Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/193576329?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Bismarck?s Voice Among Restored Edison Recordings
[unable to retrieve full-text content]A trove of wax cylinder phonograph records contain the only known recording of Otto von Bismarck.
Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c0e6ae72cab9068d188c91244b892363
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Solar storm
Solar flare sets off auroras around the Arctic Circle
Web edition : Monday, January 30th, 2012
Earth?s nearest star erupted late on January 22, belching out a solar flare. At the same time the sun launched a blast of hot gas known as a coronal mass ejection toward Earth.
A day later, when the particles slammed into the atmosphere, they set off auroras around the Arctic Circle. Fast-moving protons that came along for the ride also triggered a solar radiation storm, the biggest seen since the ?Halloween storms? of October 2003.
Scientists expect such powerful solar blasts to become more common as the sun moves toward a predicted peak of activity in 2013.
Found in: Astronomy and Atom & Cosmos
Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/338026/title/Solar_storm
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Sudan: Army frees some abducted Chinese workers (AP)
KHARTOUM, Sudan ? The Sudanese army has freed 14 Chinese road construction workers, part of a group reportedly abducted by militants in a remote region in the country's south, officials said Monday.
The Chinese workers were "liberated" by Sudanese troops and were evacuated to the town of El Obeid, Omdurman Radio quoted South Kordofan province's governor Ahmed Haroun on Monday as saying. He said that they were in good health.
The report, which was also carried on the state-run SUNA news agency, did not say when the rescue occurred. Haroun said the army and security forces are trying to free the remaining abducted workers.
It did not say how many workers remained captive, but the Chinese embassy in Khartoum has said that a total of 29 had been taken in the Saturday attack near Abbasiya town in South Kordofan province, some 390 miles (630 kilometers) south of Khartoum.
Sudanese officials have blamed the attack on the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), a branch of a guerrilla movement which has fought various regimes in Khartoum for decades.
Many of the SPLM's members hail from a minority ethnic group now in control of much of South Sudan, which became the world's newest country only six months ago in a breakaway from Sudan.
Sudan has accused South Sudan of arming pro-South Sudan groups in South Kordofan. The government of South Sudan has called such accusations a smoke screen intended to justify a future invasion of the South.
China has sent large numbers of workers to potentially unstable regions such as Sudan and last year was forced to send ships and planes to help with the emergency evacuation of 30,000 of its citizens from the fighting in Libya.
China has consistently used its clout in diplomatic forums such as the United Nations to defend Sudan and its longtime leader Omar al-Bashir. In recent years, it has also sought to build good relations with leaders from the south, where most of Sudan's oil is located.
Chinese companies have also invested heavily in Sudanese oil production.
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Apple Buy Hollywood? That?s A Terrible Idea
Apple should not use its $100 billion in cash to buy, or buy into Hollywood. While it would most assuredly (ahem, cough) disrupt the system, it would not spur the kind of creative chaos and innovation that would lead to the Emerald City of any show, on demand, for free, to rent, or buy, or subscribe, and organized by taste or popularity, or you! In fact, Apple buying into Hollywood, would actually kill Hollywood. Here?s why:Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/l6KZ0r94d4U/
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Putin puts state capitalism first for Russia (Reuters)
MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, seeking to renew his hold on power after unprecedented street protests, set out an economic agenda on Monday that puts state capitalism at the heart of a bid to boost Russia's global competitiveness.
In a 5,000-word newspaper article, the third in a series he has written ahead of a March 4 presidential election, Putin defended his record while acknowledging Russia needed to adapt in a period of "cardinal change" in the global economy.
"We are seeing how countries, whose position seemed invulnerable only yesterday, are yielding to those that not long ago were regarded with haughty disdain," he wrote in the Vedomosti financial daily.
"In such conditions it is important to secure the stable and gradual development of our economy, and as far as possible to protect our citizens from blows delivered by crises, while resolutely and quickly renewing all aspects of economic life."
Readers of Vedomosti's online edition were critical of Putin, who has run Russia for the past 12 years as two-term president and then premier.
"Dear Pu, we've had enough of your slogans. Twelve years of absolute power should be enough to show some results," wrote a person who signed in as AVTor, getting 109 'likes' from readers.
Putin said his government had been right to reassert control over the energy sector, an indirect reference to the breakup of Russia's largest oil firm, Yukos, whose assets were largely bought up by state-controlled Rosneft and whose owner, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was jailed for tax evasion and fraud.
The article, Putin's broadest discourse on how he would run the economy should he be elected for a six-year term, also identifies continuing dependency on natural resources and de-industrialization as Russia's greatest economic weaknesses.
But the steps he proposes to modernize the $1.5 trillion economy lack detail, are in part contradictory and make only a vague commitment to deliver on past privatization pledges.
Putin is the clear front-runner to win the presidential election, but the popular mood has shifted in Russia after tens of thousands of protesters turned out to protest alleged ballot fraud in a December parliamentary election.
Critics, who have branded Putin's ruling party a band of "crooks and thieves," plan to turn out again in force on February 4 to demand wide-ranging electoral reforms aimed at breaking the 59-year-old premier's de facto monopoly on power.
OPEN ECONOMY
In the 20 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has become "an organic part of the world economy," but is still exposed to commodity-price swings, reliant on imports of consumer goods and plagued by capital flight, Putin wrote.
Russia, as a member of the World Trade Organization, should open up to global competition and become a leader in sectors like pharmaceuticals, composite materials, aerospace and communications technology.
But Putin also defended his support for an active industrial policy, saying: "Private capital will not voluntarily enter new sectors as it does not want to bear elevated risks."
Bulking up state corporations active in high technology, infrastructure and nuclear power would presage their conversion into public firms that can be floated on stock markets.
"I consider it possible for the state, by 2016, to reduce its stakes in some resource companies and to complete its exit from large non-resource companies that are not tied to natural monopolies and the defense sector," Putin wrote.
The article said little about restructuring state-controlled gas export monopoly Gazprom, criticized by investors for high costs and inefficiency, beyond saying it should divest non-core assets such as its media holdings.
Economists say Putin will need to deliver on his promises to spur economic growth, which has slowed to a range of 4-5 percent since the 2008-09 global crisis from prior rates of 6-7 percent.
"As always, implementation will be key," said Ivan Tchakarov, chief economist at Renaissance Capital, who warned that, without reform, Russia could slide into 'twin' trade and budget deficits.
CORRUPTION CURSE
Putin's article mentioned corruption explicitly only once and said efforts by outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev had failed to eliminate pressure from officials on entrepreneurs.
"The main problem is insufficient transparency and accountability on the part of state officials," Putin wrote. "To call it by name, we are talking about systemic corruption."
"Clearing the way for business that is ready to win in fair competition is a fundamental, systemic task ... We need to change the state itself - executive and judicial power."
Putin said Russia, ranked 120th in a World Bank investment climate survey, should seek to catch up with neighboring Kazakhstan, which is in 47th spot.
He called for business cases to be moved from criminal to commercial courts to break a cycle of collusion between police, investigators and judges that all too often ends in convictions.
Putin said he would seek to shift the overall tax burden towards wealthy property owners and consumption of luxury goods but offered no specific concessions for small businesses.
(Reporting by Douglas Busvine, Editing by Timothy Heritage/Ruth Pitchford)
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
That which does not kill yeast makes it stronger
ScienceDaily (Jan. 29, 2012) ? Cells trying to keep pace with constantly changing environmental conditions need to strike a fine balance between maintaining their genomic integrity and allowing enough genetic flexibility to adapt to inhospitable conditions. In their latest study, researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research were able to show that under stressful conditions yeast genomes become unstable, readily acquiring or losing whole chromosomes to enable rapid adaption.
The research, published in the January 29, 2012, advance online issue of Nature, demonstrates that stress itself can increase the pace of evolution by increasing the rate of chromosomal instability or aneuploidy. The observation of stress-induced chromosome instability casts the molecular mechanisms driving cellular evolution into a new perspective and may help explain how cancer cells elude the body's natural defense mechanisms or the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs.
"Cells employ intricate control mechanisms to maintain genomic stability and prevent abnormal chromosome numbers," says the study's leader, Stowers investigator Rong Li, Ph.D. "We found that under stress cellular mechanisms ensuring chromosome transmission fidelity are relaxed to allow the emergence of progeny cells with diverse aneuploid chromosome numbers, producing a population with large genetic variation."
Known as adaptive genetic change, the concept of stress-induced genetic variation first emerged in bacteria and departs from a long-held basic tenet of evolutionary theory, which holds that genetic diversity -- evolution's raw material from which natural selection picks the best choice under any given circumstance -- arises independently of hostile environmental conditions.
"From an evolutionary standpoint it is a very interesting finding," says graduate student and first author Guangbo Chen. "It shows how stress itself can help cells adapt to stress by inducing chromosomal instability."
Aneuploidy is most often associated with cancer and developmental defects and has recently been shown to reduce cellular fitness. Yet, an abnormal number of chromosomes is not necessarily a bad thing. Many wild yeast strains and their commercial cousins used to make bread or brew beer have adapted to their living environs by rejiggering the number of chromosomes they carry. "Euploid cells are optimized to thrive under 'normal' conditions," says Li. "In stressful environments aneuploid cells can quickly gain the upper hand when it comes to finding creative solutions to roadblocks they encounter in their environment."
After Li and her team had shown in an earlier Nature study that aneuploidy can confer a growth advantage on cells when they are exposed to many different types of stress conditions, the Stowers researchers wondered whether stress itself could increase the chromosome segregation error rate.
To find out, Chen exposed yeast cells to different chemicals that induce various types of general stress and assessed the loss of an artificial chromosome. This initial screen revealed that many stress conditions, including oxidative stress, increased the rate of chromosome loss ten to 20-fold, a rate typically observed when cells are treated with benomyl, a microtubule inhibitor that directly affects chromosome segregation.
The real surprise was radicicol, a drug that induces proteotoxic stress by inhibiting a chaperone protein, recalls Chen. "Even at a concentration that barely slows down growth, radicicol induced extremely high levels of chromosome instability within a very short period of time," he says.
Continued growth of yeast cells in the presence of radicicol led to the emergence of drug-resistant colonies that had acquired an additional copy of chromosome XV. Yeast cells pretreated briefly with radicicol to induce genomic instability also adapted more efficiently to the presence of other drugs including fluconazole, tunicamycin, or benomyl, when compared to euploid cells.
Interestingly, certain chromosome combinations dominated in colonies that were resistant to a specific drug. Fluconazole-resistant colonies typically gained an extra copy of chromosome VIII, tunicamycin-resistant colonies tended to lose chromosome XVI, while a majority of benomyl-resistant colonies got rid of chromosome XII. "This suggested to us that specific karyotypes are associated with resistance to certain drugs," says Chen.
Digging deeper, Chen grew tunicamycin-resistant yeast cells, which had adapted to the presence of the antibiotic by losing one copy of chromosome XVI, under drug-free conditions. Before long, colonies of two distinct sizes emerged. He quickly discovered that the faster growing colonies had regained the missing chromosome. By returning to a normal chromosome XVI number, these newly arisen euploid cells had acquired a distinctive growth advantage over their aneuploid neighbors. But most importantly, the fast growing yeast cells were no longer resistant to tunicamycin and thus clearly linking tunicamycin resistance to the loss of chromosome XVI.
Researchers who also contributed to the work include William D. Bradford and Chris W. Seidel both at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.
The study was funded in part by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stowers Institute for Medical Research, via Newswise.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Guangbo Chen, William D. Bradford, Chris W. Seidel, Rong Li. Hsp90 stress potentiates rapid cellular adaptation through induction of aneuploidy. Nature, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature10795
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://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120129151104.htm
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Video: Could text messages clear Greg Kelly?
>>> more questions have been raised about a woman's rape claims against new york city news anchor greg kel where who also happens to be the son of the city's police commissioner. investigators continue do police interviews and so far there's state little everyday to support criminal charges against greg kelly . wnbc's chief investigative reporter jonathan dietz has the latest.
>> reporter: the police commissioner made his first public appearance since the rape allegations first surfaced against his son, local tv anchor man greg kelly . he declined to discuss any aspect of the investigation.
>> all those question s aren't going to happen.
>> reporter: the nypd stepped aside to avoid a conflict where they investigate the police commissioner's son. his office, no stranger to high-profile cases. they brought and dropped sex charged against dominic strauss-kahn just last year. new york city mayor michael bloomberg said the d.a. will follow it.
>> there's always going to be high-profile complicated cases. there's always going to be second-guessing. he's tough enough to focus on the job.
>> reporter: sources close to the investigation say there are questions. even some confusion about the woman's accounts, that after a night out drinking with kelly, they went back to a law office where she works and was then raped. she then waited three months before reporting the incident to police . kelly denies any wrong-doing saying what happened was consensual, and sources familiar with the case say the two exchanged friendly text messages after their night out in october.
>> apparently they've been described as leavi flirtatious messages. if there's no evidence and you have text messages on top of this, it's very unlikely they'll bring charges against greg kelly .
>> he's taken time off from work. his dad the police commissioner was asked how he was holding up with his son the subject of an investigation.
>> i respect that question but i'm not going to answer it.
>> reporter: for today, jonathan deetsz, dietz, nbc news new york.
>> joining us sunny hostin and p.r. representative. good morning to both of you. it's interesting because these text messages exist between greg kelly and his accuser. what are investigators are going to be looking for in those messages specifically?
>> i mean they're going to be looking for basically an cofegs because that's what they would need in a case like this. this is an alleged acquaintance rape . in a case like that it's he said/she said. you've got a late report , no rape kit , no corroborating evidence , no photos of injuries. so all you have is her word. you need more as a prosecutor. so they're looking for more. and my understanding is at this point they just don't have it.
>> and, sunny, speaking to the late report , three, four months from when the alleged rape took place to when she reports it. it's a big red flag.
>> it is. i tried sex rape. that was my specialty. there are reasons why women don't come forward. sometimes they're afraid. sometimes they've been threatened by their rapist. so you can try these cases but given all the circumstances of this particular case, it is just doesn't sound right.
>> and marvet, this is an interesting case for a couple of reasons. greg kelly is a well known television anchor here in new york city and he also happens to be the son of a very famous police commissioner here in new york. how could that affect the investigation? could it affect the investigation?
>> it will always affect the investigation because there are high-profile figures involved, so they definitely have to be sensitive and be very careful not to rush to judgment. so i would imagine that the sensitivity involved will definitely, you know, ensure that everyone is meticulously handling this case. but i would imagine that, you know, we just went through this with esk. they're going to be very careful to make sure all the facts line up before they rush to any sort of judgment.
>> sunny, let's talk about dominic strauss-kahn. the d.a.'s office was involved in the case. it was very embarrassing. they had to retract and take away some of those charging, a very milk cause because of the credit sh credibility of the alleged victims. will they act differently because of actions learned from that case?
>> you learn from every case as a prosecutor. let me say this. we're talking about the manhattan d.a. sex crimes division. they're probably the best prosecutors in type of case. in that case, they had special circumstances but i can't imagine that they aren't smarting a bit from it and that they haven't lender from that because when you drop charges in a case like that, it has a chilling effect . it's very difficult for women who have been raped to come forward. and so, you know, thing that case in particular did have a chilling effect because i've spoken to many of my prosecutor friends and less women are coming forward in part because of situations like that. so i think there's no question that they are investigating this with every sex crime , of course. every sexual allegation needs to be invest gated. people need to have the right to have this sort of thing invest gated.
>> absolutely. on the other hand, someone like greg kelly , if he is exonerated. if charges are never filed, do public figures ever really go back to the way things were? i mean how does it affect their image?
>> they can go back to the way things were, but unfortunately this always be part of his dna. he'll always be someone they question. it makes front page news when it's the news story, but when it goes away, if it goes away, no one will really think about it, read about it, or really care.
>> just remember he was accused.
Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/46173904/
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Japan, Russia to boost ties despite islands row (AP)
TOKYO ? The foreign ministers of Japan and Russia agreed Saturday to strengthen economic and security cooperation but made no progress on resolving a long-standing territorial dispute that has kept the two nations from concluding a peace treaty.
Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba and visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the two countries need to address the row over islands off northeastern Japan in a calm manner. Gemba said resolving the dispute and forging a peace treaty officially ending their hostilities in World War II is "more necessary than ever."
Both men sought to downplay the dispute and focus on ways the two nations could expand their ties.
"As the security situation in the Asia-Pacific undergoes major changes, the Japan-Russia relationship has taken on new importance," Gemba said at a joint news conference following what he called a "fruitful" two-hour meeting.
"We reaffirmed that we want to strengthen our cooperation in security, defense and economic matters, particularly energy modernization," he added.
Lavrov welcomed the increased trade between the two nations, which grew last year to 2.45 trillion yen ($31 billion).
"We want our international cooperation to expand," Lavrov said.
The two sides signed an agreement to simplify visa procedures to boost visitors and business interaction, particularly from Japan to Russia.
Ties between Japan and Russia soured in late 2010 when Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian president to visit the disputed islands, called the southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan. They were seized by Soviet troops in the closing days of World War II, but Japan says they are part of its territory.
The islands are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and are believed to have oil, natural gas and mineral deposits.
"Resolving this problem and concluding a peace treaty is more necessary than ever," Gemba said. "But unfortunately ... our positions are different. We hope to resolve this through dialogue."
Lavrov said tackling the matter would have to wait until a new leader is chosen in Russia's presidential election on March 4.
"Both countries need to address the row over the islands in a calm manner without getting emotional or critical," he said.
Lavrov and Gemba were to discuss North Korea over a working lunch in the second part of their meeting. Japan and Russia are among six nations involved in long-stalled talks offering aid for North Korean nuclear disarmament.
Asked about North Korea, Lavrov said Moscow has information that the talks will "possibly resume." He did not elaborate.
North Korea, which is undergoing a leadership transition, appears to be pushing for a resumption of the talks, but the U.S. and its allies want it to first show it is serious about previous disarmament commitments. South Korea and China are the other countries involved in the talks.
Lavrov also said Russia would support Japan's efforts to press North Korea on its abduction of Japanese citizens.
After years of denials, North Korea said in 2002 that it had kidnapped 13 Japanese to train its spies. It returned five abductees but claimed the rest had died. Japan disputes that and says as many as 12 Japanese may still be captive in the North.
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Friend says on 911 call Demi Moore was convulsing (omg!)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Demi Moore smoked something before she was rushed to the hospital on Monday night and was convulsing and "semi-conscious, barely," according to a caller on a frantic 911 recording released Friday by Los Angeles fire officials.
The woman tells emergency operators that Moore, 49, had been "having issues lately."
"Is she breathing normal?" the operator asks.
"No, not so normal. More kind of shaking, convulsing, burning up," the friend says as she hurries to Moore's side, on the edge of panic.
The recording captures the 10 minutes it took paramedics to arrive as friends gather around the collapsed star and try to comfort her as she trembles and shakes.
Another woman is next to Moore as the dispatcher asks if she's responsive.
"Demi, can you hear me?" she asks. "Yes, she's squeezing hands. ... She can't speak."
When the operator asks what Moore ingested or smoked, the friend replies, but the answer was redacted.
"Some form of ... and then she smoked something. I didn't really see. She's been having some issues lately with some other stuff. So I don't know what she's been taking or not," the friend says.
The city attorney's office advised the fire department to redact details about medical conditions and substances to comply with federal medical privacy rules.
"She smoked something. It's not marijuana. It's similar to incense," the friend says to the 911 operator.
While Moore's friends don't say exactly what she smoked, an increasingly popular drug known as Spice is sometimes labeled as "herbal incense."
Spice is a synthetic cannabis drug and also called K2. It's sold in small packets over the Internet, in smoke shops and at convenience stores. The packaging sometimes reads "not for human consumption" to conceal its purpose.
In 2011, there were twice as many spice-related calls to Poison Control Centers nationwide as in the previous year, according to the National Office of Drug Control Policy.
The adverse health effects associated with synthetic marijuana include anxiety, vomiting, racing heartbeat, seizures, hallucinations, and paranoid behavior.
Asked if Moore took the substance intentionally or not, the woman says Moore ingested it on purpose but the reaction was accidental.
"Whatever she took, make sure you have it out for the paramedics," the operator says.
The operator asks the friend if this has happened before.
"I don't know," she says. "There's been some stuff recently that we're all just finding out."
Moore's publicist, Carrie Gordon, said previously that the actress sought professional help to treat her exhaustion and improve her health. She would not comment further on the emergency call or provide details about the nature or location of Moore's treatment.
The past few months have been rocky for Moore.
She released a statement in November announcing she had decided to end her marriage to fellow actor Ashton Kutcher, 33, following news of alleged infidelity. The two were known to publicly share their affection for one another via Twitter.
Moore still has a Twitter account under the name mrskutcher but has not posted any messages since Jan. 7.
During the call, the woman caller says the group of friends had turned Moore's head to the side and was holding her down. The dispatcher tells her not to hold her down but to wipe her mouth and nose and watch her closely until paramedics arrive.
"Make sure that we keep an airway open," the dispatcher says. "Even if she passes out completely, that's OK. Stay right with her."
The phone is passed around by four people, including a woman who gives directions to the gate and another who recounts details about what Moore smoked or ingested. Finally, the phone is given to a man named James, so one of the women can hold Moore's head.
There was some confusion at the beginning of the call. The emergency response was delayed by nearly two minutes as Los Angeles and Beverly Hills dispatchers sorted out which city had jurisdiction over the street where Moore lives.
As the call is transferred to Beverly Hills, the frantic woman at Moore's house raises her voice and said, "Why is an ambulance not on its way right now?"
"Ma'am, instead of arguing with me why an ambulance is not on the way, can you spell (the street name) for me?" the Beverly Hills dispatcher says.
Although the estate is located in the 90210 ZIP code above Benedict Canyon, the response was eventually handled by the Los Angeles Fire Department.
By the end of the call, Moore has improved.
"She seems to have calmed down now. She's speaking," the male caller told the operator.
Moore and Kutcher were wed in September 2005.
Kutcher became a stepfather to Moore's three daughters ? Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Belle ? from her 13-year marriage to actor Bruce Willis. Moore and Willis divorced in 2000 but remained friendly.
Moore and Kutcher created the DNA Foundation, also known as the Demi and Ashton Foundation, in 2010 to combat the organized sexual exploitation of girls around the globe. They later lent their support to the United Nations' efforts to fight human trafficking, a scourge the international organization estimates affects about 2.5 million people worldwide.
Meanwhile, Millennium Films announced Friday that Sarah Jessica Parker will replace Moore in the role of feminist Gloria Steinem in its production of "Lovelace," a biopic about the late porn star Linda Lovelace. A statement gave no reason for the change. The production, starring Amanda Seyfried, has been shooting in Los Angeles since Dec. 20.
Moore can be seen on screen in the recent films "Margin Call" and "Another Happy Day." Kutcher replaced Charlie Sheen on TV's "Two and a Half Men" and is part of the ensemble film "New Year's Eve."
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Scientists create first free-standing 3-D cloak
ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2012) ? Researchers in the US have, for the first time, cloaked a three-dimensional object standing in free space, bringing the much-talked-about invisibility cloak one step closer to reality.
Whilst previous studies have either been theoretical in nature or limited to the cloaking of two-dimensional objects, this study shows how ordinary objects can be cloaked in their natural environment in all directions and from all of an observer's positions.
Published Jan. 26 in the Institute of Physics and German Physical Society's New Journal of Physics, the researchers used a method known as "plasmonic cloaking" to hide an 18-centimetre cylindrical tube from microwaves.
Some of the most recent breakthroughs in the field of invisibility cloaking have focussed on using transformation-based metamaterials -- inhomogeneous, human-made materials that have the ability to bend light around objects -- however, this new approach uses a different type of artificial material -- plasmonic metamaterials.
When light strikes an object, it rebounds off its surface towards another direction, just like throwing a tennis ball against a wall. The reason we see objects is because light rays bounce off materials towards our eyes and our eyes are able to process the information.
Due to their unique properties, plasmonic metamaterials have the opposite scattering effect to everyday materials.
"When the scattered fields from the cloak and the object interfere, they cancel each other out and the overall effect is transparency and invisibility at all angles of observation.
"One of the advantages of the plasmonic cloaking technique is its robustness and moderately broad bandwidth of operation, superior to conventional cloaks based on transformation metamaterials. This made our experiment more robust to possible imperfections, which is particularly important when cloaking a 3D object in free-space," said study co-author Professor Andrea Alu.
In this instance, the cylindrical tube was cloaked with a shell of plasmonic metamaterial to make it appear invisible. The system was tested by directing microwaves towards the cloaked cylinder and mapping the resulting scattering both around the object and in the far-field. The cloak showed optimal functionality when the microwaves were at a frequency of 3.1 gigahertz and over a moderately broad bandwidth.
The researchers, from the University of Texas at Austin, have shown in previous studies that the shape of the object is irrelevant; oddly shaped and asymmetric objects can both be cloaked using this technique.
Moving forward, one of the key challenges for the researchers will be to demonstrate the cloaking of a 3D object using visible light.
"In principle, this technique could be used to cloak light; in fact, some plasmonic materials are naturally available at optical frequencies. However, the size of the objects that can be efficiently cloaked with this method scales with the wavelength of operation, so when applied to optical frequencies we may be able to efficiently stop the scattering of micrometre-sized objects.
"Still, cloaking small objects may be exciting for a variety of applications. For instance, we are currently investigating the application of these concepts to cloak a microscope tip at optical frequencies. This may greatly benefit biomedical and optical near-field measurements," continued Professor Alu.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Institute of Physics.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- D Rainwater, A Kerkhoff, K Melin, J C Soric, G Moreno, A Al. Experimental verification of three-dimensional plasmonic cloaking in free-space. New Journal of Physics, 2012; 14 (1): 013054 DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/14/1/013054
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://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125195535.htm
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
If Oscar-Nominated Films' Posters Told the Truth
The Shiznit is at it again. Last year, they went viral with spot-on parodies of the 2011 Oscar race, and now they're doing it again, giving "The Artist," "The Descendants" and all the other supposed "best" movies of the year a good roasting with their hilariously blunt feature -- If the Oscar-Nominated Movie Posters Told the Truth.
The premise is simple: these parody posters deliver 100% truth in advertising. If Hollywood always operated under these principles, perhaps it could finally pull itself out of its box office slump.
Check out some of our favorite posters below, then head over to The Shiznit for the full list of painfully-true posters.
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One last time, Penn State gives love to Paterno
Attendees at a memorial service for former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno arrive at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. A capacity crowd of more than 12,000 is expected to pack the arenawld for one more tribute to Paterno, the Hall of Fame football coach who died Sunday from lung cancer. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Attendees at a memorial service for former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno arrive at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. A capacity crowd of more than 12,000 is expected to pack the arenawld for one more tribute to Paterno, the Hall of Fame football coach who died Sunday from lung cancer. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer arrives at a memorial service for Joe Paterno at the Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. A capacity crowd of more than 12,000 is expected to pack the arena for one more tribute to Paterno, the Hall of Fame football coach who died Sunday from lung cancer. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pallbearers including sons Jay Paterno, foreground right, and Scott Paterno, foreground center, carry the casket with the remains of former Penn State coach Joe Paterno after funeral services at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center on the Penn State campus Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 in State College, Pa. Paterno died Sunday morning, Jan. 22. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
People pay their respects as the hearse carrying the casket of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno passes through State College, Pa., Wednesday Jan. 25, 2012. Paterno died Sunday at the age of 85. (AP Photo/John Beale)
Penn State Hazleton, students, alumni, friends and faculty members in Hazleton Pa., gather at the Lion Shrine Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, to participate in a candlelight vigil in memory of Joe Paterno who died on Sunday. (AP Photo/Hazleton Standard-Speaker, Eric Conover)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) ? With fond memories and lavish praise that might have embarrassed their beloved coach, Penn State paid tribute to Joe Paterno at a public memorial Thursday, an event that capped three days of public mourning following his death from lung cancer.
A respectful crowd of about 12,000 came to the Bryce Jordan Center to hear former players and others laud not just Paterno's accomplishments but the man himself.
"Bless us this day as we honor and celebrate one of your greatest gifts to the world ? Joe Paterno," the Rev. Matthew Laffey said in the opening prayer.
A short time later, after a video montage, former star Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge said, "No one individual has ever done more for a university anywhere in the country than what Joe Paterno did for this school."
The line drew applause, and Blackledge was followed on the podium in the darkened arena by Lauren Perrotti, a Penn State student and Paterno fellow.
The service served as both a tribute and catharsis for the emotion-wracked school.
The coach's death Sunday at age 85 came less than three months after his stunning ouster as head coach in the wake of child sex-abuse charges against a retired assistant, Jerry Sandusky.
The campus has been torn by anger over the Sandusky scandal and Paterno's firing, but this week thousands of alumni, fans, students and former players in Happy Valley have remembered Paterno for his record-setting career, his love for the school and his generosity.
Small clusters of mourners continued to visit Paterno's statue outside the school's football stadium hours before the service.
Sharon Winter, a 1963 graduate and long-time season ticket holder from Wernersville, dabbed tears from her eyes as she looked at the hundreds of items that well-wishers since Paterno's death.
"If you haven't lived it, you can't explain it," said Winter, who, with her husband Carl, keeps an apartment in State College. "We never knew the place without Joe. He's always been a part of our lives and who we are."
Many Penn Staters found themselves reflecting on Paterno's impact and the road ahead.
"What's Joe's legacy? The answer, is his legacy is us," former NFL and Nittany Lions receiver Jimmy Cefalo said Wednesday before Paterno's funeral. He was on the speakers list Thursday.
Public viewings were held Tuesday and Wednesday morning, before the funeral and burial service for Paterno on Wednesday afternoon at the campus interfaith center where family members attended church services.
Cefalo, who played for Penn State in the '70s, said it will be the most difficult speech of his life. But he offered a hint of what he might say.
"Generations of these young people from coal mines and steel towns who he gave a foundation to," Cefalo said. "It's not (the Division I record) 409 wins, it's not two national championships, and it's not five-time coach of the year (awards). It's us."
As with all Paterno-related events this week, the crowd included well-known figures from the sports world. New Ohio State coach Urban Meyer had a seat near the front, where Paterno's widow, Sue, sat with her children and grandchildren.
Also in the seats were former Penn State and NFL players Franco Harris and Matt Millen, along with former defensive coordinator Tom Bradley. So was former Nittany Lions quarterback Daryll Clark.
___
Associated Press writer Kathy Matheson in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
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Manning trying to cope with Colts' transition
FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2007, file photo, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (18) celebrates running back Joseph Addai's 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter of an AFC Championship NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Indianapolis. Although the Patriots led 21-3, Manning led the Colts to 32 points in the second half for the largest comeback in a conference title game. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2007, file photo, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (18) celebrates running back Joseph Addai's 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter of an AFC Championship NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Indianapolis. Although the Patriots led 21-3, Manning led the Colts to 32 points in the second half for the largest comeback in a conference title game. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2011, file photo, Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell, left, speaks with injured quarterback Peyton Manning before an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore. The Colts fired Caldwell on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. Caldwell just finished his third and worst season as head coach of the Colts, who stumbled to a 2-14 finish without Manning. (AP Photo/Gail Burton, File)
COMMERCIAL IMAGE- In this photograph taken by AP Images for Papa John's, NFL stars Peyton Manning (center), Jerome Bettis (left) and Papa John's Founder, Chairman and CEO John Schnatter appear in a commercial shoot at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for Louisville-based Papa John's (NASDAQ: PZZA). The future of Manning has been a hot topic; his future this weekend is appearing in the commercial, which will air during the NFC and AFC Championship games unveiling Papa John's Super Bowl XLVI promotion. (AJ Mast/AP Images for Papa John's)
COMMERCIAL IMAGE - In this photograph released by Papa John's on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, NFL stars Peyton Manning (right), Jerome Bettis (left) and Papa John's Founder, Chairman and CEO John Schnatter enjoy Papa John?s pizza and Pepsi MAX during a recent commercial shoot at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Louisville-based Papa John's (NASDAQ: PZZA) has announced it will offer everyone in America the chance for a free large Papa John?s pizza and 2-liter Pepsi MAX based on the outcome of the coin toss in Super Bowl XLVI. (AJ Mast/AP Images for Papa John's)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Peyton Manning still intends to play football.
He's also no fan of the Colts' big offseason overhaul that included the firing of coach Jim Caldwell and other executives.
In an interview that appeared Tuesday in The Indianapolis Star (http://indy.st/yMVQY8), Manning touched on everything from his future plans to the difficulty he's had coping with all the changes. He has not responded to interview requests made by The Associated Press.
"It's 20 degrees, it's snowing, the building is absolutely empty except when you see coaches cleaning out their offices," Manning said. "I guess it's the reality of the football world, just not something I've had to deal with very often. But I'm in there every day, so I have to sit there and see it. Everybody's being evaluated and I'm no different. It's not the best environment.
"It's unfortunate because so many of them have been such a big part of so many big wins here, and this is so ... sudden," Manning added. "Their keys didn't work the next day. There's no other way to do it? I don't know. That's hard to see, all these people leaving. And I may be behind them. Who knows?"
One thing Manning does know is that last week's discussion about his "impending" departure from football was premature.
He poked fun at the frenzy surrounding a Twitter post from actor Rob Lowe, who wrote Manning was expected to announce his retirement last week. Manning said the whole thing caught him off-guard.
"I never thought 'Sodapop Curtis' would announce my retirement," he said, referring to Lowe's character in the 1983 movie "The Outsiders." ''I always thought I would be the one to announce it."
The biggest questions, of course, are about Manning's health and his future in Indianapolis.
While Manning would not say where he is in his recovery or how close he is to being 100 percent 4? months after having his latest neck surgery, he said new general manger Ryan Grigson inferred the decision about paying Manning a $28 million bonus in March or letting him become a free agent would be made by team owner Jim Irsay.
"Whatever happens, happens," Manning said. "I can't give you a prediction because Jim (Irsay) and I will sit down at some point and he'll get a feel for where I am and I'll get a sense of what direction he wants to go. Right now, I have no idea."
Irsay has repeatedly said he that Manning's health, not money, will dictate the Colts' decision, and he didn't appear to back away from that with his latest Twitter post.
"Knowing medical situation last yr. n still paying $26,000,000.00 to (hash)18,I've no regrets.It was right thing2do," Irsay tweeted, explaining he was not upset about it.
Manning, who again expressed his desire to finish his NFL career in the same place it began, said he has not met with Irsay to find out the Colts' thoughts.
"That's going to happen at some point, but we haven't had that conversation yet because we really don't need to have that conversation yet," Manning said.
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Northern Lights dance over northern England
This colorized NASA image, taken Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, shows a flare shooting out of the top of the sun. It was taken in a special teal wavelength to best see the flare. Space weather officials say the strongest solar storm in more than six years is already bombarding Earth with radiation with more to come. The Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado observed a flare Sunday night at 11 p.m. EST. Physicist Doug Biesecker said the biggest concern from the speedy eruption is the radiation, which arrived on Earth an hour later. It will likely continue through Wednesday. It's mostly an issue for astronauts' health and satellite disruptions. It can cause communication problems for airplanes that go over the poles. (AP Photo/NASA)
This colorized NASA image, taken Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, shows a flare shooting out of the top of the sun. It was taken in a special teal wavelength to best see the flare. Space weather officials say the strongest solar storm in more than six years is already bombarding Earth with radiation with more to come. The Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado observed a flare Sunday night at 11 p.m. EST. Physicist Doug Biesecker said the biggest concern from the speedy eruption is the radiation, which arrived on Earth an hour later. It will likely continue through Wednesday. It's mostly an issue for astronauts' health and satellite disruptions. It can cause communication problems for airplanes that go over the poles. (AP Photo/NASA)
This handout image provided by NASA, taken Sunday night, Jan. 22, 2012, shows a solar flare erupting on the Sun's northeastern hemisphere. Space weather officials say the strongest solar storm in more than six years is already bombarding Earth with radiation with more to come. The Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado observed a flare Sunday night at 11 p.m. EST. Physicist Doug Biesecker said the biggest concern from the speedy eruption is the radiation, which arrived on Earth an hour later. It will likely continue through Wednesday. It's mostly an issue for astronauts' health and satellite disruptions. It can cause communication problems for airplanes that go over the poles. (AP Photo/NASA)
LONDON (AP) ? The Northern Lights have lit up the skies above Scotland, northern England and northern parts of Ireland after the biggest solar storm in more than six years bombarded Earth with radiation.
The Canadian Space Agency posted a geomagnetic storm warning on Tuesday after residents were also treated to a spectacular show in the night sky.
Ken Kennedy, director of the Aurora section of the British Astronomical Association, said that the lights, also known as the aurora borealis, may be visible for a few more days.
The Northern Lights are sometimes seen from northern parts of Scotland but the unusual solar activity this week means the lights have also been visible from northeast England and Ireland, a rarity.
Geomagnetic storms cause awesome sights, but they can also bring trouble.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, problems can include current surges in power lines, and interference in the broadcast of radio, TV and telephone signals.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Russian Mars probe crash sets off conspiracy theories
When an ill-fated Russian Mars probe fell to Earth over the weekend, the spacecraft's untimely demise set off a flurry of conflicting media reports and conspiracy theories.
Russia's Phobos-Grunt space probe suffered a debilitating malfunction shortly after its November 2011 launch, which stranded it in low-Earth orbit for more than two months before it succumbed to gravitational forces and plummeted through the atmosphere on Jan. 15.
The $165 million spacecraft reportedly broke apart over the Pacific Ocean, but inconsistent reports soon surfaced, which sparked different theories about where the probe had landed, and what had caused it to malfunction in the first place.
The Russian Federal Space Agency is notorious for closely controlling any information released, but part of the issue is the tricky nature of calculating re-entry predictions for dead satellites and other pieces of orbital debris.
"Predicting an impact point is problematic because it involves fundamental factors that cannot be noted in advance and cannot be measured in real time, such as atmospheric density," space consultant James Oberg, a former NASA space shuttle mission control engineer, told SPACE.com. "These can only be averaged or guessed, sometimes even after re-entry. These known unknowns are more than enough to throw off any kind of prediction by thousands of kilometers." [ Photos: Russia's Phobos-Grunt Mission to Mars Moon ]
A curious case
Still, the Phobos-Grunt saga was shrouded in mystery long before it crashed back to Earth. The cause of the spacecraft's malfunction has not yet been determined, and claims ranging from accidental radar interference to outright sabotage have been reported by Russian news outlets.?
Russian space officials suggested that strong emissions from an American radar station on an island in the Pacific Ocean could have accidentally interfered with Phobos-Grunt, reported the Russian news agency Ria Novosti.
But, these claims were later dismissed by a Russian scientist who was involved with the development of Phobos-Grunt. Alexander Zakharov, a scientist at the Russian Academy of Science Space Research Institute, told Ria Novosti that the radar theory is "far-fetched," and suggested instead that issues with the spacecraft itself were likely to blame.
American experts were also quick to write off the idea that a U.S. radar station could have been the source of the spacecraft's demise ? accidental or otherwise.
"I do not see any evidence that supports the suggestion that the United States somehow played a role in the failure of Phobos-Grunt," Brian Weeden, an orbital debris expert at the Secure World Foundation in Washington, D.C., told SPACE.com in an email. "I have examined the claims made about the U.S. tracking radar on the South Pacific potentially interfering with Phobos-Grunt and they are without any credibility whatsoever."
Following Phobos-Grunt's fall from space, the Russian Federal Space Agency released an official statement confirming that the spacecraft had landed in the Pacific Ocean. But, the agency admitted this impact zone was based on orbital predictions, and they lacked tracking or visual data.
This fueled speculation that the spacecraft had overshot its predicted landing zone and broke apart elsewhere along its orbital track, such as over Argentina or Brazil. [ 6 Biggest Spacecraft to Fall Uncontrolled From Space ]
"You're never quite sure," said Emmet Fletcher, Space Surveillance and Tracking Manager at the European Space Agency (ESA). "Eyewitness accounts are good, so if someone sees it coming in and takes a picture, that can tell you about where it lands. But, if you're fortunate and it lands in the ocean, which is where we like things to go, there shouldn't be anyone there. So, if something lands in the South Pacific, you won't have anyone there to observe it."
Tracking a falling spacecraft
Fletcher is part of ESA's Space Situational Awareness team which monitors space junk and operates a network of tracking stations. Fletcher could not comment specifically on Phobos-Grunt, but he has worked on coordinated international efforts to deal with spacecraft and orbital debris that has re-entered the atmosphere.
"It's all a learning experience," Fletcher said. "There are lessons learned and conclusions about what we can do better. A lot of work is being done to standardize data."
Right now, different agencies and organizations have different methods for calculating re-entry predictions. This has advantages and disadvantages, Fletcher said, but ultimately, a more standardized approach could help foster more efficient cooperation between entities.
But the story of Phobos-Grunt doesn't end there.
In a recent development, the U.S. military appeared to have removed links to Phobos-Grunt tracking data on a public website that ordinarily details such events.
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Information about the doomed Russian probe's re-entry was removed from Space Track, a website operated by U.S. Strategic Command. The military also did not publish any confirmation of the probe's fall, which breaks with standard protocol.
This handling of the data seemed unusual, said Weeden, a former U.S. Air Force officer, who once also directed the Joint Space Operations Center's orbital analyst training program.
"[T]he final re-entry prediction data is still missing from the U.S. military's website where they normally publish the information," Weeden said. "I do not really have any idea why they would withhold this information for Phobos-Grunt. They have published the full re-entry prediction data on three other space objects so far this year, and they are continuing to publish re-entry predictions as normal for the next object, Cosmos 2176, which is a Russian Kompass-2 satellite that is due to re-enter in the next several days. "
Falling spacecraft and human error
But Friday evening (Jan. 20), a spokesperson from U.S. Strategic Command told SPACE.com that data was not, in fact, removed from the Space Track website. Rather, a human error had accidentally misfiled the information.
"All actions taken during the Phobos-Grunt re-entry were designed to improve international data sharing on this event," Julie Ziegenhorn, Deputy Chief of Public Affairs at U.S. Strategic Command, said in an email statement. "Unfortunately, shortly after the re-entry event, there was human error that led to all Phobos-Grunt entries on spacetrack.org being misfiled into the year 2011 data, which made it difficult for customers to access the information. Shortly after the error was discovered, the information was re-posted to the site and is accessible at this time."
Still, experts are hoping that more precise information about Phobos-Grunt's impact zone will be released, but it's unclear which agencies will make their reports available to the public. ESA plans to release a final report on Phobos-Grunt, but officials are currently still waiting for "additional data from non-ESA sources," agency spokesperson Andreas Schepers said in an email.
The Phobos-Grunt spacecraft was designed to collect soil samples from the Mars moon Phobos and return them to Earth in 2014. The botched mission is one of several space failures that plagued the Russian Federal Space Agency over the past year.
"It was one of the boldest cavalry charges, and they said it was a cavalry charge to restore Russia's honor in space," Oberg said. "But, cavalry charges can also wind up disastrously, so the use of that metaphor was particularly apt."
You can follow SPACE.com staff writer Denise Chow on Twitter@denisechow. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter@Spacedotcomand on Facebook.
? 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46091515/ns/technology_and_science-space/
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Women on the Pill have less menstrual pain (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Young women on birth control pills tend to have less painful menstrual periods than those not on the contraceptives, a new study finds.
Swedish researchers found that of 2,100 women followed from age 19 to 24, those on the combined birth control pill (estrogen and progestin) had less-severe menstrual pain over time.
It's already common practice for doctors to recommend the Pill to women with dysmenorrhea -- menstrual cramps, back pain and other symptoms that are severe enough to disrupt a woman's life.
Birth control pills are not specifically approved for that purpose, but doctors can prescribe them for dysmenorrhea on an "off-label" basis. However, it has not been clear how effective the pills are against period pain.
The new findings are not conclusive, but still caused excitement among some researchers.
"Our study provides evidence for the effective relief of painful periods with combined oral contraceptives," said Dr. Ingela Lindh of Gothenburg University in Sweden, who led the study.
Both Lindh and one of her co-researchers have financial ties to companies that make hormonal contraceptives, although the new research was not supported by drugmakers.
Menstrual pains typically fade as a woman gets older, and they often lessen after childbirth. But even when age and childbirth were taken into account, Pill users had less painful periods in the new study, Lindh told Reuters Health in an email.
The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, does not prove that the Pill eases dysmenorrhea.
It's an observational study that looked at the relationship between women's Pill use and dysmenorrhea risk. Clinical trials -- where people are randomly assigned to take a drug or a placebo -- are considered the "gold standard" for proving cause-and-effect.
And a 2009 review of 10 clinical trials concluded that there was "limited evidence" that the Pill improved menstrual pain.
Still, the trials in that review varied in their methods and their quality, so it's hard to draw firm conclusions, according to Dr. Michele Curtis of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, who was not involved in the current study.
She told Reuters Health the new study isn't definite, but "makes a strong case" that the Pill is effective against menstrual pain.
"I think combined oral contraceptives really do help women with primary dysmenorrhea," said Curtis, who has received speaking fees from drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, according to ProPublica's database Dollars for Docs.
Primary dysmenorrhea refers to menstrual pain that is not caused by underlying medical conditions such as endometriosis, a disorder of the uterine lining, or non-cancerous uterine growths called fibroids. When a medical condition is the cause, it's known as secondary dysmenorrhea.
A weakness of the current study, Curtis said, is that it did not determine whether women had primary or secondary dysmenorrhea. In some cases of secondary dysmenorrhea, she said, birth control pills might help, but in other cases will do nothing.
The study included three groups of young women who were 19 years old in either 1981, 1991 or 2001. They all completed a standard questionnaire on menstrual symptoms, then repeated the survey five years later.
Dysmenorrhea was common, the study found. Of the 1981 group, 37 percent had at least moderate menstrual pain that disrupted their daily activities; in the 2001 group, that figure was 47 percent.
But Pill users had less pain over the next five years. Overall, Pill use was linked to a reduction of 0.3 units on the pain scale. That means every third woman on the Pill went "one step down" on the scale -- from severe pain to moderate pain, for example -- according to Lindh.
The researchers also looked at subgroups of women who were using the Pill at the age of 19, but not at age 24. On average, their menstrual pain increased over time. In contrast, pain decreased among women who were not on the Pill at age 19, but were at age 24.
There are biological reasons that the Pill would help with dysmenorrhea, both Lindh and Curtis said.
Menstruation causes increased muscle activity in the uterus, which lessens blood flow to the uterus. And that's believed to be the root of menstrual pain.
Hormone-like compounds called prostaglandins help churn up that extra muscle activity. Since birth control pills lower the body's prostaglandin production, Lindh explained, it makes sense that they would ease dysmenorrhea.
Birth control pills, which cost anywhere from $15 to $50 a month, are not the only treatment for dysmenorrhea.
Some women can find enough relief from nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen and naproxen, according to Curtis. NSAIDs also block prostaglandin production.
What's more, vitamin B1 and magnesium, exercise, relaxation techniques and acupuncture have all been advocated for dysmenorrhea.
"Clearly, our evidence base is smaller for those things," Curtis said. But she also said that if a woman does not want birth control or NSAIDs, she could try an alternative.
Birth control pills can have side effects like breast tenderness, nausea and vomiting, and spotting between periods. Pill users also have a slightly higher-than-average risk of blood clots, particularly if they smoke or are age 35 or older.
But most women with primary dysmenorrhea are younger. In fact, Curtis said, if you start having painful periods for the first time when you are 30, it's unlikely that it's primary dysmenorrhea. A secondary cause is probably at work.
The new study was funded by grants from the Gothenburg Medical Society and other groups.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/zTpZa5 Human Reproduction, online January 17, 2012.
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Absinthe A5 Jailbreaker for iPhone 4S / iPad 2 now available for Windows
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Absinthe A5 Jailbreaker for iPhone 4S / iPad 2 now available for Windows originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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