You either love them or you hate them, but for our family, they?ve become a holiday tradition and it just wouldn?t feel like Christmas without them. This time last year we adopted ?Elmer?, the Elf on the Shelf, into our family. He was instantly loved by all the kids, even our older son who plays along so his sisters can enjoy the magic.
This year however, when Elmer made his first visit he brought along a ?girlfriend?.
Meet Ella.
Together they bounce around the house each night so the kids can discover them in a new spot. Sometimes they?re hanging from the stockings, snatching ornaments off the tree (at least what?s left after the cats batted them down) or dropping off a bowl of candy for the kids.
I know some folks think they?re creepy looking but we think they?re pretty darn cute. Ella even has sweet little blushing cheeks and a festive skirt. It?s a fun tradition and it?s not too late to start. The Elf on the Shelf comes with a hardcover book that explains how they work and you can even watch the DVD that shares Chippy?s elf story.
Who knows, maybe next year a third elf will become part of the family. They?re a bit addicting.
Apple's thoroughly re-engineered iTunes is now ready for you to try. The desktop download includes a new MiniPlayer for playing tracks in a widget-sized window, an "Up Next" feature for cueing up songs and viewing what's next at a glance, and -- if you can't decide which tune to rack up -- Apple's software will now offer "instant recommendations" of its own. iTunes 11 will also endeavor to relocate your position within a song, movie or TV shows if your media consumption ever gets interrupted. Finally, iCloud integration will allow you to play back your library on any device, while an offline option should allow in-flight or underground listening sessions to continue without a hitch. Right now, iTunes 11 is mostly appearing as an option in Software Update for existing users, although it shouldn't be long before manual downloads are at hand.
Can a genetic variation in the vitamin D receptor protect against osteoporosis?Public release date: 29-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News
New Rochelle, NY, November 29, 2012Osteoporosis, or reduced bone mineral density that can increase the risk of fractures, may affect as many as 30% of women and 12% of men worldwide. One risk factor for osteoporosis is vitamin D deficiency. A modified form of the vitamin D receptor present in some individuals may lower their risk for developing osteoporosis, according to an article in Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers website.
To act on cells in the body, vitamin D binds to a specific receptor on the surface of cells. A variation in the gene for the vitamin D receptor (called the Bsm I polymorphism) may change this interaction. In the article, "Vitamin D Receptor BSM I Polymorphism and Osteoporosis Risk: A Meta-Analysis from 26 Studies," authors Fu Jia and colleagues, Kunming Medical University and Yunnan University of Chinese Traditional Medicine, Yunnan, People's Republic of China, report that people with this genetic variation appear to have a significantly decreased risk of developing osteoporosis.
"This meta-analysis provides a pathway to help determine the likelihood that a person may develop osteoporosis and is a good example for the potential application of genetics to clinical medicine," says Kenneth I. Berns, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, and Director of the University of Florida's Genetics Institute, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL.
###
About the Journal
Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 12 times per year in print and online that reports on all aspects of genetic testing, including molecular and biochemical based tests and varied clinical situations; ethical, legal, social, and economic aspects of genetic testing; and issues concerning effective genetic counseling. Tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed
on the Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Human Gene Therapy and OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
140 Huguenot St.,
New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215
Phone: 914-740-2100 800-M-LIEBERT Fax: 914-740-2101
www.liebertpub.com
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Can a genetic variation in the vitamin D receptor protect against osteoporosis?Public release date: 29-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News
New Rochelle, NY, November 29, 2012Osteoporosis, or reduced bone mineral density that can increase the risk of fractures, may affect as many as 30% of women and 12% of men worldwide. One risk factor for osteoporosis is vitamin D deficiency. A modified form of the vitamin D receptor present in some individuals may lower their risk for developing osteoporosis, according to an article in Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers website.
To act on cells in the body, vitamin D binds to a specific receptor on the surface of cells. A variation in the gene for the vitamin D receptor (called the Bsm I polymorphism) may change this interaction. In the article, "Vitamin D Receptor BSM I Polymorphism and Osteoporosis Risk: A Meta-Analysis from 26 Studies," authors Fu Jia and colleagues, Kunming Medical University and Yunnan University of Chinese Traditional Medicine, Yunnan, People's Republic of China, report that people with this genetic variation appear to have a significantly decreased risk of developing osteoporosis.
"This meta-analysis provides a pathway to help determine the likelihood that a person may develop osteoporosis and is a good example for the potential application of genetics to clinical medicine," says Kenneth I. Berns, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, and Director of the University of Florida's Genetics Institute, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL.
###
About the Journal
Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 12 times per year in print and online that reports on all aspects of genetic testing, including molecular and biochemical based tests and varied clinical situations; ethical, legal, social, and economic aspects of genetic testing; and issues concerning effective genetic counseling. Tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed
on the Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Human Gene Therapy and OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
140 Huguenot St.,
New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215
Phone: 914-740-2100 800-M-LIEBERT Fax: 914-740-2101
www.liebertpub.com
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Discovery of the JMJD2C protein, which acts an accomplice to would-be tumor cells as they make the transition from working with the body to working against it, may help scientists find new ways to combat the spread of breast and other cancers. (Credit: The Journal of Cell Biology/Flickr)
JOHNS HOPKINS (US) ? Breast cancer cells preparing to spread disease around the body must first team up with a protein to activate the needed genes, researchers have learned.
The discovery, published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may also have implications for understanding the metastasis of other forms of cancer and may also light a path to a new treatment strategy.
?We?ve identified a protein that wasn?t known before to be involved in breast cancer progression,? says Gregg Semenza, professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and vascular program director at the university?s Institute for Cell Engineering.
?The protein JMJD2C is the key that opens up a whole suite of genes needed for tumors to grow and metastasize, so it represents a potential target for cancer drug development.?
Semenza and his colleagues traced the activity of HIF-1, a protein known to switch on hundreds of genes involved in development, red blood cell production, and metabolism in normal cells. Previous studies had shown that HIF-1 could also be hijacked to switch on genes needed to make breast tumors more malignant.
Would-be tumor cells face a host of challenges as they make the transition from working with the body to working against it, such as the need to evade the immune system and to produce more cancer cells, explains Weibo Luo, an instructor in the biological chemistry department, who led the project. All of these efforts, he says, require switching on the right genes for the job.
To learn more about how HIF-1 works, the researchers tested a range of human proteins to see which would interact with it. They sifted through the 200 resulting hits, looking for proteins involved in chemical changes to sections of DNA that determine whether or not the genes they contain are available for use.
?In order for HIF-1 to switch genes on, they have to be available, but many of the genes HIF-1 activates are normally locked down in mature cells,? Luo explains. ?So we thought HIF-1 must have a partner that can do the unlocking.?
That partner turned out to be JMJD2C, Luo says. The researchers found that HIF-1 switches on JMJD2C?s gene, stimulating production of the protein. HIF-1?s presence also enables JMJD2C to bind to DNA at other HIF-1 target genes, and then loosen those DNA sections, enabling more HIF-1 to bind to the same sites and activate the target genes.
To test the implications of their discovery, the research team injected mice with breast cancer cells in which the JMJD2C protein was not produced. Tumors with depleted JMJD2C were much less likely to grow and metastasize to the lungs, confirming the protein?s role in breast cancer progression, Luo says.
?Active HIF proteins have been found in many types of tumors, so the implications of this finding go beyond breast cancer,? Luo says. ?JMJD2C is both an important piece of the puzzle of how tumors metastasize, and a potential target for anti-cancer therapy.?
The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering.
If you needed a reason not to buy a ticket for Wednesday's $500 million-plus Powerball lottery, here are a few. In fact, here are 5,000 -- roughly, the number of people who have taken pictures of their tickets on the popular photo-sharing service Instagram with the hashtag #powerball.
[More from Mashable: Mapping Thanksgiving Dishes With Twitter [VIDEO]]
Taken together, the multiple ticket pics should give you a sense of how unlikely it is that you'll win. Bear in mind that if you look at all of them, you'll still have an over-inflated sense of your odds of matching six winning numbers -- which are 1 in 175 million. Imagine if half the U.S. population Instagrammed one ticket each. You're getting close.
Still, the explosion of Powerball photos is an interesting phenomenon in itself. Not only does this Powerball boast a record-breaking jackpot, it is also the most widespread lottery ever recorded on social media. Some 600 tweets per hour with the hashtag #powerball were being seen by 6 p.m. EST Tuesday.
[More from Mashable: You Know the Old Social Media Saying [COMIC]]
Naturally, most of those tweets concentrated on what users would do with the money if they won. If you want to see an interesting cross-section of humanity's hopes and dreams, they're well worth reading.
So those thousands who Instagrammed a ticket may not win, but they can at least take comfort in being part of a bona fide social media phenomenon. And here's another benefit: unlike Instagramming your ballot, taking pictures of your lotto ticket is legal in all 50 states.
(COLLIN/ROCKWALL Counties, TX)?On Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, Republican candidate Scott Turner was elected to serve in the Texas House of Representatives for newly-created District 33, which includes all of Rockwall County and portions of Collin County.?
When learning he had garnered more than 85 percent of the vote, Turner said, ?I am truly honored. Being elected to serve in the Texas House is humbling. It is my solemn oath to my constituents that I will serve this district with honesty, integrity, humility and transparency. Texas deserves true servant leaders willing to stand up for what is right, even if that means standing alone. Seeing the challenges our state is facing, I knew I needed to get personally involved.?
After 17 months of campaigning, Turner?s hard work paid off when he was declared the winner on Election Night.
Turner will take the Oath of Office at the Texas Capitol in Austin on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. Visitors are welcome to stop by his legislative office for a come-and-go reception that afternoon.
Representative-Elect Turner is a small businessman and former NFL player. Growing up in Richardson and graduating from J.J. Pearce High School, Turner received an athletic/academic scholarship to the University of Illinois. In 1994, he received his degree in Speech Communications and in 1995, he began his 9-year professional football career when he was drafted by the Washington Redskins.? He went on to play for the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos.
After retiring from the NFL, Turner returned to the Dallas area to pursue his business career. He currently serves as the Director of Business Development and Corporate Chaplain at Systemware, Inc. He also is the President of Scott Turner Consulting Group, LLC. Turner and his wife Robin, of 17 years, and nephew Solomon reside in Frisco, Texas.
# # #
For more information, visit www.ScottTurnerForTexas.com or http://www.Facebook/ScottTurnerTX.
It's a battle between the old and new "American Idol" judges.
Singer Nicki Minaj, who has never been one to think twice about offering her two cents on an issue, went on a Twitter rant Monday against former "A.I." judge Steven Tyler after he made what the singer felt was a "racist" remark against her.?
Here's how it all went down...?
More from E!: Minaj talks Mariah Carey feud?
The Aerosmith frontman gave an interview to MTV, slamming the new judges on the show, and mentioned, "You just have to give your opinion. It wasn't hard for me, but I would imagine it's hard for some people, and they need a manager to say 'Shut the f--- up, and just give them your opinion,' " Tyler said.?
"These kids, they just got out of a car from the Midwest somewhere and they're in New York City, they're scared to death; you're not going to get the best [out of them]. ... If it was Bob Dylan, Nicki Minaj would have had him sent to the cornfield! Whereas, if it was Bob Dylan with us, we would have brought the best of him out, as we did with Phillip Phillips. Just saying."?
That didn't sit to well with Minaj, who decided to give the rock star a piece of her mind.?
More from E: 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' stars NeNe Leakes and Kim Zolciak get into it on Twitter?
"Steven Tyler said I would have sent Bob Dylan to a cornfield??? Steven, you haven't seen me judge one single solitary contestant yet," she wrote. "I understand you really wanted to keep your job but take that up with the producers. I haven't done anything to you. That's a racist comment. You assume that I wouldn't have liked Bob Dylan??? why? black? rapper? what? go f--- yourself and worry about yourself babe."?
The Barbz leader continued with, "LOL lets make him a shirt that says "No Coloreds Allowed" then escort him down 2 Barbara Walters so he can tell how he was threatened w/guns. When Steven 1st went on Idol he was ridiculed by his peers &fans alike. Called a sell out. So what does he do? Ridicule the next judge."?
More from E: Take a look at American Idol's all-time greatest hits?
Tyler hasn't responded to any of Nicki's tweets and Fox had no comment on the matter.?
Do you think Steven and Nicki went too far? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former SAC Capital portfolio manager was released on $5 million bail on Monday after making his first appearance in a New York court on charges of making illegal trades that hedge fund titan Steven A. Cohen personally signed off on.
Mathew Martoma, 38, of Boca Raton, Florida, was charged last week in what U.S. prosecutors called "the most lucrative" insider-trading scheme ever.
Martoma was accused of helping Cohen's firm avoid losses and reap profits totaling $276 million in the summer of 2008 by using insider tips he obtained from a doctor about Elan Corp and Wyeth LLC. Martoma worked for CR Intrinsic, a unit of Cohen's SAC Capital.
Cohen was not charged with wrongdoing, but prosecutors have said in court papers that the "owner" of the hedge fund signed off on Martoma's recommendation to sell the shares of Elan and Wyeth. A spokesman for SAC Capital said last week that "Mr. Cohen and SAC are confident that they have acted appropriately and will continue to cooperate with the government's inquiry."
At a 13-minute hearing in U.S. district court in Manhattan on Monday, Martoma spoke only once, answering "yes, your honor" to a judge's question. He did not enter a plea.
Magistrate Judge James Cott on Monday agreed to a proposed $5 million bail package for Martoma, who has been free on similar bail conditions since appearing in a Florida court after his arrest on November 20.
Charles Stillman, Martoma's lawyer, has said he is confident his client will be exonerated. Stillman told reporters gathered outside the courtroom Monday that "we took care of business today and we'll be back another day."
Martoma worked for CR Intrinsic in Stamford, Connecticut, until 2010. He is the fifth person associated with SAC Capital, one of the most influential hedge funds, to be charged with insider trading in either a criminal or civil proceeding.
In a criminal complaint, authorities said Martoma spoke in July 2008 to the "hedge fund owner" - Cohen - and recommended selling shares of Elan and Wyeth before a negative announcement on clinical trial results for an Alzheimer's drug jointly developed by the two companies.
U.S. securities regulators, who have filed civil insider-trading charges against Martoma, contend he obtained confidential tips from Sidney Gilman, who was chair of a committee to monitor patient safety during the Alzheimer's drug's clinical trial.
Gilman, an 80-year old neurology professor at the University of Michigan, is now cooperating with prosecutors after agreeing to pay a $186,781 disgorgement. A lawyer for Gilman declined comment last week.
The Securities and Exchange Commission complaint said Gilman worked as a consultant for a so-called expert network. Hedge funds use such networks to gain insight into various industries.
According to the criminal complaint, Gilman scheduled meetings and phone calls with Martoma that allowed him to pass on new information quickly about the drug trial.
The judge set a December 26 hearing for Martoma to return to court, but Stillman said he expected it to be pushed back to a later date.
The case is USA v. Martoma, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 12-mag-2985.
(Reporting By Emily Flitter and Basil Katz; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
It looks like a UFO, flies without a pilot, and has ignited a debate over whether robots are the future of military aviation. Now the X-47B demonstrator drone is about to get some serious real-world testing.
Yesterday the U.S. Navy released footage of its crews hoisting an X-47B, covered up like a Camaro going into storage for the winter, onto the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. The Navy says that the Truman will become the first aircraft carrier to test an unmanned aircraft once the X-47B begins its carrier deck handling operations.
This is no puny spy drone?the X-47B is a subsonic aircraft and is as large as the Navy's current manned strike fighters. Nor is the X-47B piloted by a human back at base. Operators can give commands to the aircraft, but it can execute them on its own.
The first X-47B demonstrator flew back in February 2011. These aircraft carrier tests are another step on the way to proving an unmanned aircraft potential to take over for those fighters.
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Public release date: 29-Nov-2012
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(COLLIN/ROCKWALL Counties, TX)?On Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, Republican candidate Scott Turner was elected to serve in the Texas House of Representatives for newly-created District 33, which includes all of Rockwall County and portions of Collin County.?
