Scientists find cancer-causing DNA mutations | The Raw Story

By Agence France-Presse
Wednesday, March 27, 2013 14:50 EDT

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The biggest-ever trawl of the human genome for cancer-causing DNA errors has netted more than 80 tiny mutations, a finding that could help people at high risk, researchers said Wednesday.

The results, which double the number of known genetic alterations linked to breast, ovarian and prostate cancer, were unveiled in a dozen scientific papers published in journals in Europe and the United States.

The three hormone-related cancers are diagnosed in over 2.5 million people every year and kill one in three patients, said a Nature press statement.

Teams from more than 100 research institutes in Europe, Asia, Australia and the United States said the work should in the future help doctors to calculate an individual?s cancer risk long before any symptoms emerge.

People with high-susceptibility mutations could be counselled against lifestyle choices that further increase their risk, given regular screening and drug treatment, or even preventative surgery.

?We have examined 200,000 areas of the genome in 250,000 individuals. There is no (other) study of cancer of this size,? Per Hall, coordinator of the Collaborative Oncological Gene-environment Study (COGS), told AFP of the research.

The studies compared the DNA of more than 100,000 patients with breast, ovarian and prostate cancer to that of an equal number of healthy individuals. Most were of European ancestry.

DNA, the blueprint for life, comprises four basic chemicals called A (adenine) C (cytosine), T (thymine) and G (guanine) strung together in different combinations along a double helix.

Researchers noted where the A, C, T, G combinations of cancer patients differed significantly from those of healthy people.

They were looking for a tiny ?spelling mistake? in the code, called a single nucleotide polymorphism or SNP that can cause problems in gene function.

For breast cancer, the researchers found 49 SNPs, ?which is more than double the number previously found?, said Sweden?s Karolinska Institutet, which took part in the giant study.

?In the case of prostate cancer, researchers have discovered another 26 deviations, which means that a total number of 78 SNPs may be linked to the disease.?

For ovarian cancer, eight new SNPs were found.

Everyone has inherited alterations in their DNA, but whether these mutations are dangerous or not is determined by where on the code they lie.

And carrying a mutation does not necessarily mean a person will develop cancer, a disease that may have multiple causes.

The researchers said further study is needed to allow scientists to translate these DNA telltales into tests for predicting cancer risk. A more distant goal is using the knowledge for better treatments.

?Since there are many other factors that influence the risk of these cancers (mainly lifestyle factors), future tests have to take more risk factors than just genes into consideration,? said Hall.

?It will take a couple of years before we have the necessary models enabling us, with high accuracy, to predict the individual risk of these cancers.?

The findings were published in Nature Genetics and Nature Communications, PLOS Genetics, the American Journal of Human Genetics and Human Molecular Genetics.

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Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/27/scientists-find-cancer-causing-dna-mutations/

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Lion Researchers Call for More Fences to Save the Big Cats

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A new paper from nearly 60 top lion scientists and conservationists suggests that building more fences may be the best way to save African lions.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/science/lion-researchers-call-for-more-fences-to-save-the-big-cats.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Google Maps Engine Lite beta lets amateurs craft their own location sets

Pros have long had access to Google Maps Engine if they need to highlight anything from local stores to natural resources. Today, Google is catering to the rest of us would-be cartographers with a beta for Google Maps Engine Lite. The web service lets everyday users draw objects and import locations for their own reference, whether it's plotting favorite hiking trails or pinpointing worthwhile places on an upcoming vacation. Map makers can stylize the maps and share them with others, if they like -- the Lite label mostly limits users to "small" spreadsheet imports and a maximum of three data sets for comparisons. As long as you can live within those prescribed boundaries, you can try the slimmed down engine right now.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Via: Google Lat Long Blog

Source: Google Maps Engine Lite

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/28/google-maps-engine-lite-beta-lets-amateurs-craft-their-own-pois/

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Swiss tourist gang raped in India, say police (+video)

A Swiss couple bicycling in India were attacked and the woman was gang raped, say police. The alleged attack again raises the profile of sexual violence against women in India.

By David Clark Scott,?Staff writer / March 16, 2013

A Swiss woman, center, who was gang-raped by a group of eight men while touring by bicycle with her husband, is escorted by policewomen for a medical examination at a hospital in Gwalior, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Saturday, March 16, 2013.

(AP Photo)

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The gang rape of a Swiss tourist while camping with her husband in India puts the international spotlight (again) on sexual violence against women in the South Asia nation.

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David Clark Scott leads a small team at CSMonitor.com that?s part Skunkworks, part tech-training, part journalism.

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The attack occurred Friday evening after the Swiss couple had stopped to camp in a forest. They were bicycling in the state of Madhya Pradesh on their way to see the Taj Mahal, in Agra. According to the Hindustan Times, the couple were returning from visiting the Ram Raja Temple, in Orchha.

A group of 7 or 8 men, according to various reports, attacked the couple. According to one report, the husband was held at gunpoint. Another report says the men were carrying sticks. Seven men attacked the couple in their tent and four of them raped the woman, Dilip Arya, deputy inspector general of police, told Reuters. They also stole their valuables."

While 20 men have reportedly been detained for questioning, no one has been arrested.

The woman was treated and released from the Kamalaraje hospital in Gwalior and her medical tests have confirmed rape, police sources told The Hindustan Times.

One woman is raped every 20 minutes in India, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. But police estimate only four out of 10 rapes are reported, largely due to victims' fear of being shamed by their families and communities.

The attack on the Swiss tourists comes just three months after major protests in India following the fatal gang-rape of a 23-year old college student on a bus in New Delhi.?

As The Christian Science Monitor reported at the time, the outrage expressed by hundreds of thousands of demonstrators over that "heinous attack has given women at least a measure of hope that the country of 1.2 billion people will see meaningful improvement in how women are treated, though most realize any change is likely to come slowly.

"These protests have at least given women the confidence to talk about sexual violence," says Singh, the kindergarten teacher in Bangalore. "For too long, women have been made to feel guilty for these things."

But as another Monitor article noted "the challenges faced by Indian women reflect broader contradictions: Two decades of economic growth and globalization have brought improved opportunities but also greater inequality. That paradox was captured in a July survey that ranked India as the worst place to be a woman among the Group of 20 countries that make up the world's biggest economies, based on parameters like health services, threat of violence, and property rights."

As a result of the attention focus on women's security, AFP reports that "the national Congress-led government has been under heavy pressure to step up legal protection for India's women following the December attack on the student who died from internal injuries after being savagely assaulted by six men.

Under a new bill approved by India's cabinet earlier in the week, rapists face a minimum 20-year jail term and the death penalty if the victim dies from her injuries or is left in a persistent vegetative state."

Meanwhile, the driver of the bus in which a young Indian woman was gang-raped and fatally injured in December hanged himself in his jail cell on Monday, prison authorities said, but his family and lawyer said they suspected "foul play." Police have described Ram Singh as the ringleader of five men and a juvenile on trial.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/1-xQktECKfM/Swiss-tourist-gang-raped-in-India-say-police-video

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Amid Threats, Iran Hints at Direct Talks

According to a new report from the Associated Press, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is claiming his country would be willing to hold direct talks with Washington over its nuclear program.

Another report from Reuters revived more blustery talk, though, as Khamenei also warned that Iran would destroy Tel Aviv and Haifa if Israel preemptively attacked Iranian nuclear facilities.

The following is further information on the Iranian nuclear program headlines.

Khamenei issues threat to Israel

Khamenei noted he was not optimistic that talks would stop sanctions currently imposed on Iran and strongly supported by the United States at the U.N. Sanctions include a total oil embargo and banking restrictions that make it difficult for non-observers of the embargo to make payments for deliveries. Iran's oil and gas exports are down 50 percent from sanctions, according to the AP.

Reuters reported that in Khamenei's statements he threatened to "raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground" if Israel launched a military invasion.

Diplomatic talks progressing

President Barack Obama was in Israel on Thursday, where he said that "America will do what we must to prevent a nuclear Iran," according to Reuters, but also noted that he and other world leaders agreed diplomacy was still possible before Iran could feasibly achieve its nuclear ambitions.

Russia sounded an optimistic note according to another Reuters report. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's chief negotiator on the subject of a nuclear Iran, said that "this progress is real but it is not sufficient to speak of a definitive shift" regarding talks in Istanbul, but also noted that the progress isn't "irreversible."

The next meeting between the six powers of Russia, the U.S., Britain, France, Germany and China with Iran will be April 5 and 6 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The Istanbul meeting between the powers was to iron out details of proposals made in the previous round of talks.

U.S., allies concerned about Iranian plutonium-producing reactor

Another report from the AP indicated that while the U.S. and its allies discussing uranium-enrichment production which is a more immediate concern, another part of the nuclear program focuses on the creation of a plutonium-producing reactor that could be functional in the next year.

While Iran claims it won't build a reprocessing plant that would enable plutonium to be used for bombs, Israel doesn't believe that, according to the article. Israel bombed the Osirak reactor in 1982 and a site in Syria that the International Atomic Energy Agency identified as being "very likely" an almost completely built reactor.

Shawn Humphrey is a former contributor to The Flint Journal and an amateur Africanist, focusing his personal studies on human rights and political issues on the continent.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/amid-threats-iran-hints-direct-talks-210700213.html

Inaugural Ball

Iowa students protest White House tour cancellations

Politics Confidential

When a group of 6th graders from Iowa started planning their class trip to Washington, one of the most anticipated highlights was a tour of the White House. That is, until the White House cancelled all tours following the across-the-board budget cuts known as "the sequester."

After hearing the news that their long-planned White House tour had been cancelled, the disappointed students from St. Paul's Lutheran School sought to make their voices heard, shouting ?The White House is our house! Please let us visit!? in a web video. The students' message spread, growing into online lobbying campaign to restore the tours.

"It's really amazing," one student told Politics Confidential. "We could have never have thought it would get this far."

The students, who arrived in Washington Friday, were enjoying a tour of the Capitol building when Politics Confidential met up with them. "Wow!" the students said in unison when asked about their first impressions of the Capitol.

Karen Thalacker, a parent chaperone along for the trip, admits that it's been "pretty overwhelming" how fast and far the kids' message spread, but says it's been a a great lesson in leadership for the students.

"I think they're showing our President and Congress a great example of how things can work and I think people were so inspired by their spontaneous display of patriotism and that is what has moved people," Thalacker says. "These kids aren't Democrats, they're not Republicans, they're American kids who want to see the White House, and everybody should be let in regardless of who's living there."

While it doesn't look like the kids are going going to get their tour of the White House, their campaign has made a difference for future student groups. President Obama told ABC News? George Stephanopoulos last week that the administration is working to find a way to accommodate student tours.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on a White House tour, Thalacker says the kids have handled the situation well.

"The kids have a great attitude about it, and they will be thrilled when the White House tours get reopened as soon as possible," Thalacker says.

To hear more about the St. Paul Lutheran School's trip to Washington and their campaign to get White House tours back up and running, check out this episode of Politics Confidential.

ABC's Eric Wray and Mary Bruce contributed to this episode.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/power-players-abc-news/iowa-students-bring-message-washington-white-house-house-112818822.html

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BlackBerry CEO: Apple stood still and now the iPhone has fallen behind

The world got its first glimpse of Samsung?s new Galaxy S 4 last week, reigniting the Apple (AAPL) vs. Samsung (005930) argument as the two companies battle for the future of mobile. Apple seemed a bit on edge as it put up its new ?What iPhone?? page, and now a third player is looking to strike while Apple is on defense: BlackBerry (BBRY). The struggling smartphone vendor might not pose the same threat to Apple that Samsung does in the near term, but CEO Thorsten Heins used a recent interview as an opportunity to let the world know that Apple?s iPhone has fallen behind rival platforms, including his new BlackBerry 10 OS.

[More from BGR: Bitcoin apps soar in Spain ? will the Cyprus shocker boost virtual currencies?]

?The rate of innovation is so high in our industry that if you don?t innovate at that speed you can be replaced pretty quickly,? Heins told Australian Financial Review in a recent interview. ?The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about, is now five years old.?

[More from BGR: Galaxy S 4 said to help Samsung overtake Apple]

He noted that Apple was largely responsible for the shift in the smartphone market to touchscreen devices. ?They did a fantastic job with the user interface, they are a design icon,? he said. ?There is a reason why they were so successful, and we actually have to admit this and respect that.?

But the problem, Heins notes, is that Apple rested on its laurels. ?The point is that you can never stand still. It is true for us as well,? Henis said. ?Launching BB10 just put us on the starting grid of the wider mobile computing grand prix, and now we need to win it.?

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blackberry-ceo-apple-stood-still-now-iphone-fallen-144537914.html

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Farming has deep roots in Chinese ice age

Some ideas need time to take root. A new analysis suggests it took up to 12,000 years for people in what is now China to go from eating wild plants to farming them. Agriculture elsewhere also took time to flower.

Li Liu of Stanford University and colleagues studied three grinding stones from China's Yellow River region. They bear residues showing that they were used to process millet and other grains, as well as yams, beans and roots.

The stones date from 23,000 to 19,500 years ago, late in the last ice age. But the earliest archaeological evidence for crop cultivation in China is 11,000 years old, suggesting that farming was slow to emerge from ancient traditions of plant use.

That fits with a wider pattern, says Robin Allaby of the University of Warwick, UK. In the Middle East "we also have evidence of cereals at that 23,000-year point", he says ? which is long before people were farming them. "Although this period is around the late glacial maximum, there is a blip at 23,000 years during which time it was milder." Millet and the other food plants could have flourished in the warmth, tempting people to start exploiting them.

Some of the plants, like the snakegourd root, are still used in traditional medicines. Karen Hardy at the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies in Barcelona, Spain, says she would not be surprised if ancient peoples "knew how to select plant food that benefited their health". Last year she reported evidence that Neanderthals used medicinal plants.

"We can never know for certain why a plant was ingested, but I think these early people probably had a detailed knowledge of the plants they selected and used," Hardy says. "This is likely to have included their medicinal as well as their nutritional qualities."

Journal reference: PNAS, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1217864110

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Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/29b5d575/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cdn23290A0Efarming0Ehas0Edeep0Eroots0Ein0Echinese0Eice0Eage0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

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How to use the HTC One without BlinkFeed

Some folks want BlinkFeed -- HTC's home screen news reader -- to die in a fire. They don't like the idea of BlinkFeed. They think it's a bad idea (never mind not having actually used it), and they don't ever want to see it.

We can grant that wish.

It's perfectly possible to use the HTC One without BlinkFeed being in the way.

The secret? Just don't use it.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/hu0o_eLG_20/story01.htm

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Samsung exec: Galaxy S IV's plastic body balances manufacturability and 'premium feel'

In an interview on Tuesday, Samsung's executive vice president of mobile Y.H. Lee said that the company's forthcoming flagship handset will carry over the use of plastic materials in a bid to strike a balance between manufacturing efficiency and customer demand for a "premium feeling" product.

Talking to CNET, Lee said that Samsung doesn't limit its focus on mere aesthetic beauty when when designing a new smartphone, but instead accounts for a variety of concerns including how materials affect the manufacturing process.

Lee said the next-gen Galaxy S IV is no exception, and will utilize plastic in the same fashion as previous products in the popular Android-based smartphone lineup.

"I think the next product has a nice balance between this," Lee said. "We listen to the market and try to accommodate."

As Samsung ships millions of units a quarter, effective manufacturing techniques are key, and Lee noted that the Korean company must consider how quickly it can get new products into the hands of customers. This raises the question, however, as to why companies like Apple have successfully moved to glass and aluminum enclosures, seemingly leaving plastic behind.

Even other Android handset makers are making the switch to higher quality elements. HTC's One, for example, uses an aluminum frame, while Nokia has opted to use harder polycarbonate for its Lumia series of phones.

Samsung has argued that the plastics used in its smartphones are light but durable, making it better equipped to absorb shocks due to the material's properties, but many have knocked the handsets' feel for not being as "premium" as offerings made from metal alloys. Lee believes that the company struck a balance between practicality and premium looks with the S IV, and the world will find out whether her comments ring true on March 14, when Samsung is scheduled to unveil the S IV at a special event in New York.

Source: http://forums.appleinsider.com/t/156317/samsung-exec-galaxy-s-ivs-plastic-body-balances-manufacturability-and-premium-feel

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YOUR PETS MY DOGS *Lisa Smith-Putnam* ? Blog Archive ...

March 3rd, 2013

Pet allergies in humans

Pets with allergies

Animals that have a strong odor (ferrets, male cats, etc)

Indoor air quality and the effect on pets

These are concerns for many people today, and we?d love to help our listeners here on Your Pets My Dogs get some relief!

It?s all about the air we breathe! ?Since the first caveman noticed that his cave started smelling like week old Brontosaurus, man has tried different ways to make his dwelling smell better...? Present day we use chemicals to make the room smell cleaner or more sanitary, but it actually does the opposite. Your lungs don?t like vanilla flavored chemicals any more than they like breathing dirty air. Filtering is a little like herding cats. It may be a great filter but getting the dust to cooperate and go THROUGH the filter is the hard (if not nearly impossible) part. Oh SURE the answer sounds simple but the process is complicated and delicate. Is it thunderstorms that emit the chemicals and conditions to purify the air we breathe? Well, these are the questions that we get the answers to from William Converse president and inventor of the Critter Zone Air Purifier. Over thirty years in the business and having served on the board of Indoor Air Quality, we believe he knows a little something ?something!

Our host Lisa Smith-Putnam wants you to know that the Critter Zone is ?a blessing? and helps us humans as well as our pets (our family) co-exist in an indoor environment by bringing that ?outdoor? environment to you indoors! So, check out this episode! Lisa has not steered you wrong yet! Oh! We almost forgot ?for all of our listeners (because you are just that fantastic) Critter Zone is giving a 10% discount on your order. Use the code ?your pets? for this offer! Woof to you and here?s to breathing a lot easier sooner than later. Lisa and William agree, PETS ARE FAMILY, so if you are going to have your pets indoors why not make it an enjoyable and livable situation for all?

Your Pets My Dogs looks for great, fun and educational stories and frankly anything story that will make your life that much more pleasant with your pets?2013 on Your Pets My Dogs is all about you! Tune in today as we as continue the journey and spread a little LOVE along the way!

Posted under: Uncategorized, LOVE OF PETS, animals, talk, music for and by pets, comfort

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 3rd, 2013 at 11:04 am and is filed under Uncategorized, LOVE OF PETS, animals, talk, music for and by pets, comfort. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Source: http://laughshareplay.podbean.com/2013/03/03/breathe-again/

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USD/CHF: Swissy trading lower ahead of the GDP data | GCI Forex ...

GCI Forex News - USD/CHF: Swissy trading lower ahead of the GDP data

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USDCHF Movement

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the USD declined 0.32% against the CHF and closed at 0.9288.

On the Swiss economic front, the UBS Swiss consumption indicator fell to a reading of 1.18 in January, from a revised reading of 1.32 in December. Meanwhile, the KOF leading indicator declined to a reading of 1.03 in February, from a revised reading of 1.12 registered in the previous month.

In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 0.9296, with the USD trading marginally higher from yesterday?s close.

The pair is expected to find support at 0.9272, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 0.9249. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 0.9327, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 0.9359.

Switzerland?s much awaited GDP data is due today, wherein investors speculate an annual drop in the Q42012.

The currency pair is trading just below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.

This entry was posted in USD/CHF. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://forexnews.gcitrading.com/currencies/usdchf/usdchf-swissy-trading-lower-ahead-of-the-gdp-data.htm

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