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NYC teachers spared from layoffs

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 18:05
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cash-poor New York City will not lay off 4,400 teachers but instead skip two pay increases this work force was due to get over two years, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Wednesday.


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Iran says enriching to higher levels as backup plan

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 17:53
VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran is enriching nuclear material to higher levels as a backup plan because it fears it will not receive foreign fuel for a medical research reactor, Tehran's envoy to the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Wednesday.


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French bid for euro zone "government" gains ground

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 17:14
BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) - French-inspired plans to create an "economic government" for the euro zone took a step forward on Wednesday when European Council President Herman Van Rompuy threw his weight behind the idea.


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Death toll from British shooting spree rises to 12

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 14:57
LONDON (Reuters) - British police said the death toll from a shooting spree in northwest England earlier on Wednesday had risen to 12.


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Russia says terrorists seeking nuclear materials

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 14:45
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The chief of Russia's state security service said on Wednesday that terrorists were seeking access to nuclear materials across the former Soviet Union, Russian news agencies reported.


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Powerful Cyclone Phet barrels toward Oman

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 13:45
MUSCAT (Reuters) - Tropical cyclone Phet barreled toward the coast of the Gulf Arab state of Oman on Wednesday, strengthening quickly on its way to becoming a powerful category five storm.


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U.N. investigator calls for halt to CIA drone killings

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 13:34
GENEVA (Reuters) - A United Nations investigator called Wednesday for a halt to CIA-directed drone strikes on suspected Islamic militants, warning that killings ordered far from the battlefield could lead to a "Playstation" mentality.


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Tech Team Puts Microscope on Cell Phone

Scientific American Online - Wed, 2010-06-02 13:16

After hundreds of years, the most common, basic microscopes still operate by means of the same old hardware: the lens. But what if you could do away with that lens and create a microscope that fits on a cell phone? That’s what researchers led by Aydogan Ozcan at U.C.L.A. have developed. Ozcan recently won an NSF (National Science Foundation) Early Career Development award for his work [see http://bit.ly/d98kXu ].

Normal microscopes image cells themselves. But Ozcan’s team is imaging their shadows. Tissue cells and bacteria are semi-transparent--light penetrating through cells causes shadings and reveals texture. Ozcan uses an LED as his light source, creating cellular shadows. An algorithm turns those shadows into an image of the cells.

[More]
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Adoption Agents: Keeping Interest in Orphan Drugs Alive

Scientific American Online - Wed, 2010-06-02 13:00

Since its passage in 1983, the Orphan Drug Act (ODA) has led to the approval of 357 drugs for rare diseases and a pipeline of more than 2,100 additional products. Before the ODA, just 10 such drugs existed. Considering that some 7,000 rare diseases affect 20 million to 30 million Americans, federal overseers and patient advocates are anxious to ramp up efforts even more.

But finding a way to give the act a second wind is kicking up dust both scientific and financial. The U.S. passed the ODA as a way to encourage pharmaceutical firms to develop treatments for uncommon illnesses--those affecting no more than 200,000 Americans. The act hinges on financial incentives, including federally funded grants and contracts for clinical trials, a 50 percent tax credit on trial costs and, above all, seven years of market exclusivity starting from the date of drug approval. (Nonorphan drugs receive patent protection, a more cumbersome and potentially less profitable arrangement.) The law has enabled researchers and manufacturers to invest in drugs otherwise unlikely to turn a profit because of the limited need.

[More]
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Go veggie, cut fossil fuels to aid planet: study

Scientific American Online - Wed, 2010-06-02 11:27

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

OSLO (Reuters) - An overhaul of world farming and more vegetarianism should be top priorities to protect the environment, along with curbs on fossil fuel use, a U.N.-backed study said on Wednesday.

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China delays Gates trip in apparent snub for Taiwan

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 10:23
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China has turned down a proposed fence-mending visit by the U.S. defense secretary, Robert Gates, during his trip in the region this week in what some American officials described as a snub to protest U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.


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G20 still has to prove itself after promising start

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 09:48
BUSAN, South Korea (Reuters) - If the Group of 20 were a wine, a connoisseur would say that it has great potential but that a lot depends on how it matures over the years.


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Rocky start for Karzai's Afghan peace bid

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 06:35
KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban suicide commandos attacked a huge gathering of Afghan leaders and notables on Wednesday as President Hamid Karzai launched an ambitious peace plan he hopes will persuade the insurgents to lay down their arms.


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Gunfire erupts near venue of Afghan peace jirga

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 05:54
KABUL (Reuters) - Gunfire erupted on Wednesday near the site of a peace jirga in the Afghan capital attended by President Hamid Karzai and hundreds of tribal elders and notables, witnesses and officials said.


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Blagojevich trial may entangle Obama

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 05:04
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Even Rod Blagojevich's lawyer finds him a bit strange, which may provide the key to the former Illinois governor's strategy at his upcoming corruption trial -- he was all talk, but no action.


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Lazy crows pitch in when it counts

Scientific American Online - Wed, 2010-06-02 05:01

By Janelle Weaver

Freeloading crows start to contribute to group efforts when hardworking birds become handicapped, a study shows.

Carrion crows ( Corvus corone ) form stable groups that share the responsibilities of breeding and caring for the young. [More]

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U.S. fights Transocean's bid to limit liability

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 03:38
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Tuesday sought to challenge Transocean Ltd's bid to limit its liability for its role in the gushing oil well it drilled in the Gulf of Mexico for BP Plc.


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Fallen bridges hamper Guatemala storm rescue

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 01:58
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Collapsed roads and highway bridges complicated rescue efforts in Guatemala on Tuesday after Tropical Storm Agatha drenched Central America, burying homes under mud and killing at least 180 people.


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Arizona governor to meet Obama on immigration

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 01:53
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said on Tuesday that she intends to press the issue of border security in a meeting this week with President Barack Obama at the White House.


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BP overcomes snag in bid to curb spill

Reuters - Wed, 2010-06-02 01:38
VENICE, Louisiana (Reuters) - BP Plc overcame a snag in its latest effort to curb the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as the British energy giant's shares stabilized on Wednesday and parts of the huge oil slick threatened Florida.


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