Thursday, September 27, 2012

Hermit crab moves into 3-D printed Guggenheim-shaped shell

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An Austrian artist has coerced some hermit crabs into adopting shells created by a 3-D printer ? shells in the shape of the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Hermit crabs don't actually make their own shells, but rather?find ones that once belonged to snails and other creatures. But population imbalances and other ecological troubles have led to a shortage of shells, and consequently hermit crabs have moved into things like beer cans and other trash.

A project started in 2011 called Project Shellter aimed to use Makerbot printers to create perfect little 3-D printed shells, and has successfully made a number of homes for stricken crabs. Austrian?art student Peter Moosgaard decided to take things a step further and use the shell as a platform for expression. His crabs get shells that look like the Guggenheim.

He created the aquarium installation?as part of his program at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, and it's an ongoing work because the crabs constantly grow out of their "shells." New ones must be printed, and in the meantime the crabs in the tank compete over the existing ones.

You can see one crab living happily in its Guggenheim below, but be sure to check out the more artfully composed videos Moosgaard has?up on his Vimeo channel.

Devin Coldewey is acontributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website iscoldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/hermit-crab-moves-3-d-printed-guggenheim-shaped-shell-1B6103330

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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

If a house is in foreclosure, how long can it be there ... - Zillow Real ...

Hi Jessica,

Dawgs is correct. It could be a short period or a very long time. ?A lot depends on the laws of your state and the mortgage holder.

Here, in Michigan, there is a six month redemption period where the home owner has the opportunity to purchase the house back after the Sheriff sale. The home owner can stay in the house for free (except utilities) for six months. If the owner doesn't leave after that, there is the eviction process which can take another two to eight weeks. After the house is vacated, it could take the mortgage holder several months to list the property.

In some states the home owner can be evicted the day of the Sheriff sale and the home can be listed the same day.

You might want to contact an attorney or a local realtor to see what the laws are for your area and what they have to say about the process.

Good luck ...

Source: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/If-a-house-is-in-foreclosure-how-long-can-it-be-there-before-it-is-available-to-purchase/461249/

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AP Interview: Ahmadinejad pushes Syria solution

NEW YORK (AP) ? Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (ah-muh-DEE'-neh-zhahd) says nearly a dozen countries are forming a new contact group to try to end the 18-month civil war in Syria.

He said in an interview with The Associated Press Tuesday that the group, including countries in the Middle East and elsewhere, would meet in New York "very soon."

He said the group hopes to get government and the opposition to sit across from each other.

Ahmadinejad says, "I will do everything in my power to create stability, peace and understanding in Syria."

Ahmadinejad spoke to the AP in a wide-ranging interview on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly ? his last as president of Iran.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-interview-ahmadinejad-pushes-syria-solution-234050233.html

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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Obama campaign has momentum _ and nerves

FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event in Milwaukee. Six weeks from Election Day, President Barack Obama?s campaign has momentum _ and a big case of the nerves. At the campaign?s Chicago headquarters, aides are relishing in polling that gives the president an edge in key battleground states. But they also warn that there?s still plenty of time for the race to change course. And even as the Democratic team considers making a late play for traditionally Republican Arizona, they know that the outcome of three presidential debates with Republican Mitt Romney could shake up their overall strategy. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event in Milwaukee. Six weeks from Election Day, President Barack Obama?s campaign has momentum _ and a big case of the nerves. At the campaign?s Chicago headquarters, aides are relishing in polling that gives the president an edge in key battleground states. But they also warn that there?s still plenty of time for the race to change course. And even as the Democratic team considers making a late play for traditionally Republican Arizona, they know that the outcome of three presidential debates with Republican Mitt Romney could shake up their overall strategy. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - This Dec. 28, 2011 file photo shows President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina at the Chicago headquarters. Six weeks from Election Day, President Barack Obama?s campaign has momentum _ and a big case of the nerves. At the campaign?s Chicago headquarters, aides are relishing in polling that gives the president an edge in key battleground states. But they also warn that there?s still plenty of time for the race to change course. And even as the Democratic team considers making a late play for traditionally Republican Arizona, they know that the outcome of three presidential debates with Republican Mitt Romney could shake up their overall strategy. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

CHICAGO (AP) ? Six weeks from Election Day, President Barack Obama's campaign has momentum ? and a big case of nerves.

Top advisers are both relishing in Obama's edge in key battleground state polling and warning it can change in an instant. They're wary of the many factors that still could derail the Democrat's campaign, from simmering tensions in the Middle East to the three high-stakes presidential debates. They're worried, too, about a flood of negative advertisements from Republican-leaning outside groups and potential complacency among Democratic voters and volunteers who think the race is a lock for Obama.

Also weighing on them: unforeseen domestic or international events that can shake up a close race in the homestretch.

"I can only worry about what I can control," says Jim Messina, Obama's campaign manager.

For now, that means the overall campaign strategy.

Yet, even there, Obama's team is being careful: the Democrat is considering making a late play for traditionally Republican Arizona ? either to win it or to force rival Mitt Romney to spend money to protect GOP turf ? but advisers are weighing the potential that a move like that could backfire by leaving fewer resources for more competitive states.

With just over 40 days until the election and with many states already voting, public and internal polls show Obama leading Romney in many of the eight or so battleground states that will determine the election. But both campaigns are mindful that much can happen in the homestretch, and advisers for each candidate expect the numbers to tighten as more voters tune into the race in the final weeks. By the day, both sides are adjusting their strategies in key states and monitoring how, in voters' eyes, signs of growth in the economy square with an unemployment rate that remains above 8 percent.

The race had been deadlocked until recently when Obama edged ahead in polling after his convention. Even so, neither candidate has been able to put the race out of reach of their opponent, despite the sluggish economy Obama has presided over and a series of missteps by Romney.

At Obama's Chicago campaign headquarters, the mood underscores the balance the campaign is trying to strike: optimism about the trajectory of the race with cautiousness about all the things that could shift the dynamics.

Obama aides are focused on bolstering get-out-the-vote operations in battleground states to buffer against any late shifts in the race, countering negative ads by a crush of Republican-leaning super political action committees ? and living by the mantra of not making too much out of any one poll or event.

Last week, campaign staffers were ordered to be restrained in their response and avoid appearing as though they were declaring victory prematurely when a video surfaced showing Romney telling wealthy donors that 47 percent of Americans believe they are victims. And earlier this month, the campaign sought to keep its focus on the economy, the No. 1 issue for voters, rather than get dragged into a foreign policy debate after a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed in Libya.

The worry about next week's presidential debate ? the first of three in as many weeks ? is clear at the downtown high rise that houses Obama's campaign inner circle and hundreds of staffers. On Oct. 3, most Americans will for the first time see the two men standing side by side, a visual that could make Romney seem more presidential to some voters. And the high-stakes showdowns always carry the potential for a slip-up that can be hard to recover from just weeks before Election Day.

Obama has spent the past few weeks preparing for the debates, though advisers won't say much about it ? other than to try to lower expectations for Obama and raise them for Romney.

Advisers argue that the debate format ? limited to 90 minutes ? works against the sometimes long-winded Obama, who they cast as the underdog on a debate stage.

As Obama adviser Robert Gibbs put it in a CBS interview: "Mitt Romney, I think, has an advantage because he's been through 20 of these debates in the primaries over the last year. He even bragged that he was declared the winner in 16 of those debates."

For all the concerns, even the most anxious Obama aides take some measure of comfort in an Electoral College map that favors the president. He has more pathways to victory than Romney, whose route to the White House becomes all but impossible without a victory in Florida, where polls show the race is tight, or Ohio, where Obama has pulled ahead in surveys.

Signaling confidence, Obama's team is considering competing in Arizona.

Obama looked at competing in Arizona in 2008, but decided against it because of the support there for home state Sen. John McCain, the GOP nominee. Obama still won 45 percent of the vote.

This year, Obama's team talked early on about running in Arizona, which offers 11 electoral votes, but it never did. Now, with an internal Democratic poll showing Obama narrowly leading Romney, Obama's team might make a play for the state that has seen a 160,000 increase in voter registrations by Democratic-leaning Hispanics over the past four years.

Buying television time in Phoenix, the state's largest city, is expensive and Obama advisers are closely watching their finances.

That's not to say that competing in Arizona would be all about winning: going up on the air in the state ? or sending the president in to campaign there, could force Romney to spend valuable resources defending a state he should be able to count on in the quest to reach 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory.

___

Follow Julie Pace http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-25-Obama-Challenges/id-452fe2908564475dbecaaa7a4effeb71

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Monday, September 24, 2012

DAILY TRANSFORMATIONAL NUGGETS FOR THE BODY, MIND ...

DAILY TRANSFORMATIONAL NUGGETS FOR THE BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT: ?Remember? Day 24 ? ?The Right Place?

Today?s Body Connection:? Any place is the right place to work out.? You don?t need a gym to participate in a physical practice.? Don?t allow your preconceived ideas of how workouts should be to stop your participation. What we see on the TV or in videos are only 10% of the choices for training the body.? Healthy living, fitness, and wellness can be done anywhere.? Commit to doing something every day for ten to 20 minutes and your life will expand.? Dedicate at least one meal a day, if not all three, for healthy and mindful eating. Set the intention to make water your No. 1 source for quenching your thirst. Expand your options by increasing your awareness; anywhere and everywhere is the right place for health and fitness.

Today?s Meditative Thought: The scripture says, ?Take off your shoes; you are standing on Holy ground.?? The place you stand is sacred, not because it is designated as such, but because you bring the sacred with you; you only need to be aware of it.? Everywhere you are God is in the mix.? Everywhere you go you bring the Divine.? Right this very moment claim the place you sit, stand, or lie as Holy ground.? You are the light; therefore you are always in the right place.

Today?s Action Plan:? Today, remember you are in the right place, space, and time for transformation; you only need to allow it to happen.? When you find yourself in the way, trying to make something happen, step back, take a breath, and turn it over.

Today?s Affirmation:? Just for this moment?just for this breath, I remember that I am in the right place, right now.? Amen

Skip Jennings, ALSP, CPT
Licensed Spiritual Counselor/Personal Fitness Trainer/Transformation Coach

For more information about spiritual counseling, fitness training, or life coaching visit: www.skipjennings.com
FREE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER: www.skipjennings.com/simple_form.php

Get your copy of ?Spirit Explosion? http://www.skipjennings.com/publications-videos.html

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Source: http://spiritualnugget.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/daily-transformational-nuggets-for-the-body-mind-and-spirit-remember-day-24-the-right-place/

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Syrian president's sister 'now in Dubai'

AFP - Embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's only sister, Bushra, whose husband was killed in a July bombing, is now living in Dubai with her children, Syrian residents told AFP on Sunday.

Bushra's husband General Assef Shawkat, an army deputy chief of staff, was killed along with three other high-ranking officials in a July 18 bombing at the National Security headquarters in Damascus.

The president's elder sister, a pharmacist in her 50s, has five children she has enrolled at a private school in Dubai, according to Syrian expatriates in the emirate.

Ayman Abdel Nour, editor-in-chief of opposition news website all4syria.com, told AFP that Bushra, who did not hold any position in the Syrian regime, left after "differences" with her brother whose troops are locked in a deadly conflict with rebels.

Bashar has "accused her of being closer to the opposition because she did not entirely agree with his policies," Abdel Nour said.

In 2008, Bushra also left Syria following what sources said were "disagreements" with her brother, staying for one year with her children in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi.

With Bushra's departure, Assad now has only his brother Maher, who commands the notorious Fourth Brigade, in the country.

Their other two brothers, Bassel and Majd, are dead.

Bassel, who was groomed by his father -- Syria's former president Hafez al-Assad -- to succeed in power had opposed Bushra's marriage to Shawkat and put the latter behind bars on four separate occasions to ensure he would stay away from his sister.

But Bassel's death in a January 1994 car accident enabled the marriage to go ahead a year later.

Majd, of whom little is known, died of unspecified illness in 2009.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 29,000 people have been killed since the revolt against Assad's rule erupted in March last year. The United Nations puts the toll at more than 20,000.

A large number of businessmen and wealthy Syrians fleeing the unrest have arrived in Dubai over the past few months.

Source: http://www.france24.com/en/20120923-syrian-presidents-sister-now-dubai

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Sunday, September 23, 2012

Luke Wright not bothered by missing maiden T20 century ? Cricket ...

Luke Wright not bothered by missing maiden T20 century ? Cricket News Update

Promising England all-rounder Luke Wright has said that he was not too disappointed after missing out on his maiden international ton against Afghanistan on Friday, insisting that his aim was to help the side put a big total on the board after losing a couple of wickets early on.

The defending champions were zero for one in the first over after Shapoor Zadran had bowled out wicketkeeper batsman Craig Kieswetter to bring in Wright to rescue three Lions from a shock. The all-rounder played his role magnificently playing a whirlwind knock of 99 runs from just 55 deliveries, the best score by an English batsman in a T20 International.

Needing three runs off the final ball of England?s innings to become the first Englishman to score a T20 ton, Luke Wright could manage only two runs, returning unbeaten on 99. His scintillating 99 was laced with eight muscular boundaries and six lofty sixes.

"There's always disappointment not to finish with a hundred,? said the Sussex top-order batsman when asked about missing out on becoming England?s first T20I centurion.

"If I'd been offered that this morning, I'd have snapped anyone's hand off. I was just so tired by the end, I was just happy to keep the board going. The most important thing was we got a big total and I think scoreboard pressure really told then," he added further.

After being put in to bat, England scored 196 for 5 in their allotted quota of 20 overs, before dismissing the Afghan line-up for just 80. Gulbodin Naib was the only Afghanistan batsman who stood up against the English bowling, scoring 44 runs from 32 balls, hitting five fours and three towering sixes. The rest of the Afghan line up fell for single digit scores.

Wright admitted that they were wary of Afghanistan before going into the match, especially after their impressive show against India.

"We knew how dangerous they were going to be,? said Wright. "We watched their game against India and saw the dangerous batters and obviously, after the first over, to come back the way we did and then bowl them out for 80 was a superb effort," he added further.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Luke-Wright-not-bothered-by-missing-maiden-T20-century-Cricket-News-Update-a189571

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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

New song: 'I'm Dreaming (of a White President)'

?

By Rolling Stone

Randy Newman?has released a swooning, lyrically wicked new cut, "I'm Dreaming," that finds the songwriter stepping into the shoes of a narrator who's "dreaming of a white President/ Someone whom we can understand/ Someone who knows where we're coming from."

The track is?available now as a free download, and Newman is encouraging listeners to donate to the United Negro College Fund.

A startling satire reminiscent of some of his earlier cuts like "Rednecks" and "Political Science" ?- which took on racism and American jingoism, respectively, through the lenses of less-than-reliable narrators ?- Newman?told Slate?in a recent interview that his new song's speaker "has no case at all, just some vague pseudo-scientific theories that no doubt sound good to him but are nonsense.

"[F]or me it's a reaction to the Republican Party, which seems to have drifted farther to the right than a major party has drifted in my lifetime in any direction," added Newman. "It seems to have become almost a radical party. The hate and . . . I don't think it'll last. That kind of thing doesn't seem to last."

Musically, the chorus of the track purposefully recalls Irving Berlin's famous carol "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas." Though Newman says he didn't necessarily have Berlin or the song's original performer, Bing Crosby, in mind when he wrote it, he noted he was possibly thinking of "the America they represent."

Newman noted how the song was partially inspired by the racial undercurrents he saw in the intense vitriol directed at Barack Obama during his presidency.

"Still, it's clear that there are lots of people out there who are uncomfortable [with a black president]," he said. "The Civil War was a long time ago, but there are aspects of it that remain unsettled, I think. Early on in Obama's term, there was heat generated by issues that you wouldn't think would cause such passion. Even the term 'Obamacare,' the way it's spit out, like he was some kind of witch doctor. Maybe I'm overly sensitive to the issue, but I don't think so. There's an edge to things that normally wouldn't have an edge. I thought it was a little extra."

More from Rolling Stone:

More from music:

Source: http://entertainment.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/18/13944575-randy-newman-sings-im-dreaming-of-a-white-president-in-new-satirical-song?lite

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Spinach Lasagna Pizza Recipe | Budget Savvy Diva


Did you pre-order Budget Savvy Diva?s Book Yet ?!

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Make sure to pin the recipe or REPIN

Everyday at 1 pm PST/ 4pm EST Budget Savvy Diva posts a NEW RECIPE :) I might miss this time every now or then ? but I know you understand

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Make you need

Pizza Crust ? Any type will do

Mozzarella Cheese

1/2 Teaspoon of Pepper

1/2 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder

1/4 Teaspoon of Salt

1/2 Teaspoon of Onion Flakes

1 egg

Pizza Sauce

1/2 Cup of Ricotta Cheese

1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese

1/2 Cup of Defrosted Spinach ? After all excess liquid has been squeezed out

What To Do

Preheat oven to whatever it says on your pizza crust instructions

Spoon and spread pizza sauce on crust ? then thin layer of mozzarella cheese

In a medium size bowl mix all the other ingredients together ( except mozzarella cheese )

Spread the ricotta mixture onto the pizza

Then sprinkle a mozzarella cheese on top of that

Bake and enjoy :)

Spinach Lasagna Pizza Recipe

Author: Sara @ Budget Savvy Diva.com

Serves: Varies

  • Pizza Crust ? Any type will do
  • Mozzarella Cheese
  • 1/2 Teaspoon of Pepper
  • 1/2 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
  • 1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
  • 1/2 Teaspoon of Onion Flakes
  • 1 egg
  • Pizza Sauce
  • 1/2 Cup of Ricotta Cheese
  • 1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese
  • 1/2 Cup of Defrosted Spinach ? After all excess liquid has been squeezed out

2.2.8

Other recipes you'll love:

Source: http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2012/09/spinach-lasagna-pizza-recipe/

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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Samsung: Galaxy S IV March 2013 rumors are not true

We doubt this will do anything to significantly quell rumors of a Samsung Galaxy S IV announcement in March of next year, but any optimists who were expecting an official confirmation six months in advance won't be getting one. Our grasp of Korean isn't the best, but we've got a tweet from the company's official Korean account indicating rumors of a Galaxy S successor simply aren't true. Of course, with the kinds of sales the line has seen to date it seems like a reasonable assumption that Samsung will keep cranking them out as long as the courts will let it for the foreseeable future, so it's certainly more a question of when, than if. Throw in the fact that the original Galaxy S was announced in March, the Galaxy S II in February, and the Galaxy S III in May, the when narrows down even further.

Filed under: ,

Samsung: Galaxy S IV March 2013 rumors are not true originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 03:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSamsung Electronics (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/QbUq7e4AgEw/

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Monday, September 17, 2012

Chael Sonnen still training for Jon Jones, just in case

Chael Sonnen wants a fight with Jon Jones. He talked smack to the light heavyweight champ before Dan Henderson's pre-UFC 151 injury, he stepped up for a fight to try to save UFC 151, and he continued to needle Jones in the wake of UFC 151's cancellation.

Even now, with the fight less than a week away, he continues to train just in case Vitor Belfort pulls out of Saturday's UFC 152 bout. UFC president Dana White told USA Today that Sonnen is in fight camp.

"Chael Sonnen is in full training camp right now," White said. "He's been training since he got offered the Jones fight. He said, 'I'm in full camp right now because Vitor will get hurt and pull out, and it will be Jones vs. Sonnen, anyway."

Bravo, Chael. It's one thing to talk trash about how he will be ready in case Belfort pulls out of the fight with Jones. It's quite another to still train and prepare for a fight that isn't booked. That's not idle trash-talking.

More sports news from the Yahoo! Sports Minute:

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
? Week 2 fantasy standouts: Rookie RB Trent Richardson arrives
? Jay Hart: Brad Keselowski may be Roger Penske's ticket to win elusive Sprint Cup Championship
? Case of the Monday: Virginia Tech and Virginia are reeling after getting shelled by unranked teams.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/chael-sonnen-still-training-jon-jones-just-case-132719540--mma.html

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Insurance and What It Means To You ? Biz Blawgs

Every year, more cars and drivers hit the highways. With so many vehicles on the road, crashes will happen. The difference between a minor bother and major pain can be automobile insurance. How can you decide what insurance you require and how to buy it? Required coverage varies by state/province but usually includes the following: Pays for damages due to bodily injury and property damage to others for which you are responsible. Bodily injury damages include medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering. Property damage includes damaged property and loss of use of property. If you are sued, it also pays your defense and court costs. Higher recommended insurances are available that cover more than the lower, state-mandated insurance. Personal injury protection: This is required in some states and is optional in others. It pays you or your passengers for medical treatment resulting from a crash, regardless of who may have been at fault, and is often called no-fault coverage. It may also pay for lost earnings, replacement of services and funeral expenses. State law typically sets minimum amounts. Medical payments: This type of coverage is available in non-no-fault states and will pay no matter who is responsible for the accident. It pays for an insured person?s reasonable and necessary medical or funeral expenses for bodily injury from an accident. Collision: This pays for damage to your car caused by an accident. Comprehensive: This applies if your car is stolen or damaged by causes other than collision, including fire, wind, hail, flood or vandalism. Uninsured motorist: This pays for damages when an insured person is injured in a crash caused by another person who does not have liability insurance or by a person who cannot be identified (usually a hit-and-run driver). Under-insured motorist: This pays for damages when an insured person is injured in a crash caused by another person who does not have enough liability insurance to cover the full amount of the damages. Other coverage, such as emergency road service and car rental, is also available.Your auto insurance payments vary by company and will depend on several factors, including: * What coverage you select * The make and model of the car you drive * Your driving record * Your age, sex and marital status and * Where you live Many people think of auto insurance as a necessary evil, but it can save your financial well-being. Evaluate your needs, do your research and with the help of your insurance agent choose the option that best suits you.


Source: http://www.bizblawg.com/insurance-and-what-it-means-to-you-6/

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Sunday, September 16, 2012

New class of proteins allows breast cancer cells to evade Tyrosine ...

Aberrant regulation of cell growth pathways is required for normal cells to become cancerous, and in many types of cancer, cell growth is driven by a group of enzymes known as receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs).

The RTK epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed in over 30% of breast cancers; however, drugs that target RTKs, known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have not been effective in treating breast cancer.

Researchers believe that the cancer cells escape TKIs by circumventing the RTKs and utilizing other enzymes that are not TKI-sensitive.

In the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, two groups identify a pair of related oncogenes, FAM83A and B, which allow breast cancer cells to survive TKI treatment. Researchers led by Mina Bissell at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, CA performed a screen of human breast cancer cell lines to identify genes that make cancer cells resistant to EGFR TKIs.

Bissell and colleagues determined that increased expression of FAM83A increases proliferation and invasion, while decreased expression delays tumor growth in mice and renders cancer cells sensitive to TKIs. At Case Western Reserve Medical School in Cleveland, OH, Mark Jackson and colleagues identified FAM83B as a gene that allows normal human mammary cells to become malignant.

Further, expression of FAM83A and B in human tumors was correlated with decreased overall survival. Taken together, these studies identify two genes that may serve as novel therapeutic targets.

In a companion piece, Steven Grant of the Medical College of Virginia discusses the impact of this research on the development of strategies to overcome resistance to currently available TKIs.

TITLE: FAM83B mediates EGFR- and RAS-driven oncogenic transformation, http://www.jci.org/articles/view/60517?key=54f5069a5953e8a04eee

Source: http://www.sciencecodex.com/new_class_of_proteins_allows_breast_cancer_cells_to_evade_tyrosine_kinase_inhibitors-98466

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Friday, September 14, 2012

Romney, Obama trade barbs over Middle East attacks

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republican challenger Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama's administration on Wednesday of showing weakness in the face of tumultuous events that left four U.S. diplomats dead in the Middle East and jolted the race for the White House. Obama retorted that his rival "seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later."

Even some Republicans questioned Romney's handling of the issue, calling it hasty. Top GOP leaders in Congress pointedly declined to endorse his criticism of the president.

Said Obama: "It's important for you to make sure that the statements that you make are backed up by the facts. And that you've thought through the ramifications before you make 'em."

Obama-the-political-candidate's unusually personal criticism, which came in an interview with CBS, stood in contrast to his appearance outside the White House earlier in the day. Then, he somberly mourned the deaths and announced the deployment of additional Marines at diplomatic posts overseas in his capacity as commander in chief.

"And make no mistake. Justice will be done" he declared, referring to those responsible for the murders of Chris Stevens, U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three others.

The four diplomats were killed on Tuesday as protesters overran and burned the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. In a separate incident, the American Embassy in Cairo was breached by protesters, and the nation's flag was ripped down, although no deaths were reported there.

The political fallout came as U.S. officials investigated whether the attack in Libya was a terrorist strike planned to mark the 11th anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Initial reports were that both the Libya and Egypt events had been motivated by anger over an amateur film made in the United States that ridiculed Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

Either way, some Republicans joined Democrats in questioning Romney's decision to inject himself into the situation thousands of miles away with his critical statement Tuesday night.

He followed up with morning remarks in which he blasted the administration's initial statement from Cairo as disgraceful and "akin to apology."

He added, "It's never too early for the United States government to condemn attacks on Americans and to defend our values."

Appearing in Jacksonville, Fla., Romney quickly broadened his remarks to emphasize other disagreements he has with Obama on national security issues, citing "differences of opinion with regards to Israel and our policies there; with regards to Iran, with regards to Afghanistan, with regards to Syria."

The events unfolded with less than eight weeks remaining in the race for the White House, a campaign that has been close for months and appears likely to be settled in fewer than 10 battleground states.

The state of the economy has been the top issue by far from the beginning of the race, and recent surveys suggest Romney holds a narrowing advantage over the president when it comes to plans for reducing the nation's unemployment rate of 8.1 percent.

The situation has long been different on foreign policy. Asked in a Washington Post-ABC News poll last week which candidate was better suited to handle international affairs, registered voters picked Obama by a margin of 51 percent to 38 percent.

The Republican challenger has worked to whittle away at that deficit, and he made a heavily publicized overseas trip early this summer as part of his effort. He drew mixed reviews at best? reproached by British officials, for example, when he appeared to question preparations for the Olympic Games in London.

Nor has Obama ceded any territory. Speeches and video presentations at last week's Democratic National Convention were heavily stocked with references to the daring raid the president ordered more than a year ago that resulted in the death of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Romney, on Wednesday, defended his decision to issue his criticism Tuesday night, at a time it was not yet known that Stevens had been killed. Asked if he would have done so had he been aware of the deaths, he said, "I'm not going to take hypotheticals about what would have been known and so forth."

Gordon Johndroe, a national security aide during George W., Bush's presidency, said Romney's reaction as a candidate was quicker than he would be able to make if he were president.

"Events happen quickly but the information at first is very vague and uncertain. You don't know who has done the attack, how many people, who was attacked, were people just injured or killed. It takes a while for information to come through, and you have to be very careful and cautious when responding."

While Obama initially chose not to respond to Romney, he shed his reluctance later in the day and compared Romney's reaction unfavorably to the way many other Republicans responded.

"And so I think if you look at how most Republicans have reacted, most elected officials, they reacted responsibly," Obama said. "Waiting to find out the facts before they talked, making sure that our No. 1 priority is the safety, the security of American personnel. It appears that Gov. Romney didn't have his facts right."

Top Republican leaders in Congress did not come to Romney's defense as they ? like the GOP challenger and the president ? mourned the deaths of the fallen diplomats.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Obama "correctly tightened the security overseas." Asked about Romney's remarks, he declined to answer and walked toward his office in the Capitol.

House Speaker John Boehner issued a brief statement condemning the violence against the U.S., as did Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, but neither included any reference to the president.

Romney's account didn't mesh completely with events in Cairo.

The embassy statement that he referred to as akin to apology was issued by the embassy in Cairo at midday on Tuesday at a time the staff was aware of still-peaceful demonstrations in the area nearby. It was four or five hours later when the mob breached the compound's walls and tried to burn a U.S. flag.

The embassy statement condemned "the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims ? as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions," and noted that religious freedom is a cornerstone of American democracy.

Romney added that the White House later "distanced itself" from the statement, saying it hadn't been cleared by senior officials in Washington. "That reflects the mixed signals they're sending to the world."

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, in an interview later in the day, also said the initial statement had come as the embassy was under attack. "I disagree with the original statements that the embassy put out ? that the administration put out in Cairo sympathizing with the people who were storming the embassy. We should stand up for our values," he said.

While top Republican leaders in Congress avoided criticism of Obama, other GOP lawmakers were not as reluctant.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., noted the timing of the events and said, "America has suffered as a result of President Obama's failure to lead and his failed foreign policy of appeasement and apology."

Rep. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon of California said: "Again and again under President Obama we have met threats and thugs with apologies and concessions. Unsurprisingly, these mobs aren't satisfied with apologies any more. They have clearly been escalating the offensive in the war of ideas for some time."

___

Associated Press writers Ben Feller in Florida, Steve Peoples in Boston and Philip Elliott, Kasie Hunt, Donna Cassata, Jim Kuhnhenn, Matthew Lee, Ken Thomas and Deputy Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta in Washington contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/romney-obama-trade-barbs-over-middle-east-attacks-212145578--election.html

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Thursday, September 13, 2012

Kirstie Alley defends Tom Cruise, Scientology

Getty Images file

Kirstie Alley in January 2012.

By Peter Gicas, E!Online

Kirstie Alley clearly has Tom Cruise's back.?The actress is coming to her fellow Scientologist's defense in the wake of the latest Vanity Fair cover story, which alleges, among other things, that the Church of Scientology auditioned a female member named Nazanin Boniadi to be the Hollywood top gun's girlfriend before he got together with Katie Holmes. "I think whenever you have articles written that are third and fourth parties' opinions, it's like the game Gossip and you don't get the truth," Alley tells Entertainment Tonight. "I think that a magazine of that caliber should have interviewed him, and then they would get the truth."

Five more jaw-droppers from Vanity Fair's story

The former "Cheers" star also spoke out regarding Scientology itself, saying, "I think that probably all religions sound bizarre to people who are not the practitioners of them."

Read the Church of Scientology's response to the article

She adds, "To me, it's so normal, and probably 90 percent of the crazy stuff I hear isn't true."

See what Cruise has been up to following his split from Holmes?

While Cruise himself has remained mum regarding the article's claim, his attorney, Bert Fields, told E! News exclusively last week that Vanity Fair's story "is essentially a rehash of tired old lies previously run in the supermarket tabloids, quoting the same bogus 'sources.' It's long, boring and false."

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/09/12/13831508-fellow-scientologist-kirstie-alley-defends-tom-cruise?lite

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California man confirms role in anti-Islam film

CORRECTS NATIONALITY OF FILMMAKER - Egyptian soldiers stand guard in front of the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012, as part of widespread anger across the Muslim world about a film ridiculing Islam's Prophet Muhammad. A man identifying himself as Sam Bacile, a 56-year-old California real estate developer, said he wrote, produced and directed the movie. He told the AP he was an Israeli Jew and an American citizen. But Israeli officials said they had not heard of Bacile and there was no record of him being a citizen. Arabic on the wall reads, "anyone but God's prophet." (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

CORRECTS NATIONALITY OF FILMMAKER - Egyptian soldiers stand guard in front of the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012, as part of widespread anger across the Muslim world about a film ridiculing Islam's Prophet Muhammad. A man identifying himself as Sam Bacile, a 56-year-old California real estate developer, said he wrote, produced and directed the movie. He told the AP he was an Israeli Jew and an American citizen. But Israeli officials said they had not heard of Bacile and there was no record of him being a citizen. Arabic on the wall reads, "anyone but God's prophet." (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The search for those behind the provocative, anti-Muslim film implicated in violent protests in Egypt and Libya led Wednesday to a California Coptic Christian convicted of financial crimes who acknowledged his role in managing and providing logistics for the production.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, told The Associated Press in an interview outside Los Angeles that he helped with logistics for the filming of "Innocence of Muslims," which mocked Muslims and the prophet Muhammad and may have caused inflamed mobs that attacked U.S. missions in Egypt and Libya. He provided the first details about a shadowy production group behind the film.

Nakoula denied he directed the film and said he knew the self-described filmmaker, Sam Bacile. But the cell phone number that AP contacted Tuesday to reach the filmmaker who identified himself as Sam Bacile traced to the same address near Los Angeles where AP found Nakoula. Federal court papers said Nakoula's aliases included Nicola Bacily, Erwin Salameh and others.

Nakoula told the AP that he was a Coptic Christian and said the film's director supported the concerns of Christian Copts about their treatment by Muslims.

Nakoula denied he had posed as Bacile. During a conversation outside his home, he offered his driver's license to show his identity but kept his thumb over his middle name, Basseley. Records checks by the AP subsequently found it and other connections to the Bacile persona.

The AP located Bacile after obtaining his cell phone number from Morris Sadek, a conservative Coptic Christian in the U.S. who had promoted the anti-Muslim film in recent days on his website. Egypt's Christian Coptic population has long decried what they describe as a history of discrimination and occasional violence from the country's Arab majority.

Pastor Terry Jones of Gainesville, Fla., who burned Qurans on the ninth anniversary of 9/11, said he spoke with the movie's director on the phone Wednesday and prayed for him. He said he has not met the filmmaker in person, but the man contacted him a few weeks ago about promoting the movie.

"I have not met him. Sam Bacile, that is not his real name," Jones said. "I just talked to him on the phone. He is definitely in hiding and does not reveal his identity. He was quite honestly fairly shook up concerning the events and what is happening. A lot of people are not supporting him."

The film was implicated in protests that resulted in the burning of the U.S. consulate Tuesday in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.

Libyan officials said Wednesday that Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other embassy employees were killed during the mob violence, but U.S. officials now say they are investigating whether the assault was a planned terrorist strike linked to Tuesday's 11-year anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

Nakoula, who talked guardedly about his role, pleaded no contest in 2010 to federal bank fraud charges in California and was ordered to pay more than $790,000 in restitution. He was also sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered not to use computers or the Internet for five years without approval from his probation officer.

The YouTube account, "Sam Bacile," which was used to publish excerpts of the provocative movie in July, was used to post comments online as recently as Tuesday, including this defense of the film written in Arabic: "It is a 100 percent American movie, you cows."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Leigh Williams said Nakoula set up fraudulent bank accounts using stolen identities and Social Security numbers, then checks from those accounts would be deposited into other bogus accounts from which Nakoula would withdraw money at ATM machines.

It was "basically a check-kiting scheme," the prosecutor told the AP. "You try to get the money out of the bank before the bank realizes they are drawn from a fraudulent account. There basically is no money."

The actors in the film issued a joint statement Wednesday saying they were misled about the project and said some of their dialogue was crudely dubbed during post-production.

In the English language version of the trailer, direct references to Muhammad appear to be the result of post-production changes to the movie. Either actors aren't seen when the name "Muhammad" is spoken in the overdubbed sound, or they appear to be mouthing something else as the name of the prophet is spoken.

"The entire cast and crew are extremely upset and feel taken advantage of by the producer," said the statement, obtained by the Los Angeles Times. "We are 100 percent not behind this film and were grossly misled about its intent and purpose. We are shocked by the drastic rewrites of the script and lies that were told to all involved. We are deeply saddened by the tragedies that have occurred."

The person who identified himself as Bacile and described himself as the film's writer and director told the AP on Tuesday that he had gone into hiding. But doubts rose about the man's identity amid a flurry of false claims about his background and role in the purported film.

Bacile told the AP he was an Israeli-born, 56-year-old, Jewish writer and director. But a Christian activist involved in the film project, Steve Klein, told AP on Wednesday that Bacile was a pseudonym and that he was Christian.

Klein had told the AP on Tuesday that the filmmaker was an Israeli Jew who was concerned for family members who live in Egypt.

Officials in Israel said there was no record of Bacile as an Israeli citizen.

When the AP initially left a message for Bacile, Klein contacted the AP from another number to confirm the interview request was legitimate then Bacile called back from his own cell phone.

Klein said he didn't know the real name of the man he called "Sam," who came to him for advice on First Amendment issues.

About 15 key players from the Middle East ? from Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran and a couple Coptic Christians from Egypt ? worked on the film, Klein said.

"Most of them won't tell me their real names because they're terrified," Klein said. "He was really scared and now he's so nervous. He's turned off his phone."

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, said Klein is a former Marine and longtime religious-right activist who has helped train paramilitary militias at a California church. It described Klein as founder of Courageous Christians United, which conducts protests outside abortion clinics, Mormon temples and mosques.

It quoted Klein as saying he believes that California is riddled with Muslim Brotherhood sleeper cells "who are awaiting the trigger date and will begin randomly killing as many of us as they can."

In his brief interview with the AP, Bacile defiantly called Islam a cancer and said he intended the film to be a provocative political statement condemning the religion.

But several key facts Bacile provided proved false or questionable. Bacile told AP he was 56 but identified himself on his YouTube profile as 74. Bacile said he is a real estate developer, but Bacile does not appear in searches of California state licenses, including the Department of Real Estate.

Hollywood and California film industry groups and permit agencies said they had no records of the project under the name "Innocence of Muslims," but a Los Angeles film permit agency later found a record of a movie filmed in Los Angeles last year under the working title "Desert Warriors."

A man who answered a phone listed for the Vine Theater, a faded Hollywood movie house, confirmed that the film had run for a least a day, and possibly longer, several months ago, arranged by a customer known as "Sam."

Google Inc., which owns YouTube, pulled down the video Wednesday in Egypt, citing a legal complaint. It was still accessible in the U.S. and other countries.

Klein told the AP that he vowed to help make the movie but warned the filmmaker that "you're going to be the next Theo van Gogh." Van Gogh was a Dutch filmmaker killed by a Muslim extremist in 2004 after making a film that was perceived as insulting to Islam.

"We went into this knowing this was probably going to happen," Klein said.

___

Braun reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Shaya Tayefe Mohajer and Michael Blood in Los Angeles, Tamara Lush in Tampa, Fla., and AP researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-09-13-Egypt-Filmmaker/id-055ae61ab6f544539d827b46d7f05159

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iOS 6 GM seed now available for developers

iOS 6 seeded to developers ahead of official launch

Developers, start your engines: the GM (Golden Master) seed of iOS 6 is now available and ready for download on Apple's Developer page. Essentially, the GM seed is the final version of the OS sent out to developers -- as an opportunity to fully test their apps -- before the rest of the general public, which will take place on September 19th. The Xcode 4.5 GM seed is now available as well. Head to the link below, log into your developer account, and venture over to the iOS Dev Center to find the download links.

Update: it looks like it's fully working now. Hop to it!

Filed under: , , ,

iOS 6 GM seed now available for developers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/ios-6-seeded-to-developers-ahead-of-official-launch/

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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Distinguished Professor given Anthropology Award ? CAS News ...

Distinguished Professor of anthropology James Skibo has recently been presented with the Society for American Anthropology?s award for Excellence in Archaeology for his life-long work and achievements in the field of archaeological ceramic studies. Skibo received the award during the SAA?s annual meeting this past April in Memphis.Distinguished Professor James Skibo

Skibo, who was named distinguished professor at the beginning of 2012, has earned an international reputation with his research?which spans the fields of ceramic analysis, archaeological theory, and ethnoarchaeology, and has a strong focus on the American Upper Midwest, the American Southwest, and the Philippines. Skibo has, for over a decade now, been the director of the Grand Island Archaeological Program in Grand Island, Michigan. The program allows students to gain hands on experience by in archaeological techniques while at the same time participate in the highly regarded research program.

The recipient of numerous awards and grants to support his research, Skibo is constantly involving students in the process. He is a mainstay in aiding seniors with their capstone projects. He is also the editor of The Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory?, one of the highest ranked journals in archaeology. He has written 10 books and over 40 scholarly journal articles. His book Pottery Function?published in 1992?is considered to be a definitive text on pottery use-alteration, and has garnered an impressive number of citations from other scholars across the globe.

Congratulations to James Skibo on this well-earned award.

Source: http://cas.illinoisstate.edu/sites/casnews/2012/09/10/james_skibo_award/

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Video: Tony Danza gets surprise visitor from his past

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/48969482#48969482

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Monday, September 10, 2012

Simply Living...For Him: Homeschooling is Messy

Welcome! Have you subscribed to this blog yet? You will be encouraged to simplify all areas of your life... straight to your email!??Subscribe?here!
As I looked around my house one day this week, I thought about what if someone unexpectedly stopped in? Would I shudder and cringe at the display of our messes? Yes, at one time I would.

Not anymore.

We homeschool. We Live. And it's messy.

Yup.?

We clean up as we go along {or at least do our very best to try} and by the end of the day everything is back in order. ?

?I have this house for living in,?

and we are going to live in it.


It's a home, a classroom, a safe haven.

So if things get out of order during the day, I deal with it by making sure to teach the children we must put things back as we use them. From just a pencil down to craft supplies...put it back when you are finished and it won't be missing when you need it.

Clutter stresses me out, so I try to eliminate as many extras around as possible.


Yet I realize that so much of their creativity is stifled when I am too aware of the mess.

These children are only children once.?

Right now they are living their memories of someday...

What do I want them to remember?

So, at any given moment during a weekday you may stop in and see:

  • Homemade playdough in every corner of the kitchen
  • Dried beans scattered about the kitchen while preschooler sorts them (and drops many in the process)
  • Books just about everywhere
  • Craft supplies strewn on the table
  • Creations hanging from the curtain rod, including a mobile of the days of Creation?(at first I cringed, and then I saw the proud looks on my children's faces when they displayed their work)
  • Scraps of papers from a preschooler learning to cut
  • Two dead wasps my son brought in to look at under the microscope (yup...)
  • Legos pretty much anywhere in the house (seems to be a universal problem for those with boys)
  • Dress up clothes out from the play the children made for me
  • Many, many possiblites, these just name a few!

So I am learning to let them be in the moment. God cares about their hearts on the inside and not the outside. Of course, we must learn to take care of our home, but I am OK with the unexpected visit...come in and see my mess...


It'll be clean later, but right now the children are learning...and making memories...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh I remember the days of trying to do it all in my own strength, of worrying what everyone thought, and comparing myself to everyone else. Read more about how I found freedom in ?letting God lead our homeschool, and the joy I found in being called to homeschool! Read all about it in my latest eBook...

Called Home: Finding Joy in Letting God Lead Your Homeschool has been #1 for best selling homeschool eBooks this week! Have you ordered your copy yet? Available for PDF download or Kindle at Amazon. com?


Looking to keep it simple this year? Are you looking to eliminate clutter?

Simply Homeschool?is still just $0.99 for download or for Kindle at Amazon.com or PDF download- Click?here?for more info

Source: http://www.simplylivingforhim.com/2012/09/homeschooling-is-messy.html

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'Star Trek Into Darkness' Confirmed As Sequel Title

Throw away your "Untitled Star Trek Sequel." Forget all about "Star Trek 2." None of these stand-in titles for J.J. Abrams' follow-up to his 2009 reboot matter anymore because we may finally have an official one, "Star Trek Into Darkness." The title saga goes all the way back to January when the sequel began production [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/09/10/star-trek-into-darkness-sequel-title/

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Testosterone marketing frenzy draws skepticism

WASHINGTON (AP) ? "Are you falling asleep after dinner?"

"Do you have a decrease in libido?"

"Have you noticed a recent deterioration in your ability to play sports?"

"It could be Low-T."

Welcome to the latest big marketing push by U.S. drug companies. In this case, it's a web page for Abbott Laboratories' Androgel, a billion-dollar selling testosterone gel used by millions of American men struggling with the symptoms of growing older that are associated with low testosterone, such as poor sex drive, weight gain and fatigue.

Androgel is one of a growing number of prescription gels, patches and injections aimed at boosting the male hormone that begins to decline after about age 40. Drugmakers and some doctors claim testosterone therapy can reverse some of the signs of aging ? even though the safety and effectiveness of such treatments is unclear.

"The problem is that we don't have any evidence that prescribing testosterone to older men with relatively low testosterone levels does any good," says Dr. Sergei Romashkan, who oversees clinical trials for the National Institute on Aging, a part of the National Institutes of Health conglomerate of research centers.

Low testosterone is the latest example of a once-natural part of getting old that has become a target for medical treatment. Bladder problems, brittle bones and hot flashes have followed a similar path: from inconvenient facts of life, to ailments that can be treated with drugs. The rise of such therapies is being fueled by both demographics and industry marketing.

Baby boomers are living longer and looking for ways to deal with the infirmities of old age: Life expectancy in the U.S. today is 78 years, up from 69 years a half-century ago. And companies have stepped up their marketing to the older crowd: Spending on print and television ads promoting testosterone by firms like Abbott and Eli Lilly has risen more than 170 percent in the last three years to more than $14 million in 2011, according to advertising tracker Kantar Media.

Doctors say that's led to an increase in men seeking treatment for low testosterone. Prescriptions for the hormone have increased nearly 90 percent over the last five years, according to IMS Health. Last year, global sales reached $1.9 billion.

"People are living longer and want to be more active," says Dr. Spyros Mezitis, a hormone specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. "They no longer consider that because they're older they shouldn't have sexual intercourse."

Former marathon runner Damon Lease, 50, had been complaining of low energy and depression, for which his doctor prescribed a combination of four psychiatric drugs. But since he started taking twice-a-week testosterone injections in May, he says he's been able to stop taking two of the medications and hopes to eliminate them completely. He says he has more energy, improved mood and concentration.

"I spent 27 years running long distances, I like biking, I like hiking, and I guess every guy wants to have an active sex life ... I want to keep doing those things as long as I can," says Lease, who works as a software company executive. "I feel 20 years younger."

MASS-MARKET HORMONE

Despite its rising popularity, testosterone therapy is not completely new. Testosterone injections were long used for men with hypogonadism, a disorder defined by low testosterone caused by injury or infection to the reproductive or hormonal organs.

But the latest marketing push by drugmakers is for easy-to-use gels and patches that are aimed at a much broader population of otherwise healthy older men with low testosterone, or androgen deficiency. The condition is associated with a broad range of unpleasant symptoms ranging from insomnia to depression to erectile dysfunction. Drug companies peg this group at about 15 million American men, though federal scientists do not use such estimates.

Watson Pharmaceuticals now markets its Androderm patch, which slowly releases testosterone into the bloodstream. Abbott has its gel that can be applied to the shoulders and arms. And Eli Lilly's Axiron is an underarm gel that rolls on like deodorant. Androderm, launched last year, had $87 million in sales, and Axiron, which was launched in 2010, had sales of $48 million last year.

"All of a sudden you've got these big players with a lot of money using consumer directed marketing to change the landscape," said Dr. Natan Bar-Chama, a male reproductive specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. "They see the potential, they see the market growth annually and it's very impressive."

But government researchers worry that medical treatments have gotten ahead of the science.

Male testosterone is mainly produced in the testes and affects muscle mass, sperm production and various sexual characteristics. The hormone can easily be checked with a blood test, but doctors can't agree on what constitutes a low reading in older men. Typical testosterone levels for younger men range between 300 and 1,000 nanograms per deciliter, but once levels begin dropping there is little consensus on what makes a "normal number."

Some doctors believe testosterone levels below 300 lead to sexual dysfunction in older men, but the rule does not cover all cases. A 2010 study by researchers at the University of Manchester and other European institutions found that 25 percent of men with testosterone levels above that threshold had the same sexual problems used to diagnose low testosterone. Adding to the ambiguity is that testosterone levels change by the hour, so a man who takes a blood test for testosterone in the morning may get a completely different reading when tested in the afternoon.

SAFETY CONCERNS

Adding to the confusion over what defines "low testosterone," there's not much understanding of whether testosterone replacement therapy actually improves men's symptoms. Evidence of the benefits of testosterone is mixed, and the potential health risks are serious. The largest study conducted to date, a 2008 trial involving 230 patients in the Netherlands, found no improvement in muscle strength, cognitive thinking, bone density or overall quality of life among men taking testosterone. Muscle mass increased 1.2 percent, but not enough to improve physical mobility.

The National Institute on Aging is currently conducting an 800-man trial to definitively answer whether testosterone therapy improves walking ability, sexual function, energy, memory and blood cell count in men 65 years and older. But those results aren't expected until 2014.

In addition to concerns about testosterone's effectiveness, the long-term side effects of the hormone are not entirely understood because most trials to date have only followed patients for a few months. But the most serious risks include heart problems and prostate cancer. In fact, all testosterone drugs carry a warning that the hormone should not be given to men who have a personal or family history of prostate cancer.

In 2010, researchers at Boston University's school of medicine halted a large study of testosterone in senior men because patients taking the hormone were five times more likely to suffer a serious heart event, including congestive heart failure, than those taking placebos. A review of 19 testosterone trials in 2006 found that prostate cancer was significantly higher among men taking testosterone.

Also in 2006, the Endocrine Society published the first physician guidelines for prescribing testosterone for men with androgen deficiency. All six of the co-authors had received consulting fees or research funding from drug makers that market testosterone. Despite those ties, the authors took a cautious tone, stressing the difficulty of accurately diagnosing low testosterone and acknowledging that they were unable to reach an agreement about when doctors should begin therapy. They also recommend doctors have an "explicit discussion of the uncertainty about the risks and benefits of testosterone therapy."

History has shown that hormone replacement therapy can be dangerous. That hit home for women in 2002 when a landmark study shook up the conventional wisdom about the benefits of estrogen replacement therapy for menopause, the period when women stop producing eggs and the hormone estrogen. The federal study found that women taking hormone pills were more likely to suffer heart attacks, breast cancer and strokes. Doctors now generally recommend hormones only to relieve severe menopause symptoms ? in the lowest possible dose and for the shortest possible time.

In the case of testosterone, Abbott Laboratories says Androgel and other drugs like it are an important treatment option for men with low levels of the hormone. But the company acknowledges that more study is needed.

"Abbott believes that the long-term effects of testosterone replacement therapy should be studied, which is why we continually fund and support additional clinical trials, such as the National Institute of Aging's testosterone trial," the company says.

Doctors who prescribe testosterone say more men should be talking to their doctors about the hormone. "If an older man feels excessively tired or his erectile dysfunction has worsened he should be asking 'Is there something wrong with my testosterone?'" says Mezitis of Lenox Hill Hospital. "The awareness should be much broader than it is at this point."

Even critics of the testosterone craze acknowledge that the interest in anti-aging products may be inevitable as life expectancy increases. But they say doctors can do more to help seniors by focusing on lifestyle adjustments that keep them connected to their friends and family, rather than prescribing drugs.

"We really 'medicalize' seniors so much that they think the secret always has to be scientific," says Dr. Nortin Hadler of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has written four books on excessive medical care. "We need another perspective to understand the secrets to healthy aging, which by and large are not pills."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/testosterone-marketing-frenzy-draws-skepticism-143400245--finance.html

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