Oil above $99 in Asia on Europe's austerity move

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) ? Oil rose above $99 a barrel Tuesday in Asia in sync with gains in regional equity markets after Europe took measures to battle its debt crisis.

Benchmark crude for February delivery was up $1 at $99.78 a barrel at midday Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 78 cents to finish at $98.78 on Monday.

European leaders agreed Monday on a new treaty to stop overspending and put an end to the region's crippling debt woes. They also pledged to stimulate growth and employment amid fears of a looming recession. Greece and its bondholders are also inching closer to a deal to significantly cut the country's debt and pave the way for it to receive a much-needed euro130 billion ($170 billion) bailout.

"The announcements in the eurozone helped ease concerns but crude prices are going to be choppy going forward. The market is grappling with a weaker demand scenario and uncertainties in the supply side coming from Iran," said Natalie Robertson, commodities analyst at ANZ Banking Group in Melbourne.

Iran has welcomed international weapons experts into the country in hopes of refuting claims that it is building a nuclear weapon. That eased concerns about possible military action in the region.

Still, Europe plans to embargo Iranian oil this summer to pressure Iran about its nuclear program. If that happens, Iran says it could retaliate by blocking passage through the Persian Gulf, where tankers carry one-sixth of the world's oil exports.

The U.S. is ready to implement sanctions on Iran's central bank that will make it harder for Iran to sell oil. India has however, joined China in saying it will not cut back on crude imports from Iran.

In other energy trading, heating oil rose 2.8 cents to $3.07 per gallon and gasoline futures were up 1.8 cents to $2.89 per gallon. Natural gas fell 6 cents to $2.65 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-31-Oil%20Prices/id-7d2f4ea8aa4c455f8fbf4a1f73a6c2dd

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Mexico cops nab suspect in 75 drug cartel killings (AP)

MONTERREY, Mexico ? Police in northern Mexico have captured an alleged member of the Zetas drug gang who confessed to killing at least 75 people, including many who were pulled off buses, authorities said Monday.

Enrique Elizondo Flores told investigators 36 of his victims were bus passengers traveling through the town of Cerralvo, near the border with Texas, said Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene.

Elizondo was detained Jan. 20 in the town of Salinas Victoria, but authorities delayed announcing his arrest so they could verify details of his confession, state Attorney General Adrian de la Garza said.

Domene said the 35-year-old suspect told investigators that he had been working in the area at least three years and that he was in charge of killing members of the rival Gulf drug cartel heading to the towns of Cerralvo and General Trevino.

Elizondo and other gunmen last January began pulling passengers off buses as they arrived at Cerralvo's bus station, Domene said. They are among at least 92 bus passengers the Zetas are accused of killing in three attacks in January and March 2011. Many the victims were originally from the central state of Guanajuato and had arrived in Cerralvo from the border city of Reynosa, Domene said.

Elizondo was known "for torturing, maiming and then killing his victims," Domene said.

Last year, authorities in the neighboring state of Tamaulipas unearthed 193 bodies from clandestine graves in the town of San Fernando. Security forces said they were led to the site by members of the Zetas who confessed to kidnapping and killing bus passengers traveling through the area.

The motive for the bus abductions remains unclear. Prosecutors have suggested the gang may be forcefully recruiting people to work for it or trying to kill rivals they suspected were aboard the buses.

Northeastern Mexico has been engulfed by a turf battle between the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas since they split in 2010.

More than 47,000 people have been killed nationwide since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown against drug traffickers in December 2006.

Global Financial Integrity, a program of the Center for International Policy, a Washington-based think tank, said Monday that its analysis found that $872 billion in proceeds from crime, corruption and money-laundering had flowed out of Mexico in the four decades from 1970 to 2010.

In the border city of Ciudad Juarez, police officers killed three men and detained a fourth Monday after being attacked at a gas station, authorities said.

The officers were refueling their patrol cars at a gas station a few blocks from the Zaragoza border crossing into El Paso, Texas, when they were attacked, a police statement said. The officers returned fire, killing three assailants, and they also seized two assault rifles, two handguns and a hand grenade, it said.

Last week, messages signed by the New Juarez drug cartel and left in several parts of the city claimed Police Chief Julian Leyzaola is favoring a rival cartel. It said that one officer would be killed daily if their members continue to be arrested. Five police officers have been killed since.

Leyzaola was not immediately available to comment on Monday's attack.

In a public appearance over the weekend, Mayor Hector Murguia said the recent string of attacks on law enforcement officers was a response from criminals affected by Leyzaola's work.

"Go downtown, there are no more brothels where drugs used to be sold," he said, referring to a police crackdown in downtown Juarez as part of the city's efforts to combat crime.

As a safety measure, police officers are now required to leave precincts wearing street clothes and are allowed to take their guns home. The city also is considering plans to rent hotels to quarter all the police force.

In 2009, then Police Chief Roberto Orduna quit after several police officers were killed and their bodies dumped along with messages saying more officers would be killed unless he resigned.

Leyzaola is no stranger to threats. Shortly after he was hired in 2011, the body of a tortured man was left in a street with a message to Leyzaola that read, "This is your first gift."

In April 2009, when he was police chief in western border city of Tijuana, drug traffickers took over police radio frequencies to say that if he didn't quit, many police officers would die.

A few days after, seven officers were killed in separate but coordinated attacks. Drug traffickers took over the police radio frequencies again to say their threat had been carried out.

___

Associated Press writer Juan Carlos Llorca in El Paso, Texas, contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico

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Cancer sequencing initiative discovers mutations tied to aggressive childhood brain tumors

ScienceDaily (Jan. 29, 2012) ? St. Jude Children's Research Hospital -- Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project has provided the first evidence linking cancer to mutations in genes involved in DNA organization. Researchers studying a rare, lethal childhood tumor of the brainstem discovered that nearly 80 percent of the tumors have mutations in genes not previously tied to cancer. Early evidence suggests the alterations play a unique role in other aggressive pediatric brain tumors as well.

The findings from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital -- Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP) offer important insight into a poorly understood tumor that kills more than 90 percent of patients within two years. The tumor, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), is found almost exclusively in children and accounts for 10 to 15 percent of pediatric tumors of the brain and central nervous system.

"We are hopeful that identifying these mutations will lead us to new selective therapeutic targets, which are particularly important since this tumor cannot be treated surgically and still lacks effective therapies," said Suzanne Baker, Ph.D., co-leader of the St. Jude Neurobiology and Brain Tumor Program and a member of the St. Jude Department of Developmental Neurobiology. She is a corresponding author of the study published in the January 29 online edition of the scientific journal Nature Genetics.

DIPG is an extremely invasive tumor that occurs in the brainstem, which is at the base of the skull and controls such vital functions as breathing and heart rate. DIPG cannot be cured by surgery and is accurately diagnosed by non-invasive imaging. As a result, DIPG is rarely biopsied in the U.S. and little is known about it.

Cancer occurs when normal gene activity is disrupted, allowing for the unchecked cell growth and spread that makes cancer so lethal. In this study, investigators found 78 percent of the DIPG tumors had alterations in one of two genes that carry instructions for making proteins that play similar roles in packaging DNA inside cells. Both belong to the histone H3 family of proteins. DNA must be wrapped around histones so that it is compact enough to fit into the nucleus. The packaging of DNA by histones influences which genes are switched on or off, as well as the repair of mutations in DNA and the stability of DNA. Disruption of any of these processes can contribute to cancer.

Researchers said that the mutations seem unique to aggressive childhood brain tumors.

"It is amazing to see that this particular tumor type appears to be characterized by a molecular 'smoking gun' and that these mutations are unique to fast-growing pediatric cancers in the brain," said Richard K. Wilson, Ph.D., director of The Genome Institute at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and one of the study's corresponding authors. "This is exactly the type of result one hopes to find when studying the genomes of cancer patients."

The results are the latest from the PCGP, an ambitious three-year effort to sequence the complete normal and cancer genomes of 600 children with some of the most poorly understood and aggressive pediatric cancers. The human genome includes the complete set of instructions needed to assemble and sustain human life. The goal is to identify differences that explain why cancer develops, spreads and kills. Researchers believe the findings will provide the foundation for new tools to diagnose, treat or prevent the disease.

For this study, researchers sequenced the complete normal and cancer genomes of seven patients with DIPG. "The mutations were found at such high frequency in the cancer genomes of those seven patients that we immediately checked for the same alterations in a larger group of DIPGs," Baker said. When researchers sequenced all 16 of the related genes that make closely related variants of histone H3 proteins in an additional 43 DIPGs, they found many of the tumors contained the same mistakes in only two of these genes.

Of the 50 DIPG tumors included in this study, 60 percent had a single alteration in the makeup of the H3F3A gene. When the mutated gene was translated into a protein, the point mutation led to the substitution of methionine for lysine as the 27th amino acid in this variant of histone H3 protein. Another 18 percent of the DIPG patients carried the same mistake in a different gene, HIST1H3B.

Researchers are now working to understand how mutations in H3F3A and HIST1H3B impact cell function and contribute to cancer. Earlier research provides some clues. The lysine that is mutated is normally targeted by enzymes that attach other molecules to histone H3, influencing how it interacts with other proteins that regulate gene expression, Baker said. Mutations in the enzymes that target histone H3 have been identified in other cancers, but this is the first report showing a specific alteration of histones in cancer.

H3F3A and HIST1H3B were also mutated in other aggressive childhood brain tumors, glioblastoma, that develop outside the brain stem. Of 36 such tumors included in this study, 36 percent carried one of three distinct point mutations in the genes. The alterations included another single change in the makeup of H3F3A not found in DIPGs.

The histone H3 genes, however, were not mutated in any of the 252 other childhood tumors researchers checked for this study. The list included the brain tumors known as low-grade gliomas, medulloblastomas and ependymomas plus other cancers outside the brain and nervous system. The H3 changes have not been reported in any other cancers, including adult glioblastoma. "This suggests these particular mutations give a very important selective advantage, particularly in the developing brainstem and to a lesser degree in the developing brain, which leads to a terribly aggressive brain tumor in children, but not in adults," Baker said.

"This discovery would not have been possible without the unbiased approach taken by the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project," Baker said. "The mutations had not been reported in any other tumor, so we would not have searched for them in DIPGs. Yet the alterations clearly play an important role in generating this particular tumor."

The study's first authors are Gang Wu, Alberto Broniscer and Troy McEachron, all of St. Jude. The study's other corresponding authors are Jinghui Zhang and James Downing, both of St. Jude. The other study authors are Charles Lu, Li Ding and Elaine Mardis, all of Washington University; and Barbara Paugh, Jared Becksfort, Chunxu Qu, Robert Huether, Matthew Parker, Junyuan Zhang, Amar Gajjar, Michael Dyer, Charles Mullighan, Richard Gilbertson and David Ellison, all of St. Jude.

The research was funded in part by the PCGP, including Kay Jewelers, a lead project sponsor; the National Institutes of Health, the Sydney Schlobohm Chair of Research from the National Brain Tumor Society; the Cure Starts Now Foundation, Smile for Sophie Forever Foundation, Tyler's Treehouse Foundation, Musicians Against Childhood Cancer, the Noyes Brain Tumor Foundation and ALSAC.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

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. Gang Wu, Alberto Broniscer, Troy A McEachron, Charles Lu, Barbara S Paugh, Jared Becksfort, Chunxu Qu, Li Ding, Robert Huether, Matthew Parker, Junyuan Zhang, Amar Gajjar, Michael A Dyer, Charles G Mullighan, Richard J Gilbertson, Elaine R Mardis, Richard K Wilson, James R Downing, David W Ellison, Jinghui Zhang, Suzanne J Baker. Somatic histone H3 alterations in pediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas and non-brainstem glioblastomas. Nature Genetics, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/ng.1102

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/2012/01/120129151048.htm

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Amy Chavez: Now for Something Really Different: Watching the Australian Open Down Under

Traveling in Australia for two weeks, I had the chance to watch the entire Australian Open in Melbourne on the Australian Prime Network TV. This was a real eye-opener as to what really goes on in Australian sports.

The first shocker was an advertisement for the "McOz burger" from "Mackers" (the Australian term for McDonald's). What's a McOz burger? A 100 percent Australian beef burger with beetroot and "classic ketchup" (treading carefully on the use of the word ketchup since the Australians use "tomato sauce.")

The second shocker was that just before each new match, a notice came up on the TV screen with each player's name and a dollar sign. Just before the quarter-final game between Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori, for example, Murray was fetching AU$1.07, and Nishikori AU$9.00. These were the odds for betting on them -- Just like horse racing. And it's "fair dinkum" (true). As the Aussie saying goes, "Australians would bet on two flies crawling up a wall." Thus the flourishing online gambling site called Sportsbet ("Aussie Open special -- Money back if your player loses in 5 sets!"). You can even bet on who will win the first set. Or if a player wins a set at all. Online betting sites are full of all the player stats you need to know to make your own guesstimate.

The Rod Laver Arena -- which seats approximately 15,000 -- brought some interesting aspects to the sport. Here, these world class tennis players, the elite who have qualified for this Grand Slam here in Melbourne, not only have to be in top physical shape and play their absolute best, but they also run the risk of having a cricket waltz out onto the court during play. Yes, really! Blood oath, "dinkie-die," stick a needle in my eye, Rod Laver Arena was plagued with crickets this year. One cricket's on-court appearance was so distracting to the players, the lawless insect was removed during the game by one of the ball girls. Don't those crickets realize? They've got the wrong sport! The Melbourne Cricket Ground is next door.

In addition, the Australian sportscasters on-site offered various bits of player trivia, the most enigmatic being, "Victoria Azaranka and Maria Sharipova were conceived in the same country." I'm not even going there...

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Follow Amy Chavez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JapanLite

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-chavez/australian-open-melbourne_b_1240570.html

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Democrats spend big in Ore. special election (AP)

PORTLAND, Ore. ? Determined not to lose another friendly district because of a sex scandal, Democrats and their allies have pumped more than $1 million into an Oregon special election race that has turned into a vicious exchange of attacks over the airwaves.

Voters are deciding who should replace former Rep. David Wu, a seven-term Democrat who resigned last year following a string of bizarre news stories that began with photos of the congressman wearing a tiger costume and ended with a young woman's accusation that he made an unwanted sexual advance.

Voters have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to return their ballots in the all-mail election.

Republican Rob Cornilles, a sports business consultant, has tried hard to extend the scandal that brought down Wu to the Democrat who wants to take his place, former state Sen. Suzanne Bonamici. She says the race is about the future, not about Wu.

Bonamici and independent groups that support her have gone after Cornilles for missing tax payments for his business and for inconsistent statements about the number of jobs his company has created.

Oregon's 1st Congressional District is the state's economic engine, encompassing downtown Portland and the fast-growing western suburbs that are home to the Silicon Forest high-tech hub and the global headquarters for athletic-wear giants Nike Inc. and Columbia Sportswear Company. It stretches across agricultural communities to the Pacific coast. Democrats have represented the district since 1975, and its voters overwhelmingly supported President Barack Obama.

But Democrats do not want to see a repeat of what happened last year in a heavily Democratic New York district, when a Republican won a special election after Rep. Anthony Weiner acknowledged sending provocative text messages and resigned.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has spent $1.3 million to boost Bonamici. Political committees for a union, abortion-rights groups and a super PAC allied with Democrats have also chipped in with their own mail or television ads.

Democrats insist they're not scared. They've likened their investment to an insurance policy to avoid any doubts about the party's strength that would inevitably follow a loss in a liberal state like Oregon. The National Republican Congressional Committee has spent just $85,000 on the race.

Cornilles, 47, is making his second bid for the seat after losing to Wu in 2010. He's centered his pitch on his experience running a sports-marketing firm, hoping to swing an upset with a relentless focus on jobs and a run toward the center. Unemployment in the Portland area dropped to 7.8 percent in November 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Bonamici, 57, is mixing traditional Democratic themes of protecting Social Security and Medicare with a pledge to tackle the national debt by getting Washington's priorities in order.

Without reliable public polling it's anyone's guess how close the race will be.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_el_ho/us_oregon_congressional_election

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Researchers shed light on magnetic mystery of graphite

Friday, January 27, 2012

The physical property of magnetism has historically been associated with metals such as iron, nickel and cobalt; however, graphite ? an organic mineral made up of stacks of individual carbon sheets ? has baffled researchers in recent years by showing weak signs of magnetism.

The hunt for an explanation has not been without controversy, with several research groups proposing different theories. The most recent suggestion, published today, 27 January, in the journal EPL (Europhysics Letters), has been put forward by a research group from the University of Manchester that includes Nobel prize-winning scientist Professor Sir Andre Geim.

The research group, led by Dr Irina Grigorieva, found that magnetism in many commercially available graphite crystals is down to micron-sized clusters of predominantly iron that would usually be difficult to find unless the right instruments were used in a particular way.

Finding the way to make graphite magnetic could be the first step to utilising it as a bio-compatible magnet for use in medicine and biology as effective biosensors.

To arrive at their conclusions, the researchers firstly cut up a piece of commercially-available graphite into four sections and measured the magnetisation of each piece. Surprisingly, they found significant variations in the magnetism of each sample. It was reasonable for them to conclude that the magnetic response had to be caused by external factors, such as small impurities of another material.

To check this hypothesis, the researchers peered deep into the structure of the samples using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) ? a very powerful microscope that images samples by scanning it with a beam of electrons ? and found that there were unusually heavy particles positioned deep under the surface.

The majority of these particles were confirmed to be iron and titanium, using a technique known as X-ray microanalysis. As oxygen was also present, the particles were likely to be either magnetite or titanomagnetite, both of which are magnetic.

The researchers were also able to deduce how many magnetic particles would be needed, and how far apart they would need to be spaced in order to create the originally observed magnetism. The observations from their experiments agreed with their estimations, meaning the visualised magnetic particles could account for the whole magnetic signal in the sample.

Dr Grigorieva, said: "The excitement around the findings of ferromagnetism in graphite, i.e. pure carbon, is due to the fact that magnetism is not normally found in organic matter. If we can learn to create and control magnetism in carbon-based materials, especially graphene, this will be an important development for sensors and spintronics."

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The paper can be downloaded from http://iopscience.iop.org/0295-5075/97/4/47001

Institute of Physics: http://www.iop.org

Thanks to Institute of Physics for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117149/Researchers_shed_light_on_magnetic_mystery_of_graphite

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Eastman Chemical buying Solutia for about $3.38B

NEW YORK (AP) ? Specialty chemical company Eastman Chemical Co. is buying Solutia Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $3.38 billion to broaden its presence in the Asia Pacific region and other emerging markets while expanding its product offerings.

Eastman Chemical is paying a 42 percent premium over Solutia's latest closing price and said Friday that it expects the deal to immediately add to its earnings.

Solutia, based in St. Louis, makes materials and specialty chemicals used in the automotive and architectural industries. Eastman Chemical has approximately 10,000 employees worldwide, while Solutia has about 3,400 workers globally.

Eastman Chemical, based in Kingsport, Tenn., was spun off from photography pioneer Eastman Kodak Co. in 1994, according to the company's web site.

In the deal announced Friday, Solutia shareholders will receive $22 in cash and 0.12 shares of Eastman Chemical stock for each share of Solutia that they own. Based on Thursday's closing prices, Solutia shareholders will receive cash and stock valued at $27.65 per Solutia share. Solutia currently has about 122.1 million shares outstanding.

Solutia's stock jumped $7.94, or 40.7 percent, to $27.45 in premarket trading, while shares of Eastman Chemical gained $3.13, or 6.6 percent, to $50.25.

The companies value the deal, including debt, at about $4.7 billion. Eastman Chemical said it plans to fund the cash portion of the buyout with available cash and debt. Citi and Barclays Capital, which are serving as financial advisors, have committed debt financing.

Both Eastman Chemical and Solutia's boards have approved the transaction, which still needs the approval of Solutia shareholders. The acquisition is expected to close in mid-2012.

Eastman Chemical Chairman and CEO Jim Rogers said in a statement that the transaction is important in part because it will extend the company's reach into the Asia Pacific region. Eastman Chemical anticipates that it will have a compound annual growth rate in Asia Pacific approaching 10 percent for the next several years.

Last month Eastman Chemical said that China will play a key role in its growth as it broke ground on a facility in Heifei, China. The plant, a joint venture with China National Tobacco Corp., will make acetate tow, a raw material used for cigarette filters and other purposes. The plant is projected to be operational in mid-2013.

Eastman Chemical expects about $100 million in annual cost savings by the end of 2013, as the acquisition is expected to help lower corporate costs and improve manufacturing and supply chain processes.

"The acquisition of Solutia is a significant step in our growth strategy and one that I am confident will strengthen Eastman as a top-tier specialty chemical company with strong, stable margins," Rogers said.

Eastman Chemical expects 2012 earnings of about $5 per share, excluding acquisition-related costs and charges. In addition, the company boosted its 2013 forecast to more than $6 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet forecast 2012 earnings of $4.64 per share and 2013 earnings of $4.97 per share.

Solutia provided its fourth-quarter and full-year financial results on Friday. Fourth-quarter net income rose 15 percent to $54 million, or 45 cents per share, from $47 million, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 8 percent to $526 million from $489 million.

Analysts expected earnings of 47 cents per share on revenue of $506.5 million.

For the full-year, Solutia earned $262 million, or $2.16 per share. That compares with earnings of $78 million, or 65 cents per share, in the previous year. Annual revenue climbed 8 percent to $2.1 billion from $1.95 billion.

The company maintained its 2012 forecast for adjusted earnings of $2 to $2.30 per share on revenue between $2.13 billion and $2.28 billion.

Analysts predict earnings of $2.20 per share on revenue of $2.23 billion.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-27-Eastman%20Chemical-Acquisition/id-b23af43219f24c2f9187fc8b06f1c02d

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Paterno's son: 'Dad, you won. You can go home now'

Jay Paterno, son of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, speaks during a memorial service for Joe Paterno at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. A capacity crowd of more than 12,000 packed the Bryce Jordan Center for one more tribute to Paterno, the Hall of Fame football coach who died Sunday from lung cancer. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Jay Paterno, son of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, speaks during a memorial service for Joe Paterno at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. A capacity crowd of more than 12,000 packed the Bryce Jordan Center 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)

Phil Knight adjust the microphones before he speaks during a memorial service for former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. Knight, the Nike founder, got a standing ovation at Paterno's public memorial for defending the late coach's response to an accusation of child sex abuse against a former assistant. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Phil Knight, former CEO and co-founder of Nike, becomes emotional as he speaks during a memorial service for former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. A capacity crowd of more than 12,000 packed the Bryce Jordan Center for one more tribute to Paterno, the Hall of Fame football coach who died Sunday from lung cancer. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Sue Paterno, center, wife of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, consoles her grandson as they leave a memorial service for Joe at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa., Thursday Jan. 26, 2012. A capacity crowd of more than 12,000 packed the Bryce Jordan Center for one more tribute to Paterno, the Hall of Fame football coach who died Sunday from lung cancer. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) ? Jay Paterno leaned over his dying father, gave him a kiss, and whispered in his ear.

"Dad, you won," he said. "You did all you could do. You've done enough. We all love you. We won. You can go home now."

Joe Paterno died Sunday of lung cancer at age 85.

At a memorial service Thursday that drew some 12,000 people to the Penn State basketball arena, Jay Paterno reflected on what he called the "magnificent daylight" of his legendary father's life. It was primarily a glowing tribute to Paterno and his accomplishments during 46 years as Penn State's football coach ? but also an opportunity to defend his legacy against criticism that he failed to do more when told about an alleged child sexual assault involving one of his former assistants.

Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight won a thunderous standing ovation when he defended Paterno's handling of the 2002 allegations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Paterno, he hinted, had been made a scapegoat.

"If there is a villain in this tragedy, it lies in that investigation and not in Joe Paterno's response," Knight said. Paterno's widow, Sue, was among those rising to their feet.

Capping three days of mourning on campus, the 2?-hour ceremony was filled with lavish praise for the man called "JoePa." Paterno racked up more wins ? 409 ? than any other major-college football coach, led his team to two national championships, and preached "success with honor" while insisting his athletes focus on academics. The Paternos donated millions to Penn State.

Though the campus and surrounding community have been torn with anger over the Sandusky scandal and Paterno's summary dismissal by the board of trustees two months before his death, Jay Paterno said his father didn't hold a grudge.

"Despite all that had happened to him, he never wavered in his belief, in his dream, of Penn State. He told me he wanted to use his remaining time on earth to see Penn State continue to thrive. He never spoke ill and never wanted anyone to feel badly for him," Paterno said.

Players from each decade of Paterno's career as the Nittany Lions' coach spoke in loving terms about their mentor, saying he rode them hard, but always had their best interests at heart and encouraged them to complete their educations and become productive members of their communities.

Among the speakers were Michael Robinson, who played for Paterno from 2002 to 2005 and flew in from Hawaii, where he was practicing for his first Pro Bowl; star quarterback Todd Blackledge from the 1980s; and Jimmy Cefalo, a star in the 1970s. Like Robinson, Blackledge and Cefalo went on to play in the NFL.

Former NFL player Charles V. Pittman, speaking for players from the 1960s, called Paterno a lifelong influence and inspiration.

Pittman said Paterno challenged his young players, once bringing Pittman to tears in his sophomore year. He said he realized later that the coach was molding him into the man he would become.

"What I now know is that Joe wasn't trying to build perfection. That doesn't exist and he knew it. He was, bit by bit, building a habit of excellence," said Pittman, now a media executive on the board of The Associated Press.

Paterno was fired Nov. 9 after he was criticized for not going to police in 2002 when he was told that Sandusky had been seen sexually assaulting a boy in the showers. Sandusky was arrested in November and is awaiting trial on charges that he molested 10 boys over a 15-year span.

As the scandal erupted, Pennsylvania's state police commissioner said Paterno may have met his legal duty but not his moral one. Penn State president Graham Spanier was also fired in the fallout.

Knight, appearing about midway through the memorial, became the first speaker to explicitly address the scandal. He said the coach "gave full disclosure to his superiors, information that went up the chains to the head of the campus police and the president of the school. The matter was in the hands of a world-class university, and by a president with an outstanding national reputation."

Lanny J. Davis, an attorney for the board, responded after the service by saying: "All the reasons for the board's difficult and anguished decision ? made unanimously, including former football players and everyone who still loves Coach Paterno and his memory ? reached a decision which was heartfelt. All 32."

"The facts speak for themselves" and include the grand jury testimony, he said.

Chris Marrone, another former player who eulogized Paterno, said Knight was his "new hero" for expressing the "pent-up frustration" of Paterno's supporters.

"I think the response that he got is indicative of how folks feel," Marrone said.

Only one member of the university administration ? the dean of the college of liberal arts ? and no one from the board of trustees spoke at the memorial, which was arranged primarily by the Paterno family.

People said it felt good to remember and celebrate the good times.

Tennessee Titans coach Mike Munchak, who played for Paterno, said he attended the service "because I'm a part of his legacy."

"It was not only about football," Munchak said. "It was about life and how he affected all of us as men."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-27-Penn%20State-Paterno/id-369a863f19c3447cae0ce1d19ef2ffb7

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The Advantages Of Automotive LED Headlamp

Li Xiao Na asked:

The automotive LED headlamp has so many obstacles and difficulties in the process of development, but all the manufacturers are trying to drive the development of LED. Obviously, the automotive LED lamp has so many advantages. The new light source is able to provide the car with flexibility and personalization, besides, the light efficiency of the LED light is similar with the HID light; therefore, the traditional light will be cleaned out from the market sooner or later. The chromatography of LED is the same with sunlight, which makes the effectiveness of the reflection higher than the other lights. Drivers can see the obstacles from far away with this kind of light. Experts also maintain that road signals always use the passive glow reflection; therefore, the LED can make the driver see the signals as it always in the daytime.

The Daytime Running Light rules, which is passed by the Europe union, fixes that automobiles should use the headlamp even in the daytime. This regulation makes the low power consumption, and long service life of LED light outstanding. The LED headlight does not need any mechanical part, which is able to produce the active function. This kind of active lighting system may need more streamer tube. From this way, scientists can study the new adapting headlamp system.

Scientists point out that the changes of the illumination system is correspond with the developing tendency, namely the mechanical device will be replaced by the electric system gradually. All in all, the automotive LED headlamp is still in its infancy now, but it will develop with high speed. It is predicated that the capital of the automotive LED market will reach 80 million US dollars in the year of 2012. The LED must be welcomed by people with its safety and reliability, which will also bring so many opportunities for the revolution of the automotive lamp. The related integrated circuit is S4060U.

Automotive

Source: http://rambergmedia.com/the-advantages-of-automotive-led-headlamp/

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America's next star? Could be anyone (AP)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. ? Michael Phelps. Missy Franklin. Jordyn Wieber. Ryan Lochte.

Any of those athletes could be the defining face of the U.S. Olympic team in the run-up to the London Games. So far, though, none stands alone as "The One To Watch" ? at least not according to people who make a living out of watching the Olympics.

With 2012 under way and only six months left before the flame is ignited at opening ceremonies, The Associated Press sent emails to sports agents and executives, public-relations people and others with strong Olympic ties, asking them who America's so-called face of the Olympics would be as the games approach.

Unlike past Olympic cycles, when Phelps or Marion Jones or Bode Miller or Lindsey Vonn were the clear-cut Americans to watch, there was no consensus this time around.

Phelps got the most votes with four, followed by Franklin with three, then Wieber (gymnastics) and Lochte (swimming) with two apiece. The rest of the 16 responses were spread among five athletes: gymnast Nastia Liukin, sprinter Allyson Felix, swimmer Dara Torres and soccer players Abby Wambach and Hope Solo.

That the question produced such a scattered list makes clear that generating buzz for the Olympics will take more this year than simply plastering a single person's face on a 50-foot billboard in Times Square.

"I think we have 10 or 20 athletes who could be that face," said Scott Blackmun, CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee. "As I sit here today, I don't know who that face is going to be."

The people who received the AP questionnaire were assured their names would be kept confidential, in an attempt to get the most candid answers possible.

They were asked for American athletes only, which precluded them from naming Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter who owns world records in the 100 and 200 and could have come close to sweeping the survey if nationality were no factor.

"Clearly, the world will be watching Usain Bolt, for obvious reasons and deserved reasons," said Olympic historian David Wallechinsky, author of "The Complete Book of the Olympics." "Clearly, people will be keeping their eye on Michael Phelps, as a record setter, even if he's not as dominant as he was before."

Phelps already owns more Olympic gold than anyone and needs three more medals of any color to become the most decorated athlete in history. His quest will, of course, be compelling, but it will also be mixed in with his competition against Lochte, who won five gold medals at the 2011 world championships and beat Phelps in their two head-to-head matchups.

If viewing patterns stay similar to what they were in 2008, Phelps vs. anybody in the pool will draw the best ratings. All of NBC's prime time telecasts that drew more than 30 million viewers in 2008 came on nights when swimming was featured. (Track and field didn't fare as well, though most of that coverage was shown on tape delay while most swimming coverage was live.)

"It's an intriguing story," Wallechinsky said of the Phelps-Lochte drama that could develop. "But trying to sell a U.S. versus U.S. rivalry, where the characters don't really hate each other, sometimes that's a little rough. It pains me when, sometimes, you see media pitching a rivalry between two athletes who are actually friends, just for the sake of creating a rivalry."

That's very much the way the 2008 gymnastics competition was fed to the public ? Nastia Liukin vs. Shawn Johnson. They battled back and forth in the years leading up to Beijing, and their head-to-head in the Olympic all-around was high theater, barely won by Liukin.

Both are trying to make the 2012 team, but unlike 2008, this year's star isn't permanently affixed to anyone just yet.

Wieber, the 16-year-old world champion is the front-runner to become America's top all-around gymnast, and she already has an appearance on "Ellen" and a deal with Kellogg's as signs of what some people think of her potential. But the health of Rebecca Bross, who was touted as the "next big thing" before injuries derailed her, could still factor into the big picture.

Of course, the U.S. team can't depend on any single athlete to make the Olympics an overall success, though Phelps' eight golds in 2008 certainly helped matters.

Americans have won the most medals at the past four Summer Olympics, but with China and Russia improving and with smaller countries, such as Brazil, Great Britain and Australia, chipping away from the other side, there's a sense that the United States is under more pressure this time.

"The medal count is going to be the medal count," said Alan Ashley, going into his first Olympics as the USOC chief of sport performance. "To us, it's all about how we support the athletes and coaches and help them put their best foot forward when they get to London. If we do our job, then the medal count will take care of itself."

Key to that medal count will be the fate of the track and field team, which won a disappointing 23 medals in Beijing, but improved to 25 at last year's world championships ? an upward trend team leaders hope will continue.

Yet finding a singular star from that sport has become difficult, in large part because of the numerous drug scandals that have tainted track over the decades and more or less tagged its top sprinters with a "buyer beware" sign, regardless of their history.

Tyson Gay, possibly America's best sprinter, has no doping issues in his past, but has been hampered with injuries and missed both the finals at the Beijing Games and all of last year's world championships; he didn't garner a single vote in the AP survey. Neither did decathlete Bryan Clay, the defending Olympic champion ? a sign of how the clout of the so-called "World's Greatest Athlete" has diminished since the days of Bruce Jenner.

On the women's side, Felix is well-spoken and looks good in magazine shoots, but has been a big factor in her sport for almost a decade now and hasn't connected viscerally with the casual sports fan that makes up a big chunk of the Olympic audience.

"I don't have an explanation for that," Wallechinsky said. "It is a bit odd. There might be some Marion Jones backlash, where they don't want to get burned again, don't want to back a sprinter then have that person test positive at the Olympics. It's one of those things where you can be completely innocent and still be under the shadow of other people's transgressions."

With billions of dollars invested in televising the Olympics, NBC will shape the way most American take in the games. The network, with everything from local affiliates to the web at its disposal, can tell numerous stories on numerous platforms.

Chief Marketing Officer John Miller ? the guy who created the catchphrase "Must See TV" ? said the network learned a lot when it loaded its pre-Games hype into Bode Miller before the 2006 Olympics, only to watch him turn into a bust on the mountain and a source of controversy off of it.

"We put a significant amount of eggs in that basket," Miller said. "As a result of that, instead of going with one athlete, we decided we had to spread it around a little more. Fortunately, in the Summer Games, we have compelling stories to go after. A lot of them."

In addition to track, gymnastics and swimming, NBC also focuses a lot on beach volleyball, where Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor will go for their third Olympic gold.

"We have enough bandwidth to go after four or five sports in a big way and cover a lot of angles," Miller said.

NBC, he said, has no need to go with one athlete in the lead up. The network invited about 100 athletes out to its pre-Olympic TV shoot in West Hollywood, "because you never know who's going to come out and turn into something big."

In this case, there's no real consensus on who's big before the games, either. The USOC is accepting that fact ? trying to embrace the idea of promoting an Olympics with no clear-cut star instead of forcing a single story line.

"It's different from other years because there's not one story there that's bubbled to the top yet," Ashley said. "That's one of the things I love about the Olympics, is that you never really know the answer to that question."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_sp_ol/oly_america_s_next_star

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Analysis: Zynga needs mobile to move away from Facebook (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? David Ko, Zynga's chief mobile officer, has one of the most important and pressure-filled at the online gaming company -- he's charged with figuring out ways to get people to play Zynga's games on tablets and smartphones.

Zynga and Ko want to build a viable business outside of Facebook, the world's largest social network, where Zynga generated more than 94 percent its revenue in the third quarter.

With Facebook imposing a 30 percent tax on money made on its website, it is an economic imperative that Ko drive his company's users to other platforms so that Zynga can keep more money for itself.

He is, in essence, on the front lines of Zynga's battle for independence, which could be one of the reasons why he dubbed his office enclave the "war room," where he works on new game ideas, schedules and strategic plans.

And so far, Ko's team has fired off a few successful rounds. Zynga's games are climbing their way up Apple's app store charts.

On the App Store on Wednesday, Zynga had the No. 2 app overall on iTunes, while it was in second and fifth place in the top paid app category. It held No. 1 spots on both lists a week ago and has made the list for five top grossing apps, according to Appshopper.com.

With about 1 billion apps being downloaded each month on both Apple or Google's Android devices, Zynga is attempting to ride that growth by making more games for those platforms.

"Those numbers are growing really fast and our users or player numbers reflect that," Ko said in an interview.

Zynga said on its IPO roadshow that it had 13 million active daily users on mobile devices in November, a 17 percent increase from the 11.1 million mobile players it reported in October. Trouble is, that's still 40 million fewer users than the roughly 53 million daily active Zynga users on Facebook this week.

The good news is that its growth rate on mobile devices is greater than it is on Facebook. In fact, the number of Zynga users on Facebook declined 5 percent year-over-year in December, according to data tracking website AppData.com.

While Ko said popular mobile games "Scramble with Friends" and "Words with Friends" are poised for growth, it may be more wishful thinking than an actual business reality that these games could steal the spotlight from Zynga's main revenue source, Facebook games such as "CastleVille" and "FarmVille."

"There is a monetization difference between PC and mobile," Ko said, without elaborating.

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said mobile games make a fraction of the money what Zynga's games make on computers because handheld screens are smaller, the experience is less immersive and there are fewer opportunities for players to spend money.

FACEBOOK CRUTCH

The perceived Facebook crutch is one of the factors dragging down Zynga's shares since it went public on Dec 16. But extricating itself from the social network won't exactly be a financial walk in the park.

Investing in mobile games isn't cheap, and the price to stay ahead of the curve could be high, said Steve Soranno, equity analyst at Calvert Investment Management, which has $12 billion of assets under management.

"The high demand for constant innovation -- even if it's a word game -- could lead to high costs for the company," said Soranno, who is considering an investment in Zynga.

Zynga bought eight mobile companies last year and has poached a roster of top executives from its rivals, the most recent being Barry Cottle, an Electronic Arts veteran who oversaw the publisher's social and mobile games unit.

And at least one analyst expects Zynga to release more mobile games than Facebook games this year. JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth wrote in a research note on Wednesday that he expects Zynga to publish 14 or 15 new games, 10 of which will be mobile.

It is also experimenting with different business models for handheld devices. Zynga makes money from selling virtual items in games, similar to its Facebook strategy, but it also offers games for free with ads and now sells ad-free games for about $3.

Zynga may also branch out from its popular word games. It released a pet-care game late last year and is looking at making a so-called physics game like "Angry Birds" that people could play against their friends. Travis Boatman, vice president of mobile, said nothing is certain, but "there is a lot of interest in that genre."

The priority for Zynga is replicating its Facebook popularity by creating a network of mobile games under one brand that users can play with the same friends across all titles.

Ko, the mobile chief, pointed to some recent pop culture events as signs that Zynga's mobile games are reaching a critical mass.

One was Alec Baldwin's highly publicized spat with American Airlines when he wouldn't put "Words with Friends" down. Then, a Missouri woman was credited with saving a man's life through the game.

The woman's word partner in Australia mentioned that her husband was sick and described his symptoms while chatting in the game. The Missouri woman's husband, a physician, was then able to figure out the man in Australia was having a heart attack and said he should rush to the hospital.

Stories like these could help the company chase "Angry Birds," another pop culture gaming phenomenon everyone likes to talk about.

"I want more games of ours to have that 'Angry Birds' type of moment where they really go mainstream," Ko said, referring to the game by Zynga's rival, Rovio.

(Reporting By Liana B. Baker; Editing by Peter Lauria and Steve Orlofsky)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/videogames/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/wr_nm/us_zynga

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Jagger backs out of Davos: I was 'political football'

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Mick Jagger has backed out of an event to promote Britain at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying that he did not want to be involved in party politics.

The Rolling Stones singer had been due to attend a tea party hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron to promote Britain?at the annual meeting of political and economic elites in the Swiss Alps. Model Lily Cole and World Wide Web?pioneer Sir Tim Berners-Lee were also set to attend.

But Jagger said Tuesday he was "being used as a political football," saying that British newspaper articles claiming he is backing the Conservative Cameron were "inaccurate."

He added that he was interested in economics and world events but has "always eschewed party politics." He said he has gone to the forum in Davos as a guest since he thought that would be stimulating, but will now cut short his visit.

Jagger arrived in Zurich on Tuesday morning but said he would?leave Switzerland on Wednesday,?a spokesperson for the singer told the Guardian newspaper.

The withdrawal was seen as?an embarrassment for the conservative government in Britain, according to the Guardian. Some news coverage said Jagger had finally "come out" as a "closet Tory" (conservative).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/24/10228817-mick-jagger-backs-out-of-davos-event-i-was-political-football

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Djokovic, Murray, Nadal, Federer in Aussie semis (AP)

MELBOURNE, Australia ? Appearing uncomfortable for much of the match, defending champion Novak Djokovic held on to beat David Ferrer 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-1 Wednesday night and complete a blockbuster semifinal lineup at the Australian Open.

Djokovic leads the top four men in tennis into the semis at Melbourne Park, advancing to a matchup against No. 4 Andy Murray, who defeated Kei Nishikori of Japan earlier Wednesday.

On Thursday, No. 2 Rafael Nadal plays No. 3 Roger Federer, the first time the two former top-ranked stars have met in a semifinal since the 2005 French Open.

It marks only the third time that the top four seeds have advanced to the semis at the Australian Open ? it previously happened in 1988 and 2005. It was also the 14th time at all Grand Slams since the Open Era began in 1968, but the third time in the last four majors, including the U.S. Open and French Open last year.

Djokovic rubbed the back of his upper left leg on several occasions, looked on the verge of being physically sick in the second set and buried his head in towels several times during breaks. During the third set, a tired-looking Djokovic sat down on a linesman's chair during a line-call video challenge by Ferrer.

"I was lucky to get out of the second set, it was a big mental advantage to get two sets up," Djokovic said.

He also played down talk of any injuries.

"I don't have any physical issues," Djokovic said. "I feel very fit and I feel mentally, as well, very fresh.

"It's just today I found it very difficult after a long time to breathe because I felt the whole day my nose was closed a little bit. I just wasn't able to get enough oxygen."

Ferrer said he couldn't be sure if Djokovic was healthy ? or not.

"No, I don't know," Ferrer said. "You have to ask to him, not me. He ran perfect all the match. Nothing special."

The Nadal-Federer semifinal matchup has been rarely possible because the pair held the top two spots for most of the time between 2005 and 2010, meaning they could only meet in the finals after being placed in opposite sides of the draw.

Djokovic said he'd be watching the Nadal and Federer match like any tennis fan.

"I will enjoy it from my couch, they're two out of four or five of the greatest players to play this game, they've been so dominant," Djokovic said. "Every time they play it's a treat. I'm going to have a nice dinner at home and watch them."

Murray, for his part, is also surprised to be not facing Nadal in the semifinals.

"It has been amazing, I pretty much drew to be in Nadal's half ... almost every Slam," Murray said. "I can't remember the last time I wasn't in his half of the draw. It's been a long time."

On the women's side, former and reigning Wimbledon winners Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova ? two of the three players who can take the No. 1 ranking ? advanced to the semifinals.

Sharapova won 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday against fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who knocked out five-time champion Serena Williams in the previous round. Kvitova reached the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the first time with a 6-4, 6-4 win over unseeded Italian Sara Errani.

The other player who can reach No. 1 ? third-seeded Victoria Azarenka ? plays defending champion Kim Clijsters in the other semifinal Thursday.

Sharapova must repeat her 2008 Australian title run if she is to take over the No. 1 spot from Caroline Wozniacki, who lost any chance of maintaining her top ranking when she lost in the quarterfinals to Clijsters. Kvitova only has to match or better Azarenka to take the top spot.

Sharapova has dropped one set and lost 21 games in five matches.

"It's been a long road back to this stage," said Sharapova, who spent 10 months off the court with a shoulder injury that required surgery.

Sharapova held the No. 1 ranking for seven weeks each in 2005 and 2007 and three weeks in mid-2008.

"I've been fortunate enough to be in that position before," Sharapova said. "I think the girls that are trying to get that position haven't been in that position before. It's a little bit different because I feel like I've experienced both things in my career: winning Grand Slams and being No. 1 in the world. You can't compare the two."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_sp_te_ga_su/ten_australian_open

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Lego Minecraft Is Happening! [Lego]

It's happening! One of my favorite Lego projects ever is coming to life: Lego Minecraft! The company just announced it officially: More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/rjLzqWuBU0g/official-lego-minecraft-is-happening

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Chinese forces break up Tibetan protest with tear (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? Chinese security forces fired tear gas to break up a protest by Tibetans in the southwest province of Sichuan, an advocacy group said, the latest sign of volatile ethnic unrest in the region.

Reports from advocacy groups earlier said that in a separate clash, coinciding with this week's Chinese New Year celebrations, troops fired on thousands of Tibetans protesting in the same province, killing at least one and wounding more.

Free Tibet, a London-based organization that campaigns for Tibetan self-determination, said in an email that on Monday troops fired tear gas at Tibetan protesters in Meruma township, Aba County, called Ngaba County by Tibetans.

"Tibetans had gathered to protest Chinese oppression on the occasion of Chinese New Year, having decided that they would not celebrate the lunar New Year because of the current repression in Tibet," Free Tibet said.

"Additional security forces have been deployed in the area and roads connecting Ngaba to the surrounding counties have been closed by the authorities."

This year the main Tibetan traditional new year celebrations begin on February 22; the Han Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations began on Sunday.

The confrontation in Aba came on the same day that, according to two advocacy groups, Chinese troops in another part of Sichuan's mountainous western edge fired on thousands of Tibetan protesters, killing at least one and wounding more.

Calls by Reuters to police in Aba on Tuesday were not answered, but an official in a court there said: "You should not believe in rumors."

"People say all kinds of things to get attention, but they're not all true. Wait for the government to explain the situation," said the official, who would not give his name.

The western part of Sichuan province where the recent unrest has been concentrated is dominated by ethnic Tibetans and lies next to the official Tibetan Autonomous Region.

It has long been a source of protest against Chinese rule, and is the site of a recent string of self-immolations, mostly by Tibetan Buddhist monks.

Free Tibet said the deadly shooting happened after protesting Tibetans gathered in Luhuo, about 590 km (370 miles) west of Sichuan's capital of Chengdu, and marched on government offices, where security forces opened fire.

The Tibetans were protesting about arrests earlier in the day in connection with the distribution of pamphlets carrying the slogan "Tibet Needs Freedom" and declaring that more Tibetans were ready to stage self-immolations to challenge Chinese rule, the group said in an emailed statement.

One resident -- a 49-year-old Tibetan man called Yonten -- was shot dead by government forces and another 30 or so residents were injured, said Free Tibet.

Another advocacy group, the International Campaign for Tibet, said three people were killed and about nine injured when police fired into the crowd in Luhuo, which is called Drango or Draggo by Tibetans.

A Tibetan resident of a village close to Luhuo told Reuters that he had not seen the clash, but had heard that 30 or more people were injured, and possibly three or four died.

"Today seems calm so far, but I don't know whether there'll be big problems later," said the resident, who asked that his name not be used out of fear of reprisals.

An official from the propaganda office of Luhuo, however, denied that anything abnormal had happened there and that there were any shooting deaths.

"There's nothing like that here," she told Reuters.

"Everything is normal. We're all just enjoying the holiday," said the official, who hung up without giving her name.

Chinese security forces have been on edge after 16 incidents of self-immolation by ethnic Tibetans over the last year in response to growing resentment of Beijing's controls on religion. Some have called for the return of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Buddhist leader revered by many Tibetans.

China's Foreign Ministry has branded the self-immolators "terrorists" and has said the Dalai Lama, whom it condemns as a supporter of violent separatism, should take the blame.

(Reporting by Chris Buckley, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/wl_nm/us_china_tibet

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New Genetic Clues to Breast Cancer? (HealthDay)

SUNDAY, Jan. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have identified three new genomic regions they believe are linked with breast cancer that may help explain why some women develop the disease.

All three newly identified areas "contain interesting genes that open up new avenues for biological and clinical research," said researcher Douglas Easton, a professor of genetic epidemiology at the University of Cambridge in England.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, with about 1 million new cases annually worldwide and more than 400,000 deaths a year.

Scientists conducting genome-wide association studies -- research that looks at the association between genetic factors and disease to pinpoint possible causes -- had already identified 22 breast cancer susceptibility loci. Locus is the physical location of a gene or DNA sequence on a chromosome.

"The three [newly identified] loci take the number of common susceptibility loci from 22 to 25," said Easton.

However, the three new susceptibility loci might explain only about 0.7 percent of the familial risks of breast cancer, bringing the total contribution to about 9 percent, the researchers said.

Michael Melner, scientific program director for the American Cancer Society, said this current research adds some important new clues to existing evidence, but he agreed that the number of cases likely associated with these three variants is probably low.

"So the total impact in terms of patients would be fairly small," Melner said.

The study is published online Jan. 22 in Nature Genetics.

To find the new clues, Easton's team worked with genetic information on about 57,000 breast cancer patients and 58,000 healthy women obtained from two genome-wide association studies.

The investigators zeroed in on 72 different single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A SNP -- pronounced "snip" -- is a change in which a single base in the DNA differs from the usual base. The human genome has millions of SNPs, some linked with disease, while others are normal variations.

The researchers focused on three SNPs -- on chromosomes 12p11, 12q24 and 21q21.

Easton's team found that the variant on the 12p11 chromosome is linked with both estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer (which needs estrogen to grow) and estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer. The other two variants are only linked with ER-positive cancers, they said.

One of the newly identified variants is in an area with a gene that has a role in the development of mammary glands and bones. Easton said it was already known that mammary gland development in puberty is an important period in terms of determining later cancer risk. "But these are the first susceptibility genes to be shown to be involved in this process," he said.

One of the other SNPs is in an area that can affect estrogen receptor signaling, the researchers found.

Melner, noting some of the research is "fine tuning" of other work, said in his view the new understanding of the signaling pathways and their genetic links is the most important finding.

"When you delineate a pathway, you bring up new potential targets for therapy," he said. "The more targets you have, you open up the potential for having multiple drugs and attacking a cancer more easily, without it becoming more resistant."

Overall, Melner added, the results underscore the complexity of the different mechanisms involved in breast cancer development.

More information

For more about the genetics of breast cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120123/hl_hsn/newgeneticcluestobreastcancer

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At PSU, tension over ouster, then grief for JoePa

Candles on the steps of Old Main on the Penn State University campus spell out "Joe" in remembrance of former football coach Joe Paterno during a memorial service on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, in State College, Pa. Paterno died Sunday at the age of 85 after battling lung cancer. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Candles on the steps of Old Main on the Penn State University campus spell out "Joe" in remembrance of former football coach Joe Paterno during a memorial service on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, in State College, Pa. Paterno died Sunday at the age of 85 after battling lung cancer. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

A candle light gathering honoring legendary football coach Joe Paterno, who died Sunday morning, Jan. 22, 2012, is held on the lawn in front of Old Main the Penn State campus Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012 in State College,Pa.. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

A crowd gathers for a candle light vigil honoring late football coach Joe Paterno outside Old Main on the Penn State campus in State College, Pa., Sunday, January 22, 2012. Paterno State College (AP Photo/The Citizens' Voice, Kristen Mullen)

Penn State students hold a sign as they gather in remembrance around a statue of legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, outside Beaver Stadium on the Penn State campus Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, in State College,Pa.. Paterno died in a State College hospital Sunday morning after battling lung cancer.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) ? Anguished by an unthinkable scandal that shook a university and tarnished the proud football program, many in the Penn State community rallied around a common cause.

They mourned coach Joe Paterno's dismissal and questioned the motives and tactics of school leaders who pushed out the Hall of Famer in November in the wake of child sex abuse charges against a retired assistant coach.

Alumni, fans and students already racked by emotions were jolted by a much greater loss when Paterno died Sunday of lung cancer at age 85 ? and the grieving process again could be complicated following two tense months that often had the Paterno family and the school at odds.

"I feel like from the inside looking out that most people forget that he donated his whole life to the program. ... And everything that he donated to that school, people tend to look over that," defensive end Jack Crawford, who just completed his senior season with the Nittany Lions, said Sunday from Senior Bowl practice in Mobile, Ala.

"It was tough to swallow. It was harder to swallow when he first got fired. It was a sad moment for the whole Penn State family."

A family seemingly torn Nov. 5 after retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was charged with the first of dozens of counts of abuse allegations. Sandusky has maintained his innocence and is awaiting trial. Paterno testified before a state grand jury investigating Sandusky, and authorities said he wasn't a target of the probe.

It ended up being his undoing anyway.

Paterno fulfilled his legal obligation by reporting a 2002 allegation relayed by a graduate assistant to his university superior. But the state's top cop chastised Paterno, among other school leaders, for failing to fulfill a moral duty to do more and take the allegation to police.

Paterno himself said he "wished he could have done more" when he announced his retirement plans the morning of Nov. 9 before getting ousted by the university Board of Trustees that evening.

"I am saddened to hear the news of Joe Paterno's passing. Joe was a genuinely good person," longtime Nebraska coach and current athletic director Tom Osborne said. "Anybody who knew Joe feels badly about the circumstances. I suspect the emotional turmoil of the last few weeks might have played into it."

That turmoil stretched to Paterno's final days.

Diagnosed with lung cancer days after getting fired, Paterno entered the hospital Jan. 13 for what his family then said was a minor complication from treatments that included radiation and chemotherapy. Mount Nittany Medical Center was barely a half-mile from Beaver Stadium, the Nittany Lions' home field that Paterno helped make into one of college football's shrines during his 46 seasons as Penn State head coach.

While in the hospital, trustees just a couple miles away at a campus hotel on Thursday told of why they fired Paterno and cited in part a failure to fulfill his moral responsibility in connection with the 2002 allegation. His lawyer, Wick Sollers, called the allegations self-serving and reiterated that Paterno fully reported what he knew to the people responsible for campus investigations.

"I think his legacy should be everything wonderful he did here for Penn State and for the community. That's what I hope," Karen Long, 70, of State College, said at the women's basketball game Sunday afternoon between Iowa and Penn State. "I don't think he was treated fairly, though. Just the way they handled firing him was awful."

Against that backdrop, school leaders, the Paterno family and the university community fractured by the scandal appear to be slowly mending relationships.

In recent weeks, university leaders have indicated they intend to honor Paterno's contributions on and off the field ? a sharp contrast to tones sounded in the frantic first week of the scandal. Back then, for instance, school President Rodney Erickson said Paterno was welcome to football games just like any other member of the public.

Paterno won two national championships and a Division I record 409 victories to turn Penn State into a name-brand program. Off the field, Paterno and his wife, Sue, donated millions back to the university, including the library.

"His and Sue's contributions are as much about ensuring student success as the many endowments and the library bearing the Paterno name," said Barbara Dewey, Penn State's dean of University Libraries.

Memorial service and funeral plans weren't ready yet Sunday night, though it appeared the family and the school were coordinating efforts.

Perhaps one last chance to say goodbye for a Penn State community that often took its cues on fall weekends from JoePa.

"No matter what people say, you can't take away what he did for Penn State and college football," former cornerback D'Anton Lynn said. "I don't think there will ever be a college coach that will ever have that impact again."

Associated Press

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