NIH Will Curb Research on Chimps

A new decision from the nation?s medical research agency will send most of its chimps into retirement

By Dina Fine Maron

Retirement More chimpanzees will be living a life of retirement thanks to a new NIH decision Image: Les_Stockton

• 

  Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...

  Read More??

In a landmark decision, the National Institutes of Health announced today that it will drastically scale back its research on chimpanzees, humans? closest living relatives. The agency expects to retire about 310 chimps out of a population of 360 that it owns and has available for research.

The decision follows recommendations from an NIH advisory panel that said in January that the agency should curb research on chimps and instead ?emphasize the development and refinement of other approaches, especially alternative animal models,? and move all but approximately 50 of the chimps to sanctuaries. The NIH today accepted almost all of the recommendations from that independent panel after studying them along with more than 12,500 comments from the public. ?Chimpanzees have already taught us a great deal?but deserve special respect,? NIH Director Francis Collins says. The decision is a ?major milestone ushering in a new era, a compassionate era.?

The NIH has not funded new research involving chimps since December 2011, when the Institute of Medicine, a nonprofit that advises the government on health policy, issued a report establishing strict criteria for the use of chimps in biomedical and behavioral research. At the time, the IOM said, "...that research use of animals so closely related to humans should not proceed unless it offers insights not possible with other models and unless it is of sufficient scientific or health value to offset moral costs. We found very few cases that satisfy these criteria."

The IOM recommended that chimp research satisfy three principles: the knowledge gained would be necessary to advance the public?s health; there was no other research model available to obtain that information; and that the animals would be kept in their natural habitat or in environments that closely mimic it. The NIH today accepted those principles as the criteria for any future research on chimps that it owns or supports.

A number of medical breakthroughs have come about, thanks to chimp research, including vaccines against polio and hepatitis B. But recent developments, including computer modeling and the ability to experiment on isolated cells, have equipped scientists with viable alternatives to primate research. Under today?s decision, NIH will still keep up to 50 chimpanzees?drawing from the pool of those it owns and supports?for future research purposes. Those are expected to include prophylactic vaccines for hepatitis C as well as behavioral studies.

The remaining 50 chimps will not be bred in captivity, so over time the number of chimps available for research will dwindle. Observational or behavioral studies on chimps that occur in zoos or sanctuaries are considered noninvasive and will proceed. Current research that does not meet the IOM principles will be allowed to wind down, and the implementation of the decision will take place over several years. ?Everybody should understand this is not something that will happen quickly,? Collins says.

The challenge now will be trying to find money to pay for the maintenance and care of the chimps slated for retirement. Under the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance and Protection (CHIMP) Act of 2000, a $30-million cap was put on spending for chimpanzees in sanctuaries. Collins today said that his agency is very close to hitting the $30-million limit and will probably hit it in the ?next few months.? The agency is asking Congress to amend the law to free up NIH funding so it will be able to support the more than 300 chimpanzees that are expected to eventually be placed into retirement. The NIH does not have an estimate for how much it will cost to maintain the chimps in sanctuaries or exact plans on where the chimps will retire. Existing sanctuaries can hold only 150 chimpanzees, according to the NIH. The agency will be taking care of the retirement of only those chimpanzees it owns.

Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=nih-curb-research-on-chimp

deer antler spray Jason London rick ross yahoo finance iOS 6.1 BlackBerry Kwame Harris

New dispatch system could save money for trucking industry, make life easier for drivers

June 26, 2013 ? Engineers at Oregon State University are studying a new approach to organize and route truck transportation that could save millions of dollars, improve the quality of life for thousands of truck drivers and make freight transportation far more efficient.

The findings, published recently in Transportation Research Part E, show the feasibility of the new system. More research is still needed before implementation, but there's potential to revolutionize the way that truck transportation is handled in the United States and around the world, some experts say.

Loads could be delivered more rapidly, costs could be lowered, and the exhausting experience of some truck drivers who often spend two to three weeks on the road between visits back home might be greatly reduced. This difficult lifestyle often leads them to quit their job as a result.

That turnover problem is sufficiently severe that more long-haul, full-truckload drivers quit every year than there are trucks of that type on the road.

"The perceived quality of life for long-haul truck drivers is poor, and it shouldn't have to be that way," said Hector Vergara, an assistant professor in the OSU School of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, who is working on this project in collaboration with researchers at the University of Arkansas.

"It will take a transition for companies to see how the approach we are studying can work effectively, but it should help address several of the problems they face," he said.

In truck transportation, some of the existing approaches include "point to point," in which one driver stays with a full load all the way to its often-distant destination; "hub and spoke" systems in which less-than-full loads are changed at selected points; and "relay" networks in which the drivers change but the load stays on the truck.

None of these systems by themselves are ideal for long-haul transport. The hub and spoke system is among the most popular with drivers because they get home much more frequently, but it can be costly and inefficient for full-truckload transportation. Relay networks make sense in theory but are difficult to implement.

The new approach under study combines the relay system and the point-to-point system for full-truckload transport. The researchers at OSU developed a new mathematical approach to optimize the design of the dispatching system for the movement of goods and to minimize the impact on drivers. It's one of the first models of its type to create a mixed-fleet dispatching system at a large scale.

"We now know this approach can work," Vergara said. "Compared to point-to-point, this system should cut the length of trips a driver makes by about two-thirds, and get drivers back to their homes much more often. We can also keep loads moving while drivers rest, and because of that save significant amounts of money on the number of trucks needed to move a given amount of freight."

The computer optimization determines the best way to dispatch loads and tells where to locate relay points, and how different loads should be routed through the relay network.

Truck transportation systems will never be perfect, researchers concede, because there are so many variables that can cause unpredictable problems -- weather delays, road closures, traffic jams, truck breakdowns, driver illnesses. But the current system, especially for long-haul, point-to-point transport, is already riddled with problems, and significant improvements based on computer optimization should be possible.

Disillusionment with existing approaches led to a shortage of 125,000 truck drivers in 2011, the researchers noted in the study. The negative economic impacts of this system also reach beyond just the trucking industry, they said.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/sEuKFsQJdvk/130626143112.htm

kim zolciak Richard Matheson Big Brother 15 red panda Rizzoli And Isles amy schumer amy schumer

'Breaking Bad' instructs: 'Remember my name'

TV

Anna Chan TODAY

17 hours ago

You do not forget Walter White and Heisenberg. That's the message in AMC's newly released key art for the final eight episodes of "Breaking Bad," which kick off in August.

AMC

Bryan Cranston's Walter White -- aka Heisenberg -- is back and ready for a fight.

Yes, Walt -- played by the amazing Bryan Cranston -- started off as a nice, loving, family man and chemistry teacher who began to cook meth after his cancer diagnosis. It was a last resort to make sure his loved ones would be financially secure after his death. And then he transformed into the unforgettable, manipulative and deadly Heisenberg, a man bent on building an empire and flexing his ever-increasing power in the drug world.

He may have seemingly quit his ridiculously lucrative trade toward the end of 2012 at wife Skyler's urging, but as viewers likely remember, the last episode ended with brother-in-law and DEA agent Hank realizing the seemingly gentle man was a ruthless drug kingpin. If the photo is any indication, Walt -- with hands balled into fists and "don't mess with me glare" on his face -- isn't going to go down without a big, big fight.

It'd be the only proper way to say goodbye and cement his place in TV history after such an epic journey. But the question remains: Will he be remembered as family guy Walter White, or will it be drug lord Heisenberg?

"Breaking Bad" returns for its final run on Sunday, Aug. 11 at 9 p.m. on AMC.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/breaking-bad-instructs-remember-my-name-6C10442406

Ny Post Boston Bombing 2013 Regions Bank ny times Boston Marathon Results pangolin Ball Bearings

Google Search Android app updated with location-based offers, voice-activated music playback

Jelly Bean users running Android 4.1 or later can now snag a few more features with Google's Search app. The update (version number varies depending on your device) delivers three notable additions. The first tool pushes saved offers as you approach a redemption location, reminding you of forgotten deals when they're most relevant. Next up is a new voice action, which lets you control music playback -- both on your device and in the Play Store -- by speaking to your handset. (Voice action tips also make a debut with this refresh.) A third addition enables instant access to information about television programming you're currently consuming, assuming your HDTV is connected to the web and on the same WiFi network as your device. Get your download on at the source link below.

Filed under: Software, HD, Mobile, Google

Comments

Via: Droid Life

Source: Google Play, Google+

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/9J0UVIOpzd0/

philadelphia flyers student loan forgiveness ufc 145 weigh ins record store day 2012 detroit red wings jose canseco zimmerman

French actor Depardieu in minor car collision in Moscow

MOSCOW (Reuters) - French actor Gerard Depardieu was involved in a car accident in Moscow on Tuesday when a taxi rammed into a Mercedes carrying him in his adopted homeland of Russia, where he is filming a movie.

The 64-year-old star of films such as "Green Card" and "Cyrano de Bergerac" was unhurt and posed for photos with Russian traffic police in footage shown by tabloid portal Lifenews.ru.

Depardieu, who was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin in January after criticizing a planned 75-percent tax on millionaires in France, appears not to have been behind the wheel during the Moscow accident.

He was banned from driving for six months by a French court earlier this month, after he was found to be three times over the alcohol limit when he fell from a scooter last year.

France's best-known actor, whose lifestyle and outlandish behavior has made more headlines than his film career in recent years, was bitterly criticized for abandoning his homeland when he received a hug and a passport from Putin. But Depardieu, who owns a vineyard in the Loire valley, has said he did not leave for tax reasons.

Last year's scooter fall came a few months after a car driver filed a suit against Depardieu for assault and battery following an altercation in Paris.

A year earlier, Depardieu outraged passengers by urinating in the aisle of an Air France flight as it prepared to take off.

Depardieu is currently filming a thriller called "Turquoise" in Moscow and Russia's southern province of Chechnya with British actress Elizabeth Hurley.

(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/french-actor-depardieu-minor-car-collision-moscow-143017536.html

Ray Harryhausen elizabeth smart chipotle Shakira Amanda Berry Farrah Abraham Sex Tape Met gala

Obama aims to tackle pollution, climate change

President Barack Obama wipes his face as he speaks about climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. The president is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property, resorting to his executive powers to tackle climate change and sidestepping the partisan gridlock in Congress. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama wipes his face as he speaks about climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. The president is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property, resorting to his executive powers to tackle climate change and sidestepping the partisan gridlock in Congress. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama speaks about climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. The president is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property, resorting to his executive powers to tackle climate change and sidestepping the partisan gridlock in Congress. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama declared the debate over climate change and its causes obsolete Tuesday as he announced a wide-ranging plan to tackle pollution and prepare communities for global warming.

In a major speech at Georgetown University, Obama warned Americans of the deep and disastrous effects of climate change, urging them to take action before it's too late.

"As a president, as a father and as an American, I'm here to say we need to act," Obama said.

Obama announced he was directing his administration to launch the first-ever federal regulations on heat-trapping gases emitted by new and existing power plants ? "to put an end to the limitless dumping of carbon pollution."

Other aspects of the plan will boost renewable energy production on federal lands, increase efficiency standards and prepare communities to deal with higher temperatures.

Even before Obama unveiled his plan Tuesday, Republican critics in Congress were lambasting it as a job-killer that would threaten the economic recovery. Obama dismissed those critics, noting the same arguments have been used in the past when the U.S. has taken other steps to protect the environment.

"That's what they said every time," Obama said. "And every time, they've been wrong."

Obama also offered a rare insight into his administration's deliberations on Keystone XL, an oil pipeline whose potential approval has sparked an intense fight between environmental activists and energy producers.

The White House has insisted the State Department is making the decision independently, but Obama said Tuesday he's instructing the department to approve it only if the project won't increase overall, net emissions of greenhouse gases.

"Allowing the Keystone pipeline to be built requires a finding that doing so would be in our nation's interests," Obama said. "Our national interest would be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution."

A top aide to House Speaker John Boehner said the remarks indicated that the pipeline should be approved.

"The standard the president set today should lead to speedy approval of the Keystone pipeline," Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said.

Still, environmentalist took heart in Obama's remarks, noting it was the first time the administration had directly linked approval of the pipeline to its effect on pollution. The White House has previously resisted efforts by environmental groups to link the Keystone project to broader effort curb carbon pollution from power plants.

Obama touted America's strengths ? research, technology and innovation ? as factors that make the U.S. uniquely poised to take on the challenges of global warming. He mocked those who deny that humans are contributing to the warming of the planet, adding that he "doesn't have much patience" for anybody who refuses to acknowledge the problem.

"We don't have time for a meeting of the flat-earth society," Obama said.

Obama's far-reaching plan marks the president's most prominent effort yet to deliver on a major priority he laid out in his first presidential campaign and recommitted to at the start of his second term: to fight climate change in the U.S. and abroad and prepare American communities for its effects. Environmental activists have been irked that Obama's high-minded goals never materialized into a comprehensive plan.

By expanding permitting on public lands, Obama hopes to generate enough electricity from renewable energy projects such as wind and solar to power the equivalent of 6 million homes by 2020, effectively doubling the electric capacity federal lands now produce. He also set a goal to install 100 megawatts of energy-producing capacity at federal housing projects by the end of the decade.

Obama also announced $8 billion in federal loan guarantees to spur investment in technologies that can keep carbon dioxide produced by power plants from being released into the atmosphere.

But the linchpin of Obama's plan is the controls on new and existing power plants. Forty percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, and one-third of greenhouse gases overall, come from electric power plants, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. The Obama administration already has proposed controls on new plants, but those controls have been delayed and not yet finalized.

Tuesday's announcement came just weeks after Obama's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy, assured senators during her confirmation process that the EPA was "not currently" developing any regulations on existing sources of greenhouse gases. McCarthy said if EPA were to look at such regulations, it would allow states, the public and others to "offer meaningful input on potential approaches."

Republicans quickly dismissed Obama's plan, calling it a "war on coal" and a "war on jobs," reflecting the opposition to climate legislation on Capitol Hill that prompted a frustrated Obama to sidestep lawmakers and take action himself.

"It's tantamount to kicking the ladder out from beneath the feet of many Americans struggling in today's economy," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the floor of the Senate.

Environmental groups offered a mix of praise and wariness that Obama would follow through on the ambitious goals he laid out. Bill Snape of the Center for Biological Diversity described it as too little, too late.

"What he's proposing isn't big enough, doesn't move fast enough, to match the terrifying magnitude of the climate crisis," Snape said.

Others hailed the plan, galvanized by the fact that Obama was taking action on his own after Congress' reluctance to tackle the issue using legislation.

"The president nailed it: this can't wait," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We will cut this carbon pollution today so our children don't inherit climate chaos tomorrow."

___

Follow Matthew Daly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC

Follow Josh Lederman on Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-25-US-Obama-Climate-Change/id-e98675d6ef804809b3a03bd125ad17ec

norfolk state st patrick s day parade duke invisible children garbage pail kids st bonaventure ncaa tournament 2012

Business Highlights

___

AP IMPACT: Post-recession, higher education paths diverge

CHONGQING, China (AP) -- Determined to learn their way out of the Great Recession ? or eager to rise above the deprivation of developing lands ? unprecedented millions of people have enrolled in colleges and universities around the world in the past five years.

What they're finding is an educational landscape turning upside down.

In the United States ? where top schools have long championed a liberal style of learning and broad education before specialization ? higher education's focus is shifting to getting students that first job in a still-shaky economy. Tuition is so high and the lingering economic distress so great that an education not directly tied to an occupation is increasingly seen as a luxury.

Elsewhere in the world, there is a growing emphasis on broader learning as an economic necessity.

___

China slump, higher bond yields weigh on markets

More uncertainty about China's economy and rising bond yields led to a broad sell-off in stocks Monday, leaving the market down 5.7 percent from its all-time high last month.

It's the first pullback of 5 percent or more since November.

U.S. trading started with a slump Monday. The market recovered much of its loss, then fell back again. By the close of trading the big stock indexes were clinging to modest gains for the second quarter. The last trading day of the quarter is Friday.

___

Boost for cars or bust? Ethanol debate heats up

WASHINGTON (AP) -- It's a dilemma for drivers: Do they choose a gasoline that's cheaper and cleaner even if, as opponents say, it could damage older cars and motorcycles?

That's the peril and promise of a high-ethanol blend of gasoline known as E15. The fuel contains 15 percent ethanol, compared with the current 10 percent norm sold at most U.S. gas stations.

The higher ethanol blend is currently sold at fewer than two dozen stations in the Midwest, but could spread to other regions as the Obama administration considers whether to require more ethanol in gasoline.

___

Neiman Marcus plans to raise up to $100 million in IPO

NEW YORK (AP) -- Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus plans to raise up to $100 million by returning to the stock market with an initial public offering.

That amount is likely to change, though, as bankers gauge investor interest. The plan to go public, announced in a regulatory filing Monday, comes about eight years after private equity firms TPG Capital and Warburg Pincus bought Neiman Marcus for $5.1 billion.

Neiman Marcus has benefited from affluent shoppers who are willing to drop $1,000 for a pair of shoes. During the recession, Neiman Marcus was not as hurt by the consumer spending pullback as other retailers, because the wealthy suffered less in the poor economy.

___

New Samsung tablets mimic Galaxy phones

NEW YORK (AP) -- Samsung is expanding its lineup of tablet computers and making them look more like its Galaxy smartphones, as it hopes to translate its success in phones to the tablet market, where Apple is dominant.

Samsung Electronics Co., the second-largest maker of tablets after Apple, on Monday said it is putting three new tablets in the Galaxy Tab 3 series on sale in the U.S. on July 7. The cheapest, a $199 device, will have a screen that measures 7 inches diagonally. An 8-inch model will go for $299 and a 10-inch one for $399.

The "Tab" line is Samsung's value brand, undercutting the price of similar Apple models. Samsung's premium tablets are in the "Note" line, which include styluses. The 7-inch and 10-inch tablets had "Tab 2" equivalents, but the 8-inch model is new, and coincides closely in size with Apple's iPad Mini, which came out late last year.

___

Promise of price cut on hospital bills is in limbo

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Huge list prices charged by hospitals are drawing increased attention, but a federal law meant to limit what the most financially vulnerable patients can be billed doesn't seem to be making much difference.

A provision in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul says most hospitals must charge uninsured patients no more than what people with health insurance are billed.

The goal is to protect patients from medical bankruptcy, a problem that will not go away next year when Obama's law expands coverage for millions.

___

Studies find methane in Pennsylvania drinking water

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- New research in Pennsylvania demonstrates that it's hard to nail down how often natural gas drilling is contaminating drinking water: One study found high levels of methane in some water wells near gas wells, while another found some serious methane pollution occurring naturally, far away from drilling.

The findings represent a middle ground between critics of the drilling technique, known as hydraulic fracturing, who claim it causes widespread contamination, and an industry that suggests contamination is rare or nonexistent.

The contamination from drilling is "not an epidemic. It's a minority of cases," said Rob Jackson, a Duke University researcher and co-author of the study released Monday. But he added the team found that serious contamination from bubbly methane is "much more" prevalent in some water wells within about half a mile of gas drilling sites.

Methane is an odorless gas that in high concentrations can be explosive and deadly.

___

Dissension and fiscal woes beset the Girl Scouts

NEW YORK (AP) -- Given the friction and financial woes facing the Girl Scouts these days, perhaps it's time for a giant friendship circle. Under that long-standing tradition, a ring of Scouts clasp hands and give a little squeeze, accompanied by a silent wish of good will.

Just a year after its centennial celebrations, the Girl Scouts of the USA finds itself in a different sort of squeeze. Its interconnected problems include declining membership and revenues, a dearth of volunteers, rifts between leadership and grassroots members, a pension plan with a $347 million deficit, and an uproar over efforts by many local councils to sell venerable summer camps.

The tangle of difficulties has prompted one congressman to request an inquiry by the House Ways and Means Committee into the pension liabilities and the sale of camps.

___

Vodafone launches bid for Kabel Deutschland

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's Vodafone PLC has launched a takeover bid for Germany's biggest cable operator, Kabel Deutschland, as part of its push to dominate media services in its biggest market.

The British cellphone company with wide international interests on Monday confirmed the 7.7 billion euros ($10.2 billion) deal.

Vodafone Group Chief Executive Vittorio Colao said the deal aims to tap growing German demand for fast broadband and data services.

___

Ousted Men's Wearhouse exec. chairman quits board

NEW YORK (AP) -- Ousted Men's Wearhouse founder George Zimmer has quit the company's board.

Zimmer was fired as the company's executive chairman last week. On Monday he submitted a letter resigning from the board.

Zimmer said in the letter that it's clear from his firing that the board is determined to avoid addressing his growing concerns with recent board decisions and the company's direction.

___

By The Associated Press=

The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 139.84 points, or 0.9 percent, at 14,659.56. The S&P 500 index fell 19.34 points, or 1.2 percent, to 1,573.09. The Nasdaq dropped 36.49 points, or 1.1 percent, to 3,320.76.

Benchmark oil for August delivery rose $1.49 to close at $95.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, which is used to price oil used by many U.S. refineries to make gasoline, rose 25 cents to finish at $101.16 a barrel.

Wholesale gasoline lost 2 cents to end at $2.74 a gallon. Heating oil rose 1 cent to finish at $2.85 per gallon. Natural gas slipped 3 cents to finish at $3.74 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/business-highlights-221928528.html

pi higgs boson reggie bush pope Chris Cline New Pope Jeff Gordon Test Drive