Saturday, June 29, 2013
Sports News Headlines - Yahoo! News
Scientists discover thriving colonies of microbes in ocean 'plastisphere'
June 27, 2013 ? Scientists have discovered a diverse multitude of microbes colonizing and thriving on flecks of plastic that have polluted the oceans -- a vast new human-made flotilla of microbial communities that they have dubbed the "plastisphere."
In a study recently published online in Environmental Science & Technology, the scientists say the plastisphere represents a novel ecological habitat in the ocean and raises a host of questions: How will it change environmental conditions for marine microbes, favoring some that compete with others? How will it change the overall ocean ecosystem and affect larger organisms? How will it change where microbes, including pathogens, will be transported in the ocean?
The collaborative team of scientists -- Erik Zettler from Sea Education Association (SEA), Tracy Mincer from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and Linda Amaral-Zettler from the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), all in Woods Hole, Mass. -- analyzed marine plastic debris that was skimmed with fine-scale nets from the sea surface at several locations in the North Atlantic Ocean during SEA research cruises. Most were millimeter-sized fragments.
"We're not just interested in who's there. We're interested in their function, how they're functioning in this ecosystem, how they're altering this ecosystem, and what's the ultimate fate of these particles in the ocean," says Amaral-Zettler. "Are they sinking to the bottom of the ocean? Are they being ingested? If they're being ingested, what impact does that have?"
Using scanning electron microscopy and gene sequencing techniques, they found at least 1000 different types of bacterial cells on the plastic samples, including many individual species yet to be identified. They included plants, algae, and bacteria that manufacture their own food (autotrophs), animals and bacteria that feed on them (heterotrophs), predators that feed on these, and other organisms that establish synergistic relationships (symbionts). These complex communities exist on plastic bits hardly bigger than the head of a pin, and they have arisen with the explosion of plastics in the oceans in the last 60 years.
"The organisms inhabiting the plastisphere were different from those in surrounding seawater, indicating that plastic debris acts as artificial 'microbial reefs," says Mincer. "They supply a place that selects for and supports distinct microbes to settle and succeed."
These communities are likely different from those that settle on naturally occurring floating material such as feathers, wood, and microalgae, because plastics offer different conditions, including the capacity to last much longer without degrading.
On the other hand, the scientists also found evidence that microbes may play a role in degrading plastics. They saw microscopic cracks and pits in the plastic surfaces that they suspect were made by microbes embedded in them, as well as microbes possibly capable of degrading hydrocarbons.
"When we first saw the 'pit formers' we were very excited, especially when they showed up on multiple pieces of plastic of different types of resins," said Zettler, who added that undergraduate students participating in SEA Semester cruises collected and processed the samples. "Now we have to figure out what they are by [genetically] sequencing them and hopefully getting them into culture so we can do experiments."
The plastic debris also represents a new mode of transportation, acting as rafts that can convey harmful microbes, including disease-causing pathogens and harmful algal species. One plastic sampled they analyzed was dominated by members of the genus Vibrio, which includes bacteria that cause cholera and gastrointestinal maladies.
The project was funded by a National Science Foundation Collaborative grant, a NSF TUES grant, and a Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health Pilot award.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/EvM7_1uPFzw/130627142549.htm
30 rock live nfl draft picks 2012 space shuttle enterprise ryan leaf ryan leaf luke kuechly brad miller
Monday, June 24, 2013
Journalist, editor, publisher John Dotson dies
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) ? John L. Dotson Jr., a longtime journalist, editor and newspaper publisher who championed diversity in the newsroom, has died at age 76.
Dotson's family confirmed in an email to The Associated Press that he died Friday in Boulder, Colo., of mantle cell lymphoma. During his long career, Dotson served as an editor at Newsweek and the publisher of two newspapers, including The Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal when it won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994.
Dotson was an early advocate for minorities and women journalists, joining others in establishing the Institute for Journalism Education in 1977, now the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. The organization pushed for diversity in newsrooms throughout the country.
Born in Paterson, N.J., Dotson graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia. He worked as a reporter for the Evening News in Newark, N.J., and the Detroit Free Press, then joined Newsweek in Detroit in 1965. He moved to Los Angeles three years later to become the magazine's deputy bureau chief, and advanced to the position of bureau chief before moving to the magazine's New York headquarters to be a senior editor.
Dotson joined Knight-Ridder newspapers in 1983 and served as publisher and president of The Daily Camera in Boulder starting in 1987 and then The Beacon Journal from 1992 until his retirement in 2001. The Beacon Journal won the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service for its yearlong examination of race relations in the city.
Besides Boulder, Dotson had a home in Marco Island, Fla.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/journalist-editor-publisher-john-dotson-dies-054716399.html
Happy new year fiscal cliff Pitbull Hannah Storm jenny mccarthy fergie new years
UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz not so sure that Stephan Bonnar should be a fellow Hall of Famer
When Forrest Griffin retired just months after Stephan Bonnar, the UFC said the two fighters would enter the UFC Hall of Fame together. Bonnar's banned substance violation and lackluster career mattered less than his part in the groundbreaking bout on the first "The Ultimate Fighter" finale.
Tito Ortiz, a current member of the UFC Hall of Fame, isn't so sure that Bonnar deserves to have the same honor as him.
"As far as Stephan, I have nothing against the guy, but you've got to be a world champion, I think, to be in the Hall of Fame ... That's a big honor to be in the Hall of Fame," Ortiz said to MMA Junkie. "It means you had a significance in the sport at one time or another. You look at that, and the Forrest and Stephan fight was a big step for the UFC, so do they deserve it? Possibly. But can one fight get you in the Hall of Fame? I don't know. I guess that's Dana's decision."
Griffin won the UFC light heavyweight championship with a win over Quinton Jackson in 2008, but then lost it to Rashad Evans. He finished with a record of 19-7. Bonnar announced his retirement after losing a non-title bout to Anderson Silva at UFC 153. He tested positive for a banned substance for the fight. His final record was 15-8, and he never fought for a UFC title.
Ortiz's comments bring to the forefront to the problems with the UFC Hall of Fame. The UFC's Hall of Fame has no open criteria or voting process, and is limited to just UFC fighters. As Ortiz notes, the decision appears to rest in the hands of UFC president Dana White.
It's totally within the UFC's rights to run their Hall of Fame as they see it, but it shouldn't be compared to say, the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Football's Hall of Fame in Canton has a clear criteria and voting process, and isn't limited to just NFL members.
Anne Smedinghoff jana kramer carrie underwood garth brooks george strait Trey Burke Peyton Siva
Counting underway in Albania election
TIRANA, Albania (AP) ? Vote counting has begun a day after Albania's general election, which was marred by gunfire at a polling station which left one man dead and two others wounded.
Initial returns indicated a narrow lead for the opposition Socialist Party-led coalition of Edi Rama, who is running against Prime Minister Sali Berisha of the Democratic party.
Both men claimed victory after polls closed Sunday evening.
Turnout was 53 percent of some 3.3 million registered voters, according to preliminary estimates by the country's Central Election Commission, in the eighth national polls since the fall of communism in 1990.
Official results were not expected to be announced earlier than Tuesday.
A police spokesman said Gjon Gjoni, 49, died after being shot in an exchange of fire that also wounded Mhill Fufi, 49, a candidate for Berisha's governing Democratic Party, and a relative of Fufi.
The violence drew condemnation from an EU official.
"Violence is simply not acceptable and cannot be tolerated," Ettore Sequi, the EU ambassador to Tirana, told Associated Press television.
Berisha and Rama have both expressed the hope that Albania can gain entry to the EU, and Sunday's election was seen as a test of whether the country can run a fair and safe election.
"These elections are a crucial test for the democratic maturity of the country a test for the smooth functioning of the Albanian institutions," Sequi said.
Preliminary findings of some 400 international observers were expected later Monday.
Although the election campaign was highly acrimonious, it was generally considered peaceful.
In 2009, three people were killed in politically motivated attacks during the campaign. They Socialists boycotted the parliament for a long time in protest to what it called manipulation from the governing Democrats.
Albania, now a NATO member despite a rocky road to democracy, has been denied EU candidate status twice since 2009 because of criticism that it has not done enough to fight corruption and proceed with democratic reforms that include its ability to hold elections that comply with international and European standards.
Last month, parliament held an extraordinary session to pass the last three laws in a series of 12 key recommendations required by the EU as part of the country's quest for eventual membership.
___
Associated Press writer Nebi Qena in Tirana contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/counting-underway-albania-election-100534768.html
i robot the big c the visitor king of kings ostara masters 2012 andy kaufman
White House: "We expect" Hong Kong to comply with Snowden extradition (cbsnews)
NBC's Gregory: Why shouldn't Greenwald be charged? (The Arizona Republic)
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Turkish police break up protest, PM lambasts opponents
By Daren Butler and Nick Tattersall
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish riot police fired water cannon to disperse thousands of anti-government demonstrators in central Istanbul on Saturday, as Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan castigated those behind protests he said had played into the hands of Turkey's enemies.
The latest unrest in Taksim Square punctured six days of relative calm in Turkey's biggest city, although it was a long way from matching the ferocity of previous clashes there and in other cities that began more than three weeks ago.
Demonstrators threw carnations at a phalanx of officers carrying shields who slowly advanced towards them, flanked by water cannon, to clear the square.
"Police, don't betray your people!" activists shouted after they had been scattered into streets leading to Taksim. Witnesses said police later used teargas to disperse pockets of protesters on a main shopping street nearby.
Hours earlier, Erdogan had told thousands of supporters in the Black Sea city of Samsun that the unrest had played into the hands of Turkey's enemies.
A crowd of some 15,000 of his AK Party faithful cheered and waved Turkish flags as he called on the public to give their answer to demonstrations at the ballot box when Turkey holds municipal elections next March.
The rally in the party stronghold was the fourth in a series of mass meetings which Erdogan has called since protests began in Istanbul at the start of June in an unprecedented challenge on the streets to his 10-year rule.
The unrest was triggered when police used force against campaigners opposed to plans to develop Gezi Park which adjoins Taksim Square, but they quickly turned into a broader show of anger at what critics call Erdogan's growing authoritarianism.
The blunt-talking 59-year-old, who has led Turkey through an economic boom and still enjoys broad popular support, went on the offensive again, saying an "interest rate lobby" of speculators in financial markets had benefited from the unrest.
"Who won from these three weeks of protests? The interest rate lobby, Turkey's enemies," Erdogan said from a stage emblazoned with his portrait and a slogan calling for his supporters to "thwart the big game" played out against Turkey.
"Who lost from these protests? Turkey's economy, even if to a small extent, tourism lost. They overshadowed and stained Turkey's image and international power," he said.
SOCIAL DIVISIONS
In a speech appealing to conservative grassroots support, Erdogan accused those involved in the protests in Turkey's main western cities of being disrespectful towards Islam, the religion of the vast majority of the population of 76 million.
"Let them go into mosques in their shoes, let them drink alcohol in our mosques, let them raise their hand to our headscarved girls. One prayer from our people is enough to frustrate their plans," Erdogan said, before tossing red carnations to the crowd after his speech.
The protests have underlined divisions in Turkish society between religious conservatives who form the bedrock of Erdogan's support and more liberal Turks who have swelled the ranks of peaceful demonstrators.
Erdogan, who won a third consecutive election in 2011 with 50 percent support, sees himself as a champion of democratic reform, and has been riled by the protests and by international condemnation coming mainly from key trade partner Germany.
During his decade in power, which has seen him unchallenged on the political stage, Erdogan has curbed the powers of an army that toppled four governments in four decades and pursued an end to 30 years of Kurdish rebellion.
But he brooks little dissent. Hundreds of military officers have been jailed on charges of plotting a coup against him.
A court near Istanbul said on Friday it will announce on August 5 its verdict on nearly 300 defendants, including academics, journalists and politicians, accused of separate plots to overthrow the government.
On Sunday, Erdogan will address a rally in the eastern city of Erzurum, also an AK Party stronghold.
(Writing by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pm-says-protests-serve-turkeys-enemies-crowd-gathers-171225290.html
pecan pie recipe Hector Camacho Jill Kelly McKayla Maroney gronkowski jeremy renner best buy black friday deals
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Jon Jones set for UFC 165 bout with Alexander Gustafsson
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has a date and an opponent for his next title fight. He's facing Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 on Sept. 21, in Toronto.
So I'm sure you all heard the news. September 21, 2013 I will make history in Toronto Canada.. This is the most important fight of my career
? Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) June 13, 2013
Because this lion's young and hungry I'm sure ?@JoMMA83: @JonnyBones why most important??
? Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) June 13, 2013
Gustafsson confirmed he is indeed, young and hungry.
One in a life time opportunity I'm soooo Ready cant wait for this one!!!!!! #letsdothis!!!!!!!!
? Alexander Gustafsson (@AlexTheMauler) June 14, 2013
The best part of this fight is that Jones is finally facing a challenger who earned this chance with his skill, not his ability to talk or be in the right place at the right time. His last two fights were over middleweights Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen. While he won both times, Jones is too talented of a fighter to not be tested by fighters who are at the very least in his own weight class. Gustafsson is on a six-fight win streak, and has the height and length that could make this match-up interesting.
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Rosi Sexton's unconventional path to the UFC
? Four questions that UFC 161 will answer
? Anderson Silva displays a weakness ... or two
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)