Dell investors may still gain after Blackstone pullout: Barron's

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dell shareholders could still stand to profit even after Blackstone Group LP withdrew its bid to buy the world's No. 3 personal computer maker more than a week ago, Barron's said on Sunday.

On April 19, Blackstone's move knocked Dell shares to a two-month low and narrowed the fight for Dell between activist investor Carl Icahn and the company's founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners, the newspaper said.

Blackstone dropped its bid for Dell at $14.25 a share, citing deteriorating demand for PCs.

On Friday, Dell's stock closed at $13.35, below the $13.65-a-share proposed buyout from its founder and Silver Lake.

"Dell shares now look appealing because investors stand to make a small profit if the Michael Dell-led offer gets approved," the paper said in its April 29 edition.

Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management, Dell's largest independent shareholder that complained the buyout offer being too low, have valued the company at more than $20 a share, Barron's said.

Icahn proposed in early March, about a month after the Dell/Silver Lake's announced its bid, for a $9-a-share special dividend. He has not made a formal offer for Dell, which Barron's said could involve a tender of 58 percent of the PC marker's stock at $15 per share.

If a Icahn offer does not emerge, Wall Street analysts reckon Dell might fall as low as $10 a share, the paper said.

The planned buyout, which has angered Southeastern and other major investors, faces a tough shot of being approved, excluding its founder who owns 16 percent of the company, according to the paper.

If Dell/Silver Lake bid fails, it will be "welcome news for Dell investors, who could then benefit from alternatives that offer immediate and long-term benefits that probably far exceed $13.65 a share," Barron's said.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dell-investors-may-still-gain-blackstone-pullout-barrons-165754162.html

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Italy's new leader promises to ease taxes

ROME (AP) ? Italy's new premier on Monday made immediate concessions to his uneasy coalition allies, promising to ease part of a slate of austerity measures that have weighed on Italians impatient at the slow pace of economic recovery.

While pledging the country will do what the eurozone wants to improve its public finances and debt problem, the center-left leader had to placate his tense two-day-old coalition, including former premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservatives, whose support he needs for confirmation votes in Parliament.

Bending in part to a key Berlusconi campaign promise, Letta said his government will immediately suspend an unpopular tax on primary residences due in June and make it fairer to less affluent taxpayers. He also pledged not to raise the sales tax and to reduce some payroll taxes.

"Reducing taxes is a priority," Letta said, promising he would "pinpoint a strategy to revive growth without interfering with the process to heal finances."

The European Union has insisted on rigorous austerity to heal Italy's finances, but the public's patience has been tried by spending cuts and higher taxes. Voters across the continent have been rebelling against governments that have imposed such measures.

While Letta stressed the urgency of reducing the tax burden on homeowners, consumers and businesses, he didn't say how he planned to make up for the reduced revenues. He might have to resort to more spending cuts, which could ultimately sharpen an already harsh part of the austerity agendas.

Markets appeared pleased over Letta's brand new government. Italy's stock market was trading up some 2.2 percent at the market's close, while the country's borrowing costs on its 10-year bonds dropped below 4 percent for the first time since 2010.

Letta's government must be confirmed Tuesday in the Senate. The failure of Letta's party to win both chambers in the February election left the nation in political paralysis until he agreed to a deal on Saturday with Berlusconi.

Berlusconi had demanded that the new government honor his No. 1 campaign promise to voters ? abolishing the property tax on primary residences and refunding what Italians paid in the tax last year. Letta didn't say if last year's property tax payments would be refunded, but a top Berlusconi aide immediately shouted victory and insisted it would be.

"If Letta wants the PDL votes, this is the condition posed in a coalition government," an exultant Brunetta told state TV, referring to the initials of Berlusconi's party.

Standard & Poor's rating services said that it wasn't clear yet whether the government can put growth reforms in place, but said Letta's initial comments "suggest an intention to slow, but not to reverse" the pace of austerity.

Intent on reassuring eurozone governments and European Union officials that despite his demanding coalition partners, Italy's would stay the course of economic reform, Letta will soon visit major European capitals. He begins in Berlin on Tuesday, assuming his government wins the Senate confidence vote.

He'll also visit Paris and Brussels to give, as he put it, a "sign that this is a European and a pro-Europe government."

He vowed to keep the sales tax from rising to 22 percent from 21 percent in July, as predecessor Mario Monti's government had planned. Italy's business sector is worried the higher tax would discourage consumers from buying everything from washing machines to new clothing.

The new premier also pledged to reduce payroll taxes for businesses hiring the young or those currently on temporary work contracts.

Italy's central bank said Monday that Italian companies were suffering ever more as loans dry up, with banks reluctant to make risky deals.

Italians are impatient after 18 months of austerity budget, pension reform and new taxes under Monti to see jobs return and the small and medium firms that power the economy bounce back. Letta denounced the "anger and conflict" that the five-year economic slump has triggered.

On Sunday, an unemployed man shot and wounded two police officers Sunday in a crowded square outside the prime minister's office at the same time the government was being sworn in elsewhere in the capital.

The premier indicated his impatience with the political class' failure to enact reforms. He indicated that he would give this legislature 18 months to make serious inroads or he might throw in the towel. However, virtually nobody expects the new government to last anywhere near Parliament's five-year term.

___

Barry reported from Milan.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italys-leader-promises-ease-taxes-191019411.html

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Gabby Douglas Literally Flips Out For McDonald's

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/gabby-douglas-literally-flips-out-for-mcdonalds/

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HTC One 1.29 update now live in the UK

Stability fixes, as well as Zoe, camera, Betas Audio and location service tweaks in first OTA

After a limited roll-out in some European countries this past week, the update to software version 1.29.401.12 is now live for unlocked HTC One users in the UK. The update includes stability improvements and bug fixes, in addition to tweaks to the location service, HTC Zoe, camera "parameter tuning" and Beats Audio.

Upon first inspection we're not noticing any significant differences between this and the previous 1.28 firmware, but we'll take HTC at its word that it's been busy on improvements throughout the firmware. The update weighs in at a substantial 229MB, suggesting an abundance of new stuff has made its way into the code base.

The firmware is still based on Android 4.1.2, so it looks like the HTC One will have to wait some more for its 4.2 update.

To grab the new firmware on your unlocked UK HTC One, simply head to Settings > About > Software updates and hit the button. As always, carrier-branded devices may have to wait a little longer for their update to start rolling out. Be sure to hit the comments if you've spotted any significant changes in the new firmware.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Lw446-0c09M/story01.htm

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Political Devolution : Kaieteur News

There has been an interesting discussion between PM Sam Hinds and former Minister of Education Dr Henry Jeffrey about possible ways of moving out of our Sisyphean political paradigm.
However while debating ?shared government? versus ?shared governance?, both interlocutors, like other politicians of the modern era, studiously ignored the possibility that our unitary state-structure might be part of the problem.
It would appear that Sir Arthur Lewis? 1964 commendation of ?coalition and federalism? for the institutionalisation of democracy in plural societies, has been forgotten.
I offer the following from my ?For a New Political Culture?, mentioned last week, to illustrate my point: ?Democracy? and ?plural societies? are not mutually exclusive but on the other hand one must recognise the obstacles the latter condition poses to the former ideal.
Over the last twenty-five years, (forty-five if we accept Dr Jeffrey?s thesis that the PPP practiced the same governance model albeit using different mechanisms) Guyana has experienced one ?solution? to the problem of a plural society: an authoritarian de-facto one party state that attempted to impose unity by militarising the society under a purported ?non-ethnic? ideology.
It was a complete failure: new approaches are necessary.
The proposals attempt to directly address conflicts in a plural society and this is an essential aspect of the process of integration.
The incentives that groups would be given to negotiate and bargain, over time should provide the basis for these groups to recognise their mutual interdependence and unity.
Approaches towards ameliorating the intensity of ethnic politics and moving it away from a zero sum position fall under two broad approaches: structural and distributive.
The two strategies are not mutually exclusive and in fact can be tailored to complement each other.
They incorporate five mechanisms to reduce conflict and encourage cooperation.
? Dispersal of power from away from the centre, towards the periphery where each ethnic group may have a share.
? Creating incentives for intra-ethnic rather than inter-ethnic rivalries.
? Creating incentives for inter-ethnic cooperation.
? Initiating policies, which emphasize interests other than ethnic ones.
? Reducing the gap between the various groups in contested areas.
One important caveat is that innovations should not be frozen in perpetuity; there must be mechanisms for incorporating changes as the society inevitably progresses and evolves and as the consequences of the initiatives are greater appreciated.
In this excerpt we focus on Political Devolution and suggest that Guyana should be reconstituted as a Federal Republic. In a society where the major ethnic groups each constitute majorities in different areas of the country, as in Guyana, political devolution offers the largest number of initiatives towards addressing ethnic insecurity.
There are several variants of devolution, ranging from strong Local Government to Federalism. The latter arrangement offers the most benefits to Guyana.
1. Abolishing winner-take-all politics.
In a federal structure, the central government would be concerned with national issues such as defence and foreign policy.
There would be substantial autonomy to the separate states, which will guarantee that the inhabitants of each state have real power over their lives.
Police functions, local development, local taxation and spending are only a few of the functions of the State Governments.
African Guyanese, for instance, would possess real power in Demerara, while the same would be true for Indian Guyanese in Berbice and Amerindian Guyanese in the interior states.
2. Removing the struggle for power at the centre.
When the centre does not possess all the power, the struggle to control it is not as intense.
The competition will be distributed among the states as groups within attempt to control. National politics will not be a zero sum game; ?losers? will still be guaranteed power at the state level.
3. Creating intra-ethnic rivalry
Fragmentation of the electorate leads to a lesser possibility of the majority dominating. Guyanese Indian politicians, dominant in Berbice or the Essequibo Coast, are more likely to see themselves as rivals for power at the centre.
Additionally, within a state, since one ethnic group will have an overwhelming majority, intra-ethnic rivalry will develop since no threat will be perceived to be coming from ?out groups? and there will be no place for ?not splitting the vote?.
4. Encouraging coalitions at the centre
In a situation where different interests will be represented at the centre, there will be incentives for cooperation between various states to ensure the implementation of common programs.
5. Creating fluidity and multi-polar balance rather than the previous bipolar confrontation.
As the various states manoeuvre for the maximum benefits for their citizens, the alliances at the centre will shift, depending on the issue. This should move the conflict from the more volatile bipolar mode.
6. Furthering the political philosophy of Government being responsive to the people and never overwhelming them.
The closer Government is to the people the more responsive it ought to be.
The state government should be the most sensitive to the idiosyncrasies of its citizens and region.
Local courts for instance would be most sympathetic to autochthonous needs.

Source: http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2013/04/28/political-devolution/

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Before Bombs, a Battered American Dream

The New York Times:

It was a blow the immigrant boxer could not withstand: after capturing his second consecutive title as the Golden Gloves heavyweight champion of New England in 2010, Tamerlan Anzorovich Tsarnaev, 23, was barred from the national Tournament of Champions because he was not a United States citizen.

Read the whole story at The New York Times

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/27/tamerlan-tsarnaev-radicalization_n_3171702.html

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Android developers now banned from bypassing Google?s Play Store app updates

* Lewandowski scored four goals against Real Madrid * Poland international refuses contract extension (adds details, background) BERLIN, April 26 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski have not signed a deal, the newly-crowned champions said on Friday, shooting down widespread speculation of another imminent surprise transfer. "Bayern, as opposed to some reports, has no contract with Robert Lewandowski," the Bavarian Champions League semi-finalists said in a brief statement. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/android-developers-now-banned-bypassing-google-play-store-231537898.html

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Belief in God Can Improve Mental Health Outcomes | Psych Central ...

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on April 26, 2013

A new study suggests belief in God may significantly improve the outcome of those receiving short-term treatment for psychiatric illness.

Researchers followed patients receiving care from a hospital-based behavioral health program to investigate the relationship between patients? level of belief in God, expectations for treatment and actual treatment outcomes.

In the study, published in the current issue of Journal of Affective Disorders, researchers comment that people with a moderate to high level of belief in a higher power do significantly better in short-term psychiatric treatment than those without.

?Belief was associated with not only improved psychological well-being, but decreases in depression and intention to self-harm,? says David H. Rosmarin, Ph.D., an instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

The study looked at 159 patients, recruited over a one-year period. Each participant was asked to gauge their belief in God as well as their expectations for treatment outcome and emotion regulation, each on a five-point scale.

Levels of depression, well-being, and self-harm were assessed at the beginning and end of their treatment program.

Of the patients sampled, more than 30 percent claimed no specific religious affiliation yet still saw the same benefits in treatment if their belief in a higher power was rated as moderately or very high.

Patients with ?no? or only ?slight? belief in God were twice as likely not to respond to treatment as patients with higher levels of belief.

Investigators believe the study demonstrates that a belief in God is associated with improved treatment outcomes in psychiatric care.

?More centrally, our results suggest that belief in the credibility of psychiatric treatment and increased expectations to gain from treatment might be mechanisms by which belief in God can impact treatment outcomes.?

Investigators hope that the study will lead to additional investigation on the clinical implication of spirtual life as more than 90 percent of the U.S. population hold religious beliefs.

Source: McLean Hospital

APA Reference
Nauert PhD, R. (2013). Belief in God Can Improve Mental Health Outcomes. Psych Central. Retrieved on April 26, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/04/26/belief-in-god-improves-mental-health-outcomes/54121.html

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Source: http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/04/26/belief-in-god-improves-mental-health-outcomes/54121.html

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Dutch man arrested in Spain in connection with cyber attack

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A 35-year-old Dutch man has been arrested in Barcelona by Spanish police over last month's massive cyber attack which disrupted global internet services, the Dutch public prosecutor's office said on Saturday.

The man, who was identified by the Dutch public prosecutor only by the initials "S.K.", was arrested in connection with attacks on Spamhaus, the public prosecutor's office said, adding that the house where he was staying was also searched, and that the police seized computers and mobile phones.

Spamhaus, a London and Geneva-based non-profit group which helps weed out unsolicited "spam" messages for email providers, said last month it had been subjected to "distributed denial of service" or DDoS attacks on an unprecedented scale for more than a week.

"(S.K.) is suspected of unprecedented heavy attacks on the non-profit organization Spamhaus, where anti-spam databases are managed. These so-called DDoS attacks last month were also performed on Spamhaus partners in the United States, the Netherlands and Great Britain," the prosecutor's office said.

The man is expected to be expected to be handed over to the Dutch authorities, according to the statement.

Spamhaus publishes blacklists used by Internet service providers (ISPs) to weed out spam in email traffic.

The group is directly or indirectly responsible for filtering as much as 80 percent of daily spam messages, according to Cloudflare, a company that said it was helping Spamhaus mitigate the attack.

(Reporting by Sara Webb; Editing by Stephen Powell)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dutch-man-arrested-spain-connection-cyber-attack-205011534.html

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Microsoft is desperately trying to steal users away from Android

WARSAW, April 25 (Reuters) - Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski played down his stunning one-man demolition of Real Madrid, saying he had played better than Wednesday's four-goal masterclass. The Poland international scored all his team's goals in a 4-1 win over the nine-times champions in their Champions League semi-final first leg. "In the second half Real Madrid did not know how they should play, at some moments they were helpless," Lewandowski told the Polish pay-TV platform nc+. "We took the first step (towards the final). "I felt confident, but there were even better matches. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-desperately-trying-steal-users-away-android-194004253.html

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Scientists image nanoparticles in action

Apr. 25, 2013 ? The macroscopic effects of certain nanoparticles on human health have long been clear to the naked eye. What scientists have lacked is the ability to see the detailed movements of individual particles that give rise to those effects.

In a recently published study, scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute invented a technique for imaging nanoparticle dynamics with atomic resolution as these dynamics occur in a liquid environment. The results will allow, for the first time, the imaging of nanoscale processes, such as the engulfment of nanoparticles into cells.

"We were stunned to see the large-ranged mobility in such small objects," said Deborah Kelly, an assistant professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute. "We now have a system to watch the behaviors of therapeutic nanoparticles at atomic resolution."

Nanoparticles are made of many materials and come in different shapes and sizes. In the new study, Kelly and her colleagues chose to make rod-shaped gold nanoparticles the stars of their new molecular movies. These nanoparticles, roughly the size of a virus, are used to treat various forms of cancer. Once injected, they accumulate in solid tumors. Infrared radiation is then used to heat them and destroy nearby cancerous cells.

To take an up-close look at the gold nanoparticles in action, the researchers made a vacuum-tight microfluidic chamber by pressing two silicon-nitride semiconductor chips together with a 150-nanometer spacer in between. The microchips contained transparent windows so the beam from a transmission electron microscope could pass through to create an atomic-scale image.

Using the new technique, the scientists created two types of visualizations. The first included pictures of individual nanoparticles' atomic structures at 100,000-times magnification -- the highest resolution images ever taken of nanoparticles in a liquid environment.

The second visualization was a movie captured at 23,000-times magnification that revealed the movements of a group of nanoparticles reacting to an electron beam, which mimics the effects of the infrared radiation used in cancer therapies.

In the movie, the gold nanoparticles can be seen surfing nanoscale tidal waves.

"The nanoparticles behaved like grains of sand being concentrated on a beach by crashing waves," said Kelly. "We think this behavior may be related to why the nanoparticles become concentrated in tumors. Our next experiment will be to insert a cancer cell to study the nanoparticles' therapeutic effects on tumors."

The team is also testing the resolution of the microfluidic system with other reagents and materials, bringing researchers one step closer to viewing live biological mechanisms in action at the highest levels of resolution possible.

The study appeared in the April 14 print edition of Chemical Communications in the article "Visualizing Nanoparticle Mobility in Liquid at Atomic Resolution," by Madeline Dukes, an applications scientist at Protochips Inc. in Raleigh, N.C.; Benjamin Jacobs, an applications scientist at Protochips; David Morgan, assistant manager of the Cryo-Transmission Electron Microscopy Facility at Indiana University Bloomington; Harshad Hegde, a computer scientist at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute; and Kelly, who is also an assistant professor of biological sciences in the College of Science at Virginia Tech.

Video: http://research.vtc.vt.edu/videos/2013/apr/11/nanoparticles-action/

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Virginia Tech. The original article was written by Ken Kingery.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Madeline J. Dukes, Benjamin W. Jacobs, David G. Morgan, Harshad Hegde, Deborah F. Kelly. Visualizing nanoparticle mobility in liquid at atomic resolution. Chemical Communications, 2013; 49 (29): 3007 DOI: 10.1039/C3CC41136B

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/SJCcdpS4XPc/130425142436.htm

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Boston victims face huge bills; donations pour in

FILE - Medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston, Monday, April 15, 2013. More than 200 were injured in the bombings and no one knows yet what the total medical costs will be. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

FILE - Medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston, Monday, April 15, 2013. More than 200 were injured in the bombings and no one knows yet what the total medical costs will be. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

FILE - From left, a microprocessor controlled ankle/foot prosthetic, a shock foot vertical loading pylon prosthetic and a flexible keel foot prosthetic, are displayed at the Orthotic Prosthetic Center in Fairfax, Va. on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012. More than 200 were injured in the Boston Marathon bombings and no one knows yet what the total medical costs will be. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

This 2011 photo provided by Rose Bissonnette shows her, the founder of the Lancaster, Mass.-based New England Amputee Association, in Manchester, N.H. Bissonnette said the moment she heard about the April 15, 2013, Boston Marathon bombings, she knew immediately that her organization?s services would be needed. The advocacy group helps amputees navigate things like insurance coverage for artificial limbs. More than 200 were injured in the bombings and no one knows yet what the total medical costs will be. (AP Photo/Rose Bissonnette)

Cost of amputating a leg? At least $20,000. Cost of an artificial leg? More than $50,000 for the most high-tech models. Cost of an amputee's rehab? Often tens of thousands of dollars more.

These are just a fraction of the medical expenses victims of the Boston Marathon bombing will face.

The mammoth price tag is probably not what patients are focusing on as they begin the long healing process. But friends and strangers are already setting up fundraisers and online crowd-funding sites, and a huge Boston city fund has already collected more than $23 million in individual and corporate donations.

No one knows yet if those donations ? plus health insurance, hospital charity funds and other sources ? will be enough to cover the bills. Few will even hazard a guess as to what the total medical bill will be for a tragedy that killed three people and wounded more than 260. At least 15 people lost limbs, and other wounds include head injuries and tissue torn apart by shrapnel.

Health insurance, as practically anyone who has ever gotten hurt or sick knows, does not always cover all costs. In the case of artificial limbs, for example, some insurance companies pay for a basic model but not a computerized one with sophisticated, lifelike joints.

Rose Bissonnette, founder of the New England Amputee Association, said that the moment she heard about the bombings, she knew immediately that her organization's services would be needed. The advocacy group helps amputees navigate things such as insurance coverage for artificial limbs.

Bissonnette shared one group member's struggle to get coverage for artificial arms as an example of the red tape some bombing victims could face. The woman "got a call from the insurance company and the person on the other end said, 'How long are you going to need the prosthetic hands?'" Bissonnette recalled.

Bissonnette herself was in a horrific car crash 16 years ago that left her with injuries similar to those facing the Boston victims. Her mangled lower left leg had to be amputated and her right ankle was partially severed. Her five-month hospital stay cost more than $250,000. Health insurance covered all her treatment, rehab and her prosthesis.

Health economist Ted Miller noted that treating just one traumatic brain injury can cost millions of dollars, and at least one survivor has that kind of injury. He also pointed out that the medical costs will include treating anxiety and post-traumatic stress ? "an issue for a whole lot more people than just people who suffered physical injuries," he said.

Adding to the tragedy's toll will be lost wages for those unable to work, including two Massachusetts brothers who each lost a leg, Miller said. They had been roofers but may have to find a new line of work.

Many survivors will also need help with expenses beyond immediate health care, including things like modifying cars for those who lost limbs or remodeling homes to accommodate wheelchairs.

Many survivors live in Massachusetts, a state that requires residents to have health insurance, "which should cover most of their required treatment," said Amie Breton, spokeswoman for Massachusetts' consumer affairs office. "The total cost of that treatment is impossible to calculate at this early stage."

Amputees may face the steepest costs, and artificial legs are the costliest. They range from about $7,200 for a basic below-the-knee model to as much as $90,000 for a high-tech microprocessor-controlled full leg, said Dr. Terrence Sheehan, chief medical officer for Adventist Rehabilitation Hospital in Rockville, Md., and medical director of the Amputee Coalition, a national advocacy group.

Legs need to be replaced every few years, or more often for very active users or those who gain or lose weight. Limb sockets need to be replaced even more often and also cost thousands of dollars each, Sheehan said.

Massachusetts is among about 20 states that require health insurers to pay for prosthetic limbs, but many plans don't cover 100 percent of those costs, Sheehan said. "Most are skimpy beyond basic prosthetics and they have not caught up with current available technology," he said.

"The insurer will use terminology such as 'not medically necessary'" to deny computerized feet or knees that can often make the patient better able to function and more comfortable and safe, Sheehan said.

Some insurers may be willing to make exceptions for the Boston blast survivors.

"We will work to ensure that financial issues/hardship will not pose a barrier to the care that affected members' need," said Sharon Torgerson, spokeswoman for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, one of the state's largest health insurers.

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, another big insurer, is changing its policy and will pay for some of the more expensive bionic limbs when there is a demonstrated need, said Dr. Michael Sherman, chief medical officer. He said that 15 blast survivors admitted to hospitals are Harvard Pilgrim customers and that the insurance company is discussing "whether we might absorb some of the copays and deductibles."

"This is a terrorist act, and our only thought here is about providing support," he said.

The 26 hospitals that have treated bombing victims have charity funds that will cover some of the costs, said Tim Gens, executive vice president of the Massachusetts Hospital Association. Some injured residents may be eligible for Massachusetts' public health funds for the uninsured or underinsured. People with huge medical bills they can't afford are eligible, regardless of income.

Gens said hospitals are still focused on treating survivors, not on costs.

"It's an extraordinary shock to so many individuals. The hospitals are working very hard to make sure that each family gets the support they need. Billing is not an issue they're addressing right now," Gens said.

At Massachusetts General Hospital, where 31 victims have gotten treatment, chief financial officer Sally Mason Boemer said bills "create a lot of stress. Our assumption is there will be sources we can tap through fundraising." Boemer added: "Now is not the time to add additional stress to patients."

Bombings survivor Heather Abbott said Thursday she has already gotten offers of help to pay for an artificial leg. The 38-year-old Newport, R.I., woman was waiting in line to get into a crowded bar when the bombs went off.

"I felt like my foot was on fire. I knew I couldn't stand up," she recalled from her hospital bed. Surgeons amputated her left leg below the knee.

A big chunk of charity money for survivors will come from One Fund Boston, established by Boston's mayor and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

The fund has gotten more than $20 million in donations. Determining who gets what is still being worked out, but victims' insurance status and place of residence won't be a factor, said Kenneth Feinberg, the fund administrator. He oversaw the 9/11 compensation fund during its first three years, distributing more than $7 billion to 5,300 families and victims.

Grass-roots fundraising efforts include online funds set up by friends and relatives of the victims.

Those victims include Roseann Sdoia, a Boston woman who was near the marathon finish line when the blasts occurred. Sdoia was hit by shrapnel, fire and a tree that became a projectile and injured her left leg, the funding site says. Her right leg had to be amputated above the knee. After several operations, Sdoia has started rehab.

"She is a fighter and her attitude is phenomenal," said her friend and former sorority sister, Christine Hart, who set up the site. More than $270,000 has been raised for Sdoia so far, money that may help pay for an artificial leg, transportation to and from rehab, and modifications to her car or home, Hart said.

The donations will help make sure "that finances are not part of the burden" she has to bear, Hart said.

Other funds have been set up in communities like Stoneham, a Boston suburb that counts at least five current or former residents among the victims. A Stoneham Strong fundraising event is set for Friday evening, with participants asked to circle the high school track to show support for the marathon victims. Hundreds are expected, said organizer Shelly MacNeill.

"The outpouring has been unbelievable," she said.

___

AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson contributed to this report.

___

Donations: http://www.onefundboston.org; http://www.gofundme.com/BelieveinBoston

____

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-04-25-Boston%20Marathon-Costs/id-22e9482b0b2f4ba9885fb9cf7fba855c

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P&G's product push to weigh on profit, shares fall

By Jessica Wohl

(Reuters) - Procter & Gamble Co said on Wednesday that profit would fall more than Wall Street anticipated this quarter as it increases spending to promote several new products.

The news spooked investors who do not want to wait until 2014 for better sales increases. Shares of the world's largest household products maker fell as much as 6 percent after closing at an all-time high of $82.54 (54 pounds) on Tuesday.

"There's a lot of frustration that they've been talking about a lot of actions they've been taking but we haven't really seen an acceleration in the sales growth," said David Blount, co-portfolio manager of the Growth & Income Fund at Eagle Asset Management, which includes P&G shares.

The company, maker of Pampers diapers, Gillette razors and many other products, has been under greater scrutiny to improve after cutting profit expectations in the past and learning that activist investor Bill Ackman invested in the stock.

Cincinnati-based P&G also posted a fiscal third-quarter profit on Wednesday that topped estimates despite sales that were weaker than both the company and analysts had anticipated.

Chief Executive Bob McDonald was roasted by analysts on a conference call a year ago when P&G gave a profit warning. While Wednesday's call was not as tense, analysts wanted to know why the company has not yet posted better sales growth more than a year into its turnaround.

P&G, which announced a $10 billion restructuring in February 2012, said that its push for more innovation means that several products such as new Iams pet foods and Olay skin creams will soon hit stores. After cutting billions of dollars in costs, along with eliminating hundreds of more jobs than anticipated, it will now spend more to promote those new goods and even to build the plants to produce them around the world.

FOURTH-QUARTER FORECAST

For the current fourth quarter ending in June, P&G said profit should fall to 69 cents to 77 cents per share, while analysts expected it to earn 81 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. P&G earned 82 cents per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012.

The company cited factors including weak market growth, higher marketing and other costs and volatility in Venezuela, Argentina, Egypt, Syria and South Korea.

Wednesday's fiscal third-quarter results were a sharp departure from the fiscal second quarter, when P&G raised its annual profit forecast and its shares jumped. On Wednesday, on the heels of the better-than-expected third quarter profit, it raised only the bottom end of its annual forecast range by 2 cents per share.

"They're still making progress, they're still on the right track, it is just going to be a little more slowly than what people expected," said Edward Jones analyst Jack Russo.

P&G insists that its forecast is "realistic, not conservative," especially given the headwinds it faces such as volatility in Venezuela and elsewhere, Chief Financial Officer Jon Moeller told analysts.

Along with spending on marketing to promote its new products, P&G is dealing with what it calls a "choppy" economic recovery, and sees a 1 to 2 percent impact on its sales this year from foreign exchange rates.

Its shares slid as low as $77.48 on Wednesday and were last trading down 4.7 percent at $78.05, wiping out nearly all of this month's gains. Shares of rivals such as Colgate-Palmolive Co and Kimberly-Clark Corp were down less than 2 percent.

JOB CUTS EXCEED GOAL

While products such as single-dose Tide Pods laundry detergent have boosted U.S. sales, P&G said it still needs to figure out the formula for getting products such as Pantene shampoo and Olay skin creams to stand out among competitors. Net sales decreased in the hair care and skin care business in the latest quarter.

P&G is taking the right steps by cutting costs, bringing out new products and growing in developing markets, but it is important for it to show progress in the beauty unit in the next quarter or two, said Russo.

P&G said it earned 99 cents per share on a core basis in the quarter ended in March, topping analysts' target of 96 cents. Core earnings exclude items such as restructuring charges.

Overall sales rose 2 percent to $20.598 billion while analysts were looking for sales of $20.73 billion. The company had forecast 3 to 4 percent in sales growth.

P&G's organic sales, which strip out the impact of divestitures and foreign exchange changes, grew 3 percent - at the low end of its forecast of 3 to 4 percent.

On a net basis, the company earned $2.57 billion, or 88 cents per share, in the fiscal third quarter. That was up from $2.41 billion, or 82 cents per share, a year earlier.

McDonald declined to comment on any discussions he may have been having with Ackman, who is known to push for change at companies in which he invests. Ackman's Pershing Square had a 1.02 percent stake in P&G, or 27.95 million shares, as of December, making it P&G's eighth-largest shareholder, according to Thomson Reuters data.

P&G said it now plans to repurchase $6 billion of its stock this year, at the high end of its prior forecast for $5 billion to $6 billion in buybacks. Last June, P&G decided to hold off on buybacks, but in August quickly reverted back to its usual plan.

P&G also said it had cut 6,250 jobs as of March 31, ahead of its goal to cut 5,700 jobs by the end of June.

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl; in Chicago; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Matthew Lewis)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/p-gs-product-push-weigh-profit-shares-fall-183923286--sector.html

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Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield Tie the Knot!

The two TV stars are hitched! See more stars who made their romances official.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/celebrity-weddings-0/1-b-16623?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Acelebrity-weddings-0-16623

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South Africa: Tutu admitted to hospital

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? A South African foundation says retired archbishop Desmond Tutu has checked into a Cape Town hospital for treatment of a persistent infection.

The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation said the Nobel Peace Prize laureate will undergo tests to discover the cause of the infection.

The foundation says 81-year-old Tutu spent Wednesday morning in his office before going to the hospital and was in good spirits. It says the non-surgical treatment is expected to take five days.

Tutu was a vigorous campaigner against the system of white racist rule known as apartheid, which ended when democratic elections were held in 1994.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-africa-tutu-admitted-hospital-144412764.html

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Majority Say Pipeline More Important Than Climate Change

A new poll released this week by Nik Nanos, a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, revealed that the majority of Americans and Canadians feel that the energy security that could be provided by the Keystone XL pipeline is more important than concerns over climate change.

* According to the poll, 63 percent of Americans think that having North America free from importing oil from outside the continent is more important than reducing greenhouse gases. Thirty percent of respondents felt that reducing greenhouse gases was the priority of the two issues.

* In Canada, 55 percent selected freeing North America for imported oil as more important, while 38 percent chose addressing greenhouse gases.

* Seventy percent of Americans and 60 percent of Canadians are favorable to the idea of the Keystone pipeline, Nanos' poll revealed, with 74 and 68 percent respectively stating that they support or somewhat support proceeding with the project.

* Seventy-six percent of Americans and 66 percent of Canadians feel that a continental energy strategy should be pursued, and most of those polled from each country felt that there should be common environmental standards.

* When asked about the importance of reducing greenhouse gases separately from the issue of the Keystone XL pipeline, a majority of both Americans and Canadians felt that the issue was important.

* Eighty-eight percent of Americans feel that ensuring a stable energy supply is important, but that number drops to 60 percent in Canada.

* Eleven percent of Americans and 14 percent of Canadians expressed that reducing greenhouse gases is unimportant.

* The survey, which was conducted randomly on 1,007 Americans and 1,013 Canadians in late March and early April, is in sharp contrast to reports of thousands of Americans vowing a pledge of resistance against the Keystone pipeline.

* According to the Houston Chronicle, 60,000 people have stated that they will risk arrest to fight the pipeline.

* Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter to the U.S. State Department, urging the department to do a more thorough analysis of the risks of oil spills and alternative pipeline routes, in addition to a study of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the pipeline.

* A State Department draft report of the $7 billion pipeline project in March indicated that it will not create environmental impacts, the Associated Press reported.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/majority-pipeline-more-important-climate-change-194400155.html

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Samsung Galaxy S4 versus HTC One: The editors face off

The UK's Alex Dobie and the USA's Phil Nickinson take on two of the year's hottest phones

With the release of the Samsung Galaxy S4, the Android smartphone battle lines are drawn. Samsung’s new flagship will go up against the HTC One, and it’s sure to be a fierce fight. Samsung needs to maintain the lead it established in 2012; for HTC, the future of the company depends on the success of the HTC One.

So which one should you buy? As always, it’s never as simple as recommending one device over the other. That’s why we’re launching into a little discussion with Alex and Phil, where we’ll try to spell out exactly where each device is strongest.

Join us after the break as we go back and forth on the HTC One versus Galaxy S4. There’s also a good old-fashioned video comparison, if you’re into that sort of thing.

More: Samsung Galaxy S4 review

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Q9Tq4-60L6g/story01.htm

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Food and Environmental Virology adds society affiliation

Public release date: 23-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Joan Robinson
joan.robinson@springer.com
49-622-148-78130
Springer

Journal to team up with the International Society for Food and Environmental Virology

Springer's journal Food and Environmental Virology is now the official publication of the International Society for Food and Environmental Virology. The new affiliation takes effect immediately. The journal, founded in 2009 by Springer, was accepted in January 2013 by Medline, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's bibliographic database.

Food and Environmental Virology publishes original articles, notes and reviews on research relating to the transmission of human, animal, and plant pathogenic viruses through the environment (water, air, soil, etc.) and foods. Topics include epidemiological studies, identification of novel and emerging pathogens, methods of analysis or characterization, studies on survival and elimination, and the development of procedural controls for industrial processes.

Nigel Cook, Editor-in-Chief of Food and Environmental Virology and Councilor of the society, said, "The society is delighted to work in partnership with Springer, which shares our vision of international cooperation and communication. This official journal will significantly further our aim of knowledge dissemination to address the ongoing challenges of pathogenic viruses in food and the environment."

Susan Safren, Senior Editor, Food Science at Springer, said, "We are grateful to Nigel Cook and commend him and the editorial board for building a successful journal in such a short period of time. I'm confident that our partnership with the newly formed society will not only strengthen the journal, but also enhance the society's mission in addressing critical issues in this field."

The International Society for Food and Environmental Virology aims to encourage research and knowledge exchange to improve the understanding of, and prevent diseases associated with, viruses transmitted via the environment and food. The society links researchers from academia with professionals from industry and policy decision makers, to promote research in the field and to cooperatively meet the ongoing challenges of food and environmental virology.

###

Springer Science+Business Media is a leading global scientific, technological and medical publisher, providing researchers in academia, scientific institutions and corporate R&D departments with quality content via innovative information products and services. Springer is also a trusted local-language publisher in Europe especially in Germany and the Netherlands primarily for physicians and professionals working in healthcare and road safety education. Springer published roughly 2,200 English-language journals and more than 7,500 new books in 2012, and the group is home to the world's largest STM eBook collection, as well as the most comprehensive portfolio of open access journals. In 2012, Springer Science+Business Media S.A. generated sales of approximately EUR 981 million. The group employs more than 7,000 individuals across the globe.

---

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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: 23-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Joan Robinson
joan.robinson@springer.com
49-622-148-78130
Springer

Journal to team up with the International Society for Food and Environmental Virology

Springer's journal Food and Environmental Virology is now the official publication of the International Society for Food and Environmental Virology. The new affiliation takes effect immediately. The journal, founded in 2009 by Springer, was accepted in January 2013 by Medline, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's bibliographic database.

Food and Environmental Virology publishes original articles, notes and reviews on research relating to the transmission of human, animal, and plant pathogenic viruses through the environment (water, air, soil, etc.) and foods. Topics include epidemiological studies, identification of novel and emerging pathogens, methods of analysis or characterization, studies on survival and elimination, and the development of procedural controls for industrial processes.

Nigel Cook, Editor-in-Chief of Food and Environmental Virology and Councilor of the society, said, "The society is delighted to work in partnership with Springer, which shares our vision of international cooperation and communication. This official journal will significantly further our aim of knowledge dissemination to address the ongoing challenges of pathogenic viruses in food and the environment."

Susan Safren, Senior Editor, Food Science at Springer, said, "We are grateful to Nigel Cook and commend him and the editorial board for building a successful journal in such a short period of time. I'm confident that our partnership with the newly formed society will not only strengthen the journal, but also enhance the society's mission in addressing critical issues in this field."

The International Society for Food and Environmental Virology aims to encourage research and knowledge exchange to improve the understanding of, and prevent diseases associated with, viruses transmitted via the environment and food. The society links researchers from academia with professionals from industry and policy decision makers, to promote research in the field and to cooperatively meet the ongoing challenges of food and environmental virology.

###

Springer Science+Business Media is a leading global scientific, technological and medical publisher, providing researchers in academia, scientific institutions and corporate R&D departments with quality content via innovative information products and services. Springer is also a trusted local-language publisher in Europe especially in Germany and the Netherlands primarily for physicians and professionals working in healthcare and road safety education. Springer published roughly 2,200 English-language journals and more than 7,500 new books in 2012, and the group is home to the world's largest STM eBook collection, as well as the most comprehensive portfolio of open access journals. In 2012, Springer Science+Business Media S.A. generated sales of approximately EUR 981 million. The group employs more than 7,000 individuals across the globe.

---

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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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/s-fae042313.php

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Miley Cyrus Wedding: Still An Eventual Go, Source Claims

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/miley-cyrus-wedding-still-an-eventual-go-source-claims/

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'Breaking Bad,' 'Under the Dome' actor shows support for film ...

Submitted by Allyson Lorick on Mon, 04/22/2013 - 5:54pm.READ MORE:

WILMINGTON, NC (Twitter) -- As thousands gathered to take a stand for the state's film incentives Saturday, some famous actors filming in the Port City rallied support, too.

Dean Norris, known as Hank Schrader in AMC's series, "Breaking Bad," tweeted pictures and blurbs in support of the cause.

Norris, who's in town filming the upcoming TV series "Under the Dome," tweeted "NC film incentive rally! Downtown Wilmington," followed by a tweet that read, "Film = jobs," including a picture of himself at the event.

Area leaders and supporters at the rally say the film industry provides Wilmington with jobs and revenue, and they will continue to fight for the industry.

Click here to visit Norris' Twitter account.

Disclaimer: Comments posted on this, or any story are opinions of those people posting them, and not the views or opinions of WWAY NewsChannel 3, its management or employees. You can view our comment policy here.

?

Source: http://www.wwaytv3.com/2013/04/22/breaking-bad-under-the-dome-actor-shows-support-for-film-incentives-wilmington

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Method makes it easier to separate useful stem cells from 'problem' ones for therapies

Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Shaun Mason
smason@mednet.ucla.edu
310-206-2805
University of California - Los Angeles

UCLA study IDs small molecule that destroys potentially dangerous cells

Pluripotent stem cells can turn, or differentiate, into any cell type in the body, such as nerve, muscle or bone, but inevitably some of these stem cells fail to differentiate and end up mixed in with their newly differentiated daughter cells.

Because these remaining pluripotent stem cells can subsequently develop into unintended cell types bone cells among blood, for instance or form tumors known as teratomas, identifying and separating them from their differentiated progeny is of utmost importance in keeping stem cellbased therapeutics safe.

Now, UCLA scientists have discovered a new agent that may be useful in strategies to remove these cells. Their research was published online April 15 in the journal Developmental Cell and will appear in an upcoming print edition of the journal.

The study was led by Carla Koehler, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA, and Dr. Michael Teitell, a UCLA professor of pathology and pediatrics. Both are members of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In work using the single-celled microorganism known as baker's yeast, or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as a model system, Koehler, Teitell and their colleagues had discovered a molecule called MitoBloCK-6, which inhibits the assembly of cells' mitochondria the energy-producing "power plants" that drive most cell functions. The research team then tested the molecule in a more complex model organism, the zebrafish, and demonstrated that MitoBloCK-6 blocked cardiac development.

However, when the scientists introduced MitoBloCK-6 to differentiated cell lines, which are typically cultured in the lab, they found that the molecule had no effect at all. UCLA postdoctoral fellow Deepa Dabir tested the compound on many differentiated lines, but the results were always the same: The cells remained healthy.

"I was puzzled by this result, because we thought this pathway was essential for all cells, regardless of differentiation state," Koehler said.

The team then decided to test MitoBloCK-6 on human pluripotent stem cells. Postdoctoral fellow Kiyoko Setoguchi showed that MitoBloCK-6 caused the pluripotent stem cells to die by triggering apoptosis, a process of programmed cell suicide.

Because the tissue-specific daughter cells became resistant to death shortly after their differentiation, the destruction of the pluripotent stem cells left a population of only the differentiated cells. Why this happens is still unclear, but the researchers said that this ability to separate the two cell populations could potentially reduce the risk of teratomas and other problems in regenerative medicine treatment strategies.

"We discovered that pluripotent stem cell mitochondria undergo a change during differentiation into tissue-specific daughter cells, which could be the key to the survival of the differentiated cells when the samples are exposed to MitoBloCK-6," Teitell said. "We are still investigating this process in mitochondria, but we now know that mitochondria have an important role in controlling pluripotent stem cell survival."

MitoBloCK-6 is what is known as a "small molecule," which can easily cross cell membranes to reach mitochondria. This quality makes MitoBloCK-6 or a derivative compound with similar properties ideal for potential use as a drug, because it can function in many cell types and species and can alter the function of mitochondria in the body for therapeutic effects.

"It is exciting that our research in the one-cell model baker's yeast yielded an agent for investigating and controlling mitochondrial function in human pluripotent stem cells," Koehler said. "This illustrates that mitochondrial function is highly conserved across organisms and confirms that focused studies in model systems provide insight into human stem-cell biology. When we started these experiments, we did not predict that we would be investigating and controlling mitochondrial function in pluripotent stem cells."

###

The research was supported by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, and the Development and Promotion of Science and Technology Talents Project of the Royal Thai Government.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research: UCLA's stem cell center was launched in 2005 with a UCLA commitment of $20 million over five years. A $20 million gift from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation in 2007 resulted in the renaming of the center. With more than 200 members, the Broad Stem Cell Research Center is committed to a multidisciplinary, integrated collaboration among scientific, academic and medical disciplines for the purpose of understanding adult and human embryonic stem cells. The center supports innovation, excellence and the highest ethical standards focused on stem cell research with the intent of facilitating basic scientific inquiry directed toward future clinical applications to treat disease. The center is a collaboration of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center, the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and the UCLA College of Letters and Science.

UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has more than 240 researchers and clinicians engaged in disease research, prevention, detection, control, treatment and education. One of the nation's largest comprehensive cancer centers, the Jonsson center is dedicated to promoting research and translating basic science into leading-edge clinical studies. In July 2012, the Jonsson Cancer Center was once again named among the nation's top 10 cancer centers by U.S. News & World Report, a ranking it has held for 12 of the past 13 years.

For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.

---

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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-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Shaun Mason
smason@mednet.ucla.edu
310-206-2805
University of California - Los Angeles

UCLA study IDs small molecule that destroys potentially dangerous cells

Pluripotent stem cells can turn, or differentiate, into any cell type in the body, such as nerve, muscle or bone, but inevitably some of these stem cells fail to differentiate and end up mixed in with their newly differentiated daughter cells.

Because these remaining pluripotent stem cells can subsequently develop into unintended cell types bone cells among blood, for instance or form tumors known as teratomas, identifying and separating them from their differentiated progeny is of utmost importance in keeping stem cellbased therapeutics safe.

Now, UCLA scientists have discovered a new agent that may be useful in strategies to remove these cells. Their research was published online April 15 in the journal Developmental Cell and will appear in an upcoming print edition of the journal.

The study was led by Carla Koehler, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA, and Dr. Michael Teitell, a UCLA professor of pathology and pediatrics. Both are members of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In work using the single-celled microorganism known as baker's yeast, or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as a model system, Koehler, Teitell and their colleagues had discovered a molecule called MitoBloCK-6, which inhibits the assembly of cells' mitochondria the energy-producing "power plants" that drive most cell functions. The research team then tested the molecule in a more complex model organism, the zebrafish, and demonstrated that MitoBloCK-6 blocked cardiac development.

However, when the scientists introduced MitoBloCK-6 to differentiated cell lines, which are typically cultured in the lab, they found that the molecule had no effect at all. UCLA postdoctoral fellow Deepa Dabir tested the compound on many differentiated lines, but the results were always the same: The cells remained healthy.

"I was puzzled by this result, because we thought this pathway was essential for all cells, regardless of differentiation state," Koehler said.

The team then decided to test MitoBloCK-6 on human pluripotent stem cells. Postdoctoral fellow Kiyoko Setoguchi showed that MitoBloCK-6 caused the pluripotent stem cells to die by triggering apoptosis, a process of programmed cell suicide.

Because the tissue-specific daughter cells became resistant to death shortly after their differentiation, the destruction of the pluripotent stem cells left a population of only the differentiated cells. Why this happens is still unclear, but the researchers said that this ability to separate the two cell populations could potentially reduce the risk of teratomas and other problems in regenerative medicine treatment strategies.

"We discovered that pluripotent stem cell mitochondria undergo a change during differentiation into tissue-specific daughter cells, which could be the key to the survival of the differentiated cells when the samples are exposed to MitoBloCK-6," Teitell said. "We are still investigating this process in mitochondria, but we now know that mitochondria have an important role in controlling pluripotent stem cell survival."

MitoBloCK-6 is what is known as a "small molecule," which can easily cross cell membranes to reach mitochondria. This quality makes MitoBloCK-6 or a derivative compound with similar properties ideal for potential use as a drug, because it can function in many cell types and species and can alter the function of mitochondria in the body for therapeutic effects.

"It is exciting that our research in the one-cell model baker's yeast yielded an agent for investigating and controlling mitochondrial function in human pluripotent stem cells," Koehler said. "This illustrates that mitochondrial function is highly conserved across organisms and confirms that focused studies in model systems provide insight into human stem-cell biology. When we started these experiments, we did not predict that we would be investigating and controlling mitochondrial function in pluripotent stem cells."

###

The research was supported by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, and the Development and Promotion of Science and Technology Talents Project of the Royal Thai Government.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research: UCLA's stem cell center was launched in 2005 with a UCLA commitment of $20 million over five years. A $20 million gift from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation in 2007 resulted in the renaming of the center. With more than 200 members, the Broad Stem Cell Research Center is committed to a multidisciplinary, integrated collaboration among scientific, academic and medical disciplines for the purpose of understanding adult and human embryonic stem cells. The center supports innovation, excellence and the highest ethical standards focused on stem cell research with the intent of facilitating basic scientific inquiry directed toward future clinical applications to treat disease. The center is a collaboration of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center, the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and the UCLA College of Letters and Science.

UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has more than 240 researchers and clinicians engaged in disease research, prevention, detection, control, treatment and education. One of the nation's largest comprehensive cancer centers, the Jonsson center is dedicated to promoting research and translating basic science into leading-edge clinical studies. In July 2012, the Jonsson Cancer Center was once again named among the nation's top 10 cancer centers by U.S. News & World Report, a ranking it has held for 12 of the past 13 years.

For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.

---

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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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/uoc--mmi042213.php

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