Maryland firefighter has arm reattached after crash

By NBCWashington.com staff

A Washington, D.C., area volunteer firefighter had to have his arm surgically reattached after suffering serious injuries in a crash on the Beltway early Wednesday morning.

Several other people were also hurt, though less seriously, when a fire truck was involved in a chain-reaction crash.

The fire crew, from the West Lanham Hills Volunteer Fire Department, had responded to a minor accident on the Beltway early Wednesday near the eastbound exit for John Hanson Highway when their truck was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer, reported News 4's Jackie Bensen.

A Jeep was also involved in the resulting collision and overturned. All the occupants of all three vehicles were injured, including four firefighters.

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Read more at NBCWashington.com

The firefighter with the most severe injuries has not been named. But police said he was transported to MedStar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore to have his arm surgically reattached.

Late Wednesday evening, authorities confirmed that his arm had been reattached and that blood was flowing into it. There was no update on his overall condition or other injuries.

Investigators say the fire truck was making a U-turn in a cut-through labeled "Emergency Vehicles Only" when it was struck. After responding to the earlier crash, the crew put the truck in an "out of service" status, meaning lights and siren were not in use.

The truck is authorized to use the cut-through, authorities said.

The accident is being investigated by Prince George?s Police, Prince George?s County Fire and Maryland State Police.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/31/16789948-maryland-firefighter-has-arm-surgically-reattached-after-chain-reaction-crash?lite

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Video: Most cancer tests should be avoided: Consumer Reports

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Ford posts strongest pre-tax profit in over a decade

12 hrs.

Paul A. Eisenstein , The Detroit Bureau

Ford Motor says it made the highest fourth-quarter pre-tax profit in more than a decade. It earned $1.7 billion last quarter, due largely to increases sales of trucks and SUVs and higher prices for all models.

That was 31 cents a share, beating Wall Street forecasts which had ranged from 25 to 28 cents.

For all of 2012, the automaker?s net income was $5.7 billion, down $307 million than a year ago. It excludes some special charges.

The Detroit Bureau: Ford, Daimler and Nissan form fuel cell alliance

?The Ford team delivered strong results once again, underscoring that our One Ford plan is working,? proclaimed Alan Mulally, Ford president and CEO. ?We are well positioned for another strong year in 2013, as we continue our plan to serve customers in all markets around the world with a full family of vehicles ? small, medium and large; cars, utilities and trucks ? with the very best quality, fuel efficiency, safety, smart design and value.?

Revenue last quarter was $36.5 billion, up $1.9 billion from the same period a year ago. For 2012, revenue was $134.3 billion, down $2 billion from a year ago.

Trucks, mainly sold in North America, drove profits hard enough to overcome European losses ? which were substantial, and more than the maker had forecast just a few months ago.

The Detroit Bureau: Toyota officially reclaims global sales crown

In the quarter, Ford reported European losses of 732 Million, against a loss of $190 million the previous year. For all of 2012 Ford?s European loss climbed to $1.73 billion. The automaker had forecast about $1.5 billion when it discussed third-quarter earnings three months ago.

In North America, Ford said it made $1.87 billion in the quarter ? twice as much as the $889 million on it posted a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter was $22.1 billion, up $2.5 billion.

For the year, North American profit was $8.34 billion, before taxes.

The Detroit Bureau: 2013 care sales off to good start

Ford showed a preview of the 2015 F-150 at the Detroit auto show earlier this month, hoping to tempt prospective buyers into waiting instead of buying General Motors new Chevrolet Silverado or GMC Sierra, on sale first half this year.

Ford also wanted to raise doubts in shoppers? minds about spending now for Chrysler Group?s Ram pickup, revised for 2013 and winner of the North American Truck of the Year earlier this month, an award bestowed by 49 U.S. and Canadian auto journalists.

Ford had reported a loss of $468 million in Europe last quarter and warned that losses were mounting. The automaker has announced plans to close three European plants by 2014, but said last quarter that it would lose $1.5 billion in 2012 and again this year, and doesn?t expect black ink from European operations until about 2015.

Copyright 2013 The Detroit Bureau

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/ford-posts-strongest-pre-tax-profit-over-decade-1C8156322

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Israel's comatose Sharon shows brain activity

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Seven years after a massive stroke removed him from office and left him in a vegetative state, former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is able to process information and has exhibited "robust activity" in his brain, according to doctors who conducted recent tests.

Though some hoped Sharon might regain consciousness and resume his life, experts warned that was highly unlikely.

The medical team that tested him last week said Monday that the scans showed the 84-year-old Sharon responding to pictures of his family and recordings of his son's voice. They cautioned, however, it is not clear how much he understood, stressing the chances of his regaining full capacities are almost zero.

"We were surprised to see such robust activity in his brain," said Dr. Alon Friedman, head of the Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba. "The information is getting in and is getting processed. He hears what they are saying. To what extent he understands, we cannot say for sure ... but there are encouraging hints that he does."

Sharon was at the height of his political power in early 2006 when a devastating stroke incapacitated him. He has been in a deep coma ever since, connected to a respirator. His family has said he sometimes opens his eyes and moves his fingers, but little else has been disclosed about his condition. No one has suggested that his cognitive functions have returned.

Last week a team of Israeli and U.S. scientists performed a series of tests on him at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, using a newly developed functional MRI to assess his brain function. Friedman said the two-hour procedure was among the first of its type to be conducted on someone who had suffered such a brain hemorrhage. It is also rare to perform such tests on someone Sharon's age, he said.

Friedman would not disclose additional information about Sharon's medical state or say whether there had been any physical reactions to the stimuli. He said the findings would provide solace to Sharon's sons, Gilad and Omri, giving them confirmation that their father could hear them. Omri Sharon declined comment when contacted by The Associated Press Monday.

Raanan Gissin, a long-time Sharon confidante, said those close to the former leader were encouraged by the tests.

"The hope is not that he will return to be the leader that he was, but basically the hope ... that Sharon will return to normal life," he said. "The people of Israel really feel gratitude toward Sharon and they think he deserves to end his life like a normal person."

Experts doubted that would happen.

Dr. Ilan Shelef, head of medical imaging at Soroka University Medical Center, sought to temper expectations from the results of Thursday's scans.

"What is very important to understand is that we have a snapshot of what happened" during the test, said Shelef, who participated in the testing. "He received some stimuli from his family and he responded to these stimuli. It was a metabolic response in the brain," he said. "Metabolic" refers to physical reactions.

"We don't know what happened two years ago or four years ago and we have no idea what will happen in the future," he said. "We just know that on Thursday evening there was a metabolic response in the brain of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon."

Dr. Nicholas Schiff, professor of neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medical College, called the findings "interesting but ambiguous" and warned against reading too much into the tests.

Schiff, who did not participate in the testing and said he had not reviewed the research, said the FMRI is a widely used tool used for gathering data, but there is no consensus among researchers on interpreting the results. "In general, there are very few uses of FMRIs that unequivocally demonstrate awareness in patients that appear unresponsive," he said.

Sharon was a highly decorated military officer who fought in three wars before entering politics in the 1970s and serving in a series of top ministerial posts. He was elected prime minister in 2001 and led Israel for the next five years until he was incapacitated.

Shortly before his stroke, he directed a unilateral withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip, ending a 38-year military occupation of the territory, bolted his hard-line Likud Party and established the centrist Kadima Party. He appeared on his way to an easy re-election when he suffered the stroke. His deputy, Ehud Olmert, took over and was elected prime minister a few months later.

Sharon had a first, small stroke in December 2005 and was put on blood thinners before experiencing a severe brain hemorrhage on Jan. 4, 2006. After spending months in the Jerusalem hospital where he was initially treated, Sharon was transferred to the long-term care facility at Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv.

After his second stroke, doctors performed several extensive emergency brain operations to stop cerebral hemorrhaging. After a long stay at the hospital, he was taken for a brief period to his home in southern Israel. He was rushed at least once into hospital intensive care for dialysis after his kidneys began failing.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israels-comatose-sharon-shows-brain-activity-194204741.html

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Check out pictures from UFC on Fox 6

Check out UFC on Fox 6 pictures from the always-amazing Tracy Lee. She caught images of Demetrious Johnson outlasting John Dodson, Quinton Jackson's final UFC fight, and more from Saturday night's fights. To see more of Lee's work, follow her on Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/check-pictures-ufc-fox-6-204314877--mma.html

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AP PHOTOS: Scenes of grief at Brazil club fire

AAA??Jan. 27, 2013?8:47 PM ET
AP PHOTOS: Scenes of grief at Brazil club fire
By The Associated Press??By The Associated Press

Family members and friends stand around coffins containing the remains of victims after the bodies were identified at a gymnasium in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, as panicked partygoers gasped for breath in the smoke-filled air, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. Officials counted more than 230 bodies that were brought for identification to the gymnasium in Santa Maria,(AP Photo/Nabor Goulart)

Family members and friends stand around coffins containing the remains of victims after the bodies were identified at a gymnasium in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, as panicked partygoers gasped for breath in the smoke-filled air, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. Officials counted more than 230 bodies that were brought for identification to the gymnasium in Santa Maria,(AP Photo/Nabor Goulart)

A woman cries over the coffin of a victim at a gymnasium where bodies were brought for identification in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing more than 230 people as panicked partygoers gasped for breath in the smoke-filled air, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. (AP Photo/Nabor Goulart)

Police investigators inspect the entrance of the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing more than 230 people as panicked partygoers gasped for breath in the smoke-filled air, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. (AP Photo/Nabor Goulart)

Family members and friends stand around coffins containing the remains of victims after the bodies were identified at a gymnasium in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, as panicked partygoers gasped for breath in the smoke-filled air, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. Officials counted more than 230 bodies that were brought for identification to the gymnasium in Santa Maria,(AP Photo/Nabor Goulart)

Family members and friends mourn as they stand around a coffin containing the remains of a victim after the bodies were identified at a gymnasium in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, as panicked partygoers gasped for breath in the smoke-filled air, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. Officials counted more than 230 bodies that were brought for identification to the gymnasium in Santa Maria,(AP Photo/Nabor Goulart)

Here are images depicting the aftermath of a fatal nightclub fire in Santa Maria, Brazil. The club was hosting a party for university students when the fast-moving fire caused hundreds of partygoers to stampede toward the exit. Firefighters and police say more than 200 are dead, and at least 200 are injured.

Associated Press
People, Places and Companies: Brazil

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-27-Brazil-Nightclub%20Fire-Photo%20Gallery/id-b3afc40632ab42c0bf16d5de1bb51a98

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Dutch Queen Beatrix announces she is to abdicate

Image taken of a TV screen showing Dutch Queen Beatrix announcing she will abdicate April 30, 2014, during a speech prerecorded in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday Jan. 28, 2013. Beatrix, who turns 75 on Thursday, has ruled the nation of 16 million for more than 32 years and would be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. (AP Photo/NOS Television/Peter Dejong)

Image taken of a TV screen showing Dutch Queen Beatrix announcing she will abdicate April 30, 2014, during a speech prerecorded in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday Jan. 28, 2013. Beatrix, who turns 75 on Thursday, has ruled the nation of 16 million for more than 32 years and would be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. (AP Photo/NOS Television/Peter Dejong)

FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2011 file photo, Dutch Queen Beatrix, center, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, left and Princess Maxima, second left, arrive at the "Hall of Knights" to formally open the new parliamentary year in The Hague, Netherlands. Queen Beatrix announced she is to abdicate in favor of Crown Prince Willem Alexander during a nationally televised speech Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. Beatrix, who turns 75 on Thursday, has ruled the nation of 16 million for more than 32 years and would be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2011 file photo, Dutch Queen Beatrix formally opens the new parliamentary year with a speech in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011. Queen Beatrix announced she is to abdicate in favor of Crown Prince Willem Alexander during a nationally televised speech Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. Beatrix, who turns 75 on Thursday, has ruled the nation of 16 million for more than 32 years and would be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. (AP Photo/Toussaint Kluiters, Pool, File)

FILE - In this April 30, 1980 file photo, Princess Juliana, just after her abdication, kisses her eldest daughter Queen Beatrix, left, on the balcony of the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch Queen Beatrix announces she is to abdicate in favor of Crown Prince Willem Alexander during a nationally televised speech Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. Beatrix, who turns 75 on Thursday, has ruled the nation of 16 million for more than 32 years and would be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. (AP Photo/ Ferry van Groen, File)

FILE - In this April 30, 1980 file photo, Queen Beatrix is shown during her crowning ceremony at Nieuwe Kerk, or New Church in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch Queen Beatrix announced she is to abdicate in favor of Crown Prince Willem Alexander during a nationally televised speech Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. Beatrix, who turns 75 on Thursday, has ruled the nation of 16 million for more than 32 years and would be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. (AP Photo, File)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) ? Dutch Queen Beatrix announced Monday that she will abdicate on April 30 after 33 years as head of state, clearing the way for her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, to become the nation's first king in more than a century.

The announcement, in a nationally televised speech, signaled an end to the reign of one of Europe's longest-serving monarchs, whose time on the throne was marked by tumultuous shifts in Dutch society and, more recently, by personal tragedy.

The queen's abdication from the largely ceremonial role had been widely expected, but it is sure to bring an outpouring of sentimental and patriotic feelings among the Dutch, most of whom adore Beatrix. In everyday conversation, many of her subjects refer to her simply by the nickname "Bea."

"Responsibility for our country must now lie in the hands of a new generation," Beatrix said in the speech delivered from her Huis ten Bosch palace just days before she was to turn 75.

"I am deeply grateful for the great faith you have shown in me in the many years that I could be your Queen," she added.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a staunch monarchist, paid his respects in a speech that immediately followed Beatrix on all Dutch television channels.

"Since her coronation in 1980s she's applied herself heart and soul for Dutch society," Rutte said.

The timing of the announcement makes sense at multiple levels. It comes just days before Beatrix's birthday, and she is already the oldest ever Dutch monarch: the pragmatic Dutch do not see being king or queen as a job for life. The nation also celebrates the 200th anniversary of its monarchy, the House of Orange, at the end of this year, Beatrix said.

Observers believe she remained on the throne for so long in part because of unrest in Dutch society as the country struggled to assimilate more and more immigrants, mainly Muslims from North Africa, and shifted away from its traditional reputation as one of the world's most tolerant nations.

In her Christmas Day speech in 2010, Beatrix made a heartfelt plea for unity, saying, "with each other we all make up one society."

Beatrix was also thought to be giving time for her son to enjoy fatherhood before becoming King Willem-Alexander: he has three young daughters with Argentine investment banker Maxima Zorreguieta.

Beatrix has frequently said that the best years of her life were her time as a young mother, before her coronation in 1980.

The abdication also comes at a time of trial for Beatrix. This time a year ago she was struck by personal tragedy when the second of her three sons, Prince Friso, was left in a coma after being engulfed by an avalanche while skiing in Austria.

And even in a job that is mostly ceremonial to begin with, the previous government stripped her of one of her few remaining powers: the ability to name a candidate to begin Cabinet formations after elections of the national parliament.

Meanwhile Willem-Alexander, 45, is prepared to assume the job.

He is a trained pilot and expert in the quintessentially Dutch field of water management who has long been groomed for the throne, often joining Beatrix on state visits and sometimes even flying her home.

Willem-Alexander, a member of the International Olympic Committee, courted controversy with his choice to marry Maxima, whose father was an agriculture minister in the military junta that ruled Argentina with an iron fist in the late 1970s and early '80s.

Beatrix's choice of husband, Claus, who died in 2002, was met with resistance in 1966 because he was a German national and the Nazis' World War II occupation of the Netherlands was still an open wound for many who lived through it. But, like Maxima, he won the hearts of his adopted nation and there was a huge outpouring of grief at his death.

Beatrix's reign began in difficult economic times and there were riots in Amsterdam at her coronation, as thousands of demonstrators protesting the city's housing shortages fought pitched battles with police just a few hundred meters (yards) from the downtown palace where she was crowned.

But throughout her reign she was a calming influence on society, particularly in the aftermath of the 2002 assassination of populist politician Pim Fortuyn and the murder two years later of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim extremist.

Although she was widely respected for her unpretentious style, it took Beatrix much of her reign to attain the admiration and popularity of her late mother, former Queen Juliana, who was more openly loving toward her people.

But in recent years, personal tragedies exposed a softer side to the queen and brought her closer to her subjects.

Klaus's death took a toll on her, and it was apparent how deep her reliance on the quiet man had been: she was filmed leaning heavily, almost hanging on Prince Friso's arm as they entered the church for his funeral.

In another blow, a deranged loner tried to slam a car into an open-topped bus carrying members of the royal family as they celebrated the Queens Day national holiday in 2010. The driver killed seven people gathered to watch the royals and the brazen attack shocked the nation.

Then, in 2012, Prince Friso ? who had been such a support after Klaus's death ? was engulfed by an avalanche as he skied, plunging him into a coma from which he has yet to wake.

Beatrix went back to her busy official schedule soon after the accident, but it again spurred speculation that her reign could be nearing its end.

____

Associated Press writer Toby Sterling contributed from Amsterdam.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-28-Netherlands-Queen/id-ba2173657ac8431ca718a3a3ef750e14

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Mysteries of spider silk strength unraveled

Jan. 27, 2013 ? Scientists at ASU are celebrating their recent success on the path to understanding what makes the fiber that spiders spin -- weight for weight -- at least five times as strong as piano wire. They have found a way to obtain a wide variety of elastic properties of the silk of several intact spiders' webs using a sophisticated but non-invasive laser light scattering technique.

"Spider silk has a unique combination of mechanical strength and elasticity that make it one of the toughest materials we know," said Professor Jeffery Yarger of ASU's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and lead researcher of the study. "This work represents the most complete understanding we have of the underlying mechanical properties of spider silks."

Spider silk is an exceptional biological polymer, related to collagen (the stuff of skin and bones) but much more complex in its structure. The ASU team of chemists is studying its molecular structure in an effort to produce materials ranging from bulletproof vests to artificial tendons.

The extensive array of elastic and mechanical properties of spider silks in situ, obtained by the ASU team, is the first of its kind and will greatly facilitate future modeling efforts aimed at understanding the interplay of the mechanical properties and the molecular structure of silk used to produce spider webs.

The team published their results in a recent issue of Nature materials and their paper is titled "Non-invasive determination of the complete elastic moduli of spider silks."

"This information should help provide a blueprint for structural engineering of an abundant array of bio-inspired materials, such as precise materials engineering of synthetic fibers to create stronger, stretchier, and more elastic materials," explained Yarger.

Other members of Yarger's team, in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, included Kristie Koski, at the time a postdoctoral researcher and currently a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, and ASU undergraduate students Paul Akhenblit and Keri McKiernan.

The Brillouin light scattering technique used an extremely low power laser, less than 3.5 milliwatts, which is significantly less than the average laser pointer. Recording what happened to this laser beam as it passed through the intact spider webs enabled the researchers to spatially map the elastic stiffnesses of each web without deforming or disrupting it. This non-invasive, non-contact measurement produced findings showing variations among discrete fibers, junctions and glue spots.

Four different types of spider's webs were studied. They included Nephila clavipes (pictured), A. aurantia ("gilded silver face"-common to the contiguous United States), L. Hesperus the western black widow and P. viridans the green lynx spider, the only spider included that does not build a web for catching prey but has major silk elastic properties similar to those of the other species studied.

The group also investigated one of the most studied aspects of orb-weaving dragline spider silk, namely supercontraction, a property unique to silk. Spider silk takes up water when exposed to high humidity. Absorbed water leads to shrinkage in an unrestrained fiber up to 50 percent shrinkage with 100 percent humidity in N. clavipes silk.

Their results are consistent with the hypothesis that supercontraction helps the spider tailor the properties of the silk during spinning. This type of behavior, specifically adjusting mechanical properties by simply adjusting water content, is inspirational from a bio-inspired mechanical structure perspective.

"This study is unique in that we can extract all the elastic properties of spider silk that cannot and have not been measured with conventional testing," concluded Yarger.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Arizona State University.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Kristie J. Koski, Paul Akhenblit, Keri McKiernan, Jeffery L. Yarger. Non-invasive determination of the complete elastic moduli of spider silks. Nature Materials, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nmat3549

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/~3/vTijetqY7Dw/130128104741.htm

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Screeners of unusual size? I don?t think they exist. (Unqualified Offerings)

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How To Create Deep Intimacy In Imperfect Relationships ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Arielle Ford is a leading presence in the personal growth and contemporary spirituality movement. She is the bestselling author of eight books including Wabi Sabi Love. She believes that with a simple Wabi Sabi shift in ...

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/finding-love/201301/how-create-deep-intimacy-in-imperfect-relationships-0

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Choose: Create light-duty job or keep paying workers' comp ...

The job market is tough for poorly educated, untrained injured workers. However, unless you want to continue carrying such workers on your workers? compensation policy rolls, it might be smart to do all you can to find light-duty jobs for them.

Recent case: Kelvin was injured while working as a laborer with Caro??lina Cabinet. He has no specialized training and no education beyond high school. He was cleared for light-duty work, but the company had no positions available. Kelvin was terminated. The company contested workers? comp benefits, arguing he could still find some gainful employment.

The court disagreed. It concluded all Kelvin could reasonably do was light-duty unskilled work. Because his employer couldn?t provide it, he was eligible for continued benefits based on the injury. (Thompson v. Carolina Cabinet, No. COA12-202, Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2012)

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Goggle-wearing rats learn predictive skills

Rats are sporting tiny, sci-fi-esque goggles in the name of science. The result: In addition to providing some pretty cute images, the fashionable rats have revealed that parts of the brain related to vision also help animals predict future rewards.

An animal's ability to predict events is vital for avoiding danger and obtaining basic resources, such as a rewarding drink of water. Though scientists had known rats had the ability to make predictions, they thought only higher cognitive areas were involved. Now a new study, to be published in February in the journal Neuron, reveals how the vision center of a rat's brain can learn to time when a reward is imminent.

While the study was in rats, it could prove to be a good model for how learning occurs in the human brain, too.

1. Science news from NBCNews.com

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"This is a fantastic example of how the response of cells changes due to a behavioral paradigm," said theoretical neuroscientist Harel Shouval of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, who was not involved in the study but has worked previously with the researchers. "We can see the cells learning new behavior," he said.

Just as Pavlov's dog learned to associate the sound of a bell ringing with dinnertime, rats can learn to associate flashes of light with how long they must wait to receive a sip of water. Researchers outfitted rats with goggles that flashed a light in one of the animal's eyes to signal the rat to lick a spout in order to receive a drop of water.

A flash in one eye indicated a certain number of licks were required to release the water, while a flash in the other eye signaled that many more licks were necessary. The rats learned the connection between a signal to each eye and the licking time required. The researchers recorded the rats' brain activity using electrodes as the animals completed the task. Results showed, neurons in a vision center of the brain became active in response to one expected licking interval or the other, but not both.

Next, the researchers probed how this learning mechanism works. Nerves from a part of the rat brain known as the basal forebrain are thought to secrete the chemical acetylcholine into the brain's main vision center, also called the primary visual cortex, reinforcing connections that were recently active. When the scientists injected the rats with a neurotoxin that blocks those acetylcholine-releasing nerves, however, the rats' brains continued to remember the licking time for each signal, suggesting the acetylcholine and basal forebrain weren't needed to maintain those associations.

But then the scientists switched the visual cues, so a flash to the eye that signaled less licking now signaled more licking, and vice versa. Then they injected the neurotoxin into some rats but not others. The rats that didn't receive any neurotoxin learned the new association, but those that received the neurotoxin couldn't make the switch; their brains continued to remember the old mapping. The results indicate that the brain's primary vision area plays an important role in learning and relearning new associations.

There's more work to be done, says Shouval, but the findings strongly suggest that the primary visual cortex is not only sensory, but is involved in learning new behaviors as well.

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

? 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50593511/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Find the best seo services

One of the best?seo services available on the net is found at the Warrior Forum, on a thread by a guy named John Moore. Getting started internet company would certainly be useless until and unless the visitors or the targeted crowd notifications your work. For realizing your revenues, you should certainly have actual clients onto your site. Search Engine Optimization or SEO thus has actually come to be an important component of internet advertising and marketing method presently. SEO serves as a skilled tool to improve internet traffic both good and volume a good idea as well as provides organic results.If you want an actually excellent job done on your weblog then we recommend examining John Moore?s search engine optimization online forum blog posts located at the WarriorForum.Searching with the web world will aid you stumble upon many cheap online search engine optimization companies that can easily offer good SEO for your online industry promotion. These affordable Search Engine Optimization firms provide both on-page & off-page optimization service & will create a suited advertising strategy for your online company growth. They are not simply inexpensive SEO providers however timely in dealing with tasks of any size & complication. They remain dedicated to make the benefits of internet advertising readily available to every spending plan assortment. That?s why they offer cost effective SEO package deals with prospective for higher earnings generation.When the concern occurs relating to online search engine optimization then, instantly the worry for the optimizers enters the picture. Nonetheless SEO cope with broad range of activities that feature keyword research, link building services as well as on page and off page optimization solutions. Position of the internet sites relies on the search engine algorithm. But search engine optimizers must continue observing their honest way for the optimization of the sites. Online search engine optimization is undeniably an essential task however it has to be done to master the online business.

Source: http://www.capecodbears.com/sports-and-travel/find-the-best-seo-services/

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Vision Fitness Equipment

?

Business Ideas

Written by submitterart ??

Friday, 25 January 2013 02:28

Vision Fitness has been conveying honor-scoring bits of fitness supplies for a considerable length of time. Their full line of fitness features incorporates treadmills, curved mentors, fitness bicycles and ability supplies. The association began as a division of TrekBicycle Company, one of the planet's greatest makers of value outside bikes, in 1993. Besides in 1996 the association was rotated off by the Trek Fitness administration group to better center on the specially designed fitness industry, the group was then renamed Vision Fitness. The association presents their line of folding and full stage treadmills and the added limit treadmill with a 20-inch wide treadbelt in 1997 with an objective of transforming high caliber features at an improved quality than the vast majority of their contestants. In 1998, the group discharged their patented folding curved coaches which appropriated elevated distinguishment from their purchasers and the media. The X6200 had been granted a "Best Buy" by the Consumer's Digest. Furthermore on 1999, just several short years after the association rotated off from Trek, Vision Fitness got one of the top groups in the fitness industry. In 2001, it had moved its developing operations to a recently developed office in Lake Mills, Wisconsin and in 2004 the group has started making partnerships with Unity Health Insurance and the Wisconsin Governor's Office to assist expand mindfulness of the imperativeness of health and fitness and help the fight opposite youth weight in their home state. The group has been unwaveringly furnishing creative workout machines. Because of their well-fabricated fitness items and amazing costumer aid, it has supported its position as one on the top fitness gear marks. Provided that you are perusing this article then you doubtlessly have no less than one health and fitness objective. I'm setting off to request that you take that above and beyond. I'm heading off to require you to make a vision from your dream figure in your brain. What do you look like? How do you feel? How has it helped you expectancy? Do you display for magazines, run marathons or climb mountains? Besides above all, what did you need to do to get there? Invest some time considering this. So as to realize victory you need to recognize what victory intends to you, a focus on that you can follow wholeheartedly. That is one of the nexus qualities of ultra-achievers: they have a vision of victory and they are not hesitant to follow it. Numerous articles has been written by author submitterart. The article here about Vision Fitness is also one of the best article written by him. Article Tags : Vision Fitness

?
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Source: http://www.workoninternet.com/business/business-opportunities/business-idea/223689-vision-fitness-equipment.html

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Skype prodded by privacy groups over transparency

16 hrs.

Devin Coldewey , NBC News

As Skype becomes more and more integrated with Microsoft's other products, privacy advocates around the world have asked it and its parent company to come clean on how, when and why the widely used?video chatting program?complies with government requests for information.

The request comes in the form of an open letter?Thursday,?addressed to Skype's president and Microsoft's chief privacy officer and general counsel, and ?is?signed by dozens of?organizations, including?the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Digital Rights Foundation.

People all over the world use Skype, including not just distant friends and family members, but journalists and activists for whom the secure and private chat platform is indispensable, the organizations say. And since Skype's takeover, there hasn't been a clear line on whether the service would remain that way.

Since 2011, when Microsoft purchased Skype for $8.5 billion, there have been relatively few bugs and breaches in the service. But at the same time, no information has been publicized that details what information Skype?collects, how it protects it, and with whom that information is shared.

In the letter, the signers ask for regular reports, like those put out by Google and Twitter, describing requests for information made by the government or private individuals. Details on what information is vulnerable to (or protected from) network providers and hackers are also suggested, and a statement on how Skype plans to cooperate with certain information-collection and wiretapping laws in the U.S. and China.

A Microsoft spokesperson declined to address the questions of the letter specifically, but offered the following statement to NBC News:

We are reviewing the letter. Microsoft has an ongoing commitment to collaborate with advocates, industry partners and governments worldwide to develop solutions and promote effective public policies that help protect people's online safety and privacy.

The letter can be read in its entirety here; references and links are at the bottom of the page.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBCNews Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/skype-prodded-privacy-advocates-over-transparency-vulnerabilities-1C8103618

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EA brings Origin gaming platform to the Mac in limited alpha | 9to5Mac

Electronic Arts announced?users would be able to download and test an early alpha build of its popular Origin gaming software for Mac starting today. According to a post on the Origin blog, only a few thousand players in North America and the United Kingdom will be able to download the app at this stage.

Mac gamers rejoice: Origin for Mac will be launching soon, and starting today we?re offering you the opportunity to take it for a spin before the official release.This open alpha will only be available to a few thousand users in North America and the United Kingdom, so don?t wait?download your copy of our new Mac client (alpha build) today.

EA is giving each alpha tester a free copy of the PopCap game Bookworm. Since the store is not currently functional in the Mac version, new games will not be able to download at this time. Before we start seeing?Mass Effect and?Dead Space running natively on your Mac, EA development teams will have to specifically build Mac version of each game in order for them to work on OS X. The decision to do so (or not) will be left to the discretion of each individual game?s developers.

Most other Origin features, such as the in-game overlay, chat, and cloud saves, will be fully functional in the alpha from day one.?The alpha requires OS X 10.6.8 or higher, and it can be downloaded from the Origin website.

Source: http://9to5mac.com/2013/01/24/ea-brings-origin-gaming-platform-to-the-mac-in-limited-alpha/

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Critics of Jordan's king perform well in election

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) ? The surprise victory of 37 Islamist and other government critics despite an election boycott injects a degree of dissent into Jordan's newly empowered parliament. The king has portrayed the assembly as a centerpiece of his reform package, but the opposition says it's not enough and vowed Thursday to stage more street protests.

Initial results released Thursday showed the Islamists ? who are not linked to the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood ? and other opposition figures winning more than 25 percent of the 150-seat parliament, in sharp contrast to the outgoing legislature, which was almost entirely composed of the king's supporters.

Loyalists of King Abdullah II, however, will remain in control of the new legislature, claiming a majority of the seats up for grabs in Wednesday's parliamentary election ? touted as the start of a democratization process that will see the monarch, a close U.S.-ally, gradually hand over some of his absolute powers to lawmakers.

The new parliament will choose the prime minister and be responsible for running much of the country's day-to-day affairs, powers that previously resided with the king. Foreign policy and security matters ? for now, at least ? remain in the hands of Abdullah.

The 2011 Arab Spring uprisings in the region set off a wave of demonstrations in Jordan, prompting Abdullah to introduce the reforms at home to try to prevent the simmering dissent ? which has included unprecedented calls for the king to step down ? from erupting into a full blown revolt. But Abdullah has attempted to implement the reforms in a measured manner, trying to manage the pace of change.

Critics charge that the reforms are too mild and the election does nothing more than provide political cover for the king's continued rule.

Julien Barnes-Dacey, Jordan analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said if a quarter of the lawmakers are indeed independent opposition figures, it could be a "positive step."

However, he said the absence of the Brotherhood, which is Jordan's largest and best organized opposition group, "leaves an important void" and perhaps a lack of legitimacy needed to "push through hard decisions" to be taken in the legislature.

Jordan's economy is ailing, and one of the most pressing issues to be addressed is rising energy costs. The government will likely have to tackle the problem by lifting subsidies on electricity, which is bound to trigger a public backlash. A similar price hike in gas and fuel in November sparked unusually violent protests in which three people killed.

According to unofficial full results released Thursday by Jordan's Independent Electoral Commission, 18 opposition Islamists, including two well-known independents, won seats in the new parliament. They are not members of the Brotherhood, which boycotted the polls to protest an election law it says favors the king's supporters.

About a dozen leftists affiliated with pan-Arab nationalist groups, who are vocal government critics, also won seats, as did 14 candidates from the moderate Islamic Centrist Party, comprising devout but somewhat liberal Muslim figures ? who ran on their party banner. They are expected to lean toward the opposition rather than the government in the legislature because their known public stances often differ with those of the state.

Two Brotherhood members who broke ranks with their party to contest the elections also captured spots in parliament.

Abdullah loyalists claimed the majority of the seats, but their haul fell far short of their 2010 parliamentary election performance.

Official results were expected soon, but no date has been announced.

The Brotherhood, which has led the public opposition to the king over the past two years, rejected the vote and its outcome, and vowed to more street protests and public gatherings in defiance of repeated appeals by the king to join the political process.

"The polls were rigged," said Hamza Mansour, a member of the Brotherhood's political arm, the Islamic Action Front. "Suddenly, the turnout jumped 20 percent in nearly the last three hours of voting, which is impossible by all means."

Mansour rejected suggestions that the group has been politically sidelined, saying "we are part of the people and we will remain in the street to press our demands for real reforms."

Despite the Brotherhood's allegations, observers from the Washington-based National Democratic Institute said there was "marked improvement in procedures and administration from past polls."

However, the group which had 50 observers from 29 countries stationed throughout Jordan, said there were shortcomings related to gerrymandering and that tribalism is encouraged over political party formation. It urged the king to work toward consolidating political parties along ideological lines so that future elections would veer from voting along tribal lines.

It cited a few examples of voters announcing publicly their candidate choice and where some polling officials gave over their authority to candidates and their agents.

The new parliament will for the first time in Jordan's history elect a prime minister ? a major power-ceding concession by the king in the wake of street protests over the past two years, inspired by Arab Spring uprisings. The protesters, initially led by youth activists and later spearheaded by the Brotherhood, have demanded more people power and a greater say in politics.

The election commission said 1.3 million Jordanians, or 56.7 percent of nearly 2.3 million people who were registered to vote, had cast their ballots.

Later Thursday, eyewitnesses and police reported three violent incidents related to the elections. The worst violence was reported in the southern city of Maan, where a dozen masked men attacked government institutions, banks and police cars during a dispute between followers of two rival tribal candidates.

In the southwestern city of Karak, followers of rival tribal contestants beat each other when the results were announced, while in the northern town of Mafraq, tribal followers burned tires and hurled stones at policemen to protest the election tally.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/critics-jordans-king-perform-well-election-184832154.html

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Exclusive: Sazon Booya Unleash 'Mayhem & Moombah': Watch It Here!

The documentary, featuring SAV, Mystereo, Skrillex and Dave Nada, premieres on MTV.com with the group's new collaborative track.
By Akshay Bhansali

Sazon Booya
Photo: Yoni Asulin

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1700740/sazon-booya-mayhem-moombah.jhtml

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MYOB CEO Tim Reed talks small business | Dynamic Business ...

If you run a business, chances are you?re using at least one MYOB product. We sat down with the software giant?s CEO before Christmas to discuss small business trends for 2013 and to find out what the company can do to make your life easier.?

Since launching in 1991, MYOB has become synonymous with business management software. Their products are already used by more than one million businesses across Australia and New Zealand and they are still growing.

Tim Reed joined the company 10 years ago and became CEO in 2007. He explained MYOB?s close relationship with the small business community and shared some helpful advice about how to get ahead in tough times.

How important is small business to the economy?

I?m very passionate about small business, very passionate about the challenges that small businesses face and believe they are often the forgotten party at the table. They contribute so much to the local economy, they are integral to strong communities, they are the businesses that ? when the going gets tough ? stand by their team members, do the best they can for their clients, frequently put the business second to the needs of team members and the needs of clients and are generally underappreciated for their role in the community.

How does MYOB use its clout to champion the cause of small business?

I think at MYOB I have an opportunity ? that we, as a business, have an opportunity ? to develop great products that make it easier for them to succeed and to reach their business dreams. To advocate and to lobby on behalf of small businesses and I?ll frequently talk to different government ministers or speak on behalf of small business. We do a lot of research on behalf of small business at MYOB, which we publish and make available to make sure that they?re part of the overall national conversation. I feel like we have a great opportunity to give back to some of the businesses that have given so much to us over the years.

Have you had any personal experience running a small business?

I grew up in a family that lived from small businesses. All my life my dad ran small businesses.

Can you tell us what kind?

He had an educational supplies wholesaling business that he started the year I was born, he then ran a bus and tour company for a period of time, we were in tourism for a number of years ? owning and running a holiday resort ? and now he runs a bus tour business.

I?m also an investor in a small business ? a health services provide, which I did specifically to understand what it is to be a small business owner and to understand the pressures, the trade offs, the red tape requirements that small businesses have to deal with today. Just to make sure that that experience remained relevant to me.

What do you think are the biggest pressures facing small business at the moment?

At MYOB we run one of the largest surveys of small and medium businesses in the country and we ask that question every time.

Right now, it is fuel prices for most businesses. So the most common response over the last 9 or so years has been interest rates but fuel costs and fuel prices are really the top concerns.

This is followed quite closely by cashflow. For every one business that has grown revenue over the past 12 months, two businesses have had revenue contract. When you?re running a business where revenue is getting smaller and smaller, one of the questions on your mind is ? am I going to be able to pay the bills next month? Can I meet the payroll? Will I be able to pay the rent? I actually think it?s quite a positive thing that people recognise that cashflow is something they actually need to actively manage in these times.

The third one that is on business owner?s minds is pricing and price margins and profitability. What that tells us is that business owners right now see costs increasing and don?t have the confidence to pass those increases on to their clients. The one note that I would make there is that our qualitative research over time has said that small business owners in particular frequently underestimate their ability to charge for their services. All small business owners should keep that in mind when thinking about their ability to price.

What MYOB products can help business through these hard times?

I?d start with MYOB Atlas, which is a platform that allows a business to build a website in less than 30 minutes. All you have to do is answer questions about your business, you choose layouts and themes, upload pictures and you have a search optimised website that?s out there for the world to see. What our research has shown is that those that do have a website are far more likely to see revenue growing than those that don?t. It?s quite a low cost product and it will really help businesses break through that digital divide and enable them to be online and be found online.

The second one I would mention is MYOB live accounts.It offers a full range of invoicing, expense management, a payroll module ? it?s really targeted to the 0 to 5 employee market. Those are the businesses that our research says are finding the conditions really tough right now. Live Accounts allows those businesses to get their bookwork done and in doing so give them a good view as to the financial situation of their business, which will enable them to make better decisions.

What are some tips you could give small business owners to increase their profits??

When times are tough you first want to make sure the foundations of your business are strong. That starts by making sure the existing client relationships you have are healthy. Especially at the end of one year or the start of a new year is a great time to pick up the phone and have a conversation and by doing that you remain top of mind to that person and you?re far more likely to get more business from them going forward.

Make sure you have healthy team relationships. People are motivated and inspired by business owners, who can explain the story of the business and are out there working alongside the team members. That?s what small businesses do much better than large corporations.

The third thing is get online. When we have a look at the differences between what businesses that are performing well are doing and what businesses that are finding it more difficult are doing or are not doing, the biggest single factor is that businesses that are online are far more likely to see their revenue grow and be optimistic about the future. Build a website, set up a Facebook page, set up a LinkedIn account and just learn. You don?t have to be a master the day you start. Just get online and get started. You?ll find it?s a really exciting journey that will lead to better business outcomes.

What?s next for MYOB?

We?re continuing to invest in our cloud-based platforms. Account Right Live is the next generation of our flagship small business product. Most Australian small businesses have an MYOB management system and most of them run a product called MYOB Account Right. It has been in the market for 20 years and is the gold standard for small business accounting and payroll in this country. In November this year we brought out a version that allows a small business owner to run their books in the cloud or on the desktop or both. It allows them to get the full benefit of the cloud. That means they can invite their accountant or bookkeepers in and they can all work on the books at the same time.

Are there any entrepreneurs or small business owners you look up to?

There are so many small business owners I admire but I had the great fortune of being a judge in the Telstra business of the year awards and this year a business called bikeexchange.com.au were the winner of the MYOB small business of the year winner and then the overall winner of the Telstra Business of the year. They are an incredibly inspiring story. They set out with an objective of helping bike retailers get online and start benefitting from the digital ecomony. They?ve done a fantastic job and their business is booming.

Source: http://www.dynamicbusiness.com.au/news/myob-ceo-tim-reed-talks-small-business-25012013.html

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Shakespeare stored in DNA files

Floppy disks, jump drives, DNA? Scientists have developed a way to encode music and text files into DNA, the molecules that normally hold the instructions for life.

The new method, described today (Jan. 23) in the journal Nature, is extremely expensive right now, but eventually it could be used to store digital files without electricity for thousands of years. And since DNA is so compact, vast amounts of data could be stored in one test tube, said study author Nick Goldman, a geneticist at the European Bioinformatics Institute in the U.K.

"I've gone from being a skeptic to a believer," said David Haussler, a geneticist and computer scientist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who was not involved in the study.

And because DNA is the script of life, crucial in medicine, agriculture and other endeavors, human beings will always be pushing for ways to improve the reading and writing of DNA, Haussler told LiveScience. [ Genetics by the Numbers: 10 Tantalizing Tales ]

The team has even used the method to encode Shakespeare's sonnets.

Data deluge
From floppy disks to CDs to magnetic tapes, the technologies to store, read and write digital data become obsolete rapidly. Digital archives take a lot of space, and the files themselves, even archival magnetic tapes, need to be freshened up or rewritten every few years to prevent degradation.

Goldman and colleague Ewan Birney, also of European Bioinformatics Institute, were discussing this problem over beers one day when they realized that DNA might actually be feasible to store vast amounts of data.

1. Science news from NBCNews.com

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   4. Humans called 'a plague on the Earth'

As the discovery of intact woolly mammoth DNA demonstrates, the molecule can last for tens of thousands of years as long as it's stored in a cool, dark place, they said. It doesn't require electricity to maintain, like hard drives do, can include built-in error checking, and it's incredibly compact, Goldman told LiveScience. (Earlier this year, another team demonstrated the feasibility of DNA storage, but stored a tiny amount of data and didn't include error checking.)

Storage solution
The researchers began to sketch out a way to encode the 0s and 1s of a computer file into the alphabet of letters that make up the genetic code. They then chose several digital files ?? a portion of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, all the sonnets of Shakespeare and a photograph of their institution ? encoded them into DNA letters, and had a company in California called Agilent assemble short snippets of the DNA.

Because the method creates multiple, overlapping copies of each DNA snippet, the method also includes a built-in error-checking system. What they got back was a tiny amount of DNA, "an almost invisible fleck of dust in the bottom of a little test tube," Goldman said.

They then read the DNA-based files using a gene-sequencing machine. Using current technology, reading the DNA took more than two weeks and cost more than $10,000, Birney said at a press briefing. To store the world's existing data would be "breathtakingly expensive, perhaps costing more money than is on the planet," he said.

But the technology to read and write DNA has improved 10,000-fold over the last eight years and is likely to continue improving even more rapidly, Haussler said. In 10 years DNA could start supplanting magnetic tapes, which are currently used to store government and other long-lasting, rarely accessed archives, he estimated.

"You can't get obsessed with the fact that it may not be practical today. If you do any reasonable projection of current trends five or 10 years into the future you see that this is in the sweet spot."

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

? 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50563296/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Maximize Your Affiliate Marketing Potential With These Suggestions ...

You can make major profits from affiliate marketing, but it will only work for you if you learn about it and develop the appropriate disciplines. It will take quite a bit of effort to make really good profits with affiliate marketing. The article below provides some solid information to get you started on your way.

Affiliate marketers must be aware that enrolling in a pay-per-sale affiliate plan is very risky. Keep in mind that you can make a lot of money if everything goes well. Before deciding to join the affiliate marketing program, you should conduct research, and ascertain whether the products and services offered are relevant to your website.

In order to succeed with affiliate marketing, you should consider taking advantage of paid advertising, such as Google Ads. Use the ad space to drive visitors to your website by incorporating the keywords most used by potential customers.

You should do your research into an affiliate even if they make a ton of money. You should be sure that you can do this easily and without issues.

You should understand who your target audience is when you are dealing with affiliate marketing. You will have to put in hard work to satisfy your readers. Know what attracts them to your site. What is drawing them to you?

Do not ever get involved in this process and do not affiliate with people who are. This can make your site visitors feel resentful. It can even cause tracking chains to break down, and even promotes the spread of viruses.

This is all the more important should your target audience be older demographics like baby boomers or senior citizens. Making your content readable can boost profits in a big way, so don?t overlook simple fixes such as using a larger font.

You should always be honest with readers about what affiliations you have. Not only will they respond positively to your honesty, they will also be more apt to use your affiliate links, helping you increase your profits.

Affiliate programs are not carbon copies of each other. Besides offering different types of products, they also differ in the way they operate.

Use a reliable tracking system. It?s possible for affiliates to miscalculate your sales, resulting in a loss of profit for you. Constantly use a tracking service that is legitimate in order to save yourself from this dilemma. Services like these may require you to pay, but you will find it worthwhile.

When writing about affiliate marketing programs, remain positive. Phrases that could be perceived as negative should be changed. g.

Think of things to add when you are picking affiliates. Try to get a strapped bottle to put water in.

Do not let anyone trick you into using their tracking system. Instead of getting into this mess, find and use a tracking system that is reputable.

Remember that with affiliate marketing lifetime commissions are very rare. There are some great companies that still offer this perk, so still put some time into looking for it. An affiliate program pays a commission to the affiliates who bring them new customers. Usually this only applies if the customer bought an item within a certain amount of time. That is why it is worth it to find the best commissions.

People love contests and prizes, so hold contests regularly and give out prizes to visitors. This will have people return to your page many times, and chances are if your price or contest is exciting, they will tell others about it.

Add pictures of products and add testimonials or reviews from real customers who have truly had experience with your products. You are more likely to have more sales and more business if you provide customers with a lot of information.

As you begin to develop your affiliate marketing strategy, you may incur some costs upfront. Reinvest in affiliate marketing by advertising wherever opportunity to advertise is available. You can get great results by advertising with Facebook, Google, and even Yahoo.

Try and get a commission from every type of sale when you sign up with a particular affiliate company. Is it possible to keep track of affiliate-driven purchases as well as orders placed by phone, mail, and fax? Make sure that you are not missing out on the revenue that you are owed!

Affiliate marketing programs can help to market your business better. In general, affiliate programs generate more traffic than other advertising methods, including banners and contextual networks. You should pay attention to the parent company?s site, especially the quality of the product and the ease of site navigation.

You will want to consider what products you are linking to. After you have figured out the best link arrangement, you should see improved profits.

You should conduct your affiliate marketing in the same manner you would any other business. Sometimes, it is best if you make the links feel almost transparent. Your customers should view you as the seller of the products offered on your site.

It is important that your readers trust you. When readers can identify with the content you provide them, they will be grateful for this and will be more likely to help see to it that your website survives and grows, including clicking referral links to products they plan on purchasing.

It?s imperative to have access to real time statistics. Because they allow you to see how many visitors have come through the site, and how many people have made purchases.

If using banner ads, put an interesting question or piece of trivia in one, and set it up so readers need to click over to your site for the answer. Many people will not be able to resist clicking that banner. You can encourage customers further by offering discounts for correct answers.

If you take the time to plan your next move and keep these tips in mind, you are going to see the positive outcome that you were hoping for when you decided to get involved. So make a action plan ? including these tips ? and get to work!

Search Engine Optimization, SEO

Source: http://www.websitehostdirect.com/maximize-your-affiliate-marketing-potential-with-these-suggestions-2/

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