The top 10 tech stories of 2011

By Rosa Golijan

AP file / Khaled Desouki/AFP - Getty Images / Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Whew! Good ol' 2011 is almost over and that means that we're gonna take a little break from tech news and relax until the spring.

Just kidding! What the end of the year really means is that we're getting a bit sentimental and reviewing the top tech stories of the last 365 days. Here are the 10 which stood out to us, in no particular order.

Apple

The landing page of the official Apple website, as it was for weeks after the death of Steve Jobs.

The death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs
When Apple co-founder Steve Jobs?died on Oct. 5, at age 56, the loss resonated?throughout the tech world?in?unprecedented ways.?He was described as?our generation's Thomas Edison?and his legacy was celebrated accordingly.

The Internet mourned the passing of the man with over?2.5 million tweets?in the twelve hours following his death. People around the world sent?over one million emails?filled with wishes, memories and words of sympathy to an address set up by Apple.

Samsung and Google, some of the company's competitors, delayed the release of new products out of respect for the loss of the man who launched Apple.

As his eponymous biography by Walter Isaacson hit the shelves, we?dissected everything about Jobs from minutia ??such as his?final words, eating habits, reading list, workaholic nature?and?old pranks???to grand concepts such as?his life's work. (It is worth noting that the Jobs biography became Amazon's best-selling book of 2011?and?Sony Pictures is said to be working on a movie version.)?

Lulzsec (R) and Anonymous (L)

Pictured are the logos used by hacking groups Lulzsec (R) and Anonymous (L).

The trouble stirred up by Anonymous and Lulzsec
What's any year without a couple of big security scares? In 2011, hacking groups Anonymous and Lulzsec were two entities that struck fear in a lot of network administrators' hearts.

Between the two groups?? who even teamed up at one point???there was a great deal of trouble stirred up.

Lulzsec, a mysterious and loosely knit organization, took out (or at least claimed credit for affecting)?multiple gaming websites,?an?FBI website,?a porn site,?a?Senate website, a CIA website, Rupert Murdoch's Sun newspaper website?and more. The fun was over once the group's key member and spokesperson?? a fellow who goes by the name "Topiary"?? was nabbed by authorities in the U.K.

Anonymous on the other hand didn't suffer any similarly large casualties or stumbling points while taking credit for?sharing thousands of military email addresses, taking down a tourist-oriented website in Orlando, Florida, hacking an FBI partner site, snatching files from servers belonging to large U.S.-based companies, conducting a DDoS attack on MasterCard, as well as some miscellaneous mischievous deeds.

Now?this all may sound?somewhat funny, but you should probably keep in mind that the individuals responsible for these events are heralding a world of heightened security and constant threats.

?

Jesus Diaz/Gizmodo

The many headaches suffered by RIM
This year made me want to hug Research in Motion's troubled executives. The folks over there just couldn't catch a break as one of the company's shiny new gadgets?? the BlackBerry Playbook?? got slammed in reviews, its share of the U.S. smartphone market shrunk?and its freshly launched music-sharing service was ridiculed.

And as if that's not enough, the company's sites were hacked after it offered to cooperate with U.K. authorities in order to research what?? if any?? role the BlackBerry Messenger service might've played in inciting riots in early August.

But hey, at least the company managed to squeak by with a decent quarter?(if you ignore millions of dollars worth of unsold BlackBerry Playbook tablets, that is).

Khaled Desouki/AFP - Getty Images

An Egyptian man, holding up a sign praising the social network Facebook, joins others in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Feb. 1.

How the Internet helped bring down a dictator
As much trouble as the Internet ??or rather, social media ??can cause, it can also do quite a bit of good at times. In 2011, we saw a great example of this phenomenon as?the Internet and social media played a pivotal role in a revolution.

What happened? Well, on Jan. 27, right before the Egyptian government pulled the plug on the country's Internetin order to quiet protestor activity, there was a great deal of traffic coming to social networks, Facebook in particular. What better place to get organized?than Mark Zuckerberg's playground, after all?

You'd think that the whole business of shutting down the Internet would've eliminated social media and the like from the big fight against the 30-year government of Hosni Mubarak, but Egyptians kept in touch with the outside world using a series of workarounds.

Anyway, long story short: When the Internet switch was flipped back on, Egyptian's were celebrating the end of Mubarak's rule and social media was praised for aiding a revolution.

Netflix

Netflix and its wacky business moves
A recent consumer study revealed that the satisfaction levels of Netflix customers have dropped?significantly and?? unless you've been sleeping under a rock with no Wi-Fi connection?? you shouldn't be surprised by that.

After all, the company alienated and angered a lot of folks when it announced that it would?no longer be offering a combined DVD and streaming plan and?would instead separate the services, for a minimum cost of about $16 a month if you still want both.

And as if people weren't riled up enough over that?? and boy, were they riled up!?? Netflix announced that it would split itself into two separate businesses, video-streaming company Netflix and DVD rental company Qwikster. No one truly understood?where that particular idea came from or why the heck Netflix didn't secure the @Qwikster Twitter username before announcing its plans.

None of that matters anymore though, because Netflix made our heads spin all the way around again by canceling the whole plan to split into two.

Apple

The release of the iPhone 5, er, 4S
Every year since 2007 has brought us a shiny new smartphone from Apple and 2011 was no different. The year marked the introduction of the iPhone 4S?? yes, it really wasn't called the iPhone 5?? and its built-in voice-activated personal assistant Siri.

After months of wildly inaccurate speculation?and a keynote sans Mr. Jobs, we stood in lines, whined about little technical hiccups, and found silly things to giggle over as soon as the device was released.

It's worth noting that the hardware?? the actual iPhone 4S itself?? wasn't really the big star this year. Instead iOS 5, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, made us swoon with all its new features.?

Google

The launch of Google+
There's no such thing as too many social networking services, right?

Well, at least Google didn't think so when it launched something called Google+.

The service?? which is finally open to everyone after a long period of being invitation-only?? is now unavoidable. It's?integrated into our Gmail accounts, has the obligatory mobile apps, keeps us busy with privacy issues that we can debate?and has some confusing labels that we still haven't entirely figured out. (What do you call adding a friend on Google+? I still maintain that "plussing" someone sounds slightly dirty.)

It's worth noting that despite the fact that Google+ is so darn difficult to avoid, interest in the social network appears to be waning?after initially rocketing when the service opened its doors to the general public.?

Google

Android's dominance
Even as the token Apple?? and iOS?? fangirl around here, I couldn't turn a blind eye to how Android's been doing this year. It seemed that not a day could pass before there was yet another study, survey, or other data set that listed Google's mobile platform as being the No. 1 something-or-other or the top thingamajig-of-some-sort.

Don't believe it? Alright, let's run down a couple of highlights.

Android is the No. 1 smartphone platform in the U.S. (based on market share), comes out on top of worldwide sales statistics, rules?about 50 percent of the global smartphone market, dominates the southern part of the U.S., has the biggest chunk of the mobile app download market, has more daily Facebook users than iPhone, it's the most popular mobile platform for malware, and may have nicer users than iOS.??

Oh, and in case you wanted more statistics: Nowadays over 700,000 new Android devices are supposedly activated each day. We don't really know if that earns Android another No. 1 trophy as Apple hasn't released any official numbers for comparison.

Getty Images

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (L) jokes with comedian Andy Samberg during a keynote address at the Facebook f8 conference on Sept. 22, 2011 in San Francisco, Calif.

Facebook Timeline re-design (and Mark Zuckerberg's silly antics)
No end-of-the-year story round up would be complete without a mention of Facebook or its founder's antics. So let's hit on the big topics of the year?? aside from the usual privacy drama that always surrounds the social network.

In 2011 we were introduced to Timeline, a new Facebook profile design which naturally got us riled up. (Because we don't like change, darn it!) We didn't mind most of the new apps that were announced along with the redesign?though ? until we realized that the way they're integrated could lead to a lot of embarrassment?(and reveal our love of Justin Bieber songs).

Upset with Facebook's features and designs or not, we still aren't really managing to stay away from the social network. At least that's what a study suggested when it showed that we're all only about four degrees of separation apart on Facebook (rather than the six degrees assumed by the popular Kevin Bacon-themed game).

Facebook itself aside, many of us?? yours truly included?? were once again far more fascinated by the social network's founder than anything else. How could we not be when the man revealed that he is currently only eating animals which he kills and keeps?slipping us private photos thanks to technical glitches?

Apple

The release of the iPad 2
What? You think that one major Apple product release a year should be enough? Sorry, buddy?? but 2011 brought us the iPad 2 on top of the iPhone 4S.

The second generation tablet?? which was upgraded to iOS 5, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, months after its release?? is everything a shiny new toy should be: It's thinner, lighter, and more powerful than its predecessor.

Live Poll

Which do you think was the top tech story of 2011?

• 171884

  The death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs

  61%

• 171885

  The trouble stirred up by Anonymous and Lulzsec

  5%

• 171886

  The many headaches suffered by RIM

  0%

• 171887

  How the Internet helped bring down a dictator

  18%

• 171888

  Netflix and its wacky business moves

  2%

• 171889

  The release of the iPhone 5, er, 4S

  1%

• 171890

  The launch of Google+

  0%

• 171891

  Android's dominance

  9%

• 171892

  Facebook Timeline re-design (and Mark Zuckerberg's silly antics)

  0%

• 171893

  The release of the iPad 2

  3%

VoteTotal Votes: 436

We naturally waited in line for it, collected every detail we could while preparing for its release date, and hugged it tightly as soon as we picked it up. (Ok, maybe only I did that last part.)

All in all, we treated the release of the iPad 2 like any other major product release: With glee. But neither that behavior nor the actual iPad 2 itself were the big story this year. The gadget was such a darn big deal because it showed that the public finally grasped the notion of tablets, of life in a post-PC world.

The device topped holiday wish lists, was among the most searched terms on Google, earned the Consumer Reports seal of approval, sold out insanely quickly (and mostly to first-time iPad buyers), and kept selling despite constantly delayed shipping times. And if you prefer that in terms of hard statistics: Apple sold a whoppin' 11.12 million iPads during the fourth quarter of its fiscal year. (Yes, that's a lot??? an all-time record for iPad sales.) ?

Related stories:

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts, or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/29/9781095-the-top-10-tech-stories-of-2011

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Italy's Monti warns of ongoing market turbulence (AP)

ROME ? Italy's borrowing costs fell for a second day Thursday but the country's new premier said his government has more to do before it convinces financial markets it can manage the heavy debts that have made it the focus of the eurozone crisis.

Mario Monti said he was encouraged by the bond auctions at which the interest costs paid out by Italy to bond investors eased. He said his government of technocrats, in office for just a month and a half following the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi, was preparing a package of measures to get the Italian economy moving again, including efforts to boost competition and liberalize the labor market.

"Yesterday and today went pretty well, this is encouraging," Monti said at a news conference after the Italian treasury tapped investors for around euro7 billion ($9.2 billion). "But we absolutely don't consider the market turbulence to be over."

The amount raised, however, was less than the euro8.5 billion ($11 billion) maximum sought and contributed to ongoing weakness in the euro, which fell to a 15-month low against the dollar of $1.2866.

The most keenly awaited result from Thursday's batch of auctions was the euro2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) sale of ten-year bonds at an average yield of 6.98 percent. That's lower than the record 7.56 percent it had to pay at an equivalent auction last month, when investor concerns over the ability of the country to service its massive debts became particularly acute.

However, the country's borrowing rate on the key 10-year bond remains uncomfortably close to the 7 percent level widely considered to be unsustainable in the long run. Greece, Ireland and Portugal all had to request financial bailouts after their 10-year bond yields pushed above 7 percent. In the secondary markets, Italy's yield continues to hover around the 7 percent mark.

"Investors are still waiting for more progress on the reform front to ensure Italy can improve its muted growth and productivity performance since the adoption of the euro," said Raj Badiani, a senior economist at IHS Global Insight.

Monti spent much of his press conference talking about the need to get Italy growing again ? it has stagnated this year and is widely anticipated to fall back into recession sometime in 2012.

He said the lower bond yields could give the government "space" to try to mitigate some of the harsh austerity measures that parliament passed last week, that included tax hikes and reforms to the pension system.

Monti outlined a new phase of reforms, focusing more on boosting economic growth, such as increasing competitiveness and flexibility in Italy's labor market and cracking down on people who avoid or underestimate their property taxes. He said the first phase of measures would be ready by a Jan. 23 EU meeting.

Italy is at the focal point of the eurozone's struggle to deal with a crisis over heavy levels of government debt in a number of the 17 countries that use the single currency. Fears of default on those debts mean that bond investors demand ever higher interest. If a country can no longer borrow affordably to pay off bonds that are maturing, it winds up needing a bailout or defaulting.

Markets had grown fearful over the past few months over Italy's massive debt burden of euro1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion) and Italy's ability to continue dealing with it. Next year alone, the eurozone's third largest economy has some euro330 billion ($431 billion) of debt to refinance.

That means Italy has far to go before it convinces markets it will avoid a disastrous default that could cause another banking crisis and sink the European and global economies.

"You lose market confidence easily; you get it back with constant and continuous efforts," Monti quipped, quoting Italy's central bank chief.

Italy also sold euro2.54 billion ($3.3 billion) of 3 year bonds at an average interest rate of 5.62 percent, far lower than the 7.89 percent rate it had to pay last month. It also raised euro803 million ($1.05 billion) in the 7-year auction at a rate of 7.42 percent and euro1.18 billion ($1.54 billion) in nine-year bonds at a yield of 6.7 percent.

Thursday's results come a day after Italy raised euro10.7 billion ($14 billion) in a pair of auctions, again at sharply lower rates than those it was forced to pay just a month ago.

The sharp decline in Italy's borrowing costs over the past couple of days suggests that commercial banks from the 17 countries that use the euro may have diverted some money they tapped from emergency loans from the European Central Bank last week to buy the bonds of heavily indebted governments.

It may also suggest rising investor confidence in Italy's recent efforts to reduce its long-term debt through tax increases, pension changes and spending cuts.

Monti's technocratic government got parliamentary approval last week for more spending cuts and tax increases intended to save the country from financial disaster. One of the most controversial aspects of the austerity package is reform of Italy's bloated pension system.

Economists say the long term problem is the country's weak growth, since stronger growth both increases tax revenues and shrinks the size of debt relative to the economy. European Central Bank head Mario Draghi has said Italy must undertake deeper economic reforms to improve its economic performance.

___

AP Business Writer David McHugh contributed from Frankfurt, Germany.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_italy_financial_crisis

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Pam Behan, Former Kardashian-Jenner Nanny, Shopping Tell-All Book

Looks like The Help is turning on The Kardashians.

A former family nanny is shopping a tell-all book about her time with the famous family before they were that famous. Spoiler alert: She's not a big fan!

Pam Behan, served as a nanny, personal assistant and cook for Bruce and Kris Jenner for years, getting to know the Kardashian girls and Brody Jenner.

She couldn't stand Brody or his brother Brandon (Bruce's kids from his first marriage), calling the two Jenner boys "extremely spoiled and disrespectful."

As for the K-squad?

Pam describes her relationship with Kris Jenner as a "love/hate" thing. We totally get it. Sort of like THG's relationship with her, only without the first part.

Despite selling him out in a book, she seems somewhat fond of Bruce, claiming he helped her avoid prosecution when she was busted for DUI a while back.

Behan promises to reveal some "intimate details" about Kourtney and Kim Kardashian, which is surprising, as the girls were reportedly very fond of her.

Then again, it could be one of those empty promises used to sell books, since no one would by a tell-all about Brody Jenner. Sorry B. Just how it is.

Several agents have indicated interest, but no deal has been struck yet.

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/pam-behan-former-kardashian-nanny-shopping-tell-all-book/

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Rev. Tom Davis: A Modest Proposal -- In the Interest of Justice (Huffington post)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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Morgan Stanley to cut 580 jobs in New York

FILE - In this file photograph taken July 19, 2010, traffic passes the headquarters of Morgan Stanley in New York. Of the 1,600 job cuts announced earlier in Dec. 2011 by Morgan Stanley, 580 will be at its home base in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)

FILE - In this file photograph taken July 19, 2010, traffic passes the headquarters of Morgan Stanley in New York. Of the 1,600 job cuts announced earlier in Dec. 2011 by Morgan Stanley, 580 will be at its home base in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Of the 1,600 job cuts announced earlier this month by Morgan Stanley, 580 will be at its home base in New York.

The relentless tug of the dismal economy is hitting employees in the banking sector hard, and it's no surprise that many of the job cuts are hitting the epicenter of the financial industry. Citigroup, with its headquarters a seven-minute drive up Park Ave. from Morgan Stanley in Manhattan, said recently that it would eliminate 4,500 jobs, or about 1.5 percent of its global work force of 267,000, over the next few quarters.

But jobs are being slashed by banks almost everywhere.

In September, Bank of America Corp., based in Charlotte, N.C., said it would cut 30,000 jobs over the next few years. Swiss lender UBS is downsizing its investment bank to 16,000 people from the current 18,000 as it reduces its exposure to risk.

Morgan Stanley disclosed in a filing with the Labor Department on Wednesday that the cuts will be made at four New York locations: 1221 Ave. of the Americas, 1 New York Plaza, 1585 Broadway and 750 Seventh Ave.

The investment bank said that the layoffs ? which began two weeks ago and will represent 2.6 percent of its work force ? will hit all levels of the company and would go on through the first three months of next year.

Morgan Stanley had more than 62,000 employees at September's end.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-28-APFN-US-Morgan-Stanley-Job-Cuts/id-ec05c060bf204a57a826965f91f965b8

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BYU football: Bowl win would cap Tulsa's tragic year

Published: Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011 8:34 p.m. MST

FORT WORTH ? Amid a trying season, Tulsa has learned plenty about adversity.

The Golden Hurricane's 1-3 start on the field pales in comparison to the kind of hardship they've dealt with this year off the field.

Over the past nine months, Tulsa has seen three former players who were part of the team that defeated BYU in 2007 lose their lives.

Fifth-year senior Wilson Holloway lost his battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma in February. In September, linebacker George Clinkscale, who finished his eligibility in 2009, died from injuries sustained in a boxing match. Then four-year letterman Anthony Germany, a safety who finished his career in 2007, passed away after a short illness in October.

The numbers of all three players will be displayed on the Tulsa players' helmets when the Golden Hurricane meet BYU in the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday (10 a.m., MT, ESPN).

"This team has faced a lot of tragedy, with three former teammates dying," said Tulsa defensive coordinator Brent Guy. "They've faced a lot of adversity and ups and downs. That's the one thing about these guys ? they're going to battle. It gives perspective for the kids, to appreciate being healthy and being able to play college football. You learn how precious life is. One of the guys who died was in our locker room for homecoming. Three days later, he was gone. You never know, so you have to give your best every day. You always know you have to deal with some types of adversity, but not this much, especially not with death, and not with the death of teammates. That's what was so difficult about this. Winning the bowl game would be a nice way to cap this season off."

Under first-year coach Bill Blankenship, Tulsa (8-4) dropped three of its first four games, including defeats to nationally ranked Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Boise State.

But the Golden Hurricane rebounded to win seven consecutive games before falling to nationally ranked Houston in the regular-season finale.

Senior quarterback G.J. Kinne has completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,876 yards and 25 touchdowns this season.

"Tulsa is a team that has a lot of grit and a lot of heart," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall. "That stems from their quarterback. He's a really, really good football player that makes plays, extends plays and finds a way to move the chains and lead their team. Their team takes on his identity."

Kinne can also make plays with his feet, as he has rushed for 400 yards and three TDs.

"He's very elusive, and he has nice feel for making people miss," Mendenhall said of Kinne. "I'm just impressed. He's confident, he's poised, he's tough. And he knows where the first-down markers are and he just finds a way to move his team. It will be a great challenge for us. Our players respect him."

Source: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700210760/BYU-football-Bowl-win-would-cap-Tulsas-tragic-year.html?s_cid=rss-38

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Drones used against Japan's whaling fleet

SYDNEY?? Whaling opponents attempting to stop Japan's annual whale hunt in the Antarctic have deployed a new weapon: pilotless drone aircraft that have already spotted its whaling fleet.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose anti-whaling campaigns are showcased on the Discovery Channel, said it located the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru off Australia's western coast on Saturday using the drones, the first time this season it has made contact with the whalers.

Other Japanese ships shielded the vessel "to allow it to escape" as the Sea Shepherd's Steve Irwin ship approached on Christmas Day, Sea Shepherd said in a statement.

"This time, however, the Japanese tactic of tailing the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker will not work because the drones, one on the Steve Irwin and the other on the Bob Barker, can track and follow the Nisshin Maru and can relay the positions back to the Sea Shepherd ships," the group stated.

"We caught them due west of Perth," founder Paul Watson told Reuters by satellite phone from the Steve Irwin. "For the next few days we will be chasing them. We are heading south."

The two drones are equipped with cameras and detection equipment and allow Sea Shepherd to monitor the whaling fleet from a distance, he said.

"Thanks to these drones, we now have an advantage we have never had before ? eyes in the sky," Watson added.

Watson said Sea Shepherd's three ships were well outside Antarctic waters when the Japanese vessel was seen. The Sea Shepherd waited for the Nisshin Maru after hearing from fishermen it had sailed through the Lombok Strait in Indonesia on its voyage to Antarctic waters.

The Sea Shepherd society's annual attempts to stop the Japanese whale hunt by "direct action" have been widely criticized by Japan. However, it also has influential supporters.

Watson said sympathizers in New Jersey contributed to the cost of the two drones.

An international moratorium on whaling has been in place since 1986, but Japan exploits a loophole allowing whaling for scientific purposes to justify its annual hunt.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45790766/ns/world_news-world_environment/

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Project Engineer ? Energy Management

Location flexible: Holyhead or Birkenhead

?50K + plus car and attractive benefits

The Company:

Stena Line, an ABTA member, is an international transport and travel service company and one of the world's leading ferry operators.

Stena Line operates in three business areas: Scandinavia, the North Sea and the Irish Sea with a network of 18 strategically located ferry routes in Europe. Stena Line has a modern fleet with a total of 35 vessels including fast ferries (Stena HSS), traditional combi-ferries, RoPax ferries for freight and passengers, and pure cargo ships.

During 2009, approximately 15.4 million passengers travelled with Stena Line. 3.3 million cars and 1.6 million freight units were transported during the same period.

The Role:

Working extensively across the business area covering operations on the Irish Sea, your primary objective will be to deliver sustainable reductions in energy consumption focusing principally on ship?s fuel. Central to the role will be the development of energy consumption strategies based on a close analysis of consumption surveys and benchmarking initiatives, together with the provision of motivation, support and co-ordination of local projects and initiatives that challenge the status quo and deliver against agreed efficiency objectives.

The Candidate:

Ideally experienced as a Chief Engineer or Superintendent

With core skills in Project Management, you will possess a strong personal presence and well developed influencing and communication skills. Above all, you will be a leader, coach and motivator, able to deliver multiple project milestones within agreed time and cost constraints.

Well organised, able to travel and capable of prioritising effectively in this fast paced setting, you?ll be looking for an opportunity to influence our business ? and your career.

To apply, please write or e-mail enclosing full career details and your salary progression to date by clicking "Apply For This Job".

ASH Search & Selection
PO Box 34
Whitchurch
Shropshire SY13 1WF

Alternatively, for more detailed information together with an online application facility,
search for Ash Search & Selection

Source: http://jobs.telegraph.co.uk/job/779560/permanent/holyhead-or-birkenhead/project-engineer-energy-management-job-vacancy.aspx?FromRSSFeed=39

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A more effective MRI nanoparticle contrast agent for cancer detection

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Posted: Dec 23rd, 2011

A more effective MRI nanoparticle contrast agent for cancer detection

(Nanowerk News) Many imaging technologies and their contrast agents ? chemicals used during scans to help detect tumors and other problems ? involve exposure to radiation or heavy metals, which present potential health risks to patients and limit the ways they can be applied. In an effort to mitigate these drawbacks, new research from University of Pennsylvania engineers shows a way to coat an iron-based contrast agent so that it only interacts with the acidic environment of tumors, making it safer, cheaper and more effective than existing alternatives.

The research was conducted by associate professor Andrew Tsourkas and graduate student Samuel H. Crayton of the department of bioengineering in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science. It was published in the journal ACS Nano ("pH-Titratable Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide for Improved Nanoparticle Accumulation in Acidic Tumor Microenvironments").

Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is an increasingly common feature of medical care. Using a strong magnetic field to detect and influence the alignment of water molecules in the body, MRI can quickly produce pictures of wide range of bodily tissues, though the clarity of these pictures is sometimes insufficient for diagnoses. To improve the differentiation ? or contrast ? between tumors and healthy tissue, doctors can apply a contrast agent, such as nanoparticles containing iron oxide. The iron oxide can improve MRI images due to their ability to distort the magnetic field of the scanner; areas they are concentrated in stand out more clearly.

These nanoparticles, which have recently been approved in the United States for clinical use as contrast agents, are literally sugar-coated; an outer layer of dextran keeps the particles from binding or being absorbed by the body and potentially sickening the patient. This non-reactive coating allows the iron oxide to be flushed out after the imaging is complete, but it also means that the particles can't be targeted to a particular kind of tissue.

If the contrast agent could be engineered so it only sticks to tissue that is already diseased, such as tumors, it would solve both problems at once. Scientists have tried this approach by coating nanoparticles with proteins that bind only to receptors found on the exterior of tumors, but not all tumors are the same in this regard.

"One of the limitations of a receptor-based approach is that you just don't hit everything," Tsourkas said. "It's hard to recommend them as a screening tool when you know that the target receptors are only expressed in 30% of tumors."

"One of the reasons we like our approach is that it hits a lot of tumors; almost all tumors exhibit a change in the acidity of their microenvironment."

The Penn engineers took advantage of something known as the Warburg effect, a quirk of tumor metabolism, to get around the targeting problem. Most of the body's cells are aerobic; they primarily get their energy from oxygen. However, even when oxygen is plentiful, cancerous cells use an anaerobic process for their energy. Like overtaxed muscles, they turn glucose into lactic acid, but unlike normal muscles, tumors disrupt the blood flow around them and have a hard time clearing this acid away. This means that tumors almost always have a lower pH than surrounding healthy tissue.

Some imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance spectroscopy, can also take advantage of tumors' low-pH microenvironments, but they require expensive specialized equipment that is not available in most clinical settings.

By using glycol chitosan ? a sugar-based polymer that reacts to acids ? the engineers allowed the nanocarriers to remain neutral when near healthy tissue, but to become ionized in low pH. The change in charge that occurs in the vicinity of acidic tumors causes the nanocarriers to be attracted to and retained at those sites.

This approach has another benefit: the more malignant a tumor is, the more it disrupts surrounding blood vessels and the more acidic its environment becomes. This means that the glycol chitosan-coated is a good detector of malignancy, opening up treatment options above and beyond diagnosis.

"You can take any nanoparticle and put this coating on it, so it's not limited to imaging by any means," said Tsourkas. "You could also use it to deliver drugs to tumor sites."

The researchers hope that, within seven to 10 years, glycol-chitosan-coated iron oxide nanoparticles could improve the specificity of diagnostic screening. The ability to accurately detect sites of malignancy by MRI would be an immediate improvement to existing contrast agents for certain breast cancer scans.

"Gadolinium is used as a contrast agent in MRI breast cancer screenings for high-risk patients. These patients are recommended to get an MRI in addition to the usual mammogram, because the sensitivity of mammograms can be poor," said Tsourkas. "The sensitivity of an MRI is much higher, but the specificity is low: the screening detects a lot of tumors, but many of them are benign. Having a tool like ours would allow clinicians to better differentiate the benign and malignant tumors, especially since there has been shown to be a correlation between malignancy and pH."

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Source: http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=23838.php

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The 4 biggest scientific breakthroughs of 2011 (The Week)

New York ? From neutrinos to new planets, a look at some of the year's most important discoveries

1. Upending the laws of physics
Researchers at the CERN laboratory in Geneva announced in September that they'd clocked subatomic particles called neutrinos moving faster than the speed of light. That finding directly contradicts Albert Einstein's 1905 special theory of relativity, which holds that nothing can outrun light. If neutrinos can, they could arrive at a destination before they even left, opening the prospect of time travel. Or could it be that neutrinos move through an undiscovered fifth dimension, separate from the three dimensions of space and one of time that we know about? Those ideas are so shocking that even the CERN team "wanted to find a mistake" in their data, says team leader Antonio Ereditato. But they didn't. And so far, further testing has failed to dismiss the finding, says theoretical physicist Matthew Strassler, as "a doorway into something fundamental and deep we don't know about nature."

2. Reasons to listen to your gut
Bacteria in our intestines may play a major role in the health of our minds and bodies. German researchers have discovered that just as each human being has a specific blood type, each of us also has one of three separate families of bacteria residing in our guts. A person's "enterotype" likely establishes itself in infancy and appears to affect everything from how well food is digested to how drugs are absorbed. The discovery of the three distinct gut ecosystems "was a surprise, and it's good news," says researcher Peer Bork. The finding could help physicians diagnose and treat serious digestive disorders, and also help explain why the effects of medicines and nutrients vary widely from person to person. Further studies have shown that ingesting a bacteria species found in certain yogurts and cheeses calms stressed-out mice ? pointing to the prospect of treating psychiatric disorders with microbes instead of drugs.

3. Closing in on alien life
A galaxy-wide search for Earth-like planets has returned a startling number of candidates. Using NASA's Kepler space telescope, astronomers this year announced they'd spotted 2,326 new worlds and counting. Ten of those planets are close in size to our own and orbit their suns in the "habitable zone," where temperatures could be balmy enough to support liquid water ? and potentially life. The best contender yet, Kepler-22b, looks to be a hospitable 72 degrees and circles a star very similar to our sun. The data pouring in from the spacecraft, launched in March 2009, are "game-changing," says Kepler principal investigator William Borucki. "It's just a tremendous amount of new knowledge." Already, other researchers are scanning the most promising Kepler finds for signs of alien life.

4. A new weapon against aging
The fountain of youth might one day flow within our own cells. Scientists working with mice have discovered that if they remove a special kind of cell that promotes aging, a host of age-related conditions disappear: The genetically modified rodents didn't develop cataracts, their skin didn't wrinkle, and they maintained high levels of energy throughout their lives. The so-called senescent cells have lost the ability to divide, and as they build up in aging tissue, they release toxins that destroy robust neighboring cells. Scientists devised a way of killing off those senescent cells, and the procedure "suggests therapies that might work in real patients," says Norman E. Sharpless, an expert on aging. If purging the cells works in people as it does in mice, the treatment could ward off a host of age-related diseases, from cancer to dementia, and keep us vigorous longer.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/20111223/cm_theweek/222719

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Unnatural disasters

Public release date: 22-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Victoria Picknell
victoria.picknell@zsl.org
44-020-744-96361
Zoological Society of London

Global wildlife is facing an unprecedented threat from natural disasters exacerbated by climate change, warn scientists in a paper published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution.

Hurricanes, droughts, flooding and wildfires are predicted to increase in frequency and severity but despite being able to spot human populations at risk, there is currently no mechanism for identifying vulnerable animal populations.

Now scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have come up with a method to identify populations likely to experience drastic changes in their population size when faced with extreme events. By assessing three separate factors sensitivity, exposure and adaptability scientists will be able to predict which species have a chance of bouncing back from natural disasters, and which species might struggle to recover.

"As climate change leads to more frequent and severe natural disasters, we need to identify animals at risk of being washed away in a flood, or destroyed by wildfire. We can then prioritise and adapt current management practices to guarantee the survival of those vulnerable populations," says Eric Isai Ameca y Juarez, lead author from ZSL.

Spotting vulnerable populations can be tricky, as what might be a catastrophe for some species could be good news for others. In France in 1999, hurricane Lothar led to an increase in the availability of winter food for roe deer. However, two years later in Belize, more than 40 percent of the black howler monkey population was wiped out when hurricane Iris destroyed their rainforest habitat.

Dr Nathalie Pettorelli, senior author from ZSL says: "Extreme natural events represent a growing threat to biodiversity, and this might be particularly true for populations already under pressure due to habitat degradation or overexploitation. We propose a way to acknowledge this growing threat and carry out vulnerability assessments, in the hope that these will be taken into account when evaluating species extinction risk".

The proposed method will support previous work to assess species vulnerability to climate change and enable scientists to quantify the impact of increasing occurrence and severity of extreme events on animal populations.

###

Notes for Editors

'Natural population die-offs: causes consequences for terrestrial mammals' will be published early online in Trends in Ecology and Evolution at 16:00 on Thursday 22 December 2011 (DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2011.11.005). Advance copies of the paper are available on request from the ZSL press office.

Founded in 1826, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is an international scientific, conservation and educational charity: the key role is the conservation of animals and their habitats. The Society runs ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, carries out scientific research in the Institute of Zoology and is actively involved in field conservation in over 50 countries worldwide. For further information please visit http://www.zsl.org

A scientific event entitled 'Extreme natural events: an overlooked driver of biodiversity loss?' will take place on Tuesday 12 March 2012, 18:00 19:45 at the Zoological Society of London as part of ZSL's Communicating Science series. For further information please visit http://www.zsl.org

---

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

Public release date: 22-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Victoria Picknell
victoria.picknell@zsl.org
44-020-744-96361
Zoological Society of London

Global wildlife is facing an unprecedented threat from natural disasters exacerbated by climate change, warn scientists in a paper published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution.

Hurricanes, droughts, flooding and wildfires are predicted to increase in frequency and severity but despite being able to spot human populations at risk, there is currently no mechanism for identifying vulnerable animal populations.

Now scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have come up with a method to identify populations likely to experience drastic changes in their population size when faced with extreme events. By assessing three separate factors sensitivity, exposure and adaptability scientists will be able to predict which species have a chance of bouncing back from natural disasters, and which species might struggle to recover.

"As climate change leads to more frequent and severe natural disasters, we need to identify animals at risk of being washed away in a flood, or destroyed by wildfire. We can then prioritise and adapt current management practices to guarantee the survival of those vulnerable populations," says Eric Isai Ameca y Juarez, lead author from ZSL.

Spotting vulnerable populations can be tricky, as what might be a catastrophe for some species could be good news for others. In France in 1999, hurricane Lothar led to an increase in the availability of winter food for roe deer. However, two years later in Belize, more than 40 percent of the black howler monkey population was wiped out when hurricane Iris destroyed their rainforest habitat.

Dr Nathalie Pettorelli, senior author from ZSL says: "Extreme natural events represent a growing threat to biodiversity, and this might be particularly true for populations already under pressure due to habitat degradation or overexploitation. We propose a way to acknowledge this growing threat and carry out vulnerability assessments, in the hope that these will be taken into account when evaluating species extinction risk".

The proposed method will support previous work to assess species vulnerability to climate change and enable scientists to quantify the impact of increasing occurrence and severity of extreme events on animal populations.

###

Notes for Editors

'Natural population die-offs: causes consequences for terrestrial mammals' will be published early online in Trends in Ecology and Evolution at 16:00 on Thursday 22 December 2011 (DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2011.11.005). Advance copies of the paper are available on request from the ZSL press office.

Founded in 1826, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is an international scientific, conservation and educational charity: the key role is the conservation of animals and their habitats. The Society runs ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, carries out scientific research in the Institute of Zoology and is actively involved in field conservation in over 50 countries worldwide. For further information please visit http://www.zsl.org

A scientific event entitled 'Extreme natural events: an overlooked driver of biodiversity loss?' will take place on Tuesday 12 March 2012, 18:00 19:45 at the Zoological Society of London as part of ZSL's Communicating Science series. For further information please visit http://www.zsl.org

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/zsol-ud122111.php

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Leona Lewis Runs to The X Factor Finale Stage

Leona Lewis now has something in common with Melanie Amaro: each was named the first-ever winner of a version of The X Factor; Lewis in Great Britain and Amaro, of course, in the United States.

So it was only appropriate that Leona was present during last night's first season finale of this Fox competition, singing a beautiful version of her hit single, "Run." Watch and listen now:

Leona Lewis - Run (The X Factor Finale)

Lewis wasn't the only superstar to take the stage prior to Amaro being crowned champion. Justin Bieber actually performed a pair of holiday tracks, teaming with one legendary artist and another young, up-and-comer.

As always, he put on a great show.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/leona-lewis-runs-to-the-x-factor-finale-stage/

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Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group: Funds Supporting Shares in Third ...

Scottrade: $7 Online Trades. Real-Time Stock Quotes

Insiders are generally long-term investors due to restriction in making short-term profits. In contrast, wealth management institutions always have short-term investment. Wall St. Watchdog reveals information regarding the insiders and institutions which recently increased stock shares of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE:DTG).

SEC data indicate that these institutions significantly increased their stock shares of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. in Q3 2011:

• HIGHFIELDS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP: On 06/30/2011, held 0 shares. On 09/30/2011, held 345,759 shares, worth $19,466,232.
• TYRUS CAPITAL LLP: On 06/30/2011, held 0 shares. On 09/30/2011, held 330,000 shares, worth $18,579,000.
• JANA PARTNERS LLC: On 06/30/2011, held 0 shares. On 09/30/2011, held 328,185 shares, worth $18,476,816.
• FIRST EAGLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, LLC: On 06/30/2011, held 0 shares. On 09/30/2011, held 170,000 shares, worth $9,571,000.
• PARA ADVISORS LLC: On 06/30/2011, held 0 shares. On 09/30/2011, held 100,000 shares, worth $5,630,000.

About the company: Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. operates Dollar and Thrifty vehicle rental systems. The Company provides its services to leisure customers, tourists, small businesses, and independent business travelers. Dollar Thrifty operates locations in the United States and Canada, as well as other countries.

Competitors to Watch: Avis Budget Group Inc. (NYSE:CAR), Hertz Global Hldgs., Inc. (NYSE:HTZ), EV Transportation Inc (EVTP), Avis Europe plc (AVE), Helphire Group plc (NYSE:HHR), Localiza Rent a Car SA (RENT3), Premier Enterprise PCL (PE), A.S.G. (Andy Spyrou) Group Public Ltd (NYSE:ASG), and Krungthai Car Rent & Lease PCL (KCAR).

(Note: Data regarding Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc.?s stock holdings are sourced from whalewisdom.com. All data are assumed to be accurate.)

Advantage: Check out our interactive stock charts, fundamentals, Twitter stream, and more >>

Improve Your 2011 Financial Health: Join the winning team of stock pickers with Wall St. Cheat Sheet?s acclaimed premium newsletter>>

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Source: http://wallstcheatsheet.com/investing/dollar-thrifty-automotive-group-funds-supporting-shares-in-third-quarter.html/

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SKorean president presses Japan on sex slaves (AP)

TOKYO ? South Korea's visiting president pressed his Japanese counterpart Sunday to resolve a long-standing grievance regarding Korean women forced to serve as sexual slaves during World War II, calling it a "stumbling block" in their relations.

Japan maintains that the matter was settled by a bilateral treaty in 1965 that normalized relations, and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said he reiterated that stance during their meeting in the ancient capital of Kyoto.

Japanese officials have apologized to the victims, who say they still want compensation and the prosecution of wrongdoers.

President Lee Myung-bak said only 63 women who have identified themselves publicly as former wartime sex slaves are still alive, average age 86. He said 16 such women died this year.

"They could all die in a few years," Lee said, according to his spokesman Park Jeong-ha. "In such a case, (the issue) will remain a big burden the two countries cannot resolve ... We can only resolve (the issue) now."

Historians say up to 200,000 women, mainly from the Korean peninsula and China, were forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers in military brothels during the war.

"South Korea and Japan should become true partners for co-prosperity and regional peace and stability. For that, I think we need to have the genuine courage of resolving as a priority the issue of comfort women, which has been a stumbling block in relations between the two countries," Lee told Noda, according to a media pool report posted on the president's website.

The issue has emerged after South Korea's Constitutional Court ruled in August that it's unconstitutional for the government not to make specific diplomatic efforts to settle the matter, essentially pushing Lee's government to raise that matter with Tokyo.

Also, protesters in Seoul on Wednesday placed a statue of a girl representing the victims in front of the Japanese Embassy to mark the 1,000th weekly rally for the women forced to work in the wartime brothels.

Several former comfort women, along with some lawmakers, joined the rally, around the life-size statue of the girl, who is sitting on a chair in traditional Korean clothes.

Noda called the statue "regrettable" and said he asked Lee to remove it.

"Our nation's legal position on the issue of comfort women has already been settled," Noda told reporters. He added that Japan would continue to make efforts from a "humanitarian standpoint."

Lee said such a statue would have not been built if Japan came up with more sincere measures to resolve the issue, the presidential spokesman said.

In 1993, then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono apologized to victims after documents were uncovered showing military involvement in the brothels.

Tokyo in 1995 initiated a fund of private donations as a way for Japan to pay former sex slaves without providing official compensation. But many comfort women have rejected the fund, demanding a government apology approved by parliament, along with compensation paid by the government.

Noda said the leaders also discussed speeding up the start of free trade negotiations.

___

Associated Press reporter Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111218/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_south_korea

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Now At 1.4M Members, Fab.com Turns Up The Social With A ?Live Feed?

Exclusive - Fab.com, the ridiculously fast growing e-commerce startup, is launching a new social shopping feature today that lets members view and interact with any activity on the design flash sales site in real-time. Dubbed the 'live feed' and reminiscent of Facebook's early iterations of what is now the News Feed, it captures what users are purchasing, sharing, commenting on etc.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/TH3JzilanpQ/

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Emily W. McBurney: What Does American Airlines' Bankruptcy Have To Do With My Divorce?

You're so busy right now, dealing with the divorce, the kids, the holidays -- you've barely had time to catch the news. And, you've had enough bad news in your personal life lately, thank you very much, so the last thing you want to hear about is more bad financial news. The announcement of American Airlines' filing for bankruptcy protection may have barely hit your radar screen.

But all retirees, workers, and people going through a divorce should pay attention to that bit of news, because it could affect your divorce and your retirement. How? When a company declares bankruptcy, its pension plan is often terminated and taken over by a government entity called the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ("PBGC"). The PBGC is a federal corporation created to insure qualified pension plan benefits (learn more at www.pbgc.gov). It's like the more-familiar FDIC, which insures bank accounts up to a certain amount; it's a security net for pension plans. PBGC does not take taxpayer money. It is funded by the pension plans themselves.

When pension plans are terminated, the PBGC takes over as Plan Administrator and handles things like calculating and paying benefits and reviewing and administering QDROs (which are court orders providing retirement payments to non-employees such as former spouses and children). The PBGC pays benefits up to certain legal limits, so employees usually receive most of their accumulated qualified pension benefits. The maximum pension benefit guaranteed by the PBGC is set by law and adjusted each year.

The economic downturn has caused so many retirement plan terminations that PBGC says it already has a $26 billion deficit. Right now, the PBGC is worried about whether it will have to take over American Airlines' massive pension plans. It does not have enough money to cover all of American Airlines' retirement obligations to current and former employees. PBGC released a statement after American filed for bankruptcy, stating that the airline has a shortfall of about $10 billion for its retirement obligations, and that PBGC would do everything possible to preserve American Airlines' retirement plans rather than have to take them over. PBGC will be pushing American to keep its retirement plans afloat, to avoid having to come up with new funds to cover American's workers if the plans are terminated. If they are not successful, then there will be difficult choices to make about how to proceed -- possibly by raising the premiums paid to PBGC, or a (presumably unpopular) bailout by taxpayers.

If the PBGC is forced to take over American Airlines' retirement plans, a huge number of people -- not just employees and retirees of American Airlines (and their families and former spouses) -- could be affected. According to PBGC, 44 million Americans participate in qualified pension plans protected by PBGC. This does not include the number of former spouses and dependents of those workers and retirees, all of whom would stand to lose benefits if PBGC becomes unable to make its payments.

If you are going through a divorce and either you or your spouse has a qualified pension plan, whether you are still working or retired, you need to address the retirement benefits in your divorce document. Make sure that you understand the specifics of the retirement plan, and be careful to include language that will protect your share of the benefit in the event that the plan is terminated or benefits are reduced. A divorce agreement or QDRO can include a provision that says the benefits will be reduced proportionally between you and your ex if there is ever a reduction or termination in the future. One bit of good news is that bankruptcy generally does not affect 401(k) plans in the same way as traditional pension plans, so the PBGC is not involved. When an employer files for bankruptcy, 401(k) funds are usually just distributed to employees from their individual accounts, and these funds can be rolled into other retirement accounts such as IRAs.

There is one important point too often missed in divorce cases, with disastrous consequences. Non-qualified benefits are not guaranteed by the PBGC, so employees will likely lose all of their accumulated non-qualified retirement funds if their employer files for bankruptcy. If you are in the midst of a divorce, make sure you find out whether any of the retirement benefits you are dividing are non-qualified. Your divorce document should spell out what will happen if the non-qualified benefits do not get paid.

It's hard to keep your eye on the ball when there are so many other balls to follow nowadays. Whether you're going through a divorce, tough financial times, or both, this issue could have an enormous impact on your financial future. Add "retirement" to the list of things that must be investigated and addressed in your divorce. If you are a worker or retiree, keep an eye out for news about PBGC and your employer's financial health. There have of course been times when it would have been impossible to imagine the bankruptcy of the big airlines -- but as the last few years have demonstrated, anything is possible, and it pays to be prepared.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emily-w-mcburney/what-does-american-airlin_b_1149859.html

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White House shooter due back in Washington court (Providence Journal)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/174423186?client_source=feed&format=rss

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