Japan told US military of radiation fallout days before public

Stars and Stripes

Published: January 17, 2012

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan ? Japan?s science ministry provided data to U.S. forces about levels of radioactive fallout from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant far earlier than it informed the public, according to The Associated Press.

U.S. forces received the data on March 14, three days after the 2011 tsunami led to a meltdown at the plant, according to Itaru Watanabe, an official with the Foreign Ministry?s science bureau. The public was not provided data until March 23.

Watanabe, a member of the investigative panel probing the nuclear disaster for the Diet, said at a meeting Monday that the science ministry had released the information to the U.S. ?to seek support from them? in dealing with the emergency, according to the AP.

It?s unclear what U.S. Forces Japan did, or could have done, with the data. No spokesperson for USFJ was immediately available for comment.

U.S. troops arrived at the disaster zone in a matter of days to provide humanitarian relief and assist in rescue operations. The U.S. Defense Department is still in the process of determining how much radiation each of its 61,000 personnel in Japan was exposed to during the crisis. In November, DOD officials said they expected to release the data by the end of the year, however, Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said in an email in December that the data could not yet be released. She did not give a reason for the delay.

The Japanese government has been criticized for its tardy release of data from the so-called System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information. The government was unable to use the SPEEDI information as expected because data on the radioactivity released from the plant was inaccurate.

Instead, the science ministry and nuclear safety agency produced their own data by making assumptions on the amount of radioactive substances released. Critics say that releasing this information to the public could have helped local municipalities and residents decide whether and how to evacuate.

The panel was appointed by the Diet in December and is tasked with examining what roles the magnitude-9 earthquake and monster tsunami each played in causing the meltdown.

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Source: http://feeds.stripes.com/~r/starsandstripes/general/~3/zrQLLPcMkIA/japan-told-us-military-of-radiation-fallout-days-before-public-1.166187

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Turkey reacts angrily after Republican candidate Perry says it is ruled by Islamic terrorists (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/187748472?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Mechanism by which newly approved melanoma drug accelerates secondary skin cancers uncovered

ScienceDaily (Jan. 17, 2012) ? Patients with metastatic melanoma taking the recently approved drug vemurafenib (Zelboraf?) responded well to the twice daily pill, but some of them developed a different, secondary skin cancer.

Now, researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, working with investigators from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, Roche and Plexxikon, have elucidated the mechanism by which vemurafenib excels at fighting melanoma but also allows for the development of skin squamous cell carcinomas.

The very action by which the pill works, blocking the mutated BRAF protein in melanoma cells, sets off a cellular cascade in other skin cells if they have another pre-disposing cancer mutation and ultimately accelerates the secondary skin cancers, said Dr. Antoni Ribas, co-senior author of the paper and a professor of hematology/oncology.

About 50 percent of patients who get melanoma have the BRAF mutation and can be treated with vemurafenib, Ribas said. Of those, a fourth of the patients develop skin squamous cell carcinomas. The squamous cell carcinomas were removed surgically, and vemurafenib was not discontinued for this side effect.

"We wondered why it was that we were treating and getting the melanoma to shrink, but another skin cancer was developing," said Ribas, who studies melanoma at the Jonsson Cancer Center. "We looked at what was likely making them grow and we discovered that the drug was making pre-existing cells with a RAS mutation grow into skin squamous cell cancers." The 18-month study appears in the Jan. 19, 2012 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The combined research team performed a molecular analysis to identify the oncogenic mutations in the squamous cell lesions of patients treated with the BRAF inhibitor. Among 21 tumor samples studied, 13 had RAS mutations. In a different set of 14 samples, eight had RAS mutations, Ribas said.

"Our data indicate that RAS mutations are present in about 60 percent of cases in patients who develop skin squamous cell cancers while treated with vemurafenib," Ribas said. "This RAS mutation is likely caused by prior skin damage from sun exposure, and what vemurafenib does is accelerate the appearance of these skin squamous cell cancers, as opposed to being the cause of the mutation that starts these cancers."

Ribas' group found that blocking the non-mutated BRAF in cells with mutated RAS caused them to send signals around BRAF that induced the growth of the squamous cell cancers.

The discovery of the squamous cell cancer mechanism has led to strategies to inhibit both the BRAF mutation with vemurafenib and block the cellular cascade with a different drug, a MEK inhibitor, before it initiates the secondary skin cancers, said co-senior author Professor Richard Marais from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, who developed the animal model for the study.

"By understanding the mechanism by which these squamous cell cancers develop, we have been able to devise a strategy to prevent the second tumors without blocking the beneficial effects of the BRAF drugs," Marais said. "This may allow many more patients to benefit from these important drugs."

Ribas said that this is one of the very few times that oncologists understand molecularly why a side effect to cancer treatment is happening.

"The side effect in this case is caused by how the drug works in a different cellular setting," he said. "In one case it inhibits cancer growth, and in another it makes the malignant cells grow faster."

Studies currently are under way testing BRAF and MEK inhibitors in combination in patients with metastatic melanoma, Ribas said.

"Our data provide a molecular mechanism for the clinical toxicity of a targeted oncogene inhibitor that apparently contradicts the intended effects," the study states.

The study was supported by Roche, Plexxikon, the Seaver Institute, the Louise Belley and Richard Schnarr Fund, the Fred L. Hartley Family Foundation, the Wesley Coyle Memorial Fund, the Ruby Family Foundation, the Albert Stroberg and Betsy Patterson Fund, the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation and the Caltech-UCLA Joint Center for Translational Medicine.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120117191417.htm

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Cell 'battery' found to play central role in neurodegenerative disease

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

A devastating neurodegenerative disease that first appears in toddlers just as they are beginning to walk has been traced to defects in mitochondria, the 'batteries' or energy-producing power plants of cells.

This finding by researchers at Queen Mary, University of London and Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro - at McGill University, is published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

The disorder, Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS), primarily affects the cerebellum, a center for movement coordination in the brain. It was first identified in the late 1970s in a large group of patients from Quebec in Canada.

ARSACS strikes at an early age. Symptoms, which worsen over time, include poor motor coordination, spastic stiffness, distal muscle wasting, uncoordinated eye movements and slurred speech. Most patients with the disease are wheelchair-bound by their early 40s and have a reduced life expectancy. ARSACS is not unique to French-Canada as scientists have now found over 100 separate mutations in people worldwide including, including patients in the UK.

The research significantly increases understanding of the disease and reveals an important common link with other neurodegenerative diseases, providing renewed hope and potential new therapeutic strategies for those affected around the world.

"This finding is the most important discovery about ARSACS since the identification of the mutated gene because it gives an indication of the underlying cellular mechanism of the disease," says Dr Paul Chapple, cell biologist at Queen Mary. He adds: "This work is an essential first step towards developing therapeutic strategies for ARSACS".

In 2000, scientists identified the gene associated with the disease, which produces a massive 4,579 amino acid protein called sacsin, but until now the role of the sacsin protein has been unknown.

The multi-institutional collaborative research led jointly by Dr Paul Chapple at Queen Mary and Dr Bernard Brais and Dr Peter McPherson in Montreal indicates that that the sacsin protein has a mitochondrial function, and that mutations causing the this ataxia are linked to a dysfunction of mitochondria in neurons.

By studying neurons in culture as well as in knockout mice (which do not produce sacsin), the team found that loss of the sacsin protein results in abnormally shaped and poorly functioning mitochondria. In cells mitochondria are constantly fusing together and dividing, with loss of sacsin causing this network to become more interconnected. This disruption led to defective changes in and eventual death of the neurons. In the knockout mice, these disruptions led to neuron death specifically in the cerebellum, suggesting that this is the basis for the neurodegenerative impairments suffered by ARSACS patients.

"Mitochondrial dysfunction has also been identified in major neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson, Alzheimer, and Huntington diseases," says Dr McPherson. "This common link means that research being done on a large-scale on these other diseases may prove critically informative to rarer neurological diseases such as ARSACS, and the inverse may be true, our findings may be fundamental to the study and treatment of other neurodegenerative diseases."

Dr Chapple adds: "These links between ARSACS and more common neurodegenerations underline the value of studying rare diseases".

###

Queen Mary, University of London: http://www.qmul.ac.uk

Thanks to Queen Mary, University of London for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116750/Cell__battery__found_to_play_central_role_in_neurodegenerative_disease

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TexMessage: No, Virginia, there is no President Perry

TEXMESSAGE

Wednesday, January 18

Good morning, TexMessagers.?Rick?Perry got some disappointing political news Tuesday. How was your day?

TEXclusive

Even if Rick Perry remains in the 2012 presidential campaign after this Saturday?s South Carolina primary, it doesn?t look like he?ll appear on Virginia?s March 6 presidential primary ballot.

On Tuesday, Perry?s appeal to be added to the Virginia ballot was rejected by a federal appeals court.

?The requirements have been on the books for years,? read the 22-page verdict.??If we were to grant the requested relief, we would encourage candidates for President who knew the requirements and failed to satisfy them to seek at a tardy and belated hour to change the rules of the game.

?This would not be fair to the states or to other candidates who did comply with the prescribed process in a timely manner and it would throw the presidential nominating process into added turmoil.?

Perry, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum were scratched from Virginia?s Super Tuesday primary for failing to garner the designated number of legitimate signatures. Mitt Romney and Ron Paul will be the only two candidates on the ballot in Virginia.

Perry, a states? rights champion, asked the federal courts to overturn Virginia state law. His appeal, along with Gingrich?s, was rejected; Santorum chose not to appeal his exclusion.

Perry Watch

Every morning, we share the latest headlines from Hearst Newspapers? Perry Presidential website.

? The First Word: Colbert attacks

? Turkey Slams Rick Perry over ?Islamic Terrorists? remark

? Students chant ?adios mofo? at Rick Perry

? Ron Paul may be Republic Muslims? pick for president

? Perry plummets in Texas poll; now trails Romney, Gingrich

?Winners and losers from Monday night?s GOP debate

This week?s reader poll

Results of last week?s poll

Tweets of the Day

Our popular ?Tweets of the Day? feature has moved. You will now be able to read ?Tweets of the Day? as a stand-alone feature every afternoon on Texas on the Potomac.

Reader Comment of the Day

In response to our post headlined, ?Judges in DC to decide if Texas redistricting violated federal Voting Rights Act,? reader?esquireXII said:

?Until we have real immigration reform and wean our economy from the 12 million undocumented workers, we will continue to have a massive illegal immigration problem.

?The Republican rhetoric like ?deport them all? or ?build a wall? etc. are meaningless and offer nothing, except to drive more Latino US citizen voters to vote for Obama.?

Texas Watch

TxPotomac lets you know what stories to look out for later this week.

Today:

? Rick Perry holds an event at Bob Jones University, as well as meet-and-greet events in Greer and Mauldin.
? The Supreme Court hears oral arguments on three immigration-related cases.
? The House Energy and Commerce Committee holds a markup of the Energy and Revenue Enrichment Act of 2011.

Tomorrow and beyond:

? Thursday, Jan. 19. Republican presidential debate in Charleston.
? Saturday, Jan. 21. Rick Perry puts it all on the line in South Carolina?s primary.
? Tuesday, Jan. 24. President Obama is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill. Texas on the Potomac will have extensive coverage and instant reaction from our congressional delegation.
? Tuesday, Jan. 31. How many Texans will still be in the race when Florida Republicans vote in their presidential primary?

Today in Texas History

On this date in 1971, the Sharpstown scandal broke. It would end the political careers of the governor, lieutenant governor and Speaker of the Texas House. More>>>

Source: http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2012/01/texmessage-no-virginia-there-is-no-president-perry/

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How to Access Wikipedia During Its SOPA Protest (LiveScience.com)

Wikipedia plans to take its English-language site offline Wednesday (Jan. 18) to protest SOPA and PIPA, anti-piracy laws proposed by members of U.S. Congress that Wikipedia administrators say "would be devastating to the free and open web."

So, throughout the day tomorrow, where will you find answers to all your burning questions?

Fortunately, Google has cached versions of all Wikipedia pages, and those live on even when Wiki goes down. The cached pages won't be live, exactly; they're more like a time capsule of stored information, so you won't be able to edit the content as usual. But for the purpose of looking up, say, the number of fatal bear attacks in North America, these cached pages should work just fine. Here's how to access them:

1)????? Search for something in Google, asking only for Wikipedia pages. (In addition to your search terms, add this one: "site:en.wikipedia.org" ? the notation calls for sites with that phrase in the URL.)

2)????? When you find the relevant link among the search returns, hover your mouse pointer over the white space just to the right of it. A gray box with two "greater than" symbols will appear, and an image of the corresponding webpage will pop up next to it.

3)????? Click "Cached" to go to Google's copy of the page rather than the Wikipedia version.

And then, when you're finished reading, contemplate how awesome it is that the Web is "free and open" enough to enable this workaround.

Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @llmysteries, then join us on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20120117/sc_livescience/howtoaccesswikipediaduringitssopaprotest

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Ireland's former richest person declared bankrupt (AP)

DUBLIN ? A famed entrepreneur who was once rated Ireland's richest person was declared bankrupt Monday as a bank pursues him for debts exceeding euro2.1 billion ($2.7 billion).

Lawyers for tycoon Sean Quinn withdrew his opposition to a Republic of Ireland bankruptcy order sought by the former Anglo Irish Bank, the reckless lender at the center of Ireland's calamitous property crash.

The bankruptcy judgment will force a thorough court investigation of Quinn's finances, which the bank hopes will reveal capital and assets that it can reclaim from Quinn, his wife and five children.

Quinn, 64, didn't attend Monday's court hearing. He issued a statement accusing the bank of pursuing "a personal vendetta" and declaring that the "judgment in no way improves Anglo's prospects of recovering money for the taxpayer."

Quinn had a reported 2007 net worth of euro4.7 billion ($6 billion) but sank much of his fortune into Anglo months before the bank ? the most aggressive lender to Ireland's construction barons ? suffered crippling losses as the country's decade-long property bubble burst.

The Quinn family secretly built up to a 28 percent stake in Anglo shares using an ill-regulated financial instrument that hid the scale of their investment from other stockholders. As Anglo's share price plunged, Quinn says the bank encouraged his family to borrow hundreds of millions specifically to buy more Anglo stock, a charge the bank denies.

Ireland nationalized Anglo in 2009 to prevent its collapse, wiping out a Quinn family investment estimated at euro2.8 billion. The government last year renamed Anglo as the Irish Bank Resolution Corp., or IBRC. Its bailout is expected to cost taxpayers euro29 billion, a bill so great it overwhelmed Ireland's finances and forced the government last year to negotiate a humiliating loan pact with the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Dublin Commercial Court Justice Elizabeth Dunne told Quinn's lawyer Gavin Simons that Quinn would have to appear in person in coming days to provide documents showing how much he's worth today.

Last week Quinn lost a Belfast legal battle to retain bankruptcy protection in the neighboring British territory of Northern Ireland. The judge there ruled that Quinn had misled a previous Belfast court that his main base of business was in Northern Ireland, rather than the Republic of Ireland.

"I never done a day's work from southern Ireland in my life," Quinn, who has lived for decades in the Republic of Ireland, insisted to reporters outside the Belfast court last week.

Dublin-based IBRC would have faced greater difficulty pursuing Quinn for debts in Northern Ireland. Quinn also could have returned to business within a year under U.K. bankruptcy law, whereas the Irish prevent bankrupts from holding company directorships for up to 12 years.

Quinn said the tougher Irish rules meant he would be too old ? 76 in the year 2024 ? to direct any new companies then.

"Anglo achieved their goal of ensuring that I will never create another job," he said of Monday's judgment.

Quinn boasts one of Ireland's most celebrated rags-to-riches stories. He grew up on a border farm in Northern Ireland's County Fermanagh, left school barely literate at 14 and started his first construction-gravel business with a 100-pound ($150) bank loan.

Within three decades Quinn had transformed his quarry into a nationwide cement company. He built and bought luxury hotels, pubs, apartment complexes and commercial properties throughout Ireland, Britain, Eastern Europe and Asia; founded Ireland's third-largest insurance company; and took interests in glassworks, packaging and radiators.

In April 2011, IBRC seized ownership of his Irish-based Quinn Group, forced him and relatives off the board, and sold a majority stake in his insurance company to U.S. insurance company Liberty Mutual. In November, shortly after Quinn had secured a surprise bankruptcy-protection order in Belfast, the bank won Dublin court judgments totaling euro2.16 billion ($2.7 billion) against Quinn.

A November affidavit from Quinn recorded he had less than euro11,000 ($15,000) in cash in three bank accounts.

But the Quinns and IBRC are locked in several legal battles stretching from the British Virgin Islands to Cyprus over control of a commercial property empire spanning Britain, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and India valued at more than euro700 million.

The bank accuses Quinn of fraudulently shifting ownership of his foreign properties, including office blocks and shopping malls, to relatives and shell companies that remain under the Quinns' surreptitious control. The Quinns deny these charges.

His five children have filed a Dublin lawsuit against IBRC seeking to have the bulk of the family's Anglo borrowing voided on the grounds that the bank should never have lent them the money in the first place. They also are seeking to have IBRC return businesses to their ownership that were seized in April 2011.

Their lawsuit argues that Anglo misled them about the company's imminent danger of collapse and spurred them to commit market fraud by manipulating Anglo's share price. IBRC insists Anglo's loans to the Quinns were for much wider business reasons.

___

Online:

Irish Bank Resolution Corp., http://www.ibrc.ie/

Quinn's empire, http://www.quinn-group.com/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120116/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_ireland_bankrupt_tycoon

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