Thursday, June 28, 2012

Stocks waver after upbeat housing data

By msnbc.com news services

Updated at 10:45 a.m. ET: Stocks were wavering Tuesday after sharp losses in the prior session and as a Spanish bill auction met with falling demand.

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index, released before the open, showed single-family home prices picked up for a third month in a row in April, suggesting the recovery in the housing market is gaining traction.

?This looks like a solid turn,? David Blitzer, head of the S&P Index Committee, told CNBC. ?It?s going to take a few months to cement all the evidence together, but it?s looking pretty good.?

Stocks fell on Monday to put the S&P 500 market index near break-even for June, as investors saw little reason to be optimistic about a European Union summit this week.

Spain's short-term borrowing costs nearly tripled at auction when the country sold 3.08 billion euros of its short-term debt, as the Treasury paid the highest rates to sell the paper since November.

Finance chiefs of the euro zone's four biggest economies will hold last-minute talks in Paris on Tuesday evening to discuss managing the crisis in the short term and proposals for closer long-term fiscal and banking integration in preparation for the summit later in the week.

According to a document prepared for the meeting, European leaders will discuss specific steps toward a cross-border banking union, closer fiscal integration and the possibility of a debt redemption fund.

"The market is going to pay attention and listen to any chatter that comes out over the next couple of days about what they think is going to come out of the summit," said Ken Polcari, managing director at ICAP Equities in New York.

"We are stuck in this predicament because the market is waiting for some real catalyst to push it one way or the other."

Cyprus became the latest euro zone member to ask for an aid package on Monday, adding to concerns about European leaders' ability to handle the crisis.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is thinking of splitting into two companies.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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95% Marley

Director Kevin MacDonald and co-producer Ziggy Marley bring forth the most definitive look back at the life of Bob Marley, in the new documentary "Marley". From the formation of "The Wailers" and the comings and goings of different members of the band (including Peter Tosh and Jimmy Cliff), to Marley's dealings in Rastafarian and how it bled into his Reggae music; and also from his controversial lifestyle punctuated by being a "womanizer" (eleven children from seven different women) to his humanitarian nature, this in-depth (two and a half hour) documentary will immensely satisfy fan and novice alike. I, like many other younger American non-Rasta's, had grown up knowing Bob Marley for his more commercially catchy hits and from his countless depictions on a multitude of shirts worn by numerous Bay Area potheads. But, being a novice, going into this film I wasn't particularly interested in seeing a two and a half hour movie about the life and times Bob Marley. A story I thought I knew, and had heard, countless times before. But that notion changed rather abruptly within the first few minutes of this movie. And by the end, due to the brilliant investigative journalistic nature of MacDonald which elevates "Marley" from an average movie to a MUST SEE documentary, audiences who see this film will walk out with an in-depth appreciation for the man who wrote some of the most poetic and revolutionary lyrics in music history. "Marley" is the no holds barred dissection of a particular subject (or subject matter) which fans of great documentaries will crave (and in fact, was nowhere to be found in the films of 2011). And for a documentary that was originally supposed to be directed by Martin Scorsese, after seeing what MacDonald has accomplished here, it would be hard to imagine "Marley" being more perfectly executed in anybody else's hands. What truly sets "Marley" apart from other bio-documentaries and A&E specials is how, in a very PBS way, MacDonald uses a seemingly endless amount of archival footage, as well as interviews with almost everybody (still alive) who had anything to do with Marley's upbringing and his life as a world famous musician, as the narration. It was quite apparent that MacDonald had full access to any and all information he wanted, and as far as I could see, he thankfully took complete advantage of this fact. As audiences, we hear from Marley's family and peers about how as a young boy he was an outcast because of his mixed-race. We also hear from notable Jamaican artists and record executives, who saw his maturation into a musician that worked to bridge the gaps, not only in Jamaica (during times of war) but nationwide as well. In this way, MacDonald enables audiences to intimately know Bob Marley on every level (get your mind out of the gutter). But all the pure information aside, what MacDonald does very well here is not creating a documentary which totally sanctifies Bob Marley, much as many movies (tributes) do when celebrities with checkered pasts die. MacDonald captures recollections of Marley from both those who loved the man and those who thought him to be nothing more than a womanizing zealot, who was sadly not as politically motivated as he should have been. Final Thought: Overall "Marley" is a brilliant example of an archetype onto how all biographical documentaries should be made. Grade "A" filmmaking, in conjunction with a larger than life subject (subject matter) is what elevates "Marley" into one of the most entertaining two and a half hour documentaries I have ever seen. If you are at all a Bob Marley fan (casual or otherwise) and if you are able to, see "Marley", any way you can, before Hollywood makes a more commercialized (legacy ruining) feature film version of his life in a few years; starring Mekhi Phifer no doubt. Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole I. Ashland Please visit my page on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/x-52464-San-Jose-Indie-Movie-Examiner and leave any comments you have about this or any review. The more hits I get the better. Thank you. Follow me on Twitter @moviesmarkus

May 29, 2012

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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

LG Optimus L5 to complete the L-style ensemble later this month

LG Optimus L5 to complete the Lstyle ensemble later this month

The final middle piece of LG's L-style puzzle, the 4-inch Optimus L5, is pegged to arrive in the UK, Germany and France in the next two weeks. The sub-10mm phone packs the same design elements seen in the rest of the L-style series, meaning it'll also look uncannily similar to both the incoming Optimus Vu and Prada Phone 3.0. Aside from Android 4.0, the mid-ranger doesn't house that many surprises underneath those designer lines. Ho-hum specifications include a single core 800MHz processor, 4GB of (microSD-expandable) internal storage and a 5-megapixel camera. Once it's toured Western Europe, the device has plans to see the Middle East, Asia, Central and South America, although LG isn't saying whether the Optimus L5 has plans for a visit to North America.

Continue reading LG Optimus L5 to complete the L-style ensemble later this month

LG Optimus L5 to complete the L-style ensemble later this month originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Arthritis therapy tied to liver injury cases

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A "medical food" sold as an arthritis treatment may have caused four cases of temporary liver damage, researchers reported Monday.

The product in question is called flavocoxid, sold under the brand-name Limbrel. It's a mix of plant compounds called flavonoids, including catechins -- substances best known as components of green tea.

Limbrel is considered a medical food, which makes it different from a dietary supplement. It is available by prescription only, to treat osteoarthritis -- the common, "wear-and-tear" form of arthritis caused by cartilage breakdown in the joints.

But medical foods are different from prescription drugs in that they don't have to be proven safe and effective before hitting the market.

In the new report, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers describe four cases in which Limbrel users developed temporary liver "injury."

That meant symptoms like abdominal pain, jaundice (yellowing of the skin), intensely itchy skin and fever.

All of the patients recovered after they stopped using the product.

The researchers cannot say with certainty that all four cases were caused by Limbrel.

"There's no single test you can do to say, ?Bingo, it's caused by this,'" said lead researcher Dr. Naga Chalasani, of Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis.

But he said that three of the cases were "highly likely" to have been caused by Limbrel. The fourth was "possibly" caused by the product.

Timing was a big clue. All four patients developed signs of liver toxicity within three months of starting the arthritis treatment. And all got better within three to 12 weeks of stopping it.

That relatively quick recovery is the good news, Chalasani said. "It seems like you stop taking it, and the liver injury improves pretty quickly, in a matter of weeks."

Scottsdale, Arizona-based Primus Pharmaceuticals, which makes Limbrel, did not return calls seeking a comment.

The four liver-damage cases turned up as part of an ongoing surveillance study of liver injury caused by drugs or herbal supplements. Between 2004 and 2010, researchers at several U.S. medical centers enrolled 877 patients who were thought to have liver damage from a medication or supplement.

Four of those cases were linked to Limbrel.

It's not fully clear why the product would damage the liver.

"That's the million-dollar question," Chalasani said.

But he and his colleagues suspect it may be the catechin content. Green tea extracts, which contain high concentrations of catechins, have been linked to liver toxicity.

Even if catechins are to blame, that still leaves the question of why only certain Limbrel users would develop liver problems. "There has to also be some kind of susceptibility" to liver injury, Chalasani said, noting that it could be a genetic vulnerability.

Also unclear is how many Limbrel users out there may have suffered liver injury.

Besides the four cases in this report, Primus has gotten eight reports of "clinically apparent" liver toxicity that the company shared with Chalasani's team.

The product is not widely used. Worldwide, it seems that about 400,000 prescriptions have been written for Limbrel, Chalasani noted.

He suggested that if you are one of those users, you should pay attention to any potential signs of liver toxicity, like abdominal pain and jaundice. "If you develop symptoms, stop using it and talk to your doctor," Chalasani said.

But an editorial published with the study says that people should be discouraged from using Limbrel -- and other dietary supplements marketed for arthritis.

Other anti-arthritis supplements include chondroitin and glucosamine, and there is little evidence they work, write Drs. Stephan Reichenbach and Peter Juni of the University of Bern, in Switzerland.

In the U.S., supplements and medical foods are not subject to the same regulation as drugs. That is, manufacturers can market them without showing proof to the Food and Drug Administration that the products work.

"Given the widespread use and potential harm of medical food and food supplements, the policy of marketing these products in the absence of clinical evidence may need to be reconsidered," Reichenbach and Juni write.

Unfortunately for arthritis sufferers, few treatments that are both safe and effective exist, the researchers point out.

Simple steps, like exercise and an occasional dose of acetaminophen, might help people with mild arthritis. But once the pain gets more severe, options are limited.

Some people find relief by regularly taking painkillers called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) -- which include naproxen, ibuprofen and the prescription drug celecoxib (Celebrex).

But those drugs can cause stomach irritation and ulcers, and studies have linked them to an increased risk of heart attack.

Anti-inflammatory cortisone shots can help some people temporarily, but they are not a long-term fix. And the effectiveness of another option -- injections of joint-lubricating hyaluronic acid -- has been seriously questioned.

Chalasani said that people should choose their arthritis treatment after a careful discussion with their doctor. When it comes to dietary supplements, he said, don't assume they are completely safe simply because they are described as "natural."

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/N0G6LY Annals of Internal Medicine, June 19, 2012.

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Songza soars in challenging online music field

(AP) ? Songza, a new online radio service, leapfrogged Pandora as the most popular free music app for Apple devices last week. But it immediately faces a struggle to survive in a business saddled with high royalty rates for artists.

The New York-based startup aims to re-write the songbook on how an online radio service ought to run. One key difference: it has no mood-killing audio ads.

"We have playlists for getting lucky," says CEO and co-founder Elias Roman, 28. "If you're getting lucky and you're hearing a toothbrush ad in it, that's not a lifestyle enhancement. That's embarrassing for everybody."

Audio ad-free Songza, at no charge, compares with a $36 annual fee to avoid audio ads on Pandora Media Inc., or $4 a month on Slacker Inc., another online radio service. It also limits Songza Media Inc.'s revenue flow, although the company still runs display ads.

The lack of interruptions helped Songza get downloaded 1.15 million times in the 10 days since June 7, when it updated its iPhone app and offered an iPad-optimized version.

The company now enters a race to become the biggest, or at least among the biggest, online radio services, before an inevitable shake-out decimates those unable to turn a profit.

Even Pandora, by far the market leader in online radio, tripled its losses in the first quarter through April to $20.2 million, mainly because listening hours jumped 92 percent from a year ago to 3.1 billion in the quarter. Royalties amount to a fraction of a penny per song play, and rapid growth has outstripped Pandora's ability to sell ads.

"You can't build a business with these per-track rates," says Pandora co-founder Tim Westergren. He says that an eventual slowdown in growth will allow ad sales to catch up. He's pinned hopes for cutting costs on a government royalty-setting process that starts in 2014.

He says Songza might not survive the rigors of the free music business, like Imeem before it. "People were excited about them for a while. They hit the reality of the business ultimately."

The uneven economics of the online radio business were highlighted by a deal announced two weeks ago between traditional radio station giant Clear Channel and Taylor Swift's record label, Big Machine.

The deal gave Swift and other artists an unprecedented slice of royalties based on traditional radio station airplay. In exchange, they agreed to cap their share of revenue made on Internet-delivered radio songs from Clear Channel's iHeart Radio service. The deal "creates a structure that makes sense," Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman said in a statement. The existing structure clearly didn't.

Slacker Inc., which launched in 2007, uses its free online radio service as a loss-leader to draw in potential customers. It convinces about 10 to 15 percent of them to pay up to $10 a month to choose songs and artists instead of hearing them more or less at random.

"There's no question it's a difficult business," says Jonathan Sasse, Slacker's senior vice president of marketing. The cost of marketing means the company is losing money, but that won't stop it from advertising to try to get bigger. "We'll continue to do that to invest in the growth of the company."

Songza is hoping that it can make money by learning what people say they're doing at certain moments of the day. Songza's "Music Concierge" service offers up playlists around themes like "unwinding after a long day," ''working out," and "eating dinner." Those lifestyle clues could appeal to advertisers.

CEO Roman didn't specify how Songza will use the information to create a business. "It's the type of thing you can do if you package your product as a lifestyle enhancer," he said.

Songza clearly needs to attract more users. According to comScore Inc., Pandora's website alone racked up 1.2 billion listener hours in May, compared to 2 million for Songza.

"Scale solves a lot of problems," says Tim Komada, founder of the Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture capital firm, Deep Fork Capital, which is an early Songza investor. "Our No. 1 priority now is scale ? gaining and retaining users."

Associated Press

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Chinese crew passes first space docking test

China performed its first-ever space docking involving a piloted spacecraft on Monday, joining the ranks of history's two greatest spacefaring nations, the United States and Russia.

China's Shenzhou 9 space capsule ? which launched Saturday carrying three astronauts, including the country's first female spaceflier ? linked up automatically with the unmanned Tiangong 1 space lab just after 2 p.m. Monday Beijing time (2 a.m. ET), according to CCTV.

The only other countries to pull off an orbital docking with a manned spacecraft are the United States and then-Soviet Russia, which first did so in 1966 and 1969, respectively.

Shenzhou 9 was to dock with Tiangong 1 twice. The plan called for the first hookup to be conducted in automated mode, following the pattern set last November during an all-robotic docking between Tiangong and an unmanned Shenzhou 8 craft. At some point, the two spacecraft will separate, and the three taikonauts, as China's astronauts are known, will perform the second docking under manual control.

  1. More space news from msnbc.com

    1. Hey, kids! Get your stuff sent into orbit

      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Wanna do some space science? You no longer have to be a professional researcher, or even a grown-up, to get your experiment into orbit.

    2. Mickey Mouse on Mercury? That's goofy!
    3. China's first woman astronaut takes spotlight
    4. Get set for Olympic Games from space!

Forty-six-year-old Jing Haipeng leads the taikonaut crew, which also includes Liu Wang, 42, and 33-year-old Liu Yang, China's first female astronaut. All are members of the Communist Party of China and former pilots with the People's Liberation Army; Jing flew on China's last manned spaceflight, which took place in 2008.

Two of the taikonauts will live aboard Tiangong 1 during the 13-day mission, while one will stay aboard Shenzhou 9 at all times in case of emergency.

Shenzhou 9's flight is considered a key step in China's plan to build a permanently staffed space station in Earth orbit. The nation hopes to have a 60-ton station and up and running by 2020. (For comparison, the International Space Station weighs about 430 tons.)

Shenzhou 9's mission is China's fourth manned spaceflight, following taikonaut launches in 2003, 2005 and 2008. Another manned mission to Tiangong 1 ? which launched to orbit in September 2011 ? could come later this year, Chinese officials have said.

This report was updated by msnbc.com. Follow Space.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwallor Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebookand Google+.

? 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Protect Your Family and Ease Your Mind with This Home-Security ...

Provided that a lawless person had to choose between breaking and entering a home that was secured or not, would he choose the secured one or the unsecured one? This is explanation as to why the growing security industries are taking off. Without a doubt, there is constant improving on the part of businesses with what is already accessible. Technology advancements are helping as well to make smarter and classier security systems. Some hi-tech components are motion sensors and laser applications for someone who is serious about it. Since space is limited we can?t check out all existing home security systems, but we will study several intriguing factors.

If you want a full system but do not want to buy one, then you can find companies from which you can lease a security system. When considering a leased system, there are pluses and minuses you must take into account. Of course, one of the pros for leasing is the fact that your initial expenses will be less. But the downside to that is you will pay more over the longer term of the contract.

Check with the leasing company to see if there are features of the contract that are adjustable, or can be eliminated altogether, such as maintenance of the system. A lot of leasing companies require that you sign a contract to allow them to monitor your security and alarms. This can be good or bad depending on your point of view. After all is said and done, you will most likely end-up paying more than had you simply purchased the system.

When you consider what to include in your home protection system, you must realize that there is more to consider than just protection from someone breaking into your home. You will also want to look into other protection devices such as a carbon monoxide detector, a temperature alarm system for various sections of your home, and a smoke detector. All of these systems are for one reason alone ? to protect your home and family. Hopefully there is no need to explain the benefits of a reliable smoke alarm.

It?s a documented fact that, when a fire breaks out, it spreads quickly and every second counts. If you have a carbon monoxide leak, on the other hand, you have no way of knowing what is going on. It has no odor, taste, or color. If you heat your home with any appliance that uses fossil fuels, such as a kerosene heater, or a wood-burning stove, you really need to have a carbon monoxide detection device in the event your heater quits working correctly. Systems that monitor temperatures and warn you when a temperature is not in the correct range are useful to monitor your plumbing system which is subject to freezing temperatures.

You must take into account technological properties of security cameras to make sure they include specifications like CCD. The quality of the video will be affected by this technology in conditions with low light levels. So you will want a high CCD of no less than one-third inch, and that value is actually the standard CCD size. You?ll run into issues with quality if you try to save money by going for a smaller device. What this means is that in low lighting conditions you may not get a very clear video. Since we are talking about security, then that would seem to be a less than ideal situation. As you have read, there is a wide variety of choices available with home security systems, devices and applications. The best way to go is finding what is available and then choose what is best for you.

For supplementary details on project management masters there is a lot of information not covered on this page, take a look at Author?s site to locate more.

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Monday, June 11, 2012

Profitable Web Design ? How To Boost Your IM Business To The ...

Internet Marketers use websites to make money. It is essential that websites look their best. There is a trend that exists today, mostly with newbies in the Internet Marketing realm, in which free predesigned templates are often used in an attempt to build an online business successfully. A subtle art, actually, is involved with creating websites that are profitable, something that free templates cannot provide. Every web design is not equal. All professionals know this. In this article, you will find a very important tips to help you. Here are some things you need to address as you put together your website. Try to get the fastest, most reliable web hosting service like Liquid Web, for the ultimate success of your online business.

De-clutter your website. You want your visitors to take certain actions on your site, not get diverted by too many features. If there are too many images, videos or headlines, people will get confused. If your site is more basic and spare, it will be much easier to get your visitors to focus on what you want them to. Figure out what you want site visitors to see the most and make sure that those things are incorporated first -especially on the home page of your site. Never forget the real purpose of your site, and don?t let too many bells and whistles divert visitors. When it comes to your web design, nothing is more crucial than having a homepage that appeals to visitors. Some sites have all kinds of impressive features and graphics, but they fail to make their purpose clear to visitors. You don?t want to make visitors have to work to understand your site?s theme, as many won?t bother to stick around if it?s not obvious. Consider removing anything on your site that isn?t essential and that could be preventing visitors from understanding your message. Keep this in mind regarding your home page and all other pages as well.

What exactly is the three click rule? Information that is on your site, as a general rule, should take no longer than three clicks for a visitor to find. Web designers and entrepreneurs understand how important this is in regard to profitability. This is also true for your call to action. If you can?t make the sale in three clicks, you aren?t ever going to make it. It is simply too much work, from the perception of the visitor, if it takes more than three clicks to get somewhere on your site. This will make them feel challenged, not comfortable.

Your visitor will feel manipulated, something they should not feel.

There are a lot of little things that go into making a website good. You should have excellent copy or content on the site you are working on.

Likewise, excellent web design is also important. As frustrating as it is, even top Internet Marketers ignore this aspect of their site. A professional designer should always be utilized (instead of using random templates and graphics) that can make your site look great. Find a designer, and let them teach you what you need to do for your site. And don?t forget to implement the tips presented in this article. Good luck!

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Sunday, June 10, 2012

Saturday Afternoon Links (Theagitator)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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Part-Time Health Fitness Speacialist-269 - Fitness Jobs, Fitness ...

Part-Time Health Fitness Speacialist-269
Location:Minneapolis MN 55416 US?
Employment Type:Employee?
Work Schedule:Part-Time?
Travel:No Travel?
Industry:Exercise/Fitness/Health?
Category:Exercise/Fitness/Health?
Experience Required:Yes?
Manages Others:Yes?
Degree Required:Yes?
Drug Screen/Background Check Required:Yes ?
Description
MediFit Corporate Services is a leading provider of onsite fitness and wellness solutions. We currently have an opportunity for a Part-Time Health Fitness Specialist at our client's corporate fitness facility in Minneapolis, MN. The position is for approximately 20 hours/week with a need to be flexible with scheduling for Monday-Friday.

The Health Fitness Specialist is an integral role in the success of our worksite wellness centers.

Interested candidates are encouraged to apply online at http://www.medifit.jobs - This position is requisition 12-0269.

The main responsibilities for this position include:

- Supervising and monitoring exercise participants.
- Performing fitness assessments, determining exercise prescriptions, and designing workout programs for a diverse population, including a variety of high risk clientele.
- Providing one-on-one consulting, training and motivation.
- Design & Implementation of incentive, health promotion, and other specialty programs.
- Instruction of group exercise classes.
- Performing administrative tasks associated with facility operations.
- Other duties as assigned.

Requirements
Qualified applicants will have a bachelor degree in a health/fitness field of study. CPR and First Aid certifications, excellent organizational and interpersonal skills are required. Experience teaching group exercise is desired but not required. However, candidates must demonstrate the willingness to learn how to teach exercise classes.

Local candidates desired. Relocation not offered for this position.

We are an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to a policy of non-discrimination in employment on any basis including race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. Consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act, applicants may request accommodation needed to participate in the application process.

Contact Information

This employer has chosen to remain anonymous. You may contact this employer about this job via anonymous email by clicking here.

This job has been viewed 22?times.

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Michael Giltz: Paul Simon's "Graceland" Turns 25 -- Part Two: The Cultural Impact

2012-06-08-refdp_image_08.jpeg


PAUL SIMON: GRACELAND 25TH ANNIVERSARY
DELUXE BOXED SET:
$119.98
CD/DVD SET: $15.98
LP: $24.98

Paul Simon's album Graceland has turned 25 sounding better than ever. Its impact on music and culture is vast and any list of the best albums of all time looks silly if Graceland doesn't appear on it somewhere. The best selling solo album for an artist who continues to produce great music, Graceland is a landmark, but not one that has grown dusty with Importance. It's not just a "significant" work with historical meaning; it's also an exhilarating collection of songs as timeless and current as ever. This is the second of a four part series covering the boxed set, its cultural impact, the story of the boycott and the music itself. You can buy the album in any configuration from Paul Simon's website or any major outlet.

Part One: The Boxed Set Review

PART TWO: GRACELAND -- ITS CULTURAL IMPACT

Graceland forever changed the game when it came to raising the visibility of world music, making arguments about "authenticity" when it came to such music seem pointless and silly and helping to legitimize sampling.

No work of art exists in a vacuum. Obviously, many artists in the West drew inspiration from other cultures just as musicians in other cultures drew inspiration from the West. The Talking Heads, the Beatles and countless others dipped into the well of "world music." Heck, Simon himself had been doing so throughout his career. Also, artists from around the world would occasionally break onto the US pop charts, usually as an "exotic" novelty playing "genuine" folk music or under more traditional terms, like Edith Piaf, a French singer people could easily grasp. Record stores in major cities had world music sections. People listened to the music but it often had an aura of nobleness or academia.

Graceland changed all of that for good. The world music sections of record stores exploded in size. Artists who had always championed acts from around the world were able to redouble their efforts. Peter Gabriel and David Byrne launched record labels to do just that. If you were like me, once you became obsessed with Graceland and the music on it, you wanted to hear more. I ran out and bought The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto, Vol. 1, the first in a terrific series that is still an excellent introduction to the music of South Africa. It wasn't an education, however; it was fun. However raw or "exotic" the rhythms or instrumentation may sound, this was pop music. What matters is not how "genuine" music is but simply how good it is. Our ears would soon be opened to everything from Peruvian rock bands inspired by psychedelia to Bulgarian women's choirs that did indeed sound like a thousand year old tradition. Here's the second track on that album, Nelcy Seibe singing "Holotelani."

The album had no liner notes to speak of so I had only the vaguest idea that she was singing a daughter-in-law's praise song for a wedding, celebrating the cattle being given as a dowry, the bridegroom entering and the new in-laws that must be shown respect. Later I would learn this was a South African urban pop style known as mbaqanga. Sure it had roots in traditional folk music but it also mixed in jazz, blues, rhythm & blues from the US and more. The people performing with Simon weren't the hottest acts in South Africa at the time, really. Paul Simon had discovered a rich vein of music that had fallen a bit out of favor. According to Under African Skies, the documentary about the making of Graceland, many of the acts he worked with were passe; most of the hot bands were heavily into the funk music of George Clinton. All I knew for certain was that the entire compilation was compulsively listenable

People who accused Paul Simon of being a colonialist who crudely "stole" or perverted authentic music failed to understand that the artists he collaborated with were creating pop music themselves. Their music was inspired by Motown and Stax and a thousand other strands of popular music. If you live in Paris and don't speak English, why then Bob Dylan is world music to you. Byrne's label Luaka Bop reportedly kept a focus on its album cover art to make certain it was as modern as possible. They didn't want the music they were presenting -- like Brazilian pop on the seminal compilation Brazil Classics 1: Beleza Tropical -- to be seen as musty or anthropological. This wasn't music for scholarly erudition -- or rather not just for scholarly erudition. It was music to dance to, like Jorge Ben's infectious "Umbabarauma." Try not to move while hearing this.

So the covers they created were sexy and fun. Just like the music. When these artists were interviewed, their diverse range of influences made a mockery of the idea of purity. This growing awareness of music's journey around the world, how musical ideas leapfrogged from Africa to Cuba to New Orleans to New York to Paris and on and on freed up fans the way artists had always been free, to listen with open ears to anything from anywhere and not be worried about taking inspiration anywhere it could be found. Vampire Weekend? College preppies who took inspiration from the rhythms and sound of Soweto township jive? Why not?

While the documentary film's claim Simon launched hip-hop and sampling is far-fetched, he was an important influence. Simon was sampling the hard way. When he heard a track he liked, he didn't digitally sample it and manipulate the music to create something new. He invited the artist into the studio to perform that track again and rework and refashion it into something wholly new.

Graceland contains more songwriting credits for other artists than any other album in Simon's career. It was a true collaboration and not "sampling" in the sense we understand it today. But it did help to legitimize it artistically. No one could deny the brilliance of the music or the fact that it was unquestionably a Paul Simon album with Paul Simon songs. That voice and those lyrics are inimitable. But his approach to songwriting was radically new for Simon. He began with the rhythm and musical track and then wrote the lyrics later, often reshaping the tune along the way. It would define his approach to music for the next two decades.

Was he "cheating?" On Rhythm of the Saints, the opening track "The Obvious Child" begins with thunderous drumming Simon heard and recorded on the streets while traveling through Central and South America. He didn't write that drum pattern and the people who were jamming don't get songwriting credit, though they are credited as musicians on the album and did get financial recompense. Let's remember what a radically new idea this was for recorded popular music. Simon heard something, recorded it, fiddled and expanded it and made it the very tiny kernel of a song only he could have created. He credited the musicians and paid them but can you "steal" a drum sound you hear on the streets or sample it from an old album and loop it and claim to have created something new? Yes, of course you can. And before recorded music that's exactly how "authentic" folk music worked. People heard a song and learned it and maybe fiddled with the lyrics or melody and then passed it down to someone else.

Sampling isn't inherently artistic of course. Sometimes it's lame and reductive and depends too much on the original track. Sometimes it's brilliant and fresh. But it's definitely art and as long as sources are acknowledged and properly rewarded when necessary it's all good. Bitter court battles have determined what is legal and how much this or that artist deserves to get paid. But artistically, the idea of "stealing" someone's music by going into a studio and collaborating with them the way Simon did now seems absurd. The idea of "pure" music existing somewhere in the world when we can hear the cross-currents from culture to culture seems silly.

Many artists paved the way, many world music acts toured and became famous long before 1986. But Graceland took world music to another level, turning some of the acts on the album into international superstars, expanding everyone's appreciation for world music, establishing once and for all that music is music and anyone can dip into the stream and pull out whatever they need for artistic inspiration and that sampling is just another way of building on what's come before.

Here's Paul Simon's playful video for "You Can Call Me Al," the closest Graceland came to a hit in the US. It originally peaked at #44 in 1986, but was rereleased in early 1987 and went all the way to...#23. Ultimately Graceland sold 5 million copies in the US thanks to touring, constant media attention and word of mouth.

Part One: The Boxed Set Review
Tomorrow: Graceland -- The Boycott

Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog. Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.

Note: Michael Giltz was provided with a free copy of the deluxe boxed set with the understanding that he would be writing a review.

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Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz

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Saturday, June 9, 2012

Guy Gets Double Arm Transplant, Does World's Best Robot Dance Move to Celebrate [WTFriday]

I love sad stories with happy ending. This gentleman is Gabriel Granados Vergara, a 52-year-old man lost both arms below the elbows, charred beyond repair in an electrical accident. But thanks to an unnamed 34-year-old shooting victim, he got them back. More »


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Romney and GOP raise more than Obama and Democrats

FILE - In this June 6, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks, in San Antonio, Texas. Mitt Romney out raised President Barack Obama in May, the first time the Republican presidential challenger has jumped ahead of Obama and his prodigious fundraising apparatus. The numbers illustrate how Romney and the Republican Party have jelled as a force after a protracted GOP primary. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - In this June 6, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks, in San Antonio, Texas. Mitt Romney out raised President Barack Obama in May, the first time the Republican presidential challenger has jumped ahead of Obama and his prodigious fundraising apparatus. The numbers illustrate how Romney and the Republican Party have jelled as a force after a protracted GOP primary. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - In this June 6, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in Los Angeles. Mitt Romney out raised President Barack Obama in May, the first time the Republican presidential challenger has jumped ahead of Obama and his prodigious fundraising apparatus. The numbers illustrate how Romney and the Republican Party have jelled as a force after a protracted GOP primary. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Supporters with a life sized cardboard cutout of President Barack Obama line the streets in View Park where he is participating in a fundraiser, Thursday, June 7, 2012, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

(AP) ? Mitt Romney outraised President Barack Obama in May, the first time the Republican presidential challenger has jumped ahead of Obama and his prodigious fundraising apparatus. The numbers illustrate how Romney and the Republican Party have jelled as a force after a protracted GOP primary.

Romney and his party raised more than $76 million last month, the campaign said Thursday. Obama's campaign reported that it and the Democratic Party raised $60 million for the month.

Obama, forced onto the defensive by lackluster employment numbers, also launched a new television ad Thursday in nine key election-year states targeting Congress and blaming lawmakers for not acting on his jobs proposals. The approach represents an expanded ad focus for Obama, who had been going after Romney.

The fundraising numbers and Obama's new ad signal a new stage in the campaign as a resurgent Romney capitalizes on his emergence as the GOP's standard-bearer and as Obama is forced to confront the political implications of a weak economic recovery.

"We got beat," Obama campaign manager Jim Messina wrote bluntly in an e-mail to supporters, urging contributors to step up their giving.

For Romney, the latest figure represents a significant jump in fundraising. He and the GOP brought in $40 million in April, just short of the $43.6 million the Democratic president and his party raised that month. What's more, Romney is getting a significant boost from Republican-leaning super PACs that have raised far more and spent far more than their Democratic-leaning counterparts.

Romney, stepping up his criticism of Obama, campaigned and was raising money Thursday in Missouri. In a speech at a factory in St. Louis, Romney accused Obama not only of a failure of policy, but of "a moral failure of tragic proportions."

Citing millions of unemployed or underemployed Americans, Romney said Obama nevertheless claimed he was doing a great job.

"I will not be that president of doubt and deception," he said.

Asked afterward to comment on topping Obama in fundraising, Romney said only: "Long way to go."

Obama was mixing more fundraising with official business Thursday as he wrapped up a two-day West Coast trip that included four fundraisers on Wednesday. He started the day under a sweltering sun in the Los Angeles area at a breakfast fundraiser for about 300 people. Tickets started at $2,500.

Later, addressing about 2,500 college students at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Obama picked up on the theme of his latest campaign ad and blamed congressional inaction for the lack of additional job growth.

"If they had taken all the steps I was pushing for back in September we could have put even more Americans back to work, we could have sliced through these headwinds more easily," Obama said.

Obama campaign officials noted that Romney's fundraising surge could be temporary and that it reflects his recently sealed standing as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, which allows him to raise more general election money. It also lets him raise money jointly for his campaign and for the Republican Party. The Obama officials pointed out that Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry briefly experienced a similar surge in fundraising over President George W. Bush in the spring of 2004 after Kerry had locked up the nomination.

In his e-mail, Messina sought donations of $3 or more to "close the gap" against Romney in fundraising. "More people giving a little bit is the only way to compete with a few people giving a lot. So let's fight like hell and win this thing," he said.

Obama has been an active fundraiser and lately has stepped up the number of events he holds with donors. As of Thursday, the president has done 153 fundraisers since filing as a candidate for re-election on April 4, 2011, according to statistics kept by CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller. During same period in the 2004 election cycle, Bush had participated in 79 fundraisers.

In all, Obama and the Democratic National Committee and other state-focused funds have hauled in more than $500 million during the 2012 election campaign, compared to more than $480 million for Romney and the Republican Party.

The Romney campaign reported that the party and the campaign had $107 million cash on hand at the end of May. Obama's campaign did not list its comparable figure on Thursday, but last month it reported $115 million in the bank through the end of April, with the Democratic National Committee listing $24 million in hand.

Obama's new ad does not mention congressional Republicans, but its target is clear. Republicans have proposed their own measures aimed at creating jobs and have blocked several Obama proposals to promote hiring of teachers and police officers, and to increase infrastructure projects. Obama has proposed paying for those measures with tax increases on wealthier taxpayers, an idea Republicans reject.

The ad is airing in the key presidential election states of Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The campaign declined to reveal how much it was spending on the ads, saying only that it was a "significant" purchase of air time.

___

Associated Press writers Philip Elliott, Julie Pace and Kasie Hunt contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Argentina would ID 'unknown' soldiers in Falklands

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) ? Nelida Montoya is tormented by the image of a faraway tomb on a lonely hillside in the South Atlantic, where instead of the name of her son, a gravestone reads "Argentine soldier known only to God."

Horacio Echave was only 19 when he died in the Falkland Islands on the last day of fighting against British forces, a war that ended the Argentines' 74-day occupation of the archipelago they claim as their "Islas Malvinas." His body is one of 123 that couldn't be identified before they were reburied in the Argentine military cemetery near Darwin, a settlement hours from the capital of Stanley where many soldiers on both sides fell in close combat 30 years ago.

"They went there with a name and now they're just so many unknowns. Why?" said Montoya, 69. "I want my son to have his name."

Montoya is part of a group of families who want desperately to send Argentine scientists to the islands to identify their war dead, even as other families resist the idea. Montoya's group reached out to British musician Roger Waters, who delivered their appeal to President Cristina Fernandez in March between concerts in Buenos Aires. She quickly took on their cause, describing it as a matter of universal human rights, and asked for help from the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has been studying whether to intervene.

The trouble is, some relatives of the fallen are appalled at any plan to unearth the bodies for their DNA and seek matches among survivors.

"I don't agree with this appeal. I have already mourned," said Delmira Hasenclever de Cao, president of a commission of families of dead soldiers. "The wound was closed 30 years ago."

"We want each and every family to be consulted to see what their opinion is," de Cao added. "One family's opinion cannot be imposed upon another's. Everyone has the same right to decide what they will do."

Montoya's group wants the work done by the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, an independent group of scientists who developed their expertise identifying victims of the 1976-1983 military junta and have since helped unravel human rights atrocities on four continents.

The Red Cross has begun interviewing families of "unknown" soldiers to better understand their concerns. Some want their loved ones' bodies back home. Others fear that once identified, they'll be removed from the land they gave their lives to recover for Argentina. Still others worry that the process will be awful to see or even think about, causing them more grief and pain.

The governments in Buenos Aires and Stanley will have to deal with each other if the effort goes any farther, bridging a political gulf as wide as the frigid Argentine Sea that separates the islands from the South American mainland. The Argentines consider the islands an illegal British colony, refusing to recognize the self-governing democracy islanders established after the war.

Falkland Islands Government spokesman Darren Christie said the Red Cross has not formally approached officials there about identifying the buried soldiers.

"The official line is that if and when we receive some sort of formal contact, we will consider it very carefully," Christie said.

The war ended on June 14, 1982, but most Argentine bodies were left untouched on the battlefield or in temporary graves through the long southern winter. Britain tried for months to send them to Buenos Aires, but the military junta said they were already in their homeland. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher finally agreed to build an Argentine cemetery, and Geoffrey Cardozo, a young British Army captain, was ordered to recover and rebury the dead in January 1983.

Cardozo assembled a team of British funeral directors that rappelled into minefields from helicopters and dug up mass graves to recover the Argentine corpses, carefully preparing each one for reburial in individual coffins. It was gruesome but important work, and Cardozo, who retired recently as a colonel, remains proud of it. In all, 649 Argentines and 255 British soldiers died in the war. All but 14 of the British war dead whose bodies could be recovered were taken home.

"These poor Argentines were to be gathered together and given a proper burial in exactly the same way as we would give our people a proper burial," Cardozo recalled. "I personally examined every single body. I was the ultimate authority in saying 'this man is identified, or unidentified.'"

"All the British were easily identified and were buried immediately, or in effect buried at sea, within their ships," he added. "We were left with the awful problem of Argentine bodies spread all over, either a few inches under the ground, or in the snow, up in the rocks or crevasses where they died, literally just out in the elements."

In most cases, identifications were impossible.

The Argentines had been ill-prepared for the war, and weren't given durable identification tags. Captured Argentines who might have identified comrades months earlier had been quickly sent home. The British had no Argentine military records to compare the bodies to, let alone dental records or other forensic information.

"Quite often we found communal graves and we had to very carefully get the bodies out one by one," Cardozo said. "And every single body that was taken out was laid on a plastic sheet, undressed with great care in case they had grenades or ammunition that might explode on them, and sometimes there were grenades there. That was a constant concern."

Still, Cardozo said he did everything he could to keep them from being buried anonymously.

"If I found a letter in a pocket which had a name on it, which I believed could very well have been addressed to them, because it was open, then maybe, I might have decided to say that must be the guy," he said.

"I had foremost in my mind their mothers, their sisters, their brothers or fathers. How can you put a guy away having not made the maximum effort?"

Two more years passed before the Argentine military sent Montoya an official letter informing her that Horacio had been killed in the hours before British forces declared victory on June 14, 1982.

Years after that, she was able to visit the cemetery.

"I was hoping I would be able to find his name, but no," she said, sobbing as she recalled how she finally settled on one of the unknown soldier's graves, and tried to mourn there.

Televised images of British soldiers being lowered into a temporary battlefield grave during the fighting were so upsetting to viewers back home that for the first time in British military history, most of the dead soldiers were brought back immediately after the war and reburied at home, Cardozo said. All the soldiers in the small British military cemetery in the islands were identified.

Surviving Argentine soldiers also were horrified at having to hastily bury their dead in common graves before they were shipped home in defeat. Some veterans worry that the remains of their comrades are still jumbled together today, and that the neat rows of white crosses and dark gray tombstones in the Darwin cemetery are just there for show.

That nightmarish fear is one reason why some Argentine families oppose the identification effort. Meticulous British records show that no one was left in a common grave, and Cardozo insists that he personally made sure every soldier was reburied with dignity.

"There are so many myths. It's horrific that someone thinks there's nothing under the crosses. It's horrendous. For me, who spent months looking after these soldiers, it hurts. And it must hurt these poor Argentine families even more."

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Microsoft Office Accounting Software Reviewed | IAC Professionals

Accounting software needs to be user friendly and understandable or it just doesn?t make sense. One option, that you may not have considered, is Microsoft Office Accounting. While the program is no longer available as new software, Microsoft Office Accounting Professional 2008 is a very good small business accounting program that may be just what you are looking for.

One advantage is the familiarity of Microsoft Office. The whole program looks and feels like something you have likely been working with for years. It integrates quickly and easily with your other Office programs, without a steep learning curve. If your inventory tracking needs are minimal, this program could solve your accounting problems in a snap. The program also has an excellent resource center to help with questions. The dashboard interface displays the information you need cleanly, keeping everything at your fingertips.

Unfortunately, Microsoft Office Accounting Professional 2008 does not have as many payroll options as many other small business accounting programs do. Again, if your business is a one-person outfit or you only have a couple employees, this may not be a hindrance.

Another option from Microsoft is a free version of accounting software called Microsoft Accounting Express. It has the same easy interface and wonderful navigation tools. It also integrates seamlessly with other Office programs. The program runs more slowly and has some advertising you need to deal with. It is also strictly a one-person user interface. However, it has links to eBay and PayPal and has payroll options available.

While neither one of these small business accounting options will give you all the bells and whistles that other programs offer, they can both be viable options to get you started with your accounting needs for your small business. If you are currently using Microsoft Office for your business software, the easy integration and familiarity could make them a good option for you.

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Lindsay Lohan Hospitalized After Car Accident

Doctors are reportedly performing tests on the actress after her vehicle was totaled in collision with 18-wheeler.
By John Mitchell


Lindsay Lohan leaves the hospital after her car accident
Photo: David Tonnessen/PacificCoastNews.com

Lindsay Lohan was taken to the hospital Friday (June 8) after her black Porsche collided with an 18-wheel semi-trailer truck, TMZ is reporting.

Santa Monica police said the accident occurred on the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica and that an investigation into the collision was ongoing.

The actress was transported to the hospital, though reportedly not by ambulance. While Lohan's condition is not known, she is reportedly in the hospital with doctors performing tests, though on-scene sources say she appears to have not suffered any major injuries.

The actress' Porsche was reportedly totaled in the accident. Photos of the vehicle show a severely damaged front end, with the hood pushed up and nearly dislodged, the airbag deployed and a smashed windshield. The passenger-side window was reportedly shattered and the rear bumper was torn off her car.

In March, Lohan completed her probation related to two 2007 DUI cases and has been working steadily to get her derailed career back on track. Though she received mixed reviews, she delivered big ratings for "Saturday Night Live" when she hosted the legendary sketch comedy show earlier this year and more recently, despite reports of on-set drama, earned positive notices for her appearance on "Glee."

The 25-year-old actress is currently filming the TV biopic "Liz & Dick," in which she stars as film icon Elizabeth Taylor. The first publicity still from the movie was released this week, showing Lohan with a short black bob.

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Friday, June 8, 2012

Immune system 'circuitry' that kills malaria in mosquitoes identified

Immune system 'circuitry' that kills malaria in mosquitoes identified [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 7-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Tim Parsons
tmparson@jhsph.edu
410-955-7619
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute have, for the first time, determined the function of a series proteins within the mosquito that transduce a signal that enables the mosquito to fight off infection from the parasite that causes malaria in humans. Together, these proteins are known as immune deficiency (Imd) pathway signal transducing factors, are analogous to an electrical circuit. As each factor is switched on or off it triggers or inhibits the next, finally leading to the launch of an immune response against the malaria parasite. The study was published June 7 in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

The latest study builds upon earlier work of the research team, in which they found that silencing one gene of this circuit, Caspar, activated Rel2, an Imd pathway transcription factor of the Anopheles gambiae mosquito. The activation of Rel2 turns on the effectors TEP1, APL1 and FBN9 that kill malaria-causing parasites in the mosquito's gut. More significantly, this study discovered the Imd pathway signal transducing factors and effectors that will mediate a successful reduction of parasite infection at their early ookinete stage, as well as in the later oocyst stage when the levels of infection were similar to those found in nature.

"Identifying and understanding how all of the players work is crucial for manipulating the Imd pathway as an invention to control malaria. We now know which genes can be manipulated through genetic engineering to create a malaria resistant mosquito" said George Dimopoulos PhD, professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

To conduct the study, Dimopoulos's team used a RNA interference method to "knock down" the genes of the Imd pathway. As the components were inactivated, the researchers could observe how the mosquito's resistance to parasite infection would change.

"Imagine a string of Christmas lights or other circuit that will not work when parts aren't aligned in the right sequence. That is how we are working with the mosquito's immune system," explained Dimopolous. "We manipulate the molecular components of the mosquito's immune system to identify the parts necessary to kill the malaria parasites."

Malaria kills more than 800,000 people worldwide each year. Many are children.

###

The authors of "Anopheles Imd pathway factors and effectors in infection intensity-dependent anti-Plasmodium action" are Lindsey S. Garver, Ana C. Bahia, Suchismita Das, Jayme A. Souza-Neo, Jessica Shiao, Yuemei Dong and George Dimopoulos.

The research was funded by the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute.

Follow the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH.



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

?


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


Immune system 'circuitry' that kills malaria in mosquitoes identified [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 7-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Tim Parsons
tmparson@jhsph.edu
410-955-7619
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute have, for the first time, determined the function of a series proteins within the mosquito that transduce a signal that enables the mosquito to fight off infection from the parasite that causes malaria in humans. Together, these proteins are known as immune deficiency (Imd) pathway signal transducing factors, are analogous to an electrical circuit. As each factor is switched on or off it triggers or inhibits the next, finally leading to the launch of an immune response against the malaria parasite. The study was published June 7 in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

The latest study builds upon earlier work of the research team, in which they found that silencing one gene of this circuit, Caspar, activated Rel2, an Imd pathway transcription factor of the Anopheles gambiae mosquito. The activation of Rel2 turns on the effectors TEP1, APL1 and FBN9 that kill malaria-causing parasites in the mosquito's gut. More significantly, this study discovered the Imd pathway signal transducing factors and effectors that will mediate a successful reduction of parasite infection at their early ookinete stage, as well as in the later oocyst stage when the levels of infection were similar to those found in nature.

"Identifying and understanding how all of the players work is crucial for manipulating the Imd pathway as an invention to control malaria. We now know which genes can be manipulated through genetic engineering to create a malaria resistant mosquito" said George Dimopoulos PhD, professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

To conduct the study, Dimopoulos's team used a RNA interference method to "knock down" the genes of the Imd pathway. As the components were inactivated, the researchers could observe how the mosquito's resistance to parasite infection would change.

"Imagine a string of Christmas lights or other circuit that will not work when parts aren't aligned in the right sequence. That is how we are working with the mosquito's immune system," explained Dimopolous. "We manipulate the molecular components of the mosquito's immune system to identify the parts necessary to kill the malaria parasites."

Malaria kills more than 800,000 people worldwide each year. Many are children.

###

The authors of "Anopheles Imd pathway factors and effectors in infection intensity-dependent anti-Plasmodium action" are Lindsey S. Garver, Ana C. Bahia, Suchismita Das, Jayme A. Souza-Neo, Jessica Shiao, Yuemei Dong and George Dimopoulos.

The research was funded by the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute.

Follow the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/JohnsHopkinsSPH.



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

?


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


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