An Indian clinic's claim of totally untreatable TB ignited public fears, but experts say poor disease management is the real threat
By Erica Westly
?|
January 30, 2012?|
A few weeks ago a clinic in Mumbai claimed to have identified a dozen patients with a strain of tuberculosis (TB) resistant to all known treatments. TB is a highly contagious lung infection that kills about 1.5 million people each year worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), so the development of a totally untreatable form of the disease would be cause for alarm. "It conveys that there is no hope, that not a single drug works," says Madhukar Pai, a tuberculosis researcher at McGill University in Montreal.
Fortunately, it does not appear that the Mumbai cases are completely untreatable. After evaluating the cases last week, India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported that the patients actually had "extensively drug-resistant" tuberculosis, a form of the disease that is difficult to treat, but not incurable. Although three of the 12 patients have died, the other nine are reportedly being treated with antibiotics used to treat extensively drug-resistant TB, such as clofazimine and rifabutin.
Still, the case has prompted WHO to schedule a meeting in March to discuss the merits of creating a new "totally drug-resistant? category of tuberculosis. Most likely, "extensively drug-resistant," or XDR, will remain the top level of tuberculosis threat. For one thing, current laboratory tests for determining drug-resistant TB are not reliable enough to rule out all TB drugs conclusively, particularly three of the six classes of second-line drugs. "The tests aren't highly reproducible," says Peter Cegielski, head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's drug-resistant TB program. "You can even get different results from the same patient specimen."
WHO cannot designate a new disease category without clear, quantifiable diagnostic criteria. For example, XDR-TB is defined as tuberculosis that is resistant to the main first-line TB drugs?rifampin and isoniazid?and to two or more of the second-line drugs for which there are reliable susceptibility tests.
There are also new tuberculosis drugs on the horizon, including two that will likely be available to patients in the next few years, making the timing of adding a "totally drug-resistant" TB category impractical.
That doesn't mean, however, that it is impossible for an untreatable form of TB to exist. "It's reasonable to discuss it," Cegielski says. It also does not mean that public health workers can rest easy. Drug-resistant TB remains a huge problemworldwide. Not only does it take months or, in some cases, years to treat, but once drug-resistant strains develop, they can be passed from person to person.
What the recent Indian case really highlights, rather than the potential for total drug-resistance, is the need for consistent tuberculosis management worldwide, says Carole Mitnick, a public health researcher at Harvard University who specializes in the treatment of drug-resistant TB. "It reflects the lack of equal access to quality care and treatment," she says.
For example, tuberculosis medications are highly restricted in some countries, such as Brazil, but are more freely available in others. In India, where there are about two million new TB cases a year, it is possible to get some TB drugs from pharmacies without a prescription, says McGill's Pai, who is from India and has studied TB treatment there. "A lot of patients won't take the full course [of antibiotics], and then they start a new drug. That's the pattern that leads to drug resistance," he says. A study published in PLoS One last year found excessive private market sales of TB drugs in several countries, including India and Indonesia, implying misuse.
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A sign of RBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, is seen at its office in the City of London, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. RBS bank's board of directors have awarded the bank's CEO Stephen Hester 3.6 million shares for his work over the last year, worth about 963,000 pounds ($1.5 million) based on Thursday's closing share price, although 82 percent of the bank is owned by the British government after recent financial bailouts. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
A sign of RBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, is seen at its office in the City of London, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. RBS bank's board of directors have awarded the bank's CEO Stephen Hester 3.6 million shares for his work over the last year, worth about 963,000 pounds ($1.5 million) based on Thursday's closing share price, although 82 percent of the bank is owned by the British government after recent financial bailouts. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
A sign of RBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, is seen at its office in the City of London, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. RBS bank's board of directors have awarded the bank's CEO Stephen Hester 3.6 million shares for his work over the last year, worth about 963,000 pounds ($1.5 million) based on Thursday's closing share price, although 82 percent of the bank is owned by the British government after recent financial bailouts.(AP Photo/Sang Tan)
In this photo made with extreme wide angle lens, the RBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, offices in the City of London, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. RBS bank's board of directors have awarded the bank's CEO Stephen Hester 3.6 million shares for his work over the last year, worth about 963,000 pounds ($1.5 million) based on Thursday's closing share price, although 82 percent of the bank is owned by the British government after recent financial bailouts. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
LONDON (AP) ? Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester will not be accepting a 1 million pound ($1.5 million) bonus that drew criticism from British public and politicians, the bank said Sunday.
Spokesman David Gaffney said Hester would not receive the bonus of 3.6 million shares he was awarded last week by the board of the largely state-owned bank.
The British government spent 45 billion pounds bailing out RBS three years ago. It still owns an 82 percent stake, and politicians had criticized the reward at a time when Britons face painful spending cuts and tax hikes.
The government ? which has insisted it has no control over the bank's bonuses ? welcomed the announcement.
"This is a sensible and welcome decision that enables Stephen Hester to focus on the very important job he has got to do, namely to get back billions of pounds of taxpayers' money that was put into RBS," Treasury chief George Osborne said.
The decision follows Saturday's announcement that RBS chairman Philip Hampton was waiving his own bonus of 1.4 million pounds in shares.
Hester and Hampton were brought in after Fred Goodwin, who led RBS's ill-fated takeover of Dutch bank ABN Amro, stepped down in October 2008 as the government was spending billions to prop up the bank.
The board of directors decided last week to award Hester a bonus of 3.6 million shares ? worth just under 1 million pounds at Friday's closing share price of 27.74 pence. That came on top of his annual salary of 1.2 million pounds.
Prime Minister David Cameron said Saturday that Hester's bonus was "a matter for him," but pointed out it was much less than last year's.
The government claimed it had no control over bonuses awarded by the bank, and said replacing Hester if he resigned would be more costly than paying the reward.
But many politicians were critical. London Mayor Boris Johnson, a Conservative like Cameron, said he found the bonus "absolutely bewildering."
Rachel Reeves, Treasury spokeswoman for the opposition Labour Party, said Sunday the sum was inappropriate "when families are feeling the pinch."
"It's time the government explained why they have allowed these bonuses to go through unchallenged," she said.
Before the bank's announcement, the Labour Party said it would force a vote in the House of Commons next month calling for Hester to be stripped of his bonus.
(Reuters) ? Civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse James on Friday urged Grammy organizers to reinstate 31 ethnic and minority musical categories that have been cut from the music industry's top awards.
In a letter to Recording Academy president Neil Portnow, sent three weeks before the February 12 Grammy Awards show, Jackson said the elimination of awards for Native American and Hawaiian musicians, and cuts in Latin Jazz, R&B and other categories were ill-considered and unfair.
Jackson said some of the categories dropped by the Recording Academy in a major overhaul last year "constitute the very heart of the music that nourishes and inspires minority communities."
Writing on behalf of the Rainbow Push Coalition of U.S. civil rights groups, Jackson called for an urgent meeting with Portnow to try and resolve the conflict that has spurred months of protests and a lawsuit by leading musicians.
Portnow said on Friday he was "receptive to meeting with the Rev. Jackson to explain how our nomination process works and to show the resulting diverse group of nominees it produced" for this year's Grammy Awards.
Paul Simon, Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt and Bobby Sanabria are among dozens of musicians who have protested the decision, announced last April, to slash the number of Grammy categories to 78 from 109 for the 2012 Grammy Awards.
Some categories, such as Hawaiian and Native American albums were dropped completely, while others including Latin music and R&B saw the number of award categories halved.
Portnow said at the time the changes were necessary to maintain "the prestige of the highest and only peer-recognized award in music."
Sanabria and three other Latin Jazz musicians filed a lawsuit in New York in August saying the cuts would harm their careers financially. They have also called for a boycott of the CBS network, which broadcasts the annual Grammy Awards show in Los Angeles.
The 2012 Grammy Awards take place on February12. Rapper Kanye West leads the field of contenders with seven nominations followed by British singer Adele, Bruno Mars and alternative rock band Foo Fighters.
(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
WASHINGTON ? The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says it raised $61.4 million last year, claiming a good showing for a party in the minority.
The committee is the political arm of House Democrats. The fundraising blitz gives it $11.6 million in cash on hand to help Democrats win House seats in November.
The group's GOP counterpart is the National Republican Congressional Committee. It would have to raise about $9.6 million to match that figure. Those fundraising numbers are not yet available.
A full report for the House Democrats' committee will be filed with the Federal Election Commission by Jan. 31.
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Newark Mayor @CoryBooker delivers a heroic, spontaneous case for #MarriageEquality in #NJ. Well done, sir. #LGBT dailykos.com/story/2012/01/?Il y a environ 4 heuresvia Twitter for iPhone from Baltimore, MD??
When a wireless customer wants a "top of the line" phone these days, they have the benefit of a choice; do you want an iPhone or a Samsung's latest Galaxy device, which is currently the Stratosphere?
Both the iPhone 4S and the Samsung Stratosphere have the most up to date hardware and each have their own class of innovative apps and software. The most obvious physical difference is that the Stratosphere has a slide out QWERTY keyboard. In processing power the two phones are matched well, with the Apple's 800MHz dual-core processor running iOS 5.0.1 nearly as fast as the Stratosphere's 1GHz "Hummingbird" processor runs Android.
In the hardware department Apple's primary advantage comes in the form of an 8.0MP rear-facing camera capable of capturing HD video in 1080P and a 0.3MP front-facing camera that is useful when combined with the FaceTime application to enjoy video calling to any FaceTime enabled device over WiFi . Popular applications such as Instagram make full use of the iPhone 4S' superb camera, and at the moment is only available on Apple devices.
The Stratosphere may only have a 5.0MP camera, but in addition to the slide out QWERTY keyboard also features a WVGA Super AMOLED screen that reigns supreme over all smartphone displays currently on the market. The screen is covered by Gorilla Glass, which is highly resistant to scratches and cracking. If you consume more media through your display than you create with your camera, the AMOLED screen is definitely a feature to look into.
On the software side Apple runs the show with its new SIRI voice activated interface, probably the most interesting new smartphone feature of 2011. Users can complete a variety of actions by merely having a normal sounding conversation with their device. A question like "What will the weather be like today?" will get a response like "Cloudy with a high of 63 degrees". SIRI needs Internet access to run, but has the ability to learn from prior exchanges and adapts to the user's voice over time. The Stratosphere has its own unique software in a built-in Kindle E-reader and an HTML browser that does support flash content. It also has the ability to become a media hub or Mobile hotspot , supporting up to 8 devices on a 4G connection.
Both phones offer 8 hours of talk time and approximately 200 hours of standby, and the iPhone weighs in at 14 grams lighter than the Startosphere . The 4S comes in three different sizes, a 16GB, 32GB and 64GB (each increasing substantially in price) while the Samsung comes with 4GB onboard memory and a micro SD slot that is expandable to up to 32GB. The kicker for the Samsung Stratosphere may just be the price; retailing at $409.00, the normal price from Verizon with a 2-year contract is $149.99. There is currently an online discount that drops the price down to $99.99 with a 2-year contract. The 32GB version of the iPhone retails for $749.99 and can be had for $299.99 with a 2-year contract with Verizon .
We're still in the relatively early stages of the 3D printer revolution, and as such, it's hard to say just how these devices will play a role in our daily lives. We've seen some really cool toys like turtleshell racers and Weighted Companion Cubes, but what about some everyday products? This 3D printed record keeps the Portal printer theme going by cutting our old pal Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive" into its grooves. The single was printed over at Shapeways and played on a Fisher-Price record player. Video after jump.
ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2012) ? Scientists working at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have created the shortest, purest X-ray laser pulses ever achieved, fulfilling a 45-year-old prediction and opening the door to a new range of scientific discovery.
The researchers, reporting in Nature, aimed SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at a capsule of neon gas, setting off an avalanche of X-ray emissions to create the world's first "atomic X-ray laser."
"X-rays give us a penetrating view into the world of atoms and molecules," said physicist Nina Rohringer, who led the research. A group leader at the Max Planck Society's Advanced Study Group in Hamburg, Germany, Rohringer collaborated with researchers from SLAC, DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Colorado State University.
"We envision researchers using this new type of laser for all sorts of interesting things, such as teasing out the details of chemical reactions or watching biological molecules at work," she added. "The shorter the pulses, the faster the changes we can capture. And the purer the light, the sharper the details we can see."
The new atomic X-ray laser fulfills a 1967 prediction that X-ray lasers could be made in the same manner as many visible-light lasers -- by inducing electrons to fall from higher to lower energy levels within atoms, releasing a single color of light in the process. But until 2009, when LCLS turned on, no X-ray source was powerful enough to create this type of laser.
To make the atom laser, LCLS's powerful X-ray pulses -- each a billion times brighter than any available before -- knocked electrons out of the inner shells of many of the neon atoms in the capsule. When other electrons fell in to fill the holes, about one in 50 atoms responded by emitting a photon in the X-ray range, which has a very short wavelength. Those X-rays then stimulated neighboring neon atoms to emit more X-rays, creating a domino effect that amplified the laser light 200 million times.
Although LCLS and the neon capsule are both lasers, they create light in different ways and emit light with different attributes. The LCLS passes high-energy electrons through alternating magnetic fields to trigger production of X-rays; its X-ray pulses are brighter and much more powerful. The atomic laser's pulses are only one-eighth as long and their color is much more pure, qualities that will enable it to illuminate and distinguish details of ultrafast reactions that had been impossible to see before.
"This achievement opens the door for a new realm of X-ray capabilities," said John Bozek, LCLS instrument scientist. "Scientists will surely want new facilities to take advantage of this new type of laser."
For example, researchers envision using both LCLS and atomic laser pulses in a synchronized one-two punch: The first laser triggers a change in a sample under study, and the second records with atomic-scale precision any changes that occurred within a few quadrillionths of a second.
In future experiments, Rohringer says she will try to create even shorter-pulsed, higher-energy atomic X-ray lasers using oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur gas.
Additional authors included Richard London, Felicie Albert, James Dunn, Randal Hill and Stefan P. Hau-Riege from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); Duncan Ryan, Michael Purvis and Jorge J. Rocca from Colorado State University; and Christoph Bostedt from SLAC.
The work was supported by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program. Authors Roca, Purvis and Ryan were supported by the DOE Office of Science. LCLS is a national scientific user facility operated by SLAC and supported by DOE's Office of Science.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
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Nina Rohringer, Duncan Ryan, Richard A. London, Michael Purvis, Felicie Albert, James Dunn, John D. Bozek, Christoph Bostedt, Alexander Graf, Randal Hill, Stefan P. Hau-Riege, Jorge J. Rocca. Atomic inner-shell X-ray laser at 1.46 nanometres pumped by an X-ray free-electron laser. Nature, 2012; 481 (7382): 488 DOI: 10.1038/nature10721
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.
Zack Ryder remains hospitalized after being chokeslammed by Kane through the stage on Monday?s Raw SuperShow. According to early reports from medical personnel at a nearby Phoenix trauma center, the former United States Champion reportedly suffered a broken back as a result of the fall. (PHOTOS | WATCH)
The incident occurred during a brutal Falls Count Anywhere Match between the two Superstars. Kane spent much of the match pummeling Ryder at ringside before the action spilled up the ramp, where Kane shockingly launched Long Island Iced-Z through the stage floor with the chokeslam.
Following the vicious maneuver, WWE officials, as well as Eve and John Cena, rushed to the fallen Superstar?s side. Medical personnel assessed Ryder for several minutes before placing him onto a stretcher and transporting him into an ambulance backstage at the U.S. Airways Center.
During the program, Jerry Lawler, working off unconfirmed reports, informed the WWE Universe that Ryder had sustained a broken back. WWE officials have confirmed the chokeslam exacerbated previous injuries Ryder had already sustained as a result of a separate attack by Kane.
It is not yet known how long this injury will keep Ryder out of action. Stay tuned to WWE.com to get the latest updates on this story as it develops.
WASHINGTON ? The nation's five largest mortgage lenders have agreed to overhaul their industry after deceptive foreclosure practices drove homeowners out of their homes, government officials said Monday.
A draft settlement between the banks and U.S. states has been sent to state officials for review.
Those who lost their homes to foreclosure are unlikely to get their homes back or benefit much financially from the settlement, which could be as high as $25 billion. About 750,000 Americans ? about half of the households who might be eligible for assistance under the deal ? will likely receive checks for about $1,800.
But the agreement could reshape long-standing mortgage lending guidelines and make it easier for those at risk of foreclosure to restructure their loans. And roughly 1 million homeowners could see the size of the mortgage reduced.
Five major banks ? Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank and Ally Financial ? and U.S. state attorneys general could adopt the agreement within weeks, according to two officials briefed on the discussions. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the agreement publicly.
It would be the biggest settlement of a single industry since the 1998 multistate tobacco deal.
President Barack Obama is expected to address the housing crisis and unveil new administration proposals during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
The settlement would only apply to privately held mortgages issued between 2008 and 2011, not those held by government-controlled Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Fannie and Freddie own about half of all U.S. mortgages, roughly about 31 million U.S. home loans.
As part of the deal, about 1 million homeowners could also get the principal amount of their mortgages written down by an average of $20,000. One in four homeowners with a mortgage ? or roughly 11 million people ? owe more than their home is worth. These so-called "underwater" borrowers have little chance at refinancing.
Democratic attorneys general are meeting Monday in Chicago to discuss the deal with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan. Republican attorneys general will be briefed about the deals via conference call later in the day.
Critics, including some members of Congress, say they want a thorough investigation of potentially illegal foreclosure practices before a settlement is hammered out.
"Wall Street again is trying to pass the buck. Instead of criminal prosecutions, we're talking about something that's not more than a slap on the wrist," said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who has been critical of the proposed settlement.
Under the deal:
? $17 billion would go toward reducing the principal that struggling homeowners owe on their mortgages.
? $5 billion would be placed in a reserve account for various state and federal programs; a portion of that money would cover the $1,800 checks sent to those homeowners affected by the deceptive practices.
? About $3 billion would to help homeowners refinance at 5.25 percent.
In October 2010, major banks temporarily suspended foreclosures following revelations of widespread deceptive foreclosure practices by banks. Discussions then began over a national settlement.
Some states have disagreed over what terms to offer the banks. In September, California announced it would not agree to a settlement over foreclosure abuses that state and federal officials have been working on for more than a year.
New York, Delaware, Nevada and Massachusetts, which sued five major banks earlier in December over deceptive foreclosure practices, have also argued that banks should not be protected from future civil liability. The deal will not fully release banks from future criminal lawsuits by individual states.
And both sides have also fought over the amounts of money that should be placed in the reserve account for property owners who were improperly foreclosed upon. Many of the larger points of the deal, including a $25 billion cost for the banks, have long been worked out, officials say.
TEHRAN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? Iran accused Europeans on Monday of waging "psychological warfare" after the EU banned imports of Iranian oil, and U.S. President Barack Obama said Washington would impose more sanctions to address the "serious threat presented by Iran's nuclear program."
The Islamic Republic, which denies trying to build a nuclear bomb, scoffed at efforts to choke its oil exports, as Asia lines up to buy what Europe scorns.
Some Iranians also renewed threats to stop Arab oil from leaving the Gulf and warned they might strike U.S. targets worldwide if Washington used force to break any Iranian blockade of a strategically vital shipping route.
Yet in three decades of confrontation between Tehran and the West, bellicose rhetoric and the undependable armory of sanctions have become so familiar that the benchmark Brent crude oil price edged only 0.8 percent higher, and some of that was due to unrelated currency factors.
"If any disruption happens regarding the sale of Iranian oil, the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be closed," Mohammad Kossari, deputy head of parliament's foreign affairs and national security committee, told Fars news agency a day after U.S., French and British warships sailed back into the Gulf.
"If America seeks adventures after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will make the world unsafe for Americans in the shortest possible time," Kossari added, referring to an earlier U.S. pledge to use its fleet to keep the passage open.
In Washington, Obama said in a statement that the EU sanctions underlined the strength of the international community's commitment to "addressing the serious threat presented by Iran's nuclear program."
"The United States will continue to impose new sanctions to increase the pressure on Iran," Obama said.
The United States imposed its own sanctions against Iran's oil trade and central bank on December 31. On Monday it imposed sanctions on the country's third-largest bank, state-owned Bank Tejarat and a Belarus-based affiliate, for allegedly helping Tehran develop its nuclear program.
The EU sanctions were also welcomed by Israel, which has warned it might attack Iran if sanctions do not deflect Tehran from a course that some analysts say could potentially give Iran a nuclear bomb next year.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner: "This new, concerted pressure will sharpen the choice for Iran's leaders and increase their cost of defiance of basic international obligations."
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, reiterated Washington's commitment to freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. "I think that Iran has undoubtedly heard that message and would be well advised to heed it," she said at a meeting of the board of governors of the American Jewish Committee in New York.
CALLS FOR TALKS
Germany, France and Britain used the EU sanctions as a cue for a joint call to Tehran to renew long-suspended negotiations on its nuclear program. Russia, like China a powerful critic of the Western approach, said talks might soon be on the cards.
Iran, however, said new sanctions made that less likely. It is a view shared by some in the West who caution that such tactics risk hardening Iranian support for a nuclear program that also seems to be subject to a covert "war" of sabotage and assassinations widely blamed on Israeli and Western agents.
The European Union embargo will not take full effect until July 1 because the foreign ministers who agreed the anticipated ban on imports of Iranian crude at a meeting in Brussels were anxious not to penalize the ailing economies of Greece, Italy and others to whom Iran is a major oil supplier. The strategy will be reviewed in May to see if it should go ahead.
Curbing Iran's oil exports is a double-edged sword, as Tehran's own response to the embargo clearly showed.
Loss of revenue is painful for a clerical establishment that faces an awkward electoral test at a time of galloping inflation which is hurting ordinary people. But since Iran's Western-allied Arab neighbors are struggling to raise their own output to compensate, the curbs on Tehran's exports have driven up oil prices and raised costs for recession-hit Western industries.
A member of Iran's influential Assembly of Experts, former Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian, said Tehran should respond to the delayed-action EU sanctions by stopping sales to the bloc immediately, denying the Europeans time to arrange alternative supplies and damaging their economies with higher oil prices.
"The best way is to stop exporting oil ourselves before the end of this six months and before the implementation of the plan," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted him as saying.
'PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE'
"European Union sanctions on Iranian oil is psychological warfare," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said. "Imposing economic sanctions is illogical and unfair but will not stop our nation from obtaining its rights."
Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told the official IRNA news agency that the more sanctions were imposed on Tehran "the more obstacles there will be to solve the issue".
Iran's Oil Ministry issued a statement saying the sanctions did not come as a shock. "The oil ministry has from long ago thought about it and has come up with measures to deal with any challenges," it said, according to IRNA.
Mehmanparast said: "The European countries and those who are under American pressure, should think about their own interests. Any country that deprives itself from Iran's energy market, will soon see that it has been replaced by others."
China, Iran's biggest customer, has resisted U.S. pressure to cut back its oil imports, as have other Asian economies to varying degrees. India's oil minister said on Monday sanctions were forcing Iran to sell more cheaply and that India planned to take full advantage of that to buy as much as it could.
The EU measures include an immediate ban on all new contracts to import, purchase or transport Iranian crude and petroleum products. However, EU countries with existing contracts can honor them up to July 1.
EU officials said they also agreed to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank and ban trade in gold and other precious metals with the bank and state bodies.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said: "I want the pressure of these sanctions to result in negotiations."
"I want to see Iran come back to the table and either pick up all the ideas that we left on the table ... last year ... or to come forward with its own ideas."
Iran has said it is willing to hold talks with Western powers, though there have been mixed signals on whether conditions imposed by both sides make new negotiations likely.
IAEA INSPECTORS VISIT
The Islamic Republic says it is enriching uranium only for producing electricity and other civilian uses. The start this month of a potentially bomb-proof - and once secret - enrichment plant has deepened skepticism abroad, however.
The United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed plans for a visit next week by senior inspectors to try to clear up questions raised about the purpose of Iran's nuclear activities. Tehran is banned by international treaty from developing nuclear weaponry.
"The Agency team is going to Iran in a constructive spirit, and we trust that Iran will work with us in that same spirit," IAEA chief Yukiya Amano said in a statement announcing the January 29-31 visit.
Iran, whose regional policies face a setback from the difficulties of its Arab ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has powerful defenders in the form of Russia, which has built Iran a reactor, and China. Both permanent U.N. Security Council members argue that Western sanctions are counter-productive.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, classifying the EU embargo among "aggravating factors", said Moscow believed there was a good chance that talks between six global powers and Iran could resume soon and that Russia would try to steer both Iran and the West away from further confrontation.
His ministry issued an official statement expressing "regret and alarm": "What is happening here is open pressure and diktat, an attempt to 'punish' Iran for its intractable behavior.
"This is a deeply mistaken approach, as we have told our European partners more than once. Under such pressure Iran will not agree to any concessions or any changes in its policy."
But that argument cuts no ice with the U.S. administration, for which Iran - and Israel's stated willingness to consider unilateral military action against it - is a major challenge as Obama campaigns for re-election against Republican opponents who say he has been too soft on Tehran.
(Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy and Mitra Amiri in Tehran, David Brunnstrom in Brussels, Adrian Croft in London, John Irish in Paris, Alexei Anishchuk in Sochi, Ari Rabinovitch and Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Rachelle Younglai and Andrew Quinn in Washington, Fredrik Dahl in Vienna and Patrick Worsnip at the United Nations; writing by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Robert Woodward and Mohammad Zargham)
LOS ANGELES ? Kate Beckinsale is back with a vengeance, with her latest "Underworld" movie opening at No. 1 this weekend.
"Underworld Awakening" made an estimated $25.4, distributor Sony Screen Gems reported Sunday.
This is the fourth film in the vampire action saga. Beckinsale starred in the first two movies as the warrior Selene, then bowed out of part three but returned for this latest installment. "Underworld Awakening" was shown for the first time in 3-D as well as on IMAX screens, where it made $3.8 million. That's 15 percent of the film's weekend gross, which is a record for an IMAX digital-only run.
Sony had hoped the film would end up in the low-$20 million range. But Rory Bruer, the studio's president of worldwide distribution, says the fact that it did even better ? despite a snow storm that hit much of the Midwest and East Coast ? primarily has to do with Beckinsale's return.
"She is such a force. Her character ? you just can't take your eyes off of her. I know the character is very dear to her, as well, and she just kills it," Bruer said. "The 3-D aspect of the film also brings something, makes it a fun, visceral ride."
Opening in second place was "Red Tails" from executive producer George Lucas, about the Tuskegee Airmen who were the first black fighter pilots to serve in World War II. It made an estimated $19.1 million, according to 20th Century Fox, which was well above expectations; the studio had hoped to reach double digits, said Chris Aronson, executive vice president of domestic distribution.
"I believe what George Lucas has stated all along: This is an important story and a story that must be told. It is a true story of American heroism and valor and audiences have really responded to this message," Aronson said. "People want to feel good about themselves, they want to be uplifted. We have enough hard crud going on in this country right now. Times are tough, and if we look back and are told a story of some really fantastic deeds, that's really compelling moviegoing."
Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian said a grass-roots effort to get groups of people into the theaters to see "Red Tails," along with positive word-of-mouth, helped its strong showing. The film saw an uptick from about $6 million on Friday to $8.65 on Saturday.
Overall box office is up 31 percent from the same weekend a year ago, Dergarabedian said, thanks to new releases as well as movies like "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," which had limited runs for awards consideration at the end of 2011 and are now expanding nationwide. The 9/11 drama from Warner Bros., starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, came in fourth place with $10.5 million.
Last week's No. 1 film, the Universal smuggling thriller "Contraband" starring Mark Wahlberg, dropped to the No. 3 spot with $12.2 million. It's now made $46.1 million in two weeks. Meanwhile, Steven Soderbergh's international action picture "Haywire" from Relativity Media, starring mixed martial arts superstar Gina Carano in her first film role, opened in fifth place with $9 million, which was above expectations.
"This is a great, perfect January weekend. You've got these holdover films and newcomers creating an overall marketplace that people are really responding to," Dergarabedian said. "It sounds clich? but this marketplace really has something for everyone."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) ? The head of Libya's transitional government on Sunday suspended delegates from Benghazi, the city that kicked off the movement that toppled ruler Moammar Gadhafi last year.
The suspension the latest sign of discord within the body that led the anti-Gadhafi uprising but has struggled to establish an effective government to replace his regime.
The move follows protests in Benghazi accusing the body of corruption and not moving fast enough on reform. It was prompted by street protests and rejected by the delegates.
The announcement came the day after protesters stormed the National Transitional Council offices in Benghazi and carted off computers, chairs and desks while Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, head of the NTC, was holed up inside.
Abdul-Jalil told The Associated Press he suspended the six representatives from Benghazi, the main city in eastern Libya. They can continue to serve only if approved by the local city council.
Abdul-Jalil said he appointed a council of religious leaders to investigate corruption charges and identify people with links to the Gadhafi regime.
The body's deputy head, Abdel-Hafiz Ghoga, resigned in protest over the suspensions. Ghoga, known for his polished language and expensive suits, was a prominent spokesman during the eight-month civil war that ended with Gadhafi's capture and killing in October.
Another delegate, Fathi Baja, called the move "illegitimate" and said he would stand down only if the people of Benghazi asked him to. Baja, a well known critic of Gadhafi even before the uprising, also criticized the appointment of religious leaders, saying that when he was criticizing Gadhafi, "they were calling on people to obey the leader."
Also Sunday, the head of the committee tasked with preparing the country's election law said its release would be delayed for one week. The final law, which was set to be announced Sunday, will be made public on Jan. 28, said Othman al-Mugherhi.
The committee published a draft law earlier this month and said it would solicit comments from Libyans. Al-Mugherhi said the delay will allow the committee to consider these comments while drafting the final law.
The law will spell out how Libyans will elect the 200-members national congress, which will oversee the drafting of a constitution. The body is supposed to be elected before June 23.
Al-Mugherhi also announced the formation of a 17-member electoral commission to oversee the vote. The body contains professors, judges, lawyers and men and women representing non-governmental organizations, he said.
Under Gadhafi's rule, Libya had no working parliament for four decades.
Recent experiments conducted at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) produced striking results, showing for the first time that corals hosting a single type of "zooxanthellae" can have different levels of thermal tolerance ? a feature that was only known previously for corals with a mix of zooxanthellae.
Zooxanthellae are algal cells that live within the tissue of living coral and provide the coral host with energy; the relationship is crucial for the coral's survival. Rising ocean temperatures can lead to the loss of zooxanthellae from the coral host, as a consequence the coral loses its tissue colour and its primary source of energy, a process known as 'coral bleaching'. Globally, coral bleaching has led to significant loss of coral, and with rising ocean temperatures, poses a major threat to coral reefs.
It was previously known that corals hosting more than one type of zooxanthellae could better cope with temperature changes by favouring types of zooxanthellae that have greater thermal tolerance. However, until now it was not known if corals hosting a single type of zooxanthellae could have different levels of thermal tolerance.
Results recently published in the prestigious scientific journal, Nature Climate Change, showed corals that only host a single type of zooxanthellae may in fact differ in their thermal tolerance. This finding is important because many species of coral are dominated by a single type of zooxanthellae.
PhD student, Ms Emily Howells from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS) at James Cook University, Townsville, together with scientists from AIMS and CoECRS, collected two populations of a single type of zooxanthellae (known as C1) from two locations on the Great Barrier Reef. The population collected from Magnetic Island near Townsville experiences average ocean temperatures 2?C higher than the population collected from the Whitsunday Islands. In experiments at AIMS, young corals were treated with one or other of the two different populations of zooxanthellae, and exposed to elevated water temperatures, as might occur during bleaching events.
The results were striking. Corals with zooxanthellae from the warmer region coped well with higher temperatures, staying healthy and growing rapidly, whilst corals with zooxanthellae from the cooler region suffered severe bleaching (loss of the zooxanthellae) and actually reduced in size as they partly died off.
Madeleine van Oppen, ARC Future Fellow at AIMS, says the research results will likely have a major impact on the field, as until now corals associating with the same type of zooxanthellae have been viewed as physiologically similar, irrespective of their geographical location.
"Our research suggests that populations of a single type of zooxanthellae have adapted to local conditions as can be seen from the remarkably different results of the two populations used in this study. If zooxanthellae populations are able to further adapt to increases in temperature at the pace at which oceans warm, they may assist corals to increase their thermal tolerance and survive into the future." says Emily Howells.
"However, we do not yet know how fast zooxanthellae can adapt, highlighting an important area of future research", says Bette Willis, Professor from the CoECRS at James Cook University.
Research at AIMS is therefore currently assessing whether zooxanthellae can continue to adapt to increasing temperatures and at what rate. This work in progress will provide insights into the capacity of zooxanthellae to adapt to future climate change.
###
ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies: http://www.coralcoe.org.au/
Thanks to ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies for this article.
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NEW YORK (AP) ? Ryan Braun's appeal of his positive drug test began Thursday before baseball arbitrator Shyam Das.
The start of the National League MVP's appeal, first reported by the New York Daily News, was confirmed by a person familiar with the session who spoke on condition of anonymity because the proceeding was not to be made public.
Calls to Braun's agent, Nez Balelo, and Major League Baseball spokesman Pat Courtney were not returned.
When the positive drug test was first reported by ESPN.com last month, Braun had a spokesman issue a statement saying there were circumstances supporting "Ryan's complete innocence."
Under the joint drug agreement between baseball teams and the players' association, Braun will have to prove "the presence of a prohibited substance in his urine was not due to his fault or negligence."
As Braun tries to avoid a 50-game suspension, the burden is a heavy one to overcome. A baseball arbitrator has never ordered a suspension overturned following a grievance hearing.
The person did not know whether the hearing had concluded or whether it would extend into at least one more session. Typically in grievances, after the hearing the sides may submit written final arguments before the arbitrator rules.
MLB has not confirmed the positive test. Baseball's drug agreement says first positive tests are not made public until after the appeals process has been completed.
Technically, the arbitration is before a three-person panel that also includes a representative of management and the union. The independent member, Das, is the decisive vote in nearly all cases.
Braun is to receive his MVP Award on Saturday at the annual dinner of the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. While he is expected to speak to the crowd from the dais in a hotel ballroom, he is not expected to take questions from reporters.
Braun has known about since the positive test since late October, people familiar with the appeals process said last month. If suspended, Braun wouldn't be eligible to play for the NL Central champions until May 31 at Dodger Stadium, barring any postponements. He would miss the first 57 days of the major league season, losing about $1.87 million of his $6 million salary.
The 28-year-old the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year, hit .312 with 33 homers and 111 RBIs last season and led Milwaukee to the NL championship series, where the Brewers lost to the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.
Speaker Boehner accuses Obama of 'selling out American jobs for politics,' but Keystone pipeline operator TransCanada says it will submit plans for a rerouted project later this year.
President Obama announced Wednesday he is putting the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline expansion project on hold, saying a decision can?t be made by the February deadline imposed by Congress. While environmental groups cheered the news, the setback is temporary and the pipeline operator says it will resubmit plans to have the pipeline running in 2014.
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The decision to deny the company its permit, issued through the US State Department, is considered a political risk by the president with Republican leaders saying that preventing the pipeline ? proposed to be the largest of its kind in North American ? is harmful to the national interest by limiting energy security and preventing job creation.
The Obama administration was first expected to rule on the permit, sought by operator TransCanada of Alberta, Canada, by late December. However, the administration sought a one-year extension, saying a more thorough environmental assessment was needed, including further exploration of alternate routes.
Republicans in Congress, in return for their support for an extension of the payroll tax holiday, forced the new Feb. 21 deadline, a date that Mr. Obama on Wednesday called ?rushed and arbitrary.?
His statement stressed the decision was not a ruling on the merits of the pipeline, but on the action of Congress, which he said, ?prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people.?
?I?m disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my administration?s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil,? he said.
House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio reacted quickly to news of Obama's decision, characterizing it as ?selling out American jobs for politics? and saying TransCanada would be forced to rely further on China as a consumer of its exported oil.
?The president was given the authority to block this project only ? and only ? if he believes it?s not in the national interest of the United States. Is it not in the national interest to create tens of thousands of jobs here in America with private investment?? Speaker Boehner said. ?The president has said he?ll do anything that he can to create jobs. Today that promise was broken.?
The Keystone XL project is far from resolved, as TransCanada is allowed to resubmit its permitting application, which the company says it will have ready by September or October.
Following Obama?s decision, the company announced it will work with the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality to determine a possible new route to avoid running the pipeline over portions of the Ogallala Aquifer, a major source of fresh water for drinking and agriculture that runs under several states in the US heartland.
Last year, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, a Republican, asked Obama to block the pipeline as outlined in its current proposal, but said he would support the project if a new route were developed to avoid such sensitive agricultural terrain.
Russ Girling, president and chief executive officer of TransCanada, said in a statement that while he disappointed with the decision, he expects the pipeline to start operations in 2014.
VCs poured significantly more money into deals in 2011, according to a recently released MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data from Thomson Reuters. Venture capitalists invested $28.4 billion in 3,673 deals in 2011, an increase of 22 percent in dollars and a 4 percent rise in deals over the prior year. The amount of venture dollars invested in 2011 represents the third highest annual investment total in the past ten years. In terms of the fourth quarter, investments in the quarter totaled $6.6 billion in 844 deals, which is actually a 10 percent decrease in terms of dollar amount and an 11 percent decrease in deals from the third quarter of 2011 when $7.3 billion went into 953 deals.
New report reviews US nitrogen pollution impacts and solutionsPublic release date: 17-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Ian Vorster ivorster@whrc.org 508-444-1509 Woods Hole Research Center
Highlights new research, and offers solutions for a nitrogen-soaked world
The nitrogen cycle has been profoundly altered by human activities, and that in turn is affecting human health, air and water quality, and biodiversity in the U.S., according to a multi-disciplinary team of scientists writing in the 15th publication of the Ecological Society of America's Issues in Ecology. In "Excess Nitrogen in the U.S Environment: Trends, Risks, and Solutions," lead author Eric Davidson (Woods Hole Research Center) and 15 colleagues from universities, government, and the private sector review the major sources of reactive nitrogen in the U.S., resulting effects on health and the environment, and potential solutions.
Nitrogen is both an essential nutrient and a pollutant, a byproduct of fossil fuel combustion and a fertilizer that feeds billions, a benefit and a hazard, depending on form, location, and quantity. "Nitrogen pollution touches everyone's lives," said Davidson, a soil ecologist and executive director of the Woods Hole Research Center. "This report highlights the latest understanding of how it's harming human health, choking estuaries with algal growth, and threatening biodiversity, such as by changing how trees grow in our forests." Its authors, a diverse mix of agronomists, ecologists, groundwater geochemists, air quality specialists, and epidemiologists connect the dots between all of the ways that excess nitrogen in the environment affects people, economics, and ecology. They argue for a systematic, rather than piecemeal, approach to managing the resource and its consequences. "We're really trying to identify solutions," emphasizes Davidson.
There is good news: effective air quality regulation has reduced nitrogen pollution from U.S. energy and transportation sectors. On the other hand, agricultural emissions are increasing. Ammonia, a byproduct of livestock waste, remains mostly unregulated and is expected to increase unless better controls on ammonia emissions from livestock operations are implemented. Additionally, crop production agriculture is heavily dependent on synthetic nitrogen fertilizer to increase crop yields, but approximately half of all nitrogen fertilizer applied is not taken up by crops and is lost to the environment.
"Nitrogen is readily mobile, and very efficiently distributed through wind and water," said author James Galloway, a biogeochemist at the University of Virginia. Airborne nitrogen from agricultural fields, manure piles, automobile tailpipes, and smokestacks travels with the wind to settle over distant forests and coastal areas.
The report reviews agricultural solutions, and notes that applying current practices and technologies can reduce nitrogen pollution from farm and livestock operations by 30 to 50 percent. It tabulates strategies to help farmers optimize efficient use of fertilizer, rather than just maximize crop yield, including buffer strips and wetlands, manure management, and ideal patterns of fertilizer application. It also considers the cost of implementing them, and programs for buffering farmers against losses in bad years.
"There are a variety of impacts due to the human use of nitrogen," said Galloway. "The biggest is a positive one, in that it allows us to grow food for Americans and people in other countries, and we don't want to lose sight of that." Balancing inexpensive abundant food against the damage done by nitrogen escaping into the environment is a conversation the authors would like to hear more prominently in policy arenas. "Yes, we have to feed people, but we also need clean drinking water, clean air, and fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico," emphasizes Davidson. "The science helps to show those tradeoffs, and where we most stand to gain from improved nutrient management in agriculture."
The following impacts from nitrogen pollution are cited:
More than 1.5 million Americans drink well water contaminated with nitrate, a regulated drinking water pollutant, either above or near EPA standards, potentially placing them at increased risk of birth defects and cancer, which are noted in the report.
Agricultural and sewage system nutrient releases are likely linked to coral diseases, bird die-offs, fish diseases, and human diarrheal diseases and vector-borne infections transmitted by insects such as mosquitoes and ticks.
Two-thirds of U.S. coastal systems are moderately to severely impaired due to nutrient loading. There are now nearly 300 hypoxic (low oxygen) zones along the U.S. coastline.
Air pollution continues to reduce biodiversity, with exotic, invasive species dominating native species that are sensitive to excess reactive nitrogen. For example, in California, airborne nitrogen is impacting one third of the state's natural land areas, and the expansion of N-loving, non-native, highly flammable grasses in the western U.S. has increased fire risk.
###
The report is published by Ecological Society of America's Issues in Ecology, and can be viewed in Issue 15 at http://www.esa.org/science_resources/issues_ecology.php
The Woods Hole Research Center addresses the great issues for a healthy planet through science, education, and policy. We combine satellite remote sensing with field research to study, model, map, and monitor Earth's chemistry and ecology, and we use this knowledge to address the planet's great issues. We work around the Earth, from local to global scales, including the Amazon and Cerrado of South America, the Congo Basin and East Africa, the high latitudes of North American and northen Eurasia, and across the United States. We are unique in the depth of our science capability in combination with our commitment to the environment.
[ | 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.
New report reviews US nitrogen pollution impacts and solutionsPublic release date: 17-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Ian Vorster ivorster@whrc.org 508-444-1509 Woods Hole Research Center
Highlights new research, and offers solutions for a nitrogen-soaked world
The nitrogen cycle has been profoundly altered by human activities, and that in turn is affecting human health, air and water quality, and biodiversity in the U.S., according to a multi-disciplinary team of scientists writing in the 15th publication of the Ecological Society of America's Issues in Ecology. In "Excess Nitrogen in the U.S Environment: Trends, Risks, and Solutions," lead author Eric Davidson (Woods Hole Research Center) and 15 colleagues from universities, government, and the private sector review the major sources of reactive nitrogen in the U.S., resulting effects on health and the environment, and potential solutions.
Nitrogen is both an essential nutrient and a pollutant, a byproduct of fossil fuel combustion and a fertilizer that feeds billions, a benefit and a hazard, depending on form, location, and quantity. "Nitrogen pollution touches everyone's lives," said Davidson, a soil ecologist and executive director of the Woods Hole Research Center. "This report highlights the latest understanding of how it's harming human health, choking estuaries with algal growth, and threatening biodiversity, such as by changing how trees grow in our forests." Its authors, a diverse mix of agronomists, ecologists, groundwater geochemists, air quality specialists, and epidemiologists connect the dots between all of the ways that excess nitrogen in the environment affects people, economics, and ecology. They argue for a systematic, rather than piecemeal, approach to managing the resource and its consequences. "We're really trying to identify solutions," emphasizes Davidson.
There is good news: effective air quality regulation has reduced nitrogen pollution from U.S. energy and transportation sectors. On the other hand, agricultural emissions are increasing. Ammonia, a byproduct of livestock waste, remains mostly unregulated and is expected to increase unless better controls on ammonia emissions from livestock operations are implemented. Additionally, crop production agriculture is heavily dependent on synthetic nitrogen fertilizer to increase crop yields, but approximately half of all nitrogen fertilizer applied is not taken up by crops and is lost to the environment.
"Nitrogen is readily mobile, and very efficiently distributed through wind and water," said author James Galloway, a biogeochemist at the University of Virginia. Airborne nitrogen from agricultural fields, manure piles, automobile tailpipes, and smokestacks travels with the wind to settle over distant forests and coastal areas.
The report reviews agricultural solutions, and notes that applying current practices and technologies can reduce nitrogen pollution from farm and livestock operations by 30 to 50 percent. It tabulates strategies to help farmers optimize efficient use of fertilizer, rather than just maximize crop yield, including buffer strips and wetlands, manure management, and ideal patterns of fertilizer application. It also considers the cost of implementing them, and programs for buffering farmers against losses in bad years.
"There are a variety of impacts due to the human use of nitrogen," said Galloway. "The biggest is a positive one, in that it allows us to grow food for Americans and people in other countries, and we don't want to lose sight of that." Balancing inexpensive abundant food against the damage done by nitrogen escaping into the environment is a conversation the authors would like to hear more prominently in policy arenas. "Yes, we have to feed people, but we also need clean drinking water, clean air, and fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico," emphasizes Davidson. "The science helps to show those tradeoffs, and where we most stand to gain from improved nutrient management in agriculture."
The following impacts from nitrogen pollution are cited:
More than 1.5 million Americans drink well water contaminated with nitrate, a regulated drinking water pollutant, either above or near EPA standards, potentially placing them at increased risk of birth defects and cancer, which are noted in the report.
Agricultural and sewage system nutrient releases are likely linked to coral diseases, bird die-offs, fish diseases, and human diarrheal diseases and vector-borne infections transmitted by insects such as mosquitoes and ticks.
Two-thirds of U.S. coastal systems are moderately to severely impaired due to nutrient loading. There are now nearly 300 hypoxic (low oxygen) zones along the U.S. coastline.
Air pollution continues to reduce biodiversity, with exotic, invasive species dominating native species that are sensitive to excess reactive nitrogen. For example, in California, airborne nitrogen is impacting one third of the state's natural land areas, and the expansion of N-loving, non-native, highly flammable grasses in the western U.S. has increased fire risk.
###
The report is published by Ecological Society of America's Issues in Ecology, and can be viewed in Issue 15 at http://www.esa.org/science_resources/issues_ecology.php
The Woods Hole Research Center addresses the great issues for a healthy planet through science, education, and policy. We combine satellite remote sensing with field research to study, model, map, and monitor Earth's chemistry and ecology, and we use this knowledge to address the planet's great issues. We work around the Earth, from local to global scales, including the Amazon and Cerrado of South America, the Congo Basin and East Africa, the high latitudes of North American and northen Eurasia, and across the United States. We are unique in the depth of our science capability in combination with our commitment to the environment.
[ | 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.
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VCs poured significantly more money into deals in 2011, according to a recently released MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data from Thomson Reuters. Venture capitalists invested $28.4 billion in 3,673 deals in 2011, an increase of 22 percent in dollars and a 4 percent rise in deals over the prior year. The amount of venture dollars invested in 2011 represents the third highest annual investment total in the past ten years. In terms of the fourth quarter, investments in the quarter totaled $6.6 billion in 844 deals, which is actually a 10 percent decrease in terms of dollar amount and an 11 percent decrease in deals from the third quarter of 2011 when $7.3 billion went into 953 deals.![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 17-Jan-2012
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