Monthly Archives: July 2012

Repealing, Not Replacing, Health Law Tops Republican Plan

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By Roxana Tiron and James Rowley - 2012-07-11T04:01:00Z

U.S. House Republicans, united in opposition to President Barack Obamas health care overhaul, used to pledge to repeal and replace it.

Now, as they prepare to vote as soon as today to kill the law they call Obamacare -- their 33rd effort to undo all or parts of it -- Republican leaders have dropped the word replace from their promise.

The omission is the result of an election-year calculation: They figure they stand to gain from public distaste for the 2010 measures central provision, the requirement that most Americans buy health insurance, and will lose if they start providing details about what they would do instead.

They dont care to replace it, Ross Baker, a professor of American politics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, said in a telephone interview. They want to revert to the status quo. Whatever plan they have is going to end up alienating somebody, especially during a presidential campaign.

Renewing the debate over how to provide wider coverage while containing health costs would divert attention from the stagnant economy, which Republicans say is their winning issue. Also, it runs the risk of emphasizing a patchwork of Republican proposals that wouldnt provide universal protection or retain such popular features of the 2010 law as requiring insurance policies to cover pre-existing conditions.

The best legislative approach is step by step while going after the problems that we can solve, Representative Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, said in an interview. House Republicans havent scheduled further votes or hearings on health care proposals.

Achieving universal coverage is going to be very difficult, Cole said. Even so, you do it more through incentives than you do through penalties and this bill is full of penalties and not incentives.

The House wont pursue legislation before the November election because the big thing is going to be the election, Representative Wally Herger, a California Republican who leads the health subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee, said in an interview. Everybody is looking to the election, everything is second fiddle to November.

Unless Republicans win the presidency and control the Senate majority next session, their attempts to repeal the law will go no further than the House.

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Repealing, Not Replacing, Health Law Tops Republican Plan

Africa: World Needs 3.5 Million Health Workers

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The world needs more doctors, nurses and other health care workers - 3.5 million of them, to be exact.

The poor state of human resources in the health care system came under the spotlight at a session at the People's Health Assembly, a five-day international meeting currently underway at the University of the Western Cape campus in Bellville.

"Human resources are at the heart of a good health system," said Bridget Lloyd from the People's Health Movement (PHM), who chaired the meeting. "But in Africa we face great challenges with human resources in the health sector."

One of the greatest issues is doctors and nurses trained in Africa being lured to Europe and the UK that offer better pay and working conditions. "African doctors are 'stolen' by countries in the global north," said Thomas Schwarz from Members of Medicus Mundi (MMI). "And that makes it a political issue that needs a political solution."

He explained that the World Health Organisation developed a code of conduct on the international recruitment of health personnel, which was adopted by member states at the 63rd World Health Assembly in 2010. However, the code, which serves as an ethical framework in the recruitment of health workers, is largely being ignored by the global community who continues to recruit health care staff from low-resource countries. "The code is nothing more than a piece of paper," said Schwarz.

Dr Uta Lehmann from the University of the Western Cape's School of Public Health highlighted other human resource challenges plaguing the health care systems of South Africa and other developing countries.

The first, and probably also the greatest challenge is the lack of trained health care staff. The limited available human resources are also not equally distributed between metropolitan and rural and areas, with a higher concentration of staff in and around cities, but very few staff serving rural communities.

Adding to that, many South African doctors also choose to work in the private sector where they earn more money and work under better circumstances than doctors serving the public sector.

Other major challenges Lehmann highlighted were poor management and leadership in the health sector - which often leads to misappropriation of funds, medicine stock outs, and generally poor working conditions for staff - and insufficient training of health care workers.

Copyright 2012 Health-e. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

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Africa: World Needs 3.5 Million Health Workers

Buying Gold and Futurist Ray Kurzweil on Melding of Man and Machine

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Watch Video Author, inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil has been a key voice in our occasional series on the future of technology. The latest installment on the advent of immortality debuted here on Making Sen$e July 9 . As with economist Paul Krugman , our extended interview with Kurzweil included many fascinating bits that didn't make the final cut. So we continue Tuesday with one of them -- a ...

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Buying Gold and Futurist Ray Kurzweil on Melding of Man and Machine

Grieving for Freedom

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Grieving for Freedom By Van Irion | Founder Liberty Legal Foundation

Whether you realize it or not, all freedom-loving people are grieving our lost freedom this Independence Day. Psychologists teach that the first reaction to devastating loss is denial. When we lose something that we love, our minds initially deny the event in order to survive the shock. After denial comes bargaining, anger, depression, and finally acceptance. Each stage of grief allows our minds to absorb the new reality and grieve the loss of something cherished.

Last weeks devastating Supreme Court rulings have caused various reactions. Many insist upon explaining Roberts ruling as political genius. Some search for a silver lining in the ruling. Others focus on the upcoming election. All of these reactions reflect the first two stages of grief. Most Americans are still in denial or are attempting to bargain-away the shocking loss of freedom inflicted by those that were supposed to defend our freedom.

Some of us have already moved on to anger. Please join us. Anger is a gift.

Unlike people, freedom can be restored. No matter how much freedom is taken away, it can always be taken back. But it will not be given. Those that enslave do not give back freedom willingly. We must fight them for it. So, anger is a useful emotion when grieving for freedom. Anger will motivate us to act.

Stop denying our loss of freedom by imagining genius in Justice Roberts treasonous act. Killing constitutional principals in the name of short-term political payback is not genius. Its an insult to every man or woman that ever died defending freedom.

Stop claiming that Roberts ruling is a victory because it created a limit on the commerce clause. The commerce clause is no more limited than it was before the ruling. Prior to Obamacare no one would have imagined that the commerce clause could possibly justify regulation of lack-of-commerce. Last weeks ruling simply confirmed what we already knew. But it left the commerce clause exactly where it has been since Wickard v. Filburn. In fact, the ruling explicitly acknowledged that the rule from Wickard is still the accepted commerce clause rule. This is the rule that got us to where we are today. Why is anyone celebrating this? The answer is: DENIAL.

Not only did the ruling fail to limit the commerce clause, it opened up a completely new clause for Congressional abuse of authority. Before last week Congress could not do anything through the tax and spend clause that it wasnt authorized to do by some other clause. The tax and spend clause was a means to do what Congress already had authority to do. Now Congress can regulate anything, as long as it forces us to comply by taxing non-compliance. Any way you cut it, now matters are worse. Those that argue otherwise are in denial.

Stop arguing that this ruling will cause Congress to repeal Obamacare or will help get Romney elected. This is another form of denial. Even if Romney wins and Obamacare is repealed, do you really believe that a single political victory justifies the loss of a two-century old systemic protection of freedom against all governmental intrusions? The Constitution was supposed to prevent any Congress from enacting any legislation that violates fundamental freedoms. Do you believe that defeating Obamacare, or Obama himself makes up for losing constitutionally protected freedom for all time? What happens when another Congress passes a law denying our freedom and enforces it by imposing a punitive tax? Will your grandchildren say, Well, thats OK because grandma and grandpa defeated Obamacare? The Constitution should have defeated Obamacare without an election. The Constitution should have been left to defeat any other freedom-destroying legislation that Obama or any other President passed. One bad President should not have the power to destroy freedom. Obama has that power now only because the Constitution has been destroyed by the Supreme Court. If we must now depend upon winning every single election in order to keep our freedom, then freedom has no chance of surviving for our grandchildren. Stop denying the devastating nature of this loss by claiming that it will result in some short term political gains.

Stop claiming that someone threatened or blackmailed Roberts. This, too, is a form of denial. Those of you that offer this excuse would rather believe that evil forces beyond anyones control are responsible for our loss, rather than acknowledging the failure of our system of government. Even if Roberts was threatened or blackmailed, so what! Hundreds of thousands of men have died horrible deaths to defend freedom. If you were in Roberts shoes and someone threatened you, would you be a coward and destroy the freedom earned by the blood of countless deaths, simply to protect yourself?! Even if a gun was literally to his head, Roberts has no excuse. Men in high office have a higher duty to defend our freedom than men in trenches, not a lower duty. Stop making excuses.

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Grieving for Freedom

Rhonda Britten: Fearlessly Claim Your Freedom!

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Last week, we celebrated America's gaining her freedom from tyranny 236 years ago. It was a hard fight, a battle of wills, to win -- to claim -- our freedom. The good news: We did it.

When you do something once, it can be done again. The experience changes your genes, your cells. It changes what's possible for everyone. It can become the norm.

Think of the 4-minute mile. Until Roger Bannister did it, it was unheard of. Considered impossible. The second Roger did it, others followed suit. Loads of others. Running the 4-minute mile is considered the norm for elite runners.

Think of the last few years and all the nations seeking their own freedom. Once you get a taste of it, you want more. You want it to be your norm.

Freedom: Free to be true to your own destiny, your own inner guidance, your own truth. Free to be who you are meant to be.

Two hundred and thirty-six years ago, our forefathers had to put it all on the line. Had to put their quest for freedom above all else. It took years. It was harder than they thought. And they didn't care for each other most of the time. But each of our forefathers -- George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, to name a few -- were all going in the same direction. They wanted freedom. Independence. The chance to choose how to live.

And they knew that if they didn't claim their freedom, somebody else would decide how they would live. They had to claim it and act on it if they would ever truly experience the freedom they sought.

How did they do it? They had to stay focused. Get past their differences. Go for a common goal. They had to decide that their commitment was worth facing their fear. They had to practice being fearless (even when they didn't feel fearless).

And that's what it takes for anyone to have the freedom they seek: commitment, focus and, most important, support.

You need commitment so you have the courage to face whatever feeling, thought, person, situation is between you and your goal.

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Rhonda Britten: Fearlessly Claim Your Freedom!

Holiday Systems International Nominated for the Department of Defense Freedom Award and Recipient of the Patriotic …

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LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwire -07/11/12)- Holiday Systems International was one of a handful of Southern Nevada employers that were nominated for the Department of Defense Freedom Award. According to an article in The Las Vegas Sun, sixteen local employers received a nomination for providing exceptional employer support to members of the National Guard or Reserve military. Additionally, Holiday Systems International was the recipient of the Patriotic Employer Award recognizing their track record for "Contribution to National Security and Protecting Liberty and Freedom by Supporting Employee Participation in America's National Guard and Reserve Force."

Craig Morganson, CEO of Holiday Systems International, stated, "We are very proud to be nominated for the Freedom Award and to have received the prestigious Patriotic Employer Award. We appreciate, respect and honor what the men and women in our military risk for our great nation. We are proud to be a 'Military-Friendly Employer.'"

The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award is the highest recognition given by the U.S. Government to employers. The Patriotic Employer Award is given to employers who demonstrate exceptional support for their Guard and Reserve employees. These awards were created to publicly recognize employers that implement employment policies and practices that are supportive of their employees' participation in the National Guard and Reserve.

For additional information on the Las Vegas Sun, visit http://www.lasvegassun.com.

For additional information on the Freedom and Patriot Awards, visit the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve website.

For additional information on Holiday Systems International, visit sales.holidaysystems.com.

About Holiday Systems International (HSI)

HSI was founded in 1993 by still President and CEO, Craig Morganson. Mr. Craig Morganson is a leader in the travel & tourism industry and manages HSI with a firm commitment to consumer value and customer service. HSI has a long history of providing sophisticated technology, exclusive products/services and generous value to its private clientele.

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Holiday Systems International Nominated for the Department of Defense Freedom Award and Recipient of the Patriotic ...

FREEDOM TOWNSHIP: Residents to elect leadership in Freedom Township

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Freedom Township residents will head to the polls this year to decide who will represent them on the township's board of trustees.

One seat as supervisor is open, with one candidate running this year. Clerk is another single seat with one candidate. Treasurer has two candidates with one seat, and there are two candidates vying for the two trustee seats.

Heritage Media sent out questionnaires to each of the Freedom Township candidates, and following are their responses.

Heritage Media will be publishing detailed information on every candidate running in the Aug. 7 Primary Election ballot in the weeks leading up to the election.

Kenny E Siler

Office sought: Freedom Township Treasurer

Political affiliation: Republican

Residence: 13175 E Pleasant Lake Rd.

Occupation: Farmer, Retired Automotive Engineer

Education: BSME Texas A&M, MSME Purdue University Continued...

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FREEDOM TOWNSHIP: Residents to elect leadership in Freedom Township

Asteroid named for gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny

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WASHINGTON (AP) - A Canadian amateur astronomer has named an asteroid he discovered after U.S. gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny, who died last year in Washington.

Kameny, who earned a doctorate in astronomy at Harvard University, was an astronomer with the U.S. Army Map Service in the 1950s but was fired from his job for being gay. He contested the firing all the way to the Supreme Court and later organized the first gay rights protests outside the White House, the Pentagon and in Philadelphia in the 1960s.

Kameny died last year at age 86.

When astronomer Gary Billings read Kamenys obituary, he consulted with others in the astronomy world. They decided to submit a citation to the Paris-based International Astronomical Union and the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass., seeking to designate Minor Planet 40463 as Frankkameny.

Its located in the asteroid belt, orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. The Kameny asteroid is visible through a telescope and was first discovered in 1999 using long-exposure photography.

Frank would show up as a little dot that moves between two points, Richard Doc Kinne, an astronomical technologist at the American Association of Variable Star Observers in Cambridge, Mass., said in an interview. He helped write the citation that would lead to the naming.

While comets are often named for their discoverers, those who discover asteroids have 10 years to suggest a name once the discovery is verified. The submission is subject to review by a 15-member international panel, said astronomy historian David DeVorkin at the National Air and Space Museum. Astronomers often use the names as an acknowledgement of someones contributions to science or culture.

A published citation officially naming the asteroid on July 3 notes Kamenys history as a gay rights pioneer.

Frank E. Kameny (1925-2011) trained as a variable star astronomer in the 1950s, but joined the Civil Rights struggle. His contributions included removing homosexuality from being termed a mental disorder in 1973 and shepherding passage of the District of Columbia marriage equality law in 2009, the citation reads in the Minor Planet Circular.

Kinne said he and Billings wanted to honor Kameny for his legacy, even though he was pushed out of the astronomy field.

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Asteroid named for gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny

Takeover spree sweeps aerospace and defence sector

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10 July 2012 Last updated at 19:02 ET By Jorn Madslien Business reporter, BBC News, Farnborough airshow

Specialist rivets, electromechanical actuators, hydraulic manifolds and snake-arm robots that have been designed to be used in confined spaces.

The aerospace and defence industry is, perhaps more than any other industry, truly a sum of its parts.

Indeed, even the thousands of individual components that make up a fighter jet engine, an unmanned aerial vehicle or an aeroplane wing are so complex that they too are sums of their parts.

Dice it and slice it enough times and you will eventually find that there are thousands and thousands of parts suppliers.

Each and every one of them is contributing to the manufacture of the metal that is displayed in aerial acrobatics, or to the planes or engines or missiles sold in the many multi-billion dollar deals announced this week.

"It is like a pyramid," says a US investment banker at the Farnborough airshow.

The pyramid's pinnacle is made up of big players, such as aeroplane makers Airbus and Boeing, engine makers such as GE and Rolls-Royce and defence firms including Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, to name but a few.

Each of them have trading relationships with a vast number of so-called tier two and tier three suppliers, who in turn rely both on the big players and on each other.

Most of them are here this week, milling around in a vast exhibition hall, establishing contacts, pushing their wares.

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Takeover spree sweeps aerospace and defence sector

PPG Aerospace Awarded Citation Latitude Cockpit Window Contract by Cessna

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

PPG Industries aerospace transparencies group has been awarded a contract by Cessna Aircraft Company to supply production and spare windshields and side cockpit windows for the new Citation Latitude mid-size business jet.

PPG Aerospace is pleased to be able to continue our relationship with Cessna and excited by the opportunity to work on this innovative aircraft, said Arthur Scott, PPG global director for general-aviation transparencies products. Because of the width of the cockpit on the Citation Latitude, these will be the largest transparencies PPG supplies to Cessna. We appreciate the confidence Cessna has shown in PPGs ability to meet the associated technical challenges.

PPG will design and manufacture main windshields and side cockpit windows for the Citation Latitude jet at its Huntsville, Ala., transparencies facility. The heated windshields and side cockpit windows will be made of HERCULITE(R) II chemically strengthened glass by PPG to be strong and lightweight. They will be designed to resist impact by a 4-pound bird at 305 knots. The main windshields will have SURFACE SEAL(R) coating for water shedding without the need for wipers as well as an antistatic coating.

According to Cessna, first flight of the Citation Latitude prototype is expected to be mid-2014, with Federal Aviation Administration certification (Part 25) and entry into service expected in 2015.

PPG Aerospace is the aerospace products and services business of PPG Industries. PPG Aerospace Transparencies is the worlds largest supplier of aircraft windshields, windows and canopies. PPG Aerospace PRC-DeSoto is the leading global producer and distributor of aerospace coatings, sealants, and packaging and application systems.

PPG: BRINGING INNOVATION TO THE SURFACE.(TM) PPG Industries vision is to continue to be the worlds leading coatings and specialty products company. Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and color, PPG helps customers in industrial, transportation, consumer products, and construction markets and aftermarkets to enhance more surfaces in more ways than does any other company. Founded in 1883, PPG has global headquarters in Pittsburgh and operates in more than 60 countries around the world. Sales in 2011 were $14.9 billion. For more information, visit http://www.ppg.com.

Bringing innovation to the surface is a trademark and Herculite and Surface Seal are registered trademarks of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.

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PPG Aerospace Awarded Citation Latitude Cockpit Window Contract by Cessna

Practical Nutrition: Lycopene makes tomatoes a good pick

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By: MARY-JO SAWYER | SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Published: July 11, 2012 Updated: July 11, 2012 - 12:00 AM

When I moved to Richmond in the early 1980s, I had never heard of a Hanover tomato. Certainly we ate tomatoes in southwestern Virginia, but I had never witnessed such a fascination with this beautiful red fruit.

Botanically a tomato is a fruit. But it's closer nutritionally to a vegetable and most of us prefer to use them as vegetables in savory dishes. Whatever you call tomatoes, enjoy them because of their nutrients.

Tomatoes are low in calories and a good source of vitamins A and C. One medium tomato has 25 calories, 1 gram protein, no fat, 5 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 20 milligrams sodium and 20 milligrams calcium. They're also a good source of the antioxidant lycopene.

Lycopene helps protect our cells from damage that can possibly lead to premature aging, heart disease and cancer.

Some studies show that consuming diets high in lycopene, and fruits and vegetables, can help prevent prostate, lung, bladder, cervical, skin and stomach cancers. It also might reduce the risk for heart disease and macular degeneration.

Lycopene provides the reddish colors of some foods. Tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon and guava are the best sources.

Tomatoes have the highest concentration of lycopene, but it is absorbed better from cooked tomatoes, as in tomato sauce, rather than raw ones. Lycopene is fat-soluble, so add a bit of oil to the recipe to increase absorption.

While we have to make do with greenhouse tomatoes in the winter, locally grown vine-ripened tomatoes taste the best.

When selecting tomatoes, look for those that are firm and shiny. Size and shape vary, but they should have smooth skins without any cracks, blemishes or bruises. Colors range from red or reddish-orange to yellow or pink. Smell the tomato at the stem. It's a good tomato if it has a garden-fresh aroma.

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Practical Nutrition: Lycopene makes tomatoes a good pick

Quality and Safety of Mead Johnson Products Affirmed by Chinese Authorities

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GLENVIEW, Ill. & GUANGZHOU, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) confirmed that the Hunan Provincial Credit Construction Promotion Council has issued an apology for erroneous reports based on invalid testing related to the presence of Vanillin in infant formula products. The quality and safety of Mead Johnsons products and the regulatory compliance of its infant formula manufacturing processes were separately confirmed by the local office of the China AQSIQ (General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine).

We have an unwavering commitment to the integrity of Mead Johnson products, and are pleased that their quality and safety have been confirmed by the Chinese authorities and that the erroneous reports have been refuted, stated Matthew Chapple, Senior Vice President and General Manager China. Not only do our products comply with all Chinese laws and regulations, but they also meet or exceed all international standards such as those defined by CODEX as well as our own rigorous global standards. Samples of all of our infant formula products undergo hundreds of safety checks and quality tests before we ship them to market.

It is important to emphasize that all Mead Johnson products continue to be safe and parents can use them with confidence, as they have for generations, added Mr. Chapple. We highly value the trust we have earned from parents and healthcare professionals around the world and remain dedicated to our mission to nourish the worlds children for the best start in life.

About Mead Johnson

Mead Johnson, a global leader in pediatric nutrition, develops, manufactures, markets and distributes more than 70 products in over 50 markets worldwide. The company's mission is to nourish the world's children for the best start in life. The Mead Johnson name has been associated with science-based pediatric nutrition products for over 100 years. The company's "Enfa" family of brands, including Enfamil (R) infant formula, is the world's leading brand franchise in pediatric nutrition.

For more information on the company, go to http://www.meadjohnson.com.

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Quality and Safety of Mead Johnson Products Affirmed by Chinese Authorities

DNA links 'Occupy' protest scene to 2004 murder- Arrest made in 1985 killing of elderly couple

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Investigators have connected DNA evidence from the 2004 murder of a 21-year-old Juilliard student to DNA from an act of vandalism at Occupy Wall Street, NBC 4 New York reported.

Sarah Fox was running in a Manhattan park eight years ago and later found nude and strangled with her CD player a short distance away. DNA found on the CD player is linked to DNA discovered on a chain left by Occupy Wall Street protestors at a March demonstration in a Brooklyn subway station, the channel reported.

At the event, protestors chained open emergency exits and taped up turnstiles in several subway stations, and encouraged riders to enter for free.

According to NBC 4, there is no immediate evidence that the DNA belongs to one of the OWS protestors who chained open the gates.

For years, Dimitry Sheiman was the prime suspect in the murder. In June, he claimed to be a clairvoyant who wanted to help cops catch the killer, MyFoxNY reported. He insisted they came from clairvoyant visions and that he still communicates with Sarah's spirit.

Police are continuing to investigate.

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DNA links 'Occupy' protest scene to 2004 murder- Arrest made in 1985 killing of elderly couple

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DNA Links Murder Scene, OWS Protest Scene

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Officials have linked forensic evidence from the 2004 murder scene of a 21-year-old Juilliard student to the scene of a recent Occupy Wall Street subway protest, NBC 4 New York has learned.

DNA evidence from the scene of Sarah Fox's murder in Inwood Hill Park eight years ago has been newly connected to DNA collected at the scene of an Occupy Wall Street subway station vandalism in March, NBC 4 New York first reported Tuesday.

Fox was found nude and strangled in the park in May 2004, days after she disappeared during a daytime jog. Investigators recovered her pink CD player in the woods just yards from her body.

Sources said Tuesday the DNA found on the CD player matches DNA found on a chain left by Occupy Wall Street protesters at the Beverly Road subway station in East Flatbush on March 28, 2012.

That Wednesday morning, protesters chained open emergency gates and taped up turnstiles in eight subway stations and posted fliers encouraging riders to enter for free.

A "communique" posted online later that day by the "Rank and File Initiative" described the act as a protest against service cuts, fare hikes and transit employees' working conditions.

It was attributed to "teams of activists, many from Occupy Wall Street... with rank and file workers from the Transport Workers Union Local 100 and the Amalgamated Transit Union."

Sources said they have not connected a person to the common DNA. There's no immediate evidence that the DNA belongs to the protesters who chained open the gates.

No one was arrested in the March incidents. Police are continuing to investigate, and are now working to try to identify the source of the DNA found in common with the chain and the CD player.

Dr. Lawrence Koblinsky, a forensics expert at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the DNA link was a major clue in the investigation, one that could potentially break the case.

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DNA Links Murder Scene, OWS Protest Scene

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DNA ties protest site to killing 8 years ago

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NEW YORK DNA recovered from a chain at the site of an Occupy Wall Street protest in March has been matched with DNA linked to the unsolved killing of a Juilliard student in 2004, law-enforcement officials said Tuesday.

The student, Sarah Fox, 21, disappeared while on a jog in Inwood Hill Park in May 2004, and her naked body was found in the park almost a week later surrounded by yellow tulip petals. The DNA on the chain, the officials said, was matched with DNA found on her portable compact-disc player, which was found in the park several days after her body was discovered. Police said she was strangled.

Investigators were seeking to determine the significance of the DNA match. One law-enforcement official said it was unclear who might have touched both items and why, noting that it might not have been the killer.

"Whether it's a friend or the bad guy, we have to find out," the official said.

The chain was used in March to prop open an emergency-exit door at a subway station as part of an Occupy Wall Street action to allow passengers to ride free.

The police later released surveillance video of people in hoods and masks wrapping a long silver chain around the door.

The investigation of the killing had focused on an artist and construction worker. Seven months after her body was found, the district attorney at the time said he was the "No. 1 suspect," but that there was not enough evidence to charge him.

The new findings raise questions about whether they have focused on the wrong person. Through his lawyer, the artist has denied any role in the killing.

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DNA ties protest site to killing 8 years ago

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Official: DNA match links unsolved 2004 NYC murder to chain used in Occupy subway protest

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NEW YORK A DNA match has created a puzzling new turn in a prominent unsolved killing, linking crime-scene evidence from a drama student's 2004 death to a chain collected after a protest that claimed affiliation with Occupy Wall Street this spring, a law enforcement official said Tuesday.

A database of DNA samples recently matched DNA on the chain to material on a compact disc player found near Sarah Fox's body, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

But the DNA hasn't been matched to any person, and it remains to be seen what authorities will be able to make of the unexpected find and what it might mean for a longtime suspect who has never been charged.

NBC 4 New York first reported the DNA match.

Fox, 21, was on a semester off from her studies at The Juilliard School when she vanished after setting out to go running in an upper Manhattan park on May 19, 2004. Her disappearance spurred a search that involved 260 police recruits, as well as volunteers, and thousands of dollars were offered as a reward for information.

Her body was found after six days in the park, with her clothing gone and her larynx fractured. Her CD player was about 100 feet away.

Police questioned a resident of the neighborhood near the park, Dimitry Sheinman, and he surprised them by saying he had "visions" about Fox that could help the investigation. Former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau pronounced Sheinman the "No. 1 suspect," but Sheinman was never charged. He has denied any wrongdoing. No contact information for him could immediately be found.

The chain was used to hold open an emergency exit gate during a protest this March 28 at a Brooklyn subway station. Aiming to draw attention to transit issues by giving passengers free rides, the demonstrators opened exits at various subway stations. A statement described many of the participants as members of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

An Occupy representative didn't immediately respond to an email message late Tuesday.

It wasn't immediately clear who might have provided or touched the chain.

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Official: DNA match links unsolved 2004 NYC murder to chain used in Occupy subway protest

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The Urban Scientist presents Dispatches from Tanzania #DispatchesDNLee

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Field Biology may be one the most romanticized career tracks of the sciences. Images of exotic wild places, muddy boots, trekking through forests or mountains or grasslands, enduring the elements, swatting mosquitoes and other pesky insects a scientist on an exhilarating journey exploring nature. Field work can be simultaneously amazing and exhausting, filled with lots of time waiting and negotiating, dealing with international bureaucrat systems, avoiding miscommunications, and at times dangerous. But isnt that what makes an adventure? I certainly think so.

Three days from now Ill be embarking on what is sure to be the most exciting adventure of my life: Field research in Tanzania, Africa! And yes, Ill share the whole experience with you! Demystifying science. Its what I do.

Dispatches from Tanzania (art work by @Lalsox)

This summer, July 2012, I am going to Tanzania, Africa to begin my field research studying African Giant Pouched Rats, Cricetomys gambianus one of the largest rodent species in Africa. Also called Gambian rat, it is most popular for its humanitarian work detecting landmines and tuberculosis. However, much less has been recorded about the natural behavior and biology of this animal. Ill be leading a field expedition to assess the natural history and basic behavioral biology of the African giant pouched rat. I will spend two and a half months in Tanzania, near the city of Morogoro, trapping, marking, releasing, and following these animals in the wild. I will collect information such as the number of males and females I catch, their reproductive condition, and the GPS coordinates of where I find them. I can then use this information to assess the mating system, dispersal patterns, and population structure of this interesting species.

African Giant Pouched Rat

In addition to the exciting research, I am also looking forward to visiting Africa. It is a beautiful and culturally rich land. Scientists have visited this beautiful continent for decades, sharing stories of discovery and wonder. However, rarely have these scientific explorers been women or persons of color. I want to share my experiences, as researcher, as an African-American, and as a woman, and offer an alternative image and narrative of a foreign explorer in Africa. Visiting Africa for the first time is as much a personal journey as it is professional endeavor to me. I want to share my personal accounts such as learning the culture and language, getting to know people, experiencing the food and sights, as well as behind the scenes of field research. Ill be living and researching in Tanzania for nearly three months.

Dispatches Sharing the experience, engaging the public Dispatches will be my electronic field notebook. I will share what I am doing on location. I will demystify the outdoor research experience and give readers a first look at the wildlife and ecosystems I encounter. With each expedition, the online audience will accompany me to exciting locations all over the world, visiting new ecosystems and learning about local wildlife and local cultures.

Essentially, Dispatches is a three-part science outreach platform to connect people directly to science, discovery and nature. As I travel to new places and participate in various research projects, audience will be right there participating in the discovery and exploration. The three-part platform includes:

I will make regular updates to my blog, tagging those posts as #DispatchesDNLee, so that you can follow the hashtag and keep up with everything. Post will include narratives of my experiences and photographs plus videos. For the videos Im partnering with the Summer Field Work Project coordinated by Carin Bondar of PsiVid. I will moderate my comments and answer readers questions, as time allows.

Something that I have always done whenever I travel around the world is send post cards back home to keep family and friends abreast of my safety and my adventures. I will send postcards with hand written updates from me while in Tanzania to people in the United States or anywhere in the world interested in knowing more about field biology, Gambian rats, Tanzania, as well as lovers of nature and world cultures.

See more here:
The Urban Scientist presents Dispatches from Tanzania #DispatchesDNLee

A deeper look into the pathogen responsible for crown gall disease in plants

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Public release date: 11-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Angela Hopp ahopp@asbmb.org 240-283-6614 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Next week's Journal of Biological Chemistry "Paper of the Week" by Wai Mun Huang and colleagues at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center and the University of Minnesota reveals new insights into the molecular properties of the rod-shaped soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens, the pathogen responsible for crown gall disease, a tumor-forming infection in plants, such as tomatoes, walnuts, grapes and beets.

The bacterium is parasitic: It infects its plant host by entering through an open wound, inserts a small segment of its genetic code into the plant's genome, devours energy made by the plant, and forms knobby brown lesions on the plant stem.

Huang's group focused on the pathogen's genetic material. Most bacteria have circular chromosomes. But A. tumefaciens C58, the strain studied by Huang's group, contains one circular chromosome and one linear chromosome (along with two circular plasmids). Huang's research illuminates how this bacterium maintains its linear chromosome.

Huang's team ascertained the DNA sequence for the telomeres, or the protective end caps, of the linear chromosome in A. tumefaciens C58 and confirmed that an enzyme, TelA, actually forms them by making hairpin loops. These end caps are important for maintaining the stability of linear chromosomes. Interestingly, TelA also binds the telomeres. This activity is unique among bacterial enzymes of this kind and may protect the telomeres (which degrade over time and thus lose their ability to preserve DNA), as telomere binding proteins do in eukaryotes.

"Hairpin-ended linear chromosomes and plasmids are found in a number of branches of bacteria and viruses," Huang says. "They are simple and elegant to form and to maintain." But what remains to be understood is why this linear configuration is not more common or even the preferred configuration for bacteria, Huang emphasizes.

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From the article: "Linear chromosome generating system of Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58: Protelomerase generates and protects hairpin ends" by Wai Mun Huang, Jeanne DaGloria, Heather Fox, Qiurong Ruan, John Tillou, Ke Shi, Hideki Aihara, John Aron, and Sherwood Casjens

Link to Paper in Press version of article: http://bit.ly/MfBz8C

Original post:
A deeper look into the pathogen responsible for crown gall disease in plants