BEIJING (Reuters) - China has begun combat-ready patrols in the waters around a disputed group of islands in the South China Sea, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday, the latest escalation in tensions over the potentially resource-rich area. Asked about what China would do in response to Vietnamese air patrols over the Spratly Islands, the ministry's spokesman Geng Yansheng said Beijing would ...
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A coroner says New Zealanders should be aware of basic precautions to take when snorkelling following the death of a man in the Cook Islands.
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GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --The world's leading institutional investors, CEOs, economists and academics will gather at the world-renowned Ritz-Carlton in Grand Cayman, November 1-2, 2012 to discuss and debate the crucial ingredients for sustaining a vibrant global alternative investment industry. The key theme of the Summit is 'Innovation in Alternative Investments: Seeing What's Next'. One of the keynote speakers is Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group. Industry speakers at the event will include; Peter Clarke, CEO, MAN GROUP; Matt Botein, Global Head of Alternative Investments, Blackrock; Mel Lagomasino, CEO, Genspring Family Offices; Anne Richards, CIO, Aberdeen Asset Management; Mark Yusko, CEO, Morgan Creek; Steve Shenfeld, President, Midocean Credit Partners; Jane Buchan, CEO/MD, PAAMCO and Mark Okada, Co-Founder and CIO of Highland Capital Management.
This exclusive, global thought leadership event will bring together best-in-class industry professionals, and will feature a panel of esteemed and innovative speakers who will address the economic challenges that affect the alternative investment industry. Organised by Alternative Investment Research Ltd., the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit (Cayman A.I. Summit) will unite some of the greatest minds in the alternative investment industry.
With over 9,000 open-ended investment funds registered in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman A.I. Summit will connect the leading domicile of choice for offshore investment funds with the alternative investment industry's most influential leaders and will lead the development of a new narrative for the industry; on what it stands for and what it can deliver in the post-crisis world.
"I am excited to be in the Cayman Islands for the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit," said Sir Richard Branson, one of the keynote speakers for the Summit. "The event has a very impressive range of speakers from the alternative investment industry that will make for some very interesting discussions on the future of the industry."
The Cayman A.I. Summit has the support of some of the largest companies in the world and the Cayman Islands including; KPMG, Deutsche Bank, Mourant Ozannes, Paladyne, and Virgin Unite.
"The Cayman Alternative Investment Summit is an opportunity for the industry's elite to take an introspective look at itself, seeing where the industry has been and predicting where it will go in the future," said Anthony Cowell, Partner in Alternative Investments at KPMG in the Cayman Islands and Editorial Chair. "KPMG is proud to be at the centre of the event and looks forward to the stimulating and thought provoking debate, set against the backdrop of the domicile of choice for alternative investments."
Cayman Managing Partner for Mourant Ozannes, Neal Lomax said, "The launch of the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit is a significant milestone for the Cayman Islands. We are delighted to be a major sponsor of the Summit in its inaugural year and we are confident it will prove to be unparalleled in terms of the quality of its participants, content and organisation. Our commitment to the Summit is reflective of Mourant Ozannes' continued confidence in the future of the Cayman Islands as one of the world's leading international financial centers."
Media and Association Partners for the Cayman A.I. Summit include: Absolute Return, Cayman Financial Review, AIMA, Investments & Pensions Europe (IPE), FinAlternatives, Hedge Fund Alert, HFM Week, Albourne Village, IFI Global, CAIA, HSP News, Hedge Funds Review and The Hedge Fund Journal.
Consistent with the commitment of the event's major sponsors to corporate citizenship and following Sir Richard Branson's philanthropic lead, the Cayman A.I. Summit charity is Virgin Unite the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group. Virgin Unite's mission is to "connect people and entrepreneurial ideas to make change happen; to help revolutionize the way government, business and social sectors work together business as a force for good."
Working with Sir Richard Branson, it is expected that the Cayman A.I. Summit will contribute over US$150,000 to Virgin Unite.
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Sir Richard Branson keynote speaker at Cayman Alternative Investment Summit
Work is nearing completion on the long-awaited Channel Islands Boating Center, which will be operated by CSU Channel Islands. Grand opening of the impressive center is expected in October or November.
The two-story boating center at Channel Islands Harbor will offer public education opportunities as well as university recreation programs.
Harbor Director Lyn Krieger recently gave me a tour of the soon-to-be-completed $6 million center.
The project has been in development since 2000 and is funded by a combination of private donations, grants, and Harbor revenues.
When completed, the facility will include classrooms, a conference room, locker rooms, showers, indoor and outdoor boat storage, and an adjacent ADA accessible dock. A variety of exhibits on boating and the marine environment will be located at the interior and exterior of the building. The exhibits will provide information about the natural environment off the coast, including the Channel Islands, Santa Barbara Channel and the National Marine Sanctuary.
Krieger said the center, with all its amenities, would be an excellent place to host major regattas and other boating related events. Chances are good that it will be a very busy place day and night seven days a week once it opens.
Krieger said the project has been made possible by a number of partners including California Department of Boating and Waterways, The Smith Family Foundation, NOAA Office of Ocean Services, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, and California Department of Parks and Recreation.
Although it will be a welcome addition to Channel Islands Harbor, the center hasn't come to fruition without its share of controversy.
The project was delayed in its early stages by heavy criticism from environmentalists and residents who live close to the chosen location. The opponents successfully pushed for environmental studies after pointing out that blue heron nests could be disturbed by the project. The opponents wanted the county to build the center on the other side of the harbor, but advocates for the existing location prevailed.
UPCOMING SAILBOAT RACES
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Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said that China should not make an issue out of the putting up of a school on Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea, saying the Philippines has been occupying the area for a long time.
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Islands ours, putting up school not new issue: Philippine gov't
China loves islands. In fact, China loves islands so much that it's involved in disputes over them with a whole bunch of other countries at any given time. One of those disputed island chains is the Paracel ...
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China's Major Telecoms All Provide Service to Disputed Paracel Islands
Public release date: 28-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sara Hrera media@gruberprizes.org 203-432-6231 Yale University
Douglas C. Wallace, PhD, a pioneering genetics researcher who founded the field of mitochondrial genetics in humans, will receive the 2012 Genetics Prize of The Gruber Foundation. Wallace is being honored with this prestigious international award for his groundbreaking achievements in helping science understand the role of mitochondriathe "power plants" of cellsin the development of disease and as markers for human evolution.
He will receive the award November 9 in San Francisco at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, where he will also deliver a lecture titled "A Bioenergetic Perspective on Origins, Health, and Disease".
"Douglas Wallace's contributions to our understanding of mitochondrial genetics have changed the way human and medical geneticists think about the role of mitochondria in human health and disease," said Elizabeth Blackburn, chair of the Selection Advisory Board to the Prize. Blackburn is the 2006 Gruber Genetics Prize laureate and shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.
Wallace began his research on mitochondrial biology 40 years ago, at a time when few people thought the study of mitochondria and its DNA (mtDNA) would have any significant applications for clinical medicine. In the early 1970s, Wallace and associates demonstrated that the mtDNA coded for heritable traits by developing the cybrid transfer technique and showing that chloramphenicol resistance was cytoplasmically inherited. This system permitted them to delineate the characteristics of cytoplasmic genetics. Then in the late 1970s, Wallace demonstrated that the human mtDNA is inherited solely through the mother. Using maternal inheritance as a guide, Wallace identified the first inherited mtDNA disease, Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), and subsequently linked mtDNA mutations to a wide range of clinical symptoms, including deafness, neuropsychiatric disorders, cardiac and muscle problems, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Wallace also showed that mtDNA mutations accumulate in human tissue with age, and thus may play a role in age-related diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. In addition, he found that the levels of these age-related mtDNA mutations are higher in the brains of people with certain neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease and Huntington disease.
Wallace's research has also made a major contribution to the field of molecular anthropology. Using mtDNA variation, he has reconstructed the origins and ancient migrations of women, tracing all mtDNA lineages back some 200,000 years to a single African originthe so-called mitochondrial Eve.
"The impact of Doug Wallace's visionary research has been remarkable," said Huda Zoghbi, a member of Selection Advisory Board and the 2011 laureate of the Gruber Neuroscience Prize. "His discovery of the first mtDNA mutations in humans opened up the field of mitochondrial genetics and demonstrated the role of mitochondria in many human diseases. It's an extraordinary legacyand he is richly deserving of this award."
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By agreement made in the spring of 2011 The Gruber Foundation has now been established at Yale University.
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$500,000 Gruber Foundation Genetics Prize goes to Philadelphia scientist
27-06-2012 16:28 Executives from the drugstore giant talk transformation.
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Visionary Leaders: Walgreens Bets Big on Health Care - Video
27-06-2012 19:24 It seems as if the entire nation is holding its breath for the Supreme Court's health care ruling — the presidential candidates, governors of virtually every state, insurers with billions at stake, companies large and small and countless millions of Americans concerned about their own medical care and how they'll pay for it. Still, Thursday's expected ruling almost certainly will not be the last word on the nation's tangled efforts to address health care woes. The problems of high medical costs, widespread waste and tens of millions of people without insurance will require Congress and the president to keep looking for answers, whether or not President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act passes the test of constitutionality. For more on this story:
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Countdown to Supreme Court's Health Care Law Ruling; What Can Americans Expect? - Video
27-06-2012 22:34 Dr. Mary O'Brien, a board member of Physicians for a National Health Program, and former hospital CEO Stan Hupfeld break down what the different possible Supreme Court rulings on Obama's Affordable Care Act tomorrow would mean for health care reform. Tune in Weeknights at 8:00/7:00c on Current TV
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What's Obamacare's prognosis? Health care professionals take the Supreme Court's temperature - Video
When it hands down its major ruling Thursday, the US Supreme Court will render judgment on an issue that carries a direct impact for millions of American families.
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Health-care reform law: How Supreme Court ruling could affect families
WEDNESDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday is expected to hand down its ruling on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration's signature legislative achievement.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) The U.S. Supreme Court will rule Thursday on the constitutionality of the sweeping health care law championed by President Barack Obama, in a hotly awaited decision that is bound to divide the country.
The stakes cannot be overstated: what the justices decide will have an immediate and long-term impact on all Americans, both in how they get medicine and health care, and also in vast, yet unknown areas of commerce.
According to a poll released Tuesday, 37% of Americans say they would be pleased if the health care law is deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Twenty-eight percent would be pleased if the Affordable Care Act is ruled constitutional, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey showed, compared to 35% who said they would be disappointed if the court came back with that outcome.
But nearly four in 10 Americans surveyed said they would have mixed feelings if the justices struck down the whole law. The survey of 1,000 adults was conducted June 20-24.
Previous surveys have indicated that some who oppose the law do so because they think it doesnt go far enough.
The polarizing law, dubbed Obamacare by many, is the signature legislation of Obamas time in office.
Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, told supporters in Virginia on Tuesday: If Obamacare is not deemed constitutional, then the first three and a half years of this presidents term will have been wasted on something that has not helped the American people.
Romney, whose opposition to the law has been a rallying cry on the stump, continued: If it is deemed to stand, then Ill tell you one thing. Then well have to have a president and Im that one thats gonna get rid of Obamacare. Were gonna stop it on day one.
Speaking to supporters in Atlanta Tuesday, Obama defended his health care law as the way forward for the American people.
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The big day has come for the president’s health care law. The Supreme Court hands down it’s verdict on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act  at 10 a.m. ET. We’ll be here all day updating with the decision, what’s going on outside the court, what it...
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Yesterday at 8:09 PM The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule today.
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR and MARK SHERMAN The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- It seems as if the entire nation is holding its breath for the Supreme Court's health care ruling - the presidential candidates, governors of virtually every state, insurers with billions at stake, companies large and small and countless millions of Americans concerned about their own medical care and how they'll pay for it.
Still, Thursday's expected ruling almost certainly will not be the last word on the nation's tangled efforts to address health care woes. The problems of high medical costs, widespread waste and tens of millions of people without insurance will require Congress and the president to keep looking for answers, whether or not President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act passes the test of constitutionality.
A look at potential outcomes:
Q: What if the Supreme Court, despite justices' blunt questions during public arguments, upholds the law and finds Congress was within its authority to require most people to have health insurance or pay a penalty?
A: That would settle the legal argument but not the political battle.
The clear winners if the law is upheld and allowed to take full effect would be uninsured people in the United States, estimated at more than 50 million.
Starting in 2014, most could get coverage through a mix of private insurance and Medicaid, a safety-net program. Republican-led states that have resisted creating health insurance markets under the law would have to scramble to comply, but the U.S. would get closer to other economically advanced countries that guarantee medical care for their citizens.
Republicans would keep trying to block the law. They hope to elect Mitt Romney as president, backed by a GOP House and Senate, and repeal the law, although their chances of outright repeal would seem to be diminished by the court's endorsement.
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After a slew of announcements early Monday prompted speculation that a decision on health care legislation was imminent, we learned that Thursday will be the day for one of the most heavily anticipated rulings in the last several years. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on the health care legislation that was passed in 2010, bringing a conclusion to years of legal wrangling and politicking behind the scenes. The justices are expected to issue a split opinion, and analysts have been divided over how they will rule. Given the far-reaching impact of the decision, the health care sector figures to see increased scrutiny and trading volumes throughout the week.
Analysts see a wide range of possible outcomes in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, with potential positives and negatives for the health care industry. In a recent research note, S&P Capital IQ ETF Analyst Todd Rosenbluth outlined three possible scenarios for Thursdays announcement and gave some thoughts on what each would mean for the health care sector [sign up for the free ETFdb newsletter]:
Under this scenario, which is deemed to be the most positive for the health care industry, the Supreme Court would essentially side with the Obama administration and rule that the mandate for individual insurance is constitutional and can be implemented as scheduled. This could represent a win for the health care sector since it would lead directly to an inflow of more than 30 million additional insured customers over the next several years (beginning in 2014).
In the current political environment, however, this scenario could lead to additional uncertainty for the health care industry. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has vowed to repeal the health care package if elected, which could lead to additional doubt over the long term prospects for the law if the November election is close as expected. The implementation and subsequent repeal of the entire law would translate into major expenditures for the health care sector, potentially creating a short term drag on efficiency and profit margins.
This is the best case scenario for health care ETFs
Another possibility is that the Supreme Court determines the individual mandate to be unconstitutional, and further rules that the mandate is a primary component of the legislation. That would mean that the individual mandate cant be stripped out from the rest of the law, and the Court would effectively invalidate the entire law. This would lead to healthcare reform eventually being rolled back entirely, which would likely be a complex process.
S&P sees this as a neutral outcome for the health care sector in general; while the loss of millions of new insured individuals would dramatically reduce growth potential, the elimination of the various fees, taxes, and regulations that are part of the overhaul would disappear as well.
This scenario would likely be neutral to health care ETFs
This hybrid scenario could be the worst possible outcome for the health care industry. Its very possible that the Court rules the individual mandate unconstitutional but allows the rest of the law to be implemented as planned. That could be the worst of both worlds for health care providers; the pipeline of 30 million new insured Americans would essentially be emptied, while the various taxes and regulatory burdens would remain in place. According to the Congressional Budget Office, striking down the individual mandate would result in about 16 million additional Americans obtaining health insurance. Many of those would come through the expansion of Medicaid, which would weigh on profit margins of health care companies.
This is the worst case scenario for health care ETFs
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WASHINGTON Saving its biggest case for last, the Supreme Court is expected to announce its verdict today on President Barack Obamas health care law.
The outcome is likely to be a factor in the presidential campaign and help define John Roberts legacy as chief justice.
But the courts ruling almost certainly will not be the last word on Americas tangled efforts to address health care woes. The problems of high medical costs, widespread waste and tens of millions of people without insurance will require Congress and the president to keep looking for answers, whether or not the Affordable Care Act passes the test of constitutionality.
A look at potential outcomes:
Q: What if the Supreme Court upholds the law and finds Congress was within its authority to require most people to have health insurance or pay a penalty?
A: That would settle the legal argument, but not the political battle.
The clear winners if the law is upheld and allowed to take full effect would be uninsured people in the United States, estimated at more than 50 million.
Starting in 2014, most could get coverage through a mix of private insurance and Medicaid.
Republicans would keep trying to block the law. They will try to elect likely presidential candidate Mitt Romney, backed by a GOP House and Senate, and repeal the law, although their chances of repeal would seem to be diminished by the courts endorsement.
Obama would feel the glow of vindication for his hard-fought health overhaul, but it might not last long even if hes re-elected.
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The Supreme Court is set to rule on the constitutionality of the controversial health care law passed in 2010.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court is set to release its much-anticipated rulings on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, the comprehensive health care law enacted two years ago.
The election-year rulings will not only guide how every American receives medical care but will also establish precedent-setting boundaries for how government regulation can affect a range of social areas. Your health and your finances could be on the line.
The outcome's possibilities are myriad: a narrow or sweeping decision? A road map to congressional authority in coming decades? Which bloc of justices, which legal argument will win the day?
Here are five scenarios -- strategic markers of a sort -- to watch as the high court weighs in on health care.
Wait another day?
The first question the high court tackled in its seven-hour marathon argument in March was something few observers had expected: It boiled down to whether the law's individual mandate is a "tax" that could prevent the court from considering the broader constitutional questions.
A little-known federal law -- the Anti-Injunction Act, dating back to 1867-- bars claimants from asking for a refund on a tax until it has been paid.
This "gateway" issue could render moot all the other pending health care questions if the justices think the minimum coverage requirement amounts to a tax.
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28-06-2012 02:51 Luke is an eighteen-year-old medical marijuana patient in California. He has been suffering from a rare genetic skin disorder his whole life that causes his skin can to blister and tear with just slight contact. He is required to have hand and throat surgery every few years in order to live more comfortably. At age sixteen, Luke first tried medical marijuana to help aid his symptoms. These symptoms include pain, night terrors, loss of appetite, insomnia, and isolation. Since then, Luke has seen improvements in all areas. Because of their higher potency, Luke has found that medical marijuana concentrates help him sleep better. He discovered the G-Pen personal vaporizer for it's ease of use compared to traditional methods of ingestion. Luke has now taken his crusade for the legalization of medical marijuana to new heights as he visits with the WeedMaps team to get the message out. Please take a moment and listen to Luke tell you his story of bravery and achievement over all odds. His story will inspire you. The G Pen - Vaporizer Pen
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Several tests are now available that can analyse fetal DNA present in a pregnant woman's blood.
BSIP/PHOTOTAKE
Genetic tests that analyse fetal DNA from a pregnant woman's blood are arriving in a rush, giving parents powerful tools for gleaning information about their unborn offspring. Three companies have launched versions of such tests in the past 12 months, and a fourth plans to do so later this year.
But the commercialization of these tests has brought a legal battle that could not only affect corporate profits, but also limit which patients will be able to access the tests and under what terms. The tangle of lawsuits may also offer a taste of future conflicts in the rapidly growing medical-genomics industry.
If a single company has a monopoly on the market, it will essentially be able to dictate the standard of care and the quality of care, says Mildred Cho, a bioethicist at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California.
The four firms are all based in California Sequenom in San Diego, Ariosa Diagnostics in San Jose, and Verinata Health and Natera, both in Redwood City and use similar techniques to identify fetal DNA in maternal blood samples. The tests can spot genetic abnormalities, such as those that cause Down's syndrome, as early as ten weeks after conception several weeks sooner than tests already in use. In studies of women at high risk of carrying offspring with Down's syndrome, the tests also produced fewer false positives.
Patents are at the core of the conflict (see 'Blood feuds'). Sequenom licensed the method for detection of cell-free fetal DNA in a mother's bloodstream in 2005, and it now says that other companies are infringing this patent.
A spate of prenatal DNA tests has brought with it a host of legal disputes.
14 OCTOBER 2005
Sequenom licenses a patent for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis.
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