available technology that can provide a high-resolution, complete visual map of a whole genome and individual chromosomes. The company's unique single molecule analysis technology provides a whole genome view that complements genome assembly and enables scientists to identify highly repetitive regions, tandem repeats and translocations that are very difficult to identify and clarify with sequencing alone. Sequencing projects can now be finished and validated with less investment in time, cost and computational effort.

About OpGen, Inc.

OpGen, Inc. is a leading innovator in providing rapid, accurate genomic and DNA analysis systems and services. The company's ARGUS Whole Genome Mapping System, GenomeBuilder and MapIt Services provide high-resolution, whole genome maps for sequence assembly and finishing, strain typing and comparative genomics in the life sciences market. OpGen's powerful technology dramatically improves the quality of data and time-to- results by providing sequence information from single DNA molecules more rapidly and less expensively than previously possible. The company is dedicated to positively influencing individual healthcare outcomes, advancing scientific research and enhancing public health by delivering precise, actionable information and results to customers in the life science and healthcare communities. OpGen's customers include leading genomic research centers, biodefense organizations, academic institutions, clinical research organizations and biotechnology companies. For more information, visit www.opgen.com.

OpGen Contacts:

Michael Farmer
Director, Marketing
(240) 813-1284 office
mfarmer@opgen.com

Dan Budwick (Media)
Pure Communications, Inc.
(973) 271-6085


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

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/pci-oas122012.php

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Help at hand when elderly relative's health fails

In this Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012 photo, Barbara Newman Mannix, founder of A Dignified Life, poses for a photo outside her office in White Plains, N.Y. The company stands in for family members who can't be as close as they'd like when an elderly relative begins to decline. (AP Photo/Jim Fitzgerald)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012 photo, Barbara Newman Mannix, founder of A Dignified Life, poses for a photo outside her office in White Plains, N.Y. The company stands in for family members who can't be as close as they'd like when an elderly relative begins to decline. (AP Photo/Jim Fitzgerald)

(AP) ? Marnie Schwartz was in California, a lawyer raising two toddlers. She was in no position to move across the country to care for her mother, who was living alone in New York and whose health was beginning to decline.

Schwartz's dilemma was similar to that faced by more and more Americans as the population spreads out, people live longer and giving up a job is out of the question.

"I needed eyes and ears closer to my mother," said Schwartz, an only child living in Malibu. "I needed someone to handle the medical, the insurance, the financial, stay on top of the daily caregiving, so the emotional strain wouldn't be overwhelming."

Those needs have fostered a niche that a variety of enterprises have been filling in recent years. Companies and individuals calling themselves advocates, care managers and advisers are willing to stand in for the family and deal with the maze of responsibilities that comes with the care of an elderly loved one.

With the aging of the baby boom generation, the 78 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964, calls for such businesses are expected to increase over the next 20 years.

Their service doesn't come cheap and it's generally not covered by insurance. But some customers have found it's worth the peace of mind.

Schwartz found her "eyes and ears" when a childhood friend told her about A Dignified Life, a small company in White Plains, N.Y., that specializes in elder care.

"I don't know what I would have done without them," Schwartz said. "They knew where to go with all these questions I had that would have taken me 500 phone calls. They deciphered what the doctors were saying. They got a ramp built at the house. They dealt with the plumber. They remembered everything, and they did it in a really human, caring way.

"In about a year and a half, as my mother's situation got worse, they became part of our daily life," Schwartz said. And in October, as her mother's health failed, "they told me it was time to get on a plane." She was at her mother's deathbed, she said, because A Dignified Life knew when to call.

Barbara Newman Mannix, who runs the company, said "experience and empathy" are required to do the job well. She vets, hires and monitors in-home caregivers, attorneys, nursing homes and more, guides a family through the financial tangles and makes sure an elderly person's wishes are respected. She can help arrange the sale of a house and pre-plan a funeral.

For an initial, $625 four-hour consultation, her company will evaluate a family's needs and come up with an "action plan." The family can then hire the company to implement the plan on an hourly or retainer basis.

Mannix started the company after navigating the maze during her husband's fatal illness.

"You're suddenly in crisis and the normal reaction is, 'What do I do, where do I go, who do I call first?'" she said. "People are lost. But we tell them there is a way to cope, there is crisis management, there are people that will help you who do what they do all day every day."

She said many people just don't have the personality for dealing with doctors and caregivers and insurance companies.

"It's time, it's energy, it's stress, it's consternation among members of the family," she said. "There's emotional baggage, and if you have children yourself you're being pulled in both directions."

Judy Rappaport, who runs Preferred Lifestyle Services in Jupiter, Fla., said most elderly people resist moving to a son or daughter's home.

"Everybody wants to stay home," Rappaport said. "Now we do what we can to make it possible for people to stay in their homes."

Most of her company's staffers are nurses.

"When we're hired, we go in and count the pills, check the food in the refrigerator, we talk to the doctors," she said. "We get a complete picture and we write up a report in lay language. The family knows what we'll do and what it will cost right up front."

The services can get very specific.

"We had one lady who wanted to play bingo and we said, 'No problem, we can get you to bingo.' But she was a German lady and she wanted to play bingo in German," Rappaport said. "We found a place."

Jullie Gray, incoming president of the National Association of Geriatric Care Managers, said membership is now near 2,000, up from fewer than 1,600 a decade ago.

Rappaport said the average fee for her clients is between $1,500 and $2,500 a month, not including the in-home caretakers' pay.

David Cutner, an elder law attorney in Manhattan, said he worries about elderly people exhausting their assets, but added, "People who have a substantial net worth and are not thinking about government benefit programs might well want to hire this type of service."

A much less comprehensive and less costly alternative is offered by CareFamily, which prescreens in-home caregivers and matches them to customers over the Internet. On Monday, the company announced a variety of online tools through which a family can remotely monitor a caregiver's attendance, provide reminders about medications and appointments and exchange care plans and notes via email, texting or phone.

The service would be included in the average $15 an hour fee paid for the caregiver, said CareFamily CEO Tom Knox. He said it can "cut costs while ensuring that the elderly can be well taken care of ? without the need to uproot seniors and disrupt families."

Yale Hauptman, an elder law attorney in Livingston, N.J., said many different services are available. His office is often called in by advocates who discover that an elderly person needs a will or power of attorney or a trust.

"We work with people who just do health insurance, cut through red tape, deal with Medicaid," he said. "We work with daily money managers, who make sure the bills get paid. We work with geriatric care managers on the medical side.

"The type of work these people do is absolutely essential. It's a combination of families living farther apart and the fact we're living longer."

Leslie Riley of Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y., said that when her sister-in-law began having mental and physical problems, relatives hired A Dignified Life, even though some lived nearby.

"We had no idea where to start," she said. "Barbara came in and helped us focus on what needed to be done. How to work with the doctors in the hospital. We needed to get power of attorney, we needed to provide health care proxies, we needed to figure out how to approach the financial situation."

"She had a checklist for everything," Riley said. "I would call her lovingly efficient."

___

Online:

http://www.adignifiedlife.com

http://www.preferredlifestyleservices.com

http://www.carefamily.com

http://www.caremanager.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-22-Aging%20America-Elder%20Advocates/id-d1d375f6d66244c4a700479400abf530

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End of the world on 12/21/12? Not just yet, says the Vatican's top astronomer. ( video)

The director of the Vatican Observatory dismissed talk of a Mayan doomsday on Dec. 21, 2012, saying that the end of the Earth, if it happens, is billions of years away.

By Nick Squires,?Correspondent / December 20, 2012

A Mayan dancer performs at the Xcaret Eco Theme Park on the outskirts of Playa del Carmen, Mexico, on Wednesday. Although some say the Mayan calendar predicts the end of the world on Dec. 21, 2012, the Vatican's top astronomer is rather dubious.

Israel Leal/AP

Enlarge

A Mayan prophecy that the world will end this week may have the more credulous stocking up on supplies and fleeing to "sacred" mountains in the hope of miraculous last-minute salvation by aliens.

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'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // --> Why NASA agrees with The Vatican: There is no 12-21-12 Mayan doomsday

But while the idea that Earth could be shattered into a billion pieces by some sort of interplanetary cataclysm has worried millions of people around the world, the Holy See's chief astronomer suggests that life as we know it is unlikely to come to an end quite so soon.

In an editorial in the Vatican's official daily newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano ? in an issue whose front-page article was entitled??The end is not nigh ? at least for now? ? Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the?director of the Vatican Observatory, criticized "pseudo-prophecies" about the end of the Universe.??

?In the media and on the internet there is a great deal of talk of the end of the world, which the Mayan calendar supposedly?predicted for Dec 21. If you do a search on Google, you get 40 million results on the topic,? wrote Father Funes, a Jesuit priest from Argentina.

A 5,125-year cycle known in the Mayan calendar as the Long Count comes to an end on Friday and has been widely interpreted by cultists, New Age disciples, and believers in the esoteric as heralding the destruction of the planet.

But in a lengthy discourse on astronomy and Christian belief, he said it was ?not even worth discussing the scientific basis of these claims."

He acknowledged that the universe was slowly expanding, but that the destruction of the Earth ? if it ever happens ? will not occur for billions of years.

In any case, he said, Christians subscribe to the ?fundamental conviction that death is not the last word.?

Four hundred years after the Roman Catholic Church put Galileo on trial for heresy based on his belief that the Earth revolved around the Sun and not the other way round, the Vatican is rather more forgiving of the science of astronomy.

Its observatory is at Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of the pope, which lies in the hills outside Rome. One of the oldest astronomical research institutes in the world, it also has a research facility hosted by the Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Funes, who has a master?s degree in astronomy from the National University of Cordoba in Argentina as well as degrees in philosophy and theology, was made director of the observatory in 2006.

He has not been reluctant to take modern science into account when considering religious tenets. In an interview in 2008, he said it was possible that intelligent forms of life could exist on other planets in the solar system.

Aliens would still be God?s creatures, he said, in an article in L?Osservatore Romano headlined?"The extraterrestrial is my brother." The notion did not necessarily contradict the teachings of the Catholic Church, he said, arguing that to dismiss the possibility of alien life would be to underestimate God?s creative powers.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/u6rab7BSeuM/End-of-the-world-on-12-21-12-Not-just-yet-says-the-Vatican-s-top-astronomer.-video

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A cosmic holiday ornament, Hubble-style

Dec. 18, 2012 ? 'Tis the season for holiday decorating and tree-trimming. Not to be left out, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have photographed a festive-looking nearby planetary nebula called NGC 5189. The intricate structure of this bright gaseous nebula resembles a glass-blown holiday ornament with a glowing ribbon entwined.

Planetary nebulae represent the final brief stage in the life of a medium-sized star like our Sun. While consuming the last of the fuel in its core, the dying star expels a large portion of its outer envelope. This material then becomes heated by the radiation from the stellar remnant and radiates, producing glowing clouds of gas that can show complex structures, as the ejection of mass from the star is uneven in both time and direction.

A spectacular example of this beautiful complexity is seen in the bluish lobes of NGC 5189. Most of the nebula is knotty and filamentary in its structure. As a result of the mass-loss process, the planetary nebula has been created with two nested structures, tilted with respect to each other, that expand away from the center in different directions.

This double bipolar or quadrupolar structure could be explained by the presence of a binary companion orbiting the central star and influencing the pattern of mass ejection during its nebula-producing death throes. The remnant of the central star, having lost much of its mass, now lives its final days as a white dwarf. However, there is no visual candidate for the possible companion.

The bright golden ring that twists and tilts through the image is made up of a large collection of radial filaments and cometary knots. These are usually formed by the combined action of photo-ionizing radiation and stellar winds.

This image was taken with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 on October 8, 2012, in filters tuned to the specific colors of fluorescing sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. Broad filters in the visible and near-infrared were used to capture the star colors.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/wHaoUUW-ChE/121218094212.htm

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Nintendo 3DS XL Virtual Console Game Comparison ? gameXcess ...

Posted by Maniac in Site Videos.
trackback

Maniac is loving the Nintendo eShop?s?Virtual Console store, where he can finally buy all the original Game Boy games he missed out on and download them to the Nintendo 3DS.? How does the visual quality of these virtual console games compare to the image off an original model 1 Game Boy?? Well, lets break out an original copy of Super Mario Land and?find out.

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Source: http://gamexcess.net/2012/12/18/nintendo-3ds-xl-virtual-console-game-comparison/

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Leaked Report Confirms Human-Induced Climate Change

60-Second Earth

The world is on track for warming of at least 2 degrees Celsius, according to a leaked draft of the next IPCC report. David Biello reports.

More 60-Second Earth

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A rogue reviewer posted a draft this week of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's next report, in a bid to promote climate change denial.

Instead the draft reaffirms humanity's starring role in global warming, which, along with sea level rise is now "unequivocal.? Also human caused CO2 increases are now "virtually certain" to be responsible for trapping extra heat. And it is "extremely likely that human activities have caused more than half of the observed increase in global average surface temperatures since the 1950s."

In other words, we're well on our way towards global warming of 2 degrees Celsius or more by 2050, if not sooner. After all, concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere are likely to hit 400 parts-per-million this coming spring or next.

The final draft isn't due until next fall and the leak highlights a need to consider updating the IPCC process. Global warming no longer needs confirmation?instead the world needs solutions to climate change's challenges. After all, "many aspects of climate change will persist for centuries even if concentrations of greenhouse gases are stabilized.?

?David Biello

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]?
?


Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=cb2a0f92c97ce462b573ac7df495455c

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Something's Gotta Give! - MOMeo Magazine

Posted by Carla Young on December 17, 2012 ? Leave a Comment?

Stop trying to do it ALL!

Calling it trying to be a SuperMom wouldn?t do justice to all the things we try to do (or feel guilty that we aren?t doing). It?s no wonder we resort to the most ineffective time management tactic of all: multitasking. We take on so much, even if it?s just mentally, that we literally have no hope of achieving everything.

We want to bake homemade cookies, volunteer weekly at the school, chair the organizing committee for your local community group, shuffle kids to lessons, find time for our own health and fitness, make awe-inspiring dishes worthy of Pinterest and grow a sustainable business.

And yes, the list goes on (and on and on and on).

Something has GOT to give. This may be the first time you are hearing this because I know those guru types like to tell you that you can have it all, but it?s not true. You probably sensed what I am about to tell you: You do have to make sacrifices to grow a business.

How to Pick and Choose What You Give Up to Grow

Make a List of Non-Negotiables ? Get to the core of what you value by making a comprehensive list of things you absolutely positively will not sacrifice. Be honest. If walking your Kindergartner to school every morning before going to Yoga class is important, put it on the list and design around those activities.

Get to the Essence of It ? Ask yourself why you do the things you do (or at least, why you add them to your guilt list and agonize over not doing them). What is it that you truly value about the activity? What do you get out of it in terms of personal growth, fulfillment, pride?

Find Substitutions for Activities ? Now that you know why you choose to do what you do, next determine if there is another (simpler) way to achieve the same goal. For example, can you enlist other members of the family in the preparation of homemade meals? Can you contribute to the community in a less time-intensive role?

Involve Your Family in the Process ? Enlist your family?s help in vetting your list. Ask them to share what is important to them. The answer may surprise you. For example, the extra duties you take on at school may not be as important to your children as you participating in the occasion in-classroom activity or field trip.

Do the Reality Check ? Tally up what you are left with on your list and what you need to grow your business. If the numbers don?t add up, go back to the beginning and re-examine your answers to the above questions because if you don?t, the something that is going to give will be you!

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About Carla Young
Carla Young, MOMeoMagazine.com Publisher If there?s living proof that women can have it all ? and then some ? it?s Carla Young. Building her multiple businesses on a virtual work-at-home model, Carla is an inspiration to other mothers who want to start a lifestyle business. During her early days as a mom entrepreneur, Carla made every single mistake in the book (and a few new ones for good measure). Realizing that ?doing it all? was unhealthy and unsustainable, Carla started by getting organized to the extreme, developing support systems for both her work and family. After other mothers started asking how they too could enjoy her lifestyle, Carla launched MOMeoMagazine.com to support moms at work, at home and at play (because every mommy deserves a little me-time)!

Source: http://www.momeomagazine.com/somethings-gotta-give-yes-you-do-need-to-make-sacrifices-to-grow-your-business/

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Army struggles to hold on to war-time intelligence gains and lessons

OTTAWA - The Canadian Army is trying to hold on to its intelligence-gathering capability and its ability to disrupt spying in the face of budget strain, say internal National Defence documents.

A briefing note prepared for the country's top soldier shows the army has pushed the military's chief of intelligence to permanently staff "high-readiness" intelligence positions within brigades and all-source intelligence centres that could be called upon to deploy overseas.

The documents, obtained by The Canadian Press under access to information laws, also show the army is anxious to protect its network of human sources and operatives, known as HUMINT, and to better resource its counter-intelligence abilities.

With the end of the war in Afghanistan and a shrinking defence budget, there is a fear those disciplines could face "degradation."

The army's budget by itself has shrunk by 22 per cent.

Indeed, during an appearance recently before the Senate security and defence committee army commander Lt.-Gen. Peter Devlin said he's invested 1,500 regular force positions in "enablers" such as intelligence, counter-improvised explosive device research, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, among other things.

How much of that involves modernized intelligence wasn't made clear, but the documents show it is a pressing concern.

"Recent operational experience has reinforced the conviction that deployed land forces in particular (censored) depend on a sophisticated (human intelligence) network that draws from all sources," said the April 8, 2011 briefing.

The army found itself hobbled at the beginning of the Kandahar mission in 2005, by the absence of that sophisticated ground network of sources, and by its lack of experience in interrogating prisoners.

Documents released last year show the agents of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service were brought in early in the war to help in the questioning of Taliban fighters, a practise that ended as army officers gained more experience.

Both NATO and the Canadian military claim to have been surprised by a resurgent Taliban onslaught in the spring of 2006. As the war was winding down for Canada last summer, retired general Walt Natynczyk ? the chief of defence staff at the time ? said intelligence is never an exact science.

"We're not the only ones to have gone through this kind of discovery because intelligence is never perfect," Natynczyk said in his final interview with The Canadian Press.

"Our guys worked very, very hard with intelligence, but the fact is you cannot assess all of the factors, or understand all of the ingredients that go into a counter-insurgency."

The briefing for Devlin said other armies are learning the "hard-won lessons from operations in the Balkans, Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan" and have already "developed highly effective field (human intelligence) capabilities."

The Canadian military's counter-intelligence section is a joint branch that investigates threats and possible security breaches. The memo suggests the army wants to develop its own, separate lower level capability, one similar to the U.S. Marine Corps.

The Canadian navy has also gone through similar soul-searching when it comes to intelligence.

Since 2010 it has been engaged in a major overhaul that, at one point, suggested placing more intelligence officers on ships deployed overseas, but budget restraint has slowed that effort.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/army-struggles-hold-war-time-intelligence-gains-lessons-183100389.html

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