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According to the Biblical lineage of the Kings of Israel, Solomon, the son of David, most likely ascended to the throne at around the age of 29. Though he was, by modern standards, a young man, he sought the wisdom he needed to rule and reigned for 40 years over one of the most prosperous kingdoms of his time. For today?s young investor, the answer is the same: learn, seek advice and prepare to take some risks.
Fiscal experts maintain that it?s never too early to begin planning for retirement. Changes in Social Security and pension arrangements mean that younger workers can expect to work longer ? and harder ? to save enough for a comfortable retirement. Fewer employees are offering full pensions, and healthcare costs may nibble away at individual savings accounts.
Many new college graduates face increasing competition for jobs, with large numbers of professionals forced to settle for lower paying or part-time work outside their field ? if they can get jobs at all. And unlike in previous generations, working people in most professions can expect to change jobs, if not entire careers, multiple times in the course of their working life. All these factors combine to make the road to retirement a particularly rocky one.
That?s where investing can help. A recent article published on the investing site Bigger Pockets discussed the myths keeping younger people from starting an investing career in income property. Among these myths: investing is for people with more experience and knowledge, I don?t have the money, and it?s too risky.
Interestingly, these are the same doubts voiced by older people considering the same path. But although the image of a successful investor usually involves gray hair and business suits, it?s never too early or too late to start with a modest investment and expand holdings over time. As Jason Hartman points out in his 10 Commandments of Successful Investing, acquiring the necessary knowledge to make good investing decisions is the first step for any would-be investor regardless of age.
It?s also important to create a team of qualified supporters, starting with an experienced investment advisor. Knowledgeable contractors and repair people, as well as real estate and tax professionals, can help a new investor avoid pitfalls and make wise decisions about purchasing and maintaining properties.
New investors of all ages worry about finding the money to start investing. But with the current low-interest rates and readily available foreclosed properties still entering the market, a young investor can buy that first property with a relatively minimal credit background and qualify for certain types of loans, such as FHA loans, that typically don?t rely solely on credit scores for approval. Private lenders and programs tailored to specific types of investors can also help.
Risk is inherent in investing. But as Jason Hartman points out, investing in income property with a fixed-rate loan is among the least risky investments to make. The investor?s own money stays in the bank, rental income covers loan payments and holding the property allows for a greater return over time.
There?s no magical age to begin thinking about investing in income property. Younger and more mature investors share the same concerns about taking the first step. But like Solomon, with knowledge, planning and good advising, anyone can create an income stream from income property investing ? regardless of age.
The Solomon Success Team
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Tags: how to start investing, income property, investing in income property, jason hartman, The Solomon Success Show
Hurricane Sandy. Big news, and bigger problems. Some of our membership have made it through to the other side of Sandy?s wrath, while others are still without electricity.
When I was a kid, a power outage was a fun time, usually due to a wind or ice storm. No tv? We?ll act out our own stories. Cold? Ha! Wrap up in a quilt in front of the wood stove, with beef or venison stew simmering away on it in a big cast iron pot. We were our own Little House on the Prairie, with Dad on the guitar and Mom cooking on that same stove, and my sister and I engrossed in a card or board game, camp lanterns and candles lighting our way and a flashlight for the bathroom. And of course, laughing at ourselves for automatically reaching for the light switch when nothing happened when we flipped the little lever up.
There was a bit of a magic feeling, being in a house that no longer hummed with appliances, televisions, or radios. The hush of something bigger around you, now that the regular noise of everyday life wasn?t blocking the sensation out.
Still, boredom can set in ? and as the January 2013 birth club discussed, there are ways to alleviate it ? and you can prepare before the next time the power goes out.
g00021906- Sleep, Sex (whats that?), Deep deep clean, Organize, Board games, Draw, Crochet/knit/crafts, Take a walk, Stretch/exercise (kegals!), Stare at a wall, rearrange stuff, Read a book, Refold clothes, Match socks (super fun!),Play with pets, Read to LO
ChaseCo- IPad!! Haha, Eat?, Crafts, Nesting, Hang up baby clothes
jayla79- Wash all your laundry now?.wait to fold it. And yes board games: Jenga is the favorite in this house.
While it?s always recommended to have an emergency kit ready in one?s home, I think it would be a really great idea to have a ?The power is out!? kit for you and your children to open up when the electricity unexpectedly (or expectedly) shuts off. In our house the box would include cards, board games and books, and maybe a fun flashlight or three.
What would you include in yours? What special things would your children appreciate the most?
Though hurricane Sandy will impact dozens of industries and cause billions in damages, experts say the economy should recover quickly with reconstruction after the storm.
By Christopher S. Rugaber and Martin Crutsinger,?AP Economics Writers / October 29, 2012
The floor of the New York Stock Exchange is empty of traders, Monday in New York. All major US stock and options exchanges were closed Monday with Hurricane Sandy nearing landfall on the East Coast. Trading has rarely stopped for weather.
Richard Drew/AP
Enlarge
Airlines have canceled thousands of flights, stranding travelers around the globe. Insurers are bracing for possible damages of $5 billion. Retailers face shrunken sales.
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Hurricane Sandy took dead aim at New Jersey and Delaware on Monday, with sheets of rain and wind gusts of more than 90 mph knocking out electricity and causing major disruptions for companies, travelers and consumers. But for the overall economy, damage from the storm will likely be limited. And any economic growth lost to the storm in the short run will likely be restored once reconstruction begins, analysts say. Americans may even spend more before the storm when they stock up on extra food, water and batteries.
Preliminary estimates are that damage will range between $10 billion and $20 billion. That could top last year's Hurricane Irene, which cost $15.8 billion. If so, Hurricane Sandy would be among the 10 most costly hurricanes in US history. But it would still be far below the worst ? Hurricane Katrina, which cost $108 billion and caused 1,200 deaths in 2005.
"Assuming the storm simply disrupts things for a few days and it doesn't do significant damage to infrastructure, then I don't think it will have a significant national impact," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said Monday.
The economic impact could be more severe if the storm damages a port or a major manufacturing facility such as an oil refinery, Zandi noted.
The economy expanded at an annual rate of 2 percent in the July-September quarter. Zandi said he isn't changing his forecast for similar growth in the current October-December quarter of 1.9 percent. Economic activity in October and November might slow if factory output declines and some workers are laid off temporarily and seek unemployment benefits. But the economy could strengthen in December as companies rebound.
Here's how the storm has begun to affect key areas of the economy:
Air Travel
Flights in the Northeast are all but stopped for at least two days. Airlines have canceled nearly 12,500 flights for Monday and Tuesday from Washington to Boston. The disruptions spread across the nation and overseas, stranding passengers from Hong Kong to Europe.
Total airline cancellations have already surpassed those from Hurricane Irene last year and are on par with the 14,000 that were scrapped due to the snowstorm that pounded the East Coast early last year. The Airports Council International, a trade group, said that even if the storm damage turns out to be minor, it could be a week before operations are back to normal at major East Coast airports.
People at the site of a car bomb explosion in southern Damascus on Monday. EDITOR'S NOTE: Picture released by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.
By NBC News wire services
AMMAN, Jordan -- Syrian jets bombed suburbs of Damascus and a car bomb killed 10 people in the capital on Monday, the last day of a four-day truce that U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon acknowledged had failed.
Each side blamed the other for breaching the Eid al-Adha truce arranged by international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who nevertheless promised to pursue his peace efforts.
"I am deeply disappointed that the parties failed to respect the call to suspend fighting," Ban said in Seoul, where he was visiting to receive the Seoul Peace Prize.
"This crisis cannot be solved with more weapons and bloodshed ... the guns must fall silent," he said.
Brahimi, after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, voiced regret that the cease-fire had not worked better. Asked whether U.N. peacekeepers might be sent to Syria, he said there was no immediate plan for that.
Watchdog: 420 people killed since Friday Although President Bashar Assad's government and several rebel groups accepted the plan to stop shooting over the Muslim religious holiday, it failed to stem the bloodshed in a 19-month-old conflict that has already cost at least 32,000 lives.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition watchdog, 420 people have been killed since Friday.
/
A look back at the violence that has overtaken the country
Damascus residents reported heavy air raids on the suburbs of Qaboun, Zamalka and Irbin overnight and on Monday that they said were the fiercest since jets and helicopters first bombarded pro-opposition parts of the Syrian capital in August.
Syrian state television said women and children were among those killed or wounded by a "terrorist car bomb" near a bakery in Jaramana, in the southeast of Damascus. Damascus residents say the district is controlled by Assad loyalists.
More photos: Car bomb hits Syrian capital as truce comes to bloody end
Accusations exchanged State media said Assad's armed opponents had broken the truce throughout the Eid.
"For the fourth consecutive day, the armed terrorist groups in Deir al-Zor continued violating the declaration on suspending military operations which the armed forces have committed to," state news said, later adding that rebels had attacked government forces in Aleppo and the central city of Homs.
The Damascus air raids followed what residents said were failed attempts by troops storm eastern parts of the city.
After decades of oppression, Kurds get taste of freedom as Assad's troops flee
"Tanks are deployed around Harat al-Shwam (district) but they haven't been able to go in. They tried a week ago," said an activist who lives near the area and who asked not to be named.
Government forces launched airstrikes around Damascus Saturday, flattening buildings. NBC's Lester Holt reports.
Big power conflicts Brahimi, who will visit Beijing after Moscow, said the renewed violence in Syria would not discourage him.
"We think this civil war must end ... and the new Syria has to be built by all its sons," he said. "The support of Russia and other members of the Security Council is indispensable."
Russia and China have vetoed three Western-backed U.N. draft resolutions condemning Assad's government for the violence.
Complete World coverage on NBCNews.com
Beijing has been keen to show it does not take sides in Syria and has urged the government there to talk to the opposition and take steps to meet demands for political change. It has said a transitional government should be formed.
Big-power rifts have paralyzed U.N. action over Syria, but Assad's political and armed opponents are also deeply divided, a problem that their Western allies say has complicated efforts to provide greater support.
NBC News
People resisting the army of President Bashar al-Assad in northern Syria cope with loss and prepare for fighting.
"There has been a lack of desire to take the tough decisions," said Salman Shaikh, director of the Brookings Doha Center think tank.
Experts: Greece riskier for investors than war-torn Syria
"In Washington, they've only been focused on the narrow political goal of their own elections, trying to convince a war-wary public inside the U.S. that we are actually disengaging from the conflicts of the Middle East," he said.
Syrian opposition figures, including Free Syrian Army commanders, started three days of talks in Istanbul on Monday in the latest attempt to unite the disparate groups.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More world stories from NBC News:
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ScienceDaily (Oct. 30, 2012) ? Nisin, a common food preservative, may slow or stop squamous cell head and neck cancers, a University of Michigan study found.
What makes this particularly good news is that the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization approved nisin as safe for human consumption decades ago, says Yvonne Kapila, the study's principal investigator and professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry.
This means that obtaining FDA approval to test nisin's suggested cancer-fighting properties on patients in a clinical setting won't take as long as a new therapy that hasn't been tried yet on people, she says.
Antibacterial agents like nisin alter cell properties in bacteria to render it harmless. However, it's only recently that scientists began looking to antibacterial agents like nisin to see if they altered properties in other types of cells, such as cancer cells or cells in tumors.
Oral cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, and oral squamous cell carcinoma accounts for more than 90 percent of oral cancers. However, survival rates for oral cancer haven't improved in decades, according to the study.
"The poor five-year survival rates for oral cancer underscore the need to find new therapies for oral cancer," Kapila said. "The use of small antibacterial agents, like nisin, to treat cancer is a new approach that holds great promise. Nisin is a perfect example of this potential because it has been used safely in humans for many years, and now the laboratory studies support its anti-tumor potential."
The U-M study, which looked at the use of antimicrobials to fight cancerous tumors, suggests nisin, in part, slows cell proliferation or causes cell death through the activation of a protein called CHAC1 in cancer cells, a protein known to influence cell death.
The study is the first to show CHAC1's new role in promoting cancer cell death under nisin treatment. The findings also suggest that nisin may work by creating pores in the cancer cell membranes that allow an influx of calcium. It's unclear what role calcium plays in nisin-triggered cell death, but it's well known that calcium is a key regulator in cell death and survival.
Additionally, the findings suggest that nisin slows or stops tumor growth by interrupting the cell cycle in "bad" cells but not the good cells; thus nisin stops cancer cell proliferation but doesn't hurt good cells.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Michigan.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Nam E. Joo, Kathryn Ritchie, Pachiyappan Kamarajan, Di Miao, Yvonne L. Kapila. Nisin, an apoptogenic bacteriocin and food preservative, attenuates HNSCC tumorigenesis via CHAC1. Cancer Medicine, 2012; DOI: 10.1002/cam4.35
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
The party of Ukraine's incumbent President Viktor Yanukovych looks on track to win a majority in the 450-seat State Rada, or parliament, after a hard-fought election campaign that seems to have done little more than confirm the hard, enduring political divisions between the country's Ukrainian-speaking Europe-leaning west, moderate center, and the Russian-speaking and Moscow-oriented east.
But there remain serious differences over whether the campaign and Sunday's voting were free and fair. If doubts linger about the election, Mr. Yanukovych faces a more difficult time signing an economic agreement with the European Union ? a key part of the government's aspirations to become less reliant on Russia.
The 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which fielded the largest team of international observers, reported Monday that while election day was calm and peaceful, the campaign was distorted by "a tilted playing field" in favor of Yanukovych's Party of Regions, and that vote-counting was marred by "a lack of transparency."
"Ukrainians deserved better from these elections. The [excessive role of money in] the whole process meant that citizens lost their ownership of the election, as well as their trust in it," said Andreas Gross, the Head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation. "Unfortunately, the great democratic potential of Ukrainian society was not realized in yesterday's vote."
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Many Ukrainian observers made similar judgments.
"I've been analyzing election campaigns for 20 years, and I have never seen so many massive falsifications. It's clear that we have a general crisis of our state institutions," says Viktor Nebozhenko, director of Ukrainian Barometer, a Kiev-based political consultancy.
"This election campaign was a cold civil war, with all against all, and the authorities coming out as the only winners," he adds.
Some observers dissented from the OSCE view. Several dozen European parliamentarians and other experts with the European Academy for Election Observation insisted they saw no systematic violations that would call the result into question.
"The Ukrainian parliamentary elections were held in compliance with democratic norms," Thierry Mariani, a former French minister, told a Kiev press conference Monday. "We conclude that they were broadly in line with international standards."
With barely half the votes counted by Monday evening, it seemed clear that the Party of Regions was set to win about 36 percent of the votes, a clear expression of its traditional support in the Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine. Second, with up to 25 percent, is the Fatherland bloc of Ms. Tymoshenko, whose imprisonment last year on charges of abusing power while she was prime minister has been the main cause of worsening relations between Yanukovych's government and the EU.
"There was a lot of talk about Tymoshenko's waning relevance, because she is in prison and other reasons, but it turns out that her party is as strong as ever," says Olexander Sushko, research director of the independent Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation in Kiev.
"It's actually a bit of a surprise, but it clearly means that she and her party command the support of a stable part of the electorate.... That's very important to keep in mind," he adds.
Another constant but significant fact of Ukrainian political life is that the Communist Party, which usually aligns with the Party of Regions, appears to be on track for a solid third place showing of around 15 percent. This means that Yanukovych may expect continuing pressure on his left flank to continue populist social policies, move closer to Moscow on the geopolitical arena, and to upgrade the status of the Russian language in Ukraine.
But the ascent of two new parties to the Rada may have more unpredictable consequences. The ultra-nationalist, western Ukraine-based Svoboda (Freedom) party surprised everyone by winning over 8 percent of the votes and will have a substantial cohort, for the first time, in the Rada. The rise of Svoboda, which lionizes Ukrainian "freedom fighters" of the past ? whom the Russians label "Nazis" ? and supports Ukrainian-language-only policies in a country that history made intractably bilingual ? is sure to irk Moscow and could lead to heightened political turmoil in Kiev.
Many people worry about Svoboda's aggressive nationalist ? some say racist ? outlook, but some Ukrainian experts say those fears are exaggerated.
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"Svoboda is a right-wing nationalist party, but not unique in Europe," says Mr. Sushko.
"It can be compared with Marine Le Pen's National Front in France, or the True Finns in Finland. They are certainly ideological, with emphasis on traditional values and the ethnic nature of the nation, but they're part of the European landscape," he says.
The other surprise was the fourth place showing of boxing champion Vitali Klitschko's party, UDAR (Punch), which is Kiev-based and liberal in outlook, but is primarily a vehicle for Mr. Klitschko's personal ambitions. The result will be a personal disappointment for Klitschko, who had hoped for second place, but will nonetheless leave him in command of a substantial parliamentary cohort.
"The Party of Regions is not unhappy with the entrance of UDAR into the Rada," says Vladislav Lukyanov, a leading Party of Regions deputy.
"The Rada is being refreshed with new talent, and it won't be the same old tug-of-war between two political forces.... This is good, and I think it will help Europeans to see that Ukraine is a developing democracy that has made a European choice. It is to be hoped that European doubts about us will be eased and that they will return to the path of negotiations, even if they don't consider the Party of Regions to be the ideal partner," he adds.
In the almost three years since Yanukovych was narrowly elected over his main rival, Tymoshenko, he's moved Ukraine away from the pro-Western policies of his predecessor, Orange Revolution leader Viktor Yushchenko, and tried to balance relations between Russia and the West.
But the imprisonment of Tymoshenko and other top opposition leaders alienated Europe, while deepening financial distress has forced Yanukovych to turn toward Moscow, which hopes to lure Ukraine into a Russian-led former Soviet customs union.
Experts say that little is likely to change, at least in the short term, except that Yanukovych's margin of maneuvering will be more narrow.
"Yanukovych will go on trying to play off East against West," in hopes of gaining advantages for Ukraine's flagging economy, says Mr. Nebozhenko.
"Now he will be able to tell the Russians that the Svoboda faction in the Rada won't permit Ukraine to join Moscow's customs union, and he'll be able to point to the strong Communist Party, when explaining his other pro-Moscow moves to the Europeans. That's the game plan," he adds.
Design by committee might not be the death knell for technology after all. Over four months after the Alliance for Wireless Power was founded in earnest, the coalition has already greenlit a specification for its partners to work from. The guideline lets device makers start building devices that charge through a magnetic resonance technology more forgiving of distance and material than Qi while simplifying the process through short-range wireless formats like Bluetooth 4.0. While the A4WP group hasn't made all the details public, it's holding meetings this week to speed up the commercialization process -- it's here that we'll learn whether the corporate bureaucracy is just as quick at getting wireless charging hardware into our hands as it is handshaking on standards.
This is really one of those albums that requires a few listenings; the music has to grow on you a bit. I'll be the first to admit that I was a tad meh'ish upon my first listening, but by the 3rd or 4th listening, I was really starting to appreciate what was going on. You can't fairly compare this to other WR albums because the direction is obviously different than it's predecessors. And to me, that's the inherent beauty of Night Passages; it's it's own musical entity, so to speak. The musicality of previous releases is still there, as are the compositional skills. Give this album a fair shake and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 29, 2012) ? When it comes to sex, animals of all shapes and sizes tend behave in predictable ways. There may be a chemical reason for that. New research from Rockefeller University has shown that chemicals in the brain -- neuropeptides known as vasopressin and oxytocin -- play a role in coordinating mating and reproductive behavior in animals ranging from humans to fish to invertebrates.
"Our research shows that molecules similar to vasopressin and oxytocin have an ancient and evolutionarily conserved role in controlling a critical social behavior, mating," says Cori Bargmann, Torsten N. Wiesel Professor and head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior. "This work suggests that these molecules encode the same kind of information in the brains of very different animals."
Bargmann, whose laboratory studies the relationship between genes, neural circuits and behavior in the C. elegans roundworm, says vasopressin and oxytocin have been implicated in a variety of reproductive and social behaviors in humans and other mammals, including pair bonding, maternal bonding and aggressive and affiliative behaviors. Mice that lack oxytocin may develop social amnesia, and humans who sniff oxytocin through an inhaler change their cooperative behavior in computer games, behaving as though they "trust" other players more.
Bargmann's team, led by postdoc Jennifer Garrison, identified a peptide and two receptors in C. elegans worms that were similar to the mammalian oxytocin/vasopressin signaling system. Male worms that were engineered to lack this peptide, dubbed nematocin, were clumsy sexual partners.
"Although they could perform the motor aspects of mating, their sequences were inefficient, disorganized and repetitious," says Garrison. "Only a fraction of males lacking the peptide were able to complete mating by transferring sperm within five minutes of first contacting a partner, a time in which normal worms are usually successful."
Males lacking nemotocin or its receptors also spent less time looking for mates, as though they were less motivated to find partners.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rockefeller University.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
J. L. Garrison, E. Z. Macosko, S. Bernstein, N. Pokala, D. R. Albrecht, C. I. Bargmann. Oxytocin/Vasopressin-Related Peptides Have an Ancient Role in Reproductive Behavior. Science, 2012; 338 (6106): 540 DOI: 10.1126/science.1226201
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Mass extinction study provides lessons for modern worldPublic release date: 29-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Steve Koppes skoppes@uchicago.edu 773-702-8366 University of Chicago
The Cretaceous Period of Earth history ended with a mass extinction that wiped out numerous species, most famously the dinosaurs. A new study now finds that the structure of North American ecosystems made the extinction worse than it might have been. Researchers at the University of Chicago, the California Academy of Sciences and the Field Museum of Natural History will publish their findings Oct. 29 online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The mountain-sized asteroid that left the now-buried Chicxulub impact crater on the coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula is almost certainly the ultimate cause of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, which occurred 65 million years ago. Nevertheless, "Our study suggests that the severity of the mass extinction in North America was greater because of the ecological structure of communities at the time," noted lead author Jonathan Mitchell, a Ph.D. student of UChicago's Committee on Evolutionary Biology.
Mitchell and his co-authors, Peter Roopnarine of the California Academy of Sciences and Kenneth Angielczyk of the Field Museum, reconstructed terrestrial food webs for 17 Cretaceous ecological communities. Seven of these food webs existed within two million years of the Chicxulub impact and 10 came from the preceding 13 million years.
The findings are based on a computer model showing how disturbances spread through the food web. Roopnarine developed the simulation to predict how many animal species would become extinct from a plant die-off, a likely consequence of the impact.
"Our analyses show that more species became extinct for a given plant die-off in the youngest communities," Mitchell said. "We can trace this difference in response to changes in a number of key ecological groups such as plant-eating dinosaurs like Triceratops and small mammals."
The results of Mitchell and his colleagues paint a picture of late Cretaceous North America in which pre-extinction changes to food webs likely driven by a combination of environmental and biological factors results in communities that were more fragile when faced with large disturbances.
"Besides shedding light on this ancient extinction, our findings imply that seemingly innocuous changes to ecosystems caused by humans might reduce the ecosystems' abilities to withstand unexpected disturbances," Roopnarine said.
The team's computer model describes all plausible diets for the animals under study. In one run, Tyrannosaurus might eat only Triceratops, while in another it eats only duck-billed dinosaurs, and in a third it might eat a more varied diet. This stems from the uncertainty regarding exactly what Cretaceous animals ate, but this uncertainty actually worked to the study's benefit.
"Using modern food webs as guides, what we have discovered is that this uncertainty is far less important to understanding ecosystem functioning than is our general knowledge of the diets and the number of different species that would have had a particular diet," Angielczyk said.
Data derived from modern food webs helped the simulations account for such phenomena as how specialized animals tend to be, or how body size relates to population size and thus their probability of extinction.
The researchers also selected for their study a large number of specific food webs from all the specific webs possible in their general framework and evaluated how this sample of webs respond to a perturbation, such as the death of plants. They used the same relationships and assumptions to create food webs across all of the different sites, which means the differences between sites just stem from differences in the data rather than from the simulation itself. This makes the simulation a fundamentally comparative method, Roopnarine noted.
"We aren't trying to say that a given ecosystem was fragile, but instead that a given ecosystem was more or less fragile than another," he said.
The computer models showed that if the asteroid hit during the 13 million years preceding the latest Cretaceous communities, there almost certainly would still have been a mass extinction, but one that likely would have been less severe in North America.
Most likely a combination of changing climate and other environmental factors caused some types of animals to become more or less diverse in the Cretaceous, the researchers concluded. In their paper they suggest that the drying up of a shallow sea that covered part of North America may have been one of the main factors leading to the observed changes in diversity.
The study provides no evidence that the latest Cretaceous communities were on the verge of collapse before the asteroid hit. "The ecosystems collapsed because of the asteroid impact, and nothing in our study suggests that they would not have otherwise continued on successfully," Mitchell said. "Unusual circumstances, such as the after-effects of the asteroid impact, were needed for the vulnerability of the communities to become important."
The study has implications for modern conservation efforts, Angielczyk observed.
"Our study shows that the robustness or fragility of an ecosystem under duress depends very much on both the number of species present, as well as the types of species," he said, referring to their ecological function. The study also shows that more is not necessarily better, because simply having many species does not insure against ecosystem collapse.
"What you have is also important," Angelczyk said. "It is therefore critical that conservation efforts pay attention to ecosystem functioning and the roles of species in their communities as we continue to degrade our modern ecosystems."
###
Citation: "Late Cretaceous restructuring of terrestrial communities facilitated the End-Cretaceous mass extinction in North America," by Jonathan S. Mitchell, Peter D. Roopnarine and Kenneth D. Angielczyk, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published online Oct. 29, 2012.
Media contacts:
Steve Koppes
skoppes@uchicago.edu
773-702-8366
Andrew Ng
ang@calacademy.org
415-379-5123
Nancy O'Shea
noshea@fieldmuseum.org
312-665-7100
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Mass extinction study provides lessons for modern worldPublic release date: 29-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Steve Koppes skoppes@uchicago.edu 773-702-8366 University of Chicago
The Cretaceous Period of Earth history ended with a mass extinction that wiped out numerous species, most famously the dinosaurs. A new study now finds that the structure of North American ecosystems made the extinction worse than it might have been. Researchers at the University of Chicago, the California Academy of Sciences and the Field Museum of Natural History will publish their findings Oct. 29 online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The mountain-sized asteroid that left the now-buried Chicxulub impact crater on the coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula is almost certainly the ultimate cause of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, which occurred 65 million years ago. Nevertheless, "Our study suggests that the severity of the mass extinction in North America was greater because of the ecological structure of communities at the time," noted lead author Jonathan Mitchell, a Ph.D. student of UChicago's Committee on Evolutionary Biology.
Mitchell and his co-authors, Peter Roopnarine of the California Academy of Sciences and Kenneth Angielczyk of the Field Museum, reconstructed terrestrial food webs for 17 Cretaceous ecological communities. Seven of these food webs existed within two million years of the Chicxulub impact and 10 came from the preceding 13 million years.
The findings are based on a computer model showing how disturbances spread through the food web. Roopnarine developed the simulation to predict how many animal species would become extinct from a plant die-off, a likely consequence of the impact.
"Our analyses show that more species became extinct for a given plant die-off in the youngest communities," Mitchell said. "We can trace this difference in response to changes in a number of key ecological groups such as plant-eating dinosaurs like Triceratops and small mammals."
The results of Mitchell and his colleagues paint a picture of late Cretaceous North America in which pre-extinction changes to food webs likely driven by a combination of environmental and biological factors results in communities that were more fragile when faced with large disturbances.
"Besides shedding light on this ancient extinction, our findings imply that seemingly innocuous changes to ecosystems caused by humans might reduce the ecosystems' abilities to withstand unexpected disturbances," Roopnarine said.
The team's computer model describes all plausible diets for the animals under study. In one run, Tyrannosaurus might eat only Triceratops, while in another it eats only duck-billed dinosaurs, and in a third it might eat a more varied diet. This stems from the uncertainty regarding exactly what Cretaceous animals ate, but this uncertainty actually worked to the study's benefit.
"Using modern food webs as guides, what we have discovered is that this uncertainty is far less important to understanding ecosystem functioning than is our general knowledge of the diets and the number of different species that would have had a particular diet," Angielczyk said.
Data derived from modern food webs helped the simulations account for such phenomena as how specialized animals tend to be, or how body size relates to population size and thus their probability of extinction.
The researchers also selected for their study a large number of specific food webs from all the specific webs possible in their general framework and evaluated how this sample of webs respond to a perturbation, such as the death of plants. They used the same relationships and assumptions to create food webs across all of the different sites, which means the differences between sites just stem from differences in the data rather than from the simulation itself. This makes the simulation a fundamentally comparative method, Roopnarine noted.
"We aren't trying to say that a given ecosystem was fragile, but instead that a given ecosystem was more or less fragile than another," he said.
The computer models showed that if the asteroid hit during the 13 million years preceding the latest Cretaceous communities, there almost certainly would still have been a mass extinction, but one that likely would have been less severe in North America.
Most likely a combination of changing climate and other environmental factors caused some types of animals to become more or less diverse in the Cretaceous, the researchers concluded. In their paper they suggest that the drying up of a shallow sea that covered part of North America may have been one of the main factors leading to the observed changes in diversity.
The study provides no evidence that the latest Cretaceous communities were on the verge of collapse before the asteroid hit. "The ecosystems collapsed because of the asteroid impact, and nothing in our study suggests that they would not have otherwise continued on successfully," Mitchell said. "Unusual circumstances, such as the after-effects of the asteroid impact, were needed for the vulnerability of the communities to become important."
The study has implications for modern conservation efforts, Angielczyk observed.
"Our study shows that the robustness or fragility of an ecosystem under duress depends very much on both the number of species present, as well as the types of species," he said, referring to their ecological function. The study also shows that more is not necessarily better, because simply having many species does not insure against ecosystem collapse.
"What you have is also important," Angelczyk said. "It is therefore critical that conservation efforts pay attention to ecosystem functioning and the roles of species in their communities as we continue to degrade our modern ecosystems."
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Citation: "Late Cretaceous restructuring of terrestrial communities facilitated the End-Cretaceous mass extinction in North America," by Jonathan S. Mitchell, Peter D. Roopnarine and Kenneth D. Angielczyk, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published online Oct. 29, 2012.
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SITTWE, Myanmar (AP) ? Victims of Myanmar's latest explosion of Muslim-Buddhist violence fled to already packed displacement camps along the country's western coast Sunday, with a top U.N. official saying the unrest has forced more than 22,000 people from their homes.
State television reported the casualty toll has risen to 84 dead and 129 injured over the past week in nine townships in Rakhine state. The figures have not been broken down by ethnic group, but New York-based Human Rights Watch has said Rohingya Muslims bore the brunt of the unrest and the true death toll may be far higher.
On Sunday, wooden boats carrying some refugees arrived outside the state capital, Sittwe. The people trudged to the nearby Thechaung camp, a place already home to thousands of Rohingya who took refuge there after a previous wave of violence in June.
"I fled my hometown, Pauktaw, on Friday because there is no security at all," said 42-year-old fisherman Maung Myint, who arrived on a boat carrying 40 other people, including his wife and six children. "My house was burned to ashes and I have no money left."
Another Muslim refugee said she fled her village, Kyaukphyu, on Thursday after attackers set her home on fire.
"We don't feel safe," said 40-year-old Zainabi, a fish seller who left with her two sons, aged 12 and 14. "I wish the violence would stop so we can live peacefully."
Human Rights Watch released dramatic satellite imagery of Kyaukphyu on Saturday showing a vast, predominantly Rohingya swath of the village in ashes. The destruction included more than 800 buildings and floating barges.
There were no reports of new violence Sunday. It was unclear what sparked the latest clashes, but ill will between Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine state goes back decades and has its roots in a dispute over the Rohingya's origins. Although many Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for generations, they are seen as foreign intruders who came from Bangladesh to steal scarce land.
Today, the Rohingya also face official discrimination, a policy encouraged by Myanmar's previous military regimes to enlist popular support among other groups. A 1984 law formally excluded them as one of the country's 135 ethnicities, meaning most are denied basic civil rights and are deprived of citizenship.
Neighboring Bangladesh, which also does not recognize the Rohingya as citizens, says thousands of Rohingya refugees have sought to flee there by boat. Its policy, however, is to refuse them entry.
Rights groups say Myanmar's failure to address the root causes of the crisis means the situation may get worse.
Over the weekend, Border Affairs Minister Lt. General Thein Htay traveled to the affected areas with the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar, Ashok Nigam.
Nigam said 22,587 were displaced and they included both Muslims and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, but he gave no breakdown.
Speaking to The Associated Press on Sunday while visiting Thechaung camp, Nigam said getting aid to the new wave of displaced people will be a challenge as some fled on boats and others have sought refuge on isolated hilltops.
"The situation is certainly very grave and we are working with the government to provide urgent aid to these people," he said.
Some 4,600 homes were also destroyed, according to the U.N, which said in a separate statement that it had begun distributing emergency food and shelter supplies with its humanitarian partners to refugees in urgent need of help.
The latest unrest pushes the total displaced to nearly 100,000 since sectarian clashes broke out in June, when at least 90 people died and 3,000 homes were destroyed. That unrest left about 75,000 people, mostly Rohingya, living in refugee camps since then. Curfews have been in place in some areas since the earlier violence and were extended this past week.
"It is critically important that the government ensures that the rule of law prevails, prevents any further spreading of this violence and continues to communicate strong messages of harmony," Nigam said in a statement later Sunday.
"The violence, fear and mistrust are contrary to the democratic transition and economic and social development that Myanmar is committed to," Nigam said. "It should not become an impediment to progress."
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Associated Press writer Aye Aye Win in Yangon, Myanmar, and Todd Pitman in Bangkok contributed to this report.
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If you?ve had known or suspected prior exposure to asbestos, worked in an occupation where risk of exposure was high, or served in the Navy, Marines, Army, Coast Guard or Air Force, you and your loved ones are quite likely living with the fear of one day finding out you have the fatal cancer known as mesothelioma.
Over fifty countries, primarily in the developed world, have restricted or prohibited manufacturers and others from using asbestos, which causes mesothelioma, often referred to as ?asbestos cancer.? Despite banned or restricted use, mesothelioma continues to be a threat in two different ways:
In areas where asbestos was once commonly mined or used, and
from asbestos containing products that were used in buildings, construction, cars and ships that are now deteriorating or being damaged or disturbed through renovations and demolitions, causing the once intact asbestos fibers to become airborne.
Mesothelioma has a long latency period; the time that passes between exposure to asbestos and the development of asbestos cancer is typically measured in decades. Unfortunately, this means that those who know or even just suspect they were exposed to asbestos are constantly reminded of the threat that something that happened years ago poses a risk to their health today.
Fear Driven by the Increase in Asbestos Related Media
Due to the long time periods involved in mesothelioma?s development, the cost cutting and poor safety habits of the 1960s and ?70s are only now coming back to haunt families who are experiencing the devastating effects of asbestos cancer firsthand. This is why asbestos, which has been known and used for hundreds of years, has only been widely talked about in recent years.
News about asbestos use in other countries, asbestos lawsuits against the companies responsible for asbestos exposure, and commercials alerting victims of mesothelioma to their rights serve as constant reminders for those who live with the fear of one day developing this deadly disease.
Friends, family, and former co-workers may also be diagnosed with mesothelioma, worsening the fear that these individuals feel. As with many other cancers, in the very first stages of mesothelioma, victims often feel no pain. Since mesothelioma most frequently forms in the lungs and stomach, the symptoms of heart burn or even a common chest cold can provoke worry. This leads to constant concern for those who know or suspect that they had exposure in their past.
While common wisdom might suggest not fearing the things we can?t control, those who suspect that they or a loved one might have been exposed to asbestos should consult with their physician about regular checkups and be prepared to obtain legal representation if the worst should happen. No one should have to live with the dread of asbestos cancer, and being informed about the options will help those living with the uncertainties related to mesothelioma regain control of their fears.
For more information, contact our mesothelioma lawyers at 1-800-440-4262.? We have been helping clients diagnosed with mesothelioma and their families for over 30 years obtain substantial compensation and justice for their injury and were one of the first pioneers in California in asbestos litigation.? Call today ? we are here to help you.
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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 28th, 2012 at 3:14 pm and is filed under Mesothelioma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Apple Tablets an Important Part of the Education Puzzle
Tim Cook said there are 2,500 classrooms using iBooks textbooks right now, which Madan says is still a relatively small number. He does expect, however, for that to increase in the coming years. As schools allocate money to set up computer labs with limited funds, many find they can do it for less with iPads. The ?computer lab? has become the ?iPad lab? and the lower price of the iPad mini helps even more.
Tags: apple, tablets, iPad, iPads
Apple's Slow But Radical Overhaul Of Education
The next wave of that impact won't come from iBooks 3 or the new version of iBooks Author, which are both nice, but relatively minor updates. If anything from Tuesday's event will help push digital textbook adoption forward, it's the hardware. Specifically, the iPad Mini. By offering a $329 tablet, Apple suddenly made iPad adoption notably more affordable for cash-strapped school districts. Apple also released the fourth generation 10-inch iPad, which should help drive down the price of the company's older devices as well.?
Tags: apple, iPad, iPads
Mobile Learning: 5 Apps and Web Tools for Elementary School Students | Edutopia
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Mobile Learning: 6 Apps and Web Tools for High School Students | Edutopia
Tags: mobile learning, learning, apps
Mobile Learning: 6 Apps and Web Tools for Middle School Students | Edutopia
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AASA :: Tech Leadership: Updating for Mobile Devices, Social Networking
Tags: mobile learning, social, networks, mobile, devices, CoSN, Keith_Krueger
Hatch Implements Mobile Tablets Developed for Pre-K with Chicago Public Schools | EON: Enhanced Online News
Tags: mobile, tablets, early, childhood, news, IL, CPS, Hatch, iStartSmart
Samsung and Khan Academy Partner to Bring Innovative Tablet-Based Educational Training Tool to Mountain View Whisman School District - 8 News NOW
Tags: samsung, khan, academy, pilot, CA, Galaxy, Android
Electronics Approved for High School Classroom Use - Dallas-Hiram, GA Patch
"Paulding County high school students can now use cell phones and tablets in class to enhance lessons."
Tags: BYOD, BYOT, TX, news
New iPads Help Apple Dominate Education Market - Honolulu Civil Beat - Hawaii Education Blog
Hawaii?s proposed budget for the next biennium, which the Ed Board approved last week, calls for spending more than $14 million next fiscal year and about $22 million the following year to buy laptops and tablets for students.
Tags: HI, news, iPad, iPads
AISC Middle School iPad Pilot: Rappelling -Don't bend your knees
Tags: iPad, iPads, pilot, international, school, blog
AISC Middle School iPad Pilot
"Follow us as Ms Sebesan's 8th grade Algebra 1 and Physical Science classes at the American International School of Chennai explore the wonders of IPads!"
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The FINANCIAL - HP Makes the Grade for Idaho?s ?Students Come First? Mobile Computing Initiative
Tags: Idaho, ID, news, HP
Take Back Your Tablet: 3 Kid-Approved Devices That They?ll Want to Use Instead of Yours! - Loop du Loop
Tags: tablet, devices
Half of High Schoolers Own a Smartphone or Tablet - PR Newswire - The Sacramento Bee
According to a mobile learning report released today from Blackboard Inc. and Project Tomorrow?, nearly 50 percent of high schoolers and 40 percent of middle schoolers now own or have access to a smartphone or tablet, marking a 400 percent increase since 2007. The report, which compares key opportunities and challenges in mobile device usage among K-12 students, finds that with this widespread adoption, more schools and school districts are considering the incorporation of mobile devices into instruction
Tags: mobile, learning, research, mobile learning, Project, Tomorrow
- Mobile Learning Report: Half of high schoolers own smartphone or tablet
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Tablet computers distributed in remote Thai schools - Pattaya Mail - Pattaya News, Communities, Opinions and much more...
Tags: Thailand, tablets, international
Is the iPad mini Right-priced for Education? - The Mac Observer
"It?s that last part that intrigues me, however. I know that many, many families and schools will be hard-pressed to digest even the 16 GB Wi-Fi model at $329 in K-12 -- ?educational discounts notwithstanding. As we know, Mr. Cook likes to brag about how well the iPads are doing in schools, but two factors remain missing: a really affordable price and strong corporate initiatives in the K-12 marketplace. Is Apple missing an opportunity?"
Tags: news, iPad, pricing, device, comparison
Schools considering using smartphones, tablets for teaching - UPI.com
Sixty-two percent of parents surveyed said they would buy their child a mobile device if it would be used for academic purposes.
"Many parents, teachers and administrators are now mobile device users themselves, which has increased their appreciation and understanding for how these devices can support and enhance learning," said Julie Evans, chief executive officer of Project Tomorrow.
Tags: Project, Tomorrow
Half of High Schoolers Own a Smartphone or Tablet, According to Report -- THE Journal
The report, titled Learning in the 21st Century: Mobile Devices + Social Media = Personalized Learning, was released at the recent iNACOL Virtual School Symposium in New Orleans.
Tags: Project, Tomorrow
How do you set up a switch interface with the iPad? | The Spectronics Blog
Tags: ipad, blog, specialed, Special Education
Grants will fund pilot iPad program at Lexington High School - Lexington - Your Town - Boston.com
Tags: iPad, iPads, news, MA, pilot
Healdsburg Elementary School iPad Pilot Program - YouTube
Tags: ipad, pilot, program, video, YouTube
iPad mini Pricing is Too High for Our Schoolkids - The Mac Observer
Bookmark
Tags: iPad, iPads, news
Partnership helping EVSC process netbooks ? Evansville Courier & Press Mobile
Tags: news, IN, netbooks
PTHS hosts tech conference - Flora, IL - The Clay County Advocate - Press-Flora, IL
According to the Biblical lineage of the Kings of Israel, Solomon, the son of David, most likely ascended to the throne at around the age of 29. Though he was, by modern standards, a young man, he sought the wisdom he needed to rule and reigned for 40 years over one of the most prosperous kingdoms of his time. For today?s young investor, the answer is the same: learn, seek advice and prepare to take some risks.
This is really one of those albums that requires a few listenings; the music has to grow on you a bit. I'll be the first to admit that I was a tad meh'ish upon my first listening, but by the 3rd or 4th listening, I was really starting to appreciate what was going on. You can't fairly compare this to other WR albums because the direction is obviously different than it's predecessors. And to me, that's the inherent beauty of Night Passages; it's it's own musical entity, so to speak. The musicality of previous releases is still there, as are the compositional skills. Give this album a fair shake and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. ![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 29-Oct-2012
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If you?ve had known or suspected prior exposure to asbestos, worked in an occupation where risk of exposure was high, or served in the Navy, Marines, Army, Coast Guard or Air Force, you and your loved ones are quite likely living with the fear of one day finding out you have the fatal cancer known as mesothelioma.