Holographic microscopy: Peering into living cells -- with neither dye nor fluophore

Feb. 7, 2013 ? In the world of microscopy, this advance is almost comparable to the leap from photography to live television. Two young EPFL researchers, Yann Cotte and Fatih Toy, have designed a device that combines holographic microscopy and computational image processing to observe living biological tissues at the nanoscale. Their research is being done under the supervision of Christian Depeursinge, head of the Microvision and Microdiagnostics Group in EPFL's School of Engineering.

Using their setup, three-dimensional images of living cells can be obtained in just a few minutes -- instantaneous operation is still in the works -- at an incredibly precise resolution of less than 100 nanometers, 1000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. And because they're able to do this without using contrast dyes or fluorescents, the experimental results don't run the risk of being distorted by the presence of foreign substances.

Being able to capture a living cell from every angle like this lays the groundwork for a whole new field of investigation. "We can observe in real time the reaction of a cell that is subjected to any kind of stimulus," explains Cotte. "This opens up all kinds of new opportunities, such as studying the effects of pharmaceutical substances at the scale of the individual cell, for example."

Watching a neuron grow

This month in Nature Photonics the researchers demonstrate the potential of their method by developing, image by image, the film of a growing neuron and the birth of a synapse, caught over the course of an hour at a rate of one image per minute. This work, which was carried out in collaboration with the Neuroenergetics and cellular dynamics laboratory in EPFL's Brain Mind Institute, directed by Pierre Magistretti, earned them an editorial in the journal. "Because we used a low-intensity laser, the influence of the light or heat on the cell is minimal," continues Cotte. "Our technique thus allows us to observe a cell while still keeping it alive for a long period of time."

As the laser scans the sample, numerous images extracted by holography are captured by a digital camera, assembled by a computer and "deconvoluted" in order to eliminate noise. To develop their algorithm, the young scientists designed and built a "calibration" system in the school's clean rooms (CMI) using a thin layer of aluminum that they pierced with 70nm-diameter "nanoholes" spaced 70nm apart.

Finally, the assembled three-dimensional image of the cell, that looks as focused as a drawing in an encyclopedia, can be virtually "sliced" to expose its internal elements, such as the nucleus, genetic material and organelles.

Toy and Cotte, who have already obtained an EPFL Innogrant, hope to develop a system that could deliver these kinds of observations in vivo, without the need for removing tissue, using portable devices. In parallel, they will continue to design laboratory material based on these principles.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Ecole Polytechnique F?d?rale de Lausanne, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Yann Cotte, Fatih Toy, Pascal Jourdain, Nicolas Pavillon, Daniel Boss, Pierre Magistretti, Pierre Marquet, Christian Depeursinge. Marker-free phase nanoscopy. Nature Photonics, 2013; 7 (2): 113 DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2012.329

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/hRLDq8BD99Q/130207172205.htm

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FOR KIDS: Secret signals

Animals respond to chemical messages they may not even realize they?re swapping

Animals respond to chemical messages they may not even realize they?re swapping

By Roberta Kwok

Web edition: February 8, 2013

Enlarge

Chemicals called pheromones act as messengers between individuals. Many plants and animals ? including this squid ? respond to such secret signals.

Credit: Roger T. Hanlon

Pheromones work as messengers between individuals. They can make other members of the same species change how they behave or how they mature.

Scientists are still learning about these chemical messages, including how several species sometimes copy those pheromones for devious purposes. For example, some researchers have identified plants that mimic insect pheromones to attract the bugs. Not surprisingly, people also have learned to harness pheromones to deceive destructive pests ? sometimes luring bugs to their deaths.

Still unknown: whether people release pheromones ? and how others might respond to such secret chemical signals.

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/348176/title/FOR_KIDS_Secret_signals

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Kerry says US weighing Syria options; mum on arms

Secretary of State John Kerry holds a bilateral meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Secretary of State John Kerry holds a bilateral meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that the United States is evaluating new options to halt Syria's civil war, but he refused to weigh into administration debates over whether to arm the rebels fighting President Bashar Assad's regime.

In his first news conference as secretary, Kerry said the Obama administration was looking at the crisis anew and hoping to find a diplomatic solution. But he sidestepped specifically addressing a question over providing military assistance to the anti-Assad opposition.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress on Thursday that they had recommended offering military support to the rebels but were rebuffed by President Barack Obama.

"My sense right now is that everybody in the administration and people in other parts of the world are deeply distressed by the continued violence in Syria," Kerry told reporters alongside Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird. "There's too much killing. There's too much violence. And we obviously want to try to find a way forward."

"We are evaluating now," he said. "We're taking a look at what steps, if any, diplomatic particularly, might be able to be taken in an effort to try to reduce that violence and deal with that situation."

Kerry's suggestion of a possible new American approach comes after Panetta and Dempsey gave the Senate a glimpse of the internal disagreements over how forcefully the U.S. should respond to violence that has killed some 60,000 people in the last two years. Both military leaders said they supported providing weapons to the rebels, but that the president made the final decision against such action.

Washington has struggled throughout Syria's civil war to come up with a policy that would help end the bloodshed and hasten Assad's departure. Obama called on the Syrian leader to leave power in August 2011, but the United States has refused to entertain any notion of military intervention by patrolling Syria's skies to prevent government airstrikes or by handing out advanced weaponry to Syrian rebels.

U.S. officials have noted that, unlike in Libya, there is no U.N. mandate for any direct American military involvement such as a no-fly zone. And officials believe any plan to provide weapons would only further militarize a conflict that needs to be resolved with some sort of political transition. There is also fear that if the weapons end up in the hands of terrorists and extremist groups they can later turn on nearby Israel or other U.S. allies and interests in the region.

Kerry said he wasn't privy to all the details of the administration's internal deliberations.

"I don't know what the discussions were in the White House and who said what, and I'm not going to go backward," Kerry said at the end of his first full week in his new job. "This is a new administration now, the president's second term, I'm a new secretary of state and we're going forwards from this point."

But Kerry underscored the numerous challenges hindering the possibility of a more activist approach, citing the threat of the rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra ? the Obama administration has designated it a foreign terrorist organization ? and the influx of fighters from al-Qaida in Iraq. "It is a very complicated and very dangerous situation," he said. "And everybody understands it is a place that has chemical weapons, and we are deeply concerned about that."

In the past months, several officials in the State Department, Defense Department and Central Intelligence Agency have said that giving weapons to carefully vetted rebels could help blunt the influence of extremists like al-Nusra among the rebel ranks. Such U.S. assistance, according to proponents, might also be remembered in a post-Assad Syria and provide the United States a new partner in a place that it has generally met hostility during the four decades of the Assad family dynasty.

The counterargument maintained that giving weapons posed too great a risk, according to other officials who also spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk publicly about internal matters. The White House, in particular, was wary in the weeks preceding Obama's re-election and hasn't changed its mind because the nonextremist opposition still lacks cohesiveness and because there is no compelling national security reason for direct US weapons supplies.

It's unclear whether Kerry has formed his own opinion. Asked during his confirmation hearing last month about new options for Syria, he said he needed to first see the administration's contingency plans.

"What I do know is that there are a lot of weapons there," he said. "There are people in the Gulf, and you know who they are, who are not hesitating to provide weapons. And that's one of the reasons, together with the fact that al-Nusra has been introduced to the equation that the movement on the ground is faster than the movement in the politics."

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-02-08-US-Kerry-Syria/id-734d68fe67bf40c2ae8e55d8ebbcd6e0

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Children with ACL injuries require special treatment

Feb. 6, 2013 ? Until a child's bones have fully matured (in girls, typically by age 14; in boys, age 16), an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) -- the primary, stabilizing ligament of the knee joint -- requires special consideration, treatment and care to ensure appropriate healing and to prevent long-term complications.

According to a review article in the February 2013 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS),ACL injuries once were considered rare in children and adolescents. However, the number of ACL injuries in young athletes is on the rise, "whether they result from year-round training, less free play or increased single sport concentration," said lead study author and pediatric orthopaedic surgeon Jeremy Frank, MD, with Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital's Department of Pediatric Orthopaedics and [U18] Sports Medicine in Hollywood, Fla.

To avoid potential future complications, such as early onset osteoarthritis, the literature review outlines the optimal strategies for treating pediatric ACL injuries based on the specifics of the injury and the child's skeletal (bone), age and developmental maturity.

Among the recommendations:

• Children should be treated by an orthopaedic surgeon who has expertise in the operative treatment of pediatric ACL injuries.
• For pediatric and adolescent patients with partial ACL tears compromising less than 50 percent of the diameter of the ligament, non-surgical management, including activity modification, bracing and/or physical therapy, can be considered.
• Treatment for complete ACL ruptures typically involves transphyseal ACL reconstruction surgery that partially or completely spares the femoral physis (the growth plate, contributing to 70 percent of thigh-bone growth), and adult-type surgical or arthroscopic reconstruction in adolescents at or nearing skeletal maturity.
• Postoperative management may include weight-bearing and activity modifications, bracing, and a progressive physical therapy program emphasizing range of motion (ROM), closed-chain strengthening (exercises on the knee while the foot remains stationary) and a gradual and measured return to sport-specific maneuvers and activities.

"There are currently numerous safe and effective surgical techniques to reconstruct the ACL in the skeletally immature sportsperson to restore stability and forestall the early progression towards meniscal and chondral (cartilage) pathologies (disease)," said Dr. Frank. Complications from ACL surgery are rare in children when the appropriate operation is performed on the right patient.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. J. S. Frank, P. L. Gambacorta. Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in the Skeletally Immature Athlete: Diagnosis and Management. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2013; 21 (2): 78 DOI: 10.5435/JAAOS-21-02-78

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/tB2RO96Ghfo/130206141645.htm

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Monopoly tosses iron token, adds a cat

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) ? Scottie dog has a new nemesis in Monopoly after fans voted in an online contest to add a cat token to the property trading game, replacing the iron, toy maker Hasbro Inc. announced Wednesday.

The results were announced after the shoe, wheelbarrow and iron were neck and neck for elimination in the final hours of voting that sparked passionate efforts by fans to save their favorite tokens, and by businesses eager to capitalize on publicity surrounding pieces that represent their products.

The vote on Facebook closed just before midnight on Tuesday, marking the first time that fans have had a say on which of the eight tokens to add and which one to toss. The pieces identify the players and have changed quite a lot since Parker Brothers bought the game from its original designer in 1935.

Rhode Island-based Hasbro announced the new piece Wednesday morning.

Other pieces that contested for a spot on Monopoly included a robot, diamond ring, helicopter and guitar.

Fans from more than 120 countries voted.

"We put five new tokens out for our fans to vote on and there were a lot of fans of the many different tokens, but I think there were a lot of cat lovers in the world that reached out and voted for the cat to be the new token for Monopoly," said Jonathan Berkowitz, vice president for Hasbro gaming marketing.

The Scottie Dog was the most popular of the classic tokens, and received 29% of the vote, the company said. The iron got the least votes and was kicked to the curb.

The cat, which has no name, received 31% of votes for new tokens.

The online contest to change the tokens was sparked by chatter on Facebook, where Monopoly has more than 10 million fans. The initiative was intended to ensure that a game created nearly eight decades ago remains relevant and engaging to fans today.

"Tokens are always a key part of the Monopoly game ... and our fans are very passionate about their tokens, about which token they use while they play," Berkowitz said.

Monopoly's iconic tokens originated when the niece of game creator Charles Darrow suggested using charms from her charm bracelet for tokens. The game is based on the streets of Atlantic City, N.J., and has sold more than 275 million units worldwide.

To make the game relevant to fans abroad, the names are changed to well-known streets in when it is introduced to a new country.

The other tokens are a racecar, a shoe, thimble, top hat, wheelbarrow and battleship. Most of the pieces were introduced with the first Parker Brothers iteration of the game in 1935, and the Scottie dog and wheelbarrow were added in the early 1950s.

"I'm sad to see the iron go," Berkowitz said. "Personally, I'm a big fan of the racecar so I'm very relieved it was saved but it is sad to see the iron go."

The social-media buzz created by the Save Your Token Campaign attracted numerous companies that pushed to protect specific tokens that reflect their products.

That includes garden tool maker Ames True Temper Inc. of Camp Hill, Penn., that spoke out in favor of the wheelbarrow and created a series of online videos that support the tool and online shoe retailer Zappos which pushed to save the shoe, Berkowitz said.

"We've even had some companies like Jolly Time Pop Corn reach out and petition to have a popcorn token added to the game, even though that's not one of the new five tokens," he said.

Versions of Monopoly with the new token will come out later this year.

___

Monopoly: https://www.hasbro.com/monopoly

___

Rodrique Ngowi can be reached at www.twitter.com/ngowi

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/monopoly-fans-vote-add-cat-toss-iron-tokens-125615568--finance.html

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Turning repulsive feelings into desires

Feb. 6, 2013 ? Hunger, thirst, stress and drugs can create a change in the brain that transforms a repulsive feeling into a strong positive "wanting," a new University of Michigan study indicates.

The research used salt appetite to show how powerful natural mechanisms of brain desires can instantly transform a cue that always predicted a repulsive Dead Sea Salt solution into an eagerly wanted beacon or motivational magnet.

Mike Robinson, a research fellow in the U-M Department of Psychology and the study's lead author, said the findings help explain how related brain activations in people could cause them to avidly want something that has been always disliked.

This instant transformation of motivation, he said, lies in the ability of events to activate particular brain circuitry -- a structure called the nucleus accumbens, which sits near the base of the front of the brain and is also activated by addictive drugs.

Cues for rewards often trigger intense motivation. The smell of food can make a person suddenly feel hungry when this wasn't the case earlier. Drug cues may prompt relapse in addicts trying to quit. In some cases, desires may be triggered even for a relatively unpleasant event.

Researchers studied how rats responded to metal objects that represented either pleasant sugar or disgustingly intense Dead Sea saltiness. The rats quickly learned to jump on and nibble the sweetness cue, but turned away from and avoided the saltiness cue.

But one day the rats suddenly woke up in a new state of sodium appetite induced by drugs given the night before. On their first re-encounter with the saltiness cue in the new appetite state, their brain systems became activated and the rats instantly jumped on and nibbled the saltiness cue as though it were the sugar cue.

"The cue becomes avidly 'wanted' despite knowledge the salt always tasted disgusting," Robinson said.

The sudden brain changes help explain how an event, such as taking an addictive drug, could become "wanted" despite a person's knowledge of the negative and unpleasant consequences of the drug.

"Our findings highlight what it means to say that drugs hijack our natural reward system," said Robinson, who authored the new study with Kent Berridge, James Olds Collegiate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Michigan, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Mike?J.F. Robinson, Kent?C. Berridge. Instant Transformation of Learned Repulsion into Motivational ?Wanting?. Current Biology, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.01.016

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/ubtWqeNqUOw/130206162127.htm

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ScienceOnline-spiration.

ScienceOnline is a conference put on by Karyn Traphagen, Anton Zuiker, and our own Bora Zivkovic. I?ve been going since I first stumbled across it in 2010, making this year the fourth time I?ve attended. Over the years the conference has managed to expand and change while keeping its original spirit of inclusiveness, discovery, collaboration, and fun.

It was easy enough to come to the conference when it was in my own backyard in Durham, North Carolina, but the sense of community of the conference drew me back all the way from my new home in Wisconsin. The result was four days of late nights talking at the bar, sitting in on perspective-granting sessions, and meeting tons of people with lots of moxie.

These people are truly my people. Why? Well, for one reason, Baba Brinkman, evolutionary rapper, was one of the Converge session presenters. His song Performance, Feedback, Revision plus the session on Blogging for the Long Haul (great post on the session by Scicurious here) congealed in my head to form a reminder of the energy and excitement I felt when I first started this blog. Attending ScienceOnline always gives me many new ideas for things to present on my blog, so watch this space for some new things to come.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=1c74ef6586f5520992cddce581102a22

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Lights out: Ravens beat 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? A power outage at the Super Bowl put the nation's biggest sporting event on hold for more than a half-hour Sunday, interrupting an otherwise electric, back-and-forth game that ended with Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens as NFL champions thanks to a 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Flacco, voted the MVP, threw three first-half touchdown passes to cap an 11-TD, zero-interception postseason. Jacoby Jones returned the second-half kickoff 108 yards, a Super Bowl record, to give Baltimore a 28-6 lead.

Moments later, lights lining the indoor arena faded, making it difficult to see. When action resumed, Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers scored 17 consecutive points, getting as close as 31-29.

But Baltimore stopped San Francisco on fourth-and-goal from the 5 with under 2 minutes left when Kaepernick's pass sailed beyond Michael Crabtree in the end zone.

The biggest deficit a team has ever overcome to win a Super Bowl is 10 points, and there were moments were it appeared San Francisco had a chance to better that mark. Instead, the 49ers lost for the first time in six trips to the Super Bowl.

The AFC champion Ravens (14-6), a franchise that moved from Cleveland to Baltimore 17 years ago, improved to 2-0 in the big game. They also won the championship in 2001, when linebacker Ray Lewis was voted the game's MVP. Lewis was not a major factor this time, but he was a center of attention, playing in the final game of his 17-year career before retiring.

The 49ers struggled early in the first Super Bowl coaching matchup between brothers: Baltimore's John Harbaugh is 15 months older than San Francisco's Jim Harbaugh.

Baltimore led 28-6 after Jones opened the second half with the longest kickoff return in a Super Bowl, his eyes glancing up at the videoboard, presumably to watch himself sprint to the end zone. The 49ers showed they were capable of a comeback in their previous game: They trailed by 17 against the Atlanta Falcons before winning the NFC championship game.

Shortly following Jones' return, the sudden, odd power outage arrived. Escalators weren't working. Officials stopped play about 1? minutes into the third quarter, and the bizarre delay lasted 34 minutes in real time before action resumed. Some players sat. Others stretched. Some fans chanted, "Let's go, Ravens!" Others passed time by doing the wave.

This was the 10th time New Orleans hosted the big game ? tying Miami for most in a city ? and first since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Big Easy in August 2005.

When play resumed, NFC champion San Francisco (13-5-1) began making things more interesting, scoring 17 points in less than 4? minutes.

First, Kaepernick threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Crabtree, pulling them within 15 points midway through the third quarter. Ravens defensive backs Cary Williams and Bernard Pollard missed tackles on the play. Then, with 5 minutes left in the third quarter, Frank Gore swept around right end for a 6-yard TD run, making it 28-20, before Ravens running back Ray Rice's fumble gave the ball right back to the 49ers.

San Francisco tacked on David Akers' 34-yard field goal to get within 28-23 after he missed from a longer distance but the Ravens were whistled for running into the kicker. It was his third successful kick of the game after hitting from 36 and 27 yards in the first half.

How close was it heading into the fourth quarter? Each team had exactly 17 first downs. Total yardage was nearly the same, with the 49ers slightly ahead, 317-315. Time of possession was nearly split down the middle, too.

About 2 minutes into the fourth quarter, rookie kicker Justin Tucker made a 19-yard field goal to stretch the Ravens' lead to 31-23. Not long later, Kaepernick's 15-yard run around the left side ? the longest TD run by a quarterback in Super Bowl history ? made it 31-29. His 2-point conversion pass intended for Randy Moss was incomplete.

A 38-yarder by Tucker made it 34-29 with 4:19 left in regulation. Baltimore purposely gave up a safety in the closing seconds to run time off the clock, setting the final score.

Kaepernick was making only his 10th start the NFL, having taken over the job after Alex Smith got a concussion during a game. After his touchdown run, Kaepernick kissed his tattooed right biceps, his celebration move.

The first half was all about Flacco. He went 13 for 20 for 192 yards and the three scores over the opening two quarters, becoming only the sixth QB in 47 Super Bowls to throw for that many TDs by halftime.

Flacco finished 22 of 33 for 287 yards.

It's been one impressive game after another for a guy who never has commanded the widespread respect usually accorded a top player ? but now will head into an offseason that could land him a $20 million-per-year contract in free agency.

To get to the Super Bowl, Flacco already led the Ravens past Denver's Peyton Manning and New England's Tom Brady for two of his league-record six career postseason road victories by a quarterback.

San Francisco turned over the ball twice in about a 5-minute span of the second quarter: Rookie running back LaMichael James fumbled ? leading to a Ravens TD ? and safety Ed Reed tied an NFL record with his ninth career postseason interception by picking off Kaepernick.

The Niners had never thrown an interception in their previous five Super Bowls.

There was some testiness on the field right from the get-go, and after Reed stole the ball, a group of players from both teams engaged in a scrum and penalties were called. Both coaching brothers wound up on the field, too, trying to break up the skirmish.

Instead of adding more points after Reed's pick, Baltimore eventually gave the ball back after trying a fake field goal but failing to get a first down. Didn't matter a bit. San Francisco had to punt, and Flacco hit Jones on a 56-yard TD pass with under 2 minutes left in the first half.

Jones beat cornerback Chris Culliver ? the player who apologized for anti-gay comments during the week ? and tumbled onto his back, then got up and cut across the field to reach the end zone. It was Flacco's 70-yard toss to Jones with 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter that allowed the Ravens to tie the Broncos in the second round of the playoffs, before winning in the second overtime period.

Earlier Sunday, Flacco connected with Anquan Boldin from 13 yards out less than 4? minutes into the game on Baltimore's first possession, then found tight end Dennis Pitta for a 1-yard score midway through the second quarter after James' error.

James fumbled at Baltimore's 25-yard line while straining to gain extra yards. Linebacker Courtney Upshaw punched the ball loose, and defensive lineman Arthur Jones recovered it, and the Ravens headed the other way.

The 49ers also began the game with an illegal formation penalty on the very first play, then needed to punt.

A good return by Jones set up the Ravens near midfield, and they promptly drove 51 yards in six plays. Another 49ers penalty on third down at the 18 came right before Flacco's nice scoring pass over the middle to Boldin with less than 4? minutes gone in the game.

About 45 minutes before the opening kickoff, Lewis gathered his teammates in the end zone painted the Ravens' purple team color. As they encircled him, Lewis ? large triangles of eye black covering his entire cheeks ? delivered his usual rousing pregame speech, and other players whooped it up, too.

Not long after, 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis ? who, like Lewis, wears No. 52 ? delivered his own fiery words, surrounded by the rest of his team near the red, white and blue NFL shield logo at midfield.

Before the game began, with 100 million or so Americans expected to tune in on TV, a chorus of 26 children from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. ? where 20 students and six adults were killed in a shooting rampage in December ? sang "America the Beautiful," accompanied by "American Idol" alum Jennifer Hudson. Grammy winner Alicia Keys performed the national anthem.

___

Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lights-ravens-beat-49ers-34-31-super-bowl-035132878--spt.html

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Was BlackBerry's Super Bowl Ad the Dumbest Tech Ad You've Ever Seen?

BlackBerry's Super Bowl ad from last night was... uh... interesting. The company claimed that in 30 seconds, it was easier to show us what BB10 couldn't do—which is perhaps some of the laziest marketing ever. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/lhbomSQC2tc/was-blackberrys-super-bowl-ad-the-dumbest-tech-ad-youve-ever-seen

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Beating, torture fuel sense Egypt police unchanged

CAIRO (AP) ? The video outraged Egyptians, showing riot police strip and beat a middle-aged man and drag him across the pavement as they cracked down on protesters. The follow-up was even more startling: In his first comments afterward, the man insisted the police were just trying to help him.

Hamada Saber's initial account, given over the weekend as he lay in a police-run hospital, has raised accusations that police officials intimidated or bribed him in a clumsy attempt to cover up the incident, which was captured by Associated Press footage widely shown on Egyptian TV.

"He was terrified. He was scared to speak," Saber's son Ahmed told The AP on Monday, explaining his father's account. Saber himself recanted his story on Sunday after his own family pushed him to tell the truth and acknowledged that the police beat him.

The incident has fueled an outcry that security forces, which were notorious for corruption, torture and abuse under Hosni Mubarak, have not changed in the nearly two years since his ouster. Activists now accuse Mubarak's Islamist successor, Mohammed Morsi, of cultivating the same culture of abuse as police crack down on his opponents.

The outcry was further heightened Monday by the apparent torture-death of an activist, who colleagues said was taken by police from a Tahrir Square protest on Jan. 27 and held at a Cairo security base known as Red Mountain. Mohammed el-Gindy's body showed marks of electrical shocks on his tongue, wire marks around his neck, smashed ribs, a broken skull and a brain hemorrhage, according to a medical report.

Blatant abuses by security forces under Mubarak were one factor that fueled the 2011 revolt against his rule. The highly public nature of the new cases put new pressure on Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, which was long repressed by security forces, to hold security officials responsible for any abuses.

Egypt's presidency said it is following up on the death of el-Gindy, adding that there will be "no return to violations of citizens' rights."

The Interior Ministry denied on Monday that el-Gindy was ever held by police. Morsi met Monday with top police officials, but the state newspaper Al-Ahram said his talks did not touch on the beating of Saber or el-Gindy's death. The paper said Morsi told officers he understands they operate under "extreme pressures" in the face of protests and that he would work for a political resolution to ease unrest.

Morsi's administration has said it is determined to stop what it calls violent protests that causing instability.

Morsi's prime minister, Hesham Kandil, indirectly warned the opposition and media not to raise public outcry against security officials. "This should not be used as a match to set fire to the nation ... to demolish the police," he said.

Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim warned that if police "collapse" Egypt will become "a militia state like some neighboring nations."

Many activists believe Morsi sought a tougher police line when he removed their previous boss, Ahmed Gamal Eddin, and installed Ibrahim as interior minister.

According to officials close to Gamal Eddin, he was fired because security forces did not intervene against anti-Morsi protests outside the presidential palace in Cairo in December. Islamists attacked those protesters, prompting clashes that left around 10 people dead. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

In contrast, police struck back heavily when several firebombs were thrown into the palace grounds during protests outside the compound Friday, part of a wave of nationwide anti-Morsi unrest the past 10 days that left more than 70 dead. Hours of clashes ensued, leaving at least one protester dead and dozens injured.

During Friday's clashes, Saber, a 48-year-old who works as a wall plasterer, was beaten.

Footage shows him writing naked in the street. Black-clad riot police yank his pants around his ankles, kick him with their heavy black boots and lean over to hit him with batons. They drag him by the legs across the pavement and bundle him into a police van.

But in interviews with Egyptian television from a police hospital the next day, a smiling Saber said it was protesters who had shot him in the leg with birdshot, then stripped and beat him. He said the riot police were only trying to help him afterward.

He even blamed himself for any rough police treatment, saying that in his confusion he was resisting them.

"I was afraid ... They were telling me: We swear to God we will not harm you, don't be afraid," Saber said, adding, "I was being very tiresome to the police."

His wife also praised the police, telling state TV, "they are giving him good treatment" at the police hospital.

But his children said he was forced to give the story.

"There are pressures on my mother to say that he is fine," his daughter Randa told independent Dream TV. "The government is the one pressing him."

In a statement, the Interior Ministry voiced its "regret" about the assault and vowed to investigate.

But Interior Minister Ibrahim echoed Saber's account and said initial investigation results showed it was protesters who stripped and beat Saber. He said riot police found Saber and tried to get him into the van ? "though the way they did it was excessive."

On Sunday, Saber told investigators that it was indeed police who beat and stripped him. Speaking to Al-Hayat TV, he said he gave his initial account because was afraid, then broke down in tears as he recounted begging the policemen for mercy.

"But no one gave me mercy," he wept. "My whole body was smashed." He has now been moved to a civilian hospital.

Rights activists say police intimidation of victims and their families to prevent complaints was rife under Mubarak and continues unabated. In a report last month, the Egyptian Initiative For Personal Rights documented 16 cases of police violence in which 11 people were killed and 10 tortured in police stations. Three died under torture during the first four months after Morsi took office on June 30, it said.

The rights group said officers increasingly act "like a gang taking revenge."

In one case it documented, police in the Nile Delta town of Meet Ghamr stormed a cafe and beat up patrons in September. When one woman who was beaten went to the police station to complain, the man accompanying her was arrested and tortured to death, the report said.

The sister of the slain man told AP that her brother's widow was paid the equivalent of around $25,000 to say that he was killed by a rock to his head during a protest.

"The main issue is that nothing has changed about the police. No change about accountability. There is just as much impunity as there was under Mubarak," said Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch. The past two years "we've seen an increase in the police's likelihood to use lethal force ... in the context of regular policing activities."

In the case of el-Gindy, the activist who died Monday, fellow activists say he disappeared during the Jan. 27 Tahrir protest and they later learned from people who left the Red Mountain security camp that he was being held there. Soon after, el-Gindy was brought to a hospital in a coma and on Monday he died.

After his burial Monday in his hometown of Tanta in the Nile Delta, angry mourners marched on police headquarters and clashes erupted, with protesters throwing firebombs and stones and police firing back with tear gas.

At a funeral ceremony held earlier at a mosque in Cairo's Tahrir Square, there was widespread skepticism anyone would be held accountable for el-Gindy's death.

"So this blood will be wasted so easily?" one woman in black screamed.

"It will be lost," an elderly man responded. "Like others were before."

___

AP reporter Amir Maqar contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/beating-torture-fuel-sense-egypt-police-unchanged-213233337.html

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Proposed agreement squashes US, Mexico tomato war

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Commerce Department has announced a proposed agreement on fresh tomatoes imported from Mexico that would strengthen anti-dumping enforcement and reset minimum wholesale prices.

The agreement with Mexico's tomato industry would suspend an investigation initiated after Florida tomato growers complained that Mexican producers were selling fresh tomatoes for less than the production cost.

The proposal would replace a pact that's been in place for 16 years. The Commerce Department has just released a draft of the agreement for public comment.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says it allow the U.S. tomato industry "to compete on a level playing field."

U.S.-produced fresh and processed tomatoes account for more than $2 billion in cash receipts. Mexico's tomato trade with the U.S. was worth more than $1.8 billion in 2011.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/proposed-agreement-squashes-us-mexico-tomato-war-154639872--finance.html

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Data waves keep your wearable tech in tune

IF LAST month's Consumer Electronics Show is anything to go by, we will soon be covered in wearable technology, from health monitors to smart watches. But there's a problem: how do we get them to communicate?

Traditionally, devices talk to one another either using wires, which are inconvenient, or Bluetooth, which is prone to interference. Now a new wireless technique that uses a phenomenon known as Zenneck surface waves could be the answer.

This type of electromagnetic wave stays at the interface between the surface of an object and the air, rather than travelling through open space. Radar systems have used them to see around the curvature of the Earth, but communicating in this way is a first.

Janice Turner and colleagues at Roke Manor Research in Romsey, UK, have created a demonstration system that uses the waves to send high-definition video over a short length of material. It has a bandwidth of up to 1.5 gigabits per second, making it almost three times faster than Wi-Fi. The signal does not travel through the material but rather over its surface for a few centimetres.

Turner's team has worked with a fabric made of a dielectric-coated conducting material. This could be tailored into a jacket to enable worn devices to communicate in a personal network. For example, a lapel camera, a wrist display and a pulse-monitor bracelet could all communicate through the jacket via surface waves. Other devices such as smartphones could attach automatically simply by being placed in a pocket. Zenneck wave-enabled devices could be on the market within two years, says Turner. Sandy Black, who studies how fashion design and technology merge at the London College of Fashion, says the idea sounds "interesting if it could be proved reliable and robust".

Such devices are also being explored for use on aircraft, where they could link up sensors embedded in the wings without wires, or form the backbone of a passenger entertainment system.

This article appeared in print under the headline "Jacket to connect wearable tech using data waves"

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Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/28293914/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cmg217290A250B70A0A0Edata0Ewaves0Ekeep0Eyour0Ewearable0Etech0Ein0Etune0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

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Fall in love with a well trained pet | PetSafe Blog

By Robin Rhea, PetSafe Senior Brand Manager

Go Fetch a Well-Trained Dog

We are all happier when we feel we know what is expected of us. Even our dogs are happier when they know how to behave in order to get treats, toys and love. Yet, we are often very tolerant of bad behaviors in our pets. In fact, nearly 25% of dog owners have never tried to train their dogs (APPA, 2010). Taking the initiative to train our dogs in a few areas can greatly increase the quality of life we enjoy with our pets and even how much we love them.

Grow your relationship

Communication is key in any successful relationship. When we start training our dogs effectively, we are communicating with them on a whole new level. Your dog feels good because she knows she did what you wanted. You feel good because you accomplished something and may have even solved a problem. The experience creates a positive foundation for more of the same. Before you know it, you and your dog are communicating better than ever before.

Discover more to love

Once you?ve got your communication down, watch for those behaviors that your dogs do naturally that could be coached into tricks or fun play. We discovered that, with a little training, our newest dog Finn could fetch a ball. It might not seem like but it?s entertaining to watch and it?s been a great confidence-builder and good exercise for Finn. With a behavior like this, you?ll know your dog is enjoying the experience. Plus, it can be much easier to encourage an existing behavior than teaching a brand new one.

Stay out of the dog house

A well trained pet usually means we as owners come home to fewer accidents, destroyed property, and stress. Our households are more peaceful and this just gives us more time and energy to shower our pets with love. But remember to be unconditional in your love. Even very well-trained dogs still have challenges, get distracted, or have a bad day. Never stop reinforcing your training to ensure it sticks with your dog for a lifetime.

So pick one behavior that you want to work on with your dog and fall in love with each other all over again.

Watch this video to see Finn fetch.

ABOUT ROBIN

Robin Hawn is the Senior Brand Manager of the PetSafe Family of Brands for Radio Systems Corporation, head quartered in Knoxville, TN. She works to build a brand of products designed to give consumer more of the best moments they can possibly have with their pets. She has a MBA with a Marketing Emphasis, a B.A in English, and 10 years experience developing and launching marketing plans, brand strategy and PR campaigns across a variety of diverse industries. Her French bulldog Buckley typically logs the same hours at the office as Robin. She volunteers with the Most Pet Friendly Community initiative that has a mission of making Knoxville, TN the most pet friendly community in America.

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Source: http://www.petsafe.net/blog/2013/02/01/fall-in-love-with-a-well-trained-pet/

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Physicists shine a light on particle assembly

Jan. 31, 2013 ? New York University physicists have developed a method for moving microscopic particles with the flick of a light switch. Their work, reported in the journal Science, relies on a blue light to prompt colloids to move and then assemble -- much like birds flock and move together in flight.

The method offers the potential to enhance the design of a range of industrial products, including the architecture of electronics.

The study's authors were: Jeremie Palacci and Stefano Sacanna, post-doctoral fellows in NYU's Center for Soft Matter Research who devised the research; David Pine and Paul Chaikin, professors in NYU's Department of Physics; and Asher Preska Steinberg, an undergraduate at Brandeis University who was a summer research program participant at NYU.

The work addresses a fundamental question in nature -- what causes flocks and swarms to form and move in a particular way? Schools of fish, colony formations of bacteria, or flocks of birds are examples of how this occurs in living matter. In this inquiry, the researchers focused on making artificial systems exhibit similar activity. They used colloids -- small particles suspended within a fluid medium -- and discovered the basic organizing principles in natural flocking and how to use this to organize inorganic matter.

This exploration is a significant one. Colloidal dispersions are composed of such everyday items such as paint, milk, gelatin, glass, and porcelain. By better understanding driven colloidal self-organization, scientists have the potential to harness these particles and create new and enhanced materials -- possibilities that are now largely untapped.

To explore this, the research team developed light-activated self-propelled particles, "swimmers," from the micro-meter-sized particles in solution. To separate the effects of swimming from simple thermal motion, they created a system where the particles turn on and off with application of blue light. With the light on, the self-propelled random swimmers collide and cluster. The light also triggers a slight chemical attraction and leads the clusters to crystallize and grow until the swimmers turn in separate directions and splinter the crystals. The "living" crystals continually form, swirl, and split. When the light is extinguished, the swimmers stop and the structures dissolve into individual diffusing colloidal particles.

Using the slight magnetism of the particles allows direction of the individual swimmers as well as the crystals. With control of light, magnets, and chemical attraction, these active particles bring biological organization to the materials world.

The research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, under the NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) Program (DMR-0820341), the Department of Defense, under its Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (W911NF-10-1-0518), and NASA under grant award NNX08AK04G.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by New York University.

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Journal Reference:

1. Jeremie Palacci, Stefano Sacanna, Asher Preska Steinberg, David J. Pine, and Paul M. Chaikin. Living Crystals of Light-Activated Colloidal Surfers. Science, 31 January 2013 DOI: 10.1126/science.1230020

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/xQWJ8HInPjQ/130131144104.htm

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