Braintree, an Accel and NEA-backed payments company that’s now processing more than $6 billion a year, is launching a new payments layer that lets users sign-up to pay for goods and services without having to re-enter their credit card details. Say you use one app in Braintree’s network — like Airbnb. If you’re a new user to Uber, you won’t have to re-enter your credit card all over again because it may be stored in Braintree’s network. They’re calling it Venmo Touch, which keeps the brand of the startup Braintree bought in August for $26.2 million. When you sign up for an app in the Venmo network, you’ll have the option of saving your credit card details in it so they can be used in other apps on the platform. The idea is that by removing one step of friction, more users will go through and complete transactions. The default is checked to opt in users, and Braintree is keeping the initial beta really small with apps like HotelTonight, TaskRabbit and Wrapp. “There’s tremendous overlap in the customer bases of these apps,” said Braintree CEO Bill Ready. “Putting in your card information into an app is painful and people are doing it ten to 15 times.” Braintree recognizes that a credit card might belong to a particular user through device fingerprinting, which collects a number of attributes about a device to create a unique ID. Ready wouldn’t reveal what inputs the company is using to fingerprint devices, but they could include the device model, browser, network and so on. You’d use enough inputs (potentially hundreds) to create enough combinations so that it would be highly, highly improbable to create duplicates. They also don’t store financial details locally on the phone. “Your data is stored in the cloud,” Ready said. “If we see anything suspicious, we can prompt for the CVV again.” Braintree has about 35 million uniques on its network and processes more than $6 billion in transactions a year. $1.5 billion of that is on mobile devices. The company’s clients include Uber, Rovio, LivingSocial, Airbnb, Fab.com, GitHub, OpenTable, LevelUp, TaskRabbit and HotelTonight. They charge 2.9 percent plus 30 percent of each transaction. Ready says the business is profitable even after paying the payment networks and credit card companies their transaction fees. The company has raised at least $69 million in two rounds from Accel Partners, NEA, Greycroft Partners and
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh speaks at an NFL Super Bowl XLVII football news conference on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, in New Orleans. The Ravens face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday, Feb. 3. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh speaks at an NFL Super Bowl XLVII football news conference on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, in New Orleans. The Ravens face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday, Feb. 3. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh walks off stage after speaking at an NFL Super Bowl XLVII football news conference on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, in New Orleans. The Ravens face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday, Feb. 3. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Ravens coach John Harbaugh says star linebacker Ray Lewis assured him "there's nothing to" a magazine report linking him to a company that makes deer-antler spray containing a banned performance enhancer.
Harbaugh said Wednesday morning he spoke with Lewis. The coach said Lewis "knows there is nothing to it. He understands it's something he's never been involved in."
On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated reported that Lewis sought help from a company that makes the unorthodox product to speed his recovery from a torn right triceps. Lewis missed 10 games with the injury.
"He laughed about it," Harbaugh said, referring to Lewis. "He told me there's nothing to it. He's told us in the past and now that he has never taken any of it."
Baltimore plays the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl on Sunday in the final game of Lewis' career.
Here at Lifehacker, we've often encouraged switching up your working environment to spark creativity and prevent burnout. Even taking a few days each month to work in a new place can benefit you greatly. Here, entrepreneur Wesley Verhoeve explains the benefits of his favorite non-office space: the coffee shop.
While team Family Records was in between offices in early 2012, we had 6 weeks to bridge until our new space was ready. During that time we were fortunate enough to be taken in as guests by awesome companies for stretches of time, and for the remainder we took over corners of coffee shops all over Brooklyn and Manhattan. The experience of working out of coffee shops was so positive that even after we moved into our new home, I made sure to get in a few "coffee shop days" each month. For carpal tunnel related reasons alone, I would not recommend working out of coffee shops every day, but here are some reasons why it might be great to try it for one or two days every month.
A change of environment stimulates creativity. Even in the most awesome of offices we can fall into a routine, and a routine is the enemy of creativity. Changing your environment, even just for a day, brings new types of input and stimulation, which in turn stimulates creativity and inspiration.
Fewer distractions. It sounds counter-intuitive, but working from a bustling coffee shop can be less distracting than working from a quiet office. Being surrounded by awesome team and officemates means being interrupted for water cooler chats and work questions. Being interrupted kills productivity. The coffee shop environment combines the benefit of anonymity with the dull buzz of exciting activity. Unlike working at home, with the ever-present black hole of solitude and procrastination, a coffee shop provides the opportunity of human interaction, on your terms.
Community and meeting new people. Meeting new people always provides me with new ideas, a different perspective at existing problems, or an interesting connection to a new person doing something awesome that inspires me. Today alone I met a top Skillshare teacher whose class I will now take, a sleep consultant, a publicist who offered to help with a project, and a wine consultant who recommended some bars.
To make the best out of your coffee shop days, keep a few things in mind:
Rotate coffee shops. Rather than going to the same coffee shop every time, switch it up, and avoid the stifling feeling of routine you were trying to avoid in the first place.
Buy something. Don't be a cheapskate nursing that one coffee throughout the day. Buy some stuff throughout the day, and tip well. Coffee shop workers are awesome, and they'll be awesome to you if you are a good customer. That hidden power plug will be revealed, an extra free refill will be given, an introduction will be made.
Placement. Don't sit near the door or the register, if you can avoid it. Temperature differences and high traffic don't help you to focus.
Power up. Come with a full charge. I like to not bring a power cord, unlike most folks, because I get 6 hours out of my laptop battery, and it forces me to take a break and work with focus because I will run out eventually.
There you have it, a few reasons why I recommend taking a break from the office at least once a month, and some tips on how to get the most out of it. For those of you located in, or traveling to, the New York City area, I have put together a special Foursquare list with 15 of my favorite local coffee shops to work from. Let us know how it goes!
Why You Should Work From a Coffee Shop, Even When You Have an Office | Fast Company
Wesley Verhoeve is the founder of Family Records and GNTLMN.com. He writes about the intersection of music, tech, and innovation, as well as modern marketing, product strategy, and great customer experiences across different industries.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? LG Electronics Inc. reported its first quarterly loss in a year Wednesday after Europe slapped it with a massive fine for price fixing.
Its net loss totaled 468 billion won ($429 million) for the last quarter of 2012, compared with a loss of 112 billion a year earlier.
The European Union fined it 492 million euros ($664 million) last month for rigging prices of cathode-ray tubes for years up until 2006. LG said it would appeal.
LG also blamed its poor fourth quarter on intense competition among TV makers and sluggish consumer demand. The won's gains against the U.S. dollar also hurt, LG said.
Operating profit, which excludes the fine, rose 25 percent over a year earlier to 107.2 billion won. Revenue fell slightly to 13.5 trillion won.
The increase in operating profit was driven by LG's mobile business which was profitable in 2012 after suffering two years of losses. LG's smartphone shipments jumped 56 percent over a year earlier to 8.6 million in the fourth quarter, helped by its Optimus series of phones based on the Android operating system.
LG Electronics is among the smaller players in the smartphone market. Counterpoint Technology Market Research estimated that more than 90 percent of the smartphone market's profit is claimed by Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc.
But higher-end smartphones have steadily increased in importance for LG's overall mobile business as it battles competition from Chinese makers at the low-cost end of the market.
LG said it plans to bet on countries that have begun introducing faster wireless networks called LTE, which it expects will produce higher demand for smartphones compatible with the new technology.
The company, which competes in the TV market with Sony Corp., Panasonic Corp. and local rival Samsung Electronics Co., is counting on early launches of advanced displays such as OLED and ultra-high definition this year to get ahead of its rivals.
Anna Balazs announced as 2013 Mines MedalistPublic release date: 29-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Fran LeFort Fran.LeFort@sdsmt.edu 605-394-6082 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
National award recognizes scientific leaders and engineering innovators
RAPID CITY, S.D. Anna Balazs, a pioneer in the area of predicting the behavior of complex polymeric materials through her theoretical predictions, has been named 2013 Mines Medalist by the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.
Balazs, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, whose area of expertise is theoretical and computational modeling of polymer blends and composites. She is recognized as a trend-setting researcher who developed powerful, comprehensive computer models to predict the behavior of nanocomposites. These studies provided critically needed guidelines for creating high performance materials formed from polymers and nanoparticles.
She becomes the fifth Mines Medalist to be named by the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, which founded the national award in 2009 to recognize scientists and engineers who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation.
Dr. Balazs' research has significant impact on the scientific world. She leads a team that predicted the behavior of Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) gels, a gel with far-reaching applications "such as artificial skin that could be sensory a holy grail in robotics," she has said.
"The research being conducted by Anna Balazs has the power to transform lives, and we are excited to name such a distinguished researcher as our 2013 Mines Medalist," said School of Mines Acting President Duane Hrncir, Ph.D.
Her group developed the first computational model to describe large scale deformations and shape changes in chemo-responsive polymer gels. She has also made significant contributions to the area of self-healing materials and has collaborated with experimentalists at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.
The materials and modeling methods being produced as a result of her work are far-reaching, with her research focusing on a very diverse spectrum of systems, including nanocomposites, self-oscillating gels, self-healing materials and polymeric microcapsules.
Dr. Balazs' work focuses on developing theoretical and computational models to capture the behavior of polymer blends, nanocomposites, complex fluids and colloidal systems, work that is "crucial to develop predictive models for the behavior" of designing advanced materials, according to one of her nominators Steven R. Little, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.
"It is in this area that Balazs and her research group have made fundamentally important and unique contributions, which are allowing scientists to understand how choices made at the molecular level affect the macroscopic performance of the system." Little described her work as both "theoretically elegant and applicable to real materials of industrial relevance."
She has been a fellow in the Royal Society of Chemistry; a senior visiting fellow at Oxford Center for Advanced Materials and Composites and Materials Science Department (Oxford University); visiting fellow at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University; and a fellow with the American Physical Society.
Her work has been published in Science, Nature and numerous other publications and has been described in popular media outlets such as The Economist and Science News.
She will be presented the next Mines Medal during the Oct. 3, 2013, Mines Medal Dinner and Award Ceremony to be held at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.
Dr. Balazs says she feels "extremely honored to be inducted into a group that includes such illustrious awardees."
Previous Medalists include Dr. Diana Wall, 2012 recipient and University Distinguished Professor and director of the School of Global Environmental Sustainability at Colorado State University; Dr. Lee Rybeck Lynd, 2011 recipient and professor of engineering and adjunct professor of biology and earth science at Dartmouth College; Steven Squyres, 2010 recipient and Cornell University astronomer and principal scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover missions; and Dr. Cindy Van Dover, 2009 recipient and chair and professor of Duke University's Division of Marine Sciences and Conservation and director of the Duke University Marine Laboratory.
###
MEDIA CONTACT
Fran LeFort
Communications Manager
(605) 394-6082
Fran.LeFort@sdsmt.edu
[ | 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.
Anna Balazs announced as 2013 Mines MedalistPublic release date: 29-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Fran LeFort Fran.LeFort@sdsmt.edu 605-394-6082 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
National award recognizes scientific leaders and engineering innovators
RAPID CITY, S.D. Anna Balazs, a pioneer in the area of predicting the behavior of complex polymeric materials through her theoretical predictions, has been named 2013 Mines Medalist by the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.
Balazs, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, whose area of expertise is theoretical and computational modeling of polymer blends and composites. She is recognized as a trend-setting researcher who developed powerful, comprehensive computer models to predict the behavior of nanocomposites. These studies provided critically needed guidelines for creating high performance materials formed from polymers and nanoparticles.
She becomes the fifth Mines Medalist to be named by the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, which founded the national award in 2009 to recognize scientists and engineers who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation.
Dr. Balazs' research has significant impact on the scientific world. She leads a team that predicted the behavior of Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) gels, a gel with far-reaching applications "such as artificial skin that could be sensory a holy grail in robotics," she has said.
"The research being conducted by Anna Balazs has the power to transform lives, and we are excited to name such a distinguished researcher as our 2013 Mines Medalist," said School of Mines Acting President Duane Hrncir, Ph.D.
Her group developed the first computational model to describe large scale deformations and shape changes in chemo-responsive polymer gels. She has also made significant contributions to the area of self-healing materials and has collaborated with experimentalists at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.
The materials and modeling methods being produced as a result of her work are far-reaching, with her research focusing on a very diverse spectrum of systems, including nanocomposites, self-oscillating gels, self-healing materials and polymeric microcapsules.
Dr. Balazs' work focuses on developing theoretical and computational models to capture the behavior of polymer blends, nanocomposites, complex fluids and colloidal systems, work that is "crucial to develop predictive models for the behavior" of designing advanced materials, according to one of her nominators Steven R. Little, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.
"It is in this area that Balazs and her research group have made fundamentally important and unique contributions, which are allowing scientists to understand how choices made at the molecular level affect the macroscopic performance of the system." Little described her work as both "theoretically elegant and applicable to real materials of industrial relevance."
She has been a fellow in the Royal Society of Chemistry; a senior visiting fellow at Oxford Center for Advanced Materials and Composites and Materials Science Department (Oxford University); visiting fellow at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University; and a fellow with the American Physical Society.
Her work has been published in Science, Nature and numerous other publications and has been described in popular media outlets such as The Economist and Science News.
She will be presented the next Mines Medal during the Oct. 3, 2013, Mines Medal Dinner and Award Ceremony to be held at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.
Dr. Balazs says she feels "extremely honored to be inducted into a group that includes such illustrious awardees."
Previous Medalists include Dr. Diana Wall, 2012 recipient and University Distinguished Professor and director of the School of Global Environmental Sustainability at Colorado State University; Dr. Lee Rybeck Lynd, 2011 recipient and professor of engineering and adjunct professor of biology and earth science at Dartmouth College; Steven Squyres, 2010 recipient and Cornell University astronomer and principal scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover missions; and Dr. Cindy Van Dover, 2009 recipient and chair and professor of Duke University's Division of Marine Sciences and Conservation and director of the Duke University Marine Laboratory.
###
MEDIA CONTACT
Fran LeFort
Communications Manager
(605) 394-6082
Fran.LeFort@sdsmt.edu
[ | 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.
All Critics (61) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (3)
Expect your blood pressure to rise during The Central Park Five.
The doc is rife with smart or wrenching or shameful moments. The fresh interviews with the accused, now men, are invaluable.
As grim a portrait of the criminal justice system as can be imagined.
How could this second crime have occurred? The film asks that question but only partly answers it, and in the process it raises an even more troubling one.
"The Central Park Five" is worth seeing, both for the ways it's timeless and for the ways it encapsulates an era.
What's amazing about listening to them speak now, often through tears, is the absence of bitterness.
Like the "Paradise Lost" films, it's a shocking but clear-eyed portrait of injustice.
The Central Park Five is such a moving piece of work, it is difficult to watch at times.
It shows what happens when police and prosecutors abuse their power.
Puts the crime and the times in sharp perspective.
Burns and company conduct a thorough, riveting investigation that does a far better job of assessing the tragedy than the justice system did two decades before. Of course, hindsight is an advantage we all take for granted.
It's a gripping story that comes in a well-crafted package.
A heartbreaking expose' about a rush to judgment which ruined five, innocent young lives.
Exclusive interviews with former heads of Israel's counter terrorism agency reveal insiders' analysis about the country's policies. Fascinating. Frightening.
"The Central Park Five" is a sobering indictment of racism and vigilante justice, yet it is constrained by a PBS-style deference to the very system it critiques.
You can't help but wonder why this film wasn't made 20 years ago, when it could have saved these men some time behind bars.
What keeps the film from being an impossible downer is the guts and spirit and smart words of the Central Park Five, four of whom, now freed, are interviewed at length.
A miscarriage of justice on this scale would have been tragic had it resulted from an honest mistake - but, as this meticulously researched movie makes clear, honesty had little to do with it.
The [documentary] team builds a solid story from the time of the crime through the release from prison those wrongly accused and railroaded into confessing to a crime they did not commit.
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Hydrogen sulfide: The next anti-aging agent?Public release date: 29-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) may play a wide-ranging role in staving off aging, according to a paper published online ahead of print in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology. In this review article, a team from China explores the compound's plethora of potential anti-aging pathways.
"H2S has been gaining increasing attention as an important endogenous signaling molecule because of its significant effects on the cardiovascular and nervous systems," the team writes. The evidence is mounting, they note, that hydrogen sulfide slows aging by inhibiting free-radical reactions, by activating SIRT1, an enzyme believed to be a regulator of lifespan, and probably through its interactions with a gene, klotho, which appears to have its own market basket of anti-aging activity.
Hydrogen sulfide is produced within the human body, and has a variety of important physiological effects. For example, it relaxes the vascular endothelium and smooth muscle cells, which is important to maintaining clean arteries as one ages, says first author Zhi-Sheng Jiang, of the University of South China, Hunan. It functions as an antioxidant. And it inhibits expression of pro-inflammatory factors, all of which "imply an important role in aging and age-associated diseases," according to the paper. For example, mice lacking CSE, the gene for an enzyme involved in producing H2S, manifest extensive, premature arteriosclerosis, an inevitable consequence of aging, says Jiang.
The gene, klotho, which appears to be upregulated by hydrogen sulfide, is thought to extend lifespan via a number of different pathways, some of which promote production of endogenous antioxidants, according to the report. Produced in the kidneys, it has direct angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibiting activity; that is, it's an ACE inhibitor, just like certain drugs that mitigate high blood pressure. Not surprisingly, plasma H2S declines with age, and is lower in spontaneously hypertensive rats than in those with normal blood pressure. More generally, a lack of H2S is implicated in cardiovascular disease.
A decline in H2S is also thought to undermine neurological health. Endogenous H2S has been found wanting in an animal model of Parkinson's disease, and is found to be depressed in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. There are even suggestions, mostly in animal models, but also in human studies, that H2S may be protective against cancer, according to the report.
"Data available so far strongly suggest that H2S may become the next potent agent for preventing and ameliorating the symptoms of aging and age-associated diseases," concludes Jiang. In the future, he says, people may take H2S via food, or as an anti-aging supplement.
###
A copy of the manuscript can be found online at http://bit.ly/asmtip0113c. Formal publication is scheduled for the late March 2013 issue of Molecular and Cellular Biology.
(Y. Zhang, Z.-H. Tang, Z.-R., S.L. Qu, M.-H. Liu, L.-S. Liu, Z.-S. Jiang, 2013. Hydrogen sulfide: the next potent preventive and therapeutic agent in aging and age-associated diseases. Mol. Cell. Bio. Online ahead of print, 7 January 2013, doi:10.1128/MCB.01215-12)
Molecular and Cellular Biology is a publication of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). The ASM is the largest single life science society, composed of over 39,000 scientists and health professionals. Its mission is to advance the microbiological sciences as a vehicle for understanding life processes and to apply and communicate this knowledge for the improvement of health and environmental and economic well-being worldwide.
[ | 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.
Hydrogen sulfide: The next anti-aging agent?Public release date: 29-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) may play a wide-ranging role in staving off aging, according to a paper published online ahead of print in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology. In this review article, a team from China explores the compound's plethora of potential anti-aging pathways.
"H2S has been gaining increasing attention as an important endogenous signaling molecule because of its significant effects on the cardiovascular and nervous systems," the team writes. The evidence is mounting, they note, that hydrogen sulfide slows aging by inhibiting free-radical reactions, by activating SIRT1, an enzyme believed to be a regulator of lifespan, and probably through its interactions with a gene, klotho, which appears to have its own market basket of anti-aging activity.
Hydrogen sulfide is produced within the human body, and has a variety of important physiological effects. For example, it relaxes the vascular endothelium and smooth muscle cells, which is important to maintaining clean arteries as one ages, says first author Zhi-Sheng Jiang, of the University of South China, Hunan. It functions as an antioxidant. And it inhibits expression of pro-inflammatory factors, all of which "imply an important role in aging and age-associated diseases," according to the paper. For example, mice lacking CSE, the gene for an enzyme involved in producing H2S, manifest extensive, premature arteriosclerosis, an inevitable consequence of aging, says Jiang.
The gene, klotho, which appears to be upregulated by hydrogen sulfide, is thought to extend lifespan via a number of different pathways, some of which promote production of endogenous antioxidants, according to the report. Produced in the kidneys, it has direct angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibiting activity; that is, it's an ACE inhibitor, just like certain drugs that mitigate high blood pressure. Not surprisingly, plasma H2S declines with age, and is lower in spontaneously hypertensive rats than in those with normal blood pressure. More generally, a lack of H2S is implicated in cardiovascular disease.
A decline in H2S is also thought to undermine neurological health. Endogenous H2S has been found wanting in an animal model of Parkinson's disease, and is found to be depressed in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. There are even suggestions, mostly in animal models, but also in human studies, that H2S may be protective against cancer, according to the report.
"Data available so far strongly suggest that H2S may become the next potent agent for preventing and ameliorating the symptoms of aging and age-associated diseases," concludes Jiang. In the future, he says, people may take H2S via food, or as an anti-aging supplement.
###
A copy of the manuscript can be found online at http://bit.ly/asmtip0113c. Formal publication is scheduled for the late March 2013 issue of Molecular and Cellular Biology.
(Y. Zhang, Z.-H. Tang, Z.-R., S.L. Qu, M.-H. Liu, L.-S. Liu, Z.-S. Jiang, 2013. Hydrogen sulfide: the next potent preventive and therapeutic agent in aging and age-associated diseases. Mol. Cell. Bio. Online ahead of print, 7 January 2013, doi:10.1128/MCB.01215-12)
Molecular and Cellular Biology is a publication of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). The ASM is the largest single life science society, composed of over 39,000 scientists and health professionals. Its mission is to advance the microbiological sciences as a vehicle for understanding life processes and to apply and communicate this knowledge for the improvement of health and environmental and economic well-being worldwide.
[ | 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.
>>>sarah palin
says the door is
wide open
when it comes to her long-term plans after parting ways from fox news. does the former
vice presidential candidate
already have her next move mapped out? kelly o'donnell takes a look at that for us.
>>good morning.
sarah palin
has people guessing this morning again. it's not about will she or won't she run for office, but what will she do next? after a breakup that seemed unlikely between the conservaticonservformer governor and her
conservative home
at fox. in the four years and five months since
sarah palin
jolted the
political world
, she konked out at an unusual space, at the corner of politics --
>>only dead fish go with the flow.
>> reporter: celebrity and
pop culture
.
>>the only poll i care about is the
north pole
and that is melting.
>>she's doing her home tls work.
>> reporter: even husband, todd, is on the current cover of "alaska" magazine, but her main gig is over.
>>she now wants to be more of an outsider. she wants to pose as someone different than fox.
>>fox says we have thoroughly enjoyed our association with governor palin and wish her the best. palin turned to the conservative website to hint at her future saying i know the country need morse truth telling in the media and i'm willing to do that. so, we shall see. while some
tea party
candidates palin championed won in
2012
, like senator ted cruise and fisher, many say palin and the
tea party
movement have lost interest. new gop stars are on the rise and more visible. on "meet the press," palin's successor as vp candidate
paul ryan
on his
2016
prospects.
>>i think it's just premature.
>> reporter: the
republican party
has its own job, trying to retool its brand and broaden its appeal. with a place for palin unclear.
>>sarah palin
had so much
star power
, it's possible that she can be at least part of the conversation, if not a dominant figure in the
republican party
.
>>we know
sarah palin
has both loyal supporters and very vocal critics. sources close to her say fox did offer a contract. obviously they didn't come to terms and she does plan to stay part of the
national conversation
. with this move she says she's taking her own advice by, quote, jumping out of the
comfort zone
. savannah?
FILE - In this Sunday, April 15, 2012 file image made from KRT video, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un applauds before giving his first public speech during a massive celebration marking the 100th birthday of national founder Kim Il Sung at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea. South Korea's new president will not tolerate North Korean provocations but will continue to push for dialogue with Pyongyang, a special envoy to President-elect Park Geun-hye said just hours after the North's top governing body, headed by the country's young leader, declared it would continue atomic tests and rocket launches. (AP Photo/KRT via AP video, FILE) NORTH KOREA OUT, TV OUT
FILE - In this Sunday, April 15, 2012 file image made from KRT video, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un applauds before giving his first public speech during a massive celebration marking the 100th birthday of national founder Kim Il Sung at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea. South Korea's new president will not tolerate North Korean provocations but will continue to push for dialogue with Pyongyang, a special envoy to President-elect Park Geun-hye said just hours after the North's top governing body, headed by the country's young leader, declared it would continue atomic tests and rocket launches. (AP Photo/KRT via AP video, FILE) NORTH KOREA OUT, TV OUT
South Korean army soldiers patrol along the barbed-wire fence at the Imjingak Pavilion, South Korea, near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Panmunjom, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. Following new U.N. sanctions punishing North Korea for a December rocket launch, North Korea warned that it would continue launching long-range rockets and conduct a nuclear test. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A woman walks by a board which reads "Forward to Final Victory under Leadership of Great Party,? left, and another reads reads "Let's firmly arm ourselves with the patriotism of Kim Jong Il," in Changgwang Street, Pothonggang District of Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday Jan, 25, 2013. Following new U.N. sanctions punishing North Korea for a December rocket launch, North Korea warned that it would continue launching long-range rockets and conduct a nuclear test. (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon)
This Jan. 4, 2013 satellite image provided by GeoEye shows North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test facility. This and other recent satellite photos show North Korea could be almost ready to carry out its threat to conduct a nuclear test, a U.S. research institute said Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. The images of the Punggye-ri site where nuclear tests were conducted in 2006 and 2009 reveal that over the past month roads have been kept clear of snow and that North Koreans may be sealing the tunnel into a mountainside where a nuclear device would be detonated. But it remains difficult to discern North Korea's true intentions as a test would be conducted underground. The analysis was provided to The Associated Press by 38 North, the website of U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. (AP Photo/GeoEye Satellite Image)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? North Korean leader Kim Jong Un convened top security and foreign affairs officials and ordered them to take "substantial and high-profile important state measures," state media said Sunday, indicating that he plans to push forward with a threat to explode a nuclear device in defiance of the United Nations.
The meeting of top officials led by Kim makes clear that he backs Pyongyang's defiant stance in protest of U.N. Security Council punishment for a December rocket launch. The dispatch in the official Korean Central News Agency did not say when the meeting took place.
Last week, the Security Council condemned North Korea's Dec. 12 launch of a long-range rocket as a violation of a ban against nuclear and missile activity. The council, including North Korea ally China, punished Pyongyang with more sanctions and ordered the regime to refrain from a nuclear test ? or face "significant action."
North Korea responded by rejecting the resolution and maintaining its right to launch a satellite into orbit as part of a peaceful civilian space program.
It also warned that it would keep developing rockets and testing nuclear devices to counter what it sees as U.S. hostility. A rare statement was issued Thursday by the powerful National Defense Commission, the top governing body led by Kim.
North Korea cites a U.S. military threat in the region as a key reason behind its drive to build nuclear weapons. The two countries fought on opposite sides of the Korean War, which ended after three years in 1953 with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The U.S.-led U.N. Command mans the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas, and Washington stations more than 28,000 troops in South Korea to protect its ally.
North Korea is estimated to have enough weaponized plutonium for four to eight bombs, according to American nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker, who visited the country's nuclear complex northwest of Pyongyang in November 2010.
However, it is not known whether North Korean scientists have found a way to build nuclear warheads small enough to mount on a long-range missile.
Experts say regular tests are needed to perfect the technique, and another atomic test could take the country closer to its goal of building a warhead that can be mounted on a missile designed to strike the United States. North Korea has carried out two nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009.
South Korean defense officials say North Korea is technically ready to conduct a nuclear test in a matter of days.
Satellite photos taken Wednesday show that over the past month, roads have been kept clear of snow and that North Koreans may have been sealing the tunnel into a mountainside where a nuclear device would be detonated.
Analysis of the images of the Punggye-ri site was provided Friday to The Associated Press by 38 North, the website of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
The U.S., South Korea and other countries have warned North Korea not to go ahead with a nuclear test, saying that would only deepen the country's international isolation.
After meeting with Chinese officials Friday, U.S. envoy for North Korea Glyn Davies said a nuclear test would set back efforts to restart regional talks on the North's nuclear disarmament.
None can deny the importance of Search engine optimization (SEO) for making a name in business with highly competitive online world. Today, internet has become a powerful tool to promote your offers or services on global scale and get exposure for grabbing more and more clients worldwide. Even with limited resources and meager staff, you can do huge advertisement for your company or brand on vast scale in an effective manner.
Search engines need quality
Recently, there has been quite a lot of work in Google?s SEO mechanism. It always shows high-quality well-designed sites in top results. Same is true for all major search engines. Besides, the content in website also matters a great deal. For instance, a web site having keyword based descriptions about products will surely get more traffic than others with general content. Smart content developers first use Adwords or other search tools to derive highly searched keywords and insert them in their web pages sensibly. Besides key words, number of monthly searches on global or local level and CPC (cost per click) are especially considered to make sure they get as much traffic as possible.
Web design increases ranking
A web layout that is masterfully designed with appropriate visuals will rank high in search engine indexes. It?s highly important to have a clear interface with high-quality content and required number of backlinks. Images and videos have primary role in attracting visitors. You might have observed, some big sites only have meaningful images with upper tabs on home screen and there are a few or no words at all.
Designer-cum-SEO expert
Whenever you?re hiring a web designer, make sure he keeps abreast of the latest techniques, tips and tricks to rank high among search engines and navigate more traffic to your website. Instead of adding art infusion, it should be decent, simple, user-friendly and attractive. Having all categories? links or tabs separately in home page is important. Email subscription options also help get more traffic.
How SEO experts work
SEO experts have a thorough knowledge about how to have more visitors to the web page or a particular link. They use these tools for this purpose:
Social media like Facebook, Twitter and so on
Ezine publishing (with backlinks in the author bio)
Content publishing to high-traffic websites
Keyword usage
Connection with social networking sites
Google analytics to check website?s progress
Blogging
Guest posting
Email alerts
Press release
Link building
Branding
Some use a few and others almost all of these tools for effective search engine optimization.
Web design impacts SEO
Companies prefer having websites that have convincing interface, vivid animations, rich visuals and concise content with catchy titles. In fact, their online presence speaks a lot about their success and image. Clients surf online, view their website and try to assess them abruptly at a very first visit. Well-designed and focused website definitely gives great impression and convinces the visitors to take interest in companies? offers and services.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks rose on Wall Street in afternoon trading Friday after Procter & Gamble and Starbucks posted strong earnings reports, putting the Standard & Poor's 500 index on track for its longest winning streak since 2004.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 53 points to 13,878 as of 2:21 p.m. Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 advanced seven points to 1,502. The Nasdaq gained 20 points to 3,151.
The S&P 500 broke through 1,500 Thursday for the first time since December 2007, following a drop in claims for unemployment benefits that added to evidence that the labor market is healing. The index is headed for an eighth consecutive gain, which would be the longest winning streak since November 2004.
Procter & Gamble, world's largest consumer products maker, gained $2.49 to $72.91 after reporting that its quarterly income more than doubled. P&G also raised its profit forecast for its full fiscal year. Starbucks rose $2.40 to $56.97 after reporting a 13 percent increase in profits.
"Earnings are growing," said Joe Tanious, a global market strategist at JPMorgan. "The bottom line is that corporate America is doing exceptionally well."
Tanious expects corporate earnings to grow at about 5 percent over the "next year or two," and stock valuations to rise. Currently, the S&P 500 is trading at an average price-to-earnings ratio of 14, below an average of 15.1 for the last decade, according to FactSet data.
Apple continued to decline, allowing Exxon Mobil to once again surpass the electronics giant as the world's most valuable publicly traded company. Apple fell 1 percent to $444.26, following a 12 percent drop on Thursday, the biggest one-day percentage drop for the company since 2008, after Apple forecast slower sales. The stock is now $257.84, or 37 percent, below the record high of $702.10 it reached Sept. 19.
Apple first surpassed Exxon in market value in the summer of 2011, grabbing a title Exxon had held since 2005. The two traded places through that fall, until Apple surpassed Exxon in early 2012.
Stocks have surged this month, with the S&P 500 advancing 5.4 percent this month. It jumped at the start of the year when lawmakers reached a last-minute deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff." Stocks built on those gains on optimism that the housing market is recovering and the labor market is healing. The Dow Jones is up 6 percent on the year.
Deutsche Bank analysts raised their year-end target for the index to 1,600 from 1,575.
Companies will be able to maintain their earnings even if lawmakers in Washington decide to implement wide-ranging spending cuts to narrow the budget deficit, the analysts said in a note sent to clients late Thursday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, climbed 5 basis points to 1.91 percent.
Among other stocks making big moves.
? Halliburton gained $1.87 to $39.69 after posting a loss that was smaller than analysts had expected. The oilfield services company said fourth-quarter profits declined 26 percent to $669 million on increasing pricing pressure in the North American market and one-time charges from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Wall Street had expected worse.
?Hasbro fell $1.45 to $37 after the toy maker said its fourth-quarter revenue failed to meet expectations because of poor demand over the holidays. The company plans to cut about 10 percent of its workforce and consolidate facilities to cut expenses.
? Green Mountain Coffee Roasters rose $1.10 to $44.88 after an analyst noted that sales of a competing coffee brewer introduced by Starbucks were getting off to a weak start.
There are more drivers hitting the road every year. As this number goes up, the chances of a car wreck will also increase. If you get in a car crash, the auto insurance you own can make a big difference in how much you have to pay. But why do you need insurance and just how much do you need? Auto insurance provides you with protection from paying for damage or injury you cause others while you are driving, damage to your vehicle or personal injury or injury to your passengers from a crash, plus certain other incidents, such as theft. No matter where you live, you will need to purchase some variety of auto insurance. Deciding to drive without insurance could mean you have to repair or replace a stolen or damaged vehicle or pay the cost of any damage for which you might be responsible. Liability: It pays for the expenses you have caused to others in a car accident, including injury and property damage. If you are sued, it also pays your legal fees. Recommended, more comprehensive levels of liability insurance can be purchased that cover more than the lower, state-mandated insurance. Personal Injury Protection: Personal injury insurance is required in some states and is optional in others. Sometimes referred to as no-fault coverage, this pays the medical treatment for you or your passengers regardless of who was at fault. This insurance can also pay for lost earnings, service replacement and funeral expenses. The minimum amount of personal injury protection is typically set by the state. Medical Payments: This coverage is available in states that are not considered no-fault; it will pay despite who may have been at fault. This insurance will pay for all insured person?s reasonable and necessary medical or funeral expenses for bodily injury from a crash. Collision: This pays for damage to your vehicle caused by an accident. Comprehensive: Cover your vehicle from all non-collision damages when you buy this type of coverage. This may include protection from theft, vandalism, and fire or flood damage. Uninsured Motorist: This pays for repair and replacement costs when someone with insurance is injured in an accident caused by another person who does not have liability coverage. Under-Insured Motorist: There are other drivers who have liability insurance that might not be able to pay for all the expenses they are responsible for. Under-insured motorist coverage protects you in accidents involving those drivers. Other types of coverage, such as emergency road service, are also available. What you pay for auto insurance varies based on the company and will depend on multiple factors, such as: *Your selected coverage *Your vehicle?s make and model * Whether or not you have been in an accident * Your age, sex and marital status * Where you live Some people think they can get by without auto insurance, but it is honestly something you don?t want to live without. Evaluate your needs, research your options, and with the guidance of your insurance agency, choose the option that best suits you. Auto insurance Oakland
The United States likes to throw its weight around the international political economy; that much is obvious. Given the sheer girth of its residents, this is not something to be easily ignored. However, like all bullies, the United States can be put in its place if you stand up and fight for a principle. Don't relent: bloody them up, and they'll soon be crying home to the land of apple pie and Guantanamo Ghraib. The North Vietnamese famously sent the Yanks home for supporting the exceedingly corrupt South Vietnamese leadership. Why should it have taken 58,220 dead Americans to figure out that this was primarily a conflict for Vietnamese independence as opposed to another chip to fall in "domino theory"? A regrettable fact remains that an inordinate number of African-Americans died due to the white man's delusion--as Muhammad Ali said, "No Viet Cong ever called me nig**r." Thankfully, a majority of more pragmatic Americans are not ideologues; they are more interested in commerce. By 1995 despite all that history, the Yanks normalized relations with the folks who had justifiably run them out of where they did not belong since--surprise!--Vietnam was becoming economically dynamic due its policy of doi moi of opening up to the rest of the world.
This long-winded introduction brings me to another instance of global injustice being perpetuated by the Americans. The long-running case (DS 285) of the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda (Antigua) against the United States over online gambling services was well underway before I started blogging in 2007 [1, 2]. In broad strokes, the United States implemented restrictions that hindered offshore gambling services from plying their trade Stateside. In 2003, Antigua took the United States to the World Trade Organization dispute settlement mechanism (DSM) over these restrictions and won its case. However, instead of complying with the WTO ruling, the US appealed and lost in 2005. Worse still, in 2006 its lawmakers passed the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act" (UIGEA) which prohibited offshore gambling services from the US altogether. Antigua once again sued the US at the WTO for non-compliance and won in 2007. However, in the almost six years since then, the United States has failed to meet its WTO commitments to allow online gambling.
What remedies can Antigua resort to? Since 2007, it has effectively had the right to inflict cross-retaliation on the United States over its non-compliance. That is, it obviously cannot retaliate in the same industry since the US does not offer gambling services to Antigua--least of all in an amount equivalent equal to the economic damages caused by the United States' non-compliance with international trade law. (The WTO authorized $21 million annually.) It is generally believed that the US arrived at side deals not made public to prevent Antigua from hitting the US where it hurts most: seeking redress by trespassing on America's beloved intellectual property. (Joe Falchetti has a good summary of the still-ongoing UIGEA saga.) Some things have changed in the US legal sphere, but UIGEA remains active in prohibiting offshore gambling firms alike those headquartered in the Antigua from operating Stateside.
However, I suppose you can only take so much US bullying: Reuters now reports that Antigua is going to notify the WTO that it will cross-retaliate by flouting US copyrights:
The tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda will tell the World Trade Organization on Monday that it intends to use trade sanctions against the United States, which it could enforce by allowing movie downloads without protecting U.S. copyright...Antigua won the right to hit back with trade sanctions and - with little hope of persuading Washington by threatening to block U.S. imports to the nation of 70,000 - it was given permission to use intellectual property instead.?
"American intellectual property rights holders are fighting piracy across the globe. They hate the theft of their intellectual property rights and they spend enormous sums trying to prevent it," Mark Mendel, a lawyer representing Antigua in the case, told Reuters. He declined to say exactly how Antigua might act, but said it could include copyrights, patents or trademarks.
The possibilities are endless for justifiably kicking the Yanks in the balls...of commerce; think for instance of a "WTO legal" torrent site. I relish the thought of...wait for it..."Antiguanoid":
A website that allowed users to download U.S. software or movies without paying anything to the copyright holders was one possibility, as was selling Manchester United T-shirts - the soccer club is owned by the American Glazer family. "If, when, how it's going to happen, people will just have to wait to find out." Although the WTO awarded Antigua the right to impose only $21 million in annual sanctions, Mendel said the size of the award was not an obstacle.
If Antigua were to begin a state-sponsored website to download Hollywood movies and U.S.-made computer software, it could still inflict a lot of damage on U.S. rights holders. "When you think about it, $21 million could be all accomplished in one go or in 50 million goes. The dollar figure is not important," he said. Asked if a site charging one cent per download would be a way to accomplish Antigua's aims, he said: "That is an intellectual possibility..."?
Could there even be a "domino theory" of more poor countries getting back at the big, bad US of A this way? Antigua's lawyer (American) Mark Mendel thinks so:
The United States should be worried about other WTO members following Antigua and using the same tactic to get their way in trade disputes, Mendel said. "If they aren't worried enough about Antigua they should be worried about someone else coming along. If we do something inventive that could pose a lot of problems for intellectual property holders, if we create that precedent, the consequences could be enormous," he said.
"With Antigua, it's $21 million. Maybe with China it's going to be $21 billion," said Mendel. "One of the messages we want to get across is that the WTO was sold to smaller countries as a level playing field and a way for them to expand the reach of commerce, subject to a set of rules that apply to everybody. I think more than anything else this case is about fairness. The WTO is supposed to be fair."
Whether in geopolitics or trade, Americans like to abuse their power and tell you it's fair. I think it's high time the rest of the world stood up to this bullying and roughed up Mickey Mouse and his buddies real good. Even while blatantly cheating at world trade through shenanigans like these, the US economy is on the ropes and it will not take much to do significant harm--which it fully deserves in this case anyway.
Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Amber Rose and Vanessa Lachey are glowing in their faded denim duds while pregnant. Check them out, plus our picks for every budget.
IK Multimedia got a jump start on NAMM with the announcement of its iLoud speaker duo just before the proper start of the show. Today, we swung by the company's booth to take a closer look and spend a few minutes with the Bluetooth-wielding wireless duo. The first thing that we noticed was the build quality. Both the iLoud and iLoud Mini sport a soft-touch rubber-esque coating on the top and bottom that we've seen in other Bluetooth audio units. The pair also has an adequate amount of heft without being overbearing when added to the weight of an already packed rucksack. In terms of the Mini, a single volume control rests on the right side, both USB port (for charging) and aux inputs reside around to the left and the power button is at home up top.
For us, the real star of the show here is the regular iLoud. In addition to the same wireless capabilities as the smaller sibling, this unit packs a 1/4-inch input that houses the outfit's iRig circuitry. Essentially, one of IK Mulitmedia's adapters is crammed right into the speaker. Said jack along with controls for power, gain and Bluetooth pairing hit the backside in addition to an auxiliary port for connecting a handset or tablet via cable. The volume knob is around front on this beefier model, encircled in a glowing red light. One of the main selling points is the advertised studio-grade sound quality -- especially in the 40W iLoud -- which we were unfortunately unable to confirm due to the overly noisy show floor here in Anaheim. Jump down through the gallery to take a gander at the pair that is set to arrive in Q2 for $300 and $200 respectively.
Jan. 23, 2013 ? Breaking up is hard to do -- and can be detrimental to one's reproductive fitness, according to a new University of Pennsylvania study.
Focusing on wide-eyed, nocturnal owl monkeys, considered a socially monogamous species, the research reveals that, when an owl monkey pair is severed by an intruding individual, the mate who takes up with a new partner produces fewer offspring than a monkey who sticks with its tried-and-true partner.
The findings underscore how monogamy and pair-bonds -- relatively rare social formations among mammals -- can benefit certain individuals, with potential implications for understanding how human relationship patterns may have evolved.
Eduardo Fernandez-Duque and Maren Huck report on the research in PLOS ONE. Fernandez-Duque is an associate professor in Penn's Department of Anthropology. Huck completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Fernandez-Duque's laboratory and is now a professor at the University of Derby in the United Kingdom.
Since 1997, Fernandez-Duque and colleagues have monitored an owl monkey population in a portion of Argentina's Chaco region. Their behavioral observations, demographic data and physiological sampling have provided a wealth of information on the animals.
"We have managed over the years to have quite significant sample sizes for a study of wild non-human primates," Fernandez-Duque said. "These findings are possible because we have intense demographic monitoring year-round that allows us to notice when a male is missing, when a female is missing or when there's a new adult in the group. We couple this with intense behavioral monitoring that allows us to document the details of fights or the whole process of mate replacement."
The current study amasses data from 16 years of observation of 18 owl monkey groups, a total of 154 animals. Owl monkeys live in monogamous groups consisting of an adult male, an adult female and their offspring. The juveniles disperse from the group around age 3 or 4.
In 2008, Fernandez-Duque and colleagues published a paper reporting, for the first time, the presence of a so-called "floater" individual, which attacked the male member of an owl monkey pair and essentially replaced him as a mate and infant-care provider.
The Penn team now demonstrates that this usurping of mates by both male and female floaters is a common occurrence. The researchers documented 27 female and 23 male replacements in the groups they observed.
The replacements often involved dramatic fights, some of which ended fatally for the evicted individual.
"These are high-stakes competitions for reproductive positions," Fernandez-Duque said.
By following pairs and observing replacements, Fernandez-Duque and Huck show that having a partner evicted harms the reproductive success of the remaining mate. Owl monkeys with one partner produced 25 percent more offspring per decade than those with two or more partners.
"What we're showing is that if you manage to stay with the same partner you produce more infants than if you're forced to change partners," Fernandez-Duque said.
The reason for this significant impact on the reproductive success of the remaining partner is not yet completely clear, but the researchers surmise that it may have to do with a delay in reproduction due to the fact that female owl monkeys in Argentina typically only conceive between March and May. It's also possible the delay occurs because the two individuals take time to assess one another before reproducing, given the significant commitment to infant care that both males and females make.
The results demonstrate that, for owl monkeys, long-term monogamy and pair-bonding improves reproductive fitness. The finding helps explain previous research by Fernandez-Duque's group, which has shown that male owl monkeys invest significantly in raising their offspring.
"Monogamy makes sense for these primates, because the male who sticks to a female is certain about the paternity of the young, and so he invests in their care," he said. "The female benefits from shared provisioning of care which may help her reduce the burden of pregnancy and lactation."
Fernandez-Duque's studies of owl monkeys in Argentina and his collaborative research on monogamous titi and saki monkeys of Ecuador are helping scientists understand the ecological and biological factors that gave rise to pair-bonds in non-human primates and in humans.
"There's some consensus among anthropologists that pairs-bonds must have played an important role in the origin of human societies," Fernandez-Duque said. "Call it love, call it friendship, call it marriage, there is something in our biology that leads to this enduring, emotional bond between two individuals that is widespread among human societies."
The research was supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the National Science Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania Research Foundation, the Zoological Society of San Diego and the German Science Foundation.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Pennsylvania.
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Journal Reference:
Eduardo Fernandez-Duque, Maren Huck. Till Death (Or an Intruder) Do Us Part: Intrasexual-Competition in a Monogamous Primate. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (1): e53724 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053724
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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
You know me, I?m enthusiastic about apps and online health content and innovating health care delivery. But we do have to be?thoughtful?about how we use and integrate new technology.
One in 5 smart phone?users?in the US has a health app on their phone. With over 50% of American adults owning a smartphone, that?s a lot of people with health apps walking around. Although the most common apps that people download typically tracks the food they eat or the exercise they complete, the over $700 million-dollar-a-year generating industry is teeming with new health?products?every day. In pediatrics, I see more phones out during the first newborn check and subsequent weight and feeding appointments than at any other time.
Most new parents that come to see me are tracking their baby?s poop, pee, feeding, diapers, or new milestones?and many are doing so using their phone. Subsequently, most of the children coming into our society today are not only tracked with technology, they will grow up with parents who use tools to help protect and support their lives. Using applications to prevent, diagnose, treat, and ultimately cure disease is not really just a dream anymore. It turns out these applications to support our own health are clearly becoming a part of the health care of the present-future.
The effectiveness of these apps remains imperfectly proven. Just last week, a study published in JAMA Dermatology found that apps advertised to improve diagnosis of cancer highly variable in their ability to help patients. ?Researchers and doctors at the University of Pittsburgh set out to study popular mobile and web-based apps designed to help patients identify potential skin cancers. Specifically, they?evaluated?apps advertised to pick up the most deadly type of skin cancer, malignant melanoma.
Researchers acted like patients, they searched app stores with search terms: ?skin, skin cancer, melanoma, mole? to identify applications on the market.
They then selected 4 apps to study that allowed the users to upload photos of moles. Researchers used 188 photos obtained in clinic from patients just prior to mole removal. The researchers had the benefit of knowing the ultimate diagnosis of all the 188 moles they uploaded to the applications. Of those 188 moles, 60 ended up being diagnosed as malignant melanoma.
?3 apps worked by evaluating the photo and providing feedback (?atypical? versus ?typical? or ?problematic? versus ?okay?). ?One app included in the study sent the uploaded mole photo for review to a board certified dermatologist.
None of the apps were perfectly reliable. In all, 3 out of 4 apps missed 30% or more of the moles that were melanoma,?categorizing?them as non-concerning. The app that proved most effective in picking up skin cancer was the one that functioned more like a telemedicine app where individual photos were sent to a board-certified dermatologist. Even so, it still missed true melanomas (1 in 53) and wasn?t specific in diagnosis.
In 3 of the apps, patients had a near instantaneous response?uploading the photo and getting a response. In the telemed app where it was sent out, responses arrived within 24 hours.
Researchers concluded the study with concerns, ?This potential [misuse of the apps] is of particular concern in times of economic hardship, when uninsured and even insured patients, deterred by the cost of copayments for medical visits, may turn to these applications as alternatives to physician evaluation.?
Don?t jumpt to too many conclusions. Just because these 4 apps don?t work well to diagnose skin cancer, it doesn?t mean we?re not moving in the correct direction. And this study doesn?t prove that patients use these apps without their doctors. Having improved ways to complete mole?surveillance and?chronicle?changes in moles will be increasingly important for those with high risk skin conditions or family history. Some apps that track and store photos of moles for comparissons were not compared and may help educate and support patients. What we know now is that apps designed to triage or diagnose moles as ?atypical? versus ?typical? or ?melanoma? versus ?normal? may not be ready for prime time, especially if they don?t involve expert opinion. It?s important that you see your dermatologist or physician for expert mole checks and biopsies when indicated. ?If you?re worried about your moles, or moles on your children talk with a physician. And if you use the apps, do what most people online do when they come to a diagnosis, go in and consult with an expert for confirmation.
For more on protecting your infants, protecting your children, and protecting yourself from malignant melanoma click on those links. Have you used a mole checking app? Other apps you love?
Braintree, an Accel and NEA-backed payments company that’s now processing more than $6 billion a year, is launching a new payments layer that lets users sign-up to pay for goods and services without having to re-enter their credit card details. Say you use one app in Braintree’s network — like Airbnb. If you’re a new user to Uber, you won’t have to re-enter your credit card all over again because it may be stored in Braintree’s network. They’re calling it Venmo Touch, which keeps the brand of the startup Braintree bought in August for $26.2 million. When you sign up for an app in the Venmo network, you’ll have the option of saving your credit card details in it so they can be used in other apps on the platform. The idea is that by removing one step of friction, more users will go through and complete transactions. The default is checked to opt in users, and Braintree is keeping the initial beta really small with apps like HotelTonight, TaskRabbit and Wrapp. “There’s tremendous overlap in the customer bases of these apps,” said Braintree CEO Bill Ready. “Putting in your card information into an app is painful and people are doing it ten to 15 times.” Braintree recognizes that a credit card might belong to a particular user through device fingerprinting, which collects a number of attributes about a device to create a unique ID. Ready wouldn’t reveal what inputs the company is using to fingerprint devices, but they could include the device model, browser, network and so on. You’d use enough inputs (potentially hundreds) to create enough combinations so that it would be highly, highly improbable to create duplicates. They also don’t store financial details locally on the phone. “Your data is stored in the cloud,” Ready said. “If we see anything suspicious, we can prompt for the CVV again.” Braintree has about 35 million uniques on its network and processes more than $6 billion in transactions a year. $1.5 billion of that is on mobile devices. The company’s clients include Uber, Rovio, LivingSocial, Airbnb, Fab.com, GitHub, OpenTable, LevelUp, TaskRabbit and HotelTonight. They charge 2.9 percent plus 30 percent of each transaction. Ready says the business is profitable even after paying the payment networks and credit card companies their transaction fees. The company has raised at least $69 million in two rounds from Accel Partners, NEA, Greycroft Partners and
Here at Lifehacker, we've often encouraged switching up your working environment to spark creativity and prevent burnout. Even taking a few days each month to work in a new place can benefit you greatly. Here, entrepreneur Wesley Verhoeve explains the benefits of his favorite non-office space: the coffee shop. ![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_v2ZiilwcVZOoOO-rXg1PA49XH1nS8vWpwYnpMgIRb50wFwIRTlPHZQlLlqZPgu74KdHHAcvxcAzW2GLF6_5oSQUxYODTmcrYaTEW1lkWI=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 29-Jan-2013
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None can deny the importance of Search engine optimization (SEO) for making a name in business with highly competitive online world. Today, internet has become a powerful tool to promote your offers or services on global scale and get exposure for grabbing more and more clients worldwide. Even with limited resources and meager staff, you can do huge advertisement for your company or brand on vast scale in an effective manner.
You know me, I?m enthusiastic about apps and online health content and innovating health care delivery. But we do have to be?thoughtful?about how we use and integrate new technology.