Dell XPS 10 Windows RT tablet revisits the FCC with AT&T LTE onboard

We've already seen Dell's XPS 10 Windows RT slate torn open for an FCC-certified peek at its internals, but here it is in the filings again with an extra bonus: cellular connectivity. Thanks to its Snapdragon S4 CPU it was already LTE ready and this J42A tags on a W to its part number, packing LTE equipment for bands 4 and 17 which are compatible with AT&T's network. Dell originally mentioned an HSPA+/LTE model would appear after the WiFi version launched and that day is likely close at hand -- a good thing, if you're waiting for an alternative to the Tegra 3-powered ASUS VivoTab RT with LTE.

Filed under: Tablets, Wireless, AT&T, Dell

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/26/dell-xps-10-windows-rt-att-lte-fcc/

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Lenovo outs three Android tablets, the 7-inch A1000 and A3000, and the 10-inch S6000

Mobile World Congress might be the world's premier smartphone show, but that doesn't mean you won't find a bunch of tablets on display. In fact, that's pretty much all Lenovo is showing -- that, and the K900 phone, which you've already seen. All told, the company is introducing three new tabs, all of which run Android Jelly Bean, and fall into the budget / mid-range category. At the highest end is the S6000, which really isn't "high-end," per se, given that it has a 10-inch, 1,280 x 800 IPS display and a quad-core, 1.2GHz processor (MediaTek's 8389/8125, to be exact). The tablet, which measures 8.6mm (0.34 inch) thick and weighs in at 560 grams (1.23 pounds), is rated for eight hours of battery life, and there's an optional HSPA+ radio too.

Similarly, the 7-inch A3000 (pictured above) has a 1.2GHz quad-core MTK processor, IPS display and optional HSPA+ , but its resolution is a lower 1,024 x 600. Though it's smaller, it's also a tad thicker, at 11mm (0.43 inch). Finally, at the entry level, there's the A1000, a 7-inch tablet with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and Dolby Digital Plus audio (it's being marketed toward music enthusiasts as well as first-time buyers). Both models have microSD expansion, but the A3000 supports cards up to 64GB, while the A1000 can only handle 32. (The A1000 maxes out at 16GB of built-in storage, by the way.)

The tablets will all be available sometime in Q2, with worldwide availability (yes, that includes the US). We won't find out prices until later, but we do expect to see these on display here at MWC, so stay tuned for the usual hands-on treatment.

Gallery: Lenovo A1000

Gallery: Lenovo A3000

Gallery: Lenovo S6000

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/n7PiSpStJns/

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Video: Republicans may still accept more tax revenue

>> for more on how all this is playing out we're joined by cnbc's chief washington correspondent john harwood . if we get to friday, they don't make a deal, do is they cuts all play out at once or does it transpire over a series of weeks or months?

>> they'll play out for a while, maybe not for a long while. even though body parties seem willing to let the sequester go into effect there's a lot not to like for both sides. if we see the effects like longer air travel delays you're going to see increasing pressure from their constituents to negotiate some sort of alternative.

>> for the last couple of years we've heard about the so-called grand bargain. is that just a dream or is it something we could see happen to solve all this?

>> it's hard to be optimistic but a republican member of congress told me this week that it's still possible that republicans would accept more tax revenue in the context of texas reform if democrats give ground on entitlements and because of the recent slow-down nationally in health care costs, reining in medicare is a more manageable problem than it's been in years.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50923041/

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Fans injured when car sails into fence at Daytona

Kyle Larson (32) goes airborne and into the catch fence during a multi-car crash involving Justin Allgaier (31), Brian Scott (2) and others during the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. Larson's crash sent car parts and other debris flying into the stands injuring spectators. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Kyle Larson (32) goes airborne and into the catch fence during a multi-car crash involving Justin Allgaier (31), Brian Scott (2) and others during the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. Larson's crash sent car parts and other debris flying into the stands injuring spectators. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Emergency officials put out a fire from driver Kyle Larson's engine after his car hit the wall and safety fence along the front grandstands on the final lap of a NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. Larson's crash sent car parts and other debris flying into the stands injuring spectators. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Daytona International Speedway president Joie Chitwood III, left, speaks at news conference with Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR senior vice president, after numerous spectators were injured when driver Kyle Larson's car crashed in a catch fence on the last lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. Larson's crash sent car parts and other debris flying into the stands. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

The engine from Kyle Larson's car sits burning next to other parts from the car near a grandstand fence after the car hit the wall and safety fence along the front stretch on the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Emergency personnel attend to an injured spectatos in front of the grandstands after Kyle Larson's car hit the safety wall and fence along the front stretch on the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? At least 33 fans were injured Saturday during a NASCAR race when a car flew into the fence at Daytona International Speedway, hurling a tire and large pieces of debris into the stands.

The accident happened on the last lap of the second-tier Nationwide Series race on the eve of Sunday's Daytona 500, which officials said would go on as scheduled.

The crash began as the field approached the checkered flag and leader Regan Smith attempted to block Brad Keselowski to preserve the win. That triggered a chain reaction, and rookie Kyle Larson hit the cars in front of him and went airborne into the fence.

The entire front end was sheared off Larson's car, and his burning engine wedged through a gaping hole in the fence. Chunks of debris from the car were thrown into the stands, including a tire that cleared the top of the fence and landed midway up the spectator section closest to the track.

The 20-year-old Larson stood in shock several yards away from his car as fans in the stands waived frantically for help. Smoke from the burning engine briefly clouded the area, and emergency vehicles descended on the scene.

Ambulance sirens could be heard wailing behind the grandstands at a time the race winner would typically be doing celebratory burnouts.

"It was freaky. When I looked to my right, the accident happened," said Rick Harpster of Orange Park, Fla., who had a bird's-eye view of the wreck. "I looked over and I saw a tire fly straight over the fence into the stands, but after that I didn't see anything else That was the worst thing I have seen, seeing that tire fly into the stands. I knew it was going to be severe."

Speedway President Joie Chitwood said 14 fans were treated on site, and 14 others were taken to hospitals. Chitwood didn't give any updates on their conditions. Local officials said 19 fans were taken to neighboring hospitals, including two who were arrived in critical condition but were later listed in stable condition.

The accident happened the day before the Sprint Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 ? NASCAR's version of the Super Bowl. Daytona workers could be seen repairing the large section of fence where Larson hit, as well as the wall that was damaged in the accident.

"First and foremost our thoughts and prayers are with our race fans," Chitwood said. "Following the incident we responded appropriately according to our safety protocols, and had emergency medical personnel at the incident immediately.

"We're in the process of repairing the facility and will be ready to go racing tomorrow."

As emergency workers tended to injured fans and ambulance sirens wailed in the background, a somber Tony Stewart skipped the traditional post-race victory celebration.

Stewart, who won for the 19th time at Daytona and seventh time in the last nine season-opening Nationwide races, was in no mood to celebrate.

"The important thing is what going on on the frontstretch right now," said Stewart, the three-time NASCAR champion. "We've always known, and since racing started, this is a dangerous sport. But it's hard. We assume that risk, but it's hard when the fans get caught up in it.

"So as much as we want to celebrate right now and as much as this is a big deal to us, I'm more worried about the drivers and the fans that are in the stands right now because that was ... I could see it all in my mirror, and it didn't look good from where I was at."

The accident spread into the upper deck and emergency crews treated fans on both levels. There were five stretchers that appeared to be carrying fans out, and a helicopter flew overhead. A forklift was used to pluck Larson's engine out of the fence.

"It's a violent wreck. Just seeing the carnage on the racetrack, it's truly unbelievable," driver Justin Allgaier said.

It was a chaotic finish to a race that was stopped for nearly 20 minutes five laps from the finish by a 13-car accident that sent driver Michael Annett to a hospital, where his Richard Petty Motorsports team said he would be held overnight with bruising to his chest.

The race resumed with three laps to go, and the final accident occurred with Smith trying to hold off Keselowski through the final turn.

"I tried to throw a block. It's Daytona, you want to go for the win here," Smith said. "I don't know how you can play it any different other than concede second place, and I wasn't willing to do that today. Our job is to put them in position to win, and it was, and it didn't work out."

As the cars began wrecking all around Smith and Keselowski, Stewart slid through for the win, but Larson plowed into Keselowski and his car was sent airborne into the stands. When Larson's car came to a stop, it was missing its entire front end. The 20-year-old, who made his Daytona debut this week, stood apparently stunned, hands on his hips, several feet away from his car, before finally making the mandatory trip to the care center.

He said his first thought was with the fans.

"I hope all the fans are OK and all the drivers are all right," Larson said. "I took a couple big hits there and saw my engine was gone. Just hope everybody's all right."

He said he was along for the ride in the last-lap accident.

"I was getting pushed from behind, I felt like, and by the time my spotter said lift or go low, it was too late," Larson said. "I was in the wreck and then felt like it was slowing down and I looked like I could see the ground. Had some flames come in the cockpit, but luckily I was all right and could get out of the car quick."

It appeared fans were lined right along the fence when Larson's car sailed up and into it, but Chitwood indicated there was a buffer. He said there would be no changes to the seating before the Daytona 500.

"We don't anticipate moving any of our fans," Chitwood said. "We had our safety protocols in place. Our security maintained a buffer that separates the fans from the fencing area. With the fencing being prepared tonight to our safety protocols, we expect to go racing tomorrow with no changes."

Larson's car appeared to hit where the cross-over gate ? a section that can be opened for people to travel back and forth from the infield to the grandstands ? is located in the fence. Previous accidents in which drivers hit crossover gates were severe, but the gates were in the wall and not the fence for Mike Harmon's accident at Bristol in 2002 and Michael Waltrip's at the same track in 1990.

Still, NASCAR senior vice president Steve O'Donnell said it would be studied.

"I think we look at this after every incident," O'Donnell said. "We've learned in the past certain protocols put in place today are a result of prior incidents. Again, our initial evaluation is still ongoing. But it's certainly something we'll look at. If we can improve upon it, we'll certainly put that in play as soon as we can."

Larson had been scheduled to race his sprint car later Saturday night in Ocala, Fla., and even seemed restless to get there during the late stages of the Nationwide race. He pulled out of the event following the accident.

"Honestly, the race itself pales in comparison to the injuries sustained by the fans," said Chip Ganassi, the team owner who has Larson in his driver development program. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the fans that were injured as a result of the crash. As for Kyle, I am very happy that he is OK."

Keselowski watched a replay of the final accident, and said his first thoughts were with the fans. As for the accident, he agreed he tried to make a winning move and Smith tried to block.

"He felt like that's what he had to do, and that's his right. The chaos comes with it," Keselowski said. "I made the move and he blocked it, and the two of us got together and started the chain events that caused that wreck. First and foremost, just want to make sure everyone in the stands is OK and we're thinking about them."

Keselowski said the incident could cast a pall on the Daytona 500.

"I think until we know exactly the statuses of everyone involved, it's hard to lock yourself into the 500," Keselowski said. "Hopefully, we'll know soon and hopefully everyone's OK. And if that's the case, we'll staring focusing on Sunday."

___

AP Sports Writers Dan Gelston and Jerome Minerva in Daytona Beach and Associated Press writer Jennifer Kay in Miami contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-23-NASCAR-Daytona-Nationwide/id-166eb8f079e5415e837249d14df5e0d0

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Russia meteor triggered nuclear warning system

The infrasonic waves from the detonation of a meteor over the Ural Mountains earlier this month was detected by 17 nuclear monitoring stations around the globe. ?

By Leonard David,?SPACE.com / February 22, 2013

This dashcam video frame grab shows a meteor streaking across the sky of Russia?s Ural Mountains earlier this month.

Nasha gazeta/www.ng.kz/AP/File

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A far-flung system of detectors that make up a Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty network made its largest ever detection when a meteor exploded over Russia?s Ural mountains last week.

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The Vienna, Austria-based Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) runs the International Monitoring System made up of infrasound stations. Infrasound is low frequency sound with a range of less than 10 Hertz. Humans cannot hear the low frequency waves that were emitted by the?meteor blast over Russia?on Friday (Feb. 15), but they were recorded by the CTBTO?s network of sensors as they travelled across continents.

When the space rock detonated, the blast was detected by 17 infrasound stations in the CTBTO?s network that track atomic blasts across Earth. The furthest station to record the sub-audible sound was some 9,320 miles (15,000 kilometers) away in Antarctica.

Huge infrasound event

Prior to the Russian meteor event, the largest infrasound event registered by 15 stations in the CTBTO?s network was the October 2009 meteor explosion (called a bolide) over Sulawesi, Indonesia. [See video of the intense meteor explosion]

In a CTBTO statement discussing the Russian bolide, Pierrick Mialle, an acoustic scientist for the group said:? "We saw straight away that the event would be huge, in the same order as the Sulawesi event from 2009. The observations are some of the largest that?CTBTO's infrasound stations?have detected."

The Russian meteor blast picked up by the detectors is not a single explosion, Mialle said. Rather, it is burning, traveling faster than the speed of sound. "That's how we distinguish it from mining blasts or volcanic eruptions," he said.

Mialle said that scientists around the world will be using the CTBTO's data to better gauge the object's breakup and discern more about the object's final altitude, energy released and how the meteor disintegrated.

Micropressure changes

There are currently 45 infrasound stations in the CTBTO's network that measure micropressure changes in the atmosphere generated by infrasonic waves. Infrasound is one of the technologies used in the CTBTO?s network of sensors to monitor the globe for violations of the?Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty?that bans all nuclear explosions.

Infrasound has been used as part of the CTBTO's tools to detect atomic blasts since April 2001 when the first station came online in Germany. Data from the stations is sent in near real time to Vienna, Austria, for analysis at the CTBTO?s headquarters. Both the raw and analyzed data are provided to all Member States of the CTBTO.

CTBTO Member States have spent $1 billion on setting up the CTBTO verification regime.

Just days before the meteor explosion over Russia, the CTBTO's seismic network detected a seismic event in North Korea. That event on Feb. 12 measured 4.9 in magnitude. Later that morning, North Korean officials announced that the country had conducted a nuclear test. The event was registered by 94 seismic stations and two infrasound stations in the CTBTO's network.

Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is former director of research for the National Commission on Space and a past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society's Ad Astra and Space World magazines. He has written for SPACE.com since 1999.

Copyright 2013?SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/Ed5PcRd996Y/Russia-meteor-triggered-nuclear-warning-system

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?Stressed? bacteria become resistant to antibiotics

Feb. 20, 2013 ? Bacteria become resistant to antibiotics when stressed, finds research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology. In particular E. coli grown at high temperatures become resistant to rifampicin.

It is generally thought that antibiotic resistance is costly to maintain, for example mutations which reduce antibiotic uptake also restrict the amount of nutrients entering the cell. Consequently in the absence of antibiotics non-resistant bacteria will out-compete the resistant ones. However researchers from UC Irvine and Facult? de M?dicine Denis Diderot have discovered that by putting bacteria under stress, by growing them at a high temperature, the bacteria could spontaneously develop resistance to the antibiotic rifampicin.

The mutations responsible for rifampicin resistance had different effects in other strains of E coli. In each type of bacteria tested the mutated subunit of the RNA polymerase rpoB allowed them to grow in the presence of rifampicin, but unlike the original test strain they did not necessarily have a growth advantage at high temperature.

Dr Olivier Tenaillon who led this study commented, "Our study shows that antibiotic resistance can occur even in the absence of antibiotics and that, depending on the type of bacteria, and growth conditions, rather than being costly to maintain can be highly beneficial. Given that rifampicin is used to treat serious bacterial infections such as tuberculosis, leprosy, Legionnaire's disease, and for prophylaxis in cases of meningococcal meningitis, this development has important implications for public health."

These bacteria provide strong evidence that the evolution of antibiotic resistance is governed by two properties of genes, pleiotropy and epistasis. Dr Arjan de Visser from Wageningen University explained, "Pleiotropy describes how the antibiotic resistance mutations affect other functions, hence their fate in other environments. Epistasis describes how well different mutations combine in their effect on resistance, and therefore determines which mutational pathway will be preferred by evolution when several mutations are needed for full resistance."

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Journal Reference:

1. Alejandra Rodr?guez-Verdugo, Brandon S Gaut and Olivier Tenaillon. Evolution of Escherichia coli rifampicin resistance in an antibiotic-free environment during thermal stress. BMC Evolutionary Biology, (in press) [link]

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/zvdPWm2BBSI/130221194045.htm

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Einhorn wins ruling against Apple in cash pile fight

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge handed outspoken hedge fund manager David Einhorn a victory in his battle with Apple Inc on Friday, blocking the iPhone maker from moving forward with a shareholder vote on a controversial proposal to limit the company's ability to issue preferred stock.

U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan in Manhattan granted a motion by Einhorn's Greenlight Capital for a preliminary injunction stopping the vote on that proposal.

The vote was scheduled for February 27 as part of the company's annual stockholders' meeting.

Greenlight sued Apple on February 7 as part of a broader pitch to unlock more of Apple's $137 billion in cash for shareholders. Einhorn has argued Apple should issue preferred stock with a perpetual 4 percent dividend.

The lawsuit itself challenged a measure called Proposal No. 2 that Apple put forward that would eliminate Apple's power to issue preferred shares without a shareholder vote.

At issue is Apple's "bundling" of the measure on the preferred shares with two other unrelated matters into a single proxy proposal.

Greenlight said it supported two proposed the amendments but not the one on preferred shares.

Sullivan said Greenlight and another investor who also sued Apple "are likely to succeed on the merits and face irreparable harm if the vote on Proposal No. 2 is permitted to proceed."

Representatives for Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

For Einhorn, the decision could provide leverage as he pursues his pitch for Apple to issue what he has called "the iPref," preferred stock with a perpetual dividend that he contends would reward investors and help boost the company's share prices.

In a statement, a spokesman for Greenlight called the ruling a "significant win for all Apple shareholders and for good corporate governance."

The lawsuit was centered on a narrow issue of whether Apple violated U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules by "bundling" the preferred shares item with two other unrelated matters into one proxy proposal.

Greenlight's lawyers contended the SEC rules were intended to protect shareholders from being forced to vote for a proxy proposal involving materially different issues that the investors might not entirely support.

Apple had argued Proposal No. 2, which only dealt with amendments to its charter, constitute a single matter and wasn't bundled. Sullivan called the company's arguments "unavailing."

"Given the language and purpose of the rules, it is plain to the Court that Proposal No. 2 impermissibly bundles 'separate matters' for shareholder consideration," Sullivan wrote.

The judge separately declined to block a vote from going forward on a separate proxy proposal, Proposal No. 4, which sought an advisory "say on pay" vote on Apple executives' compensation.

The proposal had been challenged by investor Brian Gralnick of Pennsylvania, who contends Apple did not disclose enough details about how it made its compensation decisions.

Sullivan rejected that argument, saying Apple's disclosures were "plainly sufficient under SEC rules."

Arnold Gershon, a lawyer for Gralnick at Barrack, Rodos & Bacine, did not respond to a request for comment.

Apple shares closed up 1.06 percent at $450.81 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

The case is Greenlight Capital LP, et al., v. Apple Inc., U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 13-900.

(Reporting By Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Martha Graybow, Gary Hill and Leslie Adler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-grants-einhorn-injunction-against-apple-204141248--sector.html

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Should grandma join Facebook? It may give her a cognitive boost, study finds

Feb. 21, 2013 ? For older adults looking to sharpen their mental abilities, it might be time to log on to Facebook.

Preliminary research findings from the University of Arizona suggest that men and women older than 65 who learn to use Facebook could see a boost in cognitive function.

Janelle Wohltmann, a graduate student in the UA department of psychology, set out to see whether teaching older adults to use the popular social networking site could help improve their cognitive performance and make them feel more socially connected.

Her preliminary findings, which she shared this month at the International Neuropsychological Society Annual Meeting in Hawaii, show that older adults, after learning to use Facebook, performed about 25 percent better on tasks designed to measure their ability to continuously monitor and to quickly add or delete the contents of their working memory -- a function known in the psychology world as "updating."

Wohltmann, whose research is ongoing as part of her dissertation work, facilitated Facebook training for 14 older adults who had either never used the site or used it less than once a month. They were instructed to become Facebook friends only with those in their training group and were asked to post on the site at least once a day.

A second group of 14 non-Facebook using seniors instead was taught to use an online diary site, Penzu.com, in which entries are kept private, with no social sharing component. They were asked to make at least one entry a day, of no more than three to five sentences to emulate the shortness of messages that Facebook users typically post.

The study's third group of 14 was told they were on a "wait-list" for Facebook training, which they never actually completed.

Prior to learning any new technologies, study participants, who ranged in age from 68 to 91, completed a series of questionnaires and neuropsychological tests measuring social variables, such as their levels loneliness and social support, as well as their cognitive abilities. The assessments were done again at the end of the study, eight weeks later.

In the follow-ups, those who had learned to use Facebook performed about 25 percent better than they did at the start of the study on tasks designed to measure their mental updating abilities. Participants in the other groups saw no significant change in performance.

Wohltmann conducted the study with help from her research adviser Betty Glisky, professor and head of the department of psychology, and a team of undergraduate and graduate research assistants. It was based on existing evidence about how learning new tasks can help older adults with overall cognitive function, as well as research suggesting a possible link between social connectedness and cognitive performance.

"The idea evolved from two bodies of research," she said. "One, there is evidence to suggest that staying more cognitively engaged -- learning new skills, not just becoming a couch potato when you retire but staying active -- leads to better cognitive performing. It's kind of this 'use it or lose it' hypothesis."

"There's also a large body of literature showing that people who are more socially engaged, are less lonely, have more social support and are more socially integrated are also doing better cognitively in older age," she said.

In Wohltmann's research, further analysis is needed to determine whether using Facebook made participants feel less lonely or more socially connected, she said.

Likewise, further analysis is needed to determine whether, or by how much, Facebook's social aspect contributed to improvements in cognitive performance. However, Wohltmann suspects that the complex nature of the Facebook interface, compared to the online diary site, was largely responsible for Facebook users' improved performance.

"The Facebook interface is actually quite complex. The big difference between the online diary and Facebook is that when you create a diary entry, you create the entry, you save it and that's all you see, versus if you're on Facebook, several people are posting new things, so new information is constantly getting posted," she said.

"You're seeing this new information coming in, and you need to focus on the new information and get rid of the old information, or keep it in mind if you want to go back and reference it later, so you have to constantly update what's there in your attention," she said.

Participants in the study, who had an average age of 79, represent a demographic whose social media behavior has not been closely examined.

"Facebook is obviously a huge phenomenon in our culture," Wohltmann said. "There's starting to be more research coming out about how younger adults use Facebook and online social networking, but we really don't know very much at all about older adults, and they actually are quite a large growing demographic on Facebook, so I think it's really important to do the research to find out."

One in three online seniors use a social networking site like Facebook, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Wohltmann says she also sees Facebook as a potential alternative to some online games marketed to seniors to help boost mental acuity.

"Those games can boring after a while, and this might be a new activity for people to learn that's more interesting and keeps them socially engaged," she said, adding that it can also help older adults stay connected with grandchildren and other family and friends.

Yet, Wohltmann cautions it may not be for everyone.

"One of the take-home messages could be that learning how to use Facebook is a way to build what we call cognitive reserve, to help protect against and stave off cognitive decline due to normal age-related changes in brain function. But there certainly are other ways to do this as well," she said.

"It's also important to understand and know about some of the aspects of Facebook that people have concerns about, like how to keep your profile secure," she said. "So I wouldn't suggest to anyone to get out and get Granny online right away, unless you or somebody else can provide the proper education and support to that person, so that they can use it in a safe way."

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/GwmOxbCG0vw/130221143912.htm

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FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug

This undated image provided by Roche on Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 shows a vial and packaging for the drug Kadcyla. On Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the approval of the first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones. (AP Photo/Roche)

This undated image provided by Roche on Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 shows a vial and packaging for the drug Kadcyla. On Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the approval of the first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones. (AP Photo/Roche)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.

The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent dose of anti-tumor poison.

Cancer researchers say the drug is an important step forward because it delivers more medication while reducing the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy.

"This antibody goes seeking out the tumor cells, gets internalized and then explodes them from within. So it's very kind and gentle on the patients ? there's no hair loss, no nausea, no vomiting," said Dr. Melody Cobleigh of Rush University Medical Center. "It's a revolutionary way of treating cancer."

Cobleigh helped conduct the key studies of the drug at the Chicago facility.

The FDA approved the new treatment for about 20 percent of breast cancer patients with a form of the disease that is typically more aggressive and less responsive to hormone therapy. These patients have tumors that overproduce a protein known as HER-2. Breast cancer is the second most deadly form of cancer in U.S. women, and is expected to kill more than 39,000 Americans this year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The approval will help Roche's Genentech unit build on the blockbuster success of Herceptin, which has long dominated the breast cancer marketplace. The drug had sales of roughly $6 billion last year.

Genentech said Friday that Kadcyla will cost $9,800 per month, compared to $4,500 per month for regular Herceptin. The company estimates a full course of Kadcyla, about nine months of medicine, will cost $94,000.

FDA scientists said they approved the drug based on company studies showing Kadcyla delayed the progression of breast cancer by several months. Researchers reported last year that patients treated with the drug lived 9.6 months before death or the spread of their disease, compared with a little more than six months for patients treated with two other standard drugs, Tykerb and Xeloda.

Overall, patients taking Kadcyla lived about 2.6 years, compared with 2 years for patients taking the other drugs.

FDA specifically approved the drug for patients with advanced breast cancer who have already been treated with Herceptin and taxane, a widely used chemotherapy drug. Doctors are not required to follow FDA prescribing guidelines, and cancer researchers say the drug could have great potential in patients with earlier forms of breast cancer

Kadcyla will carry a boxed warning, the most severe type, alerting doctors and patients that the drug can cause liver toxicity, heart problems and potentially death. The drug can also cause severe birth defects and should not be used by pregnant women.

Kadcyla was developed by South San Francisco-based Genentech using drug-binding technology licensed from Waltham, Mass.-based ImmunoGen. The company developed the chemical that keeps the drug cocktail together and is scheduled to receive a $10.5 million payment from Genentech on the FDA decision. The company will also receive additional royalties on the drug's sales.

Shares of ImmunoGen Inc. rose 2 cents to $14.32 in afternoon trading. The stock has ttraded in a 52-wek range of $10.85 to $18.10.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-02-22-Breast%20Cancer%20Drug-Roche/id-097d044b0bf34150ad4b0f22093f0395

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Why Americans hate Congress

With piles of unfinished business, lawmakers head out for a 10-day vacation

Congress justified its absurdly low approval rating this week as Senate Republicans blocked the nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary.

Hagel, who is perfectly qualified for the post, made the unforgivable mistake of disagreeing with his former colleagues while he was still in the Senate.

SEE ALSO: 3 tensions that are breaking apart the Republican Party

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) candidly told?Fox News that Hagel had committed the sin of saying President Bush was "the worst president since Herbert Hoover" and that the escalation in Iraq "was the worst blunder since the Vietnam War."

But Hagel's biggest mistake was that he was very "anti his own party, and people don't forget that."

SEE ALSO: 3 reasons Marco Rubio isn't going to be the GOP nominee in 2016

Democrats then postured for political purposes, and according to the New York Times, "decided to press ahead and require Republicans to record a vote against Mr. Hagel, allowing Democrats to accuse them of a new level of obstructionism."

To end the pitiful week, lawmakers then left for a 10-day recess.

SEE ALSO: Should President Obama just do the opposite of what he wants?

As Ron Fournier points out, "In addition to an empty seat at the Pentagon, the unfinished business in Washington is staggering: Billions of dollars of haphazard cuts due to automatically take effect, immigration reform, gun control, climate change, and millions of Americans left behind in a wrenching economic transition. If you took 10 days off with this much work undone, you'd be fired."

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-americans-hate-congress-101500029.html

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Streptococcus pneumonia shields foreign DNA derived from other bacteria to promote genetic diversity and vaccine evasion

Streptococcus pneumonia shields foreign DNA derived from other bacteria to promote genetic diversity and vaccine evasion

Friday, February 15, 2013

A new report demonstrates that the human pathogen Streptococcus (S.) pneumoniae (one of the known causes of bacterial pneumonia) possesses an unusual enzyme that protects foreign DNA taken up during transformation, allowing exchange of pathogenicity islands donated from other pathogenic bacteria. This study, published February 14 in the Open Access journal PLOS Pathogens by researchers from the Laboratory of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (CNRS-Universit? Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France), establishes a role for this enzyme in protecting internalized DNA from restriction, and simultaneously shows that S. pneumoniaeuses transformation, for example by DNA picked up from other bacterial strains, specifically to promote genome diversification.

Exchange of pathogenicity islands is crucial for pneumococcal virulence, as illustrated by the impressive variability in the polysaccharide capsule, which is usually targeted by current vaccines. Acquisition of different capsule loci, by relying on this genetic transformation, thus allows for vaccine evasion. Natural genetic transformation is thought of as the bacterial equivalent of sexual reproduction, allowing intra- and inter-species genetic exchange. This process, involving uptake of foreign DNA as single-strands (ss) that leads to chromosomal integration, is transient in S. pneumoniae.

Restriction-modification (R-M) systems classically include a restrictase, which protects the host bacteria from attack by bacteriophage via the degradation of only the foreign double-stranded (ds) DNA, and a dsDNA methylase that methylates the host genome, providing self-immunity against this restrictase. Since they degrade only foreign DNA, R-M systems are proposed to antagonize transformation by DNA from other bacteria. The DpnII R-M system investigated in this study is present in around half of pneumococcal isolates tested and also possesses an unusual methylase of ssDNA, DpnA, which is specifically induced during the brief genetic transformation time window.

This study shows that DpnA gene is crucial for the exchange of pathogenicity islands when the foreign DNA is unmethylated (i.e., from a non-DpnII modified DNA donor). By methylating the internalized foreign ssDNA, DpnA protects the chromosome of those transformants that incorporate the foreign pathogenicity islands, such as the capsule locus. In the absence of this unique methylation, the novel transformant chromosomes would be degraded by the DpnII restrictase, thus forbidding the acceptance of the foreign DNA sequences.

The researchers found that the role of DpnA is to protect foreign DNA, allowing pathogenicity island exchange between bacteria. Jean-Pierre Claverys, Principal Investigator and senior author of the paper concludes that "this finding is the first evidence for a mechanism that actively promotes genetic diversity of S. pneumoniae through programmed protection and incorporation of foreign DNA."

###

Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org

Thanks to Public Library of Science 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.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126846/Streptococcus_pneumonia_shields_foreign_DNA_derived_from_other_bacteria_to_promote_genetic_diversity_and_vaccine_evasion_

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Q&A: Currency the latest threat to global economy

Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke attends the summit of financial ministers and heads of central banks of the G20 group of nations ahead of their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke attends the summit of financial ministers and heads of central banks of the G20 group of nations ahead of their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

LONDON (AP) ? The world economy faces a new threat. Instead of a banking collapse or too much debt, fears are growing that countries are using their currencies as an economic weapon.

History suggests that's never a good thing.

If too many countries try to weaken their currencies for economic gain ? sparking a "currency war" ? that could stifle business confidence and investment, sow turmoil in financial markets and derail a fragile global economy.

Following their meeting in Moscow this weekend, financial representatives from the world's leading 20 industrial and developing countries warned that "excess volatility of financial flows and disorderly movements in exchange rates have adverse implications for economic and financial stability."

Why is everyone talking about currencies?

? Since the start of the financial crisis, central banks around the world have been trying to stimulate their economies by keeping interest rates extremely low. The goal is to encourage consumers and businesses to borrow and spend more. One way central banks drive down rates is to use their power to print money to buy up large quantities of bonds. But by boosting the amount of currency in circulation, there is a side effect: it can drive down the value of that currency relative to others.

As a country's currency falls, its exports become cheaper, while those of its neighbors become relatively more expensive.

Japan, the world's third-largest economy, is currently under the harshest spotlight. To get its economy motoring again after a two-decade bout of stagnation, the government has said it would like to see inflation move higher. Markets have interpreted this as a signal that Japan's central bank is prepared to take actions that would result in driving down the yen, to boost exports and also put upward pressure on prices. Earlier this week, the yen fell to a 21-month low against the dollar and a near three-year trough against the euro.

So is Japan actively trying to weaken the yen?

? Yes and no. Though it's not directly intervening in the foreign exchange markets by selling yen and buying other currencies, strong comments from the new Japanese government have convinced markets that the Bank of Japan will create more money. Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso insists the government isn't focused on exchange rates, but he has noted that the weakening yen has "brought huge benefits to the export sector" and that the world "has been awed" by the recent surge in share prices.

Why is that bad?

? A falling yen will help exporters, such as Sony and Toyota, and boost Japan's economy. And it will it tend to push prices - and ultimately wages ? higher. But if other countries respond to the falling yen by devaluing their currencies ? to maintain the competitiveness of their own exports ? Japan will be back to square one and the world economy could suffer.

Sharp fluctuations in the value of currencies can hurt business confidence and investment. Prices for imported raw materials and components would be volatile, profits will be hard to come by as prices fluctuate wildly and the value of any investment a company makes in another country could quickly be wiped out.

Who's been feeling the effect of Japan's actions so far?

? The euro, the currency used by the 17-strong group of European Union countries, has seen the biggest move on the foreign exchange markets. As the region moved on from its crippling debt crisis last summer, the euro has slowly gained in value. But since the change of government in Japan, its value against leading currencies such as the yen and U.S. dollar has shot up ? last December it was worth 113.19 yen and $1.29 and now it's at 124.93 yen and $1.33.

A rise in the value of the euro will do little to help the eurozone's businesses ? and will hardly help getting it growing again. Figures Thursday showed that the economic output of the region shrank at an annualized rate of around 2.5 percent in the last quarter of 2012.

What's been the reaction from other major economies?

? Politicians have voiced concerns about the euro's rise versus other major currencies ? most notably French President Francois Hollande, who indicated he was open to calls for a more managed exchange rate. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said last week that the bank will monitor the economic impact of the euro's rising value. Several analysts took that to mean the ECB could cut interest rates to bolster growth, which in theory could weaken the euro ? an indirect tit-for-tat response to the yen's fall, some say.

Earlier this week, the volatility in the currency markets prompted the Group of Seven leading industrial nations, which includes the U.S, Germany as well as Japan, to warn about the effects of volatile movements in exchange rates.

Might other countries try to manipulate their currencies in response to Japan?

? There is no sign of that ? so far. Speaking in Moscow Saturday, International Monetary Fund Director Christine Lagarde dismissed the possibility of an international currency conflict, saying that she was witnessing "currency worries, not currency wars."

But a country fixing the value of its currency is not without precedent.

In Sept. 2011, Switzerland took action to arrest the rise of its currency, the Swiss franc. The rise was triggered by the debt crisis in the eurozone ? investors were looking for somewhere safe to park their cash and the Swiss franc has traditionally fulfilled that role. The Swiss intervention was viewed as an attempt to protect the country's exporters.

U.S. politicians have for years accused China of keeping its currency, the renminbi, artificially weak in order to industrialize fast. And many countries believe the U.S. long ago abandoned the "strong dollar" policy in a dash for growth.

How bad could a currency war get?

? Since World War II, one of the key objectives of international economic policymaking has been to avoid a repeat of the 1930s, when countries around the world engaged in a tit-for-tat battle with their exchange rates. That decimated global trade, accentuating the depression and providing another catalyst to war.

Assuming the world doesn't descend into a similar abyss, a currency war can still harm the global economy. For example, central banks, particularly in the developing world, may resort to controlling the amount of capital that can be moved out of a country to affect exchange rates.

"Increasing impediments to the free flow of capital might be thought to lower the potential growth of the world economy," said Stephen Lewis, chief economist at Monument Securities.

Can the world's leaders and central bankers calm the situation?

? As many analysts had expected, this weekend's G-20 meeting in Moscow finished on Saturday with a warning on the dangers of competitive devaluations and a pledge that it will "not target our exchange rates for competitive purposes, will resist all forms of protectionism and keep our markets open."

The G20 communique ? and the G7 statement earlier this week ? failed to single out one country's actions for criticism.

Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at the Martin Smith School of Business at California State University, said that should come as no surprise.

"Many countries including China, Japan and the United States all have issues related to exchange rates," he said. "People in glass houses should not throw stones."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-16-G20-Currency%20War%20QandA/id-526d3044f92645c390bfaea92615bd90

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Obama bypasses Congress, goes public with economic pitches

Weeks before President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, White House aides were locking down a plan for the sales pitch that would follow during three days of travel focused on his main themes.

The effort to promote Obama's proposals on jobs, wages and education involved visits to Asheville, N.C., Decatur Ga., and Chicago, participating in a Google+ chat and mobilizing the president's formidable former campaign apparatus.

One thing it didn't include? Congress.

For the White House, this is a campaign for public opinion, not one to write specific legislation.

When it comes to broadening early education or raising the minimum wage, Obama is not ready to make lawmakers a part of the process yet.

Instead, Obama is trying to change an economic debate that has been focused on deficits and on managing the national debt to one about middle-class opportunities and economic growth. Just into his second term, Obama and his aides want to move away from the type of budget confrontations that have defined the past two years and take advantage of his re-election to pressure Republicans.

"If the Republicans reflexively oppose everything the president does, we have to go directly to the American people to marshal their support to get things done," Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said. "The metric we're looking at is whether you start to see fissures in the Republican coalition."

This president, like recent ones before him, has gone to the public before in hopes of persuading lawmakers. It hasn't always proved a winning tactic.

President Bill Clinton failed to use the public to win support for his health care overhaul. President George W. Bush was unable to make changes to Social Security in his second term.

Obama tried to muster public support to fight climate change but the legislative effort came up short. Even Obama's all-out effort on behalf of sweeping health care changes only succeeded in keeping Democrats unified, not in winning over Republicans.

But Obama and White House aides are heartened by what they believe were successful public appeals for extending a payroll tax cut in 2010 and for preventing a doubling of interest rates on federal student loans last summer.

What made those different was that they addressed pressing issues: The payroll tax cut was expiring at year's end and interest rates on student loans were set to double last July 1.

Expanding preschools and raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour by the end of 2015, on the other hand, are policy ideas just sprung on Congress during last Tuesday's prime-time speech.

"When there is no clear path between what he called for in the State of the Union and then going on the road, and there's no road map about exactly when we're going to get into these issues, it's a little bit like shouting in the forest," said Patrick Griffin, the White House legislative director under Clinton. "Something has to be queued up in order to make these visits work."

David Winston, a Republican pollster and strategist who advises House Republicans, said the key to a successful policy campaign is two-fold.

"The first and central is how important is solving whatever problem is being defined," he said. "The second one is does the defined benefit solve the problem."

He argues that even though Obama in 2010 won the health care fight in a partisan showdown, the public didn't judge health care to be as important as dealing with the economy. As a result, Republicans won control of the House in elections that year.

The White House strategy now in part recognizes that the economy remains the No. 1 public concern even as the president engages Congress on issues such as immigration and gun violence.

It was finally on Friday, his last road trip of the week, when Obama brought his message back to guns. But even then, like in his State of the Union speech, he connected it to his main economic themes. Speaking not far from his Hyde Park home on Chicago's South Side, Obama linked the near-daily violence to communities where there is little economic hope.

At the White House, Pfeiffer argues that it would be pointless to present Congress with legislation on preschools and minimum wage increases now when the president is just raising the profile of the two issues and when he's already working with Congress on other matters.

"There's a lot of traffic in the legislative process right now," he said. "If we were to send a bill up on some of these things tomorrow, you guys would all write that the president has overloaded the system."

In pushing his agenda, Obama is wielding extra muscle that he didn't employ before, relying on his reconfigured re-election campaign operation. The organization has reappeared as a nonprofit group ready to engage in legislative fights and grass-roots mobilization to supplement the White House.

The group, Organizing for Action, planned a tele-town hall Saturday hosted by Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago mayor who was Obama's White House chief of staff. The event was intended to press the same themes Obama has pushed for the past four days.

Another expected participant was Austan Goolsbee, former chairman of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers.

The group's board of directors includes former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and top campaign officials such as Stephanie Cutter and Julianna Smoot. Obama senior campaign adviser David Axelrod will serve as a consultant.

All retain strong ties to the White House; Axelrod and Emanuel were in the West Wing last week.

Griffin, the former Clinton aide, said such an organization would introduce a brand new element to White House outreach.

He recalled Clinton's failed effort on health care and his attempt to go over the head of Congress in 1993.

"We tried to build an outside game but we were relying on external organizations to do what President Obama's team wants to do on its own," he said. "The question is, is he going to use this organization to really mobilize folks toward some specific, concrete objective. That to me is a whole new dimension to presidential congressional relations."

???

Follow Jim Kuhnhenn on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jkuhnhenn

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-bypasses-congress-public-economic-pitch-140104549.html

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PST: What we learned in Bulls-RLS? |? Seattle-NE

TUCSON, Ariz. ? A ridiculously quick 2-0 lead ? ?Quick? as in three minutes! ? may not have been surprising considering the starting lineups in Wednesday?s second contest in the Desert Diamond Cup.

Real Salt Lake?s B team was up against Thierry Henry and the rest of the Red Bulls top choices, after all. But how about this for a preseason kick in the head: it was the reservists from RSL who took that jaw-dropping early margin.

By the end the Red Bulls had made up, controlling the game as you would expect after those early wobbles and seeing out a 2-2 draw. But who cares about results? Here is what we can take away from Wednesday?s match in the surprising cold desert:

• Jason Kreis wants to begin building the team?s weekly routine. Hence the choice to roll out a second-choice lineup. Saturday?s contest against Seattle will see the first-teamers start.
• Red Bulls manager Mike Petke?(pictured) wants to play in a 4-2-3-1 this year. New York?s starting lineup looked like this: Santiago Castano. Brandon Barklage, Markus Holgersson, Jamison Olave, Connor Lade, Dax McCarty, Juninho; Lloyd Sam, Tim Cahill, Thierry Henry; Fabian Espindola.
• Thierry Henry played alongside the left, which was interesting to watch. He was more or less having his way against RSL young defense; things will surely be harder when the real shin-kicking starts. Still, having Henry operate in space, more or less as a left-sided playmaker has something interesting about it. It looked just a little like his old Arsenal days, when the fab Frenchman tended to drift left in Arsene Wenger?s alignment.
• Petke has one conundrum, it seems: Where to play Juninho, the team?s veteran (let?s call him veteran-plus) Brazilian midfielder. He was next to Dax McCarty on Wednesday and paled him comparison to his ginger central midfield mate. While McCarty was his usual busy self, winning balls, linking the play, always involved, etc., Juninho was rarely involved. At all.
• Clearly, a 38-year-old midfielder doesn?t want to waste too much energy in a preseason exhibition. Still, Juninho?s ability to cover ground and willingness to tackle and otherwise be involved seemed alarmingly sluggish.
• Cahill played behind Fabian Espindola in the 4-2-3-1. I?ll know more when I talk to Petke today or tomorrow at a training, but it looks like the formation gives RBNY?s new manager a lot of flexibility. Espindola could play wider (he tended to drift wide in his RSL years anyway). Tim Cahill can play closer to goal. Henry is smart enough to play any of the positions. Which leaves Juninho ?
• More match details are here from the Red Bulls side.
• Rich Balchan, formerly of Columbus and recently released from Chicago, is now in RSL camp. Balchan had some good matches in Columbus; not sure what the issue is, but the 24-year-old Indiana University man always seemed to have potential.
• Know how you can tell it?s preseason? Kreis, usually impeccably dressed along the sideline, was in jeans and an RSL jacket. I had to look twice to make sure it was him.
• As for the two early goals? Considering the Red Bulls top two goalkeepers (Luis Robles and Ryan Meara) were unavailable, it?s hard to be too concerned. The first goal, just seconds into the match, could possibly be linked to information being provided to Conor Lade on a back pass gone wrong.

Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/14/building-preseason-knowledge-new-york-red-bulls-vs-real-salt-lake/related/

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Saving Pets ? Blog Archive ? Lost Dogs Home Pet Fest

On March 3rd the Lost Dogs Home Pet Fest invites pet lovers to celebrate the organsation?s 100th birthday

Obviously, I was all like, OMG you guys! and wanted to take the time to celebrate with them. Here are a few milestones of note from the team at the Lost Dogs Home;

The New ?Lost Cats? Home?

In 2010 Victorians opened their hearts and wallets to support the Lost Dogs Home capital campaign to expand their operations. Opened in January 2011, the $2.35million The Lost Cats? Home was built on acquired factory space next door to the North Melbourne site.

This investment has taken their kill rate for unclaimed cats down from 90%+, to around 80%, so now only 8 out of ten cats die if left with the facility.

Successfully lobbying for BSL in Victoria

As one of the only animal welfare groups in the state of Victoria to come out in support of Breed Specific Laws after the Ayen Chol tragedy, the Lost Dogs Home Managing Director had worked for nearly a decade to get the laws expanded to include all dogs who, according to him, looked ?dangerous?.

This resulted in the deaths of dogs like Bear and Kooda, who were two dogs whose looks meant they were seized and destroyed.

Developing the ?Who?s for Cats? program

Launched in 2007, at the Home the ?Who?s for Cats? program was lauded to be an innovative public awareness campaign. In execution however, it demonised free-roaming cats and the people who showed them compassion, and increased impounds several fold. By 2008, there had been a 40% increase in complaints calls about cats and by 2010 the Lost Dogs Home was taking in more cats than dogs.

Their fellow shelter, the Cat Protection Society, maintains kill rates of over 90% for the around 12,000 cats it takes in annually, demonstrating that any program which appeals to cat-haters and asks them to seize cats, was always going to result in increased rates of killing.

?Oopsie? killing pets with owners

Brindle had a family who wanted to collect him, but he ended up dead.

Bubba had an owner who wanted to collect him, but he ended up dead.

Building the country?s biggest pound

By taking on pound contracts from no fewer than 10 cities, The Lost Dogs Home?s North Melbourne site is the biggest pound in Australia. This means they are currently servicing over 1,127,000 people, 150,000 registered dogs and 109,000 registered cats. Over 90% of their intakes to the facility are via their own impoundment staff and vehicles.

Currently, there is no way for owner to search for their lost pets online. The organisation instead recommends you visit from say, the outskirts of Hume, to their facility and peer into each cage daily until your pet is found.

Killing dogs

At North Melbourne, every second dog who remains unclaimed, is killed. One in every two.

(click here for a flyer of both cat and dog stats)

Pet Fest an opportunity for pet lovers to have their say

As you can see, there is just so much to celebrate on the 3rd March. So don?t forget to get down there, join in and talk to people about just how much the Lost Dogs Home does for pets.

Source: http://www.savingpets.com.au/2013/02/lost-dogs-home-pet-fest/

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