IBEX: Glimpses of the interstellar material beyond our solar system

Public release date: 31-Jan-2012
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Contact: Susan Hendrix
Susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov
301-286-7745
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

A great magnetic bubble surrounds the solar system as it cruises through the galaxy. The sun pumps the inside of the bubble full of solar particles that stream out to the edge until they collide with the material that fills the rest of the galaxy, at a complex boundary called the heliosheath. On the other side of the boundary, electrically charged particles from the galactic wind blow by, but rebound off the heliosheath, never to enter the solar system. Neutral particles, on the other hand, are a different story. They saunter across the boundary as if it weren't there, continuing on another 7.5 billion miles for 30 years until they get caught by the sun's gravity, and sling shot around the star.

There, NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer lies in wait for them. Known as IBEX for short, this spacecraft methodically measures these samples of the mysterious neighborhood beyond our home. IBEX scans the entire sky once a year, and every February, its instruments point in the correct direction to intercept incoming neutral atoms. IBEX counted those atoms in 2009 and 2010 and has now captured the best and most complete glimpse of the material that lies so far outside our own system.

The results? It's an alien environment out there: the material in that galactic wind doesn't look like the same stuff our solar system is made of.

"We've directly measured four separate types of atoms from interstellar space and the composition just doesn't match up with what we see in the solar system," says Eric Christian, mission scientist for IBEX at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "IBEX's observations shed a whole new light on the mysterious zone where the solar system ends and interstellar space begins."

More than just helping to determine the distribution of elements in the galactic wind, these new measurements give clues about how and where our solar system formed, the forces that physically shape our solar system, and even the history of other stars in the Milky Way.

In a series of science papers appearing in the Astrophysical Journal on January 31, 2012, scientists report that for every 20 neon atoms in the galactic wind, there are 74 oxygen atoms. In our own solar system, however, for every 20 neon atoms there are 111 oxygen atoms. That translates to more oxygen in any given slice of the solar system than in the local interstellar space.

"Our solar system is different than the space right outside it and that suggests two possibilities," says David McComas the principal investigator for IBEX at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. "Either the solar system evolved in a separate, more oxygen-rich part of the galaxy than where we currently reside or a great deal of critical, life-giving oxygen lies trapped in interstellar dust grains or ices, unable to move freely throughout space." Either way, this affects scientific models of how our solar system and life formed.

Studying the galactic wind also provides scientists with information about how our solar system interacts with the rest of space, which is congruent with an important IBEX goal. Classified as a NASA Explorer Mission -- a class of smaller, less expensive spacecraft with highly focused research objectives -- IBEX's main job is to study the heliosheath, that outer boundary of the solar system's magnetic bubble -- or heliosphere -- where particles from the solar wind meet the galactic wind.

Previous spacecraft have already provided some information about the way the galactic wind interacts with the heliosheath. Ulysses, for one, observed incoming helium as it traveled past Jupiter and measured it traveling at 59,000 miles per hour. IBEX's new information, however, shows the galactic wind traveling not only at a slower speed -- around 52,000 miles per hour -- but from a different direction, most likely offset by some four degrees from previous measurements. Such a difference may not initially seem significant, but it amounts to a full 20% difference in how much pressure the galactic wind exerts on the heliosphere.

"Measuring the pressure on our heliosphere from the material in the galaxy and from the magnetic fields out there," says Christian, "will help determine the size and shape of our solar system as it travels through the galaxy."

These IBEX measurements also provide information about the cloud of material in which the solar system currently resides. This cloud is called the local interstellar cloud, to differentiate it from the myriad of particle clouds throughout the Milky Way, each traveling at different speeds. The solar system and its heliosphere moved into our local cloud at some point during the last 45,000 years.

Since the older Ulysses observations of the galactic wind speed was in between the speeds expected for the local cloud and the adjacent cloud, researchers thought perhaps the solar system didn't lie smack in the middle of this cloud, but might be at the boundary, transitioning into a new region of space. IBEX's results, however, show that we remain fully in the local cloud, at least for the moment.

"Sometime in the next hundred to few thousand years, the blink of an eye on the timescales of the galaxy, our heliosphere should leave the local interstellar cloud and encounter a much different galactic environment," McComas says.

In addition to providing insight into the interaction between the solar system and its environment, these new results also hold clues about the history of material in the universe. While the big bang initially created hydrogen and helium, only the supernovae explosions at the end of a giant star's life can spread the heavier elements of oxygen and neon through the galaxy. Knowing the amounts of such elements in space can help map how the galaxy has evolved and changed over time.

"This set of papers provide many of the first direct measurements of the interstellar medium around us," says McComas. "We've been trying to understand our galaxy for a long time, and with all of these observations together, we are taking a major step forward in knowing what the local part of the galaxy is like."

Voyager 1 could cross out of our solar system within the next few years. By combining the data from several sets of NASA instruments Ulysses, Voyager, IBEX and others we are on the precipice of stepping outside and understanding the complex environment beyond our own frontier for the first time.

The Southwest Research Institute developed and leads the IBEX mission with a team of national and international partners. The spacecraft is one of NASA's series of low-cost, rapidly developed missions in the Small Explorers Program. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate.

###

For more information about the IBEX mission, go to:

http://www.nasa.gov/ibex

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 31-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Susan Hendrix
Susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov
301-286-7745
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

A great magnetic bubble surrounds the solar system as it cruises through the galaxy. The sun pumps the inside of the bubble full of solar particles that stream out to the edge until they collide with the material that fills the rest of the galaxy, at a complex boundary called the heliosheath. On the other side of the boundary, electrically charged particles from the galactic wind blow by, but rebound off the heliosheath, never to enter the solar system. Neutral particles, on the other hand, are a different story. They saunter across the boundary as if it weren't there, continuing on another 7.5 billion miles for 30 years until they get caught by the sun's gravity, and sling shot around the star.

There, NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer lies in wait for them. Known as IBEX for short, this spacecraft methodically measures these samples of the mysterious neighborhood beyond our home. IBEX scans the entire sky once a year, and every February, its instruments point in the correct direction to intercept incoming neutral atoms. IBEX counted those atoms in 2009 and 2010 and has now captured the best and most complete glimpse of the material that lies so far outside our own system.

The results? It's an alien environment out there: the material in that galactic wind doesn't look like the same stuff our solar system is made of.

"We've directly measured four separate types of atoms from interstellar space and the composition just doesn't match up with what we see in the solar system," says Eric Christian, mission scientist for IBEX at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "IBEX's observations shed a whole new light on the mysterious zone where the solar system ends and interstellar space begins."

More than just helping to determine the distribution of elements in the galactic wind, these new measurements give clues about how and where our solar system formed, the forces that physically shape our solar system, and even the history of other stars in the Milky Way.

In a series of science papers appearing in the Astrophysical Journal on January 31, 2012, scientists report that for every 20 neon atoms in the galactic wind, there are 74 oxygen atoms. In our own solar system, however, for every 20 neon atoms there are 111 oxygen atoms. That translates to more oxygen in any given slice of the solar system than in the local interstellar space.

"Our solar system is different than the space right outside it and that suggests two possibilities," says David McComas the principal investigator for IBEX at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. "Either the solar system evolved in a separate, more oxygen-rich part of the galaxy than where we currently reside or a great deal of critical, life-giving oxygen lies trapped in interstellar dust grains or ices, unable to move freely throughout space." Either way, this affects scientific models of how our solar system and life formed.

Studying the galactic wind also provides scientists with information about how our solar system interacts with the rest of space, which is congruent with an important IBEX goal. Classified as a NASA Explorer Mission -- a class of smaller, less expensive spacecraft with highly focused research objectives -- IBEX's main job is to study the heliosheath, that outer boundary of the solar system's magnetic bubble -- or heliosphere -- where particles from the solar wind meet the galactic wind.

Previous spacecraft have already provided some information about the way the galactic wind interacts with the heliosheath. Ulysses, for one, observed incoming helium as it traveled past Jupiter and measured it traveling at 59,000 miles per hour. IBEX's new information, however, shows the galactic wind traveling not only at a slower speed -- around 52,000 miles per hour -- but from a different direction, most likely offset by some four degrees from previous measurements. Such a difference may not initially seem significant, but it amounts to a full 20% difference in how much pressure the galactic wind exerts on the heliosphere.

"Measuring the pressure on our heliosphere from the material in the galaxy and from the magnetic fields out there," says Christian, "will help determine the size and shape of our solar system as it travels through the galaxy."

These IBEX measurements also provide information about the cloud of material in which the solar system currently resides. This cloud is called the local interstellar cloud, to differentiate it from the myriad of particle clouds throughout the Milky Way, each traveling at different speeds. The solar system and its heliosphere moved into our local cloud at some point during the last 45,000 years.

Since the older Ulysses observations of the galactic wind speed was in between the speeds expected for the local cloud and the adjacent cloud, researchers thought perhaps the solar system didn't lie smack in the middle of this cloud, but might be at the boundary, transitioning into a new region of space. IBEX's results, however, show that we remain fully in the local cloud, at least for the moment.

"Sometime in the next hundred to few thousand years, the blink of an eye on the timescales of the galaxy, our heliosphere should leave the local interstellar cloud and encounter a much different galactic environment," McComas says.

In addition to providing insight into the interaction between the solar system and its environment, these new results also hold clues about the history of material in the universe. While the big bang initially created hydrogen and helium, only the supernovae explosions at the end of a giant star's life can spread the heavier elements of oxygen and neon through the galaxy. Knowing the amounts of such elements in space can help map how the galaxy has evolved and changed over time.

"This set of papers provide many of the first direct measurements of the interstellar medium around us," says McComas. "We've been trying to understand our galaxy for a long time, and with all of these observations together, we are taking a major step forward in knowing what the local part of the galaxy is like."

Voyager 1 could cross out of our solar system within the next few years. By combining the data from several sets of NASA instruments Ulysses, Voyager, IBEX and others we are on the precipice of stepping outside and understanding the complex environment beyond our own frontier for the first time.

The Southwest Research Institute developed and leads the IBEX mission with a team of national and international partners. The spacecraft is one of NASA's series of low-cost, rapidly developed missions in the Small Explorers Program. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate.

###

For more information about the IBEX mission, go to:

http://www.nasa.gov/ibex

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/nsfc-bgo013112.php

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Angela Meade given Sills award by Met Opera

NEW YORK (AP) ? Soprano Angela Meade has won the Beverly Sills Artist Award for young singers.

The annual award, which carries a $50,000 prize, was announced Monday. It is given to singers from 25-40.

Meade sings Elvira on Thursday in the opening of the Met's revival of Verdi's "Ernani," the role she sang for her company debut in 2008.

Previous winners include Nathan Gunn (2006), mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato (2007), tenor Matthew Polenzani (2008), bass John Relyea (2009), soprano Susanna Phillips (2010) and mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard (2011).

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-30-Met%20Opera-Sills%20Award-Meade/id-b8c6efe578c5411e90a4250eaa00c913

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Syrian troops push back in fight on Damascus edges

This image from amateur video made available by the Ugarit News group and shot on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, purports to show a funeral in Damascus, Syria. The Syrian military launched an offensive to regain control of suburbs on the eastern edge of Damascus on Sunday, storming neighborhoods and clashing with groups of army defectors in fierce fighting that sent residents fleeing and killed at several people, activists said. (AP Photo/Ugarit News Group via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL. TV OUT

This image from amateur video made available by the Ugarit News group and shot on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, purports to show a funeral in Damascus, Syria. The Syrian military launched an offensive to regain control of suburbs on the eastern edge of Damascus on Sunday, storming neighborhoods and clashing with groups of army defectors in fierce fighting that sent residents fleeing and killed at several people, activists said. (AP Photo/Ugarit News Group via APTN) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL. TV OUT

Protesters shout slogans as they carry pictures of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Syrian flags during a demonstration in front of the Russian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, to express gratitude for the Russian position in support of Syria. Russia has said it will use its Security Council veto to block any resolution threatening Syria with sanctions or lacking a clear ban on any foreign military interference. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian forces heavily shelled the restive city of Homs on Monday and troops pushed back dissident troops from some suburbs on the outskirts of Damascus in an offensive trying to regain control of the capital's eastern doorstep, activists said.

President Bashar Assad's regime is intensifying its assault aimed at crushing army defectors and protesters, even as the West tries to overcome Russian opposition and win a new U.N. resolution demanding a halt to Syria's crackdown on the 10-month-old uprising. Activists reported at least 28 civilians killed on Monday.

With talks on the resolution due to begin Tuesday, a French official said at least 10 members of the Security Council backed the measure, which includes a U.N. demand that Assad carry out an Arab League peace plan. The plan requires Assad to hand his powers over to his vice president and allow the creation of a unity government within two months. Damascus has rejected the proposal.

A text needs support from nine nations on the 15-member U.N. Security Council to go to a vote. The French official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with departmental rules.

The British and French foreign ministers were heading to New York to push for backing of the measure in Tuesday's U.N. talks.

In London, British Prime Minister David Cameron's office urged Moscow to reconsider its opposition to the measure.

"Russia can no longer explain blocking the U.N. and providing cover for the regime's brutal repression," a spokeswoman for Cameron said, on customary condition of anonymity in line with policy.

Russia insists it won't support any resolution it believes could open the door to an eventual foreign military intervention in Syria, the way an Arab-backed U.N. resolution paved the way for NATO airstrikes in Libya. Instead, the Kremlin said Monday it was trying to put together negotiations in Moscow between Damascus and the opposition.

It said Assad's government has agreed to participate. The opposition has in the past rejected any negotiations unless violence stops, and there was no immediate word whether any of the multiple groups that make up the anti-Assad camp would attend.

The United Nations estimated several weeks ago that more than 5,400 people have been killed in Syria's crackdown since the uprising against Assad's rule began in March. The bloodshed has continued since ? with more than 190 killed in the past five days ? and the U.N. says it has been unable to update the figure.

Regime forces on Monday heavily shelled the central city of Homs, which has been one of the cities at the forefront of the uprising, activists said. Heavy machine gun fire hit the city's restive Baba Amr district.

The Syrian Human Rights Observatory reported that 14 were killed in the city on Monday. Another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees, put the number at 15. Both also reported the discovery of a family of six ? a couple and their four children ? who had been killed by gunfire several days earlier in the city's Karm el-Zeitoun district.

The past three days, pro-Assad forces have been fighting to take back a string of suburbs on the eastern approach to Damascus where army defectors who joined the opposition had seized control.

Government troops managed on Sunday evening to take control of two of the districts closest to Damascus, Ein Tarma and Kfar Batna, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, the London-based head of the Observatory.

On Monday, the regime forces were trying to take the next suburbs farther out, with heavy fighting in the districts of Saqba and Arbeen, he said.

At least five civilians were killed in the fighting near Damascus, the Observatory and LCC said. The Observatory also reported 10 army defectors and eight regime troops or security forces killed around the country.

The reports could not be independently confirmed. Syrian authorities keep tight control on the media and have banned many foreign journalists from entering the country.

The wide-scale offensive near the capital suggested the regime is worried that military defectors could close in on Damascus, which has remained relatively quiet while most other Syrian cities have slipped into chaos since the uprising began in March.

The violence has gradually approached the capital. In the past two weeks, army dissidents have become more visible, seizing several suburbs on the eastern edge of Damascus and setting up checkpoints where masked men wearing military attire and wielding assault rifles stop motorists and protect anti-regime protests.

Their presence so close to the capital is astonishing in tightly controlled Syria and suggests the Assad regime may either be losing control or setting up a trap for the fighters before going on the offensive.

State media reported that an "armed terrorist group" blew up a gas pipeline at dawn Monday. The pipeline carries gas from the central province of Homs to an area near the border with Lebanon. SANA news agency reported that the blast happened in Tal Hosh, which is about five miles (eight kilometers) from Talkalakh, along the border with Lebanon.

Further details were not immediately available.

There have been several pipeline attacks since the Syrian uprising began, but it is not clear who is behind them.

Assad's regime has blamed "terrorists" for driving the country's uprising, not protesters seeking democratic change.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-30-ML-Syria/id-c8d504a680db4788837e9c4b8e8b8b7b

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Russia's most powerful women in business ? RT

Bella Zlatkis (RIA Novosti / Ilya Pitalev)

They are the leaders of a new class of ambitious Russian women, breaking into the macho world of post-Soviet business.

They haven?t got the top places in a list of Russia?s 100 most influential women ? which is headed by politician Valentina Matvienko and singer Alla Pugacheva,??? but the women from the business world who got into the top hundred can be easily called the mighty queens of their industries.

The list, compiled by the leading Russian news agencies , RIA and Interfax, along with radio station Echo Moscow and Ogonek magazine, includes bankers Bella Zlatkis (ranking 37) and? Olga Dergunova (39), airline head Olga Pleshakova (46), Elena Baturina (55), who deals in construction, and Natalya Kaspersky (66), who started an international IT company.

Bella Zlatkis?? Deputy Chairwoman of Sberbank, Chairwoman of MICEX and the National Settlement Depository.

As a youngster Bella Zlatkis wanted to study together with her twin sister ? to become a physicist, but was persuaded by her parents to study economics instead. Since then she?s been one of the key figures in Russia?s world of finance. During her working life she?s been with just two organisations. Starting from 1970 she spent 34 years at the Ministry of Finance, and then in 2004 moved to Russia?s biggest bank Sberbank. She only takes one day off a week, and says that is always devoted to keeping her family happy. Her husband has always believed her main duty was weeding their vegetable garden. Now only roses grow at their country house and he doesn?t approve because they are inedible. She also used to be a pro on making pickled vegetables ? so there was no question what to serve when foreign guests are at the table. However pickles were never in her way when it came to work?? Honoured Economist of the Russian Federation with several state awards, she stood at the root of creating Russia?s financial system after the Soviet Union collapsed.

Olga Dergunova?? Member of VTB Bank Management Board

She used to be regional chair of Microsoft Russia and CIS, responsible for its $100 million operations across the country's nine time zones. The Wall Street Journal Europe placed her among the 25 most influential businesswomen in Europe. She was hired by Microsoft in 1994, soon after it founded a subsidiary in Moscow, and Olga Dergunova became its 13th employee. A year later the ?unlucky number? was promoted to be general director of the company and in July 2004 became its chair. In her own words, she was putting together the ?elite business special task force? of the IT industry in Russia. So it came as a huge surprise to everyone when after 15 years with the company she switched to VTB in 2007. Her previous life had been connected to IT ? and suddenly ? a state bank came into the picture. She started her banking career right in the beginning of the global financial crisis ? it seemed reforming a bank at such a time would have been a nightmare but she?s never abandoned her optimistic take on things. By the time she took up her new job her whole family was already working in banking ? so her daughter taught her the formulas and her husband explained the terms. One evening soon after she left Miscrosoft her household asked if she?d be offended if they ever betrayed Microsoft ? Dergunova only laughed. That?s how the family switched to Apple with its Ipods and IMacs. One of Russia?s top managers has been married for 20 years?? they tied the knot when they were students and soon had their first and only daughter. She says her only duty at home is feeding two fat and arrogant cats, and should her daughter have a child of her own some day, Dergunova reckons she will make a wonderful grandmother: 'I don't know how to cook, sew or knit. But I will teach the grandkid how to play golf, read, work on the computer and make the best use of their time.'

Olga Pleshakova ? General Director, Transaero Airlines

In 2001 Olga Pleshakova became the first woman to head a Russian airline. ?Nowadays no one gets surprised,?? she says?? but 10 years ago Russian civil aviation was a purely male sphere and my appointment came as a shock to the market. I have to admit my pilots still don?t want any female pilots on their team? they are very superstitious,? she told Russian Forbes. Olga Pleshakova?s background lies with the Moscow Aviation Institute so it seemed only logical she went through all the steps of the career ladder. However no one expected her appointment in 2001 to become such a success: within 10 years of her appointment as DG, the number of passengers using Transaero grew 17-fold, revenues ? 27-fold and more than 100 flights ? both domestic and international?? were added to the company?s routes. In 2007 it became the second largest airline in Russia and still remains an important player, despite the problems the company has experienced in the past few years. Some say, having a husband ? Alexander Pleshakov?? found the company and chair the board of directors ? helps. As well as having a mother-in-law who?s heading the Interstate Aviation Committee. However Pleshakova says she doesn?t work WITH her husband: ?I simply work in a company where my husband is the head of the board. We?ve known each other for 30 years ? since school ? and 25 of them we?ve been married. The most responsible moment is to switch into work or home ?mode?.? Olga and Alexander have two daughters and say they?ve never been deprived of their parents? attention.

Elena Baturina ? former owner of Inteco, wife of the ex-Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov.

Her business empire grew out of the production of plastic washbowls and toilet brushes ? to become the largest construction company in Moscow producing prefab housing. In 2010 she ranked the third richest woman in the world with a fortune estimated at 2.9 billion dollars. One of Russia?s few female industrialists; she?s been Russia?s wealthiest woman for a long time (her fortune peaked in 2008 at an estimated $4.2bln according to Forbes). Now Elena Baturina lives in exile in London. She?s sought by a Moscow court as a witness in a corruption case?? Baturina claims she would happily testify and is ready to come back to Russia as soon as she receives an official invitation for questioning. However her husband, the once almighty Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov is against her returning to Russia. Last year he was ousted from his job after running the capital for 18 years. He fears she?d get arrested and leave their two daughters, who are now living and studying in London, without her motherly care.

Baturina met her future husband in 1987 when they both served on a municipal commission. In 1991 she married Luzhkov and the same year she founded Inteko, which used to produce plastic goods, including furniture and crockery but has since expanded into construction and construction materials. The fortunes of a one-time factory worker soared?? she was winning huge contracts in Moscow and soon became a billionaire and a power broker.?

After Luzhkov?s resignation Baturina started selling off her assets in Russia. In September 2011 she sold her main Russian business Inteco for about $1.2bln, followed soon by the sale of a cement plant in Southern Russia. Now she?s busy eyeing foreign assets, while her business transcends all the borders ? an office in Austria, business in Slovakia, Morocco and Kazakhstan, a hotel in the Czech Republic. Throughout her career she?s often been accused of abusing her family links. However she?s always denied it. In a recent interview to Rain TV she said,? If I worked in Moscow and my husband wasn?t Mayor, I would have worked much tougher, more recklessly, without looking back! ?

Natalya Kaspersky ? Director General, InfoWatch

Natalya Kaspersky also has a ?husband-factor? in her career. However if her husband Evgeny Kaspersky wrote/developed/created the anti-virus software and provided technical expertise, his ex-wife supplied the business acumen. She first worked at the KAMI Information Technologies Centre, and in 1997 that was turned into Kaspersky Lab. Natalya co-founded the company and became its first CEO. In 2007 she relinquished the role of chief executive to become chairman ? and at the same time assumed the CEO position at InfoWatch, a Kaspersky sister company, established in 2003. The company?s goal is to keep computers and data safe, by detecting information leakage and preventing it. She never thought that?s what she would be doing as a grown up. ?As a child I loved animals and seriously dreamt of becoming a pet vet. However when I grew older I had problems with chemistry at school ? there were insurmountable. So I had no other alternative but to follow in my parents? footsteps and become a ?technician,? she shared in her recent interview with Voice of Russia.

Her business status has never got in the way of family life. She has 2 sons from her first marriage with Evgeny Kaspersky. Working side by side, put a strain on the marriage and they divorced in 1998. Since then Natalia married again and had another two children. In 2011 her life took a dramatic turn when her 20-year old son was kidnapped on the way to his work experience job at InfoWatch. Her ex-husband?s fortune was estimated at 800 million dollars at the time. The story had a happy ending, and now Natalia impresses everyone with her four children and a continuously successful career.

Source: http://rt.com/business/news/powerful-women-business-673/

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Researchers find cancer in ancient Egyptian mummy (AP)

CAIRO ? A professor from American University in Cairo says discovery of prostate cancer in a 2,200-year-old mummy indicates the disease was caused by genetics, not environment.

The genetics-environment question is key to understanding cancer.

AUC professor Salima Ikram, a member of the team that studied the mummy in Portugal for two years, said Sunday the mummy was of a man who died in his forties.

She said this was the second oldest known case of prostate cancer.

"Living conditions in ancient times were very different; there were no pollutants or modified foods, which leads us to believe that the disease is not necessarily only linked to industrial factors," she said.

A statement from AUC says the oldest known case came from a 2,700 year-old skeleton of a king in Russia.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_sc/ml_egypt_ancient_cancer

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Sandusky asks court to allow visits with grandchildren (Reuters)

HARRISBURG, Pa (Reuters) ? Former Penn State University football coach Jerry Sandusky, who is under house arrest on charges of child sexual abuse, has asked a Pennsylvania court to allow supervised visits with his grandchildren that are now prohibited.

Sandusky, 67, faces 52 criminal charges that he molested 10 boys over a 15 year period and has been tethered to his house under the terms of his release on bail in December that barred contact with anyone under age 18. He has maintained his innocence.

In a motion filed Friday, Joe Amendola, attorney for the former Penn State defensive coordinator, asked the Centre County Court to modify the terms of Sandusky's release to permit supervised contact with his 11 grandchildren.

"The Defendant's minor grandchildren have expressed their sadness to their parents about not being able to visit or talk with the Defendant since November 5, 2011," Amendola wrote.

If his grandchildren were allowed to visit him at his State College home, they would be accompanied by at least one parent, according to the motion.

Amendola is also asking the court to allow Sandusky to communicate with his grandchildren by mail, email, telephone, or by Skyping, a type of video-chatting over the Internet.

Sandusky was charged November 5 with 40 counts of molesting eight boys over a 15 year period. He had been freed after posting $100,000 after those charges were filed in November.

In December, he was arrested a second time and prosecutors added charges that raised the number of sex abuse victims to 10. He has been under house arrest since he was freed on $250,000 bail following his second arrest with restrictions.

Prosecutors say Sandusky used his position as head of The Second Mile charity to find his victims. Sandusky started The Second Mile charity to help troubled disadvantaged children.

His grandchildren are not the only people Sandusky would like to be in contact with.

Amendola said Sandusky wants "reasonable visitation" by friends at his home and he wants the ability to leave his home "for the purposes of assisting his attorneys, private investigators, and other professional individuals retained by the Defendant in the preparation of his defense."

The charges against Sandusky caused an avalanche of top-down changes at Penn State. Soon after his arrest, the school's board of trustees fired iconic head football coach Joe Paterno, who died of lung cancer on Sunday, and university president Graham Spanier.

Also on Friday, Amendola followed up a request for prosecutors to turn over the names of the people who accused Sandusky and the details of those crimes. The attorney said a week had passed since his original request.

Centre County Court Judge John Cleland is scheduled to consider both matters on February 10. Prosecutors have until February 3 to file responses to the requests.

(Editing by David Bailey)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/us_nm/us_crime_coach_pennstate

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UN nuclear team arrives in Iran

Herman Nackaerts of the International Atomic Energy Agency,IAEA, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, arrives for his flight to Iran at Vienna's Schwechat airport, Austria, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

Herman Nackaerts of the International Atomic Energy Agency,IAEA, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, arrives for his flight to Iran at Vienna's Schwechat airport, Austria, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

Herman Nackaerts of the International Atomic Energy Agency,IAEA, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, arrives for his flight to Iran at Vienna's Schwechat airport, Austria, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

Herman Nackaerts of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, arrives for his flight to Iran at Vienna's Schwechat airport, Austria, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

Herman Nackaerts of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, arrives for his flight to Iran at Vienna's Schwechat airport, Austria, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

Herman Nackaerts of the International Atomic Energy Agency,IAEA, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, arrives for his flight to Iran at Vienna's Schwechat airport, Austria, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? A U.N. nuclear team arrived in Tehran early Sunday for a mission expected to focus on Iran's alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

The U.N. nuclear agency delegation includes two senior weapons experts ? Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa ? suggesting that Iran may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations.

The delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency is led by Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts, who is in charge of the Iran nuclear file. Also on the team is Rafael Grossi, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano's right-hand man.

In unusually blunt comments ahead of his arrival in Tehran, Nackaerts urged Iran to work with his mission on probing the allegations about Iran's alleged attempts to develop nuclear weapons, reflecting the importance the IAEA is attaching to the issue.

Tehran has refused to discuss the alleged weapons experiments for three years, saying they are based on "fabricated documents" provided by a "few arrogant countries" ? a phrase authorities in Iran often use to refer to the United States and its allies.

Ahead of his departure, Nackaerts told reporters at Vienna airport he hopes Iran "will engage with us on all concerns."

"So we're looking forward to the start of a dialogue," he said: "A dialogue that is overdue since very long."

In a sign of the difficulties the team faces and the tensions that surround Iran's disputed nuclear program, a dozen Iranian hard-liners carrying photos of slain nuclear expert Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan were waiting at Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport early Sunday to challenge the team upon arrival.

That prompted security officials to whisk the IAEA team away from the tarmac to avoid any confrontation with the hard-liners.

Iran's official IRNA news agency confirmed the team's arrival and said the IAEA experts are likely to visit the underground Fordo uranium enrichment site near the holy city of Qom, 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of the capital, Tehran.

During their three-day visit, the IAEA team will be looking for permission to talk to key Iranian scientists suspected of working on a weapons program, inspect documents related to such suspected work and secure commitments from Iranian authorities to allow future visits to sites linked to such allegations. But even a decision to enter a discussion over the allegations would be a major departure from Iran's frequent simple refusal to talk about them.

The United States and its allies want Iran to halt its enrichment of uranium, which they worry could eventually lead to weapons-grade material and the production of nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes, such as generating electricity and producing medical radioisotopes to treat cancer patients.

Iran has accused the IAEA in the past of security leaks that expose its scientists and their families to the threat of assassination by the U.S. and Israel.

Iranian state media say Roshan, a chemistry expert and director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, was interviewed by IAEA inspectors before being killed in a brazen bomb attack in Tehran earlier this month.

Iranian media have urged the government to be vigil, saying some IAEA inspectors are "spies," reflecting the deep suspicion many in Iran have for the U.N. experts sent to inspect Iran's nuclear sites.

___

AP writer George Jahn contributed to this report from Vienna.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-28-Iran-Nuclear/id-d54fe35049564ea580eb21a4fbe7df08

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Archivist challenges Kremlin in Wallenberg saga (AP)

MOSCOW ? A former senior Russian archive official says he saw a file that could shed light on Holocaust hero Raoul Wallenberg's fate ? challenging the insistence of Russia's KGB successor agency that it has no documents regarding the man who saved tens of thousands of Jews in Hungary before disappearing into the hands of Soviet secret police.

Anatoly Prokopenko, 78, told The Associated Press that in 1991 he saw a thick dossier containing numerous references to Wallenberg that suggested he was being spied upon by a Russian aristocrat working for Soviet intelligence. Russian officials later said the file didn't exist, in line with blanket denials of having information on Wallenberg.

"That file is extremely interesting, because it could allow us to determine the reasons behind his arrest," Prokopenko said, while acknowledging he had only a few minutes to flip through hundreds of pages of documents.

As Sweden's envoy to Nazi-occupied Hungary, Wallenberg saved 20,000 Jews by giving them Swedish travel documents or moving them to safe houses, and managed to dissuade Nazi officers from massacring the 70,000 inhabitants of the city's ghetto. The 32-year-old diplomat was arrested by the Soviets in January 1945 when the Red Army stormed Budapest, and imprisoned in Moscow.

The Soviets had stubbornly denied that Wallenberg was in their custody before issuing a 1957 announcement that he had died on July 17, 1947, in his prison cell of a sudden heart attack. They stonewalled international demands for information about his fate, and rejected allegations that Wallenberg could have lived as a prisoner under a different identify as late as the 1980s.

Prokopenko said that in the fall of 1991, on an inspection tour of the main KGB archive in a tightly guarded facility outside Moscow, he came across a hefty dossier on Count Mikhail Tolstoy-Kutuzov, a Russian aristocrat who left Russia after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and worked alongside Wallenberg in Budapest.

Prokopenko said that he only had a few minutes to peek at the dossier, but he saw Wallenberg's name mentioned repeatedly in what appeared to be Tolstoy-Kutuzov's reports to his handlers in Soviet intelligence.

"I realized that he was following every step Wallenberg made," Prokopenko said.

Prokopenko was fired just over a year later and deprived of his access to the archives ? a move Prokopenko attributes to his efforts to reveal secret Soviet archives to the public.

He said he advised Guy von Dardel, Wallenberg's half-brother who spent years searching for clues to his fate, to ask the KGB successor agency for permission to see the files on Tolstoy-Kutuzov. They turned him down, saying that no such files existed.

When von Dardel said that he knew from Prokopenko that this wasn't true, officials asked him to come back in a few days and handed him a dossier that contained only a few pages lacking any reference to Wallenberg.

Prokopenko said that Stalin's secret police possibly suspected Wallenberg of being involved in secret contacts between the Western allies and the Nazis and were eager to learn about his connections.

Wallenberg had been recruited for his rescue mission in Budapest by a U.S. intelligence agent, with Swedish government approval, on behalf of the War Refugee Board created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. But he is not known to have been engaged in intelligence-gathering.

Susanne Berger, a German researcher who advised a Swedish-Russian working group that conducted a 10-year investigation that ended in 2001, backs Prokopenko's view that the Soviets likely saw Wallenberg as a valuable source of intelligence.

"The Soviet leadership was particularly paranoid about what it perceived as a possible Anglo-American conspiracy against Soviet interests," she said in e-mailed comments.

Berger added that Stalin might have hoped to use Wallenberg for future bargaining with the West.

"The most likely reason for Stalin to arrest Raoul Wallenberg would have been to use him as some kind of 'asset,' to bargain or negotiate for," Berger said. "Stalin may have felt that with Raoul Wallenberg, scion of a powerful Western business family, he held a rather interesting bargaining chip."

The former archivist said KGB officers privately told him that Wallenberg was killed because his refusal to cooperate made him a liability. "They couldn't have set him free, they would have needed to liquidate him," Prokopenko said.

The chief of the archives of the FSB, the main KGB successor agency, admitted in a rare interview with the AP in September that the Soviet version that Wallenberg died of a heart attack could have been fabricated and that his captors may have "helped him die." Lt. Gen. Vasily Khristoforov said that all documents related to Wallenberg likely had been destroyed back in the 1950s and denied that his agency was withholding any information related to his case.

Prokopenko, who headed the Special Archive containing documents from 20 European countries in the waning years of the Soviet Union, allowed researchers working for an international commission investigating Wallenberg's fate to search for clues to Wallenberg's fate amid Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's openness campaign.

They quickly found a document on Wallenberg's transfer from one Soviet prison to another, but the KGB immediately learned of the effort and ordered them out.

Prokopenko lost his job soon afterward, but continued his work to open the archives under the government of Boris Yeltsin, the first president of Russia until he lost his post of the deputy chief of the Russian state archive agency in early 1993.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_wallenberg

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A Truly Protective iPhone Case for Toddlers and Parents ? by @fisherprice

Babies love the iPhone. They can?t get enough of it. Apple put something in it that makes it the so absolutely desireable for them. They want to touch it, hold it, listen to it, and even eat it.

Would you trust your spanking new iPhone with the most recent addition in your home that the stork brought in? Most people would most probably get a fake, child-safe toy phone, but if you are willing to take the risk, just get the $19.99 Laugh & Learn Baby iPhone Case.

The iPhone doesn?t like babies. It wants to get away from them. There is something about a baby that doesn?t bode well for the longevity of an iPhone. It can?t handle the gunk, the drool, the play and the drops.

The iPhone needs protection, a case like the Laugh & Learn allow the two to work together. So your baby (or babies) can both enjoy a happy life.

Not only does it protects your iPhone or iPod from disaster, it will also allow your little one to play learning games and develop their thinking skills in the process. Even better is the fact that the Home button remains blocked at all times, so that baby will be unable to make any accidental calls.

So you lock the iPhone in this Fisher Price case, and you?ve got a device protected from dribbles, drips, drools, and teething. One side benefit that you can use to convince your wife, is that it will take the device out of your hands and stop distracting you from her.

Source: Think Geek

Source: http://www.zagg.com/community/blog/a-truly-protective-iphone-case-for-toddlers-and-parents-by-fisherprice/

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Stressed? Relax in SFO airport's new yoga room

San Francisco International has opened a new yoga room to allow passengers to relax before their flights. KNTV's Bob Redell reports.

By Harriet Baskas, msnbc.com contributor

Stressed-out travelers willing and able to be flexible now have a new way to relax and refresh at San Francisco International Airport.

On Thursday, the airport officially opens what it claims is the world?s first dedicated yoga room at an airport.

??The room gives modern travelers a space that fosters and supports quiet and reflection. Those aren?t emotions that people typically encounter at the airport,??said Melissa Mizell, design director for Gensler, the Terminal 2 architecture firm that also created the yoga room,?in a statement.

Courtesy of San Francisco International Airport

San Francisco International Airport now has a yoga room where frazzled travelers can take a few moments to relax.

Located just past the security checkpoint in the recently renovated Terminal 2, the new yoga room is bathed in calming blue light, with a floating wall said to symbolize a buoyant spirit and enlightened mind. Lights in the room are low and warm ? to counteract the bright concourse ??and loaner mats are supplied.

The innovative idea is getting early kudos.

"Relax passengers between flights? Help them find balance in the crazy world of travel? How wonderful!," said nurse consultant Anya Clowers of JetwithComfort.com.

"Airports like SFO get it," said Greg Principato, president of Airports Council International - North America. "They are looking at the big picture and meeting the needs of travelers by offering products and services that contribute to their overall comfort."

In the spring, large, felt-constructed rocks will be added to the room and arranged in a nod to Japanese-style, Zen garden spaces.

SFO spokesperson Charles Schuler said the new yoga room will be open whenever the Terminal 2 security checkpoint is open ??currently 4:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. ??and that a list of yoga room rules will soon be posted. ?To help people find the room, we?ve even created signs that feature a stylized pictogram depicting a person in the lotus position.?

Sound too woo-woo for you?

For travelers seeking an alternate space to gather their thoughts without having to get down on the floor, SFO also offers the Berman reflection room ???a center for quiet reflection and meditation? ??pre-security in the International Terminal.

And for those who?find relaxation amid the bright lights and bustle, there's?no shortage of?bars.

More on TODAY Travel

?

Source: http://todaytravel.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10234554-relax-in-the-new-yoga-room-at-san-francisco-airport

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Gingrich: Romney self-deportation plan a fantasy

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich walks to a stage for a forum at Univision Network Studios, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich walks to a stage for a forum at Univision Network Studios, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich takes part in a forum with journalist Jorge Ramos at Univision Network Studios, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney sits with Jorge Ramos as he takes part in the Univision "Meet The Candidates?"forum at Miami-Dade College in Miami, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican Presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich gestures during the "Meet the Candidates" forum, hosted by Univision, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Miami Dade College in Miami. ( Photo/Jeffrey M. Boan)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney stands with Jorge Ramos as he takes part in the Univision "Meet The Candidates" forum at Miami-Dade College in Miami, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

DORAL, Fla. (AP) ? Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on Wednesday ridiculed rival Mitt Romney's call for self-deportation of illegal immigrants as an "Obama-level fantasy" that would be inhumane to long-established families living in America. Romney, for his part, accused Gingrich of pandering to a Hispanic audience and said Gingrich himself had supported self-deportation in the past.

Discussing immigration in state where 13 percent of registered voters are Hispanic, the former House speaker criticized Romney's immigration policy during a forum with the Spanish-language television network Univision, saying the idea of self-deportation would never work. Romney snapped back at him later in the day at the same forum.

During a debate earlier this week, Romney said he favors self-deportation over policies that would require the federal government to round up millions of illegal immigrants and send them back to their home countries. Advocates of Romney's approach argue that illegal immigration can be curbed by denying public benefits to them, prompting them to leave the United States on their own.

"You have to live in a world of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts and automatically $20 million income for no work to have some fantasy this far from reality," Gingrich said, alluding to details in Romney's income tax returns made public Tuesday. "For Romney to believe that somebody's grandmother is going to be so cut off that she is going to self-deport, I mean this is an Obama-level fantasy."

But Gingrich's campaign has spoken of the self-deportation policy he ridiculed Wednesday.

"I recognize that it's very tempting to come out to an audience like this and pander to the audience," Romney said, pointing out that Gingrich has previously made comments supporting the idea of self-deportation. "I think that was a mistake on his part."

In debates, Gingrich has defended a proposal to allow some illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S. if they've lived here for more than 25 years and have a local sponsor.

Romney's campaign directed reporters to past comments by Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond, who said that only a small percent of illegal immigrants would likely be allowed to stay in the U.S. under Gingrich's plan. Hammond went on to say that the vast majority of them would likely "self-deport."

Gingrich also ran into trouble over a radio ad calling Romney "anti-immigrant." Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called the ad "inaccurate" and "inflammatory." Romney's campaign also asked Gingrich in a letter to pull the ad. Gingrich's campaign had no immediate comment on whether it would comply with the request to pull the ad. The Miami Herald reported that the campaign planned to remove the ad based on Rubio's comments.

Romney called the anti-immigrant label an "epithet" and "inappropriate."

At the forum, Gingrich spoke instead about other elements of his immigration plan, including controlling the border and establishing a guest-worker program to better manage the influx of immigrants. Gingrich said he favors a path to citizenship for illegal immigrant children who serve in the military but not for simply completing college.

Romney defended his opposition to allowing the children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at American universities. He said there are inexpensive options that will allow them to go to college.

Gingrich told Univision he believes states should charge in-state tuition rates for students who were born in the U.S. to illegal immigrant parents, but that he favors charging out-of-state tuition for children who were brought to this country illegally.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry's support of a Texas policy to allow children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition proved to be problematic with conservatives nationwide. Perry dropped out of the race last week.

Gingrich began the interview by speaking a few halting phrases of welcome in Spanish ? "Buenos Dias estudiantes" ? but begged off when moderator Jorge Ramos pressed him to go further. Romney did not speak any Spanish during his interview.

Romney was asked about family members he has living in Mexico. Romney's father, George Romney, was born in Mexico but moved back to the U.S. as a young child.

Ramos asked Romney if he had a claim to being Mexican American.

"I don't think people would think I was being honest with them if I said I was Mexican American but I'd appreciate it if you'd get that word out," Romney said, smiling.

Florida is home to many Hispanics of Puerto Rican or Cuban descent who don't view immigration as a priority but are more interested in the issue than the general public.

After the interview, Romney railed against Fidel Castro's Cuba in a speech before several hundred Cuban-American democracy activists. Romney has significant support from the Cuban-American political establishment in Miami.

"It is time for us to strive for freedom in Cuba, and I will do so as president," he said. "We must be prepared to support the voices for democracy in Cuba."

While the interview questions asked of both candidates were mostly about Hispanic concerns, Ramos asked Gingrich whether it was hypocritical for him to criticize then-President Bill Clinton and pursue his impeachment in the 1990s when Gingrich was being unfaithful to his second wife.

Gingrich snapped at the premise of the question and said it was Clinton's false testimony under oath that bothered him the most.

"The fact is I've been through two divorces. I've been deposed both times under oath. Both times I told the truth in the deposition," Gingrich said. "I have never lied under oath. I have never committed perjury."

Ramos asked Romney to declare his wealth, to which Romney replied that he's worth between $150 million and "200-and-some-odd million dollars."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-25-US-Campaign-Hispanics/id-73eb128af361417b98edbd889687252c

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EU and Haiti sign deal to lengthen rural highway (AP)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti ? The Haitian government and European Union have signed an agreement for building a road to connect the capital with the country's second largest city.

The European Union will spend 40.7 million euros ($52.6 million) on a project that will first pave a dirt national highway linking the central towns of Hinche and St. Raphael. It is 27 miles (44-kilometer) long.

The second phase of the project calls for the highway to be extended 20 miles (33 kilometers) from St. Raphael to Cap-Haitien, a coastal city on the northern end of Haiti.

The work is to begin in 2012. Organizers hope the paved highway will improve commerce between the north and the capital.

The agreement was signed Wednesday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_haiti_new_road

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Stop What You're Doing and Explore Mars Right Now [Nasa]

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to walk around on Mars? For 99.99999% of us, this may be as close as we ever get. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has given us the honor of taking the lid off of this awesome, interactive eye-candy. Basically it's Google Earth, for Mars. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/57shx6m1qFw/stop-what-youre-doing-and-explore-mars-right-now

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Reserve your place at the largest bone event in Europe

Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: L. Misteli
info@iofbonehealth.org
41-229-940-100
International Osteoporosis Foundation

Join the International Osteoporosis Foundation and the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ESCEO) at the European Congress on Osteoporosis & Osteoarthritis (IOF-ECCEO12). The Congress is to be held in Bordeaux, France, March 21-24, 2012.

Five reasons to attend IOF-ECCEO12...

1. Participate in a global event: As the largest bone meeting held in Europe, the IOF-ECCEO meetings have gained global renown, typically welcoming around 5500 participants from 100 countries around the world.

2. Acquire new knowledge for every-day clinical practice: You will leave Bordeaux with the most current and evidence-based information that is relevant to your patients and your practice, while gaining 18 CME credits!
View program at http://www.iof-ecceo12.org/congress_program.html

3. Learn about the latest research: Close to 700 abstracts have been submitted, highlighting the latest research in the field. Oral presentations of the highest ranked clinical abstracts and at the 2nd IOF-ESCEO Pre-Clinical Symposium offer a look at the hottest new clinical and translational research.

The Pre-Clinical Symposium is free of charge for IOF-ECCEO12 registrants or only 150 for the Symposium registration alone.
View programme at http://www.iof-ecceo12.org/preclinical_program.html

4. Attend informative Topical Sessions and Satellite Symposia: Nine Special Topical Sessions and 7 Satellite Symposia covering a broad range of clinical topics.

5. Visit the magnificent city of Bordeaux, France: Bordeaux is just waiting to be explored. Enjoy your stay in this renowned city of culture, famous for its historic sites, wine and gastronomy. Bordeaux is easily accessible by rail or air from most European cities. Air France and KLM are Official Carriers for IOF-ECCEO12 and offer special low rates.

Hotel accommodation may be reserved online as part of the registration process. Rooms will be in high demand, so we strongly recommend making your reservations early.

Register & Book Your Accommodation at http://www.iof-ecceo12.org/registration.html

We look forward to welcoming health professionals and researchers from a broad range of fields to Europe's most important international bone congress.

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: L. Misteli
info@iofbonehealth.org
41-229-940-100
International Osteoporosis Foundation

Join the International Osteoporosis Foundation and the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ESCEO) at the European Congress on Osteoporosis & Osteoarthritis (IOF-ECCEO12). The Congress is to be held in Bordeaux, France, March 21-24, 2012.

Five reasons to attend IOF-ECCEO12...

1. Participate in a global event: As the largest bone meeting held in Europe, the IOF-ECCEO meetings have gained global renown, typically welcoming around 5500 participants from 100 countries around the world.

2. Acquire new knowledge for every-day clinical practice: You will leave Bordeaux with the most current and evidence-based information that is relevant to your patients and your practice, while gaining 18 CME credits!
View program at http://www.iof-ecceo12.org/congress_program.html

3. Learn about the latest research: Close to 700 abstracts have been submitted, highlighting the latest research in the field. Oral presentations of the highest ranked clinical abstracts and at the 2nd IOF-ESCEO Pre-Clinical Symposium offer a look at the hottest new clinical and translational research.

The Pre-Clinical Symposium is free of charge for IOF-ECCEO12 registrants or only 150 for the Symposium registration alone.
View programme at http://www.iof-ecceo12.org/preclinical_program.html

4. Attend informative Topical Sessions and Satellite Symposia: Nine Special Topical Sessions and 7 Satellite Symposia covering a broad range of clinical topics.

5. Visit the magnificent city of Bordeaux, France: Bordeaux is just waiting to be explored. Enjoy your stay in this renowned city of culture, famous for its historic sites, wine and gastronomy. Bordeaux is easily accessible by rail or air from most European cities. Air France and KLM are Official Carriers for IOF-ECCEO12 and offer special low rates.

Hotel accommodation may be reserved online as part of the registration process. Rooms will be in high demand, so we strongly recommend making your reservations early.

Register & Book Your Accommodation at http://www.iof-ecceo12.org/registration.html

We look forward to welcoming health professionals and researchers from a broad range of fields to Europe's most important international bone congress.

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/iof-ryp012512.php

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Police: 185 killed in north Nigeria sect attack

Muslim men pray for peace and for people who lost their lives during the recent attacks, at a mosque in Kano, Nigeria, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. The emir of Kano and the state's top politician offered prayers Monday along with local people for the more than 150 people who were killed in a coordinated series of attacks on Friday by the radical Islamist sect called Boko Haram which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Muslim men pray for peace and for people who lost their lives during the recent attacks, at a mosque in Kano, Nigeria, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. The emir of Kano and the state's top politician offered prayers Monday along with local people for the more than 150 people who were killed in a coordinated series of attacks on Friday by the radical Islamist sect called Boko Haram which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Emir of Kano, Ado Bayaro, is seen at his palace in Kano, Nigeria, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. The emir of Kano and the state's top politician offered prayers Monday for the more than 150 people who were killed in a coordinated series of attacks on Friday by the radical Islamist sect called Boko Haram which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Emir of Kano, Ado Bayaro, right, and Rabiu Kwankwaso, The governor of kano state, front left, prior to offering a prayer for peace and those who lost their lives during the recent attacks, at a mosque in Kano, Nigeria, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. The emir of Kano and the state's top politician offered prayers Monday for the more than 150 people who were killed in a coordinated series of attacks on Friday by the radical Islamist sect called Boko Haram which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Muslim men pray for peace and for people who lost their lives during the recent attacks, at a mosque in Kano, Nigeria, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. The emir of Kano and the state's top politician offered prayers Monday along with local people for the more than 150 people who were killed in a coordinated series of attacks on Friday by the radical Islamist sect called Boko Haram which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Muslim girls sell kolanuts along a street in Kano, Nigeria, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, following recent sectarian attacks. The emir of Kano and the state's top politician offered prayers Monday for the more than 150 people who were killed in a coordinated series of attacks on Friday by the radical Islamist sect called Boko Haram which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

KANO, Nigeria (AP) ? Police say 185 people were killed in an attack by a radical Islamist sect on the northern Nigeria city of Kano.

In a statement issued late Monday, the department said 150 of the dead were civilians, 29 were police officers, three were secret police officers, two were immigration officers and one was a customs officer.

The announcement comes as police say they have found 10 unexploded car bombs in the city.

Friday's attack in Kano saw Boko Haram members hit police stations, immigration offices and the local headquarters of Nigeria's secret police, leaving corpses in the streets across the city.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

KANO, Nigeria (AP) ? A police spokesman says authorities have found 10 unexploded car bombs in a northern Nigeria city where an attack by a radical Islamist sect killed more than 150 people.

Kano state police spokesman Magaji Musa Majiya said Monday that officers found one near a police station in the state capital of Kano, which was attacked by the sect known as Boko Haram. Majiya said officers have disarmed the explosive.

Majiya also said officers have found other locally made explosives.

The Nigerian Red Cross estimates more than 150 people died in Friday's attack in Kano after at least two Boko Haram suicide bombers detonated explosive-laden cars. The attack hit police stations, immigration offices and the local headquarters of Nigeria's secret police, leaving corpses in the streets across the city.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-23-AF-Nigeria-Violence/id-3fd19c4806b1407f9d6312ed8778cc33

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