singers katy perry and travis mccoy have ended their relationship! curious as the couple were talking babies last week after seeing pete wentz and ashlee simpson’s baby boy, bronx mowgli. read more on katy perry and travis mccoy’s detach-up below. katy perry 24, and the gym arrange heroes frontman travis mccoy, 27, vacationed together in mexico …

NewsREEL - 2009 Dakar Rally Documentary Canceled

well, it has been a journey - a 2 year journey cladding the 2008 dakar rally cancelation and now the 2009 dakar recovery documentary… cancelation. no filming in the 2009 dakar recovery for this film girl. yup. cancelation. i didn’t see that identical coming. 2 years in a row, some odds! i would like ipod download animation movies movies to wish mark …

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if you’re getting consenting to unshod your mid-section for the summer months or potentially escaping the cold for a short-tempered vacation, getting washboard abs is unquestionably something you would love to take with you. potentially the cap request personal trainer’s hear everywhere is with regards to tightening these muscles. face it, washboard abs not only …

Snowboarder survived 3 nights by eating berries

the 21-year-old snowboarder, who survived three nights of cutting cold on a mountain north of vancouver, returned to the back country full length movie download of mount seymour friday for the first time since his phenomenal rescue on wednesday.
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epic images from nasa’s cassini poke into / be careful what you wish for. repudiate in august 2007, icon magazine included a feature called why design needs a recession / paintings by dane lovett / have you still thrown a volume across a area? and which books? / radio la, a weblog / grevytrain, a weblog / schematic map of uk postcode areas and the united states.thanks to unrealistic journal for the cognizance. it’s pretty rare on the side of architects to maintain weblogs, and it must be even rarer for two out of three key partners in a notable practice to run sites that neatly cross boundaries between architecture and culture and totally dispel the myth that architects are closeted in ivory towers, extremely unaware of things corresponding to instant decorative snow (strange harvest) - an undeniably architectural complain about - and submerged buildings (fantastic journal)the language of things, a instead scathing review of the new deyan sudjic book, which laments the abscence of a ‘theoretical agenda’, stating that the ‘design community’ needs to be ‘as comfortable as the craftsmanship community with the idea of questioning itself’. what theoretical tools are there to be unpacked? it seems to us that the role of make observer has become the defining dispose of the ripen; we throw away design not through use, but through attention. sudjic’s book would seem to confirm this, with its focus on the emerging (and receding?) expendable industry, characterised by selfridge’s mind-boggler flat and countless grotesque objects. abandoned london, photos by ianvisits. detect also the derelict london group, inspired by the website of the unvaried name / saskatchewan ghost towns. you have to jab about a bit to get to the photographs / squashed writers / thanks to slaw for the mention / ruffly, a weblog / liveliness at hok, an specimen of the new breed of corporate blog. the whole buffalo lone is also a ‘corporate’ blog, in that it’s slam into by members of the st luke’s agency in london / the endsheet, a weblog devoted to log design.jonathan beller’s project ‘fans’ is a collection of obsessives. see also james mollison’s gallery of disciples / we have a new project, ‘touring’, ‘the famous automo

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by adding a soul-shortening bacteria to infirmity-carrying mosquitoes, new zealand researchers puissance pull someone’s leg found a clever way to control dengue fever, a developing world spy now becoming clichd in the southern united states.

Thus infected, mosquitoes live long enough to reproduce, ensuring contagion within their own population ? but their lives are too short for the Dengue-causing virus inside them to become fully mature and deadly to humans.

“We’re not trying to eliminate the population, but to let a bacterial symbiont in, and then shift the population,” said University of Queensland bacterial geneticist Scott O’Neill. “There will still be mosquitoes around, but only young ones. It’s a biological control.”

Dengue fever infects between 50 and 100 million people worldwide, causing severe flu-like symptoms and ? in especially severe cases ? a hemorrhagic fever that kills more than 20,000 people each year. Though treatable, the disease cannot be prevented ? but not for lack of trying.

Many Dengue control plans, from pesticides to sterilized mosquitoes, have worked in a laboratory but fallen short in reality. Nevertheless, O’Neill’s bacterial hack has drawn praise from grizzled Dengue control experts, and its promise comes at an opportune time.

Disease burden is greatest in the developing world, but climate change has driven Dengue’s tropical mosquito vectors into previously-inhospitable regions, and incidence is rising in the southern United States and Puerto Rico.

“This isn’t just a problem in Central America and Africa and Southeast Asia. It’s a growing problem as well in the United States,” said Joe Cummins, a University of Western Ontario geneticist who called O’Neill’s technique “simple and elegant.”

Years ago, O’Neill and his colleagues noticed that Wolbachia, a common bacterial parasite in insects, shortened the lives of fruit flies. If it did the same in Dengue-carrying mosquitoes, they reasoned, it would kill them before virus reached maturity. Dengue only affects humans during the last stages of its life cycle.

But repeated efforts to infect mosquitoes with Wolbachia failed until, as described in a paper published Thursday in Science, his team cultured the bacteria in dishes of mosquito cells for three years. The microbes adapted to their new host species’ cellular environment.

O’Neill’s Wolbachia strain now has a taste for mosquitoes. Once infected, the insects live for about a month ? just half their normal lifespan, but long enough to reproduce.

Through a quirk of mosquito physiology, if an uninfected female mates with a Wolbachia-carrying male, she goes sterile. Meanwhile, infected females produce infected offspring, regardless of the male’s disease status.

The mathematical inexorability of this phenomenon will make it difficult for mosquitoes to develop resistance, hopes O’Neill, and will guarantee Wolbachia’s Dengue-crippling spread through entire mosquito populations. All he has to do is inject Wolbachia into a few starter bugs, breed them, and send them into the world.

“It’ll spread the trait out there 100 percent, despite the fitness cost,” he said. “We’re in the sweet spot. All individuals will get the parasite. That’s the key to this whole strategy.”

The Dengue virus itself could also evolve into a more rapidly-maturing form, but O’Neill thinks this unlikely. Only a few mosquitoes now live long enough for Dengue to reach full virulence: selection already favors accelerated development.

“I think we’re being close to up against some genetic constraint, where Dengue virus is going through mosquitoes as fast as it possibly can,” said O’Neill.

Duane Gubler, director of the Asia-Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, said the early results “look very promising.” However, he cautioned that many earlier Dengue control approaches “worked beautifully in the laboratory, but failed miserably when taken to the field. The real test is if they can show that this works in field populations.”

O’Neill, his research funded by the Gates Foundation, next plans on testing the method in large, enclosed cages. That puts his developmental timeline behind another Gates Foundation-supported Dengue control plan, developed by biotechnology company Oxitec.

The company, which is scheduled to begin wild-release trials in Malaysia over the next three years, has developed genetically-engineered male mosquitoes whose offspring die shortly after hatching. However, unless sustained by steady releases of engineered mosq …

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I’m a sucker for those best-of-the-year lists. I can’t help it. I have to unveil my Top 12 albums of the year list. This year was one of the most difficult to narrow down, and while I compiled the list, I axed two worthy bands and added a pair of last-minute replacements.

1. vampire weekend – “vampire weekend” (xl recordings)

One year removed from their day jobs – teaching middle school, music archiving, film scoring, etc. – these four recent Columbia University grads put together the best debut album since Interpol’s 2002 gem “Turn on the Bright Lights.” Fusing African pop with modern-day rock and a tinge of folk, Vampire Weekend offer radiating tracks such as “Oxford Comma,” a number lifted up by the pure essence of keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij, the beats of drummer Chris Tomson, bassist Chris Baio’s rhythms, and singer/guitarist Ezra Koenig’s chiming solo turns this into an instant classic.

2. ra ra riot – “the rhumb line” (barsuk records)

Slightly outdone by their New York college grad counterparts Vampire Weekend, former Syracuse University students Ra Ra Riot have persevered through some tough times. Its drummer/singer John Pike died unexpectedly in 2007 shortly after this band’s self-released EP came to light. This five-piece band continued on, carrying out a dream they knew Pike wanted them to chase. “The Rhumb Line’s” perfectly crafted backdrop allows singer Wesley Miles to paint pictures with words. The delicate bristles of Miles’ voice brilliantly splash this album with a melancholic melody few singers could turn into something so positively effective. Baroque rock, chamber pop: call it what you want, as long as you say it’s one of the best records of the decade.

3. fleet foxes – “fleet foxes” (sub pop)

Packing a strong Pacific Northwest/campfire-feel, Fleet Foxes’ debut is filled with harmonies, well-crafted instrumentation of acoustic guitars, mandolins, and tom drums. They’re all engulfed in a folksy psychedelic atmosphere. Beginning with the deep-rooted tones and the acoustic subtlety of “Sun It Rises,” followed by the gospel-choir sounds of “White Winter Hymnal,” this album sounds like a timeless record from the strong ’60s folk movement collaborative.

4. mgmt – “oracular spectacular” (sony)

Although digitally released in late 2007, this album didn’t hit shelves until early 2008. Given the massive awesomeness of this Brooklyn duo’s space age, synth-driven, electro psychedelic pop, the name of the album says it all. The Bowie-esque “Pieces of What,” the shimmying and harmonic “Electric Feel,” and the sheer fun on “Kids” will keep you dancing ‘til you’re an aging hipster.

5. portishead – “third” (island records)

No other band could take a decade off, return, remain relevant, and create an album that’s an instant gem. “Plastic” is classic Portishead with the echoing vocals, dizzying samples, thunderous blasts, and simple cymbal-snare drum dashes. The trio dabbles into new realms on “Nylon Smile,” adding an almost afro-beat percussion run, and on the semi-psychedelic “Magic Doors.” Still fresh even after all these years.

6. little joviality – “little joy” (rough trade records)

The first time around, I wasn’t feeling it. The second spin of Strokes’ drummer Fabrizio Moretti’s side project, a Brazilian/American rock trio, also featuring Los Hermanos singer and guitarist Rodrigo Amarante and Binki Shapiro, really got me. The two vocalists have completely different styles. Amarante echoes a José González meets Julian Casablancas vibe, while the sultry sounding Shapiro has this Billie Holiday feel with a touch of Blonde Redhead’s Kazu Makino. Then there’s Moretti, who could drum for public transportation panhandlers and make them sound like superstars.

7. los campesinos! – “hold on now, youngster” (wichita/arts and crafts)

Hey! The seven-member band from Cardiff, England, jump up and down all over this record! There’s so much addictive and fun energy on “Hold On Now” (re: “Death to Los Campesinos!”) that it makes you want to run around the neighborhood with old friends, merrily skipping down the street while playing guitars, handing out hi-fives like candy at a parade, and having your girlfriends twirl glockenspiel mallets and sing joyous harmonies all in one.

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8. bon iver -– “for emma, forever ago” (jagjaguwar/4ad)

How many 27-year-olds who go through …

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questions persist here the possibility of a fidel appearance in public and the chances of an economic turnaround inferior to raul …

Rolling Stone’s Top Stories

• is lars ulrich holding up gn’r’s video? • stump, t-pain, costello’s whacking big collaborations • 2008’s biggest stories • ben gibbard, zooey deschanel engaged • new music report: best & worst ideas in rock • news ticker: freddie hubbard, jay-z, bjork • who to be honored tonight on cbs • megapuss and crumb joy together up for video • on the breaking blog: …
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michael wolff attacks rupert murdoch with casual delight in this portrait of the media titan and his quest to buy the wall road journal.

Israel: Preparing for War

on december 27, after tensions increased after the ending of a six-month cease-fire between israel and hamas, israeli defense forces began airstrikes in the gaza stripe. reactions from the israeli blogosphere sooner a be wearing been helpful of the current military vim and preliminary blog posts show that israelis are gearing up for a elongated and difficult conflict …
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kevin laue, a 6-foot-10-inch college basketball prospect from california who was born with a left arm that ended at the elbow, is trying to get noticed for another reason.

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LIONS PLAN TO PARTY, WIN OR LOSE?

with account infallible to be made on sunday, either if the lions bested at unskilful bay and tackle to 0-16 or if the packers stumble at lambeau and spark riot conditions in wisconsin, the lions are viewing sunday’s game as their own personal super move. and detroit cornerback travis fisher has made an unusual promise that …
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If the lawyers at 20th Century Fox really wanted to kill Watchmen when they filed a copyright claim against the Warner Bros. production, they got the perfect ammunition as a Christmas gift Wednesday from a federal judge in Los Angeles.

The New York Times is reporting that U.S. District Court Judge Gary A. Feess will soon rule in favor of Fox — granting the studio a copyright claim to the movie franchise, which had been in development at several Hollywood studios over the years before Warner Bros. finally got the job done with director Zack Snyder.

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archaeologizing watchmen: an assessment with dave gibbons

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“Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the Watchmen motion picture,” said the five-page ruling issued Wednesday by Feess.

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That’s coal in the stocking of any Watchmen fan who was looking forward to seeing this film premiere in March — if ever. Snyder’s live-action film has been heavily promoted by Warner Bros. and is one of 2009’s most highly anticipated releases, as comics fans yearn to see writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons’ brainy comic book series brought to the big screen.

More details will emerge when the judge publishes his ruling after the Christmas holiday, but Feess urged the two sides to work toward a settlement rather than suiting up for a courtroom battle.

“The parties may wish to turn their efforts from preparing for trial to negotiating a resolution of this dispute or positioning the case for review,” he said in the ruling.

“Such a ruling could screw up Warner Bros.’ plans to release the pic as soon as March,” writes Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood Daily. “Unless, of course, Fox is just looking for a single payout or share in the proceeds.”

Image courtesy DC Comics (Warner Bros.?)

See also:

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Market Summary December 24, 2008

1. SLCAPEX Market Volume: 410,065 Most Active: PHX(SLCAPEX)2. ACE Market Volume: 81,870 Most Active: ESN(ACE)3. ISE Market Volume: 35,190 Most Active: JAM(ISE)4. VSTEX Market Volume: 9,901 Most Active: TDJ(VSTEX)Major Indexes (at December 24th Market Open)MIF 1.232563 (+0.007166%) DEC24: 0.008832 (+4.8%) [MIF]VSTEX 259.42 (-3.7%) [VSTEX]ISE 41.20 (-3.8%) [Luminos]SLCAPEX 26.16 (-4.2%) [Luminos]ACE 65.41 (-12.9%) [Luminos]

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