Sea lion boogies down, overturns theory (+video)

Ronan, a California sea lion with a knack for keeping a beat, challenges theories about the nature of rhythmic ability.?

By Eoin O'Carroll,?Staff / April 3, 2013

One of our resident sea lions, Ronan, is the first non-human mammal shown able to find and keep the beat with musical stimuli. This challenges earlier evidence from humans and parrots suggesting that complex vocal mimicry is a necessary precondition for flexible rhythmic entrainment.

If you're like most people, the last time you threw a dance party you invited only humans, cockatoos, parrots, and parakeets.?

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Which makes perfect sense, because the only animals capable of keeping a beat, as far as anyone knew, were mimicking birds and (some) humans.

But new research suggests that for your next interspecies soir?e, you might need to fill a kiddie pool and stock your fridge with herring, because it turns out that sea lions may also show a sense of rhythm.?

Researchers at the Pinniped Cognition & Sensory Systems Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz's Long Marine Laboratory, trained Ronan, a 4-year-old California sea lion, to bob her head in time with music. It is the first time a nonhuman mammal has been observed keeping a beat.

Before Ronan danced her way onto the scene, animal behaviorists were beginning to agree that keeping a beat ? "rhythmic entrainment" in science-speak ? was in some way a byproduct of neural adaptations that allow vocal mimicry. Inspired by popular YouTube videos of Snowball, a sulfur-crested cockatoo getting down to the Backstreet Boys' "Everybody" and Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust," researchers conducted an extensive search of the video database to find that every example of beat keeping, as far as they could tell, was done either by mimicking birds or humans. (It's mostly humans, actually. And most aren't very good.) ?

But Ronan changes all that. "The idea was that beat keeping is a fortuitous side effect of adaptations for vocal mimicry, which requires matching incoming auditory signals with outgoing vocal behavior," said lead researcher Peter Cook, in a university press release.

"It's understandable why that theory was attractive. But the fact is our sea lion has gotten really good at keeping the beat. Our finding represents a cautionary note for an idea that was really starting to take hold in the field of comparative psychology."

Now Ronan has a viral video of her own. Watch as she grooves to Earth, Wind & Fire's 1979 hit, "Boogie Wonderland," and then, later in the video, the Backstreet Boys' 1997 song, "Everybody." The researchers also trained Ronan to bob her head to Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Down on the Corner."?

Ronan, notes Mr. Cook in the press release, actually stays on the beat better than birds who have been trained to do so. And he suspects that brain structures for keeping a beat might be widespread throughout the animal kingdom.?

"Human musical ability may in fact have foundations that are shared with animals," Cook said. "People have assumed that animals lack these abilities. In some cases, people just hadn't looked."

Exactly what those brain structures are, however, is still anybody's guess. The paper says that Ronan's behavior is consistent with "some sort of neural oscillation mechanism with a preferred endogenous rate being driven by an external rhythm."?

If that's the case, and if these mechanisms are present in humans as well, then Cook and his team may have helped figure out what, in the most literal sense, makes us tick. ?

The research appears in the current issue of the American Psychological Association's Journal of Comparative Psychology. ?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/_NqMZebYjUc/Sea-lion-boogies-down-overturns-theory-video

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Firefox 20 Launches With Improved Private Browsing, New Download Manager And More WebRTC And HTML5 Features

Firefox 20 is now available for download. The emphasis of today’s release is on Firefox’s?private browsing mode, which now allows Firefox desktop users to open a private browsing session without the need to shut down the whole browser, while Firefox for Android users can use per-tab private browsing. Also new in this version is a download manager for the desktop, the ability to customize the shortcuts on the home screen with your favorite sites and support for additional HTML5 and WebRTC features. The new version of Firefox for Android now also supports more devices that use less powerful ARMv6 processors, including the Samsung Galaxy Next, Dart, Pop and Q, as well as the HTC Aria and Legend. The new porn per-tab private browsing mode, Mozilla writes in today’s announcement, lets you “shop for a birthday gift in a private window with your existing browsing session uninterrupted. You can also use a private browsing window to check multiple email accounts simultaneously.” The feature that users will probably notice first, however, is the new download experience. Here is what it looks like: For developers, this new version introduces support for WebRTC’s getUserMedia call, which allows developers to access a user’s camera or microphone (with permission, of course). Firefox 20 also now supports blend modes?for the <canvas> element and a number of <audio> and <video> improvements.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/BACq-WxggIc/

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Egypt says it's committed to freedom of expression

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's Islamist government is "strongly committed" to freedom of expression, a presidential spokesman insisted Wednesday, distancing the administration from legal proceedings against a popular comedian.

The London-based Amnesty International, however, warned in a statement of an "alarming new escalation of politically-motivated judicial harassment and arrests" in Egypt.

Presidential spokesman Omar Amer said, "The presidency did not submit any complaints" to the prosecutor's office.

The case of the comedian, questioned this week over accusations he insulted the president and Islam on his weekly TV show, has set off a wave of criticism from as far away as Washington.

Amer said President Mohammed Morsi's office was not involved in the investigation.

"Freedom of expression is guaranteed by the constitution, and there is a strong commitment toward it and there will be no deviation from that," he said.

Amer's comments echoed a statement issued by Morsi's office late Tuesday. It said it recognizes the "importance of freedom of expression and fully respects press freedom."

The complaints against satirist Bassem Youssef, the statement pointed out, were filed by "citizens." Youssef was released on bail after questioning.

Youssef's interrogation, as well as arrest warrants against five anti-government activists on charges of inciting unrest, have prompted Morsi's opponents to warn of a campaign to intimidate critics.

A guest comedian who appeared on Youssef's show, "El-Bernameg" Arabic for "The Program," was also questioned Wednesday about jokes he made in a recent episode where he mocked people who built mosques just to evade real estate taxes, and who shouted out their religiosity. Ali Qandil was called up in connection to Youssef's case, and he was released on bail pending investigation, said lawyer Ahmed Ezzat, who attended the interrogation.

Ezzat said in a separate case, blogger Ahmed Anwar from the Delta province of Gharbiya was sent to trial next month on charges of insulting the police. The charges against Anwar stems from a video he created and posted online showing police officers dancing, and mocking official ceremonies honoring police officers.

Anwar's satirical video is a criticism of the impunity enjoyed by the police force, whose reform was one of the main demands of the uprising that forced former leader Hosni Mubarak to step down in 2011. Activists and rights groups say police abuse continue after the uprising.

Ezzat said Anwar's trial begins in May where he could face up to three years on charges of insulting a public office, and misusing social media.

In its statement, Amnesty said the crackdown on freedom of expression have affected 33 people in the last two weeks.

The group charged that some of those facing trials have been targeted for their criticism of the Morsi government, including prominent blogger Alaa Abdel-Fattah and his sister Mona Seif, who advocate for the rights of protesters and detained activists. Both are facing trial in May for charges of burning the office of former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq.

Those who were affected by the recent charges also include politician and lawyer Hamdi el-Fakharany, who was arrested on March 26 and is facing charges of inciting violence. He was released after paying a hefty bail of more than $7,000.

Amnesty said el-Fakarany's complaints that he was beaten by pro-Morsi supporters in earlier protests were not investigated.

Some 13 people detained last week in Alexandria, including lawyers, and accused of insulting police officials, and attempting to break into a police station. They have since been released but investigations continue.

"We are seeing arrests and charges for literally nothing more than cracking a few jokes. This is a truly alarming sign of the government's increasing intolerance of any criticism whatsoever," said Ann Harrison, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa. "The government is seriously redoubling its efforts to stamp out freedom of expression."

The deputy chief prosecutor, Hassan Yassin, did not respond to a call seeking comment.

The Obama administration has expressed concern that Egypt may be backsliding in its transition to democracy. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that Washington has "real concerns about the direction Egypt appears to be moving in," adding that Egypt is at a "tipping point."

Amer denied that there was tension between Egypt and the United States.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-says-committed-freedom-expression-150548201.html

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Protein abundant in cancerous cells causes DNA 'supercoiling'

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

A team of USC scientists has identified a protein that can change DNA topology, making DNA twist up into a so-called "supercoil."

The finding provides new insight about the role of the protein?known as mini-chromosome maintenance (MCM)?in cancer cells, which have high levels of MCM.

Think about twisting one end of a rubber band while holding the other end still. After a few turns, it forms a neatly twisted rope. But if you keep on turning, the twisted band will twist back upon itself into an increasingly coiled-up knot. Similarly, a DNA molecule can be twisted and coiled to varying extents to form different "supercoiled" structures.

Chromosomal DNA forms different supercoiled structures to enable a number of important processes. It turns on or off some genes, while tuning up or down other genes. The study suggests that an overabundance of MCM in a cell may allow certain genes to be overexpressed, and tune down or turn off other important genes, causing the cell to grow out of control and become cancerous.

Chromosomal DNA structure is very important for regulating gene expression of a cell, and thus the physiological status of the cell. Changing DNA topology is one effective way of controlling chromosomal DNA structure. The discovery of MCM's ability to change DNA topology offers a totally new perspective to MCM's role in gene regulation and cancer," said Xiaojiang Chen, professor of molecular biology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and corresponding author of the study.

Chen worked with fellow USC professor Susan Forsburg and USC graduate students Ian M. Slaymaker, Yang Fu and Nimna Ranatunga; as well as Daniel B. Toso and Z. Hong Zhou of UCLA and Aaron Brewster of UC Berkeley. Their study was published online by Nucleic Acids Research on Jan. 29.

Chen and his team found that MCM proteins form a filament that looks much like a wide tube, through which the DNA strand spirals its way along the inner tube wall. Inside of the tube is a wide spiral path that has a strong positive electrical charge.

"Such a striking feature is unusual," said Chen. Who is also a member of the USC Norris Cancer Center. "When you see that, you know it must have a special function." Indeed, it turns out that the positively charged spiral path attracts and binds to the DNA strand, which has a negatively charged phosphate backbone.

Holding the DNA tightly to the spiral path inside the helical filament tube causes the DNA double-helix to change structure, creating supercoils. Future research by the team will explore how the DNA topology changes caused by MCM impacts cancer cell formation as well as its utility in cancer therapy.

###

University of Southern California: http://www.usc.edu

Thanks to University of Southern California 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/127246/Protein_abundant_in_cancerous_cells_causes_DNA__supercoiling_

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Kerry takes case on Syria to Europe, Mideast

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Secretary of State John Kerry is embarking on his first official overseas voyage, bringing new ideas to capitals in Europe and the Middle East on how to end nearly two years of brutal violence in Syria.

Kerry leaves Washington on Sunday on a grueling nine-nation, 10-day trip that will bring him to America's traditional western European allies of Britain, Germany, France and Italy along with Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. In addition to Syria, he will focus on conflicts in Mali and Afghanistan and Iran's nuclear program.

Kerry has said he is eager to discuss new ways of convincing Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down and usher in a democratic transition in the country that has been wracked by increasing violence that has killed at least 70,000 people. He has not offered details of his ideas but officials say they revolve around increasing pressure on Assad and his inner circle.

Kerry begins his trip in London where he will see senior British officials on a range of issues, from Afghanistan to the status of the Falkland Islands, over which Britain is in a major dispute with Argentina.

He then travels to Germany to discuss trans-Atlantic issues with German youth in Berlin, where he spent time as a child as the son of an American diplomat posted to the divided Cold War city. He will also meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the German capital.

In Paris, Kerry will discuss France's ongoing intervention in Mali. And in Rome, he'll attend a meeting with Syrian opposition leaders.

U.S. officials have said the trip will be primarily a "listening tour" when it comes to Syria and won't result in immediate shifts in U.S. policy that has until now stayed clear of military support for the rebels fighting Assad.

Despite the numerous Middle East stops. Kerry will not travel to Israel or the Palestinian territories. He will wait to visit them when he accompanies President Barack Obama there in March.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-takes-case-syria-europe-mideast-081440189.html

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Boehner Challenges Senate to Enact Obama's SOTU Agenda

While the majority of congressional Republicans oppose most of the policies President Obama outlined during his State of the Union address Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner deflected attention away from Republican resistance, challenging Senate Democrats to prove there is support for the president's proposals.

"The president laid out his agenda and it's one I largely disagreed with," Boehner, R-Ohio, said. "It was largely more of the same: more tax hikes, more stimulus spending and the president likes to attack Congress. But if he's serious about enacting his agenda, I think it must start with a part of this Congress that his party controls, the United States Senate."

Boehner questioned whether there is sufficient support in the Senate for the president's proposals for a national cap-and-trade energy tax, more stimulus spending or new tax increases.

"What can he get passed in the United States Senate?" Boehner asked. "This isn't the agenda that many Americans are looking for, and I think many in the president's own party won't support those ideas."

Senate Democrats are expected later today to introduce their plan to offset the looming sequester cuts for the rest of the year. That proposal is expected to replace the across-the-board cuts with a concoction of alternative savings derived from agriculture subsidies and defense spending, in addition to new tax increases.

Boehner met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this morning in the Capitol, but he didn't reveal much of the discussion.

"When the Senate passes a plan, we'll be happy to take a look at it," Boehner said. "Until they pass a plan, there's no reason for me to comment on what they're going to do or not do."

Boehner once again emphasized that Republicans passed legislation to replace the sequester on two occasions in the 112 th Congress, and that he personally prefers to avert the ominous cuts that will remain in place until lawmakers approve a package of savings that addresses the growing national deficit.

"The sequester will be in effect until there are cuts and reforms that put us on a path to balance the budget over the next 10 years," Boehner said. "Period."

While the president called on Congress to fix the country's crumbling infrastructure, Boehner said he is "committed to working to find a funding source so we can begin to repair America's aging infrastructure," but leaders are struggling to identify a way to pay for it.

"The problems we have are chiefly one of resources, and it's still trying to find a funding source to repair the nation's infrastructure is still a big goal of mine," he said. "The president talked about infrastructure but he didn't talk about how to pay for it, and it's easy to go out there and be Santa Clause and talk about all of the things you want to give away but at some point somebody's got to pay the bill."

Boehner also said he doubted Obama's ability to take executive action on climate control, an issue the president highlighted during his address Tuesday night.

"I don't know what actions the president thinks he can take," Boehner said. "I don't think he has the ability to impose a national energy tax on Americans without the authority of Congress. So he may attempt to do this, but I'm not sure how much he can really do."

Asked whether the House will wait for the Senate to act on immigration overhaul before the House considers legislation, Boehner said no decision has been made and there are still "a lot of issues that we have to deal with" that are preventing negotiators from striking an agreement.

"I've done everything I can to try to encourage those bipartisan conversations to continue," he said. "Our border is not secure [and] the ability of our government to enforce the law has its share of problems as well.

"I want my colleagues to continue to work together to see if they can't come to a solution that's acceptable here in the House," he added.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boehner-challenges-senate-enact-obamas-sotu-agenda-175823651--abc-news-politics.html

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Irish debt deal offers little to forgotten generation

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Source: http://www.forexfactory.com/news.php?do=news&id=410283

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