Wide receiver Eric Decker insists he has no desire to go out Saturday night and remind the New York Jets what they're missing after letting him go in June as part of the team's salary cap purge.

Oh sure, he'll say hello to a few old buddies, maybe even a coach or two.

But Decker is focused on improving his chemistry with Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota two weeks into training camp with his new team.

"I don't worry about that stuff," Decker said Thursday . "I know I still got it, and I'm happy to be here. I'm excited about what we're capable of doing. Just have to put the work in."

Decker was just the latest of several big names released when the Jets cut him June 12 to save $7.25 million in salary after failing to trade the 30-year-old receiver . Decker had interest from some teams as a free agent but signed with the Titans in Nashville, where his family has a home.

The seven-year veteran with 385 receptions for 5,253 yards and 52 touchdowns has shown an immediate chemistry with Mariota. Decker also has shown off the precise route-running and hands that earned him a five-year, $36.25 million deal from the Jets in March 2014.

The Titans aren't counting on Decker to start, though he should be on the field alongside Rishard Matthews in the preseason opener because rookie Corey Davis is recovering from a strained hamstring .

Titans coach Mike Mularkey says he doesn't think Decker has any type of payback approach to this game.

"He's going to try and operate at a high level for us with this new system that he's in," Mularkey said. "I think it would be more of 'I don't want to disappoint us' than 'try to wow them' in my opinion. That's just the personality the guy has."

Decker played in only three games last season, catching nine passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns. He wound up having surgery to repair a hip issue in October before another surgery in November to repair a torn rotator cuff.

The receiver says he feels great physically, taking advantage of the break from football because of the surgeries.

"This is the best as far as strength and mobility and just everything I've felt for a long time, so I'm happy I took care of those things," Decker said. "It's unfortunate that it happened. Never want to be put on injured reserve or miss time and be away from the game. But at this point, I'm at a good place physically and mentally."

Decker's also now with a team with a rising young quarterback in Mariota, who threw for 3,426 yards with 26 touchdowns and only nine interceptions last season. Mariota has a 93.8 passer rating through his first two NFL seasons, putting him behind only Kurt Warner, Dan Marino, Nick Foles, Russell Wilson and Ben Roethlisberger for quarterbacks attempting at least 500 passes.

The wide receiver says Mariota has made his transition to Tennessee easy.

"He has good instincts, seems like he's very comfortable with the system, puts us in spots to be successful and makes the right reads," Decker said. "Our job is to just be at those spots where he expects us to be. We're getting there. Making some good progress."

Decker will work in the slot once Davis is healthy.

Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jurrell Casey just knows he likes watching how Decker competes for the ball in the air.

"I'm waiting to see what he does on Sunday with Marcus, and a talented quarterback like that putting the ball in his hands is going to be exciting for us," Casey said. "I'm just waiting to see them big numbers."

NOTES: Mularkey said Pro Bowl running back DeMarco Murray won't play against the Jets, though Murray is expected back at practice Monday night from an injured hamstring. CB Demontre Hurst (groin), Davis and DL Karl Klug (ankle) also won't play. ... GM Jon Robinson helped out by using a couple of tennis rackets to simulate defensive linemen's hands in the air during a passing drill.

For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/APNFL

Follow Teresa M. Walker at http://www.twitter.com/teresamwalker

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Decker focused only on chemistry with Mariota vs. Jets - ABC News

About Conference

Worlds leadingChemistry Conferences 2018Conference which emphasized on the theme Empowering advanced perspective and novel concepts in Chemistry and going to take place inParis, FrancefromFebruary 19-20, 2018Organized by EuroSciCon. These International Chemistry Conferencesare one of the most important events of the year. It brings all the chemists and delegates together for great success. The Chemistry field assembles a broad range of scientific disciplines to discover, design, delivery, disposition of new drugs and therapies. The scope of these gatherings is extended by remarking key regulatory areas like Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Biochemical Chemistry, Green Chemistry, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Material Science and related branches in Chemistry. Providing a chance, EuroSciCon Chemistry conference host scientists, researchers, chemical organizations and all representatives of pharmaceutical and chemistry company sectors can showcase their cogent findings and at the same time get exposed to a useful array of research and latest developments.

Whats New

Chemistry Conferences 2018 includes international attendee workshops, lectures, and symposia, including a designated registration area, a refreshment break and gala lunch. Chemistry conferences can join the EuroSciCon as an international member to receive discounts on registration. So come and join leading experts and allied professionals from February 19-20 2018 in Paris, France to keep up with the rapidly accelerating pace of change that is already having an impact on the field of Chemistry and will continue to in the future.

About Venue

Paris, France's capital is a noteworthy European city and a worldwide community for craftsmanship, style, gastronomy and society. Its nineteenth century cityscape is jumbled by wide lanes and the River Seine. The city is known for its cafe culture and designer boutiques along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honor. Paris is the city of love, inspiration, art and fashion. It has a population of more than 2million people and is divided into 20 districts. Paris has a lot of interesting architecture and museums to offer; among them the famous tourist place to visit is the Eiffel Tower. A significant number of the acclaimed roads and city building areas structures where changed by Haussmann and Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte). The lanes where made much wider, places and squares where fabricated and the structures totally modified. Paris has a nickname called La Ville-Lumiere. The famous places to visit in Paris are Notre Dame Cathedral which is Roman Catholic Cathedral situated in the eastern half of the city, Louvre Museum which is located at the heart of Paris , Champs Elysees which is an Arc of Triumph, Montmartre which is a hill located at the north of Paris and its height is 130 metre, it is best known White Domed Basilica of the sacred heart at the top, Quartier Latin which is called the famous private garden located on the left bank of the seine around the Sorbonne, Disneyland Paris which is located 32 km from central Paris , it has two theme parks Disneyland and Walt Disney studios.

Electro-Analytical Chemistry:

Electro-analytical techniques are a class of scientific science, which concentrate an analyte by adjusting the potential (volts) as well as power (amperes) in an electrochemical cell containing the analyte. The three fundamental divisions are potentiometry (the distinction in terminal possibilities is aligned), coulometry (the cell current measured with respect to time), and voltammetry (the cell's current is measured while firmly modifying the cell's potential).

Clinical Chemistry:

Clinical science is that field of clinical pathology required with examination of body liquids. It deals with the utilization of basic substance tests for various components of blood and waste item. After this, different strategies like electrophoresis were applied at the side of the use and live of catalyst activities, spectrophotometry, action, and bioassay. Pharmacology is furthermore a branch of science and medicines which undergoes the investigation of the antagonistic impacts of chemicals on living creatures.

Nano-Chemistry and Technologies:

A material having particles or constituents of Nano scale measurements, or one that is delivered by nanotechnology is a Nanomaterial. They are of sorts like carbon based, metal based, dendrimers and composites. Helpful applications can be seen in the instances of Nano-medicine, nano-biotechnology, green nanotechnology, vitality uses of nanotechnology, modern utilizations of nanotechnology, potential uses of carbon nanotubes and nanoart. The trademark properties of nano-materials show wide utilization in the current slanting innovation of material design.

Organic Chemistry:

Organic Chemistry is the investigation of the structure, properties, organization, responses, and readiness of carbon-containing mixes, which incorporate hydrocarbons as well as mixes with any number of different components, including hydrogen (most mixes contain no less than one carbonhydrogen security), nitrogen, oxygen, incandescent light, phosphorus, silicon, and sulphur. This branch of science was initially constrained to mixes created by living beings yet has been expanded to incorporate human-made substances, for example, plastics. The scope of utilization of natural products is gigantic and furthermore incorporates, however is not constrained to, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, sustenance, explosives, paints, and beauty care products.

Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry:

Pharmaceutical chemistry is the study and development of new drugs. It involves cures and remedies for diseases, analytical techniques, pharmacology, metabolism, quality assurance, and drug chemistry. Medicinal chemistry blends synthetic organic chemistry, biochemistry, and pharmacology. It focuses on the bio-active molecules and pharmaceutical agents. Medicinal chemistry involves analysing existing drugs and potential new drugs. Medicinal chemistry can be considered a narrower field than pharmaceutical chemistry because its focal point is the chemistry of drugs, from new medicines to illicit substances. Pharmaceutical chemistry, on the other hand, studies drugs and drug discovery, and it covers the process of taking drugs to market.

Analytical Chemistry:

Analytical chemistry is the study of the separation, identification, quality control and quality assurance of the chemical parts of natural and artificial materials. The maintenance of a desired level of quality in an exceedingly service or product, particularly by means that of attention to each stage of the method of delivery or production. Bio analytical Chemistry could be a sub-division of Analytical Chemistry that covers the measuring of medicine, Ion sensors, Proteins and DNA in unnatural samples or concentrations.

Forensic Chemistry:

Forensic Chemistry is the use of science and its subfield, criminological toxicology, in a legitimate setting. A scientific physicist can aid the distinguishing proof of unknown materials found at a criminal scene. Authorities in this field have a wide cluster of techniques and instruments to help recognize unknown substances. It includes atomic absorption spectroscopy, thin layer chromatography, high- performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry etc.

Geochemistry:

Geochemistry is the science that uses the instruments and standards of science to clarify the components behind major geological systems for example, the Earth's covering and its seas. The domain of geochemistry reaches out past the Earth, enveloping the whole Solar System and has made imperative commitments to the comprehension of various procedures including mantle convection, the arrangement of planets and the starting points of stone
and basalt. Geochemistry includes diverse perspectives like Cosmo science, Organic geochemistry, Photo geochemistry, Isotope geochemistry, Biogeochemistry, Aqueous geochemistry.

Polymer Chemistry:

The investigation of Polymer science or polymer sciences starts with understanding the strategies in which these materials are combined. Polymer synthesis is a complex methodology and can be done in different ways. Option polymerization portrays the strategy where monomers are added one by one to a dynamic site on the developing chain. Polymers are enormous macromolecules made out of rehashing auxiliary units. While polymer in prominent use proposes plastic, the term really alludes to a huge class of normal and engineered materials. Because of the remarkable scope of properties, polymer sciences have come to play a very important role- from plastics and elastomers from one viewpoint to common biopolymers, for example, DNA and proteins.

Physical and Theoretical Chemistry:

Physical Chemistry is the investigation of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics, analytical dynamics and chemical equilibrium whereas Theoretical Chemistry is the examination of the auxiliary and dynamic properties of atoms and sub-atomic materials utilizing the devices of quantum science, harmony and nonequilibrium measurable mechanics and elements.

Environmental Chemistry:

Environmental chemistry is also called as Natural Chemistry. Natural Chemistry is a branch of environmental science in which the science of the Earth's air and that of different planets is examined. It is a multidisciplinary field of research and draws on natural science, material science, meteorology, oceanography, topography and volcanology and different controls. The synthesis of the Earth's environment changes as aftereffect of regular procedures, for example such as volcano emissions, lightning and bombardment by solar particles from corona. It has additionally been changed by human action and some of these progressions are unsafe to human wellbeing, harvests and biological communities.

Biochemical Chemistry:

HPLC is an extremely basic technique for metabolomics investigation. With the innovation of electrospray ionization, HPLC is coupled to mass spectroscopy. HPLC has brought down chromatographic determination, requires no induction for polar atoms and isolates particles in the fluid stage. Applicable to proteomics, because of the mind boggling structure and nature of proteins, instrumentation and strategies improvement for test tidy up, pre-focus, fractionation, chromatographic division and discovery turns into a prompt prerequisite for the recognizable proof of peptides and proteins.

Food Chemistry & Nutrition:

Food chemistry is the exploration of invention procedures and cooperations of all natural and non-organic segments of foods. The natural substances incorporate such things as meat, poultry, lettuce, brew, and drain as cases. It is like biochemistry in its principle parts, for example, starches, lipids, and protein, however it additionally incorporates ranges, for example, water, vitamins, minerals, catalysts, and food added substances, flavours, and hues. Food chemistry can be applied in the analysis of dietary content to monitor or improve nutrition, or the determination of levels of contaminants to ensure food safety. Chemical food analysis can also be used to compare food products that utilize different ingredients, or that are subjected to different processing methods.

Material Science and Chemistry:

Materials science and pharmaceutical science are orders at the convergence of science, particularly manufactured natural science, and pharmacology and different other organic strengths, where they are included with electrochemical amalgamation and improvement for market of pharmaceutical operators, or bio-dynamic particles (drugs). Compounds utilized as medicaments are frequently natural compounds, which are regularly isolated into the classes of little natural particles (e.g., atorvastatin) and "biologics" (erythropoietin, insulin), the latter of which are most often medicinal arrangements of proteins (characteristic and recombinant antibodies, hormones, and so on.). Inorganic and natural mixes are likewise valuable as medications (e.g., lithium and platinum-based specialists, for example, lithium carbonate and cis-platin.

Green Chemistry:

Green science is the outline of compound items and procedures that lessen or dispose of the utilization or age of dangerous substances. Green Chemistry's emphasis is on the manageability of condition. Green science is a flat out way to deal with how items are made. Applies over the life cycle of a compound item, including its outline, produce, utilize, and extreme transfer. New and imaginative Design for Degradation are taken as an essential theme to talk about in exhibit time. Constant examination for Pollution Prevention; Analytical methadologies should be additionally created to take into consideration ongoing in-process observing and control before the development of risky substances in pharmaceutical enterprises. Inalienably Safer Chemistry for mischance avoidance.

Plasma Chemistry:

Plasma chemistry is the branch of chemistry that reviews substance forms in low-temperature plasma, including the laws that oversee responses in plasma and the basics of plasma compound innovation. Plasmas are misleadingly delivered in plasmatrons at temperatures that range from 103 to 2 104 K and weights that range from 10 6 to 104 environments. Communication between the reagents in plasma brings about the arrangement of last, or terminal, items; these items can be expelled from the plasma by fast cooling, or extinguishing. The fundamental element of all plasmochemical forms is that responsive particles are produced in essentially higher focuses than under normal states of synthetic responses. The responsive particles that are created in plasma are fit for affecting new sorts of substance responses; the particles incorporate energized atoms, electrons, iotas, nuclear and sub-atomic particles, and free radicals. For sure, some of these particles can just exist in the plasma state.

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HAMBURG In a meeting that ran longer than either side had planned, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin discussed alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election on Friday but agreed to focus on better ties rather than litigating the past.

Trump, a Republican who called it an "honor" to meet with the Russian president, drew swift criticism from Democrats at home, who accused him of dismissing U.S. intelligence and giving Putin's denial, reiterated on Friday, of Russian interference too much weight.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters at a summit of leaders of the Group of 20 major economies in Hamburg that Trump had "positive chemistry" with Putin during the meeting, which lasted some two hours and 15 minutes.

He opened their discussion by pressing Putin about "the concerns of the American people regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election" and had a robust exchange, Tillerson said.

The Russian president has denied any meddling in the U.S. democratic process last year and Moscow has asked for proof that it took place. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Trump accepted Putin's assertions that the allegations, backed by U.S. intelligence agencies, were false.

Tillerson said they both sought to move on.

"The presidents rightly focused on how do we move forward from what may be simply an intractable disagreement at this point," Tillerson said.

That explanation did not sit well with Democrats.

Working to compromise the integrity of our election process cannot and should not be an area where agree to disagree is an acceptable conclusion," said U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer in a statement.

On Thursday in Poland Trump gave lukewarm support to the view that Moscow interfered in the 2016 U.S. political process.

Trump promised a rapprochement with Moscow during his campaign but has been unable to deliver because his administration has been dogged by investigations into the allegations of Russian interference in the election and ties with his campaign.

Trump says his team did not collude with Russia.

Tillerson said they agreed to work on commitments of "non-interference in the affairs of the United States and our democratic process as well as those in other countries."

Andrew Weiss, a former National Security Council official responsible for Russia, said Trump had sent the wrong signal with upbeat body language and by not pushing Putin harder on alleged Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election.

"The atmospherics were chummy," said Weiss, who is now at Washington's Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank in Washington. "The clear push from Trump to normalize U.S.-Russian relations was on display in the meeting."

"GOING VERY WELL"

The two leaders spent a lot of time discussing Syria, and after their meeting an agreement between the United States, Russia and Jordan on a ceasefire in southwestern Syria was announced.

The face-to-face encounter was one of the most eagerly anticipated meetings between two leaders in years.

Trump and Putin spoke through translators with their respective foreign ministers present for six minutes before reporters were allowed into the room for their statements. Afterwards the reporters were ushered out and the meeting continued.

"President Putin and I have been discussing various things, and I think it's going very well," Trump told reporters, sitting alongside the Russian leader.

"We've had some very, very good talks. ... We look forward to a lot of very positive things happening for Russia, for the United States and for everybody concerned. And it's an honor to be with you."

Putin, through a translator, said: "We spoke over the phone with you several times," adding: "A phone conversation is never enough."

"I am delighted to be able to meet you personally, Mr. President," he said, noting that he hoped the meeting would yield results.

Both men sat with legs splayed. Trump listened intently as Putin spoke.

The encounter went longer than expected, and first lady Melania Trump came in at one point to urge them to conclude, Tillerson said. The two men later joined other G20 leaders at a concert. Mrs. Trump sat next to Putin at dinner.

Before the get-together, some feared the U.S. president, a political novice whose team is still developing its Russia policy, would be less prepared for the talks than Putin, a former KGB agent who has dealt with previous U.S. presidents and scores of other world leaders.

Amid criticism of Russia's actions in Ukraine and Syria and the investigations into its role in the U.S. campaign, Trump has come under growing pressure to take a hard line against the Kremlin.

On Thursday, Trump delivered some of his sharpest remarks about Moscow since becoming president, urging Russia to stop its "destabilizing activities" and end its support for Syria and Iran.

But Trump stopped short on Thursday of any personal criticism of Putin and declined to say definitively whether he believed U.S. intelligence officials' assertion that Russia had interfered in the 2016 U.S. election.

"I think it was Russia but I think it was probably other people and/or countries, and I see nothing wrong with that statement. Nobody really knows. Nobody really knows for sure, Trump said on a visit to Poland.

(Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Arshad Mohammed in Washington and Andrea Shalal and Denis Dyomkin in Hamburg; Writing by Jeff Mason and Noah Barkin; Editing by James Dalgleish)

MOSUL/ERBIL, Iraq Iraqi security forces expect to take full control of Mosul within hours as Islamic State's defensive lines crumble in its former de facto capital in Iraq, military commanders said on Saturday.

HAMBURG World leaders meeting for a summit in Germany have agreed every aspect of a joint statement apart from the section on climate where the United States is pushing for a reference to fossil fuels, European Union officials said on Saturday.

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Trump and Putin find chemistry, draw criticism in first meeting - Reuters

MONTREAL It's only been a couple ofweeks thatDom DwyerandCyle Larinhave trained and played alongside one another inOrlando, but their first two matches already have some questioning whether their partnership up top for the Lions can work.

Even Orlando City SC head coach Jason Kreis was left asking questions after their2-1 road lossto theMontreal Impacton Saturday.

The question would be: Are they too similar? Kreis said. Are they two strikers that are too similar? And ultimately can they figure it out, the spaces that need to be taken? Can they do a little something different than theyre both accustomed to? I feel like Cyle probably a little bit more than Dom right now because Cyles at least been playing with two strikers all year whereas Doms been playing in a one-striker system. So, its a question of whether or not he can figure out the spaces he needs to take and the runs he needs to make.

Its clear that the understanding between the players and the movements they need to make in different situations, is still a work in progress. Against Montreal, much like against Atlanta United last week, Dwyer and Larin often made the same run, or didnt capitalize on opportunities to combine with one another.

I think that they both enjoy each other, Kreis said. I think theyre both hard-working players. I think theyre both similar in that they want to get themselves in front of the goal often. But its still a little bit of a question in my mind about the balance of that. So we continue to judge that and make decisions as we go forward.

Larin did score in the game(watch below), giving Orlando a short-lived lead in the first half, but it was mostly a solo effort in which he capitalized onan individual error from Montreal midfielder Marco Donadel.

Later, midway through the second half, Larin nearly scored a second goal, which could have proved to be the potential game-winner.It was one of Orlandos few other scoring opportunities, and a rare occasion where Dwyer was involved in the development of a noteworthy attacking sequence.

Inside his own half, Larin fed Dwyer, who was in a pocket of space in front of the Impact backline. Larin continued to make an aggressive run in behind and Dwyer, showing some of his quality attacking instincts that made hisrecent trade to Orlando such a big deal, immediately placed a ball into his path. But Larin, with the ball on his left foot and aiming for the top corner, missed the net.

Compared with their first game together away to Atlanta last weekend, a match which ended in a 1-1 draw, there arguably wasnt any noticeable improvement in the Larin-Dwyer partnership. And with Orlando below the playoff linein the East, theres definitely pressure on them to figure things out quickly.

However, Dwyer says he doesnt have the same concerns as Kreis about whether or not the duo can coexist.

I would disagree with that, Dwyer said. I wouldnt say were too similar. Obviously, were still learning. Its been a week, so maybe its too soon to call, but hes the coach. Thats his call.

While the strike pair may not be completely in sync yet, Orlandos attacking issues do not restsolely withthe forwards.

Their 4-3-1-2 formation has its strengths, but it also presents challenges: It doesnt readily offer any wide players in either the attack or midfield, and in order for it to be truly effective, it requires a great deal of movement and fluidity. The fullbacks are required to push forward and the wider center midsneed to be adept at making penetrating runs, while the attacking midfielder (in this case Kaka) is depended upon to makewide supporting runs in a flash.

None of this seems to be happeningoften enough for Orlando, resulting in attacks that quickly become very narrow and predictable. Balls are played directly to eitherLarin or Dwyer, but they rarely have enough available players to pass to, and as good as they are on the ball, they only have so much time to hold it up and wait for other players to finally get themselves into helpful, supporting positions.

In their current setup, the Lions are clearly struggling. Tactical and personnel changes may not be far behind.

Im making decisions game by game now and its about to get more crowded everywhere on the field, Kreis said. Weve got some guys in the locker room that have been left out that arent happy and its going to continue to be that way the rest of the season.

"We need to find a team thats going to win for us. Once we do, that team will stay, but otherwise were going to be looking to make changes and make difficult decisions every week.

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Sabetti: Orlando strikers Cyle Larin, Dom Dwyer still seeking out ... - MLSsoccer.com

Nicki Minaj has Nas Anaconda feeling some type of way! Hes whipped on the raptress after their great sexuality chemistry and cant wait see her again, HollywoodLife.com has EXCLUSIVELY learned.

Nas, 43, can tell that Nicki Minaj, 34, aint missing no meals. Even though the couple broke up earlier this week, the Made You Look rapper cant their intense sexual attraction out of his head. Nas is feeling whipped on Nicki and its a feeling hes not familiar with, a source tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY. They have great sexual chemistry and he wants some more hot times with her. The problem is that shes super busy in the studio working on her overdue album and hasnt made him a priority. Yeah, that and the fact that he liked a bunch of Meek Mill rants on Instagram.

Fans first suspected that Nas and the Anaconda songstress split based on his social media behavior. Meek went on ANOTHER anti-Nicki rampage and Nas actually supported it! Thats not what a boyfriend does! In any case, he ended up feeling totally depresso afterwards and is now looking for any reason to start things up again, even if its strictly sexual with no deep emotions involved. Nas made it clear to Nicki that he wants to see her again and right now, the source continues. He hasnt seen her in a hot minute and feels dissed.

Well, the Beef actor better quit all this moping around crap before Nicki says goodbye forever. She hates when a dude shows his weak side to the public! His latest emo Instagram picture majorly turned her off! She told him to man up, a different insider EXCLUSIVELY told us. If he wants her to be his Queen he needs to act like a King. Preach, sister!

HollywoodLifers, would you like to see Nas and Nicki hook up again?

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Nas Feeling Whipped On Nicki Minaj After 'Great Sexual Chemistry ... - Hollywood Life

HAMBURG, GERMANY

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said President Donald Trump put the issue of Russian meddling in U.S. elections at the top of his agenda when the two leaders met in their first face-to-face talks on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Germany Friday.

The meeting appeared to have gone better than expected, with Tillerson describing a clear, positive chemistry between the two leaders.

The conversation was the most anticipated event of this Group of 20 summit. The encounter was scheduled to last 30 minutes but went for more than 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Watch: Trump, Putin Appear to Enjoy First Meeting as G-20 Protests Flare

Concerns of the American people

The president opened the meeting with [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin by raising the concerns of the American people regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election. They had a very robust and lengthy exchange on the subject, Tillerson told reporters.

Tillerson said Putin denied Russian involvement.

The two leaders agreed, though, that this is a substantial hindrance in the ability of us to move the U.S.-Russian relationship forward and agreed to exchange further work regarding commitments of noninterference in the affairs of the United States and our democratic processes as well as those of other countries, Tillerson said.

Russian officials said Putin asked Trump for proof of tampering.

Tillerson also confirmed an agreement had been reached among the United States, Russia and Jordan for a partial cease-fire in Syria, something he said was a first indication of the U.S. and Russia being able to work together in Syria.

It was apparent Trump and Putin enjoyed each others company.

Trump said to Putin that the U.S. looks forward to a lot of very positive things happening for Russia and for the United States.

He also told Putin it was an honor to meet him, and Putin reciprocated, saying he was delighted to finally meet Trump personally.

Low expectations

Leaders of the worlds richest economies opened the summit with low expectations and much anxiety on the part of those concerned about what they perceive as possible isolationist and protectionist tendencies of the new U.S. administration.

The host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was not hopeful of achieving much consensus, called on leaders to make compromises.

We all know the big global challenges, and we know that time is pressing, and thats why solutions often can only be found if we are ready for compromise and if we move toward each other, without however and I am saying this explicitly letting ourselves be influenced too much, Merkel said Friday.

The turmoil and discord were also evident outside the summit venue.

On the streets of Hamburg, it was another day of violent clashes between anti-capitalist demonstrators and anti-riot police.

Security forces used water cannons to disperse demonstrators who tried to prevent delegations from reaching the G-20 venue. Angry demonstrators set cars ablaze.

The demonstrators spread to various streets of the city, sometimes forming human chains to block access by delegations to the summit site.

German officials had been anticipating big protests in the city in the run-up to the two-day gathering and have deployed 20,000 officers.

Police officials said 8,000 demonstrators were in the city Friday, and they anticipated the protests to peak Saturday when they expected as many as 100,000 protesters on the streets.

Protesters goals

Protesters have set up camps in central Hamburg, where they have been sleeping in tents and lining up for free vegan meals.

Most demonstrators approached by a reporter at two camps were reluctant to be interviewed.

People are really suspicious about the media. They feel that the media is more against us than with us, that the media is more with the G-20 and not with the protests, and that makes people suspicious, a demonstrator told VOA.

The protesters general aim is to disrupt the G-20 summit.

Most support leftist and anarchist causes and see the grouping as a gathering of the worlds wealthy elite whom they blame for global economic disparities. Their target is largely Trump, and many said they were outraged by his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord.

The demonstrators, who were largely German, also took aim at Merkel.

She is representing all the connections and all the work with lobbyists, with the automobile industries, with the war industries. She is also a representative for lobbyism, for capitalism, one demonstrator said.

Read more:
Tillerson Describes 'Clear, Positive Chemistry' Between Trump, Putin - Voice of America

Assessing rosters and fixing issues in Major League Lacrosse can be daunting.

Limited practice time and so few games make it difficult to work out kinks and build team chemistry, which is why Lizards coach and general manager Joe Spallina made the type of moves ahead of the trade deadline that paid immediate dividends for a team struggling at 3-5.

He dealt longtime Lizards Dave Lawson and Chris LaPierre to the Boston Cannons in exchange for Long Island natives Will Manny and Joe LoCascio, who combined for eight goals in a comeback win over the Ohio Machine in their first game with the club.

I know both players personality, Spallina said. This was not a high-risk situation for me, decision-wise. I know the personalities I was bringing in. I just saw so much upside in it.

It wasnt rocket science.

That it wasnt. Manny had 30 points in nine games at the time of the trade, and LoCascio was considered one of the leagues breakout stars. He showed that with the game-winning two-point shot with under a minute to play against the Machine.

I really firmly believe that these guys will be able to galvanize our unit and complete our team, our offense, Spallina said. When we were down three goals at 14-11 and the timeout, there were a lot of long faces. To Wills credit, he came into the huddle and was pumping everybody up.

That wasnt the only trade made by Spallina. In his effort to bring in high-character, chemistry-type guys, Spallina completed a trade with the Rochester Rattlers to acquire JoJo Marasco, who had played for the Lizards for four seasons, starting in 2013.

Because there is such little time spent together in MLL, Spallina said he puts extra emphasis on the locker room. Its there where changes can be made.

Collegiately, Im with my team every day and I can develop a team chemistry, said Spallina, who also coaches the Stony Brook womens lacrosse team. So, getting JoJo back is good just from a chemistry perspective, where I know hed blend with the guys.

A lot of it has to do with the fact that we werent playing well. We just didnt have the right mix. We needed to shake it up.

Naturally, Spallina said his outlook for the remaining five games on the schedule is bright. At 4-5, the Lizards are a half-game out of a playoff spot with a matchup on Thursday, July 13, against the 4-6 Atlanta Blaze.

People want to see us fail because we have so much talent, Spallina said. The vibe in our locker room, I just have a good feeling that were going to go on a run here. Thursdays game is our whole season; I made that very clear to our guys. This game right now, were a half-game back from the playoffs. Im not sure teams are fired up to see us on their schedule.

The rest is here:
Lizards made deadline deals with an eye on team chemistry - Newsday

We started the new year excited that half the series of Crash Landing on You still remained. But now that thedrama is over, the weekends feel empty and forlorn. What are we to do without Ri Jung Hyuk (Hyun Bin) and hisYoon Se Ri (Son Ye Jin)? Not to mention the hilarious and fun-filled sidekicks.

If youre like me and are looking for some other K-dramas to watch that will help ease the pain of there being no more Crash Landing on You, heres a look at some other dramas and films to check out.

How will we ever move on from Hyun Bins role as Ri Jung Hyuk? He was pretty perfect in terms of male lead qualifications and itll be hard to move on from him. With that said, were lucky that he has a big repertoire of movies and K-dramas because itll help with the coping process. Here are a few that come strongly recommended!

(Pretty sure thisGIF was in every feature I wrote about Crash Landing on You, but its aGIF that needs to be seen over and over again).

A Millionaires First Love

Everyones first encounter with Hyun Bin should be with his character Kang Jae Kyung in A Millionaires First Love.

The hit movietells the story of a high schoolmillionaire by the name of Jae Kyung (Hyun Bin), who is about to inherit his grandfathers fortune but must graduate from a school that is located in the countryside. As if this isnt hard enough, he must also survive without a credit card or a car. His life takes a huge turn when he meets the innocent and adorable Choi Eun Hwan (Lee Yeon Hee). He not only learns about the value of life aside from wealth but also learns to love in the process.

If you had a soft spot for Hyun Bin as Ri Jung Hyuk, youll love him as the millionaire-turned-softie in A Millionaires First Love. Jae Kyung is a character that could beanyones first love. Itll be hard to get over all of the emotions that his character goes through in the movie.Youll also love seeing a very youthful Hyun Bin giving it his all in a starring role. The feelings!

Worlds Within

Hyun Bin has starred insome crazy successful K-dramas, but one that tends to be overlooked is Worlds Within. The series stars Hyun Bin as Jung Ji Oh, a producer who helps make K-dramas for a living. He has an on-and-offrelationship with Joo Joon Young, played by Song Hye Kyo.

Thedrama focuses a lot on the rocky relationship between Joon Young and Ji Oh. What makes it so intriguing istheir realistic portrayal of arelationship. There are misunderstandings, fights, jealousy, and heartbreak, which are all elements that make a great K-drama too! Youll have the pleasure of not only seeing the intense chemistry between Song Hye Kyo and Hyun Bin, but youll also get to see Hyun Bins chiseled jawline for a whole 16 episodes. Winning!

Catch the first episode of Worlds Within:

Watch Now

Other recommendations: Secret Garden and My Lovely Sam Soon

Son Ye Jin was such a natural in playing Yoon Se Ri. What made this drama so much more enjoyable to watch was the fact that she was believable as a character and that her acting was so effortless! Son Ye Jin has been around in the industry for quite some time now and if you havent seen her in manymovies or dramas before, here are a few that should be on your watch list.

Personal Taste

One of the best traits of Son Ye Jin is that shes so versatile as an actress. Shes been amazing as a melo-actress and is also quite the entertainer when it comes to comedic roles, so her portrayalas Park Gae In in the rom-com Personal Taste is worth the mention. Son Ye Jin also tends to pick movies more often than K-dramas, sowhenever she stars in one, you know it will be good!

In Personal Taste, Son Ye Jin plays a furniture designer who is more on the clumsy side but has a good heart. She ends up living with Jeon Jin Ho (Lee Min Ho), who is an architect and also someone Gae In initially thinks isgay. The twohave a love/hate relationship that develops more into love. Youll thoroughly enjoy seeing Son Ye Jin in a comedic rolewhile also seeing her chemistry with her co-star Lee Min Ho. Theyre too cute!

Catch the first episode of Personal Taste:

Watch Now

The Classic

Its hard to mention Son Ye Jin without mentioning her role as Ji Hye and Joo Hee in The Classic. The movie follows the love story of both the mother, Joo Hee, and the daughter, Ji Hye. The main focus of the story is on the mother and her love story with Jun Ho (Cho Seung Woo) when she was in high school. She was arranged to marry Jun Hos best friend Tae Soo (Lee Ki Woo), but Tae Soo finds out that the two are in love and he tries his best to set them up.

Thefilm has so many twists and turns that its bound to put you on a rollercoaster of emotions. Theres so much heartbreak involved with the love story that it makes it impossible to forget this film. Both Ji Hye and Joo Hee are characters you will instantly fall in love with and Son Ye Jin does such an incredible job playing them. Although they are similar, they are also very different and thats just a testament to the acting skills of Son Ye Jin.

A Moment to Remember

Another unforgettable movie that definitely has to be mentioned is A Moment to Remember. Son Ye Jin stars as Su Jin, who ends up in an intense and serious relationship with Cheol Su, played by Jung Woo Sung. The two have an adventurous and romantic relationship which results in them getting married. Despite their happy marriage, Su Jin learns that she has an illness that will test their love and relationship.

If you are a fan of Son Ye Jin, this movie is a must-watch. You cant help but feel for her character and thejourney thatshe goes through will have you so invested. Its one of her most memorable roles and the movie is bound to have you in a puddle of tears by the end of it.

The King 2 Hearts

There really arent that many K-dramas out there involving love stories with people from North Korea, but one that definitely comes to mind is The King 2 Hearts. Starring Lee Seung Gi as Prince Jae Ha and Ha Ji Won as a North Korean special forcesagent by the name of Kim Hang Ah, the drama tells the story of how the two find themselves falling in love with each other.

Its an unconventional story and plays like a true fairy tale. The dramas got great elements of suspense, action, and of course, a romance that will have you totally invested in Hang Ah and Jae Has relationship. If you havent already watched this one, youll definitely love it!

Catch the first episode of The King 2 Hearts:

Watch Now

Park Ji Eun has been in the industry long enough to have gained a veryesteemed reputation. Shes the mastermindwhowrote the international hit series My Love From the Star and has since continued her streak of mega-successful scripts.

The Legend of the Blue Sea

Prior to Crash Landing on You, Park Ji Eun wrote the script forThe Legend of the Blue Sea and if you havent watched it already, youre missing out! The Legend of the Blue Sea stars Jun Ji Hyun and Lee Min Ho, two mega stars, so thats enough of a reason to tune in to this series.

The script is also truly unique. It involves a mermaid by the name ofShim Cheong (Jun Ji Hyun), who becomes a human and meets Heo Joon Jae (Lee Min Ho). The two have a special relationship that spans all the way back in history, but in the modern world, they end up forming an unlikely bond that turns into some strong feelings.

If youre a fan of Park Ji Euns writing and have taken a strong liking to her story and style from Crash Landing on You, then this series is worth the watch. Its got all the classic elements of Park Ji Eun and she doesnt disappoint with this drama. Park Ji Eun adds a lot of history to the story and characters. Theres also a lot of layers and if youre into sageuks, this series has that aspect covered too.

Start watching The Legend of the Blue Sea:

Watch Now

Before Crash Landing on You was in the works, Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin ha
d starred in a movie together. Although the two were hardly ever together in the movie, its the best we can do to help us get through major Son Ye Jin/Hyun Bin withdrawal.

The Negotiation

In The Negotiation, Son Ye Jin plays a negotiator named Ha Chae Yoon. Hyun Bin playsMin Tae Gu, a weapons smuggler who Chae Yoon must negotiate with in order to release hostages. She has 12 hours to do so and her calm and cool demeanor is put to the test.

And again, although they arent on screen together, its still worth the watch seeing these two actors do what they do best. And until their next appearance together, whether it be in a K-drama, movie, or in real life (shipping), this will have to do!

Hey Soompiers, which of these K-dramas or films is next on your list? Let me know in the comments below!

binaheartsis a Soompi writer whose ultimate biases areSong Joong Kiand BIGBANG. She is also the author of K-POP A To Z: The Definitive K-Pop Encyclopedia. Make sure you followbinaheartson Instagram as she journeys through her latest Korean crazes!

Currently watching:Itaewon ClassAll-time favorite dramas:Secret Garden, Goblin, Because This Is My First Life,Star In My HeartLooking forward to:Won Bins return to the small screen

See original here:
Dashing Leads, Fairy Tale Storylines, And Passionate Chemistry: What To Watch After Crash Landing On You - soompi

Generations to come will always remember My Chemical Romance as the biggest band of their kind. And with good reasonsince 2004s Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge blew up, the band has been on top of the world, culminating in the epic madness that has been their recent reunion. But its important to remember that MCR started as just a crew of Misfits fans from New Jersey, if only to put a human face on these guys who many consider rock royalty. If you need help with that, watch this video of the band from 2002, doing an interview from the back of avan.

Once you get over the premise of this videoMy Chemical Romance, in 2002, talking to an interviewer from the backseat of a van the beautiful details of it emerge. The segment, an interview for bedroom network Swept Away TV, opens with the band introducing themselves, since, you know, they werent household names for rock fans yet. Even more impressive is how much of their personalities are present even thenGerard Way is informative and a little nerdy, while Frank Iero looks like hes itching to just get out there andplay.

Perhaps the most precious moment is when host Nicole asks the band if they can tell her about something crazy that happened on tour. Gerard breaks into the sweetest grin youve everseen.

Its funny, we just got asked this question, and we dont have any stories! he says, in a moment made delicious byhindsight.

READ THIS: The changing faces of My ChemicalRomance

Watch My Chemical Romance drop knowledge on a vanbelow:

Catch My Chemical Romance at one of their upcoming reunion shows later this year. But fair warning: they might not get in a van with you this timearound.

March

20 Melbourne, Australia Download Festival21 Sydney, Australia Download Festival25 Auckland, New Zealand Western Springs28 Osaka, Japan Intex29 Tokyo, Japan DownloadFestival

June

16 Cornwall, UK Eden Project18 Milton Keynes, UK Stadium MK20 Milton Keynes, UK Stadium MK21 Milton Keynes, UK Stadium MK23 Dublin, Ireland HospitalKilmainham

July

1 Hungary Volt Festival4 Bologna, Italy Arena Parco Nord6 Bonn, Germany KUNST!RASEN11 Moscow, Russia ParkLivem

September

9 Little Caesars Arena Detroit, MI11 Xcel Energy Center St. Paul, MN12 Riot Fest Chicago, IL14 Scotiabank Arena Toronto, ON15 Garden Boston, MA17 Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY18 Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, PA20 Music Midtown Festival Atlanta, GA22 Prudential Center Newark, NJ23 Prudential Center Newark, NJ26 BB&T Center Sunrise, FL29 Toyota Center Houston, TX30 American Airlines Center Dallas,TX

October

2 Pepsi Center Denver, CO4 Tacoma Dome Tacoma, WA6 Oakland Arena Oakland, CA8 The Forum Los Angeles, CA10 Aftershock Festival Sacramento, CA11 T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas, NV13 The Forum Inglewood, CA14 The Forum Inglewood, CA15 The Forum Inglewood,CA

READ THIS: My Chemical Romances hometown shows celebrated with billboards aroundNewark

See the original post here:
Watch My Chemical Romance Do An Interview From The Back Of A Van In 2002 - Kerrang!

Back in November, Turner Sports announced their plans to launch a NBA on TNT Tuesday Night franchise, with the halftime/postgame show there featuringhost Adam Lefkoe (who spoke to AA about that) and analysts Dwyane Wade, Candace Parker and Shaquille ONeal. That franchise will officially launch next Tuesday, Jan. 28, and Turner Sports held an hour-long conference call Wednesday with Wade, Lefkoe and chief content officer Craig Barry about whats planned for it and how it will stand apart from the existingNBA on TNT Thursday night broadcasts andInside The NBA. Barry started by saying that the key for them with this show is the chemistry between the studio cast.

Were really excited about this opportunity with a new franchise. We feel strongly that the best content is formed around chemistry, so establishing this cast with Dwyane and Shaq and their long-standing relationship, and Dwyane and Candace who are both Chicago natives, and then bringing Adam in. Prior to this phone call, I was looking at Adam and Dwyane and they were talking like long-time best friends. So well have really strong chemistry on the set.

Barry said another focus of the show will be using social media platforms to engage with fans, and covering topics such as culture and style.

The philosophical approach is that this is going to be a 21st-century show, a show that touches on culture and style, that uses social as a main form of communicating with the fan and engagement with the fan. Its one of Dwyanes primary ways of communicating with his fanbase and around his brand. And obviously Adam himself has a huge millennial following at B/R and understands the platform as well, and Shaq is established on social as well as Candace. So we feel theres a huge opportunity to wrap social around the approach to this show to create a higher degree of engagement with the fan. Dwyane has a really unique and original approach, the lens that he looks at the game, the culture of the game, very optimistic, very progressive, and I think the show will take that tone. And there will be an enhanced graphic package and a new set, and were really excited about the opportunity.

Wade said hes thrilled to get to stay involved in the basketball world, and he loves the new team he gets to work with.

Im just really excited to be a part of this team with all of these guys. Coming from the sports world, a lot of athletes, the question is What are you going to do next, how do you fill the void? And you cannot fill the void of what we just got done doing in the game of basketball. But putting yourself around and staying involved with what you fell in love with with sports is important, and was important to me. And to be able to work with the Turner family very closely and really feel this team, the teamwork concept away from the game of basketball, is something Im very excited about and I cannot wait to get going. Its that locker-room feeling. So Im looking forward to it.

Lefkoe said the on-set chemistry is a focus for him as well, as he thinks its whats led the ThursdayNBA on TNTcoverage to such heights.

I think from a viewer perspective and from somebody in the profession, to see The NBA on TNT, what was always special to me was the effortless joy, how it always looked fun. Thats what I really want to help bring to Tuesday nights. Candace, Shaq and Dwyane, on and off the court, are really special people, and then its my job to really help make them shine. And then afterwards me and Dwyane will wear matching velour robes and drink a Bordeaux, just kind of typical Tuesday stuff.

TheNBA on TNT, and specifically the halftime/postgame Inside The NBA show of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaq, has become a model for a lot of broadcasts in basketball and beyond. But Wade said its important for this new show to learn from what works for those guys while not completely copying it, instead taking their own path.

Thats a conversation we had very early with Craig and Turner and the whole team. That show is lightning in a bottle, that show that they created is magic. And were not trying to duplicate what theyve done and how theyve done it. Were trying to find our own voice and our own way. I think the good thing about it for players who are not playing and fans of the game who are watching is that these guys have fun with the game, and its very similar to the conversations youd have with your friends at the barbershop or if you sit down in your basement with your friends and have fun conversations and watch the game. Thats what sort of resonates for me. And with Adam and Candace and Shaq and myself, we just want to bring some joy, and some laughter, and some fun into the way everyone looks at the game of basketball.

And were going to do it hopefully with our way and our style, and hopefully it resonates with all of the fans. We know were going to make some mistakes along the way, but we dont want to be like TNT Thursday; they have their show, and we want to be the new, millennial show. Theres different ways that were going to try and attack that and different plans that we have to try and separate ourselves from people thinking that were going to be just like them. But ultimately, we respect what they built so much; it allows us to even have this show on Tuesday because of what Charles and Kenny and Ernie and Shaq have done for so many years.

With Barkley in particular, some of his comments over the years have led to pushback from criticized players. And there may be a difficult line to walk there for Wade; he only retired at the end of last season, so hes played against most of the current players in the NBA and knows them well, but will still have to find ways to criticize them when warranted. He said he thinks finding that balance may be the biggest challenge for him.

I think thats the toughest part. I think thats why a guy like myself didnt think about really going right into broadcasting when I got done, because I didnt want to talk about guys I just played with, guys I had great relationships with. But I think its all about your perspective. Talking about how someones performing is all about your perspective and is about how they respect you as well. Im going to try to be honest and really think about certain things when it comes to just leaving playing. I know how I felt a certain way when certain guys said certain things about me.

But I think the good thing about me is that I have great relationships with these guys, I have a lot of phone numbers, so its not going to be like Im talking about guys I dont know. And I want to make sure to stay in it with the guys; Im going to continue to talk about the game, to continue to build some form of relationship with each individual, but be able to give my perspective on the game, and hopefully they dont take it a certain way.

I just want to be honest, but not really putting people down, looking to uplift. But I think there are moments where Im going to have to say things that will make me feel a little uncomfortable, but Ill work through that, and having a team like I have at Turner, having a team with Candace and Shaq and Adam, theyll all help me along the way when I have trouble with that. So Ill be leaning on my teammates a lot to kind of navigate through how and what to say at certain times.

This will be notable to watch early on, as NBA on TNT Tuesdays debuts with a doubleheader next week. The first game features the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics (Wade spent 15 of his 17 NBA seasons with the Heat, including his final season last year), and the second features LeBron James (who played with Wade in Miami from 2010-14) and the Los Angeles Lakers against the Los Angeles Clippers. So there are plenty of relationships for Wade to navigate on just that first night. But he said he thinks he can also learn from his past experiences with realizing the value of honest criticism; in particular, he sometimes quickly took exception to comments Barkley made about him, but then later realized Barkley had a point.

Were so lucky to
start our show off with a double-header, Miami-Boston and Lakers-Clippers. How lucky are we to be able to talk about four of the better teams in our game today, and some of the best players that play this game? You know, theyre getting older. So were lucky to have that. The thing I want to point out is that there have been times where Chuck [Barkley] has said something about me and I have not liked it, but there have been times where Chucks said something about me and Ive respected it because Ive actually looked at it and said You know what, hes right.'

So I think what gets highlighted is the moments where hes said something controversial and a player may respond, as a player they didnt like it, but there have been times where you look yourself in the mirror and go You know what, Chuck was actually right about what he said. So when it comes to my friends, Im going to talk the game of basketball, and Im going to try to be fair to everyone, and Im not going to try to sugarcoat things from the standpoint of the point I want to make about the game of basketball.

And I just hope that people respect that and understand that Im not saying anything from ill intentions, Im saying it because this is what I see from watching the game. And a lot of times as players, if you dont really sit back and watch the game, you dont really know and understand exactly what someone is saying about it because youre in it. You dont see it the same way.

I will not be perfect, I will make some mistakes, but my personality is also a little different than some people and I will try to say things that are constructive when it comes to criticism. Constructive criticism is the way Im trying to approach things. So we will see; I have no idea how Im going to be, but what Im going to do is what Ive done my entire life, lean on my team and lean on everyone to help me through this process of talking the game in front of people.

See original here:
NBA on TNT Tuesday Night: "The best content is formed around chemistry" - Awful Announcing

Cigarettes aren't just toxic when they're being smoked. Even when the butts are scrunched up and cold, new research has found they continue to emit harmful compounds in the air.

In the first 24 hours alone, scientists say a used cigarette butt will produce 14 percent of the nicotine that an actively burning cigarette would. And the airborne emissions don't stop there.

While most of these chemicals are released within a day of being extinguished, an analysis for the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found concentrations of nicotine and triacetin - a plasticiser in cigarette filters - had fallen by just half a whopping five days later.

"I was absolutely surprised," says environmental engineer Dustin Poppendieck from the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

"The numbers are significant and could have important impacts when butts are disposed of indoors or in cars."

While much attention has been paid to the health impacts of first-hand, second-hand and now third-hand smoking - where chemical residues linger on walls and furniture - the actual butt of the matter has been paid little attention.

To measure airborne emissions from this forgotten remnant, Poppendieck and his team placed 2,100 recently extinguished cigarettes inside a walk-in chamber made of stainless steel.

Of course, they didn't smoke all these themselves. Instead, the team built a machine to take six puffs per cigarette, mimicking the behaviour of actual humans in robotic-like movements.

Once the freshly-extinguished ends were sealed away, the team measured eight chemicals commonly emitted by cigarettes, four of which the FDA have their eye on for being harmful or potentially so.

Triacetin is not one of the dangerous ones, but because it's so common in cigarette filters and doesn't evaporate easily, it's a good indicator of how other sticky chemicals are breaking down.

Fiddling with the room's temperature, humidity and saturation, the authors tested how emissions changed under certain conditions.When the air temperature of the room was higher, for instance, they noticed the butts emitted these chemicals at higher rates.

In other words, leaving ashtrays out for days at a time, especially in the heat seems like a bad idea, and could potentially expose smokers and nonsmokers to even more harmful chemicals than we thought.

"Hence," the study authors conclude, "the emitted nicotine mass from a butt over five days could be comparable to the nicotine mass emitted from mainstream and sidestream smoke, especially at higher temperatures."

The findings are limited because they only implicate one leading brand of cigarettes and there are few other studies to compare them to. Nevertheless, if the numbers are accurate, it means we've been overlooking a big factor of cigarette smoking.

Today, it's estimated that more than five trillion buttsare produced worldwide each year, and many of these don't get fully extinguished or thrown away properly, causing ground pollution as well, since cigarette butts are not biodegradable.

"You might think that by never smoking in your car when kids are present, you are protecting the nonsmokers or children around you," Poppendieck says.

"But if the ashtray in your hot car is full of butts that are emitting these chemicals, exposure is happening."

The studies were published in the International Journal of Indoor Environment and Health and Science of the Total Environment.

Originally posted here:
Cigarettes Produce Invisible Chemical Emissions Even After They've Been Extinguished - ScienceAlert

The greatest threat confronting the US and Israel may be swarms of drones armed with chemical weapons released by Iran or ISIS, an ex-CIA official has told The Jerusalem Post.

Regarding ISIS, there are a couple of different prongs to their interest in chemical weapons, she said.

Part of what eventually became ISIS came out of groups run by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi someone I followed a lot while at the CIA, Walder said.

Zarqawi was very interested in acquiring small-scale chemical weapons, she said. We are talking about anthrax, which contains spores, [and] even ricin. Deploying the chemical weapons is a very easy thing to do if you have access to a drone.

Walder said she was personally involved in tracking Zarqawi and those associated with him in the post-9/11 era, as well as thwarting some of their planned poison attacks in European countries. CIA secrecy rules prevent her from revealing exactly where, she said.

Regarding Iran, Walder said: You wont see a head of state such as from Iran [openly] say, I want to acquire [chemical weapons], but we know Iran has been working to destabilize [the region] through proxies, the Houthis, Hezbollah. Its less about Iran as a state, but more about Iran as a state actor which can activate proxy groups on its behalf.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by the US in January, had been ingeniously using proxy groups to spread terrorism in the Middle East, she said, and Iran could use these groups to deliver devastating chemical-weapons attacks.

Regarding the acquisition of chemical weapons by ISIS, Iran, its proxies, Syria or al-Qaeda, Walder said that North Korea is the greatest threat as a no-holds-barred seller.

Pyongyang has stockpiled chemical weaponry and materials, and would be more than ready to sell them to any bidder, she said, adding that besides North Korea, small-scale chemical weapons and drones can all be assembled using information online.

Walder said she was particularly concerned that even the best counterterrorism efforts wouldnt see any signs of alarm if [the weapons] were acquired using a piecemeal approach of purchasing low-cost and seemingly unrelated parts.

Chemical weaponry could emerge in the form of a sort of dirty bomb rather than being used directly on the battlefield, as in World War I, she said.

A NEW widening threat was Iranian drone swarms, and they could be modified to carry chemical weapons, Walder said.

The US is even more concerned about Irans development of sophisticated, technologically advanced drones than about its current nuclear capabilities, she said.

Part of what makes drone swarms carrying chemical weapons so dangerous is that they are uniquely capable of evading detection by radar.

Last September, Iran launched a devastating swarm of drone strikes on Saudi oil fields. The Saudis had significant air-defense capabilities against an attempted strike by Iranian aircraft, but they were not ready for low-flying drones coming in under their radar.

Regarding intelligence sharing, Walder told the Post that such sharing between the US and Israel was very strong. She declined to go into detail.

Walder singled out certain African intelligence agencies as being particularly helpful in tracking down individual terrorists.

I spent so much time there, she said. I know a lot about them. For many of the African countries, they are just coming out of civil war and unrest.

Look at the [Osama] bin Laden history, Walder said. He made a lot of inroads in Africa he was responsible entirely for a lot of the infrastructure and roads in Sudan But after the countries civil wars, some have scores to settle with al-Qaeda. Some couldnt wait to help the US.

African countries can help us infiltrate [terrorist] networks in their country, she said. They are much more familiar with the inner workings, so they can help us rid their countries of a nuisance.

Terrorist groups were sometimes less careful covering their tracks in Africa because they believed no one was paying attention to that forgotten continent, Walder said.

She endorsed recent reports about US-Netherlands intelligence cooperation leading to a successful cyber attack on Irans nuclear program. But she had left the CIA before the operation.

After complimenting the cooperation of some foreign agencies with the US, Walder said there were chronic inefficiencies regarding US intelligence cooperation with Europe.

The relationship with Britain always was particularly close, and Brexit would not affect that, she said.

The US has to manage lines of intelligence communications with 27 different European nations to get a full picture, something that is highly inefficient, Walder said.

Noting that the EU already has a foreign minister who coordinates policy, she said having one central hub for intelligence coordination could be even more important. This is because thwarting threats to national security can sometimes be a question of whether information is relayed a few days or even minutes before an attack, she explained.

The 27-nation split in the EU heavily dampens the ability to share information fast enough to keep up with attackers who may be operating using a cross-border strategy to make themselves hard to track, Walder said.

The US would greatly welcome greater coordination of counterterrorism activities within the EU, she concluded.

Here is the original post:
Ex-CIA official warns of Iran, ISIS drones armed with chemical weapons - The Jerusalem Post

Setting the Stage: Emo is alive and well in 2019. If you dont believe it, you should have seen My Chemical Romance reunite on Friday night for their first show in seven years. The legendary emo rock band ended the decade with a literal bang, a one-night only gig at Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium, where the scene smelled just like high school except this time around, no one was under 21.

(Buy: Tickets to My Chemical Romance)

When famed leading man Gerard Way now 42 years young asked the crowd who was seeing MCR for the first time, the majority proudly raised their hands. Hard to believe these same fans who were scream-singing the lyrics to every single song for nearly two hours had never been fortunate enough to see them in its heyday. Perhaps thats why the show sold out as fast as it did.

And perhaps thats why there was a backup line of more than 100 people outside will call, hoping someone didnt show up to pick up their ticket ,so theyd have the chance to check off their bucket list. Suffice to say, some of these kids were either too young to see MCR in the mid-2000s, or (and this is more likely a scenario) the bands library of hits have never lost its popularity with elder fans.

(Read: `10 Emo Albums Every Music Fan Should Own)

Taking The Stage:Many tears have been shed in the lead-up to the show of the year, either by fans who managed to grab tickets to the sold-out show, or by those who were left in the dust (or around the corner). Needless to say, those tears didnt stop for those who managed to squeeze into the Shrine, particularly when the band hit the stage at 9:45 pm with one of their best-known tracks Im Not Ok, (I Promise). The screams were deafening.

Clearly appreciative, Way thanked everyone several times, at one point, saying, [We were] not sure this was ever going to happen, so thanks for showing up. What then followed was a 20-song compilation of the bands catalogue, which included a live debut of Make Room!!! and not one, but two encores. It was admittedly bare bones, too, eschewing any fancy set pieces or projections for raw energy. Though, at one point, Youth Codes Sara Taylor joined the band on vocals forYou Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison.

After exiting the stage, fans chanted M-C-R with enough conviction and enough times to lure the band back out for their first encore, which included both Vampire Money and mega-hit Helena. Way relished the final moments, teasing, This was a magical night, were having so much fun, before bouncing back to the stage for a final encore, soundtracked by those infamous singular piano notes within Welcome to The Black Parade.

Leaving the Black Parade: As the band tweeted the day before the show, In 2017, we got in a room together to see what would happen. A couple more jam sessions and 39 days of rehearsals later, were ready to show you what weve learned. See you soon. Considering the reception at the Shrine, their renewed skills were more than well received, which now begs the question, What next?

Sadly, the band didnt let on to any of the rumors following the Fender Tweet scandal, which caused fans to spin into an emo-laden frenzy at the hopes of a tour. Seeing how there are already further dates scheduled in 2020 in Japan, Australia, and a one-off with Jimmy Eat World in New Zealand one has to assume a proper jaunt is not too far off from being officially announced.

One can only hope.

Setlist:Im Not Okay (I Promise)Thank You For The VenomGive Em Hell, KidHouse Of WolvesSummertimeYou Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison with Sara Taylor of Youth CodeMake Room!!!!Our Lady of SorrowsNa Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)SleepMamaI Dont Love YouDESTROYATeenagersS/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/WFamous Last WordsThe Kids From Yesterday

Encore:Vampire MoneyHelenaWelcome To The Black Parade

Continued here:
Live Review: My Chemical Romance Reunite to Fans Both New and Old at Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium - Consequence of Sound

DEP spokesman says, These are very complex discussions that will take years to resolve

The state Department of Environmental Protection says it will take years to resolve its dispute with five chemical companies which it has accused of contaminating many areas of New Jersey with toxic PFAS chemicals.

Some nine months after issuing a strongly worded Directive to the companies to test, treat and remove the chemicals from soil and water around their facilities, the DEP issued a statement on Jan. 17 in response to a question from NJ Spotlight on why it had said nothing publicly about the initiative since announcing it in March 2019.

As one part of its ongoing efforts to protect New Jersey residents from the PFAS group of chemicals, the DEP continues to engage in discussionsand litigation with the companies named in the directive, spokesman Larry Hajna wrote in an email. These are very complex discussions that will take years to resolve in order to address PFAS contamination throughout the state.

Environmental campaigners said the DEPs new prediction that it would take years for any resolution with the chemical companies raised questions about whether it was backing away from its original demands in the face of strong pushback from the chemical industry.

The directive, based on four state environmental laws, said the companies were responsible for significant contamination of New Jerseys natural resources with PFAS chemicals including PFNA (perfluorononanoic acid), PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), all of which have been linked to illnesses including some cancers, immune-system problems, ulcerative colitis, and elevated cholesterol, according to state and federal studies.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals, once used in consumer products including Teflon, have been found at higher levels and in more places in New Jersey than in many other states, according to state and federal studies over the last decade. Even though they have been phased out by major U.S. chemical manufacturers, they do not biodegrade, and so represent a continuing threat to public health in waterways and soil. Campaigners call them forever chemicals.

They remain unregulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which said it would decide by the end of 2019 whether to begin setting enforceable limits for PFOA and PFOS but has not yet done so.

On Jan. 10, the House of Representatives approved a bill that would set a deadline for the EPA to regulate the chemicals. President Trump earlier threatened to veto the bill if it reaches his desk. But it may fail in the Republican-controlled Senate, according to one staffer for a New Jersey congressman.

In the absence of federal action, and with growing public concern about water contamination, some states including New Jersey have set strict health limits for some PFAS chemicals in drinking water. The DEP adopted the nations first health standard for PFNA in 2018 and is expected to officially approve limits for PFOS and PFOA soon, under pressure from advocates to do so before a proposed rule on those chemicals expires in April.

In its directive, the DEP named Solvay Specialty Polymers, E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., DuPont Specialty Chemicals, the Chemours Company, and 3M as having caused the contamination. It demanded a full accounting of their use of the chemicals, and ordered them to pay for testing, treatment and cleanup, arguing that that taxpayers, via the DEP, should no longer have to bear that burden.

All five companies denied they were responsible for the alleged contamination and argued that they were not obligated to pay for future cleanup. Lawyers for DuPont and Chemours said the directive was untenable and unsupported by factual findings.

In a letter obtained by NJ Spotlight via an Open Records Act request this month, Solvay denied it was liable under New Jerseys Spill Act for PFAS contamination near its plant in West Deptford, Gloucester County, and said DEP was being unreasonable by trying to shift the cost of statewide cleanup to Solvay and the other companies.

Solvay, which voluntarily ended its use of PFNA in 2012, said it had been investigating and remediating PFAS chemicals at the site since 2013, and had already spent $25 million on the measures.

3M, in another letter obtained from the OPRA request, said DEP didnt have the statutory authority for some of its demands, and denied it was liable for funding the cleanup under New Jersey law.

Among campaigners raising questions about whether the DEP is backing away from its original demands is Tracy Carluccio, deputy director of the environmental group Delaware Riverkeeper Network, and a longtime advocate for tighter curbs on PFAS.

If New Jersey is wavering under this task and is going to shrink from its lofty announced goal, confidence in the state will be lost and people will pay the price with their health, she said.

The sweeping nature of the DEPs directive suggests it will take time to resolve the matter, and so the public at least deserves an interim report from the state attorney generals office on the status of the talks, Carluccio said.

Thats the only way the public can have confidence that the state is vigorously investigating and staying the course towards making these companies accountable for the widespread contamination they have caused, she said.

She noted that documenting PFAS contamination by DuPont in Parkersburg, West Virginia took plaintiffs attorney Robert Billott some 20 years before winning a series of jury awards for people whose illnesses were linked to the chemicals as described in his recent book Exposure, and the movie Dark Waters.

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, accused the DEP of failing to follow through on its directive and of now seeking a settlement that will allow corporate polluters to avoid full responsibility.

He argued that the DEP has the authority under the Spill Act to take over contaminated sites and bill the owners for cleanup, but is not acting on that.

Instead of putting force in enforcement, the DEP is hoping to delay and settle, turning this into a farce, Tittel said. They just hope the public doesnt notice. For far too long, companies like Dow and DuPont have gotten away with polluting our state. Unfortunately, it looks like this administration will let them get away with it again.

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DEPs PFAS Directive to Chemical Companies Will Take Years to Resolve - NJ Spotlight

Chemistry is a fundamental part of life. Everything around us is made from chemical compounds, and an understanding of chemistry is a foundation for understanding how our world works. The demand for chemical scientists is unwavering, and the career opportunities are diverse, including product research and development, health care and public health, environmental protection, quality assurance and manufacturing.

New Jersey City Universitys Chemistry Department prepares students for chemical sciences careers or continued academic study in the discipline. Our student-centered approach combinestheoretical concepts in the classroom with plenty of hands-on learning in the laboratory. Students work with state-of-the-art equipment in our instrumental, analytical and physical chemistry laboratories. This hands-on experience is critical to building a foundation for a chemical sciences career, graduate study in chemistry or future study in another scientific discipline.

Chemistry Department faculty are committed to NJCUs tradition of teaching excellence. Students are invited to work with faculty on real-world research, building desirable skills and experience to give them an edge in a competitive job market.

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Chemistry | New Jersey City University

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is to add five additional compound families including the Novichoks to the list of chemicals tightly restricted under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

This decision was reached on 27 November during the annual meeting of the CWCs 193 member states in The Hague. This will be the first time chemicals have been added to the CWC controlled chemicals annex since the treaty came into force in 1997. All five families will become schedule 1 chemicals, meaning theyll join the likes of sarin, VX and the sulfur mustards as chemicals deemed by the convention to have little or no peaceful purposes.These chemicals can still be produced in very limited quantities under strict supervision for the purposes of protective and medical research.

The changes will take effect 180 days after the OPCW director-general Fernando Arias informs the UN secretary-general of the updates. The OPCW was unable to confirm when the notification that triggers the countdown will be made.

The Novichoks are a group of organophosphate nerve agents developed in Russia in the 1970s and 80s. They were not used in anger as far as we know until former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal were poisoned in the UK city of Salisbury on 4 March 2018.

This incident led to a joint proposal by Canada, the Netherlands and the US to add the Novichoks and another additional chemical family to the CWC. Russia submitted a later proposal to add an additional three families to the same list. Both requests were agreed last week.

This is the first time in its history that the Chemical Weapons Conventions annex on chemicals has been updated. This is an important development that demonstrates the adaptability of the convention to changing threats, said Arias as the amendments were announced.

A point of confusion here is that the use of the Novichok in Salisbury was already a breach of the CWC. As is the use of chlorine also not listed in the CWC annex in Syria. The treaty has catch-all wording that prohibits the use of any chemical for chemical weapons purposes regardless of whether it is specifically noted on the controlled list or not.

But adding these chemicals to the list isnt just a symbolic gesture, it gives the OPCW the right to monitor their use and the acquisition of their precursors. Under the CWC, states are permitted to hold small quantities of schedule 1 chemicals, but these are all monitored down to milligram quantities, explains Alastair Hay, a toxicologist and chemical weapons expert from the University of Leeds, UK. Listing will help to shut down any activity with Novichoks, other than the ability to analyse and perhaps test defences such as gas masks and protective clothing.

Correction: The headline was changed on 3 December 2019 to reflect that the chemical classes added to the schedule 1 list have not been banned outright but that their production and use is very tightly restricted

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Chemical weapons watchdog to add Novichok agents to list of closely controlled substances - Chemistry World

MANKATO Jarius Wrights two best NFL seasons came with Teddy Bridgewater throwing him the ball. After Sam Bradford joined the team last year, the Vikings wide receiver barely played.

That wasnt necessarily because of the change in quarterbacks. Stefon Diggs played more in the slot last season, taking time from Wright. And the emergence of Adam Thielen as a high-usage receiver played a role.

Wright and Bradford, though, seem to be making up for lost time. Bradford hit Wright on some nice balls in training camp at Minnesota State Mankato, including a long one down the right side and one down the left side in Saturdays night practice.

I think me and Sam are starting to become, I dont want to say one, but were starting to think alike, Wright said this week. Were starting to be on the same page. Were starting to talk about more routes together and things like that.

With Bridgewater as the starting quarterback, Wright had seasons of catching 42 passes in 2014 and 34 in 2015.

He likes feeding me on third down, Wright, a six-year veteran, said Friday. Thats my guy.

Bridgewater, though, was lost for the year with a knee injury suffered in the final preseason practice last August, and it remains to be seen when he will play again.

With Bradford as the quarterback last season, Wright caught a career-low 11 passes for 67 yards. Because he didnt play much, chemistry never developed between Bradford and Wright.

Sometimes I think that can affect the relationship between a player and a receiver, Wright said. Im not going to say he didnt know me well because he throws to me some in practice, but not getting the chance to go with (the first team) a lot, I think it does mess up timing.

Wright, though, could snag some balls from Bradford in Thursdays preseason opener at Buffalo. Wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, who has missed the past week of practice with a left thigh injury, might not play. In Treadwells absence, Wright has been working with the first team.

Bradford is looking forward to developing a good relationship with Wright.

I think Jarius Wright can be extremely valuable to us, Bradford said. His quickness and his speed in the slot, its just nice having a guy like that in the slot out there. He beats one-on-one coverage consistently, whether it be on some quick option type routes or even on the deeper stuff with his vertical speed.

The last time the Vikings played a game, Wright got in some work with Bradford. In the 2016 finale against Chicago, with Minnesota out of the playoff race, Wright was inserted and caught a season-high five passes for 24 yards and his only touchdown of the season.

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Vikings WR Jarius Wright working to develop chemistry with QB Sam Bradford - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

Students taking classes from the chemistry and biochemistry department may start paying less for course materials.

Starting fall, the department will require instructors to provide students with no-cost alternatives to course materials and are required to state in their syllabuses whether they profit off the sale of any written course material.

No-cost alternatives include online copies or hard copy library reserves of written course materials. Professors must explain how to access those alternatives in their syllabuses.

Catherine Clarke, chair of the department of chemistry and biochemistry, said an email that Chancellor Gene Block forwarded her from a students mother first brought the problem of textbook prices to her attention. In the email, the mother said she was upset over the high cost of a course reader in an introductory chemistry class.

It came to my attention that this was a really inappropriately priced material and the mom felt very outraged that her son was required to buy this, Clarke said.

She said she met with the department about the issue of textbook costs and the faculty decided to create a committee to approve written materials that impose a cost on students.

All instructors that use course materials that impose a cost upon our students must submit these materials so that they can be reviewed and approved by the committee, Clarke said. (The committee) will only approve items that provide value in proportion to cost.

Clarke added because this policy is still new and fall quarter has not started yet, the department will do its best to ensure compliance.

We do have a pretty good idea of the kinds of written materials that instructors have used in the past, Clarke said. Were particularly aware of which instructors have used these sorts of materials in the past and will follow up with them.

Clarke added she hopes every department will implement this policy.

Divya Sharma, the Academic Affairs commissioner of the undergraduate student government, said he thinks it is problematic if professors try to profit off students since the university already pays them. He added he thinks providing downloadable copies of textbook materials is better than asking students to use library reserves.

I know having reserves in a library does become an issue if students are all trying to access (the same book) at a time, Sharma said. I hope (this is implemented) in conjunction instead of one or the other.

Sharma added his office is working to make sure other departments implement similar policies. For example, Sharma said humanities professors often make reading materials accessible online, even though their departments do not have official policies on controlling textbook prices. His office will lobby to make this policy explicitly official.

Dawn Setzer, a UCLA Library spokesperson, said in a statement the library supports the policy and will work with instructors to align the UCLA Librarys collections with professors instructional needs.

We are fully supportive of the policy and provided the department with information we had gathered through our course materials initiative, our course reserves service, and ongoing partnership with the UCLA Store on course packs, she said.

Kahlo Baniadam, a third-year psychobiology student, said he thinks the policies will benefit students who are sometimes expected to pay hundreds of dollars in textbooks for chemistry-related classes.

Since the authors (of the textbooks) are definitely making money, the biggest thing for me is that there will be a free option, Baniadam said. (Having free alternatives) is the main thing that will solve all the problems, if the policy is enforceable.

Baniadam said in some classes, textbooks and course readers were strongly recommended and necessary for practice problems. He added students often had to buy the course readers brand-new because of frequent changes to the material, which he said he thinks caused financial burden to some.

Baniadam added he thinks professors should post lecture notes online instead of requiring students to buy them as textbooks or course readers.

Janet Song, a third-year biochemistry student, said she thinks the new policies increase transparency between students and faculty.

Textbooks are expensive, Song said. My financial situation wasnt too bad, but I could see how it could be difficult for other people.

Excerpt from:
Chemistry, biochemistry instructors to provide no-cost course materials - Daily Bruin

Welcome to the Chemistry Department at the University of New Orleans! Our undergraduate and graduate degree programs are designed to provide students with an engaging and challenging academic experience. Our Department is small enough to offer personal attention to students, yet large enough to provide opportunities for students in the areas of research, teaching, and service. Undergraduate and graduate students work alongside faculty to conduct original research, often presenting their work at academic conferences and co-authoring scholarly publications.

Undergraduate students, Sadia Akram (left) and Johnny Avants experiment with non-Newtonian fluids and liquid nitrogen at the Chemistry Privateer Plunge Event.

Many graduate students are offered teaching assistant positions and exceptional undergraduate students can serve as lab teaching assistants or tutors. Our Chemistry Learning Center offers free walk-in tutoring five days per week and is available to students for group meetings and study sessions.

Through the Chemistry Club and Graduate Chemical Society students can participate in science related community service through our outreach initiatives with the Louisiana Children's Museum and local schools. Student engagement is one of our priorities and each week during the Department's seminar, visiting academic or industrial speakers spend the day talking with faculty and students about research, current developments, and employment opportunities in chemistry.

Visit the undergraduate, graduate, and organizations pages to learn about our programs. Our faculty have distinguished themselves in a wide variety of areas including analytical, inorganic, materials, organic, and physical chemistry as well as biochemistry. Inquiries to individual faculty members about their research are always welcome. Faculty contact information can be found on the Directory page.

The Department of Chemistry will award several scholarships to continuing chemistry majors. Students must currently be a BS chemistry major (students with more than one major must have a BS chemistry as one of them). Awards of up to $2000 will be made in January 2016. Students graduating in December 2015 are not eligible. The deadline for application is November 15, 2015 (11:59 pm). applications must be made via the link provided below.

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Department of Chemistry | University of New Orleans

A National Institutes of Health training program that brings about collaboration in the fields of chemistry and molecular biology is giving graduate students new perspectives on both science and future career paths.

As someone who never studied biology as an undergrad, Im fascinated by the impact that chemistry can have directly on biology and moving your work toward human innovation, said Jose Ricardo Moreno, a PhD candidate in chemistry who researches the cellular underpinnings of cancer and other serious diseases.

As a synthetic chemist, my drive is, how can I synthesize or make new molecules? It wasnt until biology came into play that I began to see it had a big role to play in finding cures for diseases and finding ways that we can make chemistry a tool to improve the quality of life for human beings. The connection immediately becomes apparent.

Moreno is one of six PhD trainees supported by a Chemistry and Biology Interface T32 grant, awarded in 2016 by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

The two-year program promotes communication across disciplines and builds innovative thinking and approaches for todays interdisciplinary careers. The new collaboration is all about finding more and better tools to solve biological problems, said program director Susan Forsburg, Gabilan Distinguished Professor in Science and Engineering and professor of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

What makes the chemical biology sandbox so interesting? The field harnesses chemistrys quantitative methods of synthesis, analysis and mechanism to make fundamental discoveries that impact human health.

As biologists identify new drug targets using genomic and molecular approaches, theres a need for chemists grounded in fundamental biology who can design, synthesize, manipulate and characterize molecules. And chemistry provides molecular biologists a deeper understanding of the chemical principles that underlie molecular interactions such as recognition, design, synthesis and reactivity.

The idea here is that we are trying to create students who have a unique identity as chemical biology students, Forsburg said. Trainees identify someone on the opposite program with whom they can have a co-mentor relationship and spend some time in that lab and learn something from the other side.

Besides venturing into six-week mini sabbaticals, they take several courses in the cross-discipline.

Trainees are schooled in the responsible conduct of research fundamentals. They meet in a weekly journal club to hash over assigned research journal articles and hear prominent lecturers provide overviews of their research. The cadre pores over each paper and asks why is this important and what makes it a good paper? What makes a good research problem? For that matter, what makes a good research program?

The programs focus on cross-training dovetails with the intensely collaborative direction science evolving at USC, as exemplified in The Bridge@USC. This fall, chemical biologists will be among the prominent researchers from diverse areas across science and engineering who will move into their new home at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience.

Jose Ricardo Moreno is the recipient of a T32 grant. (Photo/Rhonda Hillbery)

Training grants add an extra dimension to graduate education that prospective students seek, said Stephen Bradforth, USC Dornsife divisional dean for natural sciences and mathematics. The training program offers professionalization components and opportunities to work in laboratories with multiple investigators that students simply wouldnt find elsewhere. The fact that USC has received the award underscores the prominence of our chemical biology graduate program as well the excellence of its research faculty.

USC is one is about 30 U.S. universities awarded training grants in the T32 chemical biology program, and its gaining attention.

Its been a good tool for us for recruiting top chemical biology program applicants, said Matthew Pratt, associate professor of chemistry and training grant deputy director.

At his home base in the Pratt research group, Moreno studies glycosylation the modification of proteins by carbohydrates, how this process helps cancer cells thrive and how it might be disrupted to fight disease.

Now entering his second year as a T32 trainee, Moreno will spend six weeks in the lab of Fabien Pinaud, assistant professor of molecular biology and director of The Single Molecule Biophotonics Group.

I expect to be taking compounds made in the [Pratt] lab and learning to stain cells and use these compounds to see into the cell, Moreno said.

He will go very small-scale, using light-based microscopy techniques to detect, study and understand the properties of biomolecules at the cellular, subcellular and molecular levels.

Dieu An Nguyen researches small RNAs (ribonucleic acid) and the mechanisms of their regulatory pathway in nematodes (C. elegans) in the lab of Carolyn Phillips, assistant professor of molecular biology.

Dieu An Nguyen will broaden her studies by also cross-training in the Lin Chen lab. (Photo/Rhonda Hilbery)

Nguyen recognizes that the in vivo lens used to study an intact organism only reveals part of the mystery she is trying to unravel. Chemistry provides a different way of looking at a problem, she said.

Im just very excited a lot of me likes going very in depth in science. But part of me thinks Im missing out on the larger picture of science. This [program] makes me feel Im a more comprehensive scientist.

On the chemistry side, she will be mentored by Professor Lin Chen, working in vitro (in the test tube) to purify worm proteins and study their biochemical properties.

Looking through the lens of chemistry will let her see protein structure and biochemical properties of those proteins with more of an expert eye.

You can account for much more detail or chemical properties in your biological model than you thought could have done before, she said. So the program just sort of opens up this horizon of possible collaborations in the future.

Pratt sees the blossoming field drawing intellectual firepower while also offering attractive career paths for PhDs.

What they learn allows trainees to come out as full-fledged chemical biologists rather than just a chemist or a biologist, Pratt said.

He cited the pharmaceutical industry as an eager employer of graduates with a knowledge base that spans both fields.

A lot of companies are moving in the direction of biological therapeutics, he said. For example, there is big growth in therapeutic antibodies, where job candidates need to have good understanding of chemistry and biochemistry, as well as the more biological areas such as exploring protein expression and purification.

Caiqun Yu primarily works in the lab group of Chao Zhang, assistant professor of chemistry.Her cross-training experience in the lab of Chen, a structural biologist, will allow her to study X-ray protein crystallography, a form of high-resolution microscopy.Investigators believe this tool will ultimately aid in the design of novel inhibitor drugs.

Yu hopes to ultimately work in the pharmaceutical industry.

Now embarking on year two, the training group is developing its own esprit de corps while it prepares to welcome new members.

I love the people there, said Caiqun Yu, who primarily works in the lab group of Chao Zhang, assistant professor of chemistry. We share ideas. Were also planning on doing a student organized journal club over the summer. I think its a good opportunity to continuously talk about science and read papers.

The National Institutes of Health is providing four slots for 2017-18, when the cohort may grow to 13 first and second-year trainees. The first annual meeting later this year will bring everyone together to celebrate the new collaboration a
nd share results.

More stories about: Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Research

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Training program leads to collaboration among grad students in chemistry and biology - USC News