Weaver, Angels blank Indians 3-0

CLEVELAND (AP) ? Jered Weaver was surrounded. There were baserunners at every corner and trouble everywhere he looked.

He didn't panic or crumble. He did something about it.

Weaver squirmed out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning and pitched into the eighth to remain unbeaten in Cleveland, leading the Angels to a 3-0 win over the Indians on Monday night.

About to lose his shutout, maybe the lead and possibly the game in the seventh, Weaver calmly got three quick outs.

"What he did was awesome." said second baseman Howie Kendrick. "That's why he's our ace."

Weaver (9-1) allowed five singles, struck out two and improved to 5-0 with 1.52 ERA in eight career starts at Progressive Field. Scott Downs worked out of a mess in the eighth and pitched the ninth for his seventh save.

The Indians loaded the bases in the seventh off Weaver, who got a forceout at the plate, foul pop and strikeout to end Cleveland's best threat.

"I don't know the last time that happened, me getting out of something like that," said Weaver, who has allowed just one run in his last 21 2-3 innings. "You want to lock it in when you get in a situation like that. I was able to make some pitches. You try not to do much, but that's easier said than done. You have to make some better pitches and keep those guys off balance as much as possible."

Kendrick homered in the seventh off Ubaldo Jimenez (7-7) as the Angels improved to 16-3 on the road since May 22.

Weaver, who pitched a no-hitter against Minnesota on May 7, allowed two hits through six innings before the All-Star went a little wild in the seventh.

He walked Jason Kipnis leading off and allowed Michael Brantley's single, giving Cleveland its first baserunner at second. Weaver walked Carlos Santana to load the bases and Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher went to the mound to settle down the right-hander.

Turns out, Weaver was never in real danger.

He got Johnny Damon to ground to third baseman Alberto Callaspo, who alertly fired home to force Kipnis. Weaver then retired Casey Kotchman on a pop behind the plate before fanning Shelley Duncan on a nasty slider that was low and way outside.

After the strikeout, Weaver calmly walked to the dugout as if he retired the side in order.

Damon, who is batting just .201, felt he let Weaver off the hook.

"He is a very good pitcher," Damon said. "But unfortunately I let the team down. I was in a situation to, at the worst case, try to push across one run right there, and he gave me some pitches off the plate that I felt like I could drive to left and I didn't. He's a pitcher. He knows what to do. He knows when to flip that slow curveball in there and when to throw his changeup.

"He has control over every pitch."

Weaver was pulled after giving up two singles to start the eighth. Downs came in and induced All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to hit into a double play and popped up Kipnis. Downs then worked a perfect ninth as manager Mike Scioscia chose to stick with the left-hander instead of closer Ernesto Frieri.

Weaver had little difficulty handling a Cleveland lineup that had just scored 32 runs during a four-game series at Baltimore.

Making his third start since coming off the disabled list with a strained lower back, Weaver retired 11 in a row before giving up a leadoff walk in the sixth. He quickly recovered, however, by getting Jack Hannahan to ground into a double play.

Angels rookie center fielder Mike Trout, the AL's leading hitter, was scratched from the starting lineup with a jammed right pinky. Trout hurt his finger diving back into second on Sunday in Toronto. The All-Star reserve had trouble gripping the bat during early batting practice and manager Mike Scioscia rested the 20-year-old before bringing him in as a pinch-runner in the eighth.

Kendrick's homer in the seventh gave Weaver a two-run cushion ? more than enough for the three-time All-Star.

With one out, Kendrick drove a 3-2 pitch from Jimenez over the wall in left for his fifth homer.

The Angels added a run in the eighth when Jimenez walked three ? two intentional ? and forced in a run. Jimenez gave up three runs and eight hits in 7 2-3 innings.

Los Angeles had its own trouble with Jimenez before finally pushing across a run in the fifth on Erick Aybar's sacrifice fly.

NOTES: Angels 1B Albert Pujols stayed in the game after being struck on the left shoulder by catcher Santana's throw in the fourth. ... X-rays on Trout's finger were negative. He has sparked the Angels' turnaround. They were 6-14 when he was called up from the minors on April 28, and are 39-21 since. Trout was named the AL's top rookie for June, when he set franchise rookie records for average (.372), hits (42), runs (27) and steals (14). ... Indians DH Travis Hafner went 0 for 4 in a rehab start for Triple-A Columbus as he continues to recover from knee surgery. Manager Manny Acta expects Hafner to be recalled during the Indians' seven-game homestand.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/weaver-angels-blank-indians-3-0-041150038--mlb.html

blagojevich new mexico state kevin rose sessions march madness scores doonesbury padma lakshmi

Jim Palmer puts Cy Young Awards up for auction

This photo taken June 30, 2012 shows former Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer clapping during a ceremony honoring former manager Earl Weaver in Baltimore. Palmer is planning to auction off three Cy Young Awards and two Gold Gloves.(AP Photo/Gail Burton)

This photo taken June 30, 2012 shows former Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer clapping during a ceremony honoring former manager Earl Weaver in Baltimore. Palmer is planning to auction off three Cy Young Awards and two Gold Gloves.(AP Photo/Gail Burton)

This photo released by Hunt Auctions shows one of three Cy Young Awards and two Gold Gloves awarded to former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer. Palmer no longer has any need for his Cy Young awards, and he also is auctioning off his Gold Gloves. He's rather have the money than the hardware, for all the right reasons. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Hunt Auctions)

BALTIMORE (AP) ? Jim Palmer said he no longer needs trophies as mementos of his Hall of Fame career, so the former Baltimore Orioles ace has put his three Cy Young Awards and two of his four Gold Gloves up for auction.

Palmer, currently a TV analyst for the Orioles, did not say he was financially hurting. He's just looking to make some money by selling some of the hardware he received during his 19-year run in the major leagues.

"At this juncture of my life, I would rather concern myself with the education of my grandchildren," Palmer said. "I also have a stepson, (15-year-old) Spencer, who is autistic and will need special care for the rest of his life. My priorities have changed."

A portion of the profits will also be given to the autism project of Palm Beach County.

Hunt Auctions is taking bids online and over the phone through July 8 for the Cy Young Awards that Palmer won in 1973, 1975 and 1976, as well as the Gold Gloves he earned in 1976 and 1979. The live auction will take place on July 10.

Each of the Cy Young Award trophies, given to the best pitcher in each league by vote, is expected to garner between $60,000 and $80,000. The Gold Gloves are expected to receive bids up to $15,000.

"Certainly, when you talk about Cy Young Awards and Gold Gloves, these are the elite level of personal awards," said David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions.

Palmer is the latest in a long line of Hall of Fame stars to put items up for auction, and his reasoning is not necessarily unique.

"Joe DiMaggio did it. So did Ted Williams," Hunt said. "They lived the moments, and their accomplishments are really the reward. It's not all about dollars and cents, either. They want to make sure the items go to homes where people enjoy them.

"With Jim, we got together and he just decided it was the right time."

Palmer realized his trophies and popularity could be used for charitable gain several years ago when in was Colorado at a fund raiser for cystic fibrosis.

"I donated a Gold Glove, a Cy Young, a round of golf at Caves Country Club and four seats to an Oriole game. And this was back when the Orioles were good ? or better than they are now," he said. "There was a gentleman who had a daughter with cystic fibrosis who paid $39,000 for that and never ever took it. It was for the cause."

Until recently, Palmer kept the three Cy Young Awards on a wall in his Florida home. The Gold Gloves were in storage, mainly because his wife, Susan, didn't want them in their home.

"Gold doesn't go with my wife's design," Palmer said. "She has a design shop for women's wear in Palm Beach, and she doesn't do gold."

Palmer, 66, says he doesn't need polished pieces of hardware to remind him of what he accomplished over 19 seasons.

"You can't erase the memories of 1973 or 1975 when I came back from my arm injury, when I had 10 shutouts and had to win the last day of the year to beat Catfish Hunter to win a Cy Young and get the ERA down to 2.09," he said. "To me, those are things that happened in the past. I'm really lucky to remember all of them. Whether I have the awards or not, it's not going to take those memories away."

Palmer's recollection of the four straight Gold Gloves he received for fielding prowess at his position is just as vivid.

"I was a good fielder to get those, but I didn't win it until Jim Kaat went over to the National League," he said, referring to Kaat's 14-year run of Gold Gloves with the Minnesota Twins.

Palmer hopes his awards end up in the hands of someone who will appreciate them as much as he once did.

"While I am immensely proud to have received these awards, that chapter of my life has passed," he said. "I am aware of people that love baseball and would treasure items like mine. Hopefully, these awards will bring happiness into baseball fans' lives and allow me to make a difference in my family's future."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-07-02-BBO-Palmer-Auction/id-861175be47f54111bf1ee3de7f0011d1

van der sloot heather locklear mlk memorial mlk memorial heather locklear hospitalized joplin tornado extreme makeover home edition

Programmable DNA scissors found for bacterial immune system

Monday, July 2, 2012

Genetic engineers and genomics researchers should welcome the news from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) where an international team of scientists has discovered a new and possibly more effective means of editing genomes. This discovery holds potentially big implications for advanced biofuels and therapeutic drugs, as genetically modified microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, are expected to play a key role in the green chemistry production of these and other valuable chemical products.

Jennifer Doudna, a biochemist with Berkeley Lab's Physical Biosciences Division and professor at the University of California (UC) Berkeley, helped lead the team that identified a double-RNA structure responsible for directing a bacterial protein to cleave foreign DNA at specific nucleotide sequences. Furthermore, the research team found that it is possible to program the protein with a single RNA to enable cleavage of essentially any DNA sequence.

"We've discovered the mechanism behind the RNA-guided cleavage of double-stranded DNA that is central to the bacterial acquired immunity system," says Doudna, who holds appointments with UC Berkeley's Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Department of Chemistry, and is an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). "Our results could provide genetic engineers with a new and promising alternative to artificial enzymes for gene targeting and genome editing in bacteria and other cell types."

Doudna is one of two corresponding authors of a paper in the journal Science describing this work titled "A programmable dual RNA-guided DNA endonuclease in adaptive bacterial immunity." The second corresponding author is Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine at Sweden's Ume? University. Other co-authors of the paper were Martin Jinek, Krzysztof Chylinski, Ines Fonfara and Michael Hauer.

Bacterial and archaeon microbes face a never-ending onslaught from viruses and invading circles of nucleic acid known as plasmids. To survive, the microbes deploy an adaptive-type nucleic acid-based immune system that revolves around a genetic element known as CRISPR, which stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. Through the combination of CRISPRs and associated endonucleases, called CRISPR-associated ? "Cas" ? proteins, bacteria and archaeons are able to utilize small customized crRNA molecules (for CRISPR-derived RNA) to target and destroy the DNA of invading viruses and plasmids.

There are three distinct types of CRISPR/Cas immunity systems. Doudna and her colleagues studied the Type II system which relies exclusively upon one family of endonucleases for the targeting and cleaving of foreign DNA, the Cas9 proteins.

"For the Type II CRISPR/Cas system, we found that crRNA connects via base-pairs with a trans-activating RNA (tracrRNA), to form a two-RNA structure," Doudna says. "These dual RNA molecules (tracrRNA:crRNA) direct Cas9 proteins to introduce double-stranded DNA breaks at specific sites targeted by the crRNA-guide sequence."

Doudna and her colleagues demonstrated that the dual tracrRNA:crRNA molecules can be engineered as a single RNA chimera for site-specific DNA cleavage, opening the door to RNA-programmable genome editing.

"Cas9 binds to the tracrRNA:crRNA complex which in turn directs it to a specific DNA sequence through base-pairing between the crRNA and the target DNA," Doudna says. "Microbes use this elegant mechanism to cleave and destroy viruses and plasmids, but for genome editing, the system could be used to introduce targeted DNA changes into the genome.

Doudna notes that the "beauty of CRISPR loci" is that they can be moved around on plasmids.

"It is well-established that CRISPR systems can be transplanted into heterologous bacterial strains," she says. "Also, there is evidence to suggest that CRISPR loci are horizontally transferred in nature."

Doudna and her colleagues are now in the process of gathering more details on how the RNA-guided cleavage reaction works and testing whether the system will work in eukaryotic organisms including fungi, worms, plants and human cells.

"Although we've not yet demonstrated genome editing, given the mechanism we describe it is now a very real possibility," Doudna says.

###

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: http://www.lbl.gov

Thanks to DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for this article.

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

This press release has been viewed 15 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/121382/Programmable_DNA_scissors_found_for_bacterial_immune_system

telenav wade phillips wade phillips time person of the year sag nominations sag nominations time magazine person of the year

Chaotic commute as storms leave 2M without power

A weekend without electricity was already trying for millions in the sweltering, storm-swept mid-Atlantic region. But Monday morning brings another grim challenge when many embark on a difficult commute over roads with darkened stoplights and likely mass-transit delays.

To alleviate congestion around Baltimore and Washington, federal and state officials gave many workers the option of staying home Monday. Federal agencies will be open in Washington, but non-emergency employees have the option of taking leave or working from home. Maryland's governor also gave state workers wide leeway for staying out of the office.

There were more than 500 signal outages in Maryland on Sunday afternoon, including more than 400 in hard-hit Montgomery County outside the nation's capital, according to the State Highway Administration. There were 100 signal outages in northern Virginia late Sunday afternoon, and 65 roads were closed, although most were secondary roads.

"If you have to drive or need to drive, leave yourself a lot of extra time," Maryland State Highway Administration spokesman Charlie Gischlar said. "There's going to be delays."

Video: Heat adds misery to mid-Atlantic power outage (on this page)

All 86 Metro subway stations in the Washington area were open, but delays were possible Monday because power was being routed through the system to serve some areas where power was not being supplied by commercial utilities, spokesman Dan Stessel said. Some stations in Montgomery County were running on backup power, he said, meaning escalators may not work ? bad news for commuters braving the stifling heat. Metro bus riders were expected to experience significant delays.

'Sultry week'
And it was set to remain unseasonably sweltering, with heat warnings continuing into Monday after hundreds of daily high temperature records were broken throughout the region over the weekend, the National Weather Service said.

At 4.30 a.m. ET on Monday, NBC News reported that more than 2 million people in several states remained without power, leaving them to contend with stifling homes and spoiled food. Temperatures approached or exceeded 100 degrees in many storm-stricken areas, and utility officials said the power will likely be out for several more days.

The heat was set to linger over the East Coast for a few days at least, Weather.com reported.

"High pressure in the upper atmosphere will shift back to the central states, focusing the core of above-average temperatures over that region of the country eastward into mid-Atlantic,? it reported. "Minneapolis, Minn., St. Louis, Mo., Chicago, Ill. and Washington, D.C. are just a few of the cities that should prepare for a sultry week ahead."

Storms' rampage
Emergencies were declared in Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., on Saturday because of damage from storms that unleashed hurricane-force winds across and a 500-mile stretch of the mid-Atlantic region.

Storm-hit East could face power outages for days

The storms' rampage came as sweltering temperatures topped 100 Fahrenheit in several southern cities, including Atlanta, where the mercury hit an all-time record of 106 degrees on Saturday and reached 105 on Sunday.

Over two dozen cities across 10 states set or tied all-time record high temperatures on Friday and Saturday, including Columbia, South Carolina; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Raleigh, North Carolina.

The heat wave continued on Sunday for millions of people from the Plains to the mid-Atlantic. One of the hardest hit cities was Charlotte, North Carolina, where the mercury reached 104 degrees on Sunday.

Slideshow: Storm knocks out power to millions in DC area (on this page)

From St. Louis, Missouri, to Washington, D.C., temperatures were forecast to hit more all-time records.

Severe weather was blamed for 17 deaths since Friday, The Associated Press reported, most from trees falling on homes and cars. Meanwhile, Coast Guard officials say they have suspended the search for a man who disappeared early Saturday while boating during the storm off Maryland.

On Sunday night in North Carolina, a 77-year-old man was killed when strong winds collapsed a Pitt County barn where he was parking an all-terrain vehicle, authorities said. In neighboring Beaufort County, a couple was killed when a tree fell on the golf cart they were driving. Officials said trees fell onto dozens of houses, and two hangars were destroyed at an airport in Beaufort County. The damage was mostly blamed on straight-line winds.

Elsewhere, at least six of the dead were killed in Virginia, including a 90-year-old woman asleep in her bed when a tree slammed into her home. Two young cousins in New Jersey were killed when a tree fell on their tent while camping. Two were killed in Maryland, one in Ohio, one in Kentucky and one in Washington.

For survivors, it was a challenge to stay cool over the weekend.

The temperature hit 99 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport just outside the nation's capital. With no air conditioning, officials urged residents to check on their elderly relatives and neighbors. It was tough to find a free pump at gas stations that did have power, and lines of cars snaked around fast-food drive-thrus.

"If we don't get power tonight, we'll have to throw everything away," Susan Fritz, a mother of three, said grimly of her refrigerator and freezer. Fritz came to a library in Bethesda, Md., so her son could do school work. She charged her phone and iPad at her local gym.

Power crews from as far away as Florida and Oklahoma were on their way to the mid-Atlantic region to help get the power back on and the air conditioners running again. Even if people have generators, the gas-run devices often don't have enough power to operate an air conditioner.

Free ice
And power restoration was spotty: Several people interviewed by The Associated Press said they remained without power even though the lights were on at neighbors' homes across the street. In Maryland, Gov. O'Malley promised he would push utility companies to get electricity restored as quickly as possible.

"No one will have his boot further up Pepco's and BGE's backsides than I will," O'Malley said Sunday afternoon, referring to the two main utilities serving Maryland.

In Waldorf, Md., Charles County emergency officials handed out free 40-pound bags of ice to anyone who needed them. Among the takers was Ann Brown, 47, of Accokeek, Md., who had stayed in a hotel Saturday night because her house was without power.

She went to a cookout in Upper Marlboro, Md., on Saturday after family members decided to cook all the food in the freezer rather than let it go bad.

"Whatever they had, that's what we ate, and it was great," Brown said.

Whether she makes the commute to work Monday will depend entirely on how comfortable the office is.

"If they don't have power, I'm not going. But if they have power, yeah, I'm going in, to be in the air conditioning all day," she said.

The Associated Press, Reuters, NBC News, msnbc.com staff and weather.com contributed to this story.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48039856/ns/weather/

lone ranger aaron brooks dave matthews band solar flares 2012 whitney houston will toyota recall northern lights

'Unreal': Residents tour Colo. blaze devastation

This Sunday, July 1, 2012 video image taken from AP video shows a group of firefighters raising an American flag above a section of the burned out neighborhood, Mountain Shadows, Colo. Almost 350 homes burned to the ground last week in the Waldo Canyon fire, one of many still raging across the West. (AP Photo/AP Video, C.J. Moore)

This Sunday, July 1, 2012 video image taken from AP video shows a group of firefighters raising an American flag above a section of the burned out neighborhood, Mountain Shadows, Colo. Almost 350 homes burned to the ground last week in the Waldo Canyon fire, one of many still raging across the West. (AP Photo/AP Video, C.J. Moore)

The remains of a burned structure are left in the Mountain Shadow neighborhood devastated by raging wildfires, Friday, June 29, 2012, in, Colorado Springs, Colo. After declaring a "major disaster" in the state early Friday and promising federal aid, President Obama got a firsthand view of the wildfires and their toll on residential communities. More than 30,000 people have been evacuated in what is now the most destructive wildfire in state history. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A firefighter from the Bighorn 209, a hand crew from the Crow Agency in Montana, check for hot spots on the Waldo Canyon Fire west of Colorado Springs, Colo., Friday, June 29, 2012. After declaring a "major disaster" in the state early Friday and promising federal aid, President Barack Obama got a firsthand view of the wildfires and their toll on residential communities. More than 30,000 people have been evacuated in what is now the most destructive wildfire in state history. (AP Photo/The Gazette, Christian Murdock)

The Mountain Shadows neighborhood is left damaged by the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, Colo., Friday, June 29, 2012. After declaring a "major disaster" in the state early Friday and promising federal aid, President Barack Obama got a firsthand view of the wildfires and their toll on residential communities. More than 30,000 people have been evacuated in what is now the most destructive wildfire in state history. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Joe Amon) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT

The Mountain Shadows neighborhood is left damaged by the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, Colo., Friday, June 29, 2012. After declaring a "major disaster" in the state early Friday and promising federal aid, President Barack Obama got a firsthand view of the wildfires and their toll on residential communities. More than 30,000 people have been evacuated in what is now the most destructive wildfire in state history. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Joe Amon) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) ? Melted bowling balls in the front yard were among the strange sights that met C.J. Moore upon her return Sunday to her two-story home, now reduced to ashes by the worst wildfire in Colorado history.

"You wouldn't think bowling balls would melt," she told The Associated Press by phone from the scene in her Mountain Shadows neighborhood, where she was among residents who were allowed temporary visits to areas most affected by the fire.

More than a week after it sparked on June 23, the Waldo Canyon fire was still being attacked by some 1,500 personnel. But crews working grueling shifts through the hot weekend made progress against the 26-square-mile fire, and authorities said they were confident they finally had built good fire lines in many areas to stop the spread of the flames.

So far, the blaze, now 45 percent contained, has destroyed nearly 350 homes.

It was just one of several still burning in the West, where parched conditions and searing heat contributed to the woes facing crews on hundreds of square miles across Utah, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

In Colorado Springs, a line of cars a mile long queued up at a middle school checkpoint, where police checked the identification of returning residents and handed them water bottles.

While searching for her great-grandmother's cast-iron skillets, Moore marveled at the juxtaposition of what burned and what hadn't. The bowling balls had been garden decorations.

"To find my mail in my mailbox, unscathed. It's just unreal. Unreal," she said. "Bird baths are fine. Some of the foliage is fine."

Three neighbors' homes were unscathed. Only concrete remained of other homes, including hers. Cars were burned to nothing but charred metal.

"Good Lord! I've never seen anything like this. And thank God there was nobody there. Thank God there were no people here. There would have been no been no hope.," Moore said.

Not far away, Bill Simmons and his wife, Debbie Byes, returned to their tri-level, passive-solar stucco home and found no damage ? just some ashes in the driveway.

"The water and electric's back on. You know, we're good to go. We're feeling pretty happy about it at the moment," Simmons said by phone. "We're feeling pretty sad for our neighbors and pretty lucky for ourselves. It's been a real sobering experience."

Authorities said they would lift more evacuation orders Sunday night, bringing the total number of people who remain blocked from their homes down to 3,000 from more than 30,000 at the peak of the fire.

Rich Harvey, incident commander for Waldo Canyon, said crews continue to make good progress.

"We're cautiously optimistic," he said Sunday morning. "We still remain focused on things that could go wrong."

Authorities are still trying to determine the cause of the fire, which so far has cost $8.8 million to battle. Dangerous conditions had kept them from beginning their inquiry, but investigators were able to start their work on Saturday.

More than 150 National Guard soldiers and airmen helped Colorado Springs police staff roadblocks and patrol streets.

A "bear invasion" confronted a few mountain enclaves west of Colorado Springs. The scent of trash had enticed black bears pushed out of their usual forest habitat by fire.

People who left in a hurry didn't take typical precautions to secure household trash against wildlife, said El Paso County Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Kramer.

"So that's become an attraction for the bears," Kramer said.

State game officials were trying to shoo the bears out, he said, and Dumpsters were stationed to help volunteers and returning homeowners throw stuff out. Kramer didn't know how many bears were causing problems.

Among the fires elsewhere in the West:

? Utah: Fire commanders say Utah's largest wildfire has consumed more than 150 square miles and shows no sign of burning itself out. Hundreds of firefighters are trying to hold the Clay Springs fire from advancing on the ranching towns of Scipio and Mills on the edge of Utah's west desert. The fire has destroyed one summer home and threatens 75 others. The fire was 48 percent contained on Sunday.

? Montana: Crews in eastern Montana strengthened fire lines overnight on a 246-square-mile complex of blazes burning about 10 miles west of Lame Deer. More than 500 firefighters are now at the lightning-caused fires that started Monday and have destroyed more than 30 structures.

? Wyoming: A wind-driven wildfire in a sparsely populated area of southeastern Wyoming exploded from eight square miles to nearly 58 square miles in a single day, and an unknown number of structures have burned. About 200 structures were considered threatened.

? Idaho: Firefighters in eastern Idaho had the 1,038-acre Charlotte fire 80 percent contained Sunday but remained cautious with a forecast of high winds and hot temperatures that could put hundreds of homes at risk.

? Colorado: The last evacuees from the High Park Fire in northern Colorado have been allowed to return home as crews fully contained the blaze. The 136-square-mile fire killed one resident and destroyed 259 houses, a state record until the fire near Colorado Springs.

___

Associated Press writers Paul Foy in Salt Lake City and Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-07-01-Western%20Wildfires/id-1f573cee393944f6b7f9c331e5a50f35

the host hoodie hoosiers temperance world bank kim kardashian flour bomb hunger games box office

The states that are dying for healthcare coverage

By Alexander E.M. Hess and Samuel Weigley, 24/7 Wall St.

The lack of medical coverage in America is a serious problem as approximately 50 million people were uninsured all through 2010. But the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was passed in 2010, was constitutional. The legislation, once implemented in its entirety, is expected to cover 30 million Americans currently lacking coverage.

The lack of medical insurance has had grave consequences for individuals and the nation. In 2010 alone, 26,100 people died because they had no health insurance ? that amounts to 502 preventable deaths a week. However, some states fared better than others. Based on the latest report by Families USA, a health care consumer advocacy group, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 states with the highest number of deaths per 100,000 people due to a lack of insurance.

24/7 Wall St.: Eight states slashing local funding

Not surprisingly, nearly all of the states with the most residents dying due to a lack of insurance also had high numbers of uninsured residents. Seven of the states on the list were among the 10 states with the highest percentage of people without health coverage. Seven of the states were also in the bottom 10 for the lowest rates of private insurance coverage.

People without health insurance often forgo medical treatment for different reasons. According to Families USA, a supporter of President Obama?s health care reform law, uninsured adults are nearly four times more likely than insured adults to delay or avoid preventive care screening due to cost. Uninsured adults are also nearly seven times more likely to go without needed care due to cost than privately insured adults.

?You still see a very, very strong correlation between uninsurance and poor health-care outcomes ? including mortality ? and [that is] because people aren?t getting the type of care that they need,? Kim Bailey, the research director for Families USA, told 24/7 Wall St.

Many of the states with high death rates due to a lack of insurance also were among the poorest states in the country. The top seven states on this list also are among the 10 states with the highest poverty rates. Every state on this list is in the top half.

Poor health also appears to play an important role. States with high death rates due to lack of insurance had a high percentage of people with lifestyle-related risk factors for poor health. Of the states on our list, five of them have among the 10 highest percentages of smokers and among the 10 lowest percentages of people who eat vegetables at least three times a day. Four have among the 10 highest proportions of overweight or obese adults. Seven states on the list were in the bottom 10 in terms of life expectancy.

24/7 Wall St.: Countries that spend the most on health care

Based on Families USA?s report, ?Dying for Coverage: The Deadly Consequences of Being Uninsured,? 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 states with the highest number of deaths from being uninsured per 100,000 residents. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the methodology used by Families USA, first developed in 2002 by the Institute of Medicine, to determine?excess mortality from being uninsured. This method considers the proportion of?people who are insured and uninsured, the mortality risks for the uninsured and the number of expected deaths from a hypothetical fully insured population. 24/7 Wall St. also identified poverty rates and median income by state, provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Kaiser Family Foundation?s website ? Statehealthfacts.org ? provided health-related data, including life expectancy, obesity and diabetes rate.

These are the 10 states dying for health coverage.

1. Mississippi
? Excess deaths from a lack of insurance (per 100,000):?15.82
? Percent of population uninsured:?18.2 percent (ninth highest)
? Percent living below the poverty line:?22.4 percent (tied for the highest)
? Life expectancy at birth:?74.81 years (The lowest)

Many residents of Mississippi cannot afford insurance. The state has the lowest median income in the nation and the highest percentage of residents living below the poverty line. As a result, Mississippi has the second-lowest percentage of residents with private health insurance coverage, at 56.49 percent. Exacerbating the problem, residents are especially unhealthy. Among all states, Mississippi has the second-highest obesity rate, the second-highest percentage of adults with diabetes and the fifth-highest percentage of adult smokers in the nation. Probably on account of both high uninsurance rates and poor personal health, Mississippi is the only state where life expectancy was below 75 years at birth in 2010. Mississippi?s excess death rate was the highest among all states and twice that of 28 states in 2010.

2. Louisiana
? Excess deaths from a lack of insurance (per 100,000):?14.94
? Percent of population uninsured:?17.8 percent (10th highest)
? Percent living below the poverty line:?18.7 percent (sixth highest)
? Life expectancy at birth:?75.39 years (fourth lowest)

Louisiana has one of the lowest life expectancies at birth in the U.S. at 75.4 years. Though much of this certainly can be attributed to poor health choices ? the state has a higher number of smokers and its residents eat comparatively little fruit or vegetables ? the inability of?many residents to receive proper care due to lack of insurance is also a contributing factor. In Louisiana, 17.8 percent of the population goes without health insurance, despite the fact that 21.9 percent of the population qualifies for Medicaid ? the fifth-highest proportion among all 50 states. The high uninsurance rate is partly due to the relative economic disadvantage of the state?s residents. With 18.7 percent of residents living below the poverty line ? the sixth-highest rate in the nation ? and a median income that is more than $5,000 lower than the U.S. average, just 58.39 percent of state residents have private insurance. That is the fourth-lowest such rate in the nation.

3. Arkansas
? Excess deaths from a lack of insurance (per 100,000):?13.49
? Percent of population uninsured:?17.5 percent (tied for 12th highest)
? Percent living below the poverty line:?18.8 percent (fifth highest)
? Life expectancy at birth:?76.09 years (sixth lowest)

According to the Council for Community and Economic Research?s ACCRA Cost of Living Index, Arkansas had the second-lowest cost of health care in the United States. However, with 18.8 percent of the population living below the poverty line and a median annual household income of just $38,307 ? both among the lowest figures for any state ? many Arkansans cannot afford private health coverage. As a result, just 58.78 percent of the population has private insurance, the sixth-lowest figure in the country.

24/7 Wall St.: 10 brands that will disappear in 2013

4. South Carolina
? Excess deaths from a lack of insurance (per 100,000):?13.48
? Percent of population uninsured:?17.5 percent (tied for 12th highest)
? Percent living below the poverty line:?18.2 percent (seventh highest)
? Life expectancy at birth:?76.57 years (ninth lowest)

South Carolina is not a particularly healthy state: 67.4 percent of the state?s residents are either overweight or obese, just 23.3 percent eat proper amounts of fruit, only 22.9 percent eat proper amounts of vegetables and 10.7 percent are diabetic. All of these are among the highest rates in the country. Meanwhile, much of the cost of health care falls to private individuals. The state spent about $6,300 per person on health care in 2009, among the lowest levels, and just 51.9 percent of residents have employer-based health coverage. Unfortunately, South Carolinians have trouble affording insurance on their own: Median income was just $42,000 in 2010, significantly lower than the $50,000 national average, 18.2 percent of residents live below the poverty line and the cost of health care is higher than is the case in many states.

5. New Mexico
? Excess deaths from a lack of insurance (per 100,000):?12.15
? Percent of population uninsured:?19.6 percent (sixth highest)
? Percent living below the poverty line:?20.4 percent (tied for the highest)
? Life expectancy at birth:?78.21 years (20th lowest)

New Mexico has a fairly healthy population, with relatively low heart disease and obesity rates. However, just 55.8 percent of residents have private health insurance ? the lowest rate of any state in the country. One possible reason is that few employers provide insurance ? just 45.6 percent of the population has employer-based health coverage. The relative poverty of the state also means many residents cannot afford medical coverage. The median income in the state was just above $42,000 in 2010, far below the national median of about $50,000, while 20.4 percent of people live below the poverty line ? the highest rate in the country.

Click here to read the rest of 24/7 Wall St.'s analysis of states' death rates

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/01/12419471-the-states-that-are-dying-for-healthcare-coverage?lite

mythbusters hanley ramirez blago mumia abu jamal mumia abu jamal pearl harbor blagojevich sentence

Beyond base pairs: Mapping the functional genome

Public release date: 1-Jul-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Scott LaFee
slafee@ucsd.edu
619-543-6163
University of California - San Diego

Regulatory sequences of mouse genome sequenced for first time

Popularly dubbed "the book of life," the human genome is extraordinarily difficult to read. But without full knowledge of its grammar and syntax, the genome's 2.9 billion base-pairs of adenine and thymine, cytosine and guanine provide limited insights into humanity's underlying genetics.

In a paper published in the July 1, 2012 issue of the journal Nature, researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine open the book further, mapping for the first time a significant portion of the functional sequences of the mouse genome, the most widely used mammalian model organism in biomedical research.

"We've known the precise alphabet of the human genome for more than a decade, but not necessarily how those letters make meaningful words, paragraphs or life," said Bing Ren, PhD, head of the Laboratory of Gene Regulation at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at UC San Diego. "We know, for example, that only one to two percent of the functional genome codes for proteins, but that there are highly conserved regions in the genome outside of protein-coding that affect genes and disease development. It's clear these regions do something or they would have changed or disappeared."

Chief among those regions are cis-regulatory elements, key stretches of DNA that appear to regulate the transcription of genes. Misregulation of genes can result in diseases like cancer. Using high-throughput sequencing technologies, Ren and colleagues mapped nearly 300,000 mouse cis-regulatory elements in 19 different types of tissue and cell. The unprecedented work provided a functional annotation of nearly 11 percent of the mouse genome, and more than 70 percent of the conserved, non-coding sequences shared with other mammalian species, including humans.

As expected, the researchers identified different sequences that promote or start gene activity, enhance its activity and define where it occurs in the body during development. More surprising, said Ren, was that the structural organization of the cis-regulatory elements are grouped into discrete clusters corresponding to spatial domains. "It's a case of form following function," he said. "It makes sense."

While the research is fundamentally revealing, Ren noted it is also just a beginning, a partial picture of the functional genome. Additional studies will be needed in other types of cells and at different stages of development.

"We've mapped and understand 11 percent of the genome," said Ren. "There's still a long way to march."

###

Co-authors are Yin Shen, Feng Yue, David F. McCleary, Zhen Ye, Lee Edsall, Samantha Kuan, Ulrich Wagner and Leonard Lee, all at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research; Jesse Dixon, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Medical Scientist Training Program and Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, UC San Diego; and Victor Lobanenkov, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Funding for this research came, in part, from the National Human Genome Research Institute (grant R01HG003991).

About the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR)

LICR is an international non-profit organization committed to improving the understanding and control of cancer through integrated laboratory and clinical discovery. Leveraging its worldwide network of investigators and the ability to sponsor and conduct its own clinical trials, the Institute is actively engaged in translating its discoveries into applications for patient benefit. Since its establishment in 1971, the Institute has expended more than $1.5 billion on cancer research.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 1-Jul-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Scott LaFee
slafee@ucsd.edu
619-543-6163
University of California - San Diego

Regulatory sequences of mouse genome sequenced for first time

Popularly dubbed "the book of life," the human genome is extraordinarily difficult to read. But without full knowledge of its grammar and syntax, the genome's 2.9 billion base-pairs of adenine and thymine, cytosine and guanine provide limited insights into humanity's underlying genetics.

In a paper published in the July 1, 2012 issue of the journal Nature, researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine open the book further, mapping for the first time a significant portion of the functional sequences of the mouse genome, the most widely used mammalian model organism in biomedical research.

"We've known the precise alphabet of the human genome for more than a decade, but not necessarily how those letters make meaningful words, paragraphs or life," said Bing Ren, PhD, head of the Laboratory of Gene Regulation at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at UC San Diego. "We know, for example, that only one to two percent of the functional genome codes for proteins, but that there are highly conserved regions in the genome outside of protein-coding that affect genes and disease development. It's clear these regions do something or they would have changed or disappeared."

Chief among those regions are cis-regulatory elements, key stretches of DNA that appear to regulate the transcription of genes. Misregulation of genes can result in diseases like cancer. Using high-throughput sequencing technologies, Ren and colleagues mapped nearly 300,000 mouse cis-regulatory elements in 19 different types of tissue and cell. The unprecedented work provided a functional annotation of nearly 11 percent of the mouse genome, and more than 70 percent of the conserved, non-coding sequences shared with other mammalian species, including humans.

As expected, the researchers identified different sequences that promote or start gene activity, enhance its activity and define where it occurs in the body during development. More surprising, said Ren, was that the structural organization of the cis-regulatory elements are grouped into discrete clusters corresponding to spatial domains. "It's a case of form following function," he said. "It makes sense."

While the research is fundamentally revealing, Ren noted it is also just a beginning, a partial picture of the functional genome. Additional studies will be needed in other types of cells and at different stages of development.

"We've mapped and understand 11 percent of the genome," said Ren. "There's still a long way to march."

###

Co-authors are Yin Shen, Feng Yue, David F. McCleary, Zhen Ye, Lee Edsall, Samantha Kuan, Ulrich Wagner and Leonard Lee, all at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research; Jesse Dixon, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Medical Scientist Training Program and Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, UC San Diego; and Victor Lobanenkov, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Funding for this research came, in part, from the National Human Genome Research Institute (grant R01HG003991).

About the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR)

LICR is an international non-profit organization committed to improving the understanding and control of cancer through integrated laboratory and clinical discovery. Leveraging its worldwide network of investigators and the ability to sponsor and conduct its own clinical trials, the Institute is actively engaged in translating its discoveries into applications for patient benefit. Since its establishment in 1971, the Institute has expended more than $1.5 billion on cancer research.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/uoc--bbp062612.php

49ers vs giants joe paterno san francisco 49ers san francisco 49ers giants vs 49ers sf 49ers joe paterno died