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The animals are here ?@DMRegister: Protesters banging on Romney office windows, chanting "let us in." Live coverage: dmreg.co/t6Ao4vIl y a environ 3 heuresvia TweetDeck
Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a campaign stop at the Westside Conservative Club breakfast,Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in Urbandale, Iowa. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a campaign stop at the Westside Conservative Club breakfast,Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in Urbandale, Iowa. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) ? Texas Gov. Rick Perry has filed an emergency order in federal court to require Virginia's Board of Elections to place his name on the ballot for the state Republican presidential primary.
Perry failed last week to meet Virginia's requirements that each candidate receive 10,000 signatures of registered voters, with 400 from each of its 11 congressional districts. On Tuesday, he filed a lawsuit against the State Board of Elections and Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Pat Mullins.
On Wednesday, Perry filed an emergency motion in U.S. District Court in Richmond asking for an injunction to get his name on the ballot for the March 6 primary.
Perry claims Virginia's requirements violate his freedoms of speech and association.
Newt Gingrich also came short of the signatures required to be certified.
But the next 12 are promising to bring even more music from several of those artists, plus new albums from Mumford & Sons, Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Linkin Park, Paramore, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Maroon 5 and Green Day.
It's a bumper crop of major albums from some of rock, pop and hip-hop's biggest stars, who are returning from long breaks, hoping to follow up smash debuts or just trying to keep their momentum going.
While release dates are always subject to change, here are some of the most anticipated releases of 2012.
Pop: Ironically, the status of new albums from the artists whose next moves everyone is most curious about are the ones most in the air. Rihanna tends to deliver a new album every 12 or 13 months, which means that she may have another disc in stores at the end of next year once the just-released Talk That Talk has run its course.
On the other hand, Lady Gaga has already begun talking about her follow-up to this year's Born This Way.Gaga recently told MTV News that she's already started writing songs and "all the concepts are beginning to flourish and take place." She didn't give a potential release date, only promising, "I'll put it out when it's done."
Katy Perry hasn't publicly spoken about what will come after 2010's smash Teenage Dream, but it's possible she could start work on new material in 2012 as well. We know for sure that Justin Bieber is planning to show his more mature side next time around, possibly even incorporating some EDM sounds into the mix.
It's been confirmed that Madonna hooked up with M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj for the single "Gimme All Your Luvin' " from her untitled forthcoming album, which will feature production from Ray of Light producer William Orbit.
Other artists who could release fresh material in 2012: No Doubt, Maroon 5, Avril Lavigne, Miley Cyrus, Christina Aguilera, Ke$ha and Nicole Scherzinger.
Hip-Hop: Two titans of rap are cueing up fresh tracks for early 2012, with Nicki Minaj likely to get out of the gate first with her sophomore album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, due out on Valentine's Day. The disc will include first single "Roman in Moscow," which sees the Best New Artist Grammy nominee getting into the character of her alter ego, Roman Zolanski.
Speaking of Jigga, fans may get a new record from him as well, considering he told MTV News he was cooking up fresh tracks way back when he first played us songs from his Kanye West collaborative album, Watch the Throne. In fact, Jay-Z said you might get solo albums from both men as well as the second Throne release.
Other artists that should have albums hitting stores in 2012: Nas, Frank Ocean, Slaughterhouse, Wiz Khalifa, the G.O.O.D. Music compilation, T.I., Big Sean, 50 Cent, Ludacris, Big K.R.I.T., Meek Mill and potentially two discs from Lil Wayne, I Am Not a Human Being II and Rebirth II.
Rock: Some of rock's biggest guns are reloading for 2012, among them Green Day, who debuted some new tracks at a benefit show in August. The title of the follow-up to 2009's 21st Century Breakdown hasn't been announced yet, but some of the early songs slated for possible inclusion are "Nuclear Family," "Carpe Diem" and "Sweet 16."
Prog rock revivalists Muse should also have some new material for us, with bassist Chris Wolstenholme promising in a recent interview that the sound on their sixth album will be "radically different" from 2009's The Resistance.
We may get something from Linkin Park, who are prepping the follow-up to 2010's A Thousand Suns, and Mumford & Sons. It's been two years since the British folk rock revivalists dropped their still strong-selling debut, Sigh No More, and they began giving fans a taste of some new material in the fall when they unveiled the majestic song "Ghosts."
After a rough year, Paramore have finally put the drama behind them and they're super-psyched to record an album free of tension and inter-band awkwardness. So far, they've already unwrapped the bouncy "Renegade" and "Hello Cold World," which bode well for their fourth full-length studio album.
Other rock acts slated to release new albums: the reunited Soundgarden, Foster the People, Neon Trees, Sleigh Bells, Silversun Pickups, Bruce Springsteen and All-American Rejects.
Which 2012 albums are you most excited about? Which ones did we miss? Let us know in comments below.
Posted on : 12-26-2011 | By : Chris Parsons | In : TiPB
Find some new Apple products under your tree this year did you?? Welcome to the family, we?re glad you?re here. Whether you?re new to Apple products or old hat ? the TiPb forums are a great resource for discussing all things Apple. Have some questions? Just looking to help others? Join us in the forums, you can register now to get started today:
If you?re not already a member of the TiPb Forums, register now!
This post was written by Chris Parsons from TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch blog. You can view the original post by clicking here.
PARIS ? European markets edged tentatively higher Monday, stabilizing after losses in Asia, as investors weighed the potential consequences of the death of North Korea's absolute ruler, Kim Jong Il.
Markets' first reaction was to drop on the news of Kim Jong Il's death, which analysts warned could cause an uncertain power transition and put the brakes on talks aimed at getting the secretive communist state to give up its nuclear weapons.
Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader's untested third son and heir-apparent, is expected to want to consolidate his power and dispel any notions of weakness.
Even before Kim's death, the United States and others have said they viewed the power transition as a dangerous time ? when the ascendant Kim Jong Un could seek to demonstrate his leadership credentials through martial and provocative actions, such as a military attack on South Korea or a nuclear test.
"The most likely scenario for regime collapse has been the sudden death of Kim (Jong Il). We are now in that scenario," said Victor Cha, a former U.S. National Security Council director for Asian affairs.
But after Asian indexes closed lower, European stocks recovered their poise. Germany's DAX rose 0.7 percent to 5,741 and Paris' CAC 40 index rose 0.2 percent to 2,979. Britain's FTSE gained 0.3 percent to 5,405.40.
Wall Street was set to open higher, with Dow futures up 0.5 percent at 11,831 and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.6 percent at 1,218.20.
Overnight South Korea's Kospi index dived nearly 5 percent but later recouped some losses to close 3.4 percent lower at 1,776.93. The Korean won also fell, losing 1.6 percent against the U.S. dollar, a traditional haven in times of uncertainty. The Japanese yen and other regional currencies also weakened against the dollar.
The euro was flat around $1.3030.
Kim's death overshadowed what already was a gloomy start to the week after Fitch warned after the market close on Friday that it may downgrade the credit ratings of heavyweights Italy and Spain, as well as Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland and Slovenia.
EU finance ministers will later Monday discuss how much money their countries will lend to the International Monetary Fund in a conference call.
The ministers will seek to decide how to split up the euro200 billion ($261 billion) EU leaders promised to send to the IMF at a summit 10 days ago.
The money is meant to boost the eurozone's firewall against the escalating debt crisis.
There were some doubts whether the EU would reach the euro200 billion after several non-eurozone countries balked at having to support the currency union.
The ministers will also discuss in their conference call a new treaty to tighten fiscal discipline, a spokesman for the Polish delegation to the European said.
Over the coming days, investors will remain alert to developments in North Korea's power transition.
Kim Jong Il's death, announced Monday by North Korean state television, raises the specter of more instability on the divided Korean peninsula.
Those worries are most acute in South Korea and Japan, which have often been the targets of North Korea's mercurial military and diplomatic actions.
"We're seeing deeper negative sentiment in some markets," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, strategist at Credit Agricole CIB, in Hong Kong. "Basically this is because risk aversion on the geopolitical front has increased given that there's a transition of power in a relatively unstable country. So we're seeing an impact on equities, currencies."
South Korea's military and police went on alert and President Lee Myung-bak, convened a national security council meeting. Japanese leaders said they were watching markets closely and in contact with the U.S., Kyodo News Agency reported.
Kim was ailing after suffering what is thought to have been a stroke in 2008 and died at age 69 on Saturday.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency identified his third son, the twenty-something Kim Jong Un, as the "great successor" to the man known officially as the "Dear Leader."
But even with the younger Kim designated as his father's successor, and already filling high-ranking posts, some experts fear a behind-the-scenes power struggle or nuclear instability.
Fitch Ratings said it did not view Kim's death "as a trigger for negative action on South Korea's sovereign ratings in itself."
"For now, it's much too early to say risks have materially increased, but clearly we will keep the situation under close review," said Andrew Colquhoun, head of Fitch's Asia-Pacific sovereigns.
Markets in Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia also sank on Monday.
Still, barring unexpected developments in Pyongyang the impact of Kim's death on markets is likely to be passing, analysts said.
"In the short term there will be some psychological uncertainty but I think things will go back to the fundamentals," said Steven Leung, director of institutional sales at UOB-Kay Hian Ltd. in Hong Kong.
Benchmark oil for January delivery was up 51 cents at $94.04 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
___
Elaine Kurtenbach in Shanghai and Kelvin Chan in Hong Kong contributed.
MOSCOW ? An oil drilling platform capsized and later sank amid fierce storms off Russia's east coast Sunday, plunging dozens of workers into the churning, icy waters. Four were confirmed dead and 49 were missing.
The Transportation Ministry said the Kolskaya platform started sinking after a strong wave broke some of its equipment and the portholes in the crew's dining room. One 5-meter (16-foot) wave washed away the platform's lifeboats, leaving the crew with no escape.
The Emergencies Ministry said in a statement Sunday 67 people had been aboard the platform as it was being towed about 200 kilometers (120 miles) off the coast of Sakhalin Island.
Fourteen people were rescued from the sea by the ship that had been towing the platform, but further rescue efforts were being hampered by the severe weather conditions, officials said.
A spokeswoman for the Emergency Ministry in the Far East, told the Associated Press that the rescue team had spotted four lifeless bodies in the water, but had not yet been able to retrieve them.
The Kolskaya was built in Finland in 1985 and is owned by Russian offshore exploration firm Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka. It sank several hours after it capsized, officials said.
There were no immediate reports of environmental damage, and that would be unlikely since the platform was not drilling for oil when it capsized and carried a negligible amount of fuel.
The Investigative Committee on Sunday opened a probe into the accident and said that it might have happened because of a breach of safety regulations or due to the weather conditions.
As oil and gas fields in Eastern Siberia are becoming depleted, Russian oil and gas companies are starting to shift their focus to offshore projects, unveiling ambitious plans to tap the riches of the Arctic.
Earlier this year, Exxon Mobil and Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft teamed up to jointly explore oil and gas fields in the Kara Sea with Exxon pledging $3.2 billion of investment on only three fields.
Alexei Knizhnikov, an energy policy official in Russia for the World Wildlife Fund, told the RIA Novosti news agency that energy companies ought to learn from Sunday's accident.
"This disaster should highlight the high risks of offshore projects," he said. "It's very difficult to conduct efficient rescue operations, whether it's rescuing people or dealing with oil spills, in the weather conditions of the Arctic."
It isn't a rarity for the folks at the University of Cambridge to introduce us to some of their digital findings, and on this occasion they are delivering 4,000 of Newton's manuscripts right to your virtual door. These gems are part of an abundant collection of over 12,000 handwritten notes and hardcovers that the University holds under possession -- the plan is to make the entire selection digitally available "over the next few months." Amongst the scanned documents, you'll be able to find a plethora of his genius scribbles stamped on books that were used during his theory process, some of which are: Trinity College Notebook, Waste Book and the famed Principia Mathematica. Who said an OS would be Newton's only way through a mainframe?
KOUROU, French Guiana (Reuters) ? The second Russian-built Soyuz rocket launched from French Guiana blasted off late on Friday carrying six military spy satellites, space officials said.
The rocket blasted off at 11.03 p.m. (0203 GMT Saturday) from a launch pad at the European Space Agency's (ESA) launch centre near Kourou, French Guiana, on the northeast coast of South America.
About one hour after launch, five of the satellites separated from the rocket.
The first was Pleiades, a one-tonne observation satellite to be used extensively by the French defense ministry.
Several minutes later, the rocket released four ELISA (Electronic Intelligence by Satellite) demonstrator satellites to test space-based mapping of radar transmitters globally for France's Defense Procurement Agency (DGA).
A sixth satellite, for Chile's armed forces, is scheduled for separation at 0639 GMT.
The satellites will also have civilian applications.
The launch was controlled by France's Arianespace rocket launch company.
This was the second time that a Soyuz, which first flew in 1966 and traces its roots back even further to the earliest Cold War intercontinental ballistic missiles, was launched from outside its former Soviet bases.
The first French Guiana-launched Soyuz rocket orbited the first two of Europe's Galileo global positioning satellite constellation last October.
(Additional reporting by Alexander Miles, editing by Tim Pearce)
>>>looks like this was a million in one shot. a commercial satellite company said it was going through recent pictures of the earth shot from space when they found this -- the first known commercially available photo of china's first aircraft carrier while under way at sea. they bought it unfinished, china did. they bought it secondhand from the old
soviet union
actually and spent years refurbishing it. it has generated intense interest in the military community.
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A man affiliated with the Anonymous hacking group was arrested Tuesday on federal charges for an attack on a website belonging to Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, authorities said.
Kevin Poe, of Connecticut, made his initial appearance Tuesday in federal court in Hartford, Connecticut, and was released on $10,000 bond. An email message left for deputy federal public defender Deirdre Murray was not immediately returned.
Poe was indicted in Los Angeles on two counts: conspiracy and unauthorized impairment of a protected computer. If convicted of both, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Poe and others linked to Anonymous conducted a "denial of service" attack over a five-day period last October against Simmons' computer systems, sending tens of thousands of electronic requests designed to overload the server and render www.GeneSimmons.com useless.
Poe used a computer program favored by Anonymous that sends extremely large requests over a network in an attempt to overwhelm a target computer, according to the indictment.
Authorities didn't say why Simmons was targeted, but he made comments against copyright infringement at a convention in Cannes, France, days before the cyber attack.
No other arrests have been made.
Representatives for Simmons couldn't immediately comment about Poe's arrest because they weren't aware of it.
While she won?t exactly be stocking up on Ramen noodles, the Queen of England will have a little less in her purse for the next few years.
Queen Elizabeth II faces a freeze on her income through at least 2015 thanks to funding cuts for the royal household resulting from a recently passed law. Her income has already dropped in real terms since 2009 as she has joined the millions of others affected by the economic downturn.
The funding for the royal family has traditionally come from the civil list, a public fund controlled by the British Parliament. However, a law passed six weeks ago will replace the civil list with a single fund, the sovereign grant, in April 2013.
Video: Queen Elizabeth to see pay freeze until 2015 (on this page)
The sovereign grant will be 15 percent of the surplus money generated by the Crown Estate. The Crown Estate is a ?diverse property business valued at more than 7 billion,?? according to its website. It owns properties that include Regent Street and Great Windsor Park as well as ?almost all of the seabed around the UK.?? The Queen?s income will depend on how well the Crown Estate portfolio performs in a given year.
The austerity measures most likely mean that repairs to the royal palace will be delayed and that there may be fewer public appearances by the royal family, whose travel expenses had previously been taxpayer-funded.
Slideshow: The life and times of Prince Charles
With no extra tax funds to pay for the court of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Will and Kate?s staff will be subsidized by the Prince of Wales, according to a report in The Sunday Times. The Prince of Wales? income derives from the Duchy of Cornwall, which also is responsible for financially supporting Prince Harry and any future wife and children. The Duchy of Cornwall reportedly made 17.8 million last year, and although it will be paying for Will and Kate?s staff, structural repairs to Kensington Palace will still be taxpayer-funded.
According to the Sunday Times, the document related to the passing of the Sovereign Grant Bill reads, ?The grant levels envisaged in the early years of the new system are, in real terms, below what the Royal Household spent in every one of the last 20 years.??
Slideshow: Life of a queen
That most likely means a paycut for the Queen at least through April 2015. In 2010-11, the royal household had an income of 32.1 million, a far cry from the 77.3 million in taxpayer funding that the Queen once enjoyed back in 1991-92.
Slideshow: Crown jewels: Greatest royal headgear
Last summer, the keeper of the privy purse, Sir Alan Reid, indicated that if the funding for the royal household fell any further that it would most likely impact ?the support of the Queen and the long-term health of the estate,?? according to a report in The Telegraph.
DFG to fund 8 new collaborative research centers Public release date: 5-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Marco Finetti marco.finetti@dfg.de 49-228-885-2230 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Topics range from sustainable manufacturing to the preservation of tropical rainforests
This press release is available in German.
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will establish eight Collaborative Research Centres (CRC) as of 1 January 2012. This was agreed by the responsible Grants Committee at its autumn meeting in Bonn. The new CRCs will receive a total of 82.7 million euros (including a 20 percent programme allowance for indirect project costs) in their initial four-year funding period.
The topics spanned by the newly established Collaborative Research Centres range from fluid-dynamic processes that are involved in the emergence of planets, to new treatments for diseases of the liver, to single-crystal superalloys used in building modern gas turbines. Other Collaborative Research Centres seek to develop more sustainable methods in manufacturing or investigate chemical and biological processes in cells. One initiative is a CRC/Transregio, which is distributed across several sites.
In addition, the Committee approved the extension of 13 CRCs for a further four-year funding period. As of January 2012 the DFG will fund a total of 234 Collaborative Research Centres.
The new CRCs in detail (in alphabetical order by coordinating university):
CRC 1026 "Sustainable Manufacturing Shaping Global Value Creation" will pursue the question of how to produce and operate more sustainably in the global context. The conscious use of energy, raw materials and human labour is essential to preserving our environment. In many parts of the world however, the issue of sustainability in production engineering has largely been ignored. Engineering scientists from the production and environmental technologies will therefore collaborate with economists and mathematicians to develop innovative manufacturing processes and virtual systems for product development in order to demonstrate the advantages of sustainable methods over traditional ones. For example, methods are to be devised to upgrade outmoded machine tools to meet modern technological requirements using measures which increase their accuracy. (Coordinating University: Technische Universitt Berlin, Coordinator: Professor Dr.-Ing. Gnther Seliger other participants: Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK), Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB), Social Science Research Centre, Berlin (WZB))
Single-crystal superalloys are key materials for turbine blades in modern gas turbines for aerospace and energy generation. They are equally indispensable both to the mobility of modern society as well as ensuring its sustainable electricity supply. Higher efficiencies at higher sustainability levels in gas turbines can only be achieved using a new single-crystal technology which is to be developed in the CRC/Transregio 103 "From Atom to Turbine Blade Scientific Framework for a New Generation of Single-Crystal Superalloys". In support of this aim the CRC/Transregio will bring together researchers from the fields of materials science and materials engineering, solid-state physics and chemistry, multi-scale materials modelling and production engineering. (Coordinating University: Ruhr-Universitt Bochum, Coordinator: Professor Dr.-Ing. Gunther Eggeler additional applicant university: Friedrich-Alexander-Universitt Erlangen-Nrnberg, other participants: German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Forschungszentrum Jlich GmbH, Max-Planck Institute for Iron Research GmbH)
The objective of CRC 974 "Communication and System Relevance in Liver Damage and Regeneration" is to develop novel therapeutic strategies for diseases of the liver. These diseases are mostly chronic and due to the restriction of liver function, also affect the activity of other organs. In order to preserve and maintain these vital functions, the liver also has the special capacity to regenerate. This complex process, which takes place at the molecular and cell-biological level, has only been partially understood to date. With the help of basic scientific methods the scientists are therefore seeking to gain insights into the mechanisms, communication structures and decision-making processes involved in liver damage and liver regeneration. (Coordinating University: Heinrich Heine University Dsseldorf , Coordinator: Professor Dr. Dieter Hussinger other participants: Forschungszentrum Jlich GmbH, Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology)
Carbon occurs in a variety of forms that differ widely in their properties. Examples include the extremely hard and transparent diamond and the softer, metallic graphite. These are described as allotropic forms of carbon, the different properties of which arise from the nature of the chemical bonds between the carbon atoms. Synthetic carbon allotropes such as carbon nanotubes and graphene belong to the most promising classes of materials known today, and show enormous potential for high-performance applications. At the same time they are ideal modelling systems for investigating a range of fundamental chemical and physical problems, such as shape- and charge-dependent bonding and discharge of molecules, or charge transport in restricted spatial regions. These areas will be addressed in CRC 953 "Synthetic Carbon Allotropes" in an interdisciplinary collaboration between chemists, physicists, engineers and theoreticians. (Coordinating University: Friedrich-Alexander-Universitt Erlangen-Nrnberg, Coordinator: Professor Dr. Andreas Hirsch)
In many tropical regions rainforests are cut down to obtain wood and other forestry products and to cultivate foodstuffs, animal feed and biofuel crops. This can mean the loss of the forest's natural functions and the benefits they provide. CRC 990 "Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest-Transformation Systems" is therefore pursuing the goal of providing scientifically well-founded knowledge of how the ecological and socioeconomic functions of tropical rainforests and agricultural transformation systems can be preserved and enhanced. This is to be achieved by studying a variety of relevant aspects, for example biodiversity above and below the surface and greenhouse emissions. (Coordinating University: Gttingen University, Coordinator: Professor Dr. Stefan Scheu other participants: Bogor Agricultural University, Jambi University, Tadulako University of Palu, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Jakarta)
Fluid-dynamic processes are omnipresent in the field of astrophysics. They generally tend to be turbulent, that is to a large degree unordered in space and time, and they constitute a key process in the emergence of planets, stars and galaxies. These processes are to be studied in CRC 963 "Astrophysical Flow Instabilities and Turbulence". One of the main areas of focus is on the turbulent generation of magnetic fields and the interaction of turbulence and flow instabilities and gravitation and radiation. (Coordinating University: Gttingen University, Coordinator: Professor Dr. Stefan Dreizler other participants: TU Braunschweig, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology , Max-Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organization, Max-Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Gesellschaft fr Wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH)
CRC 969 "Chemical and Biological Principles of Cellular Proteostasis" deals with the concept of "proteostasis". This term covers fundamental chemical and biological processes which are interlinked and act in harmony to control the cellular activities of proteins in space and time. Underlying cellular proteostasis are mechanisms which ensure that each protein is active in the cell at the right place and at the right time, or, for example when loss of function occurs, that it is rapidly repaired or broken down in order to protect the cell from damage. Malfunctions in these highly interlinked processes can have serious consequences, which in humans can lead to the growth of tumours or to neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's or Parkinson's disease. The CRC has set itself the goal of analysing the complex processes of proteostasis in interdisciplinary approaches. (Coordinating University: University of Konstanz, Coordinator: Professor Dr. Elke Deuerling)
The role of hadrons, or subatomic particles which are formed from quarks and gluons, will be investigated in the context of particle, atomic and nuclear astrophysics in CRC 1044 "The Low-energy Frontier of the Standard Model: From Quarks and Gluons to Hadrons and Nuclei". Here, hadron physics will assume a unifying role both at the highest and the lowest energy scales. On the one hand, overcoming the so-called low-energy limit of the standard model has direct effects on central questions in physics; on the other hand, the precision measurements, for example in atomic and particle physics, will lead to advances in knowledge in terms of the structure of hadrons. A further area of research will look at how quarks and gluons join together to form hadrons. To achieve the stated goals, collaboration is being forged between the Mainz Microtron MAMI and the Beijing Spectrometer BES-III. (Coordinating University: Mainz University, Coordinator: Professor Dr. Marc Vanderhaeghen)
###
Further Information
Additional information can be obtained from the spokespersons/coordinators of the Collaborative Research Centres.
Contact at the DFG Head Office:
Dr. Klaus Wehrberger, Head, Research Centres Division
Tel. 49-228-885-2355, Klaus.Wehrberger@dfg.de
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
DFG to fund 8 new collaborative research centers Public release date: 5-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Marco Finetti marco.finetti@dfg.de 49-228-885-2230 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Topics range from sustainable manufacturing to the preservation of tropical rainforests
This press release is available in German.
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will establish eight Collaborative Research Centres (CRC) as of 1 January 2012. This was agreed by the responsible Grants Committee at its autumn meeting in Bonn. The new CRCs will receive a total of 82.7 million euros (including a 20 percent programme allowance for indirect project costs) in their initial four-year funding period.
The topics spanned by the newly established Collaborative Research Centres range from fluid-dynamic processes that are involved in the emergence of planets, to new treatments for diseases of the liver, to single-crystal superalloys used in building modern gas turbines. Other Collaborative Research Centres seek to develop more sustainable methods in manufacturing or investigate chemical and biological processes in cells. One initiative is a CRC/Transregio, which is distributed across several sites.
In addition, the Committee approved the extension of 13 CRCs for a further four-year funding period. As of January 2012 the DFG will fund a total of 234 Collaborative Research Centres.
The new CRCs in detail (in alphabetical order by coordinating university):
CRC 1026 "Sustainable Manufacturing Shaping Global Value Creation" will pursue the question of how to produce and operate more sustainably in the global context. The conscious use of energy, raw materials and human labour is essential to preserving our environment. In many parts of the world however, the issue of sustainability in production engineering has largely been ignored. Engineering scientists from the production and environmental technologies will therefore collaborate with economists and mathematicians to develop innovative manufacturing processes and virtual systems for product development in order to demonstrate the advantages of sustainable methods over traditional ones. For example, methods are to be devised to upgrade outmoded machine tools to meet modern technological requirements using measures which increase their accuracy. (Coordinating University: Technische Universitt Berlin, Coordinator: Professor Dr.-Ing. Gnther Seliger other participants: Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK), Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB), Social Science Research Centre, Berlin (WZB))
Single-crystal superalloys are key materials for turbine blades in modern gas turbines for aerospace and energy generation. They are equally indispensable both to the mobility of modern society as well as ensuring its sustainable electricity supply. Higher efficiencies at higher sustainability levels in gas turbines can only be achieved using a new single-crystal technology which is to be developed in the CRC/Transregio 103 "From Atom to Turbine Blade Scientific Framework for a New Generation of Single-Crystal Superalloys". In support of this aim the CRC/Transregio will bring together researchers from the fields of materials science and materials engineering, solid-state physics and chemistry, multi-scale materials modelling and production engineering. (Coordinating University: Ruhr-Universitt Bochum, Coordinator: Professor Dr.-Ing. Gunther Eggeler additional applicant university: Friedrich-Alexander-Universitt Erlangen-Nrnberg, other participants: German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Forschungszentrum Jlich GmbH, Max-Planck Institute for Iron Research GmbH)
The objective of CRC 974 "Communication and System Relevance in Liver Damage and Regeneration" is to develop novel therapeutic strategies for diseases of the liver. These diseases are mostly chronic and due to the restriction of liver function, also affect the activity of other organs. In order to preserve and maintain these vital functions, the liver also has the special capacity to regenerate. This complex process, which takes place at the molecular and cell-biological level, has only been partially understood to date. With the help of basic scientific methods the scientists are therefore seeking to gain insights into the mechanisms, communication structures and decision-making processes involved in liver damage and liver regeneration. (Coordinating University: Heinrich Heine University Dsseldorf , Coordinator: Professor Dr. Dieter Hussinger other participants: Forschungszentrum Jlich GmbH, Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology)
Carbon occurs in a variety of forms that differ widely in their properties. Examples include the extremely hard and transparent diamond and the softer, metallic graphite. These are described as allotropic forms of carbon, the different properties of which arise from the nature of the chemical bonds between the carbon atoms. Synthetic carbon allotropes such as carbon nanotubes and graphene belong to the most promising classes of materials known today, and show enormous potential for high-performance applications. At the same time they are ideal modelling systems for investigating a range of fundamental chemical and physical problems, such as shape- and charge-dependent bonding and discharge of molecules, or charge transport in restricted spatial regions. These areas will be addressed in CRC 953 "Synthetic Carbon Allotropes" in an interdisciplinary collaboration between chemists, physicists, engineers and theoreticians. (Coordinating University: Friedrich-Alexander-Universitt Erlangen-Nrnberg, Coordinator: Professor Dr. Andreas Hirsch)
In many tropical regions rainforests are cut down to obtain wood and other forestry products and to cultivate foodstuffs, animal feed and biofuel crops. This can mean the loss of the forest's natural functions and the benefits they provide. CRC 990 "Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest-Transformation Systems" is therefore pursuing the goal of providing scientifically well-founded knowledge of how the ecological and socioeconomic functions of tropical rainforests and agricultural transformation systems can be preserved and enhanced. This is to be achieved by studying a variety of relevant aspects, for example biodiversity above and below the surface and greenhouse emissions. (Coordinating University: Gttingen University, Coordinator: Professor Dr. Stefan Scheu other participants: Bogor Agricultural University, Jambi University, Tadulako University of Palu, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Jakarta)
Fluid-dynamic processes are omnipresent in the field of astrophysics. They generally tend to be turbulent, that is to a large degree unordered in space and time, and they constitute a key process in the emergence of planets, stars and galaxies. These processes are to be studied in CRC 963 "Astrophysical Flow Instabilities and Turbulence". One of the main areas of focus is on the turbulent generation of magnetic fields and the interaction of turbulence and flow instabilities and gravitation and radiation. (Coordinating University: Gttingen University, Coordinator: Professor Dr. Stefan Dreizler other participants: TU Braunschweig, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology , Max-Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organization, Max-Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Gesellschaft fr Wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH)
CRC 969 "Chemical and Biological Principles of Cellular Proteostasis" deals with the concept of "proteostasis". This term covers fundamental chemical and biological processes which are interlinked and act in harmony to control the cellular activities of proteins in space and time. Underlying cellular proteostasis are mechanisms which ensure that each protein is active in the cell at the right place and at the right time, or, for example when loss of function occurs, that it is rapidly repaired or broken down in order to protect the cell from damage. Malfunctions in these highly interlinked processes can have serious consequences, which in humans can lead to the growth of tumours or to neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's or Parkinson's disease. The CRC has set itself the goal of analysing the complex processes of proteostasis in interdisciplinary approaches. (Coordinating University: University of Konstanz, Coordinator: Professor Dr. Elke Deuerling)
The role of hadrons, or subatomic particles which are formed from quarks and gluons, will be investigated in the context of particle, atomic and nuclear astrophysics in CRC 1044 "The Low-energy Frontier of the Standard Model: From Quarks and Gluons to Hadrons and Nuclei". Here, hadron physics will assume a unifying role both at the highest and the lowest energy scales. On the one hand, overcoming the so-called low-energy limit of the standard model has direct effects on central questions in physics; on the other hand, the precision measurements, for example in atomic and particle physics, will lead to advances in knowledge in terms of the structure of hadrons. A further area of research will look at how quarks and gluons join together to form hadrons. To achieve the stated goals, collaboration is being forged between the Mainz Microtron MAMI and the Beijing Spectrometer BES-III. (Coordinating University: Mainz University, Coordinator: Professor Dr. Marc Vanderhaeghen)
###
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Contact at the DFG Head Office:
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Tel. 49-228-885-2355, Klaus.Wehrberger@dfg.de
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AAA??Dec. 4, 2011?1:18 AM ET 2 giant pandas on way from China to Scotland AP
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, an elderly woman sees off the pandas in Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. As part of a ten-year joint research program, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, the pair of giant pandas, were set off for the Edinburgh Zoo from the Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center in Sichuan here on Saturday, Xinhua said. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Li Qiaoqiao) NO SALES
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, an elderly woman sees off the pandas in Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. As part of a ten-year joint research program, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, the pair of giant pandas, were set off for the Edinburgh Zoo from the Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center in Sichuan here on Saturday, Xinhua said. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Li Qiaoqiao) NO SALES
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, giant panda Yang Guang eats bamboo prior to a journey to Britain in Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. As part of a ten-year joint research program, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, the pair of giant pandas, were set off for the Edinburgh Zoo from the Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center in Sichuan here on Saturday, Xinhua said. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Li Qiaoqiao) NO SALES
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, giant panda Yang Guang eats bamboo prior to a journey to Britain in Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. As part of a ten-year joint research program, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, the pair of giant pandas, were set off for the Edinburgh Zoo from the Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center in Sichuan here on Saturday, Xinhua said. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Li Qiaoqiao) NO SALES
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, staff carry giant panda Tian Tian in a cage, right, onto a truck in Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. As part of a ten-year joint research program, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, the pair of giant pandas, were set off for the Edinburgh Zoo from the Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center in Sichuan here on Saturday, Xinhua said. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Li Qiaoqiao) NO SALES
BEIJING (AP) ? Two giant pandas are flying from China to Scotland, where they will become the first pandas to live in Britain in nearly two decades.
The pandas named Tian Tian and Yang Guang ? or Sweetie and Sunshine ? munched on bamboo at Chengdu airport ahead of their trip Sunday.
The pandas are to stay for 10 years at Edinburgh Zoo, where officials hope they will breed during their stay.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland will pay more than 600,000 pounds ($935,000) a year to China for the loan of Sweetie and Sunshine, not including the expense of imported bamboo.
Britain's last giant panda lived in London Zoo until 1994, when it was returned to China.
MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Mikhail Khodorkovsky is in prison not far from the Arctic Circle, but the story of the former oil tycoon who fell out with Vladimir Putin is being told near the Kremlin before Russia's parliamentary election on Sunday.
Ten months after a successful opening at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, German director Cyril Tuschi's documentary "Khodorkovsky" had its Russian premiere on Friday night at a central Moscow movie theatre.
The showing at the opening of Moscow's Artdocfest film festival marked a milestone in a somewhat rocky road for the film, which was reported stolen twice in the weeks preceding its Berlin premiere.
Its distributor in Russia and some former Soviet republics, Olga Papernaya, said five of the 20 cinemas she was targeting declined to take the film before the election for fear it portrayed the Kremlin in a bad light.
Artdocfest organizer Vitaly Mansky, Russia's most prominent documentarist, dismissed suggestions the film faced censorship.
"If they wanted to ban it, they would have banned it here," Mansky told Reuters in the lobby of the 100-year-old cinema where the film was showing, almost in sight of the Kremlin.
Putin's 2000-2008 presidency was defined for many in Russia and abroad by the jailing of Khodorkovsky, which critics say was politically motivated punishment for perceived challenges to Putin's authority and funding of opposition parties.
Sunday's parliamentary vote will be the first test of Putin's ruling United Russia party since he revealed plans to return to the presidency for a six-year term in a March 2012 election after four years as prime minister.
In an interview, Tuschi said the film grew out of fascination with Khodorkovsky as a dramatic figure, and that it delved into the "iconic power struggle between Putin and Khodorkovsky."
Once Russia's richest man and head of Yukos, one of its biggest oil producers, Khodorkovsky is serving a 13-year prison sentence after convictions on charges of large-scale financial crimes in two trials, in 2005 and 2010. He is due for release in 2016.
Unlike some other so-called oligarchs who grew rich and powerful in the 1990s under President Boris Yeltsin, Khodorkovsky stayed in Russia and resisted the Kremlin's will after Putin came to power and sought to end those tycoons' involvement in media and politics.
His 2003 arrest and 2005 fraud and tax evasion conviction preceded the bankruptcy of Yukos, brought down by back-tax claims, and its ultimate sale to state oil company Rosneft. He had been due for release this year before the second conviction, on theft and money-laundering charges.
"DEAR CYRIL"
In a letter from a Siberian prison in the film, Khodorkovsky tells "dear Cyril" that despite what he called speculation he fell foul of Putin for meeting him without a tie, and that the arrest was engineered to enable the state to take over Yukos and to punish him for supporting opposition parties.
The government says he was tried fairly for a crime and the sale of Yukos was above board.
In the documentary, submerged tension erupts when Khodorkovsky lectures Putin, then president, on corruption at a televised meeting with a group of tycoons.
The camera remains fixed on Putin as he barely conceals his rage, his face contorting unnaturally, then delivers a cool but furious riposte.
With that scene, the film makes clear: Khodorkovsky cannot find his way back to Putin's good graces. But nor does he want to, it seems.
"A petty man could not forgive that," Yevgeny Saburov, a poet and academic who met Khodorkovsky, then a nascent businessman, when Saburov was serving as Economy Minister in 1991, says in the film.
The line drew a burst of applause from the audience.
Much of the documentary's content is familiar to the reading public in Russia, where Khodorkovsky has regularly published editorials in major newspapers, debated Russia's path in correspondence with three popular novelists, and compiled a book from behind prison walls.
The audience at the premiere -- which included patrons of the Artdocfest festival, reporters, Khodorkovsky lawyers and an opposition politician -- did not quite fill the auditorium.
Artyom Goloshchapov, a Moscow photographer who attended, praised the film for largely giving both sides of the story.
He said the timing of laughter and applause were a telling indicator of the audience's sympathies.
"The hall tended to applaud when there were subtle jabs against you-know-who," he said.
That's the question Britain's electronic listening agency, GCHQ, is asking in an online campaign to find the next generation of cyber specialists.
GCHQ quietly launched a cryptic website last month featuring a box of code made up of numbers and letters. There is no branding on the site, only the phrase "Can you crack it?"
The agency has now revealed it is behind the campaign, and said Friday it's trying to reach individuals with "a keen interest in code breaking and ethical hacking" for careers at GCHQ.
"It's to arouse interest in people who perhaps might not be caught by our normal recruitment campaigns," a GCHQ spokesman said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.
Cracking the code reveals a keyword, which when entered into a space on the website prompts the GCHQ job-recruitment website to appear.
The agency is currently recruiting for cyber security specialists ? at a pay grade of around 25,000 pounds ($39,000) ? and hopes to recruit around 35 people over the next few months, the spokesman said.
More than 50 people have successfully cracked the code so far ? of which 80 percent have submitted an application, the spokesman said.
GCHQ said the fast-moving pace of the digital arena and cybersecurity means it must find new ways to engage with prospective candidates, who typically have entered the agency as graduates.
"With the threats to information and computer technology constantly evolving, it is essential that GCHQ allows candidates who may be self taught, but have a keen interest in code breaking and ethical hacking, to enter the recruitment route too," it said in a statement.
But career hackers beware: "Anyone applying who has hacked illegally will not be eligible to continue in the recruitment process," GCHQ warned.
And gaming the website isn't a guarantee for joining GCHQ's ranks. The spokesman said that while anyone who cracks the code likely has an aptitude for GCHQ's type of work, it won't catapult code-crackers ahead of other job applicants automatically.
The agency said it has been using social media to get the word out and that the site has attracted about 8,000 hits.
___
Online:
http://www.canyoucrackit.co.uk/
_________
Cassandra Vinograd can be reached at http://twitter.com/CassVinograd
The Thanksgiving menu for astronauts aboard the International Space Station includes turkey, yams, and cherry-blueberry cobbler, all served up ? or is it down? ? in a microgravity environment.?
A light Thanksgiving dinner doesn't necessarily mean skimping on the turkey or stuffing, not even aboard the International Space Station. The three crew members, who arrived just in time to spend a weightless holiday in orbit, will enjoy a feast of irradiated smoked turkey and heat-treated yams while floating 220 miles (354 kilometers) above Earth tomorrow (Nov. 24).
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The?weightless feast?will include traditional favorites with a space-y twist, such as NASA's own cornbread dressing, home-style potatoes, cranberries, and for dessert ? drum roll! ? cherry-blueberry cobbler, served in a space pouch.
Around the table will be NASA astronaut Dan Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin. The trio arrived at the space station Tuesday (Nov. 22), and they are scheduled to live and work aboard the outpost until March. Their time will be spent conducting experiments and preparing for the arrival of new commercial cargo-carrying spacecraft.
Burbank recently described the crew's Thanksgiving plans in a NASA holiday video message, with Burbank catching floating food packages as he gave Earthlings a rundown of the Thursday menu. [A Gallery of Space Food]
The one important missing ingredient? Family.
"We're going to be missing the family and friends back home; we're going to hopefully get a chance to talk to them," Burbank said.
Even so, the astronaut has a lot on his gratitude list.
"We're going to enjoy some great food, we're going to enjoy?a view of planet Earth from here, we're going to be real thankful for the opportunity that we have to fly aboard this magnificent space station, and we're going to be thankful for the love and support of all the folks that we have back home," Burbank said.
Even though the crew members won't be able to bow their heads in thanks with their families and friends, the feast will provide a reminder of home. "The food we eat in space tastes very much like the food we enjoy on Earth," a former space station occupant, NASA astronaut Clay Anderson, said from the ground.
The trickiest part of preparing a space Thanksgiving meal has to do with shelf life: Without any food refrigerators or freezers on the space station, food must last in room temperature for long periods of time, said NASA food scientist Vickie Kloeris, manager of the space station's food system. That's why they freeze-dry and thermostabilize the foods. Thermostabilizing involves pre-heating the food to kill bacteria.
Outdoing a meal with family and friends may be difficult, but the space station has something Grandma's house doesn't, and that's microgravity.
"It's totally legal to play with your food in outer space," Anderson told SPACE.com, adding that astronauts can spin the floating food on their spoon, which is "great fun." And Anderson would know. He spent 152 days living aboard the station in 2007, returning to the outpost in 2010 as a member of space shuttle mission STS-131.
During his stays, he said, he ate all of the foods being served at Thanksgiving, though he wasn't on the station for turkey day or?Christmas in space.
The astronauts may wind up in the same?turkey coma?as people on Earth. Anderson said that even in microgravity it's tempting to stuff yourself. "I ate like a pig when I was there," he said, "and I still lost weight."
Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter?@Spacedotcomand on?Facebook.
Ecco lo Special Pack che Samsung dona agli acquirenti del Galaxy Note saggia.me/tBGlcS 
saggiamente 
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Public release date: 5-Dec-2011
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