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Monday, December 3, 2012

Bob Costas advocates gun control during half time show. Did he cross a line?

Bob Costas, the NBC broadcaster, called for gun control following the murder-suicide by Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher. Costas views sparked an immediate uproar in social media.

By Staff,?Associated Press / December 3, 2012

Bob Costas spoke for 90 seconds during the Sunday Night Football half time show in support of gun control.

(AP Photo/NBC, Peter Kramer/file)

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NBC broadcaster Bob Costas used his halftime segment on "Sunday Night Football" to advocate for gun control following this weekend's murder-suicide involving Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, causing an immediate debate on social media.

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In a segment about 90 seconds long, Costas paraphrased and quoted extensively from a piece by Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock.

Whitlock didn't agree with the decision by the Chiefs to play the game Sunday.? He wrote:

"I would argue that your rationalizations speak to how numb we are in this society to gun violence and murder. We?ve come to accept our insanity. We?d prefer to avoid seriously reflecting upon the absurdity of the prevailing notion that the second amendment somehow enhances our liberty rather than threatens it.
How many young people have to die senselessly? How many lives have to be ruined before we realize the right to bear arms doesn?t protect us from a government equipped with stealth bombers, predator drones, tanks and nuclear weapons?
Our current gun culture simply ensures that more and more domestic disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy, and that more convenience-store confrontations over loud music coming from a car will leave more teenage boys bloodied and dead."

After praising the column, Costas said: "In the coming days, Jovan Belcher's actions and their possible connection to football will be analyzed. Who knows? But here, wrote Jason Whitlock, is what I believe. If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today."

Belcher shot and killed Perkins, the mother of his 3-month-old daughter, on Saturday morning, then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and committed suicide in the parking lot of the team's practice facility.

The online reaction to Costas' segment was swift, with many people criticizing the broadcaster for expressing his personal views on a program meant for entertainment.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/uOFowxKtuHM/Bob-Costas-advocates-gun-control-during-half-time-show.-Did-he-cross-a-line

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Sunday, December 2, 2012

IRL: Klipsch Image X7i, Razer BlackShark and BlueAnt's Embrace headphones

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

Just call this IRL: the headphone edition. This week, it's all about audio -- everything from a gaming headset to in-ears to a pair of leather-cushioned cans. Read on to find out what we're using, and how it's working out for us.

Continue reading IRL: Klipsch Image X7i, Razer BlackShark and BlueAnt's Embrace headphones

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/02/irl-klipsch-image-x7i-razer-blackshark-blueant-embrace/

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Spectator falls from stands at ACC Championship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) ? A 22-year-old man sustained life-threatening injuries after falling about 40 feet off a fourth-floor ramp outside Bank of America Stadium on Saturday night at the ACC Championship between No. 13 Florida State and Georgia Tech.

Michael Stanford, the supervisor of special operations for Mecklenburg County EMS, said his agency responded to an incident in which a spectator fell from a ramp leading to the stands shortly after the 8 p.m. kickoff.

The fall is the first of its kind from Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers.

The stadium opened in 1996.

Stanford said the spectator was transported by ground to the trauma center at Carolinas Medical Center with "life-threatening injuries."

Major Eddie Levins of the Charlotte Police Department said officers are "investigating what is being referred to as a public accident. A 22-year old male fell from what is thought to be the fourth level of the stadium."

They had no comment on the extent of his injuries.

Bank of America Stadium has switchbank ramps that that take fans to the upper level of the stands.

The man fell on to a grassy area, which was taped off by police. Witnesses were taken to the police office for questioning.

Bud Elliott, 47, from Fort Myers Fla., said he came across the accident just after it happened around kickoff and several fans were looking down from the ramps.

"I came upon a crowd of people who were running," Elliott said. "They said this guy jumped or fell off. It didn't look good. It's just really sad to have something like that happen."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spectator-falls-stands-acc-championship-021246960--spt.html

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Video: New insights into mosquitoes' role as involuntary bioterrorists

Saturday, December 1, 2012

For many years scientists thought that mosquitoes provided the disease organisms which they spread with a relatively free ride because the insects didn't have much in the way of natural defenses to fight off these microscopic stowaways.

Recent research, however, has revealed that mosquitoes have surprisingly sophisticated immune systems. Unlike humans and most other animals, mosquitoes do not generate antibodies that identify and attack specific infectious agents. However, they have developed alternative methods for destroying various pathogens, including parasites that cause malaria.

In the latest study of the mosquito's immune system ? published online on Nov. 29 in the journal PLOS Pathogens? a pair of Vanderbilt biologists have discovered mosquitoes possess a previously unknown mechanism for destroying pathogens that takes advantage of the peculiarities of the insect's circulatory system to increase its effectiveness.

Studies of this sort are providing the information needed to manipulate the mosquito immune system to block malaria parasites more effectively and to develop other novel disease control strategies.

"It may come as a surprise to many people, but mosquitoes get sick too and they need to protect themselves," said Juli?n Hillyer, assistant professor of biological sciences, who conducted the research with graduate student Jonas King.

"The mosquito's immune system isn't as complex as ours. About 350 of its 12,500 genes have immune functions," Hillyer said. "But it is remarkably effective. The vast majority of the malaria parasites that infect a mosquito die before they can get into the salivary glands where they can infect vertebrate prey, such as humans."

"Pathogens like those that cause malaria, dengue and yellow fevers come from the female's blood meal and end up in the mosquito's gut," Hillyer said. "They then leave the gut and enter the mosquito's main body cavity, and from there they have to make their way to its salivary glands." Inside the body cavity, pathogens have to fight two main forces: the swift circulation of the mosquito's own blood, and attacks from the mosquito's immune system.

The mosquito's circulatory system is dramatically different from that of mammals and humans. A long tube extends from the insect's head to tail and is hung just under the cuticle shell that forms the mosquito's back. The heart makes up the rear two-thirds of the tube and consists of a series of valves within the tube and helical coils of muscle that surround the tube. These muscles cause the tube to expand and contract, producing a worm-like peristaltic pumping action.

Most of the time, the heart pumps the mosquito's blood?a clear liquid called hemolymph?toward the mosquito's head, but occasionally it reverses direction. The mosquito doesn't have arteries and veins like mammals. Instead, the blood flows from the heart into the abdominal cavity and eventually cycles back through the heart. "The mosquito's heart works something like the pump in a garden fountain," Hillyer said.

In order to make it to their goal, pathogens must pass through one of the heart valves. As a result, the valves act as physical bottlenecks during the migration of viruses and malaria parasites.

Cells called hemocytes are an important element in the mosquito's defense system. These are special immune cells carried in the hemolymph that play a role analogous to white blood cells in humans. They circulate around the body with the hemolymph and attack foreign cells and viruses when they contact them. What Hillyer and King discovered was that when a mosquito becomes infected with bacteria or malaria parasites, a population of hemocytes is recruited to the valves of the heart, where they capture and destroy invading pathogens. These new mosquito immune cells, which they have named periostial hemocytes, substantially increase their odds of encountering and destroying invaders by congregating in areas of high hemolymph flow.

"What happens to these pathogens while they are carried inside the mosquito's body is a critical part of the infection cycle that we are just beginning to understand," said Hillyer.

###

Vanderbilt University: http://www.exploration.vanderbilt.edu

Thanks to Vanderbilt University 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/125622/Video__New_insights_into_mosquitoes__role_as_involuntary_bioterrorists

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Saturday, December 1, 2012

Visualized: A Christmas tree made out of Chevrolet Volt parts

As publicity stunts go, this one certainly ticks the boxes marked "festive." General Motors' British subsidiary Vauxhall commissioned designer Gary Card to cook up this Christmas tree, cunningly made out of parts from a Vauxhall Ampera, which is a re-badged Chevrolet Volt to you and me. Visit it at night and the leaves will slowly open up, revealing the mechanical inner-workings that lurk beneath its frontage. If you're based in that London, you can go to the Kings Cross Filling Station, where it's on show until January 6th.

Continue reading Visualized: A Christmas tree made out of Chevrolet Volt parts

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/30/visualized-christmas-tree-chevy-volt/

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Mo. Powerball winner verified; Ariz.'s a mystery

Karen Bach, Director of Budget, Products and Communications of the Arizona Lottery, announces during a news conference that one of the winning tickets in the $579.9 million Powerball jackpot was purchased in Fountain Hills, Ariz., Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012, in Phoenix.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Store manager at 4 Sons Food Store, Bob Chebat, left, tells Brooke Elmore, middle, and Megan Hutto, that one of the winning tickets in the $579.9 million Powerball jackpot was purchased at the store, Nov. 29, 2012, in Fountain Hills, Ariz.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Television trucks park next to at a 4 Sons Food Store where one of the winning tickets in the $579.9 million Powerball jackpot was purchased, Nov. 29, 2012, in Fountain Hills, Ariz.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Owner Eric Seitz, back right, stands out in front of his store, at a 4 Sons Food Store, as people gether where one of the winning tickets in the $579.9 million Powerball jackpot was purchased, Nov. 29, 2012, in Fountain Hills, Ariz.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Patrons and members of the media gather at a 4 Sons Food Store where one of the winning tickets in the $579.9 million Powerball jackpot was purchased, Nov. 29, 2012, in Fountain Hills, Ariz.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

FOUNTAIN HILLS, Ariz. (AP) ? Sometimes it's better to dream, particularly when reality means you're not an instant multimillionaire.

Bob Kangas realized Wednesday night that one of two winning Powerball jackpot tickets ? a record $587.5 million ? had been bought in Arizona, but he didn't check his numbers.

"I didn't want to look because I just wanted to dream about being rich," Kangas said Thursday while checking his tickets at a 4 Sons Food Store in Fountain Hills, the suburban Phoenix shop where he bought his tickets ? and where the winning ticket was sold.

While lottery officials in Missouri verified its state's ticket after it was presented to them late Thursday, the Arizona winner had yet to come forward. They have 180 days to do so.

A news conference was planned for Friday morning in Missouri. Officials declined to provide details of the winner in advance, not even whether the ticket sold at a Trex Mart gas station in Dearborn was purchased by someone from that state.

Kangas just wanted one night to believe he could soon have more money than he'd know what to do with.

"I just wanted to dream all night," he said, breathing a heavy sigh as he realized his tickets were not winners. "I'll try again."

In Missouri, speculation had many of Dearborn's 500 residents buzzing about who had won.

Cashiers Kristi Williams and Kelly Blount greeted customers with big smiles and questions about whether they had bought the winning ticket.

"It's just awesome," Williams said. "It's so exciting. We can't even work."

Karen Meyers, a server at the Cook's Corner Cafe, said she didn't believe it at first when she heard the winning ticket had been sold nearby.

"I think it's wonderful! I hope someone local won it, not someone just passing through," she said. "It's a small town where everyone is really nice."

Kevin Bryan bought his ticket at the Trex Mart and made an extra trip to his mother's home in Dearborn to verify that the ticket he left on her counter wasn't, in fact, the winner.

"When I heard it was sold here in Dearborn I about fell over," Bryan said, as he hung Christmas lights outside his mother's home.

He said the only other local lottery win he could remember was when an area farmer won about $100,000 in scratch-off game years ago "and bought himself a combine."

Baron Hartell, son of the owner of the Missouri store, said if the winner isn't a local resident it might have been a truck driver. Interstate 29 is a busy thoroughfare connecting Kansas City to the Canadian border.

"Even the truck drivers who come around, we see them every day, so they all feel like all locals to us," he said.

Store manager Chris Naurez said business had been "crazy" for Powerball tickets lately and that the store had sold about $27,000 worth of tickets in the last few days.

"This really puts Dearborn on the map," he said.

Trex Mart General Manager Kenny Gilbert suggested his staff would be sharing in the $50,000 bounty that the store will be awarded for selling one of the winning tickets.

"The response from the owner was, 'I guess we'll be able to give out Christmas bonuses,'" Gilbert said. "That's nice, especially at this time of year."

The Phoenix shop will receive a $25,000 bonus but store owner Eric Seitz said it hadn't yet been decided what to do with the money.

Customers poured in to check their tickets and share in the big moment as media swarmed the small gas station.

"I think it's crazy, and I also think it's great," said store manager Bob Chebat. "I'm glad that all that work yesterday wasn't for nothing."

The store was swept up in a nationwide ticket-buying spree preceding Wednesday's drawing, with the big money enticing many people who rarely, if ever, play the lottery to buy a shot at the payout.

"There was a lot of traffic. We did a little over $8,000 worth of Powerball tickets just yesterday alone," said 4 Sons District Manager Harvey Frausto.

The numbers drawn Wednesday night were 5, 16, 22, 23, 29. The Powerball was 6. The huge payout represents the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history, and the largest for Powerball.

Tickets sold at a rate of 130,000 a minute nationwide ? about six times the volume from a week ago. That pushed the jackpot even higher, said Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association. It rolled over 16 consecutive times without a winner.

The lucky ticket-holders could split a cash payout of $384.7 million before taxes, or about $192 million each.

In a Mega Millions drawing in March, three ticket buyers shared a $656 million jackpot, the largest lottery payout of all time.

___

Sudekum reported from Dearborn, Mo.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-11-30-Powerball-Jackpot/id-20cfd731c9b44068952acbcfffd7601c

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St. Andrew's Society of Savannah celebrates 275th birthday - WTOC ...

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -

On Friday, the St. Andrew's Society of Savannah celebrated 275 year with a banquet. The annual Scottish celebration included a pipe band and hundreds of men in kilts. The president of the Savannah chapter of the St. Andrew's Society explains how they have lasted so many years.

"People love the Scottish heritage. They love to dress up in the kilt, listen to the pipes and drink Scotch whiskey," said Dr. Les Wilkes.

WTOC's Sonny Dixon is a proud member of the St. Andrew's Society and dressed in the traditional garb for the occasion.

Source: http://www.wtoc.com/story/20233346/st-andrews-society-of-savannah-celebrates-275th-birthday

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