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Featured Research
December 31, 2012

Australian scientists have discovered how a protein causes breast cancer to become more aggressive and resistant to common drugs.

AsianScientist (Dec. 31, 2012) ? Australian scientists have discovered how a protein causes breast cancer to develop into a more aggressive version that is resistant to common drugs.

These tumors lack sensitivity to the estrogen hormone and do not respond to anti-estrogen therapies such as Tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors.

Transcription factors are molecules that switch genes on or off. In this case, the ELF5 transcription factor inhibits sensitivity to estrogen very early in the life of a breast cancer cell.

In 2008, Associate Professor Chris Ormandy from Sydney?s Garvan Institute of Medical Research showed that ELF5 was responsible for the development of the estrogen-receptor-negative cells in the breast during pregnancy that produce milk.

In a recent study published in PLoS Biology, Ormandy and collaborators showed that the same molecular decision occurs in breast cancer and that ELF5 has the ability to change an existing tumor to an estrogen-insensitive type.

The team also described the genetic mechanisms by which ELF5 opposes the action of estrogen, and showed that it is possible to alter the subtype of breast cancer by manipulating ELF5 levels.

?This work tells us that cancers which become refractory to anti-estrogen treatment often do so by elevating their levels of ELF5 and becoming functionally oestrogen receptor negative,? said Ormandy. ?This raises the therapeutic option of manipulating ELF5 levels to treat breast cancer.?

According to Ormandy, small molecule therapies that target protein-to-protein interactions, or small inhibitory RNAs, could be developed as ELF5 is intracellular.

ELF5 levels could also be used for diagnostic testing, to predict a tumor?s response to treatment and therefore guide treatment decisions, he said.

?Our key discovery here is that by simply manipulating one transcription factor we can change the subtype of breast cancer,? said Ormandy.

The article can be found at: Kalyuga M et al. (2012) ELF5 Suppresses Estrogen Sensitivity and Underpins the Acquisition of Antiestrogen Resistance in Luminal Breast Cancer.

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Source: Research Australia; Photo: Sanofi Pasteur/Flickr/CC.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

Source: http://www.asianscientist.com/in-the-lab/elf5-transcription-factor-estrogen-resistance-in-breast-cancer-2012/

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Despite winning two of their last three games, the Cleveland Cavaliers remain in last place in the NBA's Central Division standings. Indiana currently leads the division with a 17-12 record.

Even with two wins in their last three games, the Cleveland Cavaliers still find themselves in last place in the NBA's Central Division standings. The Cavaliers' 102-94 loss to Atlanta on Friday night dropped them to 7-24 overall on the season.

And with the loss, it also put them a game further behind division-leading Indiana, which beat Phoenix at home on Friday night. The Pacers are 17-12 overall and in first place in the Central, while Milwaukee and Chicago are each a game back, with both sporting 15-12 records. Detroit is in fourth place after their stunning 109-99 victory over the Heat on Friday evening, with the Cavaliers 3.5 games behind the Pistons and 11 games off the top spot in the Central Division.

As things stand, the Cavaliers currently have the third worst overall record in the NBA.

Only the Washington Wizards (4-23) and New Orleans (6-23) are off to worse starts than Cleveland is.

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Source: http://cleveland.sbnation.com/2012/12/29/3814906/2012-nba-standings-cleveland-cavalies-central-division

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A group of American pediatricians is telling school districts that children need recess and free time during the school day, and it should not even be taken away as punishment.

"We consider it essentially the child's personal time and don't feel it should be taken away for academic or punitive reasons," said Dr. Robert Murray, who co-authored the new policy statement for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The statement, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, says recess is a "crucial and necessary component of a child's development."

Recess helps students develop communication skills, such as cooperation and sharing, and helps counteract the time they spend sitting in class, according to the statement.

"The cognitive literature indicates that children are exactly as we are as adults. Whenever they're performing a complicated or complex task, they need time to process the information," said Murray, a professor at Ohio State University in Columbus.

"Kids have to have that time scheduled. They're not given the opportunity to just get up and walk around for a few minutes," he added.

Previous research, according to the statement's authors, found children pay closer attention and perform better mentally after recess.

Last January, a review of 14 studies found kids who get more exercise from - among other things - recess and playing on sports teams tend to do better in school (see Reuters Health story of January 3, 2012 here: http://reut.rs/UcJhV0.)

But a 2011 survey of 1,800 elementary schools found about a third were not offering recess to their third grade classes (see Reuters Health story of December 5, 2011 here: http://reut.rs/UcOqwt.)

Murray told Reuters Health that schools in Japan offer children about 10 minutes of free time after every 50 minutes of class, which he said makes sense.

"I think you can feel it if you go to a lecture that after 40 to 50 minutes of a concentrated activity you need to take a break," he said.

Currently, the American Heart Association calls for at least 20 minutes of recess every day, but Murray said recess needs depend on the child.

"Most schools - on average - are working on the framework of 15 to 30 minute bursts of recess once or twice a day," he said.

There is, however, consensus on when in the day children's recess should take place.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture both recommend schools schedule recess before lunch.

Previous studies have found that children waste less food and behave better for the rest of the day when their recess is before their scheduled lunch, the pediatricians' statement notes.

The statement also says schools should not substitute physical education classes for recess.

"Those are completely different things and they offer completely different outcomes," said Murray. "(Physical education teachers are) trying to teach motor skills and the ability of those children to use those skills in a bunch of different scenarios. Recess is a child's free time."

The pediatricians also warn against a recess that is too structured, such as having games led by adults.

"I think it becomes structured to the point where you lose some of those developmental and social emotion benefits of free play," said Murray.

"This is a very important and overlooked time of day for the child and we should not lose sight of the fact that it has very important benefits," he added.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/HjQ8dI Pediatrics, online December 31, 2012.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pediatricians-kids-recess-during-school-054737400.html

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Efforts to prevent the economy from tumbling over a "fiscal cliff" stalled on Sunday as Democrats and Republicans remained at loggerheads over a deal that would prevent taxes for all Americans from rising on New Year's Day.

One hour before they had hoped to present a plan, Democratic and Republican Senate leaders said they were still unable to reach a compromise that would stop the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that could push the U.S. economy back into recession.

"There are still serious differences between the two sides," said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid.

Progress still appeared possible after the two sides narrowed their differences on tax increases and Republicans indicated they would withdraw a contentious proposal to slow the growth of Social Security retirement benefits.

Failure to secure a deal would deliver a heavy blow to the U.S. economy just as it is showing signs of a quicker recovery. Planned tax increases and spending cuts would suck $600 billion out of the economy and again force up unemployment, which had shown signs of improving.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell talked several times to Vice President Joe Biden by phone in the hope of breaking the standstill. "I'm willing to get this done, but I need a dance partner," McConnell said.

Any agreement needs to be rushed through both chambers of Congress before midnight on Monday. But, even if the two sides reach a deal, procedural barriers in the Senate and the House of Representatives make quick action difficult.

Buoyed by his re-election in November, President Barack Obama has insisted that any deal must include a tax increase on the wealthiest Americans, who have seen their earnings rise steadily over the past decade at a time when income has stalled for the less affluent.

Many conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives oppose a tax hike on anyone, no matter how wealthy.

The two sides were close to agreeing to raise taxes on households earning around $400,000 or $500,000 a year - higher than Obama's preferred threshold of $250,000 - several senators told reporters.

Republicans aim to pair any tax increase with government spending cuts to benefit programs that are projected to grow ever more expensive as the population ages in coming decades.

But their proposal to slow the growth of Social Security benefits by changing the way they are measured against inflation met fierce resistance from Democrats. Obama included the proposal, known as "chained CPI," in an earlier proposal, but many of his fellow Democrats remain opposed.

'POISON PILL'

"We consider it a poison pill - they know we can't accept it. It is a big step back from where we were on Friday," a Senate Democratic aide said.

Several Senate Republicans said they would support taking that idea out of the discussion. "Most of us agree the chained CPI is off the table in these negotiations," Senator John McCain said on Twitter.

In a rare appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Obama pressured lawmakers to reach a deal.

"If people start seeing that on January 1st this problem still hasn't been solved... then obviously that's going to have an adverse reaction in the markets," he said, adding that he had offered Republicans significant compromises that had been rejected repeatedly.

Obama said he would try to reverse the tax hikes for most Americans if Congress fails to act.

John Boehner, the House speaker, rejected Obama's accusations that Republicans were not being amenable to compromise.

"The president's comments today are ironic, as a recurring theme of our negotiations was his unwillingness to agree to anything that would require him to stand up to his own party," he said in a statement. (Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria, Jeff Mason, David Lawder, Fred Barbash and Richard Cowan. Writing by Andy Sullivan; editing by Alistair Bell and Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fiscal-deal-stalls-clock-ticks-deadline-000951431--business.html

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Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. is based in Oklahoma City, and as its name indicates, it is a registered corporation. Companies do not have to incorporate, you see. It's perfectly possible for a business owner to run his business without ever adding that colorful "Inc." to the end of his company's moniker. But David Green incorporated his picture frames business at some point during its formative years.

Just why did he choose to do that? The reasons are many, and they lie at the heart of why David Green is dead wrong in his current line of argumentation. Any second year law student can identify the first reason for incorporation. That's the protection of the business owner's personal assets from liability. When a company is incorporated, the business's owners are protected by a corporate veil of sorts. In the vast majority of instances, they cannot be sued personally for a host of things that might bite into corporate profits. If a person slips and falls at a Hobby Lobby store, he might seek a judgement from the company, but he will not be able to sue David Green personally. If the company goes bankrupt, chances are good that a creditor will not be able to go after David Green's personal riches.

This is important for David Green, too. This God-fearing Christian is worth $4.5 billion according to Forbes. By availing himself to a corporate designation, Green shields himself from any liability beyond that incurred by the company.

Incorporation also affords the company a sort of perpetual existence. When the owner of a sole proprietorship dies, the company is buried with him. If the business is incorporated, it outlives its original founder. This designation provides a level of independence for the company, giving it a legal identity that's distinct from the identity of its owner. In addition, incorporation allows a company to sustain itself through periods of leadership turnover. Steve Jobs was once booted out of the company he started. This couldn't happen if he operated his computer business without a corporate structure.

A more schooled tax attorney or corporate lawyer might also explain the tax advantages of incorporation. Business owners like David Green benefit immensely from the ability to pass money through places like Hobby Lobby.

What is the point of this exercise? It's to point out two very important things. First, laws surrounding incorporation are designed specifically to separate the business owner as a legal entity from the business as a legal entity. Second, these laws are in place mostly for the benefit of the business owner. David Green is willing to avail himself to the standard protections of the corporate legal structure though he is unwilling to comply with the other requirements of operating a business.

When it comes time for the latest slip and fall plaintiff to file his lawsuit, he cannot pierce the corporate veil to get to David Green personally. If the time comes when an unsecured creditor wants to make a claim against Green in lieu of his bankrupt business, Green will hide like a matador behind his crimson red veil. The legal distinction between business owner and incorporated business is fine by Green when it cuts in his favor to provide a shield for his personal wealth. When it comes to his company complying with federal law to provide contraception to employees, though, Green sheds the veil, arguing for a sort of perverse legal intercourse between business and business owner.

This is the petulant operation of a pariah who wants more than just to have his cake and eat it, too. He also wants a well-maintained waist line when he gets done with that cake. Green and business owners like him take full advantage of the ability to participate in a diverse, secular, and regulated marketplace. They succeed for a number of reasons, including savvy ownership, strong fiscal fundamentals, and creative ideas. But they also succeed because of the protections offered by the structure of the business world. Is there any question that David Green would cease to run 500 craft stores if every slip and fall could mean a lawsuit that he would have to personally appear for? If this man continues to take full advantage of the corporate structure which draws a distinct legal separation between him and his business, then he must recognize the severance between his own religious beliefs and the religious "beliefs" of his company. Green must come to understand that his company lacks the spiritual soul that he believes in, and as a result, it's not bound by the religious obligations of his Bible and it's not going to be judged by the gatekeepers of either heaven or hell.

And as I wrote before - if he's uncomfortable with this truth, then he has a very real option. He can take his ball and go home. If his religious "morality" overruns his greed, then maybe he should choose to run no business at all. Or perhaps he should run a business that's not incorporated, where his religion can mate with his business but his riches would be fair game for potential claimants? I've read the Bible, and Jesus told people like David Green that following heavenly commands wouldn't be easy.

Source: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/12/30/1174770/-Rethinking-Hobby-Lobby-A-Legal-Argument-Against-Corporate-Religion

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Posted on: 9:19 pm, December 29, 2012, by Barrett Tryon

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ? People right here in the metro are bracing for what the ?fiscal cliff? could mean to them.

FOX 4?s Sharita Hutton talked to small business owners in Brookside to get their reaction.

Source: http://fox4kc.com/2012/12/29/kc-small-businesses-react-to-looming-fiscal-cliff/

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Jennifer Jo Cobb says she is joining the 26Acts Movement ? NASCAR news

NASCAR driver Jennifer Jo Cobb has confirmed that she will be joining the #26Acts Movement as well.

#26Acts Movement calls for all American citizens to perform 26 acts of kindness to commemorate the victims of the tragic incident that struck Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.

Adam Lanza, a 20-year-old Sandy Hook resident had opened fire in the school, killing 26 people including 20 children and 6 staff members.

In addition to being one of the few female NASCAR drivers, Cobb is an inspirational speaker as well. To complete her 26 acts of kindness, she plans to deliver speeches at 26 different schools in order to urge young students to work harder and be committed to their studies. Through her speeches, Cobb plans to inculcate a sense of responsibility and self-belief in the young minds.

?I feel that one of the best ways I can fulfil #26Acts is to do my best to be an inspiration to students,? Cobb said.

She will be sharing her personal experiences from her racing career with the students in order to life their spirits and to motivate them to set challenging goals for themselves.

?I am passionate about utilizing my racing career as motivation for those who want what they feel is out of reach,? said the NASCAR driver.

Stock car racing is a male dominated sport. Cobb is one of the very few women who have made it a career. She plans to communicate to her audiences how she goes about culminating the obstacles which she faces in her racing career from time to time.

?I have struggled very publicly, but also accomplished many things that many dream of. I feel I am very blessed to have had the opportunities I?ve had and to meet the people who have helped me achieve this dream,? Cobb said.

Ann Curry of NBC news, while covering the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting story for her news network, thought of performing 20 acts of kindness to honour the 20 dead children. Others joined in when Curry tweeted her idea. Later, the number of acts of kindness was increased to 26 in order to honour the six dead staff members as well. This was the start of #26Acts movement.

Cobb said she considered it a moral obligation to join the movement. ?It is my duty to give back in any way that I can,? she added.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Jennifer-Jo-Cobb-says-she-is-joining-the-26Acts-Movement-NASCAR-news-a211840

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What it means: Blue represents ?trust, integrity, and communication,? Haller says. However, the use of the wrong tone of blue ?can make a brand appear cold, aloof and unapproachable.? Blue relates to the mind, so consumers associate it with logic and communication. It?s also serene, like the ocean, and calming to look at.

Which brands use it: The major social media companies?Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn?use blue as their primary brand colors. Haller points out that the lighter blue of Twitter also ?expresses the fun side of social media, given the high amount of yellow undertone.? Tiffany & Co. is also immediately recognized by its trademark teal blue.

Source: Karen Haller Colour And Design Consultancy

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/branding-and-the-psychology-of-color-2012-12?op=1

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2012ok

The world was supposed to end in 2012 ? on Dec. 21 for you Mayan calendar believers and doomsday cultists ? and for many Greeks it seemed like it did. Like the Flogging Molly song, it was the worst day since yesterday for people crushed by pay cuts, tax hikes, slashed pensions, coming layoffs, growing homelessness, suicides and cases of depression.

For those who lived through it ? apart from the growing numbers of desperate people who killed themselves because of a relentless economic crisis ? 2012 was the worst year in Greece many could remember: except for the one that?s coming.

The year 2012, the fifth of Greece?s deep recession, seemed an avalanche of bad news: austerity, pay cuts, tax hikes, slashed pensions, strikes, riots, rising crime, the ascension of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, two elections that yielded essentially the same government that had been packing public payrolls with unnecessary workers for generations in return for votes, a near-run on the country?s shaky banks, the humiliating failure of the underfunded Greek Olympic team at the 2012 London Games, corruption, incompetence, blame games, finger-pointing and so much trouble some people might have wished the world did end on Dec. 21.

This is the time of the year when news organizations list the top stories, those that defined and recorded the year and shaped it for posterity. But Greece is broke ? and broken ? except for politicians and the rich and tax evaders who remained above the fray and were spectators to the implosion of a society.

There was such a tsunami of trouble for Greece that there literally was almost no good news because the real heroes: NGO?s helping the poor, the soup lines set up by the Greek Orthodox Church as the government abandoned people, doctors providing free clinics and services, volunteers reaching out the disenfranchised and disaffected, people coming together to create social grocery stores and help each other were back page stories as the media concentrated on the obvious mega-stories.

In any other year, there were stories that would make a top list but were buried under the torrent of the tumultuous times in Greece. Noted film director Theo Angelopoulos was killed when hit by a motorcycle while making a film, and many notable Greeks in the arts and politics died in 2012, their names vanishing even before the next day?s newspaper, television or radio broadcast, or next hit on the website overtook them.

The over-riding theme of the year seemed greed: a government that had for years created the crisis with patronage hires turned its back on workers, pensioners and the poor; the country?s shipping industry ? the world?s largest ? threatened to leave the country if forced to pay taxes; at the end of the year, a growing scandal brewed in the country?s tourism office with the arrest of five people and the disappearance of 12 million euros ($15.86 million) and the political unwillingness to go after tax cheats.

To that end, GreekReporter has compiled a list of the 12 events that marked the year 2012 for Greece, too few really to provide a comprehensive look at the most difficult year the country has seen since the end of the American-backed ruling military junta in 1974, and the horror of World War II. Those that didn?t make the cut, but were part of larger issues, included the closing of scores of thousands of businesses as Greeks slowed spending almost to a standstill; the decision by the country?s largest company, Coca Cola Hellenic to move out, as did the giant dairy company Fage, the potato revolt and so many others.

The 12 stories/events that affected Greece the most then were:

Geros1

AUSTERITY BAILOUTS: After Greece?s international lenders, the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) exhausted a $152 billion first bailout, Greece got tentative approval early in 2012 for a second, this one for $173 billion, but the elections debacle and political infighting over more austerity in a $17.45 billion spending cut and tax hike plan delayed the funds disbursement, bringing Greece constantly to the edge of default and threatening the Eurozone and world markets. While a first series of $69 billion in the second bailout is finally on its way over the next few months, the additional austerity measures ? which Prime Minister Antonis Samaras vowed would be the last ? have set off new rounds of protests, strikes and riots. Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras said while math is on Greece?s side now that he fears social unrest could topple the House of Cards that Greece is built on now. This story will go into 2013, 2014, 2015, 201?? you get the picture

Papakon_Lagard

THE LAGARDE LIST: Even more than the elections and infighting in the coalition government or the fall of PASOK, the so-called Lagarde List became the most volatile political issue in the country. It?s as convoluted as a Raymond Chandler novel and involves bitter, internecine political warfare. It started in 2010 when then French finance minister Christine Lagarde ? now head of the IMF ? gave a list on a CD of more than 2,000 Greeks with $1.95 billion in the Geneva, Switzerland branch of HSBC to then Greek finance minister George Papaconstantinou when PASOK was in power. He said he lost it, but after authorities vowed to find it, former finance minister Evangelos Venizelos ? now PASOK?s head ? said he had a copy. The names were kept private and never checked for possible tax evasion and then a brouhaha developed when investigative journalist Costas Vaxevanis published the names, was tried on privacy violation laws but acquitted, only to have the government decide to keep prosecuting him anyway. Then it turned out that the original list had some names deleted from the Vaxevanis list and three of them were reportedly relatives of Papaconstantinou, who was summarily ejected from PASOK by Venizelos ? whom Papaconstantinou hinted had framed him. Even Chandler couldn?t figure this one out but it could threaten Venizelos? leadership and the government itself. That?s what?s known as a Big Story in the journalism business, even if sex isn?t involved

elections

ELECTIONS: After a first round balloting in May failed to give any political party enough of the vote to form a government and saw the humiliation of the ruling dynasties of the New Democracy Conservatives and PASOK Socialists, a second round had to be called, further delaying a pending second bailout and setting off new rounds of social unrest and political instability. When New Democracy leader Samaras won the repeat election on June 17, he still didn?t have enough support to rule outright and had to bring in the now-marginalized PASOKites and the tiny Democratic Left that turned against its principles to give the government enough seats to control Parliament. Waiting in the wings though is Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the major opposition party the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) who said the government may fall and that he?ll end the bailouts and austerity and bring back the Old Greece

Former Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos being taken into custody

AKIS TSOCHATZOPOULOS ? With the arrest of the former defense minister on a series of financial crimes charges that could involve as much as a billion euros ($1.3 billion) stolen from contracts, the unthinkable happened in Greece: a politician charged with corruption was arrested and jailed until his trial, although cynics said the government is biding its time until the statute of limitations runs out and believe he will not be fully prosecuted nor face a long jail sentence

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PENSIONER SUICIDE ? When 77-year-old retired pharmacist Dimitris Christoulas shot himself in the head on April 4 under a tree in Athens? main center of Syntagma Square ? the scene of relentless protests and riots against austerity and across the street from the Parliament ? it seemed the world finally realized how much weight ordinary Greeks were under. He left a note blaming the financial crisis and fearing he could no longer live a decent life and for weeks people left notes and mementos on the tree and it seemed his death would galvanize a movement. It didn?t happen, but the shot still resonates

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PSI ? Until Venizelos mentioned the phrase Private Sector Involvement, which became known as PSI, it was an arcane term that few people who couldn?t tell a hedge fund from arbitrage could understand. Its effect was crushing: PSI meant Greece would impose 74 percent losses on investors, including small bondholders in the Diaspora, some of whom were wiped out by putting their faith in their homeland. It helped Greece get some temporary relief by writing down $134 billion in debt, but locked the country out of the private markets for years and wiped out Cypriot banks, forcing the island?s leaders to seek a bailout similar to Greece?s

Merkel_Athens

MERKEL COMES TO TOWN ? Many Greeks blame German Chancellor Angela Merkel for insisting on harsh austerity measures for their country, even though she supports continuing aid in return. So when she visited in Athens in October, scores of thousands of protesters turned out, some in Nazi uniforms, but they were kept far away as she and Samaras engaged in a mutual political affair in their private talks where neither mentioned any sense of outrage in the streets

PASOK_ekloges

GOODBYE, PASOK ? In 2009, then PASOK leader George Papandreou won the Prime Minister?s office as his party got 44 percent of the vote. Venizelos took over the party early in 2012, put all his considerable weight behind continued austerity and support for the Samaras government, and has taken the Socialists to the bottom of the political barrel, with barely 5 percent of the vote and fading fast. It was the near-end of a party that had dominated Greek politics for more than four decades

Greek banks

BANKING CRISIS ? After a near-run on the banks during the political uncertainty at the elections, the institutions were pushed to the edge of insolvency with the PSI and had no money to lend, bringing the economy to a screeching halt in many sectors. The banks need 50 billion euros ($69 billion) in recapitalization, money that will be coming from a second bailout from the Troika. But there?s a ticking financial time bomb: many Greeks can?t pay what they owe and nearly 25 percent of bank loans and credit cards are in default, a loss of nearly $62 billion the banks seem unlikely to recoup, and threatening to undermine their ability for reinvestment in the economy when they get a huge government injection. If they don?t lend it out, the economy could stall indefinitely and thwart a recovery

Golden Dawn

?GOLDEN DAWN ? From out of the dustbin of history, with only 0.29 percent of the vote in 2009, the anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic, ultra-religious, far-right extremist, jingoistic neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party capitalized on the economic crisis and moved into a political vacuum, winning nearly 7 percent of the vote and 18 seats in Parliament. It has been soaring since, gaining more popularity with every assault on immigrants that critics blame on party members, as well as attacks on other Members of Parliament it deems enemies. The ascension of the party has been a major news story outside of Greece and not just in Europe, but around the world and seen as symptomatic of many of the country?s ills: corruption (the worst in Europe); cronyism, incompetence, inefficiency and the continuation of politics as usual while workers, pensioners and the poor suffered? ? the classes that have been targeted by Golden Dawn with free food and vigilante patrols, boosting its force.

illegal immigrants

IMMIGRANTS: Chased by Golden Dawn, arrested by the government, despised by many Greeks who see them as outsiders or criminals, immigrants continued to pour into Greece in 2012 even though many drowned in the attempt as they tried to reach the country by sea from Africa, Turkey or the Middle East. Sensing anti-immigrant sentiment, the Samaras government continued a roundup of suspected illegal immigrants, a sweep known ironically as Xenios Zeus, a Greek phrase for hospitality, and started packing them in detention camps before deportation. NGO?s and human rights organizations decried the procedures as well as rising racism, assaults on immigrants, the condition of some camps, and a new border fence along Turkey.

Recently jobless Greeks line up to receive their unemployment benefit at an unemployment bureau in Athens November 11, 2011. (REUTERS/John Kolesidis)

UNEMPLOYMENT: The jobless rate record kept being broken, hitting 26 percent overall, but with more than 55 percent of those under 25 unable to find work and many deciding to flee to other lands for work, a better future and new life, robbing Greece of many of its youngest and brightest, as well as thousands of professionals, including doctors and dentists and others who gave up on finding work in their own country. With projections the unemployment rate could hit 30 percent in less than two years, Greece could have the highest rate in the western world and undercut any attempt at economic recovery by the government, although Samaras said he would create new jobs.

Source: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2012/12/29/the-12-events-that-bent-greece-in-2012/

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Saber-toothed cats apparently did not go extinct for lack of prey, contradicting a popular explanation for why they died off, fossil evidence now suggests.

Even near their extinction, saber-toothed cats likely had enough to eat, researchers noted.

Saber-toothed cats, American lions, woolly mammoths and other giant creatures once roamed across the American landscape. However, at the end of the late Pleistocene about 12,000 years ago, these "megafauna" went extinct, a die-off called the Quaternary extinction.

"The popular theory for the megafaunal extinction is that either the changing climate at the end of the last ice age or human activity, or some combination of the two, killed off most of the large mammals," said researcher Larisa DeSantis, a vertebrate paleontologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. "In the case of the great cats, we expect that it would have been increasingly difficult for them to find prey, especially if had to compete with humans. We know that when food becomes scarce, carnivores like the great cats tend to consume more of the carcasses they kill. If they spent more time chomping on bones, it should cause detectable changes in the wear patterns on their teeth."

Tale of the teeth

To learn more about saber-toothed diets, the researchers analyzed the fossil teeth of 15 saber-toothed cats (Smilodon fatalis) and 15 American lions (Panthera atrox) recovered from the La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles. These specimens ranged from about 11,500 to 35,000 years in age.

To study the fossils, the scientists used dental microwear texture analysis, developed by anthropologist Peter Ungar at the University of Arkansas. This involves using generating three-dimensional images of a tooth's surface. The image is then analyzed for microscopic grooves ? devouring red meat produces small parallel scratches, while biting on bones lead to larger, deeper pits.

The investigation found the pattern of wear on the teeth of the saber-toothed cat most closely resembled those of present-day African lions, which sometimes crush bone when they eat. The wear pattern on American lion teeth, on the other hand, echoed that of the present-day cheetah, which deliberately avoids bones when it feeds. [Photos: A Lion's Life]

Analysis of both older fossils and more recent ones did not reveal any evidence that patterns of wear changed over time, and none had extreme microwear like living hyenas, which consume entire carcasses, bones included. This suggests that prey for these carnivores was not scarce ? the animals were not gnawing their victims to the bone.

"Tooth wear patterns suggest that these cats were not desperately consuming entire carcasses, as was expected, and instead seemed to be living the 'good life' during the late Pleistocene, at least up until the very end," DeSantis said.

Big predator extinction

Past research of teeth from American lions, saber-tooth cats, dire wolves and coyotes from La Brea revealed they experienced three times the number of broken teeth of contemporary predators, hinting that these species were having trouble finding prey and were thus urgently devouring or "processing" whole carcasses. This led scientists to suspect that climate change and human competition were making life tough for the big predators.

Instead, DeSantis and her colleagues argue this high rate of damage seen in teeth more likely resulted during capture of prey instead of feeding on carcasses.

"We expected extinct carnivores to show evidence for extreme bone processing, based on the high number of broken teeth determined from prior research. Finding the complete opposite pattern was shocking!" DeSantis said.

The researchers noted that saber-toothed cats were about the size of today's African lion, while the American lion was about 25 percent larger. They fed on giants such as mammoths and four-ton giant ground sloths. The fact these ancient carnivores and their prey were bigger than contemporary predators and their victims could help explain why the extinct cats had more broken teeth than their living brethren, the investigators said. . [Gallery: Today's Threatened Mammals]

Specifically, larger teeth break more easily than smaller teeth, so larger carnivores may be likely to break more teeth when attempting to take down larger prey. The researchers noted past studies that found the canines of a predator the size of fox can support more than seven times the fox's weight before breaking, while a carnivore the size of lion can only support about four times its weight and the curved teeth of saber-toothed cats could only support about twice the animal's weight.

"The net result of our study is to raise questions about the reigning hypothesis that 'tough times' during the late Pleistocene contributed to the gradual extinction of large carnivores," DeSantis said. "While we can not determine the exact cause of their demise, it is unlikely that the extinction of these cats was a result of gradually declining prey."

Currently, the scientists are examining other carnivores at the La Brea tar pits, "including the extinct giant short-faced bear and the extant mountain lion that is found both during the Pleistocene at La Brea and in southern California and elsewhere today," DeSantis told LiveScience. "Essentially, we are trying to clarify the biology and diets of these carnivores during the past to further evaluate why the short-faced bear went extinct and, potentially, why the mountain lion did not."

DeSantis and Ungar, with their colleagues Blaine Schubert and Jessica Scott, detailed their findings online Dec. 26 in the journal PLOS ONE.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook?& Google+.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/starvation-didnt-wipe-sabertooth-cats-155503846.html

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