How to Reduce Your Mortgage Insurance Payment | AOL Real Estate

By Scott Sheldon

Mortgage insurance

is the dreaded premium on a mortgage payment that consumers hate, and for good reason. It makes the cost of homeownership rise over time, benefiting one group: the investor that owns the loan. Mortgage insurance, also known as private mortgage insurance, or PMI, is an integral part of many common loan programs found in the market today: FHA mortgages, USDA mortgages and, yes, even standard conventional mortgages. Mortgage insurance is paid by the consumer for the benefit of the lender to insure the loan in case the consumer defaults on the payment down the road. Mortgage insurance loans are more profitable to the mortgage markets because of the additional premiums paid to the mortgage servicer.

How PMI becomes attached to a mortgage payment: Typically, you're required to have mortgage insurance when you have less than 20 percent equity on a refinance or less than a 20 percent down payment when buying a home. Additionally, a loan with 80 percent loan-to-value financing (that is, 80 percent of the purchase price or home value) will also have property taxes and hazard insurance built into the monthly mortgage payment. On top of that, mortgage insurance is added to this figure, further inflating the payment for the consumer.

What will your PMI payment be -- and can you afford it?: Typically, your PMI payment is based on 75 basis points (x .0075) of the loan amount. Using a $350,000 loan amount, that translates to $218.75 per month. PMI is considered a liability by lenders, who will require double that in your income to offset it. Example: It takes $437 per month in income to offset the $218.75 per month in financed mortgage insurance.

Here are a few ways to reduce the cost of mortgage insurance:

? Get a lower loan-to-value supported by an appraisal, or bring more cash to the table to reduce the amount borrowed

? Conventional loans typically contain lower PMI insurance than government loans like those from the FHA.

? HARP 2 refinances -- no matter the loan to value -- will not require monthly mortgage insurance so long as the loan being paid off does not contain monthly mortgage insurance.

? Have a credit score of 760 or better and the loan to value is no larger than 85 percent -- and if refinancing, no cash is being taken out of the transaction.

How long mortgage insurance is needed: This depends on the mortgage loan program you have -- whether it's a conventional mortgage or a government mortgage. Conventional Mortgages will require monthly mortgage insurance until you've paid enough on your mortgage to have 22 percent equity in your home. And while the lender must remove mortgage insurance at 22 percent equity, it is primarily up to the consumer to be proactive in ridding themselves of PMI.

Types of housing that require PMI: 1) Primary residences -- maximum loan to value of 97 percent, 95 percent loan to value produces best terms; 2) Second/vacation Homes -- Maximum loan to value of 90 percent; 3) Investment properties -- No PMI financing presently available.

Does PMI make financial sense?: For most consumers, the lowest possible monthly payment is the No. 1. priority, of course. But there are a few exceptions that PMI can benefit you. For a buyer with previous credit problems, a mortgage containing monthly mortgage insurance allows one to purchase with less than perfect qualifying standards. Or, maybe you want the option of paying a smaller down payment because you need the cash safety net. In either scenario, financing containing PMI may be beneficial to you.

See more on Credit.com:
Can You Really Get Your Credit Score for Free?
The First Thing to Do Before Buying a Home
The Quick Formula to Determine Your House Payment

More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
Find foreclosures in your area.
See celebrity real estate.

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Source: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/02/27/mortgage-insurance/

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ScienceDaily: Top Science News

http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/top_news/top_science/ Top science news, featured on ScienceDaily's home page.en-usThu, 28 Feb 2013 01:24:00 ESTThu, 28 Feb 2013 01:24:00 EST60http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gifhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/news/top_news/top_science/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227183502.htm Bearded capuchin monkeys deliberately place palm nuts in a stable position on a surface before trying to crack them open, revealing their capacity to use tactile information to improve tool use.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:35:35 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227183502.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227183311.htm For the first time, scientists have shown that transplanted eyes located far outside the head in a vertebrate animal model can confer vision without a direct neural connection to the brain. Biologists used a frog model to shed new light ? literally ? on one of the major questions in regenerative medicine and sensory augmentation research.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:33:33 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227183311.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227151306.htm Researchers have achieved a major advance in understanding how genetic information is transcribed from DNA to RNA by providing the first step-by-step look at the biomolecular machinery that reads the human genome.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:13:13 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227151306.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134425.htm Unique fossils literally 'lift the lid' on ancient creature's head to expose one of the earliest examples of food manipulating limbs in evolutionary history, dating from around 530 million years ago.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:44:44 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134425.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134340.htm After four years of confinement to a wheelchair, Rick Constantine, 58, is now walking again after undergoing an unconventional surgery to restore the use of his leg.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:43:43 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134340.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134336.htm As a bird sings, some neurons in its brain prepare to make the next sounds while others are synchronized with the current notes?a coordination of physical actions and brain activity that is needed to produce complex movements. The finding that may lead to new ways of understanding human speech production.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:43:43 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134336.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134334.htm A new study reports that a viral predator of the cholera bacteria has stolen the functional immune system of bacteria and is using it against its bacterial host. This provides the first evidence that this type of virus, the bacteriophage, can acquire an adaptive immune system. The study has implications for phage therapy, the use of phages to treat bacterial diseases.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:43:43 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134334.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227132544.htm Two X-ray space observatories, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton, have teamed up to measure definitively, for the first time, the spin rate of a black hole with a mass 2 million times that of our sun.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:25:25 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227132544.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227121903.htm While water bottles may tout BPA-free labels and personal care products declare phthalates not among their ingredients, these assurances may not be enough. According to a new study, we may be exposed to these chemicals in our diet, even if our diet is organic and we prepare, cook, and store foods in non-plastic containers. Children may be most vulnerable.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:19:19 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227121903.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227102022.htm A look at how the brain processes information finds distinct pattern in autistic children. Using EEGs to track the brain's electrical cross-talk, researchers found structural difference in brain connections. Compared with neurotypical children, those with autism have multiple redundant connections between neighboring brain areas at expense of long-distance links. The study, using "network analysis" like with airlines or electrical grids, may help in understanding some classic autistic behaviors.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:20:20 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227102022.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227101951.htm Oocytes of lions, tigers and other cat species survive the preservation in liquid nitrogen. Scientists have now succeeded in carrying out cryopreservation of felid ovary cortex.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:19:19 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227101951.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227101929.htm Older people who have low expectations for a satisfying future may be more likely to live longer, healthier lives than those who see brighter days ahead, according to new research.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:19:19 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227101929.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085944.htm A new study offers the first evidence of source memory in a nonhuman animal. The findings have fascinating implications, both in evolutionary terms and for future research into the biological underpinnings of memory, as well as the treatment of diseases marked by memory failure such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's, or disorders such as schizophrenia, PTSD and depression.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:59:59 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085944.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085942.htm Scientists are using a novel fabrication process to create ultra-efficient solar energy rectennas capable of harvesting more than 70 percent of the sun's electromagnetic radiation and simultaneously converting it into usable electric power.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:59:59 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085942.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085842.htm Continuing a tradition stretching back more than 25 centuries, astronomers have used the new 2.3-meter 'Aristarchos' telescope, sited at Helmos Observatory (2340m high) in the Pelοponnese Mountains in Greece, to determine the distance to and history of an enigmatic stellar system, discovering it to likely be a binary star cocooned within an exotic nebula.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:58:58 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085842.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085838.htm Pregnant women should avoid taking vitamin D supplements, new research suggests. Substitution appears to raise the risk of children developing a food allergy after birth.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:58:58 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085838.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226194006.htm A study finds an increased risk of narcolepsy in children and adolescents who received the A/H1N1 2009 influenza vaccine (Pandemrix) during the pandemic in England.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:40:40 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226194006.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226141233.htm An international team led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has documented a 78 percent decline in the number of nests of the critically endangered leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) at the turtle's last stronghold in the Pacific Ocean.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:12:12 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226141233.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226134259.htm Researchers are testing the power of holography to artificially stimulate cells in the eye, with hopes of developing a new strategy for bionic vision restoration. Computer-generated holography, they say, could be used in conjunction with a technique called optogenetics, which uses gene therapy to deliver light-sensitive proteins to damaged retinal nerve cells. In conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), these light-sensing cells degenerate and lead to blindness.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:42:42 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226134259.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226120551.htm Plentiful food can accelerate the spread of infections, scientists have shown in a study of water fleas. Scientists studying bacterial infections in tiny water fleas have discovered that increasing their supply of food can speed up the spread of infection.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:05:05 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226120551.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226114023.htm Glass doesn't have to be brittle. Scientists propose a way of predicting whether a given glass will be brittle or ductile -- a property typically associated with metals like steel or aluminum -- and assert that any glass could have either quality.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:40:40 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226114023.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226114021.htm Scientists have developed a new method that better preserves the units necessary to power lightning-fast electronics, known as qubits. Hole spins, rather than electron spins, can keep quantum bits in the same physical state up to 10 times longer than before, the report finds.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:40:40 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226114021.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226113830.htm Fresh insights into the protective seal that surrounds the DNA of our cells could help develop treatments for inherited muscle, brain, bone and skin disorders. Researchers have discovered that the proteins within this coating -- known as the nuclear envelope -- vary greatly between cells in different organs of the body.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:38:38 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226113830.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226113828.htm Researchers have demonstrated a stretchable lithium-ion battery -- a flexible device capable of powering their innovative stretchable electronics. The battery can stretch up to 300 percent of its original size and still function -- even when stretched, folded, twisted and mounted on a human elbow. The battery enables true integration of electronics and power into a small, stretchable package that is wirelessly rechargeable.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:38:38 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226113828.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226101454.htm Firefighters now have a new tool that could help save lives. A team of researchers have developed a new technique using digital holography that can "see" people through intense flames -- the first time a holographic recording of a live person has been achieved while the body is moving. The new technique allows imaging through both.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:14:14 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226101454.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226101400.htm Scientists have long been dreaming about building a computer that would work like a brain. This is because a brain is far more energy-saving than a computer, it can learn by itself, and it doesn't need any programming. Scientists are experimenting with memristors -- electronic microcomponents that imitate natural nerves.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:14:14 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226101400.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226092142.htm Researchers have successfully generated human kidney cells from human embryonic stem cells in vitro1. Specifically, they produced the renal cells under artificial conditions in the lab without using animals or organs. This has not been possible until now.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:21:21 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226092142.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226092128.htm Researchers have succeeded in showing experimentally that vacuums have properties not previously observed. According to the laws of quantum mechanics, it is a state with abundant potentials. Vacuums contain momentarily appearing and disappearing virtual pairs, which can be converted into detectable light particles.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:21:21 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226092128.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226081155.htm During sleep, our brains store what we have learned during the day a process even more effective in children than in adults, new research shows.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 08:11:11 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226081155.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225181536.htm Results of a major study aimed at assessing the efficacy of the Mediterranean diet in the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases show that such a diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or tree nuts reduces by 30 percent the risk of suffering a cardiovascular death, a myocardial infarction or a stroke.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:15:15 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225181536.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225162231.htm Researchers have found significantly higher levels of toxic metals in children with autism, compared to typical children. They hypothesize that reducing early exposure to toxic metals may help lessen symptoms of autism, though they say this hypotheses needs further examination.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:22:22 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225162231.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153130.htm For decades scientists around the world have attempted to regenerate primary liver cells known as hepatocytes because of their numerous biomedical applications, including hepatitis research, drug metabolism and toxicity studies, as well as transplantation for cirrhosis and other chronic liver conditions. But no lab in the world has been successful in identifying and growing liver stem cells in culture -- using any available technique -- until now.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153130.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153128.htm The world has suffered from severe regional weather extremes in recent years, such as the heat wave in the United States in 2011. Behind these devastating individual events there is a common physical cause, propose scientists in a new study. It suggests that human-made climate change repeatedly disturbs the patterns of atmospheric flow around the globe's Northern hemisphere through a subtle resonance mechanism.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153128.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153126.htm Particles from the upper atmosphere trapped in a deep pile of Antarctic snow hold clear chemical traces of global meteorological events, climate scientists from France have found. Anomalies in oxygen found in sulfate particles coincide with several episodes of the world-wide disruption of weather known as El Nino and can be distinguished from similar signals left by the eruption of huge volcanoes, the team reports.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153126.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153124.htm Scientists have concluded that during the Late Archaic, maize (corn) was a primary component in the diet of people living in the Norte Chico region of Peru, an area of remarkable cultural florescence in 3rd millennium B.C. Up until now, the prevailing theory was that marine resources, not agriculture and corn, provided the economic engine behind the development of civilization in the Andean region of Peru.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153124.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153122.htm Environmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a widespread chemical found in plastics and resins, may suppress a gene vital to nerve cell function and to the development of the central nervous system, according to a new study.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153122.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225131618.htm Even dying stars could host planets with life -- and if such life exists, we might be able to detect it within the next decade. This encouraging result comes from a new theoretical study of Earth-like planets orbiting white dwarf stars. Researchers found that we could detect oxygen in the atmosphere of a white dwarf's planet much more easily than for an Earth-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:16:16 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225131618.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225131532.htm People become more politically liberal immediately after practising a spiritual exercise such as meditation, researchers have found.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:15:15 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225131532.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225122045.htm New maps by scientists show how rising sea temperatures are likely to affect all coral reefs in the form of annual coral bleaching events under different emission scenarios. If carbon emissions stay on the current path most of the world's coral reefs (74 percent) are projected to experience coral bleaching conditions annually by 2045, results of the study show.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:20:20 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225122045.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225112510.htm Low-birth-weight babies with a particular brain abnormality are at greater risk for autism, according to a new study that could provide doctors a signpost for early detection of the still poorly understood disorder.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:25:25 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225112510.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225112508.htm Researchers developed a model that can help determine the future range of nearly any disease-causing parasite under climate change, even if little is known about the organism. Their method calculates how the projected temperature change for an area would alter the creature's metabolism and life cycle.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:25:25 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225112508.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225102141.htm Researchers have demonstrated the existence of communicative signalling from female mice that induces male parental behavior.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 10:21:21 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225102141.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225092252.htm Researchers have refined a method they previously developed for capturing and analyzing cancer cells that break away from patients' tumors and circulate in the blood. With the improvements to their device, which uses a Velcro-like nanoscale technology, they can now detect and isolate single cancer cells from patient blood samples for analysis.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:22:22 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225092252.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224142917.htm A new method of harvesting the sun's energy is emerging. Though still in its infancy, the research promises to convert sunlight into energy using a process based on metals that are more robust than many of the semiconductors used in conventional methods.Sun, 24 Feb 2013 14:29:29 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224142917.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224142829.htm Scientists have demonstrated a quantum algorithm that performs a true calculation for the first time. Quantum algorithms could one day enable the design of new materials, pharmaceuticals or clean energy devices.Sun, 24 Feb 2013 14:28:28 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224142829.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224142725.htm The islands Reunion and Mauritius, both well-known tourist destinations, are hiding a micro-continent, which has now been discovered. The continent fragment known as Mauritia detached about 60 million years ago while Madagascar and India drifted apart, and had been hidden under huge masses of lava.Sun, 24 Feb 2013 14:27:27 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224142725.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224124635.htm Scientists are putting their bananas away, because chimpanzees don't need any persuading when it comes to getting stuck into brain games.Sun, 24 Feb 2013 12:46:46 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130224124635.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130223111356.htm For years researchers have been searching for a way to treat diabetics by reactivating their insulin-producing beta cells, with limited success. The "reprogramming" of related alpha cells into beta cells may one day offer a novel and complementary approach for treating type 2 diabetes. Treating human and mouse cells with compounds that modify cell nuclear material called chromatin induced the expression of beta cell genes in alpha cells, according to a new study.Sat, 23 Feb 2013 11:13:13 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130223111356.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222143233.htm Running cockroaches start to recover from being shoved sideways before their dawdling nervous system kicks in to tell their legs what to do, researchers have found. These new insights on how biological systems stabilize could one day help engineers design steadier robots and improve doctors' understanding of human gait abnormalities.Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:32:32 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222143233.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222143142.htm Researchers have now found stem cells inside the parasite that cause schistosomiasis, one of the most common parasitic infections in the world. These stem cells can regenerate worn-down organs, which may help explain how they can live for years or even decades inside their host.Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222143142.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222120753.htm Humans have at least two functional networks in their cerebral cortex not found in rhesus monkeys. This means that new brain networks were likely added in the course of evolution from primate ancestor to human.Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:07:07 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222120753.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222102958.htm When fruit flies sense parasitic wasps in their environment, they lay their eggs in an alcohol-soaked environment, essentially forcing their larvae to consume booze as a drug to combat the deadly wasps. The finding adds to the evidence that using toxins in the environment to medicate offspring may be common across the animal kingdom.Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:29:29 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222102958.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222075730.htm Electrodes have been permanently implanted in nerves and muscles of an amputee to directly control an arm prosthesis, for the first time. The result allows natural control of an advanced robotic prosthesis, similarly to the motions of a natural limb.Fri, 22 Feb 2013 07:57:57 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130222075730.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221194241.htm Virologists have discovered a new class of molecular compounds capable of killing the influenza virus. Working on the premise that too much of a good thing can be a killer, the scientists have advanced previous researchers' methods of manipulating an enzyme that is key to how influenza replicates and spreads. The new compounds will lead to a new generation of anti-influenza drugs that the virus' strains can't adapt to, and resist, as easily as they do Tamiflu.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 19:42:42 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221194241.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221192736.htm In a breakthrough for the field of particle physics, researchers have established new limits on what scientists call "long-range spin-spin interactions" between atomic particles. These interactions have been proposed by theoretical physicists but have not yet been seen. Their observation would constitute the discovery of a "fifth force of nature" (in addition to the four known fundamental forces: gravity, weak, strong and electromagnetic) and would suggest the existence of new particles, beyond those presently described by the Standard Model of particle physics.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 19:27:27 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221192736.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143946.htm Scientists have found compelling evidence that older adults can eliminate forgetfulness and perform as well as younger adults on memory tests. The cognitive boost comes from a surprising source -- a distraction learning strategy.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:39:39 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143946.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143942.htm Researchers have developed a robotic bat wing that is providing valuable new information about dynamics of flapping flight in real bats. From an engineering perspective, the researchers hope the data may make for better aircraft, especially micro air vehicles. From a biological and evolutionary perspective, building the robot offered the researchers a new perspective on how bat anatomy is adapted to deal with the forces generated by flapping wings.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:39:39 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143942.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143910.htm Evidence from Siberian caves suggests that a global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius could see permanently frozen ground thaw over a large area of Siberia, threatening release of carbon from soils, and damage to natural and human environments.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:39:39 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143910.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143900.htm Flowers' methods of communicating are at least as sophisticated as any devised by an advertising agency, according to a new study. The research shows for the first time that pollinators such as bumblebees are able to find and distinguish electric signals given out by flowers. However, for any advertisement to be successful, it has to reach, and be perceived by, its target audience.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:39:39 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143900.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143858.htm The immune system exists to destroy foreign objects, whether they are bacteria, viruses, flecks of dirt or splinters. Unfortunately, drug-delivering nanoparticles and implanted devices like pacemakers are just as foreign and subject to the same response. Now, researchers have figured out a way to provide a "passport" for such therapeutic devices, enabling them to bypass the body's security system.Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:38:38 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221143858.htm

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Ectopic eyes function without natural connection to brain

Feb. 27, 2013 ? For the first time, scientists have shown that transplanted eyes located far outside the head in a vertebrate animal model can confer vision without a direct neural connection to the brain.

Biologists at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences used a frog model to shed new light -- literally -- on one of the major questions in regenerative medicine, bioengineering, and sensory augmentation research.

"One of the big challenges is to understand how the brain and body adapt to large changes in organization," says Douglas J. Blackiston, Ph.D., first author of the paper "Ectopic Eyes Outside the Head in Xenopus Tadpoles Provide Sensory Data For Light-Mediated Learning," in the February 27 issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology. "Here, our research reveals the brain's remarkable ability, or plasticity, to process visual data coming from misplaced eyes, even when they are located far from the head."

Blackiston is a post-doctoral associate in the laboratory of co-author Michael Levin, Ph.D., professor of biology and director of the Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology at Tufts University.

Levin notes, "A primary goal in medicine is to one day be able to restore the function of damaged or missing sensory structures through the use of biological or artificial replacement components. There are many implications of this study, but the primary one from a medical standpoint is that we may not need to make specific connections to the brain when treating sensory disorders such as blindness."

In this experiment, the team surgically removed donor embryo eye primordia, marked with fluorescent proteins, and grafted them into the posterior region of recipient embryos. This induced the growth of ectopic eyes. The recipients' natural eyes were removed, leaving only the ectopic eyes.

Fluorescence microscopy revealed various innervation patterns but none of the animals developed nerves that connected the ectopic eyes to the brain or cranial region.

To determine if the ectopic eyes conveyed visual information, the team developed a computer-controlled visual training system in which quadrants of water were illuminated by either red or blue LED lights. The system could administer a mild electric shock to tadpoles swimming in a particular quadrant. A motion tracking system outfitted with a camera and a computer program allowed the scientists to monitor and record the tadpoles' motion and speed.

Eyes See Without Wiring to Brain

The team made exciting discoveries: Just over 19 percent of the animals with optic nerves that connected to the spine demonstrated learned responses to the lights. They swam away from the red light while the blue light stimulated natural movement.

Their response to the lights elicited during the experiments was no different from that of a control group of tadpoles with natural eyes intact. Furthermore, this response was not demonstrated by eyeless tadpoles or tadpoles that did not receive any electrical shock.

"This has never been shown before," says Levin. "No one would have guessed that eyes on the flank of a tadpole could see, especially when wired only to the spinal cord and not the brain." The findings suggest a remarkable plasticity in the brain's ability to incorporate signals from various body regions into behavioral programs that had evolved with a specific and different body plan.

"Ectopic eyes performed visual function," says Blackiston. "The brain recognized visual data from eyes that impinged on the spinal cord. We still need to determine if this plasticity in vertebrate brains extends to different ectopic organs or organs appropriate in different species."

One of the most fascinating areas for future investigation, according to Blackiston and Levin, is the question of exactly how the brain recognizes that the electrical signals coming from tissue near the gut is to be interpreted as visual data.

In computer engineering, notes Levin, who majored in computer science and biology as a Tufts undergraduate, this problem is usually solved by a "header" -- a piece of metadata attached to a packet of information that indicates its source and type. Whether electric signals from eyes impinging on the spinal cord carry such an identifier of their origin remains a hypothesis to be tested.

Research reported in this publication was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under award number MH081842-02 and the National Eye Institute, also of the NIH, under award number EY018168, and the Forsyth Institute, under award number 5T32DE007327-09.

Additional funders were the Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC, award W81XWH-10-2-0058).

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Tufts University, via Newswise.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Blackiston, B. J. and Levin, M. Ectopic eyes outside the head in Xenopus tadpoles provide sensory data for light-mediated learning. J. Exp. Biol., 2013; 216, 1031-1040

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/9csWLUaOYrg/130227183311.htm

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Seth Grahame-Smith Re-Writing Fantastic Four Reboot

Seth Grahame-Smith, the novelist behind such gems as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and the screenwriter for Dark Shadows and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, has been hired Fox to re-write Jeremy Slater's script for the Fantastic Four reboot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Sources say the reboot will be more grounded that the previous movies and will tap deeper into the comic's mythology.

Since Dark Shadows and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter are such big hits, Seth Grahame-Smith is a great hire. Wait, they're not.

Both of those movies were critical and box office disappointments, but we can't attribute those movies' failure directly, and solely, to Grahame-Smith.

On the bright side, Grahame-Smith is just re-writing someone else's work and not adapting his own material. With Matthew Vaughn as one of the producers and Josh Trank directing, the Fantastic Four reboot will probably turn out okay. As long as they don't go crazy with the budget and make a movie that cost over $120 million, we may even see a sequel.

Grahame-Smith is also attached to write the screenplay for Beetlejuice 2, which probably won't be made.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1926926/news/1926926/

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Der Beitrag wurde am Tuesday, den 26. February 2013 um 22:46 Uhr ver?ffentlicht und wurde unter Allgemein abgelegt. du kannst die Kommentare zu diesen Eintrag durch den RSS 2.0 Feed verfolgen. Kommentare sind derzeit geschlossen, aber du kannst dennoch einen Trackback auf deiner Seite einrichten.

Source: http://www.damm-net.org/blog/2013/02/seek-excellent-search-engine-optimisation-services-company-tools-in-auckland-nz-new-zealand-today/

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Scientists' findings disclose a new and much needed test for river blindness infection

Scientists' findings disclose a new and much needed test for river blindness infection

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a telltale molecular marker for Onchocerciasis or "river blindness," a parasitic infection that affects tens of millions of people in Africa, Latin America and other tropical regions. The newly discovered biomarker, detectable in patients' urine, is secreted by Onchocerca volvulus worms during an active infection. The biomarker could form the basis of a portable, field-ready test with significant advantages over current diagnostic methods.

"There has been a need for an inexpensive, non-invasive test that can discriminate between active and non-active river blindness infections during treatment campaigns," said Kim D. Janda, who is Professor and Ely R. Callaway, Jr. Chair in Chemistry, member of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, and director of the Worm Institute of Research and Medicine at TSRI. "We think that this new biomarker can be the basis for such a test."

The work is described in an online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of February 25, 2013.

Leading Cause of Vision Loss

A leading cause of vision loss, Onchocerciasis infections are transmitted among humans by river-dwelling blackflies in tropical regions. The vast majority of cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa, although pockets of endemic infection exist in Yemen and in Central and South America. The major symptoms of the disease, including blindness, result from the spread of O. volvulus "microfilariae"?early-stage larval worms?to the eyes and other tissues, where they trigger damaging inflammatory reactions.

Mass treatment campaigns, begun in the 1990s, have used the anti-worm drug ivermectin, as well as the antibiotic doxycycline, which kills a symbiotic bacterium within the worms. The World Health Organization's African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control has set a target date of 2025 for the eradication of the disease in that region. But Onchocerciasis treatment is seldom effective immediately and often spares adult worms. The latter can remain in protected nodules under the skin of a patient and secrete microfilaria for a decade or more. Health agencies need better diagnostic methods not only to monitor the progress of Onchocerciasis treatment campaigns, but also to limit the use of ivermectin and doxycycline to reduce the risk of resistance.

Current diagnostic methods include the painful cutting of "skin snips" from patients for microscopic analysis and an ELISA antibody test for microfilariae, which may yield positive results even for non-active infections. "You can still have circulating antibodies to a nemotode antigen in your blood for a long time after the infection is gone," said Janda.

Looking for a Better Way

A better diagnostic marker would be a metabolite of O. volvulus that appears only during an active, microfilariae-producing infection and that could determine both the presence and the severity of disease. In 2010, Janda's laboratory demonstrated the feasibility of this approach by sifting through the small-molecule metabolites within blood samples from river blindness patients?a technique called "metabolome mining"?and finding a set linked to active onchocerciasis infection. For the new study, the team sought a simpler set of biomarkers?or better yet, a single unique biomarker in urine.

Daniel Globisch, a postdoctoral fellow in the Janda laboratory, started with samples of urine from onchocerciasis-infected and non-infected Africans. Using a powerful laboratory technique called liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, he measured the concentrations of hundreds of small-molecule metabolites in the samples. Excitingly, between the infected and non-infected urine samples, one difference stood out clearly: "An unknown small molecule was highly elevated in the samples from infected individuals," said Globisch.

In a process akin to looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack, Globisch was able to purify the mysterious metabolite, and, using mass spectrometry, determine the chemical identities of its individual pieces. "The metabolite itself wasn't present in the databases, so I searched the literature for what is known about the biosynthesis and metabolic pathways in these nematodes," Globisch said. Ultimately, he was able to identify the metabolite as N-acetyltyramine-O,?-glucuronide. Remarkably, this molecule's inception can be traced to O. volvulus as a neurotransmitter molecule that is secreted by young, reproducing worms and then modified by the human body on its way to being excreted in urine.

"It's a spectacular find in terms of biomarkers as it does not occur naturally in humans," Globisch said. Levels of the metabolite in a non-infected North American control sample were near zero.

Toward a Field Test

In urine samples from Africans with active onchocerciasis infections, Globisch found that levels of the biomarker were on average four to six times higher than in samples from Africans with non-active infections. In a separate test, the team determined that a full course of doxycycline treatment, which sterilizes or kills infecting worms by destroying their symbiotic bacteria, also reduced levels of the biomarker to near-normal. "This biomarker appears to be specific for an active infection," Globisch said. The wide gap between biomarker levels in active and non-active infections suggests that a field test based on the biomarker would be robustly useful.

Such a diagnostic, said Janda, might ultimately be a simple urine dipstick test, much like a home pregnancy test, which would indicate the amount of the O. volvulus biomarker present in the sample. "Ultimately for this to be of value in Third World countries we will need to morph this biomarker into something that's inexpensive, simple to use, tolerant of extreme temperatures and portable?basically distilling our finding to a test that can be carted around in a backpack," Janda said.

Importantly, he adds that Globisch's metabolome-mining approach in theory should be applicable to the development of diagnostic tests for other worm diseases.

###

Scripps Research Institute: http://www.scripps.edu

Thanks to Scripps 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.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127013/Scientists__findings_disclose_a_new_and_much_needed_test_for_river_blindness_infection

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Genetic variation behind acute myeloid leukemia treatment success identified

Feb. 26, 2013 ? Researchers from the College of Pharmacy and Medical School working within the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, have partnered to identify genetic variations that may help signal which acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients will benefit or not benefit from one of the newest antileukemic agents.

Their study is published February 26 in Clinical Cancer Research.

In the latest study, U of M researchers evaluated how inherited genetic polymorphisms in CD33, a protein that naturally occurs in most leukemia cells, could affect clinical outcomes of patients treated with an existing chemotherapy drug, gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO), an immuno-conjugate between anti-CD33 antibody and a cytotoxin known as calicheamicin, which binds to CD33 on leukemic cells. As GO is internalized by leukemia cells, the cytotoxin is released, causing DNA damage and generating leukemic cell death.

In recent clinical trials GO has been shown to induce remission and improve survival in subset of patients with AML, however there is wide inter-patient variation in response.

Jatinder Lamba, Ph.D., and colleagues identified and evaluated three genetic variations of CD33 in two groups of patients with pediatric AML -- one group that received the drug GO, and one group that did not. They found that specific genetic variation in CD33 that significantly affected the clinical outcome of AML patients who received GO based chemotherapy.

"Understanding how genetics play a role in how drugs work is extremely useful, particularly for a drug like GO which has shown a very heterogeneous response in AML patients," said Jatinder Lamba, Ph.D., the study's lead author and a researcher who holds appointments in both the College of Pharmacy and the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota. "Our latest findings lead us to believe that genetic variation in CD33 influences how AML patients' leukemic cell responds to GO."

AML is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, and is the second most common form of leukemia in children. Though the most common type of treatment for AML is chemotherapy, Lamba says the disease remains hard to treat and newer, more effective therapies are needed.

"The overall goal of our study was to use genetic data to predict beneficial or adverse response to a specific drug, thus opening up opportunities to use this information for drug optimization to achieve maximum therapeutic efficacy and minimum toxicity. Our hope is that our research could serve as a marker of prognostic significance for clinicians to select the therapy that has the greatest odds of being effective for individual patients based on their CD33 genotype."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Minnesota Academic Health Center. The original article was written by Miranda Taylor.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Leslie Mortland, Todd A. Alonzo, Roland B. Walter, Robert B. Gerbing, Amit K. Mitra, Jessica A. Pollard, Michael R. Loken, Betsy Hirsch, Susana Raimondi, Janet Franklin, Stanley Pounds, Xueyuan Cao, Jeffrey E. Rubnitz, Raul C. Ribeiro, Alan Gamis, Soheil Meshinchi, and Jatinder K. Lamba. Clinical Significance of CD33 Nonsynonymous Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Pediatric Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treated with Gemtuzumab-Ozogamicin?Containing Chemotherapy. Clin Cancer Res, February 26, 2013 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-12-3115

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/health_medicine/genes/~3/XCnTyRw2tKw/130226135523.htm

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Music goes back to the future with Pyle?s retro turntable

This red Retro-Style Turntable from Pyle combines a cool, retro style with modern audio features. ?In addition to the turntable that plays 33-1/3 or 45 RPM vinyl records, you can play MP3 files stored on SD cards or on a USB flash drive or tune in AM/FM radio stations on the 1950s speedometer-like dial. ?There’s [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/02/25/music-goes-back-to-the-future-with-pyles-retro-turntable/

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Star Trek Trumps Mythology in Naming Pluto's New Moon

Due to popular demand, one of Pluto's recently discovered moons is to be named Vulcan, after the fictional home of Star Trek's Spock. And that makes no kind of sense. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/wuJJTDf8s7o/star-trek-trumps-mythology-in-naming-plutos-new-moon

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Video: Italy vote stuns establishment

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50948302/

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After farm days are over, animals retire to island | Online Athens

ST. SIMONS ISLAND ? At the end of a long, winding dirt road shaded by moss-covered trees on the north end of St. Simons Island is a place where animals go to retire.

Yes, that?s right ? retire.

The Farm at Oatland North is home to retired farm animals, as well as laid-back domestic pets, such as cats and dogs.

It?s a family passion, said Natalie Murrah, former shelter director of the Humane Society of South Coastal Georgia, whose family owns the farm.

?I guess we?re just sensitive about the plight of animals. We love them,? she said. ?It?s all kind of hard to explain. We just love them.?

The farm has grown to include 18 horses and a number of other types of animals.

An animal couldn?t ask for more. Goats run playfully around a stable, horses relax in the shade, and cows take in the warm island air.

Some were purchased from neglectful owners. Others were found by officers with Glynn County Animal Services who contacted the farm.

All are being rehabilitated in an easy-going, hassle-free environment.

A brown mustang named Lightning was found in Waynesville inside a small barbed-wire fenced-in area with no food or water.

?Animals are in trouble, and somebody?s got to care for them,? Murrah said.

The farm is at near capacity since the Great Recession, which left some farmers and pet owners unable to care for their animals.

?A lot of people couldn?t afford their animals,? said Bascom Murrah, Natalie Murrah?s father, who lives on the farm.

The cost of caring for the animals at the farm, which recently became a nonprofit organization, is paid mostly from personal finances. The costs can add up.

?Mother Nature never sleeps,? Bascom Murrah said.

The farm has little room to take in new animals, but it hopes to grow its programs. That means animals in retirement might have just one more light duty job to do.

Bascom Murrah says he hopes to get a program going for special-needs children that would involve the farm?s retired denizens.

It?s a space some children have already come to love.

?We?re definitely not a petting zoo, but we definitely try to teach children how to interact with animals,? Natalie Murrah said.

Source: http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2013-02-25/after-farm-days-are-over-animals-retire-island

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Russia's foreign minister defends anti-gay bill

MOSCOW (AP) ? Russian foreign minister has defended a bill that's now pending in the Russian parliament and, if adopted, will target the gay community.

Russia's lower house of parliament on Jan. 25 voted to support a bill that makes public events and dissemination of information about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to minors punishable by fines of up to $16,000. The bill still requires the parliament's and the president's final approval.

Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that Russia "has no international obligations to allow propaganda of homosexuality."

Lavrov insisted that since homosexuality was decriminalized in the early 1990s, gays have enjoyed full rights in Russia. But he said that Russia "has its own moral, religious and historical values."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-26-Russia-Gay%20Rights/id-2bfc67a8829247b39a7e0eb6a065c9d2

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Prisoner's death stokes fears of third uprising

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ? The mysterious death of a 30-year-old Palestinian gas station attendant in Israeli custody stoked new West Bank clashes Sunday, along with Israeli fears of a third Palestinian uprising.

A senior Palestinian official alleged that Arafat Jaradat was tortured by Israel's Shin Bet security service, citing an autopsy he said revealed bruising and two broken ribs.

Israel's Health Ministry said the autopsy did not conclusively determine the cause of death, but that the bruising and broken ribs were likely the result of attempts to revive the detainee.

Jaradat's death came at a time of rising West Bank tensions, including several days of Palestinian marches in support of four hunger-striking prisoners in Israeli lockups. In all, Israel holds nearly 4,600 Palestinians, including dozens who have never been formally charged or tried.

Frozen Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the recent re-election of Israeli hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a Palestinian cash crisis and the Palestinians' sense of being abandoned by the Arab world seem to have created fertile ground for a third Palestinian revolt.

Over the weekend, Israel's army chief convened senior commanders to discuss the growing unrest.

Jaradat's death "is liable to become the opening shot" in a third uprising, Israeli military commentator Alex Fishman wrote in the Yediot Ahronot daily Sunday, arguing that the "Palestinian street has been boiling with anger for a number of weeks now."

However, Israeli officials have previously expressed concern about a new uprising, only to see bursts of Palestinian protests fizzle.

The first uprising, marked by stone-throwing protests and commercial strikes, erupted in the late 1980s and led to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The second uprising broke out in 2000, after failed talks on a final peace deal, and was far deadlier, with Israel reoccupying the West Bank in response to bombings and shootings.

In recent years, the West Bank has been relatively calm. Despite recent tensions, the Palestinian self-rule government has not broken off security coordination with Israel in their joint campaign against Islamic militants.

Palestinian activists also say they learned from the mistakes of the armed revolt a decade ago and are turning to more creative protests against Israel's 45-year rule over lands they want for a future state.

Former Palestinian security chief Jibril Rajoub, speaking in Hebrew on Israel Radio, tried to reassure Israelis, declaring Sunday "on behalf of the entire Palestinian leadership that there is no plan to lead to bloodshed."

Jaradat, a father of two from the West Bank village of Saeer, died in Megiddo Prison in northern Israel on Saturday, six days after his arrest on suspicion of stone throwing.

Jaradat's attorney, Kamil Sabbagh, said his client told an Israeli military judge Thursday during a hearing that he was being forced to sit for long periods during interrogation. He also complained of back pain and seemed terrified to return to the Shin Bet lockup, although he did not have any apparent signs of physical abuse, Sabbagh said.

After the court hearing, the judge ordered Jaradat to be examined by a prison doctor.

The Shin Bet said that during interrogation, Jaradat was examined several times by a doctor who detected no health problems. On Saturday, he was in his cell and felt unwell after lunch, the agency said.

"Rescue services and a doctor were alerted and treated him," the statement said. But "they didn't succeed in saving his life."

On Sunday, Israel's forensics institute performed an autopsy attended by a physician from the Palestinian Authority.

After being briefed by the Palestinian physician, Issa Karake, the Palestinian minister of prisoner affairs, told a news conference late Sunday that Jaradat had suffered two broken ribs on the right side of his chest. The autopsy also showed bruises on Jaradat's back and chest.

Israeli officials initially said Jaradat apparently died of a heart attack, but Karake said the Palestinian physician told him there was no evidence of that.

Later, Israel's Health Ministry said Jaradat did not suffer from disease and that it was not possible yet to determine his cause of death conclusively.

Jaradat "faced harsh torture, leading to his immediate, direct death. Israel is fully responsible for his killing," Karake said.

Protesting Jaradat's death, Palestinians threw stones at Israeli troops in several locations, including the West Bank city of Hebron and at a checkpoint near the military's Ofer prison on Sunday. In two locations, troops fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel pellets.

In the clash near the checkpoint, troops fired live rounds, shooting the 15-year-old son of the commander of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service in the chest and stomach, said Palestinian health official Dr. Ahmed Bitawi. The teen, Walid Hab al-Reeh, was in stable condition, while another man was wounded in the arm, Bitawi said.

The Preventive Security Service is key to security coordination with Israel. The Israeli military said it was aware of a report that a Palestinian youth was seriously hurt by gunfire, but could not confirm that soldiers used live rounds to disperse the protest.

Kadoura Fares, who heads a Palestinian group advocating for prisoners, urged Palestinians on Sunday to keep demonstrating. He also said that one of the four hunger-striking prisoners, Jafar Izzeldeen, was moved to a hospital Sunday because his condition was deteriorating.

Recent West Bank protests have focused on the fate of prisoners, an emotional Palestinian consensus issue.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been imprisoned since Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in 1967, meaning virtually every Palestinian family has had someone locked up.

The detainees are held on a range of charges, from stone-throwing to deadly attacks. Most Palestinians embrace them as heroes resisting occupation, while Israelis tend to view them as terrorists.

___

Associated Press writers Diaa Hadid, Aron Heller and Dalia Nammari in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/prisoners-death-stokes-fears-third-uprising-203359034.html

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Ability of brain to protect itself from damage revealed

Feb. 24, 2013 ? The origin of an innate ability the brain has to protect itself from damage that occurs in stroke has been explained for the first time.

The Oxford University researchers hope that harnessing this inbuilt biological mechanism, identified in rats, could help in treating stroke and preventing other neurodegenerative diseases in the future.

'We have shown for the first time that the brain has mechanisms that it can use to protect itself and keep brain cells alive,' says Professor Alastair Buchan, Head of the Medical Sciences Division and Dean of the Medical School at Oxford University, who led the work.

The researchers report their findings in the journal Nature Medicine and were funded by the UK Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health Research.

Stroke is the third most common cause of death in the UK. Every year around 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke.

It occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off. When this happens, brain cells are deprived of the oxygen and nutrients they need to function properly, and they begin to die.

'Time is brain, and the clock has started immediately after the onset of a stroke. Cells will start to die somewhere from minutes to at most 1 or 2 hours after the stroke,' says Professor Buchan.

This explains why treatment for stroke is so dependent on speed. The faster someone can reach hospital, be scanned and have drugs administered to dissolve any blood clot and get the blood flow re-started, the less damage to brain cells there will be.

It has also motivated a so-far unsuccessful search for 'neuroprotectants': drugs that can buy time and help the brain cells, or neurons, cope with damage and recover afterwards.

The Oxford University research group have now identified the first example of the brain having its own built-in form of neuroprotection, so-called 'endogenous neuroprotection'.

They did this by going back to an observation first made over 85 years ago. It has been known since 1926 that neurons in one area of the hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls memory, are able to survive being starved of oxygen, while others in a different area of the hippocampus die. But what protected that one set of cells from damage had remained a puzzle until now.

'Previous studies have focused on understanding how cells die after being depleted of oxygen and glucose. We considered a more direct approach by investigating the endogenous mechanisms that have evolved to make these cells in the hippocampus resistant,' explains first author Dr Michalis Papadakis, Scientific Director of the Laboratory of Cerebral Ischaemia at Oxford University.

Working in rats, the researchers found that production of a specific protein called hamartin allowed the cells to survive being starved of oxygen and glucose, as would happen after a stroke.

They showed that the neurons die in the other part of the hippocampus because of a lack of the hamartin response.

The team was then able to show that stimulating production of hamartin offered greater protection for the neurons.

Professor Buchan says: 'This is causally related to cell survival. If we block hamartin, the neurons die when blood flow is stopped. If we put hamartin back, the cells survive once more.'

Finally, the researchers were able to identify the biological pathway through which hamartin acts to enable the nerve cells to cope with damage when starved of energy and oxygen.

The group points out that knowing the natural biological mechanism that leads to neuroprotection opens up the possibility of developing drugs that mimic hamartin's effect.

Professor Buchan says: 'There is a great deal of work ahead if this is to be translated into the clinic, but we now have a neuroprotective strategy for the first time. Our next steps will be to see if we can find small molecule drug candidates that mimic what hamartin does and keep brain cells alive.

'While we are focussing on stroke, neuroprotective drugs may also be of interest in other conditions that see early death of brain cells including Alzheimer's and motor neuron disease,' he suggests.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Oxford, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Michalis Papadakis, Gina Hadley, Maria Xilouri, Lisa C Hoyte, Simon Nagel, M Mary McMenamin, Grigorios Tsaknakis, Suzanne M Watt, Cynthia Wright Drakesmith, Ruoli Chen, Matthew J A Wood, Zonghang Zhao, Benedikt Kessler, Kostas Vekrellis, Alastair M Buchan. Tsc1 (hamartin) confers neuroprotection against ischemia by inducing autophagy. Nature Medicine, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nm.3097

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/ySYOgQpRh0A/130224142823.htm

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Samsung confirms Galaxy S IV will debut on March 14th

Samsung

It?s official:?Samsung (005930) has confirmed that the company will debut its flagship smartphone next month in the United States. Earlier reports claimed Samsung would launch the Galaxy S IV on March 14th in New York City. On Monday, the company?s mobile boss J.K. Shin revealed during a press conference at Mobile World Congress that the Galaxy S IV will be unveiled at Radio City Music Hall on?March 14th.

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The Galaxy S IV is expected to be equipped with a 4.99-inch full HD 1080p display, a?1.9GHz Snapdragon 600 processor and a 13-megapixel rear camera. The highly anticipated smartphone is also rumored to include a microSD slot, 2GB of RAM, NFC, LTE, wireless charging capabilities and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

[More from BGR: Sony Xperia Tablet Z preview: There is no reason to buy this tablet]

Samsung?s Galaxy S IV will be the first handset Samsung unveils in the U.S. since the original Galaxy S was announced at CTIA in 2010. The critically acclaimed Galaxy S II was announced in Barcelona in 2011, and the current-generation Galaxy S III debuted in London last year.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/samsung-confirms-galaxy-iv-debut-march-14th-140042002.html

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