When I was first researching for what else to do about my lung cancer diagnosis besides the traditional means I would be taking, I kept running across all kinds of suggestions for changing diet as a way of beating cancer, usually quite dramatically. Among the horrible visions going through my mind were ones of flax oil in cottage cheese or quitting either all kinds of meat or even just leaving pork behind filtered through my head from time to time.
My thought finally was that probably these odd diets probably work for some people, particularly if they believe they will. Faith can certainly do wonders. However, with with my lack of faith in any of them, I would do well to just avoid them. There may even be a way of targeting such diets to just those cancer types that they may really help. However, until that day, I plan to continue with what I call with tongue firmly in cheek, ?The Beer and Brats Cancer Diet?.
On this Diet (or Procedure, as I sometimes call it), I also enjoy foods that don?t involve beer and brats. The important thing is to eat things that I do enjoy, particularly of a protein nature, such as steaks, roasts or chops, which would keep my weight up, or spicy, such as Indian or Jamaican food. However, salads are pretty cool too, especially with steak.
I am no expert, but in this diet I include supplements that are most likely to actually fight cancerthrough more than as a morale booster, such as turmeric, quercitin, grape seed extract (Resveratrol) and milk thistle for my liver. Then I can have a beer (and maybe a brat if I am hungry).
My first CAT scan after starting Tarceva shows the cancer to be stable and no indication of it still affecting the lymph nodes. However, with all the scar tissue from the radiation suggests to me that, if I beat the damned thing, I will never be quite sure of it.
My glass is certainly a lot more than half full. In addition to being married to a wonderful lady, I will still have the Beer and Brats Cancer Diet as long as I am healthy. Plus I get a lot of inspiration here, for which I am grateful. Special kudos go out to`both Marie and Art.
Fisker has seen its fair share ofdelays on its Karma EV in the past, and now ''fewer than 50" of the vehicles -- which if you'll recall, cost over $100K -- are at risk for battery malfunction. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, A123 (the company which supplies the car's power pack) has issued a memo to customers and stakeholders, noting that "in rare circumstances" the car's batts could short-circuit due to coolant leakage from "misaligned hose clamps." A123 further explained that's already begun repairing the Karma's in question, and doesn't expect to experience to strain its relationship with Fisker due to the problem. Notably, Bloomberg also reports that 25 of the automobiles get assembled daily, with about 225 currently en-route to showroom floors -- a far cry from the company's earlier estimates for the 2011 production year. You'll find A123's full PDF memo at the source link below.
Experts explain to MTV News why the best-selling book didn't translate to a box-office #1. By Eric Ditzian
Rooney Mara in "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Photo: Sony Pictures
Stieg Larsson's "Millennium" trilogy of crime thrillers has sold about 17 million copies in the United States alone. The first novel in the series, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," is the first book ever to sell a million digital copies. The books have become nothing short of cultural touchstones, the collective response of devoted fans to the uninitiated being something along the lines of "You haven't read 'Dragon Tattoo'? What's wrong with you?"
That's the entertainment scene onto which David Fincher's American adaptation of "Dragon Tattoo" came last week. What's more, the movie received strong critical reviews, Sony's marketing campaign was lauded by industry insiders and MTV named it the Best Movie of 2011. Yet "Dragon Tattoo" wound up with a six-day gross of just $27.8 million — the highest total of any new release but good for just fourth place overall and undoubtedly disappointing given its lofty pedigree.
So what happened?
"Maybe fans of the Stieg Larsson novel were satisfied by last year's Swedish film and weren't feeling David Fincher's Hollywood version," writes Deadline editor in chief Nikki Finke, who notes the weak opening is especially surprising given the film was the only rated-R wide-release over the Christmas season and that "adults are flocking to specialty box-office hits like Fox Searchlight's 'The Descendants' and the Weinstein Co's 'The Artist.' "
The release date could also have been a factor, even as Sony positioned "Dragon Tattoo" as the "feel-bad movie of Christmas." "The dark and violent subject matter coupled with intense competition for the attention of mature adults led to an underwhelming result over the happy and cheery yuletide holiday," says Gitesh Pandya, editor of Box Office Guru.
With no wide releases slated for the upcoming weekend, however, "Dragon Tattoo" could see its box-office haul grow significantly. Sony's distribution chief, Rory Bruer, told TheWrap that the film "is off to a good start and it's just going to get better with every day through the rest of the holiday season and well into the new year."
Finke, too, expects the film's B.O. numbers to pick up this week, and Pandya suggests "a domestic final of $100 million cannot be ruled out this early in the run as moviegoers continue to catch up on films they are interested in."
That's good news for fans of the series and of Fincher's film, who have their fingers crossed that the Oscar-nominated director gets the go-ahead to make the final two pictures in Larsson's series. As Fincher told us recently, he hopes that the first film is received well enough that he's able to revisit, in journalist Mikael Blomkvist and hacker Lisbeth Salander, "two fascinating characters who I have really come to care about."
In the end, though, the chance to see Fincher's adaptations of "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" might be entirely out of the hands — or, rather, the wallets — of American moviegoers. "Ironically, the biggest factor in this sequelizing or not will come down to how well it does in foreign market — a place where the Swedish version of the film already made nearly $100 million just a couple years ago," said Jeff Bock, box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "Do overseas audiences really want to see the Hollywood version after the original is so fresh in their minds and was equally well-received?"
Chowder shop owner Evelyn Marconi greets Republican Presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney during his visit to her place at lunch, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011, in Portsmouth, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Chowder shop owner Evelyn Marconi greets Republican Presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney during his visit to her place at lunch, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011, in Portsmouth, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Audience members listen as Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, addresses a meeting of the Rotary Club, , Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011, at the Dubuque Golf and Country Club in Dubuque, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a campaign stop at the Glenn Miller Museum in Clarinda, Iowa, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) ? Iowa Republicans may be starting to choose with their heads rather than their hearts as the Jan. 3 caucuses approach.
The ascent of libertarian-leaning Ron Paul and the lack of an ideologically pure consensus conservative seem to be awakening a new sense of pragmatism in some Iowa Republicans. That bodes well for Mitt Romney, as a large chunk of undecided voters continues the search for someone capable of defeating President Barack Obama.
"A lot of the people I'm around are not Romney fans, but they are kind of acknowledging they think he's going to be the nominee, and that they'll plug their nose and vote for him," said Gwen Ecklund, Republican chairwoman in GOP-heavy Crawford County in conservative western Iowa.
A week before voting begins in the fluid Republican race, interviews with a dozen Iowa political operatives and party activists ? as well as internal polling by rival campaigns ? suggest that some Iowans are increasingly concerned about Paul, whose views often stray from GOP orthodoxy, and have begun to fall in line behind Romney instead of another candidate seen as more devoutly conservative but weaker against Obama.
Unlike Paul and his other opponents, there's room for Romney's support to grow. Public and private polling suggests he's more often the second choice of Republican caucus-goers than any other candidate, indicating that Republicans could be swayed in the coming week to support him over others.
Conversely, few see Paul, the ideological libertarian, as a substitute for their first choice of a hardline conservative. In a sign of Newt Gingrich's slide, Texas Gov. Rick Perry ? who is seeing a slight bump as the Iowa campaign nears its end ? is more often identified as a second choice than is Gingrich.
"When you have a race this fluid, second choices, I think, if you have good surrogates standing up and making the pitch for you in the caucuses, you may be able to dislodge people from their first choice," said John Stineman, a West Des Moines Republican and former caucus campaign manager for Steve Forbes.
Public polls show that at least half of caucus-goers are undecided or could still change their mind, meaning Romney, the former Massachusetts governor whose Mormon faith and reversals on social issues have left influential Iowa Christian conservatives feeling skeptical, now has an opportunity to try to seal the deal.
Mindful of that, Romney is entering the final phase of the Iowa campaign with a confident air ? and a push to win the contest after trying to lower expectations. He spent heavily here in 2008 only to lose big.
Romney was launching a bus tour of Iowa Tuesday and starting to make his closing argument ? essentially the same as his opening argument ? that he is the strongest Republican to take on Obama on the No. 1 issue, the economy. Romney also was dispatching surrogates from nearby states, including South Dakota Sen. John Thune, former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman and former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent, to campaign in Iowa. His campaign also urged supporters during a conference call Monday to sign up to represent Romney at the caucuses ? essentially meetings of GOP activists in the state's 1,774 precincts ? and to stand up to speak on behalf of the campaign.
Romney planned to spend four full days in the state, by far his longest trip in four years, to woo a fickle GOP electorate that hasn't settled on a front-runner.
Of all the candidates, only former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has been denied a moment in the spotlight ? even though he's scoured every corner of the state and, in recent days, has collected endorsements from key leaders in Iowa's influential social conservative movement. He urged more than 100 people in the ballroom of Mason City's historic Park Hotel on Tuesday to stick to their principles, saying: "We need this election to be about someone who is a conservative, and proud of it."
In a race with no shortage of leaders this year, Paul has been the latest to become a leading, non-establishment alternative to Romney. But the newfound status has brought new scrutiny over Paul's unorthodox, non-interventionist foreign policy views and statements that appeared in newsletters he published in the early 1990s when he was not serving in Congress.
Among the statements: "Homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities." Another newsletter passage said "if you have ever been robbed by a black teen-aged male, you know how unbelievably fleet-footed they can be." Paul previously said such material was the work of ghostwriters, while acknowledging he bore "some moral responsibility" for it.
It's all enough to worry some Iowa Republicans that Paul could marginalize the caucuses' impact should he win.
"The moderate and establishment Republicans are scared Ron Paul is going to have a good showing. If he wins Iowa, it's going to diminish the clout Iowa has," said Mark Greenfield, chairman of the Hamilton County GOP who initially backed Perry but switched to Romney within the last two weeks, describing him as an "electable leader."
Santorum put it this way: "The things most Iowans like about Ron Paul are the things he's least likely to accomplish," like Paul's plan to cut the deficit by $1 trillion in his first year, "and the things most Iowans are worried about about Ron Paul are the things he can accomplish."
Before Paul, Gingrich was at the top of the heap but he has slid in the wake of an onslaught of negative TV and radio ads ? from both Paul and allies of Romney's ? highlighting his collaboration on climate change with Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi and his consulting work for the federally backed mortgage giant Freddie Mac after he left the House. Leaflets noting his two divorces and acknowledged marital infidelity also have popped up across the state. Combined the attacks have damaged him ? perhaps irreversibly so.
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann experienced a burst in popularity several months ago but wasn't able to sustain it.
Perry, however, seems to be running slightly stronger than he has in months. He's drawn large, enthusiastic crowds during a bus tour and aides to rival candidates say favorability toward Perry is rising, though probably not enough to give him the late-game burst of momentum he'd need to win in Iowa. It's a sign that the roughly $5 million Perry has spent on advertising since late October, combined with more than $1 million from a super PAC that supports his candidacy, may be paying dividends.
It's an apt analogy: like the addict who will destroy everything and everyone around them in pursuit of the oblivion they seek, so too are the GOP in governing this country. Sadly, the analogy falls down when you consider that the roommate of the paranoid-fantasizing meth head is the enabling Democratic Party, who never quite pulls it together to straighten the addict out.
A recent study found that online piracy websites record around 53 billion hits per year. That's almost eight hits for every person in the world. Without question, the world has caught on to the flourishing world of free songs and movies.
So it is no question that two recent bills floating around Congress -- Protect IP in the Senate and the similar Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House of Representatives -- have experienced immense backlash. While the two bills are significantly flawed, Congress should shake off the misguided criticism and move forward to combat the only big issue that is experiencing bipartisan support.
The Protect IP Act, approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee over the summer, needs a lot of work. The bill defines a violating website as one that has "no significant use other than engaging in, enabling, or facilitating" the distribution and sale of copyrighted material "in complete or substantially complete form."
If the offender cannot be reached, the government or a private party can obtain an injunction from a judge forcing advertising and payment companies, such as PayPal, to discontinue their business with the infringing website. The government can also use the injunction to require Internet providers to redirect traffic from the site, and can also force search engines to stop linking to the site.
Primary opposition to the measure states, for example, that someone singing a song on YouTube could cause the website to be shut down. The broadness of the definition of an infringing Web site could allow for that kind of severe enforcement. If a website simply "facilitates" the distribution or promotion of copyrighted material, they are considered offenders. Many point to a recent case, when Google settled for $500 million with federal agencies for failing to reject advertisements from illegal drug companies in Canada. Under Protect IP, some argue, Google would have likely been shut down.
That may be true. But as Steve Tepp, chief intellectual property counsel for the United States Chamber of Commerce, says, that kind of oppressive response is not the purpose of Protect IP. Instead, "The targets are the rogue sites, the real bad actors," he said.
Protect IP also presents a dangerous solution. Experts have pointed out that the procedure presented by the bill for redirecting traffic would be very similar to what hackers do when they hijack a domain. If done on a large enough scale, experts claim, it could compromise greater efforts to make the entire domain system safer.
Many also claim that the system created by Protect IP is too demanding, and sites like Google or YouTube could not possible come up with the resources to combat all instances of piracy. However, Google and other websites have already been standing up to piracy for over a decade. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, copyright holders can require sites to take down links to pirated material. According to Katherine Oyama of Google policy counsel, Google has already done that "more than five million times."
Protect IP would not require much more enforcement by websites than is already in place; its aim is to create a stricter process to begin cracking down on offenders on a larger scale. Contrary to many concerns, the federal government could not simply step in and shut down any website just because a link was missed. The government or a private party would first need to notify the website, and action could only be taken if there is no response and an injunction is obtained.
Without question, the current bill needs work. It is too broad and neglects many Internet safety issues. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has been blocking the bill due to these concerns, and rightfully so. But that is a call for more work, not to give up. Protecting intellectual property and combating a new, unorthodox, and rapidly growing form of theft is too important, and so is protecting the Internet from repressive enforcement.
PYONGYANG, North Korea ? North Korea hailed Kim Jong Il's son as "supreme leader" of the 1.2-million strong military, ramping up its campaign to install the young man as the nation's next leader even as the mourning for his father continued a week after his death.
Kim Jong Un made a third visit Saturday to the palace where his father's body is lying in state ? this time as "supreme leader of the revolutionary armed forces" and accompanied by North Korea's top military brass, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
The new title and public show of support from the military leadership sent a strong signal that the nation will maintain Kim Jong Il's "military first" policy for the time being.
Earlier Saturday, the newspaper Rodong Sinmun, mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party, urged Kim Jong Un to accept the top military post: "Comrade Kim Jong Un, please assume the supreme commandership, as wished by the people."
Kim Jong Un, who is in his late 20s and was unveiled in September 2010 as his father's choice as successor, will be the third-generation Kim to rule the nation of 24 million. His father and grandfather led the country under different titles, and it remains unclear which other titles will be bestowed on the grandson.
Kim Il Sung, who founded North Korea in 1948, retains the title of "eternal president" even after his death in 1994.
Son Kim Jong Il ruled as chairman of the National Defense Commission, supreme commander of the Korean People's Army and general secretary of the Workers' Party.
Kim Jong Un was promoted to four-star general and appointed a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party. He had been expected to assume a number of other key posts while being groomed to succeed his father.
His father's death comes at a sensitive time for North Korea, which was in the middle of discussions with the U.S. on food aid and restarting talks to dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program. Chronically short of food and suffering from a shortfall in basic staples after several harsh seasons, officials had been asking for help feeding its people even as North Koreans prepared for 2012 celebrations marking Kim Il Sung's 100th birthday.
North Korea has emphasized the Kim family legacy during the sped-up succession movement for Kim Jong Un. State media invoked Kim Il Sung in declaring the people's support for the next leader, comparing the occasion to Kim Jong Il's ascension to "supreme commander" exactly 20 years ago Saturday.
At the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, Kim Jong Un and senior commanders paid silent tribute to Kim Jong Il, "praying for his immortality," KCNA said. The military also pledged its loyalty to Kim Jong Un, the report said.
"Let the whole army remain true to the leadership of Kim Jong Un over the army," KCNA reported ? a pledge reminiscent of those made when Kim Jong Il was named supreme commander.
The call to rally behind Kim Jong Un, dubbed the "Great Successor" in the wake of his father's death on Dec. 17 from a heart attack, comes amid displays of grief across North Korea. The official mourning period lasts until after Kim's funeral Wednesday and a memorial Thursday.
In Pyongyang, mourners waited in line Saturday to bow and lay flowers at Kim's portrait at plazas and government buildings, including the Pyongyang Circus Theater and the April 25 People's Army House of Culture, even as temperatures dropped to 14 degrees below Celsius (7 degrees Fahrenheit).
Workers at beverage kiosks handed steaming cups of water to shivering mourners, including children bundled up in colorful thick parkas. A sign urged mourners to thaw out inside a heated bus. The order to provide food and warming huts for mourners came from Kim Jong Un, officials said.
Earlier, a throng of North Koreans climbed steps and placed flowers and wreaths in a neat row below a portrait of Kim Jong Il as solemn music filled the air and young uniformed soldiers, their heads shaved, bowed before his picture.
A sobbing Jong Myong Hui, a Pyongyang citizen taking a break from shoveling snow, told AP Television News that she came out voluntarily to "clear the way for Kim Jong Il's last journey."
For days, life in Pyongyang had come to a standstill, with shops and restaurants closed. Downtown Koryo Hotel, one of several in Pyongyang catering to foreigners, was nearly empty.
But there are signs that the country is beginning to move on.
"Streets, buses and the metro are all crowded with people going to their work. They are not giving way simply to sorrow," KCNA said. "They are getting over the demise of their leader, promoted by a strong will to closely rally around respected Comrade Kim Jong Un."
Among the mourners Saturday was a son of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the South Korean-based Unification Church, which has longstanding ties with North Korea. The Rev. Hyung-jin Moon helped carry a wreath to the main mourning site at Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang.
The Korean peninsula has remained in a technical state of war since the Koreas' 1950-53 conflict, but two groups from South Korea have permission from the South Korean government to visit the North to pay their respects, Unification Ministry spokesman Choi Boh-seon said Saturday in Seoul.
One group will be led by the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, who held a landmark summit with Kim Jong Il in 2000, and the other by the wife of a late businessman with ties to the North.
Citizens in Pyongyang, meanwhile, received a last gift from the late Kim Jong Il: fish. State-run media said Kim was worried about the supply of fish and had looked into the matter the day before he died.
Rodong Sinmun showed a photo of a woman covering her mouth as she watched herring and walleye being distributed at a crowded grocery store where they were piled up in baskets.
___
Associated Press writer Foster Klug in Seoul, South Korea, and AP Korea bureau chief Jean H. Lee contributed to this report. Follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/newsjean and twitter.com/APKlug.
Springfield residents have a few more opportunities to contribute to the final comprehensive plan for the rebuilding effort of the Rebuild Springfield.
In the second week of December, the third open forum district meetings took place throughout the city, with many residents working together with the planning team on the draft rebuilding plan. Last week, a summary of the working progress in District 1 (South End and Metro Center) and District 2 (Maple High-Six Corners, Forest Park, Old Hill and Upper Hill) was published.
This week?s column summarizes the District 3 meeting (East Forest Park and Sixteen Acres), which was held at the Greenleaf Community Center on Dec. 13, as well as the early stages of the overall plan for the rebuilding efforts.
Vision for District 3
Community members from District 3 met with the Planning Team to review specific initiatives and implementation opportunities that are being proposed as part of the Rebuild Springfield effort. These components come directly from earlier community and stakeholder meetings, as well as focused suggestions on the project website (www.rebuildspring field.com). The proposed initiatives are also posted to the related Mindmixer website (rebuildspringfield.mindmixer.com) for on-going online input.
The defined vision for District 3 is to pursue a renewed dedication to a connected and family friendly community. The goals are to rejuvenate our natural character, craft well-designed and efficient homes, and support strong neighborhoods that are anchored by schools, parks, and community facilities of the highest quality.
At this stage of the planning, the emphasis is on identifying specific partners, resources and action steps to make the vision a reality. The major moves include:
Restore and Enhance Natural Resources: The major moves of this recommendation are the reforestation of blighted areas and the enhanced use of parks, green spaces, and water bodies through better access and linkages. One of the major initiatives is a planned interconnected greenway and trail system that would link the Watershops Pond area, Nathan Bill Park, Murray Park, Helen C. White Conservation Area, Veterans Golf Course, Bass Pond, Camp Wilder Mill Pond and beyond.
Maximize Impact of Schools and Community Facilities: The team recognizes that quality schools as act as strong community anchors and contribute to a positive sense of connection. The major initiatives of this recommendation are to strategically and comprehensively rebuild the three schools in the district better than before the tornado. Another potential initiative is the location of a permanent brach library at rebuilt Dryden Memorial School to create a learning activity hub for the entire community.
Connect Communities: The city recently completed $1.6 million sidewalk construction and repair project, and regularly undertakes street maintenance and construction projects. The major initiatives of this recommendation are to coordinate sidewalk, bicycle and streetscape improvements with other recovery projects in impacted areas to maximize impact and leverage investment. Other iniatiatives under consideration are the expanded and coordinated programming of youth and senior activities throughout the community.
Rebuild Homes to Strengthen Neighborhoods: The final recommendation includes rebuilding initiatives to preserve the strong, attractive, family friendly character of neighborhoods and apply appropriate zoning and design guidelines to preserve and enhance neighborhood quality. Another initiative is an aggressive maintenance and repair assistance program through a joint community task force.
Overall Citywide Plan: Throughout the public participation process, the team heard about the need for job creation for long-term stability of neighborhoods. Many of the planning recommendations are grounded in ideas that leverage economic investment, nurture new and existing businesses, and expand career development opportunities citywide.
The second citywide meeting will be held on Jan. 5 and the final presentation of the Rebuild Springfield Planning Project will take place on Jan. 26. Both meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. at St. Anthony?s Social Center, 375 Island Pond Road.
We will discuss the numerous recommendations that will have impact across the city. It is critical that all citizens recognize the importance of weighing in on final development of plans and strategies that will impact Springfield for generations to come. This meeting will be the last chance for major adjustments in the plan prior to the final presentation and launch of implementation on Jan. 26.
Citizens may also share their thoughts about specific ideas and observations online at www.rebuildspringfield.com.
The planning team has set up a dedicated website using MindMixer, an online collaboration platform that brings communities together in a virtual town hall, allowing the public to be active participants in the planning process without having to attend the physical meetings in each district. The site invites citizens to share their ideas, comment on emerging strategies and plans and interact with the ideas that are being developed by the planning team and the city. The public can continue to comment on the draft plans on MindMixer page of the website until Jan. 13.
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@PolarCoug I upgraded my W7 laptop to dual boot Lenny/7. My desktop is Squeezed! No Microsoft pollution (except I have to run word w/wine).Il y a environ 13 heuresvia web en r?ponse ? PolarCougRetweeted by 1 person
Key features of payroll tax and jobless benefits bill passed Friday by the House and Senate:
_Retains through Feb. 29 the current 4.2 percent rate for Social Security payroll taxes paid by 160 million workers, instead of letting the rate rise to 6.2 percent on Jan. 1.
_Renews federal benefits averaging $300 a week for the long-term unemployed through Feb. 29.
_Prevents 27 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors; extends other health care fees through Feb. 29.
_Requires President Barack Obama to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas within 60 days unless he declares the project would not serve the national interest.
_Price tag of $33 billion. Paid for by increasing home loan guarantee fees charged to mortgage lenders by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration by one-tenth of 1 percentage point. The fee is passed on to home buyers and will apply to many new purchases and refinancings starting Jan. 1. For a $200,000 mortgage, the fee increases a borrower's cost by about $17 a month.
_Requires House and Senate leaders in both parties to name negotiators to work on a bill extending the payroll tax cut for a year, extend federal jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and keep Medicare payments to doctors at their current level.
The Volkswagen Golf and Fiat Panda are, together, older than the European Union, but the euro's unravelling could mean serious headaches for one and potential blessings for the other.
A north-south break-up of the EU in which Italy, Spain and Greece abandoned the euro would transform the industrial map, upending a decade of investment decisions and supply relationships based on monetary union.
A break-up would likely see the emergence of a stronger German currency - whether a restored deutschmark or more select euro - raising domestic production costs and eroding the competitiveness of exports like the Golf, first sold in 1974.
Jimmer Fredette answered the question with the same touch he showed in his first preseason start for the Sacramento Kings the other night, which included 7-for-11 shooting, 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, and a total of 21 points.
He was asked by Sam Amick of SI.com about his proper transition to the NBA game and playing for and with the Kings, and the former BYU guard stopped, popped and dusted the net:
?It?s just like coming into college when you?re a freshman,? he said. ?It?s a whole different challenge, going out there and proving yourself and trying to gain respect from them and showing respect to them, as well. Then, hopefully, you get on the floor and show them you can play.?
In the Kings? two exhibitions, a loss on the road to and a win at home over Golden State, Fredette has done exactly that, putting up 33 points, making better than 50 percent of his attempts, and delivering seven assists.
When I talked with Amick earlier this week, he told me: ?I think he?s going to have an impact.?
The rookie will be part of a three-guard rotation in Sacramento, along with Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton. It?s a near-perfect scenario for Fredette, who will feel the push and pressure from within to play up to his own standard ? without having to carry the entire franchise right from jump.
Helping him in that regard is the initial positive impression he?s made with his teammates. Just as the quote above suggests, and as BYU fans here would suspect, Jimmer hasn?t big-timed any of the Kings off the court, nor has he chapped any of them by way of attitude on it.
He?s fit in, even as he and his teammates have worked to mesh his game into theirs.
Story continues below
Two telling comments from Thornton and big man DeMarcus Cousins are as follows:
?I?m still trying to get a feel for him,? Thornton said. ?He?s quiet, but he laughs and jokes with us. As a rookie, you kind of feel your way out, try to figure out where you fit in. He?s going to be all right. The thing I like about him is, I don?t think he?s too worried about his hype. He?s focused. He?s out there playing, and he?ll let the chips fall where they may.?
Said Cousins: ?I love Jimmer, man. Jimmer?s a cool dude. He?s a real good rookie. I just love the fact that he?s always trying to get it right and he?s always learning. He?s very humble. And him being the big star that he was, you kind of expect him to come in and have swag and have his chest out, but he?s the complete opposite. I?ve enjoyed him from the beginning.?
There?s little doubt that Fredette will feel the undulating effects of his first season in the NBA. There will be nights when he gets his trash kicked, but there will also be nights when he does the kicking. Those who compare him to limited spot-up shooters who starred in college and then were relegated to a kind of second-class status in the league haven?t studied his game.
Fredette can do more than shoot. He can split defenders, drive to the basket, create shots off the dribble, and set up teammates with open looks. He can score in the NBA, especially when defenders can?t collapse on him and ignore everybody else. What remains in doubt is how much defense he can play. He?ll have to learn to find good position against the quicker guards he faces.
?Don?t ever doubt that kid, I?ll promise you that,? said BYU assistant coach Tim LaComb, who guessed Jimmer would score some 15 points a game as a rookie. ?Don?t ever doubt him. He is one of the hardest-working guys, one of the more headstrong guys I?ve ever met. You want to talk about a dude who loves to play and who is really good at what he does. I would not doubt him for a second.?
The Kings are young and yet incomplete and haven?t made the playoffs in half a decade. In the abbreviated preseason, they?ve given the ball away as though it were filled with nitroglycerin.
But an opportunity exists now for improvement, and Fredette?s got more than a bit role in that.
AMSTERDAM ? The editor of a Dutch fashion magazine has been fired after the publication used a racial slur to refer to Barbados-born Rihanna, setting off a social media furor and prompting an outraged response from the singer.
Eva Hoeke, editor of "Jackie," and the magazine's publisher said in a joint statement on Facebook that the misuse of a racial slur ? "although without malicious intentions" ? was cause for Hoeke's departure after eight years on the job.
The slur was used in an article about how to dress your daughter like a pop star. Responding to criticism that flashed across the ocean, Hoeke said at first that her use of the term was meant as a joke.
She then put out a Twitter item with a more explicit apology, saying she learned, "1. Don't publish bad jokes in the magazine 2. Don't pretend bad jokes to be funny. Sorry guys. My bad."
On Tuesday, Rihanna responded herself via Twitter: "Your magazine is a poor representation of the evolution of human rights! I find you disrespectful, and rather desperate!!"
Rather than a positive article useful to Dutch girls, Rihanna said Jackie chose to print an item "degrading to an entire race. That's your contribution to this world!" She also ended her tweet with an indelicate phrase.
Hoeke said she was unaware the word she used was so loaded because "you hear it all the time on radio and TV."
By Wednesday, the Facebook apology had attracted hundreds of comments, many condemning Hoeke but some saying the reaction was overblown.
WICHITA, Kan. ? Fierce winds and snow that caused fatal accidents and shuttered highways in five states crawled deeper into the Great Plains early Tuesday, with forecasters warning that pre-holiday travel would be difficult if not impossible across the region.
Hotels were filling up quickly along major roadways from eastern New Mexico to Kansas, and nearly 100 rescue calls came in from motorists in the Texas Panhandle as blizzard conditions forced closed part of Interstate 40, a major east-west route, Monday night.
About 10 inches of snow had fallen in western Kansas before dawn Tuesday, and several more inches ? along with strong wind gusts ? were expected, National Weather Service meteorologist Marc Russell said.
"We're talking about whiteout conditions," he said.
The storm was blamed for at least six deaths Monday, authorities said. Four people were killed when their vehicle collided with a pickup truck in part of eastern New Mexico where blizzard-like conditions are rare, and a prison guard and inmate died when a prison van crashed along an icy roadway in eastern Colorado.
The late-autumn snowstorm lumbered into the region Monday, turning roads to ice and reducing visibility to zero. The conditions put state road crews on alert and had motorists taking refuge and early exits off major roads across the region.
In northern New Mexico, snow and ice shuttered all roads from Raton to the Texas and Oklahoma borders about 90 miles away. Hotels in Clayton, N.M., just east of where the three states touch, were nearly full.
Linda Pape, general manager of the Clayton Super 8 motel said it was packed with unhappy skiers who had been headed to lodges in Colorado and elsewhere in New Mexico.
"They lost a day or two of skiing, and they had budgeted an amount of money they were going to spend, and now they have to spend more staying somewhere else," she said.
Pape said it's not uncommon for skiers to get stuck in Clayton during the winter, and she keeps two freezers and a refrigerator stocked in case roads are closed.
"They are not happy, but we are not letting them go hungry," she said.
The storm came after much of the country had a relatively mild fall. With the exception of the October snowstorm blamed for 29 deaths on the East Coast, there's been little rain or snow. Many of the areas hit Monday enjoyed relatively balmy 60-degree temperatures just 24 hours earlier.
The snow moved into the Oklahoma Panhandle early Monday, and 1.5 inches accumulated in about an hour, said Vicki Roberts, who owns the Black Mesa Bed and Breakfast in Kenton. Her inn sits at the base of the 4,973-foot-tall Black Mesa, the highest point in Oklahoma. Looking out her window, she couldn't see it.
"I have a mail route and I'm not going," Roberts said. "You just don't get out in this. We'll be socked in here. If we lose power, we'll just read a book in front of the fireplace."
Travel throughout the region was difficult. New Mexico shut down a portion of Interstate 25, the major route heading northeast of Santa Fe into Colorado, and Clayton police dispatcher Cindy Blackwell said her phones were "ringing off the hook" with calls from numerous motorists stuck on rural roads.
Bill Cook, who works at the Best Western in Clayton, said he hadn't seen such a storm since the 1970s, when cattle had to be airlifted with helicopters and the National Guard was called in to help out. His hotel was packed Monday with people "happy they have a room," and some of the children were playing outside in the snow.
Keith Barras, the owner of the Eklund Hotel, a landmark in Clayton since the 1890s, said guests were happily milling around the lobby and he expected to be full by nightfall.
"We have lots of board games, one of our customers has a guitar, we have a piano, so there'll be a party tonight," Barras said.
Though some drivers were inconvenienced, farmers and meteorologists said the storm was bringing much needed moisture ? first rain, then snow as temperatures dropped ? to areas of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas that had been parched by a drought that started in the summer of 2010.
Virginia Kepley, 73, spent Monday afternoon baking pumpkin bread to give as Christmas gifts while snow fell on her farm near Ulysses, Kan.
"I decided to try to get as much done today in case the electricity goes off and I can't make it tomorrow," she said.
Kepley was grateful for the snow after some of her family's wheat never got enough moisture to sprout last season. A new crop had been planted in the fall for harvest next summer.
"It is wonderful for the wheat," Kepley said. "At least we have wheat we can see this year."
___
Clausing reported from Albuquerque, N.M. Associated Press writers Terry Wallace in Dallas; Juan Carlos Llorca in El Paso, Texas; and Tim Talley in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.
(Reuters) ? Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it is selling more than one million Kindle devices a week, an unusual disclosure from the largest Internet retailer that comes in the wake of some negative reviews of its new Kindle Fire tablet.
Amazon said customers are buying "well over" one million Kindles per week. This level of sales has occurred for three straight weeks, it added in a statement.
The sales numbers include the Kindle Fire tablet and all the versions of the Kindle e-reader. The company did not break out sales numbers for the Fire tablet alone.
However, Amazon executive Dave Limp said Kindle Fire sales increased week over week for each of the last three weeks.
Amazon previously said it sold "millions" of Kindles, but the company has never before given a sales number for a week, according to a spokeswoman.
The disclosure comes after a spate of negative reviews of the Kindle Fire that focused on issues such as slow response from the user interface and Web browser, the need for more privacy and child settings, and the lack of external volume control.
"The press release was very bullish and clearly a response to the few high-profile negative articles," said Ben Schachter, an analyst at Macquarie.
Amazon shares climbed 1.1 percent to $182.18 at mid-afternoon on Thursday. The stock fell to almost $170, its lowest level since March, on Wednesday.
Recent reviews and articles have been "overdone," partly because they often compare the $199 Kindle Fire to Apple Inc's iPad, which starts at $499, the analyst added.
"That's like comparing a $20,000 car with a $50,000 car," Schachter said. "These reviews certainly hurt because people read them. Will it work as well as the iPad? No."
Despite the negative coverage, Schachter is sticking to his forecast of about five million Kindle Fire sales in the fourth quarter.
Amazon said earlier this week that it plans a software upgrade to the Kindle Fire in coming weeks that will "improve performance, touch navigation, and give customers the option to choose what items display on the carousel."
The carousel refers to windows that appear on the home display of the Kindle Fire showing what applications ran most recently. Some users have complained that exposing what they last did with the device is a privacy problem.
"It's a new product that can be improved," Schachter said. "We don't think any of the problems discussed are deal breakers."
(Reporting by Alistair Barr; Editing by Gunna Dickson and Richard Chang)
ATLANTA ? Snoop Dogg remembered watching all of the Cheech and Chong movies growing up, idolizing the pothead tandem's ability to always escape from danger in their comedy films.
Wiz Khalifa revered Snoop Dogg for his weed-smoking, ultra-smooth West Coast swagger shown extensively throughout his rap career.
One is the mentor, the other is the protege. Since the two rappers met for the first time last year, they've built a strong rapport with each other and have united to create their own album, "Mac & Devin Go to High School," which was released this week.
The album is the soundtrack of the rappers' upcoming stoner comedy, "Mac & Devin Go to High School," which is expected to be released early next year. The duo feels they are capable of following the footsteps of Cheech and Chong, who gained fame through their marijuana humor.
"They smoked joints, they were funny, they were cool and they would get into real situations," Snoop Dogg said. "To me, that's what me and Wiz represent. A lot of kids growing up don't understand who Cheech and Chong are. So we're the modern-day image of them. We're bringing it back."
Snoop Dogg and Khalifa have embodied the fun-filled, carefree life, with a devotion to smoking marijuana. Their easygoing demeanor is displayed on the duo's single, "Young, Wild & Free," featuring Bruno Mars, which peaked at No. 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
The rappers are latest popular hip-hop characters to create an album and movie revolved around their pothead excursions. Rapper Redman and Method Man appeared in the 2001 film, "How High."
But Khalifa said he and Snoop Dogg are ""trying to create our own lane.
"There have been others to pave the way for us, so we're just trying to keep it going, and tell our own stories," added Khalifa, who finished a six-city tour with Snoop Dogg this week.
Some believe the rappers are having too much fun with their storytelling. In May, there were reports that school officials canceled the filming of "High School" at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, Calif., after learning the theme of the movie was centered around marijuana, which is an illegal substance.
When contacted by The Associated Press, school officials declined to comment.
But Snoop Dogg and Khalifa ? who both stand at a lanky 6-foot-4 ? coolly denied there were any problems.
"We heard about it, but it didn't mean much to us," Snoop Dogg said. "We got done what we needed to get done. It was shot and promptly prepared."
Snoop Dogg, 40, took a liking to the 24-year-old Khalifa after he noticed his kids' infatuation with the Pittsburgh-bred rapper's ubiquitous 2010 hit "Black and Yellow." From there, Snoop Dogg invited Khalifa to his home in Los Angeles.
"We have built a bond and a friendship that's going to last a lifetime," Khalifa said. "People will hear it in the music, and see it in the movie."
After a conversation that lasted a few hours, the two rappers decided that same day to collaborate for an album and movie. They didn't waste time, filming the movie and recording the album within a two-month timeframe.
In "High School," Khalifa stars as a senior valedictorian named Devin who is only focused on his academics. He breaks out of his shell after meeting Snoop Dogg's character, Mac, a teenage student (yes, he is playing a teen) who has street smarts but struggles to apply them in the classroom.
Snoop Dogg described his partnership with Khalifa as "a magical situation."
"I've been around magic a lot of times from being with Dr. Dre, Tupac, Master P. and Nate Dogg. What me and Wiz had was a magical moment right there."
___
Online:
http://www.snoopdogg.com
http://www.wizkhalifa.com
___
Follow Jonathan Landrum Jr. on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/mrlandrum31
>>>retailers have nine days left to eat up a lot of ground and conveniently shoppers have that same time remaining to cover a lot of ground before
christmas
. that's why this is going to be a busy and crowded weekend out there, starting with the mall
parking lot
. nbc's tom costello in reston, virginia, for us tonight. hey, tom, good evening.
>> reporter: hi, brian. we're at a great spot here because it includes an outdoor
skating rink
in the shomg area. you know the current sales slogan, nobody pays full retail anymore? a lot of people are taking that to heart. they're demanding big discounts both online and in the stores. retailers are desperate this weekend. they want to get shoppers in and merchandise out. if you thought the stores were packed over the thanksgiving weekend, and they were, then prepare yourself for tomorrow, on this last full weekend before
christmas
, some of the biggest retailers are slashing prices to lure in those shoppers who haven't yet finished, from the promenade in
santa monica
--
>>i haven't bought anything for anyone yet.
>>i don't have a strategy yet. i think when i get to the stores i'll figure it out.
>> reporter: to the
magnificent mile
in chicago.
>>anything over 50% i feel is a good deal especially like being a student, i need those sales.
>> reporter: while store sales soared at the weekend after thanksgiving, we have since suffered the biggest drop in 11 years, with americans struggling through a rough economy while still carrying high levels of debt, retail annist
dana telsey
is on a ten-city tour gauging holiday sales.
>>we found promotions drive traffic. on average the average promotion is around 40% off.
>> reporter: still since lower than expected sales since black friday, the
national retail federation
has actually raised its holiday shopping forecast, now expecting a 3.8% increase in sales over last year, but for that to happen, this weekend is critical. since the saturday before
christmas
falls on
christmas eve
this year, many retailers are calling tomorrow super saturday. in
salt lake city
, overstock.com was itself overstocked, and just auctioned off an entire warehouse for pennies on the dollar, and with
consumer spending
accounting for 70% of the economy, what happens in the next week is critical.
>>the stakes are huge, not only for retailers but for all businesses, it sets the tone for activity as we make our way into
2012
whether business also broadly go out and invest and hire and that's vital to the economic recovery.
>> reporter: vital to the economy he says. we talked to a lot of retailers, to target, to walmart, jcpenney, macys, abercrombie, the gap, you name it, many are talking about extended hours in the run-up to
christmas
, deep discounts and the sales to start
big time
tomorrow.
>>tom costello, going to slip in shopping if not skating while being able to say he's on assignment for us tonight, well done. tom, thanks.
Genome tree of life is largest yet for seed plantsPublic release date: 15-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kendra Snyder ksnyder@amnh.org 212-496-3419 American Museum of Natural History
New York Plant Genomics Consortium maps evolutionary relationships, gene functions for 150 species
Scientists at the American Museum of Natural History, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, The New York Botanical Garden, and New York University have created the largest genome-based tree of life for seed plants to date. Their findings, published today in the journal PLoS Genetics, plot the evolutionary relationships of 150 different species of plants based on advanced genome-wide analysis of gene structure and function. This new approach, called "functional phylogenomics," allows scientists to reconstruct the pattern of events that led to the vast number of plant species and could help identify genes used to improve seed quality for agriculture.
"Ever since Darwin first described the 'abominable mystery' behind the rapid explosion of flowering plants in the fossil record, evolutionary biologists have been trying to understand the genetic and genomic basis of the astounding diversity of plant species," said Rob DeSalle, a corresponding author on the paper and a curator in the Museum's Division of Invertebrate Zoology who conducts research at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics. "Having the architecture of this plant tree of life allows us to start to decipher some of the interesting aspects of evolutionary innovations that have occurred in this group."
The research, performed by members of the New York Plant Genomics Consortium, was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Plant Genome Program to identify the genes that caused the evolution of seeds, a trait of important economic interest. The group selected 150 representative species from all of the major seed plant groups to include in the study. The species span from the flowering varietypeanuts and dandelions, for exampleto non-flowering cone plants like spruce and pine. The sequences of the plants' genomesall of the biological information needed to build and maintain an organism, encoded in DNAwere either culled from pre-existing databases or generated, in the field and at The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, from live specimens.
With new algorithms developed at the Museum and NYU and the processing power of supercomputers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and overseas, the sequencesnearly 23,000 sets of genes (specific sections of DNA that code for certain proteins)were grouped, ordered, and organized in a tree according to their evolutionary relationships. Algorithms that determine similarities of biological processes were used to identify the genes underlying species diversity.
"Previously, phylogenetic trees were constructed from standard sets of genes and were used to identify the relationships of species," said Gloria Coruzzi, a professor in New York University's Center for Genomics and Systems Biology and the principal investigator of the NSF grant. "In our novel approach, we create the phylogeny based on all the genes in a genome, and then use the phylogeny to identify which genes provide positive support for the divergence of species."
The results support major hypotheses about evolutionary relationships in seed plants. The most interesting finding is that gnetophytes, a group that consists mostly of shrubs and woody vines, are the most primitive living non-flowering seed plantspresent since the late Mesozoic era, the "age of dinosaurs." They are situated at the base of the evolutionary tree of seed plants.
"This study resolves the long-standing problem of producing an unequivocal evolutionary tree of the seed plants," said Dennis Stevenson, vice president for laboratory research at The New York Botanical Garden. "We can then use this information to determine when and where important adaptations occur and how they relate to plant diversification. We also can examine the evolution of such features as drought tolerance, disease resistance, or crop yields that sustain human life through improved agriculture."
In addition, the researchers were able to make predictions about genes that caused the evolution of important plant characteristics. One such evolutionary signal is RNA interference, a process that cells use to turn down or silence the activity of specific genes. Based on their new phylogenomic maps, the researchers believe that RNA interference played a large role in the separation of monocotsplants that have a single seed leaf, including orchids, rice, and sugar canefrom other flowering plants. Even more surprising, RNA interference also played a major role in the emergence of flowering plants themselves.
"Genes required for the production of small RNA in seeds were at the very top of the list of genes responsible for the evolution of flowering plants from cone plants," said Rob Martienssen, a professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. "In collaboration with colleagues from LANGEBIO [Laboratorio Nacional de Genomica para la Biodiversidad] in Mexico last year, we found that these same genes control maternal reproduction, providing remarkable insight into the evolution of reproductive strategy in flowering plants."
The data and software resources generated by the researchers are publicly available and will allow other comparative genomic researchers to exploit plant diversity to identify genes associated with a trait of interest or agronomic value. These studies could have implications for improving the quality of seeds and, in turn, agricultural products ranging from food to clothing.
In addition, the phylogenomic approach used in this study could be applied to other groups of organisms to further explore how species originated, expanded, and diversified.
"The collaboration among the institutions involved here is a great example of how modern science works," said Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, a term assistant professor at Columbia University's Barnard College and a research associate at the Museum's Sackler Institute. "Each of the four institutions involved has its own strengths and these strengths were nicely interwoven to produce a novel vision of plant evolution."
###
Other authors include Ernest Lee, American Museum of Natural History; Angelica Cibrian-Jaramillo, American Museum of Natural History, The New York Botanical Garden, and New York University currently at the Laboratorio Nacional de Genomica para la Biodiversidad, Mexico; Manpreet Katari, New York University; Alexandros Stamatakis, Technical University Munich currently at Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies; Michael Ott, Technical University Munich; Joanna Chiu, University of California, Davis; Damon Little, The New York Botanical Garden; and W. Richard McCombie, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
[ | 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.
Genome tree of life is largest yet for seed plantsPublic release date: 15-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kendra Snyder ksnyder@amnh.org 212-496-3419 American Museum of Natural History
New York Plant Genomics Consortium maps evolutionary relationships, gene functions for 150 species
Scientists at the American Museum of Natural History, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, The New York Botanical Garden, and New York University have created the largest genome-based tree of life for seed plants to date. Their findings, published today in the journal PLoS Genetics, plot the evolutionary relationships of 150 different species of plants based on advanced genome-wide analysis of gene structure and function. This new approach, called "functional phylogenomics," allows scientists to reconstruct the pattern of events that led to the vast number of plant species and could help identify genes used to improve seed quality for agriculture.
"Ever since Darwin first described the 'abominable mystery' behind the rapid explosion of flowering plants in the fossil record, evolutionary biologists have been trying to understand the genetic and genomic basis of the astounding diversity of plant species," said Rob DeSalle, a corresponding author on the paper and a curator in the Museum's Division of Invertebrate Zoology who conducts research at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics. "Having the architecture of this plant tree of life allows us to start to decipher some of the interesting aspects of evolutionary innovations that have occurred in this group."
The research, performed by members of the New York Plant Genomics Consortium, was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Plant Genome Program to identify the genes that caused the evolution of seeds, a trait of important economic interest. The group selected 150 representative species from all of the major seed plant groups to include in the study. The species span from the flowering varietypeanuts and dandelions, for exampleto non-flowering cone plants like spruce and pine. The sequences of the plants' genomesall of the biological information needed to build and maintain an organism, encoded in DNAwere either culled from pre-existing databases or generated, in the field and at The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, from live specimens.
With new algorithms developed at the Museum and NYU and the processing power of supercomputers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and overseas, the sequencesnearly 23,000 sets of genes (specific sections of DNA that code for certain proteins)were grouped, ordered, and organized in a tree according to their evolutionary relationships. Algorithms that determine similarities of biological processes were used to identify the genes underlying species diversity.
"Previously, phylogenetic trees were constructed from standard sets of genes and were used to identify the relationships of species," said Gloria Coruzzi, a professor in New York University's Center for Genomics and Systems Biology and the principal investigator of the NSF grant. "In our novel approach, we create the phylogeny based on all the genes in a genome, and then use the phylogeny to identify which genes provide positive support for the divergence of species."
The results support major hypotheses about evolutionary relationships in seed plants. The most interesting finding is that gnetophytes, a group that consists mostly of shrubs and woody vines, are the most primitive living non-flowering seed plantspresent since the late Mesozoic era, the "age of dinosaurs." They are situated at the base of the evolutionary tree of seed plants.
"This study resolves the long-standing problem of producing an unequivocal evolutionary tree of the seed plants," said Dennis Stevenson, vice president for laboratory research at The New York Botanical Garden. "We can then use this information to determine when and where important adaptations occur and how they relate to plant diversification. We also can examine the evolution of such features as drought tolerance, disease resistance, or crop yields that sustain human life through improved agriculture."
In addition, the researchers were able to make predictions about genes that caused the evolution of important plant characteristics. One such evolutionary signal is RNA interference, a process that cells use to turn down or silence the activity of specific genes. Based on their new phylogenomic maps, the researchers believe that RNA interference played a large role in the separation of monocotsplants that have a single seed leaf, including orchids, rice, and sugar canefrom other flowering plants. Even more surprising, RNA interference also played a major role in the emergence of flowering plants themselves.
"Genes required for the production of small RNA in seeds were at the very top of the list of genes responsible for the evolution of flowering plants from cone plants," said Rob Martienssen, a professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. "In collaboration with colleagues from LANGEBIO [Laboratorio Nacional de Genomica para la Biodiversidad] in Mexico last year, we found that these same genes control maternal reproduction, providing remarkable insight into the evolution of reproductive strategy in flowering plants."
The data and software resources generated by the researchers are publicly available and will allow other comparative genomic researchers to exploit plant diversity to identify genes associated with a trait of interest or agronomic value. These studies could have implications for improving the quality of seeds and, in turn, agricultural products ranging from food to clothing.
In addition, the phylogenomic approach used in this study could be applied to other groups of organisms to further explore how species originated, expanded, and diversified.
"The collaboration among the institutions involved here is a great example of how modern science works," said Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, a term assistant professor at Columbia University's Barnard College and a research associate at the Museum's Sackler Institute. "Each of the four institutions involved has its own strengths and these strengths were nicely interwoven to produce a novel vision of plant evolution."
###
Other authors include Ernest Lee, American Museum of Natural History; Angelica Cibrian-Jaramillo, American Museum of Natural History, The New York Botanical Garden, and New York University currently at the Laboratorio Nacional de Genomica para la Biodiversidad, Mexico; Manpreet Katari, New York University; Alexandros Stamatakis, Technical University Munich currently at Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies; Michael Ott, Technical University Munich; Joanna Chiu, University of California, Davis; Damon Little, The New York Botanical Garden; and W. Richard McCombie, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
[ | 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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