Three-billion-year-old microfossils include plankton

June 6, 2013 ? Spindle-shaped inclusions in three-billion-year-old rocks are microfossils of plankton that probably inhabited the oceans around the globe during that time, according to an international team of researchers.

"It is surprising to have large, potentially complex fossils that far back," said Christopher H. House, professor of geosciences, Penn State, and lead author.

However, the researchers not only showed that these inclusions in the rocks were biological in origin, but also that they were likely planktonic autotrophs -- free-floating, tiny ocean organisms that produce energy from their environment.

The researchers looked at marine sediment rocks from the Farrel Quartzite in Western Australia. Isotopic analysis using secondary ion mass spectrometry was carried out at UCLA. "Ken (Kenichiro Sugitani, professor, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Japan, and a co-author) discovered these unusually shaped microfossils embedded in really old rock," said House.

To determine if these inclusions were actually biological in origin, the researchers looked at 15 different samples of Farrel Quartzite and determined their stable carbon isotope ratios. The percentage of carbon 13 in the microfossils was indicative of material produced by biological processes. They found that the carbon 13 percentage in the background organic matter in the surrounding rock was different from that of the microstructures.

"When considered along with published morphological and chemical studies, these results indicate that the Farrel Quartzite microstructures are bona fide microfossils, and support the interpretation that the spindles were planktonic," the researchers report in the current issue of Geology. The morphological and chemical studies were done by Sugitani and Dorothy Oehler, who is also a co-author and research scientist, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate, NASA -- Johnson Space Center.

The spindle-shaped microfossils are from 20 to 60 microns in length, about the size of fine sand and within the size range of today's microplankton.

Stable carbon isotope analysis can determine the biological origin of these microfossils because they used carbon dioxide to create energy and incorporated the carbon into themselves. During this process, the organisms selectively incorporate more carbon 12 than carbon 13 from the available carbon, producing a signature of biological origin.

Oehler notes that the spindles appear to be the same as those found in rocks from the Strelly Pool Formation in Western Australia and the Onverwacht Group in South Africa and Swaziland that are both 3.4 billion years old.

"The existence of these microfossils in diverse locations as far back as 3.4 billion years ago suggests that the oceans probably had life in them for a very extended period of time," said Oehler. "Moreover, this has implications beyond what we have done here, suggesting the evolution of diverse life proceeded quickly."

Also working on this project was Koichi Mimura, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Japan.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/HzktTGMnHqE/130606155123.htm

Turkey Cooking Time Kmart Black Friday PlanetSide 2 sweet potato casserole Pumpkin Pie Recipe wii u wii u

Dell trimmed CEO's pay by 14 percent amid PC slump

ROUND ROCK, Texas (AP) ? Dell Inc. trimmed CEO Michael Dell's pay by 14 percent to $13.9 million last year amid a slump that culminated in a proposed $24.4 billion deal that could end the personal computer maker's 25-year history as a publicly traded company.

Most of Michael Dell's compensation last year consisted of stock awards designed to give him a greater incentive to boost the Round Rock, Texas, company's market value.

Michael Dell's stock awards were valued at $11.6 million last year while his salary remained unchanged at $950,000, according to a company filing with securities regulators Monday. He also received perks and other benefits worth $19,122.

The company paid an aircraft leasing agency $2 million for Michael Dell's travel last year, but the amount wasn't included in his total compensation package. The bill was lower than the $2.3 million that the company paid an aircraft leasing agency for Michael Dell's travel in the previous year.

The Associated Press calculates an executive's total compensation by adding salary, bonuses, perks, above-market interest that the company pays on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock and stock options awarded during the year. The AP formula does not count changes in the present value of pension benefits.

Dell's stock price has dropped sharply since Michael Dell returned for a second stint as CEO six years ago. That downturn enabled Michael Dell and a group of investors to negotiate an agreement to buy the company for $13.65 per share ? more than 40 percent below where the stock stood upon Michael Dell's return as CEO.

Two of Dell's largest shareholders, billionaire Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management, are trying to scuttle the sale to Michael Dell and his backers because they believe the price undervalues the company. Dell's board is recommending company shareholders approve the sale to the Michael Dell-led group in a meeting scheduled for July 18.

If the deal goes through, Dell will become a privately held company that no longer has to reveal how much it pays Michael Dell or other top executives.

The compensation disclosed Monday covers Dell's fiscal year ending Feb. 1 ? four days before the company announced its deal with Michael Dell.

Dell's earnings dropped by 32 percent last year to $2.4 billion while revenue fell by 8 percent to $56.9 billion. Those declines are a primary reason that the company trimmed Michael Dell's performance-based cash bonus to $1.3 million last year from $3.3 million in the previous year.

The company's financial performance deteriorated largely because more technology spending is going toward smartphones and tablet computers instead of the laptop and desktop machines that Dell makes.

Michael Dell believes he can engineer a turnaround by expanding into more profitable segments in business software, data storage, and security ? a transformation that he thinks will be easier to pull off if he doesn't have to cater to Wall Street's short-term demands for higher profits from one quarter to the next.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-06-03-US-Dell-Executive-Compensation/id-4eafa0eff0674b8faf10500a06d7060b

katy perry Rihanna Katy Perry Grammys 2013 Ed Sheeran Fun ll cool j Presidents Day 2013

EBay to open 'shoppable windows' in New York

By Alistair Barr

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - EBay Inc is launching virtual stores called "shoppable windows" this month that the e-commerce company hopes will help retailers generate more sales from their existing physical store networks.

The first four of these screens will open from June 8 through July 7 in busy parts of New York City, such as the lower east side and Soho. They will sell 30 items from Kate Spade Saturday, a new fashion brand launched this year by apparel retailer Fifth & Pacific Companies Inc.

EBay set up a window display in New York City in late 2011, but those storefronts did not let shoppers order products on the screen.

The new screens measure about 9 feet across and 2 feet (0.6 meter) high and will appear on the front windows of closed stores. Shoppers will be able to touch the screens to order and have products delivered to them within an hour via courier. Payment will be accepted by the couriers through PayPal Here, a mobile payment service developed by eBay.

This is the latest effort by eBay to work more closely with large retailers that are looking to reach more online and mobile shoppers. The company has attracted some large retailers, such as Target Corp, to its online marketplace, while developing mobile shopping technology for other retailers such as Macy's Inc.

EBay's "shoppable windows" are an extension of the shift to mobile shopping, according to Steve Yankovich, head of the company's Innovation and New Ventures group, which developed the technology.

"This extends the boundary of the store. Suddenly the physical store, by virtue of online technology, extends to any space that's interesting to use," Yankovich said.

For Fifth & Pacific, the windows will help launch its new Kate Spade Saturday brand without opening new physical stores, at least initially, according to Chief Executive William McComb.

However, the company also plans to use the technology in existing stores of its other brands, such as Juicy Couture and Kate Spade New York, he added.

"This gives us the ability to produce more from our retail space," McComb said. "My nickname for it is the Wall as a Mall."

McComb said he is considering putting shoppable windows in small Juicy Couture stores that will offer about 200 different shoes to buy.

The company may also use the windows in Kate Spade New York stores to sell home furnishings, bedding, linens and towels.

"We would never be able to fit all those products in a store in the traditional way," McComb said. "These things would typically require an extra 10,000 square feet of store space. But through partnerships like this eBay one we could do this through stores that are 2,000 square feet."

(Reporting by Alistair Barr; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ebay-open-shoppable-windows-york-101127500.html

morris claiborne clippers lisa lampanelli lisa lampanelli bronx zoo bronx zoo crash grizzlies

11 Spectacular 3D Printer Failures

Just because you have a 3D printer doesn't mean you're going to make anything remarkable. It doesn't even mean you're going to wind up with what you set out to produce. Believe it or not, 3D printing requires some skill. And when you don't have it, things go delightfully askew.

While there are plenty of possibilities with a 3D printer, there's also just about as much room for human error. You can't let the printer get too hot. But it must be hot enough! And you don't want it to work too quickly. But it has to work quickly enough! You're going to mess up. But you're not alone. Here are some of great examples of some pretty egregious 3D printing failures:

---

Whistles that can't even whistle should be called something else.

Image credit: Flickr

---

Apparently, this was supposed to be some type of animal.

Image credit: Pinterest

---

A failed attempt at a Celtic skull, via an entire Flickr group dedicated to 3D printer failures.

Image credit: Flickr

---

This ruined car comes from Beautiful Failures, a book that presents 3D printer screw-ups as art.

Image credit: Cunicode

---

This botched bust is supposed to be Walt Disney. Squint hard, and maybe you can kind of see it. (You can't).

Image credit: Flickr

---

What's this supposed to be? Trojan Horse. The answer we were looking for is Trojan Horse.

Image credit: FailThing

---

Definitely don't try to use this 3D-printed glass as a glass if you have any desire to use it for drinking.

Image credit: FailThing

---

This would-be owl is missing his head. And most of his body.

Image credit: FailThing

---

Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and 3D-printed Windsor Chairs.

Image credit: CNET

---

Here you see the makings of a starfish. Unfortunately, the machine ran out of material.

Image credit: RichRap

---

Bonus round: This iPhone shoe abomination isn't technically a failure, we're going to include it as a reminder of what NOT to do with a 3D printer. Because seriously, what the hell?

Image credit: BetaBeat

Have any favorite 3D-printing fails of your own? Share 'em below!

Source: http://gizmodo.com/11-spectacular-3d-printer-failures-511092085

actuary

Turkish PM, president clash over reply to protests

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) ? As riot police used tear gas against protesters for a fourth straight day in Istanbul, Turkey's president and prime minister displayed wide differences Monday in their responses to those taking to the streets.

Turkey has seen violent demonstrations since Friday, when police launched a dawn raid against a peaceful sit-in protesting plans to cut down trees in Istanbul's main Taksim Square. Since then, the demonstrations by mostly secular-minded Turks have spiraled into Turkey's biggest anti-government disturbances in years, challenging Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's power.

A Turkish doctors' group said Monday that one protester died of injuries after a vehicle slammed into crowd.

The protests are seen as a display of frustration against Erdogan, who has appeared to be increasingly authoritarian and is accused of forcing his conservative, religious Islamic outlook on the lives of secular Turks.

Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003 after winning three landslide elections, inflamed tensions by calling protesters "a bunch of looters" and by branding them a "minority" who are trying to force demands on his majority.

In contrast, President Abdullah Gul took a more conciliatory line, celebrating peaceful protest as a democratic right.

The two men are expected to compete against each other next year in Turkey's presidential election.

On Monday, Erdogan again dismissed the street protests as being organized by extremists and angrily rejected comparisons with the Arab Spring uprisings.

"We already have a spring in Turkey," he said, alluding to the nation's free elections. "But there are those who want to turn this spring into winter.

"Be calm, these will all pass," he said.

Turkey's main stock exchange dropped 6.4 percent upon opening Monday, as investors worried about the destabilizing effect of the demonstrations on the economy.

Erdogan played down its significance, saying: "It's the stock market, it goes down and it goes up. It can't always be stable."

Appearing defensive and angry, he lashed out at reporters who asked whether the government had understood the message by protesters.

"What is the message? I want to hear it from you," Erdogan retorted. "What can a softened tone be like? Can you tell me?"

He spoke to reporters before leaving on a four-day trip to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

Gul said democracy is not just going to the ballot box.

"When we speak of democracy, of course the will of the people is above all," Gul said. "But democracy does not mean elections alone. There can be nothing more natural for the expression of various views, various situations and objections through a variety of ways, besides elections."

He added: "The views that are well intentioned have been read, seen and noted and the messages have been received."

Some of the protesters clashed with police, but most demonstrated peacefully, chanting calls for Erdogan to resign. Those who did not take to the streets banged on pots and pans from windows.

There was scattered violence in areas close to Erdogan's offices in Istanbul and in Ankara. The Dogan news agency said police fired tear gas at one close to Erdogan's Istanbul office. The protesters responded by hurling stones.

The agency said as many as 500 people were detained overnight Monday after police clashed with more militant protesters and then moved in to break up several thousand people demonstrating peacefully. Turkey's Fox television reported 300 others were detained in a similar crackdown in Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city.

Social media were awash with reports and videos of police abuse. Authorities have said police excesses would be investigated, but they appeared to continue unabated.

Fox showed footage of police telling one group sheltering by the side of a building to come out, reassuring them that nothing would happen, then shooting a gas canister at one of them.

Another group of protesters took control of a large bulldozer in Istanbul and drove it toward police water cannon, Dogan news agency footage showed. Medics were seen tending to people injured in the skirmishes or affected by gas at a mosque close to the palace.

Erdogan described some of the protesters as "naive, decent and participating (in demonstrations) by following information on social media" but claimed the protests were being organized by Turkey's opposition party and extremist groups.

He also blamed the protest on "internal and external" groups bent on harming Turkey, said the country's intelligence service was working on identifying them and threatened to hit back at them.

"We shall be discussing these with them and will be following up, in fact we will also settle accounts with them," he said.

In neighboring Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said on his official website that his government was worried about the security implications of the situation in Turkey, saying the country was "an essential part of the stability of the region."

"We believe that resorting to violence will widen the circle (of violence) ... in the region, and we call for restraint," he said.

Iraq and Turkey share a long, mountainous border. Iraq is home to an ethnic Turkomen minority, centered around the disputed Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

The two countries' relationship has been increasingly strained over growing Turkish ties to Iraq's largely autonomous northern Kurdish region, and over Turkey's support for the Sunni rebels fighting to topple the Syrian regime.

The two-year Syrian civil war, which has already killed 70,000 people, is exacerbating sectarian divisions within Iraq. Baghdad has warned that the fall of the Iranian-backed Syrian government could ignite a wider conflict in the region.

__

Associated Press writer Adam Schreck in Baghdad contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/turkish-pm-president-clash-over-reply-protests-142005889.html

oklahoma titanic After Earth storm chasers killed Mookie Blaylock Alexis Wright knaidel

Cybersecurity tops Obama's agenda for China talks

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama will be looking for signs from China's leader at their upcoming meeting that Beijing is ready to address its reported high-tech spying, which the White House sees as a top threat to the U.S. economy and national security.

The talks between Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be followed by a July meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials focusing on cyberespionage, along with other strategic and economic issues. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the U.S.-China meetings when he visited Beijing in April.

The summit Friday and Saturday at a California estate also is aimed at establishing personal ties between Obama and Xi as relations between the two global powers grow increasingly complex.

Obama needs Xi's help in stemming nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran, combating the violence in Syria, and continuing the U.S. economic recovery.

The meeting at the 200-acre Sunnylands estate once owned by late publishing tycoon Walter Annenberg is their first since Xi took power in March. The talks also are coming months before the leaders originally had planned to meet, underscoring growing concern in both countries about potential fractures in the relationship.

Cybersecurity is likely to be the prickliest issue, given new reports on the extent and regularity of China's cyberhacking and increasing interest in Congress about how the U.S. can punish Beijing for its actions.

The Chinese government denies it engages in such spying against the U.S. But analysts say Beijing has started to indicate some willingness to address the problem during private talks with Kerry, national security adviser Tom Donilon and others.

The Chinese have been "much more positive in private meetings," James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert and former State Department official. The goal during Obama's meeting, Lewis said, will be to "test whether the Chinese have really moved to a better position where they want to engage."

A senior Obama administration official said that in recent talks, the Chinese seem to be less dismissive of U.S. concerns about cyberattacks, but that the matter would be not settled in one meeting.

Despite subtle signs of progress in private talks, security analysts say there is little evidence that Chinese-based hacking has eased.

"If the Chinese government wanted to signal to the United States that it wanted to curb its activity, the U.S. government would see it and we would see it," said Richard Bejtlich, chief security officer at the U.S.-based firm Mandiant. "But it's the same as it's always been."

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Saturday at a security conference in Singapore that the U.S. has expressed its concerns about "the growing threat of cyberintrusions, some of which appear to be tied to the Chinese government and military."

Obama and Xi were not expected to meet until September, on the sidelines of an international economic summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. But the U.S saw signs that Xi was able to organize his government more quickly than previous Chinese leaders, according to the administration official, and that led the U.S. to conclude that it was best for Obama to meet Xi as early as possible.

The official insisted on anonymity in order to discuss internal administration discussions.

The White House hopes the relaxed setting at Sunnylands will lend itself to a more direct and free-flowing discussion. The presidents' wives will join them at the estate.

"The meeting represents a huge investment by both sides in the relationship and the health of the relationship," said Nina Hachigian, a China expert at the Center for American Progress. "This is viewed as extremely special by the Chinese side."

The logistics of Xi's visit have been negotiated intensely, as is the case with all meetings between the U.S. and China. The Chinese government often pushes for limited media access, though the White House said Friday that U.S. officials were working to arrange an opportunity for reporters to ask questions of the two leaders at the end of the summit.

President George W. Bush held a somewhat similar meeting in 2002 when he hosted then-Chinese President Jiang Zemin at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas.

There's little expectation the summit will result in any concrete policy decisions. But Kurt Campbell, who until recently served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said the discussions on both cybersecurity and North Korea have a "real potential for progress, not because of some enormous good will, but because China is badly positioned on both."

In a shift from his predecessor, Xi has taken a stern tone with North Korea. He has told the North to return to nuclear talks with the U.S. and other world powers, and has warned its young leader that no country "should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gain."

The U.S. long has pushed China to take more aggressive action against North Korea and welcomed Xi's comments. China is the North's strongest ally and biggest trading partner.

Financial issues also are expected to be a prominent topic in the talks between the leaders of the world's largest economies. Xi probably will press China's claims of business discrimination in the U.S. market.

Xi is likely to express deep discomfort over Washington's shifting of military assets to Asia and renewed emphasis on alliances with other countries within the region. China sees the strategy, referred to by Obama as his Asia "pivot," as an effort to contain Beijing's rising power.

At the Singapore conference, a Chinese military leader questioned the expanded U.S. role in the Pacific after Hagel said he hoped for better military ties between the two countries.

Xi and Obama first met last year when Xi, then vice president, visited the White House. Xi has a warm relationship with Vice President Joe Biden after their travels together throughout China during Biden's 2011 visit.

Xi has deeper ties to the U.S. than his predecessors. He's visited the country frequently, and stays in contact with families he stayed with in Muscatine, Iowa, while a visiting provincial official in 1985. His daughter attended Harvard.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cybersecurity-tops-obamas-agenda-china-talks-113627361.html

presidential debate debate marco scutaro Russell Means Taylor Swift Red Walking Dead Season 3 Episode 2 celiac disease

Can Oral Sex Cause Oral Cancer?

Actor Michael Douglas attends a Behind the Candelabra event at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2013, in Cannes, France.

Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Actor Michael Douglas has received praise in recent weeks for his portrayal of Liberace in the HBO biopic Behind the Candelabra, in part due to his somewhat graphic performances of gay sex with co-star Matt Damon. But an extremely candid interview with the Guardian over the weekend is drawing attention to Douglas? real, heterosexual bedroom practices. Candelabra is the first film the actor has completed since receiving treatment for throat cancer two years ago, and though many assumed the disease was caused by Douglas?s well-known penchant for tobacco and alcohol, he told the Guardian it was the result of giving oral sex to female partners. Can you get cancer from cunnilingus?

Yes. You can get it from any kind of oral sex, for that matter. As Douglas suggests in the interview, a direct link has been shown between the human papillomavirus, which can be transmitted through oral sex, and oropharyngeal cancers. HPV comes in more than 100 different strains, but only a few, such as HPV-16, are among the high-risk set responsible for causing cancer. Most strains cause no symptoms, and most sexually active adults have been exposed to one or more of them. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year in the United States HPV causes an estimated 6,700 cases of oropharyngeal cancers in men and 1,700 in women.

So how does HPV infection, which is often symptomless, cause cancer? As the virus infects the layers of epithelial cells that coat the throat and surrounding areas, it can interrupt the cells? normal function and cause genetic mutations. If the body?s immune system fails to identify and destroy these abnormal cells, they may continue to grow and ultimately form a cancerous tumor. The CDC notes that factors such as alcohol and tobacco use may aggravate this transformation. According the National Cancer Institute, the development from viral infection to cancer could take ?between 10 and 20 years,? but ?even high-grade lesions [a pre-tumor state] do not always lead to cancer.?

There is no cure for oral HPV infections, and most sexually active people will be exposed to some strain of the virus by the time they reach 26, the somewhat arbitrary age by which public health officials recommend people get vaccinated against the disease. The vaccine that has been highly recommended for the prevention of cervical cancers in women is now recommended for boys and young men as well. The CDC advised in 2011 that boys ages 11 and 12 should be vaccinated with the drug Gardasil, which is effective against HPV-16 and other strains.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2013/06/michael_douglas_hpv_why_oral_sex_can_cause_oral_cancer.html

Tony Scott UFC 151 empire state building prince harry Hurricane hunger games Joey Kovar