wa news today

Monday, May 6, 2013

Entomologist names new wasp species after UC Riverside

Public release date: 6-May-2013
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Iqbal Pittalwala
iqbal@ucr.edu
951-827-6050
University of California - Riverside

Serguei Triapitsyn discovered the wasp from the Russian Far East, and named it Gonatocerus ucri

RIVERSIDE, Calif. An entomologist at the University of California, Riverside discovered a new wasp species in Russia and named it after the university, commonly abbreviated as UCR.

Serguei V. Triapitsyn, principal museum scientist at the Entomology Research Museum on campus, had been sorting wasps from the Russian Far East, when he discovered several tiny female fairyflies, or mymarid wasps, 1.1 to 1.2 millimeters in body length.

He named the species Gonatocerus ucri in a research paper he published April 30 in the international scientific journal Zootaxa.

A Russian Academy of Sciences collaborator of Triapitsyn used a trap during 1999-2002 to collect minute wasps for the Entomology Research Museum in a remote location in Primorsky Kray, Russia, a region that has a largely unknown and very rich fauna of this group of insects. The trap contained alcohol that wasps dropped into, also serving as a preservative for the insects until they could be sent to UCR for study. It took Triapitsyn several years to complete the study, since identification of these minute wasps, which are hardly visible to a naked eye, requires special preparation.

Gonatocerus ucri is mostly brown in color and has long antennae and wings. Its host is unknown but other species in the same genus are beneficial insects known to parasitize eggs of leafhoppers, some of which are economically important agricultural pests worldwide.

"I decided to name it after UCR because that's where I work," Triapitsyn said. "The UCR Entomology Research Museum has extensive collections of parasitoid wasps from throughout the world, and I routinely discover new species among the collected material. I will soon also be describing another new species, this one from southern California, and name it after the Entomology Research Museum."

Triapitsyn received his doctoral degree in agricultural entomology from the Moscow Timiriazev Agricultural Academy, Russia. As principal museum scientist at UCR, he is in charge of the Entomology Research Museum and its collection of about three million specimens. He also conducts research in the taxonomy and biology of parasitic Hymenoptera as well as biological control.

He is the author or coauthor of more than 100 scientific publications in refereed journals, including several monographs.

###

The University of California, Riverside (http://www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 21,000 students. The campus will open a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion. A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call (951) UCR-NEWS.

[ | 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.

Entomologist names new wasp species after UC Riverside

Public release date: 6-May-2013
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Iqbal Pittalwala
iqbal@ucr.edu
951-827-6050
University of California - Riverside

Serguei Triapitsyn discovered the wasp from the Russian Far East, and named it Gonatocerus ucri

RIVERSIDE, Calif. An entomologist at the University of California, Riverside discovered a new wasp species in Russia and named it after the university, commonly abbreviated as UCR.

He named the species Gonatocerus ucri in a research paper he published April 30 in the international scientific journal Zootaxa.

He is the author or coauthor of more than 100 scientific publications in refereed journals, including several monographs.

###

[ | 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/2013-05/uoc--enn050613.php

fletcher cox charlotte bobcats new york rangers nfl mock draft 2012 norfolk island michael brockers lisa marie presley

Syria news agency: Israel strikes near Damascus

BEIRUT (AP) ? Israeli missiles struck a research center near the Syrian capital Damascus, setting off explosions and causing casualties, Syria's state news agency reported early Sunday, citing initial reports.

If confirmed, it would be the second Israeli strike on targets in Syria in three days, signaling a sharp escalation of Israel's involvement in Syria's bloody civil war.

There was no immediate Israeli comment. However, Israel has said it will not allow sophisticated weapons to flow from Syria to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad and a heavily armed foe of the Jewish state.

Two previous Israeli airstrikes, one in January and one on Friday, targeted weapons apparently bound for Hezbollah, Israeli and U.S. officials have said.

The Syrian state news agency SANA reported early Sunday that explosions went off at the Jamraya research center near Damascus, causing casualties. "Initial reports point to these explosions being a result of Israeli missiles that targeted the research center in Jamraya," SANA said.

A Syrian activist group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also reported large explosions in the area of Jamraya, a military and scientific research facility northwest of Damascus, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the Lebanese border.

An amateur video said to be shot early Sunday in the Damascus area showed a huge ball of fire lighting up the night sky. The video appeared genuine and corresponded to other Associated Press reporting.

Israel's first airstrike in Syria, in January, also struck Jamraya.

At the time, a U.S. official said Israel targeted trucks next to the research center that carried SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles. The strikes hit both the trucks and the research facility, the official said. The Syrian military didn't confirm a hit on a weapons shipment at the time, saying only that Israeli warplanes bombed the research center.

On Saturday, Israeli officials confirmed that a day earlier, Israeli aircraft targeted advanced surface-to-surface missiles in Syria that were apparently bound for Hezbollah.

The missiles were believed to be m600s, a Syrian version of Iran's Fatah 110 missile, an extremely accurate guided missile capable of traveling roughly 300 kilometers (190 miles) with a half-ton warhead, an Israeli official said

The Israeli officials spoke anonymously because they had not been given permission to speak publicly about the matter.

In Washington, a Pentagon spokeswoman said she had no information relating to Sunday's report of a new Israeli airstrike in Syria.

President Barack Obama said Saturday, before the latest incident, that it was up to Israel to confirm or deny any strikes, but that the U.S. coordinates very closely with Israel.

"The Israelis, justifiably, have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like Hezbollah," Obama told the Spanish-language TV station Telemundo.

Israel has said it wants to stay out of the brutal Syria war, but could inadvertently be drawn in as it tries to bolster its deterrence and prevent sophisticated weapons from reaching Hezbollah.

Since the conflict in Syria erupted more than two years ago, fighting has repeatedly spilled into Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

Renewed concern about a wider conflagration come as Washington considers how to respond to indications that the Syrian regime may have used chemical weapons in its civil war.

Obama has described the use of such weapons as a "red line," and the administration is weighing its options ? including possible military action.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has drawn his own red line, saying repeatedly that the Jewish state would be prepared to take military action to prevent Hezbollah from obtaining new weapons that could upset the balance of power.

Israel believes Hezbollah has restocked its arsenal with tens of thousands of rockets and missiles since a 2006 war between the two ended in a stalemate.

Israel is concerned that Hezbollah will take advantage of the chaos in Syria to smuggle advanced weapons into Lebanon.

These include anti-aircraft missiles, which could hamper Israel's ability to operate in Lebanese skies, and advanced Yakhont missiles that are used to attack naval ships from the coast.

In recent days, there were signs of mounting tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

In a warning to Israel earlier this week, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said his militia "is ready and has its hand on the trigger" in the event of an Israeli attack on any targets in Lebanon.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, called up several thousand reservists earlier this week for what it called a "surprise" military exercise on its border with Lebanon.

Details about Friday's strike remained sketchy.

The U.S. officials said the airstrike apparently hit a warehouse, but gave no other details.

Israeli officials did not say where in Syria the Israeli aircraft struck or whether they fired from Lebanese, Syrian or Israeli airspace.

Israel possesses bombs that can travel a long distance before striking their target. The use of such weapons could allow Israel to carry out the attack without entering Syrian skies, which would risk coming under fire from the regime's advanced, Russian-made anti-aircraft defenses.

The Syrian government said it had no information on an Israeli attack, while Hezbollah and the Israeli military spokesman's office declined comment.

Amos Gilad, an Israeli defense official, would not confirm or deny the airstrike, but played down cross-border tensions.

Hezbollah has not obtained any of Syria's large chemical weapons arsenal and is not interested in such weapons, Gilad said. Instead, the militia is "enthusiastic about other weapons systems and rockets that reach here (Israel)," he said Saturday in a speech in southern Israel.

Assad "is not provoking Israel and the incidents along the border (between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan) are coincidental," Gilad said.

With Israel apparently enforcing its red lines, much now depends on the response from Hezbollah and Syria, analysts said.

Israeli officials have long feared that Assad may try to draw Israel into the civil war in hopes of diverting attention and perhaps rallying Arab support behind him.

But retaliation for Israeli airstrikes would come at a high price, said Moshe Maoz, an Israeli expert on Syria.

"Bashar has his own problems and he knows that conflict with Israel would cause the collapse of his regime," Maoz said. "He could have done that long ago, but he knows he will fall if Israel gets involved."

Hezbollah, which is fighting alongside Assad's troops, appears to have linked its fate to the survival of the Syrian regime. Nasrallah, the Hezbollah chief, said this week that Syria's allies "will not allow Syria to fall into the hands of America or Israel."

On the other hand, Hezbollah could endanger its position as Lebanon's main political and military force if it confronts Israel, and it's not clear if the militia is willing to take that risk.

The U.S. concerns have focused on Syria's chemical weapons.

Obama has said the use of chemical weapons would have "enormous consequences," but has also said he needs more definitive proof before making a decision about how to respond.

Obama said Friday that he didn't foresee a scenario in which the U.S. would send troops to Syria. Instead, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has said Washington is reviewing its opposition to arming the opposition.

The U.S. so far has balked at sending weapons to the rebels, fearing the arms could end up in the hands of al-Qaida-linked groups or other extremists in the opposition ranks.

Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, is heading to Moscow next week to try to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to support, or at least not veto, a fresh effort to impose U.N. penalties on Syria if Assad doesn't begin political transition talks with the opposition.

Russia, alongside China, has blocked U.S.-led efforts three times at the United Nations to pressure Assad into stepping down.

___

Federman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Ian Deitch in Jerusalem, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, and Bradley S. Klapper and Josh Lederman in Washington contributed reporting.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syria-news-agency-israel-strikes-near-damascus-034417629.html

Devon Walker Tom Cruise ryan reynolds Star Trek: The Original Series Carlton Morgan Freeman Dead Stand Up to Cancer

Bangladesh toll 547; search becomes more gruesome

A young lady wails over the phone as she tells her family that she had identified one of the many bodies at a morgue to be her relative, Saturday, May 4, 2013 in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. In the aftermath of a building collapse that killed more than 530 people, Bangladesh's garment manufacturers may face a choice of reform or perish. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

People look at portraits of missing garment workers from the collapse of a garment factory building plastered on the doors of a school-turned-morgue Saturday, May 4, 2013 in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. The death toll in the accident rose to more than 530 on Saturday, a day after the country's finance minister downplayed the impact of the disaster on the garment industry, saying he didn't think it was "really serious." (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

A young woman covers her nose to block out the stench from rotting bodies at a morgue where bodies recovered from the garment factory collapse are kept for identification Saturday, May 4, 2013 in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. The death toll in the accident rose to more than 530 on Saturday, a day after the country's finance minister downplayed the impact of the disaster on the garment industry, saying he didn't think it was "really serious." (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Workers at a school-turned-morgue place the body of a victim from last week's collapse of a garment factory building into a coffin, Saturday, May 4, 2013 in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. The death toll in the accident rose to more than 530 on Saturday, a day after the country's finance minister downplayed the impact of the disaster on the garment industry, saying he didn't think it was "really serious." (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) ? Ten days after the horrifying collapse of a garment-factory building, life has become still more gruesome for crews working to recover bodies at the site. The death toll rose to 547 on Saturday and the stench of decaying flesh was sickening evidence that the work is not yet done.

Rescue workers said some bodies have deteriorated so badly that they have found bones without flesh. Since the April 24 collapse in the Dhaka suburb of Savar, high temperatures have generally been 32 degrees C (90 degrees F) or above, and lows have rarely dipped below 27 C (80 F).

"The bodies are smelling. We are using air freshener to work here," said Mohibul Alam, a firefighter at the collapse scene. The odor of decay is overpowering just the same.

Bodies have decomposed beyond recognition, Alam said, but he added that some could still be identified because the victims' identification cards were found with them.

Some of the victims who had been closest to escaping appear to be among the last to be recovered. Only now have rescuers dug deep enough, using cranes and other equipment, to approach the stairs of the ground floor.

The official death toll from the collapse reached 547 Saturday and was expected to climb. The official number of missing has been 149 since Wednesday, though unofficial estimates are higher.

The disaster is likely the worst garment-factory accident ever, and there have been few industrial accidents of any kind with a higher death toll. It surpassed long-ago garment-industry disasters such as New York's Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, which killed 146 workers in 1911, and more recent tragedies such as a 2012 fire that killed about 260 people in Pakistan and one in Bangladesh that same year that killed 112.

Bangladesh's $20 billion garment industry supplies retailers around the world and accounts for about 80 percent of the impoverished country's exports. The collapse has raised strong doubts about retailers' claims that they could ensure worker safety through self-regulation.

Five garment factories operated in the Rana Plaza building that collapsed, and many brand labels have been found in the wreckage, but only two retailers, Britain's Primark and Canada's Loblaw Inc., have acknowledged that their clothes were being made there at the time. Loblaw's CEO has decried the "deafening silence" from what he said were more than two dozen other international retailers who used garment factories in the collapsed building.

Mainuddin Khandkar, the head of a government committee investigating the disaster, said Friday that substandard building materials, combined with the vibration of the heavy machines used by the five garment factories inside the Rana Plaza building, led to the horrific collapse. Because of a power outage, heavy generators were turned on about 15 minutes before the building fell, he said.

The building developed cracks a day before the collapse, and Rana Plaza owner Mohammed Sohel Rana called engineer Abdur Razzak Khan to inspect it. Khan appeared on television that night and said he told Rana the building should be evacuated.

Police also issued an evacuation order, but witnesses say that hours before the collapse, Rana told people that the building was safe and garment factory managers told their workers to go inside.

Rana has been arrested is expected to be charged with negligence, illegal construction and forcing workers to join work, crimes punishable by a maximum of seven years in jail. Authorities have not said if more serious crimes will be added.

On Thursday, Khan was arrested as well, on a charge of negligence. Police said he worked as a consultant to Rana when three illegal floors were added to what was supposed to be a five-story building.

The Bangladesh High Court also has ordered the government to confiscate Rana's property and freeze the assets of the owners of the factories in Rana Plaza so the money can be used to pay the salaries of their workers.

Savar's mayor and another local official have been suspended in an apparent effort by higher levels of Bangladesh's government to fend off accusations that it is in part to blame for the tragedy because of weak oversight of the building's construction.

In New Delhi on Friday, Bangladesh Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith downplayed the impact of the disaster on the garment industry, which is by far the country's biggest source of export income.

"The present difficulties ... well, I don't think it is really serious ? it's an accident," Muhith said. "And the steps that we have taken in order to make sure that it doesn't happen, they are quite elaborate and I believe that it will be appreciated by all."

The government made similar promises after the November garment factory fire that killed 112 people, saying it would inspect factories for safety and pull the licenses of those that failed. That plan has yet to be implemented.

Retailers have been drawn to Bangladesh as a source of clothing largely because of its cheap labor. The minimum wage for a garment worker is $38 a month, after being nearly doubled this year following violent protests by workers. According to the World Bank, the per capita income in Bangladesh was about $64 a month in 2011.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-05-04-AS-Bangladesh-Building-Collapse/id-ee5de4f84ea64dba9f98c923ec2d6767

Star Trek: The Original Series Carlton Morgan Freeman Dead Stand Up to Cancer Azarenka NFL fantasy football Chris Kluwe

Sunday, May 5, 2013

They're back: 17-year cicadas to swarm from Georgia to New York

By Zach Howard

HAMDEN, Connecticut (Reuters) - Colossal numbers of cicadas, unhurriedly growing underground since 1996, are about to emerge along much of the U.S. East Coast to begin passionately singing and mating as their remarkable life cycle restarts.

This year heralds the springtime emergence of billions of so-called 17-year periodical cicadas, with their distinctive black bodies, buggy red eyes, and orange-veined wings, along a roughly 900-mile stretch from northern Georgia to upstate New York.

The eerie, cacophonous mating music they produce, along with the unusual synchronous mass emergence and lengthy development cycles, have amazed scientists and lay people alike for centuries.

In central Connecticut, particularly dense concentrations of so-called Brood II cicadas, named Magicicada septendecim, should arrive in late May or June, says Chris Maier, entomologist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven.

This will be Maier's third time studying their emergence - he tracked them in 1979 and again in 1996. He said they are next due in 2030, when he will be 81 years old.

Maier said the first scientific recording of Brood II specimens was in 1843.

The precisely-timed arrival of the 1.5-inch (38-mm) plant-sucking, flying adults takes place after a lengthy period of development underground as juveniles.

After maturing, males begin what cicadas may be best known for: their conspicuous acoustic signals, or "songs," to sexually attract females.

"When there's a lot of them together, it's like this hovering noise. It sounds exactly like flying saucers from a 1950s movie," Chris Simon, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut, said on Thursday.

When they suddenly emerge, the cicadas will be visible "on the sides of the trees, on the sides of the house, on the shrubbery - even on the car tires," said Simon.

Magicicada population densities - from tens of thousands of cicadas per acre to 1.5 million per acre - are much higher than they are with other cicada species.

One theory behind their bizarre but sustainable life cycle is that their emergence produces such overwhelming numbers at once that predators, such as birds, spiders, snakes, and even dogs, can't eat them all.

To create their unique choruses, male cicadas use ribbed tymbal membranes on their abdomens to produce sounds, while females - lacking tymbals - click or snap their wings. This clamor is all done by July.

Although boisterous, cicadas do not sting or bite, and they aren't harmful to crops. But they may cause damage to young, small trees or shrubs, if too many feed from the plants or lay eggs in their twigs, according to research published at www.magicicada.org.

After mating occurs, females lay their eggs on twigs; the eggs hatch later in the season, and the nymphs drop to the ground and burrow underground to restart the 17-year cycle.

Juveniles subsist on xylem, or root fluid, for food. But xylem has poor nutritional value for nymphs, which is one reason scientists theorize that juvenile periodical cicadas develop so slowly.

Every 17th year, a few weeks before emerging, the cicadas build exit tunnels to the surface. When the soil temperature exceeds 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18 Celsius), nymphs leave their burrows usually after sunset, settle on a nearby tree or shrub, and start their final molt to adulthood.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/theyre-back-17-cicadas-swarm-georgia-york-141835694.html

tim tebow press conference tebow press conference trina rob dyrdek oberon donald driver donald driver

Sheen supports sons' removal from ex-wife's care

Essential News from The Associated Press

AAA??May. 3, 2013?9:22 PM ET
Sheen supports sons' removal from ex-wife's care
AP

FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009 photo, actor Charlie Sheen, right, and wife Brooke Mueller arrive at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Sheen said Friday, May 3, 2013, that he supports a decision by child protective services to temporarily place his twin sons with former wife, Mueller, with the actor's other ex-wife, Denise Richards. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - In this April 27, 2013 file photo, Denise Richards arrives at the Radio Disney Music Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Charlie Sheen said Friday, May 3, 2013, that he supports a decision by child protective services to temporarily place his twin sons with former wife, Brooke Mueller with the actor's other ex-wife, Denise Richards. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Charlie Sheen supports a decision by child protective services to remove his twin sons from the custody of his ex-wife and have them live temporarily with another of his exes, actress Denise Richards, his spokesman said Friday.

Larry Solters wrote in a statement that Sheen will participate in court proceedings related to ex-wife Brooke Mueller's custody of their 4-year-old sons. Mueller and Sheen were married in 2008 and divorced in 2011.

"He knows Max and Bob are safe and in a stable, loving environment with Denise and the boys' sisters," Solters wrote. "Charlie will fully cooperate and fully participate in all proceedings."

Celebrity website RadarOnline.com reported Friday that the twins were removed from Mueller's custody by the Department of Children and Family Services.

Mueller has struggled with addiction for years, but it remains unclear what prompted officials to remove her sons from her care. The agency's investigations are confidential, and Mueller and Richards' representatives have declined to comment.

Sheen and Richards have two daughters from their marriage, which ended in 2006.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-05-03-People-Charlie%20Sheen/id-8149d0bea1844ccdae204c48c1d627b1

virginia beach crash stephen hawking marion barry virginia beach jet crash ridiculously photogenic guy amanda bynes dui ghost ship

Are Indian-Pakistani relations in jeopardy after prisoner death?

The fatal attack on an Indian jailed for spying in Pakistan led to an outpouring of anger and strained ties between the neighbors. It also raised questions of a potential setback in relations.

Twenty years ago, Sarabjit Singh of India was convicted and sentenced to death in Pakistan for his role in the Lahore and Faisalabad bombings of 1990. Yesterday, he died following the brutal attack by fellow inmates.

The Singh case has caused outrage in India and an apparently retaliatory attack against a Pakistani man inside an Indian prison today. India?s opposition Bhartiya Janata Party, meanwhile, has demanded the government recall its envoy from Pakistan. But, while the incident is expected to slow down the recent advances in the peace process, it is unlikely to halt it, say analysts.

?I hope it is a momentary setback and saner voices will soon prevail,? Sushobha Bharve, director of Delhi-based Center for Dialogue and Reconciliation tells the Monitor. ?India and Pakistan have no option but to talk,? she says.

RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about Pakistan? Take this quiz.

Mr. Singh?s family and lawyers claim he was just a farmer living in a border village who had accidentally crossed into Pakistan in an inebriated state three months after the bombings. His lawyer says that he was mistaken for Manjit Singh, for whom Pakistani authorities had actually been looking.

So loud was the outrage over his death, India gave Singh a state funeral. His cremation was attended by, among others, Vice President of India's ruling Congress party Rahul Gandhi. In a statement, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Singh as ?a brave son of India? adding, ?It is particularly regrettable that the government of Pakistan did not heed the pleas of the government of India, Sarabjit's family and of civil society in India and Pakistan to take a humanitarian view of this case.?

While Pakistan had refused to reconsider his case, it had also indefinitely postponed his execution. Activists working for his release said they were hopeful he would be spared the noose after Pakistan's general elections, which are due May 11.

Relations between India and Pakistan have improved significantly since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which India blamed on a militant group based in Pakistan. Singh's Lahore-based lawyer Awais Sheikh claims his client's death was orchestrated to stir tensions: "This has been done to ruin good relations between India and Pakistan and by those who don't want to see peace."

Right-wing groups in Pakistan had demanded Singh's execution after India's execution of Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab in November last year and Kashmiri militant Afzal Guru in February this year.

"Sarabjit had told his counsel in Pakistan Awais Sheikh that inmates at Kot Lakhpat jail had threatened to kill him, saying that his country had hanged Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab," Sarabjit's sister Dalbir Kaur has said referring to two prominent Pakistanis convicted of and executed for their role in terror attacks in India.

Meanwhile, the attack on Sanaullah Haq, a Pakistani prisoner in an Indian prison in Jammu, Kashmir appears to be in retaliation for Singh?s death. In January, another Indian prisoner in the same jail was bludgeoned to death, allegedly by prison staff.

"Nonstate actors in Pakistan have been trying to sabotage the peace process. Their involvement cannot be ruled out. And the Indian retaliation today marks another tragic episode where prisoners become pawns for tit for tat games," says Raza Rumi, director of Pakistan's Jinnah Institute.

According to the Indian foreign office, there are 272 Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails and 535 Indian prisoners in Indian jails, of which 483 are fishermen.

The Indian foreign office has proposed a bilateral meeting to discuss the suggestions given by the Joint India-Pakistan Judicial Committee on Prisoners.

RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about Pakistan? Take this quiz.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

'Dark genome' is involved in Rett Syndrome

Friday, May 3, 2013

Researchers at the Epigenetics and Cancer Biology Program at IDIBELL led by Manel Esteller, ICREA researcher and professor of genetics at the University of Barcelona, have described alterations in noncoding long chain RNA sequences (lncRNA) in Rett syndrome.

These molecules act as supervisor agents responsible of 'switch on' or 'switch off' other genes in our genome that regulate the activity of neurons. The work has been published in the last issue of the journal RNA Biology.

Dark genome

Only 5% of our genetic material are genes that encode proteins. The remaining 95% is known as dark genome or non-coding DNA and its function is still unknown. Part of this DNA produces RNA molecules called noncoding long chain RNA (lncRNAs).

Rett Syndrome

Rett syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disease and it is the second most common cause of mental retardation in females after Down syndrome. Clinical symptoms occur between 6 and 18 months after birth and consist of a loss of cognitive, social and motor capacities accompanied by autistic behaviors, eg, stereotypic hand movements.

Today there is no effective treatment of the disease but the control of their symptoms. The syndrome is usually due to the presence of a mutation in MeCP2 epigenetic gene that, as a magnet, regulates the expression of many other genes of the cell.

Esteller's team works with a mouse model that faithfully reproduces the characteristics of the human Rett syndrome. In this study, researchers compared the expression of long chains of RNA in healthy and diseased animals and found that the presence of mutations in the Mecp2 gene causes alterations in the activity of lncRNA.

One such altered lncARN regulates the function of a key neurotransmitter in the nervous system in all vertebrates brain (GABA receptor). "Its alteration", says Esteller, "could explain the defects of communication between neurons in girls affected by Rett Syndrome."

According to Manel Esteller "this finding, in addition to increasing knowledge about the causes of the disease, could open the door to new therapeutic strategies that target lncRNA molecules or GABA receptor."

###

IDIBELL-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute: http://www.idibell.cat

Thanks to IDIBELL-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute for this article.

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

This press release has been viewed 33 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128117/_Dark_genome__is_involved_in_Rett_Syndrome

kylie bisutti jimmy carter lunar eclipse Sunil Tripathi Tavon Austin Ella Fitzgerald Kenny Vaccaro