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TOKYO (AP) ? Japan's industrial production rebounded 4 percent in December from November and household spending increased, suggesting the still-weak economy is gaining some steam after last year's tsunami disaster and flooding in Thailand that disrupted manufacturers' supply chains.
Output of automobiles, cell phones and semiconductors drove the gains last month after production fell 2.7 percent in November. Manufacturers project further production increases in January and February, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday.
But Japan's unemployment rate edged up 0.1 point to 4.6 percent in December, and Junko Nishioka, economist at RBS Japan Securities, cautioned that the economic outlook was "mixed."
While she was heartened by the 0.5 percent uptick in family spending, Nishioka said prospects for Japan's vital manufacturing sector remained tentative amid weak export demand. The strong yen has battered exporters like Honda Motor Corp. and Toshiba Corp., and that's prompted more manufacturers to shift production overseas.
But one of those key export bases, Thailand, got hit by the worst floods there in five decades in October, damaging hundreds of factories and component-makers supplying Japanese manufacturers.
"The pace of recovery will be slow," Nishioka said. "So far, we're seeing some recovery in the auto sector and electronic components, but still it's still not enough to compensate for the gap recorded after the March disaster and the Thai flooding."
The industrial production data showed that shipments grew 4.5 percent and inventories fell 2.9 percent, both healthy indicators. Broadly speaking, production was led by strength in the electronics, automobile and general machinery sectors, the report showed.
Looking ahead, manufacturers predicted that industrial output would rise 2.5 percent in January and another 1.2 percent in February, according to a METI survey.
In an optimistic sign, Toyota Motor Corp. last week raised its global sales target for this year 21 percent to 8.58 million vehicles.
That's largely based on expectations that government incentives for ecological cars will prompt more consumers to buy more of its Prius hybrid ? Japan's top-selling vehicle the last three years ? and other environmentally friendly cars.
"Underlying domestic demand is still healthy, which will be supported by government stimulus measures," such as these incentives to buy energy-efficient automobiles, Nishioka said.
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A new Super Bowl ad (first announced last week with this viral tease) for the Honda CR-V features Matthew Broderick in his iconic role as Ferris Bueller himself.
The just-released full-length version, featuring Broderick as a middle-aged Ferris and playing hooky from work instead of school, is certainly a fun homage.
Directed by Todd Philips (The Hangover), the CR-V campaign encourages people to do things they've always wanted to do ... as Ferris famously advocated.
Keep an eye out for various Ferris Bueller's Day Off tie-ins below:
Matthew Broderick's Day Off - Super Bowl Ad
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President Barack Obama?s got a version of his ?We can?t wait? drive customized for the Latino audience.
Never heard of it? Unless you?re a Latino voter, that?s no surprise.
Continue ReadingOver the past few months, the Obama administration has rolled out a series of executive actions that often garner little attention from the English-language press but get huge coverage in the Spanish-language media and other outlets favored by Hispanics.
As Obama?s GOP rivals face the primaries? first sizable group of Latino voters, in Florida, the president?s use of executive power to court the potentially pivotal demographic group already is well under way. And Obama?s team is heavily promoting his actions to their target audience.
When Obama sat down with Spanish-language network Univision on Wednesday, one of the first things he did was boast about the immigration policies he?s altered.
?Some of the changes that we?re making on immigration, we?re trying to make sure that we?re prioritizing criminals [for deportation],? the president said, without really being asked.
Latino advocates say they?ve noticed a new level of engagement from the White House.
?They want to tell Latinos what they?re doing. That?s clear,? said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), an outspoken immigration reform advocate who has pushed the administration to take unilateral steps to ease and refocus immigration enforcement.
Gutierrez said the proposals initially got a chilly reception from Obama and his aides, but the administration seems to be coming around.
?Before they weren?t worried about communicating with anyone in terms of the immigration sphere, except the very restrictionist community which they spoke to in very clear terms for three years. Every time they had a press conference on how many deportations, they weren?t shy about telling us,? Gutierrez said. ?So, there is a difference [now], and I?m happy. Does it take a campaign to bring that out? Maybe. But there are more families being kept together as a result of the changes.?
The steady stream of under-the-radar moves to tweak the immigration system are aimed at re-energizing Latino voters disappointed by Obama?s failure to win ? or even make a serious push on ? a comprehensive immigration overhaul, and by the record-setting number of deportations carried out since Obama took office, Democrats say.
Gutierrez dates the administration?s new focus on immigration issues to Obama?s appearance last July before the National Council of La Raza. As Obama explained to the Latino activists that he had little ability to change the immigration process without help from Congress, the crowd broke into a variation of his 2008 campaign slogan.
?Yes, you can. Yes, you can,? they chanted.
?I think at that point [Obama aides] said, ?You know what? We can,?? Gutierrez said.
Since that visit, the administration has discovered new flexibility to change a variety of immigration-related policies without the approval of Congress.
In August, the federal government promised to refocus deportations on criminals and launched an unprecedented review of all pending deportation cases, including those in which a final deportation order has been issued. In December, the Department of Homeland Security announced a toll-free hot line for citizens mistakenly detained as foreigners.
Earlier this month, Obama?s appointees began the process of tweaking the green-card policy, curtailing potentially dangerous trips to consulates in violence-plagued Mexico ? another change the president highlighted in his Univision interview. A few days later, DHS released a policy enhancing the rights of lawyers representing immigrants in deportation proceedings.
?In the mainstream press, I don?t see a lot of news about the waiver [process for green cards] and the deportation review, but you can see that in the Spanish media all the time,? said Antonieta Cadiz, White House correspondent for La Opini?n, a Spanish-language paper in Los Angeles. ?The administrative relief measures: That?s something important.?
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President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Michigan's Al Glick Field House, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Michigan's Al Glick Field House, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
President Barack Obama greets supporters after his speech at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Michigan's Al Glick Field House, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Michigan's Al Glick Field House, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Michigan's Al Glick Field House, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Public university presidents facing ever-increasing state budget cuts are raising concerns about President Barack Obama's plan to force colleges and universities to contain tuition prices or face losing federal dollars.
Illinois State University President Al Bowman says the reality is that deficits in many public schools can't be easily overcome with simple modifications. Bowman says he's happy to hear Obama call for state-level support of public universities but adds that, given the decreases in state aid, tying federal support to tuition is a product of "fuzzy math."
Obama spelled out his proposal Friday at the University of Michigan.
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WASHINGTON, DC (Reuters) ? In his final act before departing the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, the agency's inspector general, David Kotz, criticized how the agency analyzes the economic impact of some of its Dodd-Frank rules.
Kotz's criticism, contained in a report, could have ramifications for the SEC, which has lost several court battles over the years because of flaws in how it demonstrates that the benefits of a rule outweigh its costs.
"We found that the extent of quantitative discussion of cost-benefit analyses varied among rulemakings," Kotz wrote in his report. "Based on our examination of several Dodd-Frank Act rulemakings, the review found that the SEC sometimes used multiple baselines in its cost-benefit analyses that were ambiguous or internally inconsistent."
Last year, U.S. business groups successfully convinced a federal appeals court to overturn one of the SEC's Dodd-Frank rules that aimed to empower shareholders to more easily nominate directors to corporate boards.
In rejecting the rule, the court said the agency failed to properly weigh the economic consequences.
Some of the business groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have since raised similar concerns with other rulemakings pending before the SEC.
Congress passed the Dodd-Frank act in 2010 to more closely police financial markets and institutions after the 2007-2009 financial crisis. The legislation gives the SEC responsibility to write roughly 100 new rules.
Although the SEC is not subject to an express statutory requirement to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of its rules, other laws do require the agency to consider the effects of its rules on capital formation, competition and efficiency.
In addition, the SEC must also follow federal rulemaking procedures, such as providing the public with an opportunity to comment on its proposals.
This is the second report Kotz has issued looking at the quality of the SEC's cost-benefit analysis.
Both reports were issued after certain members of the Senate Banking Committee, including ranking Republican Richard Shelby, voiced concerns about whether regulators were adequately examining the economic impact of Dodd-Frank rules.
To determine how well the SEC is faring, Kotz's office retained Albert Kyle, a finance professor at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, to help carry out the review.
Friday's report covered a sample of Dodd-Frank rulemakings, including a rule allowing shareholders a non-binding vote on compensation, several asset-backed securities rules and two proposals pertaining to the reporting of security-based swap data.
Kotz's report was critical of the agency in a number of areas.
In one instance, the report cites a memo in which former General Counsel David Becker gave his opinion that the SEC should do thorough cost-benefit analyses on rules that are not explicitly required by Congress.
Rules mandated by Congress, however, generally would not need the same level of cost-benefit research, the memo said.
The report suggested that the agency should reconsider these guidelines, or else it risks "not fulfilling the essential purposes of such analyses."
SEC management, in a written response to the report, disagreed with that point.
"We believe Professor Kyle's opinion fails to appreciate both the practical limitations on the scope of cost-benefit a regulator can conduct, and the distinct roles of Congress and administrative agencies," they said.
"We think it is entirely sensible ... for the staff to focus its attention and the commission's limited resources on matters that the commission has the authority to decide."
Kotz made other recommendations, including using a single consistent baseline in the cost-benefit analysis process and having economists provide more input.
SEC spokesman John Nester declined to comment beyond the SEC comments in the report.
(Reporting By Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Steve Orlofsky, Gary Hill)
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NEW YORK ? Eiko Ishioka, a bold, Academy Award-winning visual artist whose surreal and sensual costumes were worn by Broadway actors, Olympic athletes, Cirque du Soleil performers and movie stars like Jennifer Lopez, has died in Tokyo. She was 73.
Her studio manager, Tracy Roberts, said Thursday that the designer died of pancreatic cancer.
Ishioka, who also worked in advertising and other graphic arts, won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Costume Design for the film "Bram Stoker's `Dracula,'" directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Her dreamlike, billowing designs were featured in the 2001 film "The Cell," staring Lopez.
She won a Grammy Award in 1986 for her cover design of Miles Davis' album "Tutu" and she directed the music video for the single "Cocoon" from Bjork's album "Vespertine." She also won the 1985 Cannes Film Festival Award for Artistic Contribution for her production design work on the Paul Schrader film "Mishima."
Ishioka, who died Saturday, was the director of costume design for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and designed racing uniforms and outerwear for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
A graduate of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, she became the first woman to be elected a member of the Tokyo Art Directors Club. She opened her own design studio in 1970 and was known for a bold, thought-provoking style even when advertising Japanese shopping complexes.
In 1983, she published a retrospective of her graphic design and art direction work entitled "Eiko by Eiko." She also wrote the book "Eiko on Stage," which focuses on her stage and screen work.
On Broadway, she made the sets and costumes for David Henry Hwang's 1988 Tony Award-winning drama "M. Butterfly," which earned her two Tony Award nominations for scenic design and costume design. She also tried her hand at opera with her costume design for Richard Wagner's "Ring Cycle" at the Netherlands National Opera.
She designed over 130 costumes for the Cirque du Soleil show "Varekai" and was the visual artistic director for a David Copperfield show on Broadway in 1996. Her comic book inspired costumes can currently be seen in "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark."
"Her work will continue to touch audiences for years to come," said "Spider-Man" producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris said in a joint statement, adding that Thursday's performance would be dedicated to her memory.
She was honored in 1992 to be named to the Hall of Fame by the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. Her work can be seen at museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
___
Entertainment Writer Frazier Moore contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON ? A Republican bill that would strip President Barack Obama of his authority to decide on a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline raises "serious" legal questions, the State Department said Wednesday in objecting to the bill.
Assistant Secretary of State Kerri-Ann Jones told Congress that the bill "imposes narrow time constraints and creates automatic mandates that prevent an informed decision" on the $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., would transfer authority over the 1,700-mile pipeline to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Obama blocked the $7 billion pipeline last week, saying officials did not have enough time to review an alternate route that avoided environmentally sensitive areas of Nebraska.
The plan by Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. would carry tar sands oil from western Canada across Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma en route to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Jones said Obama's Jan. 18 decision to reject the pipeline was not based on the merits of the project, but on the fact that officials did not have enough time to review the project before a deadline imposed by Congress.
"We fought in World War II in less time than it has taken to decide on this project," shot back Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas. "In all due respect, it is an insult to the American people to say you need more time."
TransCanada first applied to build the pipeline in 2008, under the Bush administration.
Obama had delayed a decision on the pipeline in November, saying his administration needed time to review an alternate route that avoided environmentally sensitive areas of Nebraska ? a route that still has not been proposed. But in an unrelated tax deal he cut with congressional Republicans, Obama had been boxed into making a decision by Feb. 21.
The deal required that the project would go forward unless Obama declared by that date that it was not in the national interest. The president did just that last week.
Republicans said after the president's Jan. 18 announcement that the battle over Keystone was not over.
Terry, the bill's sponsor, said transferring authority for the project to FERC was "simply moving authority to an agency that understands pipelines. This legislation means that Keystone will progress in a timely manner and that our country gets the much-needed jobs and energy security that it will bring."
Jeffrey Wright, director of FERC's Office of Energy Projects, said the agency has no authority or experience in determining where oil pipelines are located. FERC regulates interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas and oil. It also reviews proposals to build liquefied natural gas terminals and interstate natural gas pipelines.
Wright said the GOP bill does not give FERC enough time to adequately assess the Keystone XL project and does not provide clear direction for how the agency would modify the yet-to-be-determined route through Nebraska.
Rep. Henry Waxman of California, the senior Democrat on the House energy panel, called the legislation "an earmark that benefits just one project" and would exempt the pipeline "from every federal and state permitting requirement."
Obama "was right to reject this project until he has all of the necessary information in front of him to make an informed decision," Waxman said. "We should reject this bill and allow the agencies enough time to do their jobs."
Project supporters say U.S. rejection of the pipeline will not stop one from being built. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said Canada is serious about building a pipeline to its West Coast, where oil could be shipped to China and other Asian markets.
TransCanada has said it will submit a new application once an alternative route for the pipeline is established. Company chief Russ Girling said a proposed route could be made public in a few weeks.
TransCanada says the pipeline could create as many as 20,000 jobs, a figure opponents say is inflated. A State Department report last summer said the pipeline would create up to 6,000 jobs during construction
The pipeline is a dicey proposition for Obama, who enjoyed strong support from both organized labor and environmentalists in his 2008 campaign for the White House.
Environmental advocates have made it clear that approval of the pipeline would dampen their enthusiasm for Obama in November. Some liberal donors even threatened to cut off funds to Obama's re-election campaign to protest the project, which opponents say would transport "dirty oil" that requires huge amounts of energy to extract and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.
By rejecting the pipeline, Obama also risks losing support from organized labor, a key part of the Democratic base, for thwarting thousands of jobs.
__
Matthew Daly can be followed on Twitter: (at)MatthewDalyWDC
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MEXICO CITY ? A search of several Mexican lawmakers' offices turned up recording equipment, leading legislators to believe they have been spied on for years, a congressman said Wednesday.
Congressman Armando Rios said security personnel found microphones and other devices that seemed to have been installed years ago.
"Some of the equipment has newer technology, but other devices are from a long time ago, which leads us to believe they were installed years ago," said Rios, a member of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD.
Rios said the offices of key committees and of several lawmakers from different political parties were bugged.
"What is at stake is the vulnerability of the legislature, of one of the powers of the union," Rios said.
Congress president Guadalupe Acosta, also of the PRD, on Tuesday filed a complaint with federal prosecutors, who opened an investigation.
Acosta wouldn't identify the lawmakers who were being spied on or who he thinks was behind the espionage. Rios blamed the government of President Felipe Calderon, who belongs to the conservative National Action Party, or PAN.
Interior Secretary Alejandro Poire denied Rios' accusations and said the government has done nothing illegal.
Mexico's main intelligence agency allegedly spied on the government's political opponents during the 71 years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.
After PAN candidate Vicente Fox won the 2000 presidential election, he announced that the agency, the Center for National Security and Investigation, would no longer spy on political opponents. But in 2008, under Calderon, the agency hired a private company to monitor the activities of legislators.
Legislators complained they were being spied on but the government said it was simply collecting public information.
Several secretly recorded telephone conversations of government officials or politicians have been made public in Mexico in the last few years.
In 2006, the former governor of Puebla state, Mario Marin, was implicated in a revenge plot against a journalist after Mexican news media released a recorded telephone conversation. In it, he allegedly speaks with a businessman about punishing Lydia Cacho, who had written a book that accuses one of their acquaintances of being a child molester.
In 2010, a radio station broadcast a telephone conversation between then federal lawmaker Cesar Godoy and alleged drug trafficker Servando Gomez, known as "La Tuta." In it, Godoy and Gomez express support for each other and discuss bribing a reporter.
Shortly after the recording was released, Godoy, who is now a fugitive, was charged with aiding drug trafficking and money laundering.
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Airport officials estimate this energy-efficient infrastructure will save DTW 418 tons of carbon monoxide, 409 tons of ozone precursors, and plenty of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter over the equipment's 40-year lifespan.
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HELSINKI (Reuters) ? Australian regulators have fined Nokia, the world's largest cellphone maker by volume, A$55,000 ($58,000) for spamming customers and said the Finnish company should change its text message (SMS) marketing.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority said texts Nokia sent to clients as tips to get more out of their phones promoted the company without offering an 'unsubscribe' option as required by law.
Nokia said it has discontinued the service in Australia and was ramping it down elsewhere, adding unsubscribing was simpler on its current devices.
The regulator said Nokia had agreed to train employees engaged in SMS marketing about legal requirements.
"Some businesses are still not getting SMS marketing right. The same rules apply to SMS marketing as for email marketing, and the same rules apply to all businesses, big and small," said Richard Bean, acting chairman of the authority.
While advertisers have great hopes for cellphone marketing, including location-based services, potential hostility from customers has held them back.
The Australian regulator said it saw a 370 percent rise in reports from the public about SMS messages believed to be spam in 2010-11.
(Reporting By Tarmo Virki; Editing by Erica Billingham and Dan Lalor)
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An international team of researchers from the Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine and other institutions has uncovered 13 genetic loci, linked to immune function and DNA repair, that are factors in the age of onset of menopause.
Menopause -- the cessation of reproductive function of the ovaries -- is a major hormonal change that affects most women when they are in their early 50s. Most prior studies of the age of onset of menopause have focused on genes from the estrogen-production pathway or vascular components.
In the new study, published online Jan. 22 in Nature Genetics, a research team led by Kathryn Lunetta, professor of biostatistics at the BU School of Public Health, and Joanne Murabito, associate professor of medicine at the BU School of Medicine, identified 13 novel loci associated with menopause onset, while confirming four previously established loci. Most of the 17 loci are associated with genes related to DNA damage repair or auto-immune disease; others are linked to hormonal regulation.
"Our findings demonstrate the role of genes which regulate DNA repair and immune function, as well as genes affecting neuroendocrine pathways of ovarian function in regulating age at menopause, indicating the process of aging is involved in both somatic and germ line aging" the authors said.
Lunetta said the new findings "bring us closer to understanding the genetic basis for the timing of menopause. They may also provide clues to the genetic basis of early onset or premature menopause and reduced fertility.
"We hope that as a better understanding of the biologic effects of these menopause-related variants are uncovered, we will gain new insights into the connections between menopause and cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, osteoporosis, and other traits related to aging, and that this will provide avenues for prevention and treatment of these conditions," she said.
According to Murabito, director of the research clinic at the Framingham Heart Study, "It will be important to determine if a genetic variant that directly influences age at menopause also increases risk for later life health conditions, such as breast cancer."
The authors said they expected further research to identify "a substantial number of additional common variants" that impact age of menopause, and that many of them will be located in genes identified in their study. The study examined more than 50,000 women of European descent who had experienced menopause between the ages of 40 and 60.
The research team noted that a large-scale study of menopause onset in African-American women is underway, which will help to determine whether the genetic variations that affect menopause onset in African-American women are similar or substantially different for women of primarily European descent.
Besides Lunetta and Murabito, senior authors on the study include: Anna Murray, a senior lecturer in genetics at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter (UK); and Jenny A. Visser, a scientist at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam (Netherlands).
###
Boston University Medical Center: http://www.bmc.org
Thanks to Boston University Medical Center for this article.
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GREENVILE, South Carolina (Reuters) ? Presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich battled to win last-minute supporters on Saturday in a South Carolina primary that could reshape the Republican nominating contest.
Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, must win the conservative southern state to secure his front-runner status in the race to determine who will challenge Democratic President Barack Obama in November.
Gingrich's recent rise in popularity has slowed Romney's momentum.
A victory by the former speaker of the House of Representatives could prolong the state-by-state Republican nominating battle and give Obama's re-election campaign a boost as his would-be Republican opponents beat each other up.
"I'm the only guy's who's spent his life in the real world," said Romney, standing on a chair in a crowded restaurant, Tommy's Country Ham House. He referred to Gingrich as a "Washington insider" and acknowledged he might not lock up the nomination this weekend.
"We've got a long way to go. So come join us in Florida, in Nevada, Michigan, Colorado. We've got a long way to go."
Romney may be helped if the South Carolina conservative vote is splintered among Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and libertarian Congressman Ron Paul.
Voter turnout, which weather could influence, will also be key. A tornado watch was in effect for much of the state and severe thunderstorms were on the forecast.
Gingrich was hoping to create a storm of his own. A new poll conducted by the American Research Group showed him leading Romney 40 percent to 26 percent among likely voters. The margin of error in the survey, conducted Thursday and Friday, was 4 percentage points.
Gingrich's latest surge in opinion polls came after disappointing finishes in the first contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. He has fended off publicity about his turbulent marital history and painted himself as the more conservative candidate whose experience in Washington would help him lead.
That was convincing to some voters in Charleston.
"Yeah, he had his baggage. Who doesn't?" said Bryan Riddle, 48, who voted for Gingrich. "I don't think he spins everything that comes out of his mouth."
Kim Woods, 53, a photographer, said Gingrich's Washington experience -- which Romney has attempted to demonize -- was an asset. "He's been in D.C. He's been in the political realm. He can get some things done," she said.
A multimillionaire ex-businessman who runs a sleek campaign, Romney has consistently won the support of a quarter of Republicans nationally with his message on jobs and the economy. But he has failed to capture the hearts of many conservatives.
Gingrich is a former history teacher with strong debating skills and a personal life that is dotted with marital infidelity, in contrast to Romney's stable family tableau, punctuated by five sons and 16 grandchildren.
TWO MAN RACE
With two other candidates trailing in the polls, the primary looks like a straight fight between the two very different men.
"Newt has positioned himself as the 'anti-Romney' and this strategy has played well in South Carolina," said Republican strategist Ron Christie.
"The question is whether this has broader appeal in more diverse states. As for Romney, this sparring will serve him well for the general election should he become the Republican nominee."
Fueled by a grudge that has become almost personal, Gingrich has sown seeds of doubt among Republicans who were beginning to see Romney as the inevitable nominee after strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Romney has stumbled, acknowledging in the last week he pays a much lower tax rate than many Americans and struggling to answer questions about a planned release of tax records.
Romney's campaign tried to turn the tables and ask for more information about ethics violations for which Gingrich was sanctioned in Congress in the 1990s.
The campaign noted that Saturday was the 15th anniversary of Gingrich being reprimanded by fellow lawmakers.
"Don't you love these guys? He doesn't release anything, he doesn't answer anything. And he's even confused about whether or not he will ever release anything. And then he's decided to pick a fight over releasing stuff," Gingrich said.
Animosity between the two has been festering since December, when a group supporting Romney launched a blitz of negative TV ads in Iowa that effectively ruined Gingrich's campaign there.
He has hit back by attacking Romney's business record.
The fight has been bruising in South Carolina, a conservative state with a history of dirty politics.
Romney's team is playing up his family background. His wife of 42 years, Ann, appears in an ad extolling the virtues needed in a strong president.
"If you really want to know how a person will operate, look at how they have lived their life. And I think that's why it's so important to understand the character of a person," she says.
The winner of South Carolina's Republican presidential primary has gone on to win the party's nomination in every election since 1980. Romney's path to the nomination would be nearly clear if he can clinch the state on Saturday. Polling closes at 7 p.m. eastern/0000 GMT.
The next contest is in Florida, where Romney has agreed to participate in more debates, which have been Gingrich's most successful venues.
"Regardless of what happens in South Carolina, this is still Mitt Romney's race to lose, and I don't think he's going to lose it," said Republican strategist Todd Harris, adding that Gingrich had failed repeatedly to capitalize on his strengths.
"Romney's campaign is like a slow and methodical game of chess. Newt's is more like Chutes and Ladders."
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LOS ANGELES ? Kate Beckinsale is back with a vengeance, with her latest "Underworld" movie opening at No. 1 this weekend.
"Underworld Awakening" made an estimated $25.4, distributor Sony Screen Gems reported Sunday.
This is the fourth film in the vampire action saga. Beckinsale starred in the first two movies as the warrior Selene, then bowed out of part three but returned for this latest installment. "Underworld Awakening" was shown for the first time in 3-D as well as on IMAX screens, where it made $3.8 million. That's 15 percent of the film's weekend gross, which is a record for an IMAX digital-only run.
Sony had hoped the film would end up in the low-$20 million range. But Rory Bruer, the studio's president of worldwide distribution, says the fact that it did even better ? despite a snow storm that hit much of the Midwest and East Coast ? primarily has to do with Beckinsale's return.
"She is such a force. Her character ? you just can't take your eyes off of her. I know the character is very dear to her, as well, and she just kills it," Bruer said. "The 3-D aspect of the film also brings something, makes it a fun, visceral ride."
Opening in second place was "Red Tails" from executive producer George Lucas, about the Tuskegee Airmen who were the first black fighter pilots to serve in World War II. It made an estimated $19.1 million, according to 20th Century Fox, which was well above expectations; the studio had hoped to reach double digits, said Chris Aronson, executive vice president of domestic distribution.
"I believe what George Lucas has stated all along: This is an important story and a story that must be told. It is a true story of American heroism and valor and audiences have really responded to this message," Aronson said. "People want to feel good about themselves, they want to be uplifted. We have enough hard crud going on in this country right now. Times are tough, and if we look back and are told a story of some really fantastic deeds, that's really compelling moviegoing."
Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian said a grass-roots effort to get groups of people into the theaters to see "Red Tails," along with positive word-of-mouth, helped its strong showing. The film saw an uptick from about $6 million on Friday to $8.65 on Saturday.
Overall box office is up 31 percent from the same weekend a year ago, Dergarabedian said, thanks to new releases as well as movies like "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," which had limited runs for awards consideration at the end of 2011 and are now expanding nationwide. The 9/11 drama from Warner Bros., starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, came in fourth place with $10.5 million.
Last week's No. 1 film, the Universal smuggling thriller "Contraband" starring Mark Wahlberg, dropped to the No. 3 spot with $12.2 million. It's now made $46.1 million in two weeks. Meanwhile, Steven Soderbergh's international action picture "Haywire" from Relativity Media, starring mixed martial arts superstar Gina Carano in her first film role, opened in fifth place with $9 million, which was above expectations.
"This is a great, perfect January weekend. You've got these holdover films and newcomers creating an overall marketplace that people are really responding to," Dergarabedian said. "It sounds clich? but this marketplace really has something for everyone."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Underworld Awakening," $25.4 million.
2. "Red Tails," $19.1 million.
3. "Contraband," $12.2 million.
4. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," $10.5 million.
5. "Haywire," $9 million.
6. "Beauty and the Beast (3-D)," $8.6 million.
7. "Joyful Noise," $6.1 million.
8. "Mission: Impossible ? Ghost Protocol," $5.5 million.
9. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," $4.8 million.
10. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," $3.75 million ($15.7 international).
___
Online:
http://www.hollywood.com
___
AP Movie Writer Christy Lemire can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/christylemire/
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(Reuters) ? Morgan Stanley (MS.N) Chief Executive James Gorman was awarded a $10.5 million bonus for 2011, down 25 percent from the previous year, according to a source familiar with the matter.
All of Gorman's bonus will be deferred for a period of two to three years, including a $5.1 million restricted stock award detailed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday evening.
The lower bonuses with tighter restrictions reflect weak performance at Morgan Stanley in 2011, as capital markets reacted to the European sovereign debt crisis and a downgrade of the U.S. bond rating. Clients pulled back sharply on trading and investment banking activity, hurting profits across Wall Street.
Morgan Stanley lost money in two of four quarters and had difficulty meeting profitability targets that were earlier outlined by senior management. Its return on common equity - a key measurement of profitability - was a meager 3.9 percent from continuing operations for the full year.
Morgan Stanley, like other rivals including Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), responded to rough market conditions by cutting staff and salaries.
The bank capped cash bonuses at $125,000 for employees, an unusually low amount for a workforce accustomed to multi-million dollar paydays. In mid-December it announced plans to lay off 1,600 employees, which comes in addition to hundreds of underperforming financial advisers dismissed from its wealth management business earlier in the year.
Overall, Morgan Stanley paid out $16.4 billion worth of compensation and benefits in 2011, which translated into $264,996 per employee. The figures were higher than the previous year because of severance costs from recent layoffs, higher pay for financial advisers and an unusually large amount of deferred compensation from previous years that came due in 2011.
Gorman and other members of his operating committee have been given a 21 percent cut in bonuses collectively, all of which will be deferred, said the source familiar with top-level pay.
In Form 4 filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Morgan Stanley detailed $24.5 million worth of restricted stock to nine top executives on Thursday as part of their 2011 bonus payments.
Greg Fleming, the head of Morgan Stanley's wealth management business, and Paul Taubman, an investment banker who is co-head of institutional securities, each received restricted stock worth $3.4 million on Thursday, using the bank's closing price of $18.28. Colm Kelleher, the bank's other co-head of institutional securities, who has a background in trading, received a $2.6 million award.
Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat received $3.2 million worth of restricted stock and her deputy, Paul Wirth, received $1.1 million in RSUs. Chief Operating Officer Jim Rosenthal received $2.9 million worth, while Chief Risk Officer Keishi Hotsuki received $1.8 million in RSUs.
Newly promoted Chief Legal Officer Eric Grossman was the only executive to receive an award under $1 million, at $975,000.
The restricted stock units, as well as other performance-based stock awards, will vest over a three-year period, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
In addition to those awards, Gorman will also receive a cash bonus over a period of two years. The $10.5 million total bonus comes in addition to the $800,000 salary he received for 2011 and is down from $14 million in 2010.
(Reporting By Lauren Tara LaCapra; editing by Andre Grenon)
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CORRECTS BYLINE - President Barack Obama speaks about tourism and travel, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, along Main Street USA at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
CORRECTS BYLINE - President Barack Obama speaks about tourism and travel, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, along Main Street USA at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
CORRECTS BYLINE - President Barack Obama speaks about tourism and travel, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, along Main Street USA at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
President Barack Obama delivers remarks on tourism and travel, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, along Main Street USA at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
President Barack Obama greets guests after speaking at the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) ? Targeting prize electoral territory, President Barack Obama called Thursday for America to become the world's top travel destination, making an economic pitch to Florida voters from the Magic Kingdom ahead of an upcoming Republican presidential primary.
"America is open for business," Obama declared in his talk in front of the sun-splashed Cinderella Castle in the heart of Disney World. "We want to welcome you," he said.
Obama issued an executive order seeking to boost tourist visa processing in China and Brazil and took additional steps including promoting national parks and adding business executives to a tourism advisory board.
The goal is to significantly increase travel and tourism in the United States. The White House said that more than 1 million U.S. jobs could be created over the next decade, according to industry projections, if the U.S. increases its share of the international travel market.
"The more folks who visit America, the more Americans we get back to work. It's that simple," Obama said.
Trumpeting America's attractions, Obama rattled off a list of can't-miss tourist sites from Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks to the Golden Gate Bridge and the skyline of his native Chicago.
"We've got the best product to sell. I mean, look at where we are. We've got the most entertaining destinations in the world. This is the land of extraordinary natural wonders," he said.
Beyond the economic case, Obama's trip to the tourist mecca was the latest bid by the White House and his campaign to steal a share of the spotlight from Republicans vying for the GOP presidential nomination. Obama held a live video conference with Iowa voters during the Republican caucus, Vice President Joe Biden held a similar event with voters in New Hampshire on the night of the state's first-in-the-nation primary, and next week Obama will travel to Nevada, which follows Florida on the primary calendar.
Obama's high-profile trip to Florida could help him counter attacks on his record lobbed by Republican presidential candidates during stops across the state, where tough television ads are already airing. And it allows Obama to lay the groundwork for the general election campaign in Florida, a key political battleground he carried in 2008.
The state holds 29 electoral votes, making it a top target for both Obama and his Republican rivals. Florida twice backed Republican George W. Bush, providing the decisive electoral votes in the cliffhanger 2000 election that was decided after a 36-day recount.
Republican front-runner Mitt Romney greeted Obama with an open letter to the president running as an ad in Thursday's editions of the Tampa Bay Times. "Welcome to Florida," Romney says in the ad. "I have a simple question for you: Where are the jobs?"
"Perhaps there's some poetic justice in the president speaking from Fantasyland," Romney added in a conference call with reporters. "Because, I'm afraid, he's been speaking from Fantasyland for some time now."
A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed the president in a near-statistical tie with Romney in Florida in a head-to-head matchup.
Tourism is a key component of the economy in Florida, which is burdened by 10 percent unemployment and rampant home foreclosures. Thursday's tourism and travel announcement was part of the president's "We Can't Wait" initiative aimed at promoting executive actions Obama can take without congressional approval.
The White House said the travel and tourism industry represent 2.7 percent of gross domestic product and 7.5 million jobs in 2010. But the U.S. share of spending by international travelers fell from 17 percent to 11 percent between 2000 and 2010, due to increased competition and changes in global development, as well as security measures imposed after Sept. 11, 2001, according to the White House.
Obama's executive order aims to: boost non-immigrant visa processing capacity in China and Brazil by 40 percent this year; expand a Visa Waiver Program that allows participating nationals to travel to the U.S. for stays of 90 days or less without a visa; appoint a new group of chief executives to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, and direct an interagency task force to develop recommendations for a National Travel and Tourism Strategy, including promoting national parks and other sites.
That was good news to Brazilian visitors Lilian Lara and Lindbergh Souza, who welcomed the change in visa procedures as they shopped along the resort's streets hours before the president's speech.
"It will make things a whole lot better," said Lara, a 22-year-old student from Sao Paolo, who is working as a summer intern at the theme park resort.
Souza said the visa process was expensive, at $500, and also time consuming, especially for Brazilians who don't live close to consuls in Rio de Janiero and Sao Paulo.
"The whole process took me six months," said Souza, who welcomed the president's efforts to speed up the visa process especially for visitors from Brazil and China.
The White House insisted the president's trip to Florida was not purely political, dismissing suggestions that his itinerary was connected to a slate of upcoming Republican primaries. Obama spokesman Jay Carney said there were few tourist destinations "as iconic as Disney World" and the tourist attractions surrounding Orlando represented a fitting place to talk about the president's initiatives.
From Florida, Obama was to fly to New York City for four glitzy campaign fundraisers, including an event at the famed Apollo Theater featuring performances by Al Green and India.Arie. Tickets to that fundraiser start at $100.
The president also was to attend a $35,800 per ticket fundraiser at the home of director Spike Lee, and two small fundraisers at Daniel, an exclusive Manhattan restaurant. Tickets start at $5,000 for the first restaurant fundraiser and $15,000 for the second.
___
Associated Press writer Mike Schneider contributed to this report.
___
Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC
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From Josh Hutcherson to Mackenzie Foy, take a look at the stars to watch out for in movies, TV and music this year!
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The Obama administration said it would give religious organizations one additional year to comply with a new policy requiring employers to provide free contraception services in insurance plans.
Roman Catholic bishops and other church leaders had protested the new rules, which were announced in August by Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, following a recommendation of the National Sciences? Institute of Medicine.
It was designed to drive down the rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion by making birth control available under the preventive health care services that all insurers must cover without a deductible or co-payment.
Churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship were already exempt, but some religious leaders wanted the exemption broadly expanded. Instead, the administration said after considering the request that nonprofit institutions like hospitals and universities affiliated with churches could take a year longer to comply.
That means they will not have to start providing the full insurance coverage to their employees until after the election. Even so, the question is likely to linger as a campaign issue.
The delay could also put off any court test of the rule. Last week, the Supreme Court, in an unrelated case, substantially broadened an exemption under the First Amendment that protects religious institutions from employment-discrimination suits brought by employees with ministerial duties.
The administration, which had hinted that it might be open to an expansion of the insurance waiver for churches, characterized its one-year compromise as a balanced solution.
?This additional year will allow these organizations more time and flexibility to adapt to this new rule,? Ms. Sebelius said. ?We intend to require employers that do not offer coverage of contraceptive services to provide notice to employees, which will also state that contraceptive services are available at sites such as community health centers, public clinics, and hospitals with income-based support.?
?I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services,? she said.
Catholic bishops had called the rule ?an unprecedented attack on religious liberty.?
But Jon O?Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, welcomed the decision as ? a victory for common sense and scientific advice in the interests of the common good.?
Congressional Democrats had lobbied the White House against expanding the religious exemption also cheered the move.
?This is a critical step forward for women?s health that will prevent abortions and ensure that millions of American families have access to affordable birth control,? said Senator Barbara Boxer of California in a statement.
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Public release date: 19-Jan-2012
Share ] Contact: Dr. Stefano Zapperi
stefano.zapperi@cnr.it
39-026-617-3385
Public Library of Science
Since cancer cells grow indefinitely, it is commonly believed that senescence could act as a barrier against tumor growth and potentially be used as a way to treat cancer. A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano, Italy, and two physicists, from the National Research Council of Italy and from Cornell University, has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth, which is sustained by a small population of cancer stem cells. The results, published in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology on January 19 explain why it is difficult to treat cancer cells by inducing senescence alone.
The work explores the relationship between melanoma and senescence, the normal process where cells decline and eventually stop duplicating after reaching maturity. The investigators followed the long-term evolution of melanoma cell populations, monitoring the number of senescent cells. After three months, growth slowed and most of the cells turned senescent, however growth did not stop and eventually resumed its initial rate until the senescent cells had almost disappeared.
The authors mathematically modeled the experimental data using the cancer stem cell hypothesis, where a sub-group of cancer cells replicate indefinitely, and are thus unaffected by senescence. These cancer stem cells give rise to a larger population of cancer cells that can duplicate only a finite number of times. The model yielded an indirect confirmation of the presence of cancer stem cells in melanoma, an issue that is still controversial in the cancer research community.
Although a large fraction of cancer cells are susceptible to senescence, the researchers conclude that inducing senescence is unlikely to provide a successful therapeutic strategy because these cells are irrelevant for tumor growth. However, the indirect evidence of cancer stem cells in melanoma may enable the development of new methods to treat specific kinds of cancer. The challenge will be in the strong resistance to drug induced senescence that would be found in the cancer stem cells. Along this line of research, treatment of tumors would focus on targeting only these cancer stem cells, rather than every single cancerous cell.
###
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: JPS acknowledges NCI-U54CA143876 for support. CAMLP is supported by PRIN 2008BP25KN004. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
COMPETING INTERESTS: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
CITATION: La Porta CAM, Zapperi S, Sethna JP (2012) Senescent Cells in Growing Tumors: Population Dynamics and Cancer Stem Cells. PLoS Comput Biol 8(1): e1002316. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002316
CONTACT:
Dr. Stefano Zapperi, CNR-IENI, Milano, Italy, phone: +39-02 66173 385, phone: stefano.zapperi@cnr.it
Dr. Caterina La Porta, Department of Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology, University of Milan, phone: +390250314927, email: caterina.laporta@unimi.it
Disclaimer
This press release refers to an upcoming article in PLoS Computational Biology. The release is provided by journal staff, or by the article authors and/or their institutions. Any opinions expressed in this release or article are the personal views of the journal staff and/or article contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLoS. PLoS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the releases and articles and your use of such information.
Media Permissions
PLoS Journals publish under a Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/), which permits free reuse of all materials published with the article, so long as the work is cited (e.g., Kaltenbach LS et al. (2007) Huntingtin Interacting Proteins Are Genetic Modifiers of Neurodegeneration. PLoS Genet 3(5): e82. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.0030082). No prior permission is required from the authors or publisher. For queries about the license, please contact the relative journal contact indicated here: http://www.plos.org/journals/embargopolicy.php
About PLoS Computational Biology
PLoS Computational Biology (www.ploscompbiol.org) features works of exceptional significance that further our understanding of living systems at all scales through the application of computational methods. All works published in PLoS Computational Biology are open access. Everything is immediately available subject only to the condition that the original authorship and source are properly attributed. Copyright is retained.
About the Public Library of Science
The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. For more information, visit http://www.plos.org.
[ | 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.
Public release date: 19-Jan-2012 Share ] Contact: Dr. Stefano Zapperi
stefano.zapperi@cnr.it
39-026-617-3385
Public Library of Science
Since cancer cells grow indefinitely, it is commonly believed that senescence could act as a barrier against tumor growth and potentially be used as a way to treat cancer. A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano, Italy, and two physicists, from the National Research Council of Italy and from Cornell University, has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth, which is sustained by a small population of cancer stem cells. The results, published in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology on January 19 explain why it is difficult to treat cancer cells by inducing senescence alone.
The work explores the relationship between melanoma and senescence, the normal process where cells decline and eventually stop duplicating after reaching maturity. The investigators followed the long-term evolution of melanoma cell populations, monitoring the number of senescent cells. After three months, growth slowed and most of the cells turned senescent, however growth did not stop and eventually resumed its initial rate until the senescent cells had almost disappeared.
The authors mathematically modeled the experimental data using the cancer stem cell hypothesis, where a sub-group of cancer cells replicate indefinitely, and are thus unaffected by senescence. These cancer stem cells give rise to a larger population of cancer cells that can duplicate only a finite number of times. The model yielded an indirect confirmation of the presence of cancer stem cells in melanoma, an issue that is still controversial in the cancer research community.
Although a large fraction of cancer cells are susceptible to senescence, the researchers conclude that inducing senescence is unlikely to provide a successful therapeutic strategy because these cells are irrelevant for tumor growth. However, the indirect evidence of cancer stem cells in melanoma may enable the development of new methods to treat specific kinds of cancer. The challenge will be in the strong resistance to drug induced senescence that would be found in the cancer stem cells. Along this line of research, treatment of tumors would focus on targeting only these cancer stem cells, rather than every single cancerous cell.
###
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: JPS acknowledges NCI-U54CA143876 for support. CAMLP is supported by PRIN 2008BP25KN004. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
COMPETING INTERESTS: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
CITATION: La Porta CAM, Zapperi S, Sethna JP (2012) Senescent Cells in Growing Tumors: Population Dynamics and Cancer Stem Cells. PLoS Comput Biol 8(1): e1002316. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002316
CONTACT:
Dr. Stefano Zapperi, CNR-IENI, Milano, Italy, phone: +39-02 66173 385, phone: stefano.zapperi@cnr.it
Dr. Caterina La Porta, Department of Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology, University of Milan, phone: +390250314927, email: caterina.laporta@unimi.it
Disclaimer
This press release refers to an upcoming article in PLoS Computational Biology. The release is provided by journal staff, or by the article authors and/or their institutions. Any opinions expressed in this release or article are the personal views of the journal staff and/or article contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLoS. PLoS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the releases and articles and your use of such information.
Media Permissions
PLoS Journals publish under a Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/), which permits free reuse of all materials published with the article, so long as the work is cited (e.g., Kaltenbach LS et al. (2007) Huntingtin Interacting Proteins Are Genetic Modifiers of Neurodegeneration. PLoS Genet 3(5): e82. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.0030082). No prior permission is required from the authors or publisher. For queries about the license, please contact the relative journal contact indicated here: http://www.plos.org/journals/embargopolicy.php
About PLoS Computational Biology
PLoS Computational Biology (www.ploscompbiol.org) features works of exceptional significance that further our understanding of living systems at all scales through the application of computational methods. All works published in PLoS Computational Biology are open access. Everything is immediately available subject only to the condition that the original authorship and source are properly attributed. Copyright is retained.
About the Public Library of Science
The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. For more information, visit http://www.plos.org.
[ | 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.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/plos-csd011712.php
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